All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#rumor This is a SPOILER. Note that it is in all caps. That means I'm really serious about just how spoiler the following information and images are. Don't want to know? Move along and don't read this post. DON'T click on the link. More »

It’s not often that we have reason (or desire) to talk politics here, but Tuesday is shaping up to be an important day for gamers in California and around the country. This week’s Supreme Court decision could have major repercussions on not just the gaming industry, but many other forms of protected speech, including movies, TV shows, music, comics, and just about any form of entertainment you probably enjoy now. We’ve had a couple of guest posters on the topic and we’ll have another update for you later this week.

In news from this past week, 2 major themes emerged. 1 – Gamers from around the world shared their favorite PlayStation 2 games on the 10th anniversary of the PS2 in North America, and 2 – God of War: Ghost of Sparta is pretty damn awesome.

The PS.Blog weekly reading list (Week of October 25, 2010)

• Field Report – Killzone 3 Beta (Part One) – Shacknews
• Rush Limbaugh Defends Video Game Free Speech, “This is Where the Battle Is” – Kotaku
• “I think one day we could bring you another Demon’s Souls”: From Software tackles your questions – guardian.co.uk
• See an epic boss battle in Ys: The Oath in Felghana – Destructoid.com
• Killzone 3 Multiplayer Beta Video Preview – IGN
• Shadow of the Colossus – #1 Top PS2 Games – IGN
• Original Uncharted novel in the works from Del Rey Books – Joystiq
• PS2 Retrospective: The PlayStation 2 turns 10, Feature Story from GamePro
• Ghost of Sparta: good god – New York Post
• ‘God of War: Ghost of Sparta’ fills in the blanks – CNN.com
• The Fight: Lights Out Delivers a Calorie-Burning Knockout – fitsugar
• Sony Raises Full-Year Profit Forecast, Citing Demand for Games, Computers – Bloomberg
• Simon Pegg lends voice to EA’s Spare Parts – Destructoid.com
• Fallout: New Vegas patch now out for consoles – Destructoid.com
• Street Fighter Alpha designer working on PS Move game – Destructoid.com
• The Supreme Court Of The United States, Video Games, And You! – G4tv.com
• Joystiq remembers the PlayStation 2 – Joystiq
• Red Dead Undead Nightmare Disc Dated – IGN
• God of War: Ghost of Sparta – More, More, More – Siliconera
• See Ys: The Oath In Felghana Limited Edition Images Inside Xseed’s Office – Siliconera
• Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games – IGN
• Back to the Future: The Game confirmed for PSN – Scrawl
• Preview: Dead Nation – PSNStores
• Netflix Tests Streaming-Only Subscriptions in the U.S. – Mashable
• God of War: Ghost of Sparta Review – PlayStation Portable Review at IGN
• Ghost Of Sparta Review: Kratos Delivers More Epic Handheld Action – GameInformer.com
• Review: God of War: Ghost of Sparta – Kotaku
• Review: God of War: Ghost of Sparta – Destructoid.com
• REVIEW: Time Crisis: Razing Storm for the Playstation Move – ASG GAMING
• A new way to rock: Ars reviews Rock Band 3 – Ars technica
• News: Sony: PS3-exclusive devs are hitting console’s ‘full potential’ – ComputerAndVideoGames.com
• Ys: The Oath In Felghana – My Two Trips Through Tigray Quarry – Siliconera

The Golden Sun: Dark Dawn official site has opened up, and it’s ready for your perusing. Unfortunately the site is still in teaser form, so all you’ll get is some artwork and a trailer that we’ve already seen. You know the drill by now. Bookmark the site for future updates, of which [...]

#screengrab Kotaku reader and Taypic master contributor Kindagamey snapped this pic at the Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, D.C. yesterday. More »

#costume Yesterday we walked you through some truly amazing pumpkins crafted to look like the people behind and in some of our favorite games. More »

Man, who could have guessed that we’re set for another month of fantastic game releases across all platforms? Oh wait, that’s how things work around the holidays! Too many great games are released in a short span of time, and some of them are bound to be passed over while others become huge [...]

GameStop recently pulled away a bit more of the veil covering its "Store of the Future" initiative, releasing a whole mess of details on how its digital distribution storefront functions. A new page on the retailer's site explains the purchasing process for the site's downloadable PC games (of which there are currently over 2,000), as well as a handful of free trials and, in the near future, add-on content.

The page also reveals that XBLA content will soon be sold through the website, which gives the purchaser an unlock code which they can input into the Xbox Live Marketplace to retrieve their content. It's pretty straightforward stuff, but we're still looking for the page that explains how we can trade our downloaded games in for store credit. If anyone comes across it, would you please let us know?

Are you going to be giving out or getting candy today? If you’re giving candy out, hopefully you’re going with a video game flair! There’s plenty of gaming-related candy out there. While I can’t say that all of it tastes good, at least the packaging is head-and-shoulders above the competition. What [...]

- US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon appear in the game - they are discussing the Cuban Missile Crisis with Fidel Castro - US Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara is around as well - the group of people is descended upon by zombies - Kennedy reveals a hidden stash of weapons and jokes: “Gentleman, lock and load.

#science A new space flight suit being developed at MIT to help reduce bone mass loss on long stays in space got a helping hand from Ultima game creator and space aficionado Richard Garriott. More »

#disturbanceintheworkforce The holiday hits keep coming. IO Interactive, the Danish studio behind Hitman and Kane & Lynch, let go about 30 employees this week, according to sources close to the studio. More »

#disturbanceintheworkforce IO Interactive, the Danish studio behind Hitman and Kane & Lynch, let go about 30 employees this week, according to sources close to the studio. More »

#pc When the text-heavy fantasy worlds of multi-user dungeons first invaded the mainframes of Essex University and the dial-ups of Compuserve, there were few rules in place and even fewer ways to enforce them. More »

Looks like the handful of folks with early Kinect games who're locked out of Xbox Live won't have too much longer to wait -- Microsoft emailed fall Dashboard preview users last night with the announcement that the forthcoming Xbox Live update will go public on November 1. "On November 1, 2010, there will be a mandatory service update to Xbox Live. This update will both add new features to your service and also enhance the interface, navigation, and responsiveness of Xbox Live," the email reads.

Beyond Kinect functionality, the fall Dashboard update will add ESPN3, refreshed Avatars, and a new voice codec for chat (among other things). This means, besides all that stuff, you'll finally be able to chat with your friends in the Dashboard preview once more. It's been so long, friends!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

#pc When the text-heavy fantasy worlds of multi-user dungeons first invaded the mainframes of Essex University and the dial-ups of Compuserve, there were few rules in place and even fewer ways to enforce them. More »

#psp Sony has finally done it. They've mated a Sony Ericsson cell phone with a PSP, spawning this... the PlayStation Phone. Don't call it the PSP2, please. That's something else entirely. More »

#xbox360 The Xbox 360's dashboard will get an overhaul for the third time on Monday, November 1. That's when the big Xbox Live fall 2010 update, complete with Kinect support, will come to Microsoft's console. More »

Plenty of big news to talk about this week. Comments from Nintendo higher-ups, big-names leave even bigger companies, and the usual inane banter from us. We even get a special spooky edition of our music trivia section! Download the podcast here (you slime!)

Here’s a nice little easter egg from Last Window: The Secret of Cape West that will resonate with those that have played Another Code: R – A Journey into Lost Memories. Too bad North America never got Another Code R, and the only way for us to play Last Window is to import it. [...]

Looks like Best Buy wanted to join in with the situation at Walmart. As you can see, some Best Buy locations have jumped the gun and released FlingSmash a tad early. Nice chance to jump on the game for some early weekend fun! Thanks to MidnightScott for the heads up!

If it weren't clear why everyone says Enslaved: Odyssey to the West has great voice acting, the latest trailer for its upcoming DLC starring the game's playable sidekick, Pigsy, shows it off at its best. Head past the break to see for yourself.

Okay, okay, this happens every year and we always manage to pull through at the last second. We need a costume -- something clever, and relevant, and cheap, and not bulky, and not inherently unattractive. That's an awfully tall order for a single outfit, but we're sure that, if we think really hard, we can come up with a winner.

While we brainstorm, check out our seven favorite webcomics from this past week in the list below. You can vote for your favorite in the poll posted after the jump, and -- Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap! Booyah. Oh, man. this is gonna be the best Halloween ever.

The Fish Next Door (Brawl in the Family)
A Policy of Conscious Aggression (Penny Arcade)
Pour One Out for Crabcake (Virtual Shackles)
Do The Math (Of Noobs and Men)
Terrible Night to Have a Holiday (Nerf Now)
Based on a True Story (No Cash Value)
Blues (Digital Unrest)

#minecraft Packed with pumpkins. A new Hell to explore. Watches! Yes, Watches!!! More »