Worth Reading: 09/21/12

Okay, so I was wrong about the Bears beating the Packers. Really wrong. Shut up. Just shut up.

Flip side, I’m pleased at a Dragon’s Dogma expansion for next year, and hope it spurs at least a few people to give that game another shot. So many focused on me giving that game three stars and ignored the amount of praise that was heaped upon the parts of the game that did work. Dragon’s Dogma’s combat is unbelievably good, and kept me playing dozens of hours until it was over, even if the world and the story didn’t do much for me until the very end.

That brings me to a suggestion, though. If you’ll never play Dragon’s Dogma, at least look up what happens in the endgame. It’s totally insane, and I wish Capcom had pulled that trigger way earlier.

Dragon's Dogma is a franchise that can and should be huge for Capcom here in the West. Whether the company is able to capitalize on the opportunity in front of them, however, I'm not really sure. Outside of Monster Hunter, Capcom seems awfuly confused.

Hey, You Should Play This

• SHEXAGON by Casey Griggs (Browser, Free)

Look, Super Hexagon is a super hard game. Like, super hard. There’s a reason super is in the title, and you shouldn’t feel bad for not being any good at it. I’m certainly not, unless you count surviving just over 30 seconds to be braggable. Actually, I do. I totally think that being able to survive 30 seconds in Super Hexagon is something worth bragging about, even if it’s nothing compared to what freaks like Jason Killingworth are able to pull off. Thankfully, designer Casey Griggs has come up with a reasonable solution: turn Super Hexagon into a text adventure.

And You Should Read This, Too

• 'Medal of Honor Warfighter enters dangerous territory' by Alex Pham for the LA Times

So much of how Electronic Arts has handled Medal of Honor: Warfighter has been perplexing, and will prove tragic if the game, ultimately, turns out to be pretty good. I’m not expecting much more than a competent riff on Call of Duty with a tiny nod towards authenticity, but this is coming from someone who genuinely enjoyed the last Medal of Honor, flaws ‘n all. With the last one, at least there was a genuine attempt to try something different. Anyway, this LA Times report about how a former Navy SEAL may have consulted on the game without approval from the government is just the latest in a series of PR snafus painting a dark picture for a game that probably doesn’t deserve such scorn.

If You Click It, This Will Play

(Thanks to Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton for pointing that Final Fantasy VII gem out, by the way.)

I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool

• Earthbound? Metroid? Zelda? Mega Man? Okay, you've got my attention, Oozengard. Step up.
• Everything about Sealark looks like the absolute best. You are pushing all of my buttons.
• Project Eternity is really taking off, and it's now got a Mac version. How far will it go?

Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible

• Haunted Investigations is one of the scary games from the live show, and it has serious promise.
• I'm digging the selection of atmospheric first-person games on Greenlight, such as The Light.
• Ever since trying out the demo for The Asylum, I've had this one my "please come out soon" list.

Oh, And This Other Stuff

• This has less to do with games, but it seems like we're making progress on our terrible patent system.
• If you want a look at some of the tools I use as a reporter, check out The Journalist's Toolbox.
• I really wish these awful Sherlock Holmes FMV games were playable on an original iPad.
• If you dug Super Time Force, make note that Capy's Critter Crunch just came out on Steam.
• It's not much of a surprise that so much was cut from Fez.
• This NeoGAF thread helpfully sifts through the many Adventure Time games from a recent game jam.
• Seems like Keiji Inafune is more positive these days about the future of Japan.
• If you need some Torchlight II outside of Torchlight II, the soundtrack is available for free.
• I love you, Justin McElroy.
• What happens when Pac-Man is interpreted through the lens of H.P. Lovecraft.
• Kickstarter is tweaking some of it policies, and it's all for the better.
• Pro-tip: don't get EA's logo tattooed on your back.
• We haven't seen the last of Slender, and I'm scared shitless.