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ESRB rates SOE-published 2D brawler 'Revenge of the Wounded Dragons' [update]
Update: An SOE rep has confirmed to Joystiq that more details on the game will be released next Monday. Hold tight! If it weren't strange enough that Sony Online Entertainment is listed as the publisher for recently ESRB rated PlayStation 3 side-scrolling brawler Revenge of the Wounded Dragons, we find it all the stranger that a trademark filing from last September puts Wet developer A2M in the developer's seat. The game's description, aside from pinning it as a PS3 exclusive, tells us that it's a "2D fighting game" where players will "frequently punch, kick, and throw enemies as they 'side-scroll' forward through the platform city environments." We put our top men on deciphering this rating-wary, encrypted message, and they have surmised that the title will likely be some form of a Double Dragon clone. Reading further into the description, we see that the game follows "two brothers attempting to avenge their grandfather's death and rescue their sister from the local mafia boss." A 2D, sidescrolling brawler that follows the tale of two brothers out for revenge? You don't say! We contacted both A2M and Sony Online Entertainment for comment, but have yet to hear back. Source 1 - ESRB Source 2 - USPTO Congratulations to osuiscoolteam2008 on being the first to comment. You've been emailed a free Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta code. Click here, for more information on this giveaway. Official rules apply.
iPhone It In: Canabalt
Canabalt is a 2D side-scroller where you control a gentleman continuously running across rooftops and cranes, gradually building up speed while avoiding various objects which will either slow down or kill him. Rather than "score" or "points," developer Semi Secret Software measures your success by the distance you manage to cross, even allowing for instant bragging via Twitter in-game. It's a simple premise with a surprising amount of depth. And it's exactly the kind of game I want to pick up and play on my iPhone. Canabalt is perfect for the device: the gameplay comes in short, addictive bursts, it loads up quickly, and it employs the touchscreen in an intuitive way. Though a vast wealth of quick and addictive games now reside on my phone, I find myself constantly returning to Canabalt's rooftops and blaring techno music whenever I have a spare moment. %Gallery-77883%
French dev bringing Toki back with HD remake
The classic shoot 'em up platformer Toki is getting the HD treatment, with an upcoming enhanced version from French developer Golgoth Studio. The studio -- which currently consists of six members -- intends on bringing the adventure back to life in with a "full 2D remixed version" based on the 1989 arcade original. In Toki HD, players must rescue his princess Miho from the evil sorcerer Vokimeldo, and reclaim his human form.Toki HD producer Anthony De Sa Ferreira told Joystiq via email that -- while the game has no official platform as of yet -- the game has been submitted for approval for Games for Windows Live and Xbox Live Arcade. If its goal of resurrecting a classic arcade title isn't enough to get you on its side, Golgoth's motto of "2D refuses to die" might rope you in. Way to tug at our nostalgic heartstrings, guys. Check out the first gameplay footage of Toki HD after the break.[Via GameSetWatch]
Exclusive video of Mage class in Dungeon Fighter Online
The team over at Nexon has given us a look at the Mage class from their new 2D dungeon crawling brawler, Dungeon Fighter Online, and boy does she pack a punch!Hard hitting magical spells define this class, of course, but that's not all she can accomplish. The class also has some monster controlling abilities, like gravity wells and knockbacks, in addition to their elemental area of effect spells. If that wasn't enough, the mage can also summon elemental pets, making her the "stand back and let something else beat it" class of the game.Of course, you shouldn't take our word on this alone. We have this fancy exclusive video of the mage exploding people! Hit the continue reading, and let your eyes absorb all of the tasty monster destruction.
Dungeon Fighter Online gets its own website
For those in the audience looking forward to Dungeon Fighter Online, you may wish to know that the upcoming Nexon game has launched their own website, along with a guide to the game and a new initiative called "DFO Corps."DFO Corps will consist of a handful of fans of the game writing about issues and news in the game via the official website, letting the community control what they want to hear about the game. The initiative seems to be very close to EVE Online's Interstellar Correspondents project, where players volunteer time to write up brief news stories about their sections of the galaxy for the rest of the EVE community.Dungeon Fighter Online has also moved into a "early access" beta, where any player may sign up and retrieve a key from 1up.com or Gamespot.com. If you're interested in trying the game out, full instructions can be found here.
Street Fighter IV characters go 2D, revisit the late '90s
If Street Fighter IV were made 10 years ago and lacked all those bulging 3D muscles and gorilla hands, it might look something like the images you see above. Shoryuken forum member Steamboy33 took it upon himself to draw up Street Fighter 3-esque versions of 11 different characters from SFIV, reappropriating sprites from previous SF games as a template. The adorable stature of these sprites almost has us wishing for a Smash Bros. meets mini-Capcom game, but let's be realistic -- no one wants to fight Seth ever again. Ever. %Gallery-21918%[Via iPlayWinner]
Fall Over: A platformer for gentlemen
Fall Over is a gentleman's platformer, with a twist. Combining a familiar-looking 2D landscape and real-life physics, indie developer Arvi "Hempuli" Teikari has put just enough spin on the genre to combat our rampant attention-deficit disorder. Fall Over is a simple concept; as a fancy-suited gentleman, reach the end of the level with as many coins in your pocket as possible. The challenge is working with the game's real-world physics, including the little things we take for granted -- like accidentally knocking your character on his back after hitting his head on a platform above -- and keeping your coins safely tucked away. It's the engine that would make Mario scream, and it's a free game worth a few minutes of your time. Make sure to grab your top hat and monocle before checking it out. [Via BigDownload]
Vanillaware: HD Muramasa wouldn't be 'a great deal of extra work'
Vanillaware's Muramasa: The Demon Blade is quite beautiful on the Wii, but would such a work be possible in HD? Vanillaware founder and president George Kamitani told Gamasutra that he thinks so. "Well, the original art we draw is all done in double-size -- in the case of Muramasa, the animation frames then get compressed down to the Wii's native resolution," he told Gamasutra. "As a result, producing a fully HD title would not be a great deal of extra work for us; it would just mean our original art is displayed in higher resolution." This is very similar to what WayForward's Voldi Way told us about 2D development in HD.Despite the relative ease of transitioning to HD, Kamitani said there was no plan to re-release Muramasa as an XBLA game (or to re-release it anywhere else), but that the company is "in the experimental stage" of high-definition development.%Gallery-33431%
SDCC 09: Dungeon Fighter Online reveals comic book artwork and a new trailer
One of the last things coming out of Comic Con '09 is some of the tasty new artwork and the brand new trailer we've gotten from the Dungeon Fighter Online team during our visit to their booth at the convention. The art is done in complete comic book style, setting up a bit more of the personalities behind the main five characters -- gunner, fighter, mage, priest, and slayer.We've also received word that this week will mark the start of the closed technical beta for DFO. Server load, network tests, and things of that sort will be the focus of this initial beta. Later will be another closed beta phase which will focus on game balancing and design, as well as player feedback.Also, Neople, the original developers of Dungeon Fighter Online, will be on hand to aid Nexon with the localization of the game to North American audiences. This will allow the game to come out to our shores just like the developers intended for it to be played.Interested in seeing our new trailer for the game? Continue reading and catch the trailer after the break!%Gallery-68825%
WonderKing Online closed beta kicks off Thursday, July 16
WonderKing Online is a new 2-D sidescrolling MMORPG from NDOORS Interactive that may prove to be a hit with gamers who enjoy titles like MapleStory. We've taken a look at WonderKing in recent weeks, in fact we've given away a ton of beta keys to our readers as well. While there are some similarities between WonderKing and MapleStory, both are free-to-play side scrolling games after all, the NDOORS title seems a bit more aggressive. This was confirmed in our interview with the game's developers who told us they're working to implement large scale PvP battles (Castle Battles), where guilds will fight it out to control castles and all that come with them, such as exclusive items and dungeons. That may not be in the cards for WonderKing quite yet, but all those readers we gave beta codes to will find out soon enough -- the WonderKing closed beta kicks off tomorrow, July 16th. For those of you that got in, we hope you have a good time in there.
Review: BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Xbox 360/PS3)
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger is a game that's going to immediately feel right for hardcore fighting fans. If you've cut your teeth on Arc System Works' Guilty Gear franchise in the past, or enjoyed some of the more intense Capcom offerings in the 2D fighter genre, then the principles and mechanics of BlazBlue are going to feel natural to you. [Note: If you're not one for battling through long paragraphs of words, try our casual setting, which features a much easier opponent: a video synopsis.]
Korea's Dungeon Fighter Online sets sights on the West
As graphics in massively multiplayer online games push ahead year after year, a few developers are taking a different approach to these games, some with a stylized 2-D look. "Different" is an understatement when it comes to Nexon's Dungeon Fighter Online -- a blending of an MMO with an old-school arcade game which Massively previewed at E3 2009. Although the side-scrolling action is reminiscent of games like Street Fighter, Dungeon Fighter Online will have classes and subclasses, skills, and a level-based system of advancement as with the majority of MMO titles. The game has done very well for itself in Korea (where it's known as Dungeon & Fighter) and is coming to North America, with a closed beta on the way.
Acer launching 3D laptop in October, nerd specs required
3D laptops? Sure, why the hell not... after seeing a desktop shoved into a vase at Computex we guess anything goes. According to Campbell Kan, VP of mobile computing at Acer, we can expect a 15.6-inch Aspire 3D laptop by the end of October. The laptop will run Windows 7 and support native 3D content (something that's becoming steadily more available) while running software that converts 2D content into 3D with presumably mediocre effect. Unfortunately, viewers must wear those bulky, stereoscopic glasses for the full experience. But if anyone stares, just frantically scribble something into a Moleskin with a deep furrowed brow -- they'll assume you're an artist. A glasses-free version is in the works too though that's TBD if you want to wait.
Massively interview: A Q&A with the developers of WonderKing
When we last heard about WonderKing, we found out about some of the features in the game that are aimed at bringing depth to its 2D perspective -- things like Castle Battles with siege warfare certainly sound quite grand for this setting. We were lucky enough to have a chance to talk to some of the people behind the game to find out a bit more about these features, as well as the challenges involved with bringing WonderKing over from the Asian market, and some other questions our readers will probably have had on their minds. Yes, that includes the big one: is this more than just a "MapleStory 2"?Before we get to the interview, we have some good news regarding the upcoming WonderKing beta: we're going to have some beta keys to give away later this month, so if what you read in the interview has you interested, you know where to look for some early access. We spoke with Hyuk Min Kwon, lead developer of WonderKing from Ryu & Soft, and Alex Kim, the game's product manager from NDOORS Interactive. Hit the jump to have a read!
Tatsunoko vs Capcom gets online play, 5 new characters for North America [update]
Update: Capcom sent out a release the following day, redacting the mention of online play and five new characters. Did someone at Capcom jump the gun?The release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom in North America will change a bit from its Japanese counterpart, Capcom has announced. The North American release eliminates one character from the Tatsunoko side of the roster and adds five new fighters not found in the original game. Not only that, but the North American version of the game will also have online play, a feature the original Japanese release cannot boast.[Thanks, WiiNinja!]
Latest King of Fighters XII trailer is a history lesson
With the release of King of Fighters XII drawing near (or, if you live in LA, you can play it early tomorrow!), SNK sent out a trailer to remind people why this franchise is so revered and why the latest installment should be worth your time. You know, thinking back on all of these games, we've realized something: King of Fighters has been around for a long time. No, seriously, it has! Grossly obvious statements aside, we will say this: Them's some pretty sprites.
MapleStory joins the wild world of Twitter
Twitter needs to be classified as an addictive drug, we think. We seem to be using it, and we just can't stop ourselves anymore. We keep telling ourselves that it's just a simple RSS feed where we're limited in what we can type out to others, yet we keep going back to that internet street corner, begging for just one more tweet...But hey, we've gotten company recently! MapleStory has created their own Twitter page as well, joining the rest of the world in answering the question "what are you doing right now?" If you're interested in the 2D MMO, just drop by their page and sign up for their tweets to stay atop of in-game news. Right now, they seem to be flaunting their recent gold farmer bannings (remind us to never get on MapleStory's badside), as well as talking to some of their fans regarding their MapleStory achievements.Now, if you could excuse us, we feel we need to tweet again.
Dragonica's closed beta test isn't closed anymore
Europe's cute side-scrolling MMO isn't hiding behind a closed beta test anymore! Now the entire Dragonica fanbase can jump into the game with no beta key required as the game moves into stress testing until May 22nd, the original scheduled end of the beta test.To go along with the influx of community members, the game's GMs have announced that they will be hosting PvP rooms on the 19th and the 20th so they can "meet" more members of the community. Why shake hands when a lightning bolt would do instead, right?All that's now required for the Dragonica beta test is simply an account with gPotato, the overseeing game portal that is hosting Dragonica. Once you've acquired one of those, you can hop in to download the game without any difficult barriers blocking your way.Dragonica's official release is still planned for June 2009, and it looks like they're certainly going to meet their deadline with this quick shift into the next phase of beta.
NDOORS list the key features of new MMO WonderKing
NDOORS Interactive, the folks behind Atlantica Online and Luminary: Rise of the GoonZu, have chimed in with some details on their next free-to-play MMO WonderKing. They obtained the rights to bring the game to North America last year, and since we're hearing from them now, things must be on track for the intended release window of the second half of 2009. Here's a brief rundown of what WonderKing entails, from Peter Kang, CEO of NDOORS: "WonderKing is a 2D, side-scrolling MMORPG that takes players on an adventurous journey with story-by-story quests, much like a fantasy novel. Along the way, players will travel from beautiful beaches to murky marshlands and frigid snowfields as they battle to save the world." Kang also made mention of some specific game features, to highlight the fact that 2D does not necessarily mean a lack of gameplay depth. These features include a class-change system, "Castle Battles" that involve siege warfare PvP, mounts and vehicles, pets, private housing, and crafting. NDOORS confirmed that a beta is scheduled for this summer.
Reggie on Bob's Game: Refused license doesn't reflect on Nintendo's support for the little guy
You remember Bob's Game, don't you? The humble 2D RPG made by a single, possibly loony, individual? Well nearly two months have gone by since the game's creator Robert Pelloni was denied developer status by Nintendo and -- other than a NYC littering spree -- we've heard little about the game as of late. In an interview with Nintendo big boss Reggie Fils-Aime on MTV Multiplayer last week, however, the record was set considerably straighter.When asked for his side of the story on what had come to pass, the Regginator had this to say: "He did submit to be a licensed developer. We have an evaluation process. We evaluated the opportunity. We decided at this point in time that he did not meet the requirements to be a licensed developer." Well that about does it then, no? Apparently MTV wanted more from the conversation, pushing the CEO on what to do if a developer wants to work with Nintendo but doesn't necessarily have two or three major games under its belt, "My hope is that any developer who has a compelling idea will reach out to our licensing organization and share their idea and go through the process of becoming a licensed developer for the Nintendo platform," Fils-Aime said, "And we have a legacy of supporting that type of development." Unfortunately, as it seems, Mr. Pelloni's game wasn't quite "compelling" enough of an idea.
