Culture Archives - Page 1518 of 1552

1990s Adventure Game Wash-Up Wants Reboot, Begging for Cash on the Internet

If you played PC adventure games in the 1990s, you may have come across detective Tex Murphy, star of the absolutely badass Mean Streets and four more games that weren’t anywhere near as cool. Murphy was one of the first FMV “stars” in video games, which was a lucky break for the character’s creator Chris…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 20, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Before LA Noire, There Was This 1996 Noir Adventure Game

Part of the appeal of Rockstar’s LA Noire was the fact it was set in a time period that video games normally avoid like the plague. The hats, the music, the black & white, it should be poison to a generation of gamers accustomed to wars, aliens, sports and fast cars. But as LA Noire’s…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 20, 2012

Culture

The Battlefields, Hangar Bays and Future Guns of Mass Effect 3

Brian Sum is a concept artist who has worked for Canadian developers BioWare since 2007. Before that, he’d been at Sierra and Microsoft’s FASA Studio. As a senior concept artist working on Mass Effect 3, Sum has produced some stunning vistas for many of the game’s galactic locations, ranging from the inside of alien starships…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 20, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

When French Musicians Make Love to the Video Games of the 1980s

Teaming up with French band Sna-Fu Grand Desordre Orchestre, artist Pierre Manry has made a clip for the group’s song Dream O Rama that is one enormous tip of the hat to the video games of yesteryear. If you like what you see, the band has alternate versions hosted on their site, like one as…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 20, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

And You Thought Mass Effect 3’s Ending Was Bad…

When people get all misty-eyed about the amazing, original Syndicate from 1993, they often overlook something. The game’s ending. Or, to be more accurate, its complete lack of one. Maybe they never finished the game, I don’t know, but I did. And it was a tough game. So getting to the end I was expecting…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 19, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Horror, the Glory of Treasure’s Ronald McDonald Video Game

It’s time to put a smile on your face and a dangerously high level of cholesterol in your arteries! It’s time to hunt for treasure and wield ancient magical powers! It’s your chance to play as the world’s most famous clown! No, not Charlie Sheen – it’s time to take on the role of burger-shifter…

Luke Taylor Published March 19, 2012

Culture

Chocolate Creme Twinkies: The Snacktaku Review

Consider, if you will, the Twinkie—that classic combination of golden sponge cake and creamy filling. It’s a solid, dependable snack cake. You always know what you’re getting when you sink your teeth into one of Hostess’ legendary creations. But what if you don’t? What if, in the throes of an uncontrollable snack attack, you reach…

By Mike Fahey Published March 19, 2012

Culture

In the Gaiden of Good and Evil

Ninja Gaiden 3 and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City lead the list of console releases this week, joined by Armored Core V and the return of Kid Icarus at the end of the week. Tuesday • Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (PS3, 360) • Ninja Gaiden 3 (PS3, 360) • Armored Core V (PS3, 360)…

By Owen Good Published March 18, 2012

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 Published March 18, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘Is Microsoft Thinking About Dropping the Disc?’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Is Microsoft thinking about dropping the disc?” — Rob Fahey, former editor at GamesIndustry.biz, discussing whether Microsoft’s new console will go completely solid-state STAT | 66 million — Number of iPads that Apple could sell in 2012, according to some analyst…

Steve Peterson Published March 17, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

I Have a Hard Time Believing This Duke Nukem 3D Map Was Drawn From Memory, But Okay

We’ve written about Mapstalgia a couple times before. On the tumblr, people submit maps of classic games that they’ve drawn from memory. This map of the Red Light District from Duke Nukem 3D, strains the whole “from memory” aspect of things, but it’s still impressive. (You can view the full version by expanding the image…

By Kirk Hamilton Published March 16, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

BioWare’s Least Awkward Love Scene

But when it comes time to seal the romantic deal in a BioWare game, do things really need to be so awkward? Because damn, things have gotten weird. As Tom Bissell puts it in his Grantland critique of the game—”In fact, could we, as gamers, maybe politely band together to convince BioWare to can the…

By Kirk Hamilton Published March 16, 2012

Culture

The Boardroom Battlefields of the New Syndicate

Say what you will about the game’s departure from both the look and feel of the original, there were sections of the latest Syndicate that looked just great. Mostly anything involving an office from the future. Or anything that flew. Those looked awesome as well. This environment and vehicle art from the game is the…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 16, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Why Kickstarter is Best For Old Games & Dead Genres

Not very long after adventure game legend Tim Schafer proposed resurrecting a long-dormant genre, and made a ton of money for doing it, another long-dormant kind of game – this time an 80’s RPG – did something similar. The amount of money Brian Fargo and his Wasteland team has already made is raising eyebrows. Where…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 16, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Lay Down Your Guns, Nintendo, Sega & Atari

It’s The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, re-enacted by 1980s video game light guns. I’ll leave you to decide which is which. [via OMG Barry, via VGJunk]

By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Yes, a Games Writer was Fired Over Review Scores

What was once just heavily rumored has now been confirmed by those involved

By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

In Which Jennifer Aniston & Matthew Perry Teach us About Windows 95

An oldie, to be sure, even by this feature’s standards, but still a fun watch. Especially when you notice it was put together by GT Interactive, the company which would later try to pass itself off as Atari

By Luke Plunkett Published March 15, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Street Fighting Across America

You don’t really see America’s iconic Mount Rushmore in many video games. You do see it in the original Street Fighter, though, as the background for the stage in which you fight a dude called Mike.

By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

There is a Fighting Game Based on Les Misérables

Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables is a literary giant. You’re probably also familiar with its long-running theatrical adaptation, which has been treading the boards for over thirty years now. But have you ever played the Les Misérables video game? You really should. Especially since it’s a 2D fighting game. The game is called Arm…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Hell is a Dennis Hopper Video Game

Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller was a PC adventure game released in 1994. It’s OK if you’ve never heard of it, or can’t remember it. Actually, no, it’s not OK. Because you really should know as much as you can about a video game that didn’t just star Dennis Hopper, but Grace Jones as well. Hell,…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2012