Backlog: The Embiggening - December, 2014
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 11/30/14 at 01:30 PM CT
Welcome to another look into the near future. December is here, once again, to mark the coming of the “Holiday Season.” Not Christmas, because that would be exclusionary towards non-Christians (despite the fact that Christmas has never actually been about Christianity). It’s exasperating that our contemporary politically correct culture always needs to latch onto the most sterile and bland names for things. I’ll still be celebrating the ancient pre-Christian holiday of Yule and have already decorated a simulated pine tree with simulated sacrificial entrails.
What do gamers have to celebrate in December? How about A MONTH WITH NO SHOVELWARE?! Yes, it actually looks like it’s going to happen! There isn’t a single shovelware title slated for a December release as of yet (though that is still subject to change, as usual).
In fact, December’s releases are looking incredibly sparse overall, especially being the ever-important second Yule since the PS4 and XBONE …
What Was the Last Game that Had YOU Extremely Hyped?
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 11/23/14 at 06:27 PM CT
Hype has become extremely commonplace as an advertising mechanic in the videogame publishing business. Among the Triumvirate of Evil, the production of Hype outstrips the production of quality games by an incredibly high margin.
Of course, Hype is not actually anything new. The generation of unrealistic expectations via word of mouth and media buzz has been around forever. What fueled the Old West gold rushes? Hype. What fueled the DotCom Bubble? Hype. As a frugal and savvy consumer, I try not to buy into the Hype surrounding most products, though I did find myself falling prey to both the WiiU and OUYA last year, despite the fact that the Hype around both of those consoles was rather muted compared to what we usually see.
I try to save my Hype for things that have a strong chance of meeting expectations. As such, I have found myself relatively sedate in my levels of Hype for over a decade now. Yes, I was mildly Hyped about a handful of 7th Generation games, like …
“Dragon Nest” Mercenary Monster System Can’t Come to NA Soon Enough
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 11/16/14 at 01:55 PM CT
The MeltedJoystick staff is generally rather averse to the MMO subgenre of games, but we did find ourselves somewhat enchanted by the not-very-MMO-like-at-all nature of Eyedentity’s and Nexon’s “Dragon Nest” when we played through the Level 60 Cap content last year. Recently, we’ve jumped back into the world of “Dragon Nest” to see what’s new since we went on hiatus.
All in all, not much is new. The level cap has been raised to 70, the experience point curve between levels 60 and 70 has been thrown completely out of whack (making daily grinding a necessity rather than a luxury), and level 40+ equipment has been revamped to use a fancy new Dragon Gem upgrade system instead of the old system of Suffixes and Hidden Ability Sparks. Almost all of the annoying entry passes required for entering the titular Nests have been removed as well, along with a few revamped locations and events.
However, something is in the works (and is already available in the Korean and …
EFF to Preserve Online Play, Misses the Point
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 11/09/14 at 03:06 PM CT
I am not alone in my concerns regarding what happens to old videogames when their owners no longer find them profitable. This past week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation started making noise about creating a Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemption to allow circumvention of software security for the purpose of creating unofficial servers for games that are no longer officially supported.
If the EFF gets its way with this exemption request, the idea that games don’t have an online expiration date should hopefully catch hold of both the gaming public and the developers/publishers behind the creation of entertainment software. Giving the hardcore fans who already run unofficial servers for their favorite games explicit permission to do so is a significant win for consumer rights.
Unfortunately, the EFF doesn’t quite go far enough. The exemption request specifically states that the ability to run private servers for old games should NOT apply to massively-multiplayer games. …
Backlog: The Embiggening - November, 2014
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 11/01/14 at 03:11 PM CT
Welcome to another look into the near future. It’s November! Now that Halloween is in the rear-view mirror, capitalists have no other impediments in their quest to flood the market with the Crap the Came for Christmas. Thanksgiving? What’s that? In America, we’re not thankful for anything… except dupes to whom to sell shovelware!
Shovelware? Yes, there is a bit of it this mont… OH MY GOD IT’S OVERWHELMING!
It seems that some of the shovelware manufacturers – specifically Disney – have started reducing the pellet count in their shotgun blast releases in order to specifically target the vital organs of those most susceptible to buying such crappy licensed garbage. Thus the new “Penguins of Madagascar,” and “Planes: Fire & Rescue” are only targeting Nintendo platforms (what with Nintendo’s unshakable ‘kiddie’ reputation). Likewise, both Disney and 4Kids are bringing their new “Big Hero 6” and “Winx Club” games exclusively to Nintendo …
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