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CultureTotal RecallRemembering Sony’s Least Popular “Console”
Sony has released four video game machines that have been, to varying degrees, a success. Today, we’re going to look at a fifth that wasn’t. That machine was the PSX. A hybrid video game console and home media centre, it may have looked pretty and boasted some impressive technology, but it was also one of…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 10, 2011 -
UncategorizedDouble Dragon‘s Reboot Needs a Larger Pad
Double Dragon rolled up the garage doors and vroomed onto the iPhone and iPad earlier this week, with a small-size reboot that invoked and updated its arcade ancestor’s main features – bosses, levels, soundtrack, and more. At bottom, it’s a beat-em-up controlled by a virtual pad and stick, with about 30 percent of the screen…
By Owen Good Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
Ubisoft Won’t Release Swinger-Party Game in the U.K.
We Dare, the Wii party game whose marketing suggests it’s much naughtier than it really is, won’t be released in the United Kingdom. Publisher Ubisoft is pulling the game back after a rating found it suitable for kids 12 and up. Politicians and press in Great Britain were, of course, in high dudgeon (is there…
By Owen Good Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
Bye-Bye, Cap’n
In tonight’s off topic open thread, can we give it up for cold cereal? Particularly, let’s give Cap’n Crunch his due for his years of impressive service in the field of delivering sugar rushes to children’s mornings. But Crunch may be on his way out, taking his crunch berries with him. Me, I’ve always been…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
Dutch Court Orders PS3 Seizures — Including Those In Homes
Several thousand more PlayStation 3s were seized by Dutch customs officials on the eve of Sony’s courtoom showdown with Korea-based LG, whose allegations of patent infringement have effectively halted the distribution of consoles across Europe the past 10 days. LG, which claims the PS3’s Blu-ray playback technology violates patents it holds, got a Netherlands court…
By Owen Good Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
British Schoolteacher Finks on 600 Kids Over Late Night Gaming
In what sounds like the opening to a Dr. Seuss book, parents of all 600 children in Mr Gribble’s school got a fearful note saying their kids report to class sleepy and distracted, because they’re up as late as 4 a.m. playing video games. Mr Gribble, who teaches primary school in Devon, the U.K., sent…
By Owen Good Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
This Is Trenched, A Game That Seems To Have Everything Going For It
How best to explain the wonderfully unusual Trenched? It’s true that it’s a tower defense game. It’s also a third-person shooter, a deeply customizable war game with loot drops and online player progression. This is World War I-era trench warfare, only this time, the good guys have giant gas-powered mechs and the bad guys are…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
An Insanely Twisted Coming Out Party at PAX
First discussed in 2007 and under development since last year, indie shooter/puzzle game Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet will have its coming-out party at PAX East this weekend, and it looks damn good. Fuelcell Games published these four screenshots today touting the game, which the public may see – and play for the first time –…
By Owen Good Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedSuper Mario Bros. With Hi-Def Audio Sounds So Disturbing
Stripping the familiar 8-bit sound effects from Super Mario Bros. and replacing them with realistic “nextgen AAA sounds” makes for an unsettling, but awesome, audiovisual experience. You’ve never heard coins collected with this level of fidelity. Promise. This audio remix is the work of composer and sound designer Jake Kaufman, a video game music pro…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
Wendy’s Pac-Man Tag Sounds a Little Familiar
From now mid-April, Wendy’s is serving up kids meals with five separate toys to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary. One of them is “Pac-Man Tag.” Hey …. Pac-Man Tag involves a set of four clip-on tags to designate three kids as ghosts and one as Pac-Man. Then they run around the yard. That sounds familiar. Crecente…
By Owen Good Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe New Toy Soldiers Sends G.I. Joe Action Figures To War!
The warfare of Xbox Live Arcade hit Toy Soldiers advances ever closer to the modern era with Toy Soldiers: Cold War, a battle between action figures from the 1980’s. Leaving the grim battles of World War I behind, Cold War pits Rambo toys and canon fodder with a kung-fu grip against a Red Menace. The…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedMinecraft, Its Maker and The Fantastic Mr. Starfox
We have about 20 days until our entire three-floor house has to be completely packed up. This move is killing me. The Art, Food and Drinks of Plants Vs. Zombies Last week’s PopCap Games party at the Game Developers Conference wasn’t just a chance to indulge in Plants Vs. Zombies drinks and snacks while watching…
By Brian Crecente Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Lord of the Rings: War in the North Is The D-Day of Middle Earth, Only With Sweet Loot
There is another great war in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga, a bloody battle set in the northern regions of Middle Earth. This front is the setting of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, the fantasy world’s equivalent of the Allied invasion of Normandy, says developer Snowblind Studios. They’re the…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedMinecraft Would Look So Much Better With Physics Like This
Would a really sweet and totally accurate physics engine really add much to the addictive gameplay of world-carving indie hit Minecraft? Perhaps not, but this build and destroy demo—”Minecraft + Physics!”—according to its creator would certainly make it easier on the eyes. Chris Delay of Introversion Software, makers of Uplink, Darwinia and DEFCON, is responsible…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Fantastic Mr. Star Fox Takes A Look Deep Inside Himself
“I’ve been flying through silver rings for 18 years, and I never once stopped to ask why.” When Nintendo’s classic space shooter meets visionary director Wes Anderson, The Fantastic Mr. Star Fox is born. And then he questions his existence. Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox ranks as one…
By Mike Fahey Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedShoot Many Robots Is Supposed To Be Our Modern Metal Slug
The people at Demiurge Studios, itching to make a game of their own after years of making video games for other companies, have decided to make an homage to the old gun-crazy side-scroller Metal Slug. They wanted to make it more analog, let you shoot everywhere. And they want you to run and jump and…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
Serious Sam Gallery
Serious Sam Double D Serious Sam Double D Serious Sam Double D Serious Sam Double D Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack Serious Sam: The Random Encounter
By Mike Fahey Published March 9, 2011 - Uncategorized
Final Fantasy‘s Fighter Knocks Out The Competition In Japan
The Nintendo 3DS had a great second week in Japan, with another 200,000 gamers snapping up stereoscopic 3D hardware. But it was a PSP game that dominated the software charts (again), with Square Enix’s dramatic fighting game adventure Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy dominating the sales charts. The latest Dissidia sold an impressive 286,117 copies…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 9, 2011 -
UncategorizedWhat It’s Like To Be Notch, The Man Who Made Minecraft
If you’re the guy who made Minecraft, you’ve got it good. Your game’s a hit. You’re getting lots of money for it and winning lots of awards. But what’s it like to be Notch? His New Peers And Old Friends When you go from being some random game-maker in Sweden to the guy who created…
By Stephen Totilo Published March 9, 2011