Kotaku

The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Welcome to The Best of Kotak…Kotumblr! Our temporary digs while we wait for our sites to turn back up.


That's right, Hurricane Sandy. Flood our servers, take down our sites, strip us from power and chase the NYC writers out of our city, and we'll still be posting great content. In your face, storm! Video games! Yeah!


Unfortunately we don't have a Best Comment From The Community, but we do have an amazing image from our favorite deviantARTist, Patrick Brown. Kudos yet again, you magnificent bastard. That should give you something to stare at pleasantly this Saturday morning.


On that note, let's move on to the good stuff.



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


My Insane Hurricane Sandy Video, As Seen on The Weather Channel



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Need For Speed: Most Wanted: The Kotaku Review



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Assassin's Creed III: The Kotaku Review



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Assassin's Creed III: Liberation: The Kotaku Review



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Damn, Guys…You Are Sporting Some Impressive Halloween Costumes



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


The Scariest Game I Have Ever Played



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


I'm Surprised By How "Black" Assassin's Creed Liberation Feels



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Halo 4: The Kotaku Review



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


How It Feels To Review Halo 4 On Microsoft's Turf



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Your Favorite Video Game Characters Review Their Favorite Games



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Blacked-out Developers to a Guy Who Walked 3 Hours To Line-Wait for Wii U



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Here's The Difference The Day One Patch Made to Assassin's Creed III 



The Best of Kotumblr, This Week


Assassin's Creed? Halo? Screw'em, I'm Playing Persona


Kotaku

Wreck-It Ralph: The Kotaku Movie Review


Wreck-It-Ralph is, without question, one of the most highly anticipated video game movies ever produced. It had a shot at being the best one ever. The reasons are obvious and numerous.


For starters, it's a product of Walt Disney Animation Studios, whose animation pedigree is without question. Then you have John Lasseter as executive producer. He helped to form Pixar, Disney's only true competition and is now its chief creative officer. Together they have created offerings that put similar efforts from competing studios like Dreamworks Animation to shame.


In addition to Lasseter (whose list of credits includes Toy Story), you also have Rich Moore as director. He's not exactly a household name, unless you're a Simpsons and Futurama fanboy, since he oversaw some of their best episodes.


Next is the voice talent: the star of the show is John C. Reilly, beloved by serious critics and fans of lowbrow comedy alike who is supported by Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, and Alan Tudyk.


It is exceptionally rare to have so many powerful and talented forces behind a video game movie. And that's before we address the very concept, which can be best described as "Toy Story, but with video games." Clearly, Wreck-It-Ralph must be pure gold on every conceivable level, right?


Well, it's certainly good. Excellent even. But it's not necessarily perfect. Not because of any concrete stumbles. It had the chance to be brilliant, and unfortunately, chooses not to take those steps.


Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.


Wreck-It-Ralph is the antagonist of Fix-It Felix Jr, an old school arcade game that pays homage to the original Donkey Kong; Ralph terrorizes tenants of an apartment building by-what else?- wrecking it. And the player, as Fix-It Felix Jr, must fix the damage. The rules of the movie's universe are established early on: everyone within the game is essentially an actor who is on call whenever someone puts a quarter into their machine.


The game resides in an arcade, where it's been for many years now. It's hung in there. When the arcade is closed for business, everyone relaxes and mingles about, much like real actors. The bulk of the movie takes place "behind the screen" and has Ralph interacting with other characters, often from other games. They all gather in a central hub, or sometimes they'll hang out in other video game environments.


Almost everyone has a clearly defined role. The problem is that Ralph doesn't like his. He's grown tired of being the bad guy and wants to be a good one for once. Even though it's just a role, virtually everyone assumes he's a brutish jerk and treats him as such. The situation is exacerbated when he discovers that he was not invited to a party that is being thrown to honor Felix's 30 years of service. He decides to crash the shindig, but in the nicest way possible. That plan backfires immediately.


Whenever the player in the real world is able to clear a level, Felix gets a medal. So Ralph comes to the realization that if he had his own medal, he would be deemed a hero and would no longer be viewed with such disdain. As a result, Ralph decides to sneak into another title called Hero's Duty, a light gun game that borrows heavily from Gears of War. The thing is, he does this during business hours, which is a real no-no, and this causes a ripple effect of problems but also introduces him to Vanellope, a young girl character who is an outcast, because she's glitched. As things go bad, his own game gets put out of service, which is basically the end of the world for its denizens. Felix goes looking for Ralph and we wind up with a small band of gaming characters on an adventure.


In the end, Wreck-It-Ralph is your classic Disney tale of characters discovering their true selves and overcoming adversity. That's excellent for a family flick, something that Disney excels at. But many gamers are going to be approaching the movie with expectations for the depth of subtext that was found in Toy Story or the cartoon-character mash-up Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.


And it's true: Wreck-It-Ralph offers a fascinating look behind the video game world, one that can only be orchestrated by someone as big and powerful as Disney. As in, only they could get so many powerful forces, including direct competitors, to share the stage each other. A large part of what made Roger Rabbit so memorable was the excitement from seeing Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny do a scene together. And while there are plenty of cameos in Wreck-It-Ralph, it doesn't quite offer that "wow" moment that many are expecting.


Unfortunately, there really aren't that many cameos. People expecting to be inundated with fan service will be disappointed. The movie's advertising pushed really hard the notion that there would be famous characters all over the place, and that's not the case. Ralph spends most of his time in three fictional game environments: his own and the other two that he crashes. Other characters get involved in the proceedings for sure, but purely to help things along. Heck, the most surprising thing is the over-abundance of real world junk food reference in the movie's made-up game Sugar Rush. That's where you get all the famous snack cameos. That and the inexplicable appearance of Skrillex, whom you REALLY have to look out for.


There's also a certain degree of inconsistency to the movie's universe, one that only the most critical and hardcore of gamers might pick up (that means you, fine readers of Kotaku). For the most part, Disney's original game characters are intermingling with actual ones, and it generally works, but in other instances it doesn't. Consider the very first scene, when Ralph is in a support group for other bad guys. It's cool seeing M. Bison and Eggman in the same room. The problem is that they're right next to someone who clearly is supposed to be Kano from Mortal Kombat but isn't. It's a bit jarring. Couldn't the writers come up with another gag that wouldn't need a MK-esque character?


There are plenty of things that the movies does right in exploring a world of game characters. The movie touches upon the politics of what it means to be a video game character, which is fascinating. Ever wonder what exactly your faceless character in certain first person shooter/light gun games looks like? It's addressed here, and it's frankly awesome.


The problem is that Wreck-It-Ralph just doesn't go far enough to explore its territory or stretch beyond it. What made both Toy Story and Roger Rabbit magical was the interplay between their richly-defined fictional universes and their movies' version of the real world. That's not to say that the people are totally non-factors here, but they definitely do not play the role that it perhaps should have.


The animation is gorgeous, the writing is sharp, and the acting is mostly spot on. Wreck-It-Ralph is how it handles the subject matter with respect, which is appreciated. As anyone familiar with the genre of video game cinema can attest, one gets the impression that 99% of the time, the people behind the camera simply do not get what they're talking about. Not here.


Wreck-It-Ralph is a superb family flick, but it is still a bit of a failure, sadly, because it chooses not to dip deep into the video game waters its treads. That's a real shame, because Wreck-It-Ralph is such a golden opportunity that only an entity like Disney could orchestrate in the first place.


Kotaku

Leave Nobody Behind With This Awesome Mass Effect 3 Print


Check out this rad Mass Effect 3 print by Courtney Billadeau, now available for preorder from the Bioware store here. It's called "No One Left Behind."


Click to enlarge



Kotaku


Remember Sissy's Magical Ponycorn Adventure, the absurdly adorable game made by a five year old girl?


Now she's doing things like TEDTalks, which unsurprisingly touch on her experience making Ponycorn. Her dad also chimes in, reminding us of the importance of enabling children to become creators, not consumers.


Crazy to think the girl is so young and already so accomplished! Hopefully she keeps on making games.



Kotaku

Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


Players jumped in by the millions to finish the fight in Halo 3, back in 2007.  And yet, like many a franchise before it, the one-time trilogy of Halo games finds itself with a new fourth sibling, years later.


This year, the old franchise-Halo first launched in 2001-found itself in new hands, no longer developed by Bungie but by 343 Studios. Fans wondered (and worried) if a new developer could keep waving the flag, carrying the torch, and so on. Reviewers now universally agree: indeed they can.


The most negative review of Halo 4 finds it too much like other Halo games, while the most glowing all praise its devotion to characters and a story that fans have spent over a decade learning to love.  How do the single-player saga of Master Chief and the multiplayer spectacle of Spartans at war fit together?  Read on.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


EGM


The first 15 minutes of Halo 4 almost fooled me. Taking the fondly familiarized formula of a recently awakened Master Chief under siege and standing it on its ear, the opening moments of 343i's first flight in the captain's chair looked a lot like a revolution. Halo 4 comes out flexing like the Hulkster, showing off a drastically improved lighting engine, a pair of perilous interactive sequences, and a white-knuckle grasp of the elements that made the Xbox family's flagship title what it is today. In fact, Halo 4 looked an awful lot like the future of sci-fi shooters.


But after the thrill of better visuals wore off and the eager anticipation for more non-shooting thrills went mysteriously unfulfilled, I was left with a frustratingly similar Halo experience that other top-tier shooters have long since blasted into the oblivion of dog-tired gaming conventions. And while many of the Forge faithful will breathe a resounding sigh of relief at the sameness of it all, I can't help but wonder if yet another by-the-book romp was what we needed.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


Edge


The trump card is the same as always: a sense of solidarity in movement and aiming that makes weighty sense of fighting through the bio-enhanced body of a supersoldier. And Halo 4's focus is tightly pulled onto close-quarters encounters, highlighting this kinetic accomplishment. The grand staged battles favoured by the preceding sequels are gone, replaced by tightly mapped fights with small clusters of Prometheans and Covenant; the lessons of Assault On The Control Room have been learnt and are repeatedly put into practice.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


Gaming Nexus


We have barely scratched the surface, because the bulk of the Halo 4 experience is the multiplayer component. 343 made it their goal to inject more of the Halo universe into the multiplayer options, and that is exactly what they have done. Everything that has to do with multiple players, be it cooperative or competitive play, is now housed within the confines of the UNSC Infinity, home of the Spartan IV program. Basically, multiplayer is presented as if it is a training program for up and coming Spartan soldiers, which makes perfect sense. Everything that Halo fans know and love returns in Halo 4 on the multiplayer level. You have matchmaking, endless customization options, theater and recording options, and a revamped and more accessible Forge mode. On top of these familiar features, there are also a ton of new bells and whistles added to the mix.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


G4 TV


343 Industries may be fresh to the series with Halo 4, but this is a studio that clearly worshipped at the altar of Bungie. The feel of the game is virtually identical to past releases in the series. There are improvements to be sure, but it's very surface-level stuff. Things like the in-helmet HUD, which feels more like a head-encasing shell than it ever has before.


The graphics in general are the best so far for the series, to the point that it will now become difficult to go back to playing Reach and its predecessors. Lighting and textures see massive improvements over what's come before. This is offset somewhat by the minimal amount of destruction you can cause, but the abundance of eye candy definitely helps to diminish the sensation of running through a series of static environments.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


Official Xbox Magazine


Halo 4 may be a tightly presented package with multiple ways to hook into the series' fiction, but its star attraction is never really in doubt. With its revitalized focus on storytelling, characterization, and choice, the campaign manages to completely modernize the franchise - placing the importance of its tale on the same level as the tech and gameplay that make telling that tale possible. Whether it's Spartan Ops' fun-if-somewhat-thin peek into the battle-weary life of newbie Spartans, the satisfying, emotionally charged campaign, or exploring maps and slaughtering friends in all the War Games variants, this Halo's the first outing that's felt like a cohesive, bona fide experience in far too long.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


Joystiq


Chief's alarmed awakening in the Forward Unto Dawn, a ship misplaced and beset by invaders, is at once a perfect remembrance of Halo: Combat Evolved's opening and an ideal showcase of 343's quickened approach. The game waits for you to advance, as most games do, but the rousing music and implied degradation of the environment makes a leisurely pace seem … wrong. Halo 4 is an expert at making you play along with the unfolding spectacle, and makes sure you're never ensnared by it.



Halo 4 Reviewers All Glad That The Fight's Not Finished Yet


Kotaku


There are a few issues to pick out in Halo 4, whether they're to do with the storyline or gameplay. But my experience with Halo 4 was an enjoyable one. The campaign held my interest as I watched Cortana and Master Chief's emotions unfold. Missions were fun. Multiplayer is diverse and just as fast paced and unique a first-person shooter multiplayer experience as I have come to expect from the series. As afraid as you may be of Bungie passing the torch to a new development team to handle a franchise that has the foundation of years of quality behind it, I strongly urge you to keep an open mind for Halo 4, because you just may enjoy it as much as I did.



Kotaku

The Week in Gaming Apps: Rumbly Tumblr Edition


Welcome to the first (and hopefully final) Tumblr edition of Kotaku's Week in Gaming Apps, where we look fondly back at the mobile games that touched our lives during this trying time, except for the one from Monday that we can only link to via Google cache.



Since our normal format won't work here, I give you this abnormal format instead. Just a simple selection of links to games about punching things in the face, winning the race, becoming a vocabulary ace, breeding robots in space and using guns to say grace.


Check them out while I go be all proud of myself for that last sentence. Good job, me.


Monday: Punch Quest (iOS)




Tuesday: Need for Speed Most Wanted (iOS / Android)




Wednesday: Letterpress (iOS)




Thursday: Gizmonauts (iOS)




Friday: Nun Attack (iOS / Android)





Kotaku

Borderlands 2 Developers Bringing Back The Claptrap Webseries


It's come to the point where I'm getting excited about any opportunity to see more of the characters of the delightfully silly Borderlands franchise.


And apparently Gearbox is heeding my call, because they're bringing back the Claptrap webseries, which, if you're like me and haven't even watched season one yet, you can watch all of right here. Gearbox says that the first episode of season two will premiere on their Facebook page early next week.


Kotaku

Making An Open-Ended Game For A Linear Audience


The Hitman series has long been about choice-bald-headed 47 was set loose inside a semi-sandbox with a target or two, and players could come up with any of a number of ways to do away with them.


That style of play is becoming increasingly uncommon, at least in mainstream AAA console games, at least in part because it can be a challenge to communicate that kind of freedom to modern players. But lo, that's what Hitman: Absolution makers IO Interactive are gonna try to do.


In this interesting interview over at Gamasutra, Absolution director Tore Blystad talks about the challenges of building an open-ended game for a modern audience. Key bit:


And this is something that is also… it's quite difficult, actually, to educate players that this is what the game is trying to serve you, because people are increasingly used to games where you're told to do one thing, and if you stray from this line, there will be nothing else around. It's like, you have this experience, and that's it. So we're telling people, actually, "No, no, no. You choose by yourself."


If you want to go in here, or here, or if you want to kill them or not, it actually changes the way you play the game - when you understand that you have the choice. So in the first couple of levels, we are continuously working [on it]. And still back in Copenhagen we're trying to find out, are we teaching the players everything that they need to understand about the gameplay and the possibilities of the game?


I do imagine that a player steeped in linear games would have a hard time getting much out of Hitman: Blood Money (a game I love). Then again, if there's anything we've learned over the last couple of months from games like XCOM and Dishonored, it's that there's still a lot of life left in older, more-complex game design, as long as it's done right. We'll see if IO pulls it all together soon enough.



Kotaku

Hey, You Got Your Borderlands 2 in my Minecraft.Someone went to the trouble of creating the full Borderlands 2 logo within Minecraft. Click the image to embiggen the picture.


Kotaku

Treasure Isle and FishVille Are the First Zynga Games to Die


Last month Zynga revealed that 13 of its lesser-performing Facebook games would be closed in order to make the social side of the company less of a massive disappointment. Yesterday players of FishVille and Treasure Isle were informed that those games would be closing up shop on December 5.


What, there was a FishVille?



Not only was there a FishVille, Zynga refers to people playing the game as Fishvillers, wish isn't something I could see myself ever wanting to be called.


Players of both games are eligible for a bonus package if they move to one of Zynga's less dead-in-the-water titles.


Greetings Fishvillers,


Thank you for supporting FishVille and for being a loyal player! We're sorry to inform you that FishVille will be shutting down on December 5, 2012. In place of FishVille, we encourage you to play other Zynga games like Castleville, Chefville, Farmville 2, Mafia Wars and Yoville. 


We appreciate your participation in FishVille as it helped make the game a fun place to meet with friends. As a loyal FishVille player, you are eligible for a one-time, complimentary bonus package in one of either Castleville, or Chefville, or Farmville 2, or Mafia Wars or Yoville. You can start the process by clicking the Redeem button in game when you log in. Please note that this offer will be valid only until December 5, 2012.


Log in: http://zynga.tm/fMv


Thank you for your time in FishVille. We look forward to seeing you again in other Zynga games.


Sincerely,


The FishVille Team



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