I understand that voice recognition is a complicated affair, but the revelation today that Microsoft’s Kinect, of which voice recognition is a primary feature, will be severely limited, just sounds crazy.  When Kinect launches this fall, although the peripheral will be available in all major territories and countries, only four languages will be supported: American English, British English, Mexican Spanish, and Japanese.  No biggie, you think, right?  Lots of Europeans speak British English, even if it isn’t their native tongue, so they can just use that until their language is eventually added.  Sorry.  The other news is voice recognition languages will be region locked, meaning if you live in the US, you can’t practice your Japanese with your 360.  If you live in Europe outside the UK, no voice support (at all) for you.

(more…)

I recently read a short editorial in EGMi lamenting background music in games.  The author, Paul Semel, points out how he always turns the music off in his games, as he feels many times the music ruins the experience.    “[I]‘m . . . not into music in games because, most of the time, it doesn’t make sense to have music in those games.  If you were a secret agent sneaking up behind an enemy combatant, you wouldn’t crank some Metalica.”

(more…)

It’s been a long, bumpy ride, but Sam and Max have finally reached the end of their latest journey.  We’ve battled evil space apes, petulant pharaohs, elder gods and their minions, even a misguidedly demonic dummy.  The final episode of this third season leaves us with our biggest challenge yet: saving the city from a giant, mutated, rampaging Max-beast, and most importantly, attempting to save Max himself.  Naturally, this will involve more crazy characters, a few pointed jokes, and plenty of zany puzzles.  But how does this finale measure up against previous episodes?  How does the season fare overall?  Is it worth taking the plunge at last (for those of you who’ve been holding out)?

(more…)

To be honest, I’d almost begun to think North America wasn’t going to see a DSi price drop.  While other countries saw the price fall, ours had remained steady throughout the summer, with no indication that Nintendo would lower either the DSi or DSi XL MSRPs any time soon. However, today Nintendo made it official: the DSi will now retail for $149.99, and the DSi XL for $169.99: a $20 drop.

(more…)

We’ve discussed it before here at Spawn Kill: the issue of game length.  Recently, one of the developers of Joe Danger, Sean Murray, wrote a blog post about the subject, and it got me thinking about it once again, especially since it’s a concept I ruminate about often.

Many game reviews include game length not only in their text, but also consider it when determining the score.  Of course, that leads to the argument: is a game bad simply because it’s short?  Obviously, that depends on a lot of things.  As Sean Murray wrote in his post, Limbo and Portal are both short games, but the fact that they took only a few hours to complete didn’t lessen their critical acclaim.  In fact, I agree with him on a lot of his points, as the concept of “gameplay arc” is something I’ve touched upon before.  Some games have a natural length to them, partially due to pacing, and if you go beyond this (or below it, for that matter), the game feels “off.”  (more…)

Let’s pretend for a moment that you are a big budget game company.  Let’s also pretend that you have a historic and well-loved franchise. Now, imagine that you plan to make an MMO with said franchise name and universe.  You would think that you would then utilize all your resources, both financial and intellectual, to produce a product that people would play to the point at which time disappeared.  Makes sense, right?  Obviously, not everyone who plays games the likes of World of Warcraft have given up their families and jobs for the game, but the potential is there, and if anything, Blizzard wants to encourage its players to devote as much time as possible to the world of Azeroth.

Apparently, Square-Enix has decided they want to do things differently.  How, do you ask?  Well, perhaps by making their player base tired of their game before it has even been fully released.  That’s right, I’m talking about the fatigue system.

(more…)

It’s Monday yet again, and hard to believe that summer is almost over.  For those of you who may have started class already today, take some consolation in the fact that And Yet It Moves has finally arrived on WiiWare.  And, even better, for those moms (or dads) out there who have finally gotten rid of–that is to say–shuffled your children off onto those shiny yellow school buses, you can kick back and (finally) relax with either that game or even (gasp) a Virtual Console title, not to mention four other DSiWare releases for this week.  Hit the break for all the games released today.

(more…)

Last week, all of us here at Spawn Kill got together to list some of our favorite game soundtracks.  After all, gaming would be a far less entertaining experience without the stirring melodies to accompany our jaunts through space, the wild west, the Mushroom Kingdom, or wherever the wonderful world of video games may take us.

However, being the generous sort of folk that we are, we felt it was only fair to open up the floor for all of you to weigh in on what game music keeps you humming long after you’ve hit the “power” button.   Do you prefer the classic nostalgia of 8-bit blips, or do you relish the full orchestra?  Perhaps you go for more of the eclectic or avant-garde works.  Perhaps you’re a rhythm game junkie!  Maybe it’s a little of everything.  Whatever your faves, we want to hear them, so feel free to post your picks in the comments, and don’t be afraid to include a YouTube link so others can enjoy your selections!

(more…)

Oh, Dragon Quest, how they love you.  In Japan, anyway.  With the recent release of Dragon Quest IX for DS, however, Nintendo hopes to change that.  Through a careful combination of old and new, Nintendo, Square Enix, and Level-5 hope to make the West crazy for (or at least more familiar with) the iconic, “smiling slime” RPG.  Still, as gamers, we all know that while avoiding innovation can make a franchise feel stale, changing things up too much can ruin the core experience (just ask Sonic).  So has this group of developers and publishers succeeded in crafting something that can be successful outside of Japan?  An experience not just for the die-hard few, but something perfectly palatable for a wide-range of Western gamers?

(more…)

BioWare fans have plenty to look forward to: a new Star Wars MMO is in the works, a rumored Dragon Age: Origins GOTY may be coming soon, and Dragon Age 2 is on the horizon.  Today, BioWare and EA gave the RPG sequel a firm release date, and also revealed that Mass Effect 2 will be hitting the PS3 in January.

(more…)

You know, Monday is one of those things that takes a hold of you sometimes, so I apologize upright for not posting the weekly “Nintendo Monday” updates yesterday.  However, to help make up for my tardiness, I have a few juicy tidbits to help make things a little sweeter.  In addition to new downloadable titles released yesterday, today Nintendo announced official release dates for three of their hotly anticipated fall and winter titles.

Again, Virtual Console languishes, as we have two new releases for WiiWare and four for DSiWare this week.  Hit the break to read more about these games and learn the new release dates for Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and more.

(more…)

Music has always been a fundamental part of the gaming experience, from simple chiptune melodies to today’s symphonic scores.  The staff here at Spawn Kill has gathered around the virtual campfire to each pick one of our favorite video game soundtracks.  Some may be what you expect, others may introduce you to a new tune or composer.  Each staff member also selected one song to represent the game’s overall soundtrack in order to give you a feel for the music if you may be unfamiliar with that title.  So turn your speakers up, scroll down, and enjoy!

(more…)

Black and white are so last season, right?  Well, if you like a little extra gold with your GoldenEye, you’re in luck: you can purchase a copy of the upcoming Wii title bundled with a limited edition (won’t-be-sold-separately) golden classic controller pro for $69.99.  The bundle is aimed at those who prefer the traditional control scheme a la the original N64 title (or those who just hunger for limited edition goods).  Of course, those not interested can still purchase the game for $49.99.  Both the bundle and stand-alone game hit stores in November. (more…)

Ah, Monday, Monday, so good to me.  It means it’s time for some fun new updates to Nintendo’s downloadable marketplaces.  Looks like the VC is once again left alone in the corner of the dance floor, as this week’s updates are for WiiWare and DSiWare only.  Today, you’ll find six new games to tickle your fancy, including more aquarium fun on WiiWare and some more puzzling adventures on your DSis.

(more…)

It’s an issue we’ve touched upon more than once here at Spawn Kill: some games simply require too much of a time investment for most (adult) gamers.  As much as many of us love our RPGs, our time is too divided to devote hundreds of hours to a single title.  Last year, Half-Minute Hero sought to change that by giving everyone the fun, old-school RPG feel, but making it playable in bite-sized 30-second chunks.

Happily, the recent issue of Famitsu revealed that a sequel is in the works, set for a November Japanese release under the humorous title Hero 30 Second.  Although no North American release has yet been mentioned, hopefully XSEED will again publish the title so English speaking fans can enjoy even more fun. (more…)