If you love old school videogames, like the ladies and live in NYC you’re in luck! On Saturday July 23rd the D20 Burlesque troupe will present their stage show 8 Bit Beauties at the he Parkside Lounge. The official show description is as follows: “For its fifth show, D20 Burlesque will bring you a night of scintillating burlesque themed around those old school videogames near and dear to our hearts. If you still remember blowing into cartridges and can enter the Konami code in your sleep, this is the show for you!” Sadly the guaranteed seating is sold out but if you can stand it general admission is still available — you can get tickets here…Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jul 13, 2011 in Videogames
Back in the early ’90s Nintendo’s dominance of the handheld market went practically unchallenged. Sega’s Game Gear barely put up a fight while Nintendo gave us entries from popular franchises like Super Mario Land and Metroid. With that kind of success, you’d think they’d be willing to take a few chances by localizing all their titles, but in 1992 Nintendo released Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, or For the Frog the Bell Tolls — a title that never made its way overseas. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. Thankfully, some dedicated fans have decided to take it upon themselves to localize the game for you. It may be nearly two decades old, but this old gem might be worth firing up your favorite emulator to play. Developed by the same team that brought us Metroid II and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, For the Frog the Bell Tolls is an action-adventure title with a twist. You play the role of young prince charged with finding the frogs that inhabit a Kingdom and delivering an important message while attempting to save a princess from peril. The game’s humorously-scripted and has some fantastic music, so it’s sure to be at least somewhat entertaining. You can download the patch for the game here, though you’ll have to obtain your own rom and emulator to play it with. If you’d rather just watch the video above, you’ll get a pretty good idea of how the game plays. Read more…
Ever heard of game developer Mane 6? No? Yeah, that’s not surprising: it’s a batch of bronies (and presumably a few female fans as well) who are working on a 2D indie fighter game featuring the characters from Hasbro’s surprisingly popular television cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Read more…
This has to be the most cute sounding video I’ve ever listened to — I believe that it’s an announcement for the first live-action episode of The Idolmaster:Read more…
Mark Bongo from Major League Mods has created a bunch of really neat Xbox 360 case mods, like the R2-D2 360/projector combo we featured in the past. But this latest project looks so cool, you’d think Tony Stark himself built it in a cave! With a box of scraps! In this case (ha), Mark teamed up with Nub Grafix from Orange County Choppers to give this Iron Man-themed Xbox a sleek, metallic paint job. The miniature arc reactor that mimics the 360’s trademark ring of lights, though, is all Mark. Put the whole package in a Stark Industries locked case, and you have the c0olest Xbox this side of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 29, 2011 in Videogames
Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 3 is still months away from its official release, but today the company launched its “closed” multiplayer beta. They say closed, but there are a number of ways for prospective gamers to gain access. The first and most immediate way would be to purchase a Playstation Plus membership, or to take advantage of Sony’s free 30 day offer they extended in light of their recent troubles if you haven’t done so already. This will allow you to access the beta early. Another method, and perhaps the most satisfying for some would be visiting any Subway restaurant during the month of October to obtain a code. Unfortunately, that won’t leave you with a lot of time to toy with the multiplayer ahead of its November 11th release date, but it’s better than nothing. After all, I’m sure nobody is really buying the game for its “ground-breaking” multiplayer experience.
The other day, we mentioned the upcoming Saint Seiya PS3 title being developed by Namco Bandai. This evening they officially gave us our first look at the game. The short teaser only contains a bit of actual gameplay, but it seems as though I was spot on when I predicted the game would resemble Koei Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors. Personally, I love those games even if other people can’t really them — Dynasty Warriors, and series like it, often receive less than stellar reviews in the West — so this little teaser has me really excited to see where they take the title from here. On top of that, I think they a fantastic job capturing the feel of the series with the character designs. Let’s just hope someone decides to license the title after it hits Japanese shelves later this fall.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Jun 21, 2011 in Videogames
I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with this classic series — it was pretty huge in Mexico — but Saint Seiya fans might be pleased to hear that the series will be receiving its very own PS3 title. The game’s being developed by Namco Bandai, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll publish it overseas. Thankfully, if you’re a big enough fan of the series living in North America, you should still be able to import yourself a copy of the game seeing as we share Japan’s Blu-ray region code. According to V-Jump magazine, Saint Seiya Senki, as they’re calling it, will feature “cinematic melee action,” and should feature each of the saints squaring off against numerous opponents. I imagine that probably means something like Dynasty Warriors Gundam, but I could be wrong. We’re expecting to see a trailer for the game hit the official site later this week. The game should release this fall.
Posted by Michael Sacco on Jun 11, 2011 in Videogames
1996’s Duke Nukem 3D was one of the most 90s video games ever made, a prime example of what was wrong with games in their teenage years. Its misogyny, crude humor, and over-the-top hero guaranteed success with its target audience, though, so it sold (and sold well). The next game in the series, Duke Nukem Forever, was announced in 1997, and suffered from what is likely the most protracted development in gaming history as its studio shuffled between owners, its technology became outdated, and its fanbase grew up. The game eventually became synonymous with “vaporware.” Now, fourteen years later, Gearbox Software has salvaged the wreckage of the game and put the finishing touches on it and released it, officially making Duke Nukem Forever vaporware no longer. So how is it? According to the reviews released so far, pretty much exactly how you’d expect a game delayed for a decade and a half to be — mediocre to awful, depending on the reviewer. After fourteen years waiting for a game, you probably deserve more than what Duke Nukem Forever finally gives you; but then again, if you were really looking forward to Duke Nukem Forever, I’m not sure you deserve anything at all. Read more…
After last year’s teaser, a lot of gamers have been dying to see more of Bioware’s upcoming MMORPG, Stars Wars: The Old Republic. This year, they showed off a bit more by releasing the entire intro cinematic, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It’s the company’s first MMORPG, and from what little I’ve seen of the gameplay, Bioware might have a product that can really compete with Blizzard’s powerhouse. It seems that I’m not the only one who feels that way either, as Razer has recent announced entire line of Star Wars: The Old Republic gaming peripherals. As Michael mentioned to me, they’re not quite as cool looking as their recent Tron Legacy tie-ins, but I still think they look pretty sharp. While they haven’t announced a solid release date, Bioware states the game should ship sometime later this year.
Pretty much everyone had been waiting on pins and needles for Nintendo to unveil its upcoming successor to the Wii. At yesterday’s press conference, they finally gave us our first good look at Project Cafe, dubbed the Wii U — another name that has left many of us scratching our heads. Unlike Sony, Nintendo remained silent about many of the specs surrounding the new console, choosing to simply post the details on their official site. However, what they did share seemed really impressive. A tablet controller with the ability to transfer content seamlessly from the the tablet to the screen, and a graphics engine that finally rivals that of other current generation consoles.
There’s no hiding the fact that Sony has been dealing with quite a bit of bad press as of late. As many of you may already be aware, the company has been suffering from numerous attempts to hack their servers and subsequent fallout. Many outlets have been quick to criticize the company for their inability to react in what they’ve deemed a timely manner, while others have applauded Sony’s attempts to rectify the situation for both developers and consumers alike. Did Sony’s E3 conference do anything to restore our faith in their brand? Or, was it just another in a long line of missteps?
Earlier today, Microsoft held their Xbox 360 press conference. Many of you were probably expecting a slew of new and exciting titles, and while Microsoft had a number of multi-platform, and console exclusives that may have impressed some, many of you may have left underwhelmed. I have to admit that I joined many of you in yawning through-out and while I applaud Microsoft for once again abandoning the sales statistics in favor of announcing new products, most of them failed to appeal to my tastes. Aside from the handful of you who live for Gears of War and Halo, I have a feeling you may have felt the same.
They missed the self-imposed deadline of “by the end of the month,” but Sony has finally restored access to the Playstation Network Store. For weeks, developers have been reporting losses, and many customers who’ve recently purchased games have been denied access to their downloadable content. Worst yet, several games have required the use of a key for online play which could only be unlocked via the online store — the move finally provides a bit of relief. Due to the length of downtime, much of the content that had been previously scheduled for release will be rolled out in waves in order to play catch up. For a full list of new content, head on over to the Playstation blog, just don’t be surprised if you have a little trouble logging in, seeing as everyone else will likely be flooding the store over the course of the next two days.
Uncharted is easily one of this generation’s most “cinematic” video game series, so it only makes sense that Hollywood would be jumping to adapt it to the big screen. Director David O. Russell has been attached to the project for a while now, and made waves with fans months ago by communicating his intentions to cast Mark Wahlberg as Nathan Drake and make the film about “a family of art thieves.” It was announced today that Russell left the project due to “creative differences” — differences I can only assume were “people wanted the Uncharted movie to actually be based on Uncharted.” There hasn’t yet been any word on a new director. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 25, 2011 in Videogames
Atari and Bedlam Games’ Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale will finally be available for Xbox Live! and PC starting tomorrow. I’ve been waiting for the title patiently since it was announced back in 2010. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a decent D&D-related dungeon crawl, and while it certainly won’t be the same as Black Isle’s Dark Alliance series, everything I’ve heard about the game sounds promising. Expect real-time gameplay, questing, character development and multiplayer modes, all modeled around the updated 4th edition ruleset. Unfortunately, playstation gamers may have to wait a little longer. Daggerdale had been scheduled to hit PSN on the 30th, a week after its PC and Xbox counterparts, but I’m sure nobody was expecting the online store to be down when that date was initially announced. No word on if it’ll still make its scheduled release date.
Like many of you, I’ve spent the last week glued to my copy of Rockstar’s latest thriller, L.A. Noire. As you may already know, the title’s inspired by film noir — a genre defined by its hardboiled action, dark narratives and unique visuals often associated with the ’40s and ’50s. The game itself borrows heavily from the novels of James Ellroy and films like Chinatown, and The Big Sleep. If you’ve been enjoying the game so far and want some supplemental material to watch, look no further.
I’ve seen people use Minecraft to create all kinds of awesome maps, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Not even the Enterprise-D built to scale could hold a candle to these. The video depicts a number of maps based on the various animated works of Studio Ghibli. You’ll recognize scenes and locations from films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Laputa: Castle in the Sky, all of which seem masterfully crafted. i can’t imagine how much time and effort was spent constructing these maps, but they’re all really impressive.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly three years since Namco Bandai’s Soul CaliburIV hit the market. Better known for its quick, combo-driven gameplay, and scantly clad femme-fatals, the latest entry in the series shocked us all when Namco Bandai teamed up with LucasArts to include several guest characters from the Star Wars universe. Some details have finally emerged regarding its long-awaited sequel.
Namco Bandai revealed the latest trailer for the upcoming fantasy action title, Dark Souls. Like it’s spiritual predecessor, Demon’s Souls, the title promises brutal, highly difficult and unforgiving gameplay while providing one of the most immersive experiences the genre has seen to date. I have to admit, I found the previous title to be a bit too difficult at times, often needing to take extended breaks to prevent myself from stressing out. In addition, the game’s environment, though arguably beautiful at times, can be extremely creepy. It had been a long time since a game sent those kinds of tingles down my spine. Nevertheless, this upcoming release looks spectacular and I really can’t wait to give it a try. The trailer also reveals an October release date — unfortunately, the game will be available exclusively for PS3. Given Namco’s involvement, we can always hope that it’ll get ported, but only time will tell.
The other month we wrote about Mark at Major League Mods and his amazing R2-D2 Xbox 360 projector mod. His design was astonishing enough to make any Star Wars fanboy green with envy. Now, he’s at it again, this time with a fresh take on his original Millennium Falcon Xbox. Years ago, Mark combined the innards of Microsoft’s old black box with a classic Kenner ’79 Millennium Falcon. Microsoft recently released another black box, and while this one is much slimmer, it didn’t stop mark from throwing together another great mod for a customer. This fully functioning 360 slim looks absolutely fantastic. The engines and running lights are a great touch as well. To see how everything works, check out the video below. You can also check out the Major League Mods website for more of Mark’s mods.
I’ve lost track of how many Dragon Ball games have flooded market in recent years. The license has been spread pretty thin with most of the titles retelling Akria Toriyama’s original plot from start to finish while taking a few liberties along the way. In addition, most of these games have featured similar cel-shaded visuals and gameplay, leading many people to believe that once you’ve played one, you’ve played them all. Of course, I’ve had plenty of people tell me that’s simply not the case. They’ve made improvements with pratically every itteration of the series and while we many have chosen to ignore them in the past, this latest entry might cause you to take notice.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 28, 2011 in Videogames
When Square Enix originally announced plans to produce the first Chaos Rings title, I was excited by the prospect. The intent was create a fully-featured role playing experience that could harness the graphical capabilities of an iDevice. After it launched on the app store a year ago, the game was met with rave reviews and seems to have done well enough for Square Enix to consider not one, but two follow-up projects, the first of which is the upcoming prequel Chaos Rings Omega, which will be hitting the Japanese app store next month.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Apr 28, 2011 in Videogames
Back in January, fellow fanboy Michael Sacco informed us that Warner Brothers would be adapting Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat film pitch as a web-based miniseries. As I’m sure many of you already know, Mortal Kombat: Legacy began “airing” earlier this month. So far, they’re about three episodes in and despite some initial gripes, it’s been getting better and better. The latest episode even features a guest appearance by the game’s creator Ed Boon. While it’s not exactly as gritty as the initial pitch, I still want to see where they plan on taking the series. Who knows, if it proves to be popular enough, we may even see a transition to network television. Read more…
