Mario Strikers Charged Advert

This video is so awesome

Spider-Man 3, One Month Later

Approximately one month after release, Spider-Man 3 is awash in a sea of its own mediocrity; gamespot's numbers don't lie:

Spider-Man 3 ratings:

PS3: 6.6
X360: 6.6
PS2: 4.7
WII: 4.7
PC: 6.3

The lower powered systems just couldn't handle the game properly, and the developer dropped the ball bigtime. Even on systems where the game performed properly, it still received particularly low ratings for a big franchise Beat 'em up.

What's really interesting is how this developer, Beenox, decided to make the worst Console-to-PC port since Halo -- and then provide no support for it. Simply put, the port sucks. It's completely unoptimized for PCs and nVidia hardware on the whole.

Over at the gamespot forums, PC users have been up in arms since release over this poor piece of software; they are either disappointed, due to the poor port and their not-so-beefy PCs being unable to run it -- or they are able to run the game with exceptionally powerful PCs, and are dismissive of anyone who doesn't have one.

Users are concocting all sorts of superstitious witchcraft in the game's config files, and religiously defragging, trying desperately to squeeze a few more FPS out of the port.

The bottom line is Beenox has dropped the ball on the game, as evidenced by the overall ratings, and the port is so abysmal it might as well not exist.

Beenox blames Activision, Activision blames Beenox, and in the end you either waste $30 on the game or spend $1000 on new PC parts.

If you don't have a smoking fast PC, it's probably cheaper to buy an X360 and a copy of SM3.

You can complain to Beenox here or, ask Activision not to use Beenox as a developer anymore.

Top 10 Douchebags of gaming

I wonder why Stand didn't make this list

Mario Party 8

Mario Party 8 comes out Wednesday. It will be $39.99 at Circuit City.

Retailer Circuit City on Sun. began advertising Mario Party 8 for Nintendo Co.'s Wii video game system at $10 off the standard MSRP.

The party game will be sold in-store beginning this Wed. for $39.99, a 20 perecent savings from its regular price.

New Videos of the Shadowrun Retail

This looks a ton better than the beta build. A lot more defined.

I am a lego star wars mark.

I hope the wii version has online.

Lego Star Wars 2 = Sweet

I got this game from gameznflix yesterday, and I thought, "Man, this is gonna blow." I popped it in the 360, and I haven't stopped playing it since.

You pretty much just play through the movies in story mode and follow the movie story or play in free play which allows you to make your own goofy characters. I made a dude with pink hair and pink light sabre and a cloak all dressed in black. He looks sweet. He also has Dark Jedi powers like choking people and hanging them up by their feet and dropping them on their heads. I love doing that. Oh and Luke is still a whiny bitch.


I have only gotten past the first movie, but I can say, this is the best adaptation of the movies in a video game I have ever played. It also has co-op. I don't know if you can play over XBL but I assume you can. Davey has 2 get it lol.

Since Stompy likes butterflies...

a Super Smash Brothers item update.

Gooey Bomb

The Gooey Bomb is a bomb that adheres to most things. It's an explosive encased in a gummy goo.
It's a little different from a Motion Sensing Bomb in the sense that it can attach itself not only to the terrain, but also to opponents.

screenshot

When you hit someone with it...

screenshot

It sticks to them! Get... GET IT OFF!

screenshot

Then it explodes! Oh, the horror!

However, it's possible to get a Gooey Bomb that's stuck to you to stick to someone else.
Touching someone as you pass by may very well cause it to migrate when you least expect it!

screenshot

Pass it on! It may even get returned to sender...

Guitar Hero 3 Song list

You can read all about it here.

Some good songs, some I have never heard of.

1. Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones)
2. Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins)
3. Sabotage (Beastie Boys)
4. The Metal (Tenacious D)
5. My Name is Jonas (Weezer)
6. Knights of Cydonia (Muse)
7. Rock And Roll All Nite (Kiss)
8. School's Out (Alice Cooper)
9. Slow Ride (Fog Hat)
10. Cult of Personality (Living Colour)
11. Barracuda (Heart)

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2: Carrot spitting

Wow, I have never seen anything this cool in my life. Spitting carrots on people.

Why do Game Publishers do this?

Shadowrun street date: May 29, 2007
Forza 2 street date: May 29, 2007

THEY RELEASE A DAY AFTER MEMORIAL DAY.

Can someone tell me why they don't release them the week before? I would love to have that extra day to play. Balls.

Wii Rumor Mill

EA sports games, on the wii, will be online this year. You can read the report here.

Some Excerpts

In additional to the new telestrator mode, which allows players to “write” on-screen during instant replays, Madden 08’s online features include:

The down side? No voice chat.

We will see in August if Hammer and I have pns drawing contests on the replays.

Starcraft 2: Sitcom length developer walkthrough

Instead of watching Will and Grace, you should watch this.

GH: 80s edition; More tracks released

18 and Life (as made famous by Skid Row)

Bathroom Wall (as made famous by Faster Pussycat)

Lonely is the Night (as made famous by Billy Squier)

Nothing But a Good Time (as made famous by Poison)

Play With Me (as made famous by Extreme)

Shaken (as made famous by Eddie Money)

Synchronicity II (as made famous by Police)

Those all suck compared to the ones I posted before. Except for Poison.

Liongames: My favorite online retailer

Tony (info@liongames.com) over at liongames is always running great promotions. Yesterday , I placed a preorder for Halo 3 and it cost me 39.99. Also, I ordered the new Shadowrun game for free with some trade ins.


Here is what liongames does: They have a deal where if you trade in games along with the order, you get a special discount. For example:

	Shadowrun XBox 360 Release Date: 05/29/07 Genre: Shooter ESRB Rating: M Catalog No.: XB3_MIC_AA7013 Pre-Order New: $59.99 $49.99
	Shadowrun With 1 Trade In XBox 360 Release Date: 05/29/07 Genre: Shooter ESRB Rating: M Catalog No.: XB3_MIC_AA7013_1 Pre-Order New: $59.99 $44.99
	Shadowrun With 2 Trade Ins XBox 360 Release Date: 05/29/07 Genre: Shooter ESRB Rating: M Catalog No.: XB3_MIC_AA7013_2 Pre-Order New: $59.99 $39.99

You trade in 2, get the game for 10 dollars cheaper, and tack on the trade in value of the game, and you have a free or almost free game.

This is a special he runs pretty much with all of the new xbox/ps3 games cominng out.

Halo 3 Information

Halo 3 confirms 4 player co op over xbox live. Go to the previous link to see what else they have found.

Scrolling through the list of on-screen text for party menus, one sentence revealed the following:

The game cannot start because all players are set to observer. Too many players for splitscreen. Only 2 players may play splitscreen coop on the same Xbox 360 console. The party size is too large to start the game. Up to 4 players may play coop on Xbox Live or System Link. Loading information from Xbox Live…

Sweet. I love co op. Nothing else does 4 player now, halo does it first again.

I Can't Believe I missed this.

The best fast food mascot, and my hero, The Burger King, graced Microsoft with his presence at the Halo 3 beta launch party. You can read all about it here.

I put my claws away and found myself a new spot to shoot from. I recognized a lot of people but it wasn't until after I'd uploaded a bunch of pictures that I realized exactly who they were. For example, it didn't help that Ryan Cabrera had newly flowing brown locks. I knew the face but the hair completely threw me off. Others who walked the asphalt carpet were Dane Cook and stunning girlfriend Raquel Houghton, John Salley (who, thankfully, avoided being asked if he liked playing with balls by an unnamed reporter), Jon Heder, John Hensley, Stephan Bender, Channing Tatum, Jesse Metcalfe, Shawn Maguire, Victoria Pratt, Matt Leinart, Evan Ross, Geoffrey Rush!? and The King from Burger King. It was scary how good looking all these people were - well, except the King...He was a little creepy.

Yes, a spot the king deserves, with Napoleon Dynamite and some NFL QB.

Finally, Frungy will play AOEIII

An expansion pack for the popular RTS, Age of Empires III, is coming this fall. It features asian dynasties. You can read the entire press release here.

In addition to the introduction of playable Asian civilizations, the expansion pack will provide new content and several new gameplay elements that include new ways of winning and trading, random map styles that feature remixes of classic “Age of Empires” game styles, and 15 new Asian “Wonders.” The introduction of these features will coincide with the basic core gameplay of “Age of Empires III” that gamers have come to know and love. “Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties” will also ship as a Games for Windows title with easier installation, improved reliability and support for key Windows Vista features, including the Games Explorer and Parental Controls.

Will the Asian "Wonders" include Godzilla? We can only hope.

Microsoft wants to know what you think about XBLA

gamescoreblog, the blog of the Microsoft gaming division, wants to know what you want to see on XBLA.

Do you have a favorite game that you just can’t wait to see on Xbox LIVE Arcade? Is there some feature that you wish more Xbox LIVE Arcade games offered? (i.e. a specific game-play mode?) Are there non-game features that you’d like XBLA (the destination) to implement? Lastly, are there events or promotions that you wish were a regular occurrence on XBLA? We want to hear your ideas! Please share your thoughts in the comments of this entry.

What I have found most fun are 4+ player co op or turn based competitive games (worms, aegis wing,catan). Just having fun with your buddies and talking crap. Its so fun. What do you guys think?

Roger, Wilco

This article gets at the next wave of console gaming -- user created content. There are a couple of areas where user created content should be king.

First, and most obviously, all music games should support user mods. Karaoke, Guitar Hero and rhythm games are missing the boat by not making it easy for game players to add their own tunes to the games. Clearly, there are some copyright issues that demand a certain amount of gate-keeping. I'm sure it's difficult enough to get the rights to a Led Zepplin song without having to assure the copyright holders that you'll let some kid upload Houses of the Holy with his own chord mapping.

Frets on Fire already supports user-generated content and provides basic tools for creating new songs. Frets on Fire is fun, but does not compare to Guitar Hero. If Frets on Fire had the installed base of Guitar Hero, however, you would see local bands using the game to promote their music. Even national bands with an appreciation for alternate forms of distribution -- like Wilco for example -- would hop on board.

The guys and gals at home busting their asses on their 4 track recorders would be all over the opportunity to be a featured download with their latest tune. They would probably pay a small fee just to have access to tools that make creating content a little easier.

User created content should also be expanded for party games. Whether mini-games in a Mario Party title, Ray-man, or Super Monkey Ball or micro-games in Wario Ware, publishers should be investing in home studios that make it possible for players to build and play their own games. Imagine how the playability of Mario Party 8 could be expanded if you could mix in a few user created games onto the board. Maybe even a special space that would launch a user created game.

Players crave variety. User created content allows endless variety. Players have different ideas about what makes a good game. User created content lets those who are most passionate about a game idea bring that idea to life. The best part for publishers is that people are willing to design music charts, mini-games, or new levels for free -- so long as they get a bit of recognition for their skills and effort.

Fiirst Madden 08 Video

I gotta admit, this looks good.

Big Blizzard Announcement Starcraft 2

You can read about it at Kotaku.

Also at the game's site.

I don't know how much time I have spent with OG starcraft, but it must have been in the 100s of hours playing online with Stex and Foxflight and Peeforia. I hope this is good.

Here is a gameplay video.

Mario Strikers Charged Video

This comes out july 2. The first real online game for the wii.

New Riddick game?

Joystiq wrote this morning that there is a new Riddick game being developed. That is good news, the other Riddick games have been good ones.

I don't know about you guys, but I am a sucker for the director's commentary on DVD. I hope putting producers commentary on a game is more than just a gimmick. I hope it becomes a trend.

Pro-G reports that the game is currently titled The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and is headed to Xbox 360 and PS3. It's also apparently got online multiplayer and a "developer's commentary mode" which has us praying that Vin Diesel has time to make a special guest appearance. (Spoiler alert: He does.) Vivendi apparently wouldn't confirm the story to Pro-G, but said that an announcement would be coming soon: We're already turning off all the lights and drinking protein shakes in anticipation.

Halo 3 Beta: First Impressions

After downloading the Beta, I was ready to send Crackdown back to Gameznflix and I realized I couldn't. The beta requires the player to launch from Crackdown. Dumb. Anyway...


The limited time I spent with the beta was fun. I tried out the noob combo, and that didn't work as well as it did in halo2, but it did work sort of. The map I played on was High Ground. It consisted of a valley with enclosures on each side for easy ambushes.

The control was great, the responsiveness was awesome, but the only thing I didn't like about it was the jumping. Everyone, when they had a 1 on 1 would jump up and down while shooting at you. I am not used to this, I am used to just circle strafing my way to victory. In the Halo universe, everyone is a high jumping Olympian, you can jump like 10 feet into the air.

All in all a fun time. I can't wait til we get to try out the party system.

Aegis Wing: The free XBL arcade game

Newbcakes, Ruud, Prometheus and I were playing Aegis Wing last night. It is a side scrolling shooter reminiscent of R-Type or Gradius with some humping elements. In order to get super huge weapons, one has to press the X button to essentially hump your teammates. Once you do, your missiles are more plentiful, your lasers are wider, your EMP blasts cover the whole screen. Everything is super sweet until the driver realizes he can't maneuver as fast as he needs to in order to avoid the plethora of bullets and indestructible spheres in his way.

Also, if you have a douchebag like Prometheus playing with you, it makes it super hard to do anything. Assclowns like Prometheus will run you into obstacles and kill your fragile little space ship. It is so sad, and so funny at the same time.

More games need to be like this. Great Co Op and just plain fun. And free

I give it 7/10

Shadowrun Demo dated

It is dated first week in June. The game comes out May 29th. Does anyone see anything wrong with this?

Q: So the demo will be out on EXACTLY the 6th of June?
A: We're pretty confident. It's in certification at the moment. As folks who were in the beta know, unexpected problems can happen, so we're not swearing anything in blood. (Yes, we learn from experience.) But we want to give you as much information as we possibly can, and right now, we're slated for June 6th.

Q: The game is releasing on the 29th of May in North America. Why aren't you releasing the demo before the game hits the shelves?
A: Most folks who've played the game know how critical getting your hands on it is in understanding what makes Shadowrun special. The demo is the best tool we have to show people why the game rocks. We'd rather release the demo at a time when players can focus their attention and time on Shadowrun, i.e., not in the middle of the Halo 3 beta. We hear that's a pretty cool game, too. Come June, when players are suffering withdrawal from H3 goodness, they can slide right into Shadowrun demo action.

Q: What features will be in the demo?
A: We want to give players a good sense of what makes Shadowrun different / fun, but we can't give away everything, of course. The feature set we're offering is limited, but there are no time restrictions on the demo. Here's what you get:

* Training: Chapters 1, 2, and 3
* Solo Match and Public Match (so both bot play and multiplayer)
* One map: Power Station (which means only one game type: Raid)
* Two races: Elf and Human
* Magic: Tree of Life, Resurrect, Gust, and Teleport
* Tech: Glider, Enhanced Vision, and Smartlink
* Weapons: Pistol, SMG, Rifle, Shotgun, Katana, and Sniper Rifle

Halo 3 Beta Ready for download

Fire up your crackdowns, and DL away.

BTW does anyone know if you HAVE to launch halo from crackdown? I was hoping to send my rental copy back.

Halo 3 Beta delayed

I feel sorry for the poor SOBs that called in sick for work or faked a tummy ache so their mom would call in for them. The Halo 3 beta is delayed by just a little bit.

Rule of thumb with these things: They never go according to plan or launch on time. You would be better off taking the friday off, instead of the day of the launch. Goobers.

I bet newbcakes had his mom make Smiles and call the Canadian School for him,

SSB Countdown Site

I can do without the hype inducing countdown site. The pay off is so anti-climactic.

*YAWN* 7 days until the launch of the SSB site.

You can read about it here.

Microshaft explains Shadowrun's $10 mark up on the 360

Shadowrun will retail for 49.99 on Windows Vista and 59.99 on the Xbox 360. Someone Newsweek asked why. This is the answer from joystiq.

Nay, this wordsmith saw a canvas on which he could be poetic! "[These] price points are our standard pricing for each platform ... This pricing structure is not uncommon in the multiplayer-only first-person shooter genre, as numerous titles have seen success at this price point and gaming model."

I would rather call him a Poopsmith.

Halo 3 Achievement

xbox 360 fanboy found this:

Seaman 2: Stranger than Seaman?

You decide.

All I can say is WTF.

Pictures on Madden blog site

Fantasy draft and Edit player are in Next Gen Madden 08.

Aegis wing Free XBL arcade game weds

This may be overshadowed by the halo 3 beta launch weds, but I am sure newbcakes, ruud, d17 and peeforia and raiha and I will play some of this.


• Amazing environmental art
• Full symphonic soundtrack
• Up to four-player simultaneous cooperative multiplayer gameplay, either locally on the same Xbox 360 console or over Xbox LIVE*
• Ability to attach your ship to your wingmen's spacecraft to gain the "turret" ability and increase the firepower of the Super Weapons
• Four Super Weapons: the Hades Beam (wreaks total destruction), the Gorgon Burst (wipes out incoming fire and disables enemy spacecraft with an electromagnetic pulse), the Arcus Missile (a heat-seeking missile) and the Lambda Shield (deflects incoming fire back at enemies)
• Six epic missions and several memorable boss encounters to fight through

MySims Wii

This game looks like a total rip off of animal crossing, but it might own it because of the 'be mean to' button.

Konami's Winning 11 PES 7 news

Thanks to 1ups sportsguy.

Yes, it will have 13 licensed leagues. Last year, only a handfull of teams were licensed, and it made picking teams impossible. Here is the link.

Edit: This might be fake :(

Tecmo Bowl 2008?

I have no clue how they are going to pull this off with no NFL license, but it should be interesting.

Next, Tecmo Bowl...

7:23: Seriously, Tecmo Bowl? People at the press conference cheer. Mr. Inaga, Vice President of Tecmo Inc, takes the stage. Inada takes the stage and jokes that the title of the game wasn't supposed to ahve been revealed until the end. "Just pretend like you don't know that it says Tecmo Bowl here" (pointing to the logo on the screen) "Instead of telling you about it, we're going to s how you a video that is very memorable."

The video begins. The video shows Tecmo employees (including Inada himself) playing SNES Tecmo Bowl. Jumps to a trailer for the full game. Set for release in 2008. But, no footage of the game itself ... just a logo. And no platform announcement, intentionally. "I can't tell you what platform we're making it for. But I can tell you that it's probably not going to be on the platform that you're expecting... if that makes any sense." This 2008 game will not be a port. It's a band new game for one of the new systems. But which one?!? "That's one thing I can tell you for sure. This is going to be a brand new game for one of the new systems ... We're confident that the new Tecmo Bowl is going to be the talk of the town in 2008."

My prediction. Wii game. Waggle controls. Bo Jackson dominates.

D- Cas: New Madden Blog

Today, I fire up the browser at work, point it to the Madden web site, and click on the blogs tab. I still have to do that because EA SPORTS STILL DOESN'T HAVE AN RSS FEED. Anyway, D-Cas pretty much says that the last 2 Maddens on the PS3/360 blew donkeys. You can read the entire Next Gen Madden bashing blog here.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a Current Gen (CG) player when it comes to my football gaming habits. I own an Xbox360 and enjoy playing it, but I always keep my PS2 and Xbox plugged in and ready to go whenever I need to get a game of Madden in. Really it has just been a personal preference of mine the last couple years- my friends all play CG, I work on the CG games, and I simply enjoy the way the CG game plays when compared with Next Gen (NG). I’m sure many people agree with me and others probably think I’m crazy- but even us developers are entitled to our own opinions!

Wow, even EA producers think that Madden 07 was the worst game ever.

So in the meantime I take a little harassment around the office- “D-Cas will be playing Madden 2025 on his PS2!” or my personal favorite nickname of “Low Def D-Cas.” Ya… laugh it up guys, the bottom line is that I play the games that I have the most fun with, not what the techno junkies tell me to play! Plus I remind them that I am not the only one who hasn’t fully embraced the NG game- just look at the message boards and you’ll see I am not alone. Simply put, I have always said that I will switch when I am ready to switch, and that will only happen when I personally feel I will enjoy the game more. Call me a NG hater if you want… call me stuck in past… I don’t care- when I go home I still want to play CG! And for the record I do own a couple of HD-TVs, thank you very much!

1 More week til Halo 3 Beta

Here is a video of some spectacular kills.

Madden Nation: The Reality Show

During lunch one day, I was flipping through the channels and I stopped at ESPN. I stopped flipping through channels, I started watching Madden Nation. I am a big fan of reality shows and a big fan of Madden NFL, so I set it to tivo ever time it came on. The show is full of early 20s douchebags that love to talk so much shit you might think they had eaten a cowpie, lol. Anyways, Season 3 is coming up, so, if you would like to try go get on the show, here is the link.

Some interesting questions are posed in the application:

What are you like while playing Madden?

I can answer that one. like a Douchebag.

What annoys you about other Madden Gamers?

They are douchebags.

Blue Dragon looks AWESOME

Thanks to kotaku.

MySims Wii: Pork Chop's best

Look at that screenshot, its like Pork Chop and me laughing at Piles. lol.

Guitar Hero II: 80's songs announced

via Kotaku.

# I Wanna Rock (by Twisted Sister)
# I Ran (by Flock of Seagulls)
# Round and Round (as made famous by Ratt)
# I Want Candy (as made famous by Bow Wow Wow)
# Metal Health (as made famous by Quiet Riot)
# Holy Diver (as made famous by Dio)
# Heat Of The Moment (as made famous by Asia)

Sweet. I would love to play all of those, except for Asia. Its like the one that doesn't belong.

BTW, Vinneeee related trivia. The first rock show attended was Ratt in 1988.

Sm City reinvented for the DS

Check out the part where you have to blow into the mic to put out a fire, and right after that, King Kong gets pwnt by you with the stylus.

Assload of new DLC in Crackdown.

Team Xbox as a first look at the 5!?!??! pages of DLC that will be soon available in Crackdown. You can read the novel here.

It includes:

• Bug fixes
• Cheat Mode
• More Vehicles
• New Weapons
• New Game Modes.

Crackdown was a very short game, and I am glad they are augmenting this fun to play title with a lot of DLC.

1up previews The Last Remnant

The recent Square-Enix game using Epic's Unreal engine is called "The Last Remnant". 1up posts a preview here.

While the framerate was occasionally choppy in areas, the game is still early in development, and yet, based on what was shown, quite accomplished-looking already, with gorgeous architecture and detail in the environments. Another scene in the aqueducts beneath the city were also slightly reminiscent of the sewer areas from Final Fantasy XII, but there is seemingly no relation between Last Remnant and the Final Fantasy continuity. The aqueduct level featured some nice, bump-mapped water effects, random treasure chests, and impressive detail in the rocky mountainside. Another area shown was an open plain, filled with creepy-looking monsters (large in size), cool lighting effects (sun shining through 3D clouds), and swirling dust effects. Hiroshi Takai, the game's director, then took to the podium, and explained that players would be able to use simple commands to control enormous amounts of characters at one time, introducing large-scale battles to RPGs. A sample battle revealed a lifebar to indicate the relative 'health' of the opposing armies (labeled 'allies' and 'enemies'). The success of character attacks seems to be based on timing, as onscreen button prompts (think quicktime events from Shenmue) compel the gamer to press the appropriate button. Depending on your skill, a different declaration fills the screen, like 'Rear Assault!' or 'Terminated!'

I like games that mix gaming genres. This one looks like it mixes FPS, RTS and RPG gaming elements. No release date yet, and it will only be available on the 360 and ps3.

Forza 2 Demo TONIGHT

Thanks to Kotaku.

Forza Motorsport 2 devs Turn 10 is that the demo for the highly anticipated Xbox 360 racer will hit Xbox Live very late tonight. East coasters will have to wait up until 2 AM EST (warning: at the earliest) to jumpstart their downloads. Early details on the demo indicate that while only one of the game's thirteen tracks will be availabe in the demo (Mugello Short), 24 different cars should keep virtual drivers plenty occupied.

RE:4 Wii edition First look

Why doesn't every Wii game look like this.

Shadowrun dated

May 29th is the date, according to WorthPlaying.

Shadowrun, rated M for Mature, has an estimated retail price of $59.99 for Xbox 360 and $49.99 for Windows Vista, and will begin hitting retailers throughout North America on May 29.

Balls. Big mistake for FASA. They would have sold 1 million plus units at 39.99. They will be lucky to sell 200k with a price tag of 59.99.

Call for all gamers to eat at Wendy's this week

Jack Thompson, douchebag extraordinaire, is targeting the Wendy's fast food chain for his anti gaming rhetoric. Shacknews has the letter to Wendy's authored by Jack Thompson , esq. Excerpts follow:

I should like to alert you to the inappropriateness of the above upcoming promotion at Wendy’s, in light of the below information.

On July 10, an extremely violent video game will be released for “play” on Nintendo’s kid-friendly Wii game platform. It is called Manhunt 2. It will feature, according to video game news sites, beheadings with hatchets, bludgeonings with baseball bats, the jamming of syringes into eyeballs, cutting opponents’ testicles off, and “environtmental [sic] kills” in which common objects in the field of vision, such as electrical cords to strangle victims. I attach news reports in these regards.

What makes this Nintendo Wii game all the more troubling is the nature of Wii platform itself. Instead of holding in one’s hand the typical game controller, the player holds motion capture devices, so that by moving one’s hands and limbs one is actually acting out with one’s own body the violent behavior. The American Psychological Association in August 2005 found a direct causal link between the play of violent video games and increased adolescent and teen aggression. One pro-video game industry site is referring to Manhunt 2 as a “true murder simulator” when played on Wii.

I don't see any Manhunt 2 testicle chopping toys in the promo picture do you?

Let Jack Thompson know his douchebaggery will not be tolerated in gaming circles. Get a JBC and a small fry, to go, for lunch today.

Thanks to Kotaku for this vid ahah

Dashboard update live 5/9

MSN messenger meets xbox 360 tomorrow in the update I blogged about earlier.

Dashboard update is live as of 8am May 9.


A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to leave the game to check the Achievements list.

Enhanced family settings features for Xbox LIVE communications enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.

A new Xbox LIVE Marketplace blade lets Xbox LIVE members access the content they seek — whether it is game content or TV shows and movies (available in the United States) — from one place on Xbox LIVE.

Updates to Xbox LIVE Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox LIVE Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox LIVE members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded Tell a Friend capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about Achievements and high scores.

A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire collection of free, trial-version Xbox LIVE Arcade games.


New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.


Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after downloads are complete.

Bad news for Spore fans :(

via joystiq.

spore is delayed til minimum April 2008. I guess we all have to wait a little longer.

skate: multiplayer video

Rumor: Table Tennis on the wii?

Wii fanboy is fanning the flames of a rumor today. Table Tennis on the wii. Heze and I were talking yesterday, and he brought up some limitations on the wii controller. He said the controller can't tell if the person is just flicking the wiimote or the player is making a sweeping motion with the wiimote. I agree, so far, games have not figured a way to make the user use a natural motion rather than a little flick. Time will tell, we will have to wait until Nintendo releases some first party titles in the next couple of years to find the answer to the question.

The rumor mill is at it again, churning out log after log of potentially possible prospects in the gaming world. The latest of which is the rumor that Rockstar is planning on bringing its Table Tennis game to the Wii. While we'd agree that the gameplay of said title would suit the console's control scheme perfectly, along with Rockstar's recent support of Nintendo by bringing Manhunt 2 over to the Wii (lending a bit of credibility to the rumor), we believe a couple of things will ultimately get in the way of this happening.

Hate singing and yelling and screechy voices? Play Catan

Joystiq writers have been playing a bit of Catan on XBL lately. And what have they discovered? Players stay til the end of games, and there are no obnoxious noises when you play. (Like locust killer).

People will instantly argue that Catan brings a different crowd to Xbox Live and given our experience that is absolutely true. And we love it! Catan, combined with Uno (although there are caveats with Uno), shows that there is a different demographic out there in Xbox Live land. Now does this stop the calls for an adults only section for Xbox Live? Not a chance. It would still be nice to play Halo without the ... let's just call it "noise." All we know is if this Catan community is the same that'll be into Carcassonne, then that's money well spent for a nice couple hours of gaming.

This may convince me to give it a try. What do you guys think.

Square licenses the Unreal Engine, Like everyone else

Square Enix, the makers of the great Final Fantasy RPGs have licensed Epic's Unreal Engine for their new game:

The Last Remnant is a brand new RPG franchise from the Final Fantasy publisher, designed to appeal both Japanse and Western audiences. In fact, the game will be released simultaneously in Japan and North America.

Sweet, Gears of Final Fantasy??? I like it.

New Madden 08 developer blog

You can read the entire post here.

One of the producers reaches back to 1997 to either remind us how far Madden has come, or how far it has fallen. He talks about money plays. Money plays are plays that work pretty much every time you try them, and ruin the online game.

3. The paradigm shift of money plays. Yep, Madden 97 had quite a few money plays and nano blitzes. Double Flags anyone? Flea Flicker anyone? Using the Lions anyone? But back then there was no online. When I saw my buddies go anywhere near Double Flags I’d punch them in the arm, and they’d do the same for me. Back then we never thought about money plays, because we just regulated ourselves. I’ll never forget getting online for the first time in Madden 03 and seeing how big of a deal they had become. I actually designed the playbooks in 04, so I can speak first hand that I had to spend a ton of time testing for exploits, when that was never even really much of a concern before. It seems like now it’s more about money routes than money plays. Do you all still see an abundance of money plays, or is it more about money “strategies” (i.e. scramble and throw the corner route…which we are fixing this year)?

I sure hope they fix it, because money plays make pick up games frustrating and unplayable.

EW.com interviews Shigeru Miyamoto

Thanks to joystiq.


Shigeru Miyamoto is most likely the goofiest game designer making games today. Check this quote from an interview with EW.com. Also newbcakes hates his face.

What are some real-world issues that would you consider putting into a game?
I have some ideas. One is that in Japan, there are a lot of trains that have sections reserved for the elderly or pregnant women. Young people in Japan sometimes sit in them, but if people come up and need them, you are supposed to get up. But most of the kids don't! It really upsets me. If I could build a game that somehow made the young people respect their elders... And there is another issue bugging me. In Japan there are a lot of people who freelance or work under the table — people who don't pay any taxes. I look at places in the world where people understand that paying taxes to the government helps society. In Japan there's not that understanding. So [social responsibility] is yet another issue I might address in a game. But I probably sound like an old man when I bring these things up.

He's not an old man until he sounds like this:

Dennis Miller: Here with a commentary is a grumpy old man. Welcome Grumpy Old Man.
Grumpy Old Man: I'm old and I'm not happy. Everything today is improved and I don't like it. I hate it! In my day we didn't have hair dryers. If you wanted to blow dry your hair you stood outside during a hurricane. Your hair was dry but you had a sharp piece of wood driven clear through your skull and that's the way it was and you liked it! You loved it. Whoopee, I'm a human head-kabob. We didn't have Manoxidol and Hair Wings, in my day if your hair started falling out when you were 16 by 19 you were a bald freak. There was nothing you could do about it. Children would spit at you and nobody would mate with you so you couldn't pass on your disgusting baldness genes. You were a public menace, a crome dome by age 20 and that's the way it was and we liked it! We loved it. Hallelujiah look at me, I'm a bald freak oh happy day! Not like today, everybody feeling good about themselves. I hate it! In my day we didn't have these thin laytex condoms. So you could enjoy sexual pleasure. In my day there was only one kind of condom. You took a rabbit skin and wrapped around your privates and tied it off with a bungee cord and you couldn't feel nothing! And half the time you didn't even know your partner was there. And we used the same one over and over again! 'Cause we were ignorant morons! Just a bunch of hairless, head-kabobs standing around with rabbit skins on our dinks and that's the way we liked it!

Xbox dashboard spring update week of May 7

* The update hits the beginning of the week of May 7th
* Your contact list will now integrate Windows Live Messenger, and show joinable session status
* Messenger contacts can see what game you're playing, and your gamertag
* Marketplace will now have its own blade, which will be skinned independent of your theme
* Users will now get inline achievement updates (i.e. see what achievement you just unlocked and how much it's worth).
* Low-power download mode and auto-shutdown
* Progressive download: watch, fast-forward, and rewind partially downloaded movies
* You can text chat messenger six friends playing games watching movies
* Multiple tweaks on the user interface

The waiting is the hardest part

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata promises big things in 2007:

Back to your question of when we will fulfill the hard-core gamers' titles lineup: It will be from around the end of this summer to the end of this year. We will then launch a new title of Super Mario (Super Mario Galaxy), Smash Brothers (Super Smash Bros. Brawl) and Metroid Prime (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption) although the last one is primarily for the overseas markets. These will be the key titles for the period ranging from the summer until the holiday sales season of this year, and I think we will be able to cater to the specific needs you mentioned.

Victoria Times Colonist: Anti Gaming article

A sensationalist article authored by the Victoria Times Colonist named 3 games I do not recognize. Keep in mind, I scour the Internet daily for gaming news, get Google alerts and use news feeds to get the latest information.

Video games are fast replacing television as the leading form of entertainment for children, a development that troubles child psychologists. Industry critics have no shortage of ammunition.

Products like Ultimate Carnage, Suicide Bomber and Naughty America have unleashed a barrage of violence, sex and mayhem on young people. And those are just the titles we can print.

I looked up the first one named, Flatout: Ultimate Carnage. Guess what it is? A racing game. The second one named? Suicide Bomber is a flash game. Naughty America? A Sims type dating MMO in which the player designs an anatomically correct character.

Later in the article, the author points to brain wave controllers. Exactly which games are going to use this technology in the near future? Something that will blow up the universe with an errant thought? Nope. Pong.

The video game industry sees its future in this technology. Early prototypes are already on the market, and more are coming.

One example is Mindball, produced by a Swedish firm called Interactive Productline. Two players stare at a screen and try to manipulate a soccer ball across their opponent's goal-line.

The consequences?

One thing seems probable. Those are questions video game producers will not trouble to ask themselves. Industry leaders have opposed every effort to reduce violence in their products, even as senseless acts of brutality, like the Virginia Tech shootings, increase.

I don't understand why the author brought the Virginia Tech shootings into the mix. The shooter's roommate said he had never seen him play any. Instead, he searched the internet for more primitive violent art.

A week later, it's clear that Cho not only wasn't playing video games at Virginia Tech but also that he was spending his time on that computer pursuing two of the oldest outlets for violent minds: poetry and playwriting. An inventory of Cho's room revealed nothing related to video games; the only early evidence that Cho had played a violent game appeared in a Washington Post article -- and that reference later disappeared from the story.

Gamers: send letters to the editor here. Tell them exactly what you think.

All the same game

Just watched X Play's Summer Preview show. Jeebus Criminey. Exactly Wii games were previewed. I can sorta understand that. Wii games tend not to look awesome in clips. Especially compared to the 360 and PS3.

But how depressing was it to see that every game is the same? Every game previewed was a shooter. Seemed like every game was a first-person shooter. I like a FPS -- maybe not as much as the next guy, but I enjoy the genre. But I don't understand why all the big summer games are the same genre. Can't anyone do anything different? It doesn't even have to be new anymore -- just something other than a FPS.

Bigs Trailer.

Hammer and I will be playing this later this summer. On the wii. Online.

Grandma Hardcore plays SPM

haha she owns. all grandmas should be like this. Is this Fatality's grandma????????

Thanks to Joystiq.




If you would like to see more of this awesome grandma, look at the sidebar videos.

NBA live 08 confirmed for the wii

You can read the entire article here.

Publisher Electronic Arts announced that NBA Live 08 will release on Wii this October, marking the series' first appearance on the console.

I hope this is the first of many. 2ksports should come aboard the wii basketball train also.

Madden Blog: The anti 100 speed view

Over at easports, which still doesn't have an RSS feed, an anti-Hester 100 speed post has surfaced.

And on that note, what about other players from past and present that have proven to be faster then Hester? What does this say for them? If they had politicked for a 100 rating that we’d just give it to them? What about Prime Time, Bethel Johnson, or the NFL anointed ‘Fastest Man’ Justin Miller who actually won a race at the Pro Bowl to be called as such? What about Rashean Mathis? Some may say that Devin Hester is more then just speed, and that he’s elusive speed. Well, then why don’t we just give him 99 speed and 99 agility? Why break the ratings scale, when in fact, we are going overboard on the wrong rating? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I certainly argued the end result.

Boogie: Stompy's Best

We know now that Stompy is going to get a wii for this game.


from Kotaku

Frankly, I was put-off by the current control scheme. It seemed unusually complex for a game clearly targeted at the Wii's more casual audience. Like SSX Blur, I went into Boogie thinking the game would feature a simpler, more intuitive, possibly remote-only method, only to find myself stumbling through my dance routine. EA Montreal may intend for players to more slowly ramp up, to become more accustomed to the coupled waving, twisting and stick control, but jumping into the game with limited play time made me wish for Brick House to end early every time. Granted, the game is still very early and there's more than enough time for fine-tuning, but there's one more aspect to the controls left to consider.

Ya, it took me forever to get used to SSX Blur's controls. I am sure this will be the same way.

Games: A learning Tool

First round draft pick Amobi Okoye, when starting to play football, didn't have a clue about the rules. He picked up a copy of Madden NFL football, and quickly learned.

While he had the physical abilities, he didn't understand the rules of the game. So what did the coach do? Gave him Madden Football (a very popular video game series from Electronic Arts) and told him to go play. It makes me wonder what commercial-off-the-shelf games we could be using to help our employees understand the rules of the game.

This kid from Nigeria is extremely bright. The progression is astounding; High school at 12, college at 15, first round NFL draft pick at 19.

Just having picked up a Steering Wheel for the 360, I wonder if that will make me a better driver or a better crasher?

Do you guys have any other games where game skill directly correlates to real world skill?

Christian Science Monitor on Video Games

Janine Wood, a writer and mom, writes an opinion piece on CSM asking: Do I love my son less than other parents because I never bought him a PlayStation?

Mothers despise video games. Here's what they say: Video games are addictive; they leave less time for reading; they are violent; they are the cause of endless arguments.

Why, then, does almost every young boy in my neighborhood own a video-game system?

"They nag you so much you finally have to give in," said one mother. "It's all a matter of guilt. If everyone else has video games, we feel we should have them, too," said a friend.

Are mothers to blame, then, for the short attention spans and the lagging test scores that are sometimes linked to video games? I think we are.

YES, finally a parent taking responsibility in their children. Rejoice! For far too long, the American parent has been blaming the video game industry for social ills stated above. Why are your kids playing video games? Oh cause you bought them.

"If parents are not a moral and intellectual corrective, then they fail in their duty, and they fail to see their child become a self-disciplined, considerate citizen of the world," said a teacher to whom I turn when I feel I am losing ground. After a long search, I discovered a neighborhood boy who doesn't play video games. He and my son commiserate together. But they have started a book group, and they play board games. It would have been much easier to have given in. But I won't. And so the battle continues.

I applaud this mother, she did what she thought was the best for her kid, not what was the least amount of trouble. How can we get more parents to actually parent, instead of pestering the government to ban the things they will not deny?

Shigeru Miyamoto: #92 on the Time 100

It's kinda cool that the little blurb included in the article is written by Johnathan (Fatal1ty) Wendel. Wendel is a professional gamer, and still enjoys pwning newbs on wii sports in his spare time, like his grandma.

While I won my championships on ultra-performance PCs, I still go to Nintendo for fun and relaxation, playing with the same passion and sense of joy I remember as a kid on that original Nintendo console. This year I've become addicted to Wii, which lets me replicate the challenge of the physical sports I've played my entire life, such as tennis, bowling and golf. I bought all my business partners Wiis for Christmas. I even play Wii with my grandma. (Her favorite is Wii bowling.).

Gears of war Subway gameplay video

For those of you that are waiting until September to get your free maps, here is a video for you to enjoy.

Albert Pujols on the cover of Bigs

The cover man for the first online capable Wii sports game is announced.

looking forward to this, not a lot of time now to go into it. will later. thanks kotaku.

Transcript of Shadowrun Dev Chat

You can read the entire chat here.

A release date is hinted at.

Kimona- (ididurgirl) whats target release date?

Fall - We've only publicly said "June".

Fall - but think EARLY June.

Fall - very early.

Sweet. Less than a month away!

Kimona - (aDrain) Will there be any clan features?

Fall - no specific clan features. however, there is a party system a la Halo 2, where you can join into a party and then travel from game to game together.

Finally. A game with a party system.

Kimona - (Jarret) John, what would you like the gaming community to get from Shadowrun?

Fall - 1 - hand cramps

Fall - 2 - insomnia

Fall - 3 - swollen bladder

Kimona- on that note: next

Kimona - Next: (fatal1ty) How skilled do you consider the combat, movement, and strategic elements of Shadowrun, and how do you see it panning out for serious competitive play? Have you tested it in the hands of good gamers, and if so, how did they react to it?

Kimona - PM questions to me btw, Fall is not lookin' at em.

Fall - We heard through the grapevine that some of the MLG guys were too busy playing SR to practice for a big tournament

Fall - I guess that's a good sign that the competitve gamers think SR is a good fit for serious competitve play.

Madden 08 screenshots

You can see all 30 of the new ones here.

Come on EA and Visual Concepts! Let's see some video of gameplay.

Shadowrun Achievements

click here and log into xbl for a list.

EA Playground IGN interview.

I just read the one page interview IGN conducted with Dave McCarthy of EA Canada. It game me a good read what to expect from this new title.

• Mini Games
• Wii Remote only controls
• No online multiplayer
• A good variety of games from RC racing to Tetherball
  

EA is one of the Wii's biggest third party supporters, and have done a great job at making intuitively controlled games for the system. SSX blur, Madden 07 and The Godfather: Blackhand Edition have all lived up to my very high standards in Games. Hopefully this title lives up to the previous title's standards of quality.

I am also pleased to see an original title pop up on the Wii. Most of the games found on the system are ports of ps2.

Oh man Microsoft has crossed the line

A story from Joystiq came through the feeds just now.

Apparently, Microsoft has rejected the racy 360 Queenz from appearing on Xbox Live Marketplace, and asked its pre-release users to stop using the offending theme.

Dude.

Half a boob has nothing on Rumble Roses X advanced boob physics engine.

New Splinter Cell Game

You can read all about it here.

The latest issue of Finnish video games magazine Pelaaja has revealed the next installment in the Splinter Cell series. Conviction will be developed by Ubisoft Montreal and it will be released exclusively on PC and Xbox 360.

This is the first time that Ubisoft uses the name after it filed, and had approved, two trademarks for "Splinter Cell: Conviction."

Speculation leads to rumors that NSA Director Williams will be the enemy in this fifth installment

I wish they would stop making splinter cells.

Modding Student Arrested: Update

This morning's Fort Bend Now has some additional information relating to the Chinese student arrested due to creating a FPS map of his school.

It says the board is making a political case to gain more votes in the May 12 election. The article doesn't have much gaming information, but it is an update to a previous story.

APF 2k8 More information

You can read the entire article here.

When we asked Thomas how deep the customization of the gameplay would be, he replied that the development team wants to let players define what is going to make their squad a success, and that includes practically every aspect of the game. Gamers will have the opportunity to edit team names, player uniforms and even the cities that their teams will be able to play in. If players don't feel like tweaking a team at all, they can simply select one of the pre-built squads and leap into the game. As for the teams, Thomas mentioned that the squads will be comprised of a mix between legendary athletes that you choose and fictional pro players, although he didn't mention what the specific balance would be on a roster.

Balls. I was hoping there wouldn't be any fictional players. Oh well. Stay tuned for screenshots and trailers later on tonight. Visual Concepts did not reveal what the online experience entails.

Another Article here, on the sports side of the IGN network, asks Jerry Rice about the draft and the game.

"You got a phenom like Calvin Johnson, a freak of nature. He can run a 4.3, he's 6-4, about 240, and that's amazing. The records can be broken, but whoever is going to take these one, whether it's Calvin or someone else, they are going to have to sacrifice, they are going to have to work their butt off to try and make it. Until then, you'll just have to settle for me in this game. Just make sure you draft me with your first pick. From what I've heard, I'm the most dominant player in the game, and that's just the way I like it."

edit: 8:00 pm

Gamespot has an article up. I like this information.

"There are no set teams if you don't want them," Thomas said. At one point in the trailer, for example, it seemed like Elway and Barry Sanders were playing for the same team. And while Thomas said you can play with a preset team in the game's season mode, the focus of the game will be on building a team from the ground up and then putting your dream team up against all comers, whether in the single player game, or via offline or online multiplayer. Just how you will go about building that team, what kind of restrictions you'll have, what players will be available from the get-go, and how you will go about recruiting the best players of all time--well, we don't know yet. All we know is that the focus will be on creating a team of incredible talent and then going out and decimating the competition.

Tenchu Z hands on

Gamespot played some Tenchu Z recently and filed a report here.

In practical terms, you'll accomplish all of those objectives by sneaking around and cutting throats a whole lot. This is how Z is closest to all the preceding Tenchu games: You've got the same color-based enemy-proximity indicator, along with a Splinter Cell-style meter indicating your relative visibility, to help you remain hidden from the numerous guards that you'll want to neutralize silently. Performing a stealth kill is as easy as getting behind an enemy and hitting the attack button. Additionally, if more than one enemy is nearby and none of them detect you, you can actually kill all of them in a combo kill if you have the right timing. However, we encountered some preternaturally observant enemies in our build, some of whom could see us in places where it seemed like we'd be safely hidden, so pulling off stealth kills will require a lot of patience and care.

There are two things that turn me off of games. Jumping puzzles and Stealth. I didn't like Splinter Cell at all, cause all you did was sneak around and shoot out lights and start over cause someone saw you. Hate it.

Maybe this game will make stealth games fun again. It has ninjas.

Agent 0 owns EA, ends up on the cover

Read the entire interview here.

carter grant, New York: Do you play nba live 2006

Gilbert Arenas: No. I play NBA2K. It's real, the NBA2K. The other one, now...it's too fake.

If Arenas doesn't turn the Live franchise around, I will be the first one to call him a fraud.

Ad Supported Gametap Free

I have never understood the allure of Gametap. Old assed games on a PC where you use the keyboard to control your little 8 bit sprite across the screen. Anyway...

In an interview with Next Generation, GameTap general manager Stu Snyder reveals the company's intriguing plans for the future, beginning with a new Xbox Live-inspired free service. Under this new system, users will exist on three levels. The Free level will be for any one of the "2 to 3 million uni ques per month" stopping by on the site who just want to check out a quick game of Pac-Man or Joust. The free games will feature advertising both before and after play. Some simple registration will grant users Green status, which maintains the ads but opens up multiplayer and other community features. Finally, there's the normal $9.99 a month Subscriber status that current GameTap users know and love

Gametap plans to open a digital storefront selling current computer games, I am unsure if Gametap will use a subscription based system or a flat fee system for this.

1up is playing APF 2k8 today

The sports guy's blog gives hints there will be a preview up tonight!

Tomorrow's a big day: I get my first glimpse at All-Pro Football 2K8 (expect a preview by tomorrow night), I meet Jerry Rice, and we tape the new Sports Anomaly Podcast. Spicy hot!

Devil May Cry 4 Gameplay trailer

I have no clue how good this game will be, but it sure looks pretty.

Gears of War Map PACKS Thurs 3pm

Major Nelson's blog tells us

It’s the ‘Hidden Fronts’ map pack and it’s dropping this Thursday, May 3, at 9 a.m. GMT

The map pack is 800 points in which you’ll get four new multiplayer maps:

Bullet Marsh: In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.

Garden: This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.

Process: Teams must fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.

Subway: Timgad's Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.

You can grab the pack this Thursday for 800 points or wait until Sept. 3, 2007 when all four maps will be available for free.