Things you should be reading!
Selamat pagi, homies!
We post a lot of articles here at Destructoid. The endless, ouroboros news cycle has us burning the snake at both ends, which will ultimately push big news, thoughtful original pieces, and all sorts of other great content off of the front page.
Every Saturday, I’m going to bring you a sort of “best of the week.” The stories you might have missed. The stories you should be reading.
Destructoid’s most wanted games of 2014– Destructoid Editors
2013 is dead and buried. Screw that uninhabitable hellhole of a year. Bring on the uninhabitable hellhole of 2014, and the videogame splendor it has to offer (mostlyGravity Rush 2).
Mentioned games includeGravity Rush 2,Titanfall,Infamous Second Son,Destiny,Dark Souls II, and more!
What are your most anticipated games of 2014?
Risk of Rain is my new roguelike obsession– Jordan Devore
One of our more roguelike-obsessed editors, Jordan, explains whyRisk of Rainis so good.
While it might be too early to call it now at only 27 hours of play (“only”), I’m going to do so anyway; I think I’ve found my latest obsession, and it’s one not nearly enough of you are playing:Risk of Rain.
Should Bayonetta 2 have competitive or co-op multiplayer?– Chris Carter
Action game savant Chris Carter is excited aboutBayonetta 2, so we’ve given him a “what if” machine to talk about multiplayer possibilities.
Bayonettais one of my favorite action games of all time. Not only is it legitimately challenging even on hard mode (who would have thought), but it offers up that frame-perfect technical action you’d expect from a studio like Platinum Games, with a ton of weapon variety to boot. …. Going into 2014 and the inevitable release of more information on the sequel, I’m starting to wonder whatBayonettawould be like with another person.
Opinion: The Steam Controller deserves a fair shot– Chris Carter
Chris tries to fight internet gamer vitriol and suspicion. Good luck, Chris.
Valve isn’t trying toreplacethe wheel — they’re just adding another axle. Although I don’t plan on using the Steam Controller for every single game I own, I am excited to try it out on a few games that wouldn’t otherwise be possible on a gamepad without the technology Valve has developed. It’s an exciting time for games, and like all things, we should wait until the tech actually drops before fully judging it. Who knows? You might like it!
The best joke at Sony’s CES conference that no one got– Steven Hansen
Sony Electronics President and COO Mike Fasulo delivered a proper zinger during Sony’s CES press conference, but I was theonly onewho got it.
The Bad Dudes President is not actually American– Darren Nakamura
Inspired by acomic from Zac Gorman, the Destructoid staff was chatting aboutBad Dudes, the old beat ’em up infamous for itsabrupt openingand unsatisfying conclusion (pictured above). Upon inspecting the image more closely though, we had a “cannot unsee” moment. What is the deal with that flag behind him?
Podtoid 277: Geralt of Rivia, Slayer of Kissing Teens– Max Scoville
Like a disgusting, vulgar Phoenix, Podtoid once again rises from its feculent ashes. This time around, the roster consists of Max Scoville, Conrad Zimmerman, Jonathan Holmes, and Andy Dixon. Join them as they discussWitchers, big crabs, Molemen, facial hair, and very briefly… videogames.
Hardline 005: PlayStation Now, Alien, 2014’s most wanted– Jordan Devore
Refreshed from a lovely holiday break, we’re back with another episode of Destructoid’s news discussion podcast, Hardline. Hamza, Steven, and Conrad spoke with me about Sony’s backwards-compatibility solution for PS4,PlayStation Now; the laundry list ofSteam Machinesshown at CES; Razer’s crazy-looking modular PC; the new survival-horrorAliengamethat sounds shockingly good;Titanfall‘s12-player limit; and ourmost-wanted gamesof 2014. Among other things.
Sup, Holmes? Ep 90 w/ Marcus Lindblom! (Earthbound)– Jonathan Holmes
Last week on Sup Holmes (now oniTunes), we spent a fast hour and a half withMarcus Lindblom, localization and translation head on Earthbound. … The saddest, most surprising bit for me was when he revealed former plans to write a book about his experiences working onEarthbound, only to have Nintendo ask him not to go forward with the project.
PREVIEWS
Alien: Isolation is the new game in the Alien franchise–Brett MakedonskiAlien: Isolation captures the mood of Ridley Scott’s film– Brett MakedonskiAlien: Isolation is nothing like Colonial Marines– Brett Makedonski
Brett Makedonski checked it out and explains why you should be excitied for a survival horror experience much nearer to Scott’s original masterpiece.
By the time I finally made my way through the final airlock and the demo ended, I was nothing short of thrilled. Sure, it was a small sample size, but from what I saw,Alien: Isolationfired on all cylinders and truly captured the essence of Ridley Scott’sAlien. I couldn’t help but walk away thinking ‘Creative Assembly knows what anAliengame should be.’
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is bold and uncompromising– Alessandro Fillari
Castlevania: Lords of Shadowwas divisive, but everyone I talk to that playsLords of Shadows 2has come away impressed.
Even in the first few hours, its ambitions could not be contained by the tutorial and opening segments. Konami and MercurySteam certainly have a winner on their hands, and this game is poised to become one of the biggest surprises of 2014. As this is the conclusion of theLords of Shadowstoryline, they have every intent to verify it will not go out quietly into the night.
Preview: Aban Hawkins & the 1001 Spikes– Chris Carter
Chris played another game. He does that a lot. And he liked it a lot.
1001 Spikesis a retro enthusiast’s dream. … It expands upon the original game in a big way with a multitude of modes and characters, and everything I’ve touched so far has me pretty excited to try the real thing. In short, it plays like an NES game with tons of content stuffed into it, and I’m perfectly okay with that.
TowerFall Ascension is shaping up to be one kickass port– Chris Carter
To the Ouya’s credit, it had one good damn game. BesidesAmazing Frog. And it was exclusive, too. Thank god it isn’t anymore.
TowerFallAscensionsports an enormous amount of extra content in comparison to its original incarnation, even including a few old-school-style secrets and collectibles in tow. Out of all of the arena type games I’ve played in recent years, I’d put this near the top of the pile, considering how much there is to do in terms of solo content. It’s only a matter of time until the real deal releases, and we can see how brightly the definitive version ofTowerFallshines.
Even without Plus, Don’t Starve is worth playing on PS4– Jordan Devore
Last year’s surprise hit is coming to PlayStation 4 — for free, if you have PlayStation Plus. If you don’t, you should buy the game.
As described in Fraser Brown’soriginal review for Destructoid,Don’t Starveis a brutally difficult game of survival that revolves around acquiring resources and figuring out how best to use them to last another day. I’m quite bad at it, but that doesn’t seem to matter one bit. It’s entirely possible to have a thrilling time despite continuously failing to reach your own personal goals, whatever those might be. Often times, it’s just “Make it to sunrise.”
BIGGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK
DTOID News: CES News, Alien: Isolation, Evolve & IGF Nominees!– Max Scoville
Steam Machine prices range from $499 to $6,000– Hamza Aziz
Valve’s CES press conference amounted to Gabe saying, “Here are out 14 boxes. Ask the manufacturers for more details,” as he dropped the mic and jetski’d away.
Sony’s streaming game service is PlayStation Now– Jordan Devore
“They’re my PlayStation games and I want them now,” someone at Sony, maybe. Probably not. Anyway, Sony announced its Gaikai streaming service, which will come to the US this summer and focus on streaming PS3 games (individual rent-able titles or a subscription plan) to the PS3 and PS4.
First look at Turtle Rock’s new FPS Evolve– Jordan Devore
The team behindLeft 4 Deadhas announced its new game,Evolve, wherein four players face off against a player-controlled alien that, presumably, gets harder and harder to kill. The first alien, Goliath, reaches 30 feet in its final form and can breath fire. Not a bad way to terrorize your friends.
DTOID News: Get Even, Grand Theft Child Abuse & Senran Cook-gera– Max Scoville
