VGCulture - Filler - Super Konata World

Source: Youtube Channel Ninluigi

I'm going to be holding off on posting for a week to allow myself more time on some projects I'm finishing up.  Regular posting should return next Monday unless stated otherwise.

GameLight - Torchlight 2

Low Bandwidth Page: http://torchlight2game.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/200710/
Source: Youtube Channel runicgames

Torchlight 2 has finally released yesterday.  The long awaited sequel to the dungeon crawler is finally here with new classes, more skills, tons of weapons, and the ability to play with people online.  The game is looking pretty good so far and is well received by critics and players alike.  Some minor complaints are mostly due to the confusing storyline, but in terms of aesthetics, content, and gameplay, the game seems to satisfy most players.  I have yet to try the game out myself yet and I doubt I will soon as I'm just swamped with other games and work right now; however, I plan to get the game eventually as I enjoyed the first game.  Torchlight 2 is available for digital download from their official site or Steam for $19.99 and is exclusively for PC.

GameLight - Project X Zone

Official Japanese Site: http://pxz.channel.or.jp/
Source: Youtube Channel nbgi

Seven years ago, a game called Namco x Capcom for the Playstation 2 was released that featured a bunch of characters from a lot of games; however, the game was never released in North America.  Looks like that game has a continuation on the Nintendo 3DS with one of the largest collaborations seen in the industry (other than Super Smash Bros. Brawl).  Project X Zone is a Action-Tactics game exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS that will feature over 200 characters across 29 different games.  Characters from fighting games like Street Fighter, Tekken, Virtua Fighter to Action games like Devil May Cry, Mega Man, Resident Evil to RPGs such as the Tales series, .Hack Sign, and Resonance of Fate will be joining the large cast to do some crazy combo attacks.  I'm not exactly sure what the game's about, but just looking at the gameplay has me immensely excited for this game.  The game is set to launch in Japan on October 11, 2012 exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.  I really hope North America will get to see this game sometime in the near future.

Source:
-Joystiq: New Project X Zone trailer is 16 minutes of crazy crossovers

NewNews - Humble Indie Bundle 6

Official Site: http://www.humblebundle.com/

It's been a while since I bought a Humble Indie Bundle and it's back again.  The "pay how much you want" offer returns with 5 indie games:
-Rochard
-Shatter
-Space Pirates and Zombies (S.P.A.Z.)
-Torchlight
-Vessel

And if you beat the average payment, you'll receive and extra game: Dustforce
Source: Youtube Channel hitboxteam

I already had Shatter, SPAZ and Torchlight, but I also wanted the soundtracks to the games which I didn't have.  The true prize of the bundle was the addition of Dustforce.  It's an Action-Platformer with a whimsical art style, fancy animation and gameplay, and an incredible soundtrack that makes you feel so good.

So when you pay for the bundle, you are helping the developer, donating money to charity for children's hospitals, and giving a tip for the guys organizing these events.  Once you pay for the game, they're yours!  That doesn't mean "yours to resell and share" so don't take advantage of the DRM free downloads these kind developers have offered us.  With the bundle, you get the link to download the games, codes to link to your steam account so you can play it from there, and the soundtracks in FLAC or MP3.  HIB 6 ends in 12 days, so don't miss out!

GameLight - Borderlands 2 First Impressions

Official Site: http://www.borderlands2.com/
Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/49520/
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

The free-roaming, Action-RPG, First-Person Shooter, Co-op game Borderlands 2 released last night and I ended up pre-purchasing it so I got to start playing early.  Forget everything you knew about the first game and prepare yourselves for a new Pandora.  Here are some differences I noticed:

-Obviously a new cast of characters, but now their appearances can be changed
-Graphics look nicer for some reason, not sure if it's sharper or more detailed
-Lots of crazy new properties on guns (grenade reload)
-Different story arcs (I was fighting very different bosses than my friends)
-Game is significantly more difficult (already died a lot)
-Skill tree allows for a greater amount of customization in playstyle
-Sleek user-interface that allows the player to see their character in menu
-Better drop-in/drop-out mechanic for multiplayer

So far, I'm liking the game, but I can tell it's incredibly buggy.  I've run into a lot of odd problems with hit-box detection, getting stuck on the sides of buildings, enemies spawning out of nowhere all around the player, enemies not reacting to damage, and hosting/connecting to other players in multiplayer.  The game is certainly playable, but it lacks some refinement at the moment.  Borderlands 2 is now available for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC scoring high in the 80's on metacritic.

VGCulture - Centipede Infestation Music

Nintendo Page - Centipede: Infestation
Atari Page - Centipede: Infestation
Source: Youtube Channel atari

After completing all the levels possible in New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS, I was left with no games to play on my new portable system.  I have purchased 4 games online and am patiently waiting for them to arrive in the mail.  So this past weekend, I decided to buy a game for a cheap price to hold me over until my games come in.  I decided to buy Centipede: Infestation as the classic game was one I liked playing at the arcades and it looked like an interesting arena shooter.  I have heard little about the game and comments about the game were mostly negative.  Still, I gave it a try and played it this weekend.  The art style for the story is cartoonish, which is fine by me; however, the in-game graphics were muddy, uninteresting, and frustrating.  The 3D really worked at some points where some of the flying enemies really felt like they popped out of the screen.  The voice acting is pretty bad in that it didn't match the reactions shown in the images.  The gameplay is drawn out and mostly boring with some special cases where some levels and boss battles were genuinely challenging and fair.  Still, I didn't have much hope for the game.  After playing up to a certain level, I started to notice the music.  It sounded like dubstep, yet it had some other elements within it that made it sound unique.  After a few more levels, I decided to plug in my 3DS XL to a plugged in speaker and plug in my nice headphones to get the music as loud and powerful as possible.  What I heard blew my mind.

The music isn't exactly memorable, but it was nice to listen to.  There is a mixture of dubstep, electronica, ethereal trance, and drum 'n bass yet the style sounded so familiar.  I looked it up and sure enough, the music was composed and produced by Jake Kaufman.  Wayforward Technologies have worked with Jake Kaufman in the past and I have heard his work enough to recognize his style a bit.  I have made mention of Mr. Kaufman in the past and I am surprised once more by his work on Centipede: Infestation.  The music is powerful, exciting, and something I can really listen to outside of the game.  I wish I could find some sort of example to share, but the game has been largely ignored by the industry and community alike with only a few gameplay videos and no soundtrack to download from anywhere.  The game doesn't even have a score on Metacritic.  Honestly, the music is too good for the game, but it's currently a redeeming factor that has persuaded me to at least finish the game.  Some of the music can be heard from the gameplay videos, but it doesn't really do it justice as the music is quite low and the sfx are quite loud.  It's a real shame that the music cannot be shared and spread to the gaming community.  It really deserves some attention.

VGCulture - Playing DS games on 3DS XL

Official Site: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds

I've been playing my 3DS XL the past 3 days and have been enjoying the larger screen, better buttons, and awesome 3DS graphics.  Unfortunately, the only game I have is New Super Mario Bros. 2 which cost $40 along with the 3DS XL ($199) and I completed the game within 24 hours of opening it.  It was fun, and there's still some secrets I haven't found yet, but there isn't much more to do in the game other than mindlessly collect coins and play the coin rush mode to compete for a high score.  So I decided to try out some of my DS games on it since it's backward compatibility.  I tried Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia on my 3DS XL and the first thing I noticed was how clear the audio was.  I was hearing parts of songs I didn't hear before on my DS Lite.  Unfortunately, playing the game kind of gave me a hand cramp because of the way the digital pad is set up and perhaps I'm not used to it.  Also, the larger screen just made it more difficult to keep track of all the enemies that appear, strange enough.  And many players have complained in the original 3DS that the graphics were very blurry and would rather play in the original size which I believe is still possible with the 3DS XL.  Then, I tried out Phantasy Star Zero on it.
Source: Youtube Channel FernandoCitan

I liked my experience of PS0 on the 3DS XL.  The bigger screen helped, and the game wasn't entire sharp graphics to begin with so a little blurriness was actually okay.  What really made the experience awesome was that the analog circle pad was usable in the game.  So the controls felt a bit more comfortable and familiar to playing Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 and 2 on the GameCube.  Having the Start button below the screen instead of below the face buttons was a little odd playing the game, but it's so large that it wasn't too much of a problem to get used to.  I think I'm going to continue playing PS0 on my 3DS XL and I'll play my other DS games on the DS Lite.

Long story short: Certain NDS games work really well with the 3DS XL while others are a disadvantage.  Even though the 3DS XL can play DS in its original size, it doesn't really change the ergonomics of the controls and not all games play well with the circle pad.  So the 3DS XL isn't a total replacement for my DS, but it does have its perks for certain games.

NewNews - Wii U Announcement

Official Site: http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu
Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

In 2011, the amount of Wii games released was minuscule and the ones that did were mostly overlooked other than main stay franchises such as Zelda and Kirby.  It was no surprise that the Wii U was announced and was being pushed forward as Nintendo's next step into the market.  Nintendo has finally announced today that the new Nintendo console will be available on November 18th, 2012 with two versions: Wii U Basic White with 8-GB worth of memory for $299.99 and Wii U Deluxe Black with 32-GB worth of memory for $349.99.  It's a bit pricy, but not unreasonable.

Like with any other console, there needs to be a reason to get them.  Usually, the reason is to play the games available for them.  The one game that caught many gamer's attention at this year's E3 was ZombiU.  It looked dark, gritty, challenging, and a bit more for the core gamer.  What seems to be the case is that Nintendo is welcoming back their hardcore gamers back into the community as they have been largely ignored throughout the lifespan of the Nintendo Wii.  Games such as Batman Arkham City, Assassin's Creed 3, Darksiders 2, Mass Effect 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 have been generally for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC and was never available to the Nintendo Wii (with the exception of Call of Duty games having dumbed down ports).  With a traditional controller available, Nintendo hopes to bring back their core gaming community (probably because their casual gamers started to abandon them for mobile and social games).

Right now, two games have been announced for the Wii U that has caught my attention and has me seriously considering buying one.  One of them is Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper.  I was happy to hear that it was brought over to the Western market, but was disappointed when I found out that the PS3 version was digital download only.  There is another chance now that a retail version will be released for the Wii U in the Western market.  That'll be one game I'd really like.  The other being this one:


The first Bayonetta was Console exclusive to PS3 and Xbox 360.  But it seems like Nintendo and Sega has agreed to release a sequel exclusively for the Nintendo Wii U.  That's very sneaky.  But I imagine more great games will release for the Wii U that will make owning the system worth while.  I hope the same is true for the Nintendo 3DS.  I'm happy I own one now, but I'm still lacking games for the system.  That Super Smash Bros. title mentioned earlier in the year would be a great addition to the 3DS.  Here's hoping for a successful launch and fruitful gaming for the Nintendo Wii U!

Release Date: November 18th, 2012
   -Wii U Basic White (8GB) - $299.99
   -Wii U Deluxe Black (32GB) - $349.99

VGCulture - 3DS Comparison and New SMB 2

Official Site: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds
Source: Youtube Channel Nintendo

I bought a Nintendo Nintendo 3DS XL yesterday and decided to have my first game be New Super Mario Bros. 2.  Before I talk a bit about the game, I'll go over a bit of the system itself.  I had waited all this time for a dual analog stick version of the 3DS, but it seems like Nintendo wants to keep their design the same and rather create a new version of the 2nd analog stick for the XL.  Despite the slight disappointment, it was nice to see a larger version of the 3DS.  Let's have a run down on the comparisons:

Pros
-Screen Size: I'm not entirely sure, but I'm pretty sure "XL" stands for "Extra Large" which is true.  The screen size is an inch larger than the original.  This has made it significantly easier on the eyes.
-Better for larger hands: This would benefit those who have really large hands as the previous model really made it difficult to adjust to the size without cramping one's hands.
-Return of the rounded shoulder keys: I didn't like the rectangular shoulder buttons that were significantly tinier than past gameboys on the original 3DS.  It didn't feel right.  The XL version feels closer to the shoulder keys of the GBA SP and has a nice rounded shape and a nice clicking feeling to them.
-Sleeker design: More than just aesthetics, the original 3DS had a bit of a lip that did make it easier to open, but felt bulky more than it should.  The XL is evenly cut all the way around and feels very solid.  It's still just as easy to put in your pocket.
-Real Buttons: By that, I mean the Start, Select, and Home keys are actual buttons where the original used the foam pad keys.  The decision to use foam pad keys was a bit confusing as those wear out rather quickly and are known to have problems in a lot of children's toys in the past.  I'm glad they're real buttons now.
-Dynamic Audio: I'm not entirely sure what they did with the audio hardware, but I like it.  Everything is so much clearer and works with true stereo.  It kind of reminds me of my original Gameboy from the "Play it Loud" series.

Cons
-It's heavy: This is the heaviest gameboy I've ever had, nay, the heaviest "handheld" I've ever had.  It's not too much of a problem at first, but I generally lie down to play handhelds.  Usually, I play handhelds at night when I can't sleep and holding the 3DS XL up made me realize just how heavy it was.  Maybe I can turn this into a good thing and build muscles from playing it!
-Hand Cramps: I have a problem with this on almost all handhelds now, so it's not specific to the 3DS XL specifically.  It's cool to finally have an analog stick on a gameboy now, but it has created quite an odd ergonomic predicament for holding the gameboy without getting a hand cramp.  I think it's mainly holding a hand held horizontally now that causes the hand cramp because my NDS and PSP does the same thing to me after a while.  I gotta be careful around the 3DS XL and do some stretches before and after playing.
-Not as portable: For me, it's portable since it fits in my pocket.  For a younger child, or those with smaller bags on them, this unit is too huge to carry around.  It's almost like carrying a brick around, just a little flatter.
-Battery Life: Why isn't this under the Pros?  Because the difference in battery life isn't that significant compared to the original 3DS.  Considering the device needs more juice to run a larger screen, louder audio, wi-fi, stand-by, and such, it's not surprising the battery life runs at 7 hours at most.  I remember burning through AA batteries like crazy back in the Gameboy B&W and GBC days, and then they had a rechargeable battery for the GBA SP which was like the best thing ever, especially since it lasted 10+ hours.  When I got my NDS Lite, it ran for an awesome 20 hours before needing a recharge.  So 7 hours is really sad and disappointing in comparison and the original 3DS ran about 6 hours max, which is not too big of a difference depending on what you play on the 3DS.
-Not for Tiny Hands: The device is most likely made for the older generation who want a larger screen and control space for our larger hands.  The original concept was created from the DSi XL as Brain Age and such games were popular among all ages, even those past their 60's.  So that people didn't need to squint so much or put on heavy reading glasses, Nintendo made a larger device.  Same for this one.  The device is quite large, and so it's not going to be very comfortable for younger children or those with smaller hands.

Although I wrote a lot more for the Cons than the Pros, I have found the 3DS XL to be worth it for most people.  Unless you have tiny hands or want more portability, 3DS XL would be great for anyone looking to play any of the titles for the system.


Now for a short rant on New Super Mario Bros. 2.  I'll start off by saying that it's fun.  I'll also say that it's significantly easier than the first one and any Mario game that came before it.  I just started at World 2 and reach up to 62 Lives already just from running through the levels (I generally rush through a game and then revisit the levels or replay the games to get everything else).  Despite the many iterations of Mario games, Nintendo has managed to keep this game fresh and interesting.  It feeds off the greed for coins and even updates players on how many coins have been collected nationally and internationally (we're past a billion coins already).  It was cool seeing the game change a little by the actions of other players in the world.  It's almost like playing an online game where changes affect everyone and anyone can contribute to it.  All the mushroom huts have been refreshed twice already due to the coin collecting milestones the players have reached.  I probably won't be doing a review until I finish the game though, and I also have a lot of other reviews lined up.  In short, New SMB 2 feels very casual, yet is still a lot of fun.

VGCulture - Filler - Terry Crews Interview

I'm a bit tight on time today, so here's a little filler.  We all know how awesome Terry Crews is, so they decided to interview him:
Source: Youtube Channel Mowtendoo

In other news, I have a Nintendo 3DS now!  I can do reviews on 3DS games!

NewNews - Amazon Sales Tax Implementation

The bill has been passed where Amazon and many other online retail stores will now be required to collect sales taxes along with the order.  This is a big deal for gamers who have been saving from having no sales tax and shipping & handling charges.  Adding back sales taxes counter-acts the discounts that the online store might offer which has once again made purchasing games a bit more expensive again.  It might not be a big deal for those who have bought games and consoles from retail stores in the first place, but those who have been purchasing systems and games online save enough money to buy another game.  There will be no doubt that Amazon and other online stores will possibly have better deals than GameStop or Best Buy.  It's just that not as much money can be save anymore.  Now we have to be weary about digital distributors as well.  Can you imagine paying sales tax for services like Steam?

In any case, Amazon and other online stores will begin charging sales taxes on orders starting September 15th, 2012.  Goodbye masterful savings...

Source:
-MSN Money - Californians go on Amazon buying spree

GameLight - I Am Alive

Steam Page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/214250/
Source: Youtube Channel clayman90

This post-apocalyptic Action-Survival game has been out on consoles for XBLA and PSN and has recently been released on PC available through the steam platform.  I didn't pay much attention to the game before, but I decided to check up on it now that I have a PC that can handle high-end graphics and this game seemed to look really good in terms of aesthetics.  The platforming reminds me a bit of Uncharted, but the combat is unique in that it plays with psychology and split-second decisions.  I hear that the DayZ mod is similar in that the player has scarce resources, ammunition, and a lot of people who don't trust each other.  That seems to be the case in "I Am Alive."  In the example video above, we can see that the player starts off with a pistol with no ammo and no weapons to defend himself with.  At one point, he is engaged by a man with a machete with no weapon himself.  The player can point the gun at enemies and fool them into thinking that they're a threat, and I imagine that pulling on the trigger would reveal the ruse and cause the enemy to kill the player.  So the game is definitely not a first-person/third-person shooter, but a true survival game that requires wits and decisions.  There has been some changes to the PC version such as an easy mode where the player can replay parts of the game where as the original game on consoles probably saved whatever decisions were made, good or bad, which affected the outcome of the story.  The game looks dark, gritty, immersive, and a whole lot of fun.  I Am Alive is available for Xbox 360 and PS3 through their respective digital distributions as well as for the PC available on Steam for $14.99.

VGCulture - Diablo 3 Wizard Critical Mass

Official Site: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/
Source: Youtube Channel Archon InfernoFriday

There was a lag time for a while where my friends and I just stopped playing Diablo 3 like much of the community had as end-game didn't provide much replay value (especially those who already beat Inferno difficulty) and those who didn't have the right gear constantly died which resulted in a rapidly diminishing gold resource.  Blizzard has been hard at work re-balancing the game to even out the difficulty, make all classes fair (to prepare them for PvP in the future), re-adjusted the stats on items, and providing more progression for players who have reached inferno.  I was sad about the nerf to attack speed as many classes relied on it to complete inferno; however, all classes have been given a huge buff in power and the game now has an extra 100 levels to climb through past 60 called "Paragon Level" which further improves stats as well as increasing gold and magic find.  In this way, Blizzard has virtually extended the end-game content by a lot.  It doesn't provide anything new, but it gives quite an incentive for those who find entertainment value in farming.  Farming can be difficult when you don't have the right gear and can't survive enemy attacks, even for the beloved Wizard class who has been considered the most OP class from the very beginning.  But it seems that players have found a build for the Wizard that allows them to Tank, DPS (Damage Per Second) and Burst all in one go.  They call this build "Critical Mass."

The build thrives from one of the Wizard's passive ability to shorten the cooldown of all their abilities by one second for each critical hit they land so that the skills can be spammable.  What's crazy about this build is that the player can run into a large mob and constantly do damage, increase durability, and land a lot of burst AoE (Area of Effect) damage without the need of range abilities or a generate attack.  The build is as follows:

Active Skills:
-Energy Twister/Storm Chaser (DPS) - This ability hits multiple enemies multiple times which increases the chance of a critical much higher.
-Explosive Blast/Chain Reaction (Burst) - The blasts will help soften enemies up or take them out all around you and can be spammed.
-Diamond Skin/Crystal Shell - (Tank) - It is this ability that will keep your character alive as it absorbs a lot of damage and can be spammed.
-Frost Nova/Bone Chill (Utility) - Having this ability not only damages enemies, but also prevent them from hitting you.  With everything else combined, your wizard would never get hit.
-Magic Weapon/Force Weapon (Damage) - This can be switched out to anything that would help in increasing damage to providing more.
-Energy Armor/Prismatic Armor (Survivability) - Critical hits activate on "chance" and so not all your skills will protect you.  This helps a bit to prevent getting one-shotted.

Passive Skills:
-Critical Mass - Above all else, the build relies on this passive skill.  It shortens the cooldowns of all skills whenever your character lands a critical hit by 1 second.  With the Energy Twister and Explosive Blast, critical hits should trigger quite often and allow the player to continually spam their skills.

The other passive skills can be modified to work with whatever the player needs.  If they're not dying as often, Cold Blooded and Glass Cannon can help increase the damage output.  But if survivability is an issue, skills like Blur to decrease physical damage or evocation to shorten the cooldown on skills even further so that Diamond Skin and Frost Nova can be used more often to ensure protection.

Creating this build still takes quite a bit of farming to do to make it work:
-Critical Hit Chance: Archon (within the video) suggests having at least 30% or more for this build to start working and can be increased by finding items with those stats on it.
-Armor, Vitality and All Resistance: Your Wizard is going to be in the middle of the fray the entire time and needs as much protection as possible to avoid getting one-shotted and so having these defense stats up is important to stay alive.
-Life on Hit/Kill: Honestly, having these on any class help tremendously so that the player doesn't have to rely so much on potions (which has its own cooldown) and health globes (which appear by chance).  Archon suggests having a total of at least 800 Life on Hit.
-Intelligence and Critical Hit Damage: This is where the damage and killing power will come from.  Even with all that defensive equipment and abilities, you're going to die if you're not killing enemies fast enough as it's easy to be overwhelmed (especially with special mobs that have "waller", "frozen", or "vortex").

TL;DR Version:
-Tank, DPS and Burst all at the same time
-Equip "Critical Mass" and items/abilities that help it
-Mash all the buttons as fast and hard as you can


This is a big incentive for me to max out my Wizard now.

VGCulture - Ace Attorney 5 on its way?

For a while, announcements of Gyakuten Saiban 5's (Ace Attorney in the West) release has circulated throughout the internet with little to no detail of which character it will follow or when it will come out.  What has been found out is that the game will be brought to the West.  To be a bit more specific, there's an English version coming out, but a U.S. release isn't certain.  What also has been shown are some key mechanics to the next Phoenix Wright/Apollo Justice game.  The 3D capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS will possibly allow free-camera look, and investigating items in 3D.  This is quite a tease for the U.S. fans of the series as the last Ace Attorney game that released in the U.S. was 2 years ago with Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth as the 2nd game in that spin-off never came to the West.  It'll be even more exciting if it's an actual "Phoenix Wright" game and not "Apollo Justice" or "Miles Edgeworth" game as the last game that focused on the original protagonist was developed and launched back in 2004 with Trials and Tribulations for the GBA (which was released in the U.S. in 2007 for the DS).  Also, no confirmation has been made for bringing the crossover of Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton game either.  Capcom, why do you tease us so?

Source:
-Kotaku: First Look at the 3D Graphics of Ace Attorney 5

NewNews - Steam Greenlight Submission Fee

Official Page: http://steamcommunity.com/greenlight/
Source: Youtube Channel SecretsOfGrindea
One of the submissions to Steam Greenlight

Steam had launched its "Greenlight" department of their platform last week which allows the community within steam to vote and view upcoming indie games and help certain ones reach the platform first.  I already didn't like the idea from the first I heard of it as I knew the showcasing of the games would be convoluted.  Valve already tries their best to push out new indie games to give it a chance in the market among the millions of other indie games out there, and even then many games get over looked.  With Greenlight, some indie games will have a much harder time getting onto the platform than they would have before.  What's more, when Greenlight launched, a lot of "concepts", games not even in alpha phase, joke submissions, and flash games that have been out for years (possibly submissions by other people other than the original creator).

To stop these shenanigans, Valve has issued a requirement of $100 for each submission which will be donated to Child's Play in order to cut down on the trolls and junk submissions to ensure those serious about placing their game on the platform will be seen.  Still, there might be a lot of submissions and not all of them are going to be great.  At least there will be less random submissions and Greenlight will be less abused.

Source:
-Joystiq: Steam Greenlight now requires $100 fee, which goes to Child's Play