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EA Sports Avoids Campaign-Year Headache by Keeping Obama Out of NFL Blitz
A year after appearing in NBA Jam (with Vice President Biden, and eight other political figures of both parties), President Obama will not cameo in January’s NFL Blitz, one of the game’s designers said recently. Though Yuri Bialoskursky didn’t say so specifically, it’s probably because a presidential election year is coming up, and EA Sports…
By Owen Good -
Second Life Winds Up In FBI Gang Intelligence Dossier
Second Life isn’t simply a virtual realm where people starve horses, troll others having sex, and traffic in counterfeit groovie-goolies sex devices. No, it’s also a network through which gangs discuss and plot their evil deeds, says none other than the Eff Bee Eye. On page 41 of the FBI’s latest “National Gang Threat Assessment,”…
By Owen Good -
Run Green Hill Zone in Under 1:50 and Collect Some Nice Sonic Merch
Earlier today I was wondering what qualified me to review Sonic Generations, beyond my capacity for saying “god dammit.” Yet after a solid 24 hours with this game not only are my eyeballs properly tracking its sidescrolling motion, I’ve recovered my innate understanding of the technical requirements of a solid speed-run through a Sonic world.…
By Owen Good -
Tolerate a Three-Minute Trailer, Get a Set of Battlefield Dogtags
There’s probably a reason Act of Valor is being released in February, two months after the window closes for Academy Award nominees and generally the month in which distributors schedule their shittiest movies. The film may be visually interesting, but I have little hope for it being much more than a 120-minute Quicktime event. Still,…
By Owen Good -
Halo Pizza is Here, Fortunately Restricted to the U.K.
Never renowned for fine cuisine, the U.K. is probably the perfect market in which to launch an official Halo pizza from Pizza Hut. Details are scarce but GamePro reports the Halo: Anniversary pizza will be available from next Monday through Dec. 19. Get one, get a promo code for two free days of Xbox Live…
By Owen Good -
It’s a Terrible Time for NBA 2K11 Servers to Go Dark
Even after candidly discussing the online multiplayer problems in the current game, this probably isn’t the best time for 2K Sports to be closing the servers for last year’s version of NBA 2K. Online multiplayer support for NBA 2K11 will disappear by the middle of this month, the label said today. This affects more than…
By Owen Good -
Another Glorious Day in the Corps for Aliens: Colonial Marines
Gearbox Software pumped out another six screenshots of its upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines over the game’s official Facebook page this afternoon. The game is still on course for a 2012 release, as these grabs are meant to show. They also show wrecked infrastructure, rampaging xenomorphs and humans in charge of the galaxy’s least desirable Orkin…
By Owen Good -
Should You Buy Sonic: Generations? Yes.
Sonic: Generations isn’t swept up in the HD remake craze we’re seeing with other franchises of a similar age. It’s a different tour of its titular hedgehog’s greatest moments, giving some classic 2D levels from the series a 3D interpretation, and vice versa. Fans have shouted for an end to the gimmicks, and for Sega…
By Owen Good -
Oh, Deer
Oh, Deer | Wildlife officers in Florida killed a 16-foot Burmese Python that was a bit … distended. Inside it was the intact carcass of a 76-pound deer. [South Florida Water Management District, via AP] Are These Modern Warfare 3‘s Multiplayer Maps? Several outlets this morning have posted what appears to be the layouts of…
By Owen Good -
Dungeon Defenders Offers Free Halloween DLC (for PC)
A new mission, costumes and weapons and other good stuff await you in Dungeon Defenders‘ “Halloween Spooktacular” downloadable extension, available for free now but only on PC. The Spooktacular offers eight costumes and weapons, a Halloween-decorated tavern and a Halloween-themed challenge mission. But as of yet, no plans to offer this over PlayStation Network or…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Uncharted Territory
Uncharted 3 releases for the PS3 on Tuesday, along with GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, Sonic Generations and The Lord of the Rings: the War in the North. Batman: Arkham City and Gears of War 3 get downloadable content. Tuesday • GoldenEye 007: Reloaded (PS3, 360) • Sonic Generations (PS3, 360, PC) • The Lord of the…
By Owen Good -
European Xbox Gamers Won’t See Jurassic Park Until Next Year
Due for release on Nov. 15, Jurassic Park won’t be arriving on Xbox Live for European customers until Telltale Games can find a publisher overseas, a representative said in the studio’s official forums. Telltale hipes to have news on that soon, but it won’t happen before 2012. The European release is right on schedule for…
By Owen Good -
Creepshow
Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •The 8 Creepiest Glitches Hidden in Popular Video Games [Cracked] Get yourself ready for Halloween with this timely rundown from Cracked, covering bugs from Super…
By Owen Good -
Well Whaddaya Know: MineCon is Sold Out
Part of me feels like I shouldn’t be surprised, but part of me is: There are no more tickets available for MineCon, the inaugural MineCraft convention to be held in 18 days in Las Vegas. When Notch first floated the idea of a con back in May, the response to it did not suggest such…
By Owen Good -
If You Have Two iPad 2s, Here’s an Easy Halloween Costume That’ll Blow Everyone Away
This reader, Mark, is a pretty bright guy—he’s literally a rocket scientist, working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where he’s spent six years helping to design the Mars Science Laboratory launching next month. Last night, Mark went to a Halloween party with this twin iPad rig. Start up a FaceTime video chat,…
By Owen Good -
Bear Hunt
Zangief won Mr. Stonewall Bear 2011 this past week, giving new meaning to the term “screw piledriver.” It was good that he shaved off his backhair, because we’re about to get 200 new looks at him in this week’s ‘Shop Contest! In case you’re curious who today’s victim is, that’s Mike Fass, who portrayed Zangief…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Talk Amongst Youselves
In 16 days I finally pay off my car. You know what that means, some dickbag with no insurance is gonna plow into it while I’m on my way to the Safeway tomorrow. Welcome back to your carte-blanche video games open thread. And thanks to JimThePea for this morning’s TAYpic. If you want to be…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Sunday Comics: Liar, Liar, Abs on Fire
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. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Oct. 24.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Oct. 28.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good -
Wild Card Weekend Winners
Fahey, Mr. Shady Shades and I were the exploitables last week for a triple threat ‘Shop Contest that was funny, funny to left field, and funny for power. We’ve got 20 winners inside, including PoopMcGreeley! Where the hell do I begin? I was reviewing the Selk’Bag, a wearable sleeping bag, which is where the wheelbarrow…
By Owen Good -
Meet the Cover Star of Battlefield 3
The grim-faced soldier gracing the packshot of Battlefield 3 has a history with the series. He’s Dennis Lennartsson, a motion-capture actor selected by DICE to star on the cover of this year’s game. Lennartsson wore about 65 pounds worth of gear for the cover shoot (more than 500 images were taken). During motion capture for…
By Owen Good
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