January 2009
51 posts
9 tags
Cape physics are the real hero of Batman: Arkham...
Oh, to be the hand that shook the hand that put on that cape!
Wired recently got to tour, but not actually play, an early build of Batman: Arkham Asylum, courtesy of Nathan Whitman, an associate producer at Warner’s videogame division, and were surprised by the special attention being paid to the caped crusader’s…cape.
“I have to say - this is the best cape in a videogame,” said Whitman, and...
3 tags
The powerful portrayal of sexual identity in...
Gamasutra has an interesting op-ed piece up today discussing the portrayal of sexuality in Persona 4. In the game, tough teen Kanji Tatsumi confronts his sexuality in an “engaging and meaningful manner” inside The Midnight Channel, an alternate dimension where the main characters must battle demons both literal and figurative.
Although Kanji’s sexuality was purposefully left ambiguous, to more...
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H.A.W.X. enhanced reality system in acrobatic...
Excitement is in the air, both literally and figuratively, thanks to H.A.W.X., Ubisoft’s upcoming Tom Clancy-approved air combat simulator. This latest trailer showcases the Enhanced Reality System (ERS), which at the touch of a button provides the best hologram-generated guidance this side of Cortana, showing you the fastest, easiest route to targeting an acrobatic enemy or evading an...
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Noel Gallagher’s goblin rape fetish once more on...
There are three things you can count on in this world: death, taxes, and Noel Gallagher spouting his own special brand of crazy. When he’s not getting too wasted to remember meeting Jimmy Page or offering to help Robbie Williams commit suicide, Gallagher enjoys eloquently and evocatively summarizing the videogames industry.
Last year, the Oasis guitarist showed support for Guitar Hero’s...
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Atlus officially announces new Shin Megami Tensei
It seems Atlus is single-handedly keeping the PS2 alive, delivering a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart of the system with this morning’s announcement of a new Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner game.
Officially dubbed Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, the previously teased title has been scheduled for release stateside on May 12. We reccomend...
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The Halo themed wedding, classier than expected
You know, I was expecting to walk away from this video of Desirai Labrada and John Henry’s Halo themed wedding brimming with scathing, sarcastic comments, but the only thing welling up now are tears at the sweetness, and dare I say classiness of this game-centric ceremony.
The couple that met and fell in love playing Halo were joined together as “teammates for life” by...
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Left 4 Dead gets pre-pubescent
No, you’re not looking at concept art for Left 4 Dead: Babyz, though we would dearly love to play as pre-pubescent versions of Zoey, Louis, Bill and an apparently pre-op Francis facing down a swarm of cooties-infected playmates.
Artist Jason Chan wrote on his personal blog that the painting, titled “Zombie Playground,” was originally created for a ConceptArt.org contest, well...
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Capcom's Dark Void shaping up to be sleeper hit
While Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV dominate the media spotlight, one of Capcom’s other ‘09 offerings, Dark Void, is shaping up to be the sleeper hit of the year, with its dark blend of pulp comics sensibility and science fiction setting.
This morning Capcom released four videos from the game, not nearly enough to satisfy but just enough to wet the appetites of those less...
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Wonder Boy in Monsterland available on virtual...
I can’t put into words the warm fuzzies rekindled by today’s virtual console release, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, which originally appeared on the Sega Master System in 1987.
I remember my sister and I would play this for days on end, leaving the game paused overnight with the case hiding the tell-tale glow of the power button. The lack of a save feature prompted many...
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De Blob getting sequel thanks to strong sales
With Nintendo’s girl-centric system the designated dumping ground for sequels to IP’s that should never have been - Petz Catz 2, Petz Horsez 2, Petz Dogz 2, etc. - it’s refreshing to see an original, albeit adorable title like De Blob getting some sequel love. Of course, it helps that De Blob sold almost a quarter million copies in its debut month.
What began as a school...
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Atlus teases stateside release of new Shin Megami...
There is no game publisher better at teasing and tantalizing than Atlus, as evidenced by their latest “Atlus Faithful” newsletter.
The mysterious missive contained the image pictured above - an unidentified persona silhouetted against the Shin Megami Tensei logo, with the e-mail subject line simply reading “???.”
While we can’t be sure of the game, we’re...
7 tags
Get extreme with H.A.W.X.
I think military recruiters* could stand to learn something from this trailer for Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., which showcases some of the fancy flyin’ maneuvers you’ll be able to execute once you take off the training wheels.
Being a Tom Clancy title, H.A.W.X. takes place in the not-too-distant future when private military companies have replaced the world’s armies, and...
5 tags
Edmund McMillen’s Meat Boy coming to WiiWare
Indie developer Edmund McMillen’s latest opus of strange is coming to WiiWare — the official site for the enhanced version of Meat Boy shows the release tentatively scheduled for Q4 2009, giving you plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the titular bloody ball of heroics that is Meat Boy.
Unsettling preconceived notions aside, nothing could be as bizarre and beautiful as the...
8 tags
Riiflex dumbbells will make you fitter, dog deader
Though these are just prototypes, you might see the finished product hitting store shelves soon, to the delight of fitness enthusiasts and the horror of miniature sheltie puppies everywhere.
Riiflex is a patent-pending peripheral which could turn your Wiimotes into weighted dumbbells, using 2lb and 5lb cases with cleverly designed trigger ports allowing access to all the Wiimote’s buttons. You...
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I Am Alive delayed, to the surprise of absolutely...
“It’s me, Ubisoft’s forthcoming first-person survival game. You know, I Am Alive. We met at E3, remember? I briefly exposed myself in front of you and left you somewhat confused…but curious. You’ve been wondering about me, haven’t you? We’ll get to know each other in due time, it’s just that…well, I lied,” said the disaster survival...
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Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition coming to PS3
Dear comrades and friends, it is with happy hearts we inform you that EA has officially announced Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition will be released for the PlayStation 3 in March.
This marks the first time the alternate-history strategy series series, known just as much for its cheesy, cheeky and scenery chewing live-action casting as its real-time strategy gameplay, has...
4 tags
Velvet Assassin keeping morphine references
Using morphine injections to heighten senses and perform devastating attacks might cause some problems for Velvet Assassin, SouthPeak and Replay Studio’s WWII stealth action game, when it comes time to reveal their wares to various videogame ratings boards, the notoriously nitpicky gatekeepers of distribution. Other high-profile games have bowed to the pressure, removing references to real life...
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I Am Alive crawling out of the rubble in March
Ubisoft is planning on a March release for I Am Alive, their original first-person disaster survival adventure that forces players to “think, react and take risks that will directly affect themselves and those around them” as they search for water, shelter and safety in the ruins of an earthquake-devastated Chicago.
“We encourage the players to use tactics, diversion, and discretion,” said...
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Street Fighter IV story trailer weaves tale of...
“All of mankind holds a power within. The power of life. This force is fragile, but eternal. Life begets more life, and the cycle continues. This force, this power, is what drives it all. But what is power?”
Pretty heady stuff for a game which imagines skintight leotards as the standard-issue uniform for members of an elite British paramilitary force. Before you flood the comments, I know...
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The fifteen films that influenced Metal Gear Solid
Video retail giant Tsutaya, the Japanese equivalent of Blockbuster, has launched a campaign today in celebration of Metal Gear Solid 4 featuring series-creator and film-lover Hideo Kojima’s picks for the movies that most influenced his award-winning series:
The Guns of Navarone
The Great Escape
Goldfinger
2001: A Space Odyssey
Planet of the Apes
The Deer Hunter
Dawn of the Dead
Full...
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Is Nathan Drake the new Lara Croft?
Being devastatingly good looking, proficient with firearms and adept at treasure hunting isn’t enough to warrant you a seat at the videogame adventurer’s table - you have to be popular too. Having been featured in movies, comic books, novels, and a series of animated short films, not to mention starring in no less than nine Tomb Raider games, British archaeologist and hot pants aficionado Lara...
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Flower blooms on PSN in February
Fans of atmospheric, interactive poetry rejoice - Flower will be blooming on the US and European PSN stores February 12.
Just to recap the basic premise of this tranquil title, you play as a gust of wind inside the dream of a flower, carrying and collecting petals in your wake in order to restore color and life to the once dead landscape. There’s no time limit, no enemies and no points...
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Play Street Fighter on YouTube
As if a stop-motion version of Street Fighter wasn’t brilliant in its own right, you can actually control what’s happening in this pseudo game by Patrick Boivin. In his interactive animation YouTube Street Fighter, you play as flattop aficionado Guile, squaring off against your choice of three familiar, ferocious opponents. Select either Zangief, Dhalsim or E. Honda and you will be shown the...
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The Dark Knight as imagined in 8-Bit
This short video imagines what a Batman: The Dark Knight videogame could have looked like in a world without next-generation consoles. And like anything even remotely related to The Dark Knight, it is pretty damn awesome, despite the seizure-inducing strobe light effect that only the power of 8-Bit could properly convey.
Using the template from the original Batman for the Nintendo...
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Street Fighter IV will teach you to fight
Everyone is excited for Street Fighter IV , but not everyone (*cough*me*cough*) has had recent experience with the fighter, either having never played the arcade classic or having grown rusty in the decade-long drought between releases.
Thankfully, the “Trial Mode” in Street Fighter IV is the most all-encompassing tutorial ever created. According to Capcom’s community manager and resident...
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Blind date ends badly in latest Resident Evil 5...
Capcom continues where they left off in The Ceremony with their latest viral video, Date, the second in a series of slickly-produced live-action ads for Resident Evil 5.
Still reeling from his dreadful award ceremony speech, which consisted primarily of sweating, stuttering and enduring some truly scary alligator flashbacks, our hero Chris Redfield now suffers the indignity of getting cock...
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EA dates Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box
Criterion has been releasing downloadable content like clockwork for Burnout Paradise, so it should come as no surprise the upcoming “Ultimate Box” edition of the open world driving-utopia will include all the previously-released content, including the new Party Pack.
The premium content, which will be available to download separately on PSN and XBL on February 5, the same day as the retail...
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MadWorld receives “18″ rating from BBFC
Looks like our friends across the pond will be enjoying the uncensored, unedited version of SEGA’s ultra-violent MadWorld.
The British Board of Film Classification has given the greenlight with an “18″ rating, citing “very strong, stylized, bloody violence.” Sega has reportedly been working closely with the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), Pan-European Gaming Information system...
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LocoRoco 2 releasing at bargain bin price
Cute. Funny. Cheap. LocoRoco 2 promises to be all these things — in addition to the new characters, expanded abilities and improved gameplay elements, the official sequel (we’re not counting the PlayStation Network’s interactive screensaver Cocoreccho) will be rolling out at an economy-friendly MSRP of $19.99.
Early gameplay videos suggest LocoRoco 2 will be borrowing heavily from Sony’s...
What's your next move, PSP?
I’ve been a Sony PSP owner since it first arrived on the scene in 2005. It keeps me entertained when I get the urge to play Hot Shots golf or shoot some bad guys in SOCOM. I’ve also used it to surf the net (painfully) when a laptop was unavailable. I’ve tried Remote Play with my PS3, but I’ve never gotten it to work very well far from home. So, every so often, I’ve...
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New Final Fantasy XIII character sporting awesome...
Hurray for Final Fantasy XIII’s newest playable character, a refreshing break from the spiky-haired, pale-faced, sexually-androgynous JRPG status quo. The latest issue of V-Jump gives us a first look at Sazh Kalzroy, who “likes the color green, wields two pistol-like weapons and has a soft spot for Chocobos.” And yeah, he’s black. This could be awesome or abysmal,...
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Watchmen artist claims game is “completely canon”
We’ve voiced concerns about the potentially franchise-diluting Watchmen: The End is Nigh, the upcoming videogame tie-in for the movie version of Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel, Watchmen. But we’re still more than willing to let Dave Gibbons try his best to calm our fears of a beat ‘em up suck-fest.
While Watchmen writer Alan Moore has been conjuring curses on the movie, Watchmen artist Dave...
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All of Street Fighter IV’s finishing moves
These aren’t just moves, they’re ultra moves. From Capcom’s eagerly anticipated fourth installment in the Street Fighter series come the biggest and baddest attacks in each characters’ arsenal of pain, lovingly and brutally rendered in all their 2.5D glory. Even butterball Rufus, the most portly of the four new playable characters, looks like sex on a stick in ultra move mode.
Keep scrolling...
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Why are Jasper Xbox 360’s so hard to find?
Confirming whether that new Xbox 360 you’re about to purchase is a “Jasper,” one of the newly improved systems featuring a 65nm CPU that runs cooler and uses less power, can be difficult considering there’s not any marking on the packaging to clearly, easily distinguish them from their red ring of death-prone brethren. Is this an oversight or has Microsoft purposefully, deliberately chosen not...
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Tell your mom, Andrew Lloyd-Webber videogames...
If the game is even half as awesome as this lolz I just made, I would like to go ahead and reserve 10 copies, please.
Time to take your Broadway musical ambitions beyond the realm of the shower. Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Really Useful Group is apparently developing a “range of videogames” based on the musical theater maestros works, according to PaidContent.
The group has been speaking with...
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Alec Baldwin’s post-binge Galaga marathons
Nothing brings you down from a long night of “sex, drugs and booze” quite like Galaga, at least according to Alec Baldwin. In a new book of personal testimonies from former addicts, Moments of Clarity, the 30 Rock star recounts his struggles with substance abuse, and the resulting debauchery-filled evenings he sobered up from by playing arcade games into the wee hours of the morning.
“’I would...
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(Politics + Puzzles) x Platforming = Clover
Speaking of Braid, independent developer Binary Tweed is currently working on a “political platform puzzler” for the Xbox Live Arcade Community Games that expounds the same spirit, if not the same story, as the imaginative and innovative time-bending brainteaser.
Clover is a plot-driven puzzle platformer with a watercolor look, melancholy music and a political theme. Players solve puzzles by...
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Braid theme will cost you, but you can get the...
Even Soulja Boy would have to agree that this Braid theme is gorgeous, but beauty has a price - in this case, 250 MS Points, which translates into just over $3 in real world cash. If it’s any consolation, Braid’s creator Jonathan Blow would have given it away for free if he had his way.
“Unfortunately, we had to charge the standard Premium Theme price…We want to make it free, but Microsoft...
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We got yer cake right here, Fat Princess
Despite garnering controversy for the less than diminutive damsel in distress at the heart of the gameplay, Sony’s PlayStation Network release Fat Princess seems to be shaping up nicely.
The cooperative strategy title features two teams of 16-players, each working together to capture the flag. Only in this case the flag is actually a rather rotund royal, trapped in a dungeon and crammed full...
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Atlus bringing Tokyo Beat Down to the DS
Classic coin-op beat ‘em up meets handheld shoot ‘em up in Atlus’ upcoming Tokyo Beat Down, releasing for the Nintendo DS in March. As a member of the Beast Cops, you will get to shoot, punch, kick and stab your way to justice on the mean streets of Tokyo, using anything you can get your hands on to put the criminal population in their place. Among the most powerful weapons in your arsenal is your...
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Mommy, where do Prototypes come from?
(front door creaks open, keys drop on table)
CD: Grand Theft Auto, I’m home! GTA: Shit! It’s my husband, Crackdown! Quick The Darkness, into the closet! CD: There you are honey! What are you doing in the bedroom? And why do you look so sweaty, dishevelled and breathless? GTA: Don’t tell me you forgot “date night?” Get in here, you open world sandbox stud you, and lemme pour you a pipin’...
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Pedos are in your Home!
During his investigation of the weird world of PlayStation Home, Adam Mathew of Gameplayer had a disturbing encounter best described in his own words: “While doing some research on ‘who actually buys HOME clothing’ we happened across a fellow in a cowboy hat (who we’ll call ‘Jed’). After telling Jed who we were and why we were here doing research, we had an interesting discussion about why he...
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Zangief need love too, for beneath rippling muscle...
The good folks at Capcom recently received a package with “a note scribbled in a child like hand writing,” and thank goodness they didn’t call the bomb squad because the mysterious piece of mail was none other than the Zangeif Chronicles. Sent to Capcom as a New Year’s gift, the video series follows Street Fighter’s hairy-kneed Hercules in the fight against his toughest opponent, the human...
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BioShock has potential for five sequels
BioShock 2: Sea of Dreams is still but a twinkle in developer Take-Two’s eye, but that hasn’t stopped the talk of more sequels. Lots more sequels.
While promising not to “cash in” on the franchise, Global President of 2K Christoph Hartmann suggests that with the right story, BioShock could become the next Star Wars, generating numerous sequels, the current bread and butter of the gaming...
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Rhythm Heaven learns a little English
While we’re hoping Amazon’s price ($40) and date (Nov. 30) for the stateside release of Rhythm Heaven are just placeholders, the boxart gets a free pass. Super-kawai asexual choral singers are always in style.
Disturbing window into the minds of boxart designers aside, we can’t wait to get our hands on this localized version of Rhythm Heaven, otherwise known as Rhythm Tengoku Gold, Japan’s...
The post-holiday slump
Sorry for the diminished output, but I’ve been sick. Like lying in bed playing through all of the Phoenix Wright games, except for Apollo Justice which we technically consider the start of a spin-off series and therefore outside of canon, sick. But I make you this solemn vow, to continue scraping the bottom of the barrel for all your strangely hilarious videogaming news post haste!
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WET floods internet with new screens
Correct me if I am wrong, but are those rawhide nipples? Dammit, Schumacher! Who let you in here!
Despite the dissolution of Sierra, developer A2M’s acrobatic, gun-wielding bounty-hunting femme fatale game, WET, is still in the works. Supposedly scheduled for release sometime this year, WET tells the tale of hired gun Rubi — double crossed and left for dead by her latest employer, she must...
5 tags
Read the first Dead Space comic for free online
The only thing I like more than comic books is free comic books, and the new Dead Space fits the bill. You can read the entire first issue of Image Comic’s new series, based on the fabulous and frightening universe of EA’s titular videogame, at Newsarama. The site is generously hosting high-quality scans of every page, in all their necromorphic glory.
- posted by kristen
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Wiitard [wi-tahrd]: Lady who physically puts her...
Waiting behind you at the grocery store. Idling next to you at the red light. Sitting across from you at the restaurant. Idiots. They walk among us. Still reeling from his brush with insufferable dumbness, NeoGaf game forum member HUELEN10 shares the following tale of just such person, which is sadly stupid enough to be true. Seems his neighbors got their kid a Wii for Christmas, sans games, and...