All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#screengrab Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country Returns makes homage to on-again, off-again Donkey Kong high score champ Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe's nemesis in the documentary The King of Kong. How so? See the patriotic neckwear worn by this giant monkey idol? More »

or buy a hat for 1.99

your choice

EA Games president Frank Gibeau has told Develop that the licensing deals involved in the development of movie-based games are going the "wrong way" for publishers. He described the movie-game business as "falling apart," with returns on investment often failing to justify the costs involved in securing popular properties for a video game.

According to Gibeau, EA considers itself better off working on its own IP like Dead Space, rather than spending it on something with the creative limitations like the James Bond series (a license now held by rival Activision). "The days of licensed-based, 75-rated games copies are dead like the dinosaur," the executive said.

Well, that's something we can agree on -- the days of 37-rated movie-based games has dawned, as evidenced recently by EA Bright Light's abysmal Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Survey says...

#rockstargames Future summer blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens—based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name—may draw some influence from another Western, Rockstar Games San Diego's Red Dead Redemption. More »

Microsoft's crawl towards its "five million units in 2010" sales goal for Kinect turned into more of a headfirst dash during these past few deal-packed days. The company has announced that the device's global sales have reached 2.5 million, supported by retailer discounts on the hardware and its console bundle over Black Friday weekend, as well as the hardware's arrival in additional territories across the globe.

Of course, to reach its lofty goal, the Kinect's going to have move a considerable number of units next month -- but Microsoft Interactive Entertainment president Don Mattrick boasts in a press release that "we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5 million units sold to consumers this holiday." In the end, though, that's completely in the hands of the holiday shopping lists of the world. Also, Santa Claus.

Telltale Games has a difficult tightrope to walk, balancing as it does between narrative and gameplay. The studio counts on you being immersed in the universes it creates, but also has to keep all that character from getting in the way of the game it has crafted.
Poker Night at the Inventory seems to be drenched in the studio's typical humor and likable characters. But it quickly becomes clear that the repetitive dialog is muddying a poker game that was already weak to begin with. In short: Telltale has fallen off the rope entirely.

At least in Sam & Max there's always the chance of redemption in the next narrative-led mission. In Poker Night ... well, there's just the next oddly timed "sandvich" joke.

Greetings and Happy MNR Monday everyone. Ramone Russell here with another ModNation Monday update!

Packtacular Creations

So, we’ve got two Packs out now, and you guys just keep getting more and more creative and impressive with the Tracks you’re publishing. Every week, we’re blown away by the creations we see. One of the best things about developing software is seeing the community take something far beyond the team’s original vision, and that what you guys continue to do. The more tools you have to create with, the more imaginative and mind-blowing your creations are, so with that said…..

Attack Of The Holiday Pack

As I just mentioned, you’ve done some incredible things with the Stunt Pack, and the Carnival Pack creations are rolling in and looking amazing. Well, we love what you’re doing, and we’re going to keep it coming, but this time with a Holiday twist. Starting tomorrow (US PSN/ EU PSN on Wednesday), you can add some Holiday spirit to your tracks with the Holiday Pack! The pack is $4.99, and it includes the following parts:

• Toy Soldier
• Wreath
• Snowball Launcher
• Snow Fort
• Snowman
• Teddy Bear
• Presents
• Christmas Tree
• Sleigh
• Christmas House
• Reindeer
• Candy Cane

This holiday season, give yourself the gift of awesome tracks.

MNR Creations of the Week

Amazing creations in ModNation get shared every day and we are playing a ton of them. If you are interested in submitting your mod, kart or track to be a future “creation” of the week be sure to visit up on the official ModNation Community site and who knows? You might see your handy work on the PlayStation.Blog.

With the release of the Stunts Pack and now the Carnival Pack, we want to see your tracks with those new props in them.

Mod of the Week

Mod Name: PANIC PHANTON
Creator: leonnaoexiste

Ramone says: Have you ever had your butt kicked by an Ninja/Owl/Angel? Neither have I, and I don’t want to. That’s precisely why I wouldn’t mess with this Mod. It somehow looks weird, menacing, and soothing all at the same time. It makes me want to meditate, kick box, and swoop on a field mouse. Is it just me?

Kart of the Week

Kart Name: Star Spangled Racing Kart
Creator: chilango70

Ramone says: It doesn’t get much more patriotic than this. If you can spank all of your opponents on the track with this Kart, I salute you. In addition to the all-American color scheme, this ride has some classic lines for a sort of old school meets new school look, and the extra texture detailing in the white is a nice touch. Love your country, love your Modion.

Track of the Week

If you have a video(s) of your track submit them to MNR’s YouTube Channel by emailing ModNation@Playstation.Sony.com and we will include them in the blog if your track is showcased.

Track Name: Wildcard’s Stadium
Created by: Manlius10A

Manlius10A says: “This track beckons back to a simpler day of Kart racing when mud and bumps on a simple track made for a fun race enjoyed by everyone. This track has a few earthen made tabletop jumps as well as larger jumps! The visuals as well as the layout of the track are simple and easy to comprehend. I have been working on this track since July, but just couldn’t get the proportions right for laying the track until recently. I am very happy with the outcome.

Wildcard’s Stadium is the first track to my stunt series, and it is also my first track where I utilize modbots and a number of the traps the game offers. I have used a few of the stunt pack props on this track as well. This track is a lot of fun!!”

Ramone says: Yeah, Manilus10A. Nicely done. This is challenging, curvy, bumpy, and has multiple split paths, but it’s CLEAN, which is refreshing. There are hazards, but they’re well thought out, and the visual touches on the terrain add a touch of class. I love this one for Action Racing and Time Trial because just the tiniest change in driving style can make a huge difference.

Track Name: Jungle Rush
Created by: Smbradley

Smbradley says: “Ok here’s my latest track, it’s called Jungle Rush and as you can probably guess it’s situated in a Jungle! The race takes place through a tribal village, past some ancient ruins (where there’s also a big jump shortcut) and a big waterfall (which I couldn’t have built without the advice of atheistsw, Barberian912 and prob_alex).”

Ramone says: OK, I admit that I’m biased here – I love the Jungle Theme, I love wide S curve sections that give me cool drift and boost opportunities, and I love big air. This track has all those things and then some. On top of being crazy fun to race, it’s also gorgeous. All those trees whooshing by really adds to the sense of speed. This one is going to be in my heavy rotation for a while.

Hot Lap Roster for this Week

Continuing with the trend we started weeks ago this weeks Hot Lap roster features all new community created tracks.

Monday: Wildcard’s Stadium, by Manlius 10A
Tuesday: Phoung Phoung Island, by Generic_Oval
Wednesday: Azteca, by PH1LThy31
Thursday: Taj Mirage, by atheistsw
Friday: Island of the forgotten, by Ghost_218_
Saturday: Mystery Track
Sunday: Mystery Track

More news next week, until then… see you in the ModSpot!

#microsoft It took ten days for Microsoft's Kinect to hit one million sales. Now Microsoft reveals that the device has sold 2.5 million units in 25 days. This can only mean one thing: Someone is buying 100,000 Kinects a day. More »

A retro hoops solution.

#sex As you thumb through dialogue trees in Mass Effect, trying to find the best lines to seduce slinky space-warrior Ashley, you're engaging in what the developers hope is an advanced form of simulated human interaction. More »

Sales continue to roll in.

If there's one thing Splatterhouse isn't, it's precise. It seems to take pride in being sloppy as it revels in letting you lop off limbs, crush skulls, and tear ribcages from spines. Unfortunately, thanks to that same sloppy attitude, you might find yourself wishing the game could do the same to you, if only to end the suffering.

Epic Mickey Paintbrush & Thinner Protection Pack Epic Mickey Paintbrush and Thinner Protection Pack (Wii) Wii Epic Mickey Paintbrush Nunchuk Thanks to Shadzter for the heads up!

#epicgames Gears of War fans will want to tune into next month's Spike TV Video Game Awards, when something new, something Gears of War related will be shown for the first time. More »

EventHubs has posted alleged screens of eight new Super Street Fighter IV Achievements supposedly tied to an unannounced DLC add-on. While the images do reflect updates to the game featured in this month's Arcade Edition release for Japanese arcades, they remain unverified by Capcom -- even if the new content is expected as DLC for the console version.

SSFIV producer Yoshinori Ono responded to tweets about the possible leak without authenticating the images, though he offered a "wink" in one tweet and a seemingly joking reference to checking with the R&D department in another. We've put in word to Capcom and will let you know what we hear back. In the meantime, anybody know a good way to counter Seiei Enbu?

#pressplay In a remote Horde outpost in the Stonetalon Mountains of the newly-restructured World of Warcraft, a young Blood Elf girl named Clarissa begs passers-by to help bring her pal Mr. D back to life. Sound familiar? More »

In the last day of its "Give and Get" sale, Steam is offering some noteworthy (noted below, in fact) discounts on a few of games we thought you might like. You can traverse the lonely carcass of Moscow in Metro 2033 for $10, unwittingly resurrect the dreaded pirate LeChuck in Monkey Island 2 Special Edition for $2.50, or buy Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for $2.50 and play it in secret, never telling anyone that you somehow missed it years ago.

Tell us which of the discounted games interest you most -- and in the true spirit of Cyber Monday, tell us what you're wearing.

• Aliens vs. Predator (PC) - $6.80
• Beat Hazard (PC) - $2.50
• Dirt 2 (PC) - $5
• Indie Air Pack (PC) - $4.99; includes: Altitude, Dogfighter, Flotilla, Gratuitous Space Battles and Plain Sight
• Mafia 2 (PC) - $37.49

• Deals from across the web

Metro 2033 (PC) - $10 Monkey Island 2 SE: LeChuck's Revenge (PC) - $2.50 Peggle Deluxe (PC + Mac; SteamPlay) - $4.99 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) - $2.50 Steam's gift pack deals for the day include a Lead and Gold ten-pack, 12 copies of World of Goo and eight Trine games for $19.99 per pack.

The father of the QTE returns yet again. But is it worth a purchase?

#videogamegiftguide2010 The Android is a Google mobile phone platform that has games on it, and that's about all I can tell you with confidence. I have no Android, but let's fear no obstacles to having a 2010 Android Gift Guide. More »

A Disney game of Epic proportions.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Publisher Ubisoft is celebrating a double victory in yesterday’s Children’s BAFTA Awards. Rabbids Go Home won the title of Best Video Game, edging out a string of Nintendo nominations including the likes of New Super Mario Bros, Pokemon Heart Gold/ Soul Silver and Super Mario Galaxy 2 in the process. In addition, Just [...]

What could it be?

Just a few weeks ago, we released Swords & Soldiers for the PlayStation Network, and the response has been overwhelming! The strategic action gameplay is being enjoyed by lots of gamers, offline as well as online. With 3 unique factions, 30 levels of gameplay, customizable skirmishes, 3 highscore arcade challenges and local and online multiplayer modes, there’s lots of game to enjoy.

Now there’s a whole new way to enjoy Swords & Soldiers… because we’ve added PlayStation Move support in our latest patch! Just connect a PlayStation Move to your PlayStation 3 and you will be able to navigate the menus and gameplay using the Move‘s cursor function. You can also mix control schemes on a single PS3 as well as face off against people online with different control schemes. So far we have been unable to find any advantage for one over the other, but if you find any, let us know!

Speaking of balance, we’ve also done a few small tweaks to the balance between the three factions. Most importantly, we’ve made the Vikings slightly stronger in the endgame and the Chinese slightly slower to start. Hopefully now we’ll see some Vikings holding their own near the top spots of the rankings as well!

We’ve also changed the trial version of the game. It now includes a few additional, more challenging levels. So if you haven’t checked out the trial, or felt it was a bit too easy or shallow: check out the new version to get a better taste of what Swords & Soldiers is all about!

The usual Monday blues are even bluesier today at Ubisoft Reflections, as the UK-based studio has suffered job cuts. Develop reports that as many as 19 employees could be dismissed from the group that is currently developing (the recently delayed) Driver: San Francisco. Ubisoft Montreal will now fill the role of "associate studio" on the project and offer support going forward.

An undisclosed source told Develop that the layoffs were wide-reaching, affecting higher-ups as well as contract workers. Additionally, the source cited "delays with the project" as one of the reasons for the redundancies, suggesting that the studio's lack of experience with the current generation of consoles (this is its first current-gen game, after all) has become exceedingly costly. The source claimed Reflections has been "learning as we go along, developing our skills."

An Ubisoft representative characterized the cuts as part of a reorganization, insisting that "Reflections is crucial as a studio" and that there are no plans to shutter the operation entirely following Driver's expected launch early next year. The spokesperson assured that Reflections "will absolutely keep going after Driver."

#scotus In the battle between people who want to criminalize the sale of violent games to kids and the video game industry, the video game industry's fans made a video. More »

#gameface Artist Len Peralta commemorates this week's release of Epic Mickey by adding creator Warren Spector to his "Geek a Week" collectible card art project. Check out more art and a podcast interview with Spector at the "Geek a Week" website. More »

The unlikely creation of Deus Ex designer and industry legend Warren Spector and his imagineers at Junction Point, Disney Epic Mickey is the single most ambitious Wii exclusive outside of Nintendo's own releases. "Epic" is not a misnomer -- from the quality of the art and animation, to the level design, scale and even score of the game, it's clear that massive amounts of resources, both of the creative and financial variety, were lavished on it. There are moments in Epic Mickey that are so good, so polished and so full of charm I would have sworn that I was playing a game Shigeru Miyamoto had a hand in.

If only the whole game was like that.