If you've been reading the site for a while then you're probably already somewhat familiar with Hideo: A Theatrical Concert of Music from Japanese Animation and Video Games, also known simply as Hideo.
This one of a kind show, described by NPR as 'A video game symphony on steroids' is the brainchild of creator Blair Baker who sought to create the ultimate experience for fans. After attending many video games concerts Blair decided that there was a lot more that these shows could be doing, and so she created Four Lights Productions to do just that.
Hideo combines an original play with live music from anime and video games the likes of Final Fantasy, Megaman, Noir, Wolf's Rain, Chrono Cross and many more. Each song is accompanied by animated projections courtesy of artist Dan Howard.
The world of Hideo is one that is ever expanding via smaller performances known as Overtures (that feature new storylines, characters, and music) as well as original graphic novels. By bringing together live music with theatre, art, stage combat, audience participation, and more Hideo becomes more than just a concert: it becomes an experience unlike any other.
What's more the entire show is entirely by fans for fans. Every single person working on the show is a fan themselves, whether of anime, video games, or the music they feature.
Here's a small taste of what Hideo has to offer:
Hideo began in 2010 and has had two major performances, one in Berkeley and one in San Luis Obispo. Beyond the main stage shows Team Hideo has made its way around the anime convention circuit, even performing as the opening act for Fanime's Masquerade in 2011.
While Hideo won't be an official Fanime event this year, the show will be taking place right across the street from the San Jose convention at the Montgomery Theater so whether you're a con attendee or not you'll get a chance to see it.
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, will be attending Fanime, or are just a huge fan of live music and theatre then this is one event you won't want to miss. There are four chances to see the show, 2pm and 8pm on both Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th.
So if you're reading this site, you already know about the review I talk about in the beginning. But then I move on to talk about a bargain bin-ish purchase that I sort of kind of regret (though it's okay, because the game was purchased with a GameStop gift card I got for filling out online surveys, so it was technically free). And I conclude with initial impressions of a brand new action RPG that I got a review copy of and some complaining about how publishers always seem to send review copies with only a day or two before the embargo lifts like you can play a massive RPG in that kind of time without having an actual life! Enjoy this week's ramblings!
You know, if anyone was wondering what to get me for a present, SEGA and Gearbox Software announced today that Aliens: Colonial Marines now has an official release date of my birthday. And Abe Lincoln's. That's February 12, in case you didn't know your (allegedly gay) presidents!
"I am thrilled to announce the definitive launch date for Aliens: Colonial Marines," said Randy Pitchford, President of Gearbox Software. "Aliens: Colonial Marines is the culmination of a life-time of inspiration from the films and relentless passion and drive from the exceptionally talented development team behind the scenes."
This also reminded me that I somehow never wrote up what I saw of the new Aliens game at PAX East! An odd game to let fall through the cracks, for sure! Basically, Aliens: Colonial Marines is positioned as a cannonical sequel to the movie, Aliens. I was told that if they do their job right, the game will somehow make the much-maligned Alien 3 a better movie. (Personally, I have a soft spot for the relentlessly grim third chapter in the Alien series... it was with four that it went off the rails for me) Heck, they even got master designer Syd Mead involved in the game's production to design new locations. They also used designs from the Sulaco that he'd created for Aliens that weren't used in the film.
What I saw of the FPS in the video presentation looked spectacular. The graphics were gorgeous. The action was tense, frenetic and non-stop. About the only thing I didn't really like was the voice actor for the main character. He was a little weak... and if he's the main character, that could be a problem.
But enjoy this brand new trailer as you wait until February 12, 2013 to play Aliens: Colonial Marines on your Xbox 360, PS3 or PC. (There's a Wii U version in the works as well, but its release date has yet to be determined.)
Shorter podcast this week as I don't have a major topic. Nope, just playing some new games. One is only natural, considering last week's topic, and the other came as a complete surprise to me. Then there's a minor complaint as well as a skeptical possible future purchase. Still not sold, yet. What am I talking about? Well, you'll just have to watch and find out — I'm not going to put the whole thing in text! It would defeat the purpose of making the dang videos!
The internet: To its proponents, it is a marvel of the modern age. Casting aside the old means of information distribution, the immaterial, collective mind of the masses promises a sort of constructive anarchy: one in which all is accessible with the click of a mouse, and the common man can speak truth to power with nothing more than the staccato tapping of a keyboard.
To the rest of us, it is a turgid cesspit that must be destroyed at all costs. Indulging the most vile perversions - be they physical, intellectual, or what modern psychology calls "sexy perversions" - this "progress" of which futurists once spoke has become our undoing. Indeed, the internet is a sump of depravity, so insidious in its nature, and so pervasive in its influence, as to bring even the most innocent mind under its spell. We once dreamed of the stars; now we flutter about the social landscape - rudderless, constantly-distracted servants of the carnal urge - without even a moment's care for what white-haired men call " traditional family values."
So while you enjoy you lolcats and silly flash videos, pay no heed to the Luciferian visage in your computer screen - grinning a fanged grin and clapping its cloven hooves together with glee - but make no mistake: you, poor wretch of this foul Year of our Lord, 2012, are complicit in the doom of civilization.
For shame.
Thankfully, there exists some hope on the horizon: a bearded, yet boyish figure that we in the know call "Tim Schafer." Indeed, this hobbit-like creature of mirth promises to deliver us from moral decay, in the form of the fabled "documentary," and ongoing series that will follow the development of Double Fine Adventure. Those who backed the project have already been made privy to its existence; for those who didn't, the video has been made available on YouTube, courtesy of 2 Player Productions.
Having already seen it, I can confirm that the installment is a rather heartwarming tale. Waxing nostalgia on classic, point-and-click adventure titles, while outlining the challenge of developing such games with mainstream publishing, the video follows Double Fine Adventure's Kickstarter campaign, from its inception to its satisfying conclusion. I'll not spoil the rest, since it is highly recommended viewing: Schafer and Gilbert are infectiously charming, and the kids at 2 Player Productions have a talent for capturing the story in a rather sentimental way.
So for those who have yet to see the Double Fine's video update, click above and enjoy its feel-good loveliness. To the rest, happy Friday!
Sent in as a tip by reader Steve J., the above video mixes certain nostalgic charm, for those of us who recall the SNES as a most lovable platform, with what appear to be varying doses of photography and Google Maps-esque images. Personally, I would be rather amused to see pixelated street fighters roaming about.
If you happen to enjoy the music, you can thank Triplefox. The album, Level Up! OST is available for free download (with some Creative Commons licenses for the songs)right here.
As much as narcissism compels me to credit myself for Elder Scrolls Online - the result of emailing Bethesda a pdf of a fifty dollar bill, with a subject line reading "Unlimited free money in exchange MMO" - it's disappointingly evident that Bethseda has its own plans for an "unlimited money" machine, in the form of - you guessed it - an Elder Scrolls MMO.
During an interview with Game Informer, Creative Director Paul Sage stated that gamers can expect Elder Scrolls Online to deliver get the same kind of experience to its single-player counterpart, including the "distraction-based gameplay" god d*mn you obsessive-compulsive disorder that many of us have come to know all too well. When asked about how the intrinsically "gamey" aspect of MMOs will clash with the immersive aspects of games like Oblivion and Skyrim, Sage could only say that various options are being considered. Stressing that it is too early to give a concrete answer, that which "works" for the player experience will take priority, whatever that ultimately entails.
As for the "endgame," players that have reached the level cap (currently undisclosed) will not simply fritter away their time on raiding; rather, the team is working on a mechanic that will allow max-level characters to advance beyond the previous "end" to dungeons, effectively adding more story to a particular scenario.
That's all for now, but for those excited about the prospect of Elder Scrolls Online, we'll keep you posted as the news comes in. In the meantime, check out the full interview with Paul Sage over at Game Informer!
Well, this is just impressive. YouTube user ShanesDominoez has posted this rather spectacular dominoes tribute to Nintendo that contains over 30,000 dominoes. The only problem is that amidst all the Nintendo properties (and their theme tunes!), they've thrown in Sonic The Hedgehog as well. Their justification is that they've been playing Sonic games on Nintendo consoles since the early 2000's, but I still don't know if the little blue dynamo really belongs here.
Like probably all of you (or at least most!), I saw The Avengers this past weekend. And because of that, I had super heroes on the brain, so this week's podcast is all about super hero videogames. From the highs of Batman: Arkham Asylum to the lows of Superman 64 and everything in between. Well, not everything, obviously. I can't cover every single super hero game ever made in 10 minutes. In fact, after I finished this week's video, I realized that I'd forgotten to mention the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series, which I enjoyed very much on my PSP. So much so, I'm thinking of looking for a used copy and dusting off that old thing once more!
So, after ruminating on the Mass Effect 3 ending for a week... yeah, still not happy. But it's okay, because I have an awesome new game to talk about — though I save most of my opinions for the review! Oh, and I'm not entirely sold on Xenoblade Chronicles... though I've only just started. We'll see. Jury's still out on that one.
That's right, Sony's mascot fighter is a real, actual PlayStation 3 game that is coming out. Developed by SuperBot Entertainment, PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale is a massive fighting game featuring all kinds of Sony characters from Kratos to Parappa. That's right, Parappa the Rapper. Dude, he studied under Master Onion. Kick! Punch!
Just watch the video interview with game director Omar Kendall from SuperBot above, and you'll get glimpses of some of the characters that are going to be featured in the game. And obviously there's way more to be announced later on as they slowly tease us with more and more information about this game. It looks super-ridiculous and super-fun!
Last week, Crytek teased the denizens of Gaia with a whopping nineteen seconds of footage from the forthcoming pixel-fest, Crysis 3. From this, we gathered that the game will feature an environment, running, a large dome, and a protagonist shooting off-screen at what one assumes will be an enemy. Now, Crytek has doted upon gamers with something a bit more substantial, in the form of the full, 2:13 trailer for Crysis 3. As one might expect, it's quite pretty.
According to the Crysis 3site, the game sees you controlling Prophet, a familiar non-face for veterans of the series, "on a quest to rediscover his humanity and exact brutal revenge." The world in which you find yourself has a vaguely post-apocalyptic look, but not in the Fallout sense: Rather, Crysis 3 depicts a New York largely reclaimed by nature. Inside the "nanodome" that envelopes the city, you, clad in your snazzy nanosuit, and wielding your trusty bow (naturally, there will be other weapons), are given the task of hunting the alien scourge.
Sadly, that's about all the information we have on Crytek's latest eyegasm. While one might feel the slightest fluttering of annoyance at the game's setting -- yes Crytek, your fondness for foliage is positively legendary -- it's a departure from post-apocalyptic (or anything in a similar vein) fare: namely, the bleak, desolate, "every color in the rainbow, as long as it's brown" aesthetic. As much as I treasure the desert hellscape, every now and again a boy wants to kick back, crack an imaginary beer, and shoot some vibrant, well-lit alien baddies, beneath the web of vines that was once the Empire State Building.
What do you think, gamers? Sound off in the comments section below!
Crysis 3 will be released "Spring 2013" for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
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