April 29 – May 3

Section: 

When you say, "We're going to make a game that's pretty much based on the color palette and cheesiness of mid-to-early 80s action cartoons, with all the purples and neons your tacky little heart can handle," I say to you in response, "let's make out." This is probably why more people don't make the offer to me, but the guys responsible for FarCry 3 Blood Dragon, who I can only assume are rocking out to early Def Leppard, wearing Ocean Pacific t-shirts and calling each other rad, better prepare themselves for some heavy petting.

As to what it's about, I dunno. There's something about cyber commandos and Michael Biehn. Just go watch this trailer, and you'll know in like five seconds whether this is for you or not.

Also, though it's not officially released, Neverwinter enters open beta this week on the PC. I've been enjoying an early headstart over the weekend, and speaking as a fan of MMOs in general, I am pleased. Built with a nod toward a much more action-oriented style of play, Neverwinter has a lot more sliding around and clicking at things than tapping the number keys. With ten or so hours played so far, the game definitely delivers on being different without being confusing. While it comes with all the trappings of a free-to-play MMO, this feels like a very complete and fully realized game, which is not something I always feel in F2P titles.

Among its many interesting features, the Foundry in particular is worth note and works seemlessly in the game to allow players the tools to create quests and publish them for all players to enjoy. The best of these Foundry quests come with a healthy dose of storytelling creativity, and there's something very Dungeon Master-y about being told a D&D story by fellow players.

Other than that, a relatively quiet week, with Fez finally launching on the PC and an expansion for Might & Magic Heroes VI.

PC
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (download - $15)
- Fez (download - $10)
- Leviathan: Warships (download - $10)
- Might & Magic Heroes VI: Shades of Darkness
- Strike Suit Infinity (download - $7)
- Zeno Clash 2 (download - $20)

Xbox 360
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (XBLA - $15)

PS3
- Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut
- Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (PSN - $15)
- Katamari Damacy (PS2 Classic)
- Telltale Games' Poker Night 2 (PSN - $10)
- Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge (PSN)

Vita
- Soul Sacrifice
- Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge (PSN)

3DS
- BearShark (eShop)

Comments

Def Leppard? I'll be rocking to old-school David Lee Roth Van Halen while playing Blood Dragon. I may even put on some driving gloves for full effect.

Yup, that was the band I should have referenced.

So when you download the files for Blood Dragon from Steam, it does so in the form of a montage right?

Wasn't too keen on the demo for Soul Sacrifice. LOVE the aesthetics of the thing but the combat didn't grab me at all. A dip into Deadly Premonition with extra content, on the other hand...

Huh. I'll actually be getting the game of the week for once, as a pack-in for getting Bioshock Infinite and Tomb Raider

I'm intrigued by the sheer insanity of Blood Dragon but I'm not really in the mood for shooters right now after BioShock:Infinite. So that's on the "wait and see list". Fez is also high on the list but I'm currently engrossed in Pandora's Tower and Monaco so...

Somehow I managed to convince myself over the weekend to pre-order the Heroes VI expandalone instead.

stevenmack wrote:

So when you download the files for Blood Dragon from Steam, it does so in the form of a montage right?

Since it'll be a montage of Internet stuff, really, really basic and cheesy 3D animation like from the original Tron as we get to see the data go from one computer to the next.

I'll probably have to wait on Blood Dragon, though I'll definitely give it a grab.

Elysium wrote:

When you say, we're going to make a game (or in this case DLC)

Elysium wrote:

but the guys responsible for FarCry 3 Blood Dragon DLC

Just a note for anyone coming to this article that isn't already familiar with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: sure, it is digital-only, but it's not DLC in the normal sense. It is a standalone game. You do not need Far Cry 3 to play it. To avoid confusion, you may want to edit the two instances of calling it DLC.

Anyway, the game looks to be a fun ride, indeed.

Whoah whoah whoah... you're telling me I can have all my cheesy 80s technodystopian clichés mainlined into my gamedrive WITHOUT needing FC3?

That's $15 out of my wallet.

Guh, Strike Suit Infinity seems like such a cash grab.

I am so excited. I still can't get over that Blood Dragon wasn't just an April Fool's gag. But I'm so happy it isn't.

Yup. I really didn't want to buy Blood Dragon. But I did.

I will be doing a little soul sacrificing.

MeatMan wrote:
Elysium wrote:

When you say, we're going to make a game (or in this case DLC)

Elysium wrote:

but the guys responsible for FarCry 3 Blood Dragon DLC

Just a note for anyone coming to this article that isn't already familiar with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: sure, it is digital-only, but it's not DLC in the normal sense. It is a standalone game. You do not need Far Cry 3 to play it. To avoid confusion, you may want to edit the two instances of calling it DLC.

Anyway, the game looks to be a fun ride, indeed. :D

Thanks for the clarification. I'll probably wait for a sale, but it's tempting.

Blood Dragon for me! And maybe Zombie Tycoon 2 cause it looks fun.

MeatMan wrote:
Elysium wrote:

When you say, we're going to make a game (or in this case DLC)

Elysium wrote:

but the guys responsible for FarCry 3 Blood Dragon DLC

Just a note for anyone coming to this article that isn't already familiar with Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon: sure, it is digital-only, but it's not DLC in the normal sense. It is a standalone game. You do not need Far Cry 3 to play it. To avoid confusion, you may want to edit the two instances of calling it DLC.

Anyway, the game looks to be a fun ride, indeed. :D

So it's like that Infamous thing... Blood something or other...

Veloxi wrote:

Guh, Strike Suit Infinity seems like such a cash grab.

Agreed. Just a different game mode or something right? Never did finish the main game yet...

Looking forward to taking out neon dragons with laser beam eyes.

BNice wrote:

Looking forward to taking out neon dragons with laser beam eyes.

Starting to look like it's pretty buggy.

Here's the link for the Neverwinter beta, for them what want to play it: http://nw.perfectworld.com/

When you say, we're going to make a game that's pretty much based on the color palette and cheesiness of mid-to-early 80s action cartoons, with all the purples and neons your tacky little heart can handle, I say to you in response, "let's make out."

Sean? Where have you been all my life?

wordsmythe wrote:
BNice wrote:

Looking forward to taking out neon dragons with laser beam eyes.

Starting to look like it's pretty buggy.

Are you speaking from experience?

Yesterday I read one review and watched one video review and neither reviewer mentioned anything about the game being buggy.

MeatMan wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
BNice wrote:

Looking forward to taking out neon dragons with laser beam eyes.

Starting to look like it's pretty buggy.

Are you speaking from experience?

Yesterday I read one review and watched one video review and neither reviewer mentioned anything about the game being buggy.

Just word on the web streets. Plus RPS.

wordsmythe wrote:
MeatMan wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:
BNice wrote:

Looking forward to taking out neon dragons with laser beam eyes.

Starting to look like it's pretty buggy.

Are you speaking from experience?

Yesterday I read one review and watched one video review and neither reviewer mentioned anything about the game being buggy.

Just word on the web streets. Plus RPS.

RPS wrote:

Cutscenes are barely-animated cartoon sequences – which I started to suspect weren’t so crude for the sake of mocking anything but more to save money

Characters literally glide over to things, instead of walking to them. IN LOW-RES 2D. Once you start thinking they did that to save money, you've crossed the border into crazy town. More likely, you're just not buying the vibe, and looking at things to complain about.

There are things to complain about with Blood Dragon, but holy crap am I tired of anything different or interesting in games getting dumped on by every reviewer who just doesn't dig it. When you describe Blood Dragon as "confused", then every other game is schizophrenic. Blood Dragon knows exactly what it is, and what it's trying to do. You can tell if you're not into it after about 30 seconds of the trailer. Do you really need to spend 2 pages complaining about how it's not FarCry 3? Or worse, it's not the imaginary perfect version of FarCry 3 that you wished it was?

Also, see most Bioshock: Infinite reviews for further examples of this.

PyromanFO wrote:

There are things to complain about with Blood Dragon, but holy crap am I tired of anything different or interesting in games getting dumped on by every reviewer who just doesn't dig it. When you describe Blood Dragon as "confused", then every other game is schizophrenic. Blood Dragon knows exactly what it is, and what it's trying to do. You can tell if you're not into it after about 30 seconds of the trailer. Do you really need to spend 2 pages complaining about how it's not FarCry 3? Or worse, it's not the imaginary perfect version of FarCry 3 that you wished it was?

The takeaway I got was more "It's still FarCry 3 underneath, for better or worse."

wordsmythe wrote:
PyromanFO wrote:

There are things to complain about with Blood Dragon, but holy crap am I tired of anything different or interesting in games getting dumped on by every reviewer who just doesn't dig it. When you describe Blood Dragon as "confused", then every other game is schizophrenic. Blood Dragon knows exactly what it is, and what it's trying to do. You can tell if you're not into it after about 30 seconds of the trailer. Do you really need to spend 2 pages complaining about how it's not FarCry 3? Or worse, it's not the imaginary perfect version of FarCry 3 that you wished it was?

The takeaway I got was more "It's still FarCry 3 underneath, for better or worse."

Coming at this as someone who didn't play FarCry 3 at all, it's a fun game with an interesting aesthetic and some occasionally very funny writing thrown in. It's lighthearted enough to take the rough bits in stride, and the game is fun enough to hold it all together. If you read that review, you'd think it's a terrible game. Instead, it just seems to be a game that wasn't want the reviewer wanted.

Again, I can't help but make a comparison to Bioshock: Infinite. They saw a unique visual aesthetic and a good trailer and thought "FINALLY! This will free us from all that bad video game crap!" then it turned out to be a video game, so some people couldn't help but harp on it. It's almost like you get punished for trying something new, but not reinventing everything else in the process.

It says Farcry 3 right in the title! It's $15! What did he expect?

wordsmythe wrote:

Just word on the web streets. Plus RPS.

The one review that I mentioned I read was indeed the RPS article you linked. In the paragraph where Walker described things as "bugs," the only thing he mentions that's actually a bug is the issue where Alt-Tabbing out and back in changes the game from windowed to borderless. So for anyone who insists on playing their games in windowed mode, that's a valid concern, but I couldn't care less about that, as I play games full screen.

Furthermore, one of the other things Walker complains about, which I've quoted below, is false.

That bloody mission pop-up message that can’t be switched off? That’s still present.

Not only was the option to disable that patched into Far Cry 3, the same option is present in Blood Dragon, as seen in TotalBiscuit's WTF Is video at the 4:00 mark ("Objective Reminder").

wordsmythe wrote:

The takeaway I got was more "It's still FarCry 3 underneath, for better or worse."

I had my complaints about FC3 (even though I enjoyed my time with the game overall), but experiencing bugs was not one of them.

There are things to complain about with Blood Dragon, but holy crap am I tired of anything different or interesting in games getting dumped on by every reviewer who just doesn't dig it.

Given my taste in games, I sympathize with this 100%.

a fun game with an interesting aesthetic ... . It's lighthearted

If there's one thing I know about you, it's that you're an intelligent and deeply caring person—a large man with an even larger heart.

If there's a second thing I know about you, it's that the quoted language here is absolutely your favorite thing to see in a game. Please do not let idle gossip I've encountered sully your enjoyment.

isd this the oficial far cray 3 blood drago tnhread? It is now.

far cry 3 blood dragon..... game.... possibly the greatest.... ever made..... I like periods.....

We've lost containment.

wordsmythe wrote:

We've lost containment.

That pod was never a good fit for me. All my tentacles kept jamming up in my face.

BLOOD

[size=80][color=red]DRAGON[/size][/color]