The (Somewhat Merciful) End of an Era
The last shreds of nerd culture (and dignity?) that have managed to cling to the lumbering hulk of Cheaters reruns that is G4TV have finally fallen. X-Play, Attack of the Show and the game editorial staff at The Feed have all been canceled and/or had their staffs laid off as G4TV (formerly Tech TV) faces its rebranding to GQTV.
Yes, apparently new-age gentlemen dandies just aren’t the sort of people that care about video games and… popular culture, I guess? I was never entirely sure what Attack of the Show was really “about”, even when the channel was still available under my cable package. Speaking of which, G4TV hasn’t exactly been doing too well in the last few years in terms of ratings, if you hadn’t noticed. The station was actually pulled from DirecTV some time ago, presumably due to its inability to find an audience for old episodes of Cops. This probably had something to do with the rebranding.
In all seriousness, Tech TV and even G4 for a time were two of my earliest introductions into the greater world of geek society. The legitimacy that a dedicated cable station devoted to video games and technology brought to the industry helped to create the precursors of the cultural behemoth we all know today. It’s quite sad to see the last remnant of that time (and some of the genuinely talented people that ran it) fall to the side.
Here’s hoping that all of those involved land on their feet.
[Source: TV Guide]
Speaking of Long-Dead Husks…
It turns out that the corpse of a game development studio doesn’t sell of a whole lot these days.
According to Joystiq, the combined auctions of 38 Studios’ old development equipment and general objects of interest, held by the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation netted about $830,000 all told. I say that’s not a lot, because apparently 38 Studios owed something like $150.7 million to the Rhode Island government at the time of the company’s closure.
However, none of this includes the eventual sale price of the Kingdom’s of Amalur intellectual property, which Joystiq said “the court-appointed receiver who organized the auctions” said was “Rhode Island’s best hope hope for recouping money from its bad investment…”
Yeesh!
[Source: Joystiq]
Dishonored is Getting DLC, ‘Nuff Said
Would you like to play more Dishonored? Yes, yes, of course you would. We all would. Well, we’re in luck as we’ll actually be getting at least a couple of extra helpings of Dunwall in three upcoming downloadable expansions.
The first will be the “Dunwall City Trials” pack, which comes out this December for $4.99. It will feature wave-based combat and time trials designed to test those no doubt sharp assassination skills acquired in the single-player campaign.
The other two packs are what sound really interesting, though. “The Whalers” is set for release some time this spring, and will include new powers, weapons, gadgets and environments. The Whalers, for the record, are a clan of supernatural assassins from the main campaign with powers much like Corvo’s.
Details about the third DLC pack are currently a matter of the utmost secrecy.
[Source: Giant Bomb]
Steve’s Favorite Hot Video Game Jam of the Right Now
Do you own a Playstation Vita? Great, now go download Dokuro. For $20 you’ll be netting yourself an incredibly lengthy, surprisingly challenging and charming puzzle-platformer.
As much as I hate elevator pitches, the elevator pitch for Dokuro would be Okami meets Ico meets Escape Plan. Basically, you’re a little dead prince in a world made out of chalk trying to save a princess from your clingy, evil father. Players can swap between his more agile “dead form” and his combat ready “prince form” on the fly, all the while using magic chalk to light bomb fuses, fill moats with water and connect pieces of the environment together.
It all plays out in a crazy-long series of stages, as you try to escort a kidnapped princess from one point to another. It’s whimsical, it’s difficult and it’s had me glued to my Vita for over a week. Even when I’m not playing it, I still find myself trying to work out the solutions to particularly tricky levels or puzzling out the trick to beating the next boss.
This is definitely one of my favorite games so far this fall, and it’s only half the price of a normal Vita game. You should really check it out.
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