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Tony Hawk Ride Impressions: Tony’s Way
Forgive me if I get some skateboarding terminology wrong in this post. I’ll do my best to relate what happened when I turned my board sideways and hit the Vert ramp in Tony Hawk: Ride last week. I’m the kind of person who has to double-check what “Vert ramp” means before I type it, to…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 8, 2009 -
Reviews
Guitar Hero 5 Review: Do The Evolution
Activision returns to a simple numbering scheme for the Guitar Hero series with the fifth entry in the core-focused, band non-specific entry, Guitar Hero 5. That’s reflective of its largely gimmick-free gameplay as well as the series’ evolution. Guitar Hero 5 doesn’t offer as much in the way of new, innovative features as, say, Guitar…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 7, 2009 -
CultureSplitscreen
Can Blur Bring Split Screen Back?
In the five years I have been covering video games professionally there’s one thing a video game company had never asked me to do until Activision did last week: Play their new game in four-player split screen. We might as well have been back in 1997 playing GoldenEye or something at Activision’s PAX-week event in…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 7, 2009 -
Rolling Stones Shamble Onto Guitar Hero
While The Beatles are lauded with their own game, one of Britain’s other 60’s super-groups – The Rolling Stones – are just going to have to make do with a downloadable track pack for Guitar Hero 5. There are five songs available starting from today, all live versions. Sadly, not one of them is “Street…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 3, 2009 -
Guitar Hero 5’s Song Importing Isn’t As Great As We Thought [Update]
Yeah…so it turns out Guitar Hero 5’s ability to import songs from previous games isn’t as good a deal as we first thought. Turns out that, of World Tour’s 85 songs, only 35 can so far be copied over. That’s less than half. Funny that there’s some mysterious ailment afflicting songs sold on a retail…
By Luke Plunkett Published September 1, 2009 -
Activision Boss Bets Games Will “Eclipse” Movies, TV
Bobby Kotick, chief executive officer at Activision Blizzard and hero to gamers everywhere, is nothing if not confident. He’s so confident in the video game industry that he sees the potential for it to surpass movies and TV. That may be because his company is sitting on some of gaming’s biggest franchises—Call of Duty, World…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 31, 2009 -
Rapala: We Fish Makes Fishing “Wacky”
If you love fishing video games but felt that there just wasn’t enough wackiness involved, then Activision’s Rapala: We Fish might just catch your eye with its family-fun hook. Due out September 29th for the Nintendo Wii, Activision is touting Rapala: We Fish as the “first fishing title developed specifically for Wii”, injecting just the…
By Mike Fahey Published August 31, 2009 -
Disney Will Reexamine Marvel Video Game Deals As They Expire
While Disney has been increasing their in-house video game development, the company doesn’t feel a need to take over all Marvel game development in the future, company spokesmen told investors this morning. “On the video game front, (Marvel) have some smart licensing agreements with some of the best video game manufacturers in the business,” said…
By Brian Crecente Published August 31, 2009 -
Disney Buys Marvel For $4 Billion
The worldwide leader in family entertainment is about to get a great deal more entertaining, as the Walt Disney Company agrees to acquire iconic comic book company Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. More than 5,000 iconic comic book characters will soon be in the hands of Disney, raising serious questions about the future of Marvel…
By Mike Fahey Published August 31, 2009 -
The Making of Guitar Hero 5’s Playboy Commercial
This 7-minute video shows you the technical detail and painstaking direction it took to film Guitar Hero 5’s Playboy ad. But you probably don’t give a crap for that. It has 22 takes with teh wimmen on screen. Enjoy. If you’re here strictly for girls in lingerie cavorting with plastic instruments, that’s at the four…
By Owen Good Published August 30, 2009 -
DJ Hero’s DJ AM Found Dead in New York
DJ AM, a playable character in Activision’s forthcoming DJ Hero, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment Friday. Adam Goldstein, as he was known in real life, was a performer with a well-known history of drug addiction, and recovery from it. He was 36. Tim Riley, the Activision vice president of music affairs, released a…
By Owen Good Published August 29, 2009 -
Guitar Hero 5, Ten Playboy Playmates And Hugh Hefner
Another Guitar Hero ad, another Risky Business parody. This Guitar Hero 5 ad has less jiggling, but it does have ten Playboy Playmates, Hugh Hefner and the voice of Matt Pinfield. Matt Pinfield voice, mmm sexy. Guitar Hero 5 commercial stars 10 Playboy Playmates, Hugh Heffner, and a voiceover from Matt Pinfield [Go Nintendo]
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 29, 2009 -
Modern Warfare 2 Gameplay Leaked from Game Crazy Con
Earlier this week GameCrazy held their annual retailer convention in Las Vegas, getting a chance to check out a slew of upcoming titles… and shoot video of at least one. As always, don’t watch either of these Modern Warfare 2 clips if you want your game-playing experiences to be virginal. The top video gives us…
By Brian Crecente Published August 28, 2009 -
Tearing The DJ Hero Controller To Pieces
Man, we’re on a streak with these this week, aren’t we? It’s like the internet’s out for flesh. Today, we’re going to see what the DJ Hero controller’s guts look like spread out all over the floor. Mmmm. Messy! Oh, if you’re wondering how these photos came to light, what with the game not due…
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 -
Sit Awkwardly Through Kurt Cobain’s Guitar Hero 5 Performance
You put Slash in a Guitar Hero game, that’s understandable. He’s an inconic guitar player, and was happy to sign on the dotted line. But Kurt Cobain? You stay classy, Activision. Click to view Guitar Hero 5 at IGN.com
By Luke Plunkett Published August 28, 2009 -
Reviews
Wolfenstein Review: Occult Following
The battle against supernatural Nazis wages on in Wolfenstein, that latest chapter in epic saga of one man’s struggle against the occult-fueled Third Reich. Himmler’s Schutzstaffel is on the verge of harnessing a dark paranormal power that would mean the end of the free world as we knew it in 1943, and special agent B.J.…
By Mike Fahey Published August 26, 2009 -
Testing Games Gets You $9 An Hour
The Minneapolis Star Tribune finds one journalism student who is making some money testing an unnamed, unannounced Activision game. Video game tester Kelly Watkins is 20 and hopes to break into the industry. Watkins has already mastered the art of not naming the secret game he or she is working on — as well as…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 26, 2009 -
Raven Hit By Layoffs, Some Point to Lackluster Wolfenstein Sales
Raven Software, developers of recently released Wolfenstein and soon to be released Singluarlity, let 30 to 35 go from their Wisconsin studios, sources tell Kotaku. In a prepared statement released to Kotaku today, Activision confirmed that Raven, a subsidiary of the company, had laid people off today, but declined to confirm or deny the number…
By Brian Crecente Published August 26, 2009 -
Megan Fox Wants To Play Transformers With You
You’ll be a sentient robot that can transform into a vehicle, and she’ll play one of Hollywood’s hottest young actresses despite that weird thumb. Megan Fox takes on all comers this weekend on Xbox Live. Perhaps the thumb will be to Miss Fox’s advantage in Saturday’s Game with Fame session, during which she’ll be challenging…
By Mike Fahey Published August 26, 2009 -
Bakugan Hands-On: Adding A New Spin to Pokemon
Part-transforming marble, part Pokemon card game, Bakugan has taken the world’s children by storm over the past year. But how can you turn something so reliant on transforming toys into a successful video game? Developer NOW Production’s answer is to carefully capture the look and action of marble play, and spring-loaded toys in the game…
By Brian Crecente Published August 25, 2009