Sonic X-Treme Gets a Second Chance Thanks to Fans
Sonic fans have released a playable build of 1996's Sonic X-Treme, a 3D Sonic game for the Sega Saturn that was to be the first 3D Sonic platformer before its cancellation in early 1997.
A post on the Sonic Retro forums provides quite a few details about the new Sonic X-Treme build, including that there's currently only one level available — nicknamed "The E3 Jade Gully level" after the original E3 1996 videos for Sonic X-Treme — and that they're planning to add more levels. The fans who worked on the build tried to keep it as close to the original engine as possible.
Developer Playtests Mobile Game at DMV
One developer has discovered an effective way to playtest mobile games still in development: entertaining the poor souls at the DMV.
Image courtesy of Jon Grall
In a blog post on Gamasutra, developer Jon Grall explained his playtesting process and how it benefitted development on his studio Little Details' upcoming puzzle game Patchmania. "The DMV is an ideal place to playtest a mobile game: on any given day, there are hundreds of people, of all ages, from all walks of life, stuck in one place for hours, who will do just about anything to alleviate their boredom," he wrote. After some trial and error, he was able to get 20 playtesters a day who could give valuable feedback on the prototype of Patchmania.
Ben Hardy Circling “Key Role” in X-Men: Apocalypse
Ben Hardy is reportedly in serious talks on to star in an undisclosed role in X-Men: Apocalypse.
The news comes via The Wrap, which claims the Eastenders star is in talks for a "key, as-yet-undisclosed role" in Bryan Singer's next X-Men film.
Previous rumours said that Hardy was one of the names being thrown around for the role of Cyclops, a role which has gone to Tye Sheridan.
What We Want in a Sequel to The Order
This week, Marty and I are joined again by Brian Altano (who makes loud noises as usual) and Brandin Tyrrel, who recently reviewed The Order: 1886. Regardless of how the game's been received critically, it seems pretty likely that we'll see a sequel, because that's how AAA franchises work... so what should it do differently? Also, it's the Vita's birthday and we're sick of games launching with broken multiplayer. Who isn't?
Podcast Beyond, Episode 383 (MP3)
Why You Need to Try Smite
Welcome to the debut episode of IGN Godlike, a new show dedicated to covering the mythological mayhem that is SMITE. Hosts Brandin Tyrrel, Alfredo Diaz, and Kyle O'Connor chat about: how they got into SMITE and why they can't stop playing, why now is the best time to get started playing, and what we can expect from an Xbox One version.
Download IGN Godlike Episode 1
Note: You can check out all the new changes we mentioned in SMITE Season 2 right here: Conquest Map, God Balancing, Item changes, and League changes.
Pioneering Atari Engineer Steve Bristow Dies
Steve Bristow, who worked at Atari during its golden age, died Sunday.
Bristow helped develop some of Atari's early arcade games, such as Indy 800, and developed Tank for Kee Games. He also worked with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell to conceptualize Breakout, a game that would be built by a young Atari employee named Steve Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak.
He also helped form Kee Games, which was comprised of defectors from Atari. It was later revealed that Kee was actually a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atari. After the two companies merged, Bristow oversaw Atari's Coin Engineering and Electronic Board Game Division. He eventually the plant manager for the pinball division before being moved to VP of Engineering.
Ray Gigant is a PS Vita Dungeon Crawler
Bandai Namco’s next game is a “story dungeon RPG” for the PS Vita called Ray Gigant.
According to Gematsu, this news was dropped in the weekly issue of Dengeki PlayStation after a teaser site for Bandai Namco’s next game popped up last week.
It’s due out in Japan in a few months, with international release dates yet to be announced. Bandai Namco is also working on Godzilla the Game.
Arnold: I’ll Be Back for Terminator Genisys Sequels
Arnold Schwarzeneggar has cleared up any confusion over whether he'll return for the next two Terminator Genisys sequels, saying "of course" he'll be back.
Paramount Pictures announced the release dates for the two sequels last year, but it didn't release any casting information. In an exlusive interview with Schwarzenegger, The Arnold Fans asked whether he'd be filming Terminator 6, to which the actor confirmed, "Yes, of course, next year."
Final Fantasy 15: Exploring Its Combat Secrets
Last week Square Enix released a meaty 40-minute gameplay video for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae, which was packed with new information and new footage for the upcoming FF:XV demo. In order to help fans sift through all the Final Fantasy goodness, Marty Sliva and Meghan Sullivan pick out the juiciest tidbits from the trailer and discuss their significance.
Watch Sesame Street’s House of Cards Parody
Continuing to prove that it's watchable for both kids and adults, Sesame Street has now given us their very own House of Cards parody, in the style of The Three Little Pigs.
Based on Kevin Spacey's character from the hit Netflix series, "Frank Underwolf" teaches kids a lesson about subtraction, while blowing down the three little pigs' houses in pursuit of the "White Brick House."
Check out Sesame Street's "House of Bricks" below:
House of Cards Season 3 returns February 27 on Netflix.