Castlevania: Harmony of Despair hands on preview
Konami has had a hard time catering to fans of the Castlevania series in the last few generations. It is a series deeply rooted in 2D gameplay, and adding a dimension some would say takes away the spirit of what made the earlier games great. Konami has decided to appease both 2D and 3D supporters by releasing two Castlevania games, one of which brings the style of Symphony of the Night and the recent DS games back to the home consoles. In reality, it looks like a widescreen SNES or Genesis game in the best way possible. Castlevania: Harmony of Despair not only retains the level structure and gameplay from those games, but also the characters.
Ten games we wish were on Xbox Live Arcade
Ever since the beginning of Xbox Live Arcade, game companies have been using it as a way to breathe new life into their once classic powerhouses. We have seen many classic arcade games from the past like Pac-Man and Rush ‘N Attack, as well as not-so-old but just-as-great ones like Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Alien Hominid. Yet still to this day there are some classic titles that have not received their day in a new light. We know some of it has to do with legal issues, but some of it is also due to neglect, which is why we will be covering our top ten picks that we wish were on XBLA, and why they deserve some new found love. Read More
Machinarium’s XBLA Refusal and more: The original interview with Amanita Design’s Jakub Dvorsky
This interview was conducted at the Casual Connect 2010 conference in Hamburg. It was used for a short article that created a lot of buzz about Microsoft turning down the chance to publish Machinarium on Xbox Live Arcade by Microsoft. Although our focus is Xbox Live Arcade related content, our editorial staff agreed that the following is an exception due to the recent circumstances.
Jakub Dvorksy, currently the lead designer at the Czech indie studio Amanita Design, is the original founder of the studio and brought together the team of creatives and artists that have been responsible for the highly acclaimed point and click adventure Machinarium. We recently had the pleasure of talking to this self-taught leader and look back at the history of the little studio in the Czech Republic.
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