1Up

EA Sports Offers Early Look at New MMA GameAn early look at EA Sports MMA reveals that Strikeforce will be the main promotion featured in the game. You can compete not only in the Strikeforce hexagonal ring, but also have your fighters pound away at each other in a circle cage or boxing ring.The game's strike control system, mapped to the right stick, is based on Fight Night's "Total Punch" control scheme. Defense also plays a part in the game as you dodge, parry, and duck while moving around the ring. You need to be wary of your fighter's stamina; as it can be lessened by taking punches to the body, grappling, and also by missing punches you throw.
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:21 pm

Capcom Reveals Final New Character for Super Street Fighter IVCurious what tricks Capcom has up their sleeves for the final additional character in Super Street Fighter IV? Wonder no longer, because IGN got the first glimpse at Hakan -- a totally original brawler created specifically for the updated version of Street Fighter IV. From the looks of the footage, Hakan appears to be a grappler along the lines of Zangief or Abel. Don't let that mislead you into believing he's just another musclebound clod in impossibly tight shorts, however. What separates this new guy from the rest of the pack are his bright orange, Jersey Shore-esque tan and the almost supernatural amount of... uh... lubrication dripping from his chiseled body. Yeah, Hakan is one slippery fella. And he takes advantage of his trademark
» 9 Mar 2010, 8:04 pm

Square Enix Throws Lavish Final Fantasy XIII Launch PartySan Francisco had gone from a sunny weekend to a sudden downpour on Monday night. But not even the chilly bayside winds, drizzle, and bouts of hail could deter those waiting to attend the Final Fantasy XIII launch party at the Regency Center that night, one of the first in a no doubt week long string of events with the annual Game Developers Conference in town. Square Enix employees were of course out in full force with Yoichi Wada, and Motomu Toriyama leading the charge. Others to grace the red carpet that night included Microsoft group director Albert Panello, ESA president Mike Gallagher, SCEA SVP Rob Dwyer, Mark Cerny, Graeme Devine, Corrinne Yu, Chris Taylor, Feargus Urquhart, Playboy's Jo Garcia, Final Fantasy XIII voice actor's Ali H
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:50 pm

NBC Announces Battlestar Galactica MMOBattlestar Galactica is over, but that doesn't mean NBC is done cashing in. They're teaming up with Bigpoint to launching Battlestar Galactica Online, a browser-based massively multiplayer game set in the popular universe. "Battlestar Galactica is a supremely gameable intellectual property, with compelling character classes, a fantastic array of ships and weaponry, multiple worlds, and a dramatic storyline," said vice president and general manager of digital platforms for Universal Partnerships & Licensing Bill Kispert. "We are excited to work with Bigpoint - and our partners at Universal Cable Productions and Syfy - to bring an epic, accessible, and 'always on' BSG experience to fans of the franchise and online gamers alike."
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:35 pm

Sony Releasing Free Weekly Quests for White Knight ChroniclesIf you couldn't get enough of White Knight Chronicles, more quests will soon be coming your way. The new missions will start arriving this week, and will continue all the way into the summer. Most of the new quests will be available via the White Knight Chronicles quest map, and will be permanently accessible. There will also be limited quests, which will be available for two weeks at a time. The PlayStation Blog also has information on how to win a 12-inch tall White Knight figure. To add it to your shelf, you'll need to complete specific quests during the weekend of March 19.
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:20 pm

More Need For Speed: Shift DLC On The WayWith Ferrari having finally returned to the Need for Speed stable of automobiles, Electronic Arts is releasing even more DLC for last year's Shift. The new Exotic Racing Series Pack will be launching next week on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network, and will run you 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00). It includes the Honda NSX and the BMW M1 Procar, among others. You can find the full list below. The pack will be available March 18.
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:54 pm

Infinity Ward Teases Modern Warfare 2 DLC with "Mapathy" SiteWe wouldn't fault you for getting a little sick of the default maps in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and neither would Infinity Ward, apparently. The developer began teasing new multiplayer levels today by posting Twitter links to Mapathy.com -- a clever little site dedicated to spreading awareness of the intense ennui that accompanies months and months of playing on the same maps. According to the site, a person suffering from Mapathy "no longer derives pleasure from blowing up people hiding in the cockpit or on top of the crane," and it continues, "More than 20 million people may be at risk for Mapathy." Assuming you haven't already jumped ship to Bad Company 2, those symptoms probably sound all too familiar. Like pretty much every ot
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:38 pm

BitComposer Games Announces Jagged Alliance 3Jagged Alliance is about to pick up its first true sequel in more than a decade. German publisher bitComposer games has acquired the license from Strategy First, and hopes to release a new game sometime next year (via Gamasutra). "Although Jagged Alliance 2 was published over ten years ago now, the game still represents a milestone in the genre and boasts a huge following of loyal fans," said bitComposer Games CEO Wolfgang Duhr. "We are delighted to acquire this classic game for bitComposer, and want to continue the success of the previous titles in the series, while giving the new version a contemporary look, bearing in mind the strong features of its predecessors."
» 9 Mar 2010, 4:37 pm

Black 2 Previously Existed, Ended Up Being CannedThe newly-announced Bodycount could be considered a spiritual successor to Black, but not too long ago the real thing was under development. Speaking with GameSpot, designer Stuart Black said that Black 2 was being worked on at Criterion, but was ultimately shelved. "I certainly did some preliminary pre-production work on Black 2 once we finished Black, the first three or four months," Black said. "I moved on quite quickly after that." He continued, "A lot of the guys on the team I'm working with here now carried on with that and did a lot of pre-production for about a year or so on Black [2], before that kind of bit the dust."
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:29 pm

Arc Projector Arrives on Mass Effect 2 Cerberus NetworkFor those of you still tromping around the galaxy in Mass Effect 2, BioWare is giving you a helping hand with a new toy. The Arc Projector has been released over the Cerberus Network, the latest piece of free DLC for those who purchased a new copy of the game. This new heavy weapon apparently "ionizes targets with a non-visible laser to ready them for a high-voltage electrical attack." The description continues, "As the lightning-like bolt hits its first target, a sophisticated auto-targeting system paints succeeding targets with the ionization laser, allowing the electricity to take the path of least resistance and arc between them.
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:50 pm

Action Trip

EA Servers Downtime TonightAs we've reported earlier today, players have been experiencing serious issues when playing BF: Bad Company 2 due to server outages. EA says things should be up and running again and that the servers will go offline overnight for maintenance, according to Battlefield Blog.
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AvP Map Pack SoonThe first DLC for Aliens vs Predator is going to be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC (it's a time of great joy obviously, considering how "brilliant" the game was).
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Modern Warfare 2 Played by 25 Million GamersThat's right. Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling tweets about how many people are playing the shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2: "... we JUST hit 25 MILLION unique players on Modern Warfare 2.
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Ghost Recon: Future Soldier DetailsThe first tidbits on Ubisoft's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier have arrived, via the latest issue of Official PlayStation Magazine. CVG writes: "The soldier of the future is an F16 on legs," as revealed in OPM's preview, which notes that because most of the fancy tech from the last Ghost Recon is now reality (UAVs, helmet HUDs) Ubisoft's having to push the series forward in Future Solider - and it has.
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Bad Company 2 Server Issues Fixed SoonWord around the nerd camp is that due to huge traffic over the weekend, the Bad Company 2 servers encountered outages. EA says that the team is working hard to fix the problem.
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Tron Legacy - First Official TrailerThe first official trailer for Tron Legacy is just up people. Might want to have a look. Yes, this brings back a very nice, warm geekish feeling, as a Tron movie should.
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Destructoid

Full sequel to EA Sports Active coming this fallEA Sports announced yesterday that a full sequel to the tremendously successful, critically acclaimed workout program EA Sports Active is currently in development, set for release this fall. The sequel, tentatively named EA Sports Active 2.0, is reaching out to more customers -- it's coming to the PS3, iPhone, and iPod Touch as well as the Wii. The product will come with leg and arm straps, both of which will include their own motion sensors, and a heart rate monitor to, uh, monitor your workout. People who bought EA Sports Active and its expansion pack (More Workouts) on the Wii may be disappointed: it looks like the PS3 version is going to be the most attractive option, if only because it will offer downloadable workouts and exercises.
» 9 Mar 2010, 4:00 pm

GDC 10: Dan Tabar's tracksuitThat's Dan Tabar, one of the guys behind Cortex Command. You could talk about day one of the Indie Games Summit as a momentous day where a potentially revolutionary new way of funding games was explained, and where indies cemented their financial and artistic importance in the growing games market. And yet, to focus on any of that stuff is to miss the point entirely. The point is, Dan Tabar wore a bitchin-ass tracksuit to GDC. During the Q&A section of his talk, Ron Carmel complimented Dan on this tracksuit. Dan stared at Carmel for a few moments, as if trying to find something to say. "You didn't even have a question, did you," Carmel sort-of said (I'm paraphrasing). "You just wanted to show off your track suit." Perhaps he did. I would no
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:34 pm

Vancouver Canucks' Ryan Kesler is on NHL 2K11 coverIf Ryan Kesler's name sounds familiar to you, then you're either a fan of hockey (perhaps specifically, of the Vancouver Canucks), or you watched the USA hockey team make their way to a silver medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics last month. (Or both!) Well, if you plan on picking up 2K Sports' NHL 2K11 when it launches exclusively for the Wii this fall, then you'll become very familiar with Kesler's face as well as his name -- he's the cover athlete for the game. Kesler is the alternate captain for the Canucks, and last year, the team's fans voted him as the Canucks' MVP. He's a great two-way (i.e., defensive as well as offensive) forward; he was one of the finalists for the Selke Trophy in 2009. You can see a photo of him in the gallery th
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:00 pm

Steambot Chronicles 2 is (still) in the worksYes! Irem has officially stated that the sequel to Bumpy Trot (known as Steambot Chronicles to western gamers) is in development for the PS3! Well, still in development, at any rate. Y'see, Bumpy Trot 2 was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show...in 2006. After another quick trailer shown at TGS the following year (you can see it below), Irem went dark regarding the game until a magazine scan showed up in 2009 (also visible below). Now, after some fevered prodding from ScrawlFX, Irem representative confirmed that Bumpy Trot 2 was still in development, and that they were working hard to get the game out in Japan ASAP. They gave no word as to any western release plans, but given that Atlus USA has published both the original and Ste
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:00 pm

GDC 10: Hotel des Arts hosting Dante's Inferno art showIt's an avalanche of art shows in San Francisco this week! On top of hosting the Into the Pixel exhibit this week, Hotel des Arts will also have an entire floor dedicated to the art of Dante's Inferno. The art will be on display starting this Thursday and will be up until April. The gallery below has a small taste of what to expect at the Dante's Inferno art show this week. Some pretty disturbing stuff! And as a friendly reminder, Giant Robot is hosting the Game Over III art exhibit this Friday too. See!? So much art!
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:00 pm

God of War III will make you ignore your girlfriendKevin Butler tells the truth in this ad, ladies. Once your boyfriend/husband/significant other gets a hold of God of War III, your relationship will be doomed. For like a week. At least. Seriously, you all are so not ready for God of War III. The first level alone makes God of War III an easy contender for 2010's game of the year. Our review went up this past week but words alone can't really describe this experience. By the way, we're giving away a PlayStation 3 and God of War III this week! It Only Does Epic Trilogies [PlayStation.Blog]
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:00 pm

First Modern Warfare 2 DLC hitting XBL this monthIt feels like only yesterday Infinity Ward was talking up the mysterious first Modern Warfare 2 downloadable map pa--oh, that totally was yesterday. Huh, that was quick! The marketing division has created an informative site about "mapathy," an all-too-real medical condition affecting millions of gamers. They say the cure is coming to Xbox LIVE on March 30, which would mean an April release for PlayStation 3 and PC since Microsoft acquired a full month of exclusivity for the add-on. The real question, at least in my mind, is whether or not we'll see video/pictures of the maps during GDC. Either way, the wait shouldn't be too painful. As wrapped up in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as I am, I wouldn't mind getting back into Modern Warfare 2, if
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:20 am

Spelunky gets a new look for its XBLA debutThe prospect of free-to-play indie PC games being upgraded visually and in terms of features for digital distribution on consoles is something that excites me greatly. Super Meat Boy, Cave Story, and Spelunky are the three that immediately come to mind. We recently got our first look at the shiny new Spelunky for Xbox LIVE Arcade: four screenshots, all viewable here. It's difficult to say this, because I appreciate all the work Derek Yu is doing to HD-ify the game, but I absolutely adore his pixel artwork. So much so, that I dig the original look over the new style. What do you think? Am I being unreasonable here or what? And yes, I realize there's a little "work in progress" disclaimer attached to the images. New screens for Spelunky XBLA
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:20 am

More free Mass Effect 2 stuff for Cerberus Network users!Perhaps the exclamation point is overkill -- the latest free add-on for Mass Effect 2 is simply a new heavy weapon. Nothing more, nothing less. The Arc Projector, as BioWare has so lovingly named it, can now be downloaded for anyone with access to the Cerberus Network storefront. On the other hand, the gun sounds rather fun to use. You point it at things you want to electrocute to death, and splash damage plays a big role in its effectiveness. There's a nice picture on BioWare's site that shows the Arc Projector shocking some poor Husks in the most glorious of fashions. Yeah, I get that you mostly just want the "Firewalker" DLC to come out already. So do we. [Thanks, Steve]
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:20 am

Something About Sex: If You Build It, They Will Make A Nude Mod[Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.] Sex is a prevalent part of videogames, like it or not. Developers seem to have a firm grip (like ... ah, too obvious) on the concept of "Sex sells" and have been packing it into every line of code or polygon they can. Every new batch of screenshots that comes out usually has a shot or two of a big-breasted woman or two or seven. Jiggle physics exist for the sole purpose of videogame Web sites mentioning that they exist w
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:00 am

GDC 10: Theme is Not MeaningSoren Johnson spent five years working on the Civilization series for Firaxis, eventually landing the job of lead designer for Civilization IV. He also did work on Spore, amongst many other things. He also gave the keynote address of the 2010 Serious Games Summit. Johnson's talk, "Theme is Not Meaning," opened with a simple question: who decides the meaning of a game? The designer, or the player? Hit the jump for the answer to that question, and a summary of Johnson's keynote. It's the player. The designer might want a mechanic or a story to mean one thing, but the player is the one intimately dealing with that game, and so his decision as to what the overall theme is will always be the correct one. When comparing a game's theme versus a g
» 9 Mar 2010, 8:50 am

Digg - Gaming Industry News

The Definition of InsanityIt’s time for change in the video game industry. Graphics are getting better, gameplay is evolving, and expectations are rising. The following games need to take that next step to stay relevant in the ever changing gaming landscape.
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:40 pm

Rock Band to Release Cartman's "Poker Face"It was announced today that four Lady Gaga songs are being released in the Rock Band Music Store for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. And in a classic case of lead-burying, it was additionally revealed that Eric Cartman's version of Gaga's "Poker Face" would also be made available in the store.
» 9 Mar 2010, 4:30 pm

The Five Most Badass Japanese Game DesignersAnother thing that's awesome about Japan: Video game designers are often seen as rockstar celebrities.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:40 pm

Is poker skill or luck?Let's say you're playing poker and you need one more diamond for a flush. The dealer turns a card, reveals a diamond and you win the hand. Was it skill or luck? The answer is affecting the fates of people across the country accused of breaking anti-poker laws.
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:40 pm

7 Ways Games Can Transform You Into a Superior Human BeingIf there was ever a greater feeling in the world than that of levelling up, we are yet to experience it. While this is true of you in-game, it's also true of you and your own abilities themselves. Increasing with each game, your own attributes are advancing as gaming teaches you to 'evel-up' yourself in ways that make you almost super-human.
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:00 am

Girl mistakes loaded gun for Wii controller - Shoots herselfThe girl shot herself in the abdomen allegedly after mistaking a semi-automatic handgun for a Wii remote.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:10 am

Valve Is Bringing Steam To MacThough gaming support on the operating system could be considered as dead, Valve has announced that its Stream, gaming digital downloading service, will be coming to Macs.
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:30 am

Essential Apps & Utilities for PC, Mac & Console GamersNever, in the entirety of history, has there been so much gaming to be done. You'll need great tools! Here is our list of vital tools for today's gamer. First up, because almost every game today has a multiplayer aspect, is communication tools. Read more:
» 8 Mar 2010, 8:10 pm

Most Expensive Video Games: Were They Worth the Money?Video games like “Halo 3” and “Modern Warfare 2” have made headlines for the amount of money they earned, but the Hollywood-sized budgets needed to create them are just as noteworthy. And like the box office blockbuster hopefuls, there is no guarantee that a huge budget will equal a hit – there is a bloated failure here for every critical success.
» 8 Mar 2010, 2:40 pm

Seven Questions: Are you still Bejeweled?Joystick Division chats with the creators of Bejeweled about its humble beginnings and what it's been like to work on the most successful casual game franchise of all time.
» 8 Mar 2010, 2:40 pm

YES! Portal 2 Confirmed for Mac (Steam)If Matt had to change his pants over the Valve Apple teasers the other day, what will today's wardrobe malfunction be? I only ask because the latest GameInformer confirms Portal 2 is coming to Mac.
» 8 Mar 2010, 10:20 am

Firing Squad

ESRB Teams Up With PTA»

New Warhammer: Mark Of Chaos Patch»

The Mark Demos Released»

New Battlefield 2 Patch Released»

PlayStation Network Preview»

On The Wii, The PS3, The 360 And The PC: Part 9»

Evening News Round-Up: November 15»

Microsoft's Zune A Sales Dud?»

Problems With PS3 Resolutions On Older HDTVs»

New Huxley Screenshots»

Defender Released On Xbox Live Arcade»

Game Set Watch

GameSetLinks: From The Alpha To The Omikron[GameSetLinks is GameSetWatch's semi-regular link round-up post, culling from hundreds of weblogs and outlets to compile the most interesting longform writing, links, and criticism on the art and culture of video games.] While we're way into a super hectic GDC week, and in fact, the GameSetLinks haven't got busted out for a long time, we still have a few in our back pocket for moments like this - and here's some fun results. Among them: 1UP on fanfiction, a neat good interview with Wadjet Eye Games' Dave Gilbert, a Sonic retrospective of some classiness, a retrospective on David Cage's early piece of semi-insanity that is Omikron, and rather more besides. Eff bee eye: Fan's View: Inside the World of Fanfiction from 1UP.com 'Our first pa
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Final Fantasy Airship MiniaturesMark Hoffman, who posts some amazing and intricate miniatures at Musings of Metal Mind, recently shared a set of custom miniature airships inspired by Square Enix's Final Fantasy series, each craft fashioned from bits of other small figures. His airships include Setzer Gabbiani's Blackjack from Final Fantasy VI, the High Wind from Final Fantasy VII, Ragnarok from Final Fantasy XIII, and the Hilda Garde III from Final Fantasy IX. I hope Hoffman eventually gets around to creating a miniature for Cid's Lindblum in Final Fantasy XIII! [Via Toycutter]
» 9 Mar 2010, 4:00 pm

Toy Robots Invade Shatter's Amethyst CavernsFor those of you who can't get enough of Shatter's soundtrack -- we must have mentioned how great it is here at least half a dozen times already -- have a look at this music video for "Amethyst Caverns", one of several tracks from the PSN (and soon-to-be PC) game. The scenes in the video really don't have much to do with the game, but it does feature an appearance from composer Jeramiah "Module" Ross halfway through. It was also shot and edited by Sidhe's lead artist Corie Geerders. Again, you can stream for free or purchase/download Shatter's "electro rock and retro beats" soundtrack, which earned the game a finalist spot for the 2010 Independent Games Festival's "Excellence in Audio" award, at Bandcamp. [Via Mario Wynands]
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:00 pm

Game Developer March Issue Showcases Uncharted 2, Dirty Coding Tricks[Here's info on the latest issue of the evergreen Game Developer magazine - and it's a bumper GDC-distributed issue, actually, which you'll get in your attendee bag at the show this week, if you didn't get a copy in the mail already!] The March 2010 issue of Game Developer magazine, the sister print publication to Gamasutra and the leading U.S. trade publication for the video game industry, has shipped to print and digital subscribers and is available from the Game Developer Digital service in both subscription and single-issue formats. The cover feature for the issue is an exclusive postmortem of Naughty Dog's cinematic action game Uncharted 2. The article, crafted by designer Richard Lemarchand, offers insight on the challenges and succ
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:00 pm

BitComposer Releasing Jagged Alliance 3 In 2011bitComposer Games, an independent publisher operating out of Eschborn, Germany, announced that it's secured the full rights to the Jagged Alliance license from Strategy First and hopes to release Jagged Alliance 3 some time in 2011. Though the tactical RPG series has enjoyed a devoted fanbase since its debut by original developer Sir-Tech Software in 1994, Jagged Alliance hasn't seen a numbered release since 1999. Strategy First eventually acquired the license and even released the Wildfire expansion pack for Jagged Alliance 2 but has struggled to put out a full follow-up. Strategy First announced that it was working with Russian developer MiST Land South to develop two sequels in 2004, Jagged Alliance 3D (essentially Jagged Alliance 2 us
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:00 am

GDC, The Fantasy of Control, Part I: Monday, March 8, 2010[In a GameSetWatch-exclusive set of blog posts for the week of GDC 2010, Magical Wasteland blogger and Game Developer magazine columnist Matthew Burns starts off his journey to the show with some intriguing fellow travelers.] I thought the flight I would take from Seattle down to San Francisco would be full of developers, so I am on the alert for the telltale signs of the game industry: the jeans, the hairstyle, the low-slung bag. When the person next to me on the flight stashes William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition in the seat pocket, I am absolutely sure I am in kindred company. I blurt, “So, going to GDC?” My neighbor nods and identifies himself as one of about thirty developers from CCP that are on board this flight, which has
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:00 am

First Look At Spelunky XBLAIndie developer Derek Yu finally gave Spelunky fans a preview of his acclaimed roguelike/platformer's upcoming XBLA port with four screenshots from the project. These images show off the game's new high resolution, hand-painted graphics, dynamic lighting, and other visual effects that you won't find in the original PC version. What you won't see in these screens, though, are all the other additions planned for the port: achievements, leaderboards, new game modes, new audio, new items, new monsters, and more. I presume we'll hear more about those as Spelunky XBLA's release later this year approaches. Jump past the post break for more images! [Via @attractmode]
» 9 Mar 2010, 8:00 am

Square Enix Teases FFXIII Gallery iPhone AppWith Final Fantasy I and II recently released through the App Store, Square Enix is continuing its push to bring the marquee RPG series to the iPhone with a new Final Fantasy XIII app. This new project, unfortunately, isn't very game-like, as it's merely a photo gallery with high resolution images from the new PS3/Xbox 360 title. The photos are so high in resolution that you can actually zoom in for a close-up on characters's eyes, according to a report from Japanese gaming news site Famitsu translated by Andriasang. You can even set one of the images as a background for a clock and calendar on your iPhone/iPod touch. Square Enix hasn't revealed pricing or a firm date for the Final Fantasy XIII app's release, but it expects to make the ga
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:00 am

Pre-GDC: Career Pavilion Hints & Tips For Success[Since GDC is coming up this week, and with it the Career Pavilion, this guide -- originally published in Game Developer magazine -- compiles advice from hiring companies on what they're looking for, plus important do's and don'ts if you do want to get a job in the mainstream game biz.] 2009 has been tough for the games industry. Layoffs, consolidations and reorganizations mean that not only have talented staff found themselves without jobs, but fresh graduates have found themselves entering into an uncertain future. Game Developers Conference 2010's Career Pavilion (Thursday, March 11th—Saturday March 13th in Moscone South Hall, accessible with all GDC passes, including Expo or Student passes) presents an opportunity to receive face t
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Miranda Make-Up Tutorial For Mass Effect 2 FansAlong with its gamer modeling services for events, motion capturing, voice acting, and more, Charisma+2 produces a magazine targeting female gamers. The online publication, which has already published a dozen issues, offers reviews, profiles on women working in the game industry (e.g. Brenda Brathwaite), and articles helping girls break into the business. The latest issue of C+2 magazine includes a piece you won't see in traditional gaming magazines like Edge or Gamepro: a step-by-step guide for a make-up look inspired by Mass Effect 2's Miranda Lawson (pictured). The tutorial suggests products you can use and presents this "gamette make-up" as an everyday look for girls wanting a "simple and sexy go-between". I've included the video gui
» 8 Mar 2010, 4:00 pm

8-Bit NYC, City MapsInspired by the overhead world maps of 1980s RPGs and adventure games, Brett Camper created a Google Maps-style representation of New York City with 8-bit graphics. The map is interactive, allowing you to pan across the city and zoom in to see individual streets. He wants to create more 8-bit overhead maps for other cities, but to fund that endeavor, he's looking to raise $3,000 through donation-ware platform Kickstarter. If he can raise that much in the next 30 days, he plans to use that money to cover web hosting costs and the initial computing time needed for drawing the maps (purchased using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud). Camper already has eight cities he hopes to re-create -- San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Washington
» 8 Mar 2010, 2:00 pm

GameGuru Mania

Tuesday Reading - Battlestar Galactica MMOBattlestar Galactica Web-game Revealed - The game itself is being developed by BigPoint which operates a lot of free-to-play browser based games. The company is opening up a US office in San Fransisco this year. Battlestar Galactica Online is expect to launch sometime in the fall of 2010 on the Syfy.com web site for a...
» 9 Mar 2010, 4:19 pm

Dragon Age: Origins Patch v1.03Bioware has released the Dragon Age Origins patch 1.03 (direct FTP link / Steam) which is the third patch update to the game. The patch includes few updates: -andandVarious changes have been made to code and resources to support the Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening expansion pack. Most of these changes do not affect ...
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:25 am

First DLC Swarms To Aliens vs PredatorSega's European Blog has news about the first $DLC multiplayer maps for Aliens vs. Predator: The first downloadable content for Aliens vs Predator will shortly be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms. Featuring 4 new maps for different multiplayer modes, previously only available in the Special Editions, ...
» 8 Mar 2010, 5:46 pm

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands TrailerUbisoft has released a new gameplay video for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, showcasing the next installment in the Prince of Persia series. The game is slated for release on May 14th, 2010 on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, PSP, Wii and DS. ...
» 8 Mar 2010, 5:21 pm

Just Cause 2 Demo (standalone)Square Enix has now released a playable (standalone) demo of Just Cause 2, allowing you to try out the sequel developed by Avalanche Studios and set to be available on March 23rd, 2010, in North America and March 26th, 2010, in Europe. The 1GB download is mirrored on AtomicGamer, CGO.ro and GH....
» 8 Mar 2010, 5:17 pm

GTX 480 Unigine and 3D Vision Surround DemoTom Petersen Director of Technical Mkt at NVIDIA describes how the performance of GeForce GTX 480 compares to existing solution. Tom also offers a quick peak at how 3DVision Surround is pushing PC gaming forward: ...
» 8 Mar 2010, 5:12 pm

Kings and Castles Video Blog #4Gas Powered Games and Chris Taylor bring us Video Blog #4 for 'Kings and Castles. This time he invades the cubical of the lead artist of their upcoming fantasy RTS title where he shows off an early character model from the game. ...
» 8 Mar 2010, 5:06 pm

Bad Company 2 GPU Performance In-depthThe chaps over at TechSpot ran some benchmarks on a range of graphics cards putting Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to the test. Here's a bit: Although Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a very demanding game, it is not nearly as horrible on hardware as Crysis. For example, at 2560x1600 using maximum visual quality settings with ...
» 8 Mar 2010, 1:28 pm

Bad Company 2 Server Update (2010-03-07)DICE posted another update on the Battlefield Blog explaining the current status of the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 servers across all platforms: After optimizations and restarts yesterday, we had been stable across all platforms. Unfortunately, we encountered another outage at approximately 9:30 AM PST today. - X360 was se...
» 8 Mar 2010, 1:23 pm

Ubisoft's DRM FailureThe Ubisoft Forums have various posts from customers (thanks BluesNews) who were unable to play games protected by Ubisoft's online DRM yesterday because the DRM servers were offline: Posted Sun March 07 2010 03:16 So i finished the game yesterday, had no problems with the DRM at all, tried to get in today again, and it fail...
» 8 Mar 2010, 1:19 pm

God of War III: First Level Impressions (PS3)Head's Up! Display have posted their impressions after playing the first level of God of War III. Here's a taster: ages as the sea god’s vicious crab-horse monster goes to town on the mother of creation. As you begin your aerial acrobatics, it’s hard to keep focused, as everything around you looks amazing. The amoun...
» 8 Mar 2010, 1:14 pm

GameSpot

Kid Adventures: Sky Captain First ImpressionsWe take to the skies and water-bomb forest fires in our first look at this kid-friendly flight game.
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:34 pm

Kid Adventures: Sky Captain DemoWe get a demo for Kid Adventures: Sky Captain from GDC 2010.
» 9 Mar 2010, 3:31 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 GDC 2010 Celtic Manor TrailerGet a bird's-eye view of Celtic Manor, one of the new courses in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:34 pm

GDC 2010 Game Demo - 2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaBrian Ekberg talks with EA Sports producer Matt Prior for a game demo of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:32 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 GDC 2010 Paula Creamer TrailerPaula Creamer, LPGA golfer, shows off a little of the motion capture used in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:23 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 GDC 2010 Tutorial TrailerGet a quick tutorial for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11!
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:23 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 GDC 2010 Meet Rory TrailerMeet Rory McIlroy, sharing the cover of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 this year.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:21 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 GDC 2010 Ryder Cup TrailerAn epic match, for honor...for country! All in the new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:20 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 GDC 2010 PGA Tour Online TrailerGet the lowdown on Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online!
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:18 pm

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 First LookThe Ryder Cup, new controls, and the 16th at TPC Scottsdale are just some of the new features in EA's upcoming golf game.
» 9 Mar 2010, 2:08 pm

Joystiq

Impressions: Civilization V or 'I Wanna Hex You Up'We already told you that Sid Meier's Civilization IV was finally getting a sequel with Civilization V later this year, and then we showed you the trailer that contained absolutely no gameplay. But now we've actually seen an early build of the game, and we can tell you how hexy it is. That's right, forget about old Civilization games which only had four cardinal directions to choose from when moving your units; this installment ramps that up to to six. That's right! Two whole new directions! It's a brand new game! In all fairness, it is Civilization but Firaxis made plenty of substantial changes to it. Besides hexing it up, they've also added ranged units (think archers, artillery, ICBMs, etc) and taken out the ability to stack units up int
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:30 am

Interview: Mafia II producer Denby GraceThree delays later, Mafia II looks like it's finally (finally!) getting ready to launch. It's been a long journey, and we spoke with 2K senior producer Denby Grace during GDC about the development time and what we can expect from the ambitious crime saga: We've been waiting a very long time for this game haven't we? Denby Grace, senior producer: The reason for the delay is polish. You'll see the game looks great as you play today. It's just not quite perfect, which is what we at 2K generally strive for. It's what we want to be known for, the quality of our games. Just having come so long, it would be foolish to release it too early. Are there any specific reasons for the delay? What needed to be polished? Technically there are a few thi
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Hands-on: Mafia IIIt seems like almost a year ago that I first saw Mafia II. That's probably because it was almost a year ago that 2K Czech (formerly Illusion Softworks) demoed live gameplay from the title (which had been announced nearly a year and a half before that.) Today, it was time to finally get my hands dirty as a virtual wiseguy, but first I had to put some clothes on. In all seriousness, protagonist (I guess he's that, right?) Vito Scaletta had just woken up after a pretty wild night (judging by the various undergarments strewn around his bachelor pad) when my demo kicked off, so I of course jogged around turning on faucets and flicking light switches before actually doing what the game was instructing me to do: Get dressed. Leaving Vito's apartm
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

There is a new King of KongSorry, it's not a sequel to King of Kong, the documentary that showed the battle between ruthless Billy Mitchell and nice guy Steve Wiebe to become the world's best Donkey Kong player. This is a new guy on the scene, 35-year-old plastic surgeon Hank Chien, who's just taken the world record in the game according to Twin Galaxies with 1,061,700 points after a two-and-a-half-hour session. Chien says he expects that the honor will keep him "pelvis-deep in cocaine and highly desirable to sexual partners for all of my days." Or at least we bet he was thinking that.There is a new King of Kong originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:00 pm

Former Baltimore mayor's telltale Xbox 360 now on eBayHere's a bit of backstory for those of you who don't follow the hot Baltimore news scoops: Sheila Dixon, once mayor of Baltimore, became the former mayor Baltimore after being indicted for embezzlement earlier this year. One of the main pieces of evidence in her trial was an Xbox 360 prosecutors claimed she purchased with gift cards given to her by local developers, which were supposed to be given to various charities. The telltale 360 recently appeared in an eBay listing, attracting a number of prospective buyers hoping to get their hands on the game console/slice of Baltimore history. If you're interested in owning a device which is capable of single-handedly ending someone's mayoral career, the auction is still running. Its price is sig
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:00 pm

Will Wright on the Wii's toy-like sensibilitiesSpeaking to IndustryGamers in a pre-GDC interview, industry veteran Will Wright shared his thoughts on the Wii and where it fits in the current video game market. According to Wright, the Wii offers an experience that is "clearly different than the Xbox or the PlayStation." Specifically, he stated that the Wii differs from its console brothers in that it doesn't generally cater to long, in depth experiences. Rather, said Wright, the Wii offers "fun toys to pick up and start playing in five minutes." He added, "It really is more into what I would call the toy market." Elaborating, Wright said that all consoles will have a "specifically defined niche" and that Nintendo actively decided to approach the Wii in a different way. He stated that N
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:30 pm

Impressions: True Crimeclick to enlarge After a five-year hiatus, free-roaming felony franchise True Crime is set to return (sans subtitle) in Fall 2010. United Front, which is also working on the upcoming ModNation Racers and houses veterans from games such as Bully, Prototype and Scarface, is developing the new entry for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Lead producer Jeff O'Connell describes it as a "more serious" reboot -- and a story that's more closely modeled after cop films. "It's an opportunity to be an innately good guy," he said of the undercover, under-pressure role you'll assume. "That's good drama." Inspired by films like "The Departed" (see: "Infernal Affairs"), True Crime follows undercover lawman Wei Shen as he infiltrates the triad, slow-mo kicks
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:01 pm

RUSE date a trick after all, release moved to June 8R.U.S.E. is quite a crafty game. It turns out that the recently revealed June 3 release date was nothing but a smoke screen for the real date. The fully legitimate, actual release date is June 8. The game's PC beta began today and, according to Big Download, Ubisoft also announced the change in launch schedule. Normally, this kind of thing would be upsetting but, given the title, it just seems appropriate. The beta, incidentally, is available now to all Steam users. It allows both single-player and multiplayer action with six different factions on seven multiplayer maps.RUSE date a trick after all, release moved to June 8 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permal
» 9 Mar 2010, 8:30 pm

PSA: Portal guns are for trained professionals onlyYou know, we always thought GLaDOS ran the Portal simulation just so she could discover the true value of friendship, but it may really have been in the name of public service. In the video after the break -- created by Freddie Wong, who you probably recognize from his ridiculous (and hilarious) Guitar Hero video -- we get a glimpse at the likely ramifications of improper Portal gun training and how a few apathetic "friends" can ruin one of the most exciting experiences ever. And here, all this time, we thought GLaDOS was the bad guy! Note: For those of you who spot that weird frame at the end of the video -- yep, with all that gibberish -- don't bother to decipher it. It's apparently just another gag from Freddie and "friends." Yuk-yuk-yu
» 9 Mar 2010, 8:00 pm

EA Sports Active 2.0 coming this fall to Wii, PS3 and iPhoneEA Sports' "Season Opener" event at GDC contained one major announcement for the developer's bevy of franchises: EA Sports Active will receive the sequel treatment this Fall with EA Sports Active 2.0 (working title), an updated version of the exergame for the PS3, Wii, iPhone and iPod Touch platforms. The console versions of the game will come equipped with two motion sensors and a heart rate monitor the player can strap to their arms and legs. User information in this new game can be shared over an online social network, allowing fellow players to keep track of how frequently you've been skipping out on your demanding workout regimen. EA Vancouver is reprising its role as developer for the title. We'll let you know when we hear more about
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:50 pm

Flip's Twisted World team spins a dev diaryFlip's Twisted World is a rare third party game that sets to do something original for the Wii. Yet strangely, it's gone almost completely unnoticed. While platformers are a dime a dozen, Flip's gravity-twisting gameplay offers a unique spin (get it?) that deserves a look. The "gimmick" at the heart of Flip's Twisted World is the player's ability to "flip" the world at whim, turning floors into walls, ceilings into floors, and more. Majesco has released a dev diary for Flip's Twisted World that better explains its gameplay. It's easy to make comparisons to Super Mario Galaxy, but that's not really a bad thing, is it? Flip's Twisted World comes out on Wii this April. Gallery: Flip's Twisted WorldFlip's Twisted World team spins a dev diary
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:40 pm

Kotaku

Yakuza 3 Has More Cuts Than You First Thought [Humor]So you thought the hostess bars were the only thing cut from Yakuza 3, a very Japanese game that's being brought to the West by Sega? Nunh unh. There are way more changes than that. More »
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Oscar-Winning Duo Working On Ghost Recon Movie [Ghost Recon]The creators of Logorama - an Oscar-winning short film that featured its fair share of video game companies - will be sticking with a gaming theme for their next work, creating a live-action short for Ubisoft's Ghost Recon series. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:30 pm

A Week In Comments [Hyper Multi-tap]I Was An Xbox Live Celebrity, For One Night Only More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:00 pm

God Of War Tears Head Off Copycat Claims [God Of War]In 2008, Jonathan Bissoon-Dath and Jennifer Barrette-Herzog sued Sony and God of War creator David Jaffe for copyright infringement over the original PS2 game. That case has now been dismissed. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:30 pm

China's Cutest Comic Book Artist [PSP]Xià Dá is a 28 year-old Chinese manhua (comic book) artist. Japan has just fallen in love with her. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 10:00 pm

Hakan Oils Up For Super Street Fighter IV [Street Fighter]While everyone pretty much knew he was coming, it's still nice to see Capcom take the wraps off Super Street Fighter IV's final new character Hakan with a couple of trailers. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:30 pm

EA Sports Getting More Active With Fitness Game Sequel [EA Sports]With the first game a surprising hit, EA Sports revealed today that a second EA Sports Active game is in development, this time called...EA Sports Active 2.0 (working title!). More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 9:00 pm

Street Fighter IV iPhone Hits Tonight [IPhone]Ready? Fight! Because Street Fighter IV is coming to Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:46 pm

Sony Motion Control Support Confirmed for Tiger Woods Title [Motion Control]The next edition of Tiger Woods PGA Tour will support the PlayStation "Arc" motion controller, though it's not due for release until fall. So the game isn't technically an Arc launch title, but still one supporting Arc at launch. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:40 pm

The Types Of Games That Might Earn You Xbox Achievements ... On Your Phone [Gdc]Microsoft wants game developers to make games for its next cell phone platform, Windows Phone 7. And, today, Kotaku got a look at demos of games you might play (or make) on them... to help me raise my Gamerscore. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 7:00 pm

Blade Kitten Hands On: Not Quite Old School, But Close Enough [Gdc10]Pink-haired bounty-hunting cat-girl Kit Ballard is the star of Blade Kitten, a PlayStation Network platformer that's less furry than its 2D/3D platformer predecessors Crash Bandicoot and Klonoa, but very promising given the mental comparisons I made while playing the game. More »
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:30 pm

Next Generation

GDC: Veteran game designers make the jump to social gamesSocial games on sites like Facebook are gaming’s newest success story. But a panel at GDC argued that veteran designers, whose experience dates back to the birth of personal computers, are some of the most qualified people to design them – and they appreciate the challenge, even though hits like Farmville offer little of the depth they’re used to. read more
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:24 am

GDC: Mechanics Are EverythingCivilization and Spore designer Soren Johnson explores the separation between the rules of a game and the skin that's applied to them, and argues that a game's meaning always lies in the rules. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:43 pm

GDC: Facebook And The Social Gaming RevolutionAs social gaming and the virtual goods market continue to explode, Facebook remains its leader. Just what can possibly challenge it? With the explosion in social gaming that’s occurred over the past couple of years, The State Of Social Gaming, social games specialist Justin Smith’s overview of the social gaming landscape, could do little but recognise Facebook’s dominance over it, with a userbase of 400 million and counting. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 5:11 pm

GDC: 2D Boy’s Carmel Details Indie FundAided by PowerPoint slides painted by David Hellman (artist of Braid) and backed up by the legacy of World of Goo’s success without a publisher, 2D Boy’s Ron Carmel opened GDC 2010’s Indie Games Summit by arguing that the developer/publisher relationship was a “system that never worked” and offering Indie Fund—a newly founded funding source founded by 2D Boy’s Carmel and Kyle Gabler, along with other independent development luminaries such as Capybara Games Nathan Vella and thatgamecompany’s Kellee Santiago—as a potential solution. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:39 pm

Movie Studios Sign Up To PSNSony has announced it has acquired high definition movies from six major studios for distribution over the PlayStation Network. 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution will offer HD films for purchase and rental over the console in the US. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 1:17 pm

Rock Band 3 Out By ChristmasViacom CEO Philippe Dauman has confirmed that Harmonix is working on Rock Band 3, which is set for a worldwide release “this holiday season”. The Viacom boss’ revelation came during a talk at the Credit Suisse Group Global Media and Communications Conference this morning. Since then Harmonix staff members have begun tweeting their confirmations of the upcoming release. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:26 pm

Embezzlement Mayor’s Xbox 360 on Ebay An Xbox 360 that served as evidence to impeach a Baltimore Mayor on embezzlement charges in 2008 is now on sale through Ebay. The US sate’s prosecutor, Robert A. Rohrbaugh, confirmed that the item is indeed disgraced Mayor Sheila Dixon Xbox 360. "We're hoping to get as much as we can for it," Rohrbaugh said, with the money set to go to a youth charity in the area, read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 12:03 pm

Tiger Woods PGA 11 Supports Sony Motion ControllerElectronic Arts has announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will feature The Ryder Cup and will support Sony's new motion controller.The title's set to come out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and iPhone, with Tiger Woods representing the US team and Rory McIlroy representing Europe. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:54 am

Battlestar Galactica Online AnnouncedHit Syfy show Battlestar Galactica is set to receive the MMO treatment by browser-based developer Bigpoint. The series adaptation will be making its way to browsers “this fall” and has been built on Unity’s engine, which was also used to make Cartoon Network’s free MMO FusionFall. read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 11:06 am

To Dare To DreamUndergraduates looking to break into the videogame industry face a gruelling climb to the top of the CV pile. While the job market has expanded and created new angles of entry, such as through indie development, simply getting your vast stockpile of untapped talent noticed by employers or publishers is ever the problem.read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 8:10 am

PS3 To Outsell Rivals This Generation - AnalystA new report from Strategy Analytics Connected Home Devices has predicted that PS3 will eventually become this generation’s bestselling home console. Key to this will be the system’s lifespan – the report predicts that PS3 “will still be a commercial platform five years after the Wii has been replaced”. It forecasts: “Lifetime PS3 sales are predicted to reach 127 million units, compared to 103 million Wii units.” read more
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:49 am

Penny Arcade

Comic: Applied SchedulingNew Comic: Applied Scheduling
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

News: Applied SchedulingTycho: Now that I've finally got a dependable crew in the new Battlefield: Bad Company - and a bandolier stuffed with the fruits of my progress - it's time to let everyone who relies upon me down. Again. If there is a decision matrix that determines what game is going to be played, Final Fantasy exists at a point somewhat beyond that machinery.  The fact that I wasn't able to fully enjoy Twelve still haunts me to this day, because the story behind all that stuff I couldn't choke down really worked when someone else was playing it.  Good taste has ...
» 10 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Comic: The Straub FactorNew Comic: The Straub Factor
» 8 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

News: The Straub FactorTycho: I can't say enough nice things about Kris Straub. I know this because I once attempted to do so, to reach that theorized limit, and after almost fourteen solid hours of compliments I think we both felt a little weird about the entire process. He had begun texting openly at that point, and I had been reduced to effusion about a mutinous stitch in his garment which was jutting - "capriciously," I suggested - just above his left sleeve. He has decided to live near to us now, blessedly near, and even works out of the office some days. Without ...
» 8 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

News: PATVGabe: There is a new episode of the PA series available today. This one kicks off a two parter in which we explore the hiring process here at Penny Arcade. We recently brought on a new associate designer and we had the camera guys here for the entire ordeal. I'll admit that this episode is a lot more serious than some of the previous ones. I think it's sort of tense and even uncomfortable but it's honest and I really like that. Oh, and before you start emailing me, no I will not tell you "the joke". -Gabe out
» 5 Mar 2010, 10:29 am

Comic: The Opposite Of Poker FaceNew Comic: The Opposite Of Poker Face
» 5 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

News: The Opposite of Poker FaceTycho: I feel good! I saw some hummingbirds courting earlier, and it assured me of life's essential continuity. Gabriel - yes, our Gabriel! - has been playing Pandemic, entirely unbidden by me, and wanted to know where else he could go with cooperative mechanics. I recommended Shadows Over Camelot, a game which he seems to enjoy though most devoted tabletop gamers have long-since discarded it. He wasn't a Battlestar Fan, or I might have recommended that; Fury Of Dracula is more symmetrical, and isn't quite as devoted to the co-operative thesis. I considered recommending Arkham Horror, but... Actually, I did recommend ...
» 5 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

News: The Name Of The WindGabe: Tycho told me to read a book the other day and I told him to tear out all of the pages and shove each one individually up his butt-hole. He didn't do that. Instead he opened the book to chapter near the beginning and told me to read just that chapter, only about four pages. I flipped the book over and read the back. “THE NAME OF THE WIND won't just impress longtime fantasy fans; it will absolutely blow them away -- an unprecedented, utterly breathtaking storytelling tour de force.” I kept reading things like the greatest story told in ...
» 3 Mar 2010, 12:02 pm

Comic: The Next ChapterNew Comic: The Next Chapter
» 3 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

News: The Next ChapterTycho: Heavy Rain is really the thing at this point, right?  Let's get up on some of that.  I know Gabe craves that shit.  I'd be playing Heavy Rain too, if it were actually possible for me to do so. I'm not entirely convinced it is. After trying three shops for the game upon our return, I finally tracked one down with copies to spare. I came home to an empty house, family out for the weekend, with nothing to do but play it. I want to stress the extent to which this is something that never happens. I dumped an ...
» 3 Mar 2010, 12:00 am

Slashdot - Games

US Gamers Spend $3.8 Billion On MMOs Yearlyeldavojohn writes "A new report from Games Industry indicates that MMO gamers in the United States paid $3.8 billion to play last year, with an analysis of five European countries bringing the total close to $4.5 billion USD. In America, the report estimated that payments for boxed content and client downloads amounted to a measly $400 million, while the subscriptions came to $2.38 billion. Hopefully that will fund some developer budgets for bigger and better MMOs yet to come. The study also found that roughly a quarter of the US population plays some form of MMO. Surely MMOs are shaping up to be a juicy industry, and a market that can satisfy people of all walks of life." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
» 9 Mar 2010, 6:30 pm

Valve Confirms Mac Versions of Steam, Valve GamesAn anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Gamasutra: "Valve will release a version of its Steam digital distribution service for Mac next month, along with Mac-native versions of its own games, the company confirmed today after days of hints — and owners of Valve games will have access to both platform versions. The Source engine, which Valve uses to develop all its internal titles and also licenses to third-party developers, will incorporate OpenGL in addition to DirectX, to allow Mac support for all Source developers. ... 'We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform, so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360,' said Cook. 'Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with th
» 8 Mar 2010, 1:06 pm

Game Devs Only Use PhysX For the Money, Says AMDarcticstoat writes "AMD has just aimed a shot at Nvidia's PhysX technology, saying that most game developers only implement GPU-accelerated PhysX for the money. AMD's Richard Huddy explained that 'Nvidia creates a marketing deal with a title, and then as part of that marketing deal, they have the right to go in and implement PhysX in the game.' However, he adds that 'the problem with that is obviously that the game developer doesn't actually want it. They're not doing it because they want it; they're doing it because they're paid to do it. So we have a rather artificial situation at the moment where you see PhysX in games, but it isn't because the game developer wants it in there.' AMD is pushing open standards such as OpenCL and DirectComp
» 8 Mar 2010, 10:15 am

Ubisoft's Authentication Servers Go DownZuchinniOne writes "With Ubisoft's fantastically awful new DRM you must be online and logged in to their servers to play the games you buy. Not only was this DRM broken the very first day it was released, but now their authentication servers have failed so absolutely that no-one who legally bought their games can play them. 'At around 8am GMT, people began to complain in the Assassin's Creed 2 forum that they couldn't access the Ubisoft servers and were unable to play their games.' One can only hope that this utter failure will help to stem the tide of bad DRM." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
» 7 Mar 2010, 4:23 pm

Microsoft Demos Three Platforms Running the Same Gamesuraj.sun writes with this excerpt from Engadget: "Microsoft's Eric Rudder, speaking at TechEd Middle East, showed off a game developed in Visual Studio as a singular project (with 90% shared code) that plays on Windows with a keyboard, a Windows Phone 7 Series prototype device with accelerometer and touch controls, and the Xbox 360 with the Xbox gamepad. Interestingly, not only is the development cross-platform friendly, but the game itself (a simple Indiana Jones platformer was demoed) saves its place and lets you resume from that spot on whichever platform you happen to pick up." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
» 7 Mar 2010, 9:24 am

Xbox Live Now Allows Gender ExpressionLast year we discussed news that an Xbox Live gamer was banned for identifying herself as a lesbian on her profile. Microsoft said at the time that nothing sexual in nature could appear in Gamertags or profiles. Now, they seem to have reconsidered their stance, and they've updated their Code of Conduct accordingly. Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten wrote: "[The update] will allow our members to more freely express their race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles. Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs. However we have since heard feedback from our customers that while the
» 6 Mar 2010, 10:57 am

Sony Patents Game Demos With Feature ErosionMojoKid writes "When a game developer releases a demo, it's typically intended to entice players into first trying and then purchasing the full version. This is the stuff of Game Design 101 for most of us, but a crack team of cutting-edge gaming researchers at Sony have applied for a patent based on a novel concept: game demos that become progressively less fun the more you play. Sony refers to this as 'feature erosion.' The idea behind this dubious concept is that gamers will become hooked on a game while it's still in demo, then squawk unhappily as features and abilities they've unlocked begin to disappear. In order to prevent this, the player ponies up for the full version. A demo or program that provides limited functionality or play ti
» 6 Mar 2010, 5:18 am

Valve Announces <em>Portal 2</em>eldavojohn writes "Enough rumors, Portal 2 is due out for 2010. Valve also let users know through an announcement on Steam. Game Informer seems to be the de facto provider of Portal 2 information so far. Prepare yourselves for more aperture science! Notice anything funny about the underlined letters in Steam's announcement?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.
» 5 Mar 2010, 1:49 pm

The Most Painful Toy Hackwintersynth writes "We hacked a toy brainwave reader to electrocute people if their brainwave frequency got too high (by concentrating). We took outputs off of the 5 level LED indicator, put the outputs through a transistor/resistor/relay circuit to give 2 levels of high voltage through an electric shock circuit right into the user's arm." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
» 5 Mar 2010, 8:54 am

New <em>Call of Duty</em> Titles Announced, Fired Devs Sue For Nameeldavojohn writes "Activision has announced new Call of Duty titles while fired Infinity Ward Developer leads Jason West and Vince Zampella sue them for the rights to the name. According to Activision, 'The company intends to expand the Call of Duty brand with the same focus seen in its Blizzard Entertainment business unit. This will include a focus on high-margin digital online content and further[ing] the brand as the leading action entertainment franchise in new geographies, new genres and with new digital business models.' Ars opines that Activision is set to over-saturate the market with tons of CoD titles similar to how it expertly brought down Guitar Hero." Read more of this story at Slashdot.
» 5 Mar 2010, 4:44 am

NVIDIA Driver Update Causing Video Cards To Overheat In GamesAfter a group of StarCraft II beta testers reported technical difficulties following the installation of NVIDIA driver update 196.75, Blizzard tech support found that the update introduced fan control problems that were causing video cards to overheat in 3D applications. "This means every single 3D application (i.e. games) running these drivers is going to be exposed to overheating and in some extreme cases it will cause video card, motherboard and/or processor damage. If said motherboard, processor or graphic card is not under warranty, some gamers are in serious trouble playing intensive games such as Prototype, World of Warcraft, Farcry 3, Crysis and many other games with realistic graphics." NVIDIA said they were investigating the probl
» 5 Mar 2010, 2:13 am

The Frugal Gamer

Chrono Trigger (DS) $20The recent release of the uber classic Chrono Trigger for the Nintendo DS is now $19.99! Frugal linkage: » Amazon » NewEgg » GameStop
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Fallout 3 (PC) 50% off on Steam!Another great 50% off deal today, but this one goes through the weekend. The PC version of Fallout 3 for $24.99 on Steam! If you like RPGs, well, you can't really go wrong with this dealio.
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Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS) $15 at AmazonToday only, Amazon has Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for 50% off. Bringing the price down to $14.99. A rare price for good DS games. I really liked the last Fire Emblem for the GBA, so my order is in!
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The Sims 3 $40 at Best BuyBest Buy has a sale on the recently released The Sims 3 for $39.99. A savings of $10.
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Red Faction: Guerrilla (360) for $40 at NewEgg!NewEgg is currently offering the fantastic Red Faction: Guerrilla for $39.99. A savings of $20. I've been playing this a LOT the past few days and it's probably my GOTY so far. So, yeah, highly recommended. Especially at this price. Update 6/28: The deal is back! Get it while you can. Update 7/1: And...dead again.
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Elite Beat Agents (DS) $10 at Buy.comJust got a notice from Buy.com about a short time deal on Elite Beat Agents for $9.99. Definitely a good deal on a great DS game.
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80GB PS3 $350 at Amazon (today only!)Amazon's Deal of the Day is the 80GB PlayStation 3 for $349.99. A savings of $50. This may be the best deal for the PS3 until Sony finally drops the price. Hopefully this Xmas?
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12-month Xbox Live subscription card $34!Buy.com has a great deal on an Xbox Live 12-month gold subscription card for $33.99. For a savings of about $16. Update: Sold out!
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InFamous for $49.99 at AmazonAnd the other recent and very well received open world game, InFAMOUS for the PS3 is currently $49.99 at Amazon. A savings of $10.
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Red Faction Guerrilla (360) for $52 at AmazonThe Xbox 360 version of the also just released Red Faction Guerrilla is $52.49 at Amazon. A lot of open world mayhem goodness lately!
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