We always think it's so bizarre when fanboys and girls start filling up our tips box with vitriol about the latest unpopular decision made by Sega, Square, Microsoft or practically anyone involved in the gaming industry. "Where do they get all that hate?" we wonder aloud, before going to donate more hugs down at the clinic. They would be a complete mystery to us were it not for Brett Ratner, who, according to a passing mention in a recent press release from MGM, has been tapped to direct the God of War film.
See, we hate Brett Ratner. Well, no, we don't hate the person. We're sure he's a perfectly nice man. But we hate everything he's ever put on film from Money Talks to X3 aka Brett Ratner's First-Person Theatrical Abortion. ... You know what? Forget what we said, we do hate Brett Ratner as a person. And if he directs God of War, it'll be awful, because all of his movies are awful and we don't know why he keeps being allowed to make them.The end.
If there's one entertainment genre that has a worse track record than movies turned to video games, it's video games that have been transformed into movies. At least movies to games have a few bright spots; when people have to summon up Mortal Kombat as the most admirable adaptation of a medium, you know something's gone awry.
So it's with a spirit of mild skepticism that we present the first two posters for Mark Wahlberg vehicle Max Payne. The problem is that we think the above poster (and the one after the jump) look pretty outstanding. AICN has some bigger versions; take a look and let us know what you think.
Honestly, with a new, four-instrument Guitar Hero game just around the corner, we're not exactly sure why you'd sink one more penny into DLC for Guitar Hero III. That is, of course, unless you're so obsessed with the guitar that you think the inclusion of drum and vocals sullies the very name of Guitar Hero. If that describes you, then you may just find today's offer pretty tantalizing.
As you may remember, the Virtuoso Track Pack includes "Surfing with the Alien" as performed by Joe Satriani, "For the Love of God" as performed by Steve Vai and "Soothsayer" as performed by Buckethead. And, as we guessed, you can get the whole lot for 500 points.
We allowed ourselves to get our hopes up for a DS version of the terrifyingly addictive Peggle earlier this year, only to have them crash down around us. Now though, it seems we can sweep up the pieces of our hopes, assemble them once again and send them flying on the back of a magical unicorn into a rainbow-filled sky: PopCap has confirmed a DS version of the game will arrive this winter.
If you've already played the game, you know it's a little like pachinko on crack or steroids or whatever drug means really fun and addictive. If you haven't played the game, then we'd urge you to think very carefully before starting, at least if you have any hopes of carrying on a normal life. Oh, and PopCap will also be bringing two seek-n-solve games, Amazing Adventures and Mystery PI to the system, not that you'll have time for them, what with all the Peggle.
Good news! That $9.99 you're shipping off to GameTap every month just got a heck of a lot more valuable with the edition of Gamecock to the GT family. Think of it: For no additional money, you could be playing ... hmm, well, let's see. There's ... hey, there's Insecticide! ... Oh, and Stronghold Crusader Extreme. Anybody?
OK, so maybe it's not so exciting at the moment, but it'll likely be considerably more valuable when Gamecock games like Legendary and Velvet Assassin appear on the service. Until then ... well, hey, there's always Sam and Max, right?
Everyone likes to prepare for big video games in different ways. Some like to watch video walkthroughs or even trailers, both of which are very normal. But some people, get this, like to read. And not even normal internet reading like you or me, but reading from paper. Rather than scold this deviant subset, EA is actually encouraging their perversion with a six-part comic book series based on upcoming Mirror's Edge, on DC's Wildstorm imprint.
Here's the weird thing: After fans pick up the first issue at their local shop or at San Diego Comic Con, if they get bored while reading it, do you think they can just poke a different part of the page to read something else? No. No, they can't. They have to literally put the comic down and pick up something else to do. C'mon people, live in the now!
Nintendo is holding some sort of event today in Japan, far from our watchful eye. Though it may be able to hide from the Joystiq Biomass, it can't hide from the internet, as the folks at NeoGAF have once again proven. User Jonnyram got some tidbits from the Japanese Rambling Man blog, which (according to his translation) says you can expect to see Wii Music in the Land of the Rising Sun on Oct. 16. If the post can be believed, you can also look for Captain Rainbow in August, colored Wiimote straps in September and Valkyrie Profile DS on Oct. 2. We're a couple of language barriers removed from the source, so we wouldn't write it in stone, but the info does seem to represent our best guess at a Wii Music window for the moment.
You can say what you like about the "listenability" of Dragonforce's music, but there are two things you just can't argue with. 1. Their music is extremely difficult to play in Guitar Hero and 2. They have a hell of a talent for naming songs. Rule 2 has been proven once again with a downloadable track pack coming from the band to Guitar Hero III on August 21.
The track pack will include "'Heroes Of Our Time' (rad!) the first single from the new album Ultra Beatdown (also rad!) as well as Inhuman Rampage (totally rad!) classics 'Operation Ground and Pound' (radder!) and 'Revolution Deathsquad' (raddest!)." So, will rule 1 also be confirmed with the new pack? Well, when a song's called 'Revolution Deathsquad,' we're at least hoping to end up with some blisters.
Normally, watching actual musicians play music-based games is pretty cringe inducing. They don't like feeling like they can't play their own songs, and we don't like being reminded that playing Rock Band prepares us for for absolutely nothing other than playing Rock Band 2.
But in this backstage footage from The Colbert Report, we're happy to report that Rush does not completely embarrass themselves on "Tom Sawyer," aside from only making it 31 percent through their song. But hey, back in the drug years, we bet Clapton was lucky if he made it through 31 percent of a verse. Nothing to be ashamed of Rush, hold your heads high. Your old, old heads.
We were ready to be disappointed by Ubisoft's new portable Prince of Persia, largely because the protagonist bears a striking resemblance to an Oompa-Loompa. But the charming, colorful animations won us over, as did what appears to be a pretty full utilization of the DS's touch-screen capabilities.
It was then we realized what wasn't included in the trailer: Our almost comically meaty hands. Now we're in doubt that we'll be able to see any of the on-screen action behind our mitts, leaving us just as nervous about the game as when we started. So, we'll rely on your judgment: How's it looking to you?
If you've made it all of the way through XBLA's N+, we already know a few things about you. 1. You're a lot more hardcore than we are. 2. You have a lot more free time than we do. 3. You're probably ready for more. Good news on that last front: A 200-level, 200-point pack has just been dropped onto Xbox Live, according to official site metablog.
The site promises "there are 150 'easier' single-player levels, which should ease the pain of those who have found N+ too difficult, and 50 co-op multiplayer levels, which should appeal to even the most hardcore N+ players." So hey, a little something for the both of us, how nice.
We were so angry with the Writer's Guild of America strike back when it was messing up Lost, 24 and Ugly Betty...The Daily Show. Now though, we in the video game industry (and appreciators of it) are reaping the rewards with a lot of upcoming games' scripts having come from the pens of some very talented folk. The latest example is Aliens: Colonial Marines, which Gearbox's Randy Pitchford recently told ShackNews was being written by Battlestar Galactica's Bradley Thompson and David Weddle.
Does that mean we can expect the aliens to [insert BSG fan service gag here] or a head marine voiced by [some BSG actor guy goes here]? Also, does it mean that Justin should watch Battlestar if he's going to be posting about it? Yes. Yes it does.
It occurred to us that despite all our passion for first-person parkour-inspired game Mirror's Edge, you probably still don't get the appeal unless you've seen it in action. "A girl running around on rooftops fighting crime?" you ask with a sneer. "I liked it better the first time, when it was a guy, and it was called Batman."
We understand distrust of the unknown (it's the reason we're still alive) so we'd like to present, for your edification, the Mirror's Edge demo. Now, if you can watch this and still not get excited we really have nothing more to talk about.
Watchmen is just full of surprises. We would have never thought anyone could make a competent movie of the epic graphic novel but, if the trailer is any indication, Zack Snyder may be doing just that. We also would have doubted that the book could be made into game form, but it seems Warner Bros. is surprising us once again. The company will release two downloadable episodic games on PC, Xbox Live and PSN, to coincide with the theatrical and DVD releases of the film.
All we know is we can expect Nite Owl and Rorschach in an action title developed by Deadline Games, which is currently crafting Faith and a .45. We actually think making shorter games to hit deadlines is a smart way to break the terrible licensed games cycle. But of course, if they're short and terrible ...
We've always thought that Jade Empire gets a bad rap, perhaps in part because it came from BioWare, a house normally known for its sterling quality. After all, it's got a decent story, sort of decent combat, and roster of characters that walks the line between stereotypical and racist. ... Come to think of it, it's not really their best effort, is it? Luckily, you don't have to take our word for it: The game is now available for $15 as an Xbox Original.
We were going to heartily recommend it, but now, after having a bit of a think, we're not so sure. Let's open it up to our loyal commenters: Is Jade Empire worth the cash and time?
