The 3DS Potential of Hugo Cabret

Along with seeing the terrific Muppets film over the weekend, I caught Martin Scorsese’s new flick Hugo. I knew next to nothing about the movie going in*, other than scant details teased in commercials, so I was surprised to receive a pair of 3D glasses with my ticket, and delighted by how well the stereoscopic effect worked with the production, both technically and thematically.

I devoted a few words to the potential of 3D used thoughtfully in games not too long ago, and this is one of those rare cases when those tricks of depth considerably improved a film. Hugo is the first movie I’ve seen since James Cameron’s Avatar in 2009 that can make that claim, and it has the advantage of having an excellent story that brings together a clever orphan, broken automatons, and the wonders of the early film industry.

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tags / 3ds / ec / films / gaming / hugo / martin scorsese / movies / nintendo 3ds / paramount / thq

Tiny Contest: Return of the Halloween giveaway

Just when you thought that our Halloween-themed giveaway was finally dead and that you could live a normal life again, a terrible bolt of lightning struck the contest’s grave, the sound of the headstone cracking in half carried by the thunder and heard several counties away.

Two prizes for this latest giveaway — a copy of Mikoishi Studios’ dark puzzler DropCast and a second mystery title to be revealed later this week. Of course, it’s also a budget horror game and likely one you don’t have!

As usual, to win, you need only add non-crap comments in any posts starting now until 11:59 CST Monday, November 3. Commenting on this post counts as one entry, and on any post after this counts as two.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a more creative competition, head over to our sister site, 4 Color Rebellion for their costume/pumpkin contest.

tags / mikoishi / thq / dropcast / halloween / contest / ec

Tiny Review: DropCast

Mikoishi’s DropCast seemed like a great fit for the Halloween season, what with its Tim Burton-esque characters and promises of “wicked puzzle fun,” but without anyone to play against, I found it dull.

Four details that are fab:

1. Eight playable stuffed animals, all with distinct and humorously dark personalities.
2. Each story mode match is bookended with colorful conversations between the two battling toys.
3. Download play support for up to four players.
4. Publisher THQ gave it a budget price of $20.

Two details that are butt:

1. No online support, which means I don’t know whether DropCast’s multiplayer is great or not. While local multiplayer support is nice, that only works if you have friends. And of the two people who can actually stand to be around me — my wife and my cat — neither own a Nintendo DS.
2. Essentially, the game is an unexciting mix of Collapse mechanics with competitive attacks à la Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, minus the fun chibi sprites that attack each other during matches.

Score:

• The music is great stuff! You can hear a bit of it in the gameplay trailer above. Again, very Tim Burton-esque (or Danny Elfman-esque, rather). Oh wait, you were wondering about the review score? Too bad! ;o)

tags / review / dropcast / mikoishi / thq / singapore / ec