#addiction
Have you ever spent so much time playing a video game that you felt like a caged rat? That means it's working. Cracked's David Wong takes a serious look at how and why our video games won't let us go. More »
This week's Nintendo Channel update is about as light as it gets. Sure, there's a new DS demo to check out and a pair of TV spots for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver -- but that's about it.
Oh, you don't believe us? Well, that hurts our feelings, but, by all means, check out the full list of this week's content past the break for yourselves. We'll just wait for you in the corner with our broken heart.
#clips
Real life Bike Hero and enemy of viral marketing douchebags Freddie Wong is also the proud (unfortunate) new owner of an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, which currently looks a lot like a Nerf gun. More »
The initial announcement of Steam for Mac conspicuously omitted the inclusion of the first Left 4 Dead game. The Left 4 Dead blog, however, confirms that the original game will migrate to Mac along with the rest of the announced Valve games in "late Spring." The post makes it sound as if both games will be added at the same time, but that remains unconfirmed. Because of Valve's Steam Play technology, you'll be able to play either game on either Mac or PC, with the ability to share your progress between the two platforms.
Even better, you'll be able to play with other people across platforms! "Mac and Windows players can go head-to-head," Valve notes in the announcement, "since both Left 4 Deads are cross-platform compatible. Mac owners can even host their own servers and create their own maps, just like Windows users." Cross-platform play means that all of these new-to-you Valve games are going to come with massive built-in communities.Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 to feature cross-platform play between Mac & PC
If you don't already have Mega Man 3 on the NES, the Wii Virtual Console or in the Mega Man Anniversary Collection, and if you have a Japanese PSN account, you'll be able to purchase the classic run-and-gun for your PlayStation systems next month.
Capcom announced that the Rockman Complete Works PS1 port of Mega Man 3 will be added to the Japanese PlayStation Store in April. But some Japanese Mega Man 10 buyers will be able to get it early -- Capcom is giving away 50 copies to random PSN users who buy Mega Man 10 in the first two weeks of its availability.
#comics
In the first of a four part Command & Conquer 4 motion comic book series, a young farmer sets off for a GDI Blue Zone looking for work, only to find his destiny. I hate it when that happens. More »
An age-old question that has never had so much time and effort put into it. If you want to know why your Super Nintendo turned yellow over the years, the article below is going to give you every possible answer possible. My SNES never actually went yellow, and now I know why!
Back in the day, I had no idea that the version of Metal Gear that NES fans got was far inferior to the MSX version. Hell, I didn’t even know what an MSX was back in the day! Now we know that we missed out on the better version of the game, but [...]
Phew, we can all relax now. According to this first gameplay of footage from Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, all concerns that the new game would forgo elements of exploration elements and environmental puzzle-solving. Plus, The Prince totally has some Andy Gibb hair going on. That's awesome, right?
The story this time around puts our Prince in his brother's neighboring kingdom during a great conflict. As a last-ditch effort to ensure the survival of the kingdom, the two release the Sands of Time, which saves everyone ... but also unleashes dark horrors. Uh-oh.
In other news, Eurogamer reports the PC version will release a month after the console installments, in June. It's nothing new for Ubisoft, a company that followed the same protocol for staggered release with both its Assassin's Creed games. And if waiting an extra month hasn't deterred your goal to play this on the PC, know that it will also include Ubisoft's internet-based DRM solution -- so that's something to keep in mind.
#onlyinvenezuela
Venezuela's new anti-violent video game law just recently went into effect, an opportunity for those who import or sell violent video games (and toys) a chance to pay a hefty fine and spend three-to-five years in prison. More »
It appears mobsters aren't the only things getting rubbed out in Mafia II, as 2K Games announces it has signed a license agreement with Playboy magazine for the mob saga. The pictorial publication will have over 50 of its "vintage covers and Centerfolds" inside the game when it eventually releases.
The iconic publication first premiered in 1953, so unless the game, which covers the '40s and '50s, is rewriting history, the Playboy collectibles won't show up until the latter part of the game's story. The magazine apparently won't merely be window dressing either, as players will have the ability to "collect virtual copies of the iconic magazine" -- to read the articles, of course. If you have roommates, we recommend investing in Purell hand wipes. We're not implying anything, simply "safety first." It is still flu season, after all.
Ralph Baer is without a doubt, the father of video games. We should be thankful for this guy every single day, but I think we can make a special point to think of him on his birthday! At 88 years old, Baer must be blown away by just how far the game industry [...]
Codemasters' new FPS from Black creator Stuart Black has been revealed by OXM UK -- and then promptly unrevealed, when the article was taken down. Bodycount is not based on Ice-T's metal band Body Count, because the world couldn't possibly be that beautiful. However, the cover of OXM (accessed through a Google cache of the article) calls it "the ultimate shooter." Since there won't be any shooters after this one, we assume that means it's really cool.
We'll find out more this week as the magazine arrives in UK homes, and presumably when an announcement is put online for good. Given the venue of announcement, we at least know it is an Xbox 360 game.
“Mr. Men and Little Miss continues to be a hit on television, the web and now on iPhone and we are thrilled to work with AT New Media to take the brand into the exciting world of gaming and interactive platforms to expand the fans’ opportunities to have fun with these beloved characters.” - Bettina [...]
A Microsoft job listing reveals that the company is looking for staff to design a new Xbox 360 motherboard. From the sound of it, the new "Motherboard Design Engineer" will be helping to design further revisions of the existing Xbox 360 architecture, rather than the hardware for a next-next-generation system. "The responsibilities of this position are focused on specifying, designing (schematic capture, PCB layout, BOM, cost analysis), implementing and verifying the mother-board and other various sub-system boards that make up the Xbox 360 product line," the job description reads.
If you're a qualified electrical engineer and want to do work that may cast you as a hero in the eyes of many, many gamers, this is your chance. Please fix the Xbox 360 motherboard once and for all!
Yesterday, early reports from Famitsu magazine brought news of a new game in the Metal Max series, in development for Nintendo DS by Crea-tech. Today, publisher Kadokawa Games opened a teaser site for Metal Max 3, featuring a short video of the RPG in action. As would be expected, it's got tanks. A bright red one, in fact! Screens are up on Famitsu's site.
Metal Max is a tank RPG series whose first localized entry, the PS2 spin-off Metal Saga, was released in North America in 2006 by Atlus. A DS sequel that same year was passed over, leaving the fate of this game in question.
According to 1UP's summary of the Famitsu article, Metal Max 3 stars a character, having just been resurrected by a mad scientst, on a quest to regain his memories. Kadokawa apparently classifies him as "the strongest level-1 character in the history of video games." The game will be released this summer in Japan.
#tragedy
A three-year-old in Wilson County, Tennessee died Sunday evening after accidentally shooting herself in the abdomen with a weapon she may have mistaken for a plastic Wii facsimile. More »
#sex
The people at Tecmo Games, makers of Ninja Gaiden, the next Metroid, Dead or Alive and the forthcoming Dead or Alive Paradise are in on the joke — or the fact? — about their customers' use of their products. More »
During PAX last year, Nintendo asked any professional artists who happened to be there to create an animation in the DSiWare program Flipnote Studio. Now, the flipnotes from comic artists like Eric Jones and Christina Strain, webcomics artist Scott Kurtz, and 5TH Cell art director Edison Yan, have finally been posted in a gallery on the Flipnote Hatena site.
Showing what can be done in a few minutes by a talented artist, and building on the excitement of a popular convention, makes this initiative a great promotional tool for the free app (and for the DSi in general), which is why Nintendo waited until six months after the event to release these!
