All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#top Looks like our plentiful tipsters were right earlier this month when they told us that Microsoft was offering a "limited audience" of Xbox 360 owners an opportunity to beta test Kinect. More »

#news Tempest in a teapot role-playing gameIt looks like Super Columbine Massacre RPG has reared its ugly head again this week, with Florida deputies looking into why the game may have popped up on the computer of a teen who vowed to blow up his high school and "break the record of Columbine and Virginia Tech." More »

Yo dawg, we made a sequel to your sequel so you could sequel while you sequeled -- ahem, sorry, we couldn't help ourselves. Andriasang reports that Aksys Games has announced the next entry in the BlazBlue series for Japanese arcades, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2. The new arcade game will debut at the Amusement Machine Show on September 9.

The game will launch in Japanese arcades this winter and (so far) adds one new character, Valkenhayn R Hellsing. He was recently announced as the second DLC character for the home console versions of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift and has been priced at ¥800 (560 Microsoft Points) in Japan. We suspect his price tag here will be the same, especially since Makoto, the first announced DLC character for CS, is priced accordingly.

New screens for the launch of Worms Reloaded PC

Get candy, get candy, get candy, get candy.

It's our anniversary, and we're giving you the gifts.

Today, we take our shirts off.

Sega is temporarily dropping prices of its iPhone games in honor of kids going back to school. You know, it's been a long time since our GameBoy Advance was confiscated for illicit Pokémon Fire Red playing, but we're pretty sure you're still not allowed to play games during class. Oh well -- it's the thought that counts, Sega!

Additionally, Phantasy Star 2 launched today on the App Store with a sale price of $2.99 (normally $4.99). See the complete Sega sale details after the break.

It leverages the system's technology well enough, but the core hockey is lacking.

For the 150th episode, IGN's PlayStation boys are giving you the presents.

#clips Adorable, pocket version of Okami with a touch-screen twist, Capcom's Okamiden is due out early next year for the DS. More »

Peripheral Vision is the name of our ongoing sporadic journey into the wonderful, oft-terrifying world of third-party peripherals. Today we've got two new, surprisingly great controllers from Power A, the Pro Elite Wireless for PS3 and the Pro Pack Mini for Wii. Enjoy.

The ultimate speculative guide to the fall's biggest war game.

#college Starcraft is being used to teach resource management skills in a new course offering at the University of Florida - but it's only open to students in the honors college, and students have to have some familiarity with the game. More »

That email purportedly sent out by Microsoft a couple weeks back inviting its recipients into a Kinect beta program? Yeah -- it was legit. Joystiq has received corroborating evidence confirming the program, including pictures of the promised Kinect-enabled dashboard update running on a participant's retail console. In them, you can clearly see the flatter presentation, new mini-guide and revamped Avatar editor -- complete with a re-proportioned Avatar.

Our tipsters clearly didn't read the included guidelines, pictured in the gallery bellow. Apart from the laundry list of methods via which participants aren't supposed to talk about the program, there's confirmation that Kinect hardware is indeed part of the beta, "is being packed" and will presumably be on its way to testers soon. These same sources report that the beta support site mentions Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports and JoyRide as titles they can expect to receive for testing purposes.

We'll have more on the program as its participants continue to refuse acknowledgment of Microsoft's terms and conditions.

When a nameless shepherd saves the world.

The most successful name in paintball games brings a host of new features to Wii with Greg Hastings Paintball 2! Brave the unpredictable elements on ultra realistic paintball fields in this intense first-person paintball experience. Get up to 8 friends together for fast-paced multiplayer action! Test your skills in brand new scenario modes, manage [...]

Ah, the Eggplant Wizard is finally going to make his return to gaming! It’s been far too long since we’ve seen this…thing in action. It’s so stupid that I have to love it. That’s as long as it doesn’t turn me into an eggplant.

Burger King and Microsoft are back in the sack, following up their 2006 tryst with some new, Kinect-enabled treats. First off are the Kids Meal-powered Kinectimal plushies, as demonstrated in the video after the break. Buy some arterial plaque-packed food, get a virtual toy for your virtual pet. Guys, this is it. The future. It's happening and this is what we have to show for it.

But they also announced a Burger King Kinect promotion back in June, teasing that "full details of the promotion are still top secret." When we noticed an Xbox 360 title on game-trading site Goozex titled "Burger King Kinect: The First-of-its-Kind Entertainment Experience So You Can Have It Your Way" we wanted to find out some more. So we contacted Goozex, who told us the data is provided by Rovi (formely Muze), has a tentative release date of 11/30/10 and no MSRP, "but that's not unusual for pre-release data," we're told.

Perhaps more notable is the following note appended to the end of the description: "This promotion has not been officially announced to be an actual videogame. Please check back later for official info, maybe eat a chicken sandwich or something while you wait to find out ..."

And just for fun, we thought we'd share that (hyperbolic) description of the game:
Following up on the groundbreaking promotional lollapastravaganzas Microsoft and Burger King launched in 2006 with the legendary collectible burger-based game triology (which included Big Bumpin', Pocketbike Racer, and Sneak King) this next endeavor of human triumph now uses the revolutionary powers of the Kinect motion sensor to give YOU, the player, the power to experience virtual burger consumption satisfaction like no planet of the solar system has in all of history!!

It’s a proud week for us here at Zipper Interactive as tomorrow marks the 8th birthday of our first-ever PS2 game and the title that started a huge multimillion-selling franchise, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. To celebrate the eight-year mark, we’ve put together a special video for our fans.

In it, you’ll experience the gamescom 2010 SOCOM 4 demo in its entirety with commentary by lead designer, Travis Steiner. This is the first time anywhere that you’ll see the gamescom demo played all the way through and in high-definition, making it a “must watch” for anyone even remotely interested in what we have in store for 2011.

Let us know what you think below, and please accept our sincerest thanks for making the first eight years of SOCOM as great as they have been. Here’s to many more to come!

Noooo, not the zombies!

#clips NBA 2K11 isn't just putting a new coat of paint on a reliable model; this year the game will feature advanced controls that strives to deliver more distinctive moves to players' shooting, dribbling and driving repertoires, with corresponding animations. More »

Zoë Mode creative director Ste Curran has tweeted some exciting news for PC-owning puzzle game buffs: Chime, the music-driven XBLA block-dropper it created for the OneBigGame charity project, is coming to Steam next month. The game will be available on the service from September 6, and will be up for pre-order there later today.

Chime's a great puzzler as-is, but Zoë Mode is adding something extra-special for the PC release: a sixth level themed after Valve's modern classic, Portal, featuring Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive." As with the XBLA version, 5 percent of the Steam purchase price will go to charity. Sounds like a triumph for everyone.

#screens If ever a game begged to be controlled by a stick with a glowing ball on the end, it's Firemint's iPhone sensation Flight Control. Take a look at how the HD version for the PlayStation Move is shaping up. More »

#pax One reason to attend the Penny Arcade Expo next week is to go to Kotaku's panel. Another is to try to win one of these DSi systems illustrated by Scribblenauts artist Edison "Edy" Yan. More »

We already shared the code to unlock Boss Rush in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but we've just learned of another and ran to try it out. Pictured above is the result of the "Blood Code" (X, Circle, X, Square, X, Circle, Circle on PS3; or A, B, A, X, A, B, B on Xbox 360 -- get it?)

Scott Pilgrim's interpretation of "blood" is pretty adorable: Whenever a hit connects, the spark effect is replaced by a pink, heart-shaped splash. The effect is active until you quit the game.

Though it brings us great joy to experience the nostalgia of writing about newly-discovered cheat codes, this may be the last time we get to do so for Scott Pilgrim, as most (if not all) of the game's codes have been discovered and GameFAQs'd.

#tradeins Electronics retailer Best Buy has rolled out its new video game trade-in program nationwide, offering a $20 gift card with select titles to help offset the fact that GameStop gives more credit on average. Update: Forget the extra gift card. More »