All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

You know, not all Black Friday shopping bonanzas require you to put yourself in danger of getting thrown under the feet of thrift-hungry mobs -- some, like the Steam "Give & Get" sale, let you access discounts from the comfort of your safe house. The digital distributor is offering a new batch of deals every day, starting today, until Monday, November 29, including discounted games and heavily discounted "gift packs" -- for example, today, you can grab ten copies of Half-Life 2 for you and your chums for $20.

We suppose you could also buy ten copies of Half Life 2 for yourself, but ... that would kind of go against the reason for the season, wouldn't it? Speaking of, on each day of the sale, Valve will randomly pull 30 usernames out of its magical hat and gift said users with the top five games on their wish lists (of at least ten games). You do have a wish list, don't you?

#screengrab If Pokémon was a little more adult, a little classier, maybe its posters would look less like toy commercials and more like this. By Kody Christian. More »

You're a superhero with an arm cannon. Go blow bad guys up.

BYO David Caruso.

You've read the official review. Now find out what everyone else thinks.

PlayStation 3 owners can come together on November 25th to engage in virtual experiences linked to some of the biggest video game franchises.

#graphics Whenever I see a new look at the Unreal Engine, I wonder: How will they use this in the next Gears of War? I did that in March. I'm doing it again with this brand-new look at the updated Engine. More »

Providing the latest in fitness trends for all who want to get in shape.

Patch 3.0.6 to introduce new traps, tactics and challenges.

"Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told IndustryGamers in what we could only hope was a Stuart Smalley staring-in-a-mirror moment. "The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience, and we'll never charge for that. It's not going to be something we'll attempt to monetize; it's part of the package."

As if his point wasn't clear, Hirshberg further insisted that he could say "unequivocally" that Activision will "never, ever charge for the multiplayer." Earlier this month, statements from both Hirshberg and CFO Thomas Tippl hinted at vague plans to better monetize the franchise next year with more digital content, which in turn renewed speculation about the long-considered Call of Duty subscription model.

We make our picks for the best games, movies, comic books and tech from the past year.

The release date is set for this highly-anticipated kung-fu adventure.

Hot off the heels of the highly-anticipated 1.4 core client release (and a long line of massive content publishes) comes yet another PlayStation Home update jam-packed with new games to play, spaces to explore, items to collect, and special videos to watch. This enormous update is the reason why I’m dropping in to formally invite each and every one of you to log in to PlayStation Home this Thursday, November 25th and get hands-on with all the awesome new content we have waiting for you to devour between all the voracious turkey-grubbin’ and football-watchin’ that is the center of a proper Thanksgiving Day celebration.

To start, our friends over at Konami are releasing a rooftop penthouse space filled to the brim with games, new items from Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (including a Laura costume as well as an upgraded Gabriel Belmont suit), DanceDance Revolution, and some secret goodies that you’ll have to log in and uncover yourself. Peep the below screens for a sneak peek at what to expect when this huge shipment of Konami content hits your PS3 later this week.

Attn: Film fanatics and budding Hollywood directors. This week LOOT releases their brand new Ultimate Machinima bundle. This bundle – which includes the Modular Stage Set 3 personal space, the LOOT Active Camera, and the LOOT Active Light items – is the ultimate tool for shooting your own movies and TV shows in PlayStation Home.

The Modular Stage Set 3 lets players control over three enormous retractable backdrops, which can be set to different chroma key colors with motion track markers. The stage light system now offers two additional flood lights for defining the right mood of each take and the floor can also be set to different materials and colors. And on top of all the tools included in this hot new personal space, there is plenty of open room for furniture and large props, which gives you the ability to build virtually any kind of environment/set for your next Home-made film. Pick up the Ultimate Machinima bundle (along with the new Talk Show bundle – a collection of props that allow you to dress your personal space like your very own talk show) from the LOOT Store in the PlayStation Home Mall this Thursday.

To celebrate the launch of Irem’s Spelunker HD on the PlayStation Network we are releasing the new “Gathering Place for Cave Explorers” game space. A true must-visit for any Spelunker fan, this new space comes complete with Spelunker-themed mini-games, rewards, and plenty of clothing and furniture items to add to your collection. Check out the pics below for a taste of this awesome new game space!

The always-popular PlayStation Home Community Theater receives yet another update this week with a brand new episode of the Hip Hop Gamer videocast. In Episode 2, HHG discusses Call of Duty: Black Ops with a hardcore fan. Also airing in the PlayStation Home Theater this week is a full-on Tester 2 Mid-Season Marathon (Episodes 1-3, along with special t-shirt rewards) as well as a collection of Episode 3 cut scenes and the newest installment of the hit reality show (Episode 4), complete with a brand new reward!

Finally, the PlayStation Home Mall gets an update this week with stylish new clothing items for the ladies courtesy of our friends over at Lockwood Publishing along with two essential additions to your collection – nDreams’ new Zombie Pets, Nipper and Benji. Visit the PlayStation Home Mall this Thursday to pick up these loyal creatures, which can accompany you both in your personal space(s) and also out in public (just be careful not to leave them unattended around any of your friends’ brains…)

See you in Home!

"Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no," Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg told IndustryGamers in what we could only hope was a Stuart Smalley staring-in-a-mirror moment. "The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience, and we'll never charge for that. It's not going to be something we'll attempt to monetize; it's part of the package."

As if his point wasn't clear, Hirshberg further insisted that he could say "unequivocally" that Activision will "never, ever charge for the multiplayer." Earlier this month, statements from both Hirshberg and CFO Thomas Tippl hinted at vague plans to better monetize the franchise next year through more digital content.

Don't call them Leonard.

London, UK – November 24th, 2010 – Today, Ubisoft® announced that a new batch of Just Dance 2 downloadable tracks is available on the WiiTM Shop Channel on the Wii console. Just Dance 2 owners can now download V V Brown’s Crying Blood, The Reverend Horatio Duncan & Amos Sweets’ Down By The [...]

There is a light and it never goes out.

Our first attempt to play the ETF2L Highlander Exhibition match ran into some technical difficulties. This time around, we've been assured that the appropriate number of chickens have been sacrificed to the dark lord of the internet. You can find out all the details on how you can watch the match here. If you don't feel like firing up SourceTV, this time there are live streams as well.



While we're here, yesterday we forgot to link to the first productive use of TF2. Check it out!

#ufos Filled with the sound of morning birdsong, this video of a UFO over Turkey taken last week is as much a slice of Turkish city life as it is a record of possible alien incursion. More »

Nintendo opened the official website for its previously announced public 3DS demo event (in Japan -- calm down), dubbing the showcase "Nintendo World 2011." Taking place from January 8 - 10 in Hall 9 of the Makuhari Messe convention center (home of Tokyo Game Show), admission to the event will be free for the public. Unfortunately, none of the games on display have been listed, but the event's website promises more info as January draws closer.

It's not clear whether this event will become a regular shindig or not -- Nintendo holds events sporadically in Japan, but the 3DS is anomalous in being most effectively marketed in person. Regardless, Nintendo World 2011 will mark the first time the general public will get its hands on Nintendo's next big thing. Given our experience with the handheld at E3, we suspect the public is in for a good time.

Not a place worth exploring.