bandicoot
Latest
The Game Archaeologist and the dragon of the deep dungeon
The Game Archaeologist is a lazy adventurer-slash-professor who dons his trademark cap for a weekly expedition through some of the most famous MMOs of the past few decades. Each month, he chooses a different title in order to examine its highlights, talk with its developers, and invite its fans to share their experiences. Part of the holy mission of the Game Archaeologist is to ferret out the roots of history that ultimately led to MMORPGs as we know them today. Another part of the mission is to root out ferrets, as my claw-scarred arms can attest. Some of that history is fairly recent, but today we're going to travel back -- way back -- to a time before many of you were born. Including me, as a matter of fact. The year is 1974. The world is hip-deep in the throes of shag carpeting, driftwood furniture and the strains of Grand Funk Railroad. It truly seemed like nothing would ever be cool or non-earth-toned again. At this, the lowest moment in all of history, game designers Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson took the concept of miniature wargaming, merged it with a fantasy motif, and sold it under the name Dungeons & Dragons. Geeks everywhere had a reason to rejoice, and through this roleplaying game the foundations for MMOs were laid. Let's take a brief survey through D&D, giving special emphasis to how this great-granddaddy of RPGs passed down a legacy that we enjoy in our modern online titles. Also, there will be popcorn.
Ask Massively: Cute animal defense edition
The past several weeks have been a contentious time here at Ask Massively, and so I turn the blame to the obvious culprit -- my choice of title images. We're going back to an unadulterated string of pictures of cute animals for headers with no clearly stated reason. That right there is a bandicoot. Do you even know what a bandicoot is? Do you care? Of course you don't. You cannot be angry while you stare at a bandicoot. It's physically not a thing you can do. Leaving aside the calming powers of the marvelous bandicoot, it's time for another session of questions and answers, this time featuring World of Warcraft's aquatic misadventures and DC Universe Online's inevitable future. As always, if you have a question you'd like to see answered, feel free to leave it in the comment field, or mail it to ask@massively.com.
Today's potential franchise relaunch video: Crash Bandicoot
Gameplay footage from Crash of the Titans held our interest for today's video pick. The upcoming Bandacoot adventure for all current platforms besides PS3 will be out this fall, and Crash fans may find a new title to love. (We're not talking about you, Action Pack.) Or is Crash looking a little too like The King for his own good?See the new video after the break, and watch a longer GameTrailers developer interview, too.
'Crash' of the Titans headed to Nintendo systems
We weren't too impressed with Crash Boom Bang!, Crash Bandicoot's minigame-filled debut on the Nintendo DS. Crash Tag Team Racing DS couldn't even manage to drive itself out of the studio before the project was scrapped. Third time's the charm, maybe?Crash of the Titans brings the series to not only the DS, but the GBA and Wii. Screenshots of the Wii title indicate that the blue-jeaned marsupial will be thrown back into his natural, platforming/adventure-gaming habitat, freeing him from the wacky genres that've watered down the franchise. Players will be able to unlock extra elements in the Wii version with a DS copy of the game.We're much too cautious to let another Crash Bandicoot title get our hopes up, but we wish Radical Entertainment all the best with its development. Though the Spanish magazine that unveiled Crash of the Titans mentioned an October release, the game isn't guaranteed to arrive in the US at the same date. [Via NeoGAF]
