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Joystiq Weekly: Facebook buys Oculus VR, Bioshock Infinite DLC review, GDC videos and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. If GDC and this past week has taught us anything, it's that almost no one's happy with the present state of reality. Virtual reality headset Oculus Rift now has a pretty cushion-y parent company, the comparable Project Morpheus potentially has Sony's developers behind it, and Microsoft might be toying with their own ideas for augmented reality. The common consensus seems to be "let's reach the future, even if it means strapping displays to our faces." We're starting to wonder what Nintendo's non-wearable health technology is going to look like. If it's not something to block out our primary reality, and if it's planned to launch through Nintendo's fiscal year of 2016, will it be something to supplement devices we already own? Maybe we'll face a line of AdventureTrek treadmills, where we run and jump our way through iconic Nintendo universes. Maybe it will involve a Pokemon MMO played with pedometer devices like the Pokemon Pikachu, with dungeon raids consisting of a dozen people throwing their devices into dryers for the best possible attack speed. Or maybe neither of those ideas! Because they're garbage. What isn't garbage is the slew of news, reviews and original content we've lined up for you in this week's Joystiq Weekly. Even if you don't care about VR, there's news of a legal tussle between 3D Realms and Gearbox over Duke Nukem, a hint of The Last Of Us reaching the PS4 and a review of Bioshock Infinite's Burial at Sea Episode Two. There's also video features from GDC for Fantasia: Music Evolved, Goat Simulator and Videoball, in case you like moving pictures with your words. We've summarized all that and more for you to delve into after the break!
Videoball, NBA Jam and the magic of on-screen sports
Videoball looks like something you might have played on an Atari 2600 you bought at a garage sale. Played on a single screen, two teams of two triangles fire bullets at a ball, attempting to knock it into their opponents' goal. At its most basic, that's it. It's dead simple, but its complexities start to emerge within a few minutes. Charged shots, defensive walls and deflections all add a layer of high-level nuance to Videoball that serious players are bound to appreciate. On the plus side, it's also a lot of fun. What's really surprising about Videoball, however, is its inspiration: Real-time strategy. Videoball designer Tim Rogers told us at GDC that the concept was born from the idea of reducing a game like StarCraft to a single button. Throw in scoring, thumping music and an announcer and you have something approaching NBA Jam levels of competitive camaraderie – and that was no accident. Videoball is expected to arrive this year on PC and Mac – and possibly other platforms – courtesy of Majesco's indie label, Midnight City.
Nidhogg, NecroDancer headline IndieCade East eSports, Night Games lineups
Indiecade East, a festival celebrating indie creations, runs from February 14 - 16 in Astoria, New York at the Museum of the Moving Image. The folks behind the indie games festival have announced full lineups for the eSports and Night Games showcases today. The eSports showcase, highlighting competitive games from the indie community on Saturday and Sunday, will be headlined by Messhof's fencing game Nidhogg. Other standout eSports offerings include Videoball from Action Button, Glitchnap's space-jousting game Laza Knitez and dodgeball simulator Stikbold from Reign Bros. The Night Games showcase will offer up "a diverse mix of live action games, multiplayer games, theater projections of upcoming indie games and more," the press release past the break says, and goes down on Saturday night, February 15, from 7pm until 10pm. Among the highlighted games are rhythm-based roguelike Crypt of the NecroDancer and Tether, a multiplayer game where players must work to collect orbs but are chained to their opponents. Tenya Wanya Teens, from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, will also be on-hand. Full festival passes for Indiecade East are still on sale for $100 through the end of January. Starting in February, the cost for a full pass will go up to $125. Daily passes run $45 for Friday, $55 for Saturday (which includes the Night Games showcase) and $45 for Sunday.
