All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

If you haven't already been point-and-clicking away at Amanita Design's gorgeous adventure game Machinarium over the past few months since its digital release, you're gonna have even less of a chance to avoid it when it hits retail (in a box!) on March 5. Lace Mamba Global announced the re-release this morning, noting that the retail version comes packed with some extra bonuses -- a 54-page "concept art document" (seen below), a poster, a printed walkthrough and the game's soundtrack (standalone disc). If you needed any more reason to grab the $20 title, we have to imagine this bag full of goodies certainly can't hurt. Gallery: Machinarium (Retail release goodies)

Capcom and Microsoft have officially announced the Monster Hunter video game franchise is coming to the Xbox 360.

Assassin's Creed 2 on PC will apparently land at European retailers (both digital and brick-and-mortar, presumably with both hidden blades extended) on March 4, an Ubisoft rep has told Joystiq. Like the North American iteration, AC2 on PC will have the "Battle for Forli" and "Bonfire of the Vanities" DLC packs included in the "Director's Cut" version of the game. You've got about two months to get started on building that dream PC you've always wanted to handle the game's specs -- we suggest you get crackin' immediately. Gallery: Assassin's Creed II

Nintendo DS was the top-selling gaming system of last year, while the Wii wasn't far behind.

Nintendo DS was the top-selling gaming system of last year. That's four years in a row.

Have you wanted to check out Serious Sam HD, yet haven't had the ample supply of greenbacks to pony up? Steam is running a pretty sweet deal right now with a four pack bundle. By slapping down très Benjamins ($60), you can get four copies of the super happy fun time remake of Croteam's classic, essentially a buy-three-get-one deal and solid way to get an early lead in the Great Gift Giver of 2010 competition. Speaking of giving gifts: you'd also be able to give the gift of cooperation and the promise to rescue your friends from headless, screaming men holding bombs running at full speed toward them. If there's a better way to tell someone you care, we really haven't heard of it. [Via Big Download]

Update: Reader Kevin K shared this link from Eurogamer's resident egghead, Richard Leadbetter of DigitalFoundry, who notes that "it remains unclear what the ramifications of the hack actually are" and that "right now there has been no "hello world" homebrew code executed that typically demonstrates that the hacker actually has full control over the system." Read the entire piece for a fascinating look into the challenge of hacking the PS3 and the safeguards put in place on Sony's black box. You may also want to read this BBC interview with Mr. Hotz, in which he says, "I can now do whatever I want with the system. It's like I've got an awesome new power - I'm just not sure how to wield it." He also tells the BBC that he "would publish details of the console's 'root key'"; however, DigitalFoundry writes, "Once the root key is available, it's essentially game over for the system's security for all-time, but it's here that some of the claims being made for the hack don't really add up. PSP has been compromised on many levels again and again, but its root key apparently remains unknown." Original post: It has begun. With iPhone hacker George Hotz (the kids call him GeoHot) releasing his PlayStation 3 exploit to the world today, he's kicked off what's sure to be a non-stop game of cat-and-mouse between the global hacking community and the Japanese consumer electronics giant. "This is the coveted PS3 exploit," Hotz writes on his blog, linking to the exploit while noting that it "gives full memory access and therefore ring 0 access from OtherOS." Okay, we really only understood that first part but we're sure "full memory access" is synonymous with "bad news" for Sony's engineers. When first revealing his progress last Friday, Hotz wrote, "I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3." Of course, we've seen this very same game played out on the PSP front with a constant stream of firmware updates designed to patch up the portable's porous security and, yes, even add some new features now and again. With the PS3 already the victim of an onerous amount of updates, we worry the hack may result in a glut of mandatory security patches. But who knows what wonders (no, we don't count the inevitable piracy amongst those wonders) this hack holds for PS3 owners - since the hack "is known to work with version 2.4.2 only" we suspect most people reading this won't even be able to tinker. Caveat emptor! [Via Engadget]

If you neglected the opportunity to buy Castle Crashers or Alien Hominid DLC and have that money both donated and matched by developer The Behemoth to Haiti relief, you're a terrible person. But you're also in luck: The charity drive has been extended to this Friday, Jan. 29. By all means, pick up all the DLC you can get your hands on, just don't expect St. Peter to give you much credit at the Pearly Gates if your only charitable act in life was forgetting to buy a video game until you remembered to later.

It has begun. With iPhone hacker George Hotz (the kids call him GeoHot) releasing his PlayStation 3 exploit to the world today, he's kicked off what's sure to be a non-stop game of cat-and-mouse between the global hacking community and the Japanese consumer electronics giant. "This is the coveted PS3 exploit," Hotz writes on his blog, linking to the exploit while noting that it "gives full memory access and therefore ring 0 access from OtherOS." Okay, we really only understood that first part but we're sure "full memory access" is synonymous with "bad news" for Sony's engineers. When first revealing his progress last Friday, Hotz wrote, "I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3." Of course, we've seen this very same game played out on the PSP front with a constant stream of firmware updates designed to patch up the portable's porous security and, yes, even add some new features now and again. With the PS3 already the victim of an onerous amount of updates, we worry the hack may result in a glut of mandatory security patches. But who knows what wonders (no, we don't count the inevitable piracy amongst those wonders) this hack holds for PS3 owners - since the hack "is known to work with version 2.4.2 only" we suspect most people reading this won't even be able to tinker. Caveat emptor! [Via Engadget]

It has begun. With iPhone hacker George Hotz (the kids call him GeoHot) releasing his PlayStation 3 exploit to the world today, he's kicked off what's sure to be a non-stop game of cat-and-mouse between the global hacking community and the Japanese consumer electronics giant. "This is the coveted PS3 exploit," Hotz writes on his blog, linking to the exploit while noting that it "gives full memory access and therefore ring 0 access from OtherOS." Okay, we really only understood that first part but we're sure "full memory access" is synonymous with "bad news" for Sony's engineers. When first revealing his progress last Friday, Hotz wrote, "I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3." Of course, we've seen this very same game played out on the PSP front with a constant stream of firmware updates designed to patch up the portable's porous security and, yes, even add some new features now and again. With the PS3 already the victim of an onerous amount of updates, we worry the hack may result in a glut of mandatory security patches. But who knows what wonders (no, we don't count the inevitable piracy amongst those wonders) this hack holds for PS3 owners - since the hack "is known to work with version 2.4.2 only" we suspect most people reading this won't even be able to tinker. Caveat emptor! [Via Engadget]

Trauma Team's forensics, one of the six medical disciplines represented in the Trauma Center sequel, doesn't just involve examining dead bodies for cause of death. The forensic examiner in this game, Trauma Center's Dr. Naomi Kimishima, takes a more holistic, CSI approach to her job, searching crime scenes, interviewing witnesses, and doing all the work of figuring out the events surrounding the victim's death. What that means for us is that Trauma Team contains an adventure game among its six discrete play styles. And, judging by the case we were walked through in an online presentation by Atlus, it looks like an interesting one!

Now that we know when we can get our hands on Super Street Fighter IV (April 27!) we can start flipping out in earnest about the prospect of experimenting with all the new characters. Capcom, anticipating our desire to flip out, sent out a new trailerwhich features all of the currently announced characters showing off what they can do. It's totally worth watching just to see Dee Jay win, then get totally stomped in rapid succession. Also, watch for Cody ruining a "Street Fighter: Screw the Rules" mural. What a jerk!

Supreme Commander 2 is set to storm European retail on March 5 and 19, 2010, on PC and Xbox 360, respectively. The release dates fall within the same week as the North American launch. As we noted before, Gas Powered Games' real-time strategy sequel will drop right in the middle of a retail war for consumer currency, the likes of which we've never seen. The game's redeeming quality is that as an RTS -- available for consoles, as well -- it may just survive the 2.8 second life expectancy of a game without massive, effective promotion.

It isn't like us to dedicate an entire post to a single screenshot, but when it comes to Dead Rising 2 we've already set a precedent. Earlier today, Capcom's Unity blog posted a handful of new images from the zombie-killing simulator, but the screen that really captured our attention was the one shown (gloriously) above. Combining vastly different items to create our own completely insane arsenal against the zombie collective? Imagine the possibilities: Like some kind of cutting thing, attached to something that spins or something! Clearly our intense excitement has damaged the part of our brain that controls our creativity, but you get the point. Things are going to get killed, real good. More screens are available on the Capcom Unity blog.

It has begun. With iPhone hacker George Hotz (the kids call him GeoHot) releasing his PlayStation 3 exploit to the world today, he's kicked off what's sure to be a non-stop game of cat-and-mouse between the global hacking community and the Japanese consumer electronics giant. "This is the coveted PS3 exploit," Hotz writes on his blog, linking to the exploit while noting that it "gives full memory access and therefore ring 0 access from OtherOS." Okay, we really only understood that first part but we're sure "full memory access" is synonymous with "bad news" for Sony's engineers. When first revealing his progress last Friday, Hotz wrote, "I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3." Of course, we've seen this very same game played out on the PSP front with a constant stream of firmware updates designed to patch up the portable's porous security and, yes, even add some new features now and again. With the PS3 already the victim of an onerous amount of updates, we worry the hack may result in a glut of mandatory security patches. But who knows what wonders (no, we don't count the inevitable piracy amongst those wonders) this hack holds for PS3 owners - since the hack "is known to work with version 2.4.2 only" we suspect most people reading this won't even be able to tinker. Caveat emptor! [Via Engadget]

New screens of the vampire-infested action title await you in celebration of the developer's new Facebook page.

Irrational Games' new community-oriented website continues to impress us with its candid peeks at the inner workings of the studio and interesting developments that may have eluded the public eye. In an update posted today, Shawn Elliott examines five features that were cut from Irrational's beloved pair of 'Shocks. "In one fell 30-second swoop, we could have prevented about 80 percent of the complaints, or at least redirected them toward Xerxes and the Many, and away from the development team," says designer Dorian Hart on the infamous ire directed at System Shock 2's degrading weaponry. And how would said swoop combat arguments about the unrealistic, accelerated rate of weapon malfunction? An in-game audio log "would have explained that as part of their takeover, the Many had released a special corrosive gas into the Von Braun that damaged weapons but was harmless to organic creatures." If that seems maddeningly simple, consider "Nav-Bot," a mechanical fellow intended to guide lost players through BioShock's city of Rapture. Designers had several concerns -- what happens if the helpful bot gets stuck in a scrap with enemies? -- but the player's familiarity with a plain ol' map dealt the death blow. "In the end, someone (maybe Jon Chey at Irrational Games Australia) made the executive decision that we needed to suck up the extra work and make a map," notes technical director Chris Kline. "Thus died Nav-Bot." May he rust in peace.

Yes, there are even more guides out there to Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, and all the different strategies to approach. If you want to become the ultimate Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom fighter, you might want to check some of these out!

Spartan Man can do everything that Mega Man can’t do. What’s the biggest difference? Well, Spartan Man can walk on spikes and not even worry about it. Yeah, he’s just that hardcore.

Have fun. Help out. Get cool stuff.

Wow…can you believe that things like this lead to the creation of the first Zelda? With all the graph paper and designs, it seems like this process would take a hundred years to wrap up! I bet devs are happy that they’ve moved passed this sort of game development!

I’m sure many of you have already met the cast of Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, since the game is available in North America today. Meeting the cast, and actually getting to know them are two different things. Sure, they’re in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, but what exactly did they do to get them there? [...]

God of War II was almost a PS3 game (at least, before it did become a PS3 game). In an interview with Game Informer, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida remembered the internal debate over whether to release God of War II as one of the last big games for PS2 or as a headline title for the PS3 launch. "Many people, including marketing, suggested that maybe it should be moved to PS3," Yoshida recalled. Certainly, God of War II would've bolstered an exclusive launch lineup that was limited to Resistance: Fall of Man and very little else. "We had a lot of debates about it, actually. I always firmly stood by keeping it on PS2," Yoshida continued, noting that "the end of a platform is when you see really great games, after developers really begin to understand the hardware." Yoshida's "gamble" paid off, both critically and financially. If God of War II had been a PS3 launch title, more systems would probably have been pushed at launch, but software sales would've undoubtedly suffered compared to the game's success as a PS2 title. Besides, PS3 owners weren't excluded from the action! Back then, PS3s used to have this magical "backwards compatibility" thingy.

We’ve posted the Walk it Out boxart before, but I didn’t realize that so many people found it so bad. I don’t think it’s that bad at all! Then again, we focus on Wii and DS here…so we’ve seen a lot of other boxarts that I believe are much worse. What do [...]