All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

EA Sports pulls back the veil on the next installment in everyone's favorite boxing series.

#summer I don't know about you, but for me, being Australian, summer means only one thing: the beach. Golden sands, clear blue skies, a blinding sun. And no game captures the essence of this better than the Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. More »

#earthbound It's July. July in Japan means one thing: unbearable heat. It's not exactly the weather for your typical full body costume. More »

This fall's two big music-performance games each offer an experience new to the genre. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock adds a more involved storyline, while Rock Band 3 offers real instruments. Power Gig: Rise of the SixString actually combines these two aspects. We've seen its (real, functional) guitar and (less realistic) drum controllers, and now we can learn about that story.

In the video after the break, design director Jack Davis introduces the world of Ohm, where music has a "real physical power" to affect the world and its people. The player must unite clans of "rockers" to defeat the oppressive "headliner" who has silenced them. And, of course, that is accomplished through the performance of licensed music. It's reminiscent of Brutal Legend, as is the in-game footage shown in the video.

#film The first Street Fighter movie was so bad it was kind of good. The second? Plain old bad. That's not dissuading Capcom, however, who say that further live-action Street Fighter projects are currently in the pipeline. More »

We learned two things from this Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City video: 1) some information about the available character classes, and 2) what a Hoplite is. Well, that last one was kind of a trailer/Wikipedia tag team lesson, but still, education happened.

#lionhead You could point to any number of occasions in which Peter Molyneux, the man behind classics like Populous and Fable, jumped the proverbial shark. But when does Peter Molyneux think Peter Molyneux jumped the shark? More »

The Nintendo Channel doesn't have much for us this week. There is a new episode of Nintendo Week and some Sin & Punishment: Star Successor tips, but you've seen the latter already. Head past the break for the list of this week's content.

As promised, Valve has released top-down co-op shooter Alien Swarm on Steam, free of charge. Have fun! More »

#rumor Those aren't two interpretations of the same piece of news; if Game Informer are to be believed, then two fighting games are currently in development, both pitting the stars of Namco against the stars of Capcom. More »

One of the best Wii games of the year? Or all talk? The IGN AU crew aren't sure...

If you're not familiar with Retro City Rampage, you'll at least be familiar with the references contained within VBlank's WiiWare game. The retro-style open-world game is filled with jokes about DuckTales, Back to the Future, TMNT Contra, and even the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" video. And that's just what can be seen in these screenshots!

You might, in fact, be more familiar with the PAX 10 winner than you think. Retro City Rampage began its life as Grand Theftendo, a faithful NES remake of Grand Theft Auto III, back in 2004. Since then, it's become less "faithful" and more "original," and it's moved from the NES to WiiWare, but creator Brian Provinciano has kept the irresistible central idea of a GTA-style game rendered with NES-style visuals.

#golf Electronic Arts was one of the few major brands not to run from Tiger Woods during the golfer's embarrassingly public sex scandal this winter, but that loyalty hasn't paid off, frets one analyst. More »

Ubisoft will bring Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Predator to the PSP, says the ESRB, which appears to be the portable complement to 2011's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. More »

Did you know that, before the driving force of Pac-Man was named "pellets," the items were called "cookies?" I didn't either, but that's exactly what a Namco rep told me while showing off upcoming Wii minigame collection Pac-Man Party. She did this, you see, because that's what Pac-Man (and his nebulous cohorts) spend a lot of time chasing. Cookies. Also, not a single "power cookie" in sight. Madness!

Unfortunately, Pac-Man Party isn't quite as exciting as that tidbit of trivia. In fact, it's downright awful (at least the bit I played of it was). At a recent press event in NYC, I played through some of the game's party mode with the aforementioned Namco rep. We were first asked which character from the Pac-Man universe we'd like to choose.

Wait, there's a Pac-Man "universe?" Isn't it just ghosts and Mr./Ms. Pac-Man?

GameStop has quite a sale going on, offering used and new games for up to fifty percent off both in store and online. The Power Saver sale lasts until August 8, and includes discounts on lots of popular titles. Check out some highlights after the break, and be sure to check the sale page for many more deals.

Sengoku BASARA - Posters: Given out during producer signings. - Astro Gaming Headsets: Attendees who play Basara demo will receive a raffle ticket. Raffle to take place duing producer signings. Ghost Trick - Story Books: To be given to all who play full GT demo. - Posters: To be given out during producer signings. Okamiden - Posters: To be given out during [...]

#review A boy wakes up in a forest. He is nothing but a silhouette and a pair of brightly glowing eyes. To the right is death, despair and, perhaps, a way out. So he goes there. This is Limbo. More »

#clips If by team player, you mean giving orders in jargon no one understands or follows. Not a loner by any stretch, Monday Night Combat's sniper class has a bag full of goodies making him indispensable to the action. More »

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was one of our favorite games at this year's E3 -- while it's a new taste for the franchise, it certainly seemed like one gamers will enjoy. But even if all of the puzzle-solving and co-op has you worried that Lara's gone too cerebral, let this trailer reassure you: The girl still knows how to shoot things until they stop moving.

She and partner Totec do so with all kinds of heavy weaponry, including flamethrowers, rocket launchers and whatever else they find laying around that ancient temple they're exploring. The video also shows off some of the game's relic and artifact system, which will not only let you customize weapons with various stats and abilities, but encourage replaying of the game, as some of the relics will require a few runs through the title to obtain. Watch the full trailer after the break.

World War WiiWare.

Back for another drink.

It's '80s week on NVC!

Last month's NPD figures were rather disappointing, reflecting a 15 percent decline in year-over-year sales. With the exception of Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2, it appears gamers simply aren't buying as many games as they used to ... and, predictably, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has a theory.

The problem? Online games. According to Pachter, "the overall decline was due to a very large number of people playing multiplayer online games." With an estimated 12 million players spending 10 hours a week rampaging through Activision's shooter, Pachter argues that online games like Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3 and Bad Company 2 have "sucked the available time away from what otherwise would be spent playing newly purchased games."

While there are many other factors to consider -- the still-sluggish economy, the declining sales of key Wii software (a la Wii Play) -- Pachter's point does seem to have some merit. Unfortunately, his publisher-centric solution is unlikely to win him many fans among gamers. The "monetization of multiplayer," as he describes it, would have publishers figuring out some method to charge gamers to play online. It's a risky proposition that could bear some terrible consequences, but the current model is, as Pachter puts it, "devastating for publishers and shareholders, who are seeing sales and profits decline."

#sports EA Sports promised a list of "classic arena anthems" for its NHL offerings and one in particular makes it mission freaking accomplished on that score: The Final Countdown, by Europe, part of both NHL 11 and NHL Slapshot's soundtracks. More »

Red Dead Redemption running away with it.