Family Party: 90 Great Games Party Pack – Nintendo Wii

Price: $19.99 ETA: 10/25/2010
No information available.

Flip's Twisted World – Nintendo Wii

Price: $29.99 ETA: 10/25/2010
Flip’s Twisted World is a 3D puzzle-platformer that follows the adventures of Flip who is accidentallytrapped inside a world where up and down are just a matter of perspective. By turning a magic cube,he is able to turn the entire world, opening up new paths and possibilities. You must think ‘outsideof the box’ as you navigate the world that is literally in the palms of their hands.

Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 11 with Gun – Playstation 3

Price: $79.99 ETA: 10/26/2010
No information available.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Preview – Singleplayer, Multiple Weapons

We’ve made much ado about the multiplayer aspect of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and we recently had a chance to go blades-on with this expanded follow-up. We came away with some sweet, bloodletting impressions from the story campaign…And an impressive bodycount to boot!

"Most of the action of the game takes place in the vast expanse of Rome, where players will freerun to their hearts content while taking part in a whole new set of missions. Some new features of the game are introduced like an assassin’s league that allows you to recruit new assassins when necessary, and employ them in tight situations. Calling in the assassins is similar to using the other helpful npc’s like courtesans and mercenaries, except that he assassins can be called in whenever, as long as you’re in a neighborhood where you’ve recruited some. These assassins are persistent and can even have their skills and weapons upgraded by you." 

Click through to check out our Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Singleplayer Preview.

An Open Letter to Mickey Mouse

Dear Mickey (or Mr. Mouse, whichever you prefer),

I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you on the upcoming Epic Mickey. As the most prevalent icon of American culture since the 1930’s, it’s high time you deserved a starring role in a highly anticipated video game for today’s console with the Nintendo Wii. Sure, I would prefer that this game contained more shooting with cool guns and/or Master Chief, I’m happy that the gaming industry has finally recognized your coveted spot as a world leader and purveyor of fine entertainment, overpriced amusement parks, toys and clothing.

However, this new game raises some of my concerns about your ability to perform in the spotlight of a 21st Century video game. We gamers are now used to taking on strong main characters with a fatal flaw and playing out a storyline that reflects our anxieties about today’s society and the impending zombie apocalypse (and how we like to shoot aliens and stuff).

Mickey, are you truly as epic as your game promises to be? 

Let’s be honest: you’re mister nice guy. In the world of Highlights magazine where humanity (or mice-anity?) can be divided between good and bad, you’d be Gallant. You’d help the old lady across the street, eat all the food off of your plate and make sure everyone recycles their soda cans. You’re like Mario and Link, whose goody-two-shoes behavior are excuseable because they’re classics. They always save the princess, and this time, so will you–except this time, the princess is a long lost brother named Oswald.

But these days, we like to play as Goofus does–okay, maybe not like a total jerk, but we want our heros to have that imperfect side that makes them feel a little more human. Nathan Drake from Uncharted 2 is arrogant, greedy and cocky, which we totally love because it keeps his search for Shambala fun and interesting. God of War’s Kratos has serious anger management issue, even if it stems from his anguish over slaughtering his family. Both Marston from Red Dead Redemption and Fenix from Gears of War are ex-convicts. Let’s not even get into Samus’ issues from Metroid–plus, she’s a woman. Isn’t that a flaw enough? (I kid, I kid.) We even like to create our own personalities with sandbox games like Fallout 3, Mass Effect and Fable, where developers give us the opportunity to play as we wish. Mickey, what sort of character twist will you offer us?

Warren Spector recently argued the opposite in an interview with Industry Gamers,

You have to find the core of the character, what makes Mickey relevant after 82 years, when no other characters are, and no other movies are.  And the list is pretty short and pretty straightforward:  he’s smart, he’s loyal, he is a friend to all, he’s persistent, he never gives up, he is overly enthusiastic, doesn’t always think things through, gets himself in mischief and has to get himself out of trouble. 

In other words, Spector believes that "…you’ve got a little guy who can take on Mario and Sonic, Link, Master Chief."

Whoa, whoa whoa. I can believe you can beat the crap out of Mario, Sonic and Link, since they seem like the type of guys who’d let you win if it was the right thing to do, but you and Master Chief? I want to see you take on any Spartan armed with a fully loaded assault rifle while you only have a brush and a can of paint thinner. Wait, please don’t. I was just kidding.

Sure, I have yet to find Master Chief’s fatal flaw–maybe he’s just that perfect (swoon)–but he has that unmistakable air of mystery. In all of the years of playing Halo, we have yet to see his actual face. The only mystery I can think of about you, Mickey, is why you still wear those red shorts. Also, pants but no shirt and shoes with no socks? Are you really trying not to get into the local country club? 

Here’s a thought: maybe you could be more like the Mickey in Runaway Brain. You could be a deranged version of yourself, overcome with the evil brain of a monster intent on stealing Minnie for…something…Wait, Mickey! Hold up. Don’t get all mad.

We’re not trying to insult you. We’re totally on your side! Take this letter as something to think about after the release of Epic Mickey. We want you to be prepared for what people have accepted as the norm from all the games today: we want to pretend to be that buff, fearless hero who we could never be in real life. And don’t forget what’s become a standard today: numerous sequels, DLC, multiplayer features. When are you going to include your friends? Don’t expect Donald Duck and Goofy to sit around while you soak up the limelight.

We know you can’t really offer all of that on the Wii, but maybe next time, we should try to expand the Mickey universe to gamers on all consoles–even ones that don’t exist yet. Hey, maybe we can even paint with you on the PlayStation Move? Oh my god, we can do a collaboration with Dance Central where we synchronize dance with you and your friends to classic Disney songs, like A Whole New World. Magic carpet ride, here we come!!!!

Hey, maybe you’re right. Maybe we don’t need the guns, excessive violence and a tortured soul to have a solidly good video game. Maybe Epic Mickey offers what’s missing in the industry: a creative twist to storytelling that combines both your history as a character who broke ground in the animation and an immortable figure in American pop culture. Just as Walt Disney did with you, Epic Mickey allows us to drawing, paint and erase our own classic adventure in your quest to save the Wasteland.

Dammit, Mickey. There you go again, proving me wrong. *sigh* Why are you so smart?

Begrudgingly yours,

Moye

X-Play Previews Rock Band 3

In a few short days, Harmonix and MTV Games will once again change the music game landscape with their latest peripheral-tastic offering, Rock Band 3. Pro Mode, keyboards, three-part harmonies, drop in/drop out play, and a host of other new features and improvements are sure to help RB3 make an auto-tuned splashed when it lands next week. To gear you up for the imminent release, X-Play has put together a rocking preview to answer any last minute questions you might have about the upcoming music title.

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The Indiecade Award Show: Check Out Indie Gamer Magic

G4 recently attended Indiecade in Culver City, California, where independent games are celebrated and much bally-hooed over. Which is why we’re bringing you the entire Indiecade award show! Why? Because nothing says independent like a slickly produced award show! We kid, of course. Indiecade highlights some of the most exciting game development that takes place outside the umbrella of the games industry, and we love checking out the innovations these creators put together. 

 

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Watch the entire award show above and below, and stay tuned for our own coverage of Indiecade, which involves Jake Gaskill and a giant B.U.T.T.O.N. Oh, and some game highlights, to be sure. That’s where you’ll find out everything you need to know about Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally Okay Now. Intrigued yet? Watch and keep reading.

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IndieCade 2010 Wrap Up: Part Two

 

Recently, Jake Gaskill and myself attended IndieCade 2010, a festival dedicated to showcasing the best and brightest the indie game world has to offer. Between the two of us, we saw a ton of impressive titles across all genres and styles, and we’ve put together a two-part wrap up of the games that we think you rabid indie games fans need to have on your radars.

Check out the highlights below, and be sure to watch our video coverage of the Indiecade Awards Show, so you can find out who the winners were. In the meantime, keep reading to enter the fun and bizarre world of the Indies.

Blue Lacuna

By: Aaron A. Reed

Interactive fiction lovers may have been saddened by the death of Infocom back in 1989, but you’ll be delighted to know that the genre didn’t die with that legendary company. Instead, scores of independent game developers have been plugging away, creating their own titles. Which is where we come to Blue Lacuna, which was shown off at this year’s Indiecade. There’s no better way to describe this game than by calling it a beautifully written interactive novel. If the creators of Zork or Witness had a copy of Blue Lacuna travel back in time and appear on their computers, they would have wept openly.

Created by Aaron A. Reed, Blue Lacuna focuses on a traveler who is set to leave one world behind, and strike out for another. But they have to leave things that they’ve become tied to behind them, and this leads to a rich and emotional storyline. The game is dynamic as well, featuring dynamic descriptions, characters that change, and a system that asks what sex with and your significant other are in the game, setting the stage accordingly.

Here’s an excerpt:

"With hands steady on the surface but somehow trembling deep within the bone, you take down the old battered clothes with something like reverence. As you slip into them you can already feel yourself start to let this world go, and the Call itches more deeply, turning your mind to the next world you must paint, the next place to be."

And so goes the adventure that is Blue Lacuna, which is also free to play on Mac and PC. This is one game that is definitely worth your time. Interested in creating your own text adventure game? Check out Reed’s book, Creating Interactive Fiction With Inform 7 and you’ll be on your way.

Castle Vox

Sillysoft

We talked about our love for this game in our Future of Strategy Games piece last week, and the same still holds true. This is an addictive simultaneous-turns strategy game where you out-strategize your opponents on a variety of war maps throughout different period in military history. Board game fans will particularly enjoy the game, which mixes elements from both Diplomacy and Axis & Allies.

Castle Vox includes maps spanning many eras and mythologies, such as the American Revolution, Hades, Japan, Napoleonic Wars, Native America, Outer Space, and the Roman Empire. Multiplayer modes allow both relaxed one-move-a-day games as well as fast speed wars. The map editor lets players create their own boards, so we’re waiting on someone to create a floorplan of our building for all-out office warfare.

The Cat and the Coup

by Peter Brinson and Kurosh ValaNejad

The Cat and the Coup is a documentary game in which you play the cat of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. During the summer of 1953, the CIA engineered a coup to bring about his downfall. As a player, you coax Mossadegh back through significant events of his life by knocking objects off of shelves, scattering his papers, jumping on his lap and scratching him.
 
More a piece of art than a real game, the Cat and the Coup is a brilliant way of shedding new light on an old subject, while turning it interactive in the process. You have to proceed through each one of the "levels" in the game by having the cat do something particular, and throughout the game you’re learning about Mossadegh’s life and the CIA coup that eventuallly removed him from power. Very engaging and surprisingly haunting.
 
Fractal

By: Dain Saint, William Stallwood, Ben Ells
 

 

From the creators of the award-winning game Auditorium comes Fractal, a new ambient music puzzler experience. Cluster and Chain your way through a pulsing technicolor dreamscape that reacts to your every move, while manipulating Fractals, creating Blooms, and expanding your consciousness at 130 BPM. At the surface, it is a mere puzzle game, but as you dig deeper, untold dimensions of expression unfold. Intuitive but complex, challenging but not harsh, Fractal is a truly engaging experience.
 
Remember Hexic, where most of you probably got your very first Xbox Live achievement? Fractal is a bit like that, but you’re not pushing directly on the fractals. You’re pushing on the spaces around them to slide and rotate them until they become blooms. But the problem is, you only get a limited number of pushes per level. Sometimes you’ll see a very complicated level that says "4 Pushes," and immediately you’ll think it’s not possible. But that’s where your OCD will kick in and force you to play. At $9.99 for Mac or PC, it’s an addictive puzzler with beautiful music that’ll keep you engaged for a long while.
 

A Slow Year

By: Ian Bogost

Not every game is meant to be played. Does that sound strange? Maybe. But it’s definitely the focus of Ian Bogost’s A Slow Year. It’s a collection of four games, each meant to represent one of the seasons. It’s not a game you play, per se, but you are meant to experience it, and the title actually ships with a book full of machined haikus. Some of which actually are meant to work as instructions that tell you how to "play" the game.

What’s really nifty about A Slow Year is that it was built on Atari 2600 software, and you can actually order it as a custom cartridge, or purchase the book where it comes on a disc with Atari 2600 emulation software. Bogost is definitely a lover of the 2600, having written Racing The Beam, all about the Atari VCS, and A Slow Year is both a love letter and a pensive look across the winter landscape for the system.

Creaky Old Memory

by Frederik Andersen and Carina Randløv

Creaky Old Memory has you driving a little old lady named Tatiana around cluttered levels, trying to reassemble the disheveled pieces of her past. Each level involves Tatiana attempting to hang pictures back on her walls, and then figure out how these pictures affect the organ that she needs to play to advance each level. Confused? Don’t be. Well, unless you’re having issues with your own Creaky Old Memory.

On paper, I realize this sounds a bit wonky, but it’s actually a charming little game that moves at a deliberate pace. In an age of twitch games, it’s a nice change of pace. Parents and older games may be more intrigued by this, 

Be sure and check out our Indiecade Wrap Up: Part One for the rest of the games that caught our eye.

Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 11 with Gun – Nintendo Wii

Price: $59.99 ETA: 10/26/2010
No information available.

Dragon Age Origins: Ultimate Edition – Playstation 3

Price: $59.99 ETA: 10/25/2010
Get the ultimate Dragon Age experience! Dragon Age: Origins Ultimate Edition includes:Dragon Age Origins You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of this legendary order of guardians. With the return of mankind’s ancient foe and the kingdom engulfed in civil war, you have been chosen by fate to unite the shattered lands and slay the archdemon once and for all. Explore a stunning world, make complex moral choices, and engage in bone-crushing combat against massive and terrifying creatures.Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Expansion Pack The Story of the Grey Wardens continues as you are named their commander. Fight new enemies, learn new skills and spells, and explore an all-new area of the world, Amarantine.All Nine Content Packs Extend your adventure with The Stone Prisoner, Warden’s Keep, Return to Ostagar, Feastday Gifts, The Darkspawn Chronicles, Feastday Pranks, Leiana’s Song, The Golems of Amgarrak, and more as you delve deeper into the Dragon Age storyline.

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