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Man, Everybody’s Leaving Saturday Night Live
So many people are leaving SNL this year that people like Abby Elliott, who I feel like I’ve barely seen on the show, are also announcing their departures. Elliott will join two heavy hitters, Kristin Wiig and Andy Samberg, in leaving the show before its next season, and there are reports that “Weekend Update” anchor…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 16, 2012 -
Hyrule Historia, the Zelda Encyclopedia, Will Be Localized for North America
Serious Legend of Zelda fans in the West have treated Hyrule Historia something like a venerated text—and one in a language many of them couldn’t read. Today, Dark Horse Comics announced that it at long last would be bringing an English-language version of the Zelda encyclopedia to North America, the UK and Australia. Known for…
By Owen Good Published August 16, 2012 -
Preordering Persona 4 Golden Makes Your Vita Look So Pretty
Available while supplies last at participating retailers, this gorgeous Persona 4 skin for your Vita is yours free when you preorder the upcoming sprucing-up, Persona 4 Golden Not only is it sticky and colorful, the skin also melds seamlessly with the eight included wallpapers, transforming the face of your Vita into a work of art.…
By Mike Fahey Published August 16, 2012 -
One Day Soon, We’ll Have A Real Video Game Musical
Sure, we’ve got musical video games. But we’ve yet to have a real video game musical, a game that brings the goofy, earnest energy of musical theater onto a console or PC and lets us play our part. For a long time, it’s felt like an inevitability—people love musicals! They love video games! Who wouldn’t…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 16, 2012 -
Even Nobuo Uematsu Gets Bossed Around Sometimes
I’ve been playing The Last Story, as you know. While researching (read: aimlessly Googling) the game earlier this week, I happened upon this old Iwata Asks interview from 2010. In it, The Last Story designer (and Final Fantasy creator) Hironobu Sakaguchi sits down with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu. They…
By Jason Schreier Published August 16, 2012 -
This Whacked-Out, Wicked Cool Music Game Does Everything Backwards
Back in music school, I had the same thought that many a (possibly stoned) music student has had—what if we played famous music, but we played it… backwards? How would harmony work if chord progressions ran backwards? What insight could we gain into melody, into harmony? I ran this idea past some of my professors…
By Kirk Hamilton Published August 16, 2012 -
NBA 2K13 Isn’t the First to Feature the Dream Team. This Genesis Game Is.
Not only that, Team USA Basketball featured all of the Dream Team’s 12 players, including Scottie Pippen, who won’t be in NBA 2K13 because he and 2K Sports couldn’t reach an agreement on his appearance. It’s remarkable that 1992’s Team USA Basketball by Electronic Arts—then under the “EA Sports Network” label—is the only video game…
By Owen Good Published August 16, 2012 -
Darksiders II Is Just The Most Recent Game to Prove that Imitation Really Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
I was far from the only reviewer to observe that Darksiders II very clearly draws inspiration and ideas from a number of other games that came before it. Happily, it does so well, and it does so successfully. The mechanics and concepts it brings forward from other games are nearly all good ones, and for…
By Kate Cox Published August 16, 2012 -
Portal 2 users can now design co-op maps. Own the game? You get a 75%-off coupon to give to a friend.
By Jason Schreier Published August 16, 2012 -
Gabe Newell Hopes He’s Wrong About Windows 8
In an interview with GameTrailers TV that will air tonight, Valve head Gabe Newell elaborates a little bit on his distaste for Windows 8. Here’s the video, in which Newell says he hopes he’s wrong about Windows 8 being a “catastrophe,” because if he’s wrong, the company will wind up making a lot more money.…
By Jason Schreier Published August 16, 2012 -
Speak Clearly—But Carry a Fast Joystick—If You’re Using Madden‘s Voice Commands
Of all sports, American football would figure to be the most natural fit for voice command support in a video game, if for no other reason than play doesn’t begin until the quarterback orders the center, usually by voice, to snap the ball. Say “hike,” and Madden NFL 13 will, in fact, hike. You can…
By Owen Good Published August 16, 2012 -
What Makes Video Game Combat Feel So Good
The first time you dove into a gang of thugs in Batman: Arkham Asylum or lobbed a few grenades then switched to a Needler against the Covenant in Halo: Combat Evolved, you knew. You knew that something about the fighting mechanics of the game felt so good that you were hooked. But what exactly was…
By Evan Narcisse Published August 16, 2012 -
Watch Me Play TF2’s New Mann vs. Machine Mode
Team Fortress 2’s long awaited Mann vs. Machine update launched yesterday and so far it’s been a mixed bag. As Mike Fahey mentioned earlier today, matchmaking is an unplayable mess, due to the sheer demand and a lack of community servers. Hopefully that will be resolved in the coming days, but in the meantime you…
By Chris Person Published August 16, 2012 -
The First Fully Downloadable New Mario Game Dominates the Weekly Nintendo Download
With Sunday seeing the debut of New Super Mario Bros. 2, the first Nintendo-published title launched simultaneously at retail and in digital form, a game would have to be some sort of crazy chicken pirate to try and muscle in on this week’s Nintendo Download. So yeah, Mario and two games named Crazy Chicken: Pirate…
By Mike Fahey Published August 16, 2012 -
The Avengers 2 Is Coming In 2015. Surely We Can Get A Good Video Game By Then, Right?
Disney has just announced a May 1, 2015 release date for Avengers 2, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with Joss Whedon back to write and direct. That’s great news for everyone who loved this year’s hit superhero team-up. But that release date is also a glimmer of hope for gamers. A 2015 release date means…
By Evan Narcisse Published August 16, 2012 -
Ubisoft Launches Their Own PC Gaming Client, and Is Selling Some Games For $1 to Get You To Try It
Not one to be left behind by the likes of EA , Ubisoft officially launched their uPlay client for PC today. Like Origin, it acts not only as a storefront to Ubisoft’s games, but also as a universal launcher for them. It also ties into uPlay’s existing currency and reward features, and links a player’s…
By Kate Cox Published August 16, 2012 -
One Of Those People Who Brings Japanese Games To America Is Answering Your Questions Right Now [Interview Over]
Ever wonder how a Japanese game makes its way to the U.S.? What exactly does video game localization consist of? How many millions and millions of video game letters get translated from Japanese to English every year? Here today we have Jessica Chavez from XSEED Games, a small game publisher you might recognize as the…
By Jason Schreier Published August 16, 2012
