Speaking at DICE (thanks Kotaku), Activision/Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick apologized for said he didn’t mean it when he advocated “taking all the fun out of making videogames,” and that “an atmosphere of skepticism, pessimism, and fear represented ‘mission accomplished’” for his developers. Words are cheap; you’re gonna have to do better than that, Bobby. Also: salad, motherfucker. It’s what’s for dinner.
So Oles Shishkovtsov, CTO of 4A Games – the new Ukrainian developer behind the upcoming Metro 2033 – has reiterated his insistence that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.’s (proprietary) X-Ray engine is not being used, in whole or in part, on Metro 2033. Of course, Shishkovtsov created the X-Ray engine, and left GSC Game World just before the first STALKER game shipped. And I hate to say it, but Metro 2033 looks a lot like STALKER. A lot. Not …
For those who don’t follow such things, a bring-you-up-to-speed: the land of Australia, which I will never visit on account of the Huntsman Spider, does not have a rating classification for “mature” games – what we in the States would call M-rated games, or what our PEGI-using friends in Grand Europa would call 18-rated, or what Australia would call R-18+ if it had such a rating, which it does not. Why not? South Australian Attorney …
Cipher Prime, the two-person indie responsible for the hypnotically beautiful Auditorium, have announced their newest musical puzzler creation, Fractal. They haven’t revealed much yet, but Auditorium was so elegant, so special, that I can only hope/assume the best for the company’s ongoing work. If you haven’t yet played it, check it out – more to come on Fractal as it’s revealed.
According to Apples latest annual report, 20.7 million phones were sold during 2009, representing an increase of 78% compared to 2008, and generating a total revenue of $6.8 billion dollars. Net sales of other products and services increased to $696 million dollars predominantly, according to their report, because of an increase to net sales of third party digital content and applications…
A while ago, porn star Ron Jeremy talked some smack about videogames during a debate at the CES show in Vegas. So there was some uproar about that. Now Kotaku hosts a short guest editorial from Jeremy, in which he says, “I am not trying to knock the the video game industry, I am just standing up for the porn industry.” That would be fine, Ron, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re knocking …
After playing Bioshock 2 for several hours, a day before its launch, my friend decided to write a review for it (which was very good I might add). Subsequently, an argument ensued between both of us today where I suggested that the review of a game should not be written until it has been entirely completed…
Review by Lewis B Dead Space: Extraction Developer: Visceral Games Publisher: Electronic Arts Released: EU October 1st 2009 Available for: Nintendo Wii Time Played: Finished Verdict: 4/5 Thumbs Up A competent rail shooter, that thanks to Visceral Games’ strong IP, is arguably the best light-gun experience on the Wii . Although there are some issues and poor acting issues aside, the game is highly enjoyable. Unlike other rail shooters however, I must stress it isn’t …
I’m a hypocrite. I’ll freely admit it, and Gregg will merrily testify to it. However, I like to think of it as willing to change ones mind, as and when new evidence comes to light, so to speak. Still, contrary to my hatred for the Wii and its gimmick-gameplay(tm) I’ve actually started to like the little bugger. Now don’t get all giggly at the thought of me in a darkened room waving my magic wand …
Facebook is evil. Google is evil. The internet is evil. And here is why. I have a rule I go by that if something comes in threes in a short period of time it must mean something. I’ve suddenly come smack up against the writings of Jaron Lanier, an iconoclastic thinker whose subject is this. The internet. Blogs. And doing stuff for free because it’s supposed to be cool but isn’t really.
Got this from GamePolitics: in the ongoing battle between those who favor DRM and copy protection and those who don’t, we’ve received another truly excellent comment from Starforce executive Dmitry Guseff: …basically AAA titles hold around a month, less important titles much longer. I have to add that if we hadn’t implemented some consumer friendly features those titles would have been held much longer. By “holding,” señor Guseff means how long a game protected by …
Meet our new mascot. This Snork is now officially owned and branded by Tap-Repeatedly, and will represent us at several major functions in the coming months. It was a rigorous interview process, but ultimately this Snork – Edgar – won out over Zombie #14 from Deadly Shadows’ Shalebridge Cradle mission. None of the above is true. Actually, this Snork graces our front page because today is a day of days, my friends: it is STALKER: …
Hear ye! Hear ye! Spencer Halpin’s 2007 documentary Moral Kombat is currently viewable for free over at Babelgum for a limited period. It highlights the issues surrounding videogame violence from the first amendment and the industry’s freedom of expression through to the implications that it may have on the next generation. I spotted this over at GamePolitics.com and although it covers a lot of familiar ground it’s definitely worth a look if you’ve not seen …
So I feel badly about implying this, and am fully cognizant of (and in agreement with) our Meho’s postulations regarding this sequel. In fact, years ago a friend of mine ruined the original Mass Effect for me – I’d been absolutely loving it until he deconstructed the entire game before my eyes, embarking on a litany of completely valid complaints ranging from the miniscule to the monumental. I still blame him for shattering my illusions. …
. . Having played through the opening five hours of Mass Effect 2 and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle, two hot off the presses sequels to relatively popular franchise starters I was alternately in tears and in fits of laughter. Something is wrong here. Something is wrong with the media of games and I am not sure it will be fixed unless we take a critical view followed by a stand. Do we still …