3D Dot Game Heroes inches even closer to Zelda

I can’t decide what to make of 3D Dot Game Heroes, and it’s driving me nuts. It is a Zelda rip-off through and through. Nobody in their right mind would suggest otherwise, and the big dilemma I’m having is, is this OK?

There are clone games of all sorts. The Gears of War duck-and-cover formula has been lifted time and time again, and it’s not as if Zelda itself hasn’t already had legions of wannabes.

So should I accept this as another clone, or blast it for being borderline plagiarism? The look, the music, the items, the frickin’ blowing-up-a-cracked-wall sound; it’s literally an unlicensed attempt to make Zelda.

Tim Schafer celebrates his 20th year in the industry

Another day, another noteworthy anniversary.

Today marks Tim Schafer’s 20^th year working in the games industry. Although he’s never found the mainstream success he deserves, Schafer is a name within the industry and certainly a creative force, providing original ideas directly opposed to the standard shooter cliché.

To celebrate, Schafer has documented his job hunt before finally snagging a position at Lucasfilm.

Before landing in the home of Star Wars, he was denied by places like Atari and Hewlett-Packard. Yes, that Hewlett-Packard. Apparently Schafer is good for creating some of the best games in the industry, but not for whatever it is that an HP worker does. READ MORE

Bad Company, good video

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is going episodic. By that I don’t mean with game content, EA is going to be releasing videos one “episode” at a time for reasons unknown to man.

Fact: Shit looks good.

Having never played the original, I’m not entirely sure what to expect, but it looks like another tactical war shooter. Thankfully, it appears to be a quality one that I may partake in should my schedule be clear for its March 2 launch.

New Dead Space heading to 360, PS3

Two Dead Space titles later and Visceral is already busy pumping away at a third. That’s fine by me, Dead Space is a great franchise and given Extraction’s unique take on the series, it’s not like they’ve worn down the same old formula.

Visceral is looking for a lead combat designer for the third game in the series, and like the original, it’s heading the 360 and PS3. Obviously Visceral intends to expand on what the original Dead Space experience provided; think third person survival horror action.

Now I need to scrape up some change to pick up Dead Space: Extraction…

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Ubisoft claims to have beaten the waggle

This won’t end well. The guys behind Red Steel 2 are making the bold claim that they’ve “beaten the waggle” on Wii. Waggle refers to randomly shaking the Wiimote to pull off things like attacking and dodging – there’s no method to the madness, simply shake, shake, shake.

Ubisoft attributes Wii MotionPlus as destroyer of waggles.

“Wii MotionPlus gives us the ability to measure how hard you’re swinging. As a result of that, we’ve beaten the waggle,” creative director Jason Vanderberghe said. “You can’t play Red Steel 2 like this [waves his arm randomly]. Controls are at the center of play, and if you don’t get controls right first, nothing after that matters. At the heart of the franchise, really the promise of Red Steel, is the potential of sword-fighting with the Wiimote. READ MORE

Uncharted 2: When confidence pays off

When you’re confident in a product, you should have no qualms with getting material into the hands of the press. Typically when games arrive late in the mail, say on or a few days after launch, it’s not a good sign.

Uncharted 2 doesn’t hit until the middle of next month, yet Naughty Dog and Sony have given the thumbs up on reviewing it. It’s been shipped out and pushed into the hands of all the biggest and baddest blogs (see: not me), and reviews are coming in. READ MORE

Wii system update eliminates Homebrew Channel

Homebrewers may want to wait a minute before downloading Wii system update 4.2, it effectively kills off any trace of the Homebrew Channel and all other Homebrew related items on your Wii.

I dabbled in the world of Homebrew on Wii, but it never grabbed me in the way it has many others. It’s neat and all, but it just ain’t my bag.

I suppose it would be useful for playing games like Disaster: Day of Crisis, Fatal Frame IV and Trace Memory R, a few Wii games that Nintendo never brought stateside for some stupid reason.

I wouldn’t cry over this, it’s only a matter of time before the Homebrew scene kicks down the barrier and gets right back to it.

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House of Final Fantasy looks to expand its horizon

When Square Enix gets brought up, what three franchises immediately come to mind? First and foremost, Final Fantasy, but Dragon Quest is another huge one. The third one is probably Kingdom Hearts.

One need look no further than Square’s current offerings to see an endless supply of Final Fantasy this and that, with the other two franchises having numerous spin-offs of their own.

Square Enix president Yoichi Wada knows it has a big three, but wants to bump that number into a big eight. READ MORE

Lucidity going for a modest $10

Lucidity isn’t going to be pricey when it hits, costing only $10 on PC (D2D and Steam) and 800 MS points on XBLA. I’m thankful for the modest pricing, but I’m still not sold on the game itself.

When the first art leaked, I was in. I just knew Lucidity would be something tailored toward my tastes, or so I assumed. Assuming isn’t always healthy, and sometimes it just screws you over. The first gameplay trailer did not wow me.

Maybe I’m wrong in my assessment, but Lucidity simply doesn’t look fun. It looks early and rough. It looks like the lead character doesn’t interact properly with the items you poof onto the screen (see some gameplay here), nor does Lucidity appear ready for its October 7 release.

The lovely thing about any XBLA title is everything has a demo. With that demo LucasArts can easily prove me wrong, or conversely, they can prove me right.

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Microsoft loves bundles

If I have to report on one more frickin’ bundle, I swear I’m going to … report on one more bundle. Actually, it’s two in this case, both from Microsoft. Both of them are a little odd, but are of the quality variety.

The first is a traditional holiday bundle with an Elite coming picked with a various forms of sausage and cheese gaming goodness. Locked up tight with your new Elite will be Lego Batman: The Videogame and Pure. Not exactly what I’d call shoo-in picks for a holiday bundle, but not a bad couple of titles. I don’t really give a damn about Lego Batman, but I’ll take that copy of Pure, thank you.

Microsoft also announced a controller bundle, and it’s more attractive than you’d think. $60 scores you a black wireless pad, Geometry Wars 2, Lumines Live, Ms. Pac-Man and Bomberman Live. Unfortunately, I already have two of the four. Can I exchange them for XBLA points, please?

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