What a pleasant surprise

Putt-Putt and Freddi Fish are coming back �again! While a bunch of '90s edutainment adventure games from the Humongous Entertainment catalog got a new lease on life with easily accessible Steam releases, it's time to move into the console space. Two games, Putt-Putt Travels Through Time and Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell, will release on the Nintendo Switch eShop on January 3, 2022. Rem??ember Pep?

You can find both games on the eShop today, ahead of their launch, and as announced on Twitter, there's a discount. Putt-Putt Travels Through Time and Freddi Fish 3 will normally?? cost $14.99 each on Switch �a premium compared to the PC versions on Steam �but they're $11.99 until January 10. (Speaking of which, there's a big Steam sale right now.)

For some, this will be a nice surprise �a throwback to simpler times. For others, well, I guess you had to be there. I played a few Humongous games in my day, enough that these names are nostalgic, but never these specific entries. Funny enough, I've wondered before what the conveyor belt puzzle game Pajama Sam's Sock Works might be like on Switch.

Admittedly, Nintendo Switch probably won't? be the ideal way to play '90s-era point-and-click adventure games, but I can see some folks around my age getting bit by the nostalgia bug, especially if they've now got families of their own. The circle is complete.

Even if you've got zero interest in Putt-Putt or Freddi Fish on Switch, you have to admit, it's nice when games like this aren't left to slowly fade away �assuming the ports are up to snuff, of course. It seems as if UFO Interactive is testing the waters with what should be sure bets, so we'll see if there's enough interest to warrant Switch releases of Spy Fox and Pajama Sam. It'd be fun to rediscover the whole colle?ction with fresh eyes.

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'Get a load of hotdog fingers'

Just when I thought I couldn't be more into Bugsnax, an oddball adventure inspired by Viva Piñata and Ape Escape, there's this: a too-cute-for-words commentary from Jeff Bakalar's adorable five-year-old.

Their stream-of-consciousness reaction – "t??hat strawberry's like a little creature that I really like so when I'm sad...," "get a load of hotdog fingers" – is a heartwarming window into the Purest Timeline.

Bugsnax vs. a 5 Year Old pic.twitter.com/YXRutQt9fg

— Jeff Bakalar (@jeffbakalar) June 19, 2020

This clip is the best thing I'm going to see all day, by far, and I'm not complaining. Bugsnax for life.

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I'd buy that for a dollar

Putt-Putt. Pajama Sam. Spy Fox. Freddi Fish. Those are all names I haven't thought about in such a long time. In a new deal, Humble Bun??dle has packaged together a bunch of family-friendly Humongous Entertainment games, and let me tell you, it's a trip down memory lane for fol??ks of a certain a??ge.

The bund??le starts off with an extensive bottom tier. Here's what you get if you pay $1 or more:

• Big Thinkers 1st Grade
• Big Thinkers Kindergarten
• Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise
• Let's Explore the Airport (Junior Field Trips)
• Let's Explore the Farm (Junior Field Trips)
• Let's Explore the Jungle (Junior Field Trips)
• Putt-Putt and Pep's Balloon-o-Rama
• Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog on a Stick
• Putt-Putt and Fatty Bear's Activity Pack
• Putt-Putt: Pep's Birthday Surprise
• Spy Fox In: Cheese Chase

By paying more tha?n the average purchase price (currently about $7??.50), you'll get:

• Spy Fox 2 "Some Assembly Required"
• Putt-Putt Travels Through Time
• Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse
• Pajama Sam 4: Life Is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff
• Pajama Sam's Lost & Found
• Pajama Sam's Sock Works
• Pajama Sam: Games to Play on Any Day
• Spy Fox In: Hold the Mustard
• Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"

The final tie?r costs $14 and?? includes all of the aforementioned games as well as:

• Pajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat From Your Head To Your Feet
• Freddi Fish 5: The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove
• Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch
• Spy Fox 3 "Operation Ozone"
• Putt-Putt Joins the Circus
• Putt-Putt Enters the Race
• Pajama Sam 2: Thunder And Lightning Aren't So Frightening
• Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell
• Freddi Fish and Luther's Maze Madness
• Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon
• Putt-Putt Joins the Parade
• Freddi Fish and Luther's Water Worries
• Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds
• Putt-Putt Saves The Zoo
• Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside

I don't have any kids, but if I did, I'd be introducing them to Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon. That's a classic adventure in its own right, and I'm thank??ful it's been able to find a home on Steam and other platforms.

The Humongous Entertainment Bund??le runs until Tuesday, April 23 at 11:00am Pa??cific.

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Surprise Star Wars!

Lucasfilm just dropped a bit of a surprise for us all. This Friday a new series of Star Wars animated shorts will launch on the Star Wars Kids portal and the Star Wars Kids YouTube page. Not quite as exciting as The Mandalorian is shaping up to be, but it's something. Judging from the trailer above the s??horts loo?k to be like adaptations of classic scenes from the movies with maybe a little fresh content thrown in. New episodes are scheduled to release throughout December, with even more coming in 2019.

Lucasfilm (aka Disney) is saying that these shorts will be accompanied by “fun and educational add-ons designed to help older fans, parents, and other mentors welcome the kids in their lives to explore the galaxy far, far away.” As a dad whose son loves the concept of Star Wars despite not having seen a single Star Wars movie or show as he's too young for most of it, I am all for that. Weaving in any educational aspect to the PEW PEW PEW gives it that extra leg up where I feel more comfort?able hooking my child directly into a corporate behemoth's billion-dollar, mo??ney-making franchise and involving him in an increasingly toxic fanbase. Parenting win! 

Evidently, this is just the first part of the Galaxy of Adventures brand, which is being used to build up hype up for upcoming Episode IX. 

Luca?sfilm Unveils Animated 'Star Wa??rs Galaxy of Adventures' [THR]

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Time for the BFG and Willy Wonka to throw down?

Netflix wants to keep the kids watching even after all their Disney content scampers away, and nothing captures kids' imaginations quite like the charming and wonderful books of Roald Dahl, and so the studio has just announced that they're "extending the Roald Dahl universe of stories for global family audiences with an exclusive new slate of original animated event series." The series will be animated and Netflix is claiming that while they're adapting Dahl's stories and remaining true to Dahl's tone, they also are "building out an imaginative story universe that expands far beyond the pages of the b?ooks themselves."

I'm not actually sure what the hell that means, and the press release this is from is basically just full of that jargon. Clearly, from the teaser above, we'll be getting adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, The Twits, and more. What those "more" are isn't clear, but the Netflix deal also includes the rights to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy – Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar, Billy and the Minpins, The Magic Finger, Esio Trot, Dirty Beasts, and Rhyme Stew. Basically everything but James and the Giant Peach and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which are oddly? the two books that have most recently been turned into animated fare.

It sounds like they'll be telling the stories we know and love, but tying threads together througho??ut them. That's cool, I guess. I never really thought of a Roald Dahl universe when I was?? a kid, but if they keep his unique spirit alive then I'm fine with it.

Netflix hasn't announced who is working on this yet, but they obviously have the Dahl estate's blessing, and they're promising to pull in top talent. Of course top talent doesn't always mean a hit. Let's not forget that The BFG had basically every check mark you need for an instant Roald Dahl adaptati?on classic and it didn't make a splash at al?l.

Netflix Creating Slate of P?rogramming Based on?? Roald Dahl Books [Variety]

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Available online from Blizzard

If I could send my younger self Christmas stocking stuffers through some sort of holiday-based wormhole, this new LEGO Omnic Bastion would be one of my first time-traveling gifts. The kit is available for $25 online through the Blizzard Gear Store and it will also be at BlizzCon next month.

The 182-piece set stands just under five inches tall. My favorite detail is that they included Bastion's feathered friend, Ganymede. (If you weren't aware, Overwatch has bird lore, because of course it does.)

Aside from Bastion, Blizzard has plans for minifigs based on the game's heroes and "a full co?llection of? LEGO Overwatch building sets." I'd like to see a LEGO payload that we can all promptly ignore.

LEGO Overwatch Omnic Bastion [Blizzard]

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A happy children's film? Don't be fooled!

We got the first trailer for Paramount's Wonder Park today and normally I'd let it slide right by but the teaser trailer is so devoid of anything even remotely hinting at a plot that I felt compelled to share it. It definitely looks stunning, but aside from that and the fact that a girl discovers a theme park, which is randomly named Wonderland and not Wonder Park, I have no idea what the hell this movie will b??e about. With the park seemingly springing back to life in an instant and magical animals pleasantly interacting with humans my guess at the main thrust of the film -- the struggle of a few talking animals and a little girl to re-open a park and rekindle childhood wonder in people of all ag??es -- is ruined.

The official plotline doesn't give us much either: "Wonder Park tells the story of a magnificent amusement park where the?? imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive."

Our only real clue is that it comes from the creators of the TV show Zoo in which animals from around the world go crazy and start killing people. So, new best guess? This is actually not a children's movie at all. What we're not seeing is the secret plot the talking animals are hatching to kill all of humanity, and all they needed to enact it was the DNA of a little, brown-haired girl. All the? scenes we're seeing? The fever dream or "imagination" of this dying girl as she is the first human to fall to the genetic disease the animals use to take over the world.

Or maybe it'll just be about rebuilding the park.

Death Wonder Park opens March 15, 2019.

The post Wonder Park trailer?? is clearly hid?ing a dark secret appeared first on Destructoid.

It's Wes Anderson

Do you like Wes Anderson? Then you'll like Isle of Dogs. It's got everything we've come to expect from the director, who has basically created a genre named after himself. The film is full of his signature symmetrical shots; his stunning mise en scène; the slightly off nostalgia; the same cast of actors; the hipster aesthetics; the deadpan humor and performances; the subtle, yet effective, relationships. I like Wes Anderson so you ??can probably guess where this review will go.

Do you not like Wes Anderson? Well, this might actually be the Wes Anderson movie for you. For starters? its a story about a boy and his dog, and everyone loves stories about children and their dogs. But the movie also functions as a strange, beautiful, and surprisingly thought-provoking political satire done in a style that only Wes Anderson could deliver. 

Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: March 23, 2018

At its heart, Isle of Dogs is the story of Atari (Koyu Rankin) and his attempt to rescue his dog Spots (Liev Schriber) from an island of trash off the coast of Japan where all dogs have been shipped after a bout of fear mongering by the mayor of Megacity, Kobyashi (Kunichi Nomura), turns the entire populace against every dog. Atari, after crash landing on the island, is joined by a pack of dogs. Chief (Brian Cranston), Rex (Edward Norton), Boss (Bill Murray), King (Bob Balaban), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum) all help Atari cross ?Trash Island to get to Spots. Meanwhile, on the mainland, an evil conspiracy is uncovered, and international student (and school newspaper reporter) Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) begins to uncover the hidden truth behind Kobyashi's hatred of all dogs.

As you can probably guess, Isle of Dogs is charming as hell. Wes Anderson (we're contractually obligated? to write his entire name) creates a stark and stunning world for the film to take place in. This near-future world is like some dystopian science fiction out of the 1950s, full of the style and fashion you'd expect out of a Wes Anderson movie -- as if a time capsule exploded all over a children's film. The movie's Wes Anderson quirks are all over, as title cards pop up, the movie is broken up into chapters, and the film?? even features every character speaking in their native tongue (dogs speak English, most people speak Japanese).

Most impressive is just how well Wes Anderson's style fits into this particular film. His signature way of making movies never felt forced into any of his films, but for Isle of Dogs it is more natural than ever. The symmetry of his shots and deadpan performances remind one of traditional Kabuki theater and Japanese artwork. Wes Anderson isn't unaware of this, opening the film by framing in in a stage-like shrine. The influences don't stop at traditional Japanese art forms either. Wes Anderson pulls in diverse references, ranging from Citizen Kane to post-WWII Japane??se cinema. ??It's a tour de force for him this time around.

Part of that stems from Wes Anderson tryin??g something a bit different with his story by making a strange political satire. It's easy to draw lines from Mayor Kobyashi's dog-hating rallies and the exile of all dogs to topics of immigration and the fear of the other. There's a satirical side running through the entire film, commenting on democracy, student activism, disbelief in science, demagogues, hatred, and blind fear. Wes Anderson plays up these real world issues into a comedic film, all while maintaining the charm and wonder of a simple story about a boy and his dog. Like all the best satire and comedy, you can enjoy the fi?lm on whatever level you want to.

Even if you didn't understand one iota of the satire or turned all the sound off, Isle of Dogs would be worth watching. It is visually one of the most stunning films to land this year. In the opening frames it's easy to see just how many strides the animation team has made since The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which was fantastic looking in its own right. T??he stop-motion animation is strikingly good, lending the film its own unique look that you won't see anywhere else. 

Speaking of unique, the score is a masterpiece. Alexander Desplat follows up his incredible work on The Shape of Water with a score in a completely different style. It is stunningly powerful, a??nd complimentary to the film at the same time. He uses traditional Japanese taiko drumming throughout the entire film, a bold stroke that reinforces what Wes Anderson is doing with the film.

In the end, though, it's all Wes Anderson through and through, and so what really stands out is the somehow heartfelt relationships that are constructed throughout the film. In this case it's between Atari and Chief??, two strays trying to find themselves. That quintessential relationship between a boy and his dog is lovingly developed here in Wes Anderson's deadpan style that seems to pull more emotions out of a person sitting center frame staring at the camera than any tear-jerker teen drama could ever hope. There are quiet, beautiful moments scattered throughout this film that just m?ake it work wonders.

That's what Wes Anderson does best. He somehow recaptures the magic you often forget cinema can truly have. His films play with the medium, and capture something that many directors struggle to do even for a moment. Isle of Dogs is no different, delivering a charming comedy full ??of the subdued humor and emotion we've come to expect from the director, but built on somethin?g that's a bit more than his usual. 

The post Review: Isle of Dogs appeared first on Destructoid.

Also, as a big kid myself

My son, Asher, was born almost three years ago on February 23, which happens to be my own birthday (send gifts). I've been waiting all these years to play video games with him. I mean, he can watch me play video games right now, and loves when I ride my motorcycle into bad guys in Breath of the Wild, but he doesn't really engage with them yet. This is mostly because h?is tin?y little hands can't really understand the controls. 

This kills me. I want to play video games with him, but I al?so want him to be engaged with that gameplay instead of passively watching -- and eventually having him give up on watching and start having my amiibo battle it out on the floor, while I try to resist telling him that those aren'?t toys and please stop chipping the paint... Oh god, why do I let him touch anything?

The point is that the tactile is stil?l everything to him, and I kind of love that. It makes me play more as well, ditching the controller to build THE TALLEST LEGO TOWER EVER! I just wish video game??s could be part of that, and now, thanks to Nintendo Labo, they can be.

Kids need to play. Please don't take this to mean that I'm saying that video games aren't good for kids or they teach children to be mass murderers?. I grew up on gaming, and believe that educated parents allowing their children to play age-appropriate games can lead to some incredible family time, education, and just plain fun. But ?actual physical play is also insanely important for kids, both mentally and physically. Kids learn through play, and they learn more through play that's engaging, whether that be running around outside or putting together a craft.

Labo lets you do this, and lets you do it in what looks like some really cool ways. My son won't quite be old enough to put these together on his own. I'll probably be doing most of the non-coloring/non-folding work, but being able to sit down with him and create a piano from a flat sheet of cardboard will be pretty incredible. I mean, this kid gets excited when I turn a ball of Playdoh into a "snake." Imagine how hi??s mind is going to explode when putting together an RC car that he can then drive.

This is the kind of fun, yet educational stuff that parents crave and, as an added bonus, I'll get to play video games with him in the end. I can't begin to explain to you how excited I got when that damn fishing rod thing came on in the trailer, but it was akin to them announcing a new Zelda and Mario at the same time?. Kids do weird things to you, man. Weird things.

Labo also leans towards the kind of STEM learning that is a bit tricky to get kids engaged with, especially at a young age. However, by placing an emphasis on what looks like easy-to-engage-with cardboard (no small pieces to choke on!), and familiar shapes and games, Nintendo has put together STEM ?toys that don't seem daunting or intimidating in any way. That means my son won't get frustrated when he can't get the gears to slide together, and I won't get frustrated that he isn't solving calculus problems without a calculator yet. How is he going to support me in my old age if he isn't a super genius billionaire crime fighter!?

I think, though, the real selling point with Labo is just how much damn fun it looks. Maybe it's just that having a young child sort of rekindles the play in you, but it's been years since I was this excited to build and create things. Me from February 22, 2015, would have probably looked at this with jaded eyes, and shrugged it off as mayb??e a little junky, poking holes in it for whatever reason. Noting some of the comments on the site, that seems to be a general attitude towards it, but try to put on your kid glasses for a sec??ond.

THAT'S BASICALLY A FUNCTIONING CARDBOARD MECH! Guys, in a few months you can build a functioning mech and walk around in it and punch thin??gs. I mean, weren't we all doing that as kids at some po?int? Now my son gets to actually do that... once he's old enough. This is incredible. Let the damn kid inside you out and join Asher and I in a world of wonder and awesome.

Yes, I realize there are some issues. Cardboard isn't the sturdiest thing ever, but real??ly nothing is in the hands of any kid under the age of 10. You could give m?y son a toy made out of solid adamantium and he'd find a way to break it. It's just what kids do. They are the tiny, living embodiment of destruction, and for a time their sole purpose is to stop you from having nice things. Those classic cardboard building bricks are actually some of the sturdiest toys my son has. Even so, the relative ubiquity of cardboard makes replacements seem easy, since it can all reportedly be replaced for free. Just grab that cardboard Amazon box you've had sitting in the corner since Christmas and a few downloaded design patterns. 

The price point isn't that much of a stickler for me. If you've been buying any brand-name kids toys in the past couple years, that's really not that expensive for what should constitute multiple hours of building and play for a kid. Hell, a large LEGO box set costs around $50, and don't get me started on anything that involves electronics. You pay around $30 for the aforementioned cardboard bricks. Besides, if we count this as a game then that's just $10 over base price for the cardboard in the Variety Kit. Plus, if Nintendo's DLC practices ?are reflective of how they'll be handling Labo, then I'm guessing we're going to see a bunch more downloadable designs that can work with new functionality sent to the game.

More important than getting my money's worth in some quantifiable way, is getting a great way to spend time with my kid that brings in gaming without ditching the physical engagement he needs to grow. There are few better moments in my life then when I see him discover something new, or realize he can build something incredible. The look on his face is nothing short of magi?c, and it inspires magic inside of me as well. Maybe that's why Labo struck a chord with me. It just seems like it was made to be fun; not incredible tech, not an in-depth task of? construction, not the next generation of anything. It's like Nintendo sat down, looked at the Switch and thought, "How can everyone have more fun with this?" 

I think that's why I'm not just excited to play with Labo with my s?on, but I'm excited to be a kid again myself. To build something that lets my imagination explode. I really can't wait to do so.

The post As a dad I couldn’t be more excited about Nintendo Labo appeared first on Destructoid.

Playing with power? Now we're playing with cardboard!

Leave it to Nintendo to drop a little teaser and get the internet out-of-control stoked.

That kid-friendly "new interactive experience" is Nintendo Labo, "a new line of interactive build-and-play experiences that combine DIY creations w?ith the magic of ?Nintendo Switch." Just... watch:

Nintendo Labo will be available April 20, 2018 with the Toy-Con 01 Variet?y Kit ??and the Toy-Con 02 Robot Kit. I'm genuinely not sure what to make of all this yet, but Nintendo's name game is on point.

Breaking it down further, the Variety Kit will cost $70 and include five "projects": two RC cars, one fishing rod, one house, one motorbike, and one piano. The Robot Kit is a ??little steeper at $80 and comes with a full-on cardboard getup you can strap yourself? into. Both kits include software, too.

Variety Kit

• Toy-Con RC Car: Insert the Left and Right Joy-Con into your newly built RC Car and control its movement using touch screen controls on the Nintendo Switch console. The HD Rumble feature in the Joy-Con controllers will cause vibrations that move the car in the direction you choose. Materials to construct two RC Cars are included.
• Toy-Con Fishing Rod: Construct the Fishing Rod with an active, rotating reel that is attached by string to a cradle holding the Nintendo Switch console. Catch one of many exotic fish shown swimming on the Nintendo Switch screen by casting your Fishing Rod and unwinding the reel to lower the hook. Once you feel a vibration from the Joy-Con inserted in the reel, you must tug the Fishing Rod upward and crank the reel quickly to try and complete the catch!
• Toy-Con House: By inserting various assembled blocks into openings in the sides and bottom of the House, you can interact with, play games with and feed a cute creature on the front-facing Nintendo Switch screen. Each differently shaped block is detected by the IR Motion Camera on the Right Joy-Con inserted on top of the House.
• Toy-Con Motorbike: Insert each Joy-Con into an assembled set of handlebars to drive a motorbike on the Nintendo Switch screen. Pressing the ignition button starts the engine, while twisting the right handle activates the throttle. Leaning your body or turning the handlebars left and right controls the motorbike.
• Toy-Con Piano: After assembling a beautifully crafted 13-key piano and inserting the Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con, you can experiment with your own musical creations by pressing different keys. You can even insert different assembled knobs to create new sound effects and tones!

Robot Kit

• Toy-Con Robot: Create a wearable Robot suit, and insert the Left and Right Joy-Con into the designated slots on the backpack and visor to assume control of the robot, which is shown on the TV when the Nintendo Switch console is docked. Enjoy a variety of fun game-play experiences, including Robot mode, in which you can destroy in-game buildings and UFOs.

There will also be a separate Customization Set with sten??cils, stickers, and colored tape for $10.

Speaking to TIME, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé said the Toy-Con concept could "certainly" be used for "other forms of gameplay" down the road. For now, though, the plan is to "communicate the power of the idea with Nintendo Labo [and] really enable players to make their creations, personalize them, and enjoy the [inherent] gameplay experiences ... We think that's going to be a great way to start and then progress down th??e path."

This initiative feels like Nintendo going back to its root??s. I just hope that cardboard is sturdy?!

The post Nintendo Labo co?mbines Switch and cardboard for DIY toys appeared first on Destructoid.

Cuuuute

We touched on Hori's upcoming Mini Wired Gamepad for PlayStation 4 and a number of you fine folks expressed interest in the device for either yourself or your little loved ones. While these controllers were originally announced for Europe, they've since been confirmed for North America, too.

The gamepads are 40 percent smaller t??han the standard DualShock 4 and they have a 10-foot cable. Sony notes that they do lack a touch pad, light bar, stereo headset jack, speaker, vibration, and motion sensing, but apparently "certain touch pad inputs can be simulated via the left or?? right sticks."

The Mini Gamepads will be out ??in the US and Canada "this holiday" for $29.99 USD and $39.99 CAD??.

Introducing the Mini Wired Gamepad for PS4 [PlayStation Blog]

The post Those mini PS4 controllers are coming ??to? North America appeared first on Destructoid.

That's another one off the wishlist

The impossible has happened: toddlers are now in The Sims 4 by way of a free update.

I'm an on-again, off-again Sims player at best, so my reaction here is a general "Aww, that's cute. Look at those lil outfits!" But the folks who are in for the long hall and have been waiting years for this mom??ent? The ones who had reasonably given up hope? They're freaking the hell out.

"We just had to find the right?? time, resources, and design to allow us to start the heavy process of actually building and bringing Toddlers to life," wrote the developers. "And believe me when I say it has been really REALLY difficult to not talk about this as we worked to get it right."

In our staff's Slack today, word of toddlers in The Sims 4 prompted a quick but decidedly mood-turning mention of a video I had somehow never seen before called "Sims 2; Baby on the Grill." It is precisely what it sounds like, and now I fear for m??y YouTube recommendati?ons going forward.

In other Sims news, vampires are coming later this month. Time to recreate Vampire's Kiss.

The Biggest Little Update: Tod?dlers Ar?e Now in The Sims 4! [The Sims]

The post After? quite the wait, toddlers are now in The Sims 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Good on him for sticking with it

It's strangely reassuring to know that this isn't the first time we've covered a game-themed nursery and it almost certainly won't be the final. Builder and father Wes Swain decided on Mario Kart 8 as "there didn't seem to be any big attempts at a Mario Kart nursery out there." That was over a year and a half ago. The project is now finished and he's shared a bunch of photos.

"Mario's head and hat were created using a technique that was brand new to me, but I was itching to try," Swain said. "It is called slushcasting, which is commonly used to create Master Chief, Storm Trooper? and similar helmets. The advantage to this process is that it creates strong lightweight  castings that use very little liquid plastic resin. I figured that since he was to be suspended from the ceiling, lightweight was a good way to? go."

As for the mural, good call on not giving Luigi the ol' death stare.

Mario Kart 8 Nursery [Geeksmithing]

The post Cool dad builds custom Mario Kart nursery appeared first on Destructoid.

Just the cutest

Th?is baby's costumed antics put a huge smile on my face. I hope you have the same reaction?.

It's basically the inverse of that (also great) beefcake Magikarp from last month.

This gif (via reddit) is even better!

The post I hope this adorable Magikarp baby never evolves appeared first on Destructoid.

My childhood, summarized

I went down an In??ternet wormhole last night when?????????????????????????? I really, truly should've just gone to bed.

It began with this Imgur album of old Pokémon ads, but as someone who grew up alongside Pokémania, it couldn't end there. I had flashbacks of kids bringing their crinkled posters of "all 150 Pokémon" to recess; worrying we'd be late to a screening of Pokémon: The First Movie; arguing w??ith my mom about whether pocket monsters were a fad like the amiibo of the d?ay, Beanie Babies.

What began as a nostalgic evening has become a nostalgic morning because, after sleeping on i??t, I decided that scouring the web for more of this old stuff would be a good use of my time.

Here's what I found.

Magazines:

Merchandise:

Commercials:

Burger King:

I wanted the full set of gold trading cards so badly that I dragged my family to Burger King multiple times despite hating the food even at a young age. That's the po??wer of Pok&eacu?te;mon.

The post These old Pokemon ads and toys bring me back appeared first on Destructoid.

Hey, kids, wanna stab?

Brett told us about the Assassin's Creed Mega Bloks only to totally leave us han??ging now that the toys are viewable online. Never did trust that guy. ?Makedonski? Obviously a phony last name.

Anyway, yes, Ubisoft has posted images and details of the Construction Sets, which it says are "designed with adult collectors in mind" (but will be tempting to kids, all the same). They range from $9.99 all the way up to $49.99, in the case of the Black Flag ship, and are now available.

Toys based on mature properties are a little weird but, come to think of it, Kenner's Mantis Alien was my favorite possession growing up. Still would b??e to this day had I not lost the damn thing.

Assassin's Creed Partners Up with MEGA Bloks [Ubisoft]

What dramatic music for a video about designing toys??.

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Prove to dad you're not a fool

Schools and universities have free, unlimited access to Unreal Engine 4 now, thanks to Epic Games. These organizations need only to visit Epic's dedicated page for access for their staff and students. 

When I was in school ?I l?earned typing, some useless math formulas, and too much about American history. Useless sh*t. Folks in school now are going to be able to make games using the most popular game making toolset. That is not fair!

??“Nothing is stopping students from honing the skills needed to enter the range of fields using Unreal Engine technology, from entertainment software and film to visualization, healthcare simulation and military training,” said Ray Davis, general manager, Unreal Engine.

?“Students who know Unreal Engine technology?? have a huge advantage when it comes to job placement.”

The post Epic Games gives Unreal Engine 4 to ??schools for? free appeared first on Destructoid.

24-hour sale

Night Dive Studios brought the likes of Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam, and Spy Fox to Steam earlier this year, and here they are again in this flash sale from Humble Bundle.

If you want to go on a nostalgia trip and come out relatively unscathed monetarily, you can name your price for Putt-Putt Joins the Parade and Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds.

Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon, a personal favorite of mine, and Pajama Sam, Freddi Fish 2, and Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal" can also be y?ours if you beat the average price, around $13. Or, at $20, you can just get all 28 Humongous games. Offer's good until tomorrow morning.

The post Thi??s Humble Flash Bundle has Putt-Putt and other H?umongous titles appeared first on Destructoid.

See the gallery

Artwork from Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remastered was auctioned last month to raise money for UNICEF's Typhoon Haiyan Relief. 50 pieces, some of of which were one-of-a-kind, were auctioned, raising $40,000 for the relief efforts in Philippines. 

In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan cause?d a tremendous amount of damage in the Philippines that resulted in over 14 million peop?le, including nearly six million children, being affected.

There are some outstanding pieces in this collection, which is fully viewable online. While it's not the highest selling piece from the collection, I would have loved to nab this signed art panel.

The post Art of Final Fantasy raises $40,000 for UNICEF’s Typhoon Haiyan relief appeared first on Destructoid.

In select Dallas, San Diego, and Orlando locations

The Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset is coming to Chuck E. Cheese's i?n select markets f?or a six-week trial run starting today in Dallas and later this month in San Diego and Orlando.

The device and a pl??ayable "Virtual Ticket Bla??ster Experience" created by ReelFX will be offered to kids whose parents book a birthday party during the test run.

"Our challenge is to deliver an experience not available at home, and there is no doubt virtual reality does just that," said CEC Entertainment president Roger ?Cardinale. Tickets earned in the Oculus game can be redeemed in real life for those cheap little prizes, so that's something.

H?aven't been to a Chuck E. Cheese's since I was a kid and I'm okay with that. Oculus getting into places like th??is is smart, though -- gotta warm people up to the idea of VR being not terrible.

The post Chuck E. Cheese’s testing Oculus Rift for birthday parties appeared first on Destructoid.

But only for kids

To be a kid again. Or, a 70-pound adult. That's what it'll take to enjoy the Super Mario Kart Ride-On Vehicle, available in March at Toys"R"Us for $199.99.

The kart has working pedals, can go in reverse, and there are tires for on-and off-road use. Most important of all, this thing plays sounds from Mario Kart. Hot damn!

I want t??o see videos of some kids' yea??rs being made.

[Via Tiny Cartridge]

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Set up a PIN to gate the store, individual games, and more

For a second there, I got all pumped to hear Steam Family Options had gone live for all users after previously being restricted to beta participants. Then I realized this isn't the same thing as Steam Family Sharing -- rather, it's a set of pa??rental controls. S??till important, admittedly.

To enable this feature, head into Steam's Settings menu, which will have a listing for Family Options under the Family tab (or, if you're in Big Picture Mode, simply hit the Family Option??s button). From here, you'll be able to set up a PIN that can restrict access to the storefront, specific games, community functionality, and Steam Friends.

Once you know where these options are located, the process is fairly self-??explanatory, but Valve has included further instructions at the link below just in case. The company's example of preventing "kiddos [from] going crazy with the credit card" is all-too real.

Steam Family Options a??re now available to?? all users [Steam]

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Catching shinies in the afterlife

Among the readers here, I'm sure there are a few who are so engaged in videogames that th?ey've effectively become your identity. Will your game-playing habits be what you are remembered for ??long after you've passed on?

A man in Lund, Sweden, is fascinated by a particular grave statue at a nearby cemetery. It belongs to Joakim Stambolovski -- if I'm reading the engraving properly -- a five-year-old boy who was apparently quite the Pokémon player while he was still around. He loved the game so much that his parents commissioned a statue of young Joakim playing Pokémon on a Game Boy Advance. You can make out Graveler on the screen, and there's even a second Graveler holding the top sc?reen open for all eternity.

Sweet and sad at ??the sam?e time, it makes my heart do cartwheels.

paramorgue's album [Imgur via At7addak]

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The 24-hour livestream will be held on October 26

My homeboy David Oxford, writer at The Mega Man Network and and fellow editor on NF Magazine, has planned a special charity event alongside Ian Flynn, lead writer on Archie's Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. For 24 hours beginning Saturday, October 26, the duo will take to TwitchTV and play Sonic Lost World on Wii U through its entirety. They'll shoot the sh*t, take questions about the Archie comics or anything else, and accept donations for the SickKids Foundation.

Current event sponsors include NF Magazine and UDON Entertainment, who may be offering some tasty raffle prizes. Maybe you'll win a copy of The History of Sonic The Hedgehog, ?which will receive a second hardcover printing soon as well as a softcover one?.

David and Ian are targeting a modest $1000-to-$1500 goal, and you can even pre-donate right now. If you want to help ??our boys acquire the needed capture equipment for the livestream, you can do that as well. Just hit up the link below for all the scrumptious details.

Announcing the Sonic Lost World "First Play" Marathon for Charity, Feat?uring S??onic Writer Ian Flynn [PoisonMushroom.Org]

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10-year-old Gryffin Sanders put his shell-dodging training to the test

I don't remember the last time I read or watched a feel-good story involving videogames in the mainstream news. Hell, I'm having trouble finding news within game media outlets that doesn't paint a bleak or damning future for our hobby. Let's correct that,?? ?shall we?

Just over a week back outside the town of Hugo, Colorado, 10-year-old Gryffin Sanders was riding along in the car with his great grandmother Darlene Nestor and his 4-year-old brother. All of a sudden, grandma passed out while traveling 60 miles per hour. Gryffin sprung into action by ??grabbing the wheel and turning the vehicle into a muddy ditch. No one was harmed, and Gryffin was hailed as a hero.

"I'm pretty good at go kart driving," claimed Gryffin, who credits his time spent playing Mario Kart for his quick-thinking reflexes. I personally wouldn't recommend that driver's ed students practice using a game in which you toss turtle shells at fellow motorists, but good on the boy for applying his knowledge. The only question that remains is, how far did he drift that sonofagun?? before it came to a stop? He had to have kicke??d up a shower of blue sparks!

10-year-old boy takes control of speeding c?ar, possibly saving lives [9NEWS via Nintendo Life] (Thanks, Tito!)

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'Killed by a videogame'

A 16-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome and Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome had a heart attack after getting overexcited by Sonic the Hedgehog. The Daily Mail's take on the story? He was, of cour?se, killed by a video??game. 

Britain's favorite home of right-wing xenophobia and jubilant misogyny had a lot of fun using the death of a boy with a heart condition to make videogames look bad -- part of its long running obsession with taking craven secondhand swipes at the game in?dustry. Writer Kerry McDermott exploits th??e personal tragedy with surgical precision. 

"Killed by a video game," reports the Mail. "Excitement 'triggered fatal he?art attack of teenager who died while playing his Xbox'."

The 16-year-old's mother is calling for more measures to be taken in screening young people for heart conditions, something that warrants little more than a footnote in the Mail's story of death-by-Xbox. Rather than a focus on the heart condition, we instead get rent-a-doc Sanjay Sharma saying, "There is a definite risk in predisposed young people playing video games that causes surges of adr?enalin in the blood."

Perhaps one day, the Mail will find a new witch to burn. Then again, it still needs to get over its hatred of women, immigrants, and anybody who isn't an upper-middle class bitter wh??ite man, s?o I guess we'll be waiting a while. 

Derpty Derpy Derp [The Mail]

The post Daily Mail claims???? Sonic made a boy have a heart attack appeared first on Destructoid.

Around and around we go

At the Bristol Games Hub in South West England, Eidos president Ian Livingstone doled out lessons to both industry newcom?ers and industry vets. But it was his choice words to Kyoto giant Nintendo that raised eyebrows.

"Nintendo should have t??heir IP on every platform," Livingstone said, repeating the same "Nintendo should go third party" mantra we've heard ad nauseam over the past decade. "Otherwise a whole generation of young people will miss o??ut on their games."

Oh yes, please think of the children who wouldn't be able to experience the magic of Mario, even though nothing is stopping them from buying Nintendo hardware. This song and dance has long gotten tired. Where is the evidence that Nintendo could be more successful by becoming a thi?rd-party publisher? I could go down the big list of reasons why such a move makes zero sense, but we've gone over this so, so, so many times. If it hasn't sunk in by now, there's no point discussing further.

Perhaps Eidos should lead by example and put its IP on Nintendo platforms. Oh, I forgot about the two-year late Deus Ex: Human Revolution port. Eidos totally has its bases covered.

Ian Liv??ingstone: Nintendo risks losing an entire generation unless it works?? on other platforms [PocketGamer.biz via NeoGAF]

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YAHURR!

I was still a fresh-faced Destructoid editor when this video first made its wondrous? appearance on the Internet. It has, however, stuck in my memory, and it's time you all remembered it along with me.

Long before there ever was a Justin Bieber, there was Black Out Band, with the classic song "Video Games" (YAHURR). Very much the Bob Dylan of his generation, lea?der singer Hunter wowed crowd and silenced critics with his amazing voice and sleeveless ??shirts. And who could forget Matthew and Tug, who also did something in the band? 

Their website hasn't been touched since ??2007, but I like to think the Black Out boys are still rockin' out, in our hearts, if no??t in reality. ;

Yahurr? Yes, Black Out Band. Ihurr!

The post Let us remember the musical wonder? of Black Out Band appeared first on Destructoid.

The only game hurting society is the blame game

An anonymous "law enforcement veteran" claims the Sandy Hook shooter was comparing "high scores" of previous mass m??urderers and intended to beat a record. According to this totally responsible and not-at-all reckless source, Sandy Hook was entirely "the work of a video gamer."

The New York Daily Times has the story, where it explicitly states Lanza had a "score shee??t" that he was attempting to dominate. 

"We were told (the killer) had around 500 people on this sheet," cl??aims the unname??d lawman. "Names and the number of people killed and the weapons that were used, even the precise make and model of the weapons. It had to have taken years. It sounded like a doctoral thesis, that was the quality of the research.

"They ??don’t believe this was just a spreadsheet. They believe it was a score sheet. This was the work of a video gamer, and that it was his intent to put his own name at the very top of that list."

The story goes on to claim an elementary school was chosen because targets would put up the least resistance, allowing for an easy way to rack up kills. Some would argue this was the work of a troubled ?mind. According to whoever the Times has been talking to, a troubled mind and a gamer might as well be one and the same. 

As we saw recently with another murder, violent criminals are beginning to learn they can pass the responsibility for their behavior onto videogames, and find an audience willing to validate them. Whoever this "veteran" of law enforcement is, he's playing directly into that mentality, and helping perpetuate the culture of blame that allows killers the freedom to dodge accountability. This has also been evident with a certain idiotic ex-lawyer who proudly claims a murderer once told him Grand Theft Auto made him k??ill -- because taking what a killer tells? you at face value is now acceptable. 

When I first became aware of law enforcers and media pundits blaming videogames for horrible crimes, I obviously felt a sting of outrage as a gamer, upset that my favorite form of entertainment was being vilified and that I, myself, was being lumped in with unwell or unsavory individuals. Nowadays, however, my more socially minded self is simply disgusted at the social carelessness of people like this anonymous source, or the temeritous mouthpieces on FOX and CNN. It's dangerous to point fingers at one lone element as the source of a mass murder, and totally irresponsible to send the message to a potentially delusional person that they'll be allowed t??o get away with murder because everybody will be blaming incidentally involved elements. 

I no longer feel like defending games or gamers from these thoug??htless pundits. I'm too disgusted in such reckless behavior to focus on anything but the societal ill it helps foster.

The post San?dy ??Hook shooter allegedly trying to beat a high score appeared first on Destructoid.

In addition to the new 'Minecraft Realms' service

Knowing that Minecraft has been a consistent top seller on Xbox 360, it's unsurprising to hear that Mojang, 4J Studios, and Microsoft are putting out a disc-based release for the platform. When it arrives at retail in the US on April 30 for $19.99, Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition will come with all of the content through the upcomin??g ninth title update.

Future updates for the Minecraft on Xbox Live ?Arcade will also come to disc-based game. Additionally, it's heading to Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan in "early June."

In other Minecraft news, Mojang has plans for a subscription service called Minecraft Realms that will offer rentable servers for $10 to $15 per month. This is specifically being ??aimed at families with younger players and will be "a simpler kind of service" than existing options, according to Mojang CEO Carl Manneh. I'm now unable to picture the development team with??out dollar signs where their eyes should be.

Mojang t??ar??gets families with Minecraft Realms subs service [GamesIndustry International]

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