-
How FOX News Gets Video Games So Wrong
Yesterday, FOX News ran a story on Bulletstorm and got pretty much everything wrong. That’s not the real story, though. They real story is how they got everything wrong: they did it on purpose. Yes, we know, it’s FOX News, but still, how the media outlet steadfastly refused to consider both sides of the argument…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
Sony Is Not Allowed To Ask Google For The PS3 Hacker’s Names
So, some guys cracked the PS3’s copy protection security wide open. One of them is a “celebrity”. The others are complete unknowns. So unknown that Sony can’t find them, meaning it can’t take them to court In an attempt to track them (“them” being the fail0verflow team) down, Sony earlier this week tried to get…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallRest In Peace, Guitar Hero
Today, publisher Activision put the Guitar Hero franchise on hold. Maybe forever. For a series that once threatened to become the biggest thing video games had ever seen, it was quite an inglorious end. The gallery above will take you, from left to right, on a journey looking at every Guitar Hero game ever released,…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2011 -
This Man Wants Violent Games (And Halloween!) Banned In Panama
Panamanian politician Alcibiades Vasquez Velasquez is a man on a mission. A mission to save the children of Panama from the horrors of the modern world. Velasquez has put his name on a bill – Proposal 111 – in Panama’s National Assembly that wants to ban the sale and distribution of all violent video games.…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
Germany Cuts Bulletstorm’s Legs Off
Upcoming shooter Bulletstorm, which is revelling in its violent trimmings, has had to face a reckoning of sorts in Germany, with much of the game’s trademark content cut just so it could be released. In order to get even a USK18+ rating — one which prohibits sale of the game to those under the age…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
Could This Be The Future Of Typing On A Control Pad?
Having to enter letters and numbers via a control pad sucks, as anyone typing out credit card numbers or download codes on an Xbox 360 or PS3 will attest. If only there was a way to make this necessary evil easier… Maybe there us! This is called the “Circboard”, and going by the explanation provided…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
This Child Sleeps In A Mario Paradise
Casey Fleser and his wife thought it would be cool to paint their son’s room in a Super Mario Bros. theme. So they did. And the end result makes the word “theme” sell it a little short. The room doesn’t just have a few bits of Mario-related stuff thrown up on the wall. No, this…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
These Guys Are Trying To Turn S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Into Crysis
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was an ambitious, if somewhat crude first-person game released in 2007. For all its quirks, it has a devoted fanbase, and some of those fans are now endeavouring to give the game a major facelift. While visual mods for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series are common, this goes way beyond that: a team of Russians is…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
Sony Doesn’t Know Who It’s Taking To Court
As part of its crusade to crush those responsible for breaking the PS3’s copy protection, Sony is targeting two parties: famed hacker George Hotz and the fail0verflow team. Only problem is, Sony has no idea who fail0verflow is. Well, it knows they’re the group responsible for kicking this whole thing off when they found the…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
CultureTotal RecallDon’t Touch This Horror Of A NES Controller
This is the U-Force. It’s a motion-control peripheral released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the late 1980’s. In some ways, it’s an amazing piece of technology. In most other ways, it was an absolute disaster. Unlike Sega’s rival Activator peripheral, which we looked at the other day, the U-Force was not a full-body motion-sensing…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 9, 2011 -
From Castle Crashers To…Cold War Missile Drama
Mother Russia (in this case The Behemoth, developers of Castle Crashers) needs to send a care package to the capitalist dogs in the United States. In a missile. And that’s where you come in. Super Soviet Missile Mastar is a free iPhone game released earlier this week that looks — and sounds — like it…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2011 -
These Games Had 2010’s Most Amazing Visuals (And Trailers!)
Earlier this month, the Visual Effects Society honoured the winners of the 9th annual VES Awards, meant to recognise the best achievements in special effects and visuals for movies, commercials, TV, animation and, yes, video games. While Inception was the big winner on the night, taking home four awards, we’re more interested in who won…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2011 -
Rival Company Wants The PS3 Taken Off Store Shelves
Consumer electronics giant LG has asked the International Trade Commission to block the sale of PlayStation 3 consoles in the United States as part of a patent dispute. LG, who is itself facing similar charges from Sony, claims that several Sony Bravia television sets and Blu-Ray players — including the PlayStation 3 — infringe on…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2011 -
Are PS3 Games Getting Serial Numbers? We Sincerely Hope Not
Sony is currently embroiled in a lawsuit against hackers who have managed to completely circumvent the PS3’s security system. While that could be bad news for them, there could also be bad news in store for all of us According to sources speaking with Dutch site PS3-Sense, Sony is preparing to implement a “serial code”…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2011 -
This Theme Park Is Like Disneyland For Starcraft, WoW Fans
Joyland, a Chinese theme park due to open its doors in May this year, looks to be at least partly inspired by the games of Blizzard Entertainment. The park, located in Changzhou, is built around the idea of taking “key scenery in cyber-games and [rebuilding] them into reality, enabling visitors to interact between the real…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 8, 2011
Luke Plunkett
Luke Plunkett's posts