All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Mecha-Zangief, Rival Battles, New Ultra Combos, And More Awaits!

This week on XBLA, we've got Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond. Like its retail predecessor, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, Blood Bath and Beyond is an action game that parodies other video games. Thankfully, the gameplay seems to hold up its end of the bargain this time, offering a decent hardcore shooter experience, though the 1200 ($15) seems a bit steep. Check out the latest XBLA in Brief and see if Blood Bath and Beyond is for you. Shortcut: Download the trial version of Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond [via Xbox.com] [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.

In a rather surprising act of mature judgment, the British Board of Film Classification has assigned Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain a "15" rating. Given the so-called adult themes of the western interactive novel (a genre we're classifying right here), the expectation had been that the game would receive an "18" rating, which was even reflected on cover art mock-ups. The other European ratings board, PEGI, has yet to post its classification for the game. Speaking with IncGamers, a BBFC spokesperson explained, "These are obviously not real people, or real people acting, and it all depends on the level of blood and violence. We use the same classification for games as we do for films, and this game is suitable for a 15 audience." That's odd, we could have sworn many "real people" acted in Heavy Rain. [Via Eurogamer]

Get ready for a season with the witch.

If you've held off on picking up God of War Collection, then know that Amazon has slashed the price to $30 for an unspecified amount of time. That's a tremendous deal for two of the best action-adventure games ever designed -- now with those very tight HD facelifts. Oh, and if it's been a while since you've played, and you're wondering how you'll get back into the swing of stabbing demons in the face, we've got your covered. [Via CAG]

Avatar may be the big buzz in 3D flicks these days, but for many, the technology is always going to be associated with monster movies and those red-and-blue anaglyph lenses. For those of us hopelessly infatuated with those ridiculous-looking lenses and cheesy movies, Majesco is publishing Attack of the Movies 3D for Wii. The on-rails shooter features set pieces heavily inspired by movies, for up to four players to blast point-and-click their way through. With your friends, you'll "battle large alien space cruisers, shoot underwater monsters, join the resistance against the machines and more" against enemies "culled from the annals of film history." And you'll get to do it in glorious red and blue -- the game includes four sets of 3D glasses! Attack of the Movies 3D is expected for release this spring.

The titanic RTS is back, supremier and commandier than ever.

If you're the type of person who spends the weekend stuffing wads of cash into your Skeet shooter, only to blow 'em to pieces with your golden shotgun once they're airborne, then the $250 Omega Music Technology's GM-1 may be the perfect accessory to your expensive habits. The system is essentially an intermediary between Guitar Hero or Rock Band gaming drums, allowing you to play along with the games' drum tracks on the real thing ($500 drum set sold separately). As Ars Technica points out in a recent hands-on with the product, "It's an interesting idea, but you need to be willing to put some serious time and money into the project to get worthwhile results." Aside from owning a set of real drums, you'll need the "fake" ones, too -- the GM-1 sensors send feedback from your real drums to the attached Guitar Hero or Rock Band drums, which then send the in-game cues to the gaming console. Sure, it might work, but who's got the time and money? Oh, that's right, you, Mr. I Own the Biggest Music Game Peripheral Ever. Congratulations.

NIntendo president Satoru Iwata offered the first concrete information about the next DS system -- as in, not the next revision of the current DS, but the real next system -- in an interview with the Asahi Shinbun newspaper. "[It will have] highly detailed graphics," Iwata said, "and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing." Sort of like the iPhone, yes, but Nintendo isn't exactly an also-ran in the field of motion-controlled gaming. Iwata declined to specify a release window for this new DS. The president said there would be no "monthly service plan" for games, indicating that Nintendo was looking to increase the number of businesses that host DS Wi-Fi hotspots instead of supporting a 3G-like service (à la Kindle or iPhone) to the DS. The "Mac de DS" service NIntendo provides in parternship with McDonald's offers free wireless connections for the handheld along with exclusive downloadable content. In Wii news, Iwata dropped one bomb that will delight fans and one that will probably cause massive eyerolls. First, the good news: the new Zelda game sort of revealed at the last E3 is being prepared for release by the end of 2010. And the other news: the Wii Vitality Sensor, the bizarre biofeedback attachment also unveiled at E3, will be released somewhere in the neighborhood of July, following a press conference about the device. [Via Kotaku]

Corporate synergy keeps the late "King of Pop" alive, as various divisions of Sony conspire for a special This Is It PS3 bundle. The ¥33,500 ($365) Japan-only set releases January 27 and comes with a Blu-ray movie of Michael Jackson's behind-the-scenes concert film, along with a 120GB black PS3 Slim. No word if this bundle will come with a white PS3 later. So, let's get this straight: Japan gets a Michael Jackson PS3 bundle, while the US is "blessed" with a Hannah Montana PSP pack? That's bad, come on, you know that's bad. And the whole world has to answer right now, just to tell us once again: that's bad! [Via Engadget]

How do the PSP's unique features make this SOCOM experience special?

Iwata spills details on new handheld.

Sony and Panasonic upping capacity by over a third.

Single seaters make the cut – as do 1,000 other cars.

Nintendo CEO opens up about upcoming plans.

Nintendo CEO opens up about upcoming plans.

Cutting through the gloss to bring you the hard word.

NinjaBee (makers of A Kingdom for Keflings, Band of Bugs and the underrated Outpost Kaloki X) has announced that it's working on a brand new title for Xbox Live Arcade, one that will allow you to play with your Mickey ear-wearing Xbox Live Avatar. There's no actual information about the game yet (not even a title, although we know it's not Ancients of Ooga, another NinjaBee game in progress), but as you can see from the concept art posted on its blog, there's an airship, a cute bird and a dragon involved. So: a cross between Final Fantasy, Twitter and Lair? Actually, we'd totally play that. NinjaBee says an official announcement is coming at the end of the month, and it'll be releasing new concept art every week until then, so stay tuned for more.

Limited edition bundle combines system with Blu-ray.

In its 2010 Media Industry Face Sheet, the Nielsen Company tallied some interesting numbers [PDF] related to the increase of social media and how video game console usage trended in 2009. According to its survey statistics, Sony's PSP market in the United States contains a slight majority of female gamers -- 52% of the platform's owners in the region, while 49% of Nintendo Wii owners are female. Nielsen's survey statistics show that, as of 2009, 45% of all active gamers are women. Social media has, expectantly, made a dramatic leap in usage. Nielsen's survey claims Facebook membership skyrocketing from November 2008 to 2009 with 109 million members accessing the site at the end of the the decade versus about 47.5 million the year before. Twitter saw its user base increase by 15.9 million members in the same time frame. Both social media sites have seen life on consoles. Related to each console's individual usage -- besides what the good looking gamers enjoy -- Nielsen's survey claims the Xbox 360 is the most played console (ranked by share of total usage minutes), taking 23.1% of the measured playtime. Sony's PlayStation 2 netted second with 20.4% and the Nintendo Wii closed up the top three with 19% of the vote. While we know the previous sentence sounds like we just called all console gamers hideous beings, we just mean that ladies are pretty and smell like daffodils compared to the faint odor of Cheetos and Mountain Dew that lingers around us fellas. [Via Edge]

Sony has filed a trademark notice here in the US for the word "Cloudsurf," and the trademark relates to a number of different products and services, including everything from audio players to game consoles to video cameras, as well as online distribution of games, music and television. In other words, it could be for anything that Sony has made or sold, ever. Edge guesses that it could have something to do with online distribution or even storage via a subscription model, and you might remember that earlier last year, Sony trademarked "PS Cloud," then hinting at a "cloud computing" system to provide storage or processing over the Internet. Of course, companies file trademarks all the time, without any obligation to reveal or release whatever product they're working on. So right now, "Cloudsurf" is made up of nothing but thin air -- permeated, we'd imagine, by a floaty, visible mass of condensed water droplets.

Does Bayonetta amount to flash, or is there more to this witch than her absurd proportions?

A portion of an NWR review… Overly simplistic and surprisingly light on soccer itself, the game never manages to capture my attention or motivate me to keep playing. There are better soccer games out there, including that old GameCube favorite, Sega Soccer Slam.

Gust is sending out this postcard to a few members of the Japanese press, and many are speculating that a new Atelier game is in the works. Of course, Gust isn’t saying anything just yet. Perhaps it’s time for me to get into these Atelier games so I know what’s going on!

Learn what's what in this new epic Japanese tale from Namco.

The debut trailer for the Japanese title Lufia.

The follow-up to the Mad Dog McCree series makes for a better Wii experience.

Clean up the Earth with this hot new piece of Japanese eco-tainment.