The premise - "Seven Game Magazine Covers We Wish Existed." I guess that would mean anything on the cover of the dearly departed EGM. Of the dirty half-dozen, the one for PC Gamer bullseyes its target. Of course, the final rag in this series hits a little close to home for me.

Not sure what else is going on with -Minus World. Miggs kept tipping me to funny stuff, and I hope it didn't overrun their bandwidth. Certainly with Gamespy he won't run into that trouble anymore.

Seven Video Game Magazine Covers We Wish Existed [Gamespy]

Still, to the designers, hat-tip for rendering it like an old 4-bit PC game. I dunno, the tone just seems to deserve that kind of treatment. And also note how your dino farts after you chow down on less fortunate sauropods. Hat-tip for that, too.

Dino Run [Pixeljam, thanks Rob]

You play with four streams of colored sand using 18 different effects, some of them working in awesome combinations with each other.

C-4 and Torch, for example, wasn't too hard to figure out. I've also been making little cups of gunpowder and blasting them to hell with torch. But can someone tell me what "plant" does? Does it grow in the water? I can't figure it out.

The Hell of Sand [AndysLife.org]

When computer games and video games collide! Legendary PC game designer Sid Meier is thinking about bringing Civilization to the Nintendo DS. He says, "If we can deliver a fun experience to the players on the DS, then we'll do it." While the ill-fated N-Gage saw a version of Civilization II, Meier wasn't directly involved as the title was licensed out by Atari. He's currently busying himself with a PSP version of Pirates, which he compares to the PC/Xbox version and says "is "looking to be a really fun game." What about the new machines, Sid?

I think the latest consoles have the processing power to deliver fun experiences with the bigger strategy games. It's definitely something we've been keeping our eyes on and we'll let you know where we'll go from here.

The key word here, folks, is FUN. Brian Ashcraft

Sid Meier Talks Fun [VGB]
Click here to learn about Fun-Boy.

The karaoke game comes packed with two microphones and a sleek interface that makes singing duets, solo and party songs a ton of fun.

Unfortunately, Rocks! is also packed with a song set that is more top 20 than sing-a-long. The neighborhood kids liked the song selection way more than my wife, I or our adult neighbors did. I wanted a little Steppenwolf, or more 80s rock, what I got was Fall Out Boy, Coldplay and Gwen Stefani.

So before you buy the game, make sure to check the 30-song setlist, because if you're not a fan the game is going to be lost on you. Brian Crecente

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment
America Inc. (SCEA) announced today the release of SingStar(TM) Rocks!,
available exclusively for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system.
Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's London Studio, SingStar Rocks! is an innovative new title that invites players to step into the spotlight and exercise their vocal chords in an engaging, social experience that encourages even the shyest singer to unleash their inner rock star.
SingStar Rocks! is a hip, competitive singing game with a sophisticated interface featuring real songs and music videos from original artists.
SingStar Rocks! comes packed with two microphones that plug into PlayStation 2 via a special SingStar USB converter, offering an instant multi-player experience. Unlike any other singing game on the market, SingStar technology analyzes the player's vocal skills, based on their pitch, tone and rhythm and provides feedback based on how well or badly they have sung. The game is also compatible with the EyeToy(R) camera allowing players to actually see themselves singing within the game.
"Because SingStar Rocks! features actual songs and videos recorded by popular artists, it adds an element of realism never before seen in a singing game," said Sarah Stocker, Senior Producer, SCEA. "Couple that authenticity with the wide variety of songs and adjustable levels of difficulty in SingStar Rocks!, and you have the perfect party game for any get-together."
Whether hosting a girls night in, or meeting up after a night on the town, SingStar Rocks! serves as the perfect game to keep the party going, with an addictive multiplayer experience for up to eight players. Battle Mode enables two players to challenge each other and sing for the highest scores, while the Duet Mode calls for two players to each sing one vocal part of a duet, and then combines their scores into a total. "Pass The Mic" team games, featuring a variety of different singing challenges - solo rounds, combined duets,
medleys and surprise singer selections - ensure that everyone at the party has a chance to show off their superb singing skills.
SingStar Rocks! features 30 fully licensed music tracks from a wide
variety of artists and also includes footage of the original videos for each song. The songs span several genres from chart-topping rock, pop, hip-hop and legendary artists, including Fall Out Boy, Gwen Stefani, Coldplay, Jet, Scorpions, KT Tunstall, The Killers, Blur, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and many others. Players can save their favorite performances to Memory Card for future playback, and customize and enhance playback with numerous audio effects.

Well, I'm here, it's hot and wet and packed and kinda fun.

PAX swung open its doors at 2:30 p.m. or so and a stream of gamers slid through the doors, bolting up the three sets of staircases, running to meeting rooms or plowing there way to the Bawls station.

After about half an hour I suddenly realized that everyone was milling. Jason Dobson, eToychest and Gamasutra writer, even asked a couple of people for me, just to verify.

"What are you guys doing, are you headed somewhere?"

"Are you just.. milling," I chimmed in.

"Milling."

Even as I write this there's a line of people slowing walking by. I think a big part of the milling has to do with the fact that there are big ass Penny Arcade strips slung all over the place. People are sorta walking around viewing them.

It's sorta like Louvre, but sweatier... and with Bawls.

Hit the almighty jump for some Flickr-free pics from the opening.

Brian Crecente

Just this weekend my wife and I were talking about the super cool Pong Clock she ordered for me back in January. If you're not familiar, the Pong Clock is a bit of gaming, a bit of art and a bit of time-telling all rolled into one. The thing hangs on your wall and tells time via the score of an automated and on-going game of Pong.

I was so jazzed about it that my wife, upon hearing me gush and gush and gush about the clock, decided to order one for me as a surprise. Then in February word came from Buro Vormkrijgers, the clock makers, that Atari had lawyered up and threatened to sue them. The two managed to work out a deal that allowed BV to produce exactly 400 of the clocks under a limited license agreement.

The reworking of the clock and inclusion of some Atari TM crap required BV to restart the clock, as it were, on the production process.

Well the wait is finally over, BV just emailed today to say that the special screens to make the clocks have finally come in all 400 clocks have been assembled. We sent payment today and should receive the things in three to five weeks. Apparently, BV doesn't have the capacity to go to the post office for the orders and prefers to ship them en mass. While I think that's a pathetic excuse, our dealings with them in every other way have been beyond satisfactory.

I'll make sure to post a review, pics and a video of the clock when it arrives in July. Can't wait. Brian Crecente

Titling this thing is really tricky - what the hell is it? As Andy Prandial says over at the Guardian this week, it's more like "a nightmarish future with a penchant for dramatic lighting."

Or, we stick with their other alternive: immersive, interactive game. Just not videogame per se:

The game then becomes fully immersive, with a wonderful level of detail. Each of the more than 20 rooms has its own theme, and the adrenaline pumps hard as you explore the space - shooting down slides, climbing ladders or diving into a pit of small plastic balls. Sometimes it is like a giant adventure playground for adults.

How cool does that sound! Mass Kotaku trip to Madrid, then?