Brian Ashcraft

How Parasite Eve Went From Cell Phones To the PSP

Parasite Eve: The Third Birthday did not start its life out as a PSP title. Oh, no. It began its existence as a Japanese cell phone game. During the late 1990s, Parasite Eve was adapted from a Japanese horror novel into a PlayStation title. A sequel followed in 2000. Then radio silence until 2007 when…

How Long Should We Expect To Play Final Fantasy XIV?

Let’s see, Final Fantasy XI came out in Japan in spring 2002. It’s been over 8 years! But how long did Square Enix intend to support the game? Five years. Since the title is popular, Square Enix continued to support it as Final Fantasy XI entered its sixth, seventh and eighth year. With the upcoming…

Gears of War 3 Changing Things Up To Stay Out of The Rut

Gotta give the Gears of War series credit. We’re three games in, and designer Cliff Bleszinski still believes in keeping things fresh. Each successive title in the cover-based third-person shooter has offered its own fresh new take. With Gears of War 2, it was the dynamic cover “meatshield” feature in which players could use enemies…

Gran Turismo 5 Might Have “Too Much” Detail

Forget the delays. Gran Turismo 5 is worth waiting for. And it’s finally getting ready to peel out of the garage. At a behind closed doors meeting at the E3 gaming expo, Gran Turismo designer Kazunori Yamauchi showed off the game. GT5 has been in development for years now, first getting revealed at the 2006…

Lost In Shadow Hands-On: Yes, It’s Fantastic

Hudson might have made a name for itself with Bomberman and Bonk games, but the Japanese developer has hit a breakthrough with Wii title Lost in Shadow. The Wii doesn’t get enough credit. Third party Wii games don’t get enough credit. (Blame years of shovelware for that!) But Hudson has tapped the graphic limitations and…

Xbox Live Vs. PlayStation Plus!

There isn’t just one paid online console gaming service, anymore. There are two. Xbox Live and the newly revealed PlayStation Plus are going head-to-head. But, how are the two services different? This is what we know so far: Price An annual “Gold” membership for Xbox Live is $49.99. The “Silver” membership is totally free, however.…

What We Got Right (And Wrong) About The Nintendo 3DS

Yesterday, Nintendo revealed its fourth-generation handheld gaming device, the Nintendo 3DS. For months, we speculated and talked to sources about just what it would be. Well, here it is. Let’s see what our educated guesses nailed and what they didn’t. What we said: “But the new 3DS sports a bigger top screen, presumably a Sharp-manufactured…

Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 Impressions

When Capcom said it would bring jumping to Bionic Commando Rearmed, I had one question: why? Bionic Commando Rearmed was released in summer 2008 and it was a fresh take on classic Capcom 2D platformer, Bionic Commando. The now shuttered Swedish game studio handled development duties for the new version. And while Grin dropped on…

Rage Eyes On Impressions

Id Software, the pioneering developer behind Doom and Quake, is releasing its first new IP in ten years, Rage. Superficially, it looks like id’s take on a Mad Max post apocalyptic future. As an asteroid is heading towards Earth, the “Eden project” is created. Groups of 12 people are put in pods to survive the…

The Definitive Guide To The Nintendo 3DS

Code-name no more, the official moniker for the Nintendo 3DS is…the Nintendo 3DS. The NINTENDO 3DS is the Kyoto-base game company’s successor to its wildly popular Nintendo DS line. It is Nintendo’s fourth general handheld gaming system after the Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. Here is what we know: •…

Final Fantasy Designer Would Like To Make A First Person Shooter

Tetsuya Nomura, the famed Square Enix designer known for Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy, has been busying himself recently. Sure, he’s had at working designing Final Fantasy Versus XIII. But that’s not all. “I have been playing a lot of first-person shooter Battlefield Bad Company 2,” Nomura says. The designer readily admits that he’s a…

Spec Ops: The Line Eyes On Impressions

A window blows open, and shards of glass go flying. Sand pours into the room. This isn’t just another third person shooter, this is Spec-Ops: The Line. Set in Dubai, the game follows a squad on a rescue mission. Te eyes-on demo at this year’s E3 gaming expo provided a look at what to expect…

Macross F Figure With Ample Assets

Blue-haired Macross character Clan Clang is getting yet another figure for the pile. This October, this Mega House “armored version” Clan Clang is going on sale in Japan for ¥12,600 (US$137). Armored version? Really? That’s what version this is.

Milla Jovovich Will Now Knee You In the Face

Isn’t 3D just…yeah? The fourth entry in the Resident Evil film franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife, will be in 3D. And if this poster doesn’t clue you end, cinema goers can look forward to guns blazing in their faces, glass breaking and quite possibly Milla Jovovich’s knee. Progress! [IGN via ShockTillYouDrop]

I Am The Controller? Of The Bathroom?

As seen in my hotel.

There Is A New Michael Jackson Game

The King of Pop Michael Jackson is no stranger to video games. Besides appearances in SEGA games like Space Channel 5 and Space Channel 5: Part 2, Jackson also had his own game Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker. That’s not all. Today, Ubisoft showed a new performance-based Jackson game. According to the publisher, the game puts players…

Here Is One New Bulletstorm Screen

Guns! Explosions! Bullets! That’s right, Bulletstorm. The upcoming game is the latest original title from Epic Games, the makers of the Unreal Tournament games and the Gears of War franchise. The game is set in a utopian future as two members of an elite peacekeeping unit are stranded on an abandoned planet inhabited by mutants…

What Day Can You Buy The New Xbox 360?

Microsoft revealed that the new slimmer and smaller Xbox 360 would be shipping today and priced at US$299. Microsoft’s Don Mattrick said it would be available later this week. And what day is that exactly? According to an internal Target memo, the new Xbox 360 will be available for purchase this Friday (June 18) at…

EA Cocks Gun Club

Bang bang! Game publishers Electronic Arts is rolling out “Gun Club”, a rewards program that gives players benefits for doing what they love best: shooting people. EA brings together in-house titles like Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Medal of Honor, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, Battlefield Heroes and Dead Space 2. The benefits include in-game unlockable…

Dead Space 2 Screens (With More Dementia!)

Dead Space’s engineer protagonist Isaac Clarke returns! this time taking players to “The Sprawl”, which is an expansive mining colony. Isaac is outfitted with a new set of tools that he must use against the alien enemies. “Necromorphs” are the alien creatures from the first game; however, this time around expect to see a new…