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The Digital Continuum: Omega solo solution
There was a time in my MMO playing when I would spend hours looking for a group in games like Final Fantasy XI. No television was watched and no handheld gaming devices were manipulated during those prolonged waiting periods. I just sat there chatting with whomever I could in-game. Today, I don't think I could see myself doing this even with the aid of a Nintendo DS or a PSP with which to chip away the hours. Hell, I probably couldn't even do this with one of my favorite shows like Lucky Louie or Flight of the Concords.This is why it warms my heart to know that Champions Online will contain not only solo content across every level, but some kind of secret endgame feature called the Omega System. My first reaction upon this revelation was simply, "Wow" I certainly hope that with a title like "The Omega System" Cryptic has a compelling endgame feature planned that will amaze everyone or at the very least please everyone.
Ask Cryptic: Iconic costume pieces in Champions Online
It's not surprising that there continues to be a lot of questions regarding customization and variety within Champions Online in each week's Ask Cryptic. Anyone who has played City of Heroes is bound to wonder the same things about Cryptic's newest MMO. This week there aren't any groundbreaking revelations about game mechanics, but a lot of little interesting answers. The one answer we find most interesting pertains to costume options related to important characters such as Defender or Jusiticiar. Forum poster Belstaffar asked, "Will heroes like Defender and Ironclad have unique one of a kind costumes, or can I make a fan boy hero that looks similar?" Which we fond to have a fairly surprising answer. The lead character artists Absinthe tells us that while iconic piece of their costume -- such as Defender's helmet -- won't be wearable, certain other costume pieces will be available to players.This makes us wonder if we'll see supergroups that all dress similarly to specific characters within the game, acting as a sort of "Defender Force" in roleplay terms. We certainly hope so, because nothing say cool like coordinated costumes.
Check out the Champions Online stars in comic form
Some brand new and very awesome concept art is being shown at the Champions Online website. This is a bit different from some of the previous stuff though: you get to see the heroes and villains of CO in the way that heroes and villains are meant to be seen -- in comic form.The characters on show are the heroes Defender and Ironclad, and villains Doctor Destroyer and Menton, and the frames of the comics depict their origins. A forum thread has been provided for any feedback on the artwork, and so far it is overwhelmingly positive. The character causing the most divided opinions is Menton, whose exposed and enlarged brain seems to leave people on both sides of the fence. For the record, we think you look fine Menton -- now please don't mess with our free will.
First Champions Online wallpapers appear
If you're looking to spruce up your old wallpaper with some of the nifty Champions Online artwork then head on over to Cryptic's official website for the game. The two new -- as well as first -- official wallpapers feature the Defender and Doctor Destroyer and coming in a variety of resolutions. The only downside is that there are no resolutions offered for those using a wide screen monitor. We understand that wide screen is in the minority, but we like to be loved to you know Cryptic -- especially on a cold April morning like this one.All right enough of that, we'll just remain hopeful that in the future our wide screen needs won't be forgotten.
Gamasutra looks at 20 difficult games
Believe it or not, building difficulty into games isn't just about making them more impossible. John Harris over at Gamasutra takes the long route to prove this in an extended look into difficulty in game design. The majority of the feature is spent looking at specific cases of legitimately difficult games, dissecting their design and coming away with lessons learned from each. Harris concedes that most intelligently difficult games are much older, and typically don't have a "lose" condition. The list includes hair-pulling classics like Defender, Sinistar, and Lode Runner, as well as a few more recent titles like Super Monkey Ball. It's a good read for anyone interested in game design.John Harris also writes the excellent @Play column for GameSetWatch, which focuses on a long history of games classified as "roguelikes."
Vista's two-faced firewall inspected, called out
Sure, reading through the feature set of Windows Vista is one way to get a taste of what an upgrade will do for your life, and reading "expert" reviews of the operating system and its minutiae certainly add an additional bit of insight not conveyed on the box alone, but one aspect of Vista is facing some serious criticism from a skeptical reviewer. In Microsoft's latest OS, the "Windows Firewall" boasts about offering up two-way protection -- that is, blocking both incoming and outgoing data -- but after careful analysis, it's apparently not that cut and dry. CNET's Robert Vamosi has noticed that the system does a fair job of blocking malicious content from reaching your PC, but when inspecting the outgoing blocker a bit more carefully, it appears that you're covered from moment one, as it's turned on by default -- or not. Interestingly, having this section of the firewall enabled does absolutely nothing for your protection, as in the default configuration "there are no block rules, only allow rules," which essentially means that it's capable of blocking, but until you specifically enable blocking rules for specific programs, you're exposed. Microsoft's reasoning is that maximum protection would cause new users to see a warning with every single application they launched on their PC, causing both frustration and a desensitized view of the firewall itself, and while we can certainly sympathize with how annoying those pop-ups would be, CNET feels that this excuse stems more from Microsoft's handiwork in crafting the OS more for enterprise use and less for novice "home" users. Nevertheless, knowing that your outbound firewall is likely wide open should help more than a few of you close any potential holes in your fortress, and be sure to hit the read link if you secretly enjoy hearing Vista take a severe tongue-lashing.[Thanks, Randall]
Japan set to implode: Dragon's Quest IX is a DS exclusive
You heard it, folks: at Square-Enix's annual Jump Festa event, they let the bomb drop: the next entry in the venerable Dragon's Quest series, entitled Dragon's Quest IX: Defender of the Stars (another silly "DS" subtitle) will be coming exclusively to everyone's favorite little handheld. This is huge news: this franchise is second only to perhaps Final Fantasy in Japan, and still one of the most respected names in gaming worldwide. Having the title being developed exclusively on a Nintendo system is a clear show of faith from SE (they're also releasing a Final Fantasy XII sequel, Revenant Wings, sometime next year), and hopefully, even more Wii and DS support will follow.Development of the game is being passed over to Level 5 (also working on White Knight Story for the PS3), and it'll feature a four-player co-op mode as well. Of course, there's no definite release date, but the team mentioned that they'd like to have it out sometime in 2007.Let this news wash over your Tuesday, and make it full of glee and joy. Bring on DQIXDS![Thanks to everyone who sent this in, and GoNintendo for the pic!]
Defender dashes hopes for XBLA surprise
Another Wednesday, another 1980s arcade port. Defender may push some nostalgia buttons out there, but on the eve of two competitors' launches we were hoping Microsoft would deliver with a little more oomph. Sure, Marathon was a stretch, but at least toss us one of those indie games that has been knocking around the pipeline for months, and months, and months...In other Xbox Live news, EA's Supe'man demo has landed -- for Gold members only*. Good luck squeezing this bloated hunk of mediocrity (905.42 MB) onto your petite hard drive. Spider-Man was fun for a hot minute, Hulk added some chaos, and Superman, well, maybe EA needs to point that finger back at itself. Superheroes in the sandbox is past trite.*The demo will be available for Xbox Live Silver members on Nov. 22.
XBLA's retro fad continues: Defender
Another Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday is upon us, and this week's entry brings us yet another retro title, Defender. Yay, Defender. Granted, I'm all about Contra and maybe I'm not old enough to have fond memories of Defender, but every week that XBLA gets another Atari/Pac-Man era game, I die a little inside. When I write the headline, all I want to write is: "This week isn't Small Arms" or "Still no RoboBlitz." Where are all these exciting, independent titles? We've only got six Wednesdays left MS! Are you expecting people to buy Arcade titles as Christmas presents? Again, I apologize to all the Defender fans out there, but it's high time we got another indie release on XBLA.
Atari games on XBLA, holiday titles confirmed
Alongside the press release for Contra hitting XBLA, Microsoft sent another press release outlining a slew of Atari classics heading to Live Arcade next year. The six Atari games to be released are: Centipede/Millipede Battlezone Asteroids/Asteroids Deluxe Missile Command Tempest Warlords All of the games will feature both original and "evolved" versions. The evolved versions, similar to Konami's offerings, will feature revamped graphics and sound. All games will have leaderboards and achievements, and multiplayer games will have Live support. Surprisingly, many of these games are receiving some pretty impressive new features, including Live Vision support for Battlezone and Warlords. It looks like many of the games will receive three dimensional upgrades instead of simply using high definition sprites, too. Finally, and this is not a joke, Centipede evolved has motion blur. Motion. Blur. In Centipede. If that's not worth $5, we don't know what is.Also worth mentioning, the press release confirmed that the following titles should hit the Arcade before the end of 2006: Small Arms Assault Heroes Novadrome (?) Heavy Weapon Defender It should be noted that this isn't necessarily all the titles we'll be seeing by year's end (we're looking at you RoboBlitz). Full press release after the break.
80s instructional LP for conquering games
The antecedent to all those tips and tricks magazines can be found in this obscure LP from the 80s: Conquer the Video Craze: How to Beat the Hottest Games. In it, "Atari Champion finalist" Curtis Hoard reads off -- in a stultifyingly slow monotone -- the techniques he's used to earn him that honorific. Sluggo at Dinosaur Gardens has not only found this retro artifact, but he's converted it into MP3 for our enjoyment edification. Learn strategies for: Centipede, Defender, Stargate, Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and Tempest. Wait, Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man? [Via Boing Boing]
