Electronic Arts announced today that Bioware’s first MMO has reached 1.7 million subscribers. The publisher also stated that game continues to grow.

“Star Wars: The Old Republic is developing a committed community of players with more than 1.7 million active subscribers and growing,” stated CEO John Riccitiello.

The MMO has been a massive investment for EA, with $200 million estimated to be its price tag.

Speaking of Star Wars both of these videos are more entertaining and better acted than the upcoming Phantom Menace in 3D. No, I never miss a chance to bash the prequels.

Source: Industrygamers

Excel is fun! No, I’m serious. It really is as long as you fill it with something you care about like your favorite team’s stats, how often black comes up, or, I don’t know, stamp statistics. Fill it with video game stats, and you can get a picture of the video game industry as a whole. I did it the past two years already thanks to my insane hobby of writing about game releases weekly, and this time my methods have become far more sophisticated. By that I mean I used Excel instead of an abacus.

By Consoles

Once again, the sheer number of games that came out this year versus last slid once again from 801 last year to 750 this year. The cause of this downward trend can be attributed to the Nintendo Wii’s downward trend in terms of releases. If it wasn’t for the HD console’s rise in output, the overall total would have been much lower.

The biggest loser, in terms of number of games coming out, this year looks to be the Nintendo consoles with both the Wii releases and the DS releases cooling off. The reduction in the DS releases can be attributed to the newly released 3DS this year with publishers switching gears between the two handhelds. As for the Wii, publishers have been losing interest in the console since 2009 and 2010, and this year we can clearly see that lack of interest manifesting in the number of retail games being published for that platform. That number will surely dip even more in 2012 since Nintendo has announced the Wii’s successor in the Wii U.

The Wii’s lost appears to be the HD console’s gain. Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 has seen a rise in releases this year once again. Like before, gamers’s rising confidence in the li’l 10 year console have translated into publisher confidence in releasing games for the platform. As for the Xbox 360, their numbers have risen namely because of the Kinect.

Since the Kinect’s release, the Xbox 360 has become the new home for a number of genres that used to be prevalent on the Wii. The Mini-game collection has some kind of an affinity towards to the latest motion controller like the Kinect. We’ve seen at least 15 of them on the console in this year alone. All of which utilizes the Kinect. If that wasn’t enough, Just Dance started a new craze in the music genre that has spread towards the Kinect. The PS3 has the Move, but has not seen a similar rise in these two genres. What little games that do show up here utilizing the Move tend to be ports from the Xbox 360 version.

Unsurprisingly, the PSP releases have dropped down to 26 compared to the 60 in 2010. What surprised me is that 16 of which are PSP exclusive. Despite the horrible reputation the PSP has here, publishers still has enough confidence in the PSP to release a good number of games for it here in the U.S., but all but one of these games were developed by a Japanese developer. Invizimals was developed by a European developer, Novarama, while the rest like Lord of Arcana and Gods Eater Burst were developed by Square Enix and Namco Bandai. Don’t expect this trend to change anytime soon with the upcoming release of the PSVita this February.

By Genre

Let’s shift focus to genres. Like last year, the Mini-Game Collection craze not only continued but gained even more momentum in 2011 thanks to the introduction of the Kinect and the Move. The two peripherals gave publishers a reason to port over to the HD consoles what would otherwise have been a Wii and/or DS exclusive. Despite that though, the Wii and the DS wins again in this category.

So, you’re a First Person Shooter freak and want nothing but FPS games to play? Which system do you choose, the PS3 or the Xbox 360? Sheer number-wise, you’d pick the PS3, which edges out the Xbox 360 by exactly one more FPS over the Xbox 360. The PS3 has both the Killzone franchise and the Resistance franchise exclusively whereas the Xbox 360 only has the Halo franchise. Every other FPS either shows up on both or not at all i.e. the Conduit series on the Wii. And here we thought the Xbox 360 was the go to destination for FPSs.

What about the Role Playing Game genre? The PS3 once again wins with 12 games available for it. All the big RPGs like Dragon Age 2 and Skyrim have a PS3 version in addition to a Xbox 360 version, but most Japanese RPGs on the PS3 doesn’t get ported over to the 360.

After the music genre crash of 2009/2010, one would think the music genre would fizzle out to the occasional DanceDanceRevolutions half hearted attempt at a comeback every now and then, but compared to last year, the genre is rising once again. Thanks to both the success of the Just Dance franchise and the existence of Kinect, dancing games has revived the once dying music genre back to 2009 levels. Just Dance alone saw three releases in 2011, one numbered sequel and two offshoots. Guitar Hero did something very similar during its heyday, which makes one wonder about the dance game’s future trajectory.

Parting Shots

That’s the best I can come up with for now, but if I really stop and play around with filters and whatnot, I bet I could come up with weird patterns and coincidences. Unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of time. Tell you what. I’ll make the spreadsheet available to anyone who wants it. Just shoot me an e-mail at kwinata@rrbgames.com with subject “2011 Spreadsheet,” and I’ll send you a copy of all the data I have. Then you’ll know that I’m not making any of this stuff up. I’ll be watching the comments to see what you guys can come up with.

]]> http://rrbgames.com/archives/15977/feed 0 http://rrbgames.com/archives/15969 http://rrbgames.com/archives/15969#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:07:06 +0000 Wolf96 http://rrbgames.com/?p=15969

SAN MATEO, Calif. — Jan. 31, 2012 — Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games today confirmed that Dragon’s Dogma™, its highly anticipated open world action title, will be released for the Xbox 360 ® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in North America on May 22, 2012 and across Europe on May 25, 2012. Capcom is also pleased to announce that purchasers of Dragon’s Dogma will have the opportunity to be the first to experience a playable demo of Resident Evil® 6, ahead of its release on Nov. 20, 2012.

Retail versions of Dragon’s Dogma will contain a redeemable token that will allow owners to download the Resident Evil 6 demo. Purchasers of the Xbox 360 version of Dragon’s Dogma will be able to redeem this token and download the Resident Evil 6 demo globally on the Xbox LIVE^® Marketplace for Xbox 360 60 days earlier than any other platform starting on July 3. The demo for owners of the PlayStation®3 system version of Dragon’s Dogma will go live on the PlayStation®Store on Sept. 4 in North America and Japan and Sept. 5 in Europe.

An exciting new franchise which redefines the action genre, Dragon’s Dogma is from the team that produced some of Capcom’s greatest action games. Set in a huge open world, Dragon’s Dogma offers an exhilarating and fulfilling action combat game with the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world.

Dragon’s Dogma introduces an innovative team system to the genre. Known as Pawns, these three AI partners fight independently, demonstrating prowess and ability they have developed based on traits learned over time from the player and their actions. By utilizing the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network or PlayStation®Network, players will journey to the Rift where they can share their own Pawns with friends and be rewarded with treasure, knowledge of the world and strategies for taking down enemies. Conversely, players can borrow friends’ Pawns with the specific skills or experience required to tackle a particular quest.  In addition, Dragon’s Dogma will ship with thousands of ready-made Pawns for players to pick their allies offline.

For those wishing to reserve their day one copy of Dragon’s Dogma, the following pre-order initiatives will be available:
GameStop is offering the ‘Pawn Upgrade Pack’ which will give players additional Rift Crystals allowing them to rent higher level experience Pawns from the outset.

The ‘Armor Upgrade Pack’ offered through Best Buy and the ‘Weapon Upgrade Pack’ from Amazon.com will deliver higher level armour and weapons respectively giving players a real advantage when tackling the toughest of enemies.  Please check local retailers for details.

Furthermore, Capcom will be supporting Dragon’s Dogma post launch with a comprehensive suite of downloadable content including additional quests as well as weapon and armour upgrades.

To be the first to view the brand new story trailer visit www.facebook.com/dragonsdogma. The page also includes more secrets about the world of Dragon’s Dogma and access to exclusive artwork.

Capcom is pleased to confirm that B’z, Japan’s foremost rock band, will be writing and recording a brand new original track to feature in Dragon’s Dogma.

http://www.youtube.com/DragonsDogmaOfficial
www.dragonsdogma.com
twitter.com/DragonsDogmaCap

###

ABOUT CAPCOM
Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices.  Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including best-selling franchises Resident Evil ®, Street Fighter ®, Mega Man ® and Devil May Cry ®. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Korea, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan.  More information about Capcom and its products can be found at www.capcom.com or www.capcom-unity.com.

Dragon’s Dogma, Capcom, the Capcom logo, Devil May Cry, Mega Man and Resident Evil are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd.  Street Fighter is a registered trademark of Capcom U.S.A., Inc.  ”PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox, Xbox360, and Xbox LIVE are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

Releases To Watch For This Week

Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Xbox 360, PS3)

Tuesday January 31, 2012

If you were to look at the previous direct sequels to the long running Role Playing Game, Final Fantasy, that is Final Fantasy X-2 and Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, you’ll notice that the original games they were based on were among the most popular Final Fantasy iterations. That begs the question of why Final Fantasy XIII, quite possibly the most maligned Final Fantasy since… Final Fantasy 2(?), got a direct sequel. In all honesty, I don’t know, but I’d like to think it was the one FF that needed a sequel the most.

Think of Final Fantasy XIII-2 as Final Fantasy XII: The We-Heard-All-Your-Complaints-Already-So-Please-Shut-Up Edition. Eschewing so much of the linear structures that made FF13 so reviled by many, FF13-2 adopts a much more open structure in terms of story progression. First off, you’re given a variety of locations to visit right off the bat. Each location contains a slew of nooks and crannies ripe for explorations and discovery. Some even have a town-esque area complete with NPCs that occasionally offer sidequests. Usually, none of these need mentioning if it wasn’t for how it was back in FF13 (Think long corridors filled with enemies and almost nothing else).

Continuing the non-linear theme, leveling also becomes much more open. How linear was the system back in FF13? Pick a point in the game’s storyline, and I can probably tell you exactly what each character’s stats will be. FF13-2’s system lets you customize your character’s stats based off of the roles you want them to take in battle. Despite their appearance, you can make Serah, One of the two characters you play as, be the damage dealing tank while Noel can be the ultimate medic.

Speaking of characters, FF13-2 still has a three character party system. The aforementioned Serah and Noel fill in the first two slots, but it gives you over a hundred monsters to choose from to fill in the third character slot. Almost every monster you encounter can be recruited into your party, and each one comes with their own set of attacks, special attacks, stats, strengths and weaknesses, and level progression. If none of the monsters suit your taste, any monster can “consume” another monster so that it can gain an ability that it wouldn’t normally have access to.

FF13-2 does carry over the combat system wholesale from FF13 complete with Roles and Paradigms and whatnot, so those who hated FF13 solely for the combat system won’t be all too happy by this. Those people aside, Square Enix is definitely trying to address people’s complaints about FF13 with this rare direct sequel. Can they do it? Will this wash away the bad taste in everyone’s mouth left behind by FF13?

SoulCalibur V (Xbox 360, PS3)

Tuesday January 31, 2012

After SoulCalibur IV, I honestly didn’t expect a 5th iteration in this 3D fighter series, but what do I know. How can you tell that SC4 wasn’t as well received? How about the fact that most of the changes and additions in SC4 has been largely changed.

SoulCalibur V does away with the round finishing Critical Finish, probably the biggest change to the series since weapons stop being destructible back in Soul Calibur. Back in SC4 this system punishes players who plays too defensively by giving the aggressor the opportunity to outright win the round with a Critical Finish. With it gone, SC5 added some new features that should be familiar to 2D fighting fans out there.

Capitulating to the trend of just about every fighter out there, 2D or 3D, SC5 introduces the Critical Meter. Like its brethren, the Critical Meter enables certain special moves for the fighters such as Critical Edge and Brave Edge. Each fighter has a unique Critical Edge that tends to deal a good chunk of damage. Brave Edge modifies a standard attack with increase damage, an extra attack, and other effects. In all previous SoulCaliburs, the Guard Impact system, a system that enables a player to counter an opponent’s move, can be used as many times as the player can successfully pull it off, but in SC5 that system is tied to the Critical Meter as well. In exchange for this limitation, the Guard Impact can repel any attack, save for an unblockable attack, regardless of the attack. Previous GI systems have you inputting a different command depending on the attack.

Due to the GI’s usage restriction, SC5 introduces the notion of Just Guard. This special kind of guard lets the defending fighter recover from the block much faster than normal giving them a small window of opportunity. This mechanic should be familiar to Street Fighter III Third Strike players, which uses a very similar blocking system as well. Pulling off a Just Guard requires both reflex and practice.

Namco Bandai clearly wanted to revolutionize the series going so far as to replace a good number of characters with new, albeit very similar, ones. In truth, the series did need a change after SC4, and the changes in SC5 look very promising. Now let’s hope the series hasn’t learned EVERYTHING from its competitors. Otherwise, I’ll be writing about Super Ultra SoulCalibur 5 in a couple of months. None of us want that.

Coming This Week

Tuesday January 31, 2012

NeverDead (Xbox 360, PS3)

Video games fascination with making immortal characters work in the world of video games continues with Neverdead. As expected you play an immortal character who must hack, slash, and blast every demon in sight in this third person action game. Your character’s immortality has a pretty interesting effect when you get dismembered. Namely, you can roll your decapitated head around the environment to solve puzzles or set it on fire just for the hell of it. So how do you die then? That’s where your gun totting, AI controlled partner comes in. Hooray for escort mission gaming.

It’s a Nintendo heavy news week, but while we won’t apologize for that Curt Schilling will. NextBox rumors continue to make their way onto the internet and we say good bye to the departed from the rumored to the never was. This week it only seemed right that we’d discuss digital distribution. So sit back and relax, may be have yourself a hot pocket. It’s TLP 53, please don’t lose your mp3 player listening to us in a public restroom.

For this episode and more subscribe by visiting The Last Podcast presented by RRB Games RSS feed or by subscribing to our podcast using Apple’s iTunes or Microsoft’s Zune.

Another dry week coming up folks. Look on the bright side. More time for you to “finish” Skyrim am I right? If by some miracle you already finished it, maybe you should take a look at the game I’ve got lined up in today’s 20/20, or you can hold out until next week when the proverbial video gaming flood dams break once again. Your choice.

Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

20/20

Rayman Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

Original Release Date: Tuesday November 15, 2011

Few games can go toe to toe with the platforming king that is Nintendo’s platformer mascot, Mario partially because not many even bother to try. The few who does can’t measure up, but last year, Rayman Origins tried to do exactly that and, according to some reviewers, actually succeeded.

As a quick refresher, Rayman Origins stars the almost forgotten Ubisoft character, Rayman and his sidekick Globox in an old school 2D platforming adventure. The world is threatened by an old grouchy lady who lived underground. One day, Rayman and Globox’s snoring annoyed the old lady, who then took it upon herself to take over the world. Now Rayman and Globox, and two identical cohort a la the Toads in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, must travel the weird, wacky world to stop that old lady.

Garnering an impressive 87 on Metacritic, every reviewer points to Origins’s strong level design as its greatest strength. If a 2D platformer has to get anything right, level design is it. Moreover, the Origins’s graphics left many reviewers in awe thanks to a strong, cohesive art style and variety. That along with a plethora of content and epic boss fights all makes Origins the number one contender for 2D platformer of 2011. Damn shame it came out the same week as Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Saints Row: The Third, and about 20 other games. It would have taken a PR genius/miracle worker to get people to notice Origins. But now that all those big triple-A games have come and gone, along with a price drop, Origins stands a chance in hell to be noticed and, hopefully, beloved by the masses.

It’s about 1:30 in the morning. Bleary-eyed, I traverse through the rocky, unforgiving terrain with my trusted bodyguard. We’ve seen the horrors of battle together…raiding bandit encampments, taking down giant spiders and brutish frost trolls, and eliminating unspeakable terrors in the deep dungeons of the world.

Our objective is just down that valley and across the bridge. Wait! What was that noise? A dragon?? A dragon is attacking? We draw our weapons and ready ourselves, for this will be a fierce battle, but that’s just the way we like it…

This is just one scenario that has played out through while playing The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. And if I remember correctly, I wasn’t even tackling the main quest. I was in the middle of a side quest…that I had taken while collecting on the bounty of another side quest. And on the way from that side quest I discover a cave…and then I lose track of where I was going in the first place. Side quests in Skyrim do not consist of “bring this do-hickey to this guy in some village”; even if it seems to start off that way, it won’t be long until you’re in the bowels of some dungeon fending off undead hordes.

Needless to say, Skyrim is HUGE, both as a game and the actual in-game geography.
Unlike Dragon Age, where quest areas are separated and distinct and only a short load screen streamlines the traveling from those points, Skyrim has your character physically traveling all across the land. Anywhere you see you can pretty much travel there. There’s a tower off in the distance? That’s not background, you can go that tower. You need to get to a temple on top of a mountain? You better back some warm clothes, because it will be a climb. Not that I mind, though, because the world is just GORGEOUS. The varied terrain is so detailed in texture, and I don’t think I’ve seen better bodies of water in any game ever. There are day/night cycles and looking up at the starry night sky is simply stunning. You may catch a glimpse of Tamriel’s two moons and since you’re so far up north you can see their Aurora Borealis. Sometimes you’ll be pelted with rain, at other times snow will obscure your vision. Just walking to where you need to go is entertaining in itself, not a lot of games can pull that off. And if walking seems to daunting, you can also purchase (or steal) a horse. Thankfully you can travel instantaneously to locations you have already discovered.

The attention to detail is just mind boggling. In other RPGs certain doors in a town will just be inaccessible, but not in Skyrim. You can open (or break into) any door. In RPGs we’ve grown accustomed to just going into somebody’s house and just taking stuff from their cupboards and dressers, but try that in Skyrim and prepare for consequences. Guards will come to arrest you if you’re not careful and you may have to pay a fine, go to jail…or you can just murder the guards. In addition to adventuring, you can do anything from making and improving weapons, alchemy, enchanting, mining, cooking, hunting, and probably much more than I anticipate. My character also bought a house, only to discover I have to furnish and decorate it too!

But the heart of the game is the Quest and your character and his or her development. You start off choosing from orcs, cat people, lizard people, three types of elves, and four types of humans. (The dwarves are all dead from some dwarven holocaust that I’m sure is explained somewhere.) Instead of the old choosing a class and leveling up with experience points, your character gets better at skills he or she uses most…like in real life. If you want to be a warrior, go ahead and swing that sword and wear heavy armor. If you want to be a wizard, don a robe and fry stuff with your magic. If you want to be all roguish and pick locks and sneak up on fools or snipe enemies with a bow and arrow, have at it. Or you can combine it all and wield a melee weapon in one hand, fireballs in another. It’s really up to you how you want to customize your character. The possibilities can be overwhelming. Even if you think magic is for pussies and just want to bash heads, your character will still learn Dragon Shouts. These special powers are learned from secret areas all over the world and are activated by absorbing the souls of slain dragons. These include powers like telekinetic force, spectral form, and fire breath. These add even more variety to an already immense game.

This brings us to something near and dear to my heart: combat. It’s handled in real time in either first or third person view. I prefer the former for greater immersion. Whatever specialty your character chooses, whether using melee weapons, magic, archery, sneak attacks, or a combination, combat is never boring or tedious. In melee combat a successful power attack when your enemy’s health is low will result in a dramatic animation depicting the coup de grace. Setting enemies on fire is always fun, as well as picking them off without their knowledge. There’s always variety in how you approach combat, it all depends on your intentions and your abilities. Occasionally you will have a companion or two, and they make dependable combatants and are useful in drawing enemy attention. You won’t get to know their hopes, dreams, and personalities in a character-driven story like Dragon Age, but I found that I do my best to protect them regardless, because they can die (as in not come back) if you’re not careful.

There’s almost too much to do in Skyrim. In western RPGs I accept every side quest the game throws at me, but in Skyrim I find myself saying: “You know, I think I’ll come back to that the next time I come around this way.” This game will eat your life away if you’re not careful. You can even read books in-game that describes in detail all the lore you never thought you needed to know about the Elder Scrolls world. The best way to describe this is a life simulator in a fantasy universe, a “World of Warcraft” for the loner single player if you will, and it is poised to destroy all notions of productivity and real human contact. And that, my friends, is what makes a great game. Now if you excuse me, my house in Whiterun isn’t going to decorate itself.

Pros:

• Immense and detailed world
• 100+ hours of gameplay
•  Replay value
• Gorgeous Graphics

Cons:

• Occasional graphical glitches
• The need to eat, sleep, go to work, and interact with loved ones: this means I’m not playing Skyrim.

Final Verdict: Enshrine It

What should be the end credit theme song:

The dry spell continues this week with nary a thing coming to video game store shelves. It’s time we look at yet another oldie (By video game standards anyways) but goody.

Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

20/20

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS)

Original Release Date: Tuesday March 27, 2011

Let’s face it. Launch line ups suck, and the 3DS may very well go down in history as having one of the worst. But occasionally, one game does come out on launch day that doesn’t suck. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars didn’t catch anybody’s attention back when it came out alongside the 3DS, but it may very well have been the reason to own the 3DS on launch day.

Instead of being a shooter of any kind (First person, third person, squad based, etc), Shadow Wars plays out on a grid with you taking control of a squad of six units of the Ghosts Recon team. Each turn you move your characters around the map and have them take aim at enemy units. Basically, think Fire Emblem but with guns and modern tech like invisibility cloaks. Each of the Ghosts has a unique role in the group. For example, the Sniper has amazing range and damage, but they sacrifice mobility to do so. The Recon unit uses the aforementioned invisibility cloak and can even fire while cloaked. Don’t let her get spotted though. Her low health means she can’t withstand a firefight for too long. In keeping with the Fire Emblem analogy, these Ghosts gain experience points from every fight, which then unlock weapons, armor, and upgrades to their health, range, and mobility.

Ubisoft does have an unfortunate tendency to take the shotgun approach when it comes to releasing games for a new console, but whether intentionally or not, they managed to hit the mark with Shadow Wars. The levels make for an entertaining exercise in strategy and tactics as you’re normally up against a small army versus your team of six, all of which by the way you have to keep alive at all times or it’s game over. Moreover, it comes with a fairly sizable amount of bonus missions with some pretty interesting twists added to them like having only four snipers to take down twenty-something enemy units or dealing with an army of zombies. Admitedly, the Strategy genre doesn’t have as much mainstream traction, but with a lifetime sales of about 40K units in the U.S. Shadow Wars deserves better.

How’s everybody’s January? Anything new? Job? Car? Girl/boyfriend? Waistline? No? Looks like the game industry’s taking their cues from all of you because yet again, nothing comes out this week. Thankfully, you’ll still have something to read from my little article this week. I have rechristened last week’s new segment, which I’ll only abbreviate given its inane-ness, THCSAFWR! into 20/20. What do you think?

Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher.  The following are subject to change without any warning.

20/20

Bulletstorm (Xbox 360, PS3)

Original Release Date: Tuesday February 22, 2011

Given its pedigree, one would think that Bulletstorm would have been far more successful than it actually is, but it didn’t turn out that way. Bulletstorm only managed to do about 350,000 units on its first month, and Epic has even said outright that it didn’t make money for them. But Why?

Bulletstorm was aimed squarely at the folks who loved chainsawing grubs and watching bits fly everywhere. It capitalizes on that love and makes it the central mechanic. Most, nay every FPS wants you do exactly one thing. Dispose of every enemy preferably with a headshot. Bulletstorm adds a unique wrinkle to that imperative with the “Skillshot” system. The game offers an ungodly amount of unique ways to kill your enemies with the standard “Headshot” probably being the most mundane of the bunch. One such Skillshot involves bouncing an enemy high up into the air and firing a flare into them propelling them even higher into the air before exploding like a firework. Most of these are tied to what weapons you use and how they’re used, but others involve the environment themselves. Sending an enemy towards exposed live wire counts as well as sending one towards spikes on a wall. These Skillshots does more than just make your kills look cool. Each one awards you with points that you can redeem for new weapons and upgrades for even more Skillshot insanity and most importantly, ammo to keep the points flowing.

Reviewers loved Bulletstorm’s emphasis on having fun and being creative with how you kill your enemies. It harkens back to before the days where every FPS on the market has to have a serious tone. So why did it flopped at retail? Some argue that its lack of a competitive multiplayer hurts it as well as its somewhat lacking campaign length clocking in somewhere between six to eight hours. At $60 perhaps they were right, but these days Bulletstorm sells for $30. What’s your excuse now? Aside from already owning it I mean.

The trend these days are tablets. If you use a laptop in this day and age you are relic from a bygone era. Why don’t you go program your VCR and turn the dial on your black and white TV,  while checking the correct time on your rotary phone, Neanderthal? What was I talking about?

With the iPad, Kindle, and Nook all the rage, it seems Nintendo wants to get in on the action and position the Wii U as an e-reader. Along with laptops, nobody wants to haul big, bulky books around.

It is alleged that Nintendo is seeking to get books, magazines, and graphic novels that would be stored and streamed to the controller. Yes, possibly even your collection of tentacle-raping manga.

Nintendo is said to be “actively seeking publishers. ” The real concern is that users would be tied to their Wi-Fi range, rather than have the true portability of competing devices.

Source: MCV