All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#clips After fooling around some with the demo I can say one of the bright spots of NBA Elite 11 is its commentary and presentation. The total integration with ESPN's graphics, wipes and music helps sell the authenticity of the call. More »

I need to go back and play the original Metroid. Out of all the other classic NES games, that’s the one I spent the least amount of time with. I’ve played it a few times through, but I feel like I haven’t really explored all that it has to offer. Perhaps this [...]

Greetings Sackboys (and Sackgirls),

I’m sure you’ve heard the news yesterday about our new release date, January 18th. We’re bummed too, but with still so much LBP goodness floating around we wanted to keep you updated on the latest…

Must-see LittleBigPlanet 2 beta videos

Over in the UK, where the LittleBigPlanet 2 online beta has already started, there have been some amazing new games being made by our CREATORS. We’ve been watching all the new videos appearing on the web and wanted to share our favorites.

Making the most out of the LBP/ Street Fighter costumes (by Gevurah22)

Top-down racing anyone? (by Compherm)

Brilliant flOw remake (by Raphaei)

For a one-stop site for more videos, check out LittleBigPlanetGalaxy.com’s coverage of all the amazing LBP2 beta levels.

And don’t worry — the US phase of the LBP2 beta is almost here…

LBP2 physics analyzed

Our friends at EuroGamer are working on an extensive tech analysis of LBP2. Here’s a quick preview (with videos) of improvements to the new physics engine and graphical improvements.

Sackboys sighted

Looking for those hard to find Sackboy toys?!?!? Apparently, Toys “R” Us has them on store shelves now, so run don’t walk to your nearest Toys “R” Us.

Love 3D Dot Heroes? Love Sackboy? We’ve got some great news for you…

Community Happenings

LittleBigLand’s 4-in-1 Epic-Ness competition unveils its entries. Consider these must plays over the weekend.

And finally, our Daniel and Austin with yet another LittleBigPodcast. Amazing you guys are up to 86 episodes. Love the Move love!

#consoletaisen Turns out selling more than 2.5 million copies of the latest Pokemon game(s) translates into a big boost for the Nintendo DS. Crazy! But just how many new Nintendo DSs did Japanese Pokemon fans snap up with the game? More »

From a technological perspective, PlayStation Move offers much more than what Nintendo's original Wiimote, and even the subsequent MotionPlus add-on, can provide. However, critics point out that it's taken four years for Sony to develop and market a proper response to Nintendo. Considering Move-like technology was in development at Sony since the PS2 era, why has it taken the company so long to produce something? Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony's Worldwide Studios, offered a reasonable explanation.

"We couldn't have made Move when we launched PS3," Yoshida told Wired. "We needed the time to be able to create the performance of Move with the target price that we started out with." (Microsoft has reportedly struggled with balancing technological edge with a reasonable price tag for Kinect, as well.) Still, all these years later, PlayStation Move controllers aren't exactly cheap, and Sony continues to been criticized for being late to the game. Yoshida had his response to that, though: "A 2010 system is what we are launching in 2010. In that sense, I don't think we are late at all."

Of course, with sales of Wii hardware and software on the decline, even Sony has to wonder: Has the motion control fad lost its momentum? It'll be interesting to see how Move (and Kinect) answer that question in the months to come.

Coming from Twitter… My old Nintendo - yeah, those are marks on the side that I made for each game beat. I still have my original NES, but I never put stickers or game tick-marks on there. I don’t feel as hardcore as I thought I was! Thanks to Johnny4 for the heads up!

Square Enix's MMO is live. Is that a good thing?

Job listing confirms PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 release.

Through the corporate-backed "Change the Equation" program, Activision Blizzard is aiding the science, technology, engineering and math initiative enacted by the Obama administration. A press release this morning announced Activision's participation, with chief public policy officer George Rose adding, "STEM literacy is a business imperative for our nation's economic excellence, success and citizenship. Our collaboration will not only help students, but will revive our economy, fuel our competitiveness, and ultimately empower our nation."

Change the Equation (CTEq) plans on working with "top companies" across "multiple sectors" with the intention of stimulating STEM literacy among youth, countrywide. Activision specifically will be "using video games to promote student interest in science and technology," which we have to imagine doesn't mean sending out leftover copies of Guitar Hero: Van Halen to middle schools. At least, we seriously hope not.

We rank all five shooters from the very best on down to Halo 2.

#usedgames Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of 2K Games, 2K Sports and Rockstar Games, has told investors it's working on a way to "participate" in the used-games market but was tight-lipped about what specifically it has in mind. More »

Jiro Ishii directed the "sound novel" 428 for Chunsoft, and is now at Level-5 working on Time Travelers. He's also working with Capcom, on one of the Level-5/Capcom collaborations teased by Keiji Inafune -- a new Ace Attorney game. "Huh? Ah, Gyakuten ○○. I'm working on it with Takumi-san," Ishii tweeted, as translated by Siliconera. "Gyakuten" ("Turnabout") is present in each game's title so far: "Gyakuten Saiban" (Turnabout Judgment) for the original Ace Attorney games, and "Gyakuten Kenji" (Turnabout Prosecutor) for the Investigations series.

While it's interesting enough that an adventure game expert from Level-5 and Chunsoft would be working on an Ace Attorney game, there are two more parts of that tweet that we want to press. Ishii obscured the last half of the title, suggesting that it's not Ace Attorney Investigations 2, but rather something unannounced, with a new title. Furthermore, he said he's working with "Takumi-san," likely series creator Shu Takumi, who hasn't been directly involved with the games since Apollo Justice. Which also suggests it's a new game. We'll be in our office reviewing the case files until more evidence comes to light.

#shigerumiyamoto Shigeru Miyamoto, the man behind Mario, reflects on the past 25 years of his creation in a new interview with fellow creator Shigesato Itoi, explaining how creating Super Mario Bros. and the Mario games that followed was the "easy" way out. More »

DJ got us fallin' in love.

Q-Games has retooled, tweaked and enhanced nearly every game in the PixelJunk series thus far. However, PixelJunk Shooter 2 is the first true sequel in the franchise. Considering the vast amount of new features thrown into the upcoming PSN game, Cuthbert argues that it merits a numeric bump in the title. (We'd agree!) But would he consider making a true sequel to one of the earlier PixelJunk games?

The answer appears to be yes. "We want to make a PixelJunk Monsters 2," Cuthbert said during a Tokyo Game Show meeting. However, even if the team began working on a Monsters 2, it would likely be a long time coming. Cuthbert said a sequel could be part of Q-Games' envisioned "Series 2, so it will be 3D in some way." (Series 2 would be a second set of PixelJunk games designed with 3D graphics, as opposed to the studio's current set of games, "Series 1," which are all 2D games.)

The short answer to "What Would Chuck Do?" in Dead Rising 2 is: Murder the undead. But perhaps you'd like to see the long answer play out in the latest trailer for the game? Good, 'cause we've got it for you here. (Oh, and part of the answer is giant teddy bears -- just so you know.)

#ruhroh "The Situation," star of the Mutual-of-Omaha douchebag safari "Jersey Shore," has an iPhone app with a minigame in which one must dodge "grenades" - i.e. unattractive women. Unbeknownst to them, the game uses photographs of live grenades. And one's ticked off. More »

Once again, the time has come for you to take your lowly cowpoke in Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer and turn him into the king of the range. This weekend, the game's online component will reward players with twice the standard rate of XP in celebration of the new "Liars and Cheats" DLC pack.

It should come as no surprise that we possess a strong affinity for Halo's official multiplayer minigame, Grifball. Though we never thought the time-tested formula of beating the snot out of bomb carriers with gigantic hammers could be improved upon, the new mechanics introduced in Halo: Reach have officially been introduced into the sport's ruleset, giving the proceedings a certain ... je ne sais quoi. Which we believe is French for "jetpacks."

Check out a video of the recently evolved sport after the jump, or keep an eye on the official Grifball forums for your opportunity to get in on a game.

#screengrab A healthy alternative to Moleskine, captured by Kotakuite Meeko at the South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa, California. More »

#thelatelateshow On the Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson requested advice from guest Jon Hamm on Angry Birds. Here, Hamm explains the game's logical storyline while Ferguson reenacts some of the key elements using puppets. Finally, it all makes sense! More »

Beyond being recognized as a high score champion in the first issue of Nintendo Power, Gears of War creative lead Cliff Bleszinski has an NES marked up with permanent tallies -- what he approximates to represent "close to 60" completed games. He's also got a totally rad sticker of Link on it.

#retro For the discriminating diarist, journalist, field notes taker or part-time poet—one who's also a Pac-Man fan—Namco Bandai and Moleskine have partnered to release top-tier, retro-themed stationery. More »

#iphone These are Angry Birds plush toys spotted today on the sidewalks of New York City today. More »