Griffin McElroy
Articles by Griffin McElroy
Amazon passing out $75 credit with $399 Kinect bundle
Amazon's got an enticing offer going for new adopters of the $399 Xbox 360 Kinect bundle: For a limited time, anyone who grabs the package will also grab a complimentary $75 Amazon credit. That's more than enough for a new game, and then ... something else that costs $15.
PSA: Grand Theft Auto 3 now available on iOS/Android
As promised, Rockstar's mobile version of its seminal open-world crime sim, Grand Theft Auto 3: 10 Year Anniversary Edition, has arrived on iOS and select Android platforms. The game will run you $5, a price point low enough to console you when the torment of virtual buttons becomes too painful.
Risen 2: Dark Waters launching cannons in late April
It's awfully difficult to tell a pirate to be on time for anything, let alone the release of a video game in which they're the featured players. Case in point: When we heard the original 2012 launch window of Piranha Bytes' buccaneering RPG Risen 2: Dark Waters, we asked very politely that it show up in the first month of the aforementioned year. It is not so, according to a recent press release from publisher Deep Silver, which dates the game for April 24 in the U.S., and April 27 in Europe. That gives us four whole months to come up with clever, piratical puns to make in our review of the title. So far, all we've got is "Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Fun," but that's going to be entirely dependent on the game actually being a bottle of fun.
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes revealed in Lego ad
If Batman: Arkham City didn't exactly float your boat due to the fact that its cast of characters wasn't made of interconnecting bricks, then you're a crazy person. Don't worry, though! Warner Bros. Interactive announced plans to tend to your dark desires in October, and today, the details of those plans appear to have solidified. According to artwork which has begun appearing in select Lego sets, the company is currently working on Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.No information regarding the game's release window are outed in the ad, but the inclusion of heroes Wonder Woman and Superman -- seen in this ad, via MCV -- seem like a lock. We just hope Aquaman makes it in, so we'll have someone we can force our least favorite friends to play as.No, you know what? Too mean.[Image credit: BrickTuts]
Max Payne 3 multiplayer to have 'Gang War' narrative, Bullet Time
The multiplayer component of Max Payne 3 is shaping up to be absolutely insane, provided the oodles of ambition outlined in this recent IGN preview is fully realized. The competitive branch of the game will focus on "Gang War" mode, an objective-based team mode which sees player's goals change dynamically based on the events of the previous round. For instance, the player with the most kills in the last round may have a bounty on their head in the following match, while a certain territory your team stole in the previous game will have to be fended off in future encounters. Players will customize their loadouts using Bursts -- usable perks which become more powerful the longer the player goes without using them. These include intriguing abilities like Paranoia, which makes the opposing team see their teammates as enemies, simultaneously enabling friendly fire. There's also the series' trademark Bullet Time, which works by slowing down foes caught in the user's line of sight. Check out IGN for more info about how Multi-Max's abilities break down.
Get a golden nunchuck to go with your golden Wiimote from Japan's Club Nintendo
Admit it: Your flair for fashion, design and symmetry has prevented you from fully appreciating the gold-colored Wii Remote Plus that came bundled with special edition versions of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Hey, we're not judging! Take one look at our wardrobe and you'll know our meticulous approach to color coordination. We're here to tell you there's a solution to your dilemma -- Japanese Club Nintendo members can now spend their hard-earned credits on an equally golden Wii Nunchuck. The faux-metallic peripheral will run you 600 Points, while the other new addition to the rewards catalog -- a 3DS game case which holds up to 18 titles -- will cost you 150 Points. You can check out the new Nunchuck in the image posted above; just try not to let the shameful color mismatching get to you. We've contacted Nintendo to see if these new products are coming stateside.
Miyamoto: Retro could handle a Zelda game, smartphones aren't competition
The full transcript of Wired's interview with Shigeru Miyamoto -- in which the industry legend triggered some panic over his future -- has been posted. Surprisingly, that pseudo-retirement news isn't even the juiciest angle; Miyamoto also discussed the company's troubled recent past, as well as its potentially Miyamoto-less future. He explained that Nintendo's goals this generation have focused on "the expanding of the gaming population," a task which would seemingly put them at odds with the ever-increasing smartphone market. Miyamoto posits that his company isn't "directly competing" with phones; rather, both might just have increased the size of the gaming market, and "expanded the definition of videogames" themselves. In the more recent past (last week, in fact), Nintendo launched the Retro-developed Mario Kart 7 for 3DS, a project which Miyamoto said succeeded due to its multicultural development approach. "We were able to join forces in order to realize a variety of different courses, a variety of different tastes," he explained. "I think that's one reason how it worked out well between a Japanese development team and a Western development team." It seems Retro has earned the games industry maven's trust, as Miyamoto added, "As you know, we have already collaborated with Retro for the Metroid Prime series in the past. And I think when we talk about any other franchise, Zelda might be a possible franchise for that collaboration." We think we speak for everyone when we shout in support of this idea while doing fist pumps into the air. Check out the full interview for more on the future of Zelda, the 3DS, the Wii U and the other pies Miyamoto's got his fingers in.
New Megadeth tracks arrive for Rocksmith
Are the instructional tunes included in Ubisoft's Rocksmith proving too easy for your Malmsteem-esque digits? Don't rub it in -- instead, download and subsequently be punished by the Megadeth tracks which will be released today on PlayStation Network and tomorrow on Xbox Live. Folks with the patience and superhuman dexterity required to do so can now learn to shred through "Hangar 18", "Public Enemy No. 1", and "Symphony of Destruction." Each song will run users 240 Microsoft Points ($2.99), while thrifty musicians can buy all three in a 640 Microsoft Point ($7.99) bundle. That'll leave you with an extra buck to spend on replacing your destroyed picks (and fingertips).
Garriott talking with EA about Ultima Online 2 [update: apparently not]
There's been a lot of talk lately about new and bold MMOs, ones which feature angel-people, Jedi and pandas. But what about games that feature real-ass gaming industry visionaries operating under a pseudonym? More specifically: What about Lord British? His reign may not have come to an end quite yet: In an interview with Eurogamer, Richard Garriott explained that he's currently talking to EA about publishing a new entry in the Ultima Online franchise. "I would love to have access to the Ultima property," Garriott explained. "We've had discussions at very high levels with Electronic Arts about access to the property." He explained that "counter-forces" at the company have been hesitant about such an undertaking, adding, "So far we've not put a deal together, but of course, yeah, I would be very open to it." Check out the full interview for what Garriott has in mind besides medieval real estate and spaceships. Update: EA head of corporate communications Jeff Brown recently contradicted Garriott's statements to IndustryGamers, explaining, "I'm not sure what Richard Garriott is referring to. But no one at EA is discussing partnership or licensing opportunities related to the Ultima Online franchise." A spokesperson for Garriott further clarified, "Richard is not CURRENTLY having conversations at high levels with Electronic Arts regarding the Ultima franchise. He never said that he is. I can assure you, however, that those conversations have taken place in the past." This seemingly contradicts Garriott's sentiment that "We're in discussions with Electronic Arts even now about a possible marketing and distribution relationships and things of this nature," though we suppose he could have been talking about his Ultimate Collector project, the title of which does start with "Ultima."
Humble Indie Bundle 4 revealed, nab Meat Boy, Shank, Jamestown and more
As if you didn't already have enough fantastic games to play from this past year, the Humble Indie Bundle crew have made it their mission to completely overwhelm you with excellence. The fourth and latest package from the altruistic organization features an unparalleled lineup which includes Super Meat Boy, BIT.TRIP.RUNNER, Jamestown, Nightsky and Shank -- are and if you beat the average price with your choose-your-own-donation-level, you'll also grab Gratuitous Space Battles and Cave Story+. Note that all of these are PC, Mac and Linux compatible; a new feature for Jamestown and Shank. As always, you can choose which portion of your donations go to the developers, to the charities (Child's Play and the Red Cross!) and to the Humble Indie Bundle platform itself. We think we speak for everyone when we say that this is an insane value that you'd be insane to pass up, you insane person. [Update: Tim Ambrogi from Philly-based Jamestown-dev Final Form Games told us, "It's been our goal since launch to reach as many gamers as possible, so a Mac and Linux port were always our plan if we could afford the resources to develop them. Humble Bundle presented us with a cost/benefit proposition that made creating them now a low-risk decision." That's your money hard at work, people!]
Star Wars: The Old Republic early access starts today
It's time to put your regimented dragon-killing schedule on hold for a while, replacing it completely with an all new Jedi-killing routine -- early access for Star Wars: The Old Republic opens up today. If you pre-ordered the game through a traditional retailer or virtually through Origin, you'll be able to hop into the game today; assuming you're lucky enough to be a part of one of the waves of entrants BioWare is letting in, periodically, until the game's official December 20 launch. The game can't allow everyone in all at once, probably because it would crush the servers like the windpipe of a Death Star insubordinate. Persistence should win you your prize, though. Well, persistence, and a pre-order code, and a monthly subscription.
Mojang aiming to publish Oxeye's 'Cobalt' on Friday
Usually, we receive a bit of lead time when it comes to release date announcements. "Oh, that game you're looking forward to," it usually goes, "that one won't be out til Q3 2014." We all know that anything past next spring is practically forever away -- fortunately, Mojang has announced that the excellent-looking Cobalt is going to drop this coming Friday, God willing and the creek don't rise. "We haven't told anyone [about the release date] yet because we're aiming for Friday, but we don't know if we can make it," managing director Carl Manneh told Edge Online in a recent interview, "but I think we can." We do too, Carl. We believe in you.
Indie Royale Xmas Bundle has Eets, Dino D-Day and more
The latest Indie Royale bundle has more than enough holiday cheer to warm the deepest, darkest cockles of your heart-meat. The "Xmas Bundle" nets its purchasers six games for the price of ... well, a street vendor hot dog -- there's the remastered Blackwell Trilogy (which is technically three games, right?), the Source-powered Dino D-Day, the topical sim The Oil Blue and the effortlessly delightful Eets. The whole bundle's currently available (at the time of this writing) for $3.80 -- a price which will increase as time goes on, but decrease if purchasers pay more than the minimum amount. Act fast! Or, for our sakes, act charitable.
Modern Warfare 3 update addresses lag, certain glitches
Good news, soldiers: The multiplayer component of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has received its sixth title update since the game's launch; a patch which addresses lag and a number of glitches players have been exploiting for their own nefarious, personal gain. Gone are the days of melee-jumping, as well as clan tags which use the controller's symbols to spell dirty words. (Bal[LS] indeed, sir.) A number of guns have also been tweaked (see: nerfed) as hotfixes introduced to the title. You can check out a full list of these readjusted armaments after the jump, and pray that your precious, precious firearm evaded the developers' all-seeing eye.
Namco's Tales series going on a browser-based 'Dice Adventure'
If you are enthralled by the addictive world of high-stakes gambling and the even-more-addictive world of social games, Namco Bandai has a soul-crushingly-addictive announcement for you. According to Siliconera, the publisher's Tales series of role-playing games is making the jump to the free-to-play browser-based realm with Tales of the World: Dice Adventure. The game, which will hit Japanese browsers next Spring, will let players team up with characters from the prolific Tales series, assumedly entering into games of chance using numbered cubes. (Or numbered Icosahedrons, if they go the Dungeons and Dragons route.) Little else is known about the title -- until Namco reveals more information, the whole thing is going to be a crapshoot.
Liveblogging the Spike 2011 Video Game Awards
Well, we just watched the last ten minutes of The Rundown, which means -- what else? -- we're watching Spike TV. That means two things: The VGAs are about to come on, and Sean William Scott just cut off a little piece of our soul, and devoured it wholesale. Ladies and gentlemen: The Spike 2011 VGAs. Let's do this thing. Oh God.
Dear Esther coming to Steam on Valentine's Day for $10
The broad, early 2012 launch window of the pretty little Half-Life 2 mod-turned-full Steam game Dear Esther has been narrowed down to a sleek, streamlined release date. The game's official website just announced the title will arrive on Steam February 14 -- that's Valentine's Day, lovers -- for a cool $10. Or a hot $10, or any other temperature bill you feel like forking over. The site also posted a handful of new screens, such as the one above. See, it's got candles! That just screams "romantic Valentine's Day plans" to us.
Scribblenauts Remix gets Siri support on iPhone 4S
Are the commands you're barking at your constant iPhone 4S companion Siri not humiliating enough? Great news: Scribblenauts Remix was recently updated to add Siri voice recognition support to the title, letting you create (imaginary) objects with your mouth-words.
Skyrim is 2011's most-played game, according to Raptr
Popular game-tracking service Raptr recently published its list of top-performing games of 2011, a roster entirely decided by the amount of man hours (and woman hours) its gaming community poured into them. The list isn't terribly surprising: Skyrim was the most-played RPG (beating out Dragon Age 2 by a factor of six), Modern Warfare 3 was the most-played shooter and FIFA Soccer 12 was the most-played sports game, because, you know, Europe. Here's a surprise, though: According to Raptr, the most played game of the year was Skyrim. Crazy, right? We thought for sure that Modern Warfare 3 and the siren call of its quintuple prestiges would take the cake. We admit this tendency could have possibly been surpassed by infinite dragons and somehow-even-more-infinite adventure.
Virgin Gaming hosting million-dollar EA Sports online tournament
If you're convinced that you're the best at virtual kicking, throwing, catching and running, Virgin Gaming and EA have teamed up to make your skillset into a profitable exercise. Well, potentially profitable -- the two are hosting an EA Sports online tournament for the PS3 versions of three titles: Players can compete for a $400k cash prize in both Madden NFL 12 and FIFA 12, and a $200k prize in NHL 12. Why half as much for the latter of the three? Simple: Hockey is way easier. (Please don't beat us up, hockey-people.) Before you start chasing the dream of free money, you'll want to read the fine print -- to become one of 1,000 finalists (who must pay their own way to the finals in New York City), players must drop a $10 entry fee, then win six games in a row. If they break their six-game streak, they'll have to start all over, shelling out another $10 to enter again. Of course, folks who are uncertain in their abilities can drop a cool $400, and automatically become one of the finalists. We suppose that's the ultimate sport: Having lots of money to begin with. Interested parties can read the full rules and enlist on the Virgin Gaming site -- just keep an eye out for, you know, fees.