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Best of the Rest: Richard's picks of 2011
Rayman Origins If you asked what my favorite game of the 2011 was, I would tell you it was Dark Souls, which made the number eight slot in our prestigious top ten. If, however, you asked me which game instilled me with the most pure, unbridled joy, I would say it was Rayman Origins without a moment's hesitation. Providing both a fresh experience and an invigorating jolt of nostalgia for the days when platformers were king, Rayman Origins is a must-play.
Xbox Live scares up Rise of Nightmares demo
Now is your chance to get your hands on a demo for Rise of Nightmares, one of 2011's most ambitious Kinect titles. Well, you won't really get your hands on it, what with the Kinect and all. You get the point.
Sega game sales down in first half of fiscal 2012; Rise of Nightmares fails to hit the heights
The net sales for Sega Sammy's consumer division were down 13.7% year over year in the six months ended September 30. Sega brought in 33.4 million yen ($428,655) from its home game business, part of the 152.6 million yen in overall net sales. The 29.9% slump in company-wide net sales is mostly attributed to a slowdown in demand for new pachinko machines and "the settlement payment for patent licensing". Within the consumer business, Sega cited "weak" sales of its titles, especially in the west, which, Sega claims, continues to experience "headwinds such as sluggish personal consumption." Sega named three "major titles" released in the period, and detailed their sales. Captain America: Super Soldier, released only in the west, sold 450,000 units across four platforms. Rise of Nightmares sold 200,000 worldwide. The other major release, the Japan-only PSP soccer management sim Sakatsuku 7 Euro Plus, also sold 200,000.
Spooky Savings: Amazon's 'Un-BOO-lievable' Halloween sale
Autumnal consumerism is usually linked with holidays based around turkeys and/or trees, but that hasn't stopped Amazon from conjuring up some scary-good deals to celebrate All Hallow's Eve. The available gambit of creepy-eepy savings is fairly all-inclusive, ranging from Halloweenish gore-fests like Dead Island, Rise of Nightmares and Left 4 Dead, to the more subtle, yet still emotionally horrifying Catherine. There are a few odd-balls in there like Dead or Alive Dimensions and Duke Nukem Forever, although we suppose Duke is terrifying in a more abstract sense of the word.
Rise of Nightmares graphic novel tells the story of Roland Childs
While we certainly found the Kinect-fueled experience of Rise of Nightmares to be novel, we never expected it would spawn an actual novel. We're talking about the graphic variety, as Sega has just announced and released Rise of Nightmares: The Lost Tapes of Roland Childs. The novel tells the story of private detective Roland Childs, who was investigating the strange goings on in Romania before Rise of Nightmares protagonist "Josh" fell into the mix. Throughout the adventure, Josh can collect Childs' audio tapes, piecing together the mystery of the Romanian castle and its freakish inhabitants. Granted, story isn't exactly the game's strong suit, but then Sega is offering the graphic novel free of charge, so who's complaining? You can read the whole thing on Sega's Flickr account (starting here) or download the novel as a PDF (here). As far as we know, the graphic novel does not require a Kinect.
Rise of Nightmares review: A novel experiment
My wife is missing, abducted by a stereotypically mad scientist. I search for her, wandering the corridors of a stereotypically spooky castle. Ahead, a gaggle of biomechanical zombies. No problem, I've been dealing with them all night. They're not invincible, and those garden shears over there look like the perfect solution to my current problem. I stretch out my right arm, picking up the shears. I raise them into an offensive position, turning instantly to my nearest foe. Snip. One down. Chop, shnikt, crunch. Three more dead in seconds. The abominations dispatched, I place my right foot forward, marching down the hallway. It curves to the left up ahead, so I twist my body appropriately to make the turn. With determination, I approach the corner and ... I run smack into a wall, fumble from side to side for a bit, step backwards, stop completely, reassess my position, turn my shoulders to the left, turn them back to the right because I overcompensated and, finally, continue on my way. I must have slain a hundred monsters in Rise of Nightmares, but they have nothing on my true nemesis: Walking.%Gallery-130815%
'No perky aerobics instructors' here, just Rise of Nightmares
It's played for laughs, but this Rise of Nightmares trailer has all the makings of a modern horror movie: an undead monster breaks into a couple's home and forces them to play a diabolical game. He then stands by and revels in the ensuing brutality, like a true villain ... while extolling the features of the Kinect game. If you can keep your mind off the Saw-style terror scenario these poor people -- and their cat -- are being subjected to, maybe you can get a chuckle or two from the zombie host.
Rise of Nightmares preview: Less fear, more tension
Can a Kinect game be scary? "Kinect is a full-bodied experience, so there is an immersion to it. Part of a horror game is feeling like you're in it," producer Satoshi Ito told me when I asked him that very question, via translator Sam Mullen. "On top of that, Kinect works in the dark -- you can turn off your lights and play Kinect. So we feel like if someone wanted to focus on the pure, make-you-crap-your-pants horror aspect of it, they can." I didn't crap my pants at Sega's dimly-lit Rise of Nightmares demo event in San Francisco (embarrassing!); luckily for me, the game wasn't that scary. After flailing, ducking and twisting my way through four different areas over the course of a few hours, I found no fear -- at least, this Kinect game wasn't scaring me. But what it lacked in frights, it more than made up for with wonderfully tense moments.%Gallery-130815%
Rise of Nightmares trailer goes on a European vacation
It's possible to be too good at marketing. Today's example of this incontrovertible, long-standing axiom that we just made up is Sega's mature Kinect game, Rise of Nightmares. Between the brutal "Red Band" trailer and the above "Euro Vacation" ad, we're kinda dreading the release day for the game, solely because it means we won't see any more commercials for it. Listen Sega, 2011 is a fine year to release a game, just fine, but could we interest you in something in a 2012? Perhaps even a 2013? ... Or maybe that's not enough. Maybe you want to put Rise of Nightmares in the elite company of Max Payne 3 and the next Half-Life game with the "Sometime? Maybe?" release window. You don't have to decide now, just think about it, that's all we ask.
Rise of Nightmares unleashes 'Red Band' trailer
We normally breeze right past age gates (we're grown folks, after all) but we wish we'd taken the one before this new Rise of Nightmares trailer a bit more seriously. It's ... lighthearted, but there's some stuff in there we certainly wouldn't mind if we could unsee. Oh Kinect, what hast thou wrought?
Rise of Nightmares' bloody new screens and tiny pre-order bonus
There's not a single image in this new set of screenshots from Rise of Nightmares that doesn't include visible human (or "human") blood, in rivulets, smears, stains, puddles, or kind of a cloud. There's even what we would consider a gush. At least you'll know what you're getting into. The gallery also has the first, non-bloody images of one of the GameStop-exclusive pre-order bonuses: a mini zombie pet for your Avatar. That poor tiny, normally proportioned person got bitten by a zombie! You'll also get extra themes, gamer pics, and other digital freebies.%Gallery-129780%%Gallery-129784%
Play along with this Rise of Nightmares trailer
We tried to convey the Rise of Nightmares experience from E3, though our attempt likely came up short. So, we came up with this crude facsimile. It's simple, watch the video after the break and, every time you see a zombie, pretend to bash its head in with a pipe. It's almost like the real game!
Rise of Nightmares preview: Right foot forward
I'm having an internal debate regarding Rise of Nightmares, the upcoming Kinect title from Sega. It's easily the most ambitious Kinect game I've ever played. Unlike most Kinect offerings, Rise of Nightmares gives players total control over their actions, allowing them to fully explore an interactive environment from a first-person perspective. The only problem: I can't decide if it's actually good or not. %Gallery-126016%
ESRB outs Rise of Nightmares' plot, 'revealing' creatures
Wondering what's on the dreamscape for Sega's upcoming Kinect horror title, Rise of Nightmares? While Sega hasn't revealed much, the game's page on the ESRB site describes a first-person "horror-adventure game in which players assume the role of an American tourist who must rescue his wife from a deranged scientist" holed up in a deserted mansion. Deranged, indeed: "zombie-like creatures and disfigured monsters" stand in the American tourist's way, and he must employ "brass knuckles, knives, hatchets, and chainsaws" to get through them. Beyond physical harm, he'll have to wrestle with his own psyche, as "some female creatures are depicted in revealing outfits (e.g., 'pasties' that partially cover their breasts)." Stay focused, American tourist! As a result of all these horrifying (and sexy) elements, Rise of Nightmares has been rated M for Mature. It's expected to launch sometime in 2011.
Kinect comes to XBLA, Microsoft Game Studios reveals five Japanese titles
Microsoft Game Studios unveiled five new Japanese partnerships during its Tokyo Game Show 2010 keynote today, each intended to "provide fun for users throughout the world." Takashi Sensui, general manager of Xbox in Japan, claimed the projects would "define the future of Xbox 360 and Kinect" -- a future that now promises Kinect-enabled Xbox Live Arcade games. Out of the five new XBLA-exclusive games announced today, three will use Kinect: Haunt, a spooky adventure from Parappa the Rappa's Masaya Matsuura; Project Codename D, a stylish new endeavor from Grasshopper Manufacture's Suda 51; and Project Draco, a Panzer Dragoon-esque flight game from Phantom Dust creator Yukio Futatsugi. These will join third-party Kinect games Child of Eden, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor and Rise of Nightmares in 2011. Microsoft also revealed Fire-Pro Wrestling from Spike, and a new version of Radiant Silvergun from Treasure (much to the chagrin of eBay profiteers). Both are coming to XBLA in 2011.
Rise of Nightmares attacks Kinect in 2011
Take some of Silent Hill's nurses, and some of Saw's torture devices, and you might have yourself a Rise of Nightmares. Sega announced the brand new Kinect exclusive at Microsoft's Tokyo Game Show press conference with a teaser that was genuinely scary. "I knew I'd ... die here," the trailer says. Thankfully, he won't die until 2011, when the game comes out.
