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It Was A Very BioShock Night at the Aquarium
A night of magic, of Thuggish Splicers, Little Sisters, Big Daddies and men who you wouldn’t think twice about beating beyond recognition with a nine iron. It was a major BioShock photo op at Dragon*Con’s Night at the Georgia Aquarium. BioShock developer Irrational Games took advantage of Dragon*Con’s high density of cosplayers, sending photographer Webb…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
A Voyage of Discovery Into the Epic Edition of Gears of War 3
Late last week, Microsoft was kind enough to send along a massive box containing the Epic Edition of Gears of War 3. I thought it would be fun to walk you through the various things you can do with this huge, sexy box and its contents. Let’s dig in! Observe the box. That is one…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 12, 2011 -
The Settlers of Catan The Novel
My Desk – Yes, there is a book. It is HUUUUUUGE. A Sticky Sweet Taste of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Multiplayer If you give me the option to make a pink and yellow Space Marine, I’m going to make a pink and yellow Space Marine. The Pink Lemonade Brigade is born of the highly flexible…
By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011 -
How To Get To Work, With the Laws of Video Games Dangerously in Full Effect
Readers, please don’t try this at home. Let seasoned professionals like YouTube superstar Freddie Wong and crew illustrate the proper way to commute to ones workplace in a bizarre, video game-inspired reality. Using life lessons learned from Frogger, Grand Theft Auto and countless video games in which normal traffic laws simply do not apply, Mr.…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
The Game Formerly Known As Trenched Will Forever Be Iron Brigade After Free Update
Double Fine Productions excellent World War I era tower defense-style third person shooter Trenched is getting two notable updates. One, we’re not going to call it Trenched anymore. Now it’s Iron Brigade. And not just in Europe. Two, SURVIVAL MODE! Why is Double Fine changing the justifiably titled Trenched to Iron Brigade? Turns out there…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
Super Monkey Ball Vita Is Real, Monkeying Around Early 2012
New video game hardware? New Super Monkey Ball! Confirming this weekend’s leak, Sega has officially announced that Super Monkey Ball—arguably as reliable as death and taxes—is coming to the PlayStation Vita in early 2012. Monkey Ball mainstays AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and GonGon return for the umpteenth version of Sega’s tilt-and-tumble action game, bringing with them…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
Which Came First, the Hardcore Gamer or the Bad Parent?
A recent study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University found that the more time middle school students spent playing games, the more negative an opinion they held about their parents. It seems like a simple matter of cause and effect, but which is which? The Michigan State University study polled more than 500 middle…
By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011 -
Your Computer and My iPad Are Not the Best Bejeweled-Playing Machines. This is.
Bejeweled 3 is an excellent video game. Normal people play it on computers. But special people—people who work at PopCap, the studio behind the Bejeweled series—get to play it on a massive touch-sensitive TV right in the lobby of their headquarters. Lucky them. Giant Bejeweled 3 Touch (my name for it) is irresistible, as my…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011 -
Warco Looks Like the Unlikely, Fascinating Marriage of Battlefield and Pokemon Snap
Warco is the most captivating first-person shooter concept of the year. That’s because Warco arms its players with nothing more than a flak jacket and a video camera, capturing the violence of Middle Eastern and African conflicts not as a super soldier, but as a combat reporter. This unexpected blend of first-person shooter and journalism—part…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
Generations Plumbs the Darkest Corners of Sonic‘s History
The problem with mining the rich and varied history of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise for Sonic Generations is that history includes this red and black jerk-off right here. For some, Shadow is a welcome addition to Generations. For others, he still signifies the looming death of a beloved series. Shadow will appear as one…
By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011 -
Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Rezurrection’ Add-on Hits PS3 & PC Next Week
The fourth and final add-on for Call of Duty: Black Ops, Rezurrection, hits the PS3 and PC September 22, kicking off a double XP weekend. Rezurrection’s all-zombie maps include Moon, Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese.
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
Selling the Zombie Apocalypse the Don Draper Way
The reviews are in for Techland’s open-world zombie role-playing game Dead Island. Reviewers are talking about immersion and HUDs, PC bugs and control issues, and whether it is possible to love a game for the cool moments it provides while accepting that it has significant flaws. But from review to review, there is one constant:…
By Kirk Hamilton Published September 12, 2011 -
Have A Seat and Enjoy 20 Minutes of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Lock the door. Have your secretary hold your calls for the next 20 minutes. Grab a beverage. Settle in for a nice 20 minute chunk of gameplay from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, informatively narrated by game director Todd Howard. If you attended E3, QuakeCon and/or PAX Prime this year, this may be old hat…
By Michael McWhertor Published September 12, 2011 -
Deals on Deus Ex ($35) and Madden ($50) Start the Week
August’s two biggest games, Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Madden NFL 12 both got discounts through Amazon. Previously Madden was offered at full price with store credits as an inducement. Today’s deal is a straight discounted price. Deus Ex now is nearly half off. • Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3, Xbox 360) is $34.99, free…
By Owen Good Published September 12, 2011 -
You’ll Never Guess the Name of this Painting (And, Yes, There’s a Video Game Connection)
I was in Turkey for the past week. Saw some sites. Hung out with cool people. Went in a hot-air balloon. Stayed in a cave hotel (in this cave room). And I went to some museums, including Istanbul’s Pera Museum, where I checked out a great exhibit of student art. There was this one painting…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011 -
GameStop Officially Wants Your iPhone, iPads, and iPods
Video game retailer GameStop officially gets into the Apple business today with the launch of its long-rumored iPhone, iPad, and iPod trade-in program. How much will they pay for your old Apple crap? Time to dig through your things for those old Minis, Shuffles, and Nanos; GameStop wants them, and it wants them bad. The…
By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011 -
The Street Fighter X Tekken Battle We’ve All Been Waiting For
It’s a battle so titanic that only Tokyo, birthplace of giant mutated monsters, could possibly hope to contain it! This isn’t about Street Fighter X Tekken anymore. It’s all about Rufus X Bob Seriously, they could have just released Rufus X Bob and I would have gladly paid $60 for it. Just look at how…
By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011 -
Mass Effect’s XXXL Cosplay Comes With an XXXL Price Tag
It may not come with a pair of useless-in-space aviator sunglasses, but the official Mass Effect N7 Flight Suit does come with a five-pack patch kit. Oh and it will set you back $100. Order now and you’ll get the poly/cotton, zippered flight suit with the full color patches by Halloween. The patches it comes…
By Brian Crecente Published September 12, 2011 -
When Mega Man Overcharges, Reality Pays the Price
Mega Man’s Mega Buster arm cannon will never break the shell of those little hard hat critters, but charge it long enough and it just might rip a gaping hole in the fabric of reality. I remember as a kid holding down to charge button far longer than I ever needed to, just in case…
By Mike Fahey Published September 12, 2011 -
What the New Counter-Strike Is and Isn’t, According to Valve
The next Counter-Strike, the one coming out early next year called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, won’t be called Counter-Strike 2, because that game would be “something different”, two of Valve’s top people on the new game recently told Kotaku “A lot of Counter-Strike: GO is taking Counter-Strike: Source and Counter-Strike 1.6 and melding it into a…
By Stephen Totilo Published September 12, 2011