• Uncategorized

  The New Gran Turismo 5 Is Called Spec II

  Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 5 is getting an update. It’s called Gran Turismo 5: Spec II Spec II is Gran Turismo 5 with the Online Update Ver.2.00, a free update which was released in October, included on the Blu-ray disc. Spec II also comes with a product code so that players can download the “Complete…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Skyrim Can Mean Only One Thing: Adventure Time

  Artist Robert “DoomCMYK” Mangaoang, who we’ve featured here previously, certainly knows the fastest way to the bottom of my heart: by having the crew from Adventure Time engage in some Skyrim cosplay. Once available as a print, this image now sadly only exists on the internet, but that’s OK. We can still enjoy it. Adventure…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Army of Two’s Sequel Is Not Army of Three

  Army of Two is a 2008 co-op third-person shooter that allowed one player to control one of the mercenaries, while the other player controlled the second. A sequel followed—Army of Two: The 40th Day—in 2010, and it was more of the same. The next game could be different. The unannounced third entry in the series,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Some Footage From the New Counter-Strike’s Beta

  The beta for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive went live yesterday. Know what that means? Yup! People filming themselves playing it then uploading it to the internet so we can all see. The footage is from the tweaked update to classic map “Dust”. It’s…Counter-Strike all right!

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Wow, a Sonic Toy That Doesn’t Suck?

  Sure looks like it! This new Nendoroid figure, from Japan’s Good Smile Company, will be out next year. Pre-orders are already kicking off, though, and you can get one for around USD$35. Looks great, doesn’t he? The accessories are a nice touch.

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Making Japanese Swords Is Beautiful

  The West might have been won with the Winchester. But Japan was ruled with the katana. It’s not simply what the gun is to Americans, the sword is to the Japanese. It’s much more, and then some. As master swordmaker Korehira Watanabe said in the above Esty documentary, the katana can express the soul and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  New Vita Commercial. Not Bananas!

  Did you see the first Japanese Vita commercial? It was nuts. There’s a new PS Vita commercial for the U.S., and, surprise, it’s totally not crazy. The “coming soon” trailer is actually straightforward and easy to follow. There’s this thing called the Vita. It has buttons and thumbsticks and a camera and video games. Got…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  This “Model Railway” Took over 500,000 Hours to Build

  This is the Miniatur Wunderland, in Hamburg, Germany. It sprawls across 1,300 m², filling an entire warehouse. It consists of over 1000 moving vehicles. It took over 500,000 hours to build. And it’s absolutely incredible I mean, come on. Look at those fire engines driving down the road! And the planes taking off and landing…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Holy Crap, What Happened to These Anime Schoolgirls?

  Yu Kobayashi, that’s what. The Japanese voice actress, known for her twisted drawings, sets her sights on schoolgirl rocker anime K-On!. This is the result. Goodness, this is scary. It’s like her pen channels the soul of Satan himself. For those not familiar with K-On!, this is not what the characters are supposed to look…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 1, 2011
• Uncategorized

  The PSP Has Put On a Little Weight

  Despite the impending release of its successor, the PlayStation Vita, the PlayStation Portable is going out in Europe with one final model, the dirt-cheap PSP E-1000, priced at a ridiculous €99.99. The savings come at a cost, though, as according to a little review of the PSP’s swansong over at Eurogamer, it’s not exactly built…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  This is the Worst Thing Nintendo Has Ever Done. Ever.

  Nintendo has done some awesome things over the years, but it’s done some awful things too. But this, this is the worst. Nintendo of America has spent what’s probably a ton of money to get serious airtime in the video clip for a novelty Christmas single. A Justin Bieber Christmas single. To minimise civilian casualties,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The Glory of Atari’s Original Logo

  The original logo for the original Atari (as in, not the watered-down ghost we know today) is, for the history-conscious, about as close to a religious symbol as old-school arcade and console gamers are going to get. While the company didn’t invent the video game, it did do more than anyone else in the 1970s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 1, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Saints Row‘s Dildo Bat: More Than Two Million Served

  Since its introduction two weeks ago in Saints Row: The Third, the game’s four-foot long dildo bat—nom de guerre: “The Penetrator”—has killed more than two million citizens of Steelport, publisher THQ said in announcing a stat-tracking capability that charts all the mayhem taking place in the open-world crime game. The two million penetrated to death…

  By Owen Good Published November 30, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Call It a Hunch, but EA, LucasArts and BioWare Probably Aren’t Making a Rock-Paper-Scissors Game

  Australia’s classification board has received an application for an M-rated game entitled “Paper, Scissors, Stone,” to be published jointly by Electronic Arts, BioWare and LucasArts. As amusing as the concept is, this is most likely Star Wars: The Old Republic, which will not include Australia (nor any countries outside North America or Europe) when the…

  By Owen Good Published November 30, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Indie Game: The Movie is Heading to Sundance

  Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky’s upcoming documentary Indie Game: The Movie will be making its debut at the well-regarded World Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The documentary follows three independant game developers— Fez‘s Phil Fish, Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes, aka “Team Meat” of Super Meat Boy renown, and…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published November 30, 2011
• Uncategorized

  If You Say The Elder Scrolls Isn’t For Women, This is What Happens…

  He said he meant it as a joke. Just a silly line. But when critic Tom Bissell wrote that adult women probably haven’t heard of The Elder Scrolls, he struck a nerve. This is what he wrote in his review of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the website Grantland: “If you have no idea…

  By Stephen Totilo Published November 30, 2011
• Uncategorized

  Tiger Woods‘ Covers Feature Special Guest Stars

  Calamity Jane, the fabled putter of the Augusta National co-founder Bobby Jones, graces the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13‘s special edition, along with the club’s signature Green Jacket. Oh yeah, some decent golfers also share the packshot of the main product on PS3 and Xbox 360. For the third time* in as many…

  By Owen Good Published November 30, 2011
• Uncategorized

  If Anyone Makes Money Off The Old Republic, It’ll Be Lucas, Says Activision Boss

  Having done a lot of business with Lucasarts—Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, Star Wars: STFU—Activision boss Bobby Kotick knows who comes out ahead in that relationship. It ain’t the publisher, he said, when asked his thoughts on Star Wars: The Old Republic “Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars,”…

  By Owen Good Published November 30, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Sailing Skyrim‘s Seas of Cheese

  Another day, another funny Skyrim video. This one’s been making the rounds a bit, but I thought it’d be fun to share—in it, YouTube user STuKKie86 climbs to the top of one of the game’s many mountains, and then, via some sort of in-game console wizardry, casts a spell that prompts the mountain to… vomit…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published November 30, 2011
• 

  Uncategorized

  Check Out Mario Kart 7‘s Cool Multiplayer Community Options

  Yesterday, I took a look at Mario Kart 7‘s online multiplayer, which is functional and easier to use than any past Kart game. Today, I wanted to show another cool feature of the game’s multiplayer—the ability to make multiplayer communities. Each player can make up to eight separate communities, which can be customized a fair…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published November 30, 2011