Most Recent: Xbox 360

Independent Games Festival announces fourteenth annual awards winners

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Melissa Niedringhaus

The Independent Games Festival, hosted by the Game Developers Conference, today announced it’s award recipients for 2012.

Fez, the unique “perspective-shifting” platformer, was the big winner, taking home the Seumas McNally Award for Best Independent Game and the $30,000 grand prize. Phil Fish, the lead developer on the game, was the central focus of the documentary Indie Game: The Movie, which was shown at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and screened earlier in the week at GDC.

Daniel Benmergui, developer of the game Storyteller, earned the Nuovo award and a $5,000 prize. The Nuovo Award honors abstract, short form, and unconventional game development, and Storyteller’s unique comic strip narrative format fit the bill.

Other award recipients include Dear Ester, by thechineseroom, which won for Excellence in Visual Art, and rightfully so- the idyllic landscapes remind me of Myst when it first came out and blew everyone away. Technical Excellence went to Demruth’s Antichamber, a psychological Escher-esque puzzle game, Excellence in Design to Mossmouth’s Spelunky, which creates levels as you play, and Excellence in Audio to Amanita Design’s Botanicula, which features a soundtrack created by Czech alternative band DVA.

Best Mobile Game was snatched up by Simogo for Beat Sneak Bandit, a rhythmic stealth/puzzle game, Best Student Game went to CMU Entertainment Technology Center/Coco & Co for Way, an online cooperative game focused on cross-cultural communication, and finally, the Audience Award went to Mode 7’s Frozen Synapse, a simultaneous-turn-based tactical game.

Finally, Capy Games took home the first XBLA Prize, a contract with Microsoft to publish a game on the Xbox Live Arcade. The Sword & Sworcery developers subsequently announced Super T.I.M.E Force for Microsoft’s download service.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Xbox 360 version of RE: Operation Raccoon City gets exclusive Nemesis Mode DLC

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Nicole Kline

Can’t wait to buy Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City? Undecided as to which console you’ll buy it for? Well Microsoft has just sweetened the deal for Xbox 360 owners, who now get exclusive DLC called “Nemesis Mode.” Check out the trailer to see what it’s all about.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City will be out March 20, along with the Nemesis Mode DLC for Xbox 360 users. Nemesis Mode will be 320 Microsoft Points.

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Robotics teams ready to rumble with Kinect

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Melissa Niedringhaus

At the FIRST Robotics Competition in New York City, which is part of a larger celebration of science and technology, more than 60 robotics teams will be competing to earn a chance to go on to a global competition and qualify for scholarship money.

What does this have to do with gaming, you ask? Each team has an “alliance” of robots, and this year, they have the option to control one using an Xbox 360 Kinect instead of an autonomous routine. The Kinect controller will read the team member’s movements and translate those to the robot, creating a “hybrid” between man and machine. All very science fictiony, don’t you think?

Check out the video above of how the Kinect will be used to control robots at the competition!

The FIRST Robotics competition will be held March 16-18, 2012 at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. For more information about the New York City FIRST, or the competition, visit their website at NYCFIRST.org.

Posted in Etcetera, News, Xbox 360 |

Nexuiz Review: Speed Kills

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Troy Matsumiya

Tired of bunny-hopping, rocket launcher kiddies in Halo, sawed-off shotgun wall huggers in Gears of War, or cowardly campers in Call of Duty? Then maybe you should consider Nexuiz, an updated return to the old school arena shooter. (more…)

Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Xbox 360 | Tagged

XBLA Today: I Am Alive

Posted on March 7, 2012 by John Scalzo

The Xbox Live Arcade House Party has come to a close for another year as Microsoft added the final game, I Am Alive, to the XBLA today. Ubisoft’s I Am Alive has gone through a troubled development cycle that saw multiple delays and it’s eventual downsizing from a disc-based game to an XBLA release.

Will this change of venue do it good? Or will it be a disaster similar to “The Event” it depicts…

One year after a worldwide cataclysmic event has wiped out most of human civilization, a man struggles for survival. Faced with an insecure, decaying, and hazardous world, he scours a desolated city, searching for his long lost wife and daughter. Survive the suffocating, murky streets covered in dust. Climb the teetering remains of the last standing skyscrapers to reach breathable air and find untouched resources. Explore the crumbling ruins of a once-thriving metropolis. And discover a changed human condition, punctuated by distrustful survivors, dangerous armed gangs, and victims in need.

I Am Alive will be available to download for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). And don’t forget, if you’ve purchased all four House Party titles, you’ll receive a rebate of 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Posted in News, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Darksiders II Collector’s Edition includes Death Mask

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Nicole Kline

THQ has announced that the Darksiders II pre-orders will all be upgraded to the Limited Edition, and that there will also be a Collector’s Edition of the game.

The Limited Edition will include the retail game, but will also give the player access to the first DLC, “Argul’s Tomb,” for free. All existing pre-orders will be upgraded to the Limited Edition.

In addition, there’s the Collector’s Edition of the game, for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. This includes:

  • The Limited Edition version of the game
  • a life-sized replica Death Mask with display stand
  • a unique Shadow of Death armor and scythe set with enhanced stats
  • a digital copy of the Darksiders II soundtrack
  • a hard-cover Darksiders II art book

The Collector’s Edition sounds pretty sweet, and will only set you back $99.

Darksiders II will be out for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on June 26.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Sega and Arkedo Studio announce Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Nicole Kline

The trailer for Sega and Arkedo Studio’s Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit looks pretty awesome. There’s no gameplay – always worrisome – but the idea is interesting, and I’d like to see more. Knowing that you play as Ash, the prince of Hell, and that you’re being blackmailed on the Hellternet, and you ride a drill that you can use for transportation or mass destruction… all of these things are really endearing to me.

The most hilarious part of the announcement:

“The divine union between Arkedo and Sega results in the devilishly good product we can all sinfully be excited about. Hell Yeah!” commented Haruki Satomi, Senior Vice President of Digital Business at Sega of America.

“Yes: Divine. Exactly the word we were looking for! Now, if you will excuse us for a moment, we have a quote by a Sega VP to show our mums. Then we’ll be back; we have a great game to show!” added Camille Guermonprez, Studio Chef at Arkedo Studio.

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit will be out later this year for PC, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade.

Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged

Dead or Alive 5 kicks high this September

Posted on March 6, 2012 by John Scalzo

Tecmo Koei has informed Joystiq that Dead or Alive 5 will be released this September. The fifth entry in the series will be the first in the series to launch on two systems simultaneously (the PS3 and Xbox 360, naturally), along with the first game in the series without input from series creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

But you’ll actually be kicking high sooner than you realize as Tecmo Koei is adding a Dead or Alive 5 demo to the Xbox Live Marketplace (and very likely, the PlayStation Network too) on March 19. A demo will also be included with copies of Ninja Gaiden 3, which will be available in stores on March 20.

Posted in News, PS3, Xbox 360 | Tagged