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Your Xbox 360 Massages You Gently
The XNA Community Games program continues to be a wealth of innovation on the Xbox 360, as a new program available for download turns your 360 controller into a “portable massager”. Rumble Massage is a new XNA game now available for download in either demo form or the full version, which will set you back…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Competitive StarCraft Gets UC Berkeley Class
A new course being offered at UC Berkeley aims to teach students how to enjoy the “art of competitive StarCraft”. Suggested prerequisites includes a working knowledge of StarCraft strategy and suggested reading includes The Art of War by Sun Tzu and Crazy as Me by Lim Yo Hwan. While the course isn’t listed on the…
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Bask In Mario & Luigi RPG 3 Trailer Ecstasy
.html As an irrationally huge fan of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance, a return to form for the third entry, simply titled Mario & Luigi RPG 3 has me giddy. Go ahead and dig for any references of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in this trailer. You won’t find ’em,…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Frankenreview: Afro Samurai
Namco Bandai Games christens their new western games division Surge with the release of Afro Samurai for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, based on the Spike TV anime starring Mr. Samuel L. Jackson. Afro Samurai combines a hip hop vibe and music with a futuristic take on feudal Japan, creating an atmosphere that is…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rock Band DLC Catalogue Could Reach 5,000 Songs This Year?! [Update: No]
Harmonix’s reached a milestone of 500 downloadable tracks available for Rock Band thanks to a baker’s dozen of No Doubt hits. Impressive, eh? Can it possibly reach 5,000 this year? MTV thinks it might. According to a report from Billboard, the owner of Harmonix says “as many as 5,000” songs could be available for download.…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Persona 4: Reflecting The Self
Recent Persona games have become cult hits thanks largely to their gameplay framework — traditional Japanese RPG leveling mechanics reframed around personal improvement, social relationships and the concept of the self. And though it’s about the lead character’s ultimately linear story arc, this framework subtly becomes about the player’s self, too. Persona 3 and Persona…
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rockstar’s Dan Houser Favors Creative Freedom Over Respect
Rockstar creative VP and lead GTA IV writer Dan Houser would rather have the creative freedom of writing for video games remain intact than be treated with respect. When an interviewer for the UK Telegraph asks Houser if it will be long before video game writers are afforded the same respect as TV and film…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The 12th Annual AIAS Awards Will Be Televised, Eventually
The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and the Independent Film Channel today announce a partnership to bring the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards to a television screen near you. The 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards will be taking place on Thursday, February 19th at the Red Rock in Las Vegas, Nevada, but you won’t…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Today On Xbox Live Arcade: Funtown Mahjong
Xbox Live Arcade gets a healthy does of everyone’s favorite traditional Chinese tile game with the release of FunTown Mahjong, which gets a headstart on DLC right out of the gate. FunTown Mahjong combines the fun and addictiveness of the ancient Chinese tile game with all the modern bells and whistles, including Xbox Live online…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
BattleForge Storms Stores In March, Preorder Bonuses Tapped
EA’s Phenomic studio has set a date for their upcoming real-time strategy meets card battles title BattleForge, with special cards and extra levels for those willing to put their preorder money down. BattleForge will be available for purchase for both the PC on March 24th, but players keen on making a go of it might…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Team Fortress 2 Scout Update Just Around The Corner
A post on the sporadically updated official Team Fortress 2 blog reveals that the gameplay update for the Scout class is only a few short patches away from hitting the servers. Valve’s Robin Walker explains that the coding team has already moved on to the next class update, with only the final art needed to…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Guns, Beauty and Cities Of Final Fantasy XIII
Here are a collection of still shots from the newly released Final Fantasy XIII trailer, giving you a closer look at some of the characters and enemies featured in the video. You’d easily miss some of the more gorgeous moments in the action-packed trailer, so we’re capturing still shots faster than you can say pause…
By Mike Fahey Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Edge Guesstimates The US and UK’s Top Selling Video Games of 08
The Edge put together an intriguing list of top video game sales that looks at the combined totals of the US and the UK. Since all retail sales number are really just estimates, including NPD and Chart-Track, Edge’s analysis seems pretty dead on to me. They used both NPD and Chart-Track and then combines platform…
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
The ESA Spent $4.2M Lobbying for $22B Industry Last Year
The Entertainment Software Association spent a record $4.2 million on federal lobbying in 2008, Gamasutra reports this morning. In the fourth quarter alone the industry trade group spent $1,1 million. The money was spent in lobbying efforts of both chambers of Congress on broadband development, online gaming and immigration issues. While that’s a 25.6 percent…
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Hands Inside The SFIV Tournament Edition FightStick
Yesterday I wrote up my review of Mad Catz’ Street Fighter IV Tournament Edition FightStick. If you’re interested in seeing what this controller, and its Sanwa parts, look like on the inside check out this video. After shooting the video, I did a bit more research and discovered that I was right about the Sanwa…
By Brian Crecente Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Pop-Up Books Rule
To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Oh, The Games We Play Reversible shirts sound awesome. Sign me up. A huge package came from my parents in Texas today. Recently, Mini-Bash has said he wants me to read new English books to him before bedtime. He’s sick of Cat In The Hat and Curious George! Asked my…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
SEGA Arcade Game Trades Joysticks For Blocks [Update]
Forget joysticks! SEGA’s making a block controlled arcade game called Block Pipo. It a co-op game that has players use blocks to control the on-screen characters. Cabinets can also be linked for some head-to-head action. Block Pipo is expected to be out this summer in Japan. Update: Arcade Heroes let us know that SEGA demonstrated…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Play Mirror’s Edge In Third-Person
I adore Mirror’s Edge. Others, though, are less kind to the game. Think it’s too short, think it’s controls are a mess. Well, if you think the latter, would some third-person controls help? gamezine have found a way to install/reinstate a feature (by means of some code work, so it’s PC ONLY) missing from the…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 28, 2009 - Uncategorized
Some Euro Developer Is Down On PSP
The PSP does big business in Japan. Outside of Japan? Not as big. Hence, why some folks get down on the portable. Here’s the latest gloomy PSP chatter. Laurent Benadiba, CEO of Lyon-based dev Smack Down Productions, worked on a canned PSP title that never saw the light of day. “I worked for two years…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 28, 2009