All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Some day, you'll feed on a tree frog. Why not wash it down with a crisp, refreshing Mountain Dew? On April 27, beverage producer Suntory will release a series of Mountain Dew cans in Japan, decorated with character art from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.

Of course, this collaboration works both ways. Mountain Dew will appear in Peace Walker as well as an in-game item. The press release says that the appearance of real items in the game "enhances the affinity between the real world and the game's story." It also enhances the affinity between Konami's coffers and cash money. Of course, Metal Gear is no stranger to merchandise tie-ins, with everything from Calorie Mate to Playboy Magazine appearing in the games.

[Via Andriasang]

Hey everyone! This is Matt from Empty Clip Studios. We’re a small game developer that aims to put out games that you’ll want to play over and over.

We’re stoked to spread the word about our first PlayStation Network title, Groovin’ Blocks. Groovin’ Blocks is a genre-bending music-based puzzle game. Many times people give it a quick look and say “Wait, isn’t this just a match-3 game?” HELL no! If you love graphics-based block puzzles and games set to rocking beats, then Groovin’ Blocks is your gaming dream come true.

In Groovin’ Blocks, you play directly with the beat of the music. See those bright moving columns on the side? You will notice that as the song plays, they come towards the board where all of your blocks are falling. Once they hit the side, they will “flash” and disappear. That flashing is where you want to hit down on the SIXAXIS controller and settle your blocks. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, now you add on that match-3 component and you have yourself something you’ll want to play all day long. But that’s not all! We give you bonuses and a player vs player mode where those bonuses become weapons against your opponent. When you feel like kissing and making up for the destruction you’ve caused, we also give you a co-op mode that really sets the game apart. I dare you to cooperate and survive long enough to finish the song.

One of the features we’re most proud of is our online scoreboard. You can make online friends and strangers green with envy by crushing their high scores on their favorite songs. We’ve also added challenging trophies for the hard core Trophy hunters. The game is running at smooth 60 frames-per-second in full 1080p resolution. Mmmmmm…1080p, yum!

We really enjoyed making this game. Sony Online Entertainment also deserves some props for all of their support.

I really hope you enjoy Groovin’ Blocks. There is no fix it patch if you can’t stop playing. Groovin’ Blocks is available on the PlayStation Store for $9.99. Also, be sure to look for the Groovin’ Blocks trailer, free theme and wallpapers in the Store this Thursday! Have fun!

#sports You know those short hook routes where your receiver stands three yards in front of the first down? Or those swing routes where the halfback runs straight out of bounds? They're supposedly a thing of the past in Madden 11. More »

#accessories Datel helps PSP users hop on the motion control bandwagon with the Tilt FX PSP, a device that adds accelerometer controls to your favorite games. More »

It's become rather common for DS game commercials to show the game via an onscreen DS console. Understandable, considering most titles wouldn't look too hot all stretched out for today's modern high resmolution screens. But then, the usual presentation -- tiny DS screens embedded within a larger screen -- is a bit bland. SouthPeak has come up with an interesting solution for the marketing behind Renegade Kid's upcoming horror FPS Dementium 2. The solution is simple: Rather than overlaying the screens on a DS mockup image, simply embed the screens in human flesh.

Granted, it probably wouldn't work for, say, the Imagine series, but it's damned effective here. Give it a watch.

The news is out on Nintendo's next big thing. What's everyone's take on what was revealed?

Here's a deal that Sam Fisher would come out of hiding for: Amazon is offering pre-orders of Splinter Cell: Conviction for Xbox 360 at the low price of $46.99 (standard edition). All you need to do in order to get the discount is enter the code SPLINTER at checkout and $5 will be deducted from your total (the retailer is selling the game at an already-discounted $51.99 to begin with). If you liked the recently-released demo and are looking to get your hands dirty with the full-version, it's the best deal we've seen yet.

Yes, it might seem a little too easy, but we have Third Echelon's assurance that this isn't some sort of elaborate trap. (The "security device" enclosed? Totally not a tracking beacon.)

[Via Gamerdeals]

#konami The next Metal Gear Solid game gets its most unexpected preview clip yet with the sugary sweet pop stylings of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker's Paz, singing the character theme "Love Deterrence." Can't say we saw this one coming. More »

Halfbrick has released a new Raskulls video packed with gameplay footage. We're also introduced to an invading race of evil alien rats which, somehow, are pitted against a seemingly innocent race of sentient skeletons. Figure that one out. Much more important, however, is the aforementioned gameplay, which honestly looks quite fun. Sitting somewhere between Mr. Driller and Smash Bros, the gameplay accommodates lots of platforming, power-ups, puzzle solving and close quarters combat.

We still don't know when the game will finally make it to Xbox Live Arcade, but there is some good news as Halfbrick has announced that Raskulls will be playable at PAX East this weekend. The Joystiq staff will be there en masse, so expect us to give it a try.

Company to focus on 3D console space.

Despite what you may assume, we're not the sort of people who'd buy ourselves a steampunk Game Boy like the Thretris-created model you see above (see it in action after the break). We are, however, the sort of people who'd use our popular internet website to politely request that our readers buy said Game Boy from eBay and send it to us for a holiday of their choice. It probably seems a little ethically dicey to the layman, but ethics are really complicated (they have whole college courses about them!) so you shouldn't feel too bad about yourself for not understanding.

Hey, speaking of things you should or shouldn't do, did you bid on that steampunk Game Boy yet?

[Via GoNintendo]

#addiction Tom Bissell was a productive, healthy, and somewhat disciplined young award-winning author, before his passion for Grand Theft Auto helped transform him into a cocaine-addled gaming addict. More »

Hell in a cell.

#requests Today I added two more people to the list of individuals imploring me via e-mail to develop Dark Cloud 3. I'm sorry, folks but I'm not going to do it. More »

"I need to play Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Burning Earth and Sega Superstars Tennis right the hell now, and I'm not going to leave my house to do it!"

Listen, we've all been there. ... Well, we haven't. But we assume you have, or else why are you reading this post? Why else would you need to know that both games had been added to Xbox Live's Games on Demand service for $20 a piece? Hey, what kind of game are you playing here?

...What's that? ... You just wanted an excuse to see us? Aww, we wanted to see you too. Don't tell the others, but you're our favorite reader.

One man has been speaking about his sequel for years, while the other is a fictional character dreamed up by executives. Which one stands out more, and gets their point across better? It’s time for a spokesperson battle, even if one of the combatants doesn’t realize that he’s been thrown into the role! Article [...]

#valve The first add-on for zombie apocalypse shooter Left 4 Dead 2 may be more expansive than Valve originally lead us to believe. A new update on the downloadable campaign "The Passing" promises new "game modes." More »

Click to Enker the galleryCapcom will make downloadable Special Stages available in Mega Man 10 throughout April, for one dollar each. Should you make it to the end of each stage, you'll meet some musically-named bosses that will only be recognizable if you're a huge Mega Man nerd! The three stages feature the return of the Mega Man Killers, a group of bosses from the Game Boy Mega Man games.

Special Stage 1, available the week of April 5, features Enker from the first portable Mega Man game, a robot with the ability to absorb and reflect shots. Special Stage 2 features Mega Man III's Punk, who uses a large spinning weapon called the Screw Crusher, and Special Stage 3 includes Ballade from Mega Man IV, who uses the explosive Ballade Cracker. Both Special Stage 2 and 3 will be released the week of April 26.

You're a gun-slinging samurai. What the hell else could you want?

Old school strategy in a modern package.

Move over, Spider-Man.

You've heard about tower defense. But how about tower offense?

An impressive new 3D racer comes to DSiWare.

Company hoping to improve Japanese language support for Unreal Engine 3.

Company hoping to improve Japanese language support for Unreal Engine 3.

Think the ESA isn’t working hard enough to spread the good word on video games? I don’t know…I think that $1.2 million should count for something! The lobbying included intellectual property protection, broadband deployment, green cards for skilled foreign workers, Internet governance, ‘virtual worlds’ and online video games.