Michael McWhertor

Brütal Legend Still Has More Surprises, More Metal In Store

Double Fine’s metal epic Brütal Legend coming this “Rocktober,” legal system willing, two painfully long years after its official announcement. So what’s still left to say about the game? Plenty, according to creator Tim Schafer. Following last week’s announcement that Ozzy Osbourne would also appear in Brütal Legend—joining Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford…

‘Splosion Man Is A Cool Guy Made Of Explosions

File ‘Splosion Man under "E3 Games I Wish I’d Played." Apparently, it was there, but I was too busy waiting in line and watching hands-off demos. After seeing the game’s E3 trailer, I’m more than a little bothered. After all, I liked ‘Splosion Man developer Twisted Pixel‘s previous effort, The Maw. And I like 2D…

Whatever Happened To Gran Turismo HD’s DLC Model?

When we visited Gran Turismo creators Polyphony Digital in 2006, president Kazunori Yamauchi previewed what would become Gran Turismo HD, the first “real driving simulation” for the PlayStation 3 that would offer 770 cars and 50 tracks for download. At the time, Yamauchi called it “the GT version of iTunes,” letting players buy the barebones…

Analyst: Sony’s $249 PSPgo Is “Too Much”

PSPgo, the newest addition to the PlayStation family, will carry a premium price of $249 USD when it launches this October. That’s $80 more than the PSP-3000, a figure considered too high by some gamers—and one analyst. That analyst is Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter, who commented on the most recent episode of GameTrailers’ Bonus Round…

Sega Vintage Collection 2 Games Hit Xbox Live Arcade

Sega fans with a taste for the company’s console and arcade heyday should beat feet over to Xbox Live Marketplace, as the latest Sega Vintage Collection retro hits have been released. What’s on tap? Arcade classics like Shinobi and Altered Beast, two near-perfect ports of side-scrolling System 16 highlights. A handful of Sega Genesis games…

Final Fantasy XIV Concept Art Is Dying To Be Your Desktop

Square Enix’s next Final Fantasy themed massively multiplayer online game is coming to the PlayStation 3 and PC next year. As good as Final Fantasy XIV Online looks in screen shots, its concept art may outshine it. The game’s first artwork, from artist Kazuya Takahashi, is yours for the downloading. We’re only showing you a…

id Resurrects “Next-Gen” Doom On iPhone Next Week

Quake developers id Software are very fond of Apple’s iPhone as a gaming platform. The first-person shooter focused id has already released Wolfenstein 3D Classic and is planning double the Doom, including a scaled down semi-remake of Doom III. Next week, id Software will release Doom Resurrection, a new iPhone and iPod Touch game profiled…

EA Sports Looking To Amazon, “Mommy Bloggers,” Not Metacritic For Wii Reviews

Game publishers think Metacritic review score averages are a Big Deal. EA boasts—and frets over—its own Metacritic scores in earnings calls. Others base bonuses on aggregate arbitrary numbers. But EA’s Peter Moore isn’t as worried about Metacritic averages. At least not when it comes to Wii games. The EA Sports’ label president tells Gamasutra that…

Valve Responds To Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott, Vows Support For Original

Valve’s E3 announcement that Left 4 Dead 2 would hit this year, almost one year to the day after the original, has seen mixed response. Nearly 25,000 fans of the original have pledged not to purchase the sequel. Why? As outlined in the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott group‘s manifesto, that group of fans believe…

Famitsu Senses More Tingle From Nintendo

Nintendo’s upcoming line-up may have more than just new appearances from Link, Mario and Samus, as the venerable fairy Tingle from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask may be starring in a new game of his own. The newest issue of Famitsu teases Tingle’s return, offering little more than an elfin sprite, the text “Fairy?”…

Ghostbusters For Xbox 360 Is Region Free

European and sundry other PAL region Ghostbusters fans sent into a Walter Peck-style rage over the game’s PlayStation exclusivity will be pleased to learn that the North American version of the Xbox 360 game is not region locked. That’s right. According to Destructoid, Atari has set free Ghostbusters: The Video Game from its region-specific encoding,…

Guitar Hero, Rock Band Go Cheap At Gamestop

GameStop is slashing prices on Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero Aerosmith and more, likely in anticipation of this year’s new music games bearing the Rock Band and Guitar Hero names. That means big savings. “What kind of savings?,” you ask. How about the full Rock Band package, guitar, drums…

Final Fantasy XIV Online Screens Are Online

Final Fantasy fans were shocked and/or delighted to see the fourteenth entry in the series officially announced at Sony’s E3 2009 media briefing. Final Fantasy XIV is taking the series back online, a PlayStation 3 and PC “exclusive” MMO. And it looks rather sharp, as seen in new-ish screens of the massively multiplayer online game,…

New H2Overdrive Trailer Full Of Raw Thrills

Developer Specular Interactive‘s spiritual sequel to Hydro Thunder, known as H2Overdrive, looks to offer everything you’d want from a proper sequel to Midway’s high-speed, big jump-filled boat racing game. Specifically, that’s just more Hydro Thunder. It may not have the name, but after viewing the new trailer for the Raw Thrills‘ arcade game, H2Overdrive appears…

Max Payne 3 Inflicted Upon New Game Informer

Rockstar Games’ Max Payne 3 is apparently getting Game Informer cover treatment this month, as early issues of the magazine appear to be already in subscriber’s hands. So, what’s going on with Max Payne these days? According to early, still rumored details from the mag, Max Payne 3 will move the series to Sao Paulo,…

The Sims 3 Sells 1.4 Million During Week One

Was there ever any doubt that The Sims 3 would be a smashing success? If so, sweep away those doubts, because the Electronic Arts published game is now “the best-selling PC launch in EA’s history.” According to official word from EA, The Sims 3 has already moved 1.4 million copies of the PC and Mac…

Gran Turismo Creator Explains PSP Delays, Talks Controls & Online Play

Prior to E3 2009, Gran Turismo for the PSP was largely considered vaporware, a driving simulation that felt like little more than a five-year-old announcement. But Gran Turismo is real—and it’s coming to the PlayStation Portable this October. Why the long wait? Kazunori Yamauchi, president of developer Polyphony Digital, says it was just a matter…

Five Bloody Minutes Of Left 4 Dead 2 Gameplay

What’s new in Left 4 Dead 2? This collection of direct feed gameplay snippets from Valve’s quick sequel shows off the highlights: melee weapons, incendiary bullets, new Special Infected, zombie killin’ action set during day time and… tractors! Yes, this is the South, so you’ll come across a John Deere or two in your journey…

World Of Warcraft Flavored Mountain Dew Now Quenching Epic Thirsts

Have a massive thirst? Consider it slayed, as Mountain Dew (aka Mtn Dew) and Blizzard have officially made the soda based on World of Warcraft available, in either citrus-cherry-flavored Horde Red or wild fruit-flavored Alliance Blue. The previously announced sugary concoction should be raiding store shelves near you, according to word from PepsiCo, offering players…

Shadow Of The Colossus Wanders Into LittleBigPlanet This Thursday

Phase two of Media Molecule‘s sinister plan to add Team Ico-themed content to LittleBigPlanet, forcing me to buy it, consists of three new Sackboys from Shadow of the Colossus. Meet Wander and Quadratus. But wait there’s more. Exactly one more Shadow of the Colossus Sack, that is. LittleBigPlanet will also get the Gaius colossus, albeit…