Visceral Games and Electronic Arts have come up with quite the awesome ad campaign for the upcoming Dead Space 2 (release date 1/25/2011) called "Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2." Make sure you check out some of the participant case studies on the right side Suggestions area for a kick (that is, if you follow the video to the YouTube site).
A little more with the "Making Of" video here:
I can't wait for this game. The first one was damned awesome and it's starting to sound like this one is even better. I just snagged the single player demo on PSN the other day and they certainly haven't forgotten that horror formula: cheap scare, cheap scare, quiet, cheap scare, quiet, BLARGH HEART STOPPING IN YOUR FACE AWESOMENESS! It sounds silly, but it works. And well. It all really comes down to atmosphere and story and the first game had both in spades.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bulletstorm Last Call Trailer
Poking some fun at Halo 3's "Believe" campaign that used an elaborate diorama to tell a short tale, the makers of Bulletstorm created an equally incredible diorama for their "Last Call" advertising campaign. Check out the Halo 3 ad first and then the Bulletstorm one. Great job all around!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Old School Dungeons & Dragons Renaissance
I have a metric shit ton of extremely fond memories of playing Dungeons and Dragons throughout my childhood starting with the old red boxed Basic Set. Hell, I kept playing it up to and including college and then a little bit beyond that but I really haven't done much D&D gaming since 2003-ish. Now the gaming system is up to its fourth edition and it bears very little resemblance to the game I played when I was in high school (1st and 2nd edition AD&D). I thought I'd take a look and see if it might be worth investing my time into figuring out how to play 4e D&D with friends using an online tabletop of some sort (more on this some other time).
During my research I found that there is a small movement of fans that are still playing or have gone back to playing the original AD&D rules (1st edition) or the original D&D rules (the Basic Set). I couldn't possibly fathom why. I've done my share of studying up on the fourth edition rules and they seem awfully fun: magic users (read: wizards) can hold their own at first level, combat is much more tactical, other classes can now perform "powers" and players can feel like they are doing more than just doing swing-hit-repeat, the character classes are much more balanced than they ever have been, characters can much more easily heal after battles to continue playing the game without having to rest (or go back to town) nearly as much as per previous iterations of the rules, and pretty much everything not covered in the rule books can be adjudicated by the d20 system. So why would anyone want to go back to the original rules set?
Matthew Finch, one of the original creators of OSRIC (see below) and Swords and Wizardry, wrote A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming (download the PDF here) in which he argues for a return to old school gaming. According to his piece, it all boils down to emphasizing ROLE playing over ROLL playing. Definitely give it a read especially if you, like many others, feel like something is missing from the fourth edition rules.
Since the original rules now fall under the Open Gaming License, a number of retroclone games have been released in the past ten years including Castles & Crusades, Swords and Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, and OSRIC (a retroclone game is nearly 100% identical to the original rules they replicate but certain aspects have been altered, cleaned up, or downright fixed). Paizo Publishing, the company that used to publish Dragon Magazine, has even gotten in the act with their extremely popular Pathfinder RPG which is a cleaned up version of the 3.5 edition rules (not quite "old school gaming" in the same vein as Finch's piece, but a return to an older rules set nevertheless).
Here are three examples of some popular retroclone D&D games that are 100% free and legal to download, play, and enjoy:
Swords & Wizardry by Mythmere Games (Linkage)
Replicates the 1974 post-Chainmail original "white books" - the very roots of D&D
OSRIC (Old School Reference and Index Compilation) at Knights n Knaves (Linkage)
Replicates the 1978 First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons books
Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games (Linkage)
Replicates the 1981 Dungeons & Dragons boxed sets
I played a lot more Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st and 2nd edition) than any other role playing system so I'm mostly interested in OSRIC. I even purchased a hardcover copy from Lulu because I wanted to support the movement in some way.
During my research I found that there is a small movement of fans that are still playing or have gone back to playing the original AD&D rules (1st edition) or the original D&D rules (the Basic Set). I couldn't possibly fathom why. I've done my share of studying up on the fourth edition rules and they seem awfully fun: magic users (read: wizards) can hold their own at first level, combat is much more tactical, other classes can now perform "powers" and players can feel like they are doing more than just doing swing-hit-repeat, the character classes are much more balanced than they ever have been, characters can much more easily heal after battles to continue playing the game without having to rest (or go back to town) nearly as much as per previous iterations of the rules, and pretty much everything not covered in the rule books can be adjudicated by the d20 system. So why would anyone want to go back to the original rules set?
Matthew Finch, one of the original creators of OSRIC (see below) and Swords and Wizardry, wrote A Quick Primer for Old School Gaming (download the PDF here) in which he argues for a return to old school gaming. According to his piece, it all boils down to emphasizing ROLE playing over ROLL playing. Definitely give it a read especially if you, like many others, feel like something is missing from the fourth edition rules.
Since the original rules now fall under the Open Gaming License, a number of retroclone games have been released in the past ten years including Castles & Crusades, Swords and Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, and OSRIC (a retroclone game is nearly 100% identical to the original rules they replicate but certain aspects have been altered, cleaned up, or downright fixed). Paizo Publishing, the company that used to publish Dragon Magazine, has even gotten in the act with their extremely popular Pathfinder RPG which is a cleaned up version of the 3.5 edition rules (not quite "old school gaming" in the same vein as Finch's piece, but a return to an older rules set nevertheless).
Here are three examples of some popular retroclone D&D games that are 100% free and legal to download, play, and enjoy:
Swords & Wizardry by Mythmere Games (Linkage)
Replicates the 1974 post-Chainmail original "white books" - the very roots of D&D
OSRIC (Old School Reference and Index Compilation) at Knights n Knaves (Linkage)
Replicates the 1978 First Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons books
Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games (Linkage)
Replicates the 1981 Dungeons & Dragons boxed sets
I played a lot more Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st and 2nd edition) than any other role playing system so I'm mostly interested in OSRIC. I even purchased a hardcover copy from Lulu because I wanted to support the movement in some way.
 |
| How some 4e gamers feel just before moving on to the retroclones |
Friday, January 7, 2011
Voxatron
Just announced a few days ago by the indie game creators at Lexaloffle Games, Voxatron looks damned cool but unfortunately won't be out until sometime later this year.
The name is a mix of "voxel" and the classic game Robotron. I love the 3D Dot Game Heroes look with SmashTV and Gauntlet style gameplay mixed together. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a PSN or XBLA release as it looks like it might be better suited for dual sticks rather than keys and mouse.
Check out the creator blog here for more info.
The name is a mix of "voxel" and the classic game Robotron. I love the 3D Dot Game Heroes look with SmashTV and Gauntlet style gameplay mixed together. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a PSN or XBLA release as it looks like it might be better suited for dual sticks rather than keys and mouse.
Check out the creator blog here for more info.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Razer Switchblade
CES 2011 is going on right now and there have been some pretty nifty sounding gadgets and concepts being showcased. Razer, a company well known for their high end gaming mice and keyboards, have just released information about their (possibly) upcoming product called the Switchblade. It's a tiny form factor (easily handheld) Atom processor based portable PC designed specifically for playing games on the go. Check out some awesome concept pictures here and the video below. I love this idea and am curious about what sort of price point this might hit if eventually produced.
Min-Liang Tan, the CEO of Razer, sounds disingenuous at the beginning of the video, but don't let that distract you from the awesomeness of this idea.
Min-Liang Tan, the CEO of Razer, sounds disingenuous at the beginning of the video, but don't let that distract you from the awesomeness of this idea.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Homeless Man With Incredible Radio Voice
When I first saw this video there were maybe 400 views. Today I decide to embed it here and HOLY CRAP it's had over 4 MILLION views! Then, when I went to check my usual social news and regular news sites I find that it's damned near everywhere. This sort of viral phenomenon still boggles my mind. Anyway, enjoy the clip. Dude's had a bunch of job offers because of it.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
How The Grinch Stole Christmas Read By Obi Wan Kenobi, Cad Bane, and Ziro the Hutt
James Arnold Taylor (the voice of Obi Wan Kenobi on the Clone Wars animated series) and Corey Burton (the voice of Cad Bane and Ziro the Hutt on the same series) read Dr. Seuss' classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas in their respective characters' voices.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Hot New Christmas Gift
Star Wars Christmas
VADER: Luke, I know what you are getting for Christmas.
LUKE: How could you possibly know that?
VADER: I felt your presents.
BUH-DUM T'SS!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Real Life First Person Shooter
If you've played any of the Call of Duty games in multiplayer then the interface will be very familiar to you. Don't worry if you haven't. Familiarity with CoD isn't required to appreciate this really awesome job by YouTuber freddiew.
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