Far Cry 3 falls to December

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Jun 252012
 

It seems our summer draught will continue on as the much anticipated Far Cry 3 has been pushed back by three months all the way to December 4th.

“Yes it’s true. To give you more action and insanity, #FarCry3 will now be released November 29th in Europe & December 4 in North America” Said the official Twitter page of the game.

Far Cry looked rather ridiculous at E3 but it continued to be a hotly anticipated game in 2012, a year where there aren’t many “hot” games to anticipate. Thankfully, Far Cry will still be released this year, be it later rather than sooner. This delay definitely makes the month of September less appealing as now the only big titles to expect are Borderlands 2 and… NBA Baller Beats?

E3 2012: Double Dragon Neon is Totally Rad!

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Jun 252012
 

While at E3, I nearly got to publicly embarrass myself by playing NBA Baller Beats. As my common sense got the best of me, a guy approached me and asked if I wanted to play his game. Curious as to what game this guy was going to show me, I agreed and we went over to a small booth hidden in the Majesco press area that had the name DOUBLE DRAGON NEON on it. I had to look like an idiot to this guy, I had of been rocking a cheesy grin in my joy of seeing an updated version of an antiquated  game from my childhood. We chatted for a minute, talking about the old Double Dragon games and what made them so great (answer: every damn thing), then he asked me what my favorite thing about the Double Dragon series has been. My answer? The kick ass sound tracks of course! The guy handed me the headset and immediately informed me to ‘Put these on”. I knew where this was going so I quickly tossed them on (backwards I think) and was greeted with a glorious 8o’s hair metal rendition of one of my most beloved title songs.

Great music was just the introduction into this game. Specifically billed as a “remix” of the old game and not just a HD remake, Neon adds all sorts of goodies and nostalgia into it’s repertoire. One of the most immediate deviations from the original setup is the introduction of the “mixtape”. As you are pummeling in the faces of your enemies, they may drop power-ups that can be added to your mixtape. These power-ups can be things like fireballs or special buffs and can be used to quickly turn around a fight. Another simple but enjoyable addition is the ability to juggle enemies, if nothing else it adds a few laughs into any brawler.

The most interesting change is the high-five system, as the game is meant to be played with a friend, this feature becomes key. High-fives are controlled by the right thumb stick and can do one of four different things. I saw a high-five which allowed my partner to share health with me, a down-low too slow high five which took some of my health and gave it to him and a high five that increased our damage. You don’t seem to have many options these days to directly interact with friends in too many games like you used to in the NES and SNES eras, this feature brings back some of that fun.

I played through a few levels and got to see some familiar faces, like Abobo. Overall, the gameplay seemed smooth and the 80′s themed characters elicited a few chuckles, there are guys with hair picks drop them when they die, allowing you to throw them at enemies and fro their hair out. The game lacked any actual sound effects when I played, so even though it was thoroughly enjoyable, combat felt a little hollow. Obviously that will change by release but it is still worth note.

Double Dragon Neon will be coming to XBLA and PSN in July, keep an eye open for it as it will absolutely be worth the investment!

Gaming Irresponsibly’s Best of E3 Nominees

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Jun 122012
 


It was our first E3! After losing our nominee ribbons in transit to L.A. (My airline still says they have no idea where they went) we decided to give out the nominations digitally this year. With so much going on at E3, we wanted to make sure we we covered all viable areas of interest. We went with 10 nominees for the Best of Show due to the intense competition, but every other category was limited to 5 to 6 nominees. Some games didn’t make it on the list due to the fact we didn’t see them at E3, fair is fair. Winners will be announced this weekend but without further ado, here are the nominees:

Best of Show:

Tomb Raider (360, PS3, PC)
Hawken (PC)
Dishonored (360, PS3, PC)
ZombiU (Wii U)
The Last of Us (PS3)
Torchlight II (PC)
Watch Dogs (360, PS3, PC)
Assassin’s Creed 3 (360, PS3, PC)
Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Halo 4 (360)

Best Wii U Game:

Pikmin 3
New Super Mario Bros Wii U
ZombiU
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Rayman Legends

Best Playstation 3 Game:

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
The Last of Us
God of War: Ascension
Beyond: Two Souls
Book of Spells   …Nope, just kidding
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Best Xbox 360 Game:

Halo 4
Forza: Horizons
Gears of War: Judgment
Deadlight
NBA Baller Beats

Best Portable Game:

Retro City Rampage (Vita)
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy (3DS)
Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation (Vita)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate (3DS)
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS)

Best PC Game:

Neverwinter
Natural Selection II
Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Hawken
SimCity
PlanetSide II

Best Console-Based Downloadable Game:

Guardians of Middle Earth (PS3, 360)
Quantum Conundrum (360, PS3, PC)
Retro City Rampage (360, PS3, Vita)
Super T.I.M.E. Force (360)
Magic: The Gathering – Duels of The Planeswalkers 2013 (360, PS3, PC, iOS)

Best Downloadable Content:

Portal 2: In Motion (PS3)
The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim – Dawnguard (PS3, 360, PC)
League of Legends – “Draven” (PC)
The Walking Dead: Episode 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
Battlefield 3 Premium (360, PS3, PC)

Best Indie Game:

Natural Selection II (PC)
Hawken (PC)
Torchlight II(PC)
Retro City Rampage (PS3, 360, Vita)
Super T.I.M.E. Force (360)

Best FPS/TPS Game:

Borderlands 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
Crysis 3 (PS3, 360, PC)
Halo 4 (360)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (PS3, 360, PC)
Medal of Honor: Warfighter (PS3, 360, PC)

Best Role-Playing Game:

Torchlight II (PC)
The Last Story (Wii)
South Park: The Stick of Truth (360, PS3, PC)
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (PS3)
Divinity: Original Sin (PC)

Best Fighting Game:

Dead or Alive 5 (360, PS3)
Injustice: Gods Among Us (360, PS3, Wii U)
PlayStation All-Starts Battle Royale (PS3, Vita)
Persona 4 Arena (360, PS3)
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (360, PS3)

Best Sports Game:

FIFA 13 (PS3, 360, Wii U, Vita, 3DS, PC)
Madden 13 (PS3, 360, Wii U, Vita)
NHL 13 (PS3, 360)
Forza: Horizons (360)
NBA 2K13 (PS3, 360)

Best Family Title:

Dance Central 3 (360)
Skylanders: Giants (360, PS3, 3DS)
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PC, 3DS, Vita, 360, Ps3)
Just Dance 4 (PS3, 360, Wii U)
New Super Mario Bros Wii U (Wii U)

Best Action/Adventure Game:

Tomb Raider (360,PS3, PC)
Watch Dogs (360,PS3, PC)
Metal Gear Rising: Revegeance (360, PS3)
Resident Evil 6 (360, PS3)
The Last of Us (PS3)
Assassin’s Creed III (360, PS3, PC)

Best Free to Play PC Game:

PlanetSide 2
Hawken
Core Blaze
Neverwinter
Age of Wushu

Best Technology:

Sphero (Mobile)
Astro A50 Wireless Headphones (PS3, 360, PC)
SteelSeries Sensei: MLG Edition Mouse (PC)
SmartGlass (360, mobile)
Gree Mobile Gaming Platform (Mobile)
Battlefield 3 Razer BlackShark Gaming Headset (PC)