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Modern Shooters Can Look Pretty (at Least, Their Concept Art Can)

It’s a common, and entirely justified complaint that most modern shooters look too drab. They’re too brown, too grey, too dreary. You could counter that, well, since wars are fought in the dirt and ruins that’s how they’re supposed to look, but it’s too nice a day for arguments. Let’s instead just enjoy this concept…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 17, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

A Tribute to Old Video Game Maps

What did you do over the weekend? See some friends, go out to dinner, play some games? Me, I sat in front of a monitor, then a printer, and went through this spontaneous collection of old video game maps. Younger readers, accustomed to things like waypoint markers and mini-maps, may not be aware just how…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 16, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Private Atari Emails You Weren’t Supposed to See (Until Some Guy Released Them)

Here’s a rare and fascinating thing: a collection of ten year’s worth of internal Atari Games correspondence from between 1982 and 1992, all stored, public and ready for your voyeuristic consumption. What you’ll find isn’t just boring business talk. There’s all kinds of stuff in here, from high-level corporate discussions to guys making dinner reservations…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 16, 2012

Culture

A Summer at the Arcade

Mass Effect‘s latest DLC is totally free, and it arrives Tuesday, offering new maps and playable characters in the game’s multiplayer suite. Otherwise, the big release for the week would be Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, kicking off the annual Summer of Arcade on Xbox Live. Tuesday •Mass Effect 3: Earth (XBLA, PSN) •Dyad (PSN)…

By Owen Good Published July 15, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: Eating Before Bedtime

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. Brawl In The Family by Matthew Taranto published July 10.—Read more of Brawl In The Family Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published July 9.—Read more of Awkward…

By Owen Good Published July 15, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘Ouya Will Go Down in History as Something as Big as iPhone.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Ouya will go down in history as something as big as iPhone.”—Mark Friedler, game industry veteran, talking about the Kickstarter for the Ouya Android gaming console that’s raised over $4 million in three days QUOTE | “There seems to be a…

By Steve Peterson Published July 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Just This Once, Let’s Revive The Greatest Console War: Genesis or Super Nintendo?

It was a good war. A just war. It was, maybe, the last great war. I’m not talking about World War II. I’m talking about the great console war of the 1990’s. I had a great time goading Lisa Foiles into reviving the 90’s console wars with me a few weeks back—despite the best efforts…

By Kirk Hamilton Published July 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

I Want A Friday The 13th Game That Lets Me Play As Jason

Happy Friday the 13th! Jason is over right now, he says to tell you guys, “Hi.” I get that survival horror is about being afraid, running away from an unstoppable evil. But Jason is almost too damned goofy to really work as a big-bad in a survival horror game. Maybe that’s why there hasn’t been…

By Kirk Hamilton Published July 13, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Was 1998 The Ultimate Year in Video Gaming?

2011 was a hell of a year for big game releases. I remember at some point in the fall thinking, “Dude, we are approaching 2007 territory here.” 2007 was a hell of a year for big game releases. Modern Warfare. Mass Effect. Bioshock. Portal. That year set the stage for the franchises that would dominate…

By Kirk Hamilton Published July 13, 2012

Culture

See How Much Work Goes Into Making a Fancy Video Game Trailer

Cinematic trailers are everywhere in games marketing these days, so much so it’s rare to see a title shown off for the first time any other way. As we become more familiar with them, though, we start to take them for granted. Which is a bit of a shame, considering how much work actually goes…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 13, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Nintendo’s Official Super Metroid Guide Featured Transparent Samus Armour

This is the cover to the Japanese edition of the official guide to SNES classic Super Metroid. I can see what they’re trying to do with the idea, maybe, but in execution it just looks weird. Like a Nintendo console getting on in years, re-released in a transparent colour scheme. [via VGJunk]

By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Weird, Wonderful and Sometimes Secret History of Nintendo

While other video game companies are happy to celebrate 10th, 15th or even 20th anniversaries, Nintendo is over 100 years old. Founded in 1889, the company has enjoyed a rich video gaming tradition dating back to the 1970s, releasing some of the most successful gaming consoles and franchises of all time. Which is great for…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2012

Culture

Luscious Game Art Makes Robots and Beasts Look Great Together

Markus Neidel is a German concept artist who most recently worked on Black Prophecy, a sci-fi MMO. You won’t find too much sci-fi in this gallery, though. What you will find for the most part are some epic fantasy images that look so delicious you’d be forgiven for thinking you could slice them off your…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 12, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

That Game Where “Hulk Hogan’s” Chest Nearly Exploded

Wrestle War is a Japanese wrestling game that was released in arcades in 1989 (and on Japanese and PAL Mega Drives a couple of years later). Despite not carrying a single official license, it decided to rip off a number of high-profile wrestlers of the time, like Hulk Hogan (who was awesomely renamed “Titan Morgan”)…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

A History of Video Game Movies That Haven’t Been Made (And Probably Won’t)

As video game fans, it’s easy to get excited about movie adaptation news because, as video game fans, you expect this means the movie will one day actually get made. It doesn’t. That might be how video games work, but it’s certainly not how Hollywood works. This week has seen three big announcements in the…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2012

Culture

The Art of a Rockstar Games Legend

Scottish artist Ian McQue has worked at Rockstar North since, oh, the dawn of time. Over the years he’s contributed art to games like the Grand Theft Auto series, Bully, Manhunt, Agent and even Body Harvest, the studio’s cult N64 game Currently lead concept artist at Rockstar North, the home of the core Grand Theft…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Poor Godzilla, a Game Boy is Too Tiny For His Giant Fingers

When he’s not crushing major Japanese cities, Godzilla likes nothing more than to kick back and play his own video game on the original Game Boy. Only, because his giant claws can’t hit the buttons properly, he’s always dying, which pisses him off, causing him to stomp around crushing cities. Wash, rinse, repeat. It’s a…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 10, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

History is Littered With the Corpses of Failed Consoles

So, you’re excited about this weird new Ouya console? Having made over $1 million from Kickstarter backers in a single day, you probably are! So now’s the time I’m going to tell you to cool your jets, if only a little. Why? Because there’s a lot more to making a video game console than just…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 10, 2012

Culture

Gorgeous Tera Concept Art, Fresh From Korea

If you’re a fan of Tera, the new MMO on the block, you might want to take a look at this gallery, because it features the work of Kim Hyeong Seung, a concept artist who has worked on the game. Almost everything here is from the game, with the exception of the obvious. Like the…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 10, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Uh, Nintendo, You’re Taking Volleyball Pretty Seriously…

A trailer for Volleyball, a sports title for the Famicom Disk System. Charming, if a little overblown.

By Luke Plunkett Published July 9, 2012