All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

#music Crackdown 2 was a video game that pretty much came and went in mid-Summer. It was okay, but no Game of the Year contender, nothing to rave about. What a difference a Bob Dylan remix makes. More »

Monster Hunter Portable 3rd is apparently the fastest selling PSP game ever, so everyone strip down to your official MHP3rd skivvies (available in Japan this month) and dance around. Andriasang has more of Portable 3rd's product tie-ins.

#music We've already seen and heard Daft Punk's "Derezzed" from the Tron: Legacy soundtrack, but the official video for that tune is worth another look. Why? Light cycles that transform into jousting horses, 1982 Tron style aesthetics and—last but certainly not least—Olivia Wilde. More »

With today's launch of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm looming over us like, well, "a giant dragon" is probably a bit redundant ... Nevertheless, we turned to Massively's Ryan Greene to explain why you might be interested, either if you're new to the game or simply looking for an excuse to return to Azeroth. Have you noticed a new excitement in the air? Have you felt the rumblings from the deep places of the world and tasted dread on the wind? Have you wondered why all your nerdiest friends planned months in advance to contract fake illnesses on the same day?

Cataclysm has arrived, and World of Warcraft will never be the same ... which is the same cheesy line you've been hearing for weeks, if not months. WoW's third expansion is huge news for dedicated players, but what does it mean for everyone else? For anyone who has never tried WoW or who gave it up many moons ago, the changes Deathwing hath wrought (with Blizzard's help) mean there has never been a better time to jump into the game. Seriously.

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is available today on the Games for Windows Marketplace for just $0.99. A great deal on a noir love story with a high body count.

Speaking of Max, dearest of all our MIA protagonists, there's still nothing new to report on Max Payne 3. Having already had nearly two years worth of release windows close, the game's latest official delay was this past June. We'd guess that the triple Payne would have a launch window sometime in 2012, but trusting any release estimate is like a noir character trusting a dame with silk stockings.

Also, World of Goo is on sale this week through the Marketplace for $4.99.

[Thanks, Josh]

#review I've played Bejeweled. You've probably played Bejewled. The guy next to you on the bus or the lady and your mom and your neighbor have probably played Bejeweled. Everyone's been satisfied. But everyone should know: Bejeweled 3 is better. More »

#iphone There's a new platforming shooter starring Stewie and Brian of Fox comedy Family Guy travelling through time battling twisted versions of the show's regulars? That reminds me of the time I realized I can't summon irreverent pop-culture flashbacks on command. More »

We've got a strong feeling that we've seen all of the games featured in the PlayStation Mini Arcade Essentials somewhere before ... But hey, that Qix knockoff looks fantastic! Arcade Essentials arrives on PSN today.

Dive into the expansive story of TRON's rebirth in The Story segment of Beyond the Code!

#pc Super Meat Boy is getting a limited run of actual, physical boxed copies for the PC. To mark the occasion, artist Dave Rapoza handled the cover illustration, and made it appropriately epic. More »

Do not miss this episode! It features a Gran Turismo 5 time trial competition, actual kart racing, a speed-eating contest, and the most dramatic elimination of the season when ‘Cyrus’ and ‘Nauseous’ from Season 1 join the panel. This week, quick decisions and pure gaming skills are tested when the gamers get behind the wheel of high-speed karts for a jaw dropping relay race.

Download Episode 6 from the video section of PlayStation Store and later today from the games section after the PlayStation Store update. Or, watch in PlayStation Home’s “The Tester” Theater starting on Wednesday and receive the new ‘Game Over’ shirt.

This Week’s Prize Package

The cast members aren’t the only ones getting in on the GT5 action. Download Episode 6 of “The Tester 2” before December 13 for your chance to take home a Gran Turismo 5 Collectors Edition and “The Tester” Limited Edition PS3 System. See the official rules here.

Congratulations to Adam B. from Little Rock, Arkansas our Week 3 winner, who snagged the Sony Noise Canceling headphones along with ‘The Tester’ Limited Edition PS3 system, and to Frank S. from Maple Shade, New Jersey our Week 4 winner, who received a copy of Medal of Honor Limited Edition and ‘The Tester’ Limited PS3 system both autographed by Greg Goodrich.

First 4 Episodes on PlayStation.com & More Extra Scenes

You can catch up on the first half of Season 2 by watching complete episodes now available on PlayStation.com. And, don’t forget about all the Season 2 ‘Extra Scenes’ in ‘The Clips’ section on the official “The Tester” website and on the PlayStation YouTube Channel under “The Tester” playlist.

Catching up with Tripple Threat

PlayStation LifeStyle hosted the self-proclaimed female Kratos, Tripplethreat, on its weekly podcast. Hear about her love for cosplay and what’s she’s been doing since competing on Season 2.

Thanks again for watching. Enjoy Episode 6.

#valve Valve is giving Steam users a new way to win video games—up to a hundred of them!—and even score some new headwear in Team Fortress 2. The "Great Steam Treasure Hunt" is a game for winning games. More »

The Hit Box, a stick-less alternative to the classic arcade setup, represents an unusual form of input for fighting game enthusiasts. Essentially, the device takes the knobby portion of the controller and turns it into four buttons. Playing a fighting game just became more akin to using a funky keyboard!

The device is the brainchild of the Husser Brothers (Brian and Dustin). If you're interested in the extreme details of its design, you should check out a lengthy post on Shoryuken. If you're interested in purchasing one, you can contact Dustin directly at Hitboxes[at]gmail[dawt]com. We've posted the Hit Box basics video and an AngryBananas.com interview with the brothers after the break.

[Thanks, Adam]

A portion of a Game Informer review… Battle Grids may not be able to compete with the Wii’s more robust minigame collections, but if for some reason you can’t get enough Tron, this family-friendly title is a better choice than the 360/PS3 adaptation.

The following comments come from the Twitter account of Sakaguchi… - “‘Arsenic’ in English is ‘ひそ’ (hiso) in Japanese. I just feel like letting you know.” Sakaguchi’s LEGO creation, “Arsenic Alien” - “Break from disk version test-playing. Later the balance of items obtained on online is needed to be checked on offline. Sometimes it happened that [...]

#gameface While there was a costume contest at the German launch of the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion, these event company employees were brought in to ensure wacky photo ops were available to all. More »

Steam, the market's leading innovator for promotions to make you buy irresponsible amounts of their product, has struck gold once again with its current Treasure Hunt promotion. Here's how it works: Every two days, four "objectives" become available, requiring hunters to perform both out-of-game and in-game tasks for prizes. For example, current goals include setting up a Steam profile picture, or earning a ridiculously high score in Chime -- which, like all the other games with objectives on the list, is discounted during the two-day period.

Anyone who accomplishes one of the four tasks will be eligible for a drawing at the end of each two-day chunk, through which 20 users will receive five games off their wishlists for free. Anyone who accomplishes 10 of the goals during the entire promotion will be entered to win the grand prize: 100 games of their choosing from the Steam platform. There are also exclusive Team Fortress 2 hats to be distributed to fervent hunters, which, let's be honest, is going to sell more games than all the other prizes up for grabs. People just love them some virtual hats.

[Thanks, Zayd!]

Sources say Sony's new handheld will be a graphical powerhouse.

#party There may be only three of the seven of us here in New York this week, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a little reader gathering. More »

Best Buy has informed us that it will exclusively offer the Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster "controller" (also known as "the real guitar") before the previously announced March 1 release date. Just how early Best Buy will be selling the guitar has yet to be confirmed, but the retailer claims to have the exclusive on the device "through March, 2011," perhaps pushing back the availability of the guitar from other retailers.

Best Buy will begin taking pre-orders for the "pro" peripheral on December 15, both in-store and online. Don't forget, you need a MIDI Pro Adapter to use this guitar with Rock Band 3. To use it like a regular guitar, you need ... an amp!

#wii Throughout the year we (I) have have been telling you about Frobot, a downloadable game for the Wii that mixes a little Robotron with a lot of nostalgia for brain-vexing Zelda dungeons. The game finally has a release date. More »

Those of you taking Gran Turismo 5's detailed vehicles onto the information superhighway will be glad to hear that the latest patch for the game adds selectable car damage. After downloading the patch, GT5's "My Lounge" section allows you to choose how much mechanical damage you're willing to suffer during online play, from "None" to "Heavy" ("Mechanical damage will be more severe, and can only be repaired by making a pit stop ... damaged parts will be indicated with on-screen icons"). The "Light" damage option means parts of your car can be damaged, but its health regenerates (no, we're not joking). It's not clear whether the update also adds cover for your cars to hide behind while said health regenerates.

The patch is available as of right now and it takes up approximately 150MB of HDD space -- Polyphony Digital has yet to detail any other fixes/additions the patch brings with it. If you spot anything else, feel free to drop us a line!

[Thanks Russ!]