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The Art of Darksiders II

You could, if Hong Kong gangsters weren’t your thing, call Darksiders II the biggest game release of the week. Probably the month, too. So now’s probably as good a time as ever to look at some terrific concept art from the game. The environmental and weapon images below were done by artist Jonathan Kirtz, a…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 17, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Let’s All Read The Very First Issue of Nintendo Power

Designer Eoin Stanley, who we featured a little while ago on Total Recall, doesn’t just archive beautiful old Nintendo logos. He’s also got on ice something more informative; namely, the entirety of the very first issue of Nintendo Power. It’s not his – it appears to have belonged to a young Mr. Jeremy Salsman –…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 16, 2012

Culture

Exclusive: The Art of Persona 4

Occupying a strange space between Final Fantasy, Bully and Neon Genesis, the Persona series has grown into something of a cult phenomenon in the West. Part of that is down to its unique premise, sure, but another is the series’ bold and memorable visual identity. Even for those who could accuse all anime of looking…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 15, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Why You Should Never Get Too Excited About a Game’s Graphics

The next time you look at a game and think, wow, how much more realistic can graphics get, remember: somebody has wondered it before, and been answered by the crushing weight of time.

By Luke Plunkett Published August 15, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

These Arcade Games Have Seen Better Days

This is where the machines go after the arcades close down: a basement, or storage dump, where they’re left to rot and gather dust. Sad, but then, such is life. Ashes to ashes, etc. Retro Arcades [Chris London, via it 8-bit]

By Luke Plunkett Published August 15, 2012

Culture

Remember Me’s Art is a Beautiful Warning of a Dangerous Future

Capcom’s big GamesCom surprise, futuristic action game Remember Me, has one of the most fitting titles in recent memory, given the fact it was actually first unveiled last year. With, of all things, concept art Where Adrift’s unveiling was all about desolate cityscapes, some updated art for the more official announcement by Dontnod’s team –…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

There Once Was a Time Grand Theft Auto Wasn’t Quite so “Cool”

These days, Rockstar are known as a publisher with a reputation for very slick marketing, especially when it comes to their flagship series, Grand Theft Auto. Things weren’t always as “cool”, though. As this advertisement from 1997, for the very first game in the series, shows. Run before Rockstar was even known as Rockstar, it’s…look,…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 14, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Machines That Literally Made Atari’s Last Console

Here’s something very cool: a rare look so far behind the scenes of how a video game console is made that you’re seeing the very beginning. The injection moulds used to actually make the plastic components that came together to become an Atari Jaguar. To recap: the Jaguar sucked, it died a horrible death, and…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 14, 2012

Culture

The Only Place Tonight You’ll Find Oddworld, WoW and Magic Cards in the One Place

If you don’t know Raymond Swanland by name, you may well know him by his work. A veteran concept artist, Swanland has worked across numerous fields, but around these parts will probably look most familiar to people for his Oddworld and Magic: The Gathering images. Swanland spent eight years working on the classic Oddworld series,…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 14, 2012

Culture

I Want an Entire Coffee Table Book Made From This Video Game Artist’s Amazing Paintings

Ruan Jia is a concept artist currently living in Quebec. Having formerly worked for Chinese developers NetDragon, his most recent gig was with Volta, a studio that specialises in providing things like art and world building for video game companies. His art isn’t just great by concept art standards. If I could print these off…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 13, 2012

Culture

The Week in Games: Canis Major

Square Enix picked up Sleeping Dogs from Activision’s scrap heap and early word is it’s worth a good look. Maybe being freed from True Crime‘s heavy yoke of disappointment will help the concept live out its promise. Darksiders II also hits shelves, and the Summer of Arcade closes out as the kids return to school./…

By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: It’s Not Stealing, It’s Copying

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. Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik published Aug. 6.—Read more of Penny Arcade Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Aug. 6.—Read more of Awkward Zombie…

By Owen Good Published August 12, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘Social and Freemium is Not Where Gaming is Headed.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Social and freemium is not where gaming is headed.”—Jack Tretton, head of SCEA, talking about Sony’s rough times and how the console business will be better than ever QUOTE | “Madden did not have the level of innovation that some of…

By Steve Peterson Published August 11, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

You Can’t Really Sell a Console Showing Humans Trapped in a Glass Box

I get it. The GameCube was a cube. So you can show stuff happening inside a cube. It’s an advertising brief that writes itself. But for every awesome shot in this old Nintendo commercial – like samurai doing battle, or the world’s only Tie Interceptor living in captivity – there’s something silly. Unnecessary. A little…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 10, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

What is This Weirdly Sexual Mario Image I Don’t Even Um OK

The live-action Mario movie is like a giant scab on your knee. It’s gross, and an eyesore, yet for whatever reason many of us just can’t resist picking at it. Most of the time that invokes painful memories, but not today. Today it’ll provoke some different, much stranger emotions. Witness Golden’s Super Mario Bros. The…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 10, 2012

Culture

This Halo Concept Art is so Old it’s Drawn on Paper

Lovers of Halo (or of art in the most traditional sense) should dig these images from artist Eddie Smith, who over the years has worked on several games in the epic sci-fi saga. The more recent the games are, the more modern the art, but my favourites are Smith’s pieces for the first two Halos,…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 9, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Nintendo Once Made a Vacuum Cleaner

As you know, Nintendo hasn’t always made video games. Before the dawn of the home entertainment era, the company made everything from love testers to fake LEGO to shooting galleries. Did you know, though, that amidst all that fun stuff, Nintendo also made a vacuum cleaner? This is it. The Nintendo Chiritorie. Released in 1979…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 9, 2012

Culture

Metal Gear Ain’t Metal Gear Without Yoji Shinkawa’s Iconic Art

Last year, Fine Art looked at Ashley Wood’s contribution to the Metal Gear universe with his scratchy, chaotic images. While those have become popular of late, for many long-time fans the man they think of first when they think of Metal Gear’s look is Yoji Shinkawa. Beginning his career on cult hit Policenauts, Shinkawa quickly…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 9, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Thank Your God The SNES Didn’t Actually Look This Hideous

The North American Super Nintendo looked…OK. The Japanese and PAL version looked hot. Oh, how things could have turned out differently, had early concept art become reality. These two early designs for the SNES, drawn at a time when they were still calling the machine the “Nintendo Entertainment System 2”, were hideous. Where the final…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

A Robot Sex Doll. From The Future.

This incredible animated gif doing the rounds this week (though first published in February) is taken from Paragon Sexa Doll (パラゴンセクサドール Doll), a Japanese “visual novel” developed by Heart Soft and released in the early 80s on the NEC PC-8801, a primitive PC that was pretty big in Japan. Visual novels are barely games; like…

By Luke Plunkett Published August 8, 2012