Michael McWhertor

Dragon Age To Be SecuROM-Free

BioWare’s spiritual successor to the Baldur’s Gate series, Dragon Age: Origins, will ship without the unpopular SecuROM digital rights management and copy protection software that has been attached to previous Electronic Arts games. Community manager Chris Priestly announced that the PC version of the role-playing game will use simpler, less intrusive methods to dissuade piracy…

When Chinatown Wars Fan Art Looks Better Than The Real Thing

Patrick Brown’s fantastic Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars fan art is definitely wallpaper worthy. So is his Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned fan art. Good thing wallpaper-sized versions exist! Chinatown War [deviantArt via Tiny Cartridge]

Wii Rock Band 2 Owners Getting The REO Speedwagon U Want

The Rock Band 2 in-game music store for the Wii updates this week with an impressive 18 new tracks, a heady blend of classic radio rock, punk, new wave, hard rock and melodic metalcore. Wii owners will get the Styx/REO Speedwagon track pack that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners are already enjoying, but in…

Space Invaders, Arkanoid Doh Live Arcade, Extremely

The Taito corporation double teams Xbox Live Arcade this week with the release of two high-definition remakes. Arkanoid Live! and Space Invaders Extreme lead the week’s new additions, with Zombie Wranglers bringing up the rear. The excitedly titled Arkanoid Live! brings classic block-busting gameplay to Xbox 360 owners, upping the resolution, adding multiplayer options and…

Metal Gear Solid Touch Gets A Demo

Curious about Hideo Kojima’s attempt to bring the Metal Gear series to the iPhone, but hate spending eight bucks to satisfy your curiosity? You’re in luck, because the “Lite” demo version is now available. Metal Gear Solid Touch Lite brings the thrill of Solid Snake shooting at things to your iPhone, for free. Featuring a…

EA Sports Prediction Of Hatton-Pacquiao Fight Technically A Knock Out

Electronic Arts latched on to the hype surrounding this weekend’s match between professional pugilists Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao. Simulating the brawl Fight Night Round 4, EA Sports called Pacquiao to win the fight. Technically, EA’s prediction was right. Pacquiao knocked out Hatton. And EA’s simulated play-by-play predicted “an aggressive attempt by Hatton to limit…

Is Edge Teasing Pikmin 3?

The newest issue of Edge magazine may give us our first look at Bizarre Creations’ newest racer, Blur, via the cover; but it’s the teaser nestled near the back that may generate the most excitement. According to GoNintendo, the mag ends with the typically cryptic Edge teaser, one that’s leading to speculation of an impending…

White Knight Chronicles: Hands-On With 1%

Sony Computer Entertainment America is bringing Level-5’s White Knight Chronicles to North America, a highly coveted loot drop that English-speaking RPG fans will surely want for their PlayStation 3 inventory. We got a chance to go hands-on with a mostly-localized version of the game at Sony’s PlayStation Gamers Day this week, my first tangible experience…

PlayStation 3 Outsells Wii In Japan For Another Month

The past two-and-a-half months have been very kind to Sony’s PlayStation 3 in Japan, as the console has regularly outsold its biggest competitor—and still-dominant console—the Wii. In April, Sony again handily bested its console rival. Figures from Famitsu publisher Enterbrain show the April margin between the two to be considerable. Enterbrain’s figures, via Reuters, put…

Mass Effect For The iPhone: The “Real Facts”

Details on the forthcoming Mass Effect iPhone “animated presentation” revealed this week were leaked a tad earlier than developer BioWare was expecting. And BioWare wants to clear up a few things about Mass Effect: Jacob’s Story. BioWare Community Coordinator Chris Priestly has shared with the community some “real deal facts” about the iPhone spin-off, alleged…

New Fat Princess Screens Direct From Candy Mountain

Hateful toward the portly and excessively violent though it may be, PlayStation Network exclusive real-time strategy game Fat Princess is also endearingly cute. Just look at the delicious screen shots and equally tasty map names! Players will battle it out online on maps like “Sugar Cove” and “Black Forest,” the kind of locations we’d expect…

New Xbox App Helps Find Child Porn And Other “Illicit Hidden Materials”

A developer at Sam Houston State University has created XFT, a forensics tool designed to root out “illicit hidden materials,” including nefarious content like child pornography, buried on Xbox hard disks. According to a report from Discover, the forensics tool can unearth data stored on a modded Xbox, offering investigators “bit-for-bit information” similar to tools…

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time 3D Remake Comes Out Of Its Shell

Xbox Live Arcade may be getting another serving of heroes on the half-shell, as a 3D remake of arcade fighter Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time was shown to hardcore TMNT fans this week. The original Konami-developed arcade game is already available on XBLA, but the update to the second appears to be a…

Microsoft’s Full Body Motion Controller Revealed?

Microsoft says that it will “completely transform how people think about home entertainment” at this year’s E3. A newly rumored motion controller that detects “full body” movement may be what the company has planned. According to a report from Engadget, who cites an anonymous tipster claiming to have knowledge of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 plans, the…

New Assassin’s Creed II Screens Show Off Swimming, Flying

Ezio, the knife-wielding star of Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II, also has a few more tricks up his sleeve, including the ability swim(!) and access to a handy bat-like glider, according to new media. Italian site MondoXbox has a batch of new Assassin’s Creed II screens that make no secret of Ezio’s improved abilities, which look…

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A Dark Lord Trailer Is Not Dark

Square Enix‘s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A Dark Lord is coming to WiiWare, the sequel to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King. It’s surprisingly pink. While My Life As A Dark Lord may imply that players will delve into the dark heart of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles universe,…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

My backlog is either impressive or pathetic, depending on your point of view. The number of marquee, triple-A releases that have gone largely untouched (or even unwrapped) may stagger you, dear reader. Games like Gears of War 2, Call of Duty 4, Resident Evil 5, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and BioShock have remained…

The Sordid Story Of The Gizmondo May Come To Movie Theaters

Tiger Telematics’ spectacularly failed Gizmondo portable game machine may be the most exciting industry misfires of all time. Someone thinks it’s potentially exciting enough to be brought to the silver screen. Of course, one of the most interesting characters attached to the drama that was the Gizmondo is Swedish businessman Bo Stefan Eriksson. He’s probably…

The Onion Breaks News On Amazing “Smaller Breast” Rendering Tech

In the Onion version of the universe, the Consumer Electronics Show is happening right now. The show’s most important development? The announcement of new technology that can “render average-sized breasts on female video game characters.” New advancements in boob-modeling middleware could potentially allow for digitally-sculpted cans “as small as B-cups,” reports the respected news outlet.…

EA Sports Is Predicting Boxing Matches Now

Not content to weigh in merely on marquee sporting events like the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup championships, EA Sports is throwing its weight into another contest. This time it’s professional boxing. Electronic Arts odds makers are calling Saturday night’s fight between Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton in an effort to promote the upcoming release…