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See Steam’s Big Picture Mode In Action (It’s Awesome)
Valve’s new Big Picture mode for Steam sure looks nice in pictures, but how does look, and more importantly work, in action? The official trailer was too busy moving the camera around to let you get a good look, so I figured I’d show you. I recorded this on my PC, but to best simulate…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
Assassins Creed 3’s Foam Tomahawk Is Totally Harmless
Mercifully, I’m not talking about some bzarre pre-order DLC, which is available only at GameStop and bestows hero Connor with a foam weapon with which to annoy his enemies. I’m talking about a foam tomahawk you can buy, then run around pretending you’re a deadly member of an ancient order of assassins. It’s officially licensed…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
Watch a Live Silent Hill Rock Concert (And No, I Didn’t Make That Up)
Famed video game composer Akira Yamaoka, best known for his work on the Silent Hill series, doesn’t just work off stage. The guy, he can shred. Thing is, most people have never had a chance to see him rock their socks off live, because he usually only plays in Japan. But his latest project, dubbed…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
CultureTotal RecallOne of the Rarest Games on Earth is About The Bible
Once believed to be a hoax, vintage Atari game Red Sea Crossing has in recent years emerged as one of the holy grails of video game collecting, owing partly to the fact that it’s believe only two known copies exist on the entire planet. And also because it’s about Moses. Programmed by Steve Schustack in…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
Seven Days of Fabulous Cosplay Bring Korra, Zelda & Fallout to Life
This may be the first week in the entire history of Fancy Pants in which I will admit I saw a photo of Kingdom Hearts cosplay and thought “that’s amazing”, instead of the usual “oh God not again“. But then, it’s been that kind of week in the world of cosplay. To see the larger…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
Things You Will Never Hear A Gamer Actually Say
As anyone who has played on Xbox Live knows, there is almost nothing a gamer could say that would surprise or shock you. Almost Some things, though, you can almost guarantee would never come out of someone’s mouth. Here are 15 of them. 15 Things You’ll Never Hear Gamers Say [Dorkly]
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
Sleeping Dogs Almost Looks Better in First-Person Mode
RacerS2 has released a tweak for Sleeping Dogs that lets you play the open-world game in first-person, instead of the game’s default third-person view. While you couldn’t play the game to completion like this – melee combat would be all but impossible – it certainly ramps up the level of immersion you get from United’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 10, 2012 -
13 Year-Old Steals Car, Drives 13 Hours To Meet Her Xbox Live “Boyfriend”
Beth Robinson is 13. She recently met a boy, aged 12, over Xbox Live. Beth lives in Houston and the boy, Dylan, lives in Hodgenville, Kentucky. When Beth’s dad didn’t like the fact the two were playing games and “chatting” together over the service, she did what any lovestruck 13 year-old girl would do: went…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2012 -
These Guys Are Already Playing (Some of) Black Ops 2
While not the full game (impossible, since it’s not even done yet), some enterprising types have managed to get hold of a demo for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. And proceeded to do what you’d expect. Namely, we get a video with the worst soundtrack on Earth, obnoxious overlays of developer interviews…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2012 -
I Played These Games Last Week. What Did You Play? Anything Good?
I didn’t think I’d be playing much of anything new last week, so I went and reinstalled the wonderful DarthMod for Empire Total War and imagined seven days spent conquering the world. Didn’t happen! These games happened instead. MADDEN 13 – Fun fact: despite my inherent Australianness, I’m actually a massive NFL fan. So I…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2012 -
WoW & Old Republic, United At Last
When Old Republic launched, World of Warcraft was its main competition. Now that Guild Wars 2 has come in and kicked a whole lotta doors down, the two “big” RPGs face the same up-and-coming threat. They’ll never actually stand together, of course, but still, the idea makes for some lovely fan art. This piece originally…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
Maybe Zynga’s Not Such a Bad Place To Work After All…
Zynga, the home to games like Farmville, doesn’t seem to be the greatest place on Earth to work. It’s not entirely awful, though. Here’s a new multiplayer gaming setup built into the company’s cafeteria. That’s sixteen screens. Is it enough to make me want to work there? Hell no. Is it enough to make me…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
These Real Soldiers Are Being Trained On Amazing Video Games
The use of glorified video games to train military personnel is nothing new, but traditionally, it’s been pretty stodgy stuff, not really the kind of thing casual users would be particularly jealous of. This stuff, though, I am jealous of. Laser Shot is a company that specialises in providing military training gear to clients like…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
Watch as Dead Keyboards Become Portraits of Celebrities
My last keyboard that broke, I gave it to my kid. It’s now being used for tea parties. The one before that ended up straight in the bin. How wasteful I’m being! Instead of disposing of dead hardware, I could have been recycling it all this time, turning the keys into awesome portraits of celebrities…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
When The Future of Video Games Was…Tape Decks
This is a commercial for Hitachi’s H2 model of the MSX, Microsoft’s unsung hero of Japan’s gaming past. The soothing tones, the brilliant whites, the computer-generated animal…this is the future, people. The distant, star-gazing future! Where video games are so advanced they’re sold not on discs, or downloaded over communications networks, but put on cassette…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
CultureTotal Recall
Miyamoto’s Worst Game Idea Ever. Or Maybe The Best. Not Sure.
In 1989, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto sat down with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii for an interview. The two spoke about practically everything, from game design to their latest titles (like Link to the Past) to the future, but what I found most interesting was the pair’s ideas on making games about teaching. Both had…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
Culture
Star Wars, Dead Space, Transformers, This is Some of the Best Nerd Art on the Planet
Ryan Church is about as close to the top of the concept art world as you can get. He’s worked on Star Wars movies. He’s working on the new Star Trek movies. He’s worked on Avatar, Transformers and John Carter. In addition to all that movie stuff, though, he’s also found time to lend a…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 7, 2012 -
We Are One Step Closer To Real Metal Gears
Continuing a process that began back in the 1960s, the United States has this week taken us one step closer to a world in which Metal Gears cease to be science fiction and start being part of the military’s everyday life. Boston Dynamics, whose military robots even look like Metal Gears, this week released video…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012 -
Eidos Developer Fired Over Murder Comments
Blake Marsh spent four years working for Eidos Montreal, the team behind Deus Ex: Human Revolution. He was fired this week. Not for anything he did while on the job, but for stuff he said on Facebook. As the latest reminder that anyone with a full-time job had best watch what they say on a…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 6, 2012
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