Feeling funny about Little King's Story PS Vita

19 minutes ago - 8:00 PM on 10.30.2011   |   Jonathan Holmes

3 comments

When a new Little King's Story title was announced for the PS Vita, I was immediately overjoyed, but that joy quickly gave way to trepidation. The original Little King's Story was not a blockbuster hit, though it does have a strong cult following (including the Burch family, Chad Concelmo, and myself). When games like that get sequels or are otherwise graced with a followup, their creators often drop a lot of the aspects that made the original title special, and swap them out for qualities that are more marketable and "mainstream friendly." Sometimes that works out great, but other times it makes for a game that feels less like a continuation and more like a deformation. 

I'm still not sure which way Little King's Story on the PS Vita will go on that split. The character art has swapped out most of the charm and simplicity from the original for a more generic look. Strike one! The gameplay is looking fun though, with giant chicken bosses and exploration/organization to spare. It also looks like the PS Vita's touch screen controls might help to make commanding your troops a much more manageable experience. I'm not big fan of touch controls, but I can see how they may work here.

So just one strike so far, which leaves me feeling cautious but hopeful. How about you? Strike, ball, or home run?

Little King's Story Vita Homepage [via Tiny Cartridge]

Weekend video game wallpapers: Demonic carpal-tunnel

1 hour ago - 6:30 PM on 10.30.2011   |   Niero

85 comments

This weekend we bring you some new art from I am Alive, Uncharted 3, Diablo III as well as new look at a ton of old favorites: Rochard, Ninja Gaiden 3, Juiced, The Wheelman, Starcraft II, Untold Legends, Tekken, EVE, SNK vs Capcom, and Left 4 Dead.  There's also a hint of random fantasy like dragons scissoring each other in space.  If you're in a metal band please feel free to use that as your album title.

Our massive archives also include Dead Island, Street Fighter X Tekken, World of Warplanes, Resistance 3, PayDay, Asura's Wrath, Bastion, DrakenSang Online, Darksiders 2 (sick!), Magic The Gathering, World of Tanks, Infamous 2, Asphalt 3D, Hellbreed 2, Transformers, Hunted, and some classics like Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy X2, Heavenly Sword, Ninja Gaiden, and Street Fighter.  Our archives also include wallpapers from Uncharted 3, Dirt 3, Ridge Racer 3D, The Settlers Online, Homefront, Shogun 2, Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Might and Magic Heroes, Motorstorm Apocalypse, Armored Core, and Duke Nukem. Our archive also includes Operation Flashpoint, Test Drive Unlimited, Splinter Cell, Shogun 2, Magicka, Homefront, a few others. Enjoy!

Want more or to upload yours?  There's a Destructoid forum thread with high res video game wallpapers. Do it. A portion of this gallery was donated to us by the handsome people at Gamewallpapers.com, as well as some CG art by our friends at Flamy Frog Interactive. Hundreds more are available on their site, which also feature variants for dual-screen downloads.  Want some Destructoid-flavored ones?  Go steal them from Hamza.

Which one did you choose this week?

Top Eight Videogame Scarecrows

4 hours ago - 4:00 PM on 10.30.2011   |   Jim Sterling

50 comments

Halloween is almost upon us, which means it's time for a litany of inane "top things" list articles with vaguely spooky themes!

When it comes to stereotypical Halloween items, scarecrows are among my favorite. I'm not sure why that is, but I've always enjoyed stories involving haunted scarecrows and I find something aesthetically pleasant about them, albeit in an eerie way. I don't want to have sex with them or anything, I just think they're cool. 

Naturally, Halloween causes me to become preoccupied with scarecrows of all types, so I am compelled to list the best videogame-related ones in an effort to exorcise my mind of these ridiculous thoughts.

SEGA has 'no plans' to resurrect Classic Sonic for good

7 hours ago - 1:00 PM on 10.30.2011   |   Jim Sterling

41 comments

Despite making a huge deal out of "Classic" Sonic's appearance in next Tuesday's Sonic Generations, SEGA has stated there are no plans to bring him back full-time. However, European brand manager David Corless has told fans to never say never. 

"Do you know what? There are no plans, to be brutally honest, to bring Classic Sonic back," he said. "The reason for bringing him back for this game was because this is a celebration of 20 years of Sonic. It was a real fitting time to do it. He’s really well loved. Let’s see how Generations does. You can never say never in this industry, but at the moment there are no plans."

Fair enough, although admitting he is loved makes the decision to keep him retired a little illogical. It's a shame he won't be back for more, especially given how adorable he is in Sonic Generations, but that's SEGA for you! 

Our Sonic Generations review will appear in the small hours of the morning, October 31.

SEGA: "Brutally Honest" on Classic Sonic [Spong]

Comments of the week: JIMMYX

8 hours ago - 12:00 PM on 10.30.2011   |   Sean Daisy

104 comments

JIMMYX! 

Comments of the Week is a feature where we scour the front page, community blogs, forums, social media and Jimmyx picking out comments. The ones that make you think, the ones that make you laugh and the ones that make you cry (but also laugh), and consolidate them into an entertaining package for the viewing pleasure of you, the Destructoid community. 

Comments will fall into three categories: 

TRUTH: Jimmyx 

LOL: Jimmyx 

WUT? Jimmyx

Postal 3 heading to Steam on December 10

9 hours ago - 11:00 AM on 10.30.2011   |   Jim Sterling

56 comments

Running With Scissors' long-awaited murder-em-up Postal 3 has finally been given a real release date after all these years. You'll be able to chew people up with badger-based weaponry on December 10. 

Set in the town of Catharsis, Postal Dude will be up to his old antisocial shenanigans as he deals with a "satirically broken US economy." He'll be joined by "celebrity" guests including Ron Jeremy, Jennifer Walcott and Uwe Boll. 

So far, the game only has a PC date, although the studio says it still aims to get an Xbox 360/PS3 version out of the gate.

Marvelous made mad bank off of boobies and Vanillaware

10 hours ago - 10:00 AM on 10.30.2011   |   Tony Ponce

43 comments

Behold the combined might of mammaries and rich, creamy vanilla!

Japanese media powerhouse Marvelous AQL was expecting a net loss of 185 million yen (over $2.4 million) for the first six months of its fiscal year. However, it looks like the company actually experienced a net gain of 192 million yen (over $2.5 million). The $5 million difference is thanks primarily to strong sales booby ninja schoolgirl game Senran Kagura on 3DS and hand-drawn Vanillaware RPG Grand Knights History on PSP. As a result, Marvelous has revised its full-year forecast -- instead of a net income of 180 million yen (over $2.3 million), it expects a whopping 3.14 billion yen (over $41.4 million)!

I love it when promising-looking games are rewarded with strong sales, don't you? It's the kind of performance that leads to localization announcements, wouldn't you say? We already know that Grand Knights History will arrive this winter on our shores, so I just hope this news is the push Senran Kagura needs to make the trek across the Pacific.

Marvelous Raises Earnings Expectations Due to Senran Kagura and Vanillaware [Andriasang]