Luke Plunkett

Want To Play Final Fantasy XIII? Get On The Bus

Literally. If you live in the San Francisco area, get on the giant Final Fantasy XIII bus that will be touring later this week, and you’ll be able to get your hands on Square Enix‘s upcoming role-playing game. From January 13-16, the bus will be driving around the bay area, giving players a chance to…

Halo: Reach Boasts New Tech, Bigger Battles

It’s easy to think of Halo: Reach and yawn, imagining yet another Halo game using the same old Halo formula and the same old Halo tech. Listen to Bungie detail Halo: Reach, though, and your optimism may come sneaking back. Reach is the cover feature in the latest issue of Game Informer, and the piece…

LEGO Universe Screenshots: It’s In The Game

While amazing, the LEGO Universe trailer was short on in-game action. These screenshots are comprised of nothing but. I’m digging the look, but don’t remember LEGO figures ever being that shiny. Hopefully NetDevil tone down the sheen before the game’s release.

Report: Only 15% Of Gamers Buying Downloadable Content

A survey conducted by media firm Frank N. Magid Associates has found that only 15% of active video gamers purchase downloadable content. Of the 800 people polled, 15% said they bought DLC, 41% said they were aware of it but hadn’t bought any, and 43% said they’d never even heard of it. That last stat…

Bayonetta Book: Artistic Climax Action

PlatinumGames, the team behind classy brawler Bayonetta, have announced that an art book for the game is to be released sometime this quarter. With the working title of “Bayonetta Design Collection”, it is – according to character designer Mari Shimazaki – “a really thick book”, including almost all of the production and promotional art used…

A School Where Kids Are Taught Through Video Games

Last September, the Quest to Learn school opened in New York. It’s aim? To educate kids almost entirely though the use of video games. There are 72 students at the school, which uses games, game design and game programming to teach children almost everything they’d traditionally have learnt from books. “Games are exceptionally good at…

LEGO Universe Trailer Is All Good Bricks vs Bad Bricks

Here’s a new trailer for Netdevil’s upcoming massively multiplayer online game, LEGO Universe. No gameplay to be seen, sadly, but damned if it’s not getting me excited regardless. Click to view

Rumor: Retailers Say No, Thanks To Wii Mini Game Collections

A Gamasutra article published late last week carries an interesting rumour; namely, that two of America’s biggest retailers have told publishers they won’t be stocking any more Wii mini game compilations. Gama’s Paul Hyman writes “Stores like Target and Best Buy have reportedly told game publishers not to even bother approaching them with collections of…

Xbox Live Officially Heading For Mobile Phones

While the news has been coming for some time now, you always need to break out a confirmation to make everything official. And it’s now official: Xbox Live is on its way to mobile phones. The service will be known as “Xbox LIVE Games” (catchy!), and looks to be available only on phones operating a…

2009’s Most Popular Xbox Live Titles

You’ve seen the most popular Xbox Live titles of 2009 in Japan. Now see the most popular Xbox Live titles worldwide. Major releases, Arcade titles, Indie games, the works. Microsoft’s Larry Hryb released this list late yesterday, showing the top 20 games overall (based on the number of unique users), the top-selling Indie titles, best-selling…

The Average PC Gamer’s Rig, As Of December 2009

Earlier this week, Valve released the latest set of data from their regular hardware survey, revealing just what kind of hardware the average PC gamer is packing these days. Here are the major findings: you prefer Intel systems to AMD, you prefer NVIDIA graphics cards to ATI, and the majority of you now have at…

FIFA 10 Gives Modern Warfare 2 A Run For Its Money

While Modern Warfare 2 emerged as 2009’s biggest-selling game globally, in Europe, it was a close-run thing, Activision’s blockbuster shooter only just edging out EA’s FIFA 10. Granted, this information comes from…Electronic Arts, the game’s developers, but seeing as they get access to complete, accurate sales figures (something the general public does not when it…

Brutal Legend’s Eddie Riggs, Now In Action Figure Form

To cash in on the launch of Brutal Legend last year, EA had 1000 statues of the game’s star, Eddie Riggs, made up. They were nice, but then…they were too nice. Too clean. Not metal enough. Reader Hugo thus decided to take matters into his own hands, and built himself an Eddie Riggs figure that…

Darksiders Banned In The United Arab Emirates?

Darksiders seems to be the flavour of the month so far, its rugged charms leading to good review scores and media opportunities. Just don’t tell that to the United Arab Emirates, who have reportedly banned the game. No reason was given (because it seems no reason is ever given by the authorities), but if this…

Target To Offer $99 “Video Game Setup” Service

We’ve been told by helpful sources that Target will later this month begin offering you the chance to allow somebody else to install your brand new console for you. All for the low, low price of $99! No joke now; they’ll come to your house, plug it in, set up some accounts and any relevant…

Lost Planet 2’s CES Screens Stick To The Formula

Perhaps mistaken that the Consumer Electronics Show going down in Las Vegas this week is all about giant bugs and robot suits, Capcom have released some new screenshots for upcoming shooter Lost Planet 2.

PAL PlayStation Store Update: A Guilty Pleasure

What this week’s PAL PlayStation Store update lacks in new content it more than makes up for with its retro offerings, as the original Guilty Gear will be available for download tomorrow. Just in case you don’t already own the classic 2D fighter, either in its original form or as one of its many revisions,…

Dark Void’s CES Trailer Is Wet Wet Wet

This is a new trailer for Capcom’s Dark Void. You know, for all its allusions to The Rocketeer, I’ve never really noticed how much it looks a lot more like Mass Effect. If Shepard used Super Soakers.

New Red Dead Redemption Screens Saddle Up

Rockstar today released four new screens for their upcoming western title Red Dead Redemption. One of the has an exploding stagecoach. You sure know the way to a man’s heart, Rockstar. Red Dead Redemption is the sequel to Red Dead Revolver, probably the best (sorry Outlaws) cowboy game of all time. It’s due out in…

Rumor: Dead Or Alive 5 Heading For PlayStation 3?

The latest issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine is carrying a brief rumour, claiming that the fifth game in the Dead or Alive series – one that’s long been a Microsoft exclusive – will also be appearing on the PS3. If correct, it wouldn’t be the world’s biggest surprise; not only is “former console exclusive…