All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#screengrab Pixel-style Excitebike racer made from wood. Its creator, Justin Harder, also fashioned a pixelated helmet, chest protector and trophy from the game. As seen on Vision02 where there are loads more pictures. (via The Bits, Bytes, Pixels and Sprites) More »

Usually, when we purchase a game, we intend to experience as much of it as we can. Call us crazy, but isn't that the point? According to a blog entry over on Edge from Hello Games' Sean Murray, his studio's recent PSN release, Joe Danger, only had a 10 percent completion rate.

"Only about 10 percent of people who bought Joe Danger have completed it (their average play time is well over 20 hours)," he relayed. "Most journalists didn't get past the halfway mark. Was it a wasted effort to add those last few levels that most people don't see though? Is it valueless?"

It's a hot topic in the games community -- how long does a game need to be? How much of a game's value is specifically tied to how long it takes to complete it? Then you add in Trophies and Achievements and you've got a whole new layer complicating the argument. It's a good read, so hit up this link and give Murray's essay a gander.

Help! I am currently writing this post hiding underneath my desk. Sid and Jeff are armed with makeshift cardboard guns and chainsaws running amok on the 4th floor, and they’re using Kevin Butler’s several interns as canon fodder. Can you tell we’re aching for some Shank? The kitchen on the 3rd floor reeks of spaghetti and lasagna, and Mafia II is etched in the men’s bathroom.

If you’re a fan Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm or PixelJunk Racers, you will be pleasantly surprised with this week’s updates and demos on the PlayStation Network. Hit the jump and brace yourself for gaming greatness, in this week’s The Drop.

PlayStation 3

Mafia II — You play as a poor Italian American immigrant, Vito, trying to escape the life of poverty and secure his place in the American Dream of the late 1940s. Vito, along with his childhood friend Joe, both descend into the world of organized crime guaranteeing them both power and wealth. As an added bonus, The Betrayal of Jimmy DLC comes exclusively to PlayStation 3.

PlayStation Network

Shank – Looking to get your hands bloody and spending your days hell-bent on revenge? Featuring both single player and co-op campaigns, Shank delivers on its promise of unleashing a strong mature rating on the PSN. Klei co-founder, Jamie Cheng, is no stranger to the PlayStation.Blog, when he brought his insight on building Shank’s co-op campaign and showcasing it’s combo system. Cheng returns this Monday with more news and details that will alleviate your itch for more Shank until Tuesday’s drop.

PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap – On August 10th, PlayStation Plus members got their chance to indulge in 32 race modes and seven player multiplayer. Not a Plus member you say? The wait is finally over; PixelJunk Racers 2nd Lap races to all PSN users this Tuesday.

PlayStation Network Demos

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 — Japan received their Naruto fix when the demo dropped back on July 29th, but US fans of the original Ultimate Ninja Storm were left out in the cold. Grab your Naruto snuggies American fans, and rejoice — the US demo drops this week. Have a glimpse of Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, as its story becomes a trifecta told by Naruto, Sasuke and Jiraya in the sequel.

Alien Breed: Impact – The Alien Breed franchise comes to PlayStation Network in the science fiction arcade-shooter, Alien Breed: Impact. Rich environments, high-impact weapons and the collection of the usual suspects are enhanced with an online co-operative battle mode.

PlayStation Portable

Zuma – This PlayStation 3 port goes portable as you take control of the stone frog idol of the ancient Zuma in this action puzzler. Aim true, and you’ll rack up huge combos and special bonuses that will help you on your adventure. Download this Tuesday on PSN.

PlayStation minis

Arcade Air Hockey & Bowling – Arcade Air Hockey & Bowling is a sports game featuring classic air hockey and bowling designed for all ages. Win trophies and unlock new equipment in the World Tour career mode, or challenge a friend to play.

#herewegoagain Officials of Siena, the historic walled city in Tuscany, Italy, are unhappy that their Piazza del Campo is a race course in Gran Turismo 5's new kart mode, and will demand that Sony remove it from the game. More »

#twig Mafia II's arrival on Tuesday is this week's biggest highlight, with strong downloadable offerings in Shank (Tuesday on PSN, Wednesday on XBLA) and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (Wednesday on XBLA.) More »

Watching two of the world's greatest leaders debating politics and strategy for Civilization 5 was a highlight of Gamescom. 2K Games went all out and created clones of Napoleon Bonaparte and Augustus Caesar to check out the game and QA test some strategy. We're sure the duo's feedback to the dev team will be invaluable leading up to the game's September 21 launch -- we just hope they're not listening to Napoleon's "100 days" plan. We already know how that ends, folks.

#clips Activision's return to classic shooter GoldenEye 007 puts you in the shoes of Daniel Craig's take on a grittier, no-nonsense James Bond as he works his way through a new treatment of the classic movbie. More »

#demo Vanquish, the futuristic Russia-vs.-America shooter coming from Sega and Platinum Games, will get a demo on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 on Sept. 2. More »

#gamescom2010 Activision brought a new universe from Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions to Gamescom, one that I was lightly familiar with; the one set in the year 2099. More »

#shutup How tempting it was to write "Fox wants Medal of Honor banned." For while the U.K.'s defense (sigh, defence) secretary is named Liam Fox, he's not the fearmongering U.S. network. More »

The E3 2005 trailer for Killzone 2 quickly became well-known (infamous, even) for its supposedly unatainable levels of in-game graphical prowess. But the initial trailer for the game that would become the original Killzone has been much less well known ... until this past week at GDC Europe.
Guerilla Games Managing Director Hermen Hulst showed off the circa-1999 concept video in a keynote speech in Cologne earlier this week, calling it a "showcase of technical competence" prepared for their first meeting with Sony. Even though Hulst admits there's "nothing really 'Killzone' about it" at this early stage (for instance, the Helghast and their glowing eyes don't even make a cameo appearance) we thought it was an interesting look at the pre-history of one of Sony's biggest exclusive franchises. To see the video in full, follow us past the break.

#gamescom2010 We know what you're thinking. Will Microsoft's Kinect read your body when fully encased in a fur suit? Direct from Germany, Kotaku has your answer. More »

#xbox360 Amazon's Xbox Live Store, which had allowed customers to buy Xbox Live Arcade games for their retail price instead of Microsoft Points, is no more. A notice posted on the Amazon site says it's no longer selling the games. More »

This trailer comes from the official European site, which has just opened up. There are all sorts of goodies to check out, like new art, screens and even some soundtrack samples. Hit up the link below and have a look for yourself!

There were a select group of people within and close to Nintendo that made the NES what it was. The way they pushed the system to consumers, the games they created, and the direction the platform went in. This perfect storm of people were key to the amount of success that the NES [...]

First, the good news: Fighters Uncaged Prodcuer Luc Verdier recognizes that there have been too many casual, family-oriented games announced for the Kinect thus far, and says the game is his attempt to fix this. Now the bad news: based on a recent demo of the game at Gamescom, Fighters Uncaged utterly fails in this attempt.

As you can see in this live demonstration video, the movement recognition for Fighters Uncaged is far from perfect at this point. Punches can be completely finished and retracted in the real world before they even start in the game, making it hard to string together quick combinations of moves. In fact, Verdier said combos in the final game would actually be activated using a quick-time event system, asking players to string together preset poses for an unblockable chain of attacks. A similar match-the-on-screen-pose system is already in place to dodge or block incoming attacks, and feels incredibly unwieldy.

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