• Uncategorized

  These Guys Think Piracy Is OK, Because It Leads to Sales

  A study commissioned by the Swiss government has found that the country’s current piracy laws, which allow downloading of stuff for “personal use”, should stay. Because they actually encourage people to buy more stuff. The study, based on both its own research and extrapolating data from a similar Dutch study from 2009, is based on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Mass Effect Action Figures Back from the Dead

  It’s long been assumed that the Mass Effect figures, once the domain of DC Direct, were dead in the water. The first series came and went quickly, while the second never came at all. But now, they’re back. EA and Big Fish Toys have struck a deal to not only bring the first wave back…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  There Might Be Official Minecraft LEGO

  Minecraft and LEGO. They’re joined at the hip. Both involve blocks, building and imagination. And soon, if developers Mojang have their way, there’ll be official Minecraft LEGO to consummate the relationship. It’s not, however, a foregone conclusion. Unlike properties such as Prince of Persia, Minecraft isn’t just signing a deal and seeing the money start…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Remember “One of the Worst” Japanese Xbox Games with a Kick-Ass Figure

  At the turn of the century, From Software, the studio behind Armored Core and Dark Souls, released mecha game Murakumo: Renegade Mech Pursuit on the original Xbox. As Wiki pointed out, people hated it when it was released in 2003. Now, almost a decade later, a 1/48 scale “A.R.K. Cloud Breaker” is being released. It…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  It’s a League of Legendary Cosplay

  Another good week this, not just for fans of exquisite cosplay, but fans of exquisite cosplay who may not also be fans of over-played genre staples like Final Fantasy and Zelda I mean, sure, we’ve got people dressed up as people from those series, but for those after something more original, there are cosplayers from…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Halo Goes 2D Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper

  In development since 2010, Halo: Out With a Whimper is a fan-made project looking to take the franchise’s frantic 3D gameplay and transfer it to the world of 2D platformers. Going a little beyond your standard demake—of which there’s been plenty of Halo offerings previously—this is going all out, promising a “story driven campaign”, “the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Fans Shift Final Fantasy VII to Unreal Engine, Go First-Person

  A team of budding game designers have grabbed a copy of the Unreal Engine and decided, as a learning experience, to recreate the opening section of Final Fantasy VII with HD graphics. It’s also in a first-person perspective. Just in case you thought a remake of a game from the 1990s would actually retain its…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Will Minecraft 2 Look Like This?

  Minecraft is done. Kotaku even reviewed it! But even though it’s “done”, the game isn’t going to be ever really “finished”, with developers continuously adding to the Minecraft “platform”. If it ever does get a sequel, YouTube user nathanimator thinks it will look like this—and even made a fanfilm to show “this”. Aside from fans…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Prepare Yourself. For Life On the Wall.

  You’re at the bottom of an impossibly enormous wall. Your village is at the top. To get there you’re going to have to manipulate the blocky surface of the wall (and beat some bad guys and other random stuff). The game’s called Against the Wall. It’s for PC and Mac, and you can download a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  The Legend of Zelda: Family Portraits!

  Brazilian artist Dudu Torres dropped us a line over the weekend to ask if we’d share his portraits of the main characters from The Legend of Zelda. They’re so wonderful we’re going to do just that. A freelance illustrator with some video game experience under his belt, Torres’ impressions of Link, Zelda and Ganon aren’t…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  This Skyrim Timelapse Photography Is Breathtakingly Beautiful

  Spending time in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you know the game is beautiful. But did you know it was this beautiful? There are a lot of timelapse Skyrim videos, and this must be one of the best I’ve seen. This was done by Tom Harris, a professional photographer in Chicago, on a PC with…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  So the South Park Game Actually Sounds Pretty Great

  The news that KOTOR 2 and Fallout: New Vegas devs Obsidian are working on a South Park RPG seemed…odd. It’s a franchise you wouldn’t think lends itself to the genre, and it is a property that’s not as commercially relevant as it once was. But hey, it got signed off for a reason, and that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Jackasses Destroy a Fleet of Ferraris

  One Sunday about a month ago, I was driving my family to Himeji. It was a drizzly early morning on the Chugoku Expressway, and I just cleared Kobe. To my right, a trio of Lancia Delta Integrales came whizzing by. Within moments, an Aston Martin zoomed by, being tailed by an Alfa Romeo Alfasud, splashing…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  From Amazing Outfits to Naked Man Butt: Cosplay on Stage

  This Sunday saw a whole host of cosplayers take the stage at club Nicofarre in Tokyo’s Roppongi. There were dudes with big swords and one dude in a dangerous bikini. Yes, there are NSFW images in this post. Hosted by Nico Nico Douga, the Tokyo Nico Nico Cospllection showcased cosplayers in Nicofarre’s 360-degrees LED screens,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  If Only Magic Cards Were Actually This Awesome

  There will come a point, some day in the future, when the lines between card games, tabletop games, board games and video games blur so much the difference becomes irrelevant. When that happens, it’ll probably look a lot like this. This amazing video was actually a commercial for a Magic Card store, and looks pretty…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  PS Vita’s One Account Policy Clarified

  As NeoGAF discovered over the weekend, the PS Vita allows only one PlayStation Network account per portable. Whatever does that mean? In a FAQ from a Vita hands-on event with the general public, the question regarding the number of accounts per system was answered as such (translation via GAF‘s mehdi_san): “Only 1 account. If you…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 5, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The Only Video Game Journalists to Get Action Figures

  Today, GamePro magazine ceases to be. Which for lovers of print is a bit of a sad moment, given the fact it’s been around since 1988 In that time it’s previewed, reviewed and wrote about a lot of games, but for me it’ll always be remembered as the only video game magazine to ever get…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Skyrim? Nah, Let’s Look at an Improved Morrowind Instead

  For all that is good about Skyrim, there are still Elder Scrolls fans who have a special place in their hearts reserved for the relatively wacky 2002 iteration of the series, Morrowind Which is great, because Morrowind is a great game! It’s also, sadly, a little ugly these days, which is a problem for those…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 5, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  “Like Getting a Whole New Xbox”: New Xbox Live Dashboard Re-Invents TV Viewing, Interface, Search and Storage

  The number-crunchers at Microsoft know the reasons you turn off your Xbox 360. It’s to surf videos on YouTube, to tune in a pay-per-view fight or to catch the new episode of a TV show you want to watch as soon as it airs. Being Microsoft, they don’t want you turning off their console. The…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 5, 2011
• Uncategorized

  First World Problems

  First World Problems | As seen and submitted by reader Seepheart. Signs Point to “Command & Conquer: Alliances” as BioWare’s Big VGA Announcement Though some theories hold that the next Mercenaries game is the mystery reveal EA and BioWare have planned for the Video Game Awards, the smart money is still on a Command &…

  By Owen Good Published December 4, 2011