Every Wonderfully Complex Board Game Needs A Tablet Version

This is Agricola, available now on iOS from Playdek Games. Based on one of German board game designer Uwe Rosenberg‘s finest creations, it’s deep, satisfying and a little complex, but nowhere near as complex as this: This is how Agricola works as a physical board game. It’s a mad whirlwind of cards and resource counters…

The Moneysaver: Need for Speed Rivals, Deadpool, Threadless T-Shirts

Frankly MSRP I don’t give a damn. With E3 in the rearview mirror we’ve Need for Speed Rivals for 20% off on the PC first to the finish line of today’s post. As has been the case lately, we’ve got a whole lot of movies on sale, along with a sweet T-shirt sale at Threadless…

Dark Souls II is Dark Souls, Thank God

“I played Dark Souls II,” I said to a friend of mine one night at E3 over drinks. He leaned in. His eyes suddenly got wide and he got a little quiet. “How was it?” He asked. “It was Dark Souls.” I said. Immediately a wave of relief rushed over his face, and my friend…

The Xbox One Believers

I came to E3 this year in search of good news about the Xbox One. By week’s end, I found a few men able to tell me some. I’d heard the bad things about the Xbox One—the inability to lend games discs to friends, the requirement for the console to check in online every 24…

Aha, The Post-Apocalypse In The Last of Us Was Justin Bieber’s Fault

Some people might blame the fungus zombies for destroying society in The Last of Us. But based on this Uncharted easter egg video by mynameisfeli, I’d say we should blame the collapse of society on Justin Bieber instead. Spoilers for various easter eggs in The Last of Us follow. It’s a tad difficult to read,…

Fake Smash Bros. Character Screens Flood The Internet

For me, probably the funniest thing during last week’s E3 was the reveal trailer of Smash Bros. for the Wii U and all the hilarity that followed. The internet picked up that poor villager character from Animal Crossing quickly, which was followed by crazy fictional character intro screens that have taken on a life of…

If The Final Fantasy X Remake Does Well, FFXII Could Be Next

Right now, you can play any mainline Final Fantasy game on a modern system—PS3, Vita, iOS, etc.—except for two: Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XII. Both PlayStation 2 entries have never made it to other platforms, and anyone who’s tried to play PS2 games on a high-definition television might understand why people are begging…

When Gaming Gets Too Heavy, Nippon Ichi Brings The Happy

As I wade through the dark and depressing world of The Last of Us, I slowly fill with a sort of gloomy despair — a despair that can only be countered by anime frivolity and quick-time eating, courtesy of Nippon Ichi’s The Witch and The Hundred Knights for the PlayStation 3. Due out in Japan…

Saints Row is About to Get a Whole Lot Weirder Thanks to Mod Support

The Saints Row series never supported modding, but now that it’s under new ownership, that is about to change. Developer Volition will release “what is essentially a full [software development kit]” for the most recent game, and says this year’s sequel is likely to get one, too. The upshot to all this is the PC…

The PS4 Was Designed To Not Embarrass You

Your parents come visit your house. Or the person you’re dating gets their first look at your living room and your entertainment center. They see your hot new PlayStation. Sony hopes their next console won’t suddenly bring you shame. The PS4 “was designed to be an impact product in an entertainment center,” Sony’s v.p. of…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: TruthTellah links to a video about the print-making process for Jed Henry’s Ukiyo-e Heroes project, which fuses iconic game characters and feudal Japanese aesthetics. JollyBootsofDoom runs down three flawed but fun games. And, Zarnyx explores why she’ scared of certain things and how it affects…

These Games Were Missing From E3

Now that we’ve had a weekend to recoup from the bright lights and pulsing music of the world’s most elaborate video game marketing circus, it’s time to take a quiet moment to reflect on the games we didn’t get to play at E3 2013. Jade, Samus, Drake — where were you guys? Now this isn’t…

This Pacific Rim Trailer Remade In Minecraft Is Super-Intense

The trailer for Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming movie Pacific Rim remains badass in the animated Minecraft version of it. The edit is made by the same guys, Steel House Digital, who recreated one of the Man of Steel trailers. We might just wonder what’s nexton their list. Elysium? Or maybe Ender’s Game? Pacific Realm –…

108 Terrific Shots of Super Smash Bros. on Wii U

You don’t even need to be a fan of Nintendo’s Smash Bros. series to enjoy the colorful mayhem of one of these games in action. Below, if you can take it, are 108 screenshots and art from 2014’s Wii U Super Smash Bros., with a healthy amount of images of the lady trainer from Wii…

XCOM: Enemy Unknown to Hit iOS This Week

Firaxis, developers of Enemy Unknown, the latest installment in the long-standing XCOM series of tactical RPG/strategy games, recently announced that the game’s iOS port will be arriving in just three days’ time, on Thursday. Enemy Unknown for iOS will be a universal app featuring GameCenter and iCloud support; “the complete XCOM experience of the console…

Gaming industry analytics firm DFC, in their recent forecast of the Xbox One’s market performance, have noted that Microsoft’s “overall strategy for entertainment devices is deeply flawed,” adding that due to their strategy, “the entire future of Microsoft’s consumer entertainment business is in question.” [via MCV]

Chinese Sixth Grader Steals From Mother To Buy Digital Currency

A sixth grader in China recently stole over $1000 worth of money from his mother to spend on video game currency. After finding out that he had stolen the money, the mother called the police to make a complaint against the net cafe that sold him the currency, gaining her a partial refund. China’s People’s…

Tencent Pisses Off Chinese Fans By Buying Manga Rights

Despite all that you read about the tensions between China and Japan, Japanese manga is highly celebrated in China. Chinese people cosplay as Japanese manga characters. They watch Japanese manga inspired animations. And they read manga—that is, until now. Earlier this year, the Chinese internet giant Tencent signed a publishing deal with Shueisha inc, the…

That’s Quite The Capcom Action Figure You Have There

Lost Planet 2 is one of those games time simply stomped all over then punched out of your memory, but with a sequel on the way, the franchise has one more (last?) shot at relevancy. Which is as good a reason as any I can think of for this amazing Lost Planet 2 figure to…

DOTA 2 Match-Fixing Shows E-Sports Still Learning From Real Sports

Gaming network Starladder TV has handed out a number of serious punishments, including a lifetime ban, for a group of DOTA 2 players caught match-fixing for cash. It’s alleged that Alexey ‘Solo’ Berezin, from the team roX.KIS, bet money on his own team losing a match, which they did in what’s been described as a…