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CultureTotal RecallAll I Want From Skyrim Is To Go Hunting On A Sunny Day
Many people’s favourite experiences with the last Elder Scrolls game — Oblivion — probably revolve around dungeons, magic, horse-riding and Sean Bean. Mine are a little more sedate. You see, while I appreciated the effort that went into crafting all those “unique” dungeons and the citizen’s clockwork routines, I also quickly saw through the “cracks”…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
Turning A Dead Xbox Into A PS3 Controller
Aussie game nut Morris has taken a dead Xbox 360 and made something genuinely useful out of it: an arcade stick. For the PlayStation 3. It’s not a simple job, as you can see by the number of tools and pieces of electronic kit required, but it’s an awesome job. It’s the second such mod…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
A Sword & Shield Fit For The Hero Of Time
Feel like celebrating Zelda’s 25th birthday with something big, bulky and heroic? It’s dangerous to go alone. Take this stuff. This Zelda sword and shield (of which there are two sets, one for Ocarina of Time and one for Twilight Princess) were made by Fiberglass Blades, a small custom accessory and weapon builder specialising in…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
PS3 Hacker’s Home Raided By Police
It would appear as though Sony is not screwing around when it comes to going after PS3 hackers. While in the US this means gentle lawsuits, in Germany, it means police raids. Earlier this week, German hacker “graf_chokolo” was on the receiving end of a visit from police (and a representative from Sony), who had…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
When Mario’s A Drug Addict, Luigi Has To Pick Up The Slack
What if the Mario Bros. weren’t out saving the Mushroom Kingdom, but were actually just down-on-their-luck plumbers from…Boston? Prostitutes, beatings, pianos and mushroom use follows. Called “The Plumber”, it’s the work of New York sketch comedy group Captain Hippo, who describe the video as “The true life story of the Mario Brothers, like you’ve never…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
The FTC Isn’t Very Happy With Some iPhone Games
There was a rumor last week that Apple was unhappy with Capcom over the way in-app purchases could be made in Smurf’s Village. Turns out Apple may have had a very good reason to be upset. The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it will be investigating the way in which “in-app purchases” can be…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
Your First Look At Double Fine’s Sesame Street Game
The next game from Double Fine, the developers of games like Psychonauts and Brutal Legend, is a Sesame Street title. Here’s our first look at the game in action. It’s…look, it’s a kids game, one they can play with their parents. So know that before clicking play. And once you have clicked play? Know that,…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Great Zelda Switcheroo
If you ever need a reference point for how ferocious – and some would argue unnecessarily so – Zelda fans can be about their beloved franchise, one need only look at a public showcase Nintendo held in the year 2000. For a few years between the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Nintendo decided against revealing major…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 24, 2011 -
America’s Favorite Video Games, All In One Place
Graphic designer Eileen Lopez has put together this very helpful chart, which shows the best-selling games of all time in the United States. All of them. From the 2600 to the 360, Space Battle to Smash Bros. A few things to note before we continue! Firstly, to keep things clean, Lopez rounded off the sales…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
Nothing Says Dead Space Like Papier-Mâché Knee Pads
Some game character costumes are easy. Link, for example. A pair of tights, a green top and a hat and you’re set. Dead Space’s Isaac Clarke, however, is about as complex as they come. His engineering suit is nothing but a sea of sharp points and angles, while most surfaces not jutting out at 90-degrees…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
Why Do Pokémon Games Take So Damn Long To Come Out In The West?
Pokémon games are always released in Japan months before they make their way to Western markets. It’s not conspiracy; instead, it’s because developers GameFreak like to make sure Pokémon names truly mean something, regardless of the language used.
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
This Is How Minority Report Surfs The Web On Its Lunch Break
Continuing the trend of Kinect doing awesome things in everything but video games, take a look at this web browser that’s been built specifically for Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera. It’s called SwimBrowser. Sounds like a stupid name until you see it in action, because “swimming” is exactly what you’re doing as you gently wave and roll…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
The World’s Stupidest DRM Takes A Well-Deserved Break
For its last few big PC releases, publisher Ubisoft thought it was a good idea to force users to stay connected to the internet at all times. It wasn’t, people got upset, and the company’s next big release won’t do it. The upcoming PC release of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (which was released on console last…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
And You Thought Your 3DS Launch Lineup Was Lacking
When the 3DS launches in the US, there will be sixteen games available. In Europe, there will be thirteen. In Japan, there will be eight. In Australia? Think less Only a single Nintendo title will be available when the handheld launches on March 31, and that is Nintendogs + cats. It will be joined by…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
Before Half-Life, There Was A Submarine Game
Valve, the developers of series like Half-Life and Team Fortress, were once working on something a little less fantastical: a submarine game. Speaking on Steamcast, boss Gabe Newell says that he and company co-founder Mike Harrington had, in the very first days of Valve’s existence, toyed with the idea of making a submarine title. “Mike…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallThe Zelda Games The Whole World Hates
Over the past 25 years, not every single Legend of Zelda game has been made by Nintendo. Some were developed by Capcom, and are outstanding in their own right! And some were made by other people, and are supposed abominations At least, that’s what popular opinion will have you believe whenever the topic of the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 23, 2011 -
When Your Developer Goes Bust, The Music Must Go On
Game designer (and musical maestro) Simon Viklund has had some adjusting to do over the past few years, watching a game series he was once a driving force behind end up in the arms of another man. Well, team. Viklund served as creative director on 2008’s Bionic Commando Rearmed, a pulsating remake of 1988’s Bionic…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011 -
This Uncharted Art Is So Good You’ll Think You Can Touch It
Despite the amazing name, Hanno Hagedorn is not a Norse God. He is a mortal, an artist who worked on Uncharted 2, crafting 3D images so damn pretty you have to be told they’re not actual works of sculpture. These pieces are “unpainted” digital models of some of Uncharted 2’s main characters, including villain Zoran…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 22, 2011
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