With the release of Dragon Quest IX for DS, Nintendo and Square Enix are trying once again to convert American gamers into Dragon Quest fanatics -- or at least sell some games. While we wait to see how the public responds to the multiplayer-enabled RPG, we decided to check in with reviews of the game other than our own. (We already know how that one went.)

• 1UP (A): "... The move to DS was a strategic trade-off, and a canny one at that; DQIX sacrifices visual splendor in favor of more subtle technological benefits. In unchaining the series from the television, its creators freed themselves to design the open-ended, player-driven experience the series has always aspired to be."
• Nintendo Power (9/10): "The idea of adding multiplayer features to a story-driven, turn-based RPG originally struck me as insane, but Dragon Quest IX has made me a believer."
• GamePro (4/5): "Dragon Quest's appeal lies in its sense of warm, welcoming familiarity. It's refreshingly free of the pretension and overwrought cinematics of much of the current JRPG crop, instead presenting a lighthearted, charming adventure romp akin to what made the original Chrono Trigger such a beloved classic."
• Game Informer (8/10): "It's the first in the franchise to debut on a handheld, and it changes the classic formula in some significant ways. In many cases, these changes push the genre in interesting directions, but they never go far enough. The end result is an enjoyable Japanese RPG with mere hints of greatness."

Metareview: Dragon Quest IX originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Xbox 360 '4GB Arcade System Bundle' spotted on Amazon Germany originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Graphic novel writer and part-time musician Brian Lee O'Malley recently updated his personal blog with a delightful clip from the Anamanaguchi-composed soundtrack of Ubisoft's adaptation of Edgar Wright's adaptation of his flagship series, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.

Continue reading Listen to a new Anamanguchi track from Scott Pilgrim

Listen to a new Anamanguchi track from Scott Pilgrim originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Aviv Sharon of Wolfire about the studio's 0 A.D., an indie project nine years in the making. 0 A.D. (pronounced "zero ey-dee") is a free, open-source, cross-platform real-time strategy (RTS) game of ancient warfare. In short, it is a historically-based war/economy game that allows players to relive or rewrite the history of Western civilizations, focusing on the years between 500 B.C. and 500 A.D. The project is highly ambitious, involving state-of-the-art 3D graphics, detailed artwork, sound, and a flexible and powerful custom-built game engine. It focuses on six factions: The Hellenic States (aka The Greeks), the Roman Republic, The Celtic Tribes, the Persian Empire, the Iberian Tribes, and the Carthaginian Empire, each complete with unique artwork, technologies and civilization bonuses.

Continue reading The Joystiq Indie Pitch: 0 A.D.

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: 0 A.D. originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

According to a GamesMaster interview with Project Sora head Masahiro Sakurai (excerpted by ONM) 3DS flagship title Kid Icarus: Uprising might feature Kids Icarus, plural. "The online capabilities are currently being tested," Sakurai said. "There could be some versus play but we can't go into any detail. There are a lot of capabilities that expand on what was in the DS that people are taking advantage of."

If anyone's going to make a 3DS online game happen, it's Sakurai, one of the few Nintendo developers to make an online game (Super Smash Bros. Brawl). But how would a versus mode work in an on-rails shooter -- score competitions?

Project Sora 'testing' online multiplayer for Kid Icarus: Uprising originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Men. Once you get them started, they just don't shut up. And you thought women were bad? First, Old Spice pitchman Isaiah Mustafa came by the show to take us behind the scenes of his popular viral videos. Kevin Pereira responded accordingly, and Isaiah came back with the awesome video above, which was featured on today's Around the Net.

And now Kevin put forth his own take on the Old Spice ads.

Your move, Isaiah. Monocle smile!

InstantAction CEO Louis Castle is a big fan of "the kind of big, complicated games that cost a lot of money to make," he says. But he left a job making just those kinds of games at EA's Los Angeles studio in order to focus on finding "a new way to get the money needed to make those games." Without such a solution, Castle says we're "headed for a disaster in the retail space."

The core cause of this impending disaster, Castle argued in a keynote presentation at the Develop Conference in Brighton today, is the big-budget, hit-driven focus that has overtaken the industry. This mentality has made it hard to make a game with a budget of less than $20 million and hard to profit on a game that doesn't hit the top 20, Castle said. "Really, we're becoming the worst of what Hollywood did become at one point before the independent film festivals and such," he said.

Continue reading InstantAction CEO: Game retail 'headed for a disaster'

InstantAction CEO: Game retail 'headed for a disaster' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

PopCap Senior Designer David Bishop said today that the company is "looking to add social features to all our existing games going forward."

Speaking at the Develop Conference in Brighton, Bishop wouldn't elaborate on what kind of social features we could expect to see or which existing games might get the social treatment first, but he did mention sending cross-platform taunts and challenges in Peggle as a hypothetical example. When questioned, Bishop said we could expect to see these features rolling out in the next six to 12 months.

Continue reading PopCap: Social features coming to "all existing games"

PopCap: Social features coming to "all existing games" originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

For nearly three months you've stared long and hard at the $150 Legendary Edition of Halo: Reach, but let's face it -- handing over $80 for the Limited Edition is a lot more palatable. Here's what you'll get:

• Custom case modeled after a recovered ONI data module
• In-game Elite armor set for multiplayer
• Artifact bag, which contains the personal notes and documents of the creator of the Spartan program: Dr. Catherine Halsey
• Dr. Halsey's ONI security badge
• An embroidered Spartan II patch
• Seventy bucks saved!

Halo: Reach Limited Edition package shots drop in originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Some slim pickings this week. DeathSpank is the unquestionably the biggest part of this update -- lest you count the unsavory amount of add-ons EA Sports has managed to conjure up for NCAA Football 11.

Check out the full update after the break.

Continue reading PSN Tuesday: Landit Bandit, DeathSpank

PSN Tuesday: Landit Bandit, DeathSpank originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments