All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Sony Computer Entertainment America has laid off 30 full-time members of the company's Quality Assurance department. SCEA explained to Gamasutra that its San Francisco-based first-party QA group had been consolidated and moved to San Diego. The company would not comment on the 100 or so contract positions reportedly affected by the reorganization, as noted by Kotaku. Sony is currently on the long road back to profitability -- expect some unfortunate bumps along the way. Source -- SCEA Consolidating First-Party Quality Assurance [Gamasutra] Source -- Dozens of Tester Jobs Affected in Sony QA Consolidation [Kotaku]

Amongst a ruined city, the Army of Two must take the road less traveled.

The Army of Two is torn apart and must fight the battle on both ends.

The Army of Two runs into a roadblock with a chain gun.

The Army of Two causes a little destruction at the construction site.

Looks like this issue will contain a preview for Super Mario Galaxy 2, as well as 49 other big games coming out in 2010. This certainly seems like a great issue to pick up!

Previewed Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Skate 3, EA Sports MMA, Dementium II, Dante’s Inferno, Napoleon: Total War, Lost In Shadow, Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Hokuto Musou and Espgaluda II Black Label Reviewed James Cameron’s Avatar: The Videogame, The Saboteur, Tony Hawk: [...]

Our friends in Europe have finally seen their Nintendo Channel update go live…the one that’s been available in Japan and NA for some time now. The only problem is, the Channel doesn’t offer some of the features that the other versions do. Check out some NA to EU comparison shots below. The [...]

Well, now we have two games confirmed as Christmas day downloads in Europe. Rayman DSiWare has been confirmed for European release on December 25th, and it’s sure to satisfy all those that are looking for a little bit of old-school platforming fun. Seriously, how can you go wrong with Rayman’s very first adventure? [...]

Cologne, Germany, December 15th, 2009 – By releasing The Mystery of Whiterock Castle today, Playtainment became the first German publisher to make their debut on WiiWare™. The hidden object game, coming on 25th December 2009, lets players of all ages embark on an enchanting medieval adventure. The charming story of The Mystery of Whiterock Castle tells [...]

Man, two strange terms in a matter of minutes! Square-Enix has jumped on the crazy train with the term ‘Crysta’, but we actually know what this one is. In Japan, this is the ‘money’ that people will be using to buy actual goods. For example, if you are buying an official soundtrack [...]

North American Wii owners, the wait may soon be over. After years of patient, patient waiting -- and watching the game land on both the European and Japanese Virtual Console -- the original Smash Bros. should soon be winging its way to American Wiis. The evidence: The game has been rated for Wii by the ESRB, hopefully signifying that a release is imminent. In case you were wondering, the game received an E rating, ostensibly making it suitable for everyone. We'll just have to wait and see how Grandma takes it when she gets a SuperScope to the dome.

What could it be?

See how Blizzard's CGI has evolved over the years.

You gotta hand it to this kid's parents, who managed to turn up their boring old Christmas lights to 11 and into quite the Guitar Hero homage. It's not the first time we've seen Activision's franchise mix it up with some Christmas lights, but it's certainly the most unique and inspired. We've embedded the video past the break so put on your favorite Rudolph sweater (the good one with the blinking nose you keep in the back of the closet), pour yourself a hot cup of cocoa and give it a watch.

If there is a tragedy in war (besides all the killing), it is that there must be a loser. Currently, we all know who that loser is.

We've got a duo of high-profile titles to check out here on VC in Brief this week. Come for the shooting stuff, stay for the Pig Chutes. Blaster Master (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.

- takes place just about 3 years after tho original - some people believe Travis to be an urban legend Spoilers, and much more details after the jump. - Travis ends up fighting a younger brother of a fallen enemy, and ends up killing him - Travis starts off with not much interest in joining the assassin ranks again - [...]

Not content with unleashing a full-blown zombie apocalypse, Valve has come up with the second most socially awkward event imaginable: inviting characters from the original Left 4 Dead to hang out in the sequel's first DLC campaign. Bill, Louis, Zoey and Francis will meet with the stars of Left 4 Dead 2 in "The Passing," which Valve VP of marketing Doug Lombardi calls "the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign." It's targeted for release in early 2010 on Xbox 360 and PC. In addition to a co-op campaign (set in rural Georgia) and a new "co-operative challenge mode of play," The Passing will offer new content for Survival, Versus and Scavenge modes. Playing as the L4D2 cast, you can also expect to encounter a new melee weapon, firearm and "uncommon common" zombie. We can't wait to meet up with last year's survivors again ... oh, assuming they really are still survivors.

Direct link and videos for Just Dance, the DSiWare lineup, Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage, Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH, Diatomic, Stunt Cars, My Zoo, Castle of Magic, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, and Spirit Tracks here (thanks NintenDaan!)

Battle beasts with wings and without in this sword-fighting gameplay, replete with an enormous octopus.

The opening cinematic for the Nintendo DS port of Phantasy Star Zero.