All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#clips No two are alike with the game's new real-time physics, promises EA Sports. Broken sticks, glove- and skate-passing, more face-off options and the Canadian Hockey League round out the package of upgrades in NHL 11, due Sept. 14. More »

Of the many things that the non-muggles among us are capable of doing with magic, conjuring money unfortunately isn't on the list. The rest of us are in the same boat, and so even if Lego Harry Potter only costs $30 at retail, we felt it best to give away our review copy of the game (same as retail) to either group of folks.

For a chance to win that copy of LHP, all you have to do is tell us your favorite spell from the series. Wingardium Leviosa, perhaps? Crucio, maybe ... you monster? Tell us in the comments below in the next 24 hours and keep an eye on your email inbox!

• Leave a comment telling us what your favorite spell from the Harry Potter franchise is.
• You must be 13 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec).
• Limit 1 entry per person.
• This entry period ends at 7:01PM ET on Monday, July 12.
• At that time, we will randomly select one winner to receive a copy of Lego Harry Potter on Xbox 360 (ARV: $29.99) and various Harry Potter trinkets (ARV: $10).
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here.

#humor As a weekend timewaster, this idea was so good I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it first. GamesRadar plugged seven high-quality screengrabs into those find-my-celebrity-lookalike sites, and came back with some hilariously inaccurate - and surprisingly accurate - matches. More »

Auction here PROTOTYPE SNES Cartridges Nintendo Dolphin NPDP-SW GameCub Cartridge 3 NES protos, 1 unreleased (not eBay)

“In Europe, there are huge differences among the countries. In the U.K., the size of the gaming population is comparatively high like in the U.S. Meanwhile, the German gaming population is very small. Social acceptance of video games seems to be very low in Germany, which means that there are still many people taking [...]

#twig It's back to school two months early with NCAA Football 11 on Tuesday. Dragon Quest IX is already out today, and DeathSpank slaps down on Tuesday for PSN and Wednesday for Xbox Live Arcade. More »

In a recent interview with CVG, Ian Curran, THQ's executive VP of global publishing, touted his favorite new feature the 3DS will bring to the portable market. No, not its titular three-dimensional display tech. No, not all of those rebooted classic franchises. "What excites me even more," Curran explained, "is that there's technology built in that device to really combat piracy."

Curran added, "they combated the piracy on DSi, which they don't believe is cracked yet - but they know they've been hurt across the world and they believe the 3DS has got technology that can stop that." That's a nice sentiment, but considering how resourceful the modding community has proven itself over the years, we're pretty sure the only thing that could stop them from pirating 3DS games is some sort of self-destruct mechanism. We sincerely doubt Nintendo could get something like that past the FCC.

The Power of Three compels you! The Power of Three compels you!

Looking for a sign that you've been hesitating too long to register for PAX Prime? The event's stockpile of $55 three-day badges are now sold out, leaving only $35 single-day passes for all you slowpokes. If you're going, you better act fast -- these things have a tendency to sell like hotcakes.

#rumor GameStop's brief listing of a "Borderlands Game of the Year Official Strategy Guide," now removed, hints that a version of Gearbox's smash hit, possibly bundled with its DLC, could be on the way late this summer. More »

#ps3 That driving rock track heard in Gran Turismo 5's E3 2010 trailer is by Daiki Kasho, but it has no title. Fix that for Sony, and you'll get a credit in the game. More »

The latest Bungie Weekly Update revealed the studio's fairly brilliant strategy for foiling the attempts of haxx0rs who planned on leaking the Achievements for Halo: Reach. All the team has to do, you see, is leak the Achievements first. Not the full, detailed list, mind you -- just the icons, which are posted in the image seen above.

The game's 49 unlockable honors are broken down into five groups, Campaign (23), Firefight (7), Multiplayer (4), Training (6) and Player Experience (9). You can find the descriptions of six of the Achievements posted after the jump. For all the rest, you're just going to have to use your imagination. For instance, that one with the Caduceus on it? We're pretty sure that's the Achievement for when you put down your guns, go back to school, and become a Registered Nurse.

Seeing as the World Cup Final is going on right now, and more people are watching it (myself included) than will watch anything for the rest of the year – at least – I’ll keep this short. Here are your links for the week; now continue enjoying the match.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of July 5, 2010)

• “Gran Turismo 5″ E3 2010 Trailer Music Title Naming Campaign – gran-turismo.com
• Bad Aim Doesn’t Bedevil PlayStation Move, Not This Time – Kotaku
• DeathSpank trailer previews some unorthodox armaments – Joystiq
• Gran Turismo 5 flips over two new trailers – Joystiq
• PlayStation Move FAQ – IGN
• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype Expansion Pack In The Works – Siliconera
• Gadget Review: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker W-Series Walkman – VGBlogger.com
• LittleBigPlanet Marvel Costume Pack, Level Kit Now Available – G4tv.com
• Valkyria Chronicles II preview – Examiner.com
• Yoshida – The Q&A | Game development – Develop
• Racket Sports heading to PS3 with Move support – PlayStation Universe
• Reaper On The PlayStation Portable Looks Vibrant & Lovely – PushSquare.com
• Persona 3 Portable Staff Review – RPGamer
• Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable Review – GamePro
• E3 2010: Kazuo Hirai interview – Telegraph
• Joe Danger [Review] – Pads & Panels
• ‘Flower’ developer embarks on new ‘Journey’ – USATODAY.com
• R.U.S.E. PS Move support confirmed PlayStation 3 News – Eurogamer.net
• Split/Second explodes onto PSP this holiday – VideoGamer.com
• IGN Video: Infamous 2 PlayStation 3 Series
• The Top 20 Highest Rated PSN Games by North American PS3 Users – PS3 Attitude
• Video Game Review – Sony’s ModNation Racers Is a Driving Fantasy Game – NYTimes.com

It's real. Come see it.

#screengrab Recruiting screen in NCAA Football 11. I'm entitled to post this because I've never once made an error in anything I've published. Also because, Jesus Christ, Tennessee, you got negatively recruited by State over academics. More »

North America getting an enhanced version of Japanese hit.

I think I want the shirt more than that custom cabinet. I like to imagine that kid all grown up, but wearing the same outfit. I hope he’s still a big Nintendo fan!

I don’t think Galaga gets as much credit as it deserves. It’s a classic arcade game that has been ported to a million different platforms, and it always provides a lot of fun. This game is deceptively addictive!

Iwata: Mr. Izushi, which title do you remember best? Izushi: For me, it was “Donkey Kong.” We had to make the arcade version of “Donkey Kong” playable with the limited number of LCD segments we had to use. Even though I’m a terrible artist, I remember making sketch after sketch of my ideas. When I finally [...]

#kotakureader Welcome to the June 2010 edition of K Monthly, a look back at some of the best original coverage, including reviews, previews, features, weekly columns and more from Kotaku. More »

Finally, some love for Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. I love this game, and I’d really love to see a sequel to it. I think it could work really well as a download game, but I doubt that would ever happen.

Let’s Tap may not be the first party game you think of on Wii, but it’s definitely a title that deserves to be included. You get together a group of four people, and you’re quickly going to have a madhouse on your hands. Lots of tapping makes for quite a ruckus, and then [...]

How would you like to get your name in the credits sequence of the most frequently delayed video game in the history of mankind? That'd be quite a claim for you to lord over your friends, wouldn't it? Achieving this level of fame is simple -- all you have to do is give a name to the English version of the song used in Gran Turismo 5's E3 trailer. If they pick yours, you'll get a mention in the "Special Thanks" portion of the credits.

You can listen to the song and check out the rules for the contest on the game's official site. You can also give the track's lyrics a once-over, though this might just serve to further confuse you. With vocals like "To your abusive ways // The cracks have opened up to the core // Is there anywhere to go from here now? // Sick with the lies consuming our souls," we're thinking about submitting the title "Holy Crap, This is the Most Depressing Racing Game Ever."