All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

There’s really no new information at the official Pokemon Black/White site. Things have just been updated with all the info that was leaked from CoroCoro. Still, we get to see some new art and direct-feed versions of screens that were in CoroCoro. Hit up the link below and have a look for [...]

The NPD Group's recent annual poll of MMO fans' favorite online titles seems to indicate a pretty substantial power shift in the MMORPG space -- one that heavily favors Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online. The D20-friendly game, which went free-to-play last September, managed to wrestle the number three spot in the survey out of Guild Wars' hands. The percentage of participants who claim to be active DDO players doubled from four to eight since last year's survey.

The survey also inquired what MMOs former World of Warcraft players have switched over to in the past year. Though fellow free-to-play title Runescape fell from 20 percent to 13 percent in this category, DDO jumped from five percent to 11 percent year-over-year. That just goes to show: People don't just like free stuff, they like free stuff that didn't used to be quite so free. Also, they like dragons. And occasionally dungeons.Dungeons & Dragons Online rises in popularity among former WoW players

A week without releases leaves Dragon Quest and Metal Gear at the top.

A week without releases leaves Dragon Quest and Metal Gear at the top.

A week without releases leaves Dragon Quest and Metal Gear at the top.

In the sea of action-shooters available on Xbox Live Arcade, it's fitting that the latest actually takes place on the sea. Hitting XBLA on May 19 is Aqua: Naval Warfare, a top-down dual-stick shooter drenched in a stylish steampunk setting. In the game, players take on the role of Captain Grey who must fend off the Gothean Empire from the invading Emperean Empire.

In gameplay terms, that basically means "point the right stick at things you want to destroy until that happens." The world of Aqua: Naval Warfare is unique, flooded by a cataclysmic event with the majority of its landmass underwater. Like that awesome movie Waterworld! Did we say "awesome?" We mispronounced "We're still waiting for our refund, Mr. Costner."

#dlc It's hard to be angry about paying $15 for another mix of new and old maps in the Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence map pack when the Funhaus is staring you right in the face, now is it? Let's visit the carnival! More »

EA has launched a promotional contest for NBA Jam in which entrants submit their best -- or best worst -- one-liners for a chance to have them used by classic NBA Jam announcer Tim Kitzrow in the Wii game. We imagine winning is akin to being Zack Morris for the rest of your life.

As the instructional video above, uh, instructs, you'll need to submit your one-liners on the NBA Jam contest page on Facebook. The contest is already underway, and the entry period closes May 19.

Oh, need one to get you started? How about: "Need some fries with that BOOMSHAKE-A-LAKE-A-LAKE?" (Hmm, maybe you should just come up with one of your own.)

Quenching your thirst for entertainment inanity.

Mystery title to be unveiled in 10 days.

Quenching your thirst for entertainment inanity.

Quenching your thirst for entertainment inanity.

Quenching your thirst for entertainment inanity.

Not only is Sega's Alpha Protocol going to be "the espionage RPG" (according to the box), but it's also the case study in mixed messages from the creators to the game press and public. IGN recently asked Obsidian associate producer Matt Hickman if he could clarify the key moments that held up the development process, noting that there had been "a lot of different, sometimes conflicting reports." Hickman responded, "The decision to move the game out from October [2009] was merely for repositioning and constituted a business decision only."

Strange -- considering that in February Hickman told MTV Multiplayer that there were "a few reasons" for the delay, including giving the game more polish, with "tweaks" to the lighting and inventory, and a general objective in "just bringing the whole quality level up."

Perhaps Obsidian and Sega have taken the "espionage game" a bit to literally (dare we discover this to be a viral marketing campaign that went way over our heads). As if being interrogated, the creators have erratically covered up the game's development tracks with changing stories. Last October, Alpha Protocol's expected release date was flat-out ignored by Sega, until the publisher came out of hiding a week later to confirm that the delay was "official." The reasons for the delay have been many -- and now just one: a business decision. We'll find out if the "repositioning" was the right business decision for Sega when Alpha Protocol breaks its cover on June 1.

#bioware With only four classes for each of its two factions, BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic further mixes things up with the Advanced Class system, a talent system that splits each class right down the middle. More »

GameStop and Rockstar Games host exclusive event in New York this Saturday.

Players can now enter Kungji Village where they will search For the lost village treasure.

We know, we know! The last thing that should happen when somebody mentions the Grateful Dead -- undeniably one of the most culturally significant bands of the 20th century -- is that our brain immediately goes to delicious ice cream. Sorry, but word association works in magical ways. Grateful Dead to Jerry Garcia to Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia.

Full details on next week's Rock Band DLC, featuring the Grateful Dead and The Smithereens, can be found after the break.

#lucasarts Rather than bury us in another flood of screenshots for Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge, LucasArts gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into bringing Guybrish Threepwood to life from 19-year-old sprites. More »

The Winning team will receive up to $1,000 and compete in an international Cross Fire Competition at The World E-Sports Masters held in China.

Big fun coming to Minis.

#preview You don't want me to try to describe the surreal galaxies of the first three worlds of Super Mario Galaxy 2, so how about some more abstract impressions? More »

More military action just for you.

That’s right, coming in June, PS3 owners will be able to download two skins of the Helghast characters from Killzone at no charge! These skins, in addition to the previously announced Monster Hunter skin which will be available later this month, are exclusive to PlayStation fans across the globe. From the “My Page” menu in Lost Planet 2, players can build and customize their own unique character for use in the online versus mode. Once a player completes the campaign mode, they can port their multiplayer characters to the co-op story action, including the in-game cut scenes. While there are numerous options for unlocking head, torso, arm, leg, and backpack pieces for your character, the character skins for Helghast, Monster Hunter, Dead Rising’s Frank West, and Resident Evil’s Albert Wesker must all be used as a single piece.

Lost Planet 2 launched on Tuesday, but the two Killzone Helghast scout skins will be available at the end of June and will be free of charge. Keep an eye out on the PlayStation.Blog and Capcom’s Unity blog for more specifics on timing and availability!

#art Stormtroopers 365 isn't just a year-long photo project that wrapped up last month, it's also proof that like you and I, Stormtroopers love to get their game on. More »

Nintendo and the American Heart Association will co-host a press event in New York City this Monday, May 17. The brief press release for the event does not offer any indication as to what the announcement will be, but Nintendo's upcoming Vitality Sensor, designed to measure a player's pulse, seems the likely focus of the event -- and the sort of thing the American Heart Association would be into co-promoting. Additionally, only the Wii is highlighted in the release, and not the DS, suggesting this is a Wii-related event.

With the Vitality Sensor scheduled for a 2010 release, now seems like a good time for Nintendo to start talking about its features and software. We're just looking forward to being able to say, "Wow, we get it."

Plus singles from the Smithereens.

#republished Video games are too big, and too hard. Even for those of us that will argue against this notion until we're blue in the face, there is an increasing amount of data that proves it. Here's what seems to be going on in game development right now to address it. More »

"Dudes, this box art rules!" We would have been satisfied to leave it at that after sharing Fable 3's regal cover art with you, had it not been for the curious stamp at the top: "Only on Xbox 360 & Windows."

Since this official Microsoft-provided art has now been retracted (from Game Press), you're either looking at an elaborate labeling error or an accidental announcement of Fable 3 heading to PC. The former seems likely, but we'll do our best to be royal pains and keep bugging Microsoft for a proper answer. At the time of writing, neither Microsoft US nor Microsoft UK had responded to our calls.