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Dragon's Lair landing on XBLA with Kinect support, lets you act out your princess-saving fantasies
The 1983 laserdisc classic Dragon's Lair is coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade. That much we knew. What has us excited is that it'll come with a new control scheme, one that relies not on well-timed button mashing, but well-timed body flailing. That's right, whenever it does make its way to virtual shelves, the updated playable cartoon will sport Kinect support. Now, instead of making sure you press the button (yes, the one and only button) or flick the joystick in the right direction, you can mime sword swipes and swing from imaginary ropes. We can hardly wait. One more screen shot after the break.
Bluth and Co. treat fans as Dragon's Lair turns 25
It's hard to believe that a quarter-century has passed since the first LaserDisc-based arcade game from former Disney animator Don Bluth hit arcades. Dragon's Lair's use of hand-drawn animation set it apart from anything else at the time, and despite its simple trial-and-error gameplay, the game was a hit.Digital Leisure, which has worked with Bluth to deliver countless home versions of Dragon's Lair, is offering a treat to fans of the classic for one week only. Anyone who purchases the DVD, PC, or Blu-ray Disc version from its online shop can have their copy signed by Bluth, designer Rick Dyer, and animators Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy. We highly recommend the BD version, which plays exactly like the original coin-op and runs in full 1080p. The company is also offering signed Dragon's Lair "lobby posters" for $80 a pop. Lead on, brave adventurers – your memorabilia awaits!
Digital Leisure's Space Ace headed to HD DVD and Blu-ray
If you didn't quite get your fill of Dirk the Daring with Dragon's Lair on HD DVD and Blu-ray, Digital Leisure has you covered. Slated to arrive on April 8th on both major formats, the completely restored Space Ace will allow fans of the series to check out a 1080p version of the game and treat their ears to a freshly created 5.1-channel audio mix. Additionally, the title was authored in both BD-Java for Blu-ray and HDi for HD DVD, ensuring that customers have access to the highly-anticipated interactive features regardless of what camp they're in. Also of note, each title will have slightly different extras (detailed in the read link below), so hardcore fans should be sure to pick up both for the full experience -- if you're cool with dropping $49.95 apiece, that is.
Dragon's Lair coming to HD DVD
More than a year after we first heard it was being remastered in high definition, Digital Leisure has announced plans to release Dragon's Lair on HD DVD. The old laserdisc classic, which already shipped on Blu-ray earlier this year comes to HD DVD August 15th. The 1080p visuals and 5.1 surround of the Blu-ray release are intact, and if that's not enough, it also plans to follow up with future releases of Space Ace and Dragon's Lair II on the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats.
Dragon's Lair coming to DS
Released on Blu-ray just a few weeks ago, a DS incarnation of the classic arcade/Laserdisc adventure Dragon's Lair has been announced by Digital Leisure. At first we thought the two would go together as well as peanuts and bubblegum, but after reading what developer Wizardry Engineering is doing to make the game fit the system, we might have to reconsider.Dragon's Lair DS will be playable on one screen or split across two, holding the DS like a book. Touch screen control will be implemented, and there's even talk of voice recognition (blue ... BLUE!!!) and rumble pak support. Hey, if it worked on Game Boy Color, it should go over fine on the DS.[Via DS Fanboy
DS Dragon's Lair makes a Daring choice
The laserdisc classic Dragon's Lair is back again, after appearances on basically every system ever built, either in its original form (PC, Sega CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, Game Boy Color) or in some kind of terrible adaptation (NES, SNES, PS2). This time, Digital Leisure is releasing it in more or less original form on the DS, with some ... interesting options. Of particular interest is the ability to control the game via touch screen. We imagine this will involve tapping the appropriate side of the screen. There are also optional move indicators, voice control (?), rumble support, and multiple difficulty settings.And then there's the big feature. You can choose to play the game on one screen, or stretched across both. This allows Dragon's Lair to benefit from the advanced view obstruction technology not available in the arcade version. [Via NeoGAF]
Dragon's Lair may foil your Blu-ray player
Earlier this week, Dean Takahashi of The Mercury News asked in his blog, "Can anyone figure out what's going on here?" The question was brought about by the recent Blu-ray release of the arcade's animated reflex-a-thon, Dragon's Lair, as well as the unfortunate observation that it didn't seem to work at all on Dean's Philips player. He also experienced audio issues when placing the disc in his PlayStation 3.We contacted publisher Digital Leisure, hoping to ascertain whether or not this was a widespread issue. While they were unable to replicate the PS3 audio problem, they did note that certain stand-alone drives may be prone to playback issues. If you're at all interested in partaking in Bluth-ray antics, this is the part you'll want to pay attention to.During restoration and development , Dragon's Lair was tested on the following players: Samsung BD-P1000, Panasonic DMP-BD10, PowerDVD (PC), Sony BDP-S1 and the PlayStation 3. The use of BD-Java in Dragon's Lair is likely the source of problems in other players, as the Blu-ray Association's deadline for mandatory hardware BD-Java support (enabling fancy picture-in-picture features) was only recently set for October 31, 2007. "Due to the lack of Java standardization many players just aren't able to handle proper playback," says the Canadian publisher.Be sure to consult your manufacturer's website and support forums before you purchase the game -- "There is no way to tell whether a disc will or will not work without trying it out on a player." Excellent. Future firmware updates for your player may improve your chances, but for now, getting it to work is a game of chance. And even if you win, you still get Dragon's Lair.
Dragon's Lair bound for Blu-ray
Nostalgia can warp a mind in strange and terrible ways. Indeed, the fond memories swimming about in your brain may have lead you to believe that Dragon's Lair was, back in the day, a rather swell game. And look at that -- you've even been coerced into thinking it was a game. You've got a nasty surprise in store for you, or rather, a shockingly vivid, high-definition nightmare, should you decide to pick up the newly announced Blu-ray (and thus PS3) version of Don Bluth's "classic."The postcard we received (depicted above) prompted this warning of sorts, but perhaps we're being too harsh. The April 9th Blu-ray version does come equipped with 5.1 surround sound, remastered 1080p video, creator commentary and several new interviews. The official website also points to upcoming Blu-ray versions of Dragon's Lair II and Space Ace, two of the most revered entries in the die-over-and-over-again genre established by Dirk's original dragon-slaying adventure. If you're going to be skewered repeatedly in a joyless animation showcase, it may as well be in true HD.
