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#AC
The Xbox One is touted as an "All-in-One" entertainment console. Will things work out that way?
This week's PB & Jason is split into two parts. Why? There's just too much to talk about. The Xbox One alone takes up more than an entire issue! That means today, you'll get some perspective on the entire Xbox One reveal press conference. PB & Jason covers the entire stage reveal: The TV parts, the all-in-one parts, Kinect, the gameplay footage that lacked gameplay, and the cross-generation and multiplatform games shown. The verdict? Things aren't looking so good. Tune into tomorrow for the second part, featuring discussion about the news revealed after the press conference on the Xbox One, Denis Dyack, the most recent Nintendo Direct, and those game ideas I've been promising for a little while now!
Isaac Briggs joins Sam Fisher for some co-op action.
EA didn't port FrostBite Engine 3 to the Wii U, so the 15 (and counting) games in development that use the engine won't make it to Nintendo's console.
That's right, this week's PB & Jason is mostly about people NOT developing things for the Wii U. It isn't a big surprise, since that seems to have taken up most of this week's headlines. It's also about hopes that EA's Star Wars exclusivity license is more limited than we believe it is. Interspersed throughout the discussion of games that aren't for the Wii U are a few thoughts about the trouble ahead for the PS4 and the next XBox, as well. Follow all of this with some discussion about the relationship between US gun violence and video games, and we've got ourselves a delicious PB & Jason.
First it giveth, then it taketh away.
Last June, EA Labels President Frank Gibeau said the publisher's objective for Dead Space 3 was to increase accessibility without upsetting established fans. To give credit where it's due, EA was half successful—the first half. But with its compromised and uninspired design, Dead Space 3 is streamlined almost beyond recognition. And I'm upset.
Kneel before Cyberpunk Odin!
In this age of long preview cycles and aggressive PR and marketing campaigns, it can be easy for the video game hype train to go so fast that it flies off the rails. The bigger the game, the bigger the hype, and few titles can ever hope to live up to it. Too Human was a game built on over ten years of increasing hyperbole, and when the game was finally released in 2008 the backlash from gamers and games writers far outpaced the merits of the actual finished product. I’d much rather evaluate games based on their actual strengths and weaknesses as opposed to what they were expected to do, and getting far enough removed from the initial hype allows for that. No, Too Human couldn’t live up to its lofty promises, but it’s also not the atrocity that some people painted it to be.
Let's make a deal, I'll sell you a Kinect for $500 and you can say you won it from me.
This week's PB & Jason was recorded in front of a live studio audience. Or it wasn't. I can say this: No one's ever lost money playing a carnival game to listen to PB & Jason. I'm not sure if I should be proud or saddened by that fact. To know what I'm talking about, you'll have to click through to listen to the podcast.
Ok, well it's not exactly part one...
So, funny story, I think Backloggers Anonymous is cursed when it comes to handling games designed by Irrational. The reason? Well, this is actually our second first recording for System Shock 2. The first one somehow disappeared from my computer after we recorded it, and the backup is gone too. I half expected SHODAN to email me something like I'VE DELETED YOUR PODCAST, INSECT, but that didn't happen, so I'm gonna chalk it up to the curse.
SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!
So, you’ve picked your game and are ready to jump in the ring, but you don’t know where to start. Thankfully, this problem can be solved with the simplest of concepts – favoritism. It’s something that we as people naturally do when it comes to anything we enjoy, and fighting games are no different. When it comes to selecting a game to play, the biggest draw is usually something that you personally find interesting. This also goes for the characters you select to play as. In most cases the character you elect to dedicate most of your time into directly ties into your overall enjoyment of the game. So naturally it’s best to go with what you like.
