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Total Recall Will Return Next Week

Happy Friday everyone! Unfortunately for Total Recall fans, Kirk is out and about at the Game Developers Conference. But Luke will be providing you with old school gaming goodness as soon as Monday. Sit tight! In the meantime, you can browse through past Total Recall articles. Oh, and in case you were wondering, that image…

By Tina Amini Published March 9, 2012

Culture

Fable’s Concept Art is Like a Giant Storybook

Emrah Elmasli is a Turkish concept artist who now resides in the UK, where he’s done a ton of concept art for the last few games in the Fable series. Here’s a selection of his contributions, mostly taken from Fable III I’ve also thrown a few more in from some of Elmasli’s other work, for…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 9, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

A PlayStation in Pieces Looks Strangely Beautiful

There’s a touch of the macabre to seeing it laid out like this, I grant you, but for the most part the effect of seeing an original PlayStation and its controller stripped bare and put on display is just lovely. Things Organized Neatly [Tumblr]

By Luke Plunkett Published March 9, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Who Would Have Thought Skiing Down a Mountain Would be so Damn Hard

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another instalment of grown men playing competitive, mostly awful arcade classics for nothing but internet fame. In tonight’s episode, the boys are facing off on Alpine Ski, a Taito game first released all the way back in 1981. Which kicks their ass like only a senior citizen of…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012

Culture

The Razor-Sharp Art of Johan Wahlbäck

Swedish artist Johan Wahlbäck works for SouthEnd Interactive, the guys behind last year’s delightful ilomilo. But you won’t find any art for that cute little game here. What you will find are a stack of awesome pictures of men with swords, men with bigger swords and other images associated with bludgeoning and stabbing, some of…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Tiniest Little PlayStation You Ever Did See

Sebastián Vargas has a fetish for tiny things. Tiny PlayStations, tiny Game Boys,you name it, if it’s a tiny video game console, he’s got it. These are Japanese gashapon pieces, all of them for old consoles and handhelds, all photographed wonderfully by Vargas. If you like tiny things as much as he does, check out…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 8, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

An Inspiring, Sad Interview With the Father of Video Games

If you care about the history of video games, at all, and would like to hear from one of the founding fathers of the medium (who is, remember, a total badass), then please, watch this video interview with Ralph Baer. At times it’s fascinating. Inspiring, even. There’s one point, though, where I actually teared up.…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Why Peter Molyneux Leaving Microsoft is a Very Good Thing

So, after a decade working almost exclusively with Microsoft for Xbox consoles (and occasionally the PC as well), Lionhead founder Peter Molyneux has called it quits, and will soon be joining British start-up 22 Cans (or Twenty Toucans, if you prefer). It’s a sad day for Microsoft, who bought Lionhead in 2006, but as we’re…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012

Culture

The Concept Art of Mass Effect 3

So, Mass Effect 3 is now out. And everyone who has played it for a few hours, or even been keeping up with it via trailers and screenshots, knows it’s a very pretty game. Something we’re celebrating here with this look at some of the game’s concept art. If you don’t own the game’s accompanying…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

This is how to Play Ms. Pac-Man Like a, Well, Man

Or at least a young adult. So adorable. Brewer’s Arcade [Flickr, via Arcade Nation]

By Luke Plunkett Published March 7, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

What is This, Sonic or Mirror’s Edge?

This is from Sonic Advance 3, released on the Game Boy Advance in 2004. But boy, it looks a lot more like a demake of Mirror’s Edge, no? [via Noirlac] Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll find Total Recall stories every…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

This Game is Terribly Sorry About Michael Jackson, S&M and Dead Japanese Politicians

In Japan, this game was called Gonbee I’m Sorry. In the West, it’s more commonly referred to as just I’m Sorry. But really, it has nothing to be sorry about whatsoever. Because it’s wonderful. Not to play, necessarily. I’ll be honest, I’ve never played it. But just as a thing, as an idea, it’s amazing.…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

1943 Gives These Men the Least Satisfying Three Way Ever

Competitive 1943? It doesn’t really exist, but for the purposes of tonight’s episode of Retro Rumble, it does, OK? Watch to see Capcom’s classic shooter put three men through their paces for, well, not money, not trophies, just fame. Internet fame. Which isn’t even real fame, but they’re only playing the game for like a…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 6, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

How the NES Made That Funky Echo Sound

Ever wonder how NES games like Ducktales were able to make that distinctive “echo” sound? Wonder no more, with this handy explanation. NES Audio: Demonstrating Reverb/ Echo with Ducktales [Retro Game Audio, via Go Nintendo] Total Recall is a look back at the history of video games through their characters, franchises, developers and trends. You’ll…

By Luke Plunkett Published March 5, 2012

Culture

Mass Market

The long-awaited conclusion to the Mass Effect space opera trilogy leads the list of new releases this week. It’s joined by two baseball titles and Capcom’s fighting game crossover with Namco. Tuesday • Mass Effect 3 (PS3, PC, 360) • Mass Effect 3: From Ashes (PC, PSN, XBLA) • LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (PS…

By Owen Good Published March 4, 2012

Culture

Sunday Comics: First-Person Problem

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. Dueling Analogs by Steve Napierski published Feb. 28.—Read more of Dueling Analogs Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Feb. 27.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by…

By Owen Good Published March 4, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘What’s Happening is the Destruction of the Classic Game Console’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “What’s happening is the destruction of the classic game console.”— John Welch, CEO of Making Fun, talking about the impact of mobile and social gaming on the game industry QUOTE | “Wii U is dead if they launch at $259.”—Wedbush Securities…

Steve Peterson Published March 3, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

What Does The Future Hold for Mass Effect‘s Painfully Punched Reporter?

“Kalisah Bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerlund News.” Say those words to any Mass Effect fan, and they’ll probably get a funny look on their face: A grin that’s half-silly, half-guilty. “Oh, man. I punched the crap out of that reporter.” What started as a somewhat shocking, offhand bit of violence in Mass Effect reached meme status…

By Kirk Hamilton Published March 3, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Most Horrifying Moments In Gaming (For A Ten-Year-Old In The 90’s)

My love for video games started when my dad bought a Super Nintendo home in the mid 90’s. But as much fun as I had playing then, my young, impressionable brain was also scarred by a handful of gaming moments that left an indelible mark on my psyche. Even if those moments don’t scare me…

By Nick Vannucci Published March 2, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

No One Lives Forever Had the Smartest Bad Guys

There were a lot of things to love about the No One Lives Forever games. The groovy music, the fresh-feeling 60’s spy motif (Austin Powers be damned!), the fearless, funny heroine Cate Archer. But even when compared to those things, the game’s writing stands apart. The villains’ banter, in particular, stands out. In a day…

By Kirk Hamilton Published March 2, 2012