Video Games Archives | Page 43 Of 44

Is Temple Run “Doomed?”

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Geek)

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Yes, the inevitable had to happen. Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Warner Bros is in negotiations to bring the video game, Temple Run by Imangi Studios to the big screen with David Heymen, the producer of the Harry Potter series, on board. He can no doubt churn a fun product, but a better question is why this game?

Are audiences starving for some kind of Indiana Jones style action that will wash away memories of the fourth film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? As fans will recall, the first ten or so minutes in Raiders of the Lost Ark made for one great introduction of the world’s luckiest archaeologist, Indiana Jones. He grabs a golden idol from some forgotten tribe and before he knows it, he triggers a trap. Poisonous darts spring from out of nowhere as he races away. Indy has to leap a chasm and dodge a spear trap. But much to his chagrin, can he escape the massive ball of stone that’s tumbling in his direction?

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Halloween is a Perfect Day to Play Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon

Luigi has a bright career as a door to door Hoover salesman on Halloween night. He can leave the family plumbing business, ditch Mario and go out on his own. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the Nintendo 3DS is an entertaining action and puzzle game even though there are a few interface problems. And for fans of classic haunted house scenarios and paranormal pop culture, the little nuances placed into the level design can be appreciated. Gamers are getting a dose of a Ghostbusters style video game done right, a tour into Disney’s Haunted Mansion with a flashlight and a walkthrough of a Hammer Films retrospective of everything that goes bump in the night.

The game has four estates that Luigi has to deal with. Each of them are further divided into sub-levels (floors) and somewhere in the mansions are pieces of a crystal that he has to recover in order to save EverShade Valley from a Kirby-like evil spirit. Professor E. Gadd recruited Luigi to do the job because that was who he met in the original game. Dark Moon is a continuation from the game released twelve years ago on the Gamecube. And the professor has been spending the intervening years studying the nomenclature of a ghost.

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YouTube: The Ultima-te Video

My role in Ultima Online was what can best be described as an addict.

Somewhere around the year of 1997 or 1998 I discovered a massive online game called Ultima Online. It was a huge hit at the time but I’m hard pressed today to find anyone of the new gaming generation who knows what I’m talking about.

Based off the Ultima series of PC games, Ultima Online was the creation of an eccentric nerd by the name of Richard Garriott, Lord British to his friends. Garriott went on to bigger and better things after the creation of Ultima but we’re not here to give his life story.

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Akihabara Featured in PS3 Release

akiba3 If you can’t afford to go to Akihabara in real life then I guess the next best thing is being there digitally. And that is what is possible with an upcoming PS3 release.

Akiba’s Trip 2 is an adventure game sequel from the original Playstation Portable (PSP) release of 2011. In this sequel, much as the original, the protagonist has to save Tokyo from blood sucking demons. The demons appear as normal people but only the player’s special cell phone, called Mirror Snap, can let you tell the evil beings from the innocents. akiba2

Once revealed the player will have to engage in close combat until the demon in question is weakened. And the only way to truly kill a blood sucking demon is by stripping them of their clothes, exposing them to sunlight and killing them.

We learn from recent reports that real Akihabara stores such as Karaoke Adores, Tsukumo, Dear Stage, Sutadonya and Go Go Curry are featured in the game.

Akiba’s Trip 2 will be released in Japan on November 7, 2013 for the PS Vita and PS3.

Source(s): YouTube user AcquireVideoOfficial, GadgetFreak, Giant Bomb and Gematsu.

Too Much Rovio? Angry Birds goes Grand Theft Auto?

Eventually there will come to be a time where the Angry Birds will no longer be popular.

The Angry Birds is to Rovio much like the Mario Brothers are to Nintendo. Without a flagship product, neither company can be widely successful. Nintendo can survive because it has a huge product line which is not limited to Mario, Zelda or Donkey Kong. They have many other video games and products to carry this company forward but what about Rovio?

With no surprise, Rovio is copying Nintendo. They are taking these flightless birds and making them mobile with Angry Birds Go! (due out on December 11). Last month had this company release a new iteration of Angry Birds Star Wars II which hardly looked all that exciting.

In what looks like a Mario Cart clone, the next iteration will get these pigs and birds racing. In this case, it’s a downhill racing game and a few unique features will keep this concept fresh. Hasbro’s Telepods toys will allow players to “teleport” new karts into the game. But not everyone will be waving the flag in the end.

Some fans want to see Rovio develop new ideas than to see rehashes of old ideas. They should let the birds take flight and develop a brand new idea.

This company does have other properties that they created games for, but those titles may be one hit wonders. The Croods and Amazing Alex are the only two licensed items featured on Rovio’s website, and there is no sign of any other ideas being offered or listed as in development. To have a company bank on only one property to continue its success is dangerous. Eventually there will come to be a time where the Angry Birds will no longer be popular.

Zelda Leaks. Tri-Force 3DS XL & A Link Between Worlds News

The big news is that the next Zelda game available for the portable market is The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

nintendo-3ds-zelda-bundle-650x0 Zelda fans will have to do a halt, stop and wait … no, run to the nearest video game retailer if this information leak is true: on Black Friday (in the States), GameStop will be selling a Tri-Force branded 3DS XL. The clamshell will be painted gold, and if you’re a Zelda fan like me, I’ve often thought about customizing my aging regular 3DS with a Zelda logo. The only reason why I bought the 3DS to begin with was to collect all the Zelda games available to this one unit and play it when the urge to go retro hit me.