All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Are you going to be heading to Howell, Michigan anytime soon? If you are, I’m sure you’ll want to grab a bite to eat. When you get there, help satisfy your hunger for pizza and unofficial Nintendo-endorsed products by stopping in at the Mario Bros. Pizza and Pasta joint! Thanks to Booty [...]

Here’s some directions on how to hear the song for yourself… 1. Save the fake doctor from planet Mapate–he’s wearing goofy sunglasses and has his tongue sticking out. 2. Bring him to the main base on planet Mordarl. 3. Continue the conversation with your robot until he asks, “What’s that?!” You’ll hear the music [...]

When faced with the imminent collapse of your once idyllic and isolated society, you'll find that adhering to a few simple rules could save your too-good-to-be-true life. The difference between escaping dystopia and dying of dysentery in a locker is made plain in these important steps:

Don't bother trying to keep up with the Joneses anymore. Their mutated forms have granted them incredible endurance and speed. Avoid any scientific laboratories, especially those staffed by inter-dimensional riftologists. If you must visit one, always go for the Exploding Barrel Research Center. For god's sake, don't use an antiquated audio recorder -- no matter how charming it is -- to capture your final, downtrodden play at preservation. The minute you start talking about how you got separated from the others, you're inviting ... what was that noise? Oh god, I can hear it in the vents and AAAAIIEEEEE etc.

#science From suggesting restaurants to diagnosing patients, computers seem to be getting smarter each passing day. The New York Times looks at some of the powerful technology coming to light, as computers begin listening and reacting to our problems. More »

PS3 firmware update 3.40 is on the way "soon," according to Sony, but since it adds the framework for PlayStation Plus, which launches tomorrow, we think it's safe to expect the update to arrive today or early tomorrow.

In addition to support for the new subscription service, firmware 3.40 adds a few new features to the XMB. The photo gallery is now enhanced with sharing capabilities, allowing users to upload to Facebook and Picasa, browse and comment on photos, and share photos with PSN friends. And strangely enough, you'll now be able to edit video on the PS3 through the new "Video Editor and Uploader" function. Those videos can then be put on Facebook or YouTube directly from the PS3.

In addition to these new media sharing options, users can now rate PlayStation Store purchases with up to five stars (which was a totally original idea when a certain website started doing it), and have access to more power-saving settings, including a default automatic-turnoff time of two hours.

The most interesting new PS3 user experience upgrade is actually totally separate from the PS3. Sony is introducing a PSN application for Facebook, allowing users to display their PSN profiles directly into their Facebook accounts, view friends' profiles, and send PSN friend requests through Facebook. Yes, you'll be able to use one social networking service to invite your friends to connect with you on another.

There are more than a few great things in this video (which covers the first part of our E3 single-player demo; six more parts are expected this week). The first is the introduction of a cheeky, British personality orb. He's cheeky, British, and we already love him. And GLaDOS. Oh, GLaDOS, how we have missed you. Anyway, just try to watch this video without smiling (or outright laughing). We dare you. Go ahead. You monsters.

#nba A video of NBA Elite shown at the NBA draft last week did plenty to rile fans of both sides in sports gaming's last real competition. One sent a link to NBA 2K's community manager, who tweet-replied "That looks awful." More »

We're still excited about the 3DS, except for Daemon who has broken eyeballs.

#ps3 Sony's new PlayStation Plus subscription service is launching, officially, in North America on June 29. That means a new way to spend fifty bucks a year on your PlayStation 3 and a new firmware update will all-new features. More »

Two frigost videos

Mother 3 developer Brownie Brown makes its downloadable debut with one of DSiWare's best new games.

Kmart has quite a slate of deals lined up this week. You want cheap Ninety-Nine Nights 2 and Naughty Bear? You got it. $25 game credit with Singularity? Why not? $20 pre-order credit for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow? Oh, fine.

If I could turn back time, if I could find a way.

#clips Today Valve releases the first in a series of videos covering the E3 demo for Portal 2. In the first portion we meet Wheatley, the personality sphere that's cuddlier than a companion cube, if that's even possible. More »

During this year's E3, we had a chance to chat with Shinji Mikami, creative lead on Platinum Games' upcoming boost-em-up Vanquish, about his upcoming game, among other things. For instance, why does the man who created God Hand and Resident Evil believe that so many games are driven by a shooting mechanic? "Purely punching or kicking, for example, that requires a lot more skill and reaction time on the part of the gamer to get the timing right and to sit there and mash the controller forever. And older gamers, adults, don't want to do that. They get tired."

As old men ourselves (mid-20s is old, right?), we're not so sure we agree with Mr. Mikami, but that's okay -- this isn't an interview about us, silly! It's about Shinji Mikami. And his new game. Check out the whole interview just below the fold.

Here's the second version of Franis 2. The big changes are healing items, a new room, a new party member (Most of this version's changes were dedicated to the party member logic, which I couldn't get to work for some stupid reason, until now, that is), and you can save and load games (Saving after each fight is a pretty good idea).

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=S0Z2TAXX

If you're one of the few people who could not get the first version to work, try downloading this one and see if it runs. I'm still unsure of what the problem is; if you get an error, screencap it for me.

v3.40 going live soon.

#greentracksuits How did I get to E3? How did I get a VIP pass? I don't even know. The idea was that I would walk up to E3 and, telling nobody anything, manage to just get in. That's what happened. More »

Amazon France lists new Blu-ray collection for PlayStation 3.

Hi everyone, once again we’re adding new features to the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system via firmware update to ensure we’re bringing you the best, most comprehensive entertainment experience possible. PS3 system software update (v3.40) will be available soon, adding the PlayStation Plus subscription, enhancements to the connection between your PlayStation Network and Facebook accounts and more. Additionally, we’ll be launching system software update (v6.30) for the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system simultaneously with PS3 system software update (v3.40), adding PlayStation Plus compatibility as well as other new features.

We’ve gone ahead and provided a few highlights from PS3 firmware update (v3.40) below:

• PlayStation Plus: PlayStation Network users will be able to purchase membership to PlayStation Plus; a new subscription service on the PlayStation Network that provides you with new options to expand and enhance your gaming experience and enable you to gain an exclusive set of features and content. Friendly reminder, all of you PlayStation Network users will continue to have free access to PlayStation Network’s unmatched and expanding suite of new and exclusive features while PlayStation Plus subscribers will gain access to an exclusive and expanding set of gaming features, content and functionality.
• Photo Gallery: A new network based photo sharing feature is now available on the Photo Gallery. The enhancement allows you to upload, browse and comment on photos on Facebook and Picasa Web Album. You can also opt to share your photos between your PlayStation Network friends as well as print photos from Photo Gallery.
• Video Editor & Uploader: Video Editor and Uploader is a new function found on the XrossMediaBar (XMB), which enables you to edit, save and upload video files stored on the PS3 system to sites such as Facebook or YouTube.
• Five Star Rating Support: Users can rate the PlayStation Store content they have purchased with one to five star ratings.
• Power Save Settings: The default setting for PS3 System Auto-Off will be set at 2 hours, providing you with additional power save options and further improving power save features on the PS3 system.

In addition to the latest features introduced in PS3 system software update (v3.40), a separate, new PlayStation Network application on Facebook.com will be made available. This builds upon what was previously launched with Trophies and the ability to publish purchases from the PlayStation Store. Now you can further integrate your PlayStation Network and Facebook accounts with this new application. The application allows you to display your PlayStation Network profile on your Facebook account, find out which of your Facebook friends have a PSN account and send them a PlayStation Network friend request, view your PSN friends’ online status and add the PlayStation Network application tab to your Facebook user profile.

We’re very excited to be able to provide you with continued system software upgrades, which ensure your PS3 and PSP systems remain compelling offerings for years to come. For more details and instructions on how to update the system software for the PS3 and PSP systems, please visit http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Features/SystemUpdate and http://us.playstation.com/support/systemupdates/psp/.

Let us know your thoughts. Enjoy!

#fashion Get ready to dress yourself in Tron inspired everything later this year, when Disney's sci-fi video game update hits theaters, bringing with it a massive influx of licensed goods. Like Tron: Legacy snowboarding boots, for example! More »

This one's flipping backwards a few pages.

Here's a logistical dilemma for the ages: What's the best way to incorporate multiplayer into the fast-paced puzzle action of Tetris? It's a question that's been answered in plenty of the game's incarnations -- but series creator Alexey Pajitnov seems to think that there's still a better way yet to be offered. In a recent interview with Gamasutra, he revealed that he's been tinkering with multiplayer versions of Tetris for "more than 10 years."

Pajitnov explained that, due to the game's frantic speed, players "have no brain resources to observe what the other people are doing." His ideal multiplayer solution would be one in which players "could really see what the other people do and take their gameplay and their achievement and their status in the game really [into] account."

We'll solve your decade-long predicament right now, Mr. Pajitnov: Bullet time. Yeah, you just sit and think about that one for a while.

A trailer.