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There’s a scene in Ska Studios’ Charlie Murder in which the members of the titular punk rock group do what rock stars do best. No, they don’t rock out, though the game does dedicates several scenes to just that. During the scene in question, the band does the rock star thing and tears apart a hotel room. The rambunctious five behave the way we’ve all come to expect rock stars to behave: irresponsibly. Furniture is destroyed, a mattress gets kicked, hell is raised.

So what, right? That’s all standard rock star fare, and it fits right into a game that celebrates nearly every aspect of the (undead) punk rocker lifestyle. That little mattress-kicking bit, though, well, that seems to have upset at least a few game critics. It’s not so much that the mattress is being kicked that caused the issue, but it’s the individual doing the kicking and the role she plays in the game on the whole that caused some reviewers to be put-off by the character.

The character is Kelly “Skelekitten” Skitten, and she spends most of the hotel scene meagerly kicking at a mattress while the rest of the band — which itself raises from hell in the game’s opening scene — raises hell. Eventually, a male member of the band walks over and does the job of destroying the mattress that Skitten apparently could not accomplish on her own. I noticed it while playing through Charlie Murder for review, but I thought it merely a harmless joke about a woman who looks to weigh all of 90 pounds not being capable of destroying a mattress by kicking it. Another critic felt differently.

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The thinking-person’s tactical shooter, Takedown: Red Sabre is breaching the Xbox Live Arcade community next month, targeting September 20 at $14.99/1200 MSP. Independent developer Serellan touts Red Sabre as the spiritual successor to the original Rainbow Six and SWAT series, putting the focus back on methodical, measured gameplay that glances back to a time when shooters came in a variety of flavors, before being eclipsed by the frenzied run-and-gunner and the bombast of huge set pieces.

As private military contractors, you’ll accept varied objectives from multiple employers. You’ll map out each mission insertion, planning routes and tactics, equipping your squad(s) with the necessary tools to get the job done. Non-linear environments allow for flexibility and diversity in each engagement across the campaign, co-op and competitive multiplayer modes – there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to a problem.

We sat down with Creative Director Christian Allen during our E3 preview of Takedown: Red Sabre, and were struck by the stripped-down realism Serellan has injected into their project. When there’s no radar or regenerating health, when every round fired could be the one that counts, slow and steady isn’t just recommended, it’s a requirement. You can hit the jump to see the orchestrated madness in action.

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New information has recently come to light at Gamescom in Germany about the sequel to the popular Peggle game. It was officially announced at E3 alongside Plants Vs Zombies: …
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Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition‘s Title Update 12 is now available. Several highlights include a new jungle biome along with several new jungle related items like jungle wood stairs, blocks and tree saplings. New mobs include the Iron Golem and Ocelots/Cats. The AI for mobs has also been updated along with their rare loot tables. Check out all of the updates after the jump.

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After experiencing falling sales numbers over the last quarter due to new console anticipation, GameStop CEO Paul Rines predicts the upcoming release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 …
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For many Xbox 360 owners who fired up their trusty consoles yesterday, there was an update waiting for them. Microsoft, to the applause of many, has done away with Microsoft …
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DuckTales: Remastered was developed by WayForward Technologies and published by Capcom. It will be released September 11, 2013 for 1200 MSP or $14.99. A copy was provided for review purposes.

In 1989, Capcom, much to the delight of gamers young & old, released the critically acclaimed Disney DuckTales. Many viewed this game as one of the best games, ever, on the NES. The game sold so well it was later ported over to the Gameboy. Sales combined between both platforms were over the 2 million mark.

Thus, fans were overjoyed when at PAX East 2013, Capcom announced that they would be releasing a DuckTales: Remastered in the summer of 2013. WayForward Technologies has been working on this title since 2011. Ducktales: Remastered has already launched for PC, PS3 and WiiU but the Xbox 360 version will not be released till September 11, 2013.

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Destructoid spoke recently with the lead writer of the upcoming XBLA title The Wolf Among Us, Pierre Shorette, to discuss the story elements within the highly anticipated game.

When asked …
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Mars: War Logs was developed by Spiders Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released July 26, 2013 for 1,200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

Mars: War Logs is a sci-fi/action RPG that is unmistakably, unabashedly cut from the same basic template used for Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire, and Mass Effect. The main character is a war veteran with a dark, mysterious, or troubled past. He or she travels with a few companions who provide assistance, special abilities, additional information, and so on. The villain is either an oppressive fascist regime or someone who harbors deep personal resentment for the hero. Throughout the journey, the party is faced with moral dilemmas as they seek to resolve primary tasks and sub-quests, with decision options usually broken down into a binary GOOD or EVIL choice and little in-between. There is an equipment upgrade system, where the player uses spare materials to enhance weapons and armor. The party gains experience points to level up, and skill points can be applied to unlock advanced abilities, feats, and class perks. There are romance options available, depending on the hero’s gender, demeanor, and rapport with his or her companions. This game format is very familiar to anyone who has played any high-profile console RPGs in the past ten years, and even more so for those running the original Baldur’s Gate on PC in the late 1990’s.

So let’s just get this out of the way, rather than meandering around it: if someone is interested in playing a sci-fi/action/open-ended WRPG, they have a ton of options available from half a dozen extremely prolific developers, some of whom started the genre. Many of those options are incredible adventures, spanning entire galaxies, with memorable characters, brilliant dialogue, breathtaking landscapes, and a few of them have dramatically pushed the genre forward in big ways. The market is immensely crowded, and Mars: War Logs is placed in a very tough spot because of that. Priced between $15 and $20, it is clearly aimed to be a mid-priced alternative to mega-funded RPGs from the likes of BioWare and Obsidian, and wants to be a Mass Effect that doesn’t cost $60 at launch. But the size of the budget and price of the game are but small parts of a much larger picture, so how does Mars: War Logs measure up?

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Bring up Mojang and the first thing that comes to mind for most people is Minecraft. The independent developer with a smash hit under its belt hopes to add …
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