All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Running around in your underwear has never been so dangerous.

A portion of an HVS-Network interview with High Voltage’s Josh Olsen… HVS NETWORK:Since the controller layout was one of the strongest aspects of The Conduit, have you changed or tweaked it in any way? JO: We haven’t really messed with it too much - like you said, it was one of our strongest aspects in the first [...]

#nba2k10 LeBron James' decision to leave Cleveland sign with Miami will also change the fortunes of those franchises' video game counterparts. Expect to catch a lot of the Heat in online multiplayer. And the Cavaliers, formerly the top choice, will vanish. More »

Yesterday, it seemed like the only thing people could talk about on TV, the radio and Twitter was Lebron James. For the uninitiated, he's one of the greatest basketball stars playing today. Wrapping up a lengthy stay in Cleveland with the Cavaliers -- where he's been for the past seven years, since age 18 -- James had finally become a free agent, able to go wherever he wished. As we learned last night, he chose to join the Miami Heat.

With 2K Sports set to launch the latest iteration in its NBA 2K series, NBA 2K11, on October 5, we got in touch with Chris Snyder, director of marketing for the label, to get his thoughts on the situation. While he admitted that 2K Sports was "not at all" worried about the recent events surrounding James stealing the spotlight from Michael Jordan's signing as this year's cover star, he did admit that James and the teams affected by his decision haven't had their stats finalized in the game just yet.

"It's too early to tell, as the Heat have to fill out the rest of the roster," Snyder said. "The Heat definitely will be improved, and the Cavs will definitely take a hit, but we need to see where everyone else lands before we can determine who is the number one ranked team." (Sports experts currently predict a Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference showdown for the foreseeable future.)

Finally, 2K Sports offered us a lone screenshot (above, click to enlarge) which provides us with our first glimpse of James in a Heat uniform. We know it's painful to see, Cleveland -- but it's all a part of moving on.

Dragon Quest Monsters Battle Road Victory (jpn, wii) Captain Tsubasa Gekitou no Kiseki (2nd spot, jpn, nds) Thanks to Cadaver for the heads up!

This is way more important than the World Cup.

#clips Touchgrind is pretty great on the iPhone, but it's so, so much better at the X-Games. More »

How do you topple LeBron, D Wade, and Bosh? Build your own super team.

The fairy tales continue.

On the eve of E3, Patrice Désilets, creative director of the Assassin's Creed franchise, unexpectedly left his position, just as Ubisoft prepared to woo the media with the first in-depth look at this November's Brotherhood sequel. Looking to quickly bury the distraction, Ubisoft called Désilets' departure a "creative break" and said that his work on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was "essentially done."

While we still have yet to hear from Désilets himself, his close colleague, associate producer Jean-Francois Boivin, was not surprised by the creative director's leave. "I totally got where he was coming from because he's been talking about taking a break for a long time," Boivin told UK-based GamerZines.

"In regards to Brotherhood, he did everything that he needed to do," Boivin assured, echoing Ubisoft's initial statement. "Patrice is a very public figure for the franchise, and he's very much the visionary for the Assassin's Creed license, but he's not the only visionary. It wasn't Patrice who did game design necessarily, and we have over two hundred very talented and creative people that work on the license."

"We know what we're doing," Boivin insisted, addressing concerns that the series would be lost without Désilets, who had shepherded it for six years. "I'm not at all afraid of the future quality of Assassin's Creed games." Earlier this week, the producer was also not afraid to admit that the franchise could use a break after Brotherhood's release this fall.

As for Désilets plans? "Right now he's watching the World Cup," Boivin said. (The World Cup ends following Sunday's final.) "Who knows what the future will hold for him."

A strong DSiWare debut from new studio Image & Form.

There's no way a real shark would let you get away with this. And that makes it awesome.

Daily gardening on DSi.

Get your first look at The King in his new digs.

Shear madness.

Castlevania comes to DSiWare.

Did you really expect any less? Of course Halo: Reach is getting a full line of toys ... er, action figures, with which you can tastefully decorate your abode. Also, those of you attending the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con will find an "exclusive" figure only available there (or until it's decided that it gets sold everywhere else). We've got a full list of the wares just after the break, and pictures can be found over on Spawn.com.

Peep these brand spankin' new Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga Screens

The best nerd-worthy user-creations are all in one place.

#infinityward A California judge today set a trial date of May 23 for the lawsuit involving Activision and Infinity Ward founders Vince Zampella and Jason West. More »

Microsoft's assault on the "expanded audience" begins in earnest, with Kinect demo stations being set up in one of the least GameStop-like retailers imaginable, Macy's. People who go into stores in 13 cities across the US, looking for Martha Stewart furniture or the like, will have an opportunity to experience the controller-free gaming ... experience starting July 15. The retailer will also give away one Kinect per day at macys.com between August 12 and September 10.

The locations are much more spread out than the other Kinect demo locations (Microsoft Stores), so you have a better shot at being able to find one near you -- or you could just go outside and start waving your arms, in the hope that one of the Kinects will notice. We don't know how good those cameras are. You can see the list of stores after the break.

Judge sets court date for both cases.

Judge sets court date for both cases.

Judge sets court date for both cases.

Review Diary

• Day 1: Welcome to San Paro
• Day 2: Enforcers, get enforcin'
• Day 3: Choose your illusion
• Day 4: Cards on the table

This is the final part of a four-day review diary about the first MMO from developers Realtime Worlds, APB.

One of the hardest parts about reviewing an MMO is that the genre takes full advantage of being online and persistent. Because players need to log in to an updated client every time, developers can quickly and relatively easily push out new bugfixes and content with regularity. Realtime Worlds has already released one patch post-release for APB, and while I've talked about certain issues with repetitive gameplay and earning customization levels, both of those issues can be fixed with updates if the developers choose to do so.

So the final question in reviewing an MMO isn't necessarily if you should buy this game today or not. It's: Does the game offer enough promise to invest your time and attention? Future plans included, out of all the games you could spend your free time on, is APB capable of rewarding that investment with a quality experience?

State of Play: A closer look at the next big thing.

State of Play: A closer look at the next big thing.

State of Play: A closer look at the next big thing.

State of Play: A closer look at the next big thing.