All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Facebook and Twitter integration is far from the most exciting advancement made in gaming this generation. But, it's a feature that Wii has yet been privy too. That changes with the upcoming Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Speaking to Nintendojo, Vicarious Visions producer Joe Fisher proclaimed that "we are the first Wii title to support social networking sites, with Facebook and Twitter."

Elaborating further, he says that you'll be able to broadcast various in-game accomplishments. Making up for Nintendo's lack of a unified achievement system, the developer has decided to create its own, which connects with the social networking sites. "We've also incorporated a Wii award system, so when you do specific challenges in the game, you get credited for an award. You can share those with your online friends as well." Considering the arcade focus of the upcoming game, we're certain hardcore Guitar Hero fans will appreciate being able to share bragging rights on the Wii as well.

The Left 4 Dead blog has revealed this week's mutation of choice, and it's another round of Follow the Liter, in which only one character can carry a gas tank at the time, and they always spawn together (meaning that Infected know where the survivors are going to be). Should be a grindfest, but Valve thinks you'll like it -- they're bringing some old modes like this back to see if they can "take" a second time around.

And just for kicks, you Left 4 Dead fans can head past the break for a (NSFW due to language) fanmade mashup between Pixar's Toy Story (the original one!) and your favorite zombie headshot game. We won't ruin the surprise, but after what happens below, Woody's going to need some pills here.

Capcom rented out some empty retail space in East Los Angeles last night to set up Greene's Hardware. The company invited the public by for a "Super Sale," and held a pre-release party instead. Lots of Dead Rising 2's best implements were on display out front, and in back, the full game was playable on a roomful of demo units.

The pizza and soda flowed freely, and Capcom held a few contests -- participants were tasked with building actual zombie-killing items out of plastic toys, and they came up with a few good ideas, including a plastic sword shuriken and some sort of pencil stabbing thing (it looked very effective). Winners took home the prize above -- a Dead Rising 2 t-shirt cleverly disguised as a roll of duct tape. You can browse through all the festivities in the gallery below.

"Remember Reach." This is the tag line for Halo: Reach, the direct prequel to the Halo trilogy about a team of Spartans and their presumed fate -- a last stand against the Covenant invasion of the human-colonized Planet Reach. Did I say, "Halo trilogy?"

Here's a better tag line: "Forget ODST." Last year's Halo game, Halo 3: ODST, was conceived as an expansion but clumsily formed into a full-priced retail release. It was not a bad game, but it was a lesser Halo game -- by design. Worst case scenario: You started to think Halo, and Bungie's interest in the franchise, was on the decline.

So, forget ODST. Reach is Bungie's final Halo game. Let's not sour this seriously sweet farewell.

#review Halo: Reach isn't the beginning, it's the end. More »

"Remember Reach." This is the tag line for Halo: Reach, the direct prequel to the Halo trilogy about a team of Spartans and their presumed fate -- a last stand against the Covenant invasion of the human-colonized Planet Reach. Did I say, "Halo trilogy?"

Here's a better tag line: "Forget ODST." Last year's Halo game, Halo 3: ODST, was conceived as an expansion but clumsily formed into a full-priced retail release. It was not a bad game, but it was a lesser Halo game -- by design. Worst case scenario: You started to think Halo, and Bungie's interest in the franchise, was on the decline.

So, forget ODST. Reach is Bungie's final Halo game. Let's not sour this seriously sweet farewell.

Do the goodies justify the higher price? Our verdict.

Finish the fight? It's only just begun.

Legendary indeed.

The rumors are true! Dead Space 2 has a multiplayer mode, and you can see what it looks like in the GTTV trailer after the break. Want to know more? Come back on Monday and you'll get a hands-on report.

We have a smaller crowd this time, but there’s no shortage of things to talk about! All sorts of great announcements this week, and we jam-pack the show with as much news as possible! There’s the usual music/question/sweet releases/what we’re playing sections as well. It’s almost too much show for one person to handle! Do [...]

You know you’re in trouble when a side-by-side comparison of the two Street Fighter movies makes the first movie look better than the second!

Just incase you’re wondering, the chorus of the song is saying ‘I can’t get up!’ Don’t even bother asking me to explain the rest of this thing. All I can tell you is that it’s a big hit in Japan!

Listen, let's not beat around the bush -- you probably came here tonight to read our review of Halo: Reach, right? You probably didn't come here to look at our seven favorite webcomics of the past week. And we're fine with that. Seriously! We know where your priorities lie. Oh, we hope you don't mind, though -- we've taken your precious review hostage, and can assure you that you'll never see it again. Or for the first time. (Fine, we're kidding. It'll be here in a few minutes.)

Check out our seven favorite webcomics below, and vote for your favorite in the poll after the jump. That is, if you're not too busy jamming on the F5 key.

In Soviet Russia (Nerf Now)
The Wager (Penny Arcade)
Friendship (No Cash Value)
Bunkmates II (Brawl in the Family)
Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days (Another Videogame Webcomic)
Thankless (Extra Life)
Twelve to Life (Virtual Shackles)

The Entertainment Software Association and Entertainment Merchants Association have voiced their side of the upcoming Supreme Court review of the 2005 California law which prohibits the sale of "offensively violent" games to minors. The two organizations have filed a joint brief in the Supreme Court, which explicitly states (several times) that "the California statute is unnecessary, unwarranted, and unconstitutional."

The brief adds, "it would threaten freedom of expression not just for video games, but for all art forms. It would also tie up our courts in endless debates about what constitutes acceptable creative expression in our media. It protects no one and assaults the constitutional rights of artists and storytellers everywhere." Of course, in these matters, it would be irresponsible for us to side with one of the two involved parties but OH MAN COME ON THE ESA IS TOTALLY RIGHT.

Check out the entirety of the brief on the ESA's official site. Stay tuned -- Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association and Entertainment Software Association will go into oral argument November 2.

#photoshop Labor Day weekend is a traditional blowout-sale holiday, and Capcom's chuckalicious "Greene's Hardware" party at PAX 2010 provided the fuel for our latest call for entries. Here are your winners! More »

Rockstar recently released a handful of new screens for Red Dead Redemption's upcoming, gambling-filled DLC update, "Liars and Cheats." You can check out all the lying, cheating and completely unrelated ... deathmatching (?) in the gallery posted below.

#socialgames A marketing research firm found that 17 percent of social gamers - Farmville, Mafia Wars and the like - consider themselves "addicted," though it's not clear if they say that regretfully or as a lighthearted self-description. More »

#buttons Earlier this week, Kevin Butler, Sony's (fake) V.P. o'snark, took a dig at Kinect in the latest TV commercial for PlayStation Move. Now there's an entire site up implying that buttons in motion control result in games that "don't suck." More »

Looking for a helpful way to see what treasures are laying about? How about a guide that provides floor layouts and chest locations? If so, hit up the link below. You’ll get a step-by-step process for using a Japanese tool that helps get the job done much quicker.

#screengrab Super Meat Boy Avatar T-shirt, as confirmed by the game's official Twitter early this morning. The game releases on Oct. 20 over Xbox Live. Via Destructoid. More »

Diehard PC gamers celebrated the news that, unlike the previous game in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops would have support for multiplayer matches on dedicated servers. However, this group will probably be decidedly less thrilled by Activision and Treyarch's decision to partner with GameServers.com, which will have complete exclusivity rights for renting out the game's dedicated servers.

Treyarch community manager Josh Olin explained the partnership will allow administrators to "Kick, Ban, and Configure it the way you see fit," adding that Ranked servers will have fewer configuration options than their Unranked counterparts. GameServers' pre-order page prices 18-player Ranked servers at $14.95 a month with discounts for three, six or twelve-month payments. Unranked servers will be offered at $0.99 a month per player, with a maximum of 24 players. Of course, Treyarch's servers will be free -- provided you don't mind being part of the mainstream.

In this photo provided by Nintendo of America, Jackson W., 4, of Colleyville, Tx. is congratulated by Wilson Waren, a Nintendo ambassador, after playing Wii Sports Resort, an active-play video game at American Heart Association’s Dallas Start! Heart Walk on Sept. 11, 2010. The American Heart Association and Nintendo of America formed a strategic relationship [...]

#almamater That student who was scheming to turn the student center at Columbia University into the girder level of Donkey Kong ended up like the dog who caught the car. The scheme's been called off, and all donations have been refunded. More »

#stickjockey A friend visiting me recently is a lifelong NHL fan with season tickets to the San Jose Sharks. He doesn't play video games, but he was intrigued when he saw NHL 11 on my desk, a couple days before release. More »

Seriously, Ubisoft. You guys are absolutely killing it with this series of dev diaries for Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, the second installment of which is posted below. One part gameplay clips, one part backstory, one part insight and then -- to top it all off -- one part cosplay? We approve.