Archive for June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: Polls and Surveys, Community
The biggest games of the summer have launched. Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 have found places on the shelves of millions of gamers and all is well and good. Or is it? What will you do when these games are finished, in your eyes? Is there more to be had this summer, or is it time to pull out the ol’ SNES and finally master that F-Zero track? Maybe even crack out the ol’ NES and finally accomplish games have become much simpler since the days of Battletoads?
We’ve always got plenty of use for our PS3 — it’s playing our movies, music, and anything we’ve got stuck on our external hard drives. There are a ton of games to rent and even more in our backlog. While there aren’t any big releases until later on in the year, we’ll be plenty busy until then. Want to know last week’s poll results? Take a look after the cut.
Continue reading PS3 Poll Police: Anything else exciting for your PS3 this summer?
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: News
It’s a pretty established and unfortunate fact that the PS3 hasn’t secured many third-party exclusive games. Multi-platform third-party titles tend to be rough ports or aggravatingly delayed. Shuhei Yoshida has acknowledged this fact and let out a cry to third-party developers: “It’s impossible to bring the level of support that we feel is important for the PlayStation 3 platform without the third parties’ continued support.” He also said that, sometimes, “we struggle to convince them to put more resources into the PS3.”
While admitting a problem is the first step to resolving it and moving on to your next addiction, we’d love to hear a little more about what Yoshida and Sony plan to do in regards to the third-party developers’ fears of putting more of their eggs into the Sony basket. It’s the cutest basket, after all. Made of sturdy wicker so it doesn’t break … aesthetically pleasing … it compliments eggs really well. Do you think Sony should dole out some cash for exclusives, or more dev tools to show these guys and gals that it might not be so hard to program on the PS3 once you get your hands inside its shell?
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: News
A New York Times article in the Week in Review division published today discusses the latent meanings within the Metal Gear series’ epic storyline and attempts to answer the bigger question of whether video games can be a capable medium, on par with films and literature, in conveying a narrative.
NYT’s Dave Itzkoff delves into the world of MGS by exploring the hidden messages from every MGS game; for example, MGS is a statement about atomic weapons, the Patriots of MGS2 portrayed as an Illuminati-like secret society suggests a worldwide conspiracy, MGS3 hints at how a “military-industrial complex” changed the world and MGS4 has Itzkoff describing Solid Snake as a “James Bond meets Rambo” who blur the line between hero and villain. Finally, Snake’s endless mission is seen a parable of modern war and invokes the philosophical debate of “determinism and free will.”
The article also debates the validity and effectiveness of the cinematic cut scenes — according to Itzkoff’s interviews, 1UP’s Shawn Elliott equates this methodology as “kind of cheating” and accuses the game of using “a language that isn’t native to its own medium.” On the other hand, Leigh Alexander of Kotaku argues the cut scenes are embedded into the game and basic. She even takes a jab at Halo, describing the Xbox series as mindless action that is only popular because “you shoot people.”
Just as films have evolved into an acceptable means of telling a full, gratifying story, it won’t be long before video games achieve the same distinction.
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: News
A New York Times article in the Week in Review division published today discusses the latent meanings within the Metal Gear series’ epic storyline and attempts to answer the bigger question of whether video games can be a capable medium, on par with films and literature, in conveying a narrative.
NYT’s Dave Itzkoff delves into the world of MGS by exploring the hidden messages from every MGS game; for example, MGS is a statement about atomic weapons, the Patriots of MGS2 portrayed as an Illuminati-like secret society suggests a worldwide conspiracy, MGS3 hints at how a “military-industrial complex” changed the world and MGS4 has Itzkoff describing Solid Snake as a “James Bond meets Rambo” who blur the line between hero and villain. Finally, Snake’s endless mission is seen a parable of modern war and invokes the philosophical debate of “determinism and free will.”
The article also debates the validity and effectiveness of the cinematic cut scenes — according to Itzkoff’s interviews, 1UP’s Shawn Elliott equates this methodology as “kind of cheating” and accuses the game of using “a language that isn’t native to its own medium.” On the other hand, Leigh Alexander of Kotaku argues the cut scenes are embedded into the game and basic. She even takes a jab at Halo, describing the Xbox series as mindless action that is only popular because “you shoot people.”
Just as films have evolved into an acceptable means of telling a full, gratifying story, it won’t be long before video games achieve the same distinction.
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: Video, Promotional Consideration
Did you forget that Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift ships in North America this week? We wouldn’t be surprised if you did, as, aside from two magazine advertisements, Square Enix hasn’t done much to promote the SRPG sequel.
In fact, unless we’ve missed something, the only two handheld game commercials Square Enix has aired in the U.S. since the GBA were for the Final Fantasy III remake and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker — Mario Hoops 3-on-3 doesn’t count. That’s a shame considering how creative the original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance commercial was!
Bring your mages, ninjas, and gunners past the break for the GBA clip and the two FFTA2 magazine pieces we mentioned above!
Continue reading Promotional Consideration: Tactical advertisements
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: Nintendo DS, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action
With Tomb Raider: Underworld set to be among the quartet of titles to be shown by Eidos during next month’s E3, the publisher has launched the game’s official website, simultaneously slapping a November release date on Lara Croft’s latest trip underground for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PS2 and PC.
In addition to offering a narrowed release window, Eidos also shed a few details on the busty heroine’s “exploration-based” escapade, revealing in a statement that the game will see Ms. Croft seeking “the secrets of the Norse underworld and a forgotten power.” This immediatly makes us think that she’ll be hunting down Thor’s hammer, because really, who needs guns when you’re packing Mjolnir?
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SPONSORED BY: Age of Empires III - Real-Time Strategy Game Control a European power on a quest to colonize and conquer the New World. AOE3 introduces new gameplay elements, as well as new civilizations, units, and technologies. http://www.ageofempires3.com/
Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: Video
The Patrick Fugit lookalike returns! Publisher Activision is ushering in this week’s release of Guitar Hero: On Tour with a new trailer for the rhythm game, giving you a preview of its euphonic allure — cool kids everywhere will gather around you at the park, dancing and losing their damn minds as if you were Elvis reincarnated.
Because On Tour has an optional system bundle, retailers should have the game on their shelves starting today instead of later this week. Make sure to drop your impressions in our comments if you pick up On Tour!
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: New Releases, News
Good grief, where did all these games come from? There’s a lot to choose from, especially if you’re in the US or Europe. Despite the quantity, there’s not a huge amount of overall quality. The only games in the list worth looking at are Overlord, Bourne and Battlefield. Don’t be downhearted, Asians. You’ve finally got your hands on The Darkness. Only a year late, then. Here’s the full release list:
US Games
EU Games
Asian Games
Go ahead and grab any of the above games for yourself, regardless of region. Your PS3 loves it (but DLC might be an issue, so keep that in mind). Releases dates are, as The Doctor would say, in a constant flux. So don’t blame us if the above list is incorrect. Check with your local retailer before getting too excited.
Gosh it’s been a long time since we last used this image.
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: Fan stuff
Not all of us are blessed with the talents needed to bake an edible cake, much less a video game cake with an identifiable shape. More often than not, the desserts we’ve pulled from the oven look like something you’d shoot and put out of its misery. As you turn your head and watered eyes to the side, pulling back the hammer on your heavy, shaking pistol, you sometimes catch the cakes looking up at to you, wishing they had more time to spend with you.
For those of you left in depressed states after having to euthanize so many cakes, there might still be hope for you, an opportunity to make things right. Flickr user Neko Joe spotted this pre-made Nintendo DS and New Super Mario Bros. layered sponge cake at Sainsbury’s, a UK supermarket chain. It comes with a janky cardboard top screen, but you can add your own custom message: “It’s-a-me, Mario Cake!” or “Sorry we didn’t buy you a real DS!” or “You’re adopted!”
We don’t suggest you bring this sponge cake to any birthday parties, however … Watch the NSFW video past the break to find out why!
Continue reading Let them eat (store-bought) cake
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
Filed under: Deals and Bargains
FutureShop and Best Buy Canada have been bundling up Xbox 360’s with a number of titles for quite some time but this week’s promotional bundles might turn some Canadian heads. FutureShop is bundling copies of Halo 3 and Gears of War (both standard editions) with the purchase of the Xbox 360 Premium or Elite bundle while Best Buy is bundling Premium Xbox 360 consoles with the Guitar Hero III Bundle (including game and wireless guitar). Clearly the Best Buy promotion is the better deal of the two netting potential gamers a savings of over $100 while Halo 3 and Gears of War can be found at significantly lower prices. Have a friend on the fence about switching up from that crummy old Amiga to a new Xbox 360? Maybe one of these promos will tickle their fancy.
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Continue Reading June 22nd, 2008
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