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News Show Looks At Death of Xbox Runaway, Dark Side of Gaming
This Friday CBC News show The Fifth Estate takes a look at the sad case of teen gamer runaway Brandon Crisp. Crisp, 15, ran away from his home on Oct. 14, 2008 after his parents took away his Xbox 360. He had been playing too much Call of Duty 4 and his grades were slipping.…
By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
BioWare Celebrates Dragon Age Novel Release With Screenshots
BioWare celebrates the release of prequel novel Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne with a handful of screenshots from their upcoming PC role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins. See, books do not contain pictures, which some would say is part of their charm. This particular book, written by veteran video game writer David Gaider, has many words,…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
BioShock 2 Warns “There’s Something In The Sea”
Take-Two has officially set the BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams hype machine in motion, launching a new teaser web site for the game and plastering viral marketing posters linked to the online marketing effort. There’s not much to see at the “There’s Something In The Sea” site outside of photo of the Big Daddy doll…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rockstar Most Consistent Publisher, Ubisoft Least Consistent
Self-described Metacritic-expert Tim Sweezey over at GameQuarry.Com has a fascinating report up about the developers that are most consistent in publishing a certain quality of game. In other words, their games are consistently good, bad, mediocre, just as long as they are consistent. While on the one had you might say that’s not very worthwhile…
By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
What Could Make The Beatles: Rock Band Worth $250?
With The Beatles: Rock Band now officially dated and priced, we take a look at what songs and instruments need to be represented in order to make the Premium Bundle worth $250. $250 is a rather large chunk of change to lay out on another bundled music game. The Premium Bundle of Harmonix’s Rock Band…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Army Of Two: The Sequel Now Officially Teased
EA Montreal is expected to announce the sequel to Army of Two next week, a title that we understand is currently titled Army of Two: The Sequel. In preparation, EA has begun teasing the game. The official Army of Two web site now has the splash image seen above, but little else. The site’s meta…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Librarians Explain: Why Video Games At the Library
Why exactly should libraries carry video games? Or music or movies for that matter? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of free gaming, but I can’t help but question the increasing multimedia nature of libraries. Good thing, then, that the American Library Association is prepared with an answer for me and librarians nationwide.…
By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Yes, Yakuza 3 Is Japan’s Bestselling Game… But What About Halo Wars?
It’s no secret that Sega’s Yakuza 3 (AKA Ryu Ga Gotoku 3) has sold 372,000 copies in its debut week. That’s expected. The Yakuza series does well over there. But what about Halo Wars? Unfortunately, Microsoft did not pull off an upset with Halo Wars as it did with Halo 3, which secured the #1…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
MGO SCENE Expansion Rains Rabbit Doom On March 17th
Konami has announced a March 17th release date for the Metal Gear Online SCENE expansion, with some amazing new outfits and a new game type joining the already impressive feature lineup. Three new maps and two new super-powerful playable characters are just the tip of the iceberg for Konami’s upcoming SCENE expansion for Metal Gear…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
PS3 Age Of Booty Gets Trophies And A Trial
Capcom just dropped us a line to let us know that the PlayStation 3 version of their real-time strategy pirate game Age of Booty has been updated with trophy support and a playable demo. PlayStation 3 owners of Capcom’s Age of Booty finally have something to show for all of their hard work with the…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
GameFly In Kiosk Form
Students at Texas Tech University have an all-new way to get a quick video game fix, as GameFly installs their first G-Box video game rental kiosk. Online video game rental leader GameFly takes a small step offline with the introduction of their G-Box rental kiosk, which allows gamers to swipe their credit cards for instant…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Metal Gear Solid Touch Screens Don’t Convince
The more screens I see for the Metal Gear Solid’s iPhone title, the less I want to play it. Can a Metal Gear Solid theme really get gamers to buy a gussied up version of Duck Hunt? I’m checking off ‘No Thanks’ for now.
By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
New inFamous Trailer Makes Little Girl Scared
Sucker Punch‘s new trailer for inFamous explores the age-old adage that trailers are much cooler when narrated by little girls. It’s a fact: little girls narrating the trailers to movies and games that take place in a dark fiction setting are at least twenty times better than those narrated by movie guy voice. Don’t believe…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
New Bowler Stereotypes For High Velocity Bowling
Sony keeps things classy with two new stereotyped characters High Velocity Bowling – a Hispanic girl with a chip on her shoulder and a male flight attendant with “fabulous ball control”. The second highest downloaded PlayStation Network game of 2008 grows a new pair today, with the introduction of two new bowlers, available for $.99…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
GDC Game Design Challenge Gets Sexy
In this year’s game design challenge, three developers will be pitching their ideas for a game about their first time. Yes, that first time. The design challenge will have Steve Meretzky, VP of Game Design, YouPlus; Kim Swift, Level Designer, Valve; and Sulka Haro, Lead Designer, Sulake pitching games that tackle two themes: sex and…
By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Wheelman Demo Is Go
1.31gigs worth of Vin Diesel-flavored action is now available for download, as Midway’s Wheelman demo barrel rolls dramatically onto Xbox Live. Okay, at this point I don’t know if there is any barrel rolling involved, but there’ll be plenty of driving, shooting, driving while shooting, and shooting while driving as you get a small taste…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Fallout 3: The Pitt – Now With More Trogs
Three new screenshots for Fallout 3’s upcoming The Pitt downloadable content introduce us to the Trogs, scampering, light-fearing mutants that want to eat your face. The Trogs are actually creatures that were supposed to appear in Black Isle Studio’s canceled Fallout 3 project, Van Buren, characterized as a race of mutant hillbillies that holed up…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Microsoft: 75% Of Parents Think Gaming Is Beneficial
Microsoft’s second annual Play Smart, Play Safe campaign survey results are in, with UK parents overwhelmingly agreeing that video games have a beneficial effect on their children and families. Microsoft’s Play Smart, Play Safe study polled children and parents in the UK on different aspects of the parent/child gaming experience. While the poll did reveal…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
Lara’s Shadow Turns Tomb Raider Into Prince Of Persia
The Lara’s Shadow downloadable content for Tomb Raider: Underworld puts players in control of the doppleganger – a faster, stronger version of Lara Croft with the power to slow time. The Lara Croft doppleganger first appeared during the main story of Tomb Raider: Underworld, created to best Lara at her own game. Of course the…
By Mike Fahey Published March 5, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Beatles: Rock Band Hits Sept. 9 for $250 With Instruments
The Beatles: Rock Band will hit worldwide on Sept. 9, MTV, Harmonix and Apple Corps. announced today. The Beatles: Rock Band will allow fans to pick up the guitar, bass, mic or drums and “experience The Beatles extraordinary catalog of music through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of…
By Brian Crecente Published March 5, 2009