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You bet. en-us Mon, 21 Apr 2014 22:34:29 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/banjo-kazooie-spiritual-successor-falls-apart/1100-6419122/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2511451-banjo+%281%29.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2511451" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2511451-banjo+%281%29.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2511451"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2511451-banjo+%281%29.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">The <a href="/banjo-kazooie/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Kazooie</a> series will not be getting a spiritual successor, former Rare composer Grant Kirkhope has confirmed.</p><p style="">Posting in an Ask Me Anything thread on <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/23h2s1/i_am_grant_kirkhope_composer_of_banjo_and_dk_64/cgwxvwl" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Reddit</a>, Kirkhope responded to a fan question enquiring whether he and other developers of the original Banjo-Kazooie were working on a spiritual successor to the game. Kirkhope replied that while a character had been "drawn up" and a "demo level type thing" was created, the project fell apart as everyone had "other jobs".</p><p style="">Banjo-Kazooie was first released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and was followed by <a href="/banjo-tooie/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Tooie</a> (2000), <a href="/banjo-kazooie-gruntys-revenge/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge</a> (2003), and <a href="/banjo-kazooie-nuts-and-bolts/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts</a> (2008). More recently, Rare released <a href="/kinect-sports-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Kinect Sports Rivals</a> for the Xbox One.</p><p style="">Would you like to see another Banjo-Kazooie game? Let us know in the comments below!</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Zorine Te is an associate editor at GameSpot, and you can follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/ztharli" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @ztharli</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 21:29:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/banjo-kazooie-spiritual-successor-falls-apart/1100-6419122/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nes-remix-2-review/1900-6415738/ <p style=""><a href="/nes-remix/" data-ref-id="false">NES Remix</a> was a good idea when it launched without fanfare in late 2013 and reintroduced you to some of the greatest gaming moments from the 8-bit era, but NES Remix 2 is even better because it boasts a superior roster. Borrowing from a fresh assortment of classic games, this second retro bundle is a treat even though it doubles as a virtual salesperson.</p><p style="">In NES Remix 2, you find a total of more than 150 bite-sized challenges carved from 10 different NES games. Typically, you are offered a series of three or four objectives, and you can make three attempts. Sometimes, there are extra steps, in which case you're provided additional lives. Elsewhere, you face only a single objective, but it's more difficult and time-consuming. At the end of a given challenge, your performance is awarded anywhere from one to three stars (with a special rainbow flourish also appearing for the truly adept), depending on how long you took and how often you failed. You also receive in-game currency called bits that unlock stamps you can use on your Miiverse posts. The game saves a video record of your run, for easy embedding and sharing, which adds a competitive side that these games once mostly lacked.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510851-nes+remix+2+footage+266.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510851" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510851-nes+remix+2+footage+266.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510851"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2510851-nes+remix+2+footage+266.jpg"></a><figcaption>Metroid has aged well. Ridley, on the other hand, really needs some Botox. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Many of these challenges present you with a chunk of yesteryear, but freshened up. For instance, Mario will run at full speed through a renowned <a href="/super-mario-bros-3/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Bros. 3</a> stage, and you must choose when to jump and with how much vigor. Elsewhere, Link navigates a perilous series of ledges patrolled by mobile octopus enemies, all with a life meter that is nearly exhausted. These stages may be familiar to you, but they pose a new challenge if you're not used to hurrying through them. The most interesting diversions, however, are those that combine elements from multiple series, because you're especially likely to be caught by surprise by a setup you've never encountered before. Link might need to hack his way through bricks to collect coins in the Mushroom Kingdom, or Pit from <a href="/kid-icarus/" data-ref-id="false">Kid Icarus</a> might have to try to collect fairies while avoiding flying ghosts in an environment that was ripped from Link's Adventure.</p><p style="">Fragments of 10 key NES games are included in NES Remix 2. The star of the pack, Super Mario Bros. 3, is available to sample immediately. Once you complete challenges and start earning stars, you gain access to <a href="/dr-mario/" data-ref-id="false">Dr. Mario</a>, <a href="/super-mario-bros-2/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Bros. 2</a>, <a href="/kirbys-adventure/" data-ref-id="false">Kirby's Adventure</a>, and more. Had NES Remix 2 included complete editions of the selections it sort of compiles, the result would have been difficult to ignore. However, the only game you can completely explore here is a reworked version of <a href="/classic-nes-series-super-mario-bros/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Bros.</a> known as Super Luigi Bros. That addition lets two players take turns running through the classic platformer game, but with the experience modified so that the screen now scrolls from right to left, and the protagonist is Luigi. The less famous sibling slides and skids like a kid in socks on linoleum, but he jumps higher and further as compensation. When combined with the unconventional orientation, the altered physics make a stranger out of familiar terrain. Muscle memory and time-worn technique are no longer your allies. They're more likely to land you in a pit or send you flying headfirst into a patrolling goomba or koopa's personal space.</p><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510846,1300-2510854,1300-2510840,1300-2510848,1300-2510856,1300-2510842,1300-2510850,1300-2510844,1300-2510852,1300-2510853" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510846" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510854" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510840" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510848" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510856" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510842" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510850" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510844" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510852" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510853" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg"></a><figcaption>You've been to these places before, but have never experienced them quite like this. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Although there's more than enough content to keep you busy with NES Remix 2 for a good while, the package sometimes feels like the world's greatest glorified demo and not a distinct new experience. There's even a handy link to the eShop, which conveniently sells full versions of each excerpted game. A fair number of the objectives provide an overview of those selections and their most iconic hooks and gameplay mechanics, which is enough to whet your appetite. Other inclusions, however, are inexplicable. One challenge involves watching the Wario's Woods opening tutorial, for instance, and another screens a training montage from Punch-Out. The ending sequences for the various games are also shown, so it's a good idea to finish them ahead of time if you were saving such things for a surprise.</p><p style="">NES Remix 2 is a highlights reel that you pay for, but that's not as bad as it sounds provided you are interested in challenging yourself while you reminisce and sample. Old conventions have been modified to offer enough variety and genuinely interesting challenges that they manage to prove fresh all over again. Nothing here works as a replacement for the original material, but this is still a delightful experience whether you remember blowing the dust out of 8-bit cartridges or not.</p> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 18:07:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nes-remix-2-review/1900-6415738/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/demon-gaze-review/1900-6415737/ <p style="">There are plenty of dungeon-crawling-focused role-playing games out there, but given the substantial time investment they require, first impressions can drive you away before the game has a chance to put its best foot forward. In the case of Demon Gaze, bear in mind that first glances can be deceiving. It may appear like another forgettable <a href="/wizardry/" data-ref-id="false">Wizardry</a>-inspired import featuring overtly sexed-up still images, but behind those initially off-putting images lies a robust, well-made adventure with a lot of depth.</p><p style="">You begin Demon Gaze by waking up in the bottom of a dungeon. You have no idea why you are here, but you hear strange, childlike laughter off in the distance. As you try to escape your surroundings, you encounter a battle-scarred warrior woman. She gives you a weapon and tells you to face the source of the voice--a vicious, bloodthirsty demon. It's in this battle that your initial abilities are revealed: you have the gifts of a gazer, an individual capable of subduing and controlling demons.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2510760" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510760-0004.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510760-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510760"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/725/7253563/2510760-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Combat gets intense when enemies decide to gang up.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Soon, you discover more about your odd situation. You've signed a contract to board at the Dragon Princess Inn, an unusual safe haven in a dangerous region. The local mercenaries make their living doing menial jobs in the hazardous ruins, but Fran, the inn's manager, has a different job for you: to capture all of the demons wreaking havoc in the surrounding lands. A complicated task becomes even more wrought with drama as the secrets of your lineage, Fran's ambiguous motives and strange behavior, and the actions of the unusual characters that inhabit the inn intertwine. Each character has his or her own reasons for being at the Dragon Princess Inn, but ultimately, it is Fran's guidance that binds the cast together. Unfortunately, as part of the story, Fran sometimes gives you mundane tasks you must do before you can proceed into new areas, and during these times, the narrative slows to a patience-trying crawl.</p><p style="">Demon Gaze's blatant pandering may also test your patience. Scantily dressed non-player characters like Lancelorna and Prometh, along with cutscenes showing a nearly naked Fran, make it clear that the game seeks to titillate. That pandering can be difficult to stomach (Did we really need to see Fran's maid secretly sniffing her panties?), but the baring of skin isn't limited to the female characters; there are suggestively dressed and more modest character creation art choices for guys and ladies, and one of the more frequent skin-baring characters is Lezarem, the item shop's handsome elf proprietor. Even so, I was surprised at how much I came to like a lot of these characters despite behavior I found initially off-putting.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p style="">A complicated task becomes even more wrought with drama as the secrets of your lineage, Fran's ambiguous motives and strange behavior, and the actions of the unusual characters that inhabit the inn intertwine.</p></blockquote><p style="">The story may twist and turn, but Demon Gaze's mechanics are straightforward, at least initially. It's a turn-based, first-person RPG heavily inspired by old-fashioned PC games. The Dragon Princess Inn acts as the game's hub, where you can buy items and weapons, take quests, and rent rooms for up to four additional party members. The art representing the characters is well drawn, distinct, and colorful, though it's obvious that multiple artists worked on the images, leading to an inconsistent overall look. Once you take your first steps into one of the two starting dungeons, however, you begin to see some of Demon Gaze's more interesting nuances. The 3D visuals don't look that great, but map layouts are terrific, filled with all sorts of devious tricks: hidden passages and traps, tiles that randomly spin you around, one-way passages, and the like. An automap fills as you explore, though unlike in the similarly Wizardry-influenced <a href="/etrian-odyssey/" data-ref-id="false">Etrian Odyssey</a> series, you can't use the touchscreen to draw boundaries or place your own icons on the map.</p><p style="">What you can do is write and read gazer memos strewn about the dungeons. These function similarly to messages in the <a href="/dark-souls-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Souls</a> games: anyone playing Demon Gaze can write a memo using preprogrammed phrases, where it appears in other players' games at that spot. These can be used to share locations of hidden doors and treasures, give directions, warn of impending dangers, or just convey idle chatter, making the exploration experience feel more communal.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2510828" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510828-0001.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510828-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510828"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2510828-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>This...happens. A lot.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Another noteworthy presence in the dungeons of Demon Gaze is the circles. Circles serve a variety of purposes and are key to your success. Their first role is as checkpoints, and you must take control of every circle in a dungeon before you can fight that dungeon's demon in its final form. They also act as points where you can save and swap out the demon keys you've earned. What you mostly use them for, though, is collecting loot. By setting gems corresponding to different item types on the circle, you initiate a battle with monsters that are guaranteed to drop the items you specified. This makes the process of loot hunting considerably easier and much more fun, since you always know what you're getting out of combat. Need some light armor for your wizard? Set a bunch of light armor gems on circles around the dungeon and see what you get. Of course, the quality of the goods isn't always guaranteed, but there's plenty you can do with even subpar loot: you can sell it, sacrifice it to power up your higher-quality gear, or, given that the circles are save points, reload your progress and try your luck again.</p><p style="">Combat also presents some unique twists. The boss demons you have defeated are transformed into keys, and the gazer character has a special command menu to release demons during fights. Demons have their own health, loyalty levels, and skill sets, and behave according to their own whims. While demons don't have magic points, being in battle uses up stored energy from a demon gauge. (You can also command the demons to perform specific actions--even when not on-field--at a significant gauge cost.) If the gauge runs dry, the demons transform and run wild, attacking both friend and foe indiscriminately for massive damage, so keeping tabs on how you use them is crucial. Their presence adds an interesting dimension to both combat and exploration; demons you bring with you can also grant passive field bonuses, such as revealing hidden doors or preventing health loss on floors that damage you.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="left"><p style="">Need some light armor for your wizard? Set a bunch of light armor gems on circles around the dungeon and see what you get.</p></blockquote><p style="">But even with demonic forces on your side, combat can get pretty tough. Key to your survival is the use of your team's special skills. These are acquired through gaining levels, and most skills are learned based on the character's class. However, rare artifact items come imbued with their own skills. You can equip these on a character who can make use of the artifact's skill regardless of their class. This can be used to create otherwise impossible skill combinations--for example, giving a damage-shield creation ability to a fighter--or to grant abilities to characters much earlier than they would be naturally learned. Using artifact skills in tandem with innate character skills opens up a plethora of interesting strategies, though it's hampered by the relative rarity and costliness of gems needed to obtain artifacts.</p><p style="">The ease of loot collecting and gear enhancing combined with entertaining combat makes exploration in Demon Gaze enjoyable. Things are a bit tough initially--and a very dry translation on the game's assorted help screens doesn't work in the game's favor--but after a bit of dungeon crawling and party building, Demon Gaze settles into a nice difficulty level that is challenging but rarely feels unfair. Yes, you'll probably lose the first time you fight certain bosses, but carefully looking at what went wrong and reevaluating your approach gets you results. And if that still doesn't work, there's an option to alter the game's difficulty level whenever you want.</p><p style=""> </p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2510830" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510830-0002.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510830-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510830"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/725/7253563/2510830-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Don't get those demons angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry.</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">Demon Gaze is not a game for those looking for fast, easy rewards; you need a great deal of patience to find success, and sometimes it feels like the game's narrative is actively working against your desire to progress to new places. But when you are narrowly clutching victory from the jaws of defeat, laying waste to a challenging foe through party synergy and clever planning, or finding an incredibly rare piece of loot that completely changes how you use a party member, you feel like your efforts have yielded delicious fruit.</p> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 18:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/demon-gaze-review/1900-6415737/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-highlights-megabit/2300-6418438/ Join Peter and Maxwell as they try to help Jill Valentine solve puzzles, kill zombies, and avoid becoming a sandwich. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:53:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-highlights-megabit/2300-6418438/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/nes-remix-2-review/2300-6418437/ Revisit the golden age of retro Nintendo with a twist in NES Remix 2 for the Wii U. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:29:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/nes-remix-2-review/2300-6418437/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-s-theme-song-reimagined-as-an-r-b-song/1100-6419120/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-eEV7b4UCo" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fs-eEV7b4UCo%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Ds-eEV7b4UCo&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fs-eEV7b4UCo%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">If you've ever wondered what the theme song for the Pokemon cartoon would have been like had it been performed as a rhythm-and-blues song, you're in luck.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A new video series--Saturday Morning Slow Jams--has kicked off on YouTube that seeks to reimagine classic cartoon themes as R&B songs. Each Saturday, a new track will be posted to Scott Bradlee's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottBradleeLovesYa" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">YouTube channel</a>, and the debut track (via the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/19/pokemon-theme-postmodern-jukebox_n_5179578.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Huffington Post</a>) is none other than the "Gotta Catch 'em All" theme from the Pokemon cartoon that began airing in the late 1990s.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Are there any songs you'd especially like to see reimagined in this fashion? Bradlee is taking requests, and we'd love to hear what you would choose in the comments below.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:07:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-s-theme-song-reimagined-as-an-r-b-song/1100-6419120/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-a-comedy-of-errors-and-box-physic/2300-6418435/ Jess and Zorine cry with laughter instead of horror this week over exploding ketchup and haphazard box towers. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:36:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-a-comedy-of-errors-and-box-physic/2300-6418435/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nes-remix-went-to-wii-u-because-it-needed-more-power-than-3ds-offers/1100-6419119/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418434" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418434/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">With <a href="/nes-remix/" data-ref-id="false">NES Remix</a> and <a href="/nes-remix-2/" data-ref-id="false">NES Remix 2</a> consisting primarily of just what their titles describe--remixed versions of games for the 30-year-old Nintendo Entertainment System--system power is not what you might expect to play a role in deciding which platforms these new compilations will be made for. As it turns out, horsepower did play a role in that decision, and is part of the reason the two games are on the Wii U, and not the 3DS.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In an interview with <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/21/why-nes-remix-1-2-isnat-on-nintendo-3ds" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IGN</a>, director Koichi Hayashida explained that, after working on <a href="/super-mario-3d-world/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario 3D World</a> for Wii U, he was already familiar with the system's architecture. That made it a natural choice for his next project. However, he also spoke about system power and how that factored into allowing Nintendo to more easily create the game it wanted.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the Wii U offered that up for us pretty easily," Hayashida said, referring to the desired system power, "and it just would have been more difficult to do it for the 3DS. I think that's really the answer. It's just that the Wii U had the machine power we were looking for in order for us to build the software we envisioned from the get go."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Wii U has long been thought of by some as lacking the necessary power to compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, a perception Nintendo has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-defends-wii-u-system-power/1100-6407853/" data-ref-id="1100-6407853">working to dispel</a> for just as long. The 3DS is also less powerful than its primary competitor, the PlayStation Vita, but that hasn't stopped it from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/3ds-sales-reach-11-5-million-in-us-alone-nintendo-calls-system-a-powerhouse/1100-6417058/" data-ref-id="1100-6417058">selling millions of units</a>.</p><p style="">Featuring games like Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, NES Remix 2 releases on Wii U this Friday, April 25.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:20:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nes-remix-went-to-wii-u-because-it-needed-more-power-than-3ds-offers/1100-6419119/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-one-working-to-beat-ps4-last-of-us-ar/2300-6418433/ Naughty Dog continue to lose dev talent, Microsoft vocalise their intention to best the PS4 this generation, and the Game Boy turns 25 years old! Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-one-working-to-beat-ps4-last-of-us-ar/2300-6418433/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-actor-recast-after-following-naughty-dog-writer-to-ea/1100-6419118/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416170" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416170/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Developer Naughty Dog has "recast" the character in the new <a href="/uncharted-4/" data-ref-id="false">Uncharted</a> game for the PlayStation 4 played by Todd Stashwick, according to the actor.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Without providing any reasoning behind the move, Stashwick told <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/21/star-wars-co-writer-todd-stashwick-recast-in-uncharted-ps4" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IGN</a>, "They chose to recast my role." Stashwick was previously described as playing a "significant" character in the game and was responsible for the voiceover work in the teaser trailer above.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig, who had been writing the new, as-of-yet untitled Uncharted game, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-ps4-writer-leaves-naughty-dog/1100-6418113/" data-ref-id="1100-6418113">left the developer</a> earlier this year. She <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ex-uncharted-creative-director-amy-hennig-joins-ea-to-work-on-star-wars/1100-6418754/" data-ref-id="1100-6418754">joined Electronic Arts</a> shortly thereafter to work on Visceral Games' <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-developing-open-world-star-wars-game/1100-6416442/" data-ref-id="1100-6416442">new Star Wars project</a>. Stashwick recently announced he would be <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-actor-to-co-write-new-star-wars-game-for-ea/1100-6418938/" data-ref-id="1100-6418938">co-writing the game with Hennig</a>, a move that raised some questions about whether his involvement with the new Uncharted would be affected.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Stashwick had been working on the new Uncharted since at least November, when he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/actor-teases-uncharted-ps4/1100-6416413/" data-ref-id="1100-6416413">shared several photos</a> online of the work in progress, including one of him in a motion-capture suit.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whether Stashwick's work with Visceral played any role in this move or if more than just a change in actor is planned for his former character is currently unknown. GameSpot has contacted Sony for comment.</p><p style="">Very little about the new Uncharted game, including its title, has been announced. In addition to Hennig, the new game also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-director-leaves-naughty-dog-for-riot/1100-6418600/" data-ref-id="1100-6418600">lost game director Justin Richmond</a> in March when he left for <a href="/league-of-legends/" data-ref-id="false">League of Legends</a> developer Riot Games. While still not offering up any window for when to expect Uncharted to land on PS4, Sony did address Richmond's departure by stating, "The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:45:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-actor-recast-after-following-naughty-dog-writer-to-ea/1100-6419118/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/broforce-early-access-review/1100-6419077/ <p style=""><i>GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's publication.</i></p><p style="">With its 10th annual commendation, Oxford University Press bestowed its prestigious Word of the Year honor upon "selfie." Anyone who recalls the past year mostly as a series of blurry, flash-obscured images can see the logic of that choice. But let's spare a minute for the versatile "bro," which stepped up in 2013 to serve as much-needed shorthand for any aggressively masculine, keg-fueled fraternity lech. That feat of summarization would have been commendable in its own right, but "bro" had more in it. It burst like a portmanteau cluster bomb: bromance, brogrammer, brony...any venue for male kinship proved ripe for the affix. But like so many other neologisms (see: "vlog" or "truthiness"), it's tough to wield "bro" with anything but trademarked modern sarcasm. So where, say, Tolkien's Fellowship was disarmingly earnest, Free Lives' Broforce has its tongue set in one very square jaw.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508414-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508414" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508414-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508414"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2508414-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>With all the explosions rocking the screen, it's easy to lose your bro.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The titular Broforce is an assemblage of human wrecking balls culled from the past 30-ish years of big-screen action. Facsimiles of Schwarzenegger's Terminator, Indiana Jones, Blade, and MacGyver all theoretically occupy the same space here, moving from left to right and mowing through baddies with guns, swords, and the odd bomb hidden in a cooked turkey. These are men with a very particular set of skills--skills they have acquired over long careers, skills that make them a nightmare for two-dimensional terrorists and pixelated attack helicopters. No Liam Neeson a la <i>Taken</i> yet, though, to the best of my knowledge.</p><p style="">In Broforce's arcade-style campaign, or its suite of alternate modes, you take on the role of a randomized bro and kill your way across jungles and cities, aiming for an exit point or a boss fight. The way you get there is at your discretion, though. The terrain gets blasted away by your weaponry the same as any enemy; in keeping with the <a href="/minecraft/" data-ref-id="false">Minecraft</a>/<a href="/spelunky/" data-ref-id="false">Spelunky</a> zeitgeist, tunneling through 20 feet of concrete with a shotgun is as valid a way to the level's end as any other. Such freedom opens up some interesting strategic possibilities, like shooting the floor out from underneath an otherwise imposing foe. It also makes for some zany, unpredictable runs, especially when you're paired with trigger-happy teammates who don't give much thought to blowing up the platform you're standing on. The campaign can be taken online, and there are a few local multiplayer diversions on offer, like a player-versus-player deathmatch, and another variant that sees characters fleeing an encroaching blast from the left side of the screen.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508416-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508416" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508416-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508416"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2508416-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Take any path, or carve out your own with that minigun.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Speaking of throwbacks, there's something of 1992's <a href="/kid-chameleon/" data-ref-id="false">Kid Chameleon</a> in the way you change characters. Bros are imprisoned in cages that dot the levels. When you free a bro, you assume the role of the new bro, and the old one drops away to become a sort of extra life. There's no way to determine which bro you're freeing, meaning that, once unlocked, the full roster remains in circulation at all times. In this system, there's no way to stick with a favored bro, but it's a welcome sacrifice in the name of variety. Each bro has a well-defined role that makes clever use of his iconic arsenal. Snake Plissken's doppelganger sports a sniper rifle that trades rate of fire for range. An Agent J stand-in uses a noisy cricket that packs a wallop but flings him backward with each shot.</p><p style="">Somewhere between <a href="/contra-1987/" data-ref-id="false">Contra</a>'s 1987 release and today, uber-soldiers seem to have lost the ability to fire at angles. With few exceptions, the bros can only hit targets that are in front of them and at their exact elevation. Consequently, attacking enemies who are located anywhere else means meeting them on their own turf, sinking down (or rising up) to their level in a very literal sense. But as any red-blooded, camper-hating shooter fan will tell you, it's easier to defend an area than it is to attack it. Facing this disadvantage but needing to progress, you rely on your capacity for preemptive warfare: shooting before the slow-to-action enemies can construct any ill intent of their own. It's the Bush Doctrine in miniature, played out in pixelated bunkers, with pixelated "Mission Accomplished" banners. There's a fitting confluence of the game's mechanics and its message.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508415-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508415" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508415-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508415"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2508415-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>Norris can cut through a hot knife with butter.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Taken in tandem with the hulked-out characters (even Keanu Reeves' proxy looks to be 70 percent chest, 60 percent chin), the mega fonts, and the gratuitous guitars, the message is more than a little sardonic. But Broforce's satirical boomerang never comes back around. The environments you blitz through occupy "a fully destructible Vietnam setting" where "death is instant...but this is balanced by the incompetence of the enemy." Terrorists with dynamite strapped to their chests run toward you in comically inept suicide bombing attempts, emitting noises that closely resemble high-pitched ululations. There's never a self-aware rebuke of the way the game uses collateral damage as a fireworks display. Broforce frequently feels thematically tone-deaf, to put it mildly.</p><p style="">There's ample cause for hearing loss. Layers of levels crumble apart under fire, setting off chain reactions that level wide swaths of the environment in seconds. At any given moment, three-quarters of the screen is engulfed in flames, collapsing, or bleeding. If there's a grander purpose to the mayhem you're wreaking, it's quickly lost in the hail of bullets and fire. Balaclava-clad enemies mill about absentmindedly, and you gun them down because they're wearing balaclavas. Giant robots with missile arms rise up in front of you, and you blow them up because they're giant robots with missile arms. The bosses that need to be killed to complete many stages are devils in business suits--a nice, efficient visual shorthand for "evil." Broforce isn't really in it for the nuance, of course. It assumes you will react instinctively: adapt quick to the simple controls, move ever to the right, leap the bottomless pits, shoot the red barrels, and grin at all the ensuing chaos.</p><p style="">It's mostly correct in that assumption. All the explosions can make it easy to lose track of your fragile bro, especially when paired with a screen-shaking effect that's intermittently overbearing. Not all bros are born equal: Indiana Brones' flare gun is terribly ineffective, and Brobocop's ability to charge up attacks is wholly out of place in a game that demands a generous output of lead. But the varied roster and combustible level design mean that no two runs through one of Broforce's stages feel alike, and the game's brisk pace ensures you're always being whisked away to something new. While hanging from a helicopter. While everything behind you blows up.</p><p style="">For no discernible reason.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's There?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>A sizable campaign, a few quirky special modes, a rudimentary level editor, and competent online support. Co-op is integrated into most of the game, and is wonderfully chaotic.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's to Come?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>A space-themed mode, if an April teaser video is to be believed. That, plus some new bros, and some shoring up of the existing modes. Broforce already feels pretty complete.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What Does it Cost?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>$14.99 <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/274190/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">on Steam</a>. </i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>When Will it Be Finished?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>Late summer 2014 is the current target date for a full launch.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's the Verdict?</strong></p></td><td><p style=""><em><strong>Broforce's pairing of excavation and ultraviolence works spectacularly, its pacing feels fine-tuned, and it wields action-movie nostalgia like a pro. But its sense of humor is causing some collateral damage.</strong></em></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:11:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/broforce-early-access-review/1100-6419077/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/broforce-early-access-video-review/2300-6418431/ We bro out with Brobocop, Bro Hard, Bronan, and many other bros in this early access review. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 14:57:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/broforce-early-access-video-review/2300-6418431/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-apple-and-google-s-exclusivity-deals-on-games-like-pvz-2-work/1100-6419117/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409182" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409182/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Platform holders like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo competing for third-party exclusives by offering various types of bonuses to developers is nothing new in the video game industry. But where this practice is becoming increasingly common that it had not previously existed is in the mobile space as both Google and Apple work to secure exclusive games for their respective operating system's marketplace, according to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304626304579510020273541060" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Gamers who frequent the app stores on iOS or Android are likely to have noticed the front-page promotion received by major game releases. It's often this kind of publicity--not money--that is offered to mobile game developers in exchange for keeping their games off of the competing platform for a period of time, as was reportedly the case with <a href="/plants-vs-zombies-2-its-about-time/" data-ref-id="false">Plants vs. Zombies 2</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The long-awaited sequel to PopCap's hit tower defense game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-out-on-august-15-for-ios/1100-6413011/" data-ref-id="1100-6413011">launched last August</a> exclusively on iOS. It didn't make it to Android <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-hits-android-worldwide/1100-6415754/" data-ref-id="1100-6415754">until October</a> as a direct result of an arrangement between publisher Electronic Arts and Apple that guaranteed the game prime promotion on the iOS App Store, according to sources. A similar deal was struck with ZeptoLab for Cut the Rope 2, which was released on iOS in December but only made it to Android last month.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last year, there were allegations that Apple had paid EA to delay the Android version of Plants vs. Zombies 2 following a public statement by EA Labels president Frank Gibeau. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-denies-paying-ea-to-delay-plants-vs-zombies-2-on-android/1100-6414925/" data-ref-id="1100-6414925">Apple denied this was the case</a>, and the Wall Street Journal report notes that Apple doesn't outright pay developers for exclusives.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mobile games are big business: The infamous <a href="/flappy-bird/" data-ref-id="false">Flappy Bird</a> was generating <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/painfully-difficult-flappy-bird-generates-50-000-per-day-in-ad-revenue/1100-6417569/" data-ref-id="1100-6417569">$50,000 per day</a> in ad revenue at one point, while Clash of Clans reportedly sees upward of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-clash-of-clans-generates-654-000-per-day/1100-6417656/" data-ref-id="1100-6417656">$650,000 per day</a> in revenue, and <a href="/the-simpsons-tapped-out/" data-ref-id="false">The Simpsons: Tapped Out</a> had surpassed <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-simpsons-tapped-out-revenue-passes-100-million/1100-6415843/" data-ref-id="1100-6415843">$100 million in lifetime revenue</a> as of last September. The mobile games market as a whole had revenue of $13.2 billion in 2013, a figure expected to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/worldwide-industry-sales-to-reach-93-billion-in-2013-report/1100-6415832/" data-ref-id="1100-6415832">balloon to $22 billion</a> next year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">With so many games flooding the marketplaces on both iOS and Android, the exposure offered by these arrangements can be games' only chance at grabbing the public's attention. As a result, we can begin to see why developers might opt to work out an exclusivity deal with Apple or Google.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Do these kinds of arrangements have any negative effect on the games you're interested in playing, or can you sympathize with developers trying to compete in such a crowded space? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 14:26:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-apple-and-google-s-exclusivity-deals-on-games-like-pvz-2-work/1100-6419117/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dying-woman-s-wish-to-go-outside-made-possible-with-oculus-rift/1100-6419116/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5eIHyFYFMM" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fo5eIHyFYFMM%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Do5eIHyFYFMM&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fo5eIHyFYFMM%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Oculus Rift headset, according to Palmer Luckey, is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-creator-if-you-can-perfectly-simulate-reality-why-do-you-need-to-actually-go-see-people-in-real-life/1100-6419008/" data-ref-id="1100-6419008">going to change the world</a>. It's already done that for one woman. Diagnosed with cancer and too weak for extended mobility, Roberta Firstenberg told her granddaughter Priscilla than she wanted to go outside, even if that meant only walking around her front yard.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Priscilla, a Seattle-based video game artist, sent a note to Oculus last year asking if they could help her, reports <a href="http://www.theriftarcade.com/how-the-oculus-rift-helped-roberta-firstenberg-battle-cancer/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rift Arcade</a>. The Oculus VR support team unanimously agreed that they wanted to help out, and so they dispatched a development kit to Priscilla as soon as they could.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Firstenberg originally tried out demos <a href="https://share.oculusvr.com/app/eden-river---an-oculus-rift-relaxation-experience" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Eden River</a>, <a href="https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1374" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Ocean Rift</a>, and <a href="http://rewindfx.com/the-london-rift-experience/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rewind London Experience</a> and described using the virtual reality headset as "like a therapy" for her. She also grew to enjoy the Google Street View VR demo, but her granddaughter wanted to do more.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">So she hatched a plan to assemble some friends and colleagues to create a demo filled with the things Firstenberg enjoyed the most--butterflies, waterfalls, and a forest with fairies. However, Firstenberg's cancer began to spread and she became too weak to continue to use Oculus Rift.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Firstenberg died four weeks after trying Oculus Rift for the first time.</p><p style="">The possibilities for VR in gaming are obvious, but Luckey and the rest of Oculus VR--now <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">owned by social networking giant Facebook</a>--contend that VR will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-tech-will-impact-film-says-ceo/1100-6415839/" data-ref-id="1100-6415839">disrupt and impact numerous other industries</a> like film and live events. As Firstenberg's account tells us, VR is also capable of providing end-of-life therapy. Who knows what other applications we'll see next.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:13:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dying-woman-s-wish-to-go-outside-made-possible-with-oculus-rift/1100-6419116/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-megabit/2300-6418424/ Peter Brown brings us back to 2002 with the Game Cube classic survival horror game - Resident Evil! Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:11:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-megabit/2300-6418424/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Mon, 21 Apr 2014 22:34:29 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/banjo-kazooie-spiritual-successor-falls-apart/1100-6419122/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2511451-banjo+%281%29.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2511451" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2511451-banjo+%281%29.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2511451"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2511451-banjo+%281%29.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">The <a href="/banjo-kazooie/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Kazooie</a> series will not be getting a spiritual successor, former Rare composer Grant Kirkhope has confirmed.</p><p style="">Posting in an Ask Me Anything thread on <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/23h2s1/i_am_grant_kirkhope_composer_of_banjo_and_dk_64/cgwxvwl" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Reddit</a>, Kirkhope responded to a fan question enquiring whether he and other developers of the original Banjo-Kazooie were working on a spiritual successor to the game. Kirkhope replied that while a character had been "drawn up" and a "demo level type thing" was created, the project fell apart as everyone had "other jobs".</p><p style="">Banjo-Kazooie was first released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and was followed by <a href="/banjo-tooie/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Tooie</a> (2000), <a href="/banjo-kazooie-gruntys-revenge/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge</a> (2003), and <a href="/banjo-kazooie-nuts-and-bolts/" data-ref-id="false">Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts</a> (2008). More recently, Rare released <a href="/kinect-sports-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Kinect Sports Rivals</a> for the Xbox One.</p><p style="">Would you like to see another Banjo-Kazooie game? Let us know in the comments below!</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Zorine Te is an associate editor at GameSpot, and you can follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/ztharli" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @ztharli</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 21:29:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/banjo-kazooie-spiritual-successor-falls-apart/1100-6419122/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nes-remix-2-review/1900-6415738/ <p style=""><a href="/nes-remix/" data-ref-id="false">NES Remix</a> was a good idea when it launched without fanfare in late 2013 and reintroduced you to some of the greatest gaming moments from the 8-bit era, but NES Remix 2 is even better because it boasts a superior roster. Borrowing from a fresh assortment of classic games, this second retro bundle is a treat even though it doubles as a virtual salesperson.</p><p style="">In NES Remix 2, you find a total of more than 150 bite-sized challenges carved from 10 different NES games. Typically, you are offered a series of three or four objectives, and you can make three attempts. Sometimes, there are extra steps, in which case you're provided additional lives. Elsewhere, you face only a single objective, but it's more difficult and time-consuming. At the end of a given challenge, your performance is awarded anywhere from one to three stars (with a special rainbow flourish also appearing for the truly adept), depending on how long you took and how often you failed. You also receive in-game currency called bits that unlock stamps you can use on your Miiverse posts. The game saves a video record of your run, for easy embedding and sharing, which adds a competitive side that these games once mostly lacked.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510851-nes+remix+2+footage+266.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510851" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510851-nes+remix+2+footage+266.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510851"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2510851-nes+remix+2+footage+266.jpg"></a><figcaption>Metroid has aged well. Ridley, on the other hand, really needs some Botox. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Many of these challenges present you with a chunk of yesteryear, but freshened up. For instance, Mario will run at full speed through a renowned <a href="/super-mario-bros-3/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Bros. 3</a> stage, and you must choose when to jump and with how much vigor. Elsewhere, Link navigates a perilous series of ledges patrolled by mobile octopus enemies, all with a life meter that is nearly exhausted. These stages may be familiar to you, but they pose a new challenge if you're not used to hurrying through them. The most interesting diversions, however, are those that combine elements from multiple series, because you're especially likely to be caught by surprise by a setup you've never encountered before. Link might need to hack his way through bricks to collect coins in the Mushroom Kingdom, or Pit from <a href="/kid-icarus/" data-ref-id="false">Kid Icarus</a> might have to try to collect fairies while avoiding flying ghosts in an environment that was ripped from Link's Adventure.</p><p style="">Fragments of 10 key NES games are included in NES Remix 2. The star of the pack, Super Mario Bros. 3, is available to sample immediately. Once you complete challenges and start earning stars, you gain access to <a href="/dr-mario/" data-ref-id="false">Dr. Mario</a>, <a href="/super-mario-bros-2/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Bros. 2</a>, <a href="/kirbys-adventure/" data-ref-id="false">Kirby's Adventure</a>, and more. Had NES Remix 2 included complete editions of the selections it sort of compiles, the result would have been difficult to ignore. However, the only game you can completely explore here is a reworked version of <a href="/classic-nes-series-super-mario-bros/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario Bros.</a> known as Super Luigi Bros. That addition lets two players take turns running through the classic platformer game, but with the experience modified so that the screen now scrolls from right to left, and the protagonist is Luigi. The less famous sibling slides and skids like a kid in socks on linoleum, but he jumps higher and further as compensation. When combined with the unconventional orientation, the altered physics make a stranger out of familiar terrain. Muscle memory and time-worn technique are no longer your allies. They're more likely to land you in a pit or send you flying headfirst into a patrolling goomba or koopa's personal space.</p><figure data-embed-type="gallery" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510846,1300-2510854,1300-2510840,1300-2510848,1300-2510856,1300-2510842,1300-2510850,1300-2510844,1300-2510852,1300-2510853" data-resize-urls="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg,http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg" data-resized="" data-resize-url=""><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510846" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510846-nes+remix+2+footage+240.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510854" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510854-nes+remix+2+footage30.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510840" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510840-nes+remix+2+footage+205.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510848" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510848-nes+remix+2+footage+257.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510856" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510856-nes+remix+2+footage48.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510842" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510842-nes+remix+2+footage+231.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510850" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510850-nes+remix+2+footage+262.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510844" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510844-nes+remix+2+footage+236.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510852" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510852-nes+remix+2+footage+273.jpg"></a><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510853" ><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/square_avatar/416/4161502/2510853-nes+remix+2+footage+278.jpg"></a><figcaption>You've been to these places before, but have never experienced them quite like this. </figcaption></figure><p style="">Although there's more than enough content to keep you busy with NES Remix 2 for a good while, the package sometimes feels like the world's greatest glorified demo and not a distinct new experience. There's even a handy link to the eShop, which conveniently sells full versions of each excerpted game. A fair number of the objectives provide an overview of those selections and their most iconic hooks and gameplay mechanics, which is enough to whet your appetite. Other inclusions, however, are inexplicable. One challenge involves watching the Wario's Woods opening tutorial, for instance, and another screens a training montage from Punch-Out. The ending sequences for the various games are also shown, so it's a good idea to finish them ahead of time if you were saving such things for a surprise.</p><p style="">NES Remix 2 is a highlights reel that you pay for, but that's not as bad as it sounds provided you are interested in challenging yourself while you reminisce and sample. Old conventions have been modified to offer enough variety and genuinely interesting challenges that they manage to prove fresh all over again. Nothing here works as a replacement for the original material, but this is still a delightful experience whether you remember blowing the dust out of 8-bit cartridges or not.</p> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 18:07:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nes-remix-2-review/1900-6415738/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/demon-gaze-review/1900-6415737/ <p style="">There are plenty of dungeon-crawling-focused role-playing games out there, but given the substantial time investment they require, first impressions can drive you away before the game has a chance to put its best foot forward. In the case of Demon Gaze, bear in mind that first glances can be deceiving. It may appear like another forgettable <a href="/wizardry/" data-ref-id="false">Wizardry</a>-inspired import featuring overtly sexed-up still images, but behind those initially off-putting images lies a robust, well-made adventure with a lot of depth.</p><p style="">You begin Demon Gaze by waking up in the bottom of a dungeon. You have no idea why you are here, but you hear strange, childlike laughter off in the distance. As you try to escape your surroundings, you encounter a battle-scarred warrior woman. She gives you a weapon and tells you to face the source of the voice--a vicious, bloodthirsty demon. It's in this battle that your initial abilities are revealed: you have the gifts of a gazer, an individual capable of subduing and controlling demons.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2510760" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510760-0004.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510760-0004.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510760"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/725/7253563/2510760-0004.jpg"></a><figcaption>Combat gets intense when enemies decide to gang up.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Soon, you discover more about your odd situation. You've signed a contract to board at the Dragon Princess Inn, an unusual safe haven in a dangerous region. The local mercenaries make their living doing menial jobs in the hazardous ruins, but Fran, the inn's manager, has a different job for you: to capture all of the demons wreaking havoc in the surrounding lands. A complicated task becomes even more wrought with drama as the secrets of your lineage, Fran's ambiguous motives and strange behavior, and the actions of the unusual characters that inhabit the inn intertwine. Each character has his or her own reasons for being at the Dragon Princess Inn, but ultimately, it is Fran's guidance that binds the cast together. Unfortunately, as part of the story, Fran sometimes gives you mundane tasks you must do before you can proceed into new areas, and during these times, the narrative slows to a patience-trying crawl.</p><p style="">Demon Gaze's blatant pandering may also test your patience. Scantily dressed non-player characters like Lancelorna and Prometh, along with cutscenes showing a nearly naked Fran, make it clear that the game seeks to titillate. That pandering can be difficult to stomach (Did we really need to see Fran's maid secretly sniffing her panties?), but the baring of skin isn't limited to the female characters; there are suggestively dressed and more modest character creation art choices for guys and ladies, and one of the more frequent skin-baring characters is Lezarem, the item shop's handsome elf proprietor. Even so, I was surprised at how much I came to like a lot of these characters despite behavior I found initially off-putting.</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p style="">A complicated task becomes even more wrought with drama as the secrets of your lineage, Fran's ambiguous motives and strange behavior, and the actions of the unusual characters that inhabit the inn intertwine.</p></blockquote><p style="">The story may twist and turn, but Demon Gaze's mechanics are straightforward, at least initially. It's a turn-based, first-person RPG heavily inspired by old-fashioned PC games. The Dragon Princess Inn acts as the game's hub, where you can buy items and weapons, take quests, and rent rooms for up to four additional party members. The art representing the characters is well drawn, distinct, and colorful, though it's obvious that multiple artists worked on the images, leading to an inconsistent overall look. Once you take your first steps into one of the two starting dungeons, however, you begin to see some of Demon Gaze's more interesting nuances. The 3D visuals don't look that great, but map layouts are terrific, filled with all sorts of devious tricks: hidden passages and traps, tiles that randomly spin you around, one-way passages, and the like. An automap fills as you explore, though unlike in the similarly Wizardry-influenced <a href="/etrian-odyssey/" data-ref-id="false">Etrian Odyssey</a> series, you can't use the touchscreen to draw boundaries or place your own icons on the map.</p><p style="">What you can do is write and read gazer memos strewn about the dungeons. These function similarly to messages in the <a href="/dark-souls-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Souls</a> games: anyone playing Demon Gaze can write a memo using preprogrammed phrases, where it appears in other players' games at that spot. These can be used to share locations of hidden doors and treasures, give directions, warn of impending dangers, or just convey idle chatter, making the exploration experience feel more communal.</p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2510828" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510828-0001.jpg" data-size="medium" data-align="right" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510828-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510828"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/725/7253563/2510828-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>This...happens. A lot.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Another noteworthy presence in the dungeons of Demon Gaze is the circles. Circles serve a variety of purposes and are key to your success. Their first role is as checkpoints, and you must take control of every circle in a dungeon before you can fight that dungeon's demon in its final form. They also act as points where you can save and swap out the demon keys you've earned. What you mostly use them for, though, is collecting loot. By setting gems corresponding to different item types on the circle, you initiate a battle with monsters that are guaranteed to drop the items you specified. This makes the process of loot hunting considerably easier and much more fun, since you always know what you're getting out of combat. Need some light armor for your wizard? Set a bunch of light armor gems on circles around the dungeon and see what you get. Of course, the quality of the goods isn't always guaranteed, but there's plenty you can do with even subpar loot: you can sell it, sacrifice it to power up your higher-quality gear, or, given that the circles are save points, reload your progress and try your luck again.</p><p style="">Combat also presents some unique twists. The boss demons you have defeated are transformed into keys, and the gazer character has a special command menu to release demons during fights. Demons have their own health, loyalty levels, and skill sets, and behave according to their own whims. While demons don't have magic points, being in battle uses up stored energy from a demon gauge. (You can also command the demons to perform specific actions--even when not on-field--at a significant gauge cost.) If the gauge runs dry, the demons transform and run wild, attacking both friend and foe indiscriminately for massive damage, so keeping tabs on how you use them is crucial. Their presence adds an interesting dimension to both combat and exploration; demons you bring with you can also grant passive field bonuses, such as revealing hidden doors or preventing health loss on floors that damage you.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="left"><p style="">Need some light armor for your wizard? Set a bunch of light armor gems on circles around the dungeon and see what you get.</p></blockquote><p style="">But even with demonic forces on your side, combat can get pretty tough. Key to your survival is the use of your team's special skills. These are acquired through gaining levels, and most skills are learned based on the character's class. However, rare artifact items come imbued with their own skills. You can equip these on a character who can make use of the artifact's skill regardless of their class. This can be used to create otherwise impossible skill combinations--for example, giving a damage-shield creation ability to a fighter--or to grant abilities to characters much earlier than they would be naturally learned. Using artifact skills in tandem with innate character skills opens up a plethora of interesting strategies, though it's hampered by the relative rarity and costliness of gems needed to obtain artifacts.</p><p style="">The ease of loot collecting and gear enhancing combined with entertaining combat makes exploration in Demon Gaze enjoyable. Things are a bit tough initially--and a very dry translation on the game's assorted help screens doesn't work in the game's favor--but after a bit of dungeon crawling and party building, Demon Gaze settles into a nice difficulty level that is challenging but rarely feels unfair. Yes, you'll probably lose the first time you fight certain bosses, but carefully looking at what went wrong and reevaluating your approach gets you results. And if that still doesn't work, there's an option to alter the game's difficulty level whenever you want.</p><p style=""> </p><figure data-ref-id="1300-2510830" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510830-0002.jpg" data-size="large" data-align="center" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/725/7253563/2510830-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2510830"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/725/7253563/2510830-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Don't get those demons angry. You wouldn't like them when they're angry.</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p style="">Demon Gaze is not a game for those looking for fast, easy rewards; you need a great deal of patience to find success, and sometimes it feels like the game's narrative is actively working against your desire to progress to new places. But when you are narrowly clutching victory from the jaws of defeat, laying waste to a challenging foe through party synergy and clever planning, or finding an incredibly rare piece of loot that completely changes how you use a party member, you feel like your efforts have yielded delicious fruit.</p> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 18:06:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/demon-gaze-review/1900-6415737/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-highlights-megabit/2300-6418438/ Join Peter and Maxwell as they try to help Jill Valentine solve puzzles, kill zombies, and avoid becoming a sandwich. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:53:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-highlights-megabit/2300-6418438/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/nes-remix-2-review/2300-6418437/ Revisit the golden age of retro Nintendo with a twist in NES Remix 2 for the Wii U. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:29:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/nes-remix-2-review/2300-6418437/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-s-theme-song-reimagined-as-an-r-b-song/1100-6419120/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-eEV7b4UCo" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fs-eEV7b4UCo%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Ds-eEV7b4UCo&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fs-eEV7b4UCo%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">If you've ever wondered what the theme song for the Pokemon cartoon would have been like had it been performed as a rhythm-and-blues song, you're in luck.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A new video series--Saturday Morning Slow Jams--has kicked off on YouTube that seeks to reimagine classic cartoon themes as R&B songs. Each Saturday, a new track will be posted to Scott Bradlee's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottBradleeLovesYa" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">YouTube channel</a>, and the debut track (via the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/19/pokemon-theme-postmodern-jukebox_n_5179578.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Huffington Post</a>) is none other than the "Gotta Catch 'em All" theme from the Pokemon cartoon that began airing in the late 1990s.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Are there any songs you'd especially like to see reimagined in this fashion? Bradlee is taking requests, and we'd love to hear what you would choose in the comments below.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:07:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-s-theme-song-reimagined-as-an-r-b-song/1100-6419120/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-a-comedy-of-errors-and-box-physic/2300-6418435/ Jess and Zorine cry with laughter instead of horror this week over exploding ketchup and haphazard box towers. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:36:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/house-of-horrors-a-comedy-of-errors-and-box-physic/2300-6418435/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nes-remix-went-to-wii-u-because-it-needed-more-power-than-3ds-offers/1100-6419119/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418434" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418434/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">With <a href="/nes-remix/" data-ref-id="false">NES Remix</a> and <a href="/nes-remix-2/" data-ref-id="false">NES Remix 2</a> consisting primarily of just what their titles describe--remixed versions of games for the 30-year-old Nintendo Entertainment System--system power is not what you might expect to play a role in deciding which platforms these new compilations will be made for. As it turns out, horsepower did play a role in that decision, and is part of the reason the two games are on the Wii U, and not the 3DS.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In an interview with <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/21/why-nes-remix-1-2-isnat-on-nintendo-3ds" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IGN</a>, director Koichi Hayashida explained that, after working on <a href="/super-mario-3d-world/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario 3D World</a> for Wii U, he was already familiar with the system's architecture. That made it a natural choice for his next project. However, he also spoke about system power and how that factored into allowing Nintendo to more easily create the game it wanted.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the Wii U offered that up for us pretty easily," Hayashida said, referring to the desired system power, "and it just would have been more difficult to do it for the 3DS. I think that's really the answer. It's just that the Wii U had the machine power we were looking for in order for us to build the software we envisioned from the get go."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Wii U has long been thought of by some as lacking the necessary power to compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, a perception Nintendo has been <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-defends-wii-u-system-power/1100-6407853/" data-ref-id="1100-6407853">working to dispel</a> for just as long. The 3DS is also less powerful than its primary competitor, the PlayStation Vita, but that hasn't stopped it from <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/3ds-sales-reach-11-5-million-in-us-alone-nintendo-calls-system-a-powerhouse/1100-6417058/" data-ref-id="1100-6417058">selling millions of units</a>.</p><p style="">Featuring games like Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3, NES Remix 2 releases on Wii U this Friday, April 25.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:20:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nes-remix-went-to-wii-u-because-it-needed-more-power-than-3ds-offers/1100-6419119/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-one-working-to-beat-ps4-last-of-us-ar/2300-6418433/ Naughty Dog continue to lose dev talent, Microsoft vocalise their intention to best the PS4 this generation, and the Game Boy turns 25 years old! Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/gs-news-xbox-one-working-to-beat-ps4-last-of-us-ar/2300-6418433/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-actor-recast-after-following-naughty-dog-writer-to-ea/1100-6419118/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416170" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416170/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Developer Naughty Dog has "recast" the character in the new <a href="/uncharted-4/" data-ref-id="false">Uncharted</a> game for the PlayStation 4 played by Todd Stashwick, according to the actor.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Without providing any reasoning behind the move, Stashwick told <a href="http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/21/star-wars-co-writer-todd-stashwick-recast-in-uncharted-ps4" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">IGN</a>, "They chose to recast my role." Stashwick was previously described as playing a "significant" character in the game and was responsible for the voiceover work in the teaser trailer above.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig, who had been writing the new, as-of-yet untitled Uncharted game, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-ps4-writer-leaves-naughty-dog/1100-6418113/" data-ref-id="1100-6418113">left the developer</a> earlier this year. She <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ex-uncharted-creative-director-amy-hennig-joins-ea-to-work-on-star-wars/1100-6418754/" data-ref-id="1100-6418754">joined Electronic Arts</a> shortly thereafter to work on Visceral Games' <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-developing-open-world-star-wars-game/1100-6416442/" data-ref-id="1100-6416442">new Star Wars project</a>. Stashwick recently announced he would be <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-actor-to-co-write-new-star-wars-game-for-ea/1100-6418938/" data-ref-id="1100-6418938">co-writing the game with Hennig</a>, a move that raised some questions about whether his involvement with the new Uncharted would be affected.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Stashwick had been working on the new Uncharted since at least November, when he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/actor-teases-uncharted-ps4/1100-6416413/" data-ref-id="1100-6416413">shared several photos</a> online of the work in progress, including one of him in a motion-capture suit.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whether Stashwick's work with Visceral played any role in this move or if more than just a change in actor is planned for his former character is currently unknown. GameSpot has contacted Sony for comment.</p><p style="">Very little about the new Uncharted game, including its title, has been announced. In addition to Hennig, the new game also <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-director-leaves-naughty-dog-for-riot/1100-6418600/" data-ref-id="1100-6418600">lost game director Justin Richmond</a> in March when he left for <a href="/league-of-legends/" data-ref-id="false">League of Legends</a> developer Riot Games. While still not offering up any window for when to expect Uncharted to land on PS4, Sony did address Richmond's departure by stating, "The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:45:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/uncharted-4-actor-recast-after-following-naughty-dog-writer-to-ea/1100-6419118/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/broforce-early-access-review/1100-6419077/ <p style=""><i>GameSpot's early access reviews evaluate unfinished games that are nonetheless available for purchase by the public. While the games in question are not considered finished by their creators, you may still devote money, time, and bandwidth for the privilege of playing them before they are complete. The review below critiques a work in progress, and represents a snapshot of the game at the time of the review's publication.</i></p><p style="">With its 10th annual commendation, Oxford University Press bestowed its prestigious Word of the Year honor upon "selfie." Anyone who recalls the past year mostly as a series of blurry, flash-obscured images can see the logic of that choice. But let's spare a minute for the versatile "bro," which stepped up in 2013 to serve as much-needed shorthand for any aggressively masculine, keg-fueled fraternity lech. That feat of summarization would have been commendable in its own right, but "bro" had more in it. It burst like a portmanteau cluster bomb: bromance, brogrammer, brony...any venue for male kinship proved ripe for the affix. But like so many other neologisms (see: "vlog" or "truthiness"), it's tough to wield "bro" with anything but trademarked modern sarcasm. So where, say, Tolkien's Fellowship was disarmingly earnest, Free Lives' Broforce has its tongue set in one very square jaw.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508414-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508414" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508414-0003.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508414"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/416/4161502/2508414-0003.jpg"></a><figcaption>With all the explosions rocking the screen, it's easy to lose your bro.</figcaption></figure><p style="">The titular Broforce is an assemblage of human wrecking balls culled from the past 30-ish years of big-screen action. Facsimiles of Schwarzenegger's Terminator, Indiana Jones, Blade, and MacGyver all theoretically occupy the same space here, moving from left to right and mowing through baddies with guns, swords, and the odd bomb hidden in a cooked turkey. These are men with a very particular set of skills--skills they have acquired over long careers, skills that make them a nightmare for two-dimensional terrorists and pixelated attack helicopters. No Liam Neeson a la <i>Taken</i> yet, though, to the best of my knowledge.</p><p style="">In Broforce's arcade-style campaign, or its suite of alternate modes, you take on the role of a randomized bro and kill your way across jungles and cities, aiming for an exit point or a boss fight. The way you get there is at your discretion, though. The terrain gets blasted away by your weaponry the same as any enemy; in keeping with the <a href="/minecraft/" data-ref-id="false">Minecraft</a>/<a href="/spelunky/" data-ref-id="false">Spelunky</a> zeitgeist, tunneling through 20 feet of concrete with a shotgun is as valid a way to the level's end as any other. Such freedom opens up some interesting strategic possibilities, like shooting the floor out from underneath an otherwise imposing foe. It also makes for some zany, unpredictable runs, especially when you're paired with trigger-happy teammates who don't give much thought to blowing up the platform you're standing on. The campaign can be taken online, and there are a few local multiplayer diversions on offer, like a player-versus-player deathmatch, and another variant that sees characters fleeing an encroaching blast from the left side of the screen.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508416-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508416" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508416-0002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508416"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2508416-0002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Take any path, or carve out your own with that minigun.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Speaking of throwbacks, there's something of 1992's <a href="/kid-chameleon/" data-ref-id="false">Kid Chameleon</a> in the way you change characters. Bros are imprisoned in cages that dot the levels. When you free a bro, you assume the role of the new bro, and the old one drops away to become a sort of extra life. There's no way to determine which bro you're freeing, meaning that, once unlocked, the full roster remains in circulation at all times. In this system, there's no way to stick with a favored bro, but it's a welcome sacrifice in the name of variety. Each bro has a well-defined role that makes clever use of his iconic arsenal. Snake Plissken's doppelganger sports a sniper rifle that trades rate of fire for range. An Agent J stand-in uses a noisy cricket that packs a wallop but flings him backward with each shot.</p><p style="">Somewhere between <a href="/contra-1987/" data-ref-id="false">Contra</a>'s 1987 release and today, uber-soldiers seem to have lost the ability to fire at angles. With few exceptions, the bros can only hit targets that are in front of them and at their exact elevation. Consequently, attacking enemies who are located anywhere else means meeting them on their own turf, sinking down (or rising up) to their level in a very literal sense. But as any red-blooded, camper-hating shooter fan will tell you, it's easier to defend an area than it is to attack it. Facing this disadvantage but needing to progress, you rely on your capacity for preemptive warfare: shooting before the slow-to-action enemies can construct any ill intent of their own. It's the Bush Doctrine in miniature, played out in pixelated bunkers, with pixelated "Mission Accomplished" banners. There's a fitting confluence of the game's mechanics and its message.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508415-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508415" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/416/4161502/2508415-0001.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2508415"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/416/4161502/2508415-0001.jpg"></a><figcaption>Norris can cut through a hot knife with butter.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Taken in tandem with the hulked-out characters (even Keanu Reeves' proxy looks to be 70 percent chest, 60 percent chin), the mega fonts, and the gratuitous guitars, the message is more than a little sardonic. But Broforce's satirical boomerang never comes back around. The environments you blitz through occupy "a fully destructible Vietnam setting" where "death is instant...but this is balanced by the incompetence of the enemy." Terrorists with dynamite strapped to their chests run toward you in comically inept suicide bombing attempts, emitting noises that closely resemble high-pitched ululations. There's never a self-aware rebuke of the way the game uses collateral damage as a fireworks display. Broforce frequently feels thematically tone-deaf, to put it mildly.</p><p style="">There's ample cause for hearing loss. Layers of levels crumble apart under fire, setting off chain reactions that level wide swaths of the environment in seconds. At any given moment, three-quarters of the screen is engulfed in flames, collapsing, or bleeding. If there's a grander purpose to the mayhem you're wreaking, it's quickly lost in the hail of bullets and fire. Balaclava-clad enemies mill about absentmindedly, and you gun them down because they're wearing balaclavas. Giant robots with missile arms rise up in front of you, and you blow them up because they're giant robots with missile arms. The bosses that need to be killed to complete many stages are devils in business suits--a nice, efficient visual shorthand for "evil." Broforce isn't really in it for the nuance, of course. It assumes you will react instinctively: adapt quick to the simple controls, move ever to the right, leap the bottomless pits, shoot the red barrels, and grin at all the ensuing chaos.</p><p style="">It's mostly correct in that assumption. All the explosions can make it easy to lose track of your fragile bro, especially when paired with a screen-shaking effect that's intermittently overbearing. Not all bros are born equal: Indiana Brones' flare gun is terribly ineffective, and Brobocop's ability to charge up attacks is wholly out of place in a game that demands a generous output of lead. But the varied roster and combustible level design mean that no two runs through one of Broforce's stages feel alike, and the game's brisk pace ensures you're always being whisked away to something new. While hanging from a helicopter. While everything behind you blows up.</p><p style="">For no discernible reason.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's There?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>A sizable campaign, a few quirky special modes, a rudimentary level editor, and competent online support. Co-op is integrated into most of the game, and is wonderfully chaotic.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's to Come?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>A space-themed mode, if an April teaser video is to be believed. That, plus some new bros, and some shoring up of the existing modes. Broforce already feels pretty complete.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What Does it Cost?</strong></p></td><td><b><i>$14.99 <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/274190/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">on Steam</a>. </i></b></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>When Will it Be Finished?</strong></p></td><td><em><strong>Late summer 2014 is the current target date for a full launch.</strong></em></td></tr><tr><td><p style=""><strong>What's the Verdict?</strong></p></td><td><p style=""><em><strong>Broforce's pairing of excavation and ultraviolence works spectacularly, its pacing feels fine-tuned, and it wields action-movie nostalgia like a pro. But its sense of humor is causing some collateral damage.</strong></em></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:11:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/broforce-early-access-review/1100-6419077/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/broforce-early-access-video-review/2300-6418431/ We bro out with Brobocop, Bro Hard, Bronan, and many other bros in this early access review. Mon, 21 Apr 2014 14:57:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/broforce-early-access-video-review/2300-6418431/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-apple-and-google-s-exclusivity-deals-on-games-like-pvz-2-work/1100-6419117/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409182" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409182/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Platform holders like Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo competing for third-party exclusives by offering various types of bonuses to developers is nothing new in the video game industry. But where this practice is becoming increasingly common that it had not previously existed is in the mobile space as both Google and Apple work to secure exclusive games for their respective operating system's marketplace, according to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304626304579510020273541060" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Wall Street Journal</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Gamers who frequent the app stores on iOS or Android are likely to have noticed the front-page promotion received by major game releases. It's often this kind of publicity--not money--that is offered to mobile game developers in exchange for keeping their games off of the competing platform for a period of time, as was reportedly the case with <a href="/plants-vs-zombies-2-its-about-time/" data-ref-id="false">Plants vs. Zombies 2</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The long-awaited sequel to PopCap's hit tower defense game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-out-on-august-15-for-ios/1100-6413011/" data-ref-id="1100-6413011">launched last August</a> exclusively on iOS. It didn't make it to Android <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-hits-android-worldwide/1100-6415754/" data-ref-id="1100-6415754">until October</a> as a direct result of an arrangement between publisher Electronic Arts and Apple that guaranteed the game prime promotion on the iOS App Store, according to sources. A similar deal was struck with ZeptoLab for Cut the Rope 2, which was released on iOS in December but only made it to Android last month.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last year, there were allegations that Apple had paid EA to delay the Android version of Plants vs. Zombies 2 following a public statement by EA Labels president Frank Gibeau. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-denies-paying-ea-to-delay-plants-vs-zombies-2-on-android/1100-6414925/" data-ref-id="1100-6414925">Apple denied this was the case</a>, and the Wall Street Journal report notes that Apple doesn't outright pay developers for exclusives.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Mobile games are big business: The infamous <a href="/flappy-bird/" data-ref-id="false">Flappy Bird</a> was generating <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/painfully-difficult-flappy-bird-generates-50-000-per-day-in-ad-revenue/1100-6417569/" data-ref-id="1100-6417569">$50,000 per day</a> in ad revenue at one point, while Clash of Clans reportedly sees upward of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-clash-of-clans-generates-654-000-per-day/1100-6417656/" data-ref-id="1100-6417656">$650,000 per day</a> in revenue, and <a href="/the-simpsons-tapped-out/" data-ref-id="false">The Simpsons: Tapped Out</a> had surpassed <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-simpsons-tapped-out-revenue-passes-100-million/1100-6415843/" data-ref-id="1100-6415843">$100 million in lifetime revenue</a> as of last September. The mobile games market as a whole had revenue of $13.2 billion in 2013, a figure expected to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/worldwide-industry-sales-to-reach-93-billion-in-2013-report/1100-6415832/" data-ref-id="1100-6415832">balloon to $22 billion</a> next year.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">With so many games flooding the marketplaces on both iOS and Android, the exposure offered by these arrangements can be games' only chance at grabbing the public's attention. As a result, we can begin to see why developers might opt to work out an exclusivity deal with Apple or Google.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Do these kinds of arrangements have any negative effect on the games you're interested in playing, or can you sympathize with developers trying to compete in such a crowded space? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSmokingManX" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @TheSmokingManX</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><em><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com</strong></em></td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 14:26:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-apple-and-google-s-exclusivity-deals-on-games-like-pvz-2-work/1100-6419117/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dying-woman-s-wish-to-go-outside-made-possible-with-oculus-rift/1100-6419116/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5eIHyFYFMM" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fo5eIHyFYFMM%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Do5eIHyFYFMM&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fo5eIHyFYFMM%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Oculus Rift headset, according to Palmer Luckey, is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-creator-if-you-can-perfectly-simulate-reality-why-do-you-need-to-actually-go-see-people-in-real-life/1100-6419008/" data-ref-id="1100-6419008">going to change the world</a>. It's already done that for one woman. Diagnosed with cancer and too weak for extended mobility, Roberta Firstenberg told her granddaughter Priscilla than she wanted to go outside, even if that meant only walking around her front yard.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Priscilla, a Seattle-based video game artist, sent a note to Oculus last year asking if they could help her, reports <a href="http://www.theriftarcade.com/how-the-oculus-rift-helped-roberta-firstenberg-battle-cancer/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rift Arcade</a>. The Oculus VR support team unanimously agreed that they wanted to help out, and so they dispatched a development kit to Priscilla as soon as they could.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Firstenberg originally tried out demos <a href="https://share.oculusvr.com/app/eden-river---an-oculus-rift-relaxation-experience" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Eden River</a>, <a href="https://developer.oculusvr.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1374" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Ocean Rift</a>, and <a href="http://rewindfx.com/the-london-rift-experience/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rewind London Experience</a> and described using the virtual reality headset as "like a therapy" for her. She also grew to enjoy the Google Street View VR demo, but her granddaughter wanted to do more.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">So she hatched a plan to assemble some friends and colleagues to create a demo filled with the things Firstenberg enjoyed the most--butterflies, waterfalls, and a forest with fairies. However, Firstenberg's cancer began to spread and she became too weak to continue to use Oculus Rift.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Firstenberg died four weeks after trying Oculus Rift for the first time.</p><p style="">The possibilities for VR in gaming are obvious, but Luckey and the rest of Oculus VR--now <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-company-in-a-massive-deal-worth-an-estimated-2-billion/1100-6418540/" data-ref-id="1100-6418540">owned by social networking giant Facebook</a>--contend that VR will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-rift-tech-will-impact-film-says-ceo/1100-6415839/" data-ref-id="1100-6415839">disrupt and impact numerous other industries</a> like film and live events. As Firstenberg's account tells us, VR is also capable of providing end-of-life therapy. Who knows what other applications we'll see next.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:13:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dying-woman-s-wish-to-go-outside-made-possible-with-oculus-rift/1100-6419116/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-megabit/2300-6418424/ Peter Brown brings us back to 2002 with the Game Cube classic survival horror game - Resident Evil! Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:11:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/resident-evil-megabit/2300-6418424/
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