All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Ghostwire, the augmented reality game for DSi, has officially been delayed by developer A Different Game. The company tells Joystiq it is now seeking a new "worldwide publisher" for the game after losing publisher Majesco, and a release date for the title is now "unknown."

Showing that it's not ready to give up the ghost just yet, A Different Game has a new website for the title, and its Twitter and Facebook accounts have sprung back to life after a significant hiatus.

On Thursday, October 21st, Lord Pumpkinhead (aka “the Demon Gourd from Hell”) will appear In the middle of PlayStation Home’s Central Plaza, his gigantic glowing face sneering like an intolerant king at his unworthy subjects, rotating so that all can bear witness to his glorious image.

As an offering to your pumpkin overlord, you and your friends must toss coins into his mouth as it rotates past. Make a proper offering, and the exalted one will reward you as one of his followers. Fail in your tithing efforts, and you will anger the ever-powerful Lord Pumpkinhead, hindering your chances of entering the Demon Gourd’s fold.

Legend has it that Lord Pumpkinhead has additional rewards for his most loyal subjects. Can you ascend to the ranks of his chosen few?

Speaking of Halloween festivities, this week our friends over at Heavy Water release their first pieces in the “Heavy Pets” line of items for your personal space. Celebrate Halloween properly by visiting the Furniture store (or the Central Plaza kiosk) in the PlayStation Home Mall, where you can purchase a ghostly tombstone, an eerie bell tower, or a flaming brazier. Place one in your personal space of choice and watch as a trio of Halloween creatures comes out to play – ghosts will rise from the tombstone, vampire bats will fly from the belfry, and flaming skulls will stream out of the brazier. These spooky new items are available for single purchase and are also offered together as a bundle at a special low price.

Also available this week from Heavy Water is the new Heavy Strike game. Place the Heavy Strike cannon in the personal space of your choice and then strap on your helmet, grab your walkie talkie, and order in an artillery strike. Simply place your sights over your intended target and tap X to fire away. You can even drop two cannons across from one another and exchange fire with a friend! Pick yours up from the Furniture store (or the Central Plaza kiosk) this Thursday.

“Want to play a game?” Join Konami this Halloween by sporting the infamous mascot Billy the Puppet’s costume from the horrifying hit film and game franchise Saw, available from the Costumes store in the PlayStation Home Mall. Konami also passes along the friendly reminder to make sure you check out the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow demo. After you’ve completed the demo, check your PlayStation Home wardrobe and you’ll find a special Castlevania: Lords of Shadow t-shirt!

The newest additions to our long line of Costumes are being released this week in the PlayStation Home Mall. Choose from a new Ninja costume (male), Midnight Rogue costume (female), or the Aqua Suit costume (female). Check out the picture below for a sneak peek at these brand new costumes.

Finally, Lockwood has updated the Sodium store with a literal ton of creepy contact lenses, perfect additions to your Halloween costumes. And our friends over at VIZ Media have given us a full episode of Bleach to put up in the Theater for a week starting this Thursday. Watch episode 168, where a new captain joins Squad Three, taking the place of the rebel Gin Ichimaru.

See you in Home!

#tombraider The newest Tomb Raider game will get a major feature update next week, when developer Crystal Dynamics adds online multiplayer support for Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light. There's just one little catch. More »

#unboxing You've seen the Fallout: New Vegas Collector's Edition. You've seen its contents. But you've never seen it unboxed quite like this. This potentially NSFW video may change the way you open boxes forever. More »

There's no doubt that EA had an uphill battle on its hands with Medal of Honor. The industry has been waiting to see just how Medal of Honor would fare against the likes of Halo: Reach and the looming release of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Now, EA has announced that the game managed to ship 1.5 million copies in its first five days.

Speaking to Fox Business, EA CEO John Riccitiello noted that the game has generated $100 million for the company. Not quite as impressive as the numbers pulled in by Halo: Reach, but certainly a strong showing for an aging franchise in need of a jump start.

Riccitiello also touched on Medal of Honor's disparate review scores, chalking them up to the game's polarizing real-world subject matter. Regarding the Taliban controversy surrounding the game, Riccitiello said that the issue boiled down to media outlets being unfamiliar with multiplayer games. "When you were a kid you might've said 'Cowboys and Indians.' Somebody had to be the Indian," he said. "It's not really fun if everyone's a cowboy."

See the full interview after the break.

Some witches have uncommon beauty that belies their more beastly nature.

#ps3 If you wanted to own the God of War Collection for the PlayStation 3, but couldn't in good conscience bring that box art into your home, Sony has good news. That pair of PlayStation 2 ports is going digital. More »

#appbattle When people argue that smartphones are on the level with Playstation or DS portable as gaming platforms, they'll usually whip out a racing game. With good reason! iOS and Android's racing games are actually some of their best, period. More »

THQ's uDraw GameTablet is a rather interesting peripheral. At first glance, it looks like a first-party peripheral. The simple mostly-white design makes it a perfect companion for the Wii, the Balance Board and the iconic Remote itself. Even after playing a few of the games that are compatible with the device, it's hard not to think of it as a Nintendo-made accessory. Essentially, the uDraw enables gamers to translate a DS-esque stylus-based gaming experience onto the TV.

I tested uDraw Studio, a design application that comes bundled with the uDraw peripheral. In addition, I got to try out Pictionary and Dood's Big Adventure, two additional games that support the accessory.

Expandable railroad simulator offers endless possibilities for model train fans.

Exclusive, free access to the upcoming online game Bloodline Champions.

Solve you some mysteries.

You're probably familiar with the name John Romero. The legendary co-founder of id Software, and co-creator of Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, Romero is often credited with the first-person shooter mechanic that now commands so much of the video gaming world's devotion. And you might be surprised to learn that Romero's newest game -- no, it's not the Slipgate Ironworks-developed MMO, though he's still working on that as well, downsizing be damned -- is a Facebook game called Ravenwood Fair. "Clear the scary forest and build a fun fair!" it instructs players.

The game -- built by the terribly titled, up-and-coming Facebook dev LOLapps -- is akin to peers like Zynga's Frontierville. In fact, Romero points to Frontierville's lead designer Brian Reynolds, formerly of Big Huge Games, for helping set the Facebook stage for developers like himself. "I knew when the game developers moved into social games it would get more gamed up," Romero told VentureBeat.

The small-scale, "craftsman-like" work of building a Facebook game is familiar to Romero; id's original (and current!) team sizes are dwarfed by the rest of the industry. Romero's projects with larger teams -- from the ill-received Daikatana to the refocused Gazillion-published MMO -- are complicated affairs, while his early cellphone-gaming company, Monkeystone Games, was marked by a familiar DIY ethos. VentureBeat reports that "it took Romero and his handful of people about two months to make" Ravenwood Fair. For Romero, that's an incredible trade-off for the hundreds of millions of potential users Facebook offers. "More people could play it than would ever play an MMO," Romero said.

You can play Ravenwood Fair today, if you're not worried about certain Facebook apps accidentally revealing your personal info to unscrupulous advertisers. But then, who will clear the scary forest? Decisions, decisions.

PC title is now available via digital download with a 10% discount during launch week.

Players of the online game stand to win goodies from in-game and online events.

Game designer Tim Schafer makes his foray into digital gaming in a frighteningly fun way.

Hi everyone,

Next month marks one of the biggest handheld releases of the year. We learn, for the first time, of the events that took place between two heavy hitting games in the PlayStation family. God of War: Ghost of Sparta shows what events took place between Kratos’s adventures in God of War and God of War II. Do you need a little refresher in the series? Well, we’ve got you covered.

Just like Blu-ray disc fans, newcomers to the series can experience the epic journey of God of War and God of War II remastered in 720p. Both games are running at a smooth 60 frames per second, giving PS3 gamers a smooth gameplay experience. Also, an important fact for any trophy hunters, each game has a full set of trophies! PlayStation Plus subscribers looking to get a taste of his vengeance can download a full-game trial of each game. To highlight the release, Plus members can snag a free Dominus Skin for God of War III and will also receive a GOW III skin with the purchase of each title. Along with the availability of God of War I and II, PlayStation Plus subscribers can pick up a free download of BreakQuest (an updated classic minis from Beatshaper) and a free Dead Nation dynamic theme. Also, be sure to check out the new episode of Qore, including the newly released Qore arqade.

Any fans of the Wild West out there? Be sure to check back next week when all the DLC for Rockstar’s critically acclaimed western Red Dead Redemption, will be 20% off, including the upcoming Undead Nightmare DLC.

Also, another quick friendly reminder to check out the free downloads of Bubble Trubble and discounts on Alien Breed: Impact (an updated classic) and Tomb Raider (one of the original PSone Classics), which will be pulled off of the PlayStation Plus section on November 2.

Our limited time introductory offer is still available. Get three additional bonus months free when you buy a 1-year package for $49.99. You can find all the details here.

Special PlayStation Plus 10/26 Publish

Automatic Download
The Tester Season 2 – Episode 1 (10/29)

Discounted Add-ons
Red Dead Redemption – Undead Nightmare Pack (20% off)
Red Dead Redemption – Legends and Killers Pack (20% off)
Red Dead Redemption – Liars and Cheats Pack (20% off)

PlayStation Plus Highlights for 11/2:

Full Game Trial
God of War I
God of War II

Downloadable Games
God of War I & Phantom of Chaos Skin Bundle (Exclusive to PlayStation Plus Subscribers)
God of War II & Forgotten Warrior Skin Bundle (Exclusive to PlayStation Plus Subscribers)

Free Games
BreakQuest – minis (Free to PlayStation Plus Subscribers)

Discounted Games
Tomb Raider 2 (PSone Classic) (50% off)

Early Access/Exclusive Demo
Vanquish Demo – Challenge Mode

Free Add-ons & Themes
God of War III – Dominus Skin (Free to PlayStation Plus Subscribers, original price $0.99)
Dead Nation Dynamic Theme (Free to PlayStation Plus Subscribers, original price $2.99)
Shadowy Graves Theme (Free to PlayStation Plus Subscribers, original price $1.49)

Free Videos
Qore Episode 30 – November 2010

Last Chance, Get Them While You Can – Coming down on November 2:

Free Offers to PlayStation Plus Subscribers
Qore Episode 29 – October 2010
Bubble Trubble – minis
Heavy Rain Oragami Dog Avatar
Wired Skulls Theme
High Velocity Bowling – PlayStation Move Compatibility Add-on (coming down October 26)

Discount Offers to PlayStation Plus Subscribers
Alien Breed: Impact (25% off)
Tomb Raider (50% off)

You've patiently refrained from purchasing a PlayStation 2 for close to a decade now, holding out for that one perfect offer that combines affordability with licensed, all-ages-appropriate fun. Well, you madman, you can finally cave: Sony has announced a limited edition, $100 PS2 bundle that comes packed with Toy Story 3: The Video Game, due out on Halloween.

We suppose there are other kinds of people who would be interested in purchasing this late-to-the-party bundle, too. Like, what if you're one of no doubt thousands who has dropped something heavy on your current PS2, and you desperately need to finish your Mr. Mosquito campaign? Or what if you're the type to purchase anything labeled "limited edition?" If that's the case, we've got a very limited ... uh, pre-owned coffee mug for $149.99. Yeah, it's pricey, but man, this thing is just so, so limited.

#column My love for slapstick comedy was evident at a very young age. Just ask my mom who used to film me ranting about airline food and had to clean up the aftermath of my Chevy Chase pratfalls. More »

Cincinnati, Ohio – Oct. 20, 2010 – Video game publisher Zoo Entertainment, Inc (NASDAQ: ZOOG) today announced that Minute to Win It, based on NBC’s hit game show sensation, will be available in November 2010 for the Nintendo WiiTM and DS systems. Led by All-American chef and TV personality Guy Fieri, who provides voiceovers for [...]