Review: The ROCCAT Isku FX will light up your gaming world

Let's talk about the most obvious feature of the Isku FX -- the colors. The difference between the Isku and the Isku FX are the lighted keys. They're visible enough to see without the 16.8 million colors you can assign to light them, but when they're lit, it's a pretty gorgeous sight. Some colors definitely look better than others, but the sheer amount that you can assign is still impressive. All of the lights won't change, though, as the thumb keys and num-lock lights will stay the default blue color. There's also six adjustable brightness levels, so you can make those colors pop as much as you'd like. 

There's a nice amount of features that comes with the Isku FX. In addition to a lighting gaming atmosphere (like your keys lighting up based on in-game actions), you get your thumb involved in the gaming action with three programmable thumb keys. Especially handy for MMOs where your thumb just rests on the spacebar, waiting to jump, now your thumb can use the Thumbster keys to unleash attacks. There's five macro keys with on-the-fly macro recording, as well as ROCCAT's EasyShift buttons that they're known for. With EasyShift, you essentially get more programmable buttons in the area of your keyboard that gets the most traffic -- around the WASD.

You can swap profile preferences on-the-go with a simple button press, manage all of the cables running rampant through your desk, and control media and music while you play -- all while resting your wrists on the front of the keyboard. You're pretty much getting quality customization to go with a good gaming atmosphere with the Isku FX. 

The software that you install with the ROCCAT Isku FX is just like that which with all ROCCAT devices. You're getting an easy-to-navigate hub where you can set up your keyboard to suit your preferences. I can only compare it to Razer and Steelseries' software, but it compares favorably. There's the nifty trophy system built in, as well. So you can see how many times you've hit a certain key and get a trophy for it, because my wife sure as hell isn't giving me trophies for sitting at the computer all night.

Let's bring up my one issue with the keyboard. For the price of $99, you can get ROCCAT's base mechanical keyboard. Now let's make no mistake, while the Isku FX is not mechanical, the keys still have good action to them and have no problem registering key inputs, mechanical is still the best way to go. You're not getting the zone lighting with dynamic in-game events being portrayed through the keys for that price, but mechanical is the way to go for hardcore gamers. Also, while it's a nice effect to have the lighting reflect in-game events, like taking damage turning your keyboard red, it's not really necessary. I know I don't look down at my keyboard that much while I play League of Legends or MMOs, mostly because I know where my fingers are and looking down could cause me to miss something, but it's all for atmosphere. So like I said, hardcore gamers might prefer ROCCAT's upcoming mechanical keyboards to the bright lights of the Isku FX. 

Other than that, it's hard to find a lot to complain about with the ROCCAT Isku FX. If you're in the market for a gaming keyboard and don't care if it's mechanical or not, you'd be hard-pressed to find better than the Isku FX. With a dynamic lighting experience that is evolving your gaming space, the Isku FX is carving its space in the gaming keyboard market.

Technical Specifications

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com

Via: Review: The ROCCAT Isku FX will light up your gaming world

Penny Arcade's Rain-Slick 4 confirmed for XBLIG and PC, no Mac or mobile plans

Developer Zeboyd Games recently announced plans for Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4. The studio hopes to deliver yet another old school-influenced RPG romp, and given how great the previous title was, here's hoping Rain-Slick 4 is awesome, too.

Unfortunately for some individuals, the upcoming RPG won't be available on Mac, iOS, or Android platforms like its predecessor was. According to Zeboyd's Robert Boyd, this is due to the low sales of Rain-Slick 3 on those platforms, so the next title will only be available on Xbox Live Indie Games and PC.

"Our mobile games & ports haven't done so well so the new PA RPG will only be on PC & XBLIG," tweeted Boyd. "Apologies to fans of iOS/Mac/Android." He continued, saying, "We'd love to put our games on every platform available but we're a two-man operation and want to be able to keep making new games."

Rain-Slick 4 is due out sometime in spring. It'll be priced at $5 on PC and 400 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live Indie Games.

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Penny Arcade's Rain-Slick 4 confirmed for XBLIG and PC, no Mac or mobile plans

Steam Greenlight now has skip, follow, share, and stats options

Valve has implemented some new features to Steam Greenlight. The options are meant to improve the overall user experience, and there's even a new feature for the developers putting their titles on Greenlight.

Next to the "Yes" and "No" voting buttons you'll now see an option that reads "Ask me again later." Clicking on this will add titles to your queue for one month, at which point they'll once again enter circulation. Of course, if you wish to check these games out, you can do so via the new "Items to Revisit Later" menu.

You can also "favorite" specific items to follow their progress. Any posts from developers regarding those particular games will be sent to you via a notification. You can follow collections if you'd like, and you can post announcements for individuals interested in those collections to see.

As far as devs are concerned, Greenlight now features a new stat-tracking option. Studios can see how many people are following, viewing, and voting for their titles.

[Steam]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Steam Greenlight now has skip, follow, share, and stats options

Review: 10,000,000 is pure addiction in a simple puzzle/RPG format

The premise of 10,000,000 is quite simple. You're an adventurer stuck in a cave and your freedom lies within acquiring 10,000,000 points. The challenge lies within running the dungeon itself. Each run turns into a match three game where matching swords and staves does damage, keys open locks, bags give you loot to utilize during your runs and stones and wood are used to build and upgrade rooms to upgrade your little adventurer. The biggest change from the standard match-three formula though is that instead of swapping tiles, you're moving entire columns, both horizontally and vertically at once. This change up will certainly require some time getting used to, but makes the game that much more challenging.

It's a simple premise and yet it manages to keep you entertained with all its slight nuances. Every dungeon run shows your character running and battling on the top of the screen. The faster you defeat enemies and unlock keys and doors, the longer you'll last in each level. Take one too many hits or take too long with matching up pieces, and you'll slowly start moving towards the left of the screen until you lose. It's a tense race against time that makes each run just as exciting as the previous.

To keep things interesting, there are always three missions to partake in while running a dungeon. Some of those include matching a certain amount of tiles, getting triple matches, only killing enemies with either swords or staves, etc. Completing these missions not only gives you a nice boost of EXP and money, you also gain an adventurer rank that allows you to build more upgrade rooms.

These rooms are absolutely essential as your progress through the game. As you gain rank, enemies get tougher to kill, so you'll need to upgrade your equipment. Everything from upgrading your sword damage, magic damage, even your armor is necessary if you want to survive long enough. The amassed EXP can then be spent on various upgrades to your little adventurer such as gaining 10% more EXP per monster, time bonus when matching certain tiles, or even reducing the cost of building upgrades. There are also various potions and elixirs that modify the way the game works. For example, if you want to just focus on getting the most amount of building materials, you can choose a potion that grants 50% extra wood and stone at the expense of gaining any EXP.

To round out this completely addictive package are the charming lo-fi graphics as well as the retro soundtrack. It's a game that doesn't rely on graphical flair, and yet manages to exude crazy amounts of personality.

However, despite being able to play this on a bigger monitor, the game really is much better suited for touchscreen controls. Since the game relies on sliding entire colums horizontally and vertically, it sometimes results in imprecise mouse movements. Many times I have move the column too far and let go, only for it to reset back to its original position and therefore I lost out on precious time. The game's not impossible with a mouse, however it's easy to see why it shines on mobile devices.

Each and every aspect of 10,000,000 combines into an addictive experience that will have you say "Just one more dungeon run."

Via: Review: 10,000,000 is pure addiction in a simple puzzle/RPG format

Review: Cognition: Episode 2: The Wise Monkey rips apart body and soul

Part two of Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller is a little shorter than the previous episode, requiring about five hours of playtime as opposed to six or seven. In a lot of ways, it fixes what was broken in The Hangman: mostly a drawn-out and overly involved Regression puzzle, where helping a witness remember key information required too many steps and too great an effort. While you do use Erica’s Regression ability a couple times in Episode 2, it’s much simpler — basically a “put these events in order” kind of challenge instead of one long, complicated affair.

The new power that she learns is called Synergy, which lets her psychically group related items in her inventory and discern useful memories from them. So she might be able to get a phone number off a piece of paper, for example, by “linking” the pen that wrote it to the memo, where the digits appear jumbled — jotted down in the wrong order. This is the only new ability that you gain, but the developers at Phoenix Online Studios put it to good use throughout the episode, and it never wears out its appeal.

Erica’s fierce personality still drives the story — only now she’s replaced her superfluous swearing of male-gendered insults with female ones and adopted a cheesy fist pump for when she’s angry. This time, she’s on her own, without a partner to accompany her. Some of the humor is lost; I was disappointed that funny forensics guy Terence never made a cameo.

The pace moves faster than before, allowing you to reach new areas and meet new characters more quickly. I still progressed in fits and starts, but I wasn’t stuck for hours like last time. In a clever twist, The Wise Monkey brings in a minor character from the first episode and gives him (Or maybe her? I’m not telling.) a bigger role, but the developers could have used some of that creativity to spice up the interaction in headquarters, where — for example — talking to your usual partner, John, yields the same canned dialogue. I understand why they didn’t change it — it doesn’t make sense to since these episodes comprise one big game — but I was already sick of hearing John’s “Go get ’em, red!” halfway through The Hangman. I don’t care to hear it again.

The Wise Monkey does contain a few minor graphic hitches here and there (including quite the disturbance of a certain office assistant’s bosom), but they shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying the game, at least not from the ones I encountered. The second episode maintains that great dramatic tension that we experienced previously, and I might even like its plotline more.

This killer’s victims are all musically gifted, and Erica’s Synergy is a good fit for a case where the removal of body parts — eyes, ears, and tongues — are the murderer’s MO. Together, the pairing makes for a few intense last-minute puzzles and an awesome cliffhanger that will keep fans talking.

Follow @wita on Twitter.

Via: Review: Cognition: Episode 2: The Wise Monkey rips apart body and soul

The many modes of Dead Space 3 detailed

Whaaaaat? Game modes in Dead Space 3 you say? Do go on. So at this point we know about Isaac’s descent into madness while searching for those markers to destroy. Then along the way you either play with Carver, or don’t depending on your drop in and out mode. We get that. We’re excited for that. But what about modes for after you complete the game?

Here’s the thing, EA spent a lot of time, effort, and money busting out Dead Space 3 and they want to tell the story how they want to tell it.  You’re going to experience it and you're going to like it. Once you’ve completed that though, many new doors will open giving players the option to play DS3 more of how they want to play it – even in a more classical sense if that suits your poison.

First of all, there will be a “New Game +” mode to start the adventure all over packing all your goods from the first time around. You’ll have all your upgrades and all your arsenal intact exactly where you left it.

“Classic Mode” is for those who miss and are nostalgic for how the original Dead Space played out. This mode won’t have any coop and will return to that same aiming system DS1 had back in the day. On top of that, there will be zero crafting. All weapons and items come from blueprints found.

Then there is “Pure Survival.” Here the game plays more like a survival horror game than ever. Your foes will only drop resources. This means there will be no ammo drops, no health drops, and no weapon part drops. Everything you use will be made via the workbench. Your better scrounge for resources, manage them, and make sure you bring the right stuff to the fight.

Lastly, we got the “Hardcore Mode.” As the names so delicately hints at, this mode is only for the best of the best. With no room for error, in Hardcore Mode you only have one life – that’s it (I was told I couldn’t type YOLO – but it’s YOLO). Those who complete the game in this mode get mad props from me.

With Dead Space 3 being officially a week away, I can’t help but be excited. I know how I play games like this and I’m going to fly though it in only a couple of days as I play it religiously. With co-op and all these other modes now though… I’m going to get a solid amount of playthroughs in. Let the good times, and Necromorphs, roll baby! 

[DeadSpace3]

Via: The many modes of Dead Space 3 detailed

IndieGameStand has adventure game Cognition Episode 1 on sale for $1

The latest title to land on IndieGameStand is Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller Episode 1. The game, which is quite the adventure gem, received a 7 out of 10 in GameZone's review and was called "everything a modern adventure gamer could want."

Now you can download Cognition for as little as a buck. If you pay a bit more, though, you'll get some sweet extras. Beating the average payment, for example, will get you the Cognition soundtrack and a prequel comic. Paying $10 will get you Cognition, The Oil Blue, and the next IndieGameStand title.

Child's Play was selected by developer Phoenix Online Studios as its charity of choice. Ten percent of all proceeds will go to the organization.

[IndieGameStand]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: IndieGameStand has adventure game Cognition Episode 1 on sale for $1

Stratego Online review: Strategized nostalgia

Due to the work of Keesing Games, Zigiz.com game portal, and Royal Jumbo – Stratego has entered the digital modern world. Nostalgia hold me back. As of today you can play Stratego Online free on Facebook or for $6.99 on iPad. The best part about all this is that the web, Facebook, and iPad version are all cross platform so this means more players, from all over, can play each other.

Unlike the version from your childhood, this digital version of Stratego has more options. With that said, the original game you know and love is still 100% there if you’re a Stratego purist. You have your 40v40 piece set completely customizable as far as setting up the board. A feature I’m digging is how you can save your layouts to load for future matches. After a few days I could see the matches starting nearly instantly from people just deciding which premade set they want to use for that round.

Your opponents can be computer AI, friends (really easy to find when integrated with Facebook), random strangers, quick matches, and even ranked play. Ranked play has a system where you gain points depending on your wins and losses. What better system to tell who is the best in the world than a good ole ranked brawl. The matches have timed 15 second moves which lead to a fast paced match. All you need to do is find your foes flag before he finds yours.

If 40v40 is too intimidating for you, there is also an even faster paced 10v10 piece map. Sure you don’t fill up your entire side of the map but it may have even higher strategy to it. This version of Stratego gives you the option to play how you want to play for whatever type of time frame you have. You can even practice versus the computer but it is relentless and never forgets what your pieces are once you reveal them.

After playing a match against a coworker, I instantly time traveled 20 years to a past where Stratego was king. In the match, my stress level went up and I was questioning every single piece he had on the board. It felt right. Keesing’s Stratego Online is by far the best digital version of the old board game classic I’ve ever played. It offers everything I’d want out of a digital Stratego and offers me opponents from multiple platforms. The graphics are great, the interface is simple, and it’s really easy to get a game going. The only thing left is to get my ranked score up.    

Via: Stratego Online review: Strategized nostalgia

Review: Euro Truck Simulator 2 is, despite its premise, a fantastically designed sim

The heart and soul of ETS2 relies on driving these big rigs from various locations around Europe. You start off as a freelancer of sorts, taking on various jobs from already established companies to make some extra cash. Amassing enough money will allow you to buy your own trucks and hire other drivers to establish your own trucking company. It's actually quite an addictive formula that makes progressing through the game not only fun, but gives a sense of accomplishment.

What would a simulator be if not for its detail-oriented gameplay. Driving a truck isn't easy in ETS2, so I imagine it's no cakewalk in real life either. After all, you're trying to maneuver a giant vehicle with limited mobility through crowded streets. However, ETS2 does manage to be forgiving in its design, and balances its sim aspects along a fine line to make them realistic, without sacrificing the fun factor.

Though, ETS2 is as realistic as you want it to be right from the get go. Before you even get a glimpse of the inside of your cab, various settings will ensure that your experience is catered to your skill. From various control schemes that either utilize the keyboard, mouse or controller/steering wheel for driving, to the amount of driving assists with various transmissions, from the beginner styled (easy) Automatic, to the fully fledged manual that requires a clutch. It's nice to know that even newcomers to the genre can experience the entirety of the game without having to rely on overcoming steep difficulty curves, and can eventually ease their way in to harder difficulties.

Though the focus is on the driving, there is also a lot to do behind the scenes. The bank allows you to get a loan for various necessities or the purchase of a new truck, that then must be paid off. New dealerships can be found and visited, your hired drivers can be managed, truck damage and diagnostics can be viewed, and even your various cab mirrors can be tweaked so they show your surroundings exactly how you want, to minimize the risk of running into cars or the environment. Once you get your own truck you can even customize the appearance as well as purchase and equip custom parts to truly make your truck unique. Everything from changing your aesthetics to completely tuning your performance, it's all here just waiting to be tinkered with.

The sense of progression isn't just tied town to making money. Your driver also levels up and is able to learn new 'skills.' These skills aren't the sort of performance skills you'd expect, but rather percentage bonuses that have to do with various job parameters, like getting a percentage bonus based on the distance or time traveled.

What's most surprising the staggering amount of locations you'll be able to drive through like England, Paris, Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany to name a few. Each of these locations have various cities to drive through. While the distance of these locations is quite far from each other, the game handles time at a sped up rate.

The authenticity of each city remains intact though. Street signs are all in their respective languages and each country is easily distinguishable just by driving through it (though being familiar with each location in real life helps). What's even more impressive, is that you can directly stream live radio stations from some of these locations. Have your company set up from Prague? Turn your stations to one of the few Czech stations for full authenticity. Beware though, a lot of 80s songs are still quite popular there.

To round out the package is the stellar presentation. From the easy to navigate menus to the gorgeous graphics. You're not getting Crysis 3 level of graphics here but what's offered here exceeds the level you'd expect from a game like this. The environments look gorgeous and the meticulous detail of every button and switch inside each truck is borderline obsessive.

Honestly, the only thing that's missing is some sort of CB radio function that would allow you to communicate with others playing the game. In all seriousness though, Euro Truck Simulator 2 might be an extremely niche game, but its easy to see the appeal. I'm honestly not a huge fan of simulators, nor am I a fan of giant trucks, but somehow ETS2 managed to keep me entertained for hours, without even realizing it.

Via: Review: Euro Truck Simulator 2 is, despite its premise, a fantastically designed sim

The Recap - 01/28/13 'Fan recreates GTA V map and PC users get Dragonborn soon'

Welcome to another Recap episode where we go over the day's biggest headlines, making sure that you're caught up in all things video games.

Devoted fan constructs an 'unofficial' Grand Theft Auto 5 map based on screenshots, trailers

Spotted on GTAForums.com, a dedicated fan has constructed an unofficialGrand Theft Auto 5 map based solely off of screenshots released to date from developer Rockstar.

Reminder: GTA: Vice City releasing on Tuesday for PS3

Resident Evil 6 Siege gameplay trailer

Gears of War: Judgment pre-order includes early access to OverRun multiplayer mode

Early access to the new class-based competitive mode will being on Xbox LIVE on March 15 

Skyrim Dragonborn pre-purchase now available on Steam

According to Steam, the expansion will be unlocked at around noon ET on February 5 in North America.

Via: The Recap - 01/28/13 'Fan recreates GTA V map and PC users get Dragonborn soon'

Fourth Penny Arcade Adventure due out this spring

Zeboyd Games' Robert Boyd and Bill Stiernberg have announced a release window and other details for Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4.

The next episode in the role-playing adventure is coming this spring to Xbox Live Arcade and PC for 400 Microsoft Points or $4.99, according to IGN.

Stiernberg said he thinks "people will see a noticeable boost in Rain-Slick 4’s visuals compared to our previous games."

Many fans complained that Rain-Slick 3 was "too linear," so Zeboyd is adding in more optional areas, secrets, and secondary routes to dungeons.

The game will also feature a "freely explorable overworld," and Stiernberg said he's building more impressive — but not confusing or convoluted — maps.

"The other major feedback we've tried to take into account for the fourth game was the complaint that it was too easy to find a winning strategy early on in the game and then use that strategy with few adjustments throughout the entire game," said Boyd. "We've made a number of adjustments, both small and not so small, to try to encourage the player to play around with a number of different setups and strategies as the game progresses."

Boyd said after the game is finished, he and Stiernberg will move on to a sci-fi/spy role-playing game codenamed CSH.

"Distant future setting, female protagonist, on-map battles, more animated sprites, cool level-up system," said Boyd. "In short: the works. We'll probably be doing a Kickstarter for that project after we have some gameplay footage ready to show since we want to really take things up to the next level. Chrono Trigger has held the position of best 16-bit style RPG for too long — it's time for that position to be challenged!"

Follow @wita on Twitter.

Via: Fourth Penny Arcade Adventure due out this spring

Review: Roccat Savu is an affordable gaming mouse for customization junkies

The first thing you should know is that the Savu is a right-handed gaming mouse; if you're a lefty then you're out of luck. Sorry. Go throw a baseball or something. The Savu sits at a price point where there are a lot of gaming mouse options. The first thing the Savu excels at is its design. The form and design of it is comfortable in your handle while feeling sturdy. The texture of the mouse may throw some people off a bit though. It's a rough texture that helps prevent your fingers from slipping when perspiration might become a problem hours into a gaming session. It's a very funky feeling... at first. After a while you'll get used to it and even welcome it. The whole mouse isn't that textured grip, as the top is a nice, soft-touch surface that'll feel good in your palm. 

One thing that the Savu does a great job of is providing customization for your gaming needs. The Savu Driver app that you need to install has a good layout; it's really easy to figure out where to go to adjust what. You can control things like sensitivity, scroll speed, double-click speed, and DPI to name a few. Whether you're adjusting the polling rate or the color of the LEDs on the surface of the mouse, there's enough customization here to appease most gamers. This is also where you'll be controlling button assignments. The best part is that you can create profile for your mouse settings; so if you want different settings for when you play League of Legends and Battlefield 3, you can change them pretty easily. There's also a nifty trophy system that gives you trophies when you reach a certain number of mouse button clicks or move your mouse a certain distance.

Now let's get into the mouse itself. From the previous paragraph, you know that you can change DPI and that there's buttons that you can program. The biggest problem I have with the Savu is that there's no buttons directly on the mouse to change the dpi. On other mice I have used in this price range, most of them have buttons to lower or decrease the DPI. Yes, I can just use a profile with the correct mouse setting from the software, but when my wife goes to use the computer, she hates using that high of a dpi setting. That and she's not the most computer-literate person in the world, so telling her to change the profile probably won't go well. Also, while 4000dpi is fine for a lot of gamers, I play closer to the 6000 to  8000 range. That's just a personal preference.

Another thing the mouse sports are two easy-shift buttons that sit right above your thumb. These easy shift buttons allow both mouse buttons to have two other functions or assignments. Essentially it's providing the same function as a mouse that has tons of buttons on the side, just without the clutter; it's easier to remember what you have assigned to those two buttons and mouse clicks. The only problem I've had with this is sometimes my finger hits one accidentally while I'm playing an MMO and I'll use a skill I didn't want to use, but that can happen with any mouse.Other than those two issues, the button action and the scroll wheel is great.

I like the Roccat Savu, I just don't love it. The 4000dpi doesn't get it done for me, to be quite honest. There's a ton of customization for the Savu, but for the same price, I can get the same customization and higher dpi with the mouse features I want. The grip and design combined with the customization ability through the software make the Roccat Savu a solid choice if you're looking for a mouse that won't cost and arm and a leg. If you're looking for more dpi, though, you're going to have to go with something else.

Technical Specifications

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com

Via: Review: Roccat Savu is an affordable gaming mouse for customization junkies

Weekly wrap-up: After hours edition

Another week in gaming has passed us by, and with that week came some good reviews, previews, and editorials. And despite the fact that it’s after hours, I’ve decided to stay up late anyway and bring you, the GameZone faithful, this week’s wrap-up. Check out the latest movies reviews, hands-on coverage, and opinionated pieces right here. Also, Ni no Kuni!

Reviews

Review: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is beautiful, grand and a shining example of a JRPG done right

Splendid gameplay and incredible art make Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch one of the best JRPGs to come along in recent memory.

Review: HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition is one of the best multi-purpose video capturing devices out there

If you’re looking for a device to capture some video of your favorite games, this one’s a great buy.

Review: Forge: A high-fantasy, high-octane combat zone for players of all backgrounds

It’s not exactly 100 percent complete yet, but what’s there is good, making Forge a fun game overall.

Review: Years of creative vision have chiseled The Cave crystal-fine

Double Fine delivers another great adventure and a platformer that just begs to be played.

DmC Devil May Cry Video Review

Intense action and a ton of style make DmC Devil May Cry one hell of a game.

Review: GREE's NFL Shuffle is the best football experience on iOS

If you’re looking for a great mobile football game, this is all you right here.

Review: Roccat Savu is an affordable gaming mouse for customization junkies

It’s not perfect, but its low price point and good functionality make this gaming mouse a worthwhile purchase.

Movie Review: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters eats too much candy

While the characters in this flick may be interesting, there’s more emphasis on the poor plot.

Movie Review: Movie 43 is bad YouTube comedy at the cinema

Seriously, what the f*ck is this sh*t?

Review: Tokyo Crash Mobs is the most extraordinary mediocre game ever

While this isn't necessarily a good game, its bizarre style makes it at least worth checking out. Maybe.

Previews

Preview: Dead Space 3 cranks up the action way past 11

GameZone continues to take a closer look at the upcoming Dead Space 3.

Preview: God of War: Ascension Single Player is a monster slaying good time

Kratos’ return is almost upon us, and we can’t wait to dig into this blood-soaked slice-fest.

Preview: Further Hands-On with the Oculus Rift

We look forward to seeing what the final build of the Oculus Rift will offer at launch.

Preview: MLB 13: The Show shows off its new Beginner Mode

It’s almost time to play ball with MLB 13: The Show.

Preview: Path of Exile is a free-to-play Diablo-style RPG to watch out for

If you’re looking for a promising action-RPG, check out the free-to-play Path of Exile, which is currently in open beta.

GZ Originals

Ten franchises we hope to see in Disney Infinity

What series from Disney should make appearances in the upcoming Disney Infinity?

Interview: Talking Marvel Heroes with Gazillion Entertainment

GameZone gets some insight on the Marvel-themed free-to-play MMO straight from the devs.

Nintendo Wii U Direct highlights: System updates, new games, and more!

What's coming up for adopters of Nintendo's Wii U? Quite a bit, actually!

Pros and Cons of a Steambox

What can we look forward to as far as a Steambox is concerned? What should we be dreading?

PSA for the Wii U haters: look at those games we're getting!

So there’s, like, some great stuff coming to the Wii U, you guys!

10 first-party GameCube games we'd love to see in HD

What GameCube favorites deserve an HD remake akin to Wind Waker?

Week in Mobile: Pantheon the Legends, Bumpin’ Uglies, and Ghostbusters

GameZone takes a look at the latest mobile titles to hit the scene including Bumpin’ Uglies and Pantheon the Legends.

Why Vigil and the Darksiders franchise deserved better

Both Vigil Games and its Darksiders franchise are stellar parts of the gaming industry. It would be a shame to see them both dissolve.

What did this week mean for Nintendo and for gamers?

Nintendo made some big announcements. What does it mean for fans of the Wii U and 3DS?

The five biggest no-brainers in gaming

It would be cool if some of this stuff happened. Will video game companies just get to it already?

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Weekly wrap-up: After hours edition

Don't like microtransactions in Dead Space 3? Blame mobile games

Visceral Games says it "would never make a game you have to pay to win," but it's still including microtransactions as part of Dead Space 3's weapon crafting system. The reason? The attitudes of mobile gamers.

"There's a lot of players out there, especially players coming from mobile games, who are accustomed to microtransactions," John Calhoun told CVG. "They're like, 'I need this now, I want this now.' They need instant gratification. So we included that option in order to attract those players, so that if they're 5000 Tungsten short of this upgrade, they can have it."

Loyal fans of the series might be put off by Visceral's thinking, but this could be a smart way to merge both crowds. The microtransactions are completely optional, says Calhoun, and you can also purchase the packs with in-game resources.

"There are action game fans, and survival horror game fans, who are 19 and 20, and they've only played games on their smartphones, and microtransactions are to them a standard part of gaming," he said. "It's a different generation. So if we're going to bring those people into our world, let's speak their language, but let's not alienate our fans at the same time."

Follow @wita on Twitter.

[Pocket Gamer]

Via: Don't like microtransactions in Dead Space 3? Blame mobile games

Omerta: City of Gangsters demo gives you a taste of mobster life

Omerta: City of Gangsters will deliver its brand of mobster simulation gameplay when it launches next week on PC. If you'd like to take a crack at mobster life a bit early, though, you can do exactly that.

Kalypso Media has released a demo of the game for PC. You can download it across multiple websites and check out 1920s Atlantic City before the game's official launch.

Download the demo at WorthPlaying, GamersHell, and Strategy Informer. And for you German-speaking folks, you can check it out at GamerzCheck and DemoNews.

Omerta launches next week on Friday, February 1.

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Omerta: City of Gangsters demo gives you a taste of mobster life

Umm ... So there's a game called Boob Wars

Welcome to GameZone After Hours! Okay, so that isn't actually a thing, but it is technically after hours, so I thought I'd share this bit of outlandishly pervy vidya game news.

The game in question is called Boob Wars: Big Breasts vs Flat Chests. It's a Japanese adventure game, and its plot is based on two warring tribes. Basically, you've got one group with small breasts and another with huge ones. Yep, that's the basis for the story. Then again, the game is called Boob Wars, so is that really shocking?

As protagonist, your objective is simple: "Seduce Queen Milk Elioto of the Big Breasts Tribe and Queen Teresa Premadasa of the Flat Chests Tribe and bring this war to a close."

This game is so retarded. Oh, and if you should choose to click on the source link below, be aware that the content is totally NSFW.

[Manga Gamer via Destructoid]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Umm ... So there's a game called Boob Wars

Terraria getting PC patch

Terraria creator Redigit recently returned to the game's forums and hinted at the possibility of a patch for the PC version. This should come as good news to the internet population that suffered from instant face melting when the console version was announced and when plans for a PC update were scrapped.

"Okay, let me pose a hypothetical," posted Redigit. "Say I am considering doing an update for the PC version of Terraria ... In the event that such a thing were to take place, what would be some things that you would be interested in seeing?"

The Terraria forums users made several suggestions such as adding content from the upcoming console version, patching up a few bugs, and so on. There were definitely some valid requests being made, and it looks like Redigit has already gotten started on a patch as indicated by a recent tweet.

So, umm, yay, right? Also, the console version of Terraria is launching next month, so yay for the folks looking forward to that, too, huh? Yay for everyone!

[Terraria Online via Destructoid]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Terraria getting PC patch

EA launches Origin alpha client on Mac

EA is kicking off its Origin client on Mac. The company announced today that the alpha version of Origin on Mac is now live for testing.

A few features are missing from the alpha at the moment. Among these missing components are the Origin Store tab and Twitch streaming. That functionality will be added at a later time.

It should also be noted that Origin on Mac will require you to have OS X 10.6.8 or newer running, as well an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better.

Individuals who participate in the alpha testing will receive a free download of Bookworm from PopCap.

[EA]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: EA launches Origin alpha client on Mac

DmC Devil May Cry Video Review

DmC Devil May Cry is a complete reboot of Capcom's long-standing series. The game is set in an alternate universe than the original series and Ninja Theory has given Dante a complete makeover. But are the same gameplay elements that made the original series so fun still present? Check out the video review and see for yourself.

Via: DmC Devil May Cry Video Review

New gameplay videos show indie game Luna: Shattered Hearts in action

Gillis Games has released two new gameplay videos for Luna: Shattered Hearts. The game features 2D action-platforming gameplay across fantastical lands.

Luna looks quite charming from a visual standpoint, but the most impressive thing about its graphics is that its environments are entirely hand drawn. The game has been in development for six years, and it is being planned as an episodic series.

Lithien and Dez are the main characters in this adventure. The duo is responsible for some foul deeds, but as they continue along their travels, they begin to change along with the world around them.

You can currently back Luna on Kickstarter if you dig what you see.

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: New gameplay videos show indie game Luna: Shattered Hearts in action

Action-sim The Oil Blue costs a buck on IndieGameStand

A new game has landed on IndieGameStand. This time around we've got The Oil Blue, an action-sim that's been at the receiving end of quite a bit of praise.

Paying $1 will get you the game, while beating the average will also score you the soundtrack. Additionally, paying $10 will get you The Oil Blue, Leave Home, and the next IndieGameStand deal.

Developer Vertigo Gaming has decided on Smile Train as its charity of choice. As always, 10 percent of all proceeds received will go to the foundation chosen by the studio.

[IndieGameStand]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Action-sim The Oil Blue costs a buck on IndieGameStand

Review: Forge: A high-fantasy, high-octane combat zone for players of all backgrounds

Across four different fantasy maps (for now) real-world players (no bots allowed) with rookies and veterans alike, Forge finds everyone engaged in a battle royale. For those unfamiliar with its more complex elements, it's a violent free-for-all that begs you to keep coming back for more practice after it's finished wiping the floor with you. It confuses for the first hour or so, and for this reason, new players will flock to the series of tutorials available for first-timers.

You must at least explore the tutorials available to you in order to unlock the other modes of play, but completing the tutorials is a slog. Once you jump into the action, you find yourself annihilated by veteran players, but you learn more in this school of hard knocks than you do in the clumsy tutorial lessons. If you never explore the tutorials beyond what is required, advanced tooltips and optional educational bubbles aid you in deciphering which abilities are appropriate in different situations and how to use them. With that said, there's still a learning curve to contend with.

Once you've jumped off the deep end straight into a real match, it's quickly obvious that there's no time for practice--you either step in line with the twitch-based encounters, or you meet a swift end. Once you've battled enough, you slowly become a competent player. There are five classes to master: assassin, pathfinder, pyromancer, shaman, and warden, each with nine specific abilities. Standard fantasy skills are exhibited among these specializations, including healing magic, stuns, slowing, and other tropes. Fortunately, standout abilities, such as swapping places with a player or trapping an enemy in place by way of an arrow, give Forge an identity of its own. These varied attacks contribute to the chaotic nature of the game, and lend a fresh lilt to what could have easily stagnated as the same played-out skill trees of other fantasy games.

Via: Review: Forge: A high-fantasy, high-octane combat zone for players of all backgrounds

Review: Years of creative vision have chiseled The Cave crystal-fine

All that knowledge and experience is summed up in The Cave, which released first on Jan. 22 and is available for a wide variety of platforms: PlayStation 3 (the version we reviewed), Xbox 360, Steam (PC, Mac, Linux), and the Wii U eShop. It’s a platform-adventure game where you (or you and one or two other people) choose three of seven playable characters, each either adhering to existing tropes or breaking them completely. The Adventurer, a classic representation of the genre, is an ambitious blonde woman, and the armor-suited Knight is timid and cowardly. But the Monk is predictably quiet and disciplined, and the young Twins are ghoulish and creepy as if plucked from a horror movie. You can mix and match any three, but the ones you choose shape the key moments of your adventure. I picked the Adventurer, Knight, and Monk and found treasure, dragons, and zen meditation in my quest.

The titular cave is more than a stage for your adventure. It’s alive, and it speaks to the player, commenting on the heroes’ situation and occasionally dropping helpful hints. Its voice is never boring or intrusive, and it considers the player with intelligence. You won’t hear it pointing out the obvious or butting in when it’s not wanted. You’ll love it even more for its dark humor and playfulness, but the dialogue from the other characters is just as sharp-witted and entertaining. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a spot in the story that doesn’t ooze cleverness and charm.

Developer Double Fine Productions applied the same creativity to the environments and atmosphere of The Cave as well. The underground world — painted in a gorgeous, richly colored, smoky palette — is part earthy and mysterious (admire glowing mushrooms, swarms of bats, clear crystal pools of water, mossy roots, and openings in the rocky tunnels that reveal the depths beyond) and part tourist trap. As you pass by souvenir shops and vending machines, traveling from cavern to lava pit to island, you feel like you’re watching characters in a play whose drama unfolds on one continuously transforming set. In a way, you are — the cave is a trial, and you’re here to see whether they pass.

The Cave is more than a series of tests although the best sections are those tailor-fit for each character. It’s a streamlined adventure game — the kind that should please genre fans and appeal to a more casual audience. That kind of “light” medium, which remains consistent in its superb quality, is a holy grail of adventure games. A single playthrough is short (about 6-7 hours long), but the renewed sense of discovery you experience from selecting a different trio adds worth. Broken down into separate but interconnected areas, the cave is manageable and forward-moving in every aspect of its design. Points of interaction, like items and environmental objects, that you could never see or had to click three times on in other, tedious adventure games are marked here in big white letters you can’t miss. You learn how to use each character’s unique power as you go along — you’re not handed a set of instructions or forced to wade through a tutorial of any kind. You experiment, just like in the best adventure games.

Characters can only hold one item at a time, and you can switch between your party members with a tap of the D-pad. This comes in handy since you do a lot of back-and-forth within a given area, but it’s never too much to ground to cover, and you shouldn't feel lost. The Cave’s visual direction is excellent, and the layout is made to be easily navigable. It’s not taxing on your memory.
Its puzzles are intuitive enough to keep you moving around and trying new ideas, but many do require a bit of thinking. They’re not so strenuous, though, that you can’t work through them in a reasonable amount of time. Needing to cheat would almost be unfair to the game — virtually every element works and reacts how it should, and those “subtle” environmental cues that adventure games love throwing in are apparent as long as you bother to look and listen.

The characters know when to follow and when to stay, and they hang on to the items you give them. You don’t need to worry about leaving them behind or favoring one character over another. The game maintains a good balance of how often you play with all three.

Co-op takes place on a single screen, with the transparent indicator on the bottom left showing which player is controlling whom at any given time. You can “steal” characters from another player or seize the camera to focus on a specific hero, so in ways the multiplayer is a little trying unless your friends appreciate the meaning of the word “cooperative.” The parts where one character must travel from one length of the cave to another do seem slower, so one player might be sitting there watching as another climbs ropes and ladders to reach an objective. All three characters must often work together to solve puzzles, so that can mean splitting them off in different directions.

The Cave controls well, but the characters are a little grabbier (of ledges, ropes, etc.) than you might like. The only glitch I encountered was a potentially nasty one, where a character confused picking up an item with viewing a wall glyph (each reveals a new picture that tells a fraction of a bigger story for the character it pertains to) or interacting with another highlighted object. You can circumvent the problem by using the Monk’s telekinesis (which obviously doesn’t help everyone) or by jumping and then quickly following with the “use/pick up” button. This might warrant some fixing from Double Fine since I ran into a few situations where I had trouble progressing because of this problem.

The ending is somewhat anticlimactic, especially considering how much the personified cave emphasizes the lessons and trials these characters endure. But it doesn’t matter much. The Cave is still a gameplay-driven download title that’s fun and full of humor and smart design. It could be the adventure game you’ve been wanting all this time — even if it took 25 years to get here.

[Reviewed on PlayStation 3]

Follow @wita on Twitter.

Via: Review: Years of creative vision have chiseled The Cave crystal-fine

Developer of failed Amy game gambles with an HD version of Flashback

The developer of easily the worst game of 2012 — Amy — is risking more bad press by returning with a new game. It's actually a remodeled version of an old platforming adventure that creator and studio head Paul Cuisset created back in 1992.

French site Gamalive reports that Vector Cell is remaking Flashback: The Quest for Identity, keeping the architecture but completely reforming the characters and animations. "The game will also offer as a bonus making-of," according to the site (via Google Translate).

Flashback Origins will release for PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam for PC (and possibly the Wii U eShop as well) sometime this year.

Follow @wita on Twitter.

[Eurogamer]

Via: Developer of failed Amy game gambles with an HD version of Flashback

Vigil Games closes doors after lack of bids at THQ auction, bids farewell

It's a sad day in the video game industry when a sh*t product like Homefront gets purchased by Crytek and developer Vigil Games goes ignored, in the process being forced to close its doors and call it a day. We've seen a lot of the aftermath of today's auction, where several IPs and studios were purchased by multiple companies, in the process dissolving THQ.

Unfortunately for Vigil (and countless fans), no entity offered a bid for the developer behind the stellar Darksiders franchise. Not a single one, and it's damn shame.

Lead Combat Designer at Vigil Ben Cureton expressed his sadness following today's auction, stating that he's gained a ton from the team. The following is his official statement:

My name is Ben Cureton, and I was the Lead Combat Designer at Vigil Games. I'm sitting at my desk among... what appears to be a warzone. The walls look bare. It's quiet.

The seats are empty.

We've all been on edge for the past couple months... and more so, the last couple weeks. I mean, I'm sure you can imagine what it's like to wonder if you will have a job tomorrow. Most of us here joked about it just to keep the mood light, but we all knew what could happen. Now I look around and I realize... it did happen.

Am I sad? Well yea. I've been in this industry for 20 years. Seriously. Two decades. I've been laid off more than once. It sucks every time. But am I sad I don't have a job? Not really... I'm sure I'll get another one eventually. I'm sad because it won't be THIS job. It won't be at Vigil. That's why I'm sad. The people I waged war with are no longer together. The people that I bled with, vented with, argued with (often times LOUDLY), and kicked back with... these people will never be together again in the same combination.

Not that it was perfect. But what is perfect? Did I like coming to work? Yes. Was I proud of the work that I did? Yes. More importantly, was I proud of the work that WE did? Absolutely. I knew, without a shadow of the doubt, that the project we were working on (Codenamed: Crawler) was going to blow people away. In fact, it DID blow people away. We did, in TWO months, what many companies haven't done in a year. The pride of knowing that no one was doing anything like us was so satisfying, it kept us coming to work and giving 100% every single day, even through the dark times.

... so maybe you can imagine what it feels like when you read the list of who bought what only to discover your name is not on the list. Why? Did we do something wrong? Were we not good enough? Were we not worth 'anything?' Imagine that.

Vigil was filled with people that I would put up against the best in the industry. People that made my work better, people that made me a better designer, and people that made me a better person. And now they are gone.

Their seats are empty.

It's OK, though. I guess this post makes it sound a bit melodramatic. Seriously... if you work in the video game industry you have to be resilient. Doing what you love often comes with a price - anyone who has been around for a while can tell you that. Today, that price has been paid. That being said, I'd still never dissuade anyone from following their dreams if their dream is to make video games. While it's not as romantic as it sounds, it's sure a hell of a lot of fun.

So don't cry for the people at Vigil. We made games for game players. I have no Horror stories from working here... only Honor stories. Through both praise and critiques alike, our goal was always to make a product as if we, ourselves, were the end-user. We may have gotten pushed and pulled in certain directions by forces out of our control, we were always in it to make games for game players. And that's what we did.

I can only hope that those spared from the other companies remain employed long into the future. There is not much worse than false hope, and these people deserve to continue making great games. You may not know their names, but they exist, and they bleed, sweat, and cry for your entertainment. I mean that honestly, with no negativity. They do it... no, WE do it... because we want you to have a good time.

In closing, I can only say thank you to the fans of Vigil games. Your support means more than you can imagine. Your feedback (both positive and negative) gave us long-lasting insight that we will all take with us, wherever we may go. You are the reason we made Darksiders 1 & 2... and you are the reason we will continue to make games.

And with that... my seat is empty.

Ben Cureton
Lead Combat Designer
Vigil Games

P.S. This is no place for a horse.

The folks behind Darksiders know how to make great games, so it goes without saying that they'll find work and continue to deliver great titles to video game fans. For now, let's bid a sorrowful goodbye to Vigil. As for the individuals who were a part of Vigil, we'll simply say, "See ya later."

[NeoGAF]

Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Vigil Games closes doors after lack of bids at THQ auction, bids farewell

American McGee reveals EA 'tricked' gamers and why he used his name in early titles

American McGee has told Reddit users in his latest AMA (Ask Me Anything) that Electronic Arts tried to mislead consumers of Alice: Madness Returns with false marketing.

Shy the Sun, the people who made the sequel's trailers, were "fantastic in terms of creativity," he said, but they listened a little to closely to EA. The final word did not come from his studio, Spicy Horse.

"That resulted in trailers that were much darker and gorier than the game ... and that was a calculated disconnect created by EA," McGee wrote. "They wanted to 'trick' gamers into believing A:MR was a hardcore horror title even though we refused to develop it in that tone. Their thinking is, even if the game isn't a hardcore horror title, you can market it as one and trick those customers into buying it (while driving away more casual customers, like female gamers, who might be turned off by really dark trailers)."

He added, "It's all a part of the race to the bottom EA, Activision, and the other big pubs are engaged in. Expect to see it get worse before it gets better."

One user asked McGee whether including his name in some of his games' titles (eg., American McGee's Alice) was a cute attempt at self-promotion or a sign that the game wasn't a true team effort.

"There's a longer version of this story, but the short version is that I never had the power/control to force my name on a box of anything," he wrote. "EA legal and marketing decided it was a good way to establish a version of the Alice name which they could own and control. I signed a bit of paper giving them the right — and there you have it. Once that was done, other publishers came to me asking to use the name for marketing purposes. I did something akin to pure marketing use on Scrapland. You'll note that the games coming out of my studio today DO NOT include the use of my name. When I have a choice about it, I don't do it."

Follow @wita on Twitter.

[Joystiq]

Via: American McGee reveals EA 'tricked' gamers and why he used his name in early titles

BioShock Infinite preorders come with e-book prequel and 'Industrial Revolution' pack

2K Games and Irrational Games announced today that the prequel e-book BioShock Infinite: Mind in Revolt is a preorder bonus for those who order the upcoming first-person shooter exclusively through Amazon.

If you'd rather read it on your Kindle without buying the game, you'll have to wait until February 12 — at which point it'll cost you $2.99. BioShock Infinite game writer Joe Fielder penned the book with creative director Ken Levine.

At such a low price, that doesn't sound like much of a preorder incentive since the game doesn't release until March 26. But the Industrial Revolution pack, which also comes free with preorders, might be.

The extra content "grants exclusive access to three in-game gear items that boost combat abilities, 500 bonus in-game currency, five lock picks, and the Industrial Revolution puzzle game, which unlocks stories of Columbia and allows players to pledge their allegiance to the Vox Populi or Founders through Facebook."

"Since we first announced BioShock Infinite, our fans have asked for more information about Columbia and the complex cast of characters that inhabit the floating city,” Fielder said in a statement. “After reading the e-book, players will have a better understanding of BioShock Infinite’s world, the struggle between its factions, and the motivations of key characters, like rebel leader Daisy Fitzroy, without spoiling the mysteries of BioShock Infinite.”

Follow @wita on Twitter.

Via: BioShock Infinite preorders come with e-book prequel and 'Industrial Revolution' pack

Review: The Roccat Apuri will make your desk look good, but for a price

Ever get feel like your mouse cable goes on for miles? It can get quite unruly and clutter up your desk. Well the Roccat Apuri is a stylish way to tidy up your desktop while providing more USB ports. Described as a Smart Desktop Management System (SDMS), the Apuri can de-clutter wires from where you game. Instead of running cables all around and through your desk, the Apuri USB hub can power another four USB devices and features a mouse bungee that holds your mouse cable.

The first thing that you'll notice is the design. There's plenty of USB hubs that can be had for less money, but part of PC gaming is about aesthetics, and the Roccat Apuri provides plenty of stylish beauty to go along with its functionality. Featuring a tripod-ish design and matte black finish, the Apuri stands a bit above the desk it rests on with the mouse bungee coming over the top of it, making it look like a scorpion stinger. You'll definitely look twice, as the design is pretty cool. It also have three bright blue LED lights that light up when you power it with its AC adapter. If you don't want to use the AC adapter then the lights won't be on. It can still power devices like cell phones and such, but you'll need to use the AC adapter for the Apuri to power peripherals that require more. 

Outside of the futuristic-looking design, the Apuri offers the functionality that you'd expect from a USB hub, plus more. It offers four USB ports while only taking up one in your computer. The best part of this hub is the mouse bungee that allows you to control your mouse cable. You can easily adjust how much cable you want, and ultimately, it just keeps the dang thing out of your way. It's surprisingly flexible and durable with a good amount of give to it. If you don't require the mouse bungee, then you can easily remove it. However, at that point it just has the functionality of every other USB hub. 

The downside of this device is the price. It sits at $39.99, and you can get other USB hubs for a lot cheaper. What you're paying for here is the design and unique look of it, as well as the mouse cord management. It just looks cool sitting there near your monitor. If you don't care about looks and just want a USB hub, I can't recommend this product, but I'm a sucker for pretty PC peripherals, and the Roccat Apuri fits the bill. 

Tech Specs:

You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. He likes talking sports, video games, movies, and the stupidity of celebrities. Email at LLiebl@GameZone.com

Via: Review: The Roccat Apuri will make your desk look good, but for a price

Diablo 3 producer Rob Pardo: Direct the blame at me

Last week, Diablo 3 game director Jay Wilson stepped down from his role in order to move to a new project in Blizzard. What should've have been a respectable goodbye thread celebrating his departure from the Diablo 3 team and moving on to another project, quickly turned into a thread filled with hate. Coming to Wilson's defense was executive producer Rob Pardo.

"I know that the Battle.net forums have earned a reputation for rough justice, but I do not believe justice is being served by how people are speaking about Jay’s departure from Diablo 3," Pardo wrote in response to the negative posts on Wilson's departure.

I am very proud of the Diablo franchise and what the team was able to accomplish with Diablo 3. As a gamer I have enjoyed the game and played for many, many nights with friends and family. I’m not, however, going to use that as an excuse. The Diablo community deserves an even better game from Blizzard and we are committed to improving it. We have a talented team in place and have no intention of stopping work on Diablo 3 until it is the best game in the franchise.

I’m the only person in this thread who has actually worked with Jay. I hired Jay to head up the Diablo project and had the pleasure of getting to work with him, both in building the team and designing the game. He has great design instincts and has added so much to the franchise with his feel for visceral combat, boss battles, and an unparalleled knack for making it fun to smash bad guys. I’ve worked with many, many designers at Blizzard and Jay is one of the best. He has a great career at Blizzard ahead of him and I guarantee that you will enjoy Jay’s game designs in future Blizzard games.

A lot of the fan backlash had to do with a rough launch experience and many new features being implemented in Diablo 3 -- namely the auction houses, new leveling systems, and lack of PvP. But if there is one person who deserves the blame, Pardo insists it's him.

"If you still feel the need to dish out blame, then I would prefer you direct it at me. I was the executive producer on the project; I hired Jay and I gave him advice and direction throughout the development process," Pardo concluded. "I was ultimately responsible for the game we released and take full responsibility for the quality of the result."

Via: Diablo 3 producer Rob Pardo: Direct the blame at me

Tomb Raider multiplayer represents a quarter of Achievements

Come March 5, you'll have to gain a small portion of the Achievements in the new Tomb Raider through multiplayer.

Achievements in the main campaign reward players for collecting relics and documents, for example, according to Xbox360Achievements.org. Others tally kills and loots with different weapons on different enemies or animals. Some, like "Artilleryman" (20 enemy players killed with a turret in multiplayer) and "Master Blaster" (two multiplayer enemies killed with one explosive) relate only to multiplayer matches.

The game features three secret Achievements.

Crystal Dynamics recently announced that it would not be releasing a prelaunch demo for the game due to concerns over story spoilers. It doesn't plan to release an online or season pass, either.

Follow @wita on Twitter.

Via: Tomb Raider multiplayer represents a quarter of Achievements

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed getting exclusive characters for PC version

Console owners already had the chance to play Sega's kart racing mascot game, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, while PC owners will have to wait until January 31st.

The wait will be worth it though because it's getting exclusive characters to add to their rosters of racers. The Tactician from the Football Manager series, an Assassin from the Total War Shogun series and the Pyro, Heavy and Spy from Team Fortress 2 will all be playable racers when the game hits PC at the end of this month.

Steam is also giving 10% off the game if you pre-purchase it before it releases.

Via: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed getting exclusive characters for PC version

Weekly wrap-up 1/20/2013

As the beginning of 2013 continues to chug along, we’re getting more and more content to check out. Whether it’s a new movie, an upcoming video game, or the week’s hottest release, you’ll find coverage of the biggest posts of the last seven days. Check out our impressions of Disney Infinity, our look at Guillermo Del Toro’s Mama, and our review of DmC: Devil May Cry right here in our weekly wrap-up.

Reviews

Movie Review: A Haunted House is 2013's first scary movie

The only thing scary about this parody is how plain stupid and lame it is.

Review: Power Rangers Super Samurai strikes a low, cheap blow to the Kinect

Kinect-owning Power Rangers fans, stay away from this game.

Movie Review: Zero Dark Thirty is so much more than a "true" story

This flick isn’t impressive due to its source material; it’s impressive because it’s just a damn fine, well-made movie.

Review: DmC Devil May Cry's stylish action and stunning visuals make for the perfect reboot

This Devil May Cry revival delivers a great-looking, great-playing experience that hits all the right notes.

Review: The Roccat Apuri will make your desk look good, but for a price

If you’re willing to spend a bit of cash for this USB hub, you should totally go for it.

Movie Review: The Last Stand - He's back, I guess

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the big screen in a largely unimpressive action film.

Movie Review: Broken City is modern noir in NYC

A good plot and some cool noir themes make this movie worth watching.

Movie Review: Mama - fairy tale horror, presented by Guillermo Del Toro

It’s not Guillermo Del Toro’s strongest film, and the special effects are kind of bad, but Mama is still a pretty decent movie.

Previews

Dead Space 3 weapon crafting impressions

GameZone weighs in on the weapon creation in the upcoming Dead Space 3.

Dead Space 3 demo impressions

What’s the verdict on the Dead Space 3 demo?

Preview: Tomb Raider mixes puzzle, platforming and survival into one, gorgeous experience

We check out Lara Croft’s latest adventure, and we like what we’re seeing (and playing).

Hands-On: Getting our hands dirty with Tomb Raider's Multiplayer

GameZone gives you the skinny on the multiplayer component in Tomb Raider.

Impressions: Disney Infinity looks like a toy-collecting, world-creating good time

Disney Interactive’s next initiative has a lot of potential and may just offer practically limitless possibilities.

Preview: Aliens: Colonial Marines will finally give us the sequel we always wanted

So, like, this game just went gold, and we’re totally stoked to play it.

GZ Originals

Who cares if Master Chief shows his face in the next Halo?

Do people really care what Master Chief looks like? And if they do, does it really matter when his mug gets revealed?

Interview: Chatting Edge of Space with lead designer Jacob Crane

GameZone chats it up with developer Handyman Studios about the upcoming exploration-heavy 2D action-adventure game Edge of Space.

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Five reasons why Disney Infinity will be better than you might expect

Disney Infinity has all the potential in the world to go far, and it may do exactly that.

Week in Mobile: Temple Run 2, TREa HD, and the hidden expense of Final Fantasy

Temple Run 2 and Final Fantasy: All the Bravest are just two of the latest mobile titles that you should check out.

How do we fix the disconnect between video game journalists and gamers?

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Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.

Via: Weekly wrap-up 1/20/2013

Legend of Grimrock dev reveals sales numbers and teases what's next

Almost Human revealed that its debut game, Legend of Grimrock, has sold 600,000 copies — but the Finnish developer isn't done yet.

"We would’ve been happy with just one tenth of the sales numbers, so needless to say we’re very happy and the future of our company is secured for a long time," the developer wrote on its blog. "But great success doesn’t mean we haven’t lost our passion for making great games."

Last year was a busy one for the studio. Legend of Grimrock spent two weeks as a best-seller on Steam, and Almost Human released a Dungeon Editor as well as Mac and Linux versions.

Now it's sharing two screenshots of what's coming next. Could it be an iOS version? Almost Human previously announced plans to bring the game to mobile.

Follow @wita on Twitter.

Via: Legend of Grimrock dev reveals sales numbers and teases what's next