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The Time Steve Jobs Got “the Kissing Disease” (He Wasn’t Making Out!)
It’s a scourge of junior high school students everywhere: Mononucleosis. The highly infectious disease is colloquially dubbed the “kissing disease”. But that’s not how Steve Jobs got it. He got it making a video game. In an interview on The Last Word, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak recalled when he made a Pong game for himself.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 26, 2011 -
Nintendo’s “Circle Pad” Peripheral Gets a (Slightly) Different Name In the West
In Japan, the new second-thumbstick add-on for the Nintendo 3DS is simply called the “Circle Pad Expansion”. Not very exciting, but it at least gets the point across. In the West, though, it looks like it’ll have a different name. A trademark filing from Nintendo in Japan has revealed that the peripheral’s name in places…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 26, 2011 -
The Best Blizzard Fan Art of 2011
Blizzcon wasn’t only about Blizzard games. It was also about Blizzard fans. There were contests, such as the amazing costume competition. But they weren’t the only fan creations that dazzled. The Blizzcon 2011 Fan Art Contest celebrated the stunning illustrations and paintings Blizzard fans drew, inked, and sketched, whether that be with pencils or tablets.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published October 26, 2011 -
How the World’s Most Amazing (and Painful) Video Game Setup was Built
Last week, we showed you an amazing PC gaming setup that involved five HD projectors, an omni-directional treadmill, wireless gun peripheral, ambient lighting and paintball gun. Some people cried “it’s a marketing stunt!”. Others cried “it’s not real!”. Those claiming the former, well, the prominent Battlefield 3 placement makes that a 50/50 call. Those claiming…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 26, 2011 -
Grand Theft Auto V’s Logo Has Some Real History
And I don’t mean the iconic “Price is Right” font. I mean the way the latest game in the series, Grand Theft Auto V, has a rather interesting employment of antique US currency. As spotted by a Reddit user, the “FIVE” at the end of the game’s logo is lifted almost directly from an old…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 26, 2011 -
Time to Dress Your Baby Up as Mr. T
So here we are, at the start of another evening’s open thread. How was your day? Good, I hope. Mine was nice, it was gorgeous in San Francisco and I typed a lot of words. Speaking of typing words, your own words are welcome here in off-topic town. Here are a few conversation starters, and…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
PS3 Owners, You’re Not Getting a Free Copy of Battlefield 1943 After All
A while ago, EA announced that people buying the PS3 version of Battlefield 3 would get a nice little bonus: a free copy of Battlefield 1943 For those unsure which platform to get the game on, that’s one hell of a sweetener, Battlefield 1943 being a great game in its own right. Fast forward to…
By Luke Plunkett Published October 25, 2011 -
That Uncharted 3 Review Everyone’s Talking About
I’ve noticed a bit of an internet scuffle breaking out over Simon Parkin’s 8/10 review of Uncharted 3 for Eurogamer. “Uncharted 3 is the most exciting game in the world,” he writes, “but only until you deviate from the script.” Parkin’s criticisms focus mainly on his opinion that the Uncharted games are overly cinema-focused and…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
Infamous: Festival of Blood‘s Launch Trailer Doesn’t Suck
One of the things that’s always a challenge in superhero games is giving the character new powers as they go. Infamous 2 got to bypass Cole McGrath’s origin story, and as a result introduced new powers while presenting a faster-moving, more enjoyable story than the first game. That said, it’s always a good thing to…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
Create Your Saints Row: The Third Character Early in the “Initiation Station”
I’m hard-pressed to think of a game that has a more ridiculous character-creation setup than Volition’s upcoming Saints Row: The Third. From street thugs to superheroes, it’s possible to create just about anything. For those who can’t wait for the game’s release in a couple weeks, players with an access code can access the character…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
Battlefield 3 Xbox 360 Servers Are Down, EA Is Investigating [Update]
No it’s not just you. The official Twitter account for Battlefield has been telling their many, many followers that they are investigating current problems with the Xbox 360 servers for Battlefield 3. “We are aware the servers are down. We have our team working on this issue now, and will let you know when the…
By Brian Crecente Published October 25, 2011 -
Festival of Blood, Pixeljunk Sidescroller New on the PlayStation Store
The two big releases this week on the PlayStation store are Infamous 2‘s bloodsucking “standalone add-on” Festival of Blood and the highly-anticipated-by-Stephen-Totilo Pixeljunk Sidescroller But if you’re not looking for new games, you’re still covered—players catching up with the times can download Call of Duty: Black Ops, MX vs. ATV Alive, and Homefront, the latter…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
Seagulls, Cool Jazz, and Megadeth: 5 Favorite Tunes From Grand Theft Auto
With Rockstar about to announce the release of Grand Theft Auto V, we’re all abuzz theorizing, postulating, and prognosticating about things that the game will or won’t have. Totilo’s looked at what systems the game might be on, Crecente guessed about possible settings. And then, Stephen got a tip that the game will indeed be…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
Go In-Depth With Call of Duty Elite‘s “Improve” Features
Call of Duty‘s online social hub (dubbed “Elite”) revolves around three main features. “Connect” allows players to network with one another in a number of different ways, and provides a social network for players to communicate. “Compete” lets players set up their own brackets and tournaments, or compete for prizes in Activision-sponsored official events. And…
By Kirk Hamilton Published October 25, 2011 -
Boy I Suck At Battlefield 3
Stats –These stats paint a grim picture of how awful I am at Battlefield 3. But I’m still enjoying myself, so there’s that. Right? (Click on the image for the tragic numbers.) Leeroy Jenkins, Yes That Leeroy Jenkins Gets a Prime Time Name Check I’m a fan of buddy crime-solving comedy Psych. The silly nature…
By Brian Crecente Published October 25, 2011 -
Watch Me Beat Kinect Sports 2 Tennis Without Moving
It’s not often I get to proclaim myself an athlete, and today isn’t going to change that, but I will say that I owned the shit out of my computer-controlled opponents today in Kinect Sports Season Two After feeling really awkward for a while playing a Kinect game in an office filled with quietly working…
By Chris Carolan Published October 25, 2011 -
Only 500 Wrists Shall Ever Wear This Forza 4 Watch
Okay, I suppose someone might share or pass down this limited edition Forza Motorsports 4 watch from Level Up Wear, but with only 500 total being made available in the U.S. and UK, but with only 500 being made they might be better off just hanging onto it. Do people even wear watches anymore? With…
By Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2011 -
Thanks to Video Games, Someone Pretended That Frank Zappa and Beck Were WWE Pro Wrestlers
The video website Vimeo is a good place to find video game trailers, clips of people flying Wii Remote-powered drones and people having Kinect mishaps. It’s a place where folks upload their create-a-wrestler for WWE video games. That brings us today’s random finding: the work of one Tommy Else, who used WWE Raw 2 a…
By Stephen Totilo Published October 25, 2011 -
Conan O’Brien Tribute Gallery Recalls van Gogh, Surrealism, Gaming Art
Late night talk show host, funny man and all-around red head Conan O’Brien is returning to New York City with his show this week, but only for a week. To celebrate, Conan brought his pop-up art exhibit to the city. The COCO MoCA (The New York Museum of Conan Art) will be housed on the…
By Brian Crecente Published October 25, 2011 -
Don’t Forget to Suit Up for Today’s Other Big Game Release
While all the grown-ups are playing Battlefield 3, what’ll the kids be playing? That’s right, Battlefield 3 as well, but keep a copy of Disney Universe nearby in case Child Protective Services stops by. Hey look, it’s got Tron in it! Oh come on, even adults can’t resist the charm of the freaky little critters…
By Mike Fahey Published October 25, 2011