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Okami Merchandise Reaches Its Ultimate, Cuddly Conclusion
For all the magic, combat and cleavage that features in Capcom’s Okami games, there’s always a white elephant in the room: the dogs are cute, and they are cuddly Whether that be Okami’s adult wolf or upcoming DS title Okamiden’s pup, you don’t feel like high-fiving your hero at the end of a battle. You…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
Super Nintendo’s Celebratory T-Shirt
Japanese shirtsmiths King of Games are celebrating their 8th birthday. Happy birthday! To celebrate, they present you with this cheery Super Nintendo t-shirt. The Super Nintendo is a rare instance I, as a PAL gamer, feel sorry for Americans. Grey and purple are so drab compared to the chipper colour scheme used in the Japanese…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
When Britney Spears Meets Japanese Hack-And-Slash
After nearly a decade of trying, Microsoft still hasn’t cracked the Japanese market with its Xbox consoles. We’re not quite sure why, what with savvy cross-promotions like this! This disc was a prize offered by Japanese magazine Famitsu back in 2002. It’s a DVD combo, including a demo of From Software’s hack-and-slash title Otogi, some…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
WoW: Cataclysm’s Worgens Are A Flirty Bunch
The Worgen – the “Wolverines of the Alliance” – are a new race available in World of Warcraft’s expansion Cataclysm. And they’re a saucy lot. Just listen to them, in these files yanked from Cataclysm’s beta, which kicked off today. The female is a hairy strumpet. The male? Austin Powers with a furry fetish. It’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
THQ Promising Big-Name Signings (But Who Could They Be?)
Publisher THQ is going after the “core” market hard. In addition to an existing stable of talent like Relic (Company of Heroes), the publisher has signed Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki for a game. So, who’s next? We ask because THQ is promising more than just Itagaki’s name on a contract. A lot more.…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
The Nintendo Love Tester Was More Than A Vitality Sensor
Nintendo hasn’t always made video games. It’s over 100 years old, and in that time has made stuff like cards and children’s toys. Oh, and also love testers, like this one, designed by the man who created the Game Boy. In 1969, Gunpei Yokoi – who has Game & Watch, the Game Boy and Metroid…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
The Legend Of Team Fortress 2: Jar Of Piss Of Time
We like Zelda. We like Team Fortress 2. By that thinking, then, it is safe to assume we like it when the two are combined. Last year, Steam user goldenhearted took Valve’s multiplayer shooter and transplanted its lovable characters into other people’s game worlds. Mass Effect, Street Fighter, even Persona 4. If you’ve seen these…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
Fable III Going Episodic, Downloadable
Fable II’s episodic experiment seems to have been a success, because Lionhead and Microsoft will be doing the same thing with upcoming Xbox RPG Fable III, releasing the game in downloadable chapters over Xbox Live. It won’t replace the retail version, of course, as it’ll be shipping shortly afterwards. But it’ll be a nice complement…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 1, 2010 -
Meet Your 2010 American Pokémon Champions
Last weekend, the 2010 Pokémon national championships went down at the Indiana Convention Centre. Hundreds entered, but only one two could emerge the winner. Those two were Wade Stanley, who was the junior champ, and Wesley Morioka, winner of the “seniors” division. After three days of Pokémon warfare, the pair will be off on an…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
Torchlight MMO Wants To Play Like A Singleplayer Title
It’s been humming along under the radar for months now, but Runic Games is about to take the wraps off its next game: a massively-multiplayer title based on 2009’s surprise hit Torchlight. Runic boss Travis Baldree is already talking up some of the game’s features, however, telling PC Gamer “our vision is to have an…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
We All Had To Update Firefox Because Of Farmville Users
Firefox users may have noticed they had to upgrade their browser over the weekend. Why did every Firefox user on the planet need this essential upgrade? Because Farmville was broken. It seems the previous update was causing problems with the Facebook game, users around the world complaining they were no longer able to play Farmville…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
It’s The End Of The Virtual World As We Know It
Self-professed “virtual photographer” Robert Overweg has a portfolio up on his site, showcasing a series of shots he calls “The End of the Virtual World”. They don’t show the last minutes of a dying game world; instead, Overweg journeys to the end of a game’s maps, shooting the desolate, lonely places that exist on the…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
Report: Here Are Kinect’s Technical Specs
A British retailer has posted a set of technical specifications for Microsoft’s upcoming motion-control peripheral, Kinect. Interestingly, it says only two “active” players can be tracked at any one time. While the camera can track “up to six people”, it can only handle two “active players” at a time, relegating the rest to support roles…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
Darksiders PC Delayed (But Will Come In A Fancy Box)
The PC version of Darksiders isn’t going to make June. It’s been pushed back to September. Bummer! On the bright side, the delay may be made more palatable by the fact PC owners will be able to snap up a “Hellbook Edition” of the game, which comes in a fancy box and includes some art…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
After Nearly Four Years, The PS3 Finally Turns A Profit
Thanks to new versions of the hardware and increased sales in the past twelve months, Sony’s PlayStation 3 has finally become a profitable machine for the company. “This year is the first time that we are able to cover the cost of the PlayStation 3”, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida told IGN.…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
Hulu Plus Requires PlayStation Plus Subscription
Sony has been coy on whether Hulu Plus would be available only to PlayStation Plus subscribers. There may be a reason for that. A $170 reason. The guys at Technologizer have found that in the source code for Hulu Plus’ “devices” page, you can find the following point: “The instructions below will help you install…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 30, 2010 -
It’s A Video Game Theatre Festival!
Returning after a successful debut last year, Brooklyn’s Brick Theatre will soon play host to another festival of plays and performance art based on video games. The curtain goes up on July 9, with a range of shows including live machinima, a tour of Second Life (with the Kool-Aid man), a Mortal Kombat fight controlled…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2010 -
Reviews
Napoleon: Total War: The Peninsular Campaign Review: Wellington Party
Lots of people complained that Napoleon: Total War was more of an expansion pack than a full game. Does that make The Peninsular Campaign an expansion pack for an expansion, then? Yes. But that’s not as weird, or as awful as it sounds, as thankfully this time around developers The Creative Assembly have released an…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2010
Luke Plunkett
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