All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

ISM expands online world developer portfolio with MMOG experts Big Bang Entertainment.

#clips In this video Rock Band 3 senior designer Sylvain Dubrofsky walks us through just how the keyboard play is going to work in Harmonix upcoming rhythm game. More »

Soul-stirring music? Check! Gigantic battles and fancy special effects? Check check! That's right, folks -- it's another Halo: Reach live-action short. This time, the original "Deliver Hope" video is extended to over two minutes of apocalyptic action.

Hello ladies and gents! How have you guys been? I hope you all enjoyed the three-day weekend!

Today, I am excited to talk about Cladun: This is an RPG!… like we have to make sure you know it is an RPG… Hahaha! Anyway, as the subtitle states, it is an RPG, and it is also a classic dungeon crawler game.

There are nine characters, and each one of them can be played as a main character. Cladun’s key gameplay focus is team-work. Or, in other words, the Magic Circle. Let’s take a look at the Magic Circle here…

For this Magic Circle, the character in the center is the main character, Pudding. In a dungeon, you will see only Pudding whacking and slashing enemies, but actually you have all the other characters protecting you and fighting with you. There are more than 10 Magic Circles for each character. Each Magic Circle has different strengths and weaknesses, so depending on what kind of dungeon you are about to go in, you will want to take a moment and see which Magic Circle you should be using. Oh! So you see all these gemstones on the Magic Circle, right? These gemstones have specific attributes, for example, “DEF +3,” “ATK +5,” “SP +25” and so on. Each Magic Circle has different slots for those gemstones, so you want to take a close look at what they offer as well.

Below is another example of the Magic Circle. There are tons of options and choices, so take your time and explore the infinite possibilities! Oh, I cannot forget to mention there are different classes for characters, so depending on your character class, your magic skills, attributes and growth rate will differ. Lots to consider and strategize with!

I also want to talk about dungeons in Cladun. Each dungeon is randomly generated, so even if you go back to the same dungeon, you’ll have a different map every time. So there is no “memorizing” the map! Also, each dungeon has different types of traps and enemies. For example, when you go in a dungeon with fire element traps and enemies, you might want to choose a character and Magic Circle with fire-resistance attributes on them, so you will be well prepared for it! Shall we take a look at different types of dungeons here?

Also, I want to mention that Cladun comes with a multiplayer mode using the ad-hoc WiFi feature! You can play Cladun with up to four players. So hype up your friends about Cladun, and get Cladun on 9/21 together! :-)

Another cool feature in Cladun is that you can create your own characters and play as them. If you are not so into creating new characters, no worries, you can just edit the given characters however you like to!

Prinny, dood! Yeah, we had to have him, right? Also, here is what I created. It is “Fish Man”! Please don’t ask how it is “fish”… anyway… Have fun with “Pixel Editor” to create your own!

Thank you very much for reading my post once again. It is always fun to visit you all here! I will try to respond to your comments as soon as possible! Thank you guys! Check out more about Cladun on our official Cladun website!

P.S. In the very rare case you haven’t checked out our Cladun trailer… here you go! Enjoy the craziness! :-)

#obesity The winner of best overall infographic for First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign includes the release and successes of the Playstation in its timeline charting the growth of childhood obesity. More »

Square Enix has confirmed the forthcoming release of FFXIII on Xbox 360 in Japan, dubbed "Final Fantasy XIII Ultimate Hits International." The game will be released in December and features English voice acting with Japanese subtitles (other subtitle options are also available). Despite early reports of the release, no additional content will arrive with FFXIII -- it differs from the PlayStation 3 version in Japan in that it will feature content originally only in the US release. It will also add an easy mode and "Final Fantasy XIII - Episode 1" (a short story book).

Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase told Famitsu (via Gamasutra) that the new version was spurred by the launch of the remodeled 360 earlier this year, which aimed to bolster the console's install base in Japan. "We feel that there are ... a lot of people in Japan who own nothing but 360s. Thanks to the new system and such, the situation's a lot different than it was in July 2008," he explained. FFXIII will be the first Xbox 360 title released under Square's "Ultimate Hits" budget line, dropping at ¥4,980 ($59.50) on December 16.

Highly anticipated prequel ships to North American retailers, Limited Edition PSP Entertainment Pack also available.

Just when you thought you couldn't train your brain any more, Dr. Ryuta Kawashima - the Tokyo University-based professor who turned "brain training" into a video game hit with Nintendo's Brain Age series - is bringing his particular brand of supposed self-improvement to Microsoft's Kinect this November. Instead of using the DS stylus, Karada de Kotareu Atarashii Nou-tore (or "Respond With Your Body: New Brain Training," as translated by Andriasang) tasks one to four players with moving their body to solve problems. For example: Align your arms, analog clock-style, to match a digital time. Your performance will be used to assign an age to your brain (sound familiar?).

You can see some examples in the Japanese trailer embedded below; pay attention or you'll miss the Pac-Man-themed challenge right around the one-minute mark. The game was announced today in Japan as a November 20th Japanese launch title for Kinect, and will retail for ¥6,279. No word yet on a US release, but with the Tokyo Game Show next week, we expect to learn more.

#clips Late last month we got our first look at the Halo: Reach Deliver Hope live action flick, packed with a minute or so of explosions and flying Spartans. Today we get a look at the extended mix. More »

A month after popping up on the side of the Aussie Kinect bundle box, Microsoft has officially announced the existence of the Xbox 360 Kinect bundle with 250GB hard drive. The package, launching November 4, includes an Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi, a Kinect sensor and Kinect Adventures for $400.

On the same day, the Kinect hardware will launch on its own at $150, alongisde the Kinect 4GB Xbox 360 bundle for $300. There's also the option of purchasing the 250GB hard drive for the S version of the console separately, but that's $130. At this point, the latest announced bundle is the best value for those looking to get the whole package. Oh, and they still sell Xbox 360s that only come with plain ol' controllers, if that's your thing.

Your first look at the game.

PC players eager to penetrate the "Lair of the Shadow Broker" in today's Mass Effect 2 DLC release have hit a snag. The new content is apparently incompatible with Windows 7 64-bit systems (update: all systems), as reported by Big Download.

"I haven't said anything as we are working on the issue," noted BioWare community coordinator Chris Priestly in response to countless complaints (no really, countless complaints) on the official forums. "I understand you are all irritated by this, but we want you all to play, so we are working hard to determine and fix whatever is causing this."

Update: Priestly has created a new thread tracking the issue. Apparently, the original download was corrupt and prevented "all" PC users from playing the new content. That file has since been removed from BioWare's download section (though it's harmless if you did download it). "We are working on a fix for the issue and will get a working file up for PC users ASAP," Priestly assures, without knowledge of a more specific ETA.

Update 2: Priestly delivers the good news: "Lair of the Shadowbroker should now be fixed for the PC and should be able to be downloaded now for both the PC and Xbox 360."

#sportschampions What makes this promotional video isn't the Sports Champions gameplay. Rather, it's the sheer number of outfits worn in it. I lost count. No, really, I did. More »

According to GamerBytes, leaderboard date shows that Dead Rising 2: Case Zero was downloaded over 300,000 times (328,290 at the time of writing). Even with Microsoft's alleged 30 percent cut, one can estimate that Capcom made roughly $1.15 million off the experiment in less than a week.

Publisher Capcom insisted on its blog that "these are NOT official numbers," though we think they serve as a good, early indication of success. Two interesting things are at play here: Will the Case Zero experiment usher in a new type of demo experience? And if sales for Dead Rising 2 fall below expectations, will Capcom place the blame on a $5 demo that proved a little too satisfying?

Another reason to get excited about Tokyo Game Show.

#japan Japan's Yamagata Prefecture is Japan's biggest cherry producer. So naming a new learning institution "Sakuranbo Shougakkou" ("Cherry Elementary School") after the area's produce would make sense. That is, until you check the internet. More »

Can you pull off all of Ryu's trials in Super Street Fighter IV? Yes? Can you do them single-handedly? We think not! YouTube user biffotasty decided to give it a try, spending an hour "to see if it was doable." Trial 21 and 24 proved to be difficult, but thankfully -- for your entertainment -- "I realized that I was hardcore."

#cosplay It's a shame Lee Camara isn't making any more of these replica Team Fortress 2 weapons, because I would not just buy one, I would buy 18, and enough coloured jumpsuits to go around. More »

Are you tired of all the Farmville and Mafia Wars clones that plague Facebook? PopCap's chief creative officer Jason Kapalka believes that it won't be long until cheap copycats and their ilk will stop their rapid propagation. "You're definitely in the stage right now in social games where there's a lot of bandwagon jumping, where everyone sees moneymoneymoney and suddenly all these new companies appear," he told GI.biz. "It happened before in mobile, it happened before in casual - in the past it's tended to signal the beginning of the end."

Kapalka isn't suggesting that social games as a whole are going to die. Instead, he says it's the end of a "golden era," where the possibilities of the genre seemed limitless. Now that social gaming has taken root, the realities are becoming more evident: the extraordinary amount of competition, harsher restrictions from Facebook, slowing growth and dwindling margins will make it increasingly difficult for new social games to catch on. "Facebook can't go that much faster," Kapalka added. (Of course, Facebook would disagree.)

While Facebook and social games factor into PopCap's success so far, Kapalka doesn't seem too concerned about any sluggishness in the sector. The reason? PopCap has its hands in enough places to feel secure. "I feel PopCap's really diversified over the last ten years, we've never been necessarily the biggest company doing Xbox games or mobile games, but we've always been able to keep our hands in all these different areas, and sort of shift as necessary to whichever platforms are doing well." Plants vs. Zombies, for example, will continue its expansion to Xbox this week, and Nintendo DS next year.

#screengrab And rock n' roll was never about snide commentary or caring what other people think. Print campaign from guitar company Sparrow, as seen on Ads of the World, via GameSetWatch. More »

#nes A man named Matt has built a coffee table. It is designed to look like the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is awesome. More »

#movies If you thought the recent Street Fighter movie was bad, spare a thought for the King of Fighters movie, which is even worse. More »

#finalfantasyxiii These days, it's standard for video games to get downloadable content after they are released. Final Fantasy XIII is not your standard game. More »

Getting in touch with heroes can be difficult. Typically, they only bother to roll out of bed and show up when something goes really wrong.

These questions and more answered in Sony's epic Move FAQ.

#arcade Classy coffee tables are classy, but also boring. What they need is exactly what this one has: a cleverly-disguised set of professional arcade cabinet components. More »

Long awaited collaboration to get its first public airing.

#yoichiwada Final Fantasy, which was previously an PS3 exclusive in Japan, is coming to the country's Xbox 360 console. Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada has been catching all kinds of hell from Japanese gamers for the decision. More »

Coconut Dodge developer Futurlab is working on yet another game for the PlayStation Minis platform -- this time a space shooter. The studio already has a concept: mixing classic vertical shooting with a new teleporting gimmick; and it already has some music. What it needs now is a name. This is where you come in. Like PixelJunk Shooter, the developer is asking for your suggestions, awarding prizes for the best name ideas.

Of course, it's hard to name a game without knowing more about it. "In our shooter, there is a reason the world scrolls vertically, and a reason that you can't turn around," explains Futurlab, "everything is being sucked into a giant black hole!" Additionally, you'll be able to "save other people that are being sucked into the black hole" via your ship's unique teleporting ability. And ... well, that's all we know.

Hopefully, you can come up with something a bit more fitting than our suggestion -- COOKIESz.

#infamous Some of those at PAX over the weekend got to see a new gameplay clip of Infamous 2. Since that likely wasn't you, here it is! More »