Skyward Sword Predates Ocarina of Time

There goes the high hopes theory that Skyward Sword is a Majora's Mask sequel.

In the newest issue of UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, Eiji Aonuma, in an interview, states that Skyward Sword takes place before the betrothed Ocarina of Time. Since Majora's Mask is a direct sequel to Ocarina, then Skyward Sword cannot be a Majora's Mask sequel.

Take from GoNintendo:

“Yes there is a master timeline but its confidential document! The only people to have access to that document are myself, Mr. Miyamoto and the director of the title. We cant share it with anyone else! I have already talked to Mr. Miyamoto about this so I am comfortable in releasing this information – this title [Skyward Sword] takes place before Ocarina of Time. if I said that a certain title was ‘the first Zelda game’, then that means that we cant ever make a title that takes place before that! So for us to add titles to the series, we have to have a way of putting the titles before or after each other.” - Eiji Aonuma

Well, shit. If Skyward Sword is before OoT, and most put OoT at the beginning of the timeline, could Skyward Sword actually bring into view another conflict? OoT took place immediately after the Hyrulian Civil War (which Link's mother escaped into the Kokiri Forest from) and the Imprisoning War takes place in the 7 years that Link was in the Sacred Realm. The Imprisoning War was talked about during ALttP, while the Hyrulian Civil War was created for OoT (the Deku Tree Sprout told Link about it after you beat the Forest Temple), then SS might even bring into light a new conflict.

For even juicier tidbits, a while back, it was stated that Skyward Sword actually shows the creation of the Master Sword, which was originally known as the, you gottit, the Skyward Sword (which transforms into the thing you see in the original artwork). Taking that plus the "SS is before OoT," then we've got ourselves one hell of a Zelda title coming.

[Via GoNintendo]

[ANALYSIS] Microsoft Prices Out "Cost of Ownership" For Motion Gaming

You've gotta love this one. After Major Nelson posted the official pricing for Kinect, gamers began criticizing Microsoft's expensive approach. Well, Microsoft was quick with the Reggie-style graphs, and cranked out these lovely beauties (originally spotted on Kotaku):

First, we see Microsoft trying to justify the price of Kinect. They say that Kinect is cheaper for a new system owner across all three systems. They undercut Nintendo by $60, and Sony by a whopping $210. That's not all.

Here, they take on existing system owners, which I fall into (for all three). Kinect is just $10 shy of Nintendo, where as Sony is a full next-gen game above Microsoft. Let's delve past through the corporate bullshit and get some rectifying done.

[REVIEW] LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4

[NOTE: You'll have to forgive my ignorance on many of the names in the Harry Potter universe. Expecto Patronum is, pretty much, the only spell that I remember off of the the top of my head, and I can only remember a handful of the characters names. Forgive me, but I'm sure you can play a bit of Mad-Lib here and get it done.]

"Another LEGO game?"

That was the first question that I asked myself when LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (LHP) was announced. Star Wars (LSW) was awesome. Indiana Jones (LIJ) was pushing it. Batman (LBM) was, well, bat-shit crazy. However, they all worked, and were respectable entries in their own franchise's game library. They took what worked in the universe, LEGO-fied it, and made it enjoyable by anyone. You could say LEGO games (by that, I mean of the aforementioned Star Wars/Indy/Batman games) are the Pixar movies of the gaming industry: 5 minutes in, and you love it, no matter what.

The reason this one works is that it harks back to the LEGO Star Wars games with the magic. Using Wingardium Leviosa (purple spell; 3-o'clock) is Harry's version of the Force, and it works even better than the Force. Rather than a pile of LEGO pieces turn into their desired form instantly, you watch them being whisked away into a tornado of awesome, while the pieces take their turn creating whatever it is they're supposed to be in the eye of the storm you've created. The Force is what makes this game magical, and it speaks to me in that it reminds me of the good LEGO games (both Indy games were for shit, and Batman was...well...).

[REVIEW] Alan Wake

 Something about Alan Wake was a bit perplexing. Since Remedy worked on this game - and they're responsible for the original Max Payne games, not the balding, fat sack-o-shit version we're getting in the third game - I had high expectations; you could say that I walked away from this considering it the spiritual Max Payne 3. Seeing as they finished MP2, took a small break them immediately started working on this, a bit of Max's soul seeped into Alan Wake. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Yet.

Alan Wake is a deviation from what I'm used to playing lately, so it was a nice refresher. I finished up 3D Dot Game Heroes prior to indulging myself on this, so I may have been easily swayed. But, I have to say, I am a big Max Payne fan (I honestly felt the movie wasn't too terrible, but the Ludacris/Jim Brown fiasco was a bit ignorant, IMO), so I felt right at home with this game; it's been seven years since the painkiller-popping cop was in front of me (which, by the way Remedy, nice homage to your roots late in the game with the flashback). The "psychological" part of this game wasn't much of a psychological thing, considering that everything going on was real, effecting everyone and everything around Alan. He wasn't psychotic. He was screwed.

Kinect, 4GB Xbox 360 Slim Gets Pricing Details, Almost Immediately Loses Interest

4GB Xbox 360 Slim with Kinect/Kinect Adventures bundle

Major Nelson just updated his blog with information about Kinect's pricing, and boy, let me tell you something...

Kinect will launch on November 4 for the oft-rumored $150 (bundled with Kinect Adventures), while Kinect games are going for $50 a pop. Putting that in contrast with Move, the controllers run $50/$30, depending on your flavor, plus the PlayStation Eye that's $40 that you'll need. One set of controllers plus the Eye puts you at $120. Move's games are priced at $40 each.

Now for something jucier: the Xbox 360 Slim is getting a 4GB version (internal memory) on August 3 for $200, replacing the Arcade unit that's out right now. And yes, there is built-in Wi-Fi on this model.

Even better: the Holiday bundle that Microsoft offers every year is the 4GB model with the aforementioned Kinect bundle (pictured above). This is going to sell for $300 when Kinect launches.

Now, as many have stated before, $150 is "too much." I'm not the first to say it, but I'll be damned if I try to justify it after this point: if games are $50, and the Kinect bundle comes with one, then Kinect is effectively $100, and Microsoft is pulling a Nintendo here with the pricing (bundle a game in, add $50, say it's a "deal").

Sorry, but unless the 250GB Xbox 360 Slim doesn't have a bundle, then I'm not buying Kinect. Sorry.

[Via Major Nelson]

"Modern War Gear Solid" is Exactly What You Think It Is

Oh the delicious, sweet fruit that is the 1st Amendment a parody.

This fan-made video mashes up the worlds of Modern Warfare and Metal Gear Solid into the titled name, which stars Ghost and Solid Snake, respectively. The Snake you see does nothing but lampoons the real Snake, while the Ghost is actually taken seriously...somewhat.

Battling Activistsun, which has acquired Outer Haven, Ghost and Snake end up teaming together, all the while staring at Naomi's chest.

The first of many Acts to some, I hope.

Catch the video after the break.

Assassin's Creed II DLC on sale for Xbox Live

If you don't subscribe to Major Nelson's blog, then you haven't heard the news yet: the Assassin's Creed II DLC - Bonfire of the Vanities and Battle of Forli - is the hot new shit for Xbox Live's Deal of the Week.

Both Sequences are down from 320 points ($4) to 240 points ($3), while the "combo" is now 400 points ($5) rather than the usual 560 ($7). There's a couple of Avatar things discounted pretty steeply, but this good news for those who don't even have ACII yet, as GameStop has dropped the price down to $20. You get a broken game for $25 rather than $68 like most of us payed who bought the game when it came out and each DLC separately upon it's arrival.

Now would be a great time to get in on the DLC, as my own recommendation was to pass on it until it was on sale, like a DotW. Sure, it's only 25-30% off (depending on your flavor), but it's a nice little discount to DLC that should have been free.

It must feel good to be a cheap bastard, you...cheap bastard.

[Via Major Nelson's blog]

[GTFO] That $35,000 NES on eBay? Dude got $50

Not $50 as in fifty dollars. No, this sumbitch got fifty thousand for it.

There was absolutely nothing special about this thing. It was a standard fair NES with 42 games, a Nintendo branded carrying bag, 2 controllers, a Zapper, an original Game Genie and bunch of other stuff. He originally wanted $35,000 to "pay bills," but he walked away with $15,000 more than what he hoped for.

My physical NES collection stands at 5 deep (4 if you don't count the Ninja Gaiden that doesn't work). I had plans on rebuilding my catalog up after getting rid of them all those years ago, but seeing how Guy got $1,190 for each game if you don't factor in the NES itself (which has a "Keepin' it Old Skool" Nintendo sticker on it), I should just buy a bunch of NES games, package them together and say I need "food".

Check after the break to see the ridiculously low-key games he sold with it.

[Via Destructoid via eBay]

Dead Rising 2 Gets US-Exclusive "Zombrex Edition", Motion Picture Release Details

We may all know how much I despise country-exclusive limited editions, but hey, this one is US only! Despite the irony in this, Dead Rising 2 is Canadian made, Japanese published, yet US gets the collector's edition. Strange how this works, right?

This special edition, dubbed as the Zombrex Edition, runs you $80, and both the PS3 and 360 gets you this:

• Two-Disc Steelbook case   
• Dead Rising 2 game disc 
• Zombrex “Syringe” pen
• Zombrex “Prescription” notepad (25 pages)
• Zombrex “Safety” card 
• Zombrex “Prospectus” Sales Brochure (16 pages)
• Dead Rising 2 Hardback Artbook (48 pages)

The PS3 version scores you a voucher for an XMB Dynamic Theme and a "Blu-Ray Disc featuring a High-Definition 24 minute “Making of” featurette".

The 360 version gets a "high-def version" of the above 24-minute "Making of" featurette plus the 83-minute “Zombrex Dead Rising Sun” motion picture, made by Keiji Inafune himself.

Assassin's Creed Goes to...Russia?

Oh yea, I'm loving that logo.

This isn't a game, but a 3-part graphic novel series that is set to debut at Comic Con during a panel hosted by Morgan Webb called "Assassin's Creed: Behind and Beyond the Brotherhood" on July 22 (next Friday). Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl are the minds behind this, and Karl will be with Morgan at the panel. It's here where we'll learn more about this, but it's not the first time where someone from the Creed isn't Arabian or Italian.

Nothing more is know, other than a teaser trailer featuring black and white film footage of guys digging in the dirt with a stereotypical, threatening Russian-accented man talking about stuff.

The teaser ends with "Coming soon to your comic book store".

I don't know about you, but this seems to be what the femme-fatale in the early 1900's project that was alluded to back in October of last year turned into. That is, if the lead character is female.

[Via Newsarama]