Even Nobuo Uematsu Gets Bossed Around Sometimes

I’ve been playing The Last Story, as you know. While researching (read: aimlessly Googling) the game earlier this week, I happened upon this old Iwata Asks interview from 2010. In it, The Last Story designer (and Final Fantasy creator) Hironobu Sakaguchi sits down with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. They…

This Whacked-Out, Wicked Cool Music Game Does Everything Backwards

Back in music school, I had the same thought that many a (possibly stoned) music student has had—what if we played famous music, but we played it… backwards? How would harmony work if chord progressions ran backwards? What insight could we gain into melody, into harmony? I ran this idea past some of my professors…

NBA 2K13 Isn’t the First to Feature the Dream Team. This Genesis Game Is.

Not only that, Team USA Basketball featured all of the Dream Team’s 12 players, including Scottie Pippen, who won’t be in NBA 2K13 because he and 2K Sports couldn’t reach an agreement on his appearance. It’s remarkable that 1992’s Team USA Basketball by Electronic Arts—then under the “EA Sports Network” label—is the only video game…

Black Ops: Declassified Has A Promising Gamescom Debut, But The Jury’s Still Out

Still aching to scratch that FPS itch at school, work, on the bus, or anywhere that isn’t home? And not with virtual controls? Sony’s handheld Vita, with its twin analog sticks, should have been the device to scratch that itch. Sadly, though, the handheld has been light on first person shooters even after six months…

Darksiders II Is Just The Most Recent Game to Prove that Imitation Really Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

I was far from the only reviewer to observe that Darksiders II very clearly draws inspiration and ideas from a number of other games that came before it. Happily, it does so well, and it does so successfully. The mechanics and concepts it brings forward from other games are nearly all good ones, and for…

Portal 2 users can now design co-op maps. Own the game? You get a 75%-off coupon to give to a friend.

Gabe Newell Hopes He’s Wrong About Windows 8

In an interview with GameTrailers TV that will air tonight, Valve head Gabe Newell elaborates a little bit on his distaste for Windows 8. Here’s the video, in which Newell says he hopes he’s wrong about Windows 8 being a “catastrophe,” because if he’s wrong, the company will wind up making a lot more money.…

Speak Clearly—But Carry a Fast Joystick—If You’re Using Madden‘s Voice Commands

Of all sports, American football would figure to be the most natural fit for voice command support in a video game, if for no other reason than play doesn’t begin until the quarterback orders the center, usually by voice, to snap the ball. Say “hike,” and Madden NFL 13 will, in fact, hike. You can…

He’s Looking for a Good Offline RPG for PC. Skyrim Doesn’t Count

He’s played Skyrim and Kingdoms of Amalur. Now commenter Lucas is hungry for more role-playing games for the PC that don’t involve him dealing with other people. Help him! Yos! Can anyone list any good offline RPGs for PC? Besides Skyrim and Kingdoms of Amular (My brother has one I have the other). All the…

What Makes Video Game Combat Feel So Good

The first time you dove into a gang of thugs in Batman: Arkham Asylum or lobbed a few grenades then switched to a Needler against the Covenant in Halo: Combat Evolved, you knew. You knew that something about the fighting mechanics of the game felt so good that you were hooked. But what exactly was…

Watch Me Play TF2’s New Mann vs. Machine Mode

Team Fortress 2’s long awaited Mann vs. Machine update launched yesterday and so far it’s been a mixed bag. As Mike Fahey mentioned earlier today, matchmaking is an unplayable mess, due to the sheer demand and a lack of community servers. Hopefully that will be resolved in the coming days, but in the meantime you…

The First Fully Downloadable New Mario Game Dominates the Weekly Nintendo Download

With Sunday seeing the debut of New Super Mario Bros. 2, the first Nintendo-published title launched simultaneously at retail and in digital form, a game would have to be some sort of crazy chicken pirate to try and muscle in on this week’s Nintendo Download. So yeah, Mario and two games named Crazy Chicken: Pirate…

The Avengers 2 Is Coming In 2015. Surely We Can Get A Good Video Game By Then, Right?

Disney has just announced a May 1, 2015 release date for Avengers 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with Joss Whedon back to write and direct. That’s great news for everyone who loved this year’s hit superhero team-up. But that release date is also a glimmer of hope for gamers. A 2015 release date means…

Ubisoft Launches Their Own PC Gaming Client, and Is Selling Some Games For $1 to Get You To Try It

Not one to be left behind by the likes of EA , Ubisoft officially launched their uPlay client for PC today. Like Origin, it acts not only as a storefront to Ubisoft’s games, but also as a universal launcher for them. It also ties into uPlay’s existing currency and reward features, and links a player’s…

The lawyer of the American game maker imprisoned in Iran says his client’s now been in solitary confinement for a year

One Of Those People Who Brings Japanese Games To America Is Answering Your Questions Right Now [Interview Over]

Ever wonder how a Japanese game makes its way to the U.S.? What exactly does video game localization consist of? How many millions and millions of video game letters get translated from Japanese to English every year? Here today we have Jessica Chavez from XSEED Games, a small game publisher you might recognize as the…

Can’t Wait to Play Team Fortress 2‘s Mann Vs. Machine Multiplayer? Tough.

I’ve been seeing this screen a lot since downloading the Team Fortress 2 update yesterday, and I am not alone. With hour wait times, server connection issues and various other problems, Mann Vs. Machine co-op play is nearly unplayable. I say nearly because you can still grab a group of friends and start your own…

How Skyrim‘s Difficulty Works, And Why That First Giant Killed You Outside Whiterun

All games are difficult. (Well, almost all games.) One of the most important aspects of difficulty is punishment—if a player fails in a game, the game must let them know it somehow. Bad player! No bonus XP for you! Do it five more times! In Mario, if you die, you restart a level. In Dark…

Nintendo Criticized For Not Doing Enough To Keep ‘Conflict Minerals’ Out Of Their Products

Many of the materials used to make electronic devices are helping fuel ongoing bloody wars in the Congo—and a new report accuses Nintendo of not doing enough to ensure that their game machines aren’t part of that deadly conflict. The Enough Project, a watchdog group that monitors “genocide and crimes against humanity,” published a report…

Every Game Has a Hero. Video Games’ Expendables Has Them All.

A while back, I mused about what iconic characters would best make for a video game version of The Expendables.. Artist Vernon Villaneuva riffs on that idea over on Deviant Art and came up with the gorgeous results above. I also love how the all-star-ness of the idea isn’t contained to the cast; it’s in…