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U.S. Court of Appeals Rules Schwarzenegger’s Game Law Unconstitutional
The California law passed in 2005 that would have restricted the sale of violent video games to anyone under the age of 18 has been ruled unconstitutional in a U.S. Court of Appeals. Since the law went into effect under California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, we’re obligated to let you know that the law has essentially…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Team Fortress 2 Scout Update Sends Us To Egypt
There’s no dearth of content coming to the Team Fortress 2 Scout update. Expect new weapons, new maps, the game’s first energy drink, and, oh yeah, new maps! That includes one Egyptian-themed “Capture” gameplay addition. The newest revealed addition to TF2 is “cp_egypt,” a visually striking community made map designed by Sean ‘Heyo’ Cutino, creator…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Mario & Luigi, Street Fighter Help Turn Japanese Hardware Sales Around
Sales of consoles and portable hardware in Japan saw healthier sales this week, most likely due to strong sales of games like Street Fighter IV and Mario & Luigi RPG3!!!. It wasn’t exactly the kind of boost that will see console manufacturers and game publishers popping bottles of Cristal, but it was enough to turn…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
GameStop COO: Used Game Sales Don’t Hurt New Ones
J. Paul Raines bravely faced a roomful of video game developers at this year’s DICE Summit, letting them know that the used game sales that butter the retailers bread do not hurt new game sales. Raines, GameStop’s Chief Operating Officer, told DICE attendees that the company’s used game sales account for only 4% of sales…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Your First (Brief) Look At Mass Effect 2
EA has released the first video teaser for the multi-platform Mass Effect 2 from BioWare. No need to grab some popcorn, you’ll be in and out of the Mass Effect hype machine shortly. We shan’t spoil anything for you, should you choose to pick apart the Mass Effect 2 teaser for clues about the sequel…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
God Of War III, MAG Coming This Year, Says Sony
When we got our first look at God Of War III last week, Sony said it would wait until E3 to announce the game’s release date, which now appears could be sometime in 2009. According to a recently issued press release designed to remind us that Killzone 2 ships next week(!), God of War III…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Rock Band Adds A Lil’ Bit Of Alt Country
Next week’s batch of fine downloadables for Rock Band and Rock Band 2 go a little bit country. Don’t worry, this is the good kind of country, largely free of thickheaded wordplay and grating twangery. What does that even mean? I don’t know to be honest, but this is country of the “alt” variety, featuring…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Mario & Luigi Knock Out Ken & Ryu In Japanese Sales
The newest entry in the Mario & Luigi RPG series, excitedly titled Mario & Luigi RPG3!!!, beat out Capcom’s Street Fighter IV by an impressive margin, with the DS title securing this week’s top spot. Of course, some may contend that Street Fighter IV sales would have benefited from more readily available stock, but that’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Original DSi Design Had Two DS Slots, Was Disliked By Nintendo Dev Team
The Nintendo DSi, recently announced for a North American release in April, was almost a very different, very curious beast. According to a new “Iwata Asks” interview, it originally featured two DS game slots. The original design for the digital camera-enabled Nintendo DSi, according to one of its designers, wasn’t well received by the software…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
Oh, my God! February is insane! Not only do I have to try to finish Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for an upcoming review, but try to play through 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. That doesn’t even include my personal interest in playing Street Fighter IV and Noby Noby Boy, both of which hit this…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 20, 2009 -
Reviews
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost And Damned Review
The Lost And Damned is Rockstar Games’ first downloadable episode for Grand Theft Auto IV, an Xbox 360 exclusive expansion to the blockbuster 2008 release that introduces players to all new lowlifes and scumbags. Gone (well, almost) is GTA IV leading man Niko Bellic, replaced by a gang of Liberty City natives with their own…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 17, 2009 -
Sega’s Biggest Arcade Games Get The Tiniest Treatment
Japan’s toy manufacturers are on a mission: take every real world object, recreate it in plastic, but smaller, then sell it to Japanese consumers. Next to be plasticized and shrunk: deluxe Sega arcade cabinets. Classic, deluxe Sega arcade cabinets, that is; the kind one blew extra quarters on for that realistic, sit-down experience. Toy maker…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
Microsoft Says Xbox 360 Lead In Europe Now 1 Million
Europe Land has long been Sony country, with the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 dominating sales charts in their respective generations. But the PlayStation 3 had a tougher challenge—a head start from Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Now, says Microsoft, it has pulled ahead in the region, giving the Xbox 360 a lead over its PlayStation 3 competition…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
NXE Avatars Get Lost And Damned
Microsoft is going all out in its promotion of The Lost and Damned coming to the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV. And by “all out,” we mean new Avatar clothing options. Your New Xbox Experience Avatar now has the option to look one percent more bad-ass or—if your Avatar is female—twice as…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
What BottleRocket’s The Flash Might Have Looked Like…
When Brash Entertainment, the plague of a publisher that did serious harm to independent developers industry-wide, gave up the ghost, several projects went with it. That includes one based on DC Comics’ The Flash. In development at Bottlerocket Entertainment, the same of Splatterhouse infamy, The Flash was just one entry in a long list of…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
The Inevitable Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress 2 Crossover, Part II
What is it about these two games that seems to inspire such a flood of fan art? Not that we’re complaining, as this Left 4 Dead meets Team Fortress 2 fan art is fabulous. Better than the previous effort? We’re not here to judge. Okay, we are. I happen to like this classic TF2 line-up,…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
Why Don’t We Have EarthBound On Virtual Console Yet?
Say, remember when the Entertainment Software Ratings Board re-rated classic Super Nintendo RPG EarthBound for the Wii’s Virtual Console? Remember how excited we all got? Well, there’s some bad news about that. According to the folks at Starmen.net, who might just know everything there is to know about EarthBound and the rest of the Mother…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
Burnout Paradise Thursday Car Update Will Be Legendary
Criterion Games has announced that the “Legendary Cars” pack, which features some of Hollywood’s most famous, fantastical vehicles, will be bustin’ to Burnout Paradise starting this Thursday. And bustin’ makes me feel good. So does the possibility of driving KITT from Knight Rider the Carson Nighthawk, the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard the…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009 -
Dead To Rights To Return With Retribution
Namco Bandai is giving tough cop Jack Slate another chance to shoot lots of bad guys—or throw them down flights of stairs—in Dead To Rights: Retribution for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The next entry in the Dead To Rights series will, according to 1UP’s first details on the game, be an origin story,…
By Michael McWhertor Published February 16, 2009
Michael McWhertor
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