1UP writes: "Ten minutes into a conversation about Rise of the Argonauts, lead designer Charley Price struggles to describe the game's combat -- not because it's complicated, but because it's simple. "In most games, combat is a hit-point thing," says Price. "I punch you 20 times until you fall over and fade out. It's a classic representation from Dungeons & Dragons, but the player doesn't feel very powerful." In researching ancient Greek mythology and history for the game, which follows mythic hero Jason of Iolcus on a liberally reimagined quest for the Golden Fleece, Price and his Liquid Entertainment team found tales of brutal violence that clashed with the old tabletop game conventions. "When we look back at Greek mythology, people aren't parrying and trading blows -- they're cutting each other in half and smashing shields apart. So we're emphasizing lethality. If I'm able to connect with an opponent's flesh, there's a good chance that that guy's going to die in some horrific and glorious way."
It's a small example of Liquid Entertainment's approach to Rise of the Argonauts, an effort to deemphasize the back-of-the-box bullet points gaming audiences fetishize -- combat systems, customization options, and the minor tweaks of game design wankery -- in favor of a simple, story-driven virtual experience. Liquid's president, Ed Del Castillo, clarifies: "For us, the experience drives everything. If this story hadn't been about combat, there wouldn't be any combat in our game.""
You can pay what you want for Overlord, its Raising Hell DLC, Operation Flashpoint: Red River, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, and Rise of the Argonauts. Paying $6 or more gets you Overlord II, DiRT Showdown, and DiRT 3.
Letting an aggregate review score from sites like Metacritic become the sole dictator of your buying decisions is sure to make you miss out on a lot of fun, unique experiences.
With Valentine's Day weekend now upon us, what better way to honour all the love-laden gamers out there than to take a look back on the greatest romances found on the Xbox 360.
Love is both an incredible gift and a burdening beast. It is a joy that gives wonderful memories or a cruel mistress that demands incredible sacrifice. Love can make you feel like you have everything in the world or that you have nothing left to cherish. Although these five examples of love are different in almost every way, these couples portray the power of love better than the rest.
Enjoy !
I spoke with a lead programmer in regards to possibly getting an internship with Liquid Entertainment (I love the Battle Realms games)...and I also talked with him about what it's like to develop for the PS3 and 360 for the first time, and a few other things, but since he was kind enough to answer my questions with me not really being anyone important in the first place, I think I'll keep his statements to myself =)
Also, Liquid Entertainment is about 10 minute drive from where I live, so that's pretty cool also.