The uncertainties of building a game in an evolving language are just the start of the difficulties the Mech Force team faced — all revealed in this candid postmortem. …
HTML5 game postmortem: Mech Force
April 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Earth Defense Force 2025 video showcases vehicles, big ol’ bugs
April 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Those dang space bugs are at it again. D3 Publisher is set to release Earth Defense Force 2025 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year, and the new gameplay video above shows off the many ways in which players can tear through insectoid alien hordes.
A “heavy” unit type similar to the Battle Armor class in Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon makes an appearance, as does the jetpack-equipped Pale Wing class (seen recently in the PS Vita port of Earth Defense Force 2017). Other new stuff includes lock-on weaponry, a motorbike (with sidecar), and vehicles that seem better equipped – and hopefully sturdier – than the fragile craft featured in EDF 2017.
The Japanese version of Earth Defense Force 2025 will launch in July. A US release has been announced, but a specific release date is not yet known.
Earth Defense Force 2025 video showcases vehicles, big ol’ bugs originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
New Earth Defense Force 2025 Trailer Shakes The Camera And Blows Up The Bugs
April 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The latest trailer for Earth Defense Force 2025 is straight gameplay. You will see shooting, motorcycle riding, shooting, gigantic robots, more shooting, bugs, and shooting.
EDF 2025 is coming to Japanese PlayStation 3s and Xbox 360s this summer. D3Publisher is promising the game for North America this year, but we don't know exactly when.
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[via CVG]
Reader Discussion: Is The New Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Trailer Too Close To Capy’s Super Time Force?
April 11, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Earlier today, we shared with you the first trailer for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. The concept apes cheesy 1980s sci-fi movies, complete with grainy VHS overlay. Capybara Games president and co-founder Nathan Vella feels that the presentation of the trailer is just a little too similar to one for his studio's Super Time Force.
A conversation ensued between Vella and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon creative director Dean Evans. It ended civilly, but it's clear that the Capybara president is still hurt.
Here are the two trailers for comparison:
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
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Super TIME Force
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While there are certainly similarities, both are derived from classic 1980s television absurdities. The decade has also been evoked in other recent titles. Of note is the fantastic introduction scene for Awesomenauts, which is set up as the title sequence of a Saturday morning cartoon.
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What do you think? Honest admiration for the period or a bit too close for comfort?
Super Time Force Makes You Cooperate With Yourself
March 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
At a PAX East booth that it shared with DoubleFine, developer Capybara Games showed off the upcoming XBLA title Super Time Force. Originally planned as an experimental side project for the studio, Microsoft was impressed with what they saw and signed on as publisher. From my time with the game, it seems to introduce some interesting new wrinkles to the standard Contra-style shooter formula.
Each level needs to be finished in under 60 seconds, and players start with 30 lives (one of many nods to Contra). Several characters are available, and each has a specialty. One soldier wields a spread shot, a female sniper can shoot through walls, a dinosaur with sunglasses can swipe away bullets, and a fat guy has a lightsaber.
Once one of them dies, you're able to rewind time to any previous point in the level and select another character. Their actions will still play back on this new playthrough, similar to the key gameplay feature in P.B. Winterbottom. If you're able to take out the enemy that killed your previous life before they killed you in the timeline, you can save their life and add it back into your tally.
It's an interesting concept, especially when it comes to boss battles. You can have one character lure a boss to one side of the screen as a distraction, then rewind time and blast away at him as a new character. We've seen gameplay like this in Winterbottom and Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, but not in a 2D action title like Super Time Force. No release date has been set for the XBLA title, but the team hopes to have it out by the end of summer
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Mighty Switch Force 2 screens reveal Officer Wagon’s change of vocation
March 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
These Mighty Switch Force 2 screens show Officer Wagon is giving up her police badge for a fire hose. Wagon and Corporal Gendarmor sign up with Planet Land’s Fire Brigade as they vow to keep Tangent City cool in the 3DS sequel, set to douse the eShop this spring.
Gallery: Mighty Switch Force 2
Mighty Switch Force 2 screens reveal Officer Wagon’s change of vocation originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mighty Switch Force 2 coming to 3DS eShop
February 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The latest episode of Destructoid’s Sup, Holmes? interview show was the venue for the surprise announcement of a sequel to WayForward’s Mighty Switch Force. Director Austin Ivansmith told host Jonathan Holmes that Mighty Switch Force 2 will be released on 3DS “in the next few months.” Officer Patricia Wagon is returning, but leaving her policework behind for “a surprise career change.”
Ivansmith also revealed that Mighty Switch Force was originally conceived as a sequel to the DS/PSP’s Mighty Flip Champs. Trying to build the screen-flipping mechanics into a single-screen game led to enough changes that it became its own thing. “The Mighty series itself is almost a joke,” Ivansmith noted, as none of the games in the series really have anything to do with one another.
Mighty Switch Force 2 coming to 3DS eShop originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Skylanders Swap Force Will Require A New Portal
February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
So far, Activision's Skylanders franchise has allowed players to take components from the first game and use them in the sequel, Skylanders Giants. The next entry, Skylanders: Swap Force, is coming this fall, and one chunk of the experience won't be coming along for the ride.
As you can see in the unboxing video below, Swap Force uses an all-new portal, which is the hardware that reads data from the figurines and imports them into the games. Swap Force allows players to stack and interchange characters' tops and bottoms, which was too sophisticated to pull off with Portal 1.0. That means that players who have already bought into the franchise won't be able to pick up a simple portal owners pack. Giants featured two configurations: A portal owners pack, which included the game and three characters, or the starter pack, which included everything from the owners pack as well as a portal. The owners pack retailed for $ 15 less.
It looks like everyone's going to have to shell out the same amount of cash this fall when the game ships.
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Here's the first official trailer for the game, which shows off some of the character combinations. Warning: It includes farts.
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Earth Defense Force 2025 Hits Japan In June
February 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The latest issue of Famitsu has the bug-blasting gonzo action game coming to Japanese gamers in June. Translating "Look! Bugs!" and "Shoot them!" into English can't take that long, so hopefully we'll get it here sooner than later.
Also of note are the bees that feature prominently in Famitsu's screenshots. Those bad boys obviously mean business. They also mean that there's no way I'll be playing this game. (Spiders, yes. Roaches, no problem. Bees…no. Just no.)
Will you be defending Earth's right to not be covered in bees whenever EDF 2025 hits American shores?
[Source: Famitsu via Destructoid]
Meet Skylanders Swap Force in this presentation
February 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Now you can see Skylanders Swap Force as it was originally unveiled, in a 13-minute demonstration featuring lots of gameplay footage. Yes, you will see Skylander body swapping. You’ll also see an old west shark sheriff.
Meet Skylanders Swap Force in this presentation originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.