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Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Ape Escape is the inspiration for our latest TAYpic, by commenter pan1da7. Good morning and welcome to Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves. Feel free to discuss anything on the subject of video games in our comments below. If you’ve got a good idea and the skills, take a shot at whipping up a #TAYpic. Post your…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Get Well Soon
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Special note: Please do keep Matthew Taranto, creator of Brawl in the Family, in your thoughts. You may have noticed his comic has not published for a…
By Owen Good -
Madden Effect: The Winners
A shipping screwup last week sent Madden to Mass Effect 3 customers. We asked you to imagine a mashup of both games, and everyone came through in the clutch against a pretty tough concept. This week sees our first ever roundup with two artists getting two finalist berths apiece, but they didn’t win out overall.…
By Owen Good -
XCOM: Enemy Unknown‘s PC Version is Getting Extra Special Attention
There is no way Firaxis would build the PC version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown to accommodate the console version’s system of command prompts. “No, no, no. Nooo. Oh man, no,” Jake Solomon, the game’s lead designer told PC Gamer. “I wouldn’t do that to you, are you kidding me? No.” That’s good news for PC…
By Owen Good -
Ten Disasters Under the Covers of Sports Video Games
This week, the Portland Trail Blazers released Greg Oden after a five-year, injury-tainted marriage that was star-crossed before he could show up for his first training camp. Oden is one of the most ill-fated athletes ever to appear on the cover of a video game, starring on the cover of College Hoops 2K8. It got…
By Owen Good -
Portal 2 is Best Game, and Battlefield 3 Wins Three at BAFTA Awards
Last night, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts held its awards gala, and Portal 2 took home Best Game as one of three video games to win in multiple categories. Battlefield 3 was honored with best online multiplayer, audio achievement and the public-voted GAME award; Batman: Arkham City was the top action title,…
By Owen Good -
Bit of War, a De-Made God of War, is Now Available—and Free
It took more than five years, but Bit of War, which is God of War reduced to an 8-bit style platformer, is finally out, and it’s available for the low, low price of zilch. Holmade Games, the shop responsible for this, said the project has been going on in some form since 2007, and that…
By Owen Good -
Mass Effect‘s Producer Promises ‘We’ll Keep Listening’, and New Content that Brings ‘Closure’
Casey Hudson, the executive producer of Mass Effect 3, responded yesterday to the boiling-over outrage of longtime fans of the series disappointed in the game’s conclusion. Hudson’s full statement is free of spoilers, so worry not about that. In short, it sounds like he is promising extensions to the story, through DLC, that offer outcomes…
By Owen Good -
Is Super Mario Bros. History’s Greatest Masterpiece of Surrealism?
The surrealism of Super Mario Bros. would seem to be self-evident but, as PBS’ Idea Channel on YouTube says, perhaps it has been around for so long that its non sequiturs are taken for normal. Its wide acceptance (and a catalog of work spanning more than two decades) may make the Super Mario Bros. franchise…
By Owen Good -
Up-Armored Savings
Three new releases—Armored Core V, Ninja Gaiden 3, and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, highlight our weekly roundup of savings, bonuses and values to be found in video gaming. We’ve got them and more than 50 other offers inside! Software • Amazon has 19 Ubisoft PC download games DRM-free in a “Buy 1 for $5,…
By Owen Good -
Hitler Recaps the Week in Video Gaming
Godwin’s Law states that “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.” As basically all video game discussion takes place online, let’s just cut to the chase and give der fuehrer’s take on recent events. Hitler finds out that Toadette is not playable in Mario Party…
By Owen Good -
The Week in Evil DLC
Downloadable content. Everyone hates it—but everyone buys it. Yes, even you in the comments, smart guy. Here’s a look at the latest package of extensions and pre-order bonuses designed to crowbar the last dollar out of your wallet. Can you still respect yourself if you buy it? Medal of Honor: Warfighter Limited Edition Available: Oct.…
By Owen Good -
Loving Video Games is Right, and I Don’t Want to be Wrong
It’s hard for me to look at the news of the preceding 10 or so days and not feel like there’s been some enormous, possibly irreparable rupture between gamers and those who serve them. I certainly contributed to this with a post about the ending of Mass Effect 3 and the movement to have it…
By Owen Good -
‘I’m Going to Go Home and Play Video Games’
News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • Dwight Howard ended—for this year, anyway—the drama surrounding his tenure in Orlando when he told the Magic he would waive the early termination option in his contract and remain with the team through at least next season. “I’m going home to play video…
By Owen Good -
Hey, LucasArts—How About Making a Star Wars NBA Game?
We get sent weird and hilarious emails all the time, but there is a subtle brilliance to what one Australian reader, Chris, is proposing. I’ll just offer it here, verbatim: Hi Owen, Mate, would love to see LucasArts bring out a Star Wars sports game, featuring arcade-style NBA, NFL, baseball and NHL. I would love…
By Owen Good -
Mr. Yamauchi, Please Go See the Mariners Play. You Own the Team, After All
The man who made Nintendo into a video gaming giant is warmly regarded in Seattle, and not just because the company’s American headquarters are there. He purchased the Seattle Mariners in 1992, almost certainly saving the team from moving to Florida. But Hiroshi Yamauchi, the third president of Nintendo, has never seen his team play.…
By Owen Good -
Flight Control Rocket Blows Up on the Pad
Flight Control was such a simple, enjoyable, universally acclaimed mobile game, it compelled the boss—and I don’t mean Totilo, I mean the boss—to write a review of it two years ago. He came back from his safari in the messy backcountry of video game criticism with a nice trophy, too. Me, however, I get to…
By Owen Good -
Capcom Built Four-Way Multiplayer into Street Fighter X Tekken‘s PS3 Version, Then Gave Up on the 360
Street Fighter X Tekken has just been a post-release comedy of errors, whether we’re talking about on-disc DLC and the apologies for it, or bizarre character endings (that also highlight the on-disc DLC scandal.) Many have noticed that four-man cooperative play is supported on PlayStation 3 but not Xbox 360. Why is that, Capcom man?…
By Owen Good -
Vegas Now Taking Bets on Madden‘s Cover Contest
News and notes from around the world of sports video gaming: • Madden‘s play-in round of voting lasts until next Wednesday. Right now, last year’s finalist Michael Vick is losing to teammate LeSean McCoy; two guys (Brandon Lloyd, Brandon Marshall) who won’t be on their teams when the game releases next year, look to advance,…
By Owen Good
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