All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

I’m not saying this to be mean, I just honestly can’t understand it. How does a game magazine like Tips and Tricks exist in today’s day and age? The internet is the perfect place to get tips and tricks on any game you could ever want. GameFAQs gives you all the info [...]

- going into first-person mode is finicky - third-person combat is very smooth and effortless - bosses and mini-bosses tend to involve a lot of trial-and-error - lots of exploration - Nate Bihldorff (of Treehouse fame) recorded a placeholder voiceover for the tutorial, but they ended up being so impressed with his performance as a nasally scientist that they [...]

#swag When I returned from Germany after covering Gamescom, the last thing I was expecting to be waiting for me in a UPS box was a bottle of Dream Day Wedding-labeled Merlot. More »

#programming Have you ever wondered what a computer game looks like, from start to finish, as it's being programmed? If so, then this time-lapse video of one man's creation of Metagun (for Ludum Dare 18) will truly amaze you. Video inside. More »

Phoenix Online Studios announced that the second chapter of its Activision-approved(ish) free King's Quest game, The Silver Lining, will be released next month. In a post on the game's site, Phoenix's Cesar Bittar notes some of the improvements that have been made based on feedback from those who played the first game.

Thanks to you, Episode 2: Two Households will have better pathfinding, the option to switch between "extended" and "short" narration, new walking animation (with a walk/run toggle), more subtitle options, and widescreen support. In terms of gameplay, there are 17 new locations, a roughly 4-hour-long quest, and "puzzles a-plenty to keep you entertained."

If you want to catch up on this King's Quest business so you can understand why fans would go to the trouble of making a tribute game, GoG.com just added a King's Quest 1-3 bundle to its shop, for $9.99. You can get a pack with 4, 5, and 6 for the same price. We'll warn you now: these games look and sound quite vintage.

PDP to offer Microsoft officially licensed wall and TV mount, cable extension and floor stand for Kinect for Xbox 360 this November.

Music composed by Yukko Miyama and Tadayo Shinmakin featuring performances by the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague.

Free-to-play MMO gets off to a crazy start.

Players must choose sides between Olympus or Titans as they engage in PVP and RVR battles in the fast-paced adventure MMO.

#education Freshmen at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana this year will be required to read Gilgamesh, Aristotle's Politics, the poetry of John Donne, Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Valve's Portal. More »

Prope's Ivy the Kiwi? is a simple game. It has a simple story: a newborn chick, still half-stuck in an egg, searches for her mother. It has simple gameplay: draw vines on the screen to propel Ivy through mazes, avoiding enemies and hazards. But despite (or maybe thanks to) its simplicity, it thrives: the presentation is almost unfairly charming, and Ivy is just plain fun to manipulate in the world. Besides, for such a simple game, it's not easy.

Learn to tell your Dark Knight's from your Dragon Knight's.

#screens I spent some time last week playing through two maps and two modes of multiplayer in Crysis 2 during GamesCom, here's a closer look at those levels. More »

"We are so excited that Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar is now available in stores," said Hiro Maekawa, President and CEO of Natsume. "The game features a great story, a fun cast of colorful characters, and a multiplayer mode that lets players invite their friends to their farm. With all this and more, we think players will find it to be one of the best handheld games in the series yet."

It seems games are seeping even further into our education system. We've already reported the inclusion of Portal in the coursework at Wabash College, and now we learn that the University of Florida is offering a class in StarCraft -- 21st Century Skills in Starcraft (EME2040). The course, taught by doctoral student Nathaniel Poling, uses Blizzard's classic RTS to impart students with skills in the areas of "critical thinking, problem solving, resource management, and adaptive decision making."

Poling told Technology Review that StarCraft requires players to manage "a lot of different units and groups of different capacities," a skill that translates in real world business. The course -- the university's first fully online class -- requires students to play the game, watch recorded matches, and write papers "which emphasize analysis and synthesis of real/game-world concepts." Oh, the class also has no final exam and does count toward a student's GPA. In other words: enroll in this class now.

[Thanks, Kai]

Hello Kitty Online launches in U.S., Canada and Europe; Hello Kitty Online Premium Edition retail SKU with exclusive bonus materials now available in North America.

After four intense rounds of voting among the over 28,000 registered participants, we’d like to congratulate the winner of our first-ever online casting contest for The Tester: Mickey Paradis (aka 8bitmickey) from Denton, Texas.

After receiving a majority of the 350,000+ community votes, he will join the rest of the cast this Fall for the launch of the newest season of The Tester.

If you’ve been following our ten week long Summer casting contest, you’re probably familiar with 8bitmickey’s hilarious and well-admired video submissions. Well, he’s got one more for all of his loyal supporters to say “Thanks.”

Check back with us on the PlayStation.Blog, follow us on Facebook and, as always on TheTester.com for more updates on the show. And, look for the complete cast announcement coming next month.

Thank you to the over 28,000 participants who made this possible, and congrats again to Mickey Paradis for his Epic Win.

Greased Lightnin' hits store shelves just in time for the end of summer lovin' and the start of the school year at Rydell High.

Telltale has done everything short of forcing Sam & Max right down your throat. For instance, right now the entire third season "The Devil's Playhouse" is $20. Or you can snag all three seasons for just $40. We suggest you buy it; your throat might not be able to handle Telltale's next offer.

#developerdiary More lofty claims from developer Splash Damage, as the latest developer diary for Brink boasts that the game blurs the lines of genre beyond definition. More »

Poor pre-owned game purchasers -- you've been having a really rough time of it this past year, haven't you? Most of the major companies have battled your particular method of shopping tooth and nail by packaging DLC vouchers in with copies of their new games. Cory Ledesma, creative director for WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 (new versions of which offered free DLC and online multiplayer access), recently told CVG, "I don't think we really care whether used game buyers are upset because new game buyers get everything."

Ledesma explained, "We hope people understand that when the game's bought used we get cheated," later adding, "I don't think anyone wants that so in order for us to make strong, high-quality WWE games we need loyal fans that are interested in purchasing the game. We want to award those fans with additional content." That does it -- from now on, we buy all our WWE games new. Not for the DLC, mind you, but because we've got a strict policy against upsetting companies that are in constant contact with professional wrestlers.

Coke makes a game.

The war may be over but the patches are still coming.

#xbox360 The idea of controlling your console with gestures in a neat concept, but it also comes with a slew of technical challenges. More »

In my otherwise totally accurate and insightful review of Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days, I mocked the couture of the game's villains. I might have even said they dressed like my dad, which is wholly unfair to a man at least 50 percent to thank for giving me the precious gift of life.

The Lich King heads East.

#screens Saw II: Flesh & Blood will be delivering a new story line that takes place between the first and second movie when the game hits the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on Oct. 19. More »

#review There are two things to know about the new Top Gun jet combat game: 1) Its creators have changed lines from its '80s Tom Cruise inspiration for the worse and 2) it'd be better if it wasn't about Top Gun. More »

You already know that buying Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will net you the Soundgarden album, Telephantasm.* But did you know that pre-ordering the game from either Amazon or GameStop will net you real-world totems that proudly proclaim to friends and family that you were unwilling to miss out on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock on day one?

If you go the brick-and-mortar route with GameStop you'll get an exclusive pair of "wings" for your axe, seen above on the left. Pre-ordering at Amazon guarantees an exclusive custom guitar strap designed by My Chemical Romance. If it follows in the proud tradition of other things designed by My Chemical Romance, such as their name and their music, you can sign us up.

*As an aside: Activision touts this as "the first time a new music album will be simultaneously released and bundled with a video game, and will be exclusively available with the game for one week prior to the album's retail release." Once we have reached that level of specificity, is it really still a "milestone"? If so, this morning marks "the first time we've written about Soundgarden while wearing the blue plaid sweatpants we like so much." Please update your diaries accordingly.