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Go on a Great American Bird Hunt with Mastiff
by JC Fletcher 
{ Oct 12th 2009 at 2:00PM }
And now, we get to the real business of this post: the old, hilarious, but sadly unused box art for Ultimate Duck Hunting, which we're always in search of even the flimsiest excuse to post. You'll find it after the break.
DS Fanboy Review: Moon
by Alisha Karabinus { Jan 21st 2009 at 11:30AM }
Renegade Kid is doing their damndest to push the DS in a variety of ways. With their games Moon and Dementium, they've attempted to bring a big-console feel to the dual screens, and the two represent a genre outside of the handheld's typical comfort zone. Moon and Dementium aren't so colorful as most DS games, and they lack the familiarity of a game like Metroid Prime Hunters. These are games of atmosphere, and often, there's blood on the walls and malice in the air. So it's fitting that their games are also about exploration, about discovering limits and new areas. Renegade Kid may not succeed in every aim -- and Moon does not -- but they're doing something different (at least, for the DS). When you're talking about a phenomenon like the DS, when everyone wants in, and everyone is releasing games on it, companies that go against the norm are to be lauded if they are at all successful. Though Moon is uneven, it succeeds in a lot of ways, and so it is to be lauded, too.
Metareview -- Moon (DS)
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jan 16th 2009 at 9:00PM }
- IGN (85/100): "When it comes to making a purchase decision on Moon, I encourage anyone that loves FPS games on DS to check this one out, as its technical offering, story, design, style, and control are all amazingly well done. The game can certainly get repetitive at times, as a few bosses are used multiple times with compounding difficulty elements added to them to change things up a bit ... but for the most part Renegade Kid has offered an experience that's more tuned towards the adventure side of things, adding in plenty of combat to keep the experience fresh."
- Nintendo Power (75/100): "Quickly becoming the torchbearers for the FPS genre on the DS, Renegade Kid builds on lessons learned from last year's horror title Dementium: The Ward... the game ratchets up the action... compelling story and diverse gameplay."
- Modojo (60/100): "We have mixed feelings with Moon. It's a superb visual achievement with spectacular controls and fun shooting, but we grew tired of the old school "hit this switch to activate this door" gameplay. So long as you go into it expecting a slow-paced first person adventure instead of Doom, you'll enjoy this lunar vacation."
- GamePro (40/100): "Moon proves itself as a creepy and innovative portable FPS experience, weighed down by a severe lack of challenge and variety."
A leisurely drive on the Moon
by Alisha Karabinus { Jan 7th 2009 at 11:30AM }
Contrary to some reports, Moon releases next week. If you're very, very good, we might tell you whether or not it's as fun as it looks.
Telling stories: The next hurdle for story telling
by Jason Dobson { Dec 29th 2008 at 9:45AM }
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.
What's next for in-game story telling? In this, our final segment looking at video game narratives, our collective of industry professionals offer insight into what they believe is the next big challenge facing the evolution of story telling in the games we play.
What's next for in-game story telling? In this, our final segment looking at video game narratives, our collective of industry professionals offer insight into what they believe is the next big challenge facing the evolution of story telling in the games we play.
Telling stories: The games that got it right
by Jason Dobson { Dec 26th 2008 at 10:00AM }
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.
It's rare that story tellers get all of the pieces of their narrative to fit together exactly right in any medium. But in this industry, where story shares a balance with gameplay and endings often get the short end of the development stick, weaving a complete and compelling tale must be a daunting task. Now, gifts unwrapped and bellies full, our panel of industry personalities sound off on those games that they feel were up to the challenge, delivering storytelling experiences above and beyond their peers.
It's rare that story tellers get all of the pieces of their narrative to fit together exactly right in any medium. But in this industry, where story shares a balance with gameplay and endings often get the short end of the development stick, weaving a complete and compelling tale must be a daunting task. Now, gifts unwrapped and bellies full, our panel of industry personalities sound off on those games that they feel were up to the challenge, delivering storytelling experiences above and beyond their peers.
Telling stories: How much is that ending in the window?
by Jason Dobson { Dec 24th 2008 at 10:18AM }
As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.
Epic Games' Michael Capps recently caused quite an uproar among gamers with his suggestion to offer the conclusion to games as premium DLC rather than as part of the core experience. As the latest in our continuing week-long feature, we asked our panel of industry personalities what they thought of the proposal. Interestingly, much of the group was noticibly more tight-lipped in their responses than when answering other questions.
Epic Games' Michael Capps recently caused quite an uproar among gamers with his suggestion to offer the conclusion to games as premium DLC rather than as part of the core experience. As the latest in our continuing week-long feature, we asked our panel of industry personalities what they thought of the proposal. Interestingly, much of the group was noticibly more tight-lipped in their responses than when answering other questions.
Telling stories: What's up with lame endings?
by Jason Dobson { Dec 23rd 2008 at 12:00PM }
While narrative has taken on a larger role, time and again we end up being left unsatisfied in the final moments with endings that fail to wrap up stories in interesting or compelling ways. In our continuing week-long feature, we asked our diverse collection of industry personalities why so many endings in the games we play leave us cold.
Telling stories: Balancing gameplay v. narrative
by Jason Dobson { Dec 22nd 2008 at 1:25PM }
How important are stories? How about endings? Over the next week this diverse group of personalities sounds off on these and other story-driven topics, starting today as we open up by asking whether or not narrative shares an equal burden as gameplay in carrying the video game experience.
All the Moon that's fit to watch
by Alisha Karabinus { Nov 24th 2008 at 11:00AM }
Screens from a distant Moon
by JC Fletcher { Nov 11th 2008 at 6:00PM }
We're stuck waiting until January to play the atmospheric sci-fi first-person shooter Moon ... so here are some screens to make the wait more painful. Oh, well, it's supposed to take a long time to reach the moon, right?It's amazing how well Renegade Kid seems to be setting the tone for the game. Even while looking at tiny, still images on our monitors, we get a feeling of isolation -- like someone trapped inside an impermeable suit in a completely still, desolate landscape. Dementium may be the "horror" game, but this is a lot scarier in a way -- we can relate to extreme loneliness a lot more easily than monsters.
DS FPS Moon eclipses into January 2009
by Jason Dobson { Nov 10th 2008 at 9:15PM }
Publisher Mastiff sent word that the lunar orbit for its Renegade Kid-developed Moon has degraded, knocking back the DS first-person shooter from its previously announced November release date until January 13, 2009. As for the why, Mastiff top dog Bill Swartz tells Joystiq, "Moon is too important a product to rush it out the door, just to make a holiday," leaving us to wait another month before we land on the big ball of cheese looking for things to shoot with the stylus.
M-O-O-N, that spells delayed [update]
by Alisha Karabinus { Nov 8th 2008 at 3:00PM }
Moon, Renegade Kid's next atmospheric DS shooter, was initially set for release in the middle of this month, but if Amazon is to be believed (as well as reader Adam), looks like we won't be up for any handheld space exploration until mid-January. If Moon is delayed, that may be a little disappointing for us, sure, but in the long run, it may be better for the game, so it doesn't get lost in the holiday rush. We haven't seen an official statement on the delay, but for now, we're trusting Amazon and thinking January.As a side note, the box art on Amazon is slightly different, too; it's a little darker, with the face and the reflections in the helmet a little more clearly defined. Perhaps the game itself is getting a last-minute tune-up as well.
[Update: Mastiff sent out a press release confirming the delay. Moon is now scheduled for January 13.]
[Thanks, Adam!]
Watch someone else access the Moon website
by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 26th 2008 at 3:00PM }
If you're a traditionalist and you want to go off and access the new Moon website yourself, you can. We guess. But why would you want to do that when you can instead sit back and watch Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham visit the site for you?Watsham's latest post on his IGN developer's blog doesn't include an actual link to the new site -- just the video of Watsham showing off the features. If you want to do something as renegade as checking out Moon for yourself, you have to get the link from the video.
Keep an eye out in the future for the special limited edition Moon pack, which features not an actual game (as if), but instead, video of Watsham playing it. If you preorder, they throw in an artbook filled with shots of people who aren't you looking at the concept art.
Gallery: Moon
DS Daily: Moon
by Alisha Karabinus { Aug 22nd 2008 at 9:00AM }
