All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#filthflarn The ESRB's served up a no-surprise M for Red Dead Redemption but enlightens us as to why - drugs, blood and a whole bunch of words Roy Rogers never said to Dale Evans. More »

A portion of a Nintendo Life review… Diverging scenes and choices make its main story and unique episodes worth a second play-through, although re-experiencing the large portions they have in common can be a bit tedious.

We've got to hand it to Avalanche Software: You guys sure know how to inject a modicum of ingenuity into an extremely tired genre. For instance, the upcoming game adaptation of Toy Story 3 was off our proverbial radar moments after it was first announced -- however, a recent trailer for the game's "Toy Box" mode, which allows its (presumably juvenile) players to make their own levels and missions, it's now taking up a tiny place in our minds. (And our hearts.)

Check out the highly customizable trailer just past the jump.

[Via GoNintendo]

Listen up, folks, because this week's Swag Saturday is serious. Serious Sam that is. We've got ten (count 'em, ten) redemption codes for Serious Sam HD: The Second Enounter through Steam. The codes grant you the game itself and, as an added bonus, they will also net you the playable Ugh-Zan pre-order bonus, if you redeem before the game's official launch on Wednesday, April 28. Like we said: Serious.

• Leave a comment telling us how serious you are about winning
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- you know why).
• Limit 1 entry per person per day.
• This entry period ends at 3:00PM ET on Sunday, April 25.
• At that time, we'll randomly select ten winners, who will each receive one redemption code through Steam for Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter (ARV: $19.99).
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition.

For more info on our policy, click here.

#rumor Someone named "Xbox360 Leaker" dropped a screenshot of a French-language Xbox Live Marketplace that shows the Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio available as a demo. The picture, of unknown provenance, adds weight to rumors that other Dreamcast classics are inbound. More »

The month of April is typically a slow one when it comes to video game releases (not that I’ve minded, after a season featuring God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain and more).

Well that’s over for now. Super Street Fighter IV, ModNation Racers, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Lost Planet 2, and more are coming your way in the coming weeks. Hope you caught up!

We found stories on those and other games this week. Feel free to share your own links in the comments below.

The PS Blog weekly reading list (Week of April 19, 2010)

• LittleBigPlanet PSP ‘Turbo Pack’ dons its hard hat
• Final Fantasy Agito XIII and The 3rd Birthday Update – IGN
• ModNation Racers makes appearance in NBC’s ‘Community’ – Joystiq
• Interview: SOCOM 4’s Travis Steiner – Joystiq
• Planet Minigolf lets you play, create, share – Joystiq
• (Probably) Stole My Princess Review – IGN
• What Did I Do To Deserve This, My Lord!? Returns To PSN – Siliconera
• Final Fantasy XIII Lightning PS3 Gets Matching Limited Edition Controller – Siliconera
• The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition Review – GameSpot
• ModNation Racers One-Ups The Competition – PSX Extreme
• Sony Talks 3D Firmware, PlayStation Move – IGN
• Sony Leapfrogs Microsoft With PSN Updates – GameInformer.com
• PSN Review – Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse Episode 1 – The Penal Zone – PlayStation LifeStyle
• Rock Band Network tracks coming to Playstation 3 starting this week – Examiner
• Sony’s PlayStation Network adds MLB.TV to its lineup – Game Hunters
• Final Fantasy XIII PlayStation Home Items Come To North America – Kotaku
• Feature: Check out this game’s graphics! – Heavy Rain – Kombo.com
• Uncharted 2: Siege Expansion Pack Review for PlayStation 3 – GameSpot
• Heavy Rain: The Most Effed-Up Endings – IGN
• Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake Developer Walkthrough Video – G4tv.com
• Exotic controls aim to enhance games – Seattle Times Newspaper
• ModNation Racers: taking down Mario Kart, feature by feature – Ars Technica
• Review: 3D Dot Game Heroes – VGBlogger.com
• Little Big Philadelphia: A Winner Is You! – Geekadelphia
• Uncharted 2: The Siege Expansion Hands-on – IGN
• Analysis: PS3 Game Marketshare Sees Significant Jump – Gamasutra

#easteregg We knew that Left 4 Dead 2's new expansion, "The Passing," paid a graffiti tribute to Dead Rising's Frank West. It looks like the game's creators admire Plants vs. Zombies as well. More »

Capcom's recent promotional get-together for its upcoming renovated fighting game, Super Street Fighter IV, was chock-full of exciting moments for die-hard fans of the series. The pinnacle moment of the "Fight Club" event was, undoubtedly, the final showdown between Street Fighter legends Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong, the entirety of which was captured on video. You don't have to know much about the franchise to appreciate the epicness of this match-up, or to recognize how impossibly radical the final round is.

Unfortunately, one bad apple in the crowd had to try and ruin the whole thing. Jon Gibson, founder of i am 8-bit Productions, is asking for help with locating a ton of video equipment (and documentary footage shot on said equipment) which was stolen during the event. If you have any information about the equipment's whereabouts, he's offering a cash reward -- but we know you guys don't care about that. You care about helping out your fellow man, right?

#weekendreader Rather than ponder games' artistic merit, Brian Hertler tackles a question that's a little more lighthearted, yet no more answerable: Just why do we find video games - even the simplest ones - so fun? More »

The surprise first rounder is already sporting his new threads in Denver.

#photoshop Thursday, EA Sports revealed the cover athlete for Madden NFL 11, and the player they selected certainly is deserving. Now let's consider some of the less deserving athletes out there. More »

Nintendo is promising another Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer today. They’ve made a note of its impending release on their viral marketing YouTube page. Just make sure to keep checking that account out, as the video will most likely hit in a few hours!

Out of This World, Another World…it doesn’t matter what you call it. This game is still an amazing achievement for the industry, and continues to be one of my favorite titles of all-time. I was absolutely blown away by this title back in the day, and my fondness for it only grows with [...]

As promised, the first two episodes of Alan Wake's live-action prequel, titled "Bright Falls," became available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers earlier this morning. However, though Microsoft said we shouldn't expect to see the videos anywhere else for a couple of days, the New York Times managed to get its hands on the series' first two installments. They're on the newspaper's website right now, and they are weird as hell.

If you're short on time, we suggest you at least get to the "Happy Birthday" scene in the first episode. Watching it is like staring into the inky, black eye of madness.

- the team that developed the DS version is different from the PC version - Korean and Japanese arms of Nintendo helped develop the title - 30-40 hours of gameplay - 4 separate stories to play through - unlock new features when completing the game - collect coupons to use in the PC version of the game - multiplayer was considered, [...]

I think every Nintendo fan out there is going into Super Mario Galaxy 2 overdrive. I know that I can’t wait for the game to come out. We’re so close to release…this is the hardest part of the wait! Each day we get closer, it actually seems like things are farther away! Article [...]

Crazy Pinball Platform: Nintendo DSi Rating: Everyone Content descriptors: No Descriptors Rating summary: This is a pinball simulation in which players can select from tables themed around a safari, the deep sea, a space odyssey, and fire. Players’ performance is monitored on a dot-matrix screen that keeps track of score and displays messages about the pinball table. This was originally an [...]

Mom Brain returns this week, as does JTS. Two crew members try out the show in the new warehouse, and things go quite well. The music section actually turns out to be a success, and we’re all feeling pretty good about that one! Download the show here (and cheer up Mega Stranger!)

I really hope these make it over to the states when Okamiden hits here. We’re quite a ways off from that happening, so there’s plenty of time to beg Capcom for them!

The next mission from "Season One" of Star Trek Online's free content updates will soon be added to the game. Titled "DS9 Under Siege," the new episode will bring about a massive invasion upon the typically peaceful space station Deep Space Nine. You might know it from the show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Remember? It was right there in the title.

Check out the trailer above to see what players will be up against when the new episode launches. (Spoiler alert: It's lasers. You're going up against lasers. So many lasers.)

Coming from the official developer site… Thanks to WarioFan63 for the heads up!

So, you've learned how to stand a better chance at surviving the user-generated arenas in Dante's Inferno's upcoming DLC expansion, "Trials of St. Lucia." Aren't you curious as to how those titular trials get created? The video above has a pretty good primer on all the different options afforded to the game's more creative players, as well as a few tips on how to make your trial tough, but winnable. Hey, even folks condemned to the deepest pits of Hades deserve a fair shot.

#photoshop Activision and Infinity Ward's founders are going through an unbelievably nasty, painful divorce, and as the children caught in the middle of it, we decided you should draw some pictures to describe your feelings. More »

Wanna know the most stylish, funkiest manner in which a person can simultaneously dislocate both of their wrists? We wager it's by playing the three mixes which will be added to DJ Hero on April 29 as part of the "Domination Pack." The three punishing tunes included in the DLC are:

• Darude's "Sandstorm" mixed with Josh Wink's "Higher State of Consciousness"
• Wolfgang Gartner's "Wolfgang's Fifth Symphony" (Beat Juggle)
• Danny Byrd's "Red Mist VIP" (Beat Juggle)

A video of the Wolfgang track is posted after the jump. Just watching it makes our brains, hands and fingers hurt.

[Thanks DirtyBeefz!]