Monthly Archives: February 2015
What We Want in a Sequel to The Order
This week, Marty and I are joined again by Brian Altano (who makes loud noises as usual) and Brandin Tyrrel, who recently reviewed The Order: 1886. Regardless of how the game's been received critically, it seems pretty likely that we'll see a sequel, because that's how AAA franchises work... so what should it do differently? Also, it's the Vita's birthday and we're sick of games launching with broken multiplayer. Who isn't?
Podcast Beyond, Episode 383 (MP3)
Why You Need to Try Smite
Welcome to the debut episode of IGN Godlike, a new show dedicated to covering the mythological mayhem that is SMITE. Hosts Brandin Tyrrel, Alfredo Diaz, and Kyle O'Connor chat about: how they got into SMITE and why they can't stop playing, why now is the best time to get started playing, and what we can expect from an Xbox One version.
Download IGN Godlike Episode 1
Note: You can check out all the new changes we mentioned in SMITE Season 2 right here: Conquest Map, God Balancing, Item changes, and League changes.
Pioneering Atari Engineer Steve Bristow Dies
Steve Bristow, who worked at Atari during its golden age, died Sunday.
Bristow helped develop some of Atari's early arcade games, such as Indy 800, and developed Tank for Kee Games. He also worked with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell to conceptualize Breakout, a game that would be built by a young Atari employee named Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak.
He also helped form Kee Games, which was comprised of defectors from Atari. It was later revealed that Kee was actually a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atari. After the two companies merged, Bristow oversaw Atari's Coin Engineering and Electronic Board Game Division. He eventually the plant manager for the pinball division before being moved to VP of Engineering.
Ray Gigant is a PS Vita Dungeon Crawler
Bandai Namco’s next game is a “story dungeon RPG” for the PS Vita called Ray Gigant.
According to Gematsu, this news was dropped in the weekly issue of Dengeki PlayStation after a teaser site for Bandai Namco’s next game popped up last week.
It’s due out in Japan in a few months, with international release dates yet to be announced. Bandai Namco is also working on Godzilla the Game.
Arnold: I’ll Be Back for Terminator Genisys Sequels
Arnold Schwarzeneggar has cleared up any confusion over whether he'll return for the next two Terminator Genisys sequels, saying "of course" he'll be back.
Paramount Pictures announced the release dates for the two sequels last year, but it didn't release any casting information. In an exlusive interview with Schwarzenegger, The Arnold Fans asked whether he'd be filming Terminator 6, to which the actor confirmed, "Yes, of course, next year."
Final Fantasy 15: Exploring Its Combat Secrets
Last week Square Enix released a meaty 40-minute gameplay video for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae, which was packed with new information and new footage for the upcoming FF:XV demo. In order to help fans sift through all the Final Fantasy goodness, Marty Sliva and Meghan Sullivan pick out the juiciest tidbits from the trailer and discuss their significance.
Watch Sesame Street’s House of Cards Parody
Continuing to prove that it's watchable for both kids and adults, Sesame Street has now given us their very own House of Cards parody, in the style of The Three Little Pigs.
Based on Kevin Spacey's character from the hit Netflix series, "Frank Underwolf" teaches kids a lesson about subtraction, while blowing down the three little pigs' houses in pursuit of the "White Brick House."
Check out Sesame Street's "House of Bricks" below:
House of Cards Season 3 returns February 27 on Netflix.
League of Legends Bard Champion Revealed
Bard, the “wandering caretaker,” is the newest League of Legends champion and the first support character to benefit just from staying mobile.
Riot first teased the character via a preview page called “The Wonder Above” before unveiling more details today.
As you can see in Riot’s champion reveal page, Bard uses the power of ancient chimes, which spawn around the arena, to gain speed, experience, and mana boosts.
Small spirits called meeps also assist Bard in battle.
Watch Nvidia’s GDC Press Conference Right Here on IGN
Check out the key announcements from Nvidia's presentation below:
Earlier this month, Nvidia quietly sent out an GDC invite titled "Made to Game"—it was for a press conference to announce something that's been "
ore than 5 years in the making" and "will redefine the future of gaming."
In a week, we'll find out just what Nvidia has up its sleeve: Join us right here on Tuesday, March 3, starting at 7pm PT (10 pm ET / 3am Weds GMT / 2pm Weds AET ) for live coverage of its press conference.
Opinion: Long Campaigns Can Ruin Games
thatgamecompany’s Journey is easily the single most emotionally powerful and resonant game I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. By the time I got around to giving it a go in late 2011, I had already convinced myself it couldn’t be remotely as special as people had claimed. I played it because I felt like I needed to, to be up on the so-called “best” games that year.
Little did I know just how much Journey would impact me. I still can’t quite place just why I cried during the ending. The fact is that Journey did something to me, and it left such an indelible mark that I refused to ever play it again. The brief time I spent with it represented all I needed to see, and meant more to me than the scores of hours I’ve spent with other, deeper, more engaging and involved titles. Journey occupied 90 of the most powerful minutes of any game I’ve ever played, 90 of the most important minutes I’ve ever played in 25 years of daily gaming. It’s not my favorite game, or anywhere near that. It’s just the one that managed to cram a metric ton of feeling into such a tiny product. It should be commended for not wasting my time, for it had no time to waste.