Griffin McElroy
Articles by Griffin McElroy
Deja Review: The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection
We're of the firm opinion that your time is too precious, too valuable to be spent reading a full review for a game that was already reviewed many, many years ago. What's the point of applying a score to a game that's old enough to be enrolled in the sixth grade? That's why we invented Deja Review: A quick look at the new features and relative agelessness of remade, revived and re-released games. It would be difficult to think of two games that have so unanimously been labeled as masterpieces by gaming critics and consumers alike than Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Each possesses a unique beauty possessed by (regrettably) so few other games: Ico with its sense of childlike wonder and grand adventure, Colossus with its abject desolation and foreboding. They're poignant, and sad, and (fortunately for Sony and Team Ico) inimitably timeless. The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection pairs HD-remastered versions of the two titles in one tidy $40 package. Their visual revivification -- the most substantial improvement over the PS2 originals -- isn't quite as thorough as ground-up reconstruction of Halo: Anniversary or the total reskinning of Ocarina of Time 3D. But it's certainly enough to make these once-beautiful games even more staggering. %Gallery-130949%
House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut supports anaglyph 3D
Sega has announced that House of the Dead: Overkill - Extended Cut will not only feature stereoscopic 3D support for those with hoity-toity future TVs, but also anaglyph technology, for those of us with TVs older than we are. Check out the gallery below to see this ancient, polychromatic technique in action. Take note: European copies of the game will include the prerequisite red-cyan glasses, but North American versions will go without. Don't worry -- we're sure you've got a pair tucked into some errant copy of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D. %Gallery-134979%
All Back to the Future episodes updated on iPad, on sale
It's time to go back, Marty: Back to the Back to the Future. That is to say, if you were unsatisfied with how the time-traveling trilogy's adventure game adaptation performed on your iPad, it's time to give them a second shot. An update has launched for all five episodes of the game, improving performance, graphics and squashing a few bugs. Which is fortunate, because when traveling through time in a 30-year-old automobile, you want the experience to be as bug-free as possible. Also, each episode of the series has been marked down to $2.99 until September 30, if, by chance, you'd like to dip your toes into the game's recently updated waters. Of course, all the diehard fans will lord over you their war stories from the pre-patch days, when Doc Brown had three arms, and Marty spoke in backwards Esperanto.
Dead Island film optioned by Lionsgate, based on the trailer
Though reports from February of a planned film adaptation of Techland's then yet-to-be-released zombie title Dead Island were struck down by the studio, legitimate plans for the movie were revealed earlier today. Lionsgate announced in a press release that it's currently in the early development stage of a Dead Island feature, with producers Sean Daniel (Tombstone, Dazed and Confused) and Stefan Sonnenfeld attached. The press release mentions the game's first, Cannes-winning trailer will serve as the film's "primary creative inspiration," adding that the movie will adopt the commercial's "focus on human emotion, family ties and non-linear storytelling." Also, it's a horror movie from Lionsgate, so we're betting you'll get to see the insides of hastily removed human body parts.
X-Men Destiny launch trailer needs a decision, pronto
We know you've been putting off deciding whether you want to be an evil mutant or a good mutant for a while now; however, judging by the X-Men Destiny launch trailer posted above, you're going to have to make your decision sooner rather than later. (We'd go with evil. Their coffee's better.)
Real-world political campaigning headed to Farmville
You can tell a lot about a person based on their agricultural lot in Farmville: For instance, one look at our fertile lands, and you'll know we're firm supporters of firm arugula, well-fed livestock and laying out pumpkin patches in the shapes of genitalia. Also, if you check back in a few months, you'll be able to tell how much we love ex-New York gubernatorial candidate and Rent is Too Damn High Party founder Jimmy McMillan, because we'll have his campaign signs plastered all over our farmgrounds. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, political marketing consultant Michael Hendrix says Farmville will allow players to post candidate signage and do door-to-door campaigning later this year. Hendrix works for the Michelle Bachmann presidential campaign, and didn't specify whether users could campaign for any other candidates. We've contacted Zynga to find out the specifics. Also, we should be more specific: We're talking about campaigning for real-life political positions. Not the mayor of Farmville, a position we'd still probably vote to fill with Jimmy McMillan. (Come on, that facial hair? How could we not?)
Closure preview: Try, try again
Logic-based games are only compelling the first time you play them. At least, that's what Closure reboot developer Eyebrow Interactive thinks, and if you're only going to enjoy the game the first time through, they figure they'll make that trip as long and arduous as humanly possible. It's an interesting (and completely apt) theory. Solutions are only satisfying the first time you divine them, that feeling of overwhelming bewilderment is only bewildering the first time you encounter it -- unless you have some kind of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind memory-wiping machine, your second run through of your favorite puzzle game probably won't be as poignant as your first.
Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat brings first two games to retail this December
If you haven't purchased either of the downloadable brawlers based on Spike TV's historically violent Deadliest Warrior franchise, nor have you seen any episodes of the show itself, then let's be frank: You're just not that into Deadliest Warrior. That's fine! Different strokes, and all that. Still, if you'd like to have as complete and deadly an entertainment experience as is possible, you'll want to grab Deadliest Warrior: Ancient Combat when it lands at retailers this December. The $29.99 package includes the original Deadliest Warrior: The Game and Deadliest Warrior: Legends, as well as all the downloadable content (and a few new weapons and arenas) for each. It also includes some never-before-aired episodes of the show for diehard fans. We hear the hypothetical skirmish between Lumberjacks and Investment Bankers is particularly engaging.
Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy Origins rated for PSN
Oh, Chrono Cross? And Final Fantasy Origins, which includes the franchise's first two NES installments? You mean those games that have been available in other territories' PlayStation Stores for a few months now, leaving us to stew in a bog of our own jealousy? You're telling us that they were recently rated to be released on the North American PlayStation Network? Well, guess what -- we don't care anymore. We don't care that we'll be able to play Chrono Cross on our PSP, taking the magical adventures of Serge, Kid (and a third party to be named later) on the bus with us. Maybe if you'd gotten to us a few months ago, our hearts wouldn't be so cold and calloused.
Six million GOG downloads means Broken Sword for everyone
During the CD Projekt Fall 2011 press conference, the publisher revealed that its GOG distribution platform is approaching the 6 million download milestone. To help push its sales -- which currently stand at a little over 5.8 million -- over the top, it announced two promotions: First, the six millionth downloader will receive every game on the platform for free. Second, for the first 48 hours after hitting the mark, everyone will get a free download of Broken Sword: Shadow of The Templars Director's Cut. For CD Projekt's sake, we hope they don't get those two promotions mixed up. To wit: "Congratulations! You're our six millionth customer, so here's Broken Sword! Everyone else, here's everything for free oh god we gave all our games away."
Batman: Arkham City trailer is no laughing matter
MTV Multiplayer recently got its hands on a trailer showing off the nefarious, no-good-doings of Batman: Arkham City's secondary foe, The Joker. Watch it above, and join us in worrying about the relative malevolence of the sequel's real archenemy.
Forza Motorsport 4 gets a $30 season pass, redeemable for six DLC packs
Turn 10 Studios has announced that it will sell a Season Pass for Forza Motorsport 4, giving players access to six DLC packs the developer plans to launch over the next year. The ticket is priced at $29.99 -- a 30 percent discount from the combined prices of the six expansions -- and comes with a bonus American Muscle car pack on launch day. Is $30 too much to spend on a Coronet Super Bee? God, we hope not. The six DLC packs in question will launch between November 2011 and April 2012, which might be too slow a drip for the high-octane, Forza-consuming audience. We suggest Turn 10 hold off on releasing any of the DLC, and then, in the middle of February: Booyah, a thousand new cars.
Hector: Badge of Carnage's last episode drops tomorrow
If you're still not too disgusted by the thoroughly yucky antics of Straandlooper's Hector: Badge of Carnage, you'll be able to pick up the final chapter of the adventure series soon. Subtitled "Beyond Reasonable Doom," the final episode will drop on iPad and iPhone tomorrow for $4.99 and $6.99, respectively. PC, Mac and PSN releases are expected "in the very near future." Of course, the question on the forefront of our mind is what sexually transmitted disease Hector is going to poke fun at in this third installment. We're pretty sure they've covered all the major ones in the past two -- we hope this means that lesser-knowns like Supphlydiahitis, Grumbles and Mega-Crabs get their time in the spotlight.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations multiplayer trailer will absolutely slay you
By our count, the 126-second-long multiplayer trailer for Assassin's Creed: Revelations posted above features 30 individual murders, giving it a murder-to-time ratio of one murder every 4.2 seconds. If that sounds upsetting, you probably shouldn't click that button with the sideways triangle on it.
Rumor: Dark Souls players punished for playing early
According to Japanese gaming blog Esuteru, folks who managed to grab illicit, pre-launch copies of Dark Souls are being punished by developer From Software. The site says that members of the dev team are dropping horrifically overpowered, maximum level Black Phantoms into the environments of players who grabbed their copy of the game through a retailer that broke street date. We're having a hard time corroborating the story, but it certainly sounds like something which the characteristically cruel From Software would do. In fact, we'd be surprised if those players even picked up on the retribution. They probably assumed their constant, repeated defeat was just par for the course.
European PSN releases for September 21
You should consider stapling your pants to your legs before diving into this week's European PSN update, lest they be scared off all the new, horrifying content. Resident Evil 4 HD? Aah! Altered Beast? Whoooa! Driver: San Francisco? Eeek! Wait, that's scary, right? Isn't he, like, a coma-ghost? Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
Burnout Crash review: Accident prevention
As anyone who possesses the required documentation and vehicular means can attest, it is not terribly difficult to crash a car. There are countless laws and infrastructural guidelines designed to keep your automobile from touching anything but the ground beneath it -- ignoring just one is enough to cause a horrific, steel-twisting wreck. If impulse, not reason, guided your hands-on-wheels and feet-on-pedals, then the act of safe driving would be exponentially more difficult than the dangerous variety. Perplexingly, Criterion Games has centered the focus of Burnout Crash on a task that's even more difficult, and more obscure than avoiding collisions with other automotive objects: In Burnout Crash, you must collide with all the other automotive objects. Harsh penalties await for players who let chunks of traffic slip through their grasp, bringing you to a haunting realization: You're not orchestrating symphonies of coordinated property damage, you're committing automotive genocide. %Gallery-132171%
Kirby: Mass Attack review: Pink, puffy and preposterous
The core conceit of Kirby: Mass Attack was dreamed up by a complete lunatic. That's the only thing I can say about the game with absolute certainty. What sane human being would choose to eschew the time-tested formula of floaty-platforming and adorable mimicry that serves as the keystone for the franchise? Who, in their right mind, would swap that formula out for a bizarre, chimeric blend of the platforming, real-time strategy and mini-game collection genres? That's not a condemnation of Kirby: Mass Attack, of course -- that sort of outside-the-sanity-box thinking also led to the creation of the magnificent Kirby: Canvas Curse. This latest aberration of the powderpuff series doesn't quite reach the heights established by that predecessor; but during those moments where its preternatural ideas work in tandem, it comes awfully darn close. %Gallery-125888%
Don't worry (or do), PS Vita will have external battery peripheral
If the short-lived battery built into the PS Vita is a hang-up for you, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida shared some news with IGN which will either reassure you, or redouble your rage. "If you have not noticed we just announced the peripherals for PS Vita, as well," Yoshida said, "and one of the peripherals is the external batteries. So if you're flying from New York to San Francisco, or vice versa, you have no concerns if you have an additional external battery." The only thing to be concerned about, it seems, is the cost of such a peripheral. If it follows the price model of the Vita's memory cards, it could be cause for concern, indeed.
Katamari Damacy Vita details revealed, things get stretchy
Katamari Damacy is coming to the PS Vita and, as you might imagine, the franchise's clearly insane creators have some rather bold ideas about how to implement the handheld's many, many inputs. For instance, the touchscreen will be used to navigate the Prince's sticky sphere around the game's object-strewn environments, while the rear touchpad will "stretch the ball either horizontally or vertically to pick up more objects at once or squeeze through a narrow gap." We can't wait for more details about the title to surface. You just know the gyroscope is going to have some application, right? Maybe it'll let you control the King of All Cosmos' Royal Rainbows, or maybe it will give you the ability to wiggle the Prince's antenna. Forget it, we're just not thinking crazy enough. %Gallery-134103%