- Reviews
The Beatles: Rock Band Review: Blisters On My Fingers
More than 45 years ago, The Beatles changed the way the world listened to music. This week, MTV Games and Harmonix hope to change the way people listen to The Beatles. The Beatles: Rock Band features band authentic replica instruments, 45 songs pulled from the history of the band and the backing of the surviving…
By Brian Crecente Published September 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
More Art From GRIN’s Cancelled Final Fantasy Project
We don’t normally enjoy loitering around what is essentially a corpse, but when it’s a Final Fantasy game that was in production at a Swedish studio, well, you can excuse us for being curious. With the game now canned, and GRIN no more, the artists working on the game are now free to go posting…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
August’s Top-Selling PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade Games
No prizes for guessing what the most popular games were on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade last month, what with the release of a much-loved fighter and a modern take on Metroid. Shadow Complex easily comes in on top of the XBLA charts, as you’d expect from a game that’s challenging retail games…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Civ, FIFA & Snowboarding Added To Games On Demand
Microsoft today released a list of titles due to be added to the 360’s Games on Demand service for the month of September, with a new game due every week. The titles coming in September are: USA Civilization Revolution (September 8, so…today) FIFA Street 3 (September 15) Shaun White Snowboarding (September 22) Fable II: Game…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 9, 2009 - Uncategorized
Halo: ODST Live-Action Trailer Gets An Extended Cut
Halo fan or not, you gotta admit that the ODST live-action trailer was an amazing piece of work for what is, essentially, a video game commercial. The original ran for 1:30; this extended cut runs for a whole extra minute. .html
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sonic Returns In New 2D, HD Game
It appears that Sega may actually have been listening. After years and years of (mostly) awful 3D Sonic games, the company is now teasing something called “Project Needlemouse”, billed as a return to the Sonic of old. “Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay” says…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Eidos Confirms Arkham DLC is for PC, Too
The PS3 news ticker this morning said Batman: Arkham Asylum is due for some free DLC on Sept. 17. In its forums, Eidos has confirmed the package will also arrive for PC and the Xbox 360. An Eidos forum admin said simply, “I’m happy to inform you, it will arrive at the same time,” when…
By Owen Good Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
PS3 Firmware Q&A Addresses Glitter, Jingles & Uncharted Problems
The PS3’s last big firmware update, from 2.8 to 3.0, brought with it a lot of neat changes. It also, however, brought with it a few niggling annoyances, like a glittering background and the loss of the distinctive Ps3 “chime”. You know the one, it’d play every time you booted up a game and the…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sony’s Motion Controller Explained — The Sequel
In a 7-minute video chat, Anton Mikhailov of Sony Computer Entertainment America takes us on another tour of the PlayStation Motion Controller, whose prototype he reveals was assembled from some spare parts bought up at a Home Depot. If he seems familiar, Mikhailov, of SCEA’s Research & Development unit, was part of the controller’s original…
By Owen Good Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sony Divides Up MAG Factions for Pre-Order Bonuses
MAG’s rolling out some exclusive in-game character models should you be of a mind to pre-order the game. GameStop and Game Crazy get two of them, the third is TBD. Amazon’s confirmed for … meh … access to a PlayStation Home space. The exclusive S.V.E.R. character is yours if you lay your $5 down at…
By Owen Good Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Obama Namechecks Xbox Once Again In Speech To Kids
President Barack Obama is once again tossing the old Xbox under the bus, naming Microsoft’s console in a speech to schoolchildren today, implying it might interfere with their education. Or maybe this is just smart product placement… In a peppy speech that focused on promoting education and personal responsibility, Obama made brief mention of Microsoft’s…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Nostalgia Preview: The Winds Of Staying The Same
Nostalgia is a DS role playing game that hearkens back not only to when Final Fantasy VII’s graphics were next-generation, but to an era of steam and airships that never quite existed. That’s right – that thing I’m always going on about is the main selling point of this game: steampunk. Normally, this would be…
By AJ Glasser Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Tokyo Game Show
To: Bash From: Crecente Re: With Penny Arcade Expo wrapped up, and our stories from the show wrapping up this week, it’s on to Tokyo Game Show planning. We should probably talk tomorrow to see how the schhhhhhheduling is going. Don’t tell the TGS folks that PAX had a touch of Swine Flu, I don’t…
By Brian Crecente Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Axel & Pixel Preview: It Looks Like Nothing Else
We’ve got a guy. A dog. An art style I’ve never seen on an Xbox 360. A point-and-click adventure. And side-scrolling driving. What Is It? At the Penny Arcade Expo, about halfway between where you could buy nachos or watch a comics artist sketch on his DS, there was a kiosk running two forthcoming Xbox…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Report: Nigerian Gov’t Upset Over New PlayStation Ads [Update]
While news of the PlayStation 3 price drop to $299 USD appeared to have been met with universal praise, it appears that one group isn’t so thrilled with Sony. That would be the entire country of Nigeria, apparently. According to reports citing a statement from Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Communication, Prof. Dora Akunyili, the…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Someone At Square-Enix Likes Star Trek?
Not being a font expert, but having a memory that stretches back to the 80s, I saw something on this very site today that made me think of the font you can see in the image on the left. In the midst of Brian Ashcraft’s superb coverage of all things Final Fantasy XIII, I saw…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
Contra Rebirth, Super Return of the Jedi Scroll Onto Nintendo Weekly Downloads
This week’s batch of newly downloadable titles for WiiWare, DSiWare and Nintendo’s Virtual Console is a 16-bit paradise, as Konami’s Contra Rebirth and LucasArts’ Super Return of the Jedi overload the Wii with side-scrolling action. Other less spritely items are also available, including the colorful arcade shooter ColorZ for WiiWare and the bite-size DSiWare offering…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 8, 2009 - Uncategorized
How And Why Halo 3: ODST Was Made In 14 Months
Is your Peter Jackson Halo project not coming together on schedule? Got a year to make something else Halo-ish? Then construct a creative plan B, spelled ODST. During my visit to Bungie last week I got a chance to learn more about the origins of Halo 3: ODST a game that has all the makings…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009