Huh: Cub Scouts to start offering awards for videogame-related deeds

You hear that, kids? Playing videogames will net you real-life rewards! So start perfecting those headshot scoring skills now, who knows what kinds of rewards you'll reap from them in the future.

...Okay, maybe not that. I hear the rewards for things like that aren't what you'd call glamorous or, well, rewards. Trust me, you're better off not pursuing such things. Instead, why not go for these:

Scouts can earn a belt loop award for succeeding in the following three tasks--explain the importance of a video game rating system while checking the ratings of your games; creating a scheduling that balances chores, schoolwork, and gaming; and learning to play an adult-approved game.

An academic pin in gaming can be earned by completing five of the following nine tasks--creating a plan to purchase an age appropriate game; comparing gaming systems and determining reasons for purchase; playing a tournament with family members; teaching an adult or friend to play a game; list five tips to help someone to learn how to play your favorite game; play an appropriate game with a friend for an hour; play an educational game; compare prices and return policies for a game at three different stores; and install a game system while supervised by an adult.

Small, I know, but hey, something's better than nothing, right? Besides, what else would you give a bunch of kids (aside from candy, that is)? A million bucks? (Yeah, like that would ever happen.)

Cub Scouts offering awards for video game-related deeds [GamePro]

Ouch: First batch of 3D enabled PS3 games to get visual downgrades

This with downgraded visuals and a lower frame rate in exchange for 3D? No thanks!

Yes, you read that right. Visual downgrades. That's "Make games less pretty" for all you simple folk out there. And it's all because of 3D. Guess that's just another reason to hate it.

Here's what the 1UP story had to say on the matter:

As part of a thorough look at Sony's 3D development process filled with tons of highly technical details, Eurogamer reveals that two of the first 3D PS3 games -- retrofitted versions of Wipeout HD and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift -- will have downgraded resolutions when played in stereoscopic 3D (via Kotaku). Wipeout HD originally could run as high as 1080p, but will be restricted to 720p in 3D (and with a reduced frame-rate, as well). And MotorStorm: Pacific Rift could run as high as 720p normally, but is actually dropped to a sub-HD resolution when playing in 3D.

See? This is why 3D sucks: because it hurts visual quality.

...Okay that's (partially) not true. I only said that because I'm a jerk who likes to take jabs at 3D whenever possible.

Still, the fact that visuals have to downgraded to properly display 3D images is certainly concerning. I mean, if we can't view the games in the resolutions they were meant to be displayed in, then why bother with spending the money on a 3D HDTV (now there's a crazy acronym for ya!)?

If anything, this just proves that Ninja Theory was right.

First 3D PS3 Games Getting Visual Downgrade [1UP]

YES!: Bit.Trip Runner dashes onto Wii Shop May 17

The headline pretty much says it all, so just watch this trailer for the game to get you pumped for its forthcoming release:



Still as awesome as it was when I first saw it. Now I just have to get some Wii points together so I can buy it on day one.

Talk about a waste of money: Final Fantasy XIII themed items hit Home

Remember PlayStation Home? You know, that ol' virtual reality space that PlayStation 3 owners can use to socialize, play games like bowling, or throw TVs down stairwells? The thing that launched a couple years ago in "beta" form and still hasn't left said status (at least as far as I know)? Well, in what is obviously an attempt to draw more people into Home, it seems Sony's still trying to support it with some new Final Fantasy XIII themed items you can buy -- with real money -- for your avatar (no relation to the Xbox Avatars, I assure you).

The items in question are costumes that will make your avatar look like Lighting, Snow, Sazh, or Vanille, an apartment (i.e. your home in Home), and some decorative items such as Cactuars and Tonberry's (what, no chocobos? For shame, guys, for shame).

Here's a couple screenshots of the costumes (check here for a look at the rest of the items):

There's something different about you, Snow... did you get a haircut?

 

There's something different about you too, Lightning... can't put my finger on it, though.

I really don't see why anyone would want to buy these things. I mean, come on. They're not actually real or anything, so what's the point? To show just how gullible you are when it comes to Final Fantasy apparel (if you can even call it that)? Whatever the reason is, I just don't see its worth. If they were real physical items, then I could see the appeal. But virtual? That just sounds like a waste.

Hey, Home users. Yeah, all two of you. If you're reading this, perhaps you could enlighten me as to why you crazy, crazy people would be interested in things like this.

Sources: Kotaku, Destructoid

New stuff on Okamiden

Some of you may remember how skeptical I was of Okamiden back when the announcement was made (and I kinda still am), but as details have surfaced, my initial skepticism has lessened significantly. What was once worry and pessimism has become excitement and hope that the game will turn out to be as amazing as the original.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about the latest trailer and gameplay footage that surfaced just today. Check 'em out:





GameSpot also posted a preview and some screenshots, as well as an interview with one of the developers. Take a look:



The game's definitely lookin' good. I can't wait to get my hands on it (though it's gonna be a long wait, seeing as it's slated for a 2011 release in the US).

My only worry is how well the d-pad will work for movement. As I've mentioned before elsewhere, 3D games and d-pad control don't exactly go hand-in-hand, so I'm a little worried that it'll end up hurting the game.

Still, I'm hopeful that all will turn out well. I haven't heard anything that's alluded to it having problems of some sort (such things are usually mentioned on podcasts and the like), so I'm taking that as a good sign.

One thing's for sure though: next year can't come soon enough.

Sneaky: Rabbids invade Splinter Cell: Conviction

Just came across this funny little cameo of the Rabbids in Splinter Cell on the Giant Bomb forums. Take a look:

I'd probably look the same way if a gun was being pointed at me.

Heh heh. Gotta love it when those little maniacs make a completely random cameo somewhere.

Rabbids pop up in Splinter Cell: Conviction [GoNintendo via Giant Bomb]

Who?: Doctor Who games are in the works

After what seems to be billions of episodes, the popular sci-fi series Doctor Who will be getting its first videogame treatment in the form of a four part episodic series based on episodes from the new series. The games are being developed by studio Sumo Digital, whose previous works include the Broken Sword series, and Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing.

The project is being done in cooperation with the show's writers, and acclaimed adventure game developer Charles Cecil (Broken Sword, Beneath a Steal Sky). The games are to be distributed for free on the BBC's website for both Mac and PC.

I'm kinda split on how I feel about this. On one hand, as Doctor Who fan (I know, what's wrong with me, right?), this sounds all right. I mean, if any genre's a good fit for a Doctor Who game it's the point-and-click adventure genre. But on the other hand, it's a licensed game, which have a horrible tendency to end up being terrible games.

Of course, with a crew that knows adventure games, and the show's writers working alongside them, things have a good chance of turning out well. But, well, I've been burned enough times to know better than to assume things will be good just because a good team is working on it. Still, hope it all goes well for them.

One other thing of note from the GameSpot article is that a Wii game is in development as well. Didn't know that. Wonder what that one will be about, and whether or not it -- and the other ones -- will be released in the states. If they won't, then all that skepticism I expressed earlier would be pointless because I'd have no way to play them (not that I would. I'm still uncertain about it)! In which case, sorry about the all the stuff I said developers. No hard feelings?

Doctor Who Time Lord-ing over PC, Mac [GameSpot]

When Pixels attack

...Is what they should have called this video instead of "PIXELS," which I feel should have an exclamation point or two at the end. Don't ask me why -- it just feels right, okay?

Here's the video in all its awesome, pixelated glory:

As I said in the comments of the Giant Bomb post about this, if the world really were to end, I'd want it to end like this. Now, I'm not saying it should happen, just that if it were, it'd be better to have it end in some spectacular fashion like this instead of something boring, like the whole world being flooded or something.

Besides -- haven't you ever wondered what it's like to be a pixel (I know I have... once)? If that were to happen, then we'd finally know! Thus solving one life's many, many mysteries.

One More PIXEL [Giant Bomb]

Best. Press release. Ever.

Just read.

Hey,

Remember way back in the day when you loved a game so much that you
would buy ANYTHING that had to do with it? Remember Easter, when you
had to go to your Great Aunts house to celebrate with the family, and
you knew you would be bored in the car and the only thing you could
bring was a crappy handheld version of some game you loved (for me it
was Megaman 2) and you had no choice but to play it in the car and at
her house because she was born in like the 1890's and didn't even have
a VCR? Those were great days...and now, we at Team Meat, are giving
you the ability to do that ALL OVER AGAIN ON YOUR IPHONE, IPOD AND
EXPENSIVE GIANT IPOD (IPAD).

Super Meat Boy Handheld is all the branding of Super Meat Boy, without
the actual gameplay or art from Super Meat Boy...and all for ONLY A
DOLLAR. Enjoy two distinct game modes. In Game A, you have to race and
wall jump past saws to save your lady love Bandage Girl!!! In Game B,
you have to race past falling needles to save your lady love, Bandage
Girl!!! Super Meat Boy Handheld also features a mute button, and a
button that when pressed shows you a high score (not your high score,
just the highest score you can get).

Super Meat Boy Handheld is available on the iTunes AppStore for only
$0.99 (THAT'S NOT NINETY NINE DOLLARS YOU SILLY PEOPLE). Pick it up
today, brag to your friends, and support Super Meat Boy!!

Love,

Team Meat

Here's a picture of the game in question:

I may not have any interest in anything gaming on Apple products like the iPhone, or iPad, but I gotta say, this is pretty darn awesome, even though it doesn't look great at all. Does that mean something's wrong with me?

Regardless of whether there's a problem with me or not, ya just gotta love it when developers go and do something completely crazy and unexpected like this. Wonder if the actual Super Meat Boy game is as crazy as this. If it is, then I might just have no choice but to play it (eventually).

Buy the Super Meat Boy Tiger Handheld Game, support irony [Destructoid]

Interesting: Ninja Theory dev says PS3 3D tech will be limited

With Sony and now Nintendo prepping their 3D technology for their respective systems, and movies like Avatar getting the general public all pumped up for the age of true three-dimensional visuals, the fact that one developer -- Ninja Theory -- is skeptical of it is nice for a change.

While speaking to CVG on the subject of Sony's forthcoming implementation of 3D capabilities into the PlayStation 3, Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades said he believes the system's 3D ability will be limited.


"The problem is that to do 3D properly you need to render 60 frames per second, per eye. And at least a 720p resolution [per eye]," he said. "So in essence that's 1080p rendering at 120 frames per second, and the current generation can only process very rudimentary graphics at that spec.


"I think the technology's limited now, so you won't be able to play stuff that looks like Avatar -- the movie -- in 3D. Every generation has to be at least five-to-ten times more powerful than the last, so I think we'll get there in the next generation. I think that will be totally revolutionary for games."

So, basically, we're toying around with technology that the system's simply cannot properly produce at this time. That's not exactly a promising outlook. Really makes me wonder how well Sony will be able to replicate that tech when the system isn't equipped for it. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out.


Ninja Theory: PS3's 3D capability will be limited [Destructoid]

Wow, really?: GTA: Chinatown Wars accounts for half of all sales of M-rated DS titles

Now that's surprising. But what's even more surprising is the fact that there are only ten Mature rated games total for the DS. Ten games total. That ain't a whole lot.

What does that say about the market? Well, if you ask me (and you must be if you're actually reading this), I say it's pretty indicative that DS owners simply don't want M-rated titles. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars may make up half of the all-time sales of M-rated titles on the system, but even that debuted to a very slow start (and didn't recover from it very quickly either).

Of course, the fact that so few titles have that rating, and all that have didn't sell well hasn't stopped others from making them anyway. Just recently games like Crime Scene (which I hear has plenty of crime scene action in it), and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (which may or may not actually be "strange") have come out carrying the infamous M-rating. Haven't been able to find some sales numbers on those games, so I can't say whether or not they've broken the curse of M-rated DS games. (Though it'd be pretty big news if Crime Scenes of all things was the one to do it. Here's hoping?)

Chinatown Wars Accounts for Half of all M-rated DS Sales -- All Time [Kotaku]

Stuff

-Beat Final Fantasy XIII a few days ago. Review is in the works now and should be up soon-ish (like, sometime next week, soon-ish), but in meantime here's a sneak peak on what I think: it was good. Really good.

-I really should get back to those games that aren't Red Faction: Guerrilla or Final Fantasy XIII (Serious Sam: Next Encounter, Lemmings, etc.). I've been neglecting those games for far too long. Damn Red Faction and its additive nature...

-Speaking of which, I started Red Faction a couple days ago. It's not bad. It's hard -- real hard -- but fun. I like how well everything falls apart when you whack it with your sledgehammer or blow it up. It's all very dynamic, as nothing ever falls apart exactly the same way as the last thing did. Look for a review of that somewhere down the line.

-Read a rather enlightening review of the DSi XL on Bitmob. Seems the system outdoes its predecessors in almost every way. Still don't have any desire to buy one, though. Maybe if it were being sold for, like, $5 or $10 I would, but even then, how many DSes does one really need? (I got about four, at the moment, in case you were wondering.)

-Speaking of Bitmob, I just came across a challenge of sorts asking its members to write about game controllers. I think I may contribute something, provided I can finish my aforementioned FFXIII review before the deadline (April 14) so I can throw something together.

-The April Fools Day shenanigans have been fun to read. My personal favorites are Google Docs' new feature to store literally anything on their servers, Gmail's vowel outage, and GameSpot's April Fools episode of Today On the Spot. (NOTE: I'd include links to the other stuff, as well, but given that they've always taken them down at the end of the day, I figure it's not worth it. Just go and look it up if you happened to miss the madness.)

-Ralph Baer, the inventor of videogames, made it into the Inventor's Hall of Fame today. Kinda surprised it didn't happen sooner, though. Regardless, the man definitely deserves it. Congrats, man!

That's awesome: Duke Nukem Forever was scheduled to go 'gold' on April 1st

What is widely considered to be best day on the internet, April Fools Day has been host a ton of fake, humorous news stories, and other crazy shenanigans (such as Google's -- sorry, I mean Topeka's). However, according to a recent report by Shacknews, if things had gone according to plan, Duke Nukem Forever, the game with the longest development schedule ever, and considered to be industry's biggest joke, was going to finally be finished on April 1, 2010.

"By the 3DR/TTWO development schedule, April 1st, 2010 was supposed to be the day Duke Nukem Forever went gold," said former producer on the game, Jason Bergman, via Twitter. "Totally intentional. It was going to be hilarious." 

And would have indeed been hilarious, had it actually happened.

Back in May of 2009, the game, after being in development for years, was caned after the publisher, Take-Two, laid off the development team. The publisher has said the game is still being worked on apparently, but no specific developer has been named. Whether that means the game will still see the light of day or not, however, remains unknown.


I never was actually interested in the game itself (never saw the appeal), but now I kinda wish it hadn't been canceled, if only to see everyone's reactions to it actually coming out. They probably would have made for a fun read.


For an idea of just how long the game has been in development for, check this staggering list of things that have happened since its announcement. (Hint: There's a lot.)


Duke Nukem Forever Once Scheduled to Go Gold on April Fools' Day (No Joke) [Shacknews]