Toki Tori 2 review: Not for birdbrains

Despite the decade plus between the first and second Toki Tori games, Two Tribes's Wii U (and soon PC) evolution of the Game Boy Color game is striking. The 2001 puzzle-platformer was neat, charming, and challenging. Its compact levels and tool-contextual actions evoked Lemmings, albeit with the micromanagement filtered out. You controlled a dopey-looking bird in blocky 2D platform levels, making him manipulate his environment to open up paths to progress. This simplicity, however, was negated by some very specific solutions. It was, and still is, a likable little puzzler.

What's clever about Toki Tori 2 is how it doesn't deviate from that ethos, and yet it feels like a completely different game. If anything, its evolution of the first game's principles is to make them simpler, yet the result is something much more complex. It's weird, because there's a pungent minimalism about Toki Tori 2, but it's this minimalism that branches out in so many ways through the environment, and the result is distinct and, more than anything, clever. The reason it all works is because Toki Tori 2, with all its environmental nuances, makes you want to be as intelligent as it is.

Gallery: Toki Tori 2 (3/14/13)

Continue reading Toki Tori 2 review: Not for birdbrains

Toki Tori 2 review: Not for birdbrains originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Editorial: How the Concessions Stand in Battlefield 4

EA seized an entire movie theater in San Francisco in the midst of GDC 2013 to demonstrate nearly 20 minutes of Battlefield 4, which is also a video game. The venue was large and loud enough to encapsulate the shooter's cinematic aspirations, and flaunt every extravagant detail manifested in the weapons, soldiers, lighting and urban environments - right down to the cracking, withered paint on a door. Battlefield 4 belonged on every inch of that big screen.

And that's fine. I enjoy shooters, I adore movies, and I think there's a valid convergence to be found between the two. It's rarely a shortcut for superior storytelling, but the medium is malleable and fit for many authors. Some strive for realism, others seek expression in the abstract, and some guys prefer to make a crazy game about shipping soup to other planets.

None of those, however, have claimed responsibility for a "new era of interactive entertainment." That would be Battlefield 4, according to EA Games Vice President Patrick Söderlund. "Revealing the game to you all today is a big deal for us," he said in epilogue to the game's exquisitely rendered destruction. "It signals a new era of Battlefield and, frankly, a new era of interactive entertainment."

Gallery: Battlefield 4 (Fishing in Baku)

Continue reading Editorial: How the Concessions Stand in Battlefield 4

Editorial: How the Concessions Stand in Battlefield 4 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Legend of Dungeon devs' secret to saving money: Live in a tree

As a husband and wife development team, Alix Stolzer and Calvin Goble worked out a system that saw them through the first few years of crafting games: Calvin made their first two titles, Tiny Plumbers and IGF nominee Neverdaunt: 8Bit, while Alix worked a 9-5 job and provided input in her spare time. The situation was satisfactory, but eventually, Alix wanted more.

"While money was coming in from our games, it really wasn't enough to pay the bills," Alix told me. "We decided we'd rather reduce living costs and rough it, instead of one of us working a 'real' job. The opportunity came quickly."

A friend offered them the opportunity to be his "mountain neighbor" in Vermont - meaning they would live in a mountainside forest, in a home they'd craft themselves out of trees and tarp. There, they could survive on $150 a month, plus food. Alix and Calvin seized the moment.

"We sold our house and used as little money as possible to build a small house-tent thing eight feet off the ground, on a platform our friend had made out of four trees," Alix said. "We spent maybe $1,000 on it, really using thrifty things like greenhouse plastic, and making our own solar panels, etc. It's an awesome adventure, but the downside is it slows down game development."

The mountain, miraculously, hosted a strong cellular internet signal, and on sunny days Alix and Calvin were able to charge their laptops, one at a time, using the homemade solar panels. Cafes and the college campus in town, a half hour walk away, provided power and internet on cloudy days. Everything - food, heat, power, water - took extra time in the mountain home, Alix said, including video game programming and design.

But the tree house didn't stop their game development. As the studio Robot Loves Kitty, Calvin (the Robot) and Alix (Kitty) brought their latest game, Legend of Dungeon, to PAX East, using not a lot of money and earning wild success.

Continue reading Legend of Dungeon devs' secret to saving money: Live in a tree

Legend of Dungeon devs' secret to saving money: Live in a tree originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lessons from Metroid: Spending some time with A.N.N.E.

At the opening of Super Metroid, a gunship rockets through space, eventually descending to the surface of the planet Zebes. A hatch opens, and bounty hunter Samus Aran slowly rises from the ship amidst the rain and lightning of an alien world. It's one of the most memorable moments of the 16-bit era, but it left Moise Breton with a question: Why doesn't she ever get back in the ship?

Last September, after Moise (Mo for short) left Activision's Quebec Spider-Man studio, Beenox, he decided to find the answer. The result is A.N.N.E., a game that cobbles together and improves upon some of Mo's favorite video game ideas. A 2D, open-world adventure, ANNE pulls inspirations from a broad spectrum of games, including Metroid, Mega Man, Contra, Gradius and Cave Story - though the latter is mostly coincidence, he says. Much like Samus, our robotic hero, Number 25, uses his abilities to take down enemies, finding numerous upgrades and uncovering new areas along the way. Unlike Samus, his ship is a constant companion, transporting him from place to place, blasting monsters from the sky and forging new paths.

After launching a Kickstarter and posting an impressive reveal trailer, things have "exploded all at once," Mo tells me, and he's very excited. Based on the short demo I played, you should be too.

Gallery: ANNE

Continue reading Lessons from Metroid: Spending some time with A.N.N.E.

Lessons from Metroid: Spending some time with A.N.N.E. originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EU Commission raises doubts over UK games tax relief, launching investigation

The European Commission announced an impending "in-depth investigation" into the UK tax relief for video games following doubts regarding its necessity. The breaks, announced last year by the UK government, are set to provide 25 percent tax relief on 80 percent of qualifying games' budget spent in the UK, a move long demanded by the country's ailing games industry. However, today's news raises serious doubts over whether or not they'll be implemented, with the EU Commission noting a number of concerns over the scheme.

The European executive body not only doubts if the relief is needed to boost the country's games industry, but also noted the potential for positive discrimination towards "goods or services 'used and consumed' in the UK," as well as a "subsidy race" between EU states. The Commission also raised concerns over the proposed UK cultural test and whether or not that would produce "unique distortions of competition."

"The market for developing video games is dynamic and commercially promising," said EU Commission VP of Competition Policy Joaquin Almunia. "It is not clear whether the taxpayer should be subsidizing this activity. Such subsidies could even distort competition."

UK gaming trade body UKIE says it's "extremely disappointed" with the EU Commission's decision. In a response, UKIE noted such an investigation could delay the aid's implementation even if it was eventually approved.

"We believe this support is crucial in opening up the opportunity for developers to make culturally British games," said UKIE CEO Dr. Jo Twist, "But also as a vital incentive for development studios and large multinationals to base their development in the UK and nurture the talent here. We are still confident of having the scheme introduced and are fully committed to having it in place as soon as possible. A similar investigation into the French games tax relief system was successful but this took 12 months to conclude."

While a recent report by UK trade association TIGA indicated some signs of recovery for the country's games industry, 2012 saw Wipeout team Studio Liverpool and 007 Legends dev Eurocom both close, as well as high street retailer GAME suffer financial meltdown.

EU Commission raises doubts over UK games tax relief, launching investigation originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lost Planet 3 pre-order bonuses include Hunk, robo-accessories

Pre-ordering Lost Planet 3 at GameStop will grant five "unique" multiplayer characters, a squad which includes gas mask-wearing soldier "Hunk" from any number of Resident Evil games. The player also receives some Rig (read: giant robot) upgrades, specifically a "tungsten carbide drill" hand and a big ol' "pressurized claw" for squeezing space bugs and (we assume) other, less interesting applications.

Lost Planet 3 arrives on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC on Tuesday, August 27.

Gallery: Lost Planet 3 (Multiplayer)

Gallery: Lost Planet 3 (4/25/13)

Lost Planet 3 pre-order bonuses include Hunk, robo-accessories originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Nordic Games involved with THQ since January, is talking sequels

Nordic Games picked up most of the IPs in THQ's back catalog auction, dishing out $4.9 million for Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs ATV, Titan Quest and a slew of unannounced games from THQ's long list of for-sale properties. Nordic was a surprise to some, especially next to Gearbox, which picked up the Homeworld franchise, and 505 Games, which snagged Drawn to Life and its sequel. But Nordic isn't new.

"We've been in conversation with THQ since January," Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors told Game Informer. "We signed all the NDAs in January."

Wingefors has been in the gaming industry for 20 years, he said, and has handled "a lot" of THQ products during that time. In November 2011, Nordic acquired publisher JoWood, in charge of Painkiller and Torchlight, and also ended up with Canadian publisher Dreamcatcher, spawning Nordic's publishing focus.

Nordic took part in the first THQ auction as well, which sold off properties such as Saints Row and some development studios for upwards of $20 million. That sale was too rich for Wingefors: "Saints Row went for $22 million and Koch bought that development studio with that burn rate on a daily basis. Even though I do have financial resources, I don't have those kind of resources."

Wingefors didn't want a studio. Nordic is a "middle man" looking for the right team to make some new sequels; there's already been plenty of interest in Darksiders, he said.

"We have to be very honest," Wingefors said. "I am a business man within the games industry. We are not the creative, talented developer that brings out new versions in house. I understand the potential of the IPs. I respect the original creators and the creative people who are able to create sequels. In the past 24 hours, we have been contacted and there have been a few discussions (but I can't confirm names)."

Nordic took home more than 50 former THQ games, but has yet to release the full list.

"As we still have some open points with regards to a couple of titles we will not publish a comprehensive list at this stage," a Nordic Games representative told Joystiq yesterday. "However, once everything is fixed and the ink is dry - around mid-May - we will go out with a comprehensive list of titles which we have acquired in the process."

Nordic will hold talks this summer with different developers, during E3 especially. Don't expect any sequels too soon, though.

"You won't see a new Darksiders this year," Wingefors said. "I don't believe in bringing out a shitty sequel."

Nordic Games involved with THQ since January, is talking sequels originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Metareview: Dead Island: Riptide

Dead Island: Riptide, the pseudo sequel to paradise-gone-wrong simulator Dead Island, shares one clear trait with its predecessor. No, not zombies (but, yeah, those are in there). It's that reviews are all over the place for the game's launch. The original Dead Island entered into a similarly hostile critical climate, but went on to sell 5 million units globally. Our Riptide review will be available later this week.

• Game Informer (80/100): "Riptide's flaws are many, but they couldn't hold me back from having a blast. Few games nail the visceral feel of melee combat and co-op fun like Dead Island. At its worst, an annoying hiccup breaks the immersion of the grizzly trek through a zombie-infested paradise. At its best, Riptide hits the same high notes as the original."
• IGN (72/100): "Technically, it's done nothing to build itself into a great game. Rather than fix the graphics and the performance problems that plagued the original two years ago, Techland slightly modified the setting and delivered a new character and more content. It's a fun time, but there are no surprises or killer new features to make it an impressive package."
• Eurogamer (60/100): "What makes that so sad is that this feels like a series only a few great decisions away from being really good. A better script with a sense of humor, a bit more imagination in quest design, more coherent inventory management and character development... These things shouldn't be unattainable goals for a developer that must be flush from the unexpected success of the first game."
• VideoGamer (50/100): "On the whole however Riptide is yet another missed opportunity, and just too painfully average, wonky and padded out with filler to truly recommend."
• Gamespot (40/100): "Riptide is dumb, and mind-numbingly slow, and somehow manages to make the art of zombie-slaying feel like utter tedium. And if slaying zombies isn't fun in a game that's all about slaying zombies, why bother? "

Metareview: Dead Island: Riptide originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Pid dev badgers Steam Greenlight with new game Shelter

Pid developer Might & Delight announced Shelter today, a third-person, single-player PC and Mac game that sees you play as a badger mother protecting your cete of cubs from natural dangers. It's an unexpected turn for the Swedish indie studio and its former Grin members (Bionic Commando, Terminator Salvation), but perhaps it's about time we saw more of the monochrome omnivore in the gaming scene. Might & Delight promises an "emotional" game that won't shirk from the "harsh" realities of nature.

"It's our ambition to create an experience of immersion by making you feel exposed and vulnerable in the sometimes unforgiving hands of the wild", said lead level and game designer Andreas Wangler. "We are not saying nature is cruel, however what the mother and her cubs will experience is simply a fact of life. There are no boss fights in this game. No good or evil elements. It's simply about survival and protecting your offspring."

Shelter is slated for late summer 2013. In the meantime, Might & Delight has the game up on Greenlight in the hope the community digs it enough to bring it to Steam.

Gallery: Shelter

Continue reading Pid dev badgers Steam Greenlight with new game Shelter

Pid dev badgers Steam Greenlight with new game Shelter originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Apr 2013 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Portabliss: Gemini Rue (iOS)

Gritty, futuristic adventure game Gemini Rue started as a student project by Joshua Nuernberger. Nuernberger received help from Wadjet Eye Games, the husband and wife tandem of Dave and Janet Gilbert, who helped bring the point-and-click adventure to Steam in October 2011. The game runs on the Adventure Game Studio engine, which was first created in 1999, back when the notion of porting games to a mobile device wasn't at the front of developers' minds. Janet spent eight months adapting the AGS engine to iOS, and Gemini Rue is the first attempt at bringing one of Wadjet Eye Games' adventures to the platform. For a first attempt, it's quite impressive.

Gemini Rue has players controlling two characters located across a stretch of space from one another in the distant future. Azriel Odin, an ex-assassin, is searching for his missing brother. The other playable character, Charlie, starts the game with his memory being erased after a failed escape attempt from an unknown testing facility. Each piece of the mystery unravels at a good pace. The initial puzzles provide the backdrop for the game's well-conceived universe, itself an intriguing, nearly relatable Earth-like world full of crime. As the story progresses, the plot thickens and twists in a mostly expected manner before dropping a hefty, deep series of concepts on the player at the end.

If you think that sounds like a vague explanation of Gemini Rue's story, you're spot-on. I can't unveil the plot in good conscience; it simply needs to be played. It isn't ground-breaking by any means, but the tale is wholly enjoyable and worthwhile to anyone who enjoys dark sci-fi.

Gallery: Gemini Rue (iOS)

Continue reading Portabliss: Gemini Rue (iOS)

Portabliss: Gemini Rue (iOS) originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments