All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

F-Zero, in my opinion, is a very underrated series. I think that even Nintendo themselves tend to forget about how awesome this franchise could be. There have been some absolutely stellar entries in the series, and then a few outings that were pretty forgettable. I think we can all agree that the [...]

Click to Kitty-size Usually, when playing the physical, real-life version of Risk, we like to pretend that we're bloodthirsty conquerers -- ones capable of forging (and betraying) alliances with hated enemies, and eradicating the military forces of neighboring nations with extreme prejudice. We don't think we've ever envisioned ourselves to be person-sized felines during a heated global bout. Not that we have anything against the idea, per se -- it's just never occurred to us to try. The first batch of screenshots from EA's upcoming XBLA version of the strategic board game, Risk: Factions, depicts the scenario mentioned above in an unexpectedly animated fashion. If said fashion looks familiar, you've probably played the Penny Arcade Adventures series -- Powerhouse Animations, which brought Gabe and Tycho to life in those Hothead-developed adventure titles, also did the cinematics for Risk: Factions. Judging by the extremely Penny Arcade-looking soldiers seen above, we're guessing they had some input on character design, as well. According to the press release which accompanied the images, humans and cats are just two of the five factions featured in the game. Anyone wanna place bets on the remaining three? Our money's on Spartans, Huns and puppies.

Capcom bundles together all the Game Boy Advance titles.

Six-inch tall news now, as DC Comics has released a line of figures based on Insomniac properties Ratchet and Clank and Resistance. As you can see above, the gang's pretty much all here -- the titular duo of Ratchet and Clank, along with Dr. Nefarious and Captain Qwark. Oh, then there's the Resistance guys, like hero Nathan Hale and Chimera A and Chimera B and (our personal favorite) Chimera C! We kid, but if you're interested in plunking down some green on these bath-time buddies (where do you play with your action figures?), you can find them at most retailers. [Via PlayStation Blog]

How do you create the illusion of free will with a fixed ending? Find out in part one of this exclusive Mass Effect 2 Sci vs Fi doc.

If you took an extended break from Mega Man in the 2000s, until the release of Mega Man 9, you missed out on some great, punishing games developed by MM9 creator Inti Creates -- and it appears that Capcom's going to give you a chance to go back to them. Capcom Japan opened a site for "Rockman Zero Collection," a DS compilation of all four Game Boy Advance Rockman Zero/Mega Man Zero games, featuring the adventures of Mega Man X's buddy Zero after the X series. He has a sword. The collection will be released in Japan on April 22. Capcom has yet to announced a localization, but we're confident the publisher will, given the general attitude of pro-Mega Man sentiment surrounding the upcoming release of Mega Man 10. [Via The Mega Man Network]

OK, so next week's Rock Band DLC doesn't include "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (pictured above) -- that was included in the previous Tom Petty live anthology pack -- but that video is all we can think of when someone mentions Petty. Well, that and the "Don't Come Around Here No More" video, which had Petty playing The Mad Hatter and is also positively frightening -- but that song is in neither pack. Beyond Petty memories of our broken childhood, next week's update also includes tracks from Phoenix and Silvertide. Check out pricing and track details for the console releases after the break.

After numerous trailers for the upcoming Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition's zany costumes, Capcom has finally released a trailer focusing on both of the extra DLC story chapters. "Lost in Nightmares" takes place before the events of Resident Evil 5 and includes a mansion inspired by the setting of the very first RE game. "Desperate Escape" takes place during the end of Resident Evil 5, as Jill and Josh race to save Chris and Sheva from the endgame's exploding volcano. With Jill serving as the "main character" for the additional content, the Gold Edition expansion looks like a genuine sequel, a la Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Most importantly, we're glad to see Jill's masterful unlocking skills put to good use in this trailer. The first batch of RE5 DLC will be available on February 17.

According to a 2K Play press release we received late last night, a certain porcine pie thief and his time-altering puzzle-platformer, The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom, will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade February 17 for 800 ($10). To get an idea of whether or not this is news that you should get excited about, we suggest checking out our interview with Matt Korba, the game's creator. Or, if reading isn't your thing, simply watch these pretty moving pictures. Or, better yet, just read the aforementioned press release. Containing words like "buttwitt," "Chronoberry," "delicious morsel," and "sleuthing," it might just be the most phonetically pleasing piece of marketing we've ever read.

Unsurprisingly, Ubisoft is targeting its new, multiplayer-enhanced Assassin's Creed game at the six million of us who bought Assassin's Creed 2. An Ubisoft rep told CVG that the new game will "take place with the same hero, which is Ezio, and will follow-up the story that took place in Assassin's Creed 2." This, combined with the new multiplayer, makes us believe that the new game will be a spin-off and not Assassin's Creed 3 -- since, presumably, a full-on sequel would highlight a new assassin and a new time period. Oh, and if you were worried that you weren't going to be able to pay $60 for it, you can rest easy: CEO Yves Guillemot said that the game will be sold at a "full price point".

So you've learned what dominated December's PSN sales. But what about the other eleven months of the year? Sony has released a list of the top 10 premium downloads from the PlayStation Store for 2009. 1) Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 2) Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 3) Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3 4) FIFA 09 Gold Pack 5) Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP) 6) Battlefield 1943 7) Fat Princess 8) MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2 9) Flower 10) Mortal Kombat II Looks like people answered the Call of Duty ... by opening up their wallets. Undoubtedly, Modern Warfare 2 DLC is likely to top 2010's sales figures. Finally, Battlefield 1943 claims the award for top PSN game of the year, besting the PSN-exclusive Fat Princess.

While newPCgadgets.com has chosen to product seen above the name "Xbox 360 Security Locker," you could conceivably store just about any gaming paraphernalia you might happen to have lying around. This point is actually driven home by the product image itself, which clearly shows several PlayStation 2 games being stored in the locker. For $39.95, the locker holds four controllers and 15 games, or zero controllers and 30 games or whatever you can cram into its 15 1/2" x 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" frame. The locker also includes the pictured padlock, hence the whole "security" part. Honestly, we can't help but point out that the locker is easily small enough for the average criminal to lift. Then again, you probably have a good idea of where your little brother will be hiding it anyway; he's not very bright.

Rebellion's 1999 original heading to Steam at budget price.

I wish we could actually hear how well these guys perform. Good thing they don’t have Scorpion on the mic. He’s just be screaming at everyone to ‘get over here’. He could put on a pretty good pyrotechnic show as well!

Mari Yaguchi is a pop-artist that has been around the circuit in Japan for quite awhile now. Mari also happens to love games, and has provided voice work for a few titles. She even has a column in Famitsu. If that doesn’t say ‘girl gamer’, I don’t know what does! Now Ms. Yaguchi [...]

As the developers at Airtight Games would put it, Dark Void is really an underdog story. You've got these people, downtrodden and stuck in The Void, trying to overcome what seems like insurmountable odds. Yeah -- been there, done that. But then you throw this jetpack into the mix and suddenly we're wiping the drool off our keyboard and rubbing the sleep out of our eyes, imagining all of the loop de loops and barrel rolls we'll be doing. But, hey, we identify with Airtight Games' plight; it's a start-up studio with a lot of new blood. It's kinda like the story of Joystiq's rise to fame being a site our mom reads on the gritty streets of the blogosphere. Just like Airtight, we had to eat a lot of government cheese in our first year.

Looks like you can take pictures and put them into your RPG. Now you can actually have pictures of your friends, and make them the characters in your party! A pretty neat idea if you ask me.

We’ve already shown you the new intro cut-scene that has been added to the Zangeki no Reginleiv site, but there are more goodies to check out. For example, some new, zoomable character profiles have popped up, and they’re just waiting for you to take a peek. You even get some promo video clips [...]

- player faces switch with a blur effect, as to keep them from being to jarring when they rotate - when they pull off a good play, they run back up-court with a smile/goofy face - when they do poorly, they have a sad face - Players can be substituted at halftime - unlockable mascots - old school legends(Larry Bird [...]

Wow, House of the Dead: Overkill moving up in the world! Looks like that title still has some life left in it. New Wii owners out there looking for something a bit more Mature. I think that will fill the void nicely for them!

A portion of a TinyCartridge review… If you enjoy reading about video game hardware at all, it’s a must buy.

What’s the deal here? Jeremy Parish points out that Commando Man is totally not going commando. You can clearly see his tighty-whiteys. Maybe that’s the artwork for the promo images. The final game will be rated Mature!

No, I’m serious about that. Check out the image they currently have on the Volition website… No word on what the game could be. Volition had a few Wii projects that never saw the light of day. I’m hopeful that one of those projects will eventually come to light. Fingers crossed, gang!

If that price is right, European gamers would be paying about £10.00 more than what the current DSi model costs. Not too bad for a system that’s bigger, and better in the opinion of some. Thanks to Supa_S for the heads up!

Famitsu has a small section in the back of every issue that drops small details on a number of upcoming games. These games aren’t big enough for full-features, but there are some juicy tidbits worth mentioning. Check out this issue’s tiny talk below… * Kirei Zukin Seikatsu (Colombia Music Entertainment, [...]

Oh man, now we’re talking! I was wondering when we would get some more traditional Mega Man love on the DS, and while this is a collection of Mega Man Zero 1/2/3/4, I’ll gladly take it! It’s due to come out April 22nd, 2010 in Japan…no word on an NA release just yet. [...]