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If You Like This Video, Give It a Thumbs Up, If Not, Give It a Favorite
Here’s “Generic Geoff,” taking us through a free-for-all victory (on combat training) in just under three minutes. If it sounds like you’ve heard all of this shit before, that’s the point. It’s a sendup of just about every YouTube walkthrough video ever made, especially for the shooters. User KieranMFilms made it. If you like the…
By Owen Good -
Report: Rented Amazon Server Used to Launch PSN Attack
Bloomberg news reports that the hackers who carried out the attack on PlayStation Network rented a server from Amazon.com to do so, signing up for the service using fake information. The account through Amazon’s EC2 service has since been shut down, Bloomberg reports, quoting unnamed sources. While the FBI continues to investigate the breach, resulting…
By Owen Good -
Here Are All of The Witcher 2‘s Launch Videos, and a Special Message
The long-awaited RPG The Witcher 2 drops on Tuesday, and developer CD Projekt has sown the Internet with all of its launch videos, four in all. All carry some kind of message from the studio at the end, such as that one above. They all refer to the free DLC plans revealed yesterday. But you…
By Owen Good -
Five the Hard Way
The Major League Baseball record for home runs in a game is four. Always has been, always will be, evidently. This mark has stood since 1894, tied 14 times since. Only once has a batter ever come to the plate with a chance at hitting five, Seattle’s Mike Cameron in 2002. Cameron, in fact, had…
By Owen Good -
Disney Studio Coughs Up $3 Million for Violating Kiddie Gamers’ Privacy
A $3 million settlement by Playdom, the Disney social games studio, sends a pretty clear message that the U.S. Child Online Privacy Protection Act isn’t messing around. Violate it, and it will be expensive. Titles Playdom acquired before Disney acquired it in 2010 were accused by the Federal Trade Commission of collecting kids ages and…
By Owen Good -
He Once Got Lost in His Own Museum
He’s got a two day head start on you, which is more than he needs. Brody’s got friends in every town and village from here to the Sudan, he speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom, he’ll blend in, disappear, you’ll never see him again. With any luck, he’s got the grail already. The…
By Owen Good -
Brink Devs Push Lag Fix, Promise Free DLC
Brink closes its checkered launch week with news of free DLC and promises it’s fixing the crippling lag in its multiplayer. With an update now live, Brink developer Splash Damage is introducing a configuration change for Xbox 360 users (which will also be available for the PS3 when PlayStation Network comes back) that limits Campaign…
By Owen Good -
Ubisoft Assures Us Beyond Good & Evil 2 is not Canceled
Ubisoft’s recent financial report indicated that, following a fiscal year loss of $74 million, a number of projects were being scrapped as part of an internal reorganization. Since we’ve heard very little from Beyond Good & Evil 2in the three years since its teaser trailer was shown, some thought it finally meant curtains for that…
By Owen Good -
Windowed AR Cards Reveal 3DS’ Secret
When the Nintendo 3DS is looking for an AR Card to start a game, it isn’t searching for or recognizing its specific image-it’s recognizing a color, and then spawning whatever comes next off of that. To prove this, AR enthusiast Super Jezmerelda created cards with the question-box design cut out, then framed certain colors within…
By Owen Good -
All Witcher 2 DLC will be Free, Developer Assures
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings arrives for PC on Tuesday, and while there is some retailer-specific preorder DLC out there, developer CD Projekt RED assures everyone the game’s DLC will be free. “All of [it],” wrote a CD Projekt rep in a Q&A on GameStop’s Facebook page. “If anything will be for purchase, those…
By Owen Good -
Sony Online Entertainment Finalizes Its Post-Crash Prize Patrol Plans
As the custodians of games that are completely unplayable during Sony’s massive network outage, Sony Online Entertainment has an especially tough job winning back MMO players who have sat idle for 22 days and counting. SOE has now posted its full list of goodies for subscribers to nine MMOs; free subscription time, in-game content and…
By Owen Good -
Lawsuit Alleges Chuck E. Cheese Promotes Kiddie Gambling, Gaming Addiction
Irony seems to fail the person who has alleged Chuck E. Cheese’s ticket-dispensing games sow gambling addiction in little children, and filed a lawsuit in California seeking a $5 million jackpot. Denise Keller, a mom of two girls ages 5 and 3, says in her potential class-action complaint that Chuck E. Cheese’s arcade games are…
By Owen Good -
The Potty-Mouth Origins of a Video Game Mainstay
As an avuncular living-room presence for three generations, it’s easy to forget John Madden was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders back when they were the Raiders, and he had to lead characters like Ted Hendricks, Phil Villapiano, Jack Tatum and Ken Stabler. So Madden’s proficiency with the F-word should not be astonishing. But…
By Owen Good -
Morrowind Theme Helps Harpist Fund Her Next Album
This is Gillian Grassie, a Philadelphia-area harpist. That’s not the sort of instrument that gets a record deal; harpists typically fund their recordings by playing weddings, dining rooms and the like. To raise money for her next album, Grassie took requests, and found that video game patrons are very willing to support the arts. Here’s…
By Owen Good -
Fully Posable Star Wars Action Figures, in Pixelated Form
Thirtysomething gamers will recognize plenty in this isometric pixelated depiction of the original run of Kenner Star Wars action figures from the first film to Return of the Jedi. I remember Luke Skywalker: Bespin Fatigues, the first action figure with two weapons. Spent the entire summer of 1980 coveting that one. Isometric Star Wars Toys…
By Owen Good -
Xbox Live Indie Studios Can Now Pick Their Publishing Dates
The Xbox Live Indie Games channel just put through a key change that should help publishers with marketing efforts for their games. Now, once a title has passed peer review, the developer may pick the date it publishes to the service. What this means for consumers is that collaborative events such as the Indie Games…
By Owen Good -
Mario, This is Why You’re Fat
We know why Mario has a mustache. We know why his uniform is blue and red. These were the most distinctive features Nintendo could render on the character sprite due to the limitations of the Z80 processor, the venerable workhorse of the arcade. And it’s the same reason Mario’s proportions are a little on the…
By Owen Good -
Tugboat Ran Aground as Captain Played Video Games, Says Coast Guard
More than 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into Alaska’s Prince William Sound – the very same spot as the infamous Exxon Valdez disaster – because the captain of a tugboat was playing video games while the ship ran aground, says the Coast Guard. The Pathfinder, a “safety-escort” tug, was returning to port after an…
By Owen Good -
Lineage Shuts Down June 29, is Free-to-Play Until Then
After a run of more than 10 years, Lineage is “no longer financially viable in the West,” says publisher NCsoft, and its North American servers will be shut down permanently on June 29. Beginning now, the game is free-to-play until that date provided one has or had created a Lineage account before today. All existing…
By Owen Good -
Sony Online Entertainment Loses Development Chief to Zynga [Updated]
John Blakely, a nine-year veteran of Sony Online Entertainment and most recently its vice president of development, has apparently left the company for casual-games behemoth Zynga. Blakely’s LinkedIn resumé has him departing SOE as of last month to become general manager at Zynga. Update: Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed Blakely’s resignation and departure. In a…
By Owen Good
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