• Culture

  When Japan Does Star Wars, Things Change

  In 1987, Namco released Star Wars in Japan for the Famicom, a title that took more than a few liberties with the movie trilogy’s storyline. Sounds outrageous, but one look at the game’s manual art and everything was suddenly OK. Why? Because the lizards, scorpions and pterodactyls you’re fighting—and that aren’t exactly canon —are so…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Rumor: Read a Bit of the New Syndicate’s Script

  Siliconera claims to have gotten its hands on part of the script for the rumoured, upcoming Syndicate revival. So, a rumour within a rumour. If you feel like jumping down that rabbit hole, here’s your ticket in. [Siliconera]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Holy Shit, Somebody is Remaking Maniac Mansion

  Maniac Mansion, if you don’t know, is a classic adventure game from Lucasarts (then known as Lucasfilm) that spawned en entire generation of titles like its sequel Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max and Fate of Atlantis. And now it’s getting a remake! A group of devoted German fans calling themselves “Edison Interactive” (cute…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Tokyo Game Show Digital Lady Returns

  Last year, Osaka-born graphic illustrator Ippei Gyoubu created the Tokyo Game Show’s poster, which featured a digital lady. This year? This year, Osaka-born graphic illustrator Ippei Gyoubu created the Tokyo Game Show poster, which features a digital lady. The tagline is “If the heart leaps, that’s video games.” That’s…pretty bland!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2011
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  Dress Up as Your Favourite Disney Star in This Adorable New Platformer

  LittleBigPlanet is popular. The LEGO games are even more popular. And then we have Disney, the entertainment giant figuring it must be onto a good thing making a game combining the two. It’s unveiled a new multiplayer platformer called Disney Universe, which uses things like cute characters, a combination of co-operative and competitive play and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Dwarf Goo? Tifa Is a Vinyl Fan? It Must Be Anagram Time.

  Anagrams can be fun if you’re into that kind of wordplay. Maybe a little more fun if you’re into that kind of wordplay and video games. These remixes on game titles were done by Dueling Analogs. What I like is that, in the case of BioShock‘s denizens, Dead Rising‘s wardrobe options and Final Fantasy VII’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Ninja Gaiden 3 Sounds Great

  According to NeoGAF’s details from the latest PlayStation Magazine, the upcoming Ninja Gaiden 3 will run at 60 frames-per-second, won’t feature toned down difficulty, will support up to 8 players, will emphasize Ryu’s story and may feature PlayStation Move support. [NeoGAF]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2011
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  BloodRayne Is Doing Its Best Castlevania Impression

  When BloodRayne: Betrayal was announced so close to April 1, we met the reveal with a healthy dose of scepticism. A 3D brawler turned into a 2D platformer? Seemed a little weird, since it normally works the other way around. But here it is, in all its 2D, cel-shaded glory. A comment on the clip’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  PS3 Sales Up, Sony Makin’ Money

  Over the past twelve months, Sony’s PlayStation group has made a profit of USD$430 million with PS3 sales up to 14.3 million consoles, an increase over the past year. You can read more, and see graphs, at Sony. [Sony]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  The PSP’s Quickest (And Most Charming) Game Coming to Xbox Live

  Back in 2009, PSP game Half-Minute Hero dazzled players with thirty-second bursts of gameplay and old school graphics. There is a sequel, out this August in Japan on the PSP. But don’t fret console gamers, Half-Minuter Hero is coming to Xbox Live. The game is called Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax and will be…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2011
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  The PSP Is Trying to Go Out with a Bang

  With the PlayStation Portable on the brink of total irrelevance in the US, Sony is beginning the process of putting its last bundles together, which for anyone who hasn’t yet got a PSP and won’t be in the market for the upcoming NGP, aren’t too bad a deal! The first of these is the “Limited…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  This Mech Game’s Box Art Is Different

  There have been many Armored Core games, but Armored Core V‘s box art is a break from the rest. 『アーマードコアV』のパッケージ画像が公開、歴代パケ絵と比べてみようか [はちま起稿]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2011
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  Minecraft Links Help Indie Game Sell 200,000 Copies In Nine Days

  Terraria is a 2D game that has often (and somewhat unfairly) been called “Minecraft in 2D”. Not that the four developers care, since they’ve just sold 200,000 copies in a little over a week. Spurred on by word-of-mouth, much of it stemming from the game’s supposed similarity to Minecraft, the $10 game was first released…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  The Horrible Family Secret of Japan’s Anime Envoy

  Taro Aso was a shit prime minister, but in incidental things that count—shooting guns, collecting comics, and booze— Taro Aso excels. This week, he was named Japan’s official anime envoy to China. Cut off from Japanese pop culture for decades, China is getting into anime like Gundam in a big way. From June 8 to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 26, 2011
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  South Park Shreds EA Sports and Peter Moore

  South Park never goes harder than when it goes after hypocrisy, and tonight, its allegorical tale involved the NCAA and the obscene profits reaped from what is essentially free labor. Yet EA Sports—and, of all people, its president, Peter Moore—ended up getting it the worst. Breaking down tonight’s show TV Guide-like, Cartman’s latest scheme is…

  By Owen Good Published May 26, 2011
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  Microsoft is (Not) Helping an Xbox Live Hacker “Develop His Talent” [Update]

  Around a month ago, Xbox Live users were alerted to a phishing scam on popular online title Modern Warfare 2. You’d think this was the work of nefarious group, but no, it was a single perpetrator. Who Microsoft is now working with? According to Microsoft’s Paul Rellis, the culprit responsible has been caught, and discovered…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Dragon’s Dogma Gameplay Footage Is All About Killing Giant Animals

  You know, I only just realised that Dragon’s Dogma is Capcom finding an excuse to put its Monster Hunter expertise to work in a game like Dragon Age This gameplay clip starts off fairly ho-hum, a few arrows here and there, and then WHAM, GIANT GRIFFIN. And then things get really interesting. Dragon’s Dogma is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Sorry, Everyone, It’s Time to Talk About the Wing Commander Movie

  When people look back on films based on video games, they tend to skew towards the good (Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia) or the bad (Mario, Double Dragon). They don’t talk about the greats because there haven’t been any. And they don’t talk about Wing Commander because it’s just too damn painful. Wing Commander, if…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2011
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  Backbreaker Studio Hits the Ice With Icebreaker for the iPhone

  First spied in development seven months ago, Icebreaker will arrive on the iTunes App Store next week as a hockey-style complement to Backbreaker, the football title whose “Tackle Alley” minigame saw tremendous success as an iPhone port. Icebreaker mimics “Tackle Alley” (which became Backbreaker: Tackle Alley and Backbreaker: Vengeance for the iPhone) by pitting you…

  By Owen Good Published May 25, 2011
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  Hey! Look At What’s New In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

  The Nintendo 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time does more than just give the Nintendo 64 original a visual makeover and bring it into magical stereoscopic 3D. It has (at least) three potentially exciting new features. As shown in the video above, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D has…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 25, 2011