Blog Archives
What If: An SNES-Style “Doctor Who” RPG
Thanks to Doctor Otctoroc for creating this awesome short animation (and the soundtrack — DOWNLOAD IT HERE)!!!
New School & Old School: Full Body Pong, Arkanoid AND Asteroids!
In the world of gaming, we have transitioned from traditional gaming controllers to full-body controllers (like the SEGA Activator; ugh), then back to game controllers and then back to full-body and motion controllers (Wii-mote, PS Move & Kinect), and back once again to traditional game controllers. It’s fair to say that motion-related gaming has had some difficulty gaining traction, but it’s also fair to say that people are still trying to improve on the technology. At this years JAEPO arcade game expo, a very creative game called e Sports Ground was shown off. The game has you use your body as the controller (YOU ARE THE CONTROLLER) alongside a series of motion tracking cameras and projectors that transforms the floor into the game screen.
I Cannot Wait for “Retro City Rampage”!
I love a variety of video games, ranging from the open-world “do-what-you-want-to-do” of Grand Theft Auto, the sidescrolling action of Mega Man, and the humor of Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Brutal Legend. What I also love is the recent trend of new games with the retro, old school, 8-bit graphical imagery such as the recent Mega Man titles (9 & 10), Tempura of the Dead, and Fez. From all of that, it seems that Retro City Rampage – an upcoming downloadable action-adventure video game for WiiWare, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows — is right up my alley, plus it’s a parody of retro games and pop culture, including the popular Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series. Read the rest of this entry
Play the “lost” NES videogame version of “The Great Gatsby.”
Wow, is this my SECOND “The Great Gatsby“-related post in a single day? Dang, I’m on a roll. Kaiser. Toasted. With butter. Anyway, with the release of the official trailer to the next film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” set to be released on Christmas Day this year, I figured that this would be a great time to revisit one of my favorite online flash games from the past few years. The game itself is an 8-bit version of The Great Gatsby, made as a tribute to old-school NES games, and was created and developed by Charlie Hoey and editor Pete Smith.
Black History: Jerry Lawson (1940-2011), The Creator Of The Video Game Cartridge
In the spirit of Black History Month and recoginizing the contributions of African-Americans in architecture, videogames, technology, and professional wrestling, I’d like to begin with Jerry Lawson.
New Video Game to be Composed by……Sir Paul McCartney!?!
Former Beatle, frontman of Wings, and music icon Sir Paul McCartney stated in an interview that he is currently working on music for a videogame (and no, it’s not “The Beatles: Rock Band 2″ in case you’re wondering). In an interview with Die Zeit (by the way, “Google Translate” will be your friend for this article), McCartney was asked by the interviewer if he would ever write music for a videogame. His response was that he already is, and that he finds the idea “exciting,” and the games market “fascinating;” also noting that videogames are selling more than CDs nowadays.
He recalls when he was a child and music was mostly accessible via his own radio and record collection, but today music is EVERYWHERE. Due to this, Sir McCartney believes that by making new music in videogames, younger people will be hearing his music for the first time through that particular medium.
Maybe (just maybe), I’m amazed….
….as long as it isn’t like Journey’s and Aerosmith’s venture into videogames. Ugh!
[Thanks Joystiq]
Best Buy challenges GameStop, Slaps White Glove Across Face
Say what you will, but this is a “gangsta” move by this Best Buy store.
It’s become pretty common knowledge that GameStop is the most popular retail store in the video game market, mostly because of its presence in the used games part of the market. With little to no competition in this field, GameStop has been scrutinized by game developers and consumers alike for its practices and policies (i.e., questionable trade-in prices, cutting developers out of income), as well as bordering accusations of the dirty business word known as “monopoly”.Nowadays, GameStop is beginning to face some competition from other retailers branching out into the used games market, including: Walmart, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Amazon, GameFly, etc.
Reddit user “striker1122” posted this image from a local Best Buy, which – coincidentally – is located DIRECTLY NEXT TO a GameStop site. The sign reads “STOP trading in somewhere that only sells GAMES,” while cleverly utilizing the stylized font and colors of GameStop’s logo. OH SNAP, SON!!
Best Buy’s (as well as other retailer’s) drive toward the used games market may greatly affect it, but may likely result in the increase of used game sales, resulting in financially hurting developers. Allow me to stand on my soapbox and recommend that the best way to support the video gaming industry is to buy your games new (whether at full retail price or even on sale) to help the developers, which results ultimately with benefiting us, the consumers, the gamers. However, should the urge to buy used ever come up to rear its head, it’s at least very comfortable knowing that we have other (and probably better) options than just GameStop.
[Thanks Reddit]
Board Game "RISK" adapts to the Metal Gear Solid series
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| Snake? Snake! SNNNNNAAAAAAKKKKKE!!!!!! |
Ah yes, RISK; the classic turn-based strategy board game in which two to six players attempt to occupy every territory on the board and eliminate all competing forces. Over the past 10 years or so, RISK has been going under a series of changes; from the major streamlining of the game’s rules back in 2008, to the multiple amount of licensed versions (i.e., Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Narnia, Transformers, and Halo among others), each version with their own unique set of rules. Announced a few months back at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, it become knowledge that the popular and esteemed “Metal Gear Solid” video game series would be receiving its own version of the turn-based strategy game.
The Metal Gear Solid edition of RISK will feature the five private military corporations (PMCs) that were included in the 2008 PlayStation 3 game, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. This version also gives the players the opportunity to launch a “nuclear strike,” utilizing the capabilities of the titular walking battle tank, Metal Gear REX (from the 1998 Metal Gear Solid game for the PlayStation), should a player have control of it during the game. Also included is a special dice and an Outer Heaven carrier piece used for stealthy sneak attacks in this versions other two rule options. If you just want to play the game the good-ol’ fashioned way, don’t sweat, my man; you’ll still be able to play the standard game of RISK sans the additional rules of the MGS version.
If the history of RISK adapting itself with a multitude of varied licenses into successful stand-alone games (rather than solely depending on novelty and promotion) says anything, I think we may have another amazing board game on our hands. RISK: Metal Gear Solid Edition is available for pre-order NOW exclusively through USAopoly.com for $50. I, for one, am very excited about this!!
[Thank you Destructoid & Joystiq]
