All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

We’ve been following ToeJam and Earl creator Greg Johnson a lot recently. The last bit of news we heard was that Mr. Johnson was going to try and get ToeJam and Earl into Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing. Now it sounds like their appearance would have to be relegated to DLC. “TJ&E will not [...]

We get our dirty little paws on Modern Warfare 2's nerd-tastic special edition. See what glorious swag you can waste your cash on!

Greg Johnson has been in the game industry for a long time. Having designed 16-bit Sega icons ToeJam & Earl way back in the early 90s and now running Humanature Studios, he's seen his creation rise to fame and subsequently slip into gaming history as the years ticked by. But last summer, when Sega created a poll tasking fans with selecting the next Genesis title to get the XBLA treatment, ToeJam & Earl popped back up on our industry's collective radar by taking the gold. But it's not so simple! Johnson says Sega may have "got ahead of themselves a little bit" with that announcement "and didn't realize that they don't have the rights to the property." Apparently, Johnson assures us, "it's an easy mistake to make." This same shortcoming is also the reason why the characters will not be appearing in the upcoming Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, though showing up as DLC is still a possibility. "TJ&E will not be included ... and the option for including them as downloadable content is still open," Johnson said. "Sega said they're not ready to talk about that yet because they haven't started making any definite plans, but they promised to give me a shout when they get there - so hopefully we'll be able to work something out." More interesting yet, it seems that Mr. Johnson shopped around the idea for a Nintendo DS multiplayer ToeJam & Earl game - though his pitch unfortunately met with deaf ears at "pretty much all of [the game publishers]." Check out some images of what could have been in the gallery below and continue past the break for more from our conversation with Greg Johnson.

What do you think the case here is? Both people are gamers, or one is a gamer and the other is just really understanding!?

The classic gets a revamp for Wii. Check out a handful of courses.

Filed under: Podcasts We have got an absolute doozy of a show for you this week folks. Not only is it super long -- clocking in at nearly two hours -- but we invited Mr. Dave Hinkle to join in the shenanigans once again. With Xav back on the show, that's like four times the mayhem ... or something. We also talk about the greatest threat mankind has ever faced: The ODSB. What's an ODSB, you ask? You'll have to listen to find out. Also, shout out to Menno B, who brought our attention to the meticulously crafted, custom Dropbear Mazda Protege in Forza Motorsport 3. Check out another image of it right here on the X3F Facebook group (you should join!). Be sure to drop us a line if you create or find any X3F-themed goodies out there! [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (MP3). [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in Zune Marketplace (MP3). [RSS MP3] Add the Xbox 360 Fanboy Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Hosts: Richard Mitchell (SenseiRAM), Alexander Sliwinski (Sli Xander), Xav de Matos (Snypz) and Dave Hinkle (KnifefightYoDad) Produced by Richard Mitchell Music: Intro/Outro: "Electromooq" by Uma Floresta. "Biology Not Demons" by Tyranosaurus Grace. For fans: Xbox 360 Fancast Facebook group Bonus: Behold the continuing evolution of the dropbear!

Samus Aran may dress a bit on the skimpy side sometimes, but you would too if you had to wear a giant suit most of your life! It must feel nice to be free from all that weight after awhile!

A brand of soccer that many will enjoy.

Update: Major Nelson has just confirmed that 0D Beat Drop will be joined by both NBA Unrivaled and Encleverment Experiement. Word has come down from on high, and this week's Xbox Live Arcade release is none other than 0D Beat Drop. What's that, you've never heard of 0D Beat Drop? Truth be told, neither have we. Thankfully, the game's Xbox.com page provides us all with the crucial details. If the above screenshot didn't tip you off, OD Beat Drop is a puzzle game; however, it has a musical twist, challenging players to drop pieces to the beat. OD Beat Drop can even analyze your own songs for use in the game (Protip: It's time to break out your Tetris soundtrack). The game will be available this Wednesday for 800 ($10). Also, if Tecmo is to be believed, NBA Unrivaled will release on XBLA this week as well. It's worth noting that the game was not included in Major Nelson's XBLA announcement and that publishers are frequently mistaken about XBLA launch dates so it's anyone's guess what Wednesday holds.

Tied into next week's Assassin's Creed II, Ubisoft is looking to expand Ezio Auditore da Firenze's 15th-Century Italian playground through a new book titled Assassin's Creed: Renaissance. Written by Oliver Bowden and set to be published by Penguin books on November 26, the novel will follow the formative years of Ezio and -- along with the Lineage short films -- build upon the game's universe, the Guardian reports. If you're looking for a sneak peek before the book clambers, dives and stabs its way to retail, the Guardian has put up a fairly long bit of prose from the upcoming tie-in. It deals with Ezio's mother and some paintings she commissioned from a rather famous painter. There's possible spoilers involved, so click over at your own risk. Source - Book announcement Source - A lengthy excerpt from the book

This is one good looking game of soccer.

A portion of a Hanafuda Times review… Yes, Excitebike World Rally is essentially a sexier clone of the NES Excitebike, but this shouldn’t be something that is frowned upon. Online Play makes the game palatable to modern gamers. Excitebike was always fun because of it’s simplicity. Why fix something that isn’t broken?

A Wii trailer.

It's set to be one of the biggest selling games of all time. Is it one of the greatest?

Check out this trailer.

Prepare for warp speed.

This time it's zombies.

A second gameplay trailer.

*Not what you're getting. This probably wasn't what fans had in mind when they demanded an Uncharted game for Sony's handheld. A series of new ESRB ratings reveals a new pinball franchise, most likely under the PSP Minis label, based on various first-party PlayStation properties. Pinball Heroes: Uncharted is the most noteworthy of the bunch which according to the ESRB descriptor, is based on Drake's Fortune. "Players use flippers to hit the ball around a crashed airplane, into silhouetted character targets, and off bumpers shaped like gold coins to score points."In addition to Uncharted, other franchises will be getting the pinball treatment, including High Velocity Bowling, PAIN and Hot Shots Golf. Wait, no Pinball Heroes: God of War? That's a missed opportunity!Unfortunately, no further details of the Pinball Heroes franchise can be garnered from the ESRB listings. We're submitting a few questions to Sony (like "how much?" and "why?") and will update when we hear back.[Via GamerBytes]

Let's go shopping--for food!

More nostalgia than you can shake a koopa at.

All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely videogame players.

Yes, back in the day, there were devices that let you dump SNES games to floppy discs. You could actually play games off of a floppy, even if it wasn’t legal. Back then, the legality of back-up copies was even fuzzier, but it was also much less of a problem. Could you [...]

What better way to spend time with friends than blowing them to smithereens?

Starting November 24, Dr. Ned is graciously opening his Zombie Island to any gun-toting maniac with ten bucks. 2K has announced the price ($9.99/800) and release date for the first Borderlands DLC pack on PS3 and Xbox 360. The publisher tells Joystiq that the DLC's availability for the PC version is yet to be determined -- in other words, it's probably not coming out on November 24. Though, that's unconfirmed and subject to pending details. 2K promises "ferocious brain-eating zombies, carnivorous Were-Skags and more" on the spooky island, but, perhaps more relevant to weapon-obsessed Borderlands players, there's more "sweet, sweet loot" to find.