Report: Wildstar Pulled From Australian Stores
Major Australian retailers EB Games and JB Hi-Fi have reportedly removed copies of Carbine Studios’ sci-fi MMO WildStar from its shelves.
Games.on.net reports that copies have been returned the distributor with an EB games employee telling the publication that the stock was removed “a few weeks ago.”
While the game is still available for purchase via the official WildStar storefront from USD $39.99, the removal of the game from retailers is a possible indication that the game may transition into a free-to-play model in the near future.
Environmental Group Still Unhappy With Xbox One Energy-saving Mode
US-based environmental advocacy group the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has welcomed Microsoft’s plan to give users the chance to activate the system's energy-saving mode during the initial console set-up period but remains unhappy with the way Microsoft may be planning to describe the differences between “Energy-saving mode” and “Instant-on mode” to new Xbox One owners.
Based on a screenshot Microsoft published earlier this month via Xbox Wire, the NRDC’s Noah Horowitz is disappointed with the language Microsoft has chosen to use to differentiate between the two modes.
EB Expo 2015 Tickets on Sale Tomorrow
Tickets for EB Expo 2015 go on sale tomorrow, Thursday April 16, at 9am AEDT. Tickets will be available from EBExpo.com.au, EB Games stores and through oztix.com.au.
Tickets start at AUD$40 for general admission but a three-day pass will cost $150, and the special express queue ticket will set you back almost $200. You can read more about the ticket categories here.
EB Expo 2015 will take place at Sydney Showground (Sydney Olympic Park’s events precinct) from October 2 to 4. EB has announced Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Activision, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. will be at the show, and has also confirmed Australian comedy duo The Umbilical Brothers will be performing across the weekend.
Silver Mario Amiibo Bought From Chinese Auction Site
A sharp-eyed collector has nabbed a yet-to-be-released silver Mario amiibo from a Chinese auction site, and it appears to be the real deal.
Considering its non-branded packaging, the figure looks fake at first glance. However, the collector has verified it not only works with Mario Party 10, it gives Mario a silver base and comes with a silver token, just like the gold Mario does.
The gold and silver Marios are variants of the classic Super Mario amiibo, which launched March 20. The gold amiibo was released into the wild last month as a Wal-Mart exclusive in the United States, but there's no word yet as to how Nintendo plans to distribute the silver figurines. Which is, naturally, just how the company likes it.
Google’s Phone Service May Offer Rollover Data, Pay-per Gigabyte Plans
A leaked app from Google codenamed Tycho, which is thought to supplement Google’s wireless network service, reveals information about the initiative’s activation, payment structure and more.
Tycho was found within a February Lollipop build for the Nexus 6 and mined for details by Android Police. Its code mentions both “Project Fi,” an internal placeholder name for the carrier service, and “Nova,” the rumored name of Google’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) hardware infrastructure.
Video Games Live: Australian Tour Dates
The long-running concert experience Video Games Live is coming to Australia in July, and tickets are now on sale. The three shows will be at The Palais Theatre in Melbourne on July 24, the Brisbane Convention Centre on July 26 and the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on July 30.
Making Tetris cinematic is no mean feat.
According to the organisers, "Video Games Live is an award winning immersive concert event featuring music from the most popular video games of all time," in which "top orchestras and choirs around the world perform along with exclusive synchronized video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, well known internet solo performers, electronic percussion, live action and unique interactive segments to create an explosive one-of-a-kind entertainment experience."
Baby Park and Neo Bowser Coming to Mario Kart 8
Nintendo of Japan has released a series of trailers (find them on its YouTube channel) confirming the 8 new courses coming to Mario Kart 8.
Baby Park, Ribbon Road, Neo Bowser City, Nature Road, Big Blue, Cheese Land, Lingling Metro will be added alongside the previously revealed Animal Crossing track.
The second Mario Kart 8 DLC will also introduce 3 new characters (Villager, Isabelle and Dry Bowser) and 4 new vehicles (Streetle, City Tripper, Bowser Trike and P-Wing). You can pick it up April 23 for $7.99 USD.
Lucy O'Brien is Entertainment Editor at IGN’s AU office. Follow her ramblings on Twitter.
Joss Whedon, Lionsgate Facing Lawsuit Over The Cabin in the Woods
Joss Whedon and Lionsgate have been struck with a USD$10 million lawsuit launched by an author alleging the plot for 2012 horror film The Cabin in the Woods was largely lifted from a novel he self-published in 2006, reports The Wrap.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday, April 13, author Peter Gallagher alleges that The Cabin in the Woods “borrows heavily” from his book The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines and goes on to claim that, “in many respects, the elements in the two works are virtually identical.”
“Both works display a self-referential awareness of classic horror movie tropes and insert third-party puppeteers to manipulate the characters for the fulfillment of narrative requirements and the enjoyment of others,” claims the suit, which also goes on the assert that the “similarities between the characters in both works are striking” and list a number of “specific scene similarities.”
Radio Shack Puts Customer Data Up For Sale
Radio Shack has asked a bankruptcy court to authorize a second round of auctions of its assets, including valuable customer data.
According to a report from PC World, the personally identifiable information of a possible 117 million customers could be up for sale to the highest bidder. That number was later reduced to a possible 67 million.
Texas is leading the charge of states attempting to block the sale of the sensitive data. Texas opposes the sale on the grounds of the online and in-store privacy policies of the formerly relevant chain.
According to the report, Texas has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to require RadioShack to provide information on the type of personal data that is up for sale and just how many customers would be affected.
We Are Doomed Review
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.
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.
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.