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The Insecticons Descend Upon Transformers Legends

The first mobile card collecting game that’s been able to keep my attention for more than a few days just got its first big raid event. The Insecticons are running rampant in Transformers Legends on Android, and it’s up to me to stop them. You can help, I guess. For those unfamiliar with the genre,…

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Damn Gurl, Those Are Some Classy Metal Gear Solid Prints

Check out these awesome Metal Gear Solid prints by illustrator Marinko Milosevski. They’re all excellent, and available for purchase here. Click to enlarge. If Metal Gear Solid isn’t your thing, there are also a couple of other cool ones featured in the store for franchises like The Legend of Zelda as well as Metroid.

The Year In JRPGs

It’s been a strange year for JRPG fans. On one hand, the genre seems to be doing just fine: we finally got our hands on games like Xenoblade and The Last Story, the 3DS and Vita are full of JRPGs, and companies like XSEED and Atlus are cranking out niche Japanese games on a regular…

Even One of The Biggest Critics of Violent Video Games Bashed The NRA Today

California State Senator Leland Yee, who took his fight against violent video games all the way to the Supreme Court a couple of years ago and lost, slammed the NRA’s odd, new attack on video games. It’s not that the former child psychologist suddenly loves violent video games. It’s that Yee, who wrote the failed…

What Are Splatterhouse, Kindergarten Killer and the Other Games the NRA Slammed Today?

Names such as Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto are longtime punching bags in an often-clueless discussion of violent video games in the mainstream. So it was no surprise to hear Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, invoke them in a rambling attempt to deflect blame from the assault weapons that…

No One Can Find Anything in Disney’s Free Mobile Holiday Present

After months of dancing around each other on the mobile app charts, Where’s My Water? and Where’s My Perry? team up for a very Where’s My Holiday? special. Having struck gold with the original crocodile-powered liquid physics puzzle game and it’s Phineas and Ferb-themed spin-off, Disney wraps both mobile stars up in a free Christmas…

I’m Glad I Played This Depressing Game About Working In A Call Center

Things don’t always turn out the way you imagine they would when you’re a kid. For David S. Gallant, the dream was to be a teacher. Now nearly 30 years old, he finds himself working a hideously tedious job as a call center agent who, amongst other things, is there to update account information. It’s…

Weapons of Mass Disruption #2: Why Is (Almost) Every Video Game Suddenly Free?

There are three main gaming platforms. The PC, the mobile or ‘smart’ device, and the dedicated games console. Looking worldwide, two out of three are now dominated by free-to-play. On PC we have the world’s #2 FPS by revenue. Nope, it’s not Battlefield 3 but Cross Fire, a low-res free-to-play Counter-Strike clone that’s so popular…

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Classic Apple Game Karateka Makes a Fun but Flawed Return to iPad and iPhone

The original version of Karateka launched on an Apple II two decades ago and helped show that video game design could deliver idiosyncratic, narrative experiences. Back then, both Apple and video games were in their toddler stage, stumbling around trying to figure out what they could do. Now, both the medium and the tech company…

Partygoer: Topless Women at Gameloft’s Holiday Party Says a Lot About The Games Industry

Last weekend’s office holiday party at Gameloft Montreal featured one giant circus performance, complete with acrobats, stilts, and… topless women, according to a few sources. This made at least one attendee rather uncomfortable. I first heard about the party last week, after seeing a tweet by Montreal-based game designer Michel McBride-Charpentier: It seems that there…

ChefVille Tis the Seasonings Event: Everything You Need to Know

If you’re wondering why the Winter Holiday Feast event ended early in ChefVille, with five days left before Christmas, today’s in-game update is your answer. Over the next 12 days, players will have a chance to cook six new holiday-inspired dishes and earn a Spice Stand at the end. This Spice Stand will help players…

The NRA’s Absolutely Unhinged Response to Newtown Condemns Video Games as a ‘Shadow Industry’ that ‘Sows Violence Against Its Own People’

Reports suggested that the National Rifle Association, backed into a corner since a gun massacre last week killed 20 six- and seven-year-olds, would come out swinging at video games and other violent entertainment in a news conference today, and boy, they did not disappoint. Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president, gave a teeth-sucking condemnation…

There Are Two Versions of Halo 4 on iTunes. You Don’t Want Either of Them.

Loaded with official artwork from the Xbox 360 hit and padded with dozens of glowing reviews, the two Halo 4 games that made it through Apple’s strict app approval process this week are, quite obviously, not what they claim to be. Spotted by a reader of AppAdvice, Toan Tran’s Halo 4 and Dung Bui’s Halo…

Battlefield 3 Will End Not With a Whimper But With A Dirt Bike [UPDATE: Video Pulled]

A YouTube user has uploaded the first teaser for Battlefield 3’s newest expansion, End Game. Among other things, the trailer features players chasing each other on dirt bikes, dodging helicopter fire with a dirt bike, and detonating explosives… while on a dirt bike. Dirt bikes! End Game is scheduled to arrive March next year. Battlefield…

Somebody Who Actually Researches Video Games Says Proof that Media Influences Violence Just Isn’t There

The flurry of private citizens and professional pundits opining about what role video games might have played in the awful Sandy Hook shootings probably isn’t going to stop soon. And while commentary has been ranged from inflammatory to poignant, the central issue of whether games influence behavior is far from being a fact. Just listen…

You’ll Want a Red Mage Muppet after Seeing This Final Fantasy Musical

Four years ago today, we featured a video from Brentalfloss—the New York comedian Brent Black—for the very first time. On that anniversary, we’re delighted to bring you what might be his finest work yet, a Muppets musical starring the mages from Final Fantasy. “I’ve been working on this video off-and-on for over 2 years,” Black…

As part of Zynga’s continuing consolidation efforts, Zynga Japan will be shutting down on January 31. [Dr. Zerkan Toto]