Epic!
This is really, really cool. I haven’t followed 8bit Cinema, just now hearing about it. But this is definitely an innovative idea! I look forward to seeing more of these mini masterpieces!
Category Archives: Artwork
Iron Man Mega Man. Iron Man 1 Movie Retold Via Mega Man Visuals In 60 Seconds (8bit Cinema)
Can I Play Xbox 360 Games On Xbox One? No. Backwards Compatibility Not Supported. The Answer Is No.
Sorry buddy. You’re on your own!
This means that your entire library of Xbox 360 titles will remain stuck on the former system. So definitely do NOT get rid of, or sell, your Xbox 360. Just like with the original Xbox before it, you will need to keep your old system if you want to play your entire library of of old games.
This news was expected, but everyone loves the ability to play their old games easily on the new system. So it’s still mighty disappointing. For the record, the PS4 also will not play PS3 games. Both systems have a new architecture that is too different from the former design.
Xbox One GamerScore Achievements Will Transfer From Xbox 360. Xbox Live Arcade Games Won’t Transfer
*sigh*
However either way you slice it this is a HUGE blow. And may prevent people from purchasing anything digital AT ALL in the future. I could see this becoming a huge problem later down the road for the game industry at large.
– Thanks to Willie’s World of Wallpapers for the image.
Xbox One Is Xbox 720 Official Name. Set Top Box Focus Seamlessly Switching Between TV, Games, Music. Next-Gen Kinect Built-In
It’s official! Let the console wars BEGIN!
The system box itself was revealed as was the new controller and the next-generation Kinect motion-sensing camera. A big focus of the new system is based on the TV market, and your ability to seamlessly switch between TV, videogames, music and other apps like Skype, Netflix and the like.
The system will make use of unique gestures and voice commands to control every aspect. Additionally the system will remember what you do, and customize your profile homepage based on the features you use most. It comes with a Blu-ray drive (!), which one assumes will play games AND movies. And features specs that are remarkably comparable to the PS4.
Many new features of the system include integration and sharing online information with friends. There is now trending tabs to see what the most popular entertainment choices among TV, games, music, movies and more are with both your friends and the Xbox Live community at large, and Xbox Smartglass is built-in from the jump, allowing you to use any tablet or touchscreen smartphone to control the Xbox One system. Which opens up a world of possibilities and will, in many ways, directly compete with the WiiU (Sony does the same with the PS4 and the use of PS Vita).
One of the biggest features of the Xbox One is the fact that the system will allow you to plug your cable box into it (or however you get your TV, which CANNOT be done straight through the Xbox itself, you’ll have to sign up to a TV provider first, then go through the Xbox One) and then seamlessly switch between live TV and playing videogames or listening to music by using voice commands. The switch happens almost immediately and will be similar to changing TV channels with a remote. Additionally, Microsoft likened the system to a “Videogame DVR”, with the ability to record and share videogame footage from the system itself. Yep, JUST LIKE THE PS4.
Another new feature is the ability to “snap” several apps or different viewing windows side by side so you can multi-task several things at once. This will be used in some innovative ways, such as by “snapping” a window next to a live sports broadcast that would show your fantasy football stats. Sports was a huge focus of the reveal conference, and Microsoft will be developing exclusive NFL content that makes use of all these new interactive features that they promise will revolutionize the way people watch sports, specifically the NFL. Mainstream-wise, this is huge, but it does nothing for hardcore gamers and people who could care less about sports and/or watching TV. In the wake of the reveal, comments from gamers have been extremely negative.
As for games themselves, Call of Duty: Ghosts was shown and talked about in-detail (with DLC landing first exclusively on Xbox One before hitting other systems), it was revealed that EA Sports is bringing Madden, FIFA, NBA Live and UFC games to Xbox One, and an all-new Halo TV series was announced produced by none other than Steven Spielberg himself! Forza 5 was also announced, as was an all-new game from Remedy (makers of Alan Wake and Max Payne) called “Quantum Break”. However nothing looked like concrete gameplay or was that impressive in all honesty. However Microsft promised that E3 2013 will blow gamers away with all of the games that are in development for Xbox One. Microsoft is pumping boatloads of money into development, and promises that 15 exclusive Xbox One titles will hit within the first year, 8 of which are all-new IP/franchises, and is more new games than in the history of Xbox.
As far as the controller is concerned, it looks pretty much the same as the Xbox 360 controller, even though over 90 modifications and enhancements have been made to it. One of the biggest is rumble support built directly into the triggers themselves.
Many unanswered questions remain however. Microsoft says the Xbox One will not require an Internet connection to play games and won’t have to be “always online”, yet it seems like you may have to connect online at some point, like with Steam on the PC. Exactly how this will work remains foggy. Microsoft has confirmed that new games must be installed on the harddrive, after which point the games will be linked to your account and you apparently will NOT be able to play that disc on other systems without paying a fee. More details are to come, but this potentially a dealbreaker for many. Additionally, the Xbox One will NOT play any Xbox 360 games as the system is not in any way backwards compatible with the original Xbox 360. Disappointing, but to be expected. The PS4 will also not play PS3 games for the same reason. The price of what used to be Xbox Gold, which was required to play your friends online and use features like Netflix, is also foggy. Microsoft made mention of using the same service, so the $60 a year price may remain intact, which would be another hard pill to swallow against the PS4 and Wii U’s free internet capabilities.
Xbox One will be released worldwide THIS YEAR. Pricing was not announced. Watch the video above to get the full details on the new system from the full conference itself.
Xbox 720 Reveal WatchUsPlayGames Pre-Show Podcast
Join the conversation! Listen to our Xbox 720 pre-show podcast!
In this introductory episode of the WatchUsPlayGames Podcast I am joined by my brother, RedWinged.Angel, as we discuss the Xbox 720 and Microsoft’s reveal event which happens in a couple hours from now! Will Killer Instinct 3, Perfect Dark Rebirth, Banjo Returns and Fable Online Xbox 720 be announced?
What will Microsoft be showing? How will they win fans back? Will they be able to deliver the knockout punch to Sony that makes gamers forget about the PlayStation 4? What games will be announced? What games SHOULD be announced? What will the system be called? What new feature should the Xbox 720 reveal to differentiate it from the PS4? Illumiroom? Something new like a camera on the controller? Will they corner the MMO market on console with the 720?
Join the discussion and tune in to hear our thoughts on the Xbox 720 and the Reveal Event happening TODAY!
Xbox 720 Killer Instinct 3, Perfect Dark Rebirth, Banjo-Kazooie Returns, Fable Online Would Be Gamers Dream Wishlist. These Games Should Lead the Charge
Killer Instinct 3 on Xbox 720? YES PLEASE!
Don’t forget that Microsoft OWNS Rare. People are tired of Halo, and Halo 4 just came out. Gears of War is DONE. Buried. Finished. They just did Gears of War Judgement, and the magic is gone. Fable itself is not a system seller per se, unless it were online…
If Microsoft knows what’s good for them, they will open the Xbox 720 Reveal conference with an absolutely badass rebirth called “Killer Instinct 3” as their bonafide killer-app. That would capture the fighting market. An all-new Perfect Dark Rebirth that revives the property and pretends PDZero didn’t happen would cover the FPS market. Add Banjo Returns to the list, with a look and customizability that builds on Nuts & Bolts but inspired by LittleBigPlanet. And you have a KILLER line-up.
If Microsoft could do that, while also adding an online Fable to the mix (something that’s been talked about for a long time), and then corner the MMO market but announcing that Elder Scrolls Online will be exclusive to the Xbox 720, and announcing that World of Warcraft 2 (or whatever Blizzard’s follow-up will be) is “Only on Xbox 720″… THAT would be a knockout punch! Let’s hope Microsoft is listening! We’ll find out in a short hour from now! :D
HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS!
Oh My Pretty Hair. Hair In Videogames And Why It’s Important. Past to Present to Next Gen PC And Consoles (From Cloud in FFVII to Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2013). How Will PS4, Xbox 720 Hair Fare?
Cloud in Final Fantasy VII. Realistic hair? No. Iconic hair? HECK YES.
The hair technology in videogames has changed dramatically but has not kept up with advancements in other important game mechanics such us A.I., Physics, Face-Enhancement features ala “LA Noire”, etc. Just to name a few. Why is this? Because it’s SO freakin’ hard to render hair in real time! That’s why!
Current-gen Lara Croft Tomb Raider 2013 hair on the left vs next-gen on the right.
As should be obvious, the PC has the edge in this videogame hair technology as of right now over consoles (and probably always will). But could this be something that next gen consoles can acquire and do so successfully in comparison to the power of PC technology to render hair? Will the Xbox 720 or the PS4 be able to compete in the videogame hair-rendering department? Well, we’ll just need to wait and find out (and won’t have to wait long, the Xbox 720 will get revealed in TWO DAYS).
TressFX developed by AMD is a technology that allows the hair on a character to render in real time and gives you an immersive experience that’s very lifelike… However this technology is only available on the PC version of games.
If you have a PC copy of the new Tomb Raider 2013 for example, and have plenty of PC horse power (such as an AMD Radeon HD 4870 or better or NVIDIA GeForce 480 GTX or better) you can select this realistic TressFX hair-rendering feature in the Options Menu to really see the difference that realistic hair makes to Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2013 and to characters in videogames. Females in particular really shine with realistic hair.
This what hair in videogames of the future (next-gen) will look like!
And what better example than to see this realistic hair on than Lara Croft herself? See realistic videogame hair in action in the video below, which compares Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider 2013 normal hair with the TressFX hair via in-game gameplay footage of both side-by-side.
Also here is the “Fermi Hair Demo” by Nvidia. Brought to you by the DX11 tessellation and the GeForce GTX 400 series video cards that allow you to realistically simulate and render interactive hair in real-time. Check it out!
— Thanks to “FreedomJay” for contributing this article!
Pikmin 3 Playable Characters Alph, Brittany and Captain Charlie Revealed. Fruit Searching, Juice Drinking, Seed Extracting, GamePad (KopPad) and Controller Schemes Detailed
Here are all the main human characters in Pikmin 3!
First of all, the three playable human characters that replace Captain Olimar and Louie from Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 were revealed and named. They are: Brittany (pink-colored) (the first and only female), Alph (blue-colored) and Captain Charlie (the green-colored leader). In the game you can control all three characters at once and can switch between them at will. This greatly expands your ability to multi-task and accomplish many different things at once and expands on the strategic gameplay of Pikmin exponentially.
Nintendo revealed that the new humans crash land on the planet (seemingly in separate places initially as well). This is where they meet the Pikmin, and discover that the land contains nutritious fruit scattered about. Their mission is now to collect food, specifically Fruit, so that they can survive as they explore the rest of the planet. However their ultimate goal is to send back the fruit seeds extracted from the Fruit they’ve collected to the starving people on their homeplanet of Koppai. That way they can make their home planet bloom with new food resources thanks to the many Seeds they’ve found. One of the fruits shown was a giant strawberry.
The puzzles in Pikmin 3 will also be more elaborate and complex than before, with new puzzles around every bend. For example to drop the strawberry from it’s branch, you’ll need to throw enough Pikmin at it in order to pull the Strawberry down to the ground. While on the planet, they employ the use of the planet’s native Pikmin creatures to help them carry their newfound Fruit back to base and help them defeat the enemies that they encounter along the way.
The game even features an all-new mechanic (and collection feature?) where the Fruit found can be turned into juice after the seeds are extracted from it. The astronauts need the juice in order to keep them alive… Or something like that. It sounds like you cannot continue if you run out of juice. And there are many different juices to collect (and possibly combine?) as shown in the video.
Like in previous Pikmin games, you have a limited-amount of time to explore the planet during the daylight hours, and you must successfully get all your Pikmin into your spaceship at home base before nightfall, or your Pikmin will be eaten.
Pikmin 3 however is much more accessible to newcomers than previous games and you can choose to replay any day again or revert to the beginning of the day if you feel like you could do better.
There is no limitation in terms of the days and the time you have to explore them, time only runs out for that day. Making it less frustrating than previous games and more steamlined, but just as deep. The more you play, the better you’ll get at mastering the game and becoming more efficient in Pikmin management, learning the lay of the land, and beating it in a quicker time with less lost Pikmin.
As in past games, players will also be challenged to beat the game with a quicker time and with less lossed Pikmin and the like (hopefully with in-game Achievements to unlock too). So challenging your own score and the score of others will definitely be a fun competitive aspect of Pikmin 3. It’s unknown at this time whether or not Pikmin 3 will include online play or online leaderboards, but it will support MiiVerse, so you will be able to share your high scores with friends and strangers in that way at least, and likely tap into tips and comments from other players at specific points if you want.
View the video above yourself to see all the new details as explained by Iwata.
In addition to the new Rock Pikmin (gray) and Winged Pikmin (Pink), players will also have a number of new strategic ways to play and control the game.
You can use the GamePad, which is called the “KopPad” in the game, to see a map of the entire land that you’ve explored so far. The KopPad helps you to easily locate all three of your characters as well as see a detailed lay of the land and what exactly your Pikmin are up to. This allows you to more easily manage your Pikmin and accomplish several goals at once. Be it breaking down a wall, defeating an enemy, sprouting new Pikmin to grow your ranks or carrying important items back to base. You can even use the touchscreen on the GamePad to draw paths for your characters and Pikmin to go.
If you desire, Pikmin 3 supports Off-TV Play, allowing you to play Pikmin 3 entirely on the GamePad. Controller-wise, you also have many different control schemes to choose from, each of which offers different unique ways to play and ease-of-use for different aspects.
The main and preferred method from Nintendo’s standpoint is to play using the Wii Remote & Nunchuck, which allows you to easily point your Pikmin using the Wiimote pointer, and throw them using motion control. However you can also play using just the GamePad, or just the WiiU Pro Controller, or a combination of those controllers plus the GamePad.
You can even use the WiiU Gamepad as a sort of monitor, by propping it up on the GamePad Stand and keeping it next to your TV instead of holding it. Which is a cool and welcome feature.
We’ll still learn more about Pikmin 3 as it’s release date approaches, including details on the Challenge Mode and multiplayer modes in the next Nintendo Direct closer to E3 2013.
I can’t wait for this game! It looks absolutely amazing and you can tell that Nintendo has really, really expanded on the gameplay and the fun that Pikmin offers, with a much deeper gameplay system using the three characters, more Pikmin to collect and use, a much larger world and many more things to collect and unlock. Hopefully Pikmin 3’s rep will grow exponentially with this release and turn it into a bonafide system seller, AAA Nintendo franchise. Previously it was kinda/sorta niche, but I think it’s came into it’s own now with this third installment. Much like GTA3 did compared to the very niche and less-played previous GTA games.
Pikmin 3 Release Dates Announced (WiiU). August 4 2013 (USA), July 26 2013 (Europe). Official Box Art
Pretty!
I never did get around to playing Pikmin 2… FOR SHAME! But I’ve been itching to replay the original Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 in the run-up to Pikmin 3!
Sadly though, I don’t have a WiiU, so I gotta solve that problem first….
Game Gear Collection For 3DS Virtual Console Grows With Many Upcoming AAA Releases (eShop)
A collection of new hit Game Gear titles are headed to 3DS eShop.
A whole slew of hit Game Gear titles are coming soon. You can view the whole list below. To date, only three Game Gear games have been released for the 3DS Virtual Console (all of them hit the store on March 15 2012), they include: The action game “Shinobi”, the hit platformer “Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble” and the Rogue-like RPG “Dragon Crystal”.
Upcoming 3DS Game Gear Virtual Console Game Releases Via eShop Include:
1. Crystal Warriors
2. Columns
3. Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya
4. Defenders of Oasis
5. Sonic Blast (Already available in Europe)
6. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
7. Sonic Drift 2
8. G-Loc Air Battle
9. Tails Adventure
10. Sonic the Hedgehog
11. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
12. Sonic Laybrinth (Already available in Europe)
13. Vampire: Master of Darkness
Such a classic system!
Dragon Crystal cost $3 and was originally released on 1992 (the Game Gear version being a port of the Master System game from 1990). Shinobi costs $4 and was originally released in 1991. Last up is Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, it costs $5 and was originally released in 1994 (called “Sonic & Tails 2” in Japan).
So as you can see, the price of Virtual Console Game Gear games differs depending on the perceived popularity of the title itself. Dragon Crystal is not well known and is a niche Rogue-like-style RPG, so it only cost $3. Shinobi is a well-known brand to gamers and Sega fans, so it cost $4. Whereas Sonic is a popular character so Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble will likely sell the best of the trio on brand-name alone, so it cost $5. So far the pricing of Game Gear games lands between $3-5, so don’t expect to have to pay much for the upcoming games listed below.
It’s great to see more classic Game Gear releases for 3DS eShop. Especially since some of these have been marked as “coming soon” for the past year! Either way, this is definitely some welcome, good news for retro game fans like myself!
