All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#mimeoandthekleptopusking Shaun Inman loves his pixels, the little bits of color that combine to make up video games. More »

A major new update to the famed gaming system is advancing side-by-side with the newly released expansion.

#rules Word from Scrabble makers Mattel is that proper nouns will be fair game for Scrabble players as of this summer. More »

The hefty expansion to the highly touted Kharkov engine is now rolling across the steppes.

The word-of-mouth we reported on last week was proven accurate this morning, when Sega confirmed that it has shut down Sega Studios San Francisco (formerly Secret Level), developer of Iron Man and Golden Axe: Beast Rider. An unnamed Sega representative issued a statement to IndustryGamers, offering condolences to the recently unemployed developers, while promising to "continue to pursue external development opportunities all over the world," a fact we're sure the aforementioned jobless truly appreciate.

The only unknown in this scenario is the fate of the studio's swan song, the video game adaptation of Iron Man 2. Rumor has it that the game was finished, but Sega's yet to issue a statement on its completion. We've contacted Sega to find out the game's status, and to find out how many naughty Easter eggs its disgruntled developers embedded within it after being informed their jobs were forfeit.

#arcade It stood for 28 years and took 58 hours and one quarter to beat. More »

Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess, the PSP Mini about unfortunate anti-monster racial profiling, has been given a release date of April 22 -- which publisher Mediatonic has confirmed is worldwide. The game, playable on both PSP and PS3, stars the Duke, who goes on an ill-researched quest to rescue his princess, jumping endlessly upward through vertically scrolling levels, and beating up every presumed guilty monster he sees (hint: all of them).

To see the game in (unfair) action, check out the trailer after the break. It features random wings, Castlevania-esque music, and monster piledrivers! You'll probably enjoy watching it.

You've been able to download Fable 2 through Xbox Live episodically until now, but who has time for all that thumb stick manipulation, button pressing and dashboard navigation? Zeroes, that's who. Starting today, you can buy the game like a sane person: In one big chunk for $20 from Games on Demand.

Major Nelson also announced that Fallout 3 is now available on demand in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, leaving India and Japan as the sole holdout territories that can't experience the joy of nuclear devastation with a single button press. Soon, guys. Soon.

After popping up on the ESRB and OFLC rating websites, a game called "Transformers: Cybertron Adventures" for Wii led some to wonder whether it was a new, unannounced game. An Activision representative tells Joystiq that it's "the Wii version" of the company's upcoming Transformers: War for Cyberton on PS3 and Xbox 360.

The DS version of War for Cybertron, which comes in two versions with Autobot and Decepticon campaigns, still maintains the less family-friendly title. So, Wii owners can expect "adventures" with the Transformers this summer, as high-def consoles prepare for "war."

#hollywood There must be a reason why the Oscar-nominated actor decided to be in the video game film. Turns out, there are several. More »

#bluray Blu-ray discs are 25 to 50 GB for single-layer discs and 50 to 100 GB for dual-layer discs. They're about to get bigger. More »

The Xbox 360 system update enabling USB storage is live and ready to help you explore the joyous world of non-proprietary storage options. Rules are the same as previously noted: USB devices need to be over 1GB, but can only use 16GB of available storage. Users can use two sticks at once for 32GB, but can switch out sticks any time, limiting their storage potential by how many USB sticks they've got lying around.

The update takes approximately five minutes with a standard cable connection. For those who don't believe in internets, the update will also be available on the branded 16 GB Xbox 360 USB sticks set to debut in May.

I didn’t think it was possible to make a game as collaboratively geektastic as LEGO Star Wars. But when it comes to the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup-style “two great things that taste great together,” I think that LEGO + Harry Potter is right up there. With LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 casting a spell on PS3 and PSP this Spring, PlayStation.Blog EU’s Jem Alexander met up with Traveller’s Tales‘ Jonathan Smith to find out more about the games. Y’know, cos SCEE offices are pretty close by the Ministry of Magic.

Jem Alexander: How does Lego Harry Potter differ from previous Lego games?

Jonathan Smith: With every new game we make we try to raise the bar and there are lots of technical innovations in Lego Harry Potter. The new layer of physics makes the world more realistic and enable us to build with Lego using magic in a way you’ve never been able to do before. And taking advantage of this wonderful setting of Hogwarts and the magical characters within it, we can use magic to create a new kind of lego gameplay as well, with characters that learn new spells over a long period of time, so that they’re always progressing over what is a very sizeable adventure and learning new things every step of the way.

Jem: How has game progression in particular changed in this Lego game?

Jonathan: So what’s radically and completely new in Lego Harry Potter from what we’ve done before is the effect that having Hogwarts as a massive explorable environment has on the game progression and the game structure. When you first start as a new student in Hogwarts, finding your way to your first lesson you’ll be pretty well directed by the teaches and the design of the environment to find your way, but as you play and progress further through the story, with each new spell you’ll gain access to new areas and trigger new story events that move on through the plot. So you’ll find more and more of Hogwarts accessible to you as a player, switching between different characters, until it becomes a really huge, immersive, explorable, open environment — to which you’ll return between story events to discover more secrets and learn more things.

Jem: So why did you choose to focus on the first four books?

Jonathan: We wanted to start at the beginning of the Harry Potter story with year 1 and we wanted to create a game that was a really substantial adventure. The end of the Triwizard Tournament at the end of The Goblet Of Fire is a really nice climax. Over those four years you get a real sense of development from a novice to becoming a very powerful wizard. It’s a period of time that’s rewarding to play through and get to the end of.

Jem: Would you say the game is based more on the books or the films, or a mixture of both?

Jonathan: Everything in the world of Harry Potter comes from the books. That’s where it was invented and where it has the greatest detail. We draw, where we can, upon the wonderfully vivid evocation of the story as represented by the film makers and you’ll see that in the representation of the characters and some of the action scenes.

Jem: How much creative freedom were you given when creating objects, characters or environments for the Harry Potter Universe?

Jonathan: Everything that’s in Lego Harry Potter has to be fitting for the world of Harry Potter and the world of Lego Harry Potter is very accommodating of surprising objects. So, you’ll find tractors and washing machines and trampolines and all the surprising, fun, Lego things you’d expect to find in a Lego game — and yet at the same time it will still be perfectly fitting for the world of Harry Potter.

Jem: How have you dealt with character progression in the game? Do they get older and more powerful?

Jonathan: All the students, as you progress through the game, will learn new, more powerful spells.

Jem: Are there any plans to incorporate Move functionality?

Jonathan: No. Because we’re coming out before the Move is releasing.

Jem: How much support have you had from JK Rowling and the people behind the films?

Jonathan: We’ve had tremendous support JK Rowling and all the team at Warner Bros who are responsible for the upkeep of the world of Harry Potter. Everyone appreciates that what Lego brings to Harry Potter is unique and I think everyone has come to trust the respect and love that everyone on the team has for the source material and that wonderful world that was created.

Jem: How much sidequest / secret content will there be in the game?

Jonathan: It’s a big game compared to other Lego games. The balance of directed, plot-orientated level action to fool-around bonus stuff is not dissimilar to previous games, but there is probably more of it because it’s a bigger game.

Jem: How do the PSP and PS3 games differ?

Jonathan: The PSP version of the game has a greater focus on adventure and questing. The PS3 version has a greater focus on action.

Jem: How do you feel about the idea that Lego Harry Potter will be the first exposure to the series for some people?

Jonathan: We aspire to be the perfect introduction for new gamers and people who may not be intimately knowledgable about Harry Potter already. Lego always gives people a way into new worlds of imagination and we feel very proud to be able to do that.

Thanks, Jem! Little known fact: on the way to SCEE HQ, you walk right past what I’m convinced is the basis for Diagon Alley. Someplace called “Carnaby Street.” Check it out if you’re ever round that way.

#caniscanimedit You know, I was playing Final Fantasy the other day, and thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if I could play this not in English, but in Latin? What. I'm a sucker for the classics. More »

#nintendo With the recent reveal (of sorts) of the Nintendo 3DS, the writing is finally on the wall for the company's venerable line of DS handhelds. With most eyes on the future, then, we thought now would be a good time to look to the past. More »

In 2008, the Hollywood film version of third-person shoot Gears of War had a director and a 2010 release. It's 2010, and the movie hasn't even started filming yet. And it might no longer have a director. More »

#pc If you want to play old PC games on your new PC, the go-to option is a thing called DOSBox. It gets the job done, but it can be a little fiddly. D-Fend Reloaded, on the other hand, is a breeze. More »

#explainer In the wake of the controversy surrounding CNN's reporting of Japanese video games, several on the Japanese internet pointed out the same thing: This is just another example of "Japan Bashing". More »

#microsoft The calendar says April 6, and that means, as promised, your Xbox 360 consoles now have a little upgrade waiting for you: the ability to save data to removable USB memory drives. More »

#jrpg Role-playing games, Japanese ones especially, can be such long-winded things. They're far more digestible when you cut out all the fluff and break them down into five-second minigames. More »

#hollywood There are Resident Evil games. There are Resident Evil movies. What if one day they merged? More »

#hollywood The Hollywood big screen adaptation of iconic 1980s television cartoon Voltron has been languishing in development hell for years. After several script drafts, the live-action movie version is heading back to square one. More »

Cort has a nice little review for you tonight. When I say little, I really mean big. You can always depend on Cort for a review that’s more thought-out and better put together than anything I can write! His work usually makes up for my lack of grace when working on the [...]

#environment A great report over on GamePro today takes a look at the environmental impact of the video game industry. Those yearning for a brighter future (and can take solace in incremental improvements), you'll like what you see. More »

#tecmo "Creepy" jiggly beach volleyball game Dead or Alive: Paradise features female characters in skimpy bikinis. Or does it? More »

Sure, you may already be one of the Hustle Kings on PS3, but isn't it time you sought another billiards-related monarchy on a Sony system? Of course it is. Nordcurrent thinks so, which is why it's releasing King of Pool for PSP over the PlayStation Network this week.

King of Pool is a pool game that purports to "implement the whole variety of rules that exist in the world." It features a bunch of real pool modes, as well as weird original tables invented by the team. "Originally they were created by our lead artists just for fun, as a joke," Nordcurrent managing director Alex Bravve said, "but then we've noticed that a lot of people are actually enjoying playing them. So we decided to leave these tables as a feature, rather than an Easter egg."

King of Pool will be downloadable April 8 for ten bucks.

It took Endless Ocean 2 a little over a month to debut on the Nintendo Channel with its first round of data. Interestingly enough, that’s about the same time it took No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle to show up as well. Hopefully Endless Ocean 2 gets a bit more attention from consumers. [...]

#socom Your perceptions of Tiger Woods may have changed of late, considering he's been accused of banging every cocktail waitress in the continental United States, but there was once a time he was a mere golfer, playing SOCOM on his PS2. More »