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Assassin’s Creed II Bundles Game With Downloadable Content
Assassin’s Creed II, one of the games of 2009, is to be repackaged and resold as a “complete” edition, bundling the game along with its downloadable content, some of which is good, others, not so good The pack will include a copy of Assassin’s Creed II, the Bonfire of the Vanities downloadable content, the Battle…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010 -
Gee, You Guys Must Really Hate Using Credit Cards
According to retail research firm the NPD Group, the biggest-selling accessory in the United States is not a controller, memory card or chatpad. It’s a pre-paid points card for an online gaming service. Yes, for the months of both March and April, the top-selling accessory was a 1600 point Xbox Live card, the equivalent of…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010 -
First Shots Of Cataclysm’s Female Worgen
When World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm launches, it’ll bring not only new environments, but new characters as well. Like this female Worgen! Previously, we’d only seen male Worgens, but as you can see, there are ladies as well. How can you tell it’s a lady Worgen? Why, because she’s in a dress, of course. Cataclysm…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010 -
We Might Get Yakuza 4 After All
Having campaigned for months for a localised version of Yakuza 3, many fans of the series feared that releasing the game so close to other big PS3 titles – like Final Fantasy XIII – would hurt its sales. Nope! While Sega won’t disclose official sales figures, which is always a shame, the company has provided…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010 -
Aussie Xbox 360s Get Cable Television
Australian Xbox 360 owners will later this year get access to what Americans would call cable television, with a deal struck between Microsoft and Foxtel, a provider of satellite TV. While exact details like pricing and, more importantly, exactly what channels are available are thin on the ground, we do know that for a monthly…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010 -
Why Is Steam On Mac?
It’s because there’s money to be made there. Valve disclosed today that in the week since launching its Steam service on Mac computers, 11% of all purchases on the digital shopfront have been made for Apple’s platform. That’s a massive boost to the company’s bottom line, and also helps lend the Mac some credibility in…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010 -
Reviews
Rocket Knight Micro-Review: High As A Kite
For a game that had awesome as one of its defining traits, Konami’s Rocket Knight Adventures isn’t exactly one of the Genesis’ most well-remembered games. Shame. Maybe you’ll remember this modern-day successor in its stead. Rocket Knight, a game that serves as more of a spiritual remake than a true sequel to the 1993 original,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Sony Isn’t Arrogant, Apple Is
There once was a time, when PS3s looked like grills and still played PS2 games, that Sony was accused of being arrogant. Now, though, another company has assumed the mantle. That’s not me saying that. It’s Sony! “I don’t think we (Sony) are arrogant anymore”, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia boss Michael Ephraim told Screen Play…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Everywhere You Look, You See Tetris
You know you’ve been playing too much Tetris when you start seeing coloured, falling blocks when you’re away from the computer. This Flickr group, Tetris Tetris Everywhere, mixes instances where actual Tetris blocks have been placed in the real world with real world images that look like they’ve come straight out of Tetris. Shipping containers,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Drive The A-Team Van Around A Poorly-Rendered Cityscape
Google Earth has already been used for a few games, like cheap flight simulators. Know what it hasn’t been used for? A giant map to let you drive the A-Team’s black van across. There’s no score to beat, no time to race, no objectives you have to accomplish, all you have to do is…drive around.…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Empire Strikes Back, The 1950 Production
Quick refresher: The Empire Strikes Back, like me, was released in 1980. Explains the haircuts. And the whole “Luke” thing. If it had been released in 1950, however, it would have looked a little different. Believe it or not, aside from the on-screen graphics this footage is all from real movies, including instalments from the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Exclusive Showdown Reveals…Pointlessness Of Exclusives
Here’s something to fire your synapses on a Tuesday night: a comparison of the average review scores of Xbox 360 exclusives vs PlayStation 3 exclusives. The figures, of course, do nothing to somehow magically settle the argument over which console has the “better” exclusives. So don’t go into this expecting them to. What they do…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
From Total War To “Casual Sports Games” [Update]
The Creative Assembly, best known as the studio behind the Total War series of PC strategy games, will soon be putting down the history books and picking up what appears to be a pair of football boots and a…spreadsheet. A job advertisement over on Gamasutra reveals that the company’s studio in Brisbane, Australia (the team…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Halo: Eurotrash
The fight is finished. Humanity is saved, the Covenant dispatched to the far reaches of the universe. What’s left for Master Chief, now he’s hurtling alone through space? Why, pop music, of course. German pop music. Look, Germany, as a nation, you build a lot of great stuff! Cars, trains, weapons, watches, video games, elevators,…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Ubisoft: Half Of All Games To Be 3D In Two Years
Dusting off its corporate crystal ball (The UbiBall®), publisher Ubisoft has predicted that in just two years time, half of all games will be capable of straining your eyes by appearing in 3D. Or, as they’ll call it, ThreeDee™. The company made the claim earlier today during an investor’s conference call. “We will see more…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
You Just Got An Extra Day To Play Halo: Reach
While originally scheduled to end tomorrow – May 19 – Bungie has decided to keep the Halo: Reach beta open a little longer. “Our official plans as of now are to turn off the Reach beta on Thursday, 5/20 at 10AM PDT”, Bungie’s Brian Jarrard told Joystiq. Since an exact time for the beta’s shutdown…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 19, 2010 -
Final Fantasy XIII, Batman Selling Millions (Millions!)
Square Enix just reported its best year ever, on the back of super-strong sales of a handful of key titles. Like Final Fantasy XIII. And Batman: Arkham Asylum. And Dragon Quest IX. All of which sold millions. Final Fantasy XIII, despite some up-and-down review scores, has sold 5.5 million copies worldwide since launch, with the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 18, 2010 -
Sony Calls For Aussie Game Rating Changes
Michael Ephraim, boss of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, has spoken out against the country’s continued lack of an adults-only rating for video games. “Gaming has moved on, the choice of content has moved on and I think it is time Australia gets in step with the rest of the world and has an R rating…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 18, 2010
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