Nintendo 3DS Pre-Order Madness Starts With Nary A Price Point In Sight (AND Your Kids WIll Go BLIND… Er, Maybe)…


I’m gathering that reports that the upcoming 3DS will carry a warning about use of its innovative 3D functionality being not recommended (or good, for that matter) for the eyesight of kids under six years old isn’t going to stop anyone from putting down a fat deposit at Gamestop and posting copies their receipts online. Of course, those pre-ordering folk aren’t six years old (and hopefully don’t have kids coming up on that age they want to introduce to that sort of eye/brain strain) and heck, trying to stop early adopters from throwing packs of money around is sort of bad for the economy (which someone should tell those AGAINST alternative fuel sources).

Still, Nintendo really needs to play offense as well as defense here as they address this potential sales-killing (or class action lawsuit bringing) issue as more of the dopier media outlets (you know, the ones that ALWAYS take the “Video games will turn your kids into mass murdering sex fiends in three seconds!” approach to this sort of news) take this negative angle and run wild with it. I say, as long as parents can read the damn box (or have a clerk point this age limit out to them) BEFORE they buy it, it’s all good. Now, about that price point… Guess we’ll see by CES (my prediction: $249.99, but perhaps with a pack-in and maybe loaded with some cool stuff)

My REAL question is this: Why the hell do we keep seeing kid’s movies arriving in theaters (then later on DVD or Blu-Ray) in 3D if kids under six shouldn’t be able to watch them at all? Granted, you can sit around playing “normal” games for hours on end with only a few issues. 3D gaming has been headache-inducing since the 90’s when there were something like two to four minute experiences along with a few other applications. I guess we’ll see what happens after the 3DS ships and more folks can afford 3D televisions and those expensive glasses.

Still, I’m crazy that way. I can see myself playing a 3D game ’til I fall off the couch from dizziness, but I just can’t imagine myself or someone else watching more than two 3D movies in a row before their butt tries to bite them for making them sit so long doing nothing…

Review: TRON Evolution


Platform: PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC*)

Developer: Propaganda Games


Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios


# of Players: 1 (online 1 – 8)


ESRB Rating: T (Teen)


Official Site


Score: B

As licensed movie games go, TRON: Evolution does a pretty good job of bringing gamers into its world as a mostly enjoyable experience that while not a masterpiece, has some pretty cool elements going for it. It's not the usual licensed title that repeats the movie experience, but a bridge between the 1982 original and the new sequel (TRON: Legacy) that you may want to play BEFORE you see the movie. Enjoying the game fully requires a bit of knowledge (and yes, nostalgia) about the original's film's plot and characters, but you can complete it without knowing who's who. However, If you just want a new action game to play and go in cold with no intentions to see either film, the story might seem weak and hard to follow in spots. On the other hand, if you're a fan of the original and have seen (or plan to see) the new film, what's here does a solid job of updating and expanding while making you want more in the process. There's also the kernel of a great MMO experience here, should Disney decide to allow the developer to add to what's here and take the game further in future installments.

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Plane Weaver Walkthrough Video

What? You haven’t tried Plane Weaver yet? Er… well, my review is coming tomorrow, but I thought I’d post the walkthrough for this PAX 10 winner first, as the game can be a bit tricky in a few spots. Anyway, the game is a really cool platformer with puzzle and adventure elements, excellent graphics and sound all done by a small group of Danish students in a month. Go download it (click on the link above – it’s free and only around 66MB), install and play it and when you get stuck (it’ll happen eventually), watch this video and thank me later.

Yes, this does indeed contains spoilers (well, it IS a video of someone playing the game!).

Review: Plane Weaver


Platform: Windows PC

Developer: Blue Coral Studio

Publisher: DADIU

# of Players: 1

Official Site

ESRB Rating: None

Score: A-

Developed in one month (!) by a team of eleven students at The Danish Academy of Digital & Interactive Entertainment (DADIU), Plane Weaver is a marvelous mix of 3D platforming and puzzle elements that come off as more fresh and innovative than much of what constitutes “Game of the Year” material on consoles and PC. While it's not a supremely lengthy experience, it's visually striking, nicely challenging and genuinely rewarding as you're pulled into some excellently designed levels. The game lightly echoes elements of sleeper hits such as ICO and the upcoming Lost in Shadow, yet never feels too derivative or under-polished. At only 66MB and a free download (for now), it's an absolute must for anyone who craves originality and creativity in their games.

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Test Drive Unlimited 2 Gallery: Atari & Eden Want To Keep You Indoors For A While…


If you've never had the chance to play the original Test Drive Unlimited on the Xbox 360*, you missed out on one of the more addictive pure driving games on current generation consoles. While you could in tons of events in offline or through the innovative M.O.O.R. (Massively Open Online Racing) system, the real thrill (for me at least) came in hitting the road in any car and just driving around Oahu for hours. Uncovering every inch of highway for one of the tougher Achievements was a blast and it was pretty cool to see lots of people played the game in the same way. With Test Drive Unlimited 2 hitting PS3, PC and Xbox 360 on February 8, 2011, here's a look at some of Eden Games' nicely rendered cars from a few angles. I'll add older screens to this gallery sometime next week.

TDU2 takes place in Ibiza and an upgraded version of Oahu from the first game (accessible once you've “leveled” enough), so it's going to be a must-play for me, as I'm insanely curious to see what's new, what's changed and how well the overall game experience has turned out.

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Didn’t Get The Game You Want? Grab Tyrian 2000 For FREE From GOG.com!


GOG.com is one of the greatest gamer gift-giving websites currently operating today thanks to their love for the PC classics and the means to get them up and running for sale as single or multiple pack deals at incredible prices. Part of their holiday promotion is releasing Tyrian 2000 (one of the best vertical scrolling arcade shooters ever made, I’d say) for FREE to any and all who have gog.com accounts (which are also FREE). All you need to do is drop on by, sign up and BOOM, the game is yours. the download is a tiny 10MB and you can also grab the soundtrack separately (an extra 128MB on your hard drive). I’m guessing that sound I hear is the gog.com servers collapsing thanks to the traffic I just sent there… or maybe not.

Hmmm… might have been Santa hitting the side of a building (oops)…

Random Holiday Greetings Roundup



Here’s a few more of the e-cards or holiday-themed images that have ended up in my inbox (I don’t drive, but thanks, Maserati!). I need to poke around and see what’s ended up in the spam folder, as on occasion, a card or three turns up there as well. Click on that amusingly rustic card from CDProjeckt Red’s The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for a trip to its pre-order page, as there’s a rather spectacular bonus-packed deal on the upcoming title that’s very hard to refuse. For some wonky reason, I can’t even see the digital card Atlus USA sent out, but I’ll try to upload and post it later.

Tecmo Koei’s Q1 2011 Lineup: A Cast of Thousands In Three Games (Plus Two 3DS Titles)


Tecmo Koei is getting an early start on 2011 by announcing three upcoming console games for the first quarter of next year as well as two 3DS exclusives with release dates and more info on the portable games to be announced shortly – (at or around CES, I’m guessing). Here’s what’s on the way:

Trinity: Souls of Zill ‘Oll (PS3 Exclusive) – February 8, 2011
Warriors: Legends of Troy (PS3/Xbox 360) – March 8, 2011
Dynasty Warriors 7 (PS3 and Xbox 360) – March 22, 2011
Dead or Alive Dimensions (3DS)
Samurai Warriors Chronicles
(3DS)

I’ll run updated galleries for each game as new media comes in.

inFAMOUS 2 Behind the Scenes Video

SCEA and Sucker Punch’s Holiday Cheer, part deux – check out this chunk of “making of” footage from inFAMOUS 2 and go kiss your PS3 for getting yet another great game in 2011. I’d say someone needs to build a time-stopping machine so we can all set aside enough of it to actually play ALL the great games coming next year for every system…

Sony Drops Some inFAMOUS 2 Holiday Cheer On Us All (BOOM!)

Yikes. Not one, not two, but three videos went up for inFAMOUS 2 a few hours ago, showing off gameplay, a behind the scenes peek and parts of the 2D comic cut scenes from Sucker Punch's 2011 action game. Here are the gameplay footage and 2D comic movies – the behind the scenes video gets a separate post just so i can ramble about it a bit more (if I want to). Yup, with all these first party exclusives coming left and right, it's going to be a REALLY good year for the PS3 (and you don't need a crystal ball to see that fact)…

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