All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Despite the obvious problems with trying to play a graphical text adventure in Japanese, I attempted the Ace Attorney Investigations 2 TGS demo. I was able to glean at least the premise and highlights of the first case: a politician is shot during a speech, immediately following the landing of his plane, and Miles Edgeworth and Dick Gumshoe are assigned to investigate it.

As tends to happen in these games, things got weird almost immediately, as my investigation led to a giant Steel Samurai balloon submerged in a body of water. That's probably an important clue! Ace Attorney nerds will be happy to know that the Steel Samurai seems to figure heavily in this game -- not only does that balloon appear in the first five minutes of play, but Capcom's booth included inflatable Steel Samurai decorations, as well.

#clips This video offers quite the list of details for the NBA Elite 11 demo - except a release date. But when it does arrive, it'll offer plenty to play around with in advance of the full game's Oct. 5 drop. More »

#review Strategy games remain one of the last vestiges of computer gaming superiority. More »

Us mid-westerners have it pretty rough when it comes to having video game events stop by our neck of the woods. Fortunately, Capcom has chosen to end this pattern of neglect, announcing today that a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Fight Club event will be held in Chicago next Wednesday.

R.I.P. APB, We Hardly Knew Ye.

#capcom Capcom is rolling into Chicago on September 22 to let fans play the Tokyo Game Show build of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and potentially score "something very special." Want to know where it's at? More »

Ridge Racer 7: 3D License Version is Namco Bandai's response to Sony's own MotorStorm 3D Rift. Unfortunately, the TGS demo falls a bit ... flat.

Like 3D Rift, this PSN-exclusive will be available in Japan on October 1 for a fair price: ¥500 (about $6). However, unlike 3D Rift, this add-on will require the original game. Also, it doesn't look very good. Ridge Racer 7 was one of the earliest PS3 titles available, and it hasn't aged well. There's a noticeable lack of detail in the world, and it simply can't compete with the experiences offered by current games like Gran Turismo 5. Even the 3D effect in Ridge Racer 7 is not as pronounced as in other 3D racing titles.

A North American release of Ridge Racer 7: 3D License Version hasn't been announced, but after playing the demo, I'm not particularly eager for that to happen. With so many other 3D games coming so soon, I don't think the ride would be worth even the budget-priced ticket.

#tgs Sometimes, Tokyo Game Show booth companions need to cut loose. Perhaps to a little computerized J-pop and when instructed to by management. This is the kind of thing that happens at TGS. More »

The games go head-to-head and we pick a favorite.

Who would have thought that Earth Defense Force 2017, one of our guiltiest current-gen pleasures, would ever get a proper sequel treatment? Certainly not us -- which explains why we were (kind of) surprised when D3Publisher announced Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon for 360 and PS3 earlier today.

The description from the game's announcement sounds like we'll be reprising the giant bug-shooting action of 2017, but with support for a three-player online co-op Campaign, as well as a six-player co-op Survival mode. The Insect Armageddon is still a ways off, with a tentative spring launch window -- fortunately, D3Publisher sent over a handful of images from the game to tide us over until then. Entomophobics need not apply!

#tgs To go along with the seven and a half minute long trailer, Konami also sends us ten new screens for Castlevania: Lord of Shadows, the most un-Castlevania Castlevania we've ever seen. More »

The games go head-to-head and we pick a favorite.

I was just doing my usual news hunt when I stumbled upon one of these in-line contextual ads. Thought you guys would like to check it out! function getVideo() { var so = new SWFObject("http://cdn.springboard.gorillanation.com/storage/xplayer/yo033.swf", "mplayer", "420", "340", "8", "#000000"); so.addParam("wmode","transparent"); so.addParam("swliveconnect", "true"); so.addParam("allowscriptaccess", "always"); so.addParam("allowfullscreen", "true"); so.addVariable("pid", "goni001"); so.addVariable("siteId", "485"); so.addVariable("videoId", "196663"); so.addVariable("autostart", "false"); so.addVariable("file", "http://cms.springboard.gorillanation.com/xml_feeds_advanced/index/485/3/196663/"); so.addVariable("pageUrl", document.location); so.write("flashcontent_485_goni001_single_196663"); } getVideo()

#art Just in time for the official U.S. launch of the Playstation Move, and to adorn your PS3 dash, is this wonderful bit of original art by house artist Sam Spratt. More »

I'm so glad my mom didn't attend the Tokyo Game Show with me this year. Being forced to cover the notoriously crowded and humid event in a sweater would be a miserable experience ("You'll catch a cold!"), but the perspiration would go into overdrive if I had to explain a game like Gal Gun:

"Ludwig, are you playing a kids game?" (This is always the first question when a game's graphics don't quite portray reality.)

"No, Mom, it's cel-shaded. It's an anime-styled, on-rails shoot-her with a first-person perspective. It's called Gal Gun."

"Is that a school?"

"Uh huh, it seems like a Japanese high school. Judging by the sheer amount of girls fawning over me, it's not co-ed."

"Or anything like your school days."

Greetings from the future. The sun is slowing rising on what is sure to be a beautiful Saturday morning, here in Tokyo. It’s officially the third day of the Tokyo Game Show, and we haven’t missed a beat. PlayStation blew the roof off the Makuhari Messe convention center, with collosal announcements, new hardware and tons of games. The PlayStation booth is sprawling with thousands of eager members of the press and gamers waiting to get their hands on the latest PS3 titles on PlayStation Move, and our favorite portable, the PSP.

With a video interview with devs on the new Devil May Cry, and a in-depth chat with The Last Guardian’s director and designer, Fumito Ueda-san — shot, captured and ready to edit. I ventured off on my next assignment — to capture our mammoth and most impressive showing at the Tokyo Game Show yet.

A look into the future or a waste of development time? We investigate.

#reviews Kmart's new review policy, which places customer game reviews on their store shelves, recently went live with some important tweaks. More »

You've already heard about the new stuff coming to Gran Turismo 5, but Sony's uploaded a couple new trailers that better show off the X1 Prototype and weather effects -- both are past the break. Finally, we can all crash expensive cars in the snow like real rich people!

#xboxlive The final verdict is in, and Xbox Live has said no to Zombie Cow Studios' Privates, the "educational" shooter set partly inside a woman's vagina. No hard feelings. More »

You blow each other up with cannons. Do you need anything else?

#law As the entertainment industry rallies against the controversial California video game law, the Colorado State Board of Education issues a call for the state to support the law, calling violent video games a potentially harmful activity like gambling. More »

Is Bungie's finale the best in the series? Eight editors discuss.

To go alongside the decidedly batty TGS trailer, Konami has released new screens of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. They show off Gabriel Belmont doing what Belmonts do best: Slaying demons, exploring castles and ... chatting with Baba Yaga? Even witches need some company now and then, right?

“Synthlove”, an EP of 1980’s synthpop covers, has beenreleased. The songs were sequenced on a Nintendo DSi using the Korg DS-10+ cart. “Synthlove”, is a companion piece to the 2009 album “Bits” (an album inspired by Atari 2600 games). It is available directly from Ditropolis, or on the iTunes US store. Check out samples and more [...]

#tokyogameshow2010 Fire Pro Wrestling is returning, but this time it's coming to Xbox Live Arcade and it's way cuter. But does that mean the buff Fire Pro-Wrestling of days gone by have been passed over in favor of Xbox 360 Avatars? More »