"They added a new Clippy. He looks like shit. He’s a little blob. Fuck you! I don’t want that!"

The post What The Hell Is Microsoft Doing? appeared first on Aftermath.

DENVER — Putt-Putt Travels Through Time, a 1997 educational computer game intended to teach basic math and problem-solving skills to first graders, was recently the subject of a three-hour video essay in which a YouTube personality claimed that the game contains a number of deeper themes and messages intended for adults “if you know where to look.”

“People are so quick to dismiss games like Putt-Putt as baby stuff just because the recommended age for them is for kids 3-8,” YouTuber GyattyBear said, peering into the camera from beneath a Bluey trucker cap. “But the reality is that if you don’t have great eyesight, it looks like it says for ages 38 when you’re looking at the artwork in the Steam store. And I think that was an intentional choice. Sit back, pop a Sunny D and lemme explain why this Millennial classic is a little darker than you remember.”

Friends of GyattyBear—real name Mason Rhett, 37—say they had not watched his latest video but totally intend to get around to it eventually, probably.

“I think ‘friend’ is maybe a strong word,” Devin Hanscome, 19, said. “Mason and I work together at Albertson’s and we have a lot of the same shifts but that dude is like twice my age. I only subscribed to his channel because he held his breath until I agreed and I thought he was going to pass out and go face first into the sweet potatoes. I’ll probably just skim the video so I can repeat back a sentence or two when he asks if I watched.”

Comments under the video, which runs nearly three times as long as the average playthrough of Putt-Putt Travels Through Time, were divisive, as gamers tried to determine whether Rhett’s analysis was supported by the game’s text. 

“Bro cookin fr fr here,” user RipClubPengin2015 said in a comment timestamped to a part of the video where Rhett claimed the game’s inclusion of Putt-Putt’s puppy and homework as macguffins symbolizes the way capitalism forces people to choose between work and pleasure. “No wonder the depiction of Put-puts [sic] panic attack was so real.”

“Dude, it’s a game for kids in diapers. Play something real like Piglet’s Big Game if you want maturity,” a comment by ShortMyEats read. 

“Please have your dad call me back about Sal’s retirement party love Uncle Ross,” wrote another user.

At press time, Rhett was seen cowering under his blankets after accidentally downloading Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse.

The post ‘Putt-Putt Travels Through Time Explores Some Pretty Mature Themes,’ Insists 3-Hour Video Essay appeared first on Palette Swap.

The pitch for Deadwire is quite simple: what if Hotline Miami was set in a cyberpunk world? Honestly, there’s not much else I need to hear to get me to try a game; however, that comparison might be selling Deadwire a little short. Yes, it has a similar art style and overall vibe as Hotline Miami, but Deadwire leans heavily into hacking as a mechanic to the point where anyone expecting a simple retread of Hotline Miami’s run and gun gameplay with just a bit more neon will have their expectations subverted.

Deadwire is a top-down tactical shooter that follows a crew of hackers in a cyberpunk world as they get to the bottom of a mystery surrounding a crime syndicate. All of that is secondary to me, however, since I was absolutely transfixed by the hacking mechanic central to the game’s design. It’s pretty simple in concept: you hack something by clicking on it and connecting it to something else that’s hackable. Connect a generator to a locked door, now you’ve got an unlocked door; a generator to a car, now the car is ramming forward at max speed. Where things start to get a little trickier, however, is the fact that you can add enemies to your ReWire chain, making them a part of a huge chain reaction that sets multiple things into motion at once.

When Deadwire starts, the levels don’t require you to use a ton of brainpower to take out enemies since they come at you in relatively small numbers, but as the levels go on, you start to realize how often you’ll need to outsmart them by ReWiring everything to give yourself an advantage. For example, ReWiring two enemies together and shooting one of them will kill both, but if you ReWire an enemy that’s next to you to an exploding barrel that’s close to a group of enemies, you can shoot the person nearby to set off the barrel to kill the group.

There’s a certain level of big-brained thinking that’s required to get through Deadwire’s campaign. All too often, you’ll need to think your way out of a situation instead of running in guns blazing. It’s a welcome change of pace from the frantic knifefights and shootouts in games like Hotline Miami that inspired it. That said, despite the fact that Deadwire has a different mechanical core than the likes of Hotline Miami, it still adopts some of the mechanics associated with the frantic pacing of the game.

For example, hitting the “X” key on the keyboard instantly restarts your progress at the beginning of the level, implying that Deadwire wants you to reset if things go poorly. This makes sense since you can certainly hack yourself into a corner if you misfire your ReWiring or end up trapping yourself in an area without a line of sight on anything you can hack; however, most levels usually have several different encounters in them. This means that you can sometimes find yourself needing to reset at the end of a two-minute level after a single part of your plan goes awry.

As I started dipping into Deadwire, I was hoping that there were checkpoints in each level that would minimize the time lost from resetting, but that wasn’t the case. This isn’t some huge flaw in Deadwire; the game is still a really solid collection of hacking puzzles mixed with flashy cyberpunk action, but it did feel at times like its intentions were a bit misplaced.

There are plenty of other things to praise, like the design of the levels themselves, which continuously invent fun new ways to take out cybernetic goons while pushing you to think outside the box with ReWire puzzles. Deadwire’s soundtrack is also excellent, and has an effect that makes many of the game’s gunfights feel almost like you’re timing your shots out to the beat of the bass.

It’s easy to recommend Deadwire if you’re a fan of the cyberpunk genre or if you’re looking for a game that mixes mechanics from thoughtful puzzle games and upbeat action titles. Not a great game for anyone who’s a cyberpunk goon, though, so if you’re easily hackable and walk in predictable, timed patterns in the rooms of your house, you might want to skip this one.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Sucker Punch announced today the first wave of DLC coming to its open-world action-adventure title Ghost of Yōtei. In this new story, game protagonist Atsu finds herself on a hellish gameshow where the only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning.

“The main campaign of Ghost of Yōtei tells a beautiful story of Atsu overcoming her demons as she seeks revenge on those who slaughtered her family — the Yōtei Six,” said creative director Nate Fox in a new PlayStation State of Play. “In Ghost of Yōtei: Gēmuchenjā, Atsu discovers her job is incomplete. She learns Lord Saito’s clan has a secret seventh member who has, in fact, been there the whole time.”

The 20-minute segment of the State of Play continued discussing this new giggling villain.

“Our last member of the Yōtei Seven is the most ruthless yet. While the Spider wields his firearms and the Kitsune wields their poison, our new villain, ‘The Chipmunk,’ wields his mind,” said creative director Jason Connell over footage of a samurai dressed in a custom pinstripe kimono. “The Chipmunk prefers to torture his victims in front of an audience, making them slice through bamboo with their non-dominant hand, improvise song lyrics on the spot, or try to squeeze into as many T-shirts as possible. Real sick shit — way worse than trying to slice through a bunch of bamboo with your non-dominant hand.”

Connell added, regarding the Chipmunk’s design:

“That’s not a mask by the way. That’s just what he looks like.”

Erika Ishii, who does the voice and motion-capture for Ghost of Yōtei’s player character, shared their thoughts on the upcoming expansion.

“I’m so thankful to be able to return to the character of Atsu. She and the players will face new challenges like nothing she’s seen before,” said Ishii. “This DLC stretches beyond the edge of Japan, all the way to the Chipmunk’s lair, across an ocean in Burbank. Though, he originally hails from a land that will one day be known as Cambridge, Massachusetts. I can’t spoil much about the story, but Sucker Punch did have me do mocap for a lot of karaoke.”

At press time, Sucker Punch announced the DLC would feature all-new cosmetic options for Atsu, including an undercut hairstyle with the phrase “THE CHIPMUNK SUX” shaved into one side.

The post Ghost of Yōtei DLC to Have Atsu Compete in Only Game Show Where the Game Changes Every Show appeared first on Palette Swap.

After spending a weekend immersed in DICE’s latest installment of their flagship Battlefield series, I outlined a story for this website that pronounced it a glorious return to form for the long-running first-person shooter franchise. It was all there: The glorious combat, the wide range of vehicles, the beautiful and completely destructible environments. Yes, this was the best Battlefield I’ve played in years, possibly ever. 

Then I realized I fucked up and was actually playing Battlefield 2: Bad Company by mistake. 

Before you ask, yes, in hindsight, the signs were there. The lower resolution, the smaller lobbies, the Xbox 360 controller in my hand. But thanks to a few too many birthday beers and a small gas leak in my apartment, these differences were indiscernible to me during the assigned review window (a 10-hour span I later realized was part of a gas-induced hallucination.)

And while I may have, in all actuality, booted up the entirely wrong game, I still think it’s cool that DICE is trying to get back to some of the things people used to love about this franchise, after wandering away from certain core elements in recent installments like Battlefield One and Battlefield 2042. 

At least that’s what I’ve heard. I still just have Xbox 360. 

This whole situation is a shame, because I had some really great stuff written up about backwards compatibility and the innovation Microsoft is showing by making their newest game available on a 20-year-old console. It simply blew my mind. Instead of that finely-crafted prose, I’ll include Senior Director Damien Kieken’s response to me about how he achieved this vision for the new game. 

“We’re extremely proud of Battlefield 6,” Kieken said in an emailed response. “But I’m afraid it’s not going to work on your Xbox 360, no matter how many emails you send me accusing me of trickery and corporate malfeasance (a word I’m not sure you’re using or spelling correctly.)” 

Fair points all around. 

Maybe he wasn’t up to malfeesense. Perhaps he wasn’t “out to get me,” as I told anyone that would listen. Maybe the prick at the gas station just lied to me and sold me an old copy of BC2 with new box art he’d made. Which would explain why I never encountered the dragon I saw on the cover. 

Oh well. Great game, would play again. 

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 — 9/10

The post After Spending 10 Hours With Battlefield 6, We Think We Might’ve Been Playing Bad Company 2 by Mistake appeared first on Palette Swap.

To celebrate the imminent launch of Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles, Square Enix has shared collaborative artwork with fellow tactics title Triangle Strategy. This new illustration by Yasushi Hasegawa depicts Tactics protagonist Ramza and Triangle Strategy protagonist Serenoa: The Ivalice Chronicles includes enhanced and classic modes. The enhanced version introduces fully voiced dialogue in both [...]