This game may result in tooth decay

The Turbografx-16 is a frustrating system to collect for. A lot of the library is ports, either from arcade or other systems. Almost any game worth playing is going to set you back quite a bit, and? if you want to play anything on the CD add-on, good luck. I once offered to swap out the capacitors in a guy’s TurboDuo console, and it was like performing open-heart surgery on the king of the moon. More capacitors than I had ever seen on a r??etro console, all tightly packed. I did it, though, and immediately regretted only charging for the parts.

I have a bit of fondness for the little console that totally couldn’t. If I had to pick a favorite game out of the eight that I own, it would be Air Zonk. I was going to say that’s probably because I’m not a huge fan of shoot-’em-ups, which is the corner of the TG16 library most people love the most, but then I realized Air Zonk is a shoot-’em-up.

Technically a spin-off of Hudson’s homegrown Bonk series, the relationship actually makes things weirder. The Bonk series was this quirky little game about a hardheaded caveman, but Air Zonk takes things into the future. Zonk is like some sort of futuristic, robotic version of Bonk. But, like, cooler? I’m havi??ng a tough time describing this game.

It’s basically as if Mad Magazine wanted to make fun of Astroboy. Zonk flies ??around with jet boots, shoots out of his hands, and wears shades. Th??e proportions are exaggerated in a grotesque way and there are lots of visible veins for some reason. The power-ups come in these little capsules shaped like the stereotypical meat on a bone that is common in caveman cartoons.

Outside of the aesthetic borrowed from Bonk, the game is sickeningly colorful. Don’t mistake that as ??criticism, however �the art style is incredible??. The bosses are weird monstrosities that look like they belong in a Fleischer cartoon. The backgrounds are detailed and flashy. They’re incredible, chaotic, and detailed. Better yet, they change throughout the level, giving more opportunities for visual treats.

The main draw for Air Zonk is easily its partner system. You get to choos??e from a frankly ridiculous selection of weirdos. They range from a cow, a bulldozer, something that looks like a mole crossed with a gumball machine, and a missile. All of them wear sunglasses because it was the �0s, and it still gets better.

Your partner shows up when you collect enough happy faces and cap it off with one wearing sunglass??es (you can probably see something t??hematic developing here), and they go to work helping you out. But then, if you continue collecting faces, you can merge with your partner in a disgusting amalgam. You’re temporarily invulnerable after which you’re still paired with an awesome weapon.

Even without the partners, as stupidly awesome as they are, Air Zonk still has it where it counts. There’s a lot of different weapons you can grab. All of them have unique charge attacks and developing a strategy with them can make a big difference. Charge long enough and Zonk will just drop this huge warhead that blows up the screen and, lis?ten, it’s amazi??ng. It’s a spectacle.

If this wasn’t sweet enough, the music is excellent. It’s quirky and energetic, just like everything in Air Zonk. It’s hard for me to describe a soundtrack as being anything more than awesom??e. It’s like the musical equivalent of Sour Patch Kids. It’s sweet, then sour, then your tongue feels like it’s covered in fuzz. I don’t know, just listen to it.

It’s not all sunglasses and fuzzy tongues, howeve?r.

The biggest downside is that Air Zonk is short. Like, demo short. It’s five levels, a?nd yeah, maybe you’ll have to retry them when you run out of lives, and yeah, maybe the final boss rush might leave you in severe pain, but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s not a whole lot there. You’ve seen it in under an hour. That or you’re spinning your wheels retrying the same levels, which isn’t much fun either.

There are three different? difficulty modes, and you can try for the coveted no-continue run, but�I’m not about that life.

To sum it up, Air Zonk is an incr?edible sugar rush. You feel great during the brief period that it’s happe?ning, but then it’s time to chug another energy drink or take a nap.

It really feels like a demo. It’s like I’m playing a pre-release preview version of the game. There are so many partners and power-u??ps, and then there isn’t enough length to get off the runway. It’s bewildering. It’s amazing, yet unsatisfying, like if someone gives you a single two-bite brownie.

There was a sequel, Super Air Zonk, for the Turbo CD. Because of its format, I haven’t played it, so I can’t really give an opinion �but the people I’ve spoken to say it’s disappointing. They seem fixated on the lack of parallax s?crolling in the backgrounds, and maybe the music isn’t as good. Again, I ca?n’t really comment, that’s just the ground vibrations.

What I can comment on is Zaku, a homebrew game on the Atari Lynx of all platforms. It was heavily an homage to Air Zonk, though it brought its own pe?rsonality to the table. I’d like to see it ported to something that people actually own since it’s a pretty effective callba?ck to my precious TurboGrafx game.

For other retro titles you ma?y have missed, click r??ight here!

The post Air Zonk is the video ??game equiv?alent of a sugar rush appeared first on Destructoid.

I miss Hudson Soft

Bonk: Brink of Extinction had been planned for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii before ?being canceled due to a tsunam??i in Japan, among other reasons. YouTuber PtoPOnline gives us the inside scoop on what exactly happened to the game with a behind-the-scenes look at its making, and some gameplay of an incomplete build.

As I'm a huge fan of dinosaurs, unreleased games, and Bonk, it pains me to watch this footage. I've always wanted to get my hands on a build, since it looke??d rather finished, and I've even heard rumors that someone has a complete version on the Wii, but it never leaked to my knowledge.

I miss Hudson Soft games; Bomberman, Adventure Island, and Bonk were all huge parts of my childhood.

The post A look at the canceled Bonk: Brink of Extinction appeared first on Destructoid.

In Sapporo

Sigh.

Hudson Soft was a huge part of my childhood. Games like Adventure Island were staples in my household, and hundreds of hours were spent playing Bomberman with just about every single one of my friends. Sadly, in March of 2012, Hudson and its headquarters were closed down, to be merged with Konami -- so the publisher c?ould basically make some cash? off of merchandise.

Hardcore Gaming 101 recently had the chance to visit the abandoned studio recently in Sapporo Japan, and although they weren't able to go inside, they did see the remnants of the train tra??ck, featuring a miniature train that employees could ride.

The post Sadness: This abandoned Hudson studio still ?has a miniature train you can ride appeared first on Destructoid.

Because of course it is

My morning ritual involves waking up, wiping the sleep out of my eyes, coming to the realization that I have survived another night, and bustin?g open the laptop to read all the hot Japanese video game news that happened while ??people on this side of the planet were fast asleep.

"A new Bomberman!" I silently exclaimed this morning, a momentary rush of enthusiasm washing over me as I continued to read, learning about Taisen! Bomberman, an iOS and Android game coming to Japan this w?inter with cross-platform multiplaye??r and a 100-stage single-player mode.

My excitement quickly faded and was replaced with something closer to indifference, as I sighed and wondered what sort of great Bomberman games might exist if Hudson Soft weren't dead or had someone other than the dreaded Konami acquired the rights to Hudson'??s properties.

"Oh well," I said to my Jack Russell, probab??ly.? "At least it's not a goddamn pachinko machine."

対戦！ ボンバーマン [Konami via Famitsu]

The post Konami’s new Bomberman is for smartphones appeared first on Destructoid.

Love to work for Konami

Momotaro Dentetsu isn't a household name in the states, but in Japan the series has sold tens of millions and long predates Mario Party as a popular (train-themed) video game board game. The Hudson series has seen dozens of entries since its 1988 start. Hudson also made all the Mario Partys prior to Mario Party 9.

Konami finished buying out Hudson in 2011, though, after long being a majority stakeholder. The last console Momotaro Dentetsu came to DS in 2010? (there were also mobile releases in 2011 ?and 2012).

Series creator Akira Sakuma tweeted, "Konami hasn't gotten in touch with me at all. This is how they've tossed me aside for a while now. I'm announcing here that Momotaro Dentetsu is officially done. Ishikawa at Konami squelched e?verything."

Sakuma threatened to "end" the series back in 2011 if Konami messed with the development team, though Konami owns the rights. He took to Twitter in 2012, too, stating, "As long as there's a guy named Imura at Konami, I won't make Momotaro Dentetsu."

Now it's Ishikawa that's the problem.

Mariko Sa?kuma, who works on the series as well, also Tweeted about the whole affair explaining, "They told us that we'd get a response in May, so we gave them the weekend, and ended up waiting until June 2nd. But we still haven't seen any contact. I wonder what happened with Konami's Mr. Ishikawa."

Konami: It's bad.

De??veloper Gets Testy with Konami, Ends His Beloved Game Series [Kotaku]

The post Creator blames Konami for end of po??pular 27-year-old series appeared first on Destructoid.

Taking a sec to pay respects

This year was great in general for videogames. Beyond the predictable success of games like Halo 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, there were a ton of hits that came out of nowhere, including not just big publisher titles, but indie games as well. Narrative in gaming also started taking a greater stage with games such as Spec Ops: The Line and our very own game of the year, The Walking Dead, making waves with player agency in story and presenting well-developed p?lots and characters to boot. 

The year wasn't entirely sparkles, double rainbows, and purple fairies though. Along with the good?? came a hoard of bad for the industry. There were a mass number of studio closures, for starters. Here's a recap of some of the many development studios that didn't make it through the year. Out of respect for the subject matter, this list is not presented in any particular order.

Hudson Soft

Founded on May 18, 1973, Hudson Soft has been a force in this industry for so long that it seemed as if it would always be around. By 2003, the co?mpany had over 500 employees, with studios in both Tokyo and California. Throug??hout its history, Hudson designed a vast amount games and characters, including the iconic Bomberman, as well as less-iconic-but-still-identifiable Bonk.

This story was one that was drawn out, as last year saw the closure of the offices in California. The final nail would come this year, when even the Tokyo offices would also be shut down. It’s something that is definitely heartbreaking for many a fan of the company's works, as well as people who loved the classic bee logo -- doubly for people in both categories like me. With the clo??sure came the announcement that Konami would be absorbing what was left of Hudson, and retiring the name. So while the cute bee might be put out on the rocker on the front porch, hopefully the properties that bee ran won’t be neglected in the future.

THQ & THQ San Diego

Yesterday we reported that THQ had filed for bankruptcy. The company may not intend to reduce its workforce size during this period, but it's not a very optimistic situation. In March, the company reported a net loss of $239.9 million for the end of the fiscal year, which was over $100 million greater than the previous year's loss. Shortly after, THQ publicly made a deal with Electronic Arts to sell off its license to the UFC franchise. This directly lead to the closure of the THQ studio located in San Diego, the team behind the UFC games.

This is one of those times that just goes to show you how fragile some things are in the industry. One deal sealed the fate of a whole studio, and all the workers there. While this might not be the end for THQ yet, the company's long-term survival is by no means guaranteed. I don't usually root for a publisher, but my heart is out for this one, if only for Saints Row 4.

Black Hole Entertainment

Black Hole Entertainment might be known for a few different games. It developed a couple of Warhammer games: Mark of Chaos and Black March. The company's most notable recent achievement would be Heroes of Might and Magic 6, which can be claimed?? as the reason for its ??downfall.

Shortly after filing for bankruptcy, an insider from the company came out with claims that Ubisoft, the publisher they worked wi??th, was at fault. The claims laid down include a lack of a?ccountability from Ubisoft for missed deadlines, consistently sudden changes and feature removal demands by Ubisoft, and Ubisoft restructuring the key development team numerous times.

Supposedly, the penalties from the missed deadlines, as well as the losses from mo?ney spent on features taken out of the game after completed made it so that an unreasonable 200 million copies needed to be sold before Black Hole would see any profit. Whether these claims are true is unknown, but the fact that the company went bankr??upt still remains.

Radical Entertainment

Radical Entertainment is mainly known for the recent series Prototype, but it has been around since 1991, getting passed between multiple publishing companies through its history. There were layoffs, and many claimed that these layoffs lead to the cra??sh of the Vancouver game des??ign market.

It was the oldest studio located in Vancouver, after all. This story happens to have a silver lining, as it appears that the company is still partially intact, functioning as a sup?port studio for Activision B?lizzard.

Rockstar Vancouver/Barking Dog

Rockstar's Vancouver studio is known for Bully and the recently released Max Payne 3. Shortly after the release of Max Payne 3, it was announced that Rockstar would be dissolving the studio ??to refocus its efforts in Canada on it??s Toronto-based studio.

This story does not bring the saddest news of closure though, unless you're someone complaining about the decline of?? the Vancouver market. All 35 of the Vancouver employees were offered positions within the Toronto studio. With the additional claim of more positions being created afterwards, hopeful??ly this leads to big new projects coming from those folks.

Sony Liverpool/Psygnosis

Sony Liverpool, perhaps better known as Psygnosis, is the studio behind the WipEout series. At the start of the year, Sony Worldwide Studios came out with an announcement that they would be restructuring the Liverpool studio. Many of the projects they were working on were halted as a result. It wouldn't be until August when the announcement finally came about the studio's closing.

The studio employed roughly 100 people across two development teams. The studio was reportedly working on two projects at the time, each for the next-generation Sony console. While the facility at Liverpool remains functional, it is only to house other Sony Computer Entertainment Europe departments. The status of the two projects, one being a new WipEout, is unknown.

BigBig Studios

BigBig Studios, I feel, is mainly known for Pursuit Force, one of the better launch games for the PlayStation Portable. The studio was formed from a core team of four former Codemasters employees. Sony acquired the ??studio in 2007, and assigned them to work exclusively on games for the portable system.

That might have been the major component in the downfall of the studio, due to the generally dismal life of the portable device itself. The last game they made would be the recent Vita game, Little Deviants which released to less-than-stellar reviews. The studio would be shut down at the beginning of the year as part of restructuring of Sony's European studios.

Zipper Interactive

Zipper interactive started out making computer games before it became tied to the franchise that would rule the company for the most of its life span, SOCOM. ?In 2006, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment and would go on to ma?ke games exclusively for the PlayStation brand. 

Not to let SCE Europe have all the fun restructuring studios, SCE Worldwide Studios announced in March that Zipper Interactive would be shut down. The reason given was that it was part of a normal cycle of resource re-alignment within Sony. The studio had roughly 80 employees at the time of closure. Its recent games, SOCOM 4, MAG, and Unit 13 are still going to be supported, a?cco??rding to Sony.

Paragon Studios

NCSoft is one of the few companies that almost exclusively deals in MMOs. Of course, most of that is acquiring studios that make those kind of games and just putting the monetary system on top of that. There are two things that usually happen. Either the game becomes too bloated to sustain from a financial standpoint, or the people calling the shots shift their focus to something "new." Such is the case with City of Heroes, which was finally shut down this year, much to the outrage and disappointment ?of its players.

The really sad part comes with the liquidation of Paragon Studios, the developers behind the game. As of now, I don’t exactly know what happened to the folks who worked there, whether they were reassigned, or just let go entirely. At the very least, I hope that they are all still o?ut there making games.

38 Studios and Big Huge Games

38 Studios started in 2006, originally named "Green Monster Games." Founded by Baseball star Curt Schilling with a dream to make his own MMO, he seemed to start out the right way, hiring talent that had great experience in the game world. In addition to writer R.A. Salvatore and artist Todd McFarlane, former general manager of games at Comcast Jennifer Maclean, former lead engineer at EA Jon Laff, and a former lead designer of EverQuest Travis McGeathy were in the employ of the studio. To further bolster the prestigious talent base of the company, 38 games acquired studio Big Huge Games, of Rise of Nations fame. The single-player RPG that BH??G was working on at the time would be turned into a tie-in to Schilling's MMO.

It all looked like it was going the right way, and in 2010, the studio received a $75 million dollar guaranteed loan from the state of Rhode Island to relocate their business to the state, in the hopes of creating new jobs. In February of this year, that RPG would see release in the form of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which received favorable reviews.

A missed loan payment just a few months later, and very shortly after, the entire 379 person workforce was laid off, with 38 Studios entering bankruptcy. Schilling and his studio has come under investigation since then for criminal charges, though at the time of writing, no federal charges have been filed against him. A state-level investigation is still underway. As for the folks under Big Huge Games, they're still happily together as Epic Baltimore.

The post Remembering studios that closed in 2012 appeared first on Destructoid.

Inspired the face-melting shmup on TurboGrafx-CD

You won't just find old faves performing at MAGFest. Sometimes, new bands will take to the stage!

Lords of Thunder is a supergroup that consists of Mike Villalobos and John Pike from Descendants of Erdrick, Mateo Marshall from Those Who Fight, solo artist Daniel Tidwell, and Brandon Hood from Chiptunes = WIN. They will be playing a variety of metal c?overs of more obscure game tunes, with a significantly focus on the soundtrack?? to the Hudson Soft shmup after which they are named.

Above is the band's first studio recording, based on the Dark Tower theme from the TurboGrafx-CD version of Lords of Thunder (Bosque theme in the Sega CD port). As you can hear, the source music is already pretty sick?. If our boys can bring that same intensity when they perform Friday at noon, i?t will be magic.

Crossing my fingers for some Thunder Force jams as well!

Lords of Thunder [Facebook]

The post New VGM supergroup Lords of Thunder to d?ebut at?? MAGFest appeared first on Destructoid.

Only in dreams

_{[It Came from Japan! is a series where I seek out and review the weirdest, most original and enjoyable titles that never left the Land of the Rising Sun.]}

There is a wide divide between Super Mario World and all platformers that came after. Despite being the genre of choice in the '90s, very few platformers came close to capturing that launch title’s colorful graphics, tight controls, and creative levels. If you leave out all the action/shooting-based platformers, you’re pretty much left with only Kirby and Donkey
Kong Country. If you ever h??ad the nagging suspicion that there was one more pure platformer gem out there for the S??uper Nintendo -- well, there wasn’t.

However, there was one for the Super Famicom. It not only matches Super Mario World&rsquo??;s excellence, it does so without cop??ying its style and mechanics.

DoReMi Fantasy: Milon no Dokidoki Daibouken (Super Famicom)
Developer: Hudson Soft
Released: March 22, 1996
Current value: $75 - 300
Fan translation: Yes
For fans of: Super Mario World, Kirby, Donkey Kong Country

I started off this season of It Came from Japan! with what I considered the best possible line-up I could have compiled. And yet, I haven’t found much to love which makes discovering DoReMi Fantasy that much sweeter. It’s true that I raved about Magical Pop’n and Tetris Battle Gaiden, but I already was familiar with those titles. Though I often read about DoReMi on import sites, this was my first time playing it and?? I won&rsq??uo;t soon forget its name.

As I traversed DoReMi’s seven worlds and barely beat its increasingly difficult bosses, I kept wondering why we don’t see contemporary indie developers make platformers of this style and quality. I think this because DoReMi is a progressively designed game that wouldn’t feel out of place on any download service. Its lush ambient soundtrack is unlike the giddy music of other platformers, for instance. It also features a ve?ry generous amount of mechanic??s, with each new world building upon what was introduced in the last. You just didn’t see the sort of things in the ‘90s, though it’s commonplace now (if not expected).

The large, colorful sprites, variety of  art assets, and constant twisting of established mechanics is what sets DoReMi a notch above both its 16-bit brethren and contemporary platformers. Oh yeah, and the most important aspect of all: fluidity of control. Milon stops on a dime, jumps as you expect, and controls like a dream when you acquire the boots item that let?? you rapidly press the jump button to gracefully glide. I almost wish the controls weren’t so good in the first world because the game was too easy at first. Once I got to the grueling levels of the third world, I was extra appreciative of the smooth controls.

DoReMi isn’t all about jumping, however. You’ll do a lot of shooting as well. In fact, jumping on enemies only temporarily stuns them. Instead, you’ll need to hit them with a bubble and then jump into them. Once Milon collides with the bubble, it will go floating upward and take down any other enemies it touches. Exploring levels will unveil improvements to the bubble’s range, costumes t?hat add health, and bubblegum that will save Milon from falling into a pit. Make no mistake, however: This is a very simple game, even when Milon learns to surf and summon ladders at will.

Locking players out of content until enough collectibles are acquired is a pet peeve of mine. This often feels like lazy design which can ruin games, best exemplified in Donkey Kong Country 64. DoReMi, along with Super Mario 64, proves to be an exception. Each world contains five stars hidden in the levels, whi??ch would drive me nuts if the levels weren’t so well designed. Each level ??is brief, unique, and fun to explore. Thankfully, you can even quit out once you acquire a star, so you don’t have to play the whole thing again (assuming you didn’t find it on the first go-around).

Each world has its own enemies, obstacles, and look that keep the game fresh during its entirety. DoReMi has the expected forest, ice, and fire worlds, but it also has some more creative ones like a candy world and toy world. The detail put into these levels really makes the concept of each world come to life. I kind of wish the entire game took place in candy world, since it’s gorgeous starry sky ?and delicious-looking treats paired so well with the calming soundtrack. And it made me hungry.

DoReMi features some of the best graphics on the system, even if it doesn’t concede to the CG and Mode-7 gimmicks of the time. Hudson had a knack for making big, beautiful sprites and DoReMi may be its crown jewel. Even with the stellar visuals??, it’s always the mechanics and smart level design that steal the show. The woods contain gusts of wind that slow your movement, the candy world features champagne bottles that blast you across the screen, and the ice world has blocks that won&rsq?uo;t appear until you hit them with a bubble, making for some tricky platforming. Some worlds contain more elaborate elements, like the Concert Hall world that contains fake exits, demanding environmental awareness from the player.

I’m not the biggest fan of 2D platformers because I don’t think there are many good ones. If I played DoReMi upon release, I may have saw things differently. Since I only just beat the game, it feels premature to rank it above or below Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World. But, I feel confident in saying DoReMi forms a trifecta with those two titles -- sorry, never was a Kirby guy.

Maybe it’s at this point that I should mention that DoReMi is a sort-of sequel to Milon’s Secret Castle on the Nintendo. I feel like I’m doing DoReMi a disservice by even mentioning that mediocre title. DoReMi barely feels like a sequel, featuring only a couple elements of the original. DoReMi is confident and whimsical in a way that the original wasn’t. It even features genuinely funny dialog and a bizarre Bomberman cameo that is sure to make Hudson fans smile.

DoReMi is the full package. It would be among the very be?st platformers on any system, including current ones. When the game finally came to international audiences with its Wii Virtual Console release in 2008, it could have been easily mistaken for a current release. Except, you’d be hard-pressed ??????????????????????????to find one with the character and quality of this lost gem from Hudson.

What are your favorite 2D platformers?

Have you enjoyed the selection of games this season?? of ICFJ?

Who the hell pays $300 for a SFC g??ame??, I mean really?

The post It Came From Japan! DoReMi Fantasy appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Illustration by Ashley Davis]}

Just before the blackout, we learned that the last remains of Hudson are to be absorbed by Konami on March 1. While nothing has changed in that regard, Hudson saw fit to issue a statement clarifying a couple of points, namely that the Hudson homepage will remain open and that Hudson-brand? properties will continue to exist.

You will have to excuse me if that doesn't quite fill me with confidence. Hudson was still somewhat alive when a bunch of its upcoming projects were cancelled. I can see perhaps a token Bomberman release for iOS, and I'm su??re Konam??i wants to get those TurboGrafx-16 games out on the 3DS Virtual Console as soon as possible, but beyond that? I'm skeptical.

Oh, well. It's something, at least.

Hudson Bee May Live [Andriasang]

The post Hudson games might… MIGHT… keep getting made appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Illustration by Ashley Davis]}

This is the end, my friends.

After the heart-breaking closure of Hudson Soft's North American division last year, tears were shed, but there was still hope that the properties that put the company on the map would live on in some form. This Japanese filing, however, states that whatever remains of Hudson will ?be absorbed into its parent company Konami on March 1. The Hudson name will subsequently be retired.

This past year, Hudson had been focused on mobile content, and the remaining teams will most likely continue this path under Konami. Does this mean that icons like Bomberman and Master Higgins are truly dead? After the recent cancellation of Hudson titles, the future was looking grim. Now it seems pretty clear. I just don't see Konami putting its resources into new ex-Hudson games when it can instead make fifty bazillion new Metal Gear collections, remakes, and spin-offs.

Long live the bee.

Hudson Ceases to Exist on March 1 [Andriasang]

The post Hudson is officially dead on March 1, 2012 appeared first on Destructoid.

Count on this: where there's a new Nintendo portable there's a new Tetris game. This time around, for the Nintendo 3DS, it's Tetris Axis. A strange name ??for a strange system. An??d it's a prety strange game, too.

Yes, there's classic Tetris in here somewhere under all the 3D graphics, party modes, extra f??eatures and new connectivity. It's just that it's not as good as the last time you got a Tetris game for a new Nintendo portable.

Tetris Axis (Nintendo 3DS)
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: October 2, 2011
MSRP: $29.99

There's a dozen and a half new modes in Tetris Axis that play on the classic game formula. I like some of them, but diehard fans of?? the traditional formula probably won't like any of them. Hudson Soft was trying to do something different and while I appreciate that, the end result is a game that seems to go in every direction except the one direction you'd expec??t. Well, you'd expect 3D silliness, and there's plenty of that.

Because there's a lot of game modes to cover, I'll briefly go through them. Marathon has you clearing as many lines as possible. You know, standard Tetris. Fever mode has you playing in a narrow matrix to clear as many lines as possible in one minute. In this mode you'll earn coins that can be exchanged for items. These items will give you power-ups to make your life a bit easier. I love a good Time Att??ack mode, and this one's not bad, though not that much different than Fever mode. This one also has earnable power-up items, like the cascade tool. At a cost of 50 coins, this item will push down blocks to fill in lower holes when used on a cleared line. You just feel dirty doing that, as you will with all the other power-up items. In both of these modes, do well enough and you get flipped to a fast paced color clearing bonus screen that has you putting preset minos in puzzles for big points. 

Survival has you clearing as many lines as you can while incoming lines make their way toward the top. The game keeps count of your total time and line count. There's also a computer battle mode that has you throwing lines at your virtual opponent. Hudson's own Bomberman is the first opponent. The computer likes to throw curveballs your way, like flipping minos, or random individual blocks, or worse, bombs that tear up all your building work. You can do the same with ??items as you earn them, throwing a wrench in their gears by hitting X. Some items, gained by clearing lines, can also help you out, like the UFO that comes from space to suck up your bottom rows.  It may sound fun, but it's a deal breaker to me, as the use of these items throws all of the game's balance out the window. Skill no longer matters if there's an item that will clear your board for you.

I enjoyed the party modes more than any of the game's featured modes. In Party Mode you will do things like use minos like jigsaw pieces to build picture puzzles, or build an object by looking at its silhouette on the bottom screen. Modes like Tower Climber, where you'll stack blocks against a cylindrical matrix, or Fit, where you'll drop shapes into holes in the plane of the same shape to clear, will blow your mind if you're still stuck in the 2D days. Your mind will be further blown when you realize you can use the circle pad to turn the matrix around in 3D. Woaaaah.

The two games in the AR mode are good only for w?owing friends that haven't seen the 3DS in action yet. AR Climber has you stacking tetriminos against a cylinder that is generated in your real-world playspace with augmented reality technology. You'll work to guide a tiny character to the top of this cylinder by using your dropped blocks as steps. This game must be played on a surface you can walk fully around as you'll have to run around it to see all the way around the cylinder. The AR Marathon mode is like standard Tetris, but on a smaller floating playspace that appears in your environment. Both of these modes will likely give you motion sickness if you move around at all, and with the AR Climber mode, you'll have to. Forget turning the 3D slider up on either one of these unless you want to turn your brain to mush. 

Tetris Axis does support many types of competitive play. Local Play requires another 3DS owner with a copy of the game, but there's also download play supp?ort for up to eight players. Internet mode lets you battle?? a random online player through quick matches. Connection time was often slow, and it would often time out. Fun.

I liked the addition of dancing Miis and club-style classical music remixes, and the graphical presentation and 3D novelties were neat, but none of this really satisfied my craving to play some good ol' Tetris. Somehow the standard-ish Marathon mode wasn't doing it for me. Again, I appreciate that Hudson Soft was trying to do something new and different, but I find myself wanting to go back to Tetris DS after spending some time with Tetris Axis. I guess I'm old-fashioned that way.

The post Review: Tetris Axis appeared first on Destructoid.

[Update: Well, horrible news is in store for those who wanted to play with anthropomorphic furry pugilists. It appear??s the Twitter account was a fake. One that duped pretty much everybody online. It was just a joke, and there is no new Bloody Roar game coming. Sorry about that, guys. I'm sad now.]

Remember Bloody Roar, the fighting game in which people could transform into rabbits and boar?s? Well, in what might ?be the most surprising news of the weekend, it's coming back! 

Hudson confirmed via Twitter that an all new Bloody Roar sequel is in production, with apparent plans to release it in 2012. There is no further news on what Hudson is currently calling Bloody Roar 5, but it's certainly set the Internet afire with speculation. Or at least generated a warm glow of mild?? bemusement. 

I remember my brother playing Bloody Roar like crazy. I bet he's excited. Are you?

The post Hudson working on a new Bloody Roa?r game! (Update: Nope) appeared first on Destructoid.

A handful of WiiWare games were just pulled from the U.S. and European Wii Shop channels. As far as I know, the full list of removed games includes The Magic Obelisk (in the U.S.) and LONPOS, Shootanto: Evolutionary Mayhem, Diner Dash, Racers' Islands - Crazy Racers, Gods vs Humans and Racers' Islands - Crazy Arenas (in Europe). The Magic Obelisk is a great little action puzzle game, so I'm sad to see that one gone, and Shootanto: Evolutionary Mayhem is basically the Birdemic of videogames, so it definitely deserves your attention (even though it totally doesn't).

I'm guessing that these aren't selling enough to justify whatever it costs to have them on the Wii Shop channel. That must mean they really aren't selling, as the last I checked, it costs nothing to keep your game on the Wii Shop channel once you've already got it up there. Reports are coming in that Zallag, the developer behind Gods vs Humans and the Racers Island games has actually gone out of business, and that's why their games were pulled. I hope this doesn't mean that Game Arts (developers of The Magic Obelisk) and Hudson (publisher of Shootano and Diner Dash) are also in trouble. I couldn't stand to see Hudson c??lose down twice in the same year.

Anyway, I hope this motivates some of you slackers to go ahead and buy those one-of-a-kind WiiWare games that you know you want to play, but have been too lazy to actually download. One day you could wake up and find that Tomena Sanner, You, Me, and the Cubes, Muscle March, the ReBirth games from Konami, and many other classic WiiWare home console exclusives are gone for good. Buy them while ?you stil??l can!

Zallag explains why their company closed [GoNintendo]

The post Uh oh: Some WiiWare games are now off the market appeared first on Destructoid.

Fan art alert! Artist Zac Gorman has a web page dedicated just to Nintendo fan art, and it's pretty incredible. His animated comics are particularly stunning. As his style is a little on the cartoony side, you might expect his work to have a more lighthearted bent, but there' plenty of heavy drama here, peppered with some autobiographical and editorial stuff too. For instance, Mr Gorman doesn't seem too impressed Nintendo's recent redesign of Pit from Kid Icarus, and when it comes to the Wii U, he's more excited by the idea of a new Earthbound game than a?? new controller. He's a man after my own heart.

On the other side of the fan-art spectrum, we have the latest project by Destructoid alumni Ashley Davis. Entitled No Mario's Allowed!, her new site is all about putting lesser known game characters in the spotlight. So far she's covered Hudson favorites Bomberman, Bonk, an?d Master Higgins. It's a fitting partial eulogy for the company, who's loss of an American branch was one of the gaming industry's worst causalities of 2011.

I'll be keeping a close eye?? on both of these blogs, as they ?are both updated on a regular basis. Fans of quality fan art would do well to bookmark them both.

The post Get your Nintendo (and non-Nintendo) fan art here appeared first on Destructoid.

It may be a nationa??l holiday in America, but that doesn't mean that Nintendo is taking a day off. There's plenty of DLC coming our wa?y this week. Here's what we've got:

Wiiware:

• FAST - Racing League (1,000 Wii Points) - futuristic racer
• BIT.TRIP VOID (600 Wii Points, demo available) - a synesthetic exploration of rhythm and music

DSiWare

• House M.D. Globetrotting (800 points) - House...on your DSi
• B Team - Episode 1: Dust & Steel (800) squad-based shooter
• Valet Parking 1989 (500 points) Best game name ever

Virtual Console

• Super Adventure Island (800 points) The SNES classic from Hudson. I love this game.

The post Nintendo DLC: House M.D., Super Adventure Island appeared first on Destructoid.

No! I'm a big Diner Dash fan. I have various versions on PC, Mac, iP??hone and iPad, bu??t one of the coolest is the console version. Moving Flo around with a joystick is a totally new challenge that makes the game a bit more tense and exciting to me. I'm glad I already have a copy as it seems that Hudson's version on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade have been pulled down.

Both Diner Dash and Dream Chronicles came from Hudson, developed using a license from PlayFirst. It seems that the Konami takeover of Hudson has affected these titles. Maybe it's as GamerByes says; maybe they didn't want to pay the license fees. ??;

That's too bad.

The post Diner Dash and Dream Chronicles removed from PSN, XBL??A appeared first on Destructoid.

Bonk: Brink of Extinction was one the more prominent titles to get the big boot once Hudson Entertainment closed. Sure, our impression from last year's E3 was rathe?r lukewarm, but it was still a revival of a beloved property that many of us were anticipating.

The soundtrack (or rather seven pieces of potentially larger soundtrack) have been made public by composer Rich Vreeland, who is also responsible for the music in XBLA's upcoming Fez. It's a very mellow so???und that nails the prehistoric mood.

It seems as though this music has been available since las??t May and is only now making the Internet rounds. Regardless, give it a listen and imagine what could have been.

Bonk: Brink of Extinction (Soundtrack) [Bandcamp]

The post Canceled Bonk’s soundtrack is free to stream appeared first on Destructoid.

This week's downloadable offerings for Nintendo's systems includes a classic Super Nintendo title that is so old that you could even call it prehistoric. Super Bonk was great on the SNES -- such a fun game. In it you worked to get Hudson's big-headed brain buster back to his time. Super Bonk is this week's Virtual Console release. It's priced at 800 Wi??i Points.

There's three games for DSiWare this week: Anonymous Notes Chapter 1 - From The Abyss (200 points) is an RPG in an infinite dungeon, A Fairy Tale (500 points) has over 100 puzzles of fairy saving fun, and Absolute Baseball (500 points) makes you a team manager that issues commands to guide your players towards the champion?ships. 

On WiiWare there's Planet Fish (500 Wii Points), which has you shooting bubbles to capture fish for your aquarium. You'll travel to real deep sea environments to grow your collection. There's also A Monsteca Corral: Monsters vs. Robots, which has...well, monsters fending off invading robots. ??It's 500 poin?ts this week, and there's also a free demo to download.

The post Nintendo DLC: Super Bonk! appeared first on Destructoid.

Dear Hudson fans. Thanks for your support for all these years! We'll be closing our account tomorrow. Please follow our titles @Ko??nam?i

:(

The post Hudson’s final Tweet appeared first on Destructoid.

Earlier today, we reported that a few Hudson games for 3DS -- Bomberman, Bonk, and Omega Five -- ??????????????????????????had been dropped. But, that might not be the case, exactly.

"If (the announcement) didn't come from us, it's not true. We have not distributed any official list of Hudson products yet," a Konami representative told W??ired.

The original talk of cancellation stemmed from Famitsu, which removed the aforementioned titles and other Hudson games from its release list. Now that Konami has control of Hudson, it sounds like the games -??- the ones that survive, anyway -- simply need to be announced a second time.

Bomberman? in Limbo: Konami Undecided on Fate of Hudson's Games [Wired]

The post Hudson 3DS titles not necessarily canceled appeared first on Destructoid.

Konami took over Hudson recently, and with that came a canceling of titles. Sad, I know. The latest issue of Famitsu updates us on what exactly was canceled. We don't know why they were canceled, but we do know that Omega Five, Bonk and Bomberman for the 3DS are dead as of now. Freaking Bomberman, man. I would have loved a new Bomberman for th??e 3DS. That's really disappointing. Damn you, Konami. 

Also on the canceled list was Deca Sports 4, for the Wii. I don't think anyone? will be missing?? that one.

Hudson's 3DS, Wii titles cancelled [GoNintendo]

[Update: Konami tells Wired that that a Bomberman 3DS?? is still possible. “We have not distributed any official list of Hudson products yet,” they said. Konami is hoping to tell us more at E3 this year. Don't lose hope!]

The post Hudson games killed: Three 3DS titles including Bomberm??an appeared first on Destructoid.

Wor??st April Fools' Day joke ever is ??Hudson as we know it closing up shop. They become the property of Konami on this day, and they'll be turned into a social networking division for the company. Also, Hudson Entertainment, the U.S.-based arm of Hudson, will close down at the end of this month. 

Konami is hoping to cut some staff at Hudson Japan, says Andriasang. They're looking for 40 people to go. Th??ose that volunteer will get severance, a bonus, and the hook-up on futu??re job placement. 

?This all sucks worse than blowing yourself up with your own bombs.

The post Hudson is Konami’s April 1st, now a social games arm appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm sure you've heard that Hudson ha??s closed its doors and all of their projects have been canceled. It's one thing to say that Konami gobbled them up, but it's another to hear the full story, which has been a decade in the making.

The story found at The Kartel is a good one, and it's told by someone who would know. A former high-level employee (and a great guy) takes you through the highs and lows. You get the story of how the busted Bomberman: Act Zero came out. You'll learn how Bomberman Live brought them back. And? you'll eventually see how it all slowly crumbled away, bringing us to today. You'll see how this once family-owned business became big and then became corporate out of necessity. And then disappeared.

It's all very depressing. I hope that Konami and the Hudson people that remain choose to keep Hudson's characters and h??eritage alive. Hudson made such a huge mark on gaming history. It can't just disappear like this.

The post Get the full story on why Hudson closed appeared first on Destructoid.

Good morrow, Toidlings. I come before you with the fiftieth fabulous foray i??nto foul and frivolous feculence. In other words, this is The Destructoid Show Episode 50. (Please ignore the fact that I've only been on it for 5 weeks.)

This time around, we talk about the demise of Hudson Entertainment, Bulletstorm's contribution to the recent rape epidemic, and badass handicapped gamers. After that, I tell you what playing the 3DS is really like, and it's all downhill from there with Dark Souls, Elder Scrolls, and Kevin Butler trolls. 

In other news, Max Roahrig from Flixist (that's ou?r sister movie site) was in the studio today filming us being ridiculous for a behind-the-scenes video about the show. Also, a lightbulb explo??ded for no reason and cake (question mark?)

Spoiler Alert: I was out doing scientific alcohol research last night with Dr. Hamza, so I look a little more Charlie Sheenish than usual. Our ex?periments led us to the conclusion of "don't drink anything blue."

The post Destructoid: Dark Sou??ls, Fox News, Squidbear, and Huds?on appeared first on Destructoid.

Here's the worst piece of news I've heard in a while. According to Morgan Haro, the CEO of Hudson Entertainment, the Western branch of Hudson Soft, will be closing down at the end February when Konami acquires the company. All projects being headed by Hudson Entertainment are now canceled. We don't know exactly what that means, as Hudson is yet to release a list of which games were headed by Hudson Soft, as opposed to Hudson Entertainment. That said, I doubt this is good news for those looking forward to the now ironically titled Bonk: Brink of Extinction.

When SNK went bankrupt, I was all sorts of depressed. I was sure that it meant the end of Metal Slug, King of Fighters, and any chance of a Ikari Warriors revival. Turns out my depression was mostly over nothing, as after SNK was acquired by Playmore, we've seen tons of new Metal Slug and KoF games, more than some of us ??might have even wanted.

I'm hoping the same thing happens with Hudson in the long run, but I'm sure that's no consolation for the employees of Hudson Entertainment who are now out of work. Let's hope they all find new jobs soon, at Konami, Hudson Soft??, or otherwise.

Report: Hudson Entertainment Shut down [Joystiq]

The post H??udson closes its doors, all planned projects? canceled appeared first on Destructoid.

Hudson Soft is now 100% owned by Konami, it was revealed this morning. The Bomberman publisher is to be fully consumed by the Japanese powerhouse, which already owns a? 54% stake in ?the company. 

Hudson shall become a wholly owned subsidiary of Konami, and will be used primarily to strengthen the?? company's mobile and social gaming abilities. Hudson CEO Michihiro Ishizuka will resign March 31, with the stock swap expected to go?? down on April 1. 

It's not yet known if Hudson will keep its name, as Konami is currently investigating the possibilities. Do not expect any of this news to hinder your monthly supply of Bomberman spin-offs. 

Konami Preparing Hudson Takeover [Andriasang]

The post Hudson’s soul (and property) now belongs to Konami appeared first on Destructoid.

Starting this month, Hudson will gleefull??y begin pumping out TurboGrafx-16 games for the North American PlayStation Store. They'll be offer??ed as individual downloads for PlayStation 3 and PSP should you feel the need to relive the '90s.

• Alien Crush
  
• Bomberman '94
  
• Bonk's Adventure
  
• Dungeon Explorer
  
• Neutopia
  
• New Adventure Island
  
• Soldier Blade
  
• Super Star Soldier
  
• Victory Run
  
• World Sports Competition

If this announcement sounds at all familiar, you're probably thinking back to when Hudson told us these titles were hitting the PlayStation Store in Europe. One small victory at a time, gents. And yes, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Blazing Lazers -- make it happen!

The post NA PlayStation Store getting TurboGrafx-16 games appeared first on Destructoid.

Drawing as much inspiration from Jordan Mechner’s classic Prince of Persia as from Team ICO’s gloomy, haunting aesthetics, Hudson’s Wii-exclusive Lost in Shadow seemingly begs for gamers’ attention.

The good news is that it’s a striking and impressive journey that manages to mimic its influences rather well in a f??ew key areas. ??Unfortunately, it staggers in a few areas, and ultimately can't quite stand alongside the masterpieces that inspired it.

Lost in Shadow (Wii)
Developer: Hudson Soft
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Released: January 4, 2011
MSRP: $39.99

While the game unabashedly wears its influences on its sleeve, Lost in Shadow brings its own gimmick to the table: a world where a shadow boy runs, skips, and fights in twilight. While the foreground is almost always visible, it’s the dark shadows that the “real-world” environments cast that are tangible to the player. Navigating the world is mind-bending at first, like taking a trip through a hallucination. It’s natural to focus on the solid object in a game’s fo??refront, which can lead to some early confusion. But it’s not long before that uncertainty gives way to wholly understanding how to interact with this new world, and you’ll soon find yourself taking pleasure in discovering passages otherwise unobtainable, now shrouded in shadows.

Lost in Shadow is played using the Nunchuk and the Wii Remote, the analog stick on the former used to move the shadow boy around on the game’s 2D planes. The remote is home to buttons for other basic actions, like attacking enemies, jumping, and moving switches. It also acts as a pointer, or in this case, to move around Spangle, a helpful little sprite who can move physical switches and lights?? in the “real world.”

Lost in Shadow is as much about playing in the darkness as it is about playing with the darkness, and there’s where Spangle comes into play. The pint-sized fairy can be used to move objects and lights, shifting shadows and changing the lay of the land, creating new paths and allowing you to access new areas. While some of these object manipulation and light-shifting spots can be looked at as puzzles, there are few areas of Lost in Shadow that are so complicat?ed that you’d be able to label them &ld?quo;puzzling.” Most are simply a matter of keeping an eye open or hunting and pecking around an environment for moveable objects. There’s certainly some clever, M.C. Escher-like design at play here, but folks looking for head-scratching moments will probably feel let down.

“Shadow Corridors” -- mysterious mini-realms found throughout the game’s areas -- change things up a bit, and feature mechanisms that allow you to sh?ift the world from left to right in 3D space. Shift the wrong way and get crushed by a shadow; move it properly and create a new path. It’s definitely an interesting twist, but doesn’t really offer much beyond the initial novelty. ?Because you can only shift left or right, you have a 50-50 chance of choosing the right direction. Choose wrong and you’ll die before instantly being revived... in the very same spot where you just perished.

The goal is to work your way up the game’s enigmatic tower, and thus has you mostly working upward, with stages broken up in chunks of a few floors. The exits for each area are blocked by “Shadow Walls”; in order to pass through them, you’ll have to find and collect three “Monitor Eyes” found in the region. As the levels get more intricate, this often leads to quite a bit of backtracking, as missing ??a single tucked-away eye will have you cursing at your television as you stand in front of a dense, unpassable &ldqu??o;Shadow Wall.” This gets particularly irritating in some of the game’s larger sections, which may find you doing more backpedaling than working your way up the game’s lofty tower.

On the subject of how the game is broken up, it should be mentioned that the only checkpoints come when completing those chunks of floors. That is to say that dying after spending 15 or more minutes traversing a single segment will send you right back to the start to do it again. While the game is light on intricate puzzles, there are plenty of traps and enemies to contend with, and most players will certainly drain their health more than a few times during their adventure. It’s great that Lost in Shadow offers some challenge; that’s not the issue. It’s just unfortunate that the lack of checkpoints can sometimes feel so brutal and ?exhausting.

Lost in Shadow’s combat is also regrettably shallow, sometimes to the point of irritation. It relies on a single-button combo system that has you tapping the Wii Remote’s B button three times to launch a series of attacks. Afterwards, you’re left completely vulnerable, as there is no guard or evade button. The result is an?? archaic and annoyi?ng “run and pop” type of combat, where you’ll move into an enemy, hit them a few times, and then turn your back and run away. This leaves you completely open to taking damage, which can quickly get irritating. Fortunately, this type of encounter repeats itself across almost all of the game’s adversaries, so once you get the pattern down, it becomes easy enough; it’s just not much fun.

Visually, Lost in Shadow cribs quite a bit from ICO, with a hazy aesthetic, giving the game a washed-out, mystifying look and feel. As you’d expect from a game called Lost in Shadow, there are some breathtaking plays on light and dark. Coupled with a haunting soundtrack, the developers do a respectable job imitating the same kind of otherworldly vibe found in Team ICO’s titles. But where games like ICO and Shadow of the Colossus managed to use that atmosphere in conjunction with characters to an emotional advantage, that’s where Lost in Shadow fails.

Simply put, there’s no real connection to the shadow boy or the game’s narrative, which spends all of its time trying to be mystifying but never really offering up much substance. While this ambiguous storytelling can sometimes work in a game’s favor, there’s usually some storyline breadcrumbs or a relationship that helps ground it in reality. Lost in Shadow offers very little, so it u??ltimately feels like a series of platforming trials and little more.

Thankfully, the designs of the bulk of Lost in Shadow’s platforming trials are clever enough, providing a mostly fun and memorable experience, if an emotionally empty one. For most, that will be enough; there’s something to be said about shrewd level design wrapped in an alluring artistic style that nods towards some of gaming’s greats. Still, it’s regrettable that Lost in Shadow stumbles in key places ??that make it a? “good,” but never truly “great,” adventure. 

The post Review: Lost in Shadow appeared first on Destructoid.

Odd because it's not a Madden NFL title or something with plastic instruments, you'll be able to find a demo for Hudson's upcoming Wii title, Lost in Shadow, at select Best Buy stores starting this week.

By "select" I me??an the stores list?ed on Best Buy's website, of course. Well, at least according to Hudson; I can't seem to find a list anywhere, so you may have to check your local store.

Lost in Shadow is out on January 4; check back then for my full review??, or play the demo and make up your own damned min?d!

The post Best Buy stores get Lost in Shadow demo appeared first on Destructoid.

Laugh if you must, but I love Fishing Master. Lord knows I have taken abuse for it before. But its charm and gamep?lay are worth more than anybody who would mock me for enjoying them. And now it'll be even easier for me to take my fishing exploits on the go.

Hudson has just released Fishing Master for iOS devices. In the game you'll be able to travel to over 20 locations to catch more than 150 types of fish while earning medals. What else could you possibly ask for? How about not having to pay a thin dime for the opportunity to enjoy the game? Done. Fishing Master is totally free.

You can check out?? a whole bunch of screenshots below.

The post Fishing Master now available for iPhone, to?tally free appeared first on Destructoid.