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Game Violence Documentary Can Be Seen Free Online
“Moral Kombat,” the 2007 examination of violent video games by the brother of Entertainment Consumers Association president Hal Halpin, will be available for view online free for the next 30 days. Spencer Halpin’s film tries to balance First Amendment rights and free market principles on the game maker’s side with concern over game violence, its…
By Owen Good Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Adds Xenoblade, The Last Story, Metroid: Other M Date To Release List
Nintendo of Japan updated its 2010 release list today, adding Xenoblade and The Last Story to its upcoming Wii slate and dating Metroid: Other M for “Summer 2010.” The Nintendo and Team Ninja game was previously “TBA” in Japan. So what the hell are Xenoblade and The Last Story? Well, considering that Nintendo also dropped…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Developer Calls BS on Disc-Based DLC Unlocks
Rebellion’s David Brickley, director of the upcoming Aliens vs. Predator, said there is “absolutely no justification” for downloadable content that essentially makes gamers pay to unlock code already on the disc. “Players are entirely right,” he says. In an interview with SPOnG, Brickley holds forth on DLC – calling it a useful adjunct that gets…
By Owen Good Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Do You Want Rez HD On The PS3? Tell Q!
Rez and Space Channel 5 creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi has toyed with the idea of bringing more of Q Entertainment‘s games from Xbox Live Arcade to the PlayStation Network. It could finally happen, if you demand it. While it appears that nothing is (still) set in stone, Q’s Twitter account makes it sound like more of…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
A Solid 60 Seconds of MLB 2K10 Gameplay
Some reasonably sharp gameplay renders in this one-minute teaser for MLB 2K10. The worm’s-eye view tracking shots of the baserunning makes me reach for the Pepto, but the animations are sound. This year MLB 2K10 is introducing a ton of new motion captures, including two-player animations that cut down on the kind of fruitball clipping…
By Owen Good Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Borderlands’ “Largest DLC” Yet Is The Secret Armory of General Knoxx
Gearbox Software has officially announced and detailed the third and “largest” helping of downloadable content for its popular shooter RPG Borderlands, the level cap raisin’ “Secret Armory of General Knoxx.” Gearbox and 2K promise “brutal, never-before-seen enemies in a huge new environment complete with tons of brand new missions” as well as “entirely new weapons…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
PlayStation Store Update: Thursday Is Hustlin’
After a couple dry weeks in the North American PlayStation Store, things are lookin’ up. New games, new PS one Classics, new PSP minis and one new demo for Kotaku’s Game of the Year. If you’re one of those confused PlayStation 3 owners who hasn’t yet picked up Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, a new single-player…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Hei$t Cancelled
There a lot of cop games, but no so many about robbers. Codesmasters’ Hei$t, which was to be one of the rare few, has been canceled publisher Codemasters told IGN today. Codemasters told the site: “After a much extended development period, Heist has been terminated as a project and removed from our release schedule.” We…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Gadgets
To: Ash From: Crecente As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a gadget freak. (I love them almost as much as watches). But I was sort of disappointed with the iPad showing. Disappointed enough to search out the sorts of PADDs I’d actually want. But what about you? Japan was, once, the land of…
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Microsoft Made $19 Billion Last Quarter, Sold 5.2 Million Xboxs
It was a good quarter for Xbox 360 maker Microsoft. No, it was the company’s best ever, pulling in record revenue of $19.02 billion. It highlighted “exceptional demand for Windows 7,” wisely downplaying the decrease in the Xbox 360 division. Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, corporate home to the Xbox business, was responsible for $2.9…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Reviews
Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond Micro-Review: A Bloody Fun Hazard-Time
Matt Hazard, the guns-blazing game-hero parody with a “legendary” status that’s never quite been explained, goes searching for his backstory again in Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond. Vicious Cycle may have overreached with the predecessor, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, a 3D action game panned for derivative level design and rote gameplay.…
By Owen Good Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
There’s More To Record Of Agarest War Than Sex Appeal
We’ve seen the suggestive trailers and the “Really Naughty Limited Edition,” but what about Record of Agarest War’s gameplay? Aksys’ Cherie Baker fills us in on the game’s serious side, its T rating, and a little PlayStation 3 love. Aksys has been playing up the seedier side of Record of Agarest War for the Xbox…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
After Burner Climax Coming To US, Europe This “Spring”
After Burner Climax is coming to Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Networks, something we’ve known for months now. But Sega is making it official, pegging the game for digital release sometime this spring. One of Sega’s official blogs puts the XBLA and PSN port of the arcade game—both handled by development team AM2—for a spring…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Things We Don’t Need To See, Such As Our Speed
I just finished racing a couple of laps of Disney’s Split/Second racing game. Impressions to come. But first an observation about something I couldn’t observe: the racing game’s speedometer. It had none. And I didn’t miss it. Split/Second’s designers, as we’ve noted in earlier previews, have worked to streamline the look of their racing game,…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Bayonetta Updated For PS3, Load Times Improved
Sega has released an update for the PlayStation 3 version of Bayonetta, addressing one of the complaints we had about the port of Platinum Games action game, frequent and lengthy load times. Those load times are much improved. The 138 MB download brings Bayonetta for the PS3 to version 1.01, offering an option to install…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Wandering About With Shiren The Wanderer
Atlus’ Shiren the Wanderer for the Wii might not be a roguelike RPG, but if it were, it would sure be an attractive one, as this walkthrough video demonstrates. The video tells you everything you need to know about Shiren the Wanderer, from the fact that Shiren has a wisecracking ferret as a companion, to…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Asks You To Get LOST on Wuhu Island
You know, pop-culture referencing television show Lost isn’t the only form of entertainment that includes island fun. With the final season of the show kicking off next week, Nintendo wants to remind you about that OTHER island. With more than 4.2 million copies sold, Nintendo seems to make a lot of references to LOST’s tropical……
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
New Super Mario Bros. Beats Out Valkyria Chronicles 2 In Japan
After giving up the first place spot to Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep for a couple weeks, Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii returns to the top of the weekly Media Create sales charts. It was still a pretty good week for PSP software, however, with Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles debuting in second place with 94,000…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2010 - Uncategorized
Why A Man Plays Mario
I’m 33 and, with mixed emotions, I play games that star Super Mario. The people who sell Mario games would say it’s great to play Mario games. Mario is for everyone. My gut tells me that playing Mario, the adventures of a fat plumber in a Mushroom Kingdom of warbling enemies and happy conflict, is…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 28, 2010