The Film Industry Sure Sounds A Lot Like The Game Industry

What do films and video games have in common? Nobody really knows what they’re doing. A long lecture by film director Steven Soderberg has been making the rounds over the past 24 hours. It’s an interesting read with some good thoughts on the film studio system, the idea of “cinema,” and the role of independent…

A Survival Sim That (Mostly) Takes Place On A Single Screen

This scenery? That’s the bulk of what you’ll see while trying to survive in Gods Will Be Watching. The premise is simple: you’ve got 40 days until you can be rescued. You have a crew, which you have to feed and keep sane. You have a radio, which you’ll want to fix. Naturally, as you…

‘LEGO Breaking Bad’ is Good Enough to be Worth a Hellacious Spoiler

If you’re not current through Season Four of Breaking Bad, it kills me to give you a spoiler alert, because this thing is fan–tastic. I’m dillydallying around with LEGO City Undercover right now, but if made, I would 100 percent this mofo tomorrow. The work of one Brian Anderson on YouTube, it memorializes what was,…

E-Sports League Mined Bitcoins with Subscribers’ Computers [UPDATE]

ESEA League, one of the largest PC gaming leagues, has admitted to putting code into the league’s client software to “mine” bitcoins, the open-source Internet currency now exchanging for around $130 per. The league is offering free memberships as some members complain the code damaged their video cards. Eric Thunberg, a league administrator (who goes…

Why Is Everyone Being So Sketchy About The New Call of Duty On Wii U?

You might have heard today’s big news: the next Call of Duty is called Ghosts, and it’s coming to current- and next-generation platforms this fall. To be specific: according to publisher Activision, the game is coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and “next generation platforms.” It’s safe to say that means the next PlayStation…

Let’s Look At Some More Oddly Electrifying Video Game Patent Art

The deal with Context-Free Patent Artis that it takes the weird flowcharts and bizarre drawings from the patents submitted by various companies and designers and throws them up on the web with no explanation about what you’re seeing. I didn’t know that the image up top was for an Addams Family Uncle Fester game that…

The Moneysaver: Bioshock: Infinite For $45 On Consoles And Much More

Elizabeth: Booker… are you afraid of God? Booker: No, but I’m afraid of paying full price. While the PC version of Bioshock: Infinite has basically been $46 since it released, console owners have found themselves paying in full for the game of the year frontrunner. Today you can snatch Infinite out of the sky for…

Why Soldiers Wear Call of Duty-style Masks

Now that Call of Duty: Ghosts is an official thing—and since the only detail we’re being given is something to do with masks, I think—it’s an interesting time to look back on what the famous and one-time-infamous Call of Duty skull mask even is. You might not remember the event that tried to place infamy…

“We do not want to make a dark and hopeless world. We are not doing Blade Runner.” Here’s CD Projekt RED on Cyberpunk 2077 over at IGN. Though the developers haven’t shown anything particularly concrete, gameplay-wise, the title still sounds intriguing so far.

The New Call of Duty is Coming to Current and Next-Gen Consoles

Activision’s annual blockbuster military shooter returns in November with Call of Duty: Ghosts, and in addition to this debut teaser trailer, the game is getting an “exclusive first look” at Microsoft’s event for the next-generation Xbox on May 21. In a news release, Call of Duty: Ghosts was announced for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3…

The Grand Theft Auto V Trailers, Summed Up in 3 Animated GIFs

Rockstar released their triptych of trailers yesterday for Grand Theft Auto V‘s cast. Of course, it was a busy day yesterday. You may have been at work. You may have been enjoying a lovely April day. You may have been reading a review of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Believe me, we understand. So in…

Stunning Final Fantasy Art You Probably Haven’t Seen Before

Final Fantasy IX might not be the best Final Fantasy game, but it’s definitely the most stylish. Yep, even before FFXII‘s massive world and FFXIII’s jaw-dropping hair particles, Square’s popular series was blazing a trail in art direction, putting its own inimitable spin on fantasy and steampunk. And Final Fantasy IX, the last game in…

About Microsoft Being ‘Six Months’ Behind With the Next Xbox…

My article on Monday about Respawn Entertainment’s first post-Call of Duty game, a sci-fi multiplayer shooter, coming exclusively to the current and next-gen Xbox consoles, turned some heads. So did the part of the piece about Microsoft falling behind with their next-gen machine. That latter bit has become a thing of its own, separate from…

NBA Live 14, assuming it ships, figures to add an Ultimate Team mode, if a developer’s bio is any indication. I asked and EA Sports said no comment. If true, it probably means they’re building a full retail product, not the $20 downloadable that NBA Live 13 was rumored to be.

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: contributor Zarynx gets all wistful about rainy weather and how it makes him think of a specific piece of video game music. When do you find game music creeping into your life? And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and…

This Shenmue Statue Is Ready for Forklift Races

Announced a while back, First4Figures’ excellent statue of Shenmue’s main character looks like it jumped straight out of your old TV and into the real world. The Ryo Hazuki piece comes with a Phoenix Mirror stand and measures 12 inches tall. You can get this tribute to the classic Dreamcast game later this year for…

‘Anyone Who Thinks Games Are Bad For You Is a F—ing Idiot’

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon may be a violent, gleefully-stupid video game, but it also has a Serious Message about violent video games. Here’s a chat between two of the game’s characters, captured above if you want to watch, transcribed below if you don’t want anyone nearby hearing this profane insight: Doctor Elizabeth Darling: Rex,…

A well-argued post over at the r/games subreddit laments the supposed “wasted potential” of Minecraft‘s survival mode. You know, the part with monsters. Agree to disagree or disagree to agree. Or… just read it.

After Vandalism Rampage, Schoolgirls Blame It on a Comic Book

All the chairs and desks were over turned. On the chalk board, the kanji character “shi” (死) or “death” was scrawled. But that wasn’t all. According to reports, police picked up two thirteen year old schoolgirls for the school’s vandalism as well as breaking and entering. On the night of February 4, both of them…