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Quick Q&A: Why She Thinks Gamers Can Improve The World

Few people have made more effort to speak positively about video games in public than game designer, author, and researcher Jane McGonigal. She’s the opposite of all those people who trash games in the media and, in this week’s Quick Q&A, she’s got four answers for us and one big question for all of you.…

Four Video Game Previews You Shouldn’t Miss

The new Dragon Age game, that looks extraordinary so far; Keiji Inafune’s spiritual successor to Mega Man; five minutes of Pokémon X/Y gameplay, straight from PAX Prime; and Galak-Z: The Dimensional, an over-the-top space shooter. Cycle through our latest on these four new titles.

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: GiantBoyDetective tells us about a great-looking choose your own adventure eBook series for those looking to improve their English, and JJTexan takes a look at some interesting Wii Shop games which, though new IPs, are now all but forgotten. And you can always go join…

I Can’t Stop Playing This Hacking iPhone Game

“One more game. Ok, no. Last round. Damnit. Ok…that one didn’t count.” That’s what I sound like playing 868-HACK, a hacking roguelike that came out Friday for iOS from designer Michael Brough. Originally called 86856527 and it was created as part of the Seven-Day Roguelike competition. It’s an incredibly addictive game, one that’s fairly simple…

Let’s Visit Some of the Beautiful Locations in the Next Final Fantasy

Square-Enix has just released no less than five trailers showcasing the locations of Lightning Returns. For a world that’s about to be destroyed, there’s quite a lot of amazing sights to be seen—so let’s dive in! Up above you can see the bustling streets of Yusnaan, the City of Revelry. Here are the Wildlands, dotted…

This Ambitious Mod Aims To Fully Convert Civilization V To Warcraft

Warcraft and Civilization may contain two completely different game worlds with distinct game mechanics, but modder Bamington’s Civilizations of Warcraft mod pack for Civ V—a huge project designed to add as much from the Warcraft universe as possible—fits like a glove. Factions, which were introduced in Warcraft III and WoW, are now civilizations and city-states.…

Sleep Mode: It’s Labor Day in America. The so-called end of summer. Dear readers, please don’t work too hard. You deserve a rest.

How to Get Online for Final Fantasy XIV (Eventually)

You know the 1017 error? You do if you’ve been trying to play Final Fantasy XIV! It’s the message for a full server. YouTube user Beingbanana came up with an “easy fix.” Just make sure you have chopsticks, a battery, and your copy of Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics. Very important! How to fix 1017 error…

Cliff Bleszinski project sneak peek number four. No name for the thing yet, so I’m just going to give it the working title of “The Last of Them”. As shared on Twitter.

Team Fortress 2 Characters Wish One Lucky Guy A Very Happy Birthday

Well, here’s about the best birthday present a boy could wish for. Reader Kevin was at Valve’s DOTA International tournament last month, and while there got in line for some autographs from the game’s voice actors. While waiting for his turn, he had a flash of inspiration His brother Robin, whose birthday was coming up,…

Okay Yeah, Final Fantasy XIV‘s Relaunch Is A Disaster [Update]

From an unfinished mess that no one wanted to play to a highly-polished gemthat nobody can access in just under three years. Way to relaunch, Square Enix. Update: Added information on this week’s coming server expansion and free game time credit. I’ve been incredibly patient. During theearly start last weekend, when Americans and Europeans were…

Stop The Presses: I Think The Next Halo Game Will Be Called Halo 5

Everyone, you won’t believe this. This may come as a shock. I’d like you all to be sitting before I deliver this news: it looks as though the next Halo game is going to be called ‘Halo 5′. I know, crazy right. Halo 5 follows Halo 4, which followed Halo 3, which followed Halo 2,…

PAX Cosplay: Near-Naked Sims Dude, a FemShep Team-Up and Dark Phoenix

It’s been three days of PAX Prime so far and the cosplay greatness just keeps growing. This latest batch of pictures has a great Fallout survivor, two flavors of FemShep and Lady Deadpool. Enjoy these folks’ hard work, folks!

There’s A New Homeworld Game Coming

Did you think PC strategy game Hardware: Shipbreakers looked a lot like Homeworld? Good. Because the developers have been given (or returned) the keys to the franchise. While Gearbox works on re-releasing the original Homeworld games in HD, Blackbird Interactive, comprised of some of the team behind the old Homeworld classics (including art director Rob…

Don’t Scream During Zombie Games. The Cops Might Turn Up.

Reader Mathue sent us this clip over the weekend, captured while he and his friends were playing some DayZ. It shows, he says, the kind of language – shrieked at the top of her lungs – that caused the cops to reportedly turn up to one of his pal’s houses, fearing MURDER. From 0:56 onwards,…

If You Grew Up in the ’80s, Your Soul Cries Out for This Space Shooter

Nerds and geeks of a certain age fondly remember Macross/Robotech, Star Blazers and other spectacle-filled, emotionally overwrought animated space operas from the 1980s. These Japanese series remain touchstones for a generation and some folks miss them quite a bit. Jake Kazdal is one of those people and the game designer decided to make a game…

It’s a Kitty Collision as Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub Finally Meet

This is the one we’ve all been waiting for, friends. Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub, two of the biggest celebrities in the feline world, have finally met. To be fair, there’s no actual collision. Bub mainly wags her tongue around like a little weirdo, while Grumps just does what she does and appears generally unhappy.…

StarCraft‘s Locusts Are Deadly, Cute in This Animated Short

Episode 16, season 2 of StarCrafts, the animated YouTube series that turns everything and anything StarCraft into something adorable, deals with the problem of locusts. Spawned intermittently by swarm hosts, locusts are persistent and deadly in large numbers. And in this episode of StarCrafts, they’re deceptively cute. (Favorite YouTube comment: “The locusts look like cupcake…

Double Fine’s Adventure Stars Commander Shepard, Jack Black

Picking up where he left off with Brutal Legend, it’s been announced that comedy actor Jack Black will be appearing in a sort of “cameo” role in Double Fine’s upcoming adventure game, Broken Age. Joining him will be Jennifer Hale – aka Commander Shepard – and a range of other actors, some of whom have…

This May Be the Kookiest Game to Reach Its Kickstarter Goal Yet

Octopus City Blues is the kind of game in which an enormous, bloody millipede is used for public transportation and the protagonist is married to a pink octopus named Daisy. And it just reached its Kickstarter funding goal of $7,000. The developers at Ghost in a Bottle describe it as “a surreal adventure game about…