Snapshot
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DNAFit's at-home blood test wrote my 2019 resolutions for me
What do you get the amateur athlete who already bought the fancy shoes, had their gait analyzed and owns a too-tight triathlon onesie? Genetic testing, of course. It's in this field that weekend warriors are now looking for ways to shave seconds from their times. Peeping at your genes can only tell you so much, which is why companies like DNAFit are expanding.
Chaos Reborn summons single-player mode
Chaos Reborn, the latest turn-based strategy game from original X-COM creator Julian Gollop, now has a single-player mode. The new mode allows human players to take on AI wizards, or to play "hotseat" with other players, or a combination of both humans and AI. The update also includes a number of balance tweaks, a new spell that let's you "summon a pack of mutant, giant rats" and, in the spirit of the season, special Christmas themed graphics. If you're in the festive mood, keep in mind that the Christmas graphics will only be available for a limited time. On a recent live stream of Chaos Reborn with Joystiq, Gollop discussed plans for other single-player content as well, specifically what sounds like a fairly complex campaign. You can hear him discuss it, and watch him beat the tar out of Joystiq's Alexander Sliwinski, right here. Chaos Reborn is available via Steam Early Access now. [Image: Snapshot Games]
Path of Exile removes Snapshotting
Wondering what the folks developing Path of Exile are up to these days? A new dev blog from Grinding Gear Games details some major changes to the game as the Snapshotting mechanic is being removed. Snapshotting allows players to lock in the benefits of a specific set of items, passives, or gems and quickly swap them to another configuration, giving the combined benefits from both sets. While not technically illegal in the game, the devs say that it has hindered game balance for too long and needed to be removed. Check out the video after the cut to get a better idea of what Snapshotting is (was!), and be sure to read through the entire dev article for more information on how the game will be balanced moving forward.
Bing broadens Snapshot to include TED Talks, famous speeches and more straight from the results page
How do you improve adoption of a search engine? You make it so users never have to leave the results page, or so Microsoft's latest Bing enhancements would suggest. With the bevy of new features Bing's introduced today, users with an academic or historical bent can now get pretty much all the info they need directly from Snapshot, its preview window for queries. Searches for prominent people will now surface links to any famous speeches or TED Talks they've given, with content playing either from within that pane or just one-click away. Bing will also present users with online course listings for Universities, Wikipedia-sourced summaries for historic events and scientific theories, as well pertinent Animalia info (so you can figure out if that's a husky or a wolf you've just adopted). In all, it seems like these search enhancements are geared towards the academic set. So, it's good news if you're the lazy collegiate type -- now you don't even have to open separate tabs.
Microsoft to start showing people's social and career info in Bing results
Back in 2011, the relationship between Microsoft and social analytics company Klout made it possible for some folks to take home a free Windows Phone. In 2013, though, it's all about Bing. To that end, Microsoft's know-all engine will, as of today, begin displaying Klout-verified information inside Bing search results. The new partnership makes it possible for people to share personal tidbits using Bing's Snapshot feature, things like employment history and prominent social posts from Twitter and Instagram. While this integration with Klout goes considerably deeper than that, it'll ultimately be up to each user to determine the amount of details they want shown when someone is searching for them in Bing. You'll need Klout and LinkedIn accounts to create your very own Snapshot -- and let's be honest, we all know how important first impressions on the web can be.
Snapshot: Card Hunter
This is a Snapshot, a quick, un-scored review of a game we think you should know about. You encounter a free-to-play browser game. You decide to play it. Roll a D6 to see if it's any good... A six! Wow, that's really lucky. Roll again to see if forced microtransactions or time limits will prevent you from enjoying it for a long session... Another six?! You're unstoppable. Okay, roll one last time to see if you're crazy... Three in a row? The odds are incredibly unlikely, but you've stumbled across Card Hunter, a free-to-play, browser-based, deck-building strategy game that will devour every last second of your free time if you let it.
Snapshot: Paranormal
This is a Snapshot, a quick, un-scored review of a game we think you should know about. I have a problem with "found footage" horror movies. No matter how good they are, almost all of them end the same way. Whoever has the camera gets attacked by something, and the camera falls to the ground, inevitably on its side. Either you get a final glimpse of the pretend cinematographer as their life ebbs away, or you get to hear their off-screen cries of agony as some unseen terror eviscerates them. It's not that the device doesn't make sense (how else could it end, really?), it's just not a very satisfying way to wrap up a story. It's abrupt and disappointing and, at this point, trite. What indie horror game Paranormal has taught me, however, is that all of that changes when the camera is placed in your own virtual hands. The tired movie trope suddenly becomes interesting – and you can't yell at the idiot with the camera, because the idiot is you.
Oknytt points & clicks into Scandinavian folklore
This is a Snapshot, a quick, un-scored review of a game we think you should know about. Ever since I first dove into Quest for Glory 4: Shadows of Darkness, I've been enamored with the folklore of other cultures, with learning about the myths and monsters of the world. Getting to do that through the magic of a video game is, of course, a happy bonus. Enter Oknytt, a new adventure game from Nemoria Entertainment. Just as Shadows of Darkness taught me about the Leshy, Rusalka and Domovoi, Oknytt introduced me to the Alvor, Hustomte and Nacken, complete with detailed lore entries describing each creature's place in Scandinavian folklore. Unlike Shadows of Darkness, however, some of Oknytt's puzzles drove me mad.%Gallery-193944%
Skyward Collapse lets you play god on both sides
This is a Snapshot, a quick, un-scored review of a game we think you should know about. I can never play Skyward Collapse again. It's not that it's a bad game, it's just that I work from home. Frankly, having it – and the accompanying temptation – within arm's reach would be detrimental to my productivity. I meant to play for an hour or so. Just to try it and find out if it was worth writing about. Unbeknownst to me, hours flew by as I built my two tiny factions of Greeks and Norse. You see, Skyward Collapse isn't about raising one faction to prominence, it's about keeping them all in balance. If either group annihilates the other completely, you lose. Unfortunately, the people of Skyward Collapse possess free will, which makes my job as Creator a difficult one.%Gallery-192100%
YU-NAMA: The Puzzle - Minion mayhem on PlayStation Mobile
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. "Yu-WHAT NOW?" If you own a PSP, you may already be familiar with Acquire's RTS-like YU-NAMA series. NIS America released the first two entries stateside as Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! After Bruce Wayne's lawyers stepped in, the games were retitled What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? Sony further complicated matters when it later localized the third entry in the series as No Heroes Allowed! At this point, it might just be easier to refer to the series by its Japanese title, Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida. Sony apparently agrees, as a PlayStation Mobile-exclusive spinoff game was recently released in North America as YU-NAMA: The Puzzle. It's a shame that the series can't seem to hold on to a single consistent title, as it means that PS Vita owners might miss out on one of PlayStation Mobile's best releases to date.
Steam deals: Stealth Bastard, Closure, Snapshot, more this week
This week, Steam is discounting a dozen different indie games. Stealth Bastard Deluxe, a fast-paced 2D stealth game from Curve Studios, is a tempting $4.99. Closure, the dark platformer from Eyebrow Interactive, is a mere $3.39 – definitely worth the pittance. Snapshot is also $3.39, a puzzle platformer from Kyle Pulver built upon an inventive photography mechanic. Retrovirus is half-off at $10, a shooter where players guide a ship through a computer system to eradicate a virus. Turret-based strategy game Sol Survivor is next on the list, down to $2.49 for the remainder of the sale. Spark Unlimited's Legendary, a shooter based on the Pandora's Box myth, joins the sale soiree for $1.24; Nikopal: Secrets of the Immortals is also $1.24, a 3D adventure game set in France during the year 2023. BC Kings, also $1.24, is s a strategy game set in the stone age. The final three games rounding out the list are: Puzzle Kingdoms for $3.74, a game from the creators of Puzzle Quest in very much the same vein; 4 Elements, a color-matching game from Playrix Entertainment set in a fantasy world, for $2; and Cave Story+ for $4.99, Nicalis' port of Daisuke Amaya's lauded platform-adventure game. All of these games are on sale until May 6 at 10am PT.
The Last Door pixelates gothic horror
This is a Snapshot, a quick, un-scored review of a game we think you should know about. Pixelated horror seems to be all the rage these days. Lone Survivor, Home and now The Last Door – none of them need high tech visuals to give you goosebumps. I spent yesterday morning playing the first chapter of The Last Door, a recently Kickstarted browser-based adventure game, and I experienced a handful of genuine chills. That's especially impressive given just how pixelated the game really is.Characters look like they strolled right out of the first King's Quest, so blocky that basic human features are barely discernible. Head, hair, body, arms and legs. Environments are just detailed enough to make out the important parts. Spooky mansion, fireplace, sofa, foreboding murder of crows. The fact that the crows are only vaguely crow-shaped does nothing to diminish their presence.As most horror fans will tell you, fear is often about what you can't see. For The Last Door, a little obfuscation goes a long way.
Thoughtful Bundle: Fieldrunners, Reckless Disregard for Gravity and more
Indie Royale's Thoughtful Bundle is live, and features five different PC and Mac games for a pay-the-minimum price, which is currently $5.46. Included in the bundle are Snapshot by Retro Affect, Cognition Episode 2: The Wise Monkey by Phoenix Online Studios, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity by Dejobaan Games, Subatomic Studios' Fieldrunners and Snuggle Truck from Owlchemy Labs. Buyers that fork over at least $8 will also receive Night Animals, a chiptune album by Bright Primate.The Thoughtful Bundle will be available on Indie Royale's site until Saturday, March 23.
Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2012
Joystiq is revealing its 10 favorite games of 2012 throughout the week. Keep reading for more top selections and every writer's personal, impassioned picks in Best of the Rest roundups. FTL: Faster Than LightI find tremendous pleasure in games that allow me to name my characters, humanize them and create their unique, intricate backstories, for the sole purpose of making me watch those beloved little guys burn to death on a cramped space ship. No game does this better, or more often, than FTL: Faster Than Light.Another alluring aspect of FTL is that it's an indie game that looks indie. The game's strength lies in the incredible interstellar journey the player takes with her crew, and the graphics do everything they can to stay out of the way of these space battles and indiscriminate deaths. It's a mental game, high-energy in synapse rather than the screen – much as I've heard the original X-COM described. And like X-COM, playing FTL isn't just a wonderful experience today, but it promises greater, better things to come from Subset Games.
Bing boosts snapshot search with richer info on famous faces and places
Whether you're upfront about it or firmly in the closet, the search data doesn't lie: we all have a pop culture crush. Which is why Microsoft's expanding Bing's snapshot pane, one of three columns within its revamped layout, to display expanded data on celebrities and landmarks. (What? You thought all of those Kim Kardashian keyword searches went unnoticed?) Now, users that enter queries related to either of those two categories will be able to preview a host of relevant info (e.g., filmography, discography, movie trailers and track previews) from that second results column, all culled from a wider reach of sources. It's the first of many planned enhancements for Microsoft's search platform, so stay tuned for further changes in the "coming weeks."
Minecraft 1.4.6 to add fireworks and enchanted tomes before Christmas
While Minecraft's upcoming January update version 1.5 churns away in the cauldrons of Mojang's most diligently studious wizards, a smaller update (version 1.4.6) is being coded in parallel for release sometime before Christmas.Available to more adventurous adventurers now as Snapshot 12w49a, version 1.4.6 adds the ability to craft fireworks and enchanted books that can then be used to enchant items. Various bug fixes are also bundled with the patch, tough the Snapshot version of 1.4.6 is not itself guaranteed to be bug free.The most important part of all of this, however, is that skulls can be added to the firework formula in order to make them look like Creepers when they explode, which is ironic and wonderful, as seen above.
Snapshot: Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is older than I am. Ancestrally, at least – The Great Giana Sisters launched in 1987 on Commodore 64, Atari ST, the Amiga and a few other, old platforms. The publisher, Rainbow Arts, was immediately embroiled in scandal for the game's similarity to Super Mario Bros. It was pulled from retail and eventually the IP shifted to Spellbound Entertainment, which released Great Giana Sisters DS in 2009. Spellbound went bankrupt in 2012 and many of its members re-formed as Black Forest Games with the Giana Sisters IP in hand.On August 31, Black Forest's Kickstarter for "Project Giana" earned $186,000 of a requested $150,000, promising fans a modern, direct "grandchild" of The Great Giana Sisters. Now, Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is the second game to launch on Steam through the latest crowd-sourced initiative, Greenlight. After 25 years of refusals, bankruptcies and a shifty legal foundation, the only thing that matters is if the game, in the end, is worth it.Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams is worth it.%Gallery-169126%
Snapshot: Anna (PC)
There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Don't fool yourself about what type of game Anna is. Though screenshots may deceive you into believing the game is a realistic point-and-click set in the gorgeous Italian countryside, Anna is a horror game through and through. Even the developers at Dreampainters pitch Anna as a classic point-and-click adventure, based on the heritage of Val D'Ayas, a small village steeped in ancient folklore. The sawmill? "Oh, that, it's sort of haunted," the developers seem to say, "but don't worry your pretty little head about it."After playing Anna, I suggest you worry about it. Worry about it a lot.%Gallery-167122%
Snapshot: Derrick the Deathfin (PS3)
There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. An evil, or simply negligent, oil company pollutes the ocean a young shark lives in, and then carelessly kills his parents. The shark swears revenge and then goes on a rampage, traveling the world's oceans to personally destroy every piece of machinery the company owns, virtually emptying the waters of fish to keep himself alive along the way.In most media, including other games, this would be the setup for a grim, violent story. But Derrick the Deathfin somehow takes the murderous revenge story with environmental themes ... and makes it adorable.%Gallery-147232%
Snapshot: Gateways
There are so many games out there we couldn't possibly review them all. Welcome to Snapshot, where we highlight games that might fall outside our usual coverage but are still something we think you should know about. Today: Gateways for PC. Yes, Gateways is a retro 2D platformer from an independent developer. Go ahead and get out all your grumbling about the saturation of retro platformers on the indie scene. Really, let it all out. There it is. And breathe.Now that our minds are open and clear, let's talk about Gateways.Gateways comes from Smudged Cat Games, the developer behind The Adventures of Shuggy, and it therefore carries a certain level of polish and intricacy expected from a veteran creator. It's truly not just another indie, retro 2D platformer – it's an indie, retro 2D platformer with a multitude of layers in gateway guns, time-shifting abilities, mirror refraction and flashlight technology, all set in an eccentric scientist's overrun laboratory.%Gallery-167608%
