All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#xbox360 Attention! This is Privates, a new game from the developers of Time Gentlemen, Please! coming to the PC and Xbox 360, one that will give many hardcore video gamers a second chance to encounter a vagina. More »

If you've played through Heavy Rain, you know that most problems can't be solved by shooting a dude in the face. For GTA IV's Niko Bellic, that's very much a real problem solver -- a tactic he has no problem using. So it's a pretty odd juxtaposition to see the two games spliced together like they are in the video past the break.

It's a pretty great video, but we feel we should warn you that you probably won't get it if you've never played Heavy Rain. Unless you're watching this part, which we're pretty sure is funny no matter what game(s) you've played.

[Via Kotaku]

iGEA's CEO, Tony Reed, talks to IGN about the future of our industry.

iGEA's CEO, Tony Reed, talks to IGN about the future of our industry.

iGEA's CEO, Tony Reed, talks to IGN about the future of our industry.

iGEA's CEO, Tony Reed, talks to IGN about the future of our industry.

Rockstar Games has unveiled how it will be using the Rockstar Social Club service for Red Dead Redemption, and cowboys (and girls) looking for a little extra horsin' around won't be disappointed. The Social Club is offering achievements and challenges on top of the game, so, for example, one early mission that has you horsedragging an outlaw around will have a target time, and Social Club members who beat that time will get access to a special "Guns Blazing" cheat that gives your shots the chance to light enemies on fire. There will also be game-wide challenges, including one later this month that will require everyone playing the game to hit a certain amount of money raised, with an Xbox Live or PlayStation Home avatar T-shirt as a prize.

There will also be community news, multiplayer events, special leaderboards and lots of stats tracked on the Social Club website. 100% completion is even "exclusively" in the Social Club, so presumably the only way you'll be able to know that you've done everything the West has to offer is to log on with a Rockstar Games account and find out. Kind of peculiar that information isn't in the game itself, no? At least signing up for the Social Club is free, so if you're planning to ride the plains next week, might as well do it now.

#sports Strong users of rental services and resale or trade-in options, sports gamers justifiably feel blindsided by EA Sports' new "Online Pass," which requires a ton of once-standard game content to be activated by a one-use code. More »

#thefuture New York City is one of the most played locations in games, serving as the inspirational backdrop for games like Grand Theft Auto, Prototype, Crysis 2 and many, many, (perhaps too many) more. Will future visions of the Big Apple be... fun? More »

The official God of War novel, based on the "thrilling video game," will spill its entrails of words all over bookstore shelves May 25, 2010. In the meantime, the prologue and first chapter of the book are available for Medusa's gaze online [PDF link]. Be warned, however, Kratos' transition from video game to literature may be a little tough to swallow. An excerpt:

"His only dream now is of oblivion.
He has been called the Ghost of Sparta. He has been called the Fist of Ares and the Champion of Athena. He has been called a warrior. A murderer. A monster.
He is all of these things. And none of them.
His name is Kratos, and he knows who the real monsters are."

If you're comfortable with that, then the rest won't feel like a grueling Olympic event.

(and, coincidentally, it’s also a WRAP, too!)

What am I yammering on about? Why, only the fact that 3D Dot Game Heroes, the PS3-exclusive action-adventure game that takes those gosh-darn-awesome gaming classics we all grew up with (you know, _______, ________, and who could forget ______ ___ _______) and renders them with current gen pizzazz!

“I have the power, rawr.”

To celebrate the game’s release, we’re also releasing a fifth video vignette. Not only does it show off the mini-games you’ll be distracted by (dooming the poor citizens of Dotnia to never being rescued from the clutches of Dark Bishop Fuelle), but it also happens to be the most radical video we’ve put out for the game to date.

“No, it is too retro-sexy, señor”
“BUT I MUST!”

So, why should you pick up 3D Dot Game Heroes? Is it safe to assume “because it’s awesome” isn’t quite enough information? Well, how about the following list of things, bulleted for your convenience (and mine):

• An awesome marriage of old-school 8- and 16-bit sprite style art (in beautiful 3D, mind you) with the full power of the PlayStation 3 system.
• A retro-yet-modern soundtrack, filled with addictive tunes that you’ll be annoying people in public spaces with your involuntary humming for quite some time.
• A huge, lush kingdom to explore. Dotnia is filled with secrets, large dungeons, powerful bosses, quests to solve, and hilarious characters. Search every nook and cranny; you’re bound to find something amazing!
• Tons of replayability, whether by means of the mini-games, the new game + modes (yes, there is more than one post-game mode to try), or trying to collect all of the swords (many of which are not easily found).
• Have we mentioned it’s only $39.99?

“Ew, a spider, kill it! Oh wait, that’s us…”

Have we told you about the “Hall of Heroes” yet, PlayStation Blog friends? You know, the handy, dandy repository for all of your awesome custom heroes (assuming they don’t infringe on any rights you don’t own)? The place where you can go to download new designs from Crafty McCraftersons around the world? The place where if you submit a great design in the next month or so, you could be eligible to win some Amazon Video Games credit? Oh, NOW we have your attention. Well, we might as well pimp the link: http://www.3ddotgameheroes.com/hallofheroes

So, in conclusion… Stay the course… A thousand points of light… And remember to pick of 3D Dot Game Heroes for your PlayStation 3 system today. It’s only $39.99!

#screengrab Actually, we did. They were called "unlockables" and, after playing the game a lot, you got them for free. Seen via Reddit. More »

#magazines Retailer Best Buy may have had limited success aping competitor GameStop's lucrative (for now) used games business, but it's taking another cue from the video game giant—it's launching its own video game print magazine. More »

Being a giant, beloved video game blog has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk with Armor Games' Daniel McNeely (Founder) and John Cooney (Head of Game Development) converted a love of medieval Flash games into a full-on gaming hub.


How did Armor Games get started?

DM: Armor Games got started out of the desire to make quality Flash games available to just about anyone. There're so many out there, we wanted to be consistently great.

We initially launched as 'GamesofGondor,' with the intent of focusing on medieval games. I'm a big fan of Tolkien, CS Lewis, Robin Hood, King Arthur and pretty much anything representative of chivalry, so it was a natural choice. Anyway, I quickly found out that the word 'Gondor' was protected by one of Tolkien's law firms, and so I searched for another domain name that would keep it Medieval. I found ArmorGames.com, and went from there. I worked from my bedroom for a year before bringing on my first full-time employee (John Cooney, our game development lead). Being independent and supporting indie game development has always been important to us, so I'm glad we can continue to fund and sponsor Flash games in the long-term.

What’s up ModNation fans!

This year at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival, we teamed up with talented artist Jeremiah Garcia, the super-cool band Passion Pit, and an amazing charity called Global Inheritance to create a one-of-a-kind custom ModNation Racer golf kart!

Check out the video below to see how this kart went from the ModNation Racers championship circuit to Coachella!

This custom, real-life vehicle features:

• Solar panels to fuel both your kart and PS3
• 32″ Sony Bravia TV and PS3 to get your game on
• Custom paint job that melds the art style of Passion Pit with the signature feel of ModNation Racers
• Sweet headlights
• Grass carpets (it’s a golf kart!)
• Crosshairs (stay on target!)
• ModNation custom license plate graphic
• and more!

So what could be cooler than watching this kart in action? Owning it!

That’s right, ModNation fans, you could grab the keys to this ModNation Racers kart by entering the sweepstakes.

Good luck and check back on the page for more Passion Pit ModNation Racers kart action.

**P.S. Don’t forget: the ModNation PSP demo hits the PSN Store today!

#northamerica This week's update to the North American PlayStation Store may be light on games, but it's fit to burst from the flood of downloadable content, some of which you might even want! More »

#mlg The founders of Major League Gaming and the league's CEO have parted ways over a difference in how the professional gaming league should be expanding, with the ousted chief apparently not getting support for more aggressive growth plans. More »

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata recently spoke to his close circle of super best friends -- hereafter referred to as Nintendo's investors -- about the future of the company's gaming hardware, and how said hardware will translate directly into monies for their wallets. According to Andriasang's translation of the briefing, Iwata shot down the possibility of revealing a successor to Nintendo's home console any time soon, adding, "we believe there's still more we can do with the Wii." Sure there is! You can paint it different colors.

On the subject of the Nintendo 3DS, Iwata explained the seemingly random March 23 announcement date was set to give third-party developers a chance to come up with something for the platform in time for E3. He mentioned these developers may incur a bit more development costs on these projects due to the "trial and error" involved in creating 3D games, but wouldn't comment on how these costs might translate over to consumer software prices for the console.

He also revealed that "the announcement of the formal name [of the 3DS] will not be too far off," meaning it's time to go place your bets with your friendly neighborhood Video Game Technology Marketing bookie. (As of this writing, even money's on "Nintendo Virtual Boy 2.")

Treyarch shooter also launching on Nintendo's platform.

PSN Tuesday's big draw this week is kickin' the tire's on Split/Second, developed by the same folks that brought us the equally gorgeous Pure. For those interested in DLC, there's new stuff for BioShock 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum and, naturally, LittleBigPlanet.

PSP owners can pick up Harvest Moon: Hero Of Leaf Valley and Worms: Battle Islands. Split/Second isn't the only racing game with a demo, ModNation Racers is also available for a test drive. Check out the full update after the break.

Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list:
(Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)

Ninjabee has released the first trailer for Ancients of Ooga, which features the first gameplay we've seen of the title. The game is immediately reminiscent of J. Kenworthy Entertainment's previous XBLA outing, Cloning Clyde. This should come as no surprise, as the developer considers Ancients of Ooga to be Clyde's spiritual successor. Fans will notice the familiar logic puzzle gameplay, notably the apparent goal of freeing your fellow Ooga tribesmen. Perhaps the most intriguing new feature: vomit.

Ancients of Ooga is slated to hit XBLA later this year.

Induction-based charging is always a crowd-pleasing trick (at least among this crowd of one). It feels vaguely magical to lay a device down on top of a mat and watch the little battery light turn on. CTA Digital's new Non Contact Induction Charging Pad will enable DSi and DSi XL owners to enjoy the convenience of setting a thing on top of another thing. By replacing your battery with the special battery included with the kit, you'll be able to charge the device through contact with the charging stand with four lights (not five) to indicate charge level.

The device is available now from Amazon and other retailers. We're personally going to hold off for a while, as we often do with third-party charging products, and make sure there aren't any fire-related issues.

#ea After some back and forth about the fate of the PC version of Visceral Games' Dead Space 2, it appears the sci-fi horror game will indeed scare up a release on Windows. More »

Changes are coming to the Ninety-Nine Nights universe.

CEO John Riccitiello explains digital strategy.

A game about dying at the bottom of the ocean, and sometimes finding treasure!