Despite the common preconception that digital distribution is detrimental to the health of bricks-and-mortar retail, GameStop International executive vice president Mike Mauler thinks there's a much bigger cross-over than many commentators believe.
Elevator Action is an arcade game born at a time when you could make an arcade game about anything. Sure, it features spies and hit-men, both of which are videogame evergreens, but it's primarily concerned with elevators‚ and they don't seem quite as obviously fuelled by high-octane promise. In point of fact, though, they provide the basis for a clever and twitchy blend of action game and puzzler: so it was back in 1983, and so it is now.
As a general rule, I prefer not to play sequels – even sequels to games I really like. The reason is that game sequels tend to be sequels in the narrative sense, but are rarely sequels in the mechanical or dynamical sense. Typically, a sequel continues the story of some rough-and-tumble anti-hero without making significant changes to the gameplay. If the gameplay changes enough, we typically call it a new game rather than a sequel. The evolution from Guitar Hero to Rock Band, for example, seems to me like what we should call a sequel.
Dead Island has shambled its way to the top of this week's UK all formats chart, debuting at number one and knocking Deus Ex: Human Revolution from the spot in the process. Eidos Montreal's futuristic thriller falls to number five.
Three other games made their debut in the top ten this week: THQ's Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine occupies number two while Sony's PS3-exclusive Resistance 3 fights its way to fourth. Nintendo's Star Fox 64 3D sold enough copies to place it at number nine.
In an era of skillshots and RPG cross-breeding, the boldest gimmick is to have no gimmick at all. Judged by these standards, Space Marine is a staggeringly brave project. A linear action game built from asset re-use and endless indistinguishable encounters, you switch between ranged weapons and a selection of melee axes, hammers and chainswords. You toss a few grenades, and then you do it all over again.
Edmund McMillen, co-founder founder of indie developer Team Meat, has addressed the sour taste left after working on Microsoft’s XBLA platform. Speaking during an Indie Games weblog podcast, he went so far as to say “I don't think we'll work with them ever again”.
Team Meat is responsible for the indie favourite Super Meat Boy which was released on XBLA in October 2010 and on Steam the following month.
Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella will go to court with their former employer Activision in Los Angeles on May 7, 2012 in a battle over royalties from the Call Of Duty franchise.
West and Zampella, two of the driving forces behind the creation of the blockbuster firstperson shooter franchise, were fired by Infinity Ward parent company Activision last March for alleged illegal dealings with rival publisher Electronic Arts.
Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vince Zampella will go to court with their former employer Activision in Los Angeles on May 7, 2012 in a battle over royalties from the Call Of Duty franchise.
West and Zampella, two of the driving forces behind the creation of the blockbuster firstperson shooter franchise, were fired by Infinity Ward parent company Activision last March for alleged illegal dealings with rival publisher Electronic Arts.
So El Shaddai is based on the Book of Enoch, a bit of antediluvian religious esoterica that outlines the revelations of Noah’s great grandfather. But this is hardly Sunday School stuff. El Shaddai presents Bible stories by way of hippie psychedelia, French sci-fi, Japanese anime and videogame oddity.