Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is exactly what many have tagged it as: a glorified demo. It has all the trappings of a demo (short play time, limited options, no story to speak of), with one key difference: this demo will set you back 5 bucks (400 MSP). Going into it, I really wasn’t sure if any “demo” would be worth an actual monetary investment. Did purchasing Case Zero pay off for me in the end? Hit the jump to find out!
Another year, another Penny Arcade Expo passed. The panels are over and the exhibitors are packed and gone, but the excitement and energy that is PAX are tough to fully process right away. Still lining Seattle’s famous pike street are PAX banners, featuring various statements of nerd humor, such as “why your IT guy is out sick”. But one banner in particular caught my eye, containing a message that why the 72-odd hours of PAX make up the absolute highlight of many gamers’ year (including mine). “Welcome Home”.
In last year’s PAX, I was fleeting familiar with the sense of community one finds at such an event, but it wasn’t until this year’s convention that I was hit in the face with this fact. As I’ve noted previously, much of my time last year was occupied pursuing swag and spending hours in line for a few minutes playtime of the latest titles. While I certainly spent my fair share of time in the expo hall this year, my experience with PAX 2010 was profoundly different than the last, and one of ultimately more enjoyment. Read the full story
Less than 17 days until the largest event in the world for gamers begins– right in my backyard. I’ve always felt very fortunate to have such an important event in the gaming community so close to home. When it comes to big events, Seattle feels a little cut off at times, so its events like PAX that make living in the Pacific Northwest just a little more worthwhile.
Given its occurrence on such a pivotal weekend, Labor Day, last year was the first time I was able to attend PAX. I had an absolute blast, but I still felt like I missed quite a bit of what the convention had to ffer. For one, I spent most of my time on the exhibition show floor. When I was younger, I used to dream of going to E3 (back when it was closed to the public), so the exhibit hall of PAX was my small way of making up for all those times I missed E3. While I got to play plenty of great upcoming games, I regret not branching out more – the panels, meetups, etc.
This year, I hope to fully make up for last year’s shortcomings . PAX isn’t just about exhibiting the latest and greatest games, its about gathering with 60,000 other gamers, playing a game or two, and making a few friends along the way.
Our long overdue redesign is finally here! Its our hope that our new design is easier on the eyes, and simpler to navigate. The redesign isn’t completely done, and even the average user will notice several obvious issues. These will all be worked out in time, so bear with us! That aside, some of my favorite new features include:
Feel free to explore the new site, and leave any comments or suggestions here, or shoot us a tweet!
Vince Zampella and Jason West, the former heads of Infinity Ward, announced the formation of a brand new studio: Respawn Entertainment. Respawn will be doing publishing through Activision chief rival, EA, whom is also providing them with unprecedented full IP rights and ownership. OMFG. This is totally insane. But, it foretells a new trend in the video game world in which companies are starting to invest in individual talent, much like the movie industry does.
Seeing as how Vince and Jason are the creators of one of the most successful entertainment titles ever–EA probably isn’t taking that big of a risk.
Rumor also has it that people have started to bleed out from Infinity Ward to join them–including Todd Alderman, who is one of the designers largely responsible for CoD 4 and MW2′s groundbreaking multiplayer systems.
Ok. I’m back after a bit of a hiatus, and I have a confession. My gamertag is “NewtonsLaww” and I have an addictive personality — (everyone: Helloo newtonsla…nevermind). But it’s this personality that has led me to certain television shows over the years like Joe Millionaire, the old Jerry Springer, and even a little Jersey Shore.
So–what do they do? They go and create a Gamer reality show called WCG Ultimate Gamer. Reality show about GAMES?!?! Great. Just great.
I’m already a gamer with a weakness for bad reality TV. Why. WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS? Read the full story
Almost three years ago in May of 2007, I purchased the Nintendo Wii. I was oh-so-excited at the possibilities Nintendo’s new innovative system would bring. By the end of that year I had procured and enjoyed Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, Mario Strikers Charged, Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy. Including Wii Sports, I had six games for the Wii. That same year I only bought three games for the Xbox 360. The Wii started strong in 2008 with the release of Super Smash Bros Brawl, and then………………………………………………………………………… nothing. Brawl is the last Wii game I’ve acquired in nearly two years. Meanwhile, I’ve since gotten hold of ten Xbox 360 games. Read the full story
Holy Hell. Where am I!? How did I end up here? Omfgajmaj–it’s a game site… and I’m writing in it?
Who’s lame-brained idea was that?
Welcome to me! *Waves* Read the full story
The 2009 crop of nominees in Spike’s Video Game Awards is out, and we’ve got a big announcement to make. We’re not going to make fun of them. For starters, most of the categories seem pretty on point, with eight noms for Uncharted 2, seven for Batman: Arkham Asylum, and six for both Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, which all seem pretty deserving.
Furthermore, we don’t want to rob you commenters of the fun of individually savaging the few embarrassing sections of the list, which honestly, make their own comedy gravy.
Stymied? Okay, we’ll get you started, but just this one, cool? Borderlands is up for Best RPG, huh? That’s the best pick since Serious Sam won for “Best Dating/Train Conducting Sim.”
We’re assuming you can take it from there.
You may be able to guess my votes, but Uncharted 2 certainly got a lot of love from me. Despite how stupid and unimportant the VGAs have become, I really hope Naughty Dog gets recognized this year. The PS3 is no stranger to great exclusive titles, but it certainly hasn’t gotten much recognition for most of those in the past.
Uncharted 2, I hope, will help break this stigma, as it deserves that recognition. I am also happy to see that Killzone 2 made the list for a few categories, and I’d argue it should be a shoe-in for Best Graphics, though I bet a lot of people have already forgotten about all that bump mapping and motion blur.
If nothing else, checking out the nominees list has just reminded me that I need to play Batman: Arkham Asylum and Dragon Age: Origins.
Have you voted yet? What were your picks? Leave a comment!
Last week reports indicated that Sony would be adding Facebook integration to its PlayStation Network. Today, Sony Computer Entertainment America confirmed on the PlayStation.blog that Facebook would indeed be part of the firmware 3.10 upgrade, which is coming “soon.”
Users simply just link their PSN account to their Facebook account in order to have the PS3 automatically update their Facebook News Feed with Trophy and PlayStation Store activity. Sony noted that developers will be able to set specific criteria in their titles to publish additional game information to a player’s Facebook News Feed. “This is just the beginning of our integration with Facebook and we are looking forward to adding new features enhancing the experience in future updates,” said Eric Lempel, Director, PlayStation Network Operations.
Firmware 3.10 will also revamp the Photo category on the XMB so that it’s easier to see more photos stored on the PS3, the PSN Friends List is being modified “based on feedback we received after update 3.00,” and users will be able to choose a color for the PSN ID on the XMB.
Of course, the PS3 isn’t the only console with Facebook integration. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is receiving an update today for Facebook, Twitter, Last.fm and “instant on” HD video from Zune.
Am I the only one who thinks both Microsoft and Sony are going about social network integration all wrong?
The ability to update my Twitter from Xbox Live, or sync my trophy unlocks with my Facebook status updates is simple not attractive to me. For one, a keyboard of some sort is essential, and no, the PS3 keypad is not a viable alternative. Even with the PS3′s somewhat speedier predictive typing, what would I be compelled to say from my PS3?
Maybe I could tweet about the fact that I am tweeting from my PS3 instead of playing Uncharted 2 multiplayer. I’m sure that will be really interesting for followers.
The one feature to come out of this that I do like is being able to connect which of my social network friends also have Xbox Live. I’m just not sure that I need much beyond that.
Reader: Is there something I am missing here? Do you really have some latent need to tweet through a super clumsy and slow interface?
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