http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 17 Jan 2014 20:41:05 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/torture-chamber-the-impossible-quiz/2300-6416858/ Find out if Erick's smart enough to beat The Impossible Quiz. Fri, 17 Jan 2014 20:22:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/torture-chamber-the-impossible-quiz/2300-6416858/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-the-wii-u-really-doomed-exploring-the-pros-and-cons-of-nintendo-s-next-move/1100-6417207/ <p style="">Nintendo's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-stock-nosedives-on-poor-wii-u-sales/1100-6417202/" data-ref-id="1100-6417202">stock took a huge dive today</a> as the company reassessed the potential success of their Wii U console, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-slashes-wii-u-sales-expectations-by-two-thirds/1100-6417187/" data-ref-id="1100-6417187">dropping expected sales from 9 million to 2.8 million</a>. It's easy to think Nintendo is doomed, but the resilient developer won't be that hard to put down; they've had plenty of experience with low sales and failed consoles (just look at the GameCube and the Virtual Boy).</p><p style="">To figure out what Nintendo might do next, GameSpot editors Justin Haywald and Tom Mc Shea break down the pros and cons of some of the most frequent suggestions people have thrown out in the last few months.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420623-mariophone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420623" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420623-mariophone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420623"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2420623-mariophone.jpg"></a></figure><h2>Nintendo Goes Mobile</h2><p style="">Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed the importance of exploring "new business structures" and possibly <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-thinking-about-new-business-structure-studying-smartphone-market/1100-6417194/" data-ref-id="1100-6417194">expanding further into smartphone development</a>.</p><p style=""><b>Why it could work…</b></p><p style=""><b>Tom Mc Shea:</b> Controlling a traditional Mario platformer on a touchscreen sounds like a nightmare. However, I do think Nintendo could gain valuable name recognition by delivering their most cherished characters to the mobile environment. Nintendo has been able to create lifelong fans by luring children into their colorful worlds at a young age.</p><p style="">The problem right now is that kids have flocked toward cheaper, more accessible mobile platforms, and they now have an unbreakable fondness for disposable games such as Angry Birds. If Nintendo devised fascinating, new experiences for mobile devices starring their beloved family of mascots, they would once again build a small and loyal fanbase. And, if things go correctly, those same players will eventually graduate from the mobile offerings to Nintendo's handhelds and consoles.</p><p style=""><b>Why it won't…</b></p><p style=""><b>Justin Haywald:</b> As Tom writes above, simply porting games over to mobile would be a colossal failure. Nintendo's greatest strength is leveraging their unique platforms to create memorable gaming experiences.</p><p style="">But while Nintendo could no doubt make amazing mobile games, they wouldn't necessarily be any more lucrative than their current offerings. Mobile gaming isn't a fad, but the most successful mobile experiences aren't necessarily "fun," they just leverage microtransactions and our addictive tendencies better. Nintendo makes genuinely great games; sacrificing part of that to find the better ways to monetize Mario and Zelda wouldn't feel very much like Nintendo.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420624-link_bonefour.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420624" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420624-link_bonefour.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420624"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2420624-link_bonefour.jpg"></a></figure><h2>Nintendo Goes Third Party</h2><p style="">Like Sega after the demise of the Dreamcast, Nintendo could also start porting their games over to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.</p><p style=""><b>Why it could work...</b></p><p style=""><b>Tom Mc Shea:</b> Nintendo's strength lies in their fantastic development studios. For almost two decades, I've needed to own every Nintendo system solely because their first-party games were so incredible. I've had no problem buying consoles specifically for that reason, but Nintendo has to realize that there's a finite number of people willing to make that investment.</p><p style="">Ultimately, their goal should be to get their games to as many people as possible. For every year that passes in which fewer and fewer people are invested in Nintendo's franchises, their cultural impact lessens, which damages their potential growth going forward. If Nintendo swallowed their pride by supporting other platforms, they could ensure they remain relevant in a contentious environment, and continue to win over fans with their exceptional game design.</p><p style=""><b>Why it won't...</b></p><p style=""><b>Justin Haywald:</b> Just like the problems with mobile development, most of Nintendo's success comes from building games custom-made for their platforms. They don't try to compete in terms of raw power with the competition, they leverage new technology in surprising ways. Sure the Wii U has been a failure so far, but a lot of that comes down to messaging. If the Wii U had been a clear successor to the Wii (instead of what seemed like a mere controller upgrade) things could've gone very differently.</p><p style="">Would Nintendo be able to support the kind of quirky hits and ingenious deviations they currently experiment with if they became a studio like EA or Microsoft? It's more likely something would have to give to support continued AAA hits, and nobody would want Nintendo to abandon smaller titles like Chibi-Robo or Nintendo Remix to make Mario, Link, and Zelda yearly rehashed franchises.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420626-wiiu_trash.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420626" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420626-wiiu_trash.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420626"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2420626-wiiu_trash.jpg"></a></figure><h2>Nintendo Dumps the Wii U GamePad</h2><p style="">Would it still be the "Wii U" without the GamePad?</p><p style=""><b>Why it could work...</b></p><p style=""><b>Justin Haywald:</b> The Wii U GamePad lets Nintendo provide unique experiences that no other console can provide, but it also raises the price of the Wii U beyond what Nintendo's target demographic has come to expect. Things might be different if the GamePad didn't feel like a feature-deficient tablet. You can't take games with you on the go (heck, the gamepad can barely leave the room your Wii U is located in), and there's no tie-in, either in library or in gameplay functionality, with the 3DS, which is probably Nintendo's biggest missed opportunity.</p><p style="">Nintendo didn't need to add a GamePad to their console, they already had the 3DS.</p><p style="">The first step Nintendo needs to take is getting rid of the mostly unnecessary GamePad peripheral. Then call the updated system a Wii 2, and work on a handheld that brings both their systems and shops together. Imagine playing Wii U games on the go with Nintendo's next handheld...and quiver at the company's newfound market dominance.</p><p style=""><b>Why it won't...</b></p><p style=""><b>Tom Mc Shea:</b> The Wii U's reputation is damaged beyond repair. The popular consensus is one of extreme apathy, so even though Nintendo would be able to chop down the price of the system by removing the GamePad, there are reasons beyond cost that are keeping consumers at bay.</p><p style="">Look no further than Nintendo's competitor, Sony, to see how this scenario could play out. Even though the Vita (like the Wii U) has plenty of great games, the system is still languishing at retail, even after a substantial price drop. Image is everything when it comes to marketing, and Nintendo has to do a lot more work than simply removing their expensive peripheral to convince people to shell out their hard-earned money.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416867" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416867/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Fri, 17 Jan 2014 17:30:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-the-wii-u-really-doomed-exploring-the-pros-and-cons-of-nintendo-s-next-move/1100-6417207/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nidhogg-review/1900-6415634/ <p style="">You throw your sword at your opponent's head and curse as it's deflected. You're now defenseless, and your opponent knows it. He runs at you, ready to strike. You have only half a second. You roll backward, grab an old sword off the ground, and get it up just in time to impale your opponent as he reaches you. This buys you a precious moment to gain a little ground before he respawns.</p><p style="">This all happens within seconds, and in a good game of Nidhogg, it's the kind of thing that happens multiple times.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416809" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416809/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Nidhogg is part fighting game, part tug-of-war. Two fighters enter at the center of a 2D side-scrolling arena, armed with only a sword. You can move your sword to one of three different heights (low, medium, and high), and the combat works like fencing: you don't swing; you stab. If you and the other player have your swords at the same height, the blades will clash, making the question of where and when to strike a mind game. A well-timed change in sword position can disarm your opponent, leaving him open to be pierced through the torso (or head, if you're so positioned). Tapping a direction takes a small step, while holding runs. If you want to get a little fancier, you can dive-kick, roll, cartwheel, throw your sword, or, if empty-handed, try to pummel your opponent with your fists. All with only two action buttons: jump and attack. Rarely do games with such simple controls offer so much variety in their actions.</p><p style="">The first person to kill the other gets to run toward his or her goal like a football player dashing for the end zone. That fight is not the end, however, because you continue to respawn until you have either won or lost. If you can come back and kill the other player before he reaches his goal, you gain control of the screen and can make a mad dash for your goal instead. To take the football analogy further, it's like forcing your opponent to fumble and then running away with the ball, until he wrestles the ball back from you and goes their way again until somebody finally scores. A single game could just as easily last 20 seconds as 20 minutes, depending on the skill of both fighters. The back-and-forth between two well-matched players is thrilling, and there's a pure exhilaration that comes from being on the brink of a loss, making the right move at the right time, and fighting your way back to win.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420586-9294781179-0001..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420586" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420586-9294781179-0001..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420586"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/225/2256286/2420586-9294781179-0001..jpg"></a><figcaption> The floor of this castle has been carpeted by colorful blood.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Nidhogg's battles can be intense in part because the playing field is perfectly even. There are no special characters to select, and every arena is symmetrical. Nobody starts with an advantage, and your victory or failure depends entirely on your own skill. Some strategies may seem to be surefire ways to succeed, but that's only true until your opponent catches on to what you're doing and learns how to defend against it.</p><p style="">You can fight on four different stages, each of which sports unique features to differentiate it from its brethren. One stage features areas with tall grass that hides the position of your sword, making close-quarters duels more of a guessing game. Another stage features long, narrow corridors that negate the usefulness of both jumps and sword throws. Everybody is likely to have a favorite stage, though the overly bright first screen of the Clouds stage might cause headaches for some.</p><p style="">Even though only two people can play at a time, Nidhogg is an excellent game for parties or other group activities. A built-in tournament mode facilitates up to eight players, and you can mix things up with gameplay variants such as low-gravity boomerang mode, where thrown swords come back to their original owner, or baby mode, which forces both fighters to crawl everywhere (good for an initial laugh but not the most enjoyable way to play). While there are tricks to pick up, there are no complex moves to learn. Nidhogg has all the intensity of a close fighting-game match without most of the complexity.</p><p style="">If you don't have any local friends to play with, your options are severely limited. A single-player mode lets you fight a string of AI fighters, which can be a lot of fun and perfect training for human opponents, but it can be "beaten" in about 30 minutes even by a beginner. It welcomes replays, but fighting the computer isn't nearly as satisfying as fighting a friend, and none of the multiplayer variants are available to a single player. Nidhogg is a game made for friendly competition, and you won't find much if you intend to play alone.</p><p style="">This wouldn't be as much of an issue if Nidhogg satisfactorily delivered on one of its promises: online multiplayer. Unfortunately, every match of the more than 20 I played was plagued by lag that ruined the experience. This isn't as noticeable if you're the player hosting the game (which could lead you to think you're a Nidhogg savant if you don't know any better), but as a guest player, you find yourself warping around the stage, landing a killing blow that doesn't actually kill your foe, and getting stuck while grabbing ledges. Even matches that aren't as loaded with these problems suffer just enough to make the experience disappointing at best and frustrating at worst.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420591-2921076780-0002..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420591" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420591-2921076780-0002..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420591"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/225/2256286/2420591-2921076780-0002..jpg"></a><figcaption>Tall grass can make swordfighting both mysterious and dangerous. </figcaption></figure><p style="">There are other rough edges here and there, such as the apparent lack of D-pad support (at least on the Xbox 360 controller I played with) and the fact that not every menu can be controlled with the controller, though the game's Steam page claims "Full Controller Support." These are mostly small inconveniences that will hopefully be ironed out later in Nidhogg's life, as was the game's tutorial, which was broken at launch.</p><p style="">It would be easy to glance at Nidhogg and wonder how it could possibly be worth the price. The graphics look crude (though there is a fluidity to the animation that fits the action well), the single-player is almost nonexistent, and there are only four stages. Indeed, if you intend to play alone, Nidhogg is almost certainly not the game for you. But it also offers a rare local multiplayer experience that is easy to pick up, highly competitive, and perfectly balanced. If you have friends nearby, this is some of the most fun you can have stabbing them through the heart.</p><p style=""> </p> Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:34:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nidhogg-review/1900-6415634/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 17 Jan 2014 20:41:05 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/torture-chamber-the-impossible-quiz/2300-6416858/ Find out if Erick's smart enough to beat The Impossible Quiz. Fri, 17 Jan 2014 20:22:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/torture-chamber-the-impossible-quiz/2300-6416858/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-the-wii-u-really-doomed-exploring-the-pros-and-cons-of-nintendo-s-next-move/1100-6417207/ <p style="">Nintendo's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-stock-nosedives-on-poor-wii-u-sales/1100-6417202/" data-ref-id="1100-6417202">stock took a huge dive today</a> as the company reassessed the potential success of their Wii U console, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-slashes-wii-u-sales-expectations-by-two-thirds/1100-6417187/" data-ref-id="1100-6417187">dropping expected sales from 9 million to 2.8 million</a>. It's easy to think Nintendo is doomed, but the resilient developer won't be that hard to put down; they've had plenty of experience with low sales and failed consoles (just look at the GameCube and the Virtual Boy).</p><p style="">To figure out what Nintendo might do next, GameSpot editors Justin Haywald and Tom Mc Shea break down the pros and cons of some of the most frequent suggestions people have thrown out in the last few months.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420623-mariophone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420623" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420623-mariophone.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420623"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2420623-mariophone.jpg"></a></figure><h2>Nintendo Goes Mobile</h2><p style="">Nintendo president Satoru Iwata discussed the importance of exploring "new business structures" and possibly <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-thinking-about-new-business-structure-studying-smartphone-market/1100-6417194/" data-ref-id="1100-6417194">expanding further into smartphone development</a>.</p><p style=""><b>Why it could work…</b></p><p style=""><b>Tom Mc Shea:</b> Controlling a traditional Mario platformer on a touchscreen sounds like a nightmare. However, I do think Nintendo could gain valuable name recognition by delivering their most cherished characters to the mobile environment. Nintendo has been able to create lifelong fans by luring children into their colorful worlds at a young age.</p><p style="">The problem right now is that kids have flocked toward cheaper, more accessible mobile platforms, and they now have an unbreakable fondness for disposable games such as Angry Birds. If Nintendo devised fascinating, new experiences for mobile devices starring their beloved family of mascots, they would once again build a small and loyal fanbase. And, if things go correctly, those same players will eventually graduate from the mobile offerings to Nintendo's handhelds and consoles.</p><p style=""><b>Why it won't…</b></p><p style=""><b>Justin Haywald:</b> As Tom writes above, simply porting games over to mobile would be a colossal failure. Nintendo's greatest strength is leveraging their unique platforms to create memorable gaming experiences.</p><p style="">But while Nintendo could no doubt make amazing mobile games, they wouldn't necessarily be any more lucrative than their current offerings. Mobile gaming isn't a fad, but the most successful mobile experiences aren't necessarily "fun," they just leverage microtransactions and our addictive tendencies better. Nintendo makes genuinely great games; sacrificing part of that to find the better ways to monetize Mario and Zelda wouldn't feel very much like Nintendo.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420624-link_bonefour.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420624" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420624-link_bonefour.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420624"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2420624-link_bonefour.jpg"></a></figure><h2>Nintendo Goes Third Party</h2><p style="">Like Sega after the demise of the Dreamcast, Nintendo could also start porting their games over to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.</p><p style=""><b>Why it could work...</b></p><p style=""><b>Tom Mc Shea:</b> Nintendo's strength lies in their fantastic development studios. For almost two decades, I've needed to own every Nintendo system solely because their first-party games were so incredible. I've had no problem buying consoles specifically for that reason, but Nintendo has to realize that there's a finite number of people willing to make that investment.</p><p style="">Ultimately, their goal should be to get their games to as many people as possible. For every year that passes in which fewer and fewer people are invested in Nintendo's franchises, their cultural impact lessens, which damages their potential growth going forward. If Nintendo swallowed their pride by supporting other platforms, they could ensure they remain relevant in a contentious environment, and continue to win over fans with their exceptional game design.</p><p style=""><b>Why it won't...</b></p><p style=""><b>Justin Haywald:</b> Just like the problems with mobile development, most of Nintendo's success comes from building games custom-made for their platforms. They don't try to compete in terms of raw power with the competition, they leverage new technology in surprising ways. Sure the Wii U has been a failure so far, but a lot of that comes down to messaging. If the Wii U had been a clear successor to the Wii (instead of what seemed like a mere controller upgrade) things could've gone very differently.</p><p style="">Would Nintendo be able to support the kind of quirky hits and ingenious deviations they currently experiment with if they became a studio like EA or Microsoft? It's more likely something would have to give to support continued AAA hits, and nobody would want Nintendo to abandon smaller titles like Chibi-Robo or Nintendo Remix to make Mario, Link, and Zelda yearly rehashed franchises.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420626-wiiu_trash.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420626" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2420626-wiiu_trash.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420626"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/1534/15343359/2420626-wiiu_trash.jpg"></a></figure><h2>Nintendo Dumps the Wii U GamePad</h2><p style="">Would it still be the "Wii U" without the GamePad?</p><p style=""><b>Why it could work...</b></p><p style=""><b>Justin Haywald:</b> The Wii U GamePad lets Nintendo provide unique experiences that no other console can provide, but it also raises the price of the Wii U beyond what Nintendo's target demographic has come to expect. Things might be different if the GamePad didn't feel like a feature-deficient tablet. You can't take games with you on the go (heck, the gamepad can barely leave the room your Wii U is located in), and there's no tie-in, either in library or in gameplay functionality, with the 3DS, which is probably Nintendo's biggest missed opportunity.</p><p style="">Nintendo didn't need to add a GamePad to their console, they already had the 3DS.</p><p style="">The first step Nintendo needs to take is getting rid of the mostly unnecessary GamePad peripheral. Then call the updated system a Wii 2, and work on a handheld that brings both their systems and shops together. Imagine playing Wii U games on the go with Nintendo's next handheld...and quiver at the company's newfound market dominance.</p><p style=""><b>Why it won't...</b></p><p style=""><b>Tom Mc Shea:</b> The Wii U's reputation is damaged beyond repair. The popular consensus is one of extreme apathy, so even though Nintendo would be able to chop down the price of the system by removing the GamePad, there are reasons beyond cost that are keeping consumers at bay.</p><p style="">Look no further than Nintendo's competitor, Sony, to see how this scenario could play out. Even though the Vita (like the Wii U) has plenty of great games, the system is still languishing at retail, even after a substantial price drop. Image is everything when it comes to marketing, and Nintendo has to do a lot more work than simply removing their expensive peripheral to convince people to shell out their hard-earned money.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416867" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416867/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Fri, 17 Jan 2014 17:30:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/is-the-wii-u-really-doomed-exploring-the-pros-and-cons-of-nintendo-s-next-move/1100-6417207/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nidhogg-review/1900-6415634/ <p style="">You throw your sword at your opponent's head and curse as it's deflected. You're now defenseless, and your opponent knows it. He runs at you, ready to strike. You have only half a second. You roll backward, grab an old sword off the ground, and get it up just in time to impale your opponent as he reaches you. This buys you a precious moment to gain a little ground before he respawns.</p><p style="">This all happens within seconds, and in a good game of Nidhogg, it's the kind of thing that happens multiple times.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6416809" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6416809/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p style="">Nidhogg is part fighting game, part tug-of-war. Two fighters enter at the center of a 2D side-scrolling arena, armed with only a sword. You can move your sword to one of three different heights (low, medium, and high), and the combat works like fencing: you don't swing; you stab. If you and the other player have your swords at the same height, the blades will clash, making the question of where and when to strike a mind game. A well-timed change in sword position can disarm your opponent, leaving him open to be pierced through the torso (or head, if you're so positioned). Tapping a direction takes a small step, while holding runs. If you want to get a little fancier, you can dive-kick, roll, cartwheel, throw your sword, or, if empty-handed, try to pummel your opponent with your fists. All with only two action buttons: jump and attack. Rarely do games with such simple controls offer so much variety in their actions.</p><p style="">The first person to kill the other gets to run toward his or her goal like a football player dashing for the end zone. That fight is not the end, however, because you continue to respawn until you have either won or lost. If you can come back and kill the other player before he reaches his goal, you gain control of the screen and can make a mad dash for your goal instead. To take the football analogy further, it's like forcing your opponent to fumble and then running away with the ball, until he wrestles the ball back from you and goes their way again until somebody finally scores. A single game could just as easily last 20 seconds as 20 minutes, depending on the skill of both fighters. The back-and-forth between two well-matched players is thrilling, and there's a pure exhilaration that comes from being on the brink of a loss, making the right move at the right time, and fighting your way back to win.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420586-9294781179-0001..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420586" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420586-9294781179-0001..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420586"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_medium/225/2256286/2420586-9294781179-0001..jpg"></a><figcaption> The floor of this castle has been carpeted by colorful blood.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Nidhogg's battles can be intense in part because the playing field is perfectly even. There are no special characters to select, and every arena is symmetrical. Nobody starts with an advantage, and your victory or failure depends entirely on your own skill. Some strategies may seem to be surefire ways to succeed, but that's only true until your opponent catches on to what you're doing and learns how to defend against it.</p><p style="">You can fight on four different stages, each of which sports unique features to differentiate it from its brethren. One stage features areas with tall grass that hides the position of your sword, making close-quarters duels more of a guessing game. Another stage features long, narrow corridors that negate the usefulness of both jumps and sword throws. Everybody is likely to have a favorite stage, though the overly bright first screen of the Clouds stage might cause headaches for some.</p><p style="">Even though only two people can play at a time, Nidhogg is an excellent game for parties or other group activities. A built-in tournament mode facilitates up to eight players, and you can mix things up with gameplay variants such as low-gravity boomerang mode, where thrown swords come back to their original owner, or baby mode, which forces both fighters to crawl everywhere (good for an initial laugh but not the most enjoyable way to play). While there are tricks to pick up, there are no complex moves to learn. Nidhogg has all the intensity of a close fighting-game match without most of the complexity.</p><p style="">If you don't have any local friends to play with, your options are severely limited. A single-player mode lets you fight a string of AI fighters, which can be a lot of fun and perfect training for human opponents, but it can be "beaten" in about 30 minutes even by a beginner. It welcomes replays, but fighting the computer isn't nearly as satisfying as fighting a friend, and none of the multiplayer variants are available to a single player. Nidhogg is a game made for friendly competition, and you won't find much if you intend to play alone.</p><p style="">This wouldn't be as much of an issue if Nidhogg satisfactorily delivered on one of its promises: online multiplayer. Unfortunately, every match of the more than 20 I played was plagued by lag that ruined the experience. This isn't as noticeable if you're the player hosting the game (which could lead you to think you're a Nidhogg savant if you don't know any better), but as a guest player, you find yourself warping around the stage, landing a killing blow that doesn't actually kill your foe, and getting stuck while grabbing ledges. Even matches that aren't as loaded with these problems suffer just enough to make the experience disappointing at best and frustrating at worst.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420591-2921076780-0002..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420591" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/225/2256286/2420591-2921076780-0002..jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2420591"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/scale_super/225/2256286/2420591-2921076780-0002..jpg"></a><figcaption>Tall grass can make swordfighting both mysterious and dangerous. </figcaption></figure><p style="">There are other rough edges here and there, such as the apparent lack of D-pad support (at least on the Xbox 360 controller I played with) and the fact that not every menu can be controlled with the controller, though the game's Steam page claims "Full Controller Support." These are mostly small inconveniences that will hopefully be ironed out later in Nidhogg's life, as was the game's tutorial, which was broken at launch.</p><p style="">It would be easy to glance at Nidhogg and wonder how it could possibly be worth the price. The graphics look crude (though there is a fluidity to the animation that fits the action well), the single-player is almost nonexistent, and there are only four stages. Indeed, if you intend to play alone, Nidhogg is almost certainly not the game for you. But it also offers a rare local multiplayer experience that is easy to pick up, highly competitive, and perfectly balanced. If you have friends nearby, this is some of the most fun you can have stabbing them through the heart.</p><p style=""> </p> Fri, 17 Jan 2014 15:34:00 -0800 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/nidhogg-review/1900-6415634/
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