All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#clips Blizzard's Galaxy Editor for StarCraft II does more than custom maps and Mario Kart-style mods, it does screen-filling bullet hell shooters too! Want proof? See how hellish this Touhou-style shoot 'em up mod performs. [via GameSetWatch] More »

#2k Though we've seen OXM's coverage of the upcoming XCOM reboot, PC Gamer also have a piece on the game, and it's now online. There's not much new in the way of info, but there's now some screenshots for you to...enjoy? More »

#harmonix Judas Priest's sixth album, 1980's British Steel, is coming to Rock Band next week in its live incarnation. Yes, that does include "Breaking the Law." More »

Looks like Nintendo is going to have to build yet another new office! Mario’s already ruined this one!

Second class action lawsuit filed against SCEA.

#clips I'm still coming to grips with my $600 PlayStation 3 purchase, but to rent-to-own one for a sum total of $2400 is mind boggling. Like magnets. How do they work? Lessons are learned in this Judge Judy clip. [via KokuGamer] More »

#screengrab Jaime "Kalapusa" Margary, maker of ultra realistic Piranha Plants, Goombas and other Mushroom Kingdom fungus, gorgeously explores the physiology of the Metroid. Perhaps a little too revealing. As seen (larger) at Kalapusa's deviantArt page. More »

When we last saw Alpha Protocol, protagonist Michael Thorton was being formally introduced. Now, just two days later, he's pulverizing and/or murdering everything in his sight. The latest trailer, as you might have guessed, features Thorton in a variety of combat scenarios, showing off some Splinter Cell: Conviction-esque pistol takedowns and American Ninja-esque karate moves.

Immediately after watching the clip, we felt inclined to alert Mr. Thorton to one very important protip when engaging in hand-to-hand combat: leaping through the air at someone only to introduce your knee to their face is not the most effective way to start a fight. Just a thought! At very least, you kids shouldn't try pulling that off at home. Maybe in Alpha Protocol when it releases on June 1, but not physically in your home.

Did you happen to play the Mega Man Zero series when it landed on GBA? Some of you may have missed out on it, as I know we have a lot of younger gamers here. If you missed out on it with the first go-around, you’d be silly to pass it up this [...]

Article here Yuzo Koshiro is one of the last, remaining composers that really goes for that old-school style with his music. I really appreciate that kind of approach. I loved it back in the day, and I lover even more, now that hardly anyone else does it!

#valve Valve's weekly update to Left 4 Dead 2's gameplay altering Mutations brings us "Follow the Liter," a new spin on the gas guzzling Scavenge mode. The better news? The game's debut Mutation is going to be a permanent fixture. More »

#list What a week for Kotaku reviews! There were nine of them—ten if you count Owen Good's impromptu review of the KFC Double Down "sandwich." Read on for our scoreless reviews of Nier, Alan Wake and much, much more. More »

Screenshot party in the gallery!During his financial results briefing to investors, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed the next game in the company's flagship "Wii" series: Wii Party. The game, Iwata said, is designed to be a "marquee party game for Wii" -- akin to Mario Party minus some of the frills, like the board-game framing or the Waluigi. You could also think of it like any of the dozens of minigame collections already available for the Wii, but with the potential to be good.

Wii Party joins Wii Sports and sequel Resort, Wii Play, the Wii Fits, and (cough) Wii Music in the Wii-branded game series. The party game stars player-created Miis (instead of Mario characters) and includes a "Living Party" mode that uses just the Wiimote. 1-4-player games shown in screenshots include sugoroku (the Japanese board game that's also the basis for WiiWare's Family Pirate Party), "International Vacation Game," "Mii Jyan," roulette, and bingo; and 1-2-player games, filed in the "Pair Party" category, include Mii compatibility check, "Balance Ship" and Mii Match.

"Nintendo has not launched a marquee party game since Mario Party 8, launched in summer 2007," Iwata told investors (through translation). "However, since Wii is usually being played by several people at once and the global sales of Mario Party have reached 7.6 million units, a party title has great potential. This is one of the titles which, we hope, will play an important role for this fiscal year." In other words, Wii Party will be released, at least in Japan, before the end of March 2011.

The best thing about Wii Party? It'll allow Nyko to bring back the canceled Party Station as a game-specific accessory.

[Via Kotaku]

Ask anybody who was old enough to go through the life cycle of the first PlayStation and they'll likely have an opinion on which Final Fantasy was the best. And "soon," a whole new generation will be able to engage in that most stimulating of debates, with the PlayStation Blog confirming that Final Fantasy IX will be the third "proper" PlayStation-era Final Fantasy game available for download on PSN, joining siblings Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII.

Joystiq itself takes no part in the ongoing war for supremacy each title is unwillingly engaged in. We simply aim to enjoy the good parts of each. But that doesn't mean you can't battle it out in this here poll!
View Poll
[Thanks, Eduardo]

1. To create the battle face, a Photo Dojo warrior might think of previous enemies or undesirable food combinations such as brussel sprouts in spoiled milk. Practice battle face in the mirror until the mirror begins to weep in fear. 2. Achieving the proper kung fu pose is simple. A Photo Dojo warrior must train in [...]

We’ve posted about this comic book before, but now it’s actually available to own. Hit up this link to grab your own!

#nintendo Some out loud thinking from Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto could be telling of Nintendo's plans to dedicate more energy to and demand more money for online gaming through the Wii and Nintendo DS. More »

Oh, sure, Spore's a nice enough guy. But ... don't you sometimes wish he had a bad streak? You've always been attracted to the lone wolf, the rebel, the ne'er-do-well -- that goody-two-shoes Spore wouldn't know the first thing about satisfying your desire for unwholesome behavior. You know who does? His edgy twin brother, Darkspore.

At least, we're assuming EA's recently registered trio of trademarks for "Darkspore," discovered by Superannuation, are reserving the title for the franchise's next, considerably darker iteration. Is it possibly the Spore title hinted at in EA's Q3 2010 financial report? Or is it an unexpected evil twin, making a soap operatic surprise entrance? Only time (and possibly EA's press conference at E3) will tell.

An anonymous source claims breakup may happen soon.

A refresher on the specific suits and powers you'll be using in the sequel.

#activision Stop! Do not buy that copy of Call of Duty: World At War! If you really need a fix of World War II era shoot 'em up action, cool your jets for this summer's Call of Duty: The War Collection. More »

You guys really liked that Realism Vs mode in Left 4 Dead 2, huh? Lucky for you, Valve's Left 4 Dead Blog passes along word that it's been made into a permanent game type. Valve reports the final results of the in-game poll show 68 percent of those voting wanted it to be permanent, while only 21 percent of those voting didn't want it hanging around -- the final 11 percent really had no opinion. Apathy doesn't help kill zombies, people.

And because it's past Thursday, there's now a new Mutation to enjoy: Follow the Liter. In this Scavenger variant, the gas spawning is limited to a solitary can in one location known to both the Survivors and the Infected. Sounds like Mad Max -- you know, but with zombies.

The Left 4 Dead Blog offers more details and teases us with next week's Mutation title: Last Gnome on Earth. You think that's a The World of David the Gnome reference?

#review After watching Firemint's Real Racing HD idle at the top end of the iPad gaming charts every week since the device's early April release, we put the racer through its paces to see why it's getting so much love. More »

Buying a Wii arcade stick for a single game might be hard to justify, but Capcom is making it somewhat easier with its latest online Deal of the Week. This weekend, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is marked down 15%, to $67.95. If you buy it together with the game, the whole thing is $113.95, with the stick making up $64 of that.

We should also point out that the FightSticks are $68.56 on Amazon at the moment, so you have another potential avenue for savings. And it wouldn't necessarily just be for one game -- it would be really nice for retro fighting games and even shooters on the Virtual Console, as well.

Speaking with the[a]listdaily, 2K Games' Matt Gorman and Tom Bass discussed the marketing strategy behind BioShock 2. With BioShock being one of the best games of 2007, Bass saw its legacy as both "a blessing and a curse" for the sequel. The challenge was twofold, according to Bass, who said that 2K had to sell the game to fans who "weren't convinced that they needed a sequel" and also to newcomers who might not have been familiar with the original.

At the same time, BioShock 2 was given much more attention from retailers thanks to the success of its predecessor. "With the second one, retail was super stoked for it and just the level of presence we were given was amazing," said Gorman, adding that the community built around original helped to "evangelize" the sequel. Finally, Gorman said that the team was happy with the reception of BioShock 2, noting, "There were few times you could turn around and not see BioShock 2 during February."