Star Wars is celebrated worldwide, and fans of the franchise put together some of the most spirited cosplay you'll see at a con. Boba Fett, Leia's Bounty Hunter disguise, and an Imperial Scout Trooper make for a delightful trio at London Comic Con.
Bill Paxton, an Emmy-nominated actor who's had prominent roles in films such as Apollo 13, Aliens, and Titanic, is in talk to join the cast of the upcoming BBC drama about GTA developer Rockstar Games.
The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which writes that Paxton is "in negotiations" to take on the antagonistic role of Jack Thompson. A Miami attorney, Thompson made headlines in the mid-2000s as an outspoken opponent of violence in video games; he also attempted to prevent the release of Rockstar-developed titles such as Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV. Thompson was disbarred in 2008 for his behavior during those court proceedings.
Earlier this month, the Hollywood Reporter revealed details that Daniel Radcliffe, known for his starring role in the Harry Potter films, is in talks to take on the role of Rockstar CEO Sam Houser.
Rockstar is not actively involved in the production, and former writers for earlier GTA games have expressed some trepidations that the project may be overblown compared to the true experience of development.
But in other film-making GTA news, the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V released today, which includes a host of in-game video editing tools. That makes it possible for you to create your own personal documentary of GTA from within GTA.
Meta.
The best twin stick shooters turn tension and survival into an accessible kind of thrill. There's something inherently satisfying about flying around and avoiding being hit as you shoot at the increasingly numerous ships. Threading the needle with your ship as you narrowly cut through a tight blob of enemies is exhilarating, and the sheer act of moving the other joystick in order to fire your weapon makes the barrier to entry almost nonexistent. Because of the simple concept and ease of playability, twin stick shooters occupy a flexible design space, one that can hold any number of new ideas and concepts effortlessly. Unfortunately, while We Are Doomed gets what's so appealing about the genre and applies it to make a satisfying shooter in its own right, it fails to justify its existence, thanks to a lack of new ideas and predictable enemy placement.
We Are Doomed makes an excellent first impression, thanks to its striking audiovisual presentation. The enemies and animations all combine to form the same kind of strikingly jagged, abstract aesthetic that was featured in Everyday Shooter, while the music and backgrounds grant a trippy touch of synesthesia similar to what you'd find in a Jeff Minter game. And though We Are Doomed only ever features one aesthetic tone, it fuses with the game's mechanics and progression in small, smart ways. The swirling pink and purple of the main stage juxtaposes with the level's boundaries, which are marked by a starry, spacy backdrop. When you clear a wave, the pinkness wipes away for a moment as space engulfs it before it returns to deliver a new round of foes to clear. Your laser weapon looks big and powerful, almost as if it's ripping at the edges.
The Superbeam: Bigger, badder, and purpler. Movement is as smooth and effortless as a twin stick shooter should be, and enemies are clearly visible. It's easy to learn their particular patterns quickly (though many just bimble around aimlessly). But most importantly, shooting things feels good. The giant beam not only looks impressive, but it feels powerful when you're slicing through enemies. You don't immediately destroy them when they touch your beam, as they can withstand maybe half a second of direct exposure, but you can feel that resistance as you wait for the moment when they break, and that makes the moment of destruction all the more satisfying. The superbeam is the satisfying pinnacle of the action, letting you fire an even longer, more powerful version of your beam for a short time. The superbeam feels amazing, since the resistance you felt from the vanilla beam disappears when you cut through entire blobs of foes as if they were butter.
We Are Doomed's bells and whistles are silenced, however, when you look past its presentation. The game can be played in an endless mode or in a finite waves mode that features thirty scripted waves of enemies to survive. It features only one weapon: A beam that constantly protrudes from your ship, but only reaches so far, like a lance. Gathering flashing cubes increases your score modifier, and also grants you access to the superbeam. And that's it. You get no alternate weapons beyond the beam, no smart bombs that let you relieve the pressure when you're about to get overwhelmed, and no other fancy options in your bag of tricks. Though there is some charm in the challenge of playing with a limited toolset, here it makes for a flat experience. All you're doing is carving through swarms of enemies in one specific way each and every time.
We Are Doomed offers very few modes, putting a heavy emphasis on scoring. The big problem with We Are Doomed is how much it limits itself to its detriment. Not only do you get only one weapon, but the game also does nothing interesting with the environment or enemies. You end up shooting things like tiny squids, triangular missiles, and giant disco ball-like circles, but all they do is try to bump into you or shoot you. We Are Doomed features some non-enemy threats, but they also fall under the banner of ramming or shooting. There's so much potential for a wide variety of different encounters. Even genre stalwart Geometry Wars employed devices such as the black holes that messed with the gravity of the playing field. But We Are Doomed is unfortunately content merely to crowd you until you die.
That's the frustrating thing about We Are Doomed: Despite all these issues, you can have fun with it. Because Vertex Pop took so much care in making everything feel right, nothing gets in the way of your enjoyment. You'll still remember the near-deaths you deftly flew your way out of. You'll still panic as the blobs of enemies cluster in and choke every available escape route until there's nothing but death left. And you'll remember the elation when you clear all thirty waves. The problem is that you can get those exact experiences and more elsewhere, whereas We Are Doomed doesn't really care to stake its own claim in the crowded shooter space. You're not going to see the surprising environmental twists of the Geometry Wars games or the charming DIY spirit of Everyday Shooter. In reality, you're just playing Twin Stick Shooter: The Game.
Even a solid game needs some spice, and We Are Doomed never gives you much. You will certainly notice how good it feels to play the game, and the presentation is top notch, but it never really gives you a reason to care. Sure, you're thrown a bunch of stages including about seven different enemy types, but when the bump and shoot behaviors wear thin, you aren't left with anything more to look forward to. Soon, the only thing that's doomed is your waning interest.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is set to release next month on May 19, but will it be worth picking up the game early? We already know Wild Hunt could be over 200 hours long, and that it will include "dynamic beard growth," but the real deciding factor generally comes down to what you get out of the box and what you get if you pre-order.
Regardless of when you order the game, the standard edition includes quite a bit of content:
And we've seen the $150 collector's edition before, but here's a quick look at the more expensive box.
And everyone who purchases the game, pre-order or not, will have access to free DLC. The team plans on releasing 16 DLC packs total, with a new bundle available each week after launch. The first is the Temerian Armor Set, which includes horse armor, and a Beard and Hairstyle Set for Geralt.
Preorder from GameStop for an "exclusive Witcher keychain." The tchotchke will either ship with your game if you order online or be available in store when the game is purchased.
Amazon pre-orders will net you "the Amazon exclusive Witcher comic created by Paul Tobin, with art by Max Bertolini and covers by Joe Querio." According to the Amazon listing, "This 48-page hardcover comic describes the events preceding the Killing Monsters trailer."
Best Buy pre-orders get access to the SteelBook case pictured above.
But if you decide to forego physical editions, digital orders come with their own set of pre-order incentives and perks.
The list of perks for the Steam version include:
GOG.com is running a similar digital promotion, but with a few specific additions:
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt launches on May 19 for PC, Xbox One, and PS4. And for even more information about the game prior to its release, you can read GameSpot's previous Witcher coverage here.
Grand Theft Auto V has, at long last, finally been released on PC, but some unfortunate gamers are encountering issues that are preventing them from being able to play. At least a few of those problems have workarounds, which we've outlined below.
If you've transferred your GTA Online progress from the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 versions, you may lose your saved cars if you haven't played since December 2013. Unfortunately, to prevent this from happening, Rockstar says you'll need to log in to your character on console before initiating a transfer on PC.
As explained by Rockstar:
Once you leave GTA Online, an orange save icon will appear in the bottom right corner. Once that disappears, your progress will be saved, and you're free to initiate the transfer to PC. There's no indication that Rockstar will be able to offer a fix that doesn't involve first saving your progress on console.
If you already transferred your character and have lost vehicles, Rockstar suggests you submit a support request.
Your Windows account name could be to blame if the game hangs while downloading an update or is giving you errors like, "The Rockstar update service is unavailable (code 1)." This is because Windows account names that contain characters other than a number (0-9) or letter (uppercase or lowercase A-Z) will prevent GTA V from being able to install and run properly. This has resulted in the bizarre situation of Rockstar's support site hosting a list entitled, "Supported Characters At Launch for Windows Usernames for GTAV PC."
Rockstar is already working on a fix for this issue. In the meantime, you can deal with it by creating a new user account with administrator privileges and a name that consists only of the aforementioned characters. Unfortunately, simply renaming your account won't suffice if you already have an unsupported character in your name.
There's not yet any word on when the fix will be released, but Rockstar's support page will be updated with details when they are available, as well as with instructions on how to transfer your progress from a temporary Windows account to your permanent one.
If you don't have Windows Media Player installed on your computer, you're likely running into an error during GTA V's installation that reads, "Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system. Please install Windows Media Player, then retry the installation."
You can install it by following these instructions, courtesy of Rockstar:
Another problem brought to light by Rockstar's support site involves Rockstar Social Club. There are multiple error codes produced by the same issue, including the following:
If you're receiving any of these, your best bet is to manually reinstall Social Club from right here. It's recommended that you ensure GTA V is not running when you do so--check to make sure that GTA5.exe, PlayGTAV.exe, and GTAVLauncher.exe aren't running in the task manager--and that you have administrator privileges.
Should that not fix the problem, Rockstar outlines some additional steps you can follow:
The classic adventure game series Broken Sword, might well be making its way to the PlayStation 4. Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse was initially funded through Kickstarter and published on the PlayStation Vita, PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. A listing on the German version of Amazon shows the game with PS4 branded boxart and a June 26 release date.
The listing shows a price tag of €29.99, or just over $30. According to Google translate, this release is being labeled as a "premium edition" and would most likely include both of the released episodes. The Steam release runs $25 and includes Episode and 1 and 2.
GameSpot reviewed Broken Sword V close to its release in 2013, awarding it an 8 out of 10 and noting that the game was "immediately charming."
We've reached out to the game's developer, Revolution Software, asking them to comment on the posting and will update when we have more information.
Star Citizen, that ludicrously successful crowd-funded project, isn't just a space flight simulator. The developer, Roberts Space Industries is also creating a first-person shooter to accompany the space combat segments. In a new developer blog post, the team outlined some of its key changes to the FPS formula to improve "realism."
Standard FPS games, the post says only have two combat stances. One holds the player avatar's gun near the shoulder at all times while the other simulates careful aiming down the sights of the gun. Roberts says this isn't realistic and instead proposes a three stance system to improve balance.
The HUD in lowered stance. With the new system, players will have to manage a gun in a lowered position, in a ready position, and in an "aim down sights" position. The addition of a third stance allows for a clearer distinction between players that have a gun ready to fire at a moment's notice (as they are in the typical first-person shooter), and those that have their gun at ease to making moving around an area easier. This more accurately simulates real combat stances and will force players to be much slower and more careful when engaging in combat. That sounds complicated, but Roberts says that most of this system will be handled automatically.
"Sprinting or using contextual navigation initiates the Lowered stance," the post says. "Moving slowly and deliberately keeps your weapon in the Ready stance. When in the Lowered stance (entered by sprinting or using contextual navigation), pressing the Fire button will bring you back into the Ready stance. When in the Ready stance, pressing the Aim button brings you into the Aim Down Sight stance. Releasing the held button returns the weapon to the Ready stance."
The HUD while looking through the sights. Roberts is also adding a new system for breathing and stamina to help reinforce a system of stat trade-offs between different kinds of weapons and armor. Heavier gear will drain players of stamina more, causing them to breath more heavily which, in turn, makes their aim more erratic. Players, much like real soldiers, will have to be careful so that they don't end up tiring their avatars. For the best aim, they'll also need to fire at the tops and bottoms of breaths to ensure that the chest isn't moving when they're shooting.
Roberts says that this will provide more balance and a refocused approach to shooting in games. "This is intended to slow the pace of combat, so that it feels more tactical and reinforces our intention that survival takes consideration, rather than random firing."
These features will be included along with the introduction of the FPS module code-named "Star Marine." There is no concrete date for Star Marine.
In any case, Star Citizen has raised more than $77 million, making it by far the most successful crowdfunding project of any kind to-date.
Lorne Lanning, head of Oddworld Inhabitants, has confirmed in a Twitch stream that Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus will be getting a remake, just as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee did last year with Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty.
According to Lanning, this Abe's Exoddus remake is still very early in development. Its existence was something decided by fans, who voted on what game they would like to see next after New 'n' Tasty launched. And just as New 'n' Tasty's name was decided by fan vote, so too will the name of the Abe's Exoddus remake.
Lanning added that marking for this remake will be stronger than that of New 'n' Tasty, and its success will directly determine the quality of future Oddworld games, which aim to have the scale and quality of a triple-A game. Finally, Lanning revealed that New 'n' Tasty received 2.4 million downloads as a free PlayStation Plus game.
Thanks, VG247.
Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine will come bundled together in the Witcher 3 Expansion Pass.
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Microsoft addressed Xbox One energy consumption concerns in the wake of a recent Natural Resources Defense Council report that blasted the Xbox One's Instant-On mode,
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The Masters, one of the most high-profile events in all of golf, will not appear in this year's Rory McIlroy PGA Tour. That was tough news to hear for fans of the sport who wanted to virtually walk the hallowed grounds of Augusta National and compete for a Green Jacket.
But golf video game fans can enjoy a Masters-style experience through The Golf Club, an unlicensed golf game developed by HB Studios.
Polygon has the story.
Using the game's course creator tool, dedicated gamer Craig LeVasseur created his own version of Augusta National, calling it "Magnolia National." The course, available for all to play for free, is a pretty faithful recreation of Augusta National.
While there's no Jim Nantz on the call or the iconic Masters theme music, Magnolia National does feature Augusta's famous holes and surroundings, including Amen Corner. Check out the video above and some images in the gallery below for a closer look.
You can find Magnolia National in The Golf Club today by selecting "All Courses" and then searching for "Magnolia." The course is available on all platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
And if you're an Xbox fan on the fence about picking up The Golf Club, the game is now available for just $11.55 through the Xbox Spring Sale, but that deal ends tomorrow, so you'll need to act quickly.
The real world Masters tournament began on Thursday and the championship round is tomorrow, April 12.
Via: Polygon
The open beta for Creative Assembly's upcoming free-to-play strategy game Total War Battles: Kingdom is now available on PC. You can download the game right now through Steam
Total War Battles: Kingdom, which was announced in December 2014, is described as a "persistent world strategy game." It's set during the turn of the 10th century, as mankind emerges from the Dark Ages.
Overall, the game aims to offer "rich, bite-sized Total War experiences." Watch the trailer above to see more of the PC game and how it works.
Previously, Total War Battles: Kingdom was available on PC through a limited closed beta. A Mac version of the game, along with a tablet edition, will launch later this year, though exact release dates have not been announced.
Creative Assembly's goal for Total War Battles: Kingdom is to allow you to play Total War wherever you are. "With one persistent world, players will be able to continue their campaign across multiple devices, at home, work, or out and about," the developer said.
For a closer look at Total War Battles: Kingdom, check out the image gallery below.
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[UPDATE] According to a tweet from developer Powerhoof, Valve is on board with Crawl using a Gabe Newell character as a boss.
The original story is below.
Indie game Crawl is adding a secret new boss character: Valve managing director Gabe Newell.
Developer Powerhoof recently revealed the new addition to the game, which has been in early access on Steam since last year, with an animated GIF showing off Newell (below). Because this was seen by much of the world on April Fools' day, this was presumed by many to be a joke. In fact, it isn't, as designer Barney Cumming has clarified that the blog post announcement was actually posted on April 2 in Melbourne, Australia.
Cumming described the addition of Newell to the game as having "been at the top of my list since the very start." If all goes according to plan, he'd be added in Crawl's next update.
However, Powerhoof evidently didn't ask either Newell or Valve for permission to use the former's likeness; it was only after it began attracting the attention of the media that Cumming emailed Newell for the thumbs up.
In the email, which Cumming shared on Powerhoof's blog, he presents the case for adding Newell. This includes the fact that he would be Crawl's most powerful character, an exchange of pictures so that Cumming's likeness can be used in Valve's games, and an offer to get the developers of Crossy Road to add Newell's favorite animal to the game. Cumming also argues, "The transformation implies your more recent bearded look is actually your Super Saiyan form."
Oh, and he says "please."
"I always got the impression Gabe would be cool with stuff like this, but when a big company is involved who knows what kind of crazy reasons they'll have, so at least I can say I tried!" Cumming said of the email.
Newell has yet to respond, at least publicly, nor has Valve responded to GameSpot's request for comment.
Crawl is a multiplayer dungeon crawler where one player assumes the role of the hero while others control traps and monsters. At this point, its multiplayer is limited to local play only, though online support is described as "a possibility."
Borderlands 2 Today's best deal is the Borderlands 2 PlayStation Vita bundle, which Newegg's eBay account is selling for $170--less than the system alone normally costs.
Also from Newegg on eBay is the Super Mario 3D World/Nintendo Land Wii U bundle for $260.
Target Cartwheel (the company's mobile coupon app) is offering 10 percent off all electronics right now, a discount that applies to both video games and video game systems.
Groupon has manufacturer-refurbished PS4s for $330. If you'd prefer to buy from Rakuten, you can get a refurbished PS4 for $347. And eBay has them for $325.
Best Buy is offering an Xbox One controller for $10 with the purchase of the $350 Master Chief Collection bundle. The store will also take $20 off the price of a one-year Xbox Live Gold membership when you buy any Xbox 360 or Xbox One.
Below you'll find the rest of today's best deals divided by platform:
Walmart has the Last of Us Remastered PS4 bundle for $439 with a bonus controller of your choice.
Staples is offering that same Last of Us Remastered PS4 bundle, but with six months of PlayStation Plus, for $395.
The sixth week of Sony's Spring Fever event has begun, and it's focused on Dragon Age games and DLC. PlayStation Plus members can get Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II for $10 each, as well as Dragon Age: Inquisition for $36. You can find the full lineup of the PSN games included in Spring Fever here.
Other PS4 game deals:
PlayStation Plus' free games for April include Tower of Guns, Killzone: Mercenary, and Dishonored, and are available now.
GameStop has launched a new offer where you can get a new Xbox One for $225 when you trade in a select PS3 or Xbox 360.
Walmart has the Xbox One Master Chief Collection bundle with an extra controller for $389.
Best Buy is offering a free, no-contract AT&T Lumia 635 with the purchase of the $350 Master Chief Collection Xbox One bundle.
Get $50 in Xbox gift cards for $45 at Best Buy.
Forza Horizon 2's Fast & Furious spinoff is available now for free through today, April 10.
Microsoft has two sales running simultaneously: its usual Deals With Gold promotion and the Xbox Spring Sale. Between the two, you can get Forza Horizon 2 for $48, Shadow of Mordor's season pass for $10, Alien: Isolation's season pass for $15, and much more. The Spring Sale has also expanded for the weekend, bringing The Golf Club down to $11.55 and Just Dance 2015 to $30.
Other Xbox One game deals:
The free Games with Gold titles for April are available now and include Child of Light on Xbox One and Gears of War: Judgment on Xbox 360. 360 owners will be getting twice as many games as usual this month, with a total of four on the way.
Humble Indie Bundle 14 is now available, and offers select games (including Pixel Piracy) at any price. Pay $10 or more, and you'll get several more games, including Outlast, Torchlight II, and Shadow Warrior.
There's also a new Humble Weekly Bundle featuring digital versions of tabletop games like Ticket to Ride and Catan. However, if you spend $32 more, you'll get a physical Humble Tabletop Box that consists of playing cards, dice, and more.
Rockstar games are featured in a Humble Store sale, bringing Max Payne 3 down to $5, the GTA Complete Pack to $10, Bully: Scholarship Edition to $3, and more.
Blizzard's online store is offering World of Warcraft for $10, and the Warlords of Draenor expansion for $37.49.
Green Man Gaming is currently offering discounts on orders for some of the year's biggest releases. You can get Grand Theft Auto V for $46.79, Batman: Arkham Knight for $43.79, Battlefield Hardline for $50, Magicka 2 for $11.24, The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited for $46.79, or Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward for $30. You can find all the discounts in Green Man Gaming's VIP page, for which you can sign up for free.
You can get 22 percent off at Green Man Gaming with the code: SAVE22-OVERHO-LIDAYS
The original Syndicate is free on Origin.
Other PC game deals:
Nintendo has kicked off the Super Spring Sale, discounting a variety of eShop games: Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is $28, Pikmin 3 is $42, Golden Sun is $5.59, and more.
If you don't mind a refurbished system, Nintendo's online store has a Wii U bundle with Nintendo Land for $200, or Nintendo Land and Super Mario 3D World for $225.
Nintendo's Super Spring Sale also includes 3DS games: Mario Kart 7 is $21, Tomodachi Life is $24.49, Kirby: Triple Deluxe is $24.49, and more.
Walmart is offering a New 3DS XL bundle with Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and your choice of select Amiibo figurines for $230. Alternatively, the retailer has a New 3DS XL bundle with your choice of select games for $229. Eligible games include Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Code Name: Steam, and quite a few more.
Get Pokemon Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and your choice of Groudon or Kyogre collectible figurine for $31 at Walmart.
Amazon is selling the Wi-Fi version of PlayStation Vita for $170.
Amazon prices are accurate as of publishing, but can fluctuate occasionally throughout the day.
GameSpot's gaming deals posts always highlight the best deals we can find regardless of retailer. We also occasionally use retailer affiliate links, which means that purchasing goods through those links helps support all the great content (including the deals posts) you find for free here on the site.
Danny looks back at the bitterly divisive video game violence debate, and draws comparisons to the current politically heated discussions surrounding games.
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Halo Online modders fight Microsoft to let the rest of the world play, while Google try to get you to pay to watch YouTube ads-free.
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Xenoblade Chronicles eD launches today on Nintendo 3DS XL (the first game that requires Nintendo's new handheld to run), and we were able to send a few questions over to the game's developers in Japan. Check out the Q&A below that covers Xenoblade's original launch on Wii, what it took to bring the game to a portable device, and a few details about the upcoming Wii U-exclusive Xenoblade Chronicles X.
Answers were provided by Testuya Takahashi (the head of developer Monolith Soft), representatives from Monster Games (the company that worked on the 3DS port), and representatives from Nintendo SPD (an internal Nintendo developer that is lending support to Monolith).
GameSpot: The original Xenoblade Chronicles took a long time to come out in the West. Did Monolith originally intend to release the game worldwide, or was this going to be a Japan-only game?
Takahashi: This is just my personal point of view, but I think it's pretty difficult to think about markets or potential acceptance levels in a nation outside your own, with different people, different cultures and different histories -- someplace you've never even lived in. Even if you try to consider it, it's a matter of fact that you won't be able to understand all of the factors completely, and if you provide a game based on that kind of armchair thinking, you'll always wind up off the mark.
However, we are also all human beings, all living creatures, and we must all have some common points of contact or things we can all empathize with. Thus, from the time we worked on the Japanese version, we planned out the game's specs with the idea that it would be sold overseas, picking up those common points one at a time so we could reply to the demand.
What is it that you think made Xenoblade Chronicles such a critical and commercial success here in the US?
Takahashi: I think it all comes down to "empathy." As I wrote above, it may not be impossible for Japanese people to understand what people in the West feel and like, but it does take a fair amount of time. Empathy, however, is something we can all recognize. Those of us in Japan can be moved by, and can empathize with, things like Hollywood films, dramas and novels written by Western authors. I personally love the TV dramas I watched as a kid, like Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Starsky & Hutch; I looked forward to seeing them broadcast every week.
Even if we remastered it for Wii U, my concern was that people like that would still avoid playing it.
The things that we're moved by, the points that we can empathize with, are the same. So we decided it'd be fine if we just made something we could honestly be moved by and find fun; there was no need to fiddle around too much thinking about what we would need to achieve success outside Japan. That was a philosophy we took pains not to stray from as we proceeded with development.
What drove the decision to bring Xenoblade Chronicles to 3DS instead of a remaster on Wii U (like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD)?
Nintendo SPD: Xenoblade Chronicles features a ton of depth and volume, something that earned it a lot of high praise from the people who played the Wii release. I think a lot of people began to take an interest in this game after hearing all of that praise, too. However, it's not unheard of for this game to take around 100 hours just to complete it normally, so even if people take an interest, I think some of them would give up the idea of playing it, thinking to themselves: "No way do I have the free time to sit in front of a TV and play this game for 100 hours."
Even if we remastered it for Wii U, my concern was that people like that would still avoid playing it. Remaking it for a portable system, however, will let them play it whenever they like, at home or outside, and we thought that would lead to more people trying it out. We considered making it for the original Nintendo 3DS at first, but if we wanted to achieve nearly the same quality as you saw on the original Wii version, the New Nintendo 3DS XL became all but required.
Would it have been possible to run this on the regular 3DS? If no, what did the New 3DS open up?
Monster Games: We initially tried to get the game to run on the regular Nintendo 3DS system. After months of work, we realized that the game was too big and would perform too slowly. At this point we learned about New Nintendo 3DS XL hardware and were excited to learn about the faster CPU and extra RAM. This immediately made the project seem possible, so we continued working on the conversion.
The team had to rebuild all the graphical assets while making sure it still looked as good as the original game.
Even with the system's extra capabilities, it was still a challenging project and we spent many months working on optimizations. Given how hard it was to convert the game for New Nintendo 3DS XL hardware, we can easily imagine that the port to the regular Nintendo 3DS hardware would have ended up far from the quality game play that the original Wii version had even if we had given it our all.
Were there any particular technological or UI hurdles to bringing the game to 3DS?
Monster Games: The biggest technical hurdle when porting between Wii and New Nintendo 3DS XL is that the two systems have very different capabilities. All these differences kept the project from being a simple port. Every part of the game had to be reworked to account for the capabilities of New Nintendo 3DS XL hardware. For example, New Nintendo 3DS XL has a different GPU architecture, so none of the art assets could be directly used. The team had to rebuild all the graphical assets while making sure it still looked as good as the original game. Each world was carefully optimized by the art staff and we needed to invent new techniques to render the large scenes where the player can see far into the distance. It wasn't until late in the project that we finally were able to make sure the frame rate was good everywhere.
Regarding the UI design, our big challenge was to maintain the look and feel of the original game, while taking advantage of the dual screens. There are hundreds of screens in the game and the design had to work for many languages. The design team spent over a month mocking up various UI designs until we got one that seemed to work well. Once we converted the screens to run on New Nintendo 3DS XL, we brushed up the artwork to fit the small screens and fine-tuned the placement of the elements. Given the number of screens and languages, this process took a long time and we were working on improving and fine-tuning details all the way to the end of the project.
Without revealing any spoilers, what can fans of Xenoblade Chronicles look forward to when the franchise comes to Wii U? Will it feel familiar for returning fans, or will it be a departure from what was put together in Chronicles?
Takahashi: I think Xenoblade Chronicles X will have a different play feel from the first Xenoblade Chronicles game. Xenoblade Chronicles is a pretty linear game, but Xenoblade Chronicles X is non-linear, and I think a lot of the gameplay will depend on that.
Xenoblade Chronicles' core thrust is centered around its story, but Xenoblade Chronicles X is shaping up to be a game with more focus placed on action elements that take advantage of the open world instead of the story aspects. However, both games will retain a common feel based on the core elements that serve as the foundation for the series. It may feel different to play, but it'll provide a new way of having fun within the same Xenoblade series.
