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CultureTotal Recall
There’s Nothing Quite Like Browsing Through Hundreds Of Old Sega Boxes
You may have noticed, but I’ve got a bit of a thing for the Sega Master System, and in particular its unique brand of documentation and branding. Which lay somewhere between Tron and a tablecloth. So it made my day/week/month when reader Jim let me know about his personal project to scan and upload as…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 26, 2013 -
Culture
Death, For A Dead Guy, You’re Looking Pretty Good
I was only saying last night how impressed I am with indie strategy title Death Inc.’s art design, so it’s only fair tonight that I elaborate with this collection of works from Tim Holleyman, the art director at developers Ambient Studios. With almost a decade’s experience in the business, Tim has worked in both games…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 26, 2013 -
Ah, So That’s Why Crysis 3’s First Level Is So Terribly Slow
If you’ve played Crysis 3 on the PC, you’ve probably noticed that the first level, even on a powerful system, chugs. Badly. It gets you off on the wrong foot with the game, because you start worrying more about hardware than the experience, and that sucks. Stick with it, though; bizarrely, as the first level’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 26, 2013 -
There Are 26 Famous Video Game Locations In This Terrific Video. See If You Can Name Them.
Last year, Dutch artist Tim Hijlkema created an amazing video called Video Game Planets. This year, he’s gone one better, with a compilation of 26 famous video game locations. The idea is that you try and name them all, but even if you have no idea what Bullworth Academy looks like, you’ll still be able…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 26, 2013 -
Remember, The PS4 And Next Xbox Have More To Offer Than Just Prettier Graphics
It’s such a crude yardstick, yet it’s the one most people use when trying to gauge the leap between console generations. Graphics. How a game looks. It’s great for sizzle reels and screenshot comparisons, but at the end of the day, it’s not where the real leaps in video games are made. Those are made…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
How Valve Hires, And Fires, Its Employees
There’s no company quite like Valve. Super successful and with an organisation some would call crazy, there’s also no company quite as interesting. So hearing about how Valve hires, and fires people, is far more educational than it would be for just about any other video game company. Writing on Gamasutra, the company’s economist Yanis…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
The Infamy Shows Assassin’s Creed III Still Has A Little Room For Experimentation
Assassin’s Creed III was, for me, an agonising paradox. It’s both one of the best games of last year and also one of the most frustrating, one where a strong foundation of combat and exploration was undone by poor pacing and mission design. You’d hope, then, that new singleplayer content for the game—released months after…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
One Of The Most Underrated Racing Games Of Our Time Might Be Making A Comeback
Both the series and the studio kinda lost their way eventually, but for a while there, Bugbear’s FlatOut—which combined ugly racing with brutal damage—was the most interesting thing in racing games. So it’s nice to see them returning to their roots. With what, exactly, I have no idea, this is just a teaser trailer, but…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
Sometimes, You Need To Build A Video Game House In The Real World
Death Inc. is an upcoming strategy game where you play as Death. Not the badass one like you see in Darksiders. More like, the one who’s running his business from the basement of his gran’s house. It’s a quaint setting, especially when you consider the fact his “business” – and the aim of the game…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
Persona 4’s Chie Is High-Kicking Onto Your Desktop
Oh look. Just in time for my delayed-thanks-to-a-late-PAL-release playthrough of Persona 4 Golden. It’s a terrific figure of Chie, the game’s loud-mouthed ass kicker. She comes with two outfits and glasses, but also a strangely absurd pricetag; ¥9,400 (USD$100) is a lot for a 1/8 scale figure that doesn’t really do anything.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
This Is Not A Borderlands 2 Screenshot. It Is, Somehow, Cosplay.
And not even that heavily-photoshoped kind, either. I mean, outside of the obvious effects, that is just one absolutely incredible costume, right down to the smallest detail. It’s a great photo by Jesús Clares, too. It shares the spotlight this week with a bunch of other cosplayers who, whether it be Zelda, Skyrim, Star Wars…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
It Will Blow Your Mind To See How Much It Costs To Add ONE New Character To A Fighting Game [Update]
Lab Zero Games, the guys behind 2D fighting game Skullgirls, want to add a new character to the game’s roster. To do this, they’re going to set up an IndieGoGo on February 25. And ask for $150,000 This has, understandably, led to some puzzled looks and unkind words being hurled their way. If all they’re…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 25, 2013 -
Custom Interactive GIFS Will Make/Ruin Your Day
The Gifmelter takes an animated GIF file and can, through the powers of dark magic, transform them into interactive images. Imagine that “moving” part of the file as a paintbrush, and you’re on the right track. It works for any GIF—just bookmark Gifmelter and click on it when you’ve got an image open—but it really…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2013 -
In The Video Game Alphabet, Link Is Crushed By The Moon
Comic artist Brentalfoss has come up with a video game alphabet that I would buy as a poster in a heartbeat. Oh, it’s available as a poster? Wonderful. Based on vintage child-death catalogue The Gashlycrumb Tinies, the temptation is there to put it on a kid’s wall, even some of these are actually pretty dark.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2013 -
Skyrim Mod Videos Look Like A Next-Gen Elder Scrolls Game
It’s one thing to look at screenshots and gape, but video of Skyrim looking like a next-gen game is something else entirely. Austrian PC gamer SkyrimTuner runs a YouTube channel where all he does is post footage of the game running with all kinds of mods, sometimes with over 150 going at once. It’s basically…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2013 -
First Game Of Thrones’ Season 3 Trailer Hits: Dragons, Wildlings & Flaming Swords
God it just looks so so so good. Just when you think you can’t get any more excited for the show to return from its too-long season break, you realise the budgets keep getting bigger and the drama keeps getting, well… if you don’t know what’s coming this season, look out.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2013 -
For $10, You Can Get Lightsaber Training
For two years now, a pair of fencing aficionados have been running Golden Gate Knights, a service that “offers experienced instruction in saber choreography.” In other words, they teach you how to sword fight like you were in a Star Wars movie. One of the ones where people actually fight, too, not the old man…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2013 -
This Amazing Car Chase Video Wasn’t Made With Real Cars (Or Computers)
The official description on this video simply says “An RC Car chase made entirely out of cardboard, hot glue, and spray paint.” That doesn’t do it justice. What you’re seeing here is a Hollywood car chase scene created with remote control vehicles and home-made props. It’s just… wow. The Cliche RC Action Chase [FinalCutKing]
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2013 -
The PS4 Reveal Gets Crazy On Taiwanese News
Next Media, the Taiwanese news team now internet-famous for their bizarre animated sequences, have today turned their attentions towards the announcement of the PlayStation 4 I don’t remember transforming robots as part of the presentation. Which is a shame.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2013
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