Lots of people crack on Nintendo for not making hardcore games anymore. Today, a patent went public that may confirm this suspicion for many people: Nintendo’s Kind Code. What is it, exactly, you ask?
Though there is a lot of techno mumbo-jumbo to the patent and not many specifics are known yet, basically, the Kind Code allows you, if you get stuck at a point in a game, to become “unstuck”. This works by choosing a hint in a menu, or selecting an option that lets the game take control. If you’d like, you can also just load up a developer’s saved game with full stats/health/etc, and jump into any point of the game you want.
The idea is that this will turn more casual people on to hardcore games, so they don’t have to worry about getting stumped, or they can start the game from where ever they want, or they can just watch the game play itself.
Continue reading Today’s WTF: Nintendo’s “Kind Code”
Kind of funny how time flies. Now that about 2-3 years has gone by for each console, we’re now over the hump in terms of this generation, and descending on the back end towards the demise of each machine’s lifespan. Crazy, no?
With what seems to be just a so-so year for the XBox 360 and a stellar year for the PS3 coming up, one wonders what Nintendo is up to for the future. So far, there are many that feel that Nintendo has left the hardcore gamers behind, but the overwhelmingly huge sales that they’ve been raking in deserve lots of praise.
Every generation has its underrated games. The ones that get overlooked, missed and perhaps swallowed in the wake of the hype of other gaming behemoths. I feel like one of those games for this generation has to be Mass Effect, which presented a level of story and cinematic presentation that I feel was unprecedented and largely unnoticed when it dropped.
I am maybe the least handy person in a world. I can’t build anything for crap. You should have seen my lame shop class creations. So that’s why I’m always absurdly impressed by the things that gamers come up with given the time, determination and the resources.
Ever since Halo claimed the console FPS throne, several games have come and gone to try to take the title “Halo Killer”. As if all of FPS-dom were some huge hill that could be overtaken, and fans would automatically shift their allegiances to this new god-like app with the ability to fell Master Chief and his minions.
It’s kind of a given that in terms of AAA titles, Microsoft has really set the bar high over the last couple of years. From games like Mass Effect, Gears of War, Halo, and even some great XBLA titles like Castle Crashers or Braid, the 360 set itself up as a gaming machine with some unique content. Will 2009 continue the trend?
I remember one of the coolest things when I was a kid was getting a subscription to Nintendo Power. The idea of getting a printed magazine each month about video games was incredible, and through the years I moved around to different gaming mags. While the Internet is a great and wonderful thing, it has slowly and inevitably contributed to the death of print media.
In the epic fanboy debates of ages past and present, the ultimate factor always turns out to be console exclusives. Being able to tout a game that the other console doesn’t have wins major points, even if the other side pretends that they wouldn’t touch Halo or Metal Gear Solid if it was on their console of choice. Yeah. Right.
In terms of games, the last couple of years have belonged to Microsoft, with just a few exceptions for both Nintendo and Sony. The slew of games for the 360 since 2007 seems to have finally slowed though, and we’ve gobbled up the bevy of FPS games til our eyes have turned red. Now that the 360 doesn’t seem to have much on its plate, this could easily be Sony’s year, and it’s about time.
Seriously. Kick me right in the nuts, because I must be dreaming. I’m not really sure how this hasn’t gathered more attention recently, but it’s true- 
There’s nothing worse than being super excited about a video game only to have it suck. We all know that all-too-familiar pang of disappointment as we pop a game in the disc drive and then play it, only to wonder aloud “WTF” as the game really gets moving. Or not moving, if that’s the case. So what were the disappointments of last year?
You all know that I’m not a huge fan of Nintendo these days. I won’t hide it, and very often (too often, I know) I like to prod Nintendo where I can, dishing out death by papercut through my snide remarks and witty criticisms. Most of that is due to the Wii, which I feel is a colossal stab in the back to the Nintendo hardcore, but unfortunately, the machine is a ludicrous success, so I guess it doesn’t matter.
If anybody knows anything about anything, they know that zombies are the glue that hold this world together. Or at least, that’s my view. Throw zombies at any crappy old movie/videogame/book and it instantly becomes a winner. Really, I’d be happy if everything had the undead rolling like waves in the sea, overtaking the helpless innocents.