Elements of the source port of Doom integrated into the latest Garry's Mod look really great.
Shooting down (or running over) endless masses of imps and cacodemons is always fun, and doing it in a City 17-esque dystopian open environment is just makes it more special.
The mod's author claims once it is ready and bug free, which should be only in a few days, the mod will be available through the Steam Workshop.
gmDoom [YouTube]
The HD collection Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix contains an HD remastered version of the original Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. Also included in this package is a remastering of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. However, unlike the other two parts of the collection, this HD version of 358/2 Days is not a game. Rather, it is a nearly three-hour movie containing all the cutscenes from the DS game in remastered form. And while it turns out to be a comprehensive abridgment of the events of that game, as a film, it is more than a little lacking.
While the plot of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days was a rather interesting Kingdom Hearts side story, actually playing the game was as monotonous as it was repetitive. In between plot points were seemingly endless missions, all taking place in areas we had already seen before in Kingdom Hearts II. In this movie version, by the very absence of gameplay, all this monotony has been cut—as have been the Disney-related story tie-ins. This leaves the movie as a clear cut character piece focusing on Roxas, Axel, and Xion. And while it still drags—especially in the first half—the refocusing of the tale is to the movie's overall benefit.
Just like the two games in the collection, 358/2 Days has a brand new HD coat of paint. As it was on the DS (and not the PS2 as were the other two games), the improvement is even more 
marked. But while most of the time the remaster is perfect, every once in a while the remaster reverts back to the DS quality of graphics—specifically whenever there is a crossfade between two scenes. While this degradation only lasts for a second (or however long the transition takes), the sudden change of visual quality is jarring and pulls you out of the film each time it happens.
Pacing is perhaps the biggest problem with the film version of 358/2 Days. Cut down from tens of hours to just three, it still feels overly bloated with filler. However, the biggest contributor to this is not the content of the film, but rather how it is presented. 358/2 Days is not pre-rendered in one giant video file. Instead it is a myriad of small video clips with interspersed text screens. And in between each and every one is a short second or two of loading time. This useless dead air is an anathema to the flow and adds in a stilted and disconnected feel to the film.
As much of the action happens between the cutscenes of 358/2 Days—i.e. when the player would be executing the missions—the film version attempts to compensate by adding in text summaries with an accompanying still picture frame to fill in the gaps. While this is little more 
than a band-aid on the film's obviously gaping wound, it does its job for the most part—at least until near the ending.
The final two fights of the film—Roxas versus Xion and Roxas versus Riku—really demand to be seen in their entirety. Without these climactic moments, the film feels as if it skipped its most important point—which, let's face it, it did—and I came away from the film feeling somewhat cheated by the lack of a climatic fight scene after watching three hours of conversation. The movie would have been infinitely better with at least a real fight scene or two added to what was originally animated for the DS game.
358/2 Days was not the first movie compiled from game cutscenes I have ever watched—that would be the movie mode from the original Metal Gear Solid. And while it does adequately pass on the plot of the DS game 358/2 Days, it is in no way a good film. That said, if you want to know the ins and outs of 358/2 Days without playing through the whole game, watching this movie is definitely the best way to go about it. As a standalone product, I'd never recommend buying it. But as an extra to the HD version of the original Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, it's a nice little addition.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was released in Japan on March 14, 2013, for the PlayStation 3. It is scheduled for a Western release sometime later this year.
A listing for a certain Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut has recently popped up on Amazon US. The Wii U-exclusive rerelease apparently has "a multitude of improvements, features and additional content" over the original game, along with the ability to use the Wii U Gamepad via a brand new augmentation, the Neural Hub. Features list below:
- Ultimate Deus Ex: Human Revolution experience : take advantage of a multitude of improvements, features and additional content that bring this already critically-acclaimed adventure to whole new levels
- Tap into the Wii U's GamePad true potential: Adam Jensen's newest augmentation, the Neural Hub, offers an immersive and empowering experience, right at the tips of your fingers
- Absolute fusion of action and role-play: A unique combination of action-packed close-quarter takedowns and intense shooting, offering a vast array of augmentations and upgrades for the many weapons at your disposal
- Multi-solution structure: Choose how to accomplish each mission using combat, hacking, stealth or social mode to create a customized experience to suit any gaming style
- Diverse customization: Engage in combat and challenges utilizing deep, specialized character augmentations and weapon upgrades
The Amazon page advertises a price of $49.99, and a release date of May 7. We're contacting Square Enix for any comments, and will update this post if we get a response.
Update: Square Enix told us that they do not have a comment at this time.
DeusEx Human Revolution Director's Cut
Over the years, I've had some truly delicious sushi in Japan. Ditto for outside of Japan. Of course, there are the types of sushi created abroad, such as the California roll. Good stuff!
Recently, a thread popped up on 2ch, Japan's largest online forum, showing a collection of "foreigner made sushi." The original source, a Russian website, is a few years old, but nobody on 2ch seemed to mind. However, some did mind the sushi.
"This is not 寿司 (sushi)," stated one 2ch user. "It's 'sushi.'" And I'll admit that I've never had anything, that has looked like this. But hey, that's okay. Sushi should be flexible and open to interpretation.
"Their ability to pack rice for sushi is clumsy," professed a 2ch user. The way the rice is packed is incredibly important for sushi (and rice balls, for that matter). So, if there is one valid criticism, it's probably this. But, like most things, with practice, one can improve.
Not everyone was so negative! "[The sushi] sure is creative," wrote another 2ch user, while another astute 2ch user pointed out, "Japanese people totally change foreign food when they make it, so you can't really say too much." A few others stated that the sushi actually looked yummy.
Foreigners living in Japan know that the country's restaurants and chefs can offer their own spin on global cuisine. Some can even replicate it perfectly. Others fail horribly.
Even in Japan, restaurants serve, and have served, sushi that can hardly be called traditional. Last month, nationwide conveyor belt sushi chain, Kurazushi (くら寿司) offered "chocolate banana roll sushi" as a Valentine's Day themed treat. You can see it below:
Many of these chain restaurants, which appeal to families with little kids, have an array of untraditional sushi. Take salmon with melted cheese and mayo, for example. Cheese with mayo (or basil) is a relatively recent addition and would've miffed Japanese dinners in the past. Kids now grow up eating that kind of stuff.
Whether that's video game-inspired sushi or the now iconic California roll, foreigners should feel free to experiment with their own take on sushi and create dishes to suit local tastes. Why? Because Japanese cooks are doing the same with international cuisine.
In case you missed it, here is a list of Japan's favorite sushi.
As any longtime resident can attest, Japan's subway is punctual, clean, and convenient. Its stations, however, can get elaborate and confusing.
Train stations, by their very nature, with those staircases and escalators, look like labyrinths or dungeons. Some stations just look a little more like them.
Recently, a Japanese net user posted a photo of the Tokyo Metro's Shibuya Station, aka "Shibuya Dungeon." For a few years now, it's been dubbed as such.
And for good reason! This is better level design than what you'll find in some big name RPGs.
Other Tokyo Metro stations are also like dungeons. Here's Otemachi Station.
Akasaka-mitsuke.
Tameike-sanno.
This isn't only a Tokyo thing. Other Japan Rail stations across the country look like RPG dungeons, too. Above is Yokohama Station.
Nagoya Station.
Kyoto Station.
Osaka Station.
Hakata Station in Fukuoka.
And Kobe Station. Which looks like an early-game dungeon. You gotta level up for the Tokyo dungeons!
ほんまもんのＲＰＧと変わらん [2ch]
ダンジョンつーか迷路だよな [暇人速報]
「渋谷駅がダンジョンのようだ」と話題に
「駅ダンジョン」の世界 [カフェオレ･ライター]
The Kingdom Hearts series has found great success creating an adventure centered around a set of original characters—along with Donald and Goofy—going from Disney universe to Disney universe. This framework has allowed players to interact with some of the most well-known and beloved movies of all time in new and exciting ways—and adding in alternate versions of Final Fantasy and The World Ends With You characters is the icing on the cake.
Over the series' 11-year run, players have been able to visit a total of more than 20 different Disney movie-based worlds; and many characters from other Disney worlds have made cameo appearances. And as most worlds from the "Disney renaissance" era have already been visited (many more than once), you might think Disney and Square Enix have nowhere new they can take the series. However, you would be wrong. There are plenty of interesting worlds left unexplored and ripe for the picking for the next Kingdom Hearts game.
Check through the gallery above to see some examples.
Back when I was growing up, Disney produced an amazing animation block called "the Disney Afternoon." It included such great shows as DuckTales, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck, Goof Troop and Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Any of these shows could be a full Kingdom Hearts world in its own right; but as all have a modern-day setting, they could be combined into a single world in a crunch. And as several of these characters—e.g., Scrooge McDuck, Chip and Dale, and Goofy—have already been featured in the games, visiting these worlds is as easy as escorting a character home.
Admittedly, though, there is one problem. The modern world of these "Disney Afternoon" shows doesn't mesh all that well with the medieval "Disney Kingdom" or "Toon Town" ideas from past Kingdom Hearts titles.
When you think of Disney, animation is certainly what comes to mind; but that doesn't mean Disney hasn't produced some excellent live-action movies as well. Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron, and Tron: Legacy have already been featured in Kingdom Hearts, but they're only the tip of the iceberg. The classic Zorro, the Rocketeer, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, heck, even Muppet Treasure Island are all Disney films, after all. More recent films like John Carter or Prince of Persia would also be enjoyable to play in a game (especially the latter for some odd reason).
But of course, the most exciting possible Kingdom Hearts worlds based on live-action films would be the ones stemming from Disney's recent acquisitions of both Marvel—The Avengers—and Lucasfilm—Star Wars. Admittedly, though, I suspect many Star Wars fans would be more than a little annoyed by Sora running around with a keyblade lightsaber.
Disney has a long history of telling stories about dogs: The Fox and the Hound, Lady and the Tramp, Oliver and Company, and, of course, 101 Dalmatians. Not all of these would make for great Kingdom Hearts worlds. But 101 Dalmatians—which has been featured as a cameo-style sidequest before—could be an amazing one, thanks to the addition of Cruella de Vil to the Kingdom Hearts villain pantheon.
And, besides, Kingdom Hearts has already incorporated an animal-based world with The Lion King back in Kingdom Hearts II. So by doing the same thing that they did there—i.e., transforming the Kingdom Hearts characters into setting-appropriate anthropomorphized proxies—all the animal-based Disney movies should be on the table already.
Given their popularity in Japan in addition to the rest of the world, the Pixar films seem to be a perfect place to take the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Toy Story, Brave, and the Incredibles would all make great worlds. Really, any of the Pixar films could realistically be turned into an interesting Kingdom Hearts world—especially since not all Kingdom Hearts worlds have been combat-based in the past.
Of course, there's no need to limit our dreaming to just Pixar. Even the non-Pixar CG animated films have gotten pretty good recently. Just imagine a Wreck-It Ralph-themed world. …Which means you would be playing a game about characters who enter into games within your game. …Okay, now I feel a little woozy.
Fun fact: Nintendo honcho Satoru Iwata was one of the main programmers on Mother 2 (aka Earthbound) for the SNES. Today on Twitter, Iwata uploaded this photo of a badass Mother 2 sukajan. The jacket, Iwata noted, was given out to the game's staff, and it was the thing he treasures most. Heck, I would, too. It's awesome.
こんにちは、任天堂の岩田です [任天堂]
In 2000, an 18 year-old Hana Lee fled North Korea on foot. For five years, she hid in China, and after five long, difficult years, she arrived at Kansai International Airport, located outside Osaka City.
Japan and the freedom it enjoys, to say the least, surprised her.
Hana Lee (a pseudonym) is currently living in Japan and attending university. She is what's known as a "dappokusha" (脱北者) or "person who has fled North Korea", and will be the first (or one of the first) to graduate from a Japanese university.
In Japan, there are around 300 dappokusha living in the country. Lee's parents were Japanese-born Koreans, who moved to North Korea during the late 1970s, hoping for a better life. At first, things were good. The family lived in a house and had their own car, which was a rarity in North Korea.
But then, things got bad. In the 1990s, a relative got implicated in a crime, and even Lee's family was to be banished to the countryside. In a country where food is scarce, this was the equivalent of a death sentence. The family was able to stay in the North Korean city of Sinuiju by moving between friends' houses and bribing officials. This continued until all the family's savings ran out. Lee, her mother, and her younger brother all made a run for the Chinese border, successfully crossing it and hiding in China until 2005.
Lee began blogging about her experiences in North Korea and is releasing a version of it in Japan. She recounted seeing a public execution as a little girl, recalling how it disturbed her so much that she threw up. Her transition was difficult, and she hid her North Korean background from her classmates, instead saying she was from South Korea.
"The thing that surprised me most about living in Japan is that people can freely say bad things about politicians," Lee told Weekly Playboy (Eds note: This is not the American publication). "I was also suprised that the Japanese prime minister keeps changing on a yearly basis." (Eds note: It doesn't take living in North Korea to be surprised by that!)
"Early on, the first time I saw cosplay," Lee recalled with a laugh, "it was a shock." Cosplay, of course, is short for "costume play", and it is the act of dressing up as video game, anime, and movie characters.
"But, a unified society will be built, even with the criticizism of politicians, the cosplay, people behaving freely and debating," said Lee. "That's a truly great thing." Lee added that a situation like this is "improbable" in North Korea; it makes her think that this was what made a democracy. What better way to express your freedom than by criticising politicians and dressing as video game characters?
日本初の"脱北女子大生"が激白「日本で初めてコスプレを見たときは衝撃でした（笑）」 [livedoor]
The original Kingdom Hearts was first released back in 2002 to critical and commercial acclaim. By mixing Disney with Final Fantasy, it created a multiverse brimming with nostalgia which has gone on to spawn a series that is now seven games strong. But of course, a lot has changed in the way of graphics over the last decade—and HD 1.5 Remix provides a few gameplay tweaks as well.
To see how the original version of Kingdom Hearts on the PS2 and the HD version of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix from Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix on the PS3 look side by side, check out the comparison video above. [*Note: Be sure to click the "HD" button in the bottom right of the video to see it in HD]
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was released in Japan on March 14, 2013, for the PlayStation 3. It is scheduled for a Western release sometime later this year. As mentioned previously, it includes the high definition version of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix for the PS3. The original version of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix was released in Japan on the PS2 in 2002.
Valve has announced that they are adding an "experimental virtual reality mode" to their multiplayer first-person shooter Team Fortress 2. It will be playable by anyone with an Oculus Rift developer kit. The mode will be released in the coming days.
The full release from Valve:
Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, and Left 4 Dead), today announced the addition of an experimental Virtual Reality mode to Team Fortress 2. The new mode will be released in the coming days as part of an update to the popular Free to Play game.
Anyone with an Oculus Rift Developer Kit will be able to use their device to play all of Team Fortress 2 on the PC. All game modes and classes are supported with the new Virtual Reality mode.
"When we first played an early version of Virtual Reality mode in Team Fortress we were blown away by the immersion we experienced.", said Joe Ludwig at Valve. "VR is just getting started, but it is going to have a big impact on gaming. This update will let us share that experience with more of the Team Fortress community."
"Valve's done an incredible job bringing Team Fortress 2 to virtual reality! TF2 is the most-played game in my Steam library, so you can imagine how excited I am to play it in the Rift with all of our backers," said Palmer Luckey, Founder of Oculus VR, Inc.
In addition to gaining access to the new Virtual Reality mode, owners of the Oculus Rift will also be granted a unique Oculus Rift in-game hat. Steam codes to redeem for this item will be sent out by Oculus.
Team Fortress 2 is Valve's Free to Play team-based online game. The game has had more than 350 updates since its release with The Orange Box in 2007.
Okay, step one: Get an Oculus Rift dev kit. Step two: Play this. Step three: Get that Crysis mod that Nathan Andrews made and play that.
