All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#worldofwarcraft In China, World of Warcraft and censorship aren't strangers. Things like blood and skeletons were edited for The People's Republic, and the release of expansion Wrath of the Lich King was held up due to content Chinese authorities found objectionable. More »

When DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue was first introduced, we were baffled by the mysterious origin of the game's various undergarments of legend. Now that we know where they're from -- thanks to this latest trailer, care of PAX -- well, we're just as baffled. Head past the break and see for yourself.

#steam According to several reports from over the weekend, the ratings board of South Korea is cracking down on the distribution of unrated video games in the country, and has everything from homebrew games to Valve's Steam service in its sights. More »

There's no need to worry says Gearbox's Randy Pitchford.

#rip Brian R. Wood, lead designer of Company of Heroes Online and a key player in the development of the series as a whole, was tragically killed on Friday night in an automobile accident north of Seattle. More »

#granturismo5 Gran Turismo 5 features car damage — a first for the series. Does developer Polyphony Digital do, dare I say, a bang-up job? More »

Young boy takes a photo of the Yomeimon Gate at Japan’s Toshogu Shrine (Nikko)

When Insomniac announced the co-op focused Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One at Gamescom last month, we were all thinking the same thing: How did the series with the clever titles - Going Commando; Up Your Arsenal; Size Matters; Quest for Booty - miss out on the most obvious title here?

4play. Duh.

It turns out the guys at Insomniac didn't miss it, they just decided not to use it. "At the end of the day, I think we didn't want to scare off the parents who might be buying the game for their kid," series writer TJ Fixman told an audience at PAX this weekend. "So we went with 'All 4 One.'" Better still, they had other names, four of which they shared with us last night and, since we heart you, we'll share with you here.

• Multiple Organisms
• Bros b4 Foes (Community Manager James Stevenson clarified the 'b4' spelling)
• Fiends with Benefits

Even better, we were later told there's a spreadsheet with over a hundred possible titles on it but, without that in our possession (send it to us, Insomniac!) we've got to do the next best thing. We're asking for your contributions in the comments below. But before you get to that, we're going to ask you to vote for your favorite title in the poll below. Our guess: "All 4 One" isn't going to make the top spot.
View PollFour other Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One titles Insomniac considered

Add more colour to your life with the new Nintendo DSi XL colours and Art Academy, available exclusively on Nintendo DS. On Thursday 9 September and Thursday 16 September, be one of the first to see the new Nintendo DSi XL colours and play Art Academy before release. Come along to The Nintendo Experience, EB Games [...]

#hollywood In August 2009, Microsoft said that its plans for a big-screen version of Halo were "on hold". This past spring, Microsoft expressed interest in doing a Halo flick "when the time is right". Is the time right yet? More »

During today's Gearbox Software panel, the developer took the opportunity to assuage concerns that new franchises like Borderlands and Duke Nukem are siphoning away time from its previous projects, like the Brothers in Arms series or the announced-in-2009-and-still-invisible Aliens: Colonial Marines. Pitchford even commented on one of the studio's three unannounced projects.

"We're not announcing anything today, but we want to tell you guys that we really care about this franchise a lot," Gearbox co-founder Brian Martel said. "It's something we created and it really means a lot to us. It's not just a game about the combat. It's about the soldiers in the war. We'll deal with Baker and his men in future games for sure." So while they're not confirming that a Brothers in Arms game is in development currently, they are confirming that one will be at some point. But Martel did give us an idea of what we might expect from a future BiA offering: "But we also may do some other things that maybe treat the game in some different ways and take some different directions." So, modern warfare then?

Pitchford then jumped in, agreeing. "It was our first original IP. So we'll be taking care of that one." Further confirming that a Brothers in Arms game is possibly in production, Pitchford said, " We've got a lot of action right now, but we're not ready quite yet to bring it out. We want to make sure we know we've got it right before we tell you what we're doing."

The first week of September brought about a bunch of new PC game announcements, including the news that a certain title 13 years in the making may finally be coming out after all. Let's look back at the past seven days:

Exclusive features

• Reviews: We give our final verdicts for the crime action game Mafia 2 and the puzzle title Tidalis.
• Boot Disk: Our retro games column takes a look back at the hacker-themed classic Uplink.

Downloads

• Amnesia: The Dark Descent demo: Try out this sample of the upcoming horror-themed first person adventure game.
• Lost Horizon demo: Its a small taste of the PC adventure game.
• Company of Heroes Online Install Client: Relic is letting folks try out its upcoming WWII-themed persistent RTS game for free.
• Blood Good Time trailer: Check out the first glimpse of this over-the-top multiplayer action game.
• Firefall trailers: Check out this cinematic trailer and this long gameplay walkthrough for this just announced online shooter.

Battle Grids knows exactly who its audience is.

Microsoft brought their fall lineup and Kinect to Seattle this weekend.

Eight sweet combo weapons and bizarre zombie-killing tools.

When first examining the Japanese hardware sales numbers for August 23 through 29, we couldn't help but gawk at the PSP's astronomical sales surge. What could be the cause of such a dramatic shift (over 100 percent up at 55K units in just seven days)? As was the case with Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G before it, the release of Monster Hunter spin-off Monster Hunter Diary Poka Poka Airu Village placed the PSP firmly in the top spot for Japanese hardware sales.

Beyond folks purchasing handhelds just to play the game, a bundle pack being offered which includes a PSP for ￥33,131 ($392) couldn't have hurt. The most important thing to know about the game, however, isn't that it's related to Monster Hunter -- the most important thing is that it's all about adorable kittens. Not just any kittens: helper kittens! We'd love to stay and tell you more about it, but we've got a hot date with the madness-inducing trailer for the game.

#pennyarcadeexpo2010 Some of the 165 extra-large pizza pies bought by Gearbox Software for attendees of their PAX panel. See below for a pepperoni pizza made to look like the Duke Nukem logo. More »

Just because you didn't attend PAX this year doesn't mean you can't tell your friends and loved ones that you totally did. Just click through our gallery and memorize every nook and cranny of the expansive show floor. Then you'll be ready when your friends and family try to test your story. "Ricky, when you were at PAX, did you see a giant dinosaur statue, Phoenix Wright cosplayers and Jonathan Blow working on a laptop?" You bet your sweet ass I did, grandma.

But enough with the words, let the images commence!

If there was one Zelda title that could be called out as the go-to game for being the ‘best series entry’, I think Ocarina of Time would be the winner. Of course, there’s plenty of room for discussion on that one, and no one will ever come to a definitive answer. It’s still [...]

#pennyarcadeexpo2010 Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford doesn't want you to think that the house of Borderlands and Duke Nukem Forever forgot about their Aliens game. To reassure us the project is alive, his team flashed screenshots of it at Gearbox's PAX panel. More »

Studio purchases rights from 3D Realms.

#pennyarcadeexpo2010 Following the confirmation on Friday that Gearbox is reviving Duke Nukem Forever, the studio now says it owns Duke. Gearbox obtained the rights to "Duke Nukem and all future projects" from former franchise owner 3D Realms. More »

Yes, once again, this will be available for preorder bonus in North America. I can’t wait to wear mine until it falls apart from all the love I’ll give it!

Just two days after revealing its stewardship of the Duke Nukem Forever title at PAX, Gearbox Software just revealed that it has actually purchased the Duke Nukem brand. Gearbox president Randy Pitchford told an audience at PAX this afternoon that they're not just making sure Duke Nukem Forever makes it to store shelves, but they've actually purchased the entire Duke Nukem IP. "We actually bought the brand," Pitchford told fans. "We bought Duke Nukem."

A press release timed to go out with the announcement has some more information. Here's the big picture quote: "Gearbox Software announced today that it has acquired the full intellectual property rights of the 'Duke Nukem' brand including Duke Nukem Forever and all future projects in a cooperative deal made with 3D Realms." Even more interesting: "The first product to be available under the Duke Nukem brand will be the long awaited Duke Nukem Forever." Naturally, if they're buying the brand you can imagine DNF won't be the last game to feature the Duke.

Pitchford made a point to say that Alan Blum, the creator of the Duke Nukem franchise, is now with Gearbox. "He's on the 10th floor with his team," he said. He also wanted to explain that this franchise couldn't simply have been purchased by anyone. "I didn't buy it from [3D Realms]," Pitchford said. "They sold it to me." In the press release, 3D Realms' Scott Miller said, "Gearbox was handpicked as the new home for Duke Nukem because of their continued passion, commitment and long-time heritage with the brand and 3D Realms."