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'Destiny 2' puzzle leads to a real-world reward
Bungie is well-known for including cryptic references in its games, but it's not often those references lead to real-world gains. A massive team of gamers investigating an area in Destiny 2's new Warmind expansion decoded an elaborate cipher puzzle that, in the end, produced a message with geographical coordinates in upstate New York (conveniently, near the home of Warmind developer Vicarious Visions). That, in turn, led to a very tangible prize that included not only coins (one for each person who visits), but a life-size replica of the Valkyrie weapon from the game -- the only example you'll find outside of Bungie and Vicarious Visions.
The (re)making of 'Crash Bandicoot'
Facedown in the sand, a figure wakes up on a desert island. The tide has been dragging him up the shore. He looks over his shoulder, before disappearing into the jungle.
'Skylanders SuperChargers' takes to the skies, streets and sea
Imagine Mario Kart, Looney Tunes and Top Gear got together to plan a wild, rockin' birthday party for a 9-year-old. The result would probably resemble Skylanders SuperChargers, the latest game from Activision and Vicarious Visions, due to launch in North America on September 20th for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and iPad. This is the first Skylanders game to feature vehicles in its toys-to-life lineup -- and we're not just talking cars.
Skylanders Swap Force is the next annual entry in the 'toys to life' gaming franchise, we go hands-on
Three years, three games. Skylanders Swap Force -- the latest crossplatform entry in the mega-successful Skylanders game franchise -- cements Activision's annual approach to its "toys to life" series. The games merge toy figurines with RFID technology to allow in-game avatar representations of the toys to move from game console to game console, all the while storing unique information about that character. It's essentially the equivalent of how fighting games work in Japanese arcades, albeit with children's toys and a relatively simple action game: you level up your character, which is tied to your toy, and it can be used to continue earning experience on a variety of game consoles. The second iteration brought Giants to the world of Skylanders. This year, Activision's in-house studio Vicarious Visions (known for working on powerhouses like Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk Pro Skater previously) is taking the series in another direction, keeping original Skylanders, the second game's Giants, and adding a new twist in swappable characters. Yes, despite the image above of a half-octopus swashbuckler, this year's innovation isn't destructible characters. That sword in his right ... hand and the water pistol in his left can be replaced on another swappable character's bottom half -- its motion component -- creating an altogether new character. With 16 new characters, that means 256 combinations altogether; an enticing proposition to fans, and a potentially comforting thought to parents hounded by kids for new pieces every week. But it's not just swappable characters that are new in Swap Force. Activision's touting this entry as the first Skylanders entry to've been built from the ground up in HD. That's a notable change for the franchise, marking Activision's focus shifting from Nintendo's Wii to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as Nintendo's Wii U. Oh, and there's jumping. You can jump in this one.
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith announced, GHIII getting 'Dream On' for free
In an announcement that may just usurp the throne from Electronic Arts as the king of milking franchises, Activision has announced plans for a new Guitar Hero title, casting aside the franchise's reputation for offering a wide breadth of rocking tracks in favor of highlighting a single band -- Aerosmith. The news echoes comments made by guitarist Joe Perry last year regarding the series' next installment, at which time he said that the next Guitar Hero game would be dedicated to the band's music. The announcement comes following Activision's promise earlier this month to return to the well this year, with the newly announced Guitar Hero: Aerosmith currently expected to ship to retail in June with Neversoft handling the game for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and Vicarious Visions taking care of development on the Wii. Details remain nonexistent concerning what tracks we can expect to make the cut, with guitarist Joe Perry commenting only that the title is "based on the diversity of the Aerosmith catalog." With a game dedicated to one -- and only one -- band, we have to assume that whatever songs do find their way onto the disc, they'll be master tracks (they better be).And if June seems to far off for those of you hugging your Steven Tyler doll while staring at the Pump tour poster on the wall, Activision has announced plans to release the band's 1973 power ballad 'Dream On' as a download for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of GHIII (Sorry Wii owners, but you knew what you were getting into). The song will be free from February 16-18, so get it while it's hot!
DS Daily: Guitar Hero DS
Most people seem to love Guitar Hero. If you're one of the few who have managed to escape the dastardly clutches of the franchise, please, feel free to tell us all about it. But if you're one of those who are totally addicted to getting your thrash on, we've got a question for you: what do you think of the franchise heading to the DS? With a peripheral, even? Does it appeal to you or not?
No touch-screen strumming for Guitar Hero DS; peripheral promised
We kinda knew about it already, but it now seems official that developer Vicarious Visions is working on an external peripheral for their adaptation of Guitar Hero on the Nintendo DS, rather than relying on touch screen controls.Games Are Fun was in attendance at this year's Austin Game Developers Conference, and caught up with Vicarious design manager Adrian Earle, who spilled the beans on Vicarious's port of the acclaimed music franchise. In addition to the horrible decision to build a peripheral for a portable device, Vicarious plans on leaving much of the game's visuals as-is, making them two-for-two in a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality that may prove problematic when moving an established console title to an entirely new platform.We'll give Vicarious Visions the benefit of the doubt, and assume the decision to ignore the touch screen was to avoid comparisons to Jam Sessions. Still, here's hoping Vicarious will let us rock out and still fit the darn thing in our pocket.
Guitar Hero DS details surface at Austin GDC
We haven't heard much about Guitar Hero DS since it was confirmed, but Adrian Earle of Vicarious Visions let a few tiny tidbits slip at the Austin Game Developers Conference. The first is really no surprise: the peripheral that was being considered is a go, though the design is not yet completed. Earle only promised that we would "absolutely love it." Perhaps his Magic 8-ball told him so? Or maybe the peripheral is closer to completion than he wants us to think. The second bit is the one we found more interesting, and potentially either horrifying or fantastic. Graphically, they're planning on keeping the DS installment as true to the look of the Guitar Hero franchise as possible. The series has a pretty distinct look that has grown more and more detailed over time, and we can't wait to get a glimpse of how they plan to translate that to the dual screen experience. It sounds like they've set themselves quite a challenge here, and we hope they can pull it off. After all, DS gamers already have some of the best rhythm games ever made ... our standards are high. But the Guitar Hero series is all about fun, so if done well here, it should fit right in.
Transformers: The screenshots
Two incredible forces. Two sides in the battle for Earth -- and appropriately, two completely different games for two completely different stories. How ... balanced. We love it. As licensed games go, these don't sound (or look) half bad. After the jump, we've got new screens from both Decepticons and Autobots. We won't even make you choose between 'em; you can ogle both if you're so inclined.
How the DS does 3D graphics
Pocket Gamer recently spoke with Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam developer Vicarious Visions about the DS and how it does 3D graphics. When the system is working in 2D mode, it uses what amounts to souped-up version of the Game Boy Advance hardware. Switch to 3D, however, and the DS comes alive with a throughput of 122,800 polygons per second. Sure, it's nothing compared to the PSP and its 33 million polygons per second, but Vicarious says it isn't about packing polygons on the screen, it's how you use the hardware. A little creativity can go a long way, just look at their DS library for some nice examples.When the DS launched facing competition from Sony's PSP, there were more than a few skeptics. Can such an underpowered system hold its own against the big-screened powerhouse? It's been more than two years and Nintendo has yet to let up with their "system specs aren't everything" mantra. And maybe, just maybe, we're starting to believe them.
Spiderman 3 info... 'Nuff said!
There hasn't really been much info on any version of Spiderman 3 other than the next-gen ones. That's all changed now because IGN has an interview with Vicarious Visions (the developer of the PSP version). Here is what the PSP version will offer:
