Usually, “Francis” Makes You Laugh. This Time, He Might Make You Cry.

You probably know Francis. The big guy’s best known as a highly combustible enthusiast who rants breathlessly on YouTube. Whatever the latest video game controversy or glory is—an always-on next-gen Xbox, the new SimCity or the latest WoW expansion—you can count on Francis to have an opinion. But Francis is a character, played by the…

There’s a new Iwata Asks up on Nintendo’s website with the folks behind Animal Crossing: New Leaf. This time, you get to be mayor!

An Effin’ AI In BioShock Infinite Is More Of A Human Than I Am

A gun. That’s it, that’s often all I amount to in first person shooters. I might spend time customizing a body, I might see myself during a cutscene, my first-person view might allow me to see fingertips holding a gun steady, I might bleed and perhaps die (eventually), but at best I could be said…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Amongst Yourselves, our reader-written blog: a Flashback Friday post that looks back at a Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds concert from 2011 and a post offering up Assassin’s Creed as the next franchise that should get a week-long retrospective like we’re doing on Mass Effect And you can always go join…

An Oddly Long, Banter-Filled History of Mass Effect Elevators

Forget the controversial ending, the boring mining mini-games or the lack of playable Hanar. If there’s one element that I believe all Mass Effect fans can agree to love to hate (and hate to love), it’s the series’ elevators. Those elevators were just too damn slow. (They weren’t supposed to be.) Mass Effect Elevators: Origins…

It’s Just Like Playing BioShock Infinite, Only With More Heroic Clicking

Coming this summer to a hobby shop near you, the ultimate struggle for air superiority (or against air superiority?) spills over into WizKids/NECA’s HeroClix universe. I cannot wait to pit old guy in suit against Wolverine. Along with old guy in suit, possibly the most exciting HeroClix figure ever created, just about everyone that matters…

Everything on The USS Enterprise Can Be Explored In This Stunning Minecraft Replica

With its own custom-made texture pack, this 1:6 Minecraft replica of the USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation is simply amazing. It looks absolutely ready for a tour of duty outside Federation territory. Even more impressive is the fact that creator, Zinnsee had to battle mobs, stave off hunger and craft everything he…

As announced last night for Japan, June 28 will mark the end of the Nintendo Wii’s Forecast, News, Everybody Votes, Check Mii Out and Nintendo Channels in North America, along with an end to WiiConnect24 data exchange with your Wii friends. The Shop Channel and certain automatic Nintendo Forum functions will remain in play. Suddenly…

How Mass Effect Mods Resurrected My Shepard

Like many people out there, I lost my Shepard in the time between Mass Effect 1 and 2—probably because I forgot to back her up before formatting my computer or some such nonsense. So after Mass Effect 2 came out, I discovered to my great sadness that I would be starting a new female Shepard.…

On Steam, Square Enix Wants 30 Bucks To Put Tomb Raider into Japanese

Starting April 25, Square Enix is offering a “Japanese Language Pack” on Steam that includes subtitles and a Japanese language voice track for Tomb Raider Do know that the Japanese packaged version will have language support when it hits shops later this month. The Steam version, it seems, is slightly different. According to the game’s…

Awesome Tech Demo Turns You into Iron Man

To promote Iron Man 3‘s Hong Kong release, there’s a really cool tech demo at Hysan Place shopping mall. Powered by Hot Toys and pure awesome, it allows people to wear virtual Iron Man armor. And after you suit up, you can dance around like a goofball. Hong Kong’s Hot Toys, of course, is responsible…

Ixion Saga DT‘s Second Half is Just as Funny as the First Half

Back when I reviewed the first half of Ixion Saga DT late last year, I worried that the humor in the second half of this Capcom-produced deconstruction of fantasy anime wouldn’t live up to that of the first. And while there are some bigger misses in the humor department in the second half, there are…

Game & Wario‘s Cutscenes Are So Cute They Soften Even My Jaded Heart

Game & Wario is a new mini-game collection and spin-off of the WarioWare series for the Wii U. And of the minigames in the collection, many come with a short introduction cutscene starring Wario and/or the other characters from the WarioWare series. While they are often irrelevant to the actual gameplay of the attached minigame—other…

Chinese Man Pickpockets an iPhone By Using… Chopsticks

And if that wasn’t enough, the man used chopsticks to pickpocket from a woman riding a bicycle. And she apparently didn’t even notice and continued pedaling! Photos of the “suit man”, surnamed Wang, pulling off his amazing petty crime in downtown Zhengzhou recently appeared online in China. Wang would later say he began committing crimes…

Studio Ghibli Denies Involvement in Rumored Live-Action Kiki’s Delivery Service Film

There’s a rumor that Kiki’s Delivery Service is being turned into a live-action film. The rumor, via Twitch, stated that Ju-On and The Grudge director Shimizu Takashi would be helming the picture. And now, Studio Ghibli has commented on the matter. Speaking with Japanese site Cinema Today, Studio Ghibli denied involvement, saying, “This doesn’t have…

After Brutal Murder, Taiwanese Gamers Apparently Kept Playing

On April 3, an 18 year-old man entered an internet café in Taiwan and stabbed another man to death. Even after that horrific event, some in the café apparently continued gaming. One patron reportedly did so in blood splattered clothes. Note: This post contains content that some might find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. Shenzhen…

PSY’s Follow-Up to “Gangnam Style” Leaks Online

This Saturday, PSY will be performing at Seoul World Cup Stadium. According to AP, PSY said he will “share his new single with the world”. Too late, it’s already leaked online. That’s the internet for ya! Dubbed “Gentleman”, the tune is South Korean performer’s follow-up to the smash hit “Gangnam Style” and is on sale…

In Japan, Some of the Wii’s Network Services Are Going Offline

Today in Japan, Nintendo announced that a handful of its network services would no longer be offered. As of June 28 this year, Nintendo will end the following services: Forecast Channel, News Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, Nintendo Channel, and Check Mii Out Channel. What’s more, Nintendo is ending the ability to exchange data with friends…

The Goofiest Moments Mass Effect, Now In Motion

The Hanars and the Batarians are not the weirdest things people have seen in the Mass Effect series. Take these goofy-looking Shepard creatures, for instance. Thanks to the game’s deep character customization, people have made some downright freaky Commanders. Let’s laugh at these together. (It might take the images a few second to load.) The…

See How A Package Gets To Your Front Door

Let’s say you order things online. Video games, for instance. Given the fact you order them on a computer and then, days later, they magically appear at your door, it’s easy to begin to treat the process as, well, magic. Nope. Those boxes have to go through a lot of hands, and conveyor belts, to…