Paul Brownlee

Snow has covered the ground in the Chicago area for 70 straight days. And while Monday's thaw has put a dent in the hard pack, more snow is on the way.

Nat writes, "A Dunedin, NZ, man lost a bet five years ago and changed his name by deed poll to the longest name he could make (99 characters, 1 shy of the Dept of Internal Affairs limit). I want to know what they were drinking because the name is fantastic. "The 22-year-old man from Normanby is now legally known as 'Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Combined With Frostnova'." (Thanks, Nat!)

Next Saturday (Mar 15), the SF in SF people will host a screening of indie movie PIG, an award-winning sf movie, followed by a Q&A with producer Mark Stolaroff, founder of the No Budget Film School. (Thanks, Rina!)

Let’s talk more about Azure Striker Gunvolt ⊟

For those who missed it in the early hours, Inti Creates (Mega Man ZX/Zero) and Keiji Inafune announced this 3DS eShop game for this summer. Enjoy all these screenshots from 4Gamer — I would have posted GIFs, but Tumblr hates all the cyan in the trailer.

So here’s who’s working on the game, according to Destructoid:

• Keiji Inafune - Executive Producer
• Yoshihisa Tsuda - Director
• Yoshitaka Hatakeyama - Art
• Takuya Aizu - Producer
• Ippo Yamada - Music/SFX

This is actually what I hoped Mighty No. 9 would be — in fact, almost everyone above is working on that project too. Here are a couple links for you to read play-through impressions and watch the first trailer for Azure Striker Gunvolt.

BUY Mega Man ZX, upcoming games

The Rochester Institute of Technology has announced America's "first minor in free and open source software and free culture." (Thanks, Stephen!)

All of us here at Double Eleven are excited to announce that PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate is coming to PS4 and PS Vita this Summer, and we can finally start to talk about it!

PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate is a twin-stick shooter that’s as much about blasting things as it is about exploration, puzzle solving, and collecting things. Within Shooter Ultimate, players interact with environments that run an advanced fluid dynamics simulation. These interactions are needed to solve puzzles, overcome enemies, and progress through levels.

For those who remember the original PixelJunk Shooter games, Ultimate combines the campaigns of Shooter 1 and 2 into a single experience. It certainly doesn’t stop there, as we’ve done a ton of work on top of that to make this the third game in the series!

So here’s our list of nine things that hopefully make our PixelJunk Shooter worthy of the title “ultimate.”

1. Full Visual Upgrade on PS4

When we were trying to decide what a PS4 version of Shooter should look like, we knew that it needed to remain true to that classic, razorsharp, vector-based aesthetic — which continually threw new ideas at the player — while still being able to stand besides modern PS4 games. From a gameplay perspective, we wanted to make combat more intense, engaging, and overall provide for a more rewarding experience.

So, we decided to introduce real-time environment lighting, along with a host of new visual FX for things like projectiles, explosions, thrusters,and more. And it didn’t stop there — we’ve also worked on making the fluids look even better by increasing the resolution of the particles, improving shaders, and adding anti-aliasing to the edges of the fluids. We’ve also revisited the color palette, and color grading has been added to every scene, which hopefully makes it look and feel more immersive.

2. A Redesigned Ship on PS4

Something that a lot of people loved about the ship in Shooter 1 and 2 was the way it managed the relationship between momentum and resistance to changes in motion. This is not something we wanted to mess with, but we did want to improve the visual feedback to the player, to make that relationship more accessible.

To achieve this, we decided to introduce a 3D ship, which allowed us to add animations for aeronautical maneuvering that gives better visual feedback. The ship is also treated to the newly introduced real-time lighting, as well as the other visual improvements.

3. 60 Frames-per-second on PS4

For the uninitiated, higher frame rates capture much more of the action every second, so there’s much less opportunity for action to blur when you’re in the thick of it. Behind the scenes, our physics and fluid dynamics simulations also run at 60 FPS, meaning that the game is more responsive to how the player interacts with the various environments. It also improves on the control feedback and responsiveness.

4. Awesome Environments on PS Vita

One of the most understated aspects of the Shooter series of games was the highly complex fluid simulation. Most of the puzzles in the game require the manipulation of various fluids (water, lava, magnetic fluid, acid), each of which are made from several thousand particles to get the simulation looking perfect.

The computational power to run this has even given some quad-core PC processors issues, so bringing this game to a portable handheld was always going to be a major challenge. This has all been made possible thanks to some excellent research and development by our team, and we’re really excited that we can bring this experience to PS Vita.

5. One Seamless Experience

PixelJunk Shooter introduced us to the Yellow Dart, and its mission to save trapped scientists. PixelJunk Shooter 2 picks up exactly where the first left off. In PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate, you can enjoy an uninterrupted and complete experience, with all the new features introduced in Shooter 2 — such as the super spin — across all chapters.

6. A New HUD

Ultimately, we wanted the HUD (heads-up display) to be more intuitive and informative. After evaluating the original HUD elements, we also realized that too much screen real estate was being used up — that was particularly problematic on PS Vita.

The newly designed minimalist elements have a level of opacity, which allows for more action to be seen. More so, we thought about what other information the player should know and we’ve added new elements to reflect this.

7. Cross play

As gamers, we love it when consoles and handhelds work well together. So cross play was one of the first things we looked into. Now you and your friend can play together, without both of you needing the same device.

8. Cross Save

Another thing we find useful as gamers is cross save functionality, and this is something we’ve added to Shooter Ultimate. With this, you can take your save game on the move on Vita, and then continue your experience at home, with all the new graphical effects on PS4.

9. New Scoring System

We’ve reviewed the entire scoring system, and without giving away too much, we’ve hopefully balanced it to accommodate those who are just starting out, those that enjoy competitive play, and to those that would challenge their friends on the leaderboards.

---

We’re really pleased with how PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate is taking shape, and we can’t wait for you to grab it on PS4 and PS Vita this Summer.

Dark Souls II continues a long tradition of games that will challenge even the most veteran of gamers. You’ll explore, experiment, and die many times throughout your quest. While it would be against From Software’s design philosophy to give you a detailed map of the world and a full explanation of the game’s story, we did want to give you a few pointers before you go beyond death come March 11th on PS3.

A few basic changes exist within Dark Souls II that even the Souls veterans might want to know before venturing into the land of Drangleic:

• Fast Travel: Bonfire’s serve as the “checkpoints” in Dark Souls II. As soon as you light a new Bonfire, you’re able to travel between that fire and any other Bonfire that you’ve lit.
• Leveling: Spending hard-earned souls to level up can only happen with the Emerald Herald, a specific NPC you’ll need to return to each time you wish to seek more power.
• Welcome to Majula: Soaked in eerie sunlight, you’ll be roaming around the hub town of Majula early on in your quest. Majula houses the Emerald Herald, vendors, merchants, and other persons of interest that will help you piece together the many stories of Drangleic.
• Death Hurts: Every time you die, you’ll lose a tiny piece of your maximum health as your body decays. You can restore your humanity and stave off the Curse by consuming a Human Effigy. Use these wisely.

Know Your Stats

Dark Souls II continues to put an emphasis on player choice. Whether you want a tattooed spellcaster, a 7′ tall pyromancer who also fancies a greatbow, or a stocky crusader who wields a hammer and uses holy magic to smite his foes, the choice is yours.

Many character statistics and their properties have carried over from Dark Souls, but there are some new additions. On the Player Status screen you can press Select and navigate the menu for more a more detailed explanation. One new addition to Dark Souls II is Adaptability. Adaptability affects your character’s Movement Speed, Resistances, and more. Another addendum to the Dark Souls II mechanics is Attunement, granting increased casting speed for Spells, Miracles, and Hexes.

Any character build in Dark Souls II can be “good,” but an understanding of the different statistics and their effects will help you decide where that next point goes.

Two Swords Are Better Than One?

Dual-wielding is now possible with your Dark Souls II characters. You can wield a weapon in either hand, or in both. This provides you with even more options to choose from while cutting through the Undead. Will you give up that sturdy shield for even more offense? Be sure to experiment with different weapon combinations to learn the new attack patterns and animations.

Durability and You

Your equipment will wear over time, slowly losing durability as you take hits and inflict wounds. One thing to be careful of is scraping your blade against hard surfaces. If you’re continually banging on the walls with your Falchion, the durability will drain much faster. Resting at a Bonfire will restore your equipment’s durability, but if an item has broken completely, you’ll need to visit a Blacksmith for a solution.

Left or Right?

Dark Souls II was built with player freedom in mind. This game is not linear. If you find yourself struggling with a certain enemy or area, explore other paths. There is no “right way” to progress through the game. Each player will find his or her own path. If you truly get stuck, try exploring past areas — you may find that things have changed since you left.

Covenants

Dark Souls II has been designed to integrate a single and multiplayer experience. Covenants exist to allow players to role-play within Drangleic. Many NPCs throughout the game will offer membership with their respective Covenant. Whether you prefer a hardcore single-player experience, challenging other players to PvP battle, helping fellow comrades through tough areas, or defending against other players, there’s a Covenant for you. Special rewards wait for those who choose to champion their Covenants dutifully.

---

Weapons, Armor, Spells, Covenants, and Character Stats will let you play Dark Souls II however you choose. Countless character builds, boss strategies, and PvP tactics will blossom once the game launches next week. We look forward to seeing how you go beyond death.

Dark Souls II for PC will have four times higher graphic resolution and will run at 60 frames per second, says Bandai Namco.

Read Dark Souls II Coming To PC On And Steam On April 25 on Siliconera!

Shin Megami Tensei coming to iOS in English ⊟

Whoa, finally, a chance to play the first Shin Megami Tensei game in English! And with virtual buttons all over the screen, but oh well. Atlus plans to release Shin Megami Tensei on the App Store March 18, for 8 bucks.

Who else is out there saying “You know that super old RPG we made back in the day? You know, the one with all the text? Let’s translate that and release it. Eight bucks sounds about right.” Nobody. Nobody else is saying that. Atlus is showing everybody how it’s done.

BUY Shin Megami Tensei IV, upcoming games 

First time accepted submitter Martin Blank writes "Sarah Slocum, an early adopter of Google Glass, was bar hopping with friends in San Francisco when a few people in the bar took issue with the eyewear when she was demonstrating it to another patron even though she wasn't recording. When she felt threatened, she informed them that she would start recording. Two of them approached her, yelling and throwing a bar rag at her, and ultimately ripping the Glass from her face and running from the bar with it. She gave chase and eventually got the Glass back, but her purse was gone when she returned to the bar. This physical level of hostility is unusual, but discomfort with Glass is common, especially among those who don't understand how it works. Given that much more hidden spy cameras are available for far less than the $1500 cost of Glass, what will it take for general acceptance to finally take hold?"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dragon’s Crown, hella Vita games on sale ⊟

Sony is running two simultaneous PSN sales, meaning a lot of Vita discounts! The Anniversary Sale has deals like $2.50 Hotline Miami (w/Plus, $5 without), $4.19/$6.99 Open Me, and way more.

And among the many, many deals in the Back to 2013 sale are Dragon’s Crown for $17.49/$24.99, Spelunky for $7.34/$10.49 and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment for $3.49/$4.99!

We don’t talk much about PS3 games on here for obvious reasons, but daaaaang Ni no Kuni is $6.99/$9.99, and Persona 4 Arena is $7.50/$14.99!

BUY PS Vita, upcoming games

The meteorological winter may be almost over, but the forecast predicts miserably cold and snowy weather is sticking around.

Persona Q coming to U.S. this fall ⊟

Atlus announced four Persona games for North America today!

• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (3DS) - fall 2014
• Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS3/Xbox 360)- fall 2014
• Persona 4: Dancing All Night (PS Vita) - 2015
• Persona 5 (PlayStation 3) - 2015

The one we care most about, though, is Persona Q, the Etrian Odyssey-esque dungeon crawler starring characters from Persona 3 and 4. English trailer and description after the break:

Game description:

"You got Persona in my Etrian! You got Etrian in my Persona! Well, you’re right on both counts. Persona Q is a cross-over for the Nintendo 3DS™ system that brings Persona 3 and 4 characters to the gameplay style of Etrian Odyssey. It also marks the first time the Persona franchise will be available on a Nintendo system. 

Characters from Persona 3 and 4 have been given a complete visual overhaul to match the Etrian style and plunged into an alternate world resembling Yasogami High School. Legend has it that listening to the end of the bell chimes of Yasogami High’s clock tower causes people to die, and this time the bell tolls for the Investigation Team and the SEES. Trapped in an other-world filled with Shadows, the protagonists from Persona 3 and Persona 4 each have different events to follow, allowing the player to choose and experience two different plotlines. As both groups seek a way out of the labyrinth, they will run in to two new characters, Rei and Zen, who may hold the secret to this new mystery.”

Thanks to Jody/Chrono-Kun for the GIFs!

BUY Persona 4 Golden, upcoming games

During March, people who register a Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL or 2DS system, as well as any one of six select 3DS games on Club Nintendo, will get a free download code for Pokémon X or Y.

Read Nintendo 3DS Promotion Allows New Owners To Get Pokémon X/Y Free on Siliconera!

Best-known as an actor for 'Ghostbusters', 'Stripes', writer/director for 'Caddyshack', 'Groundhog Day'

Ramis heeded the Second City edict to work at the top of one's intelligence by making silly, but cerebral, comedies.

eShop cards 20% off at Best Buy ⊟

Here you go, have some free money with purchase of money. All eShop cards are 20% off this week at Best Buy, and for some reason the shipping is free too.

I know, it’s dumb to have to have a physical card shipped to you in the first place when they could just email you a code. I’d be irritated if the shipping weren’t free.

SUPPORT TINY CARTRIDGE Join Club Tiny!

(✪⥎✪), this "Parallax View" music video ⊟

Wow, go watch this "Parallax View" music video from Sumire Uesaka — it might look like a standard Youtube embed on a Tumblr at first, but then it turns into a wild experience that mashes up Doom and Ghosts ‘n Goblins and Pokémon and Final Fantasy and — just watch it. If you recognize the song, by the way, it’s the ending theme from Hōzuki no Reitetsu. Hat-tip to Prosthetic Knowledge for the GIF and link.

SUPPORT TINY CARTRIDGE Join Club Tiny!

FYI, Bay Area readers — if you rode BART between February 4 and February 7, you may have been exposed to measles by an unvaccinated student who picked up the disease on a trip to Asia. Symptoms are similar to those of a cold, plus a rash. If this matches anything you (even adults who have been vaccinated could probably use a booster) or your children have been experiencing, call a doctor.