Anybody heard of Entropia Universe? It’s a competitor to Second Life, except with a real life currency exchange rate.

A few years back, an enterprising cyber-freak named Jon Jacobs mortgaged his house and bought an asteroid in Entropia for about $100k. Crazy right? Not so much. He has since made his money back 10 times over (at about 250k per year) with a marketplace, virtual manufacturing, and trade tax.

Now, in honor of the name he gave his virtual property (Club Neverdie), he’s started Neverdie Studios in Los Angeles, and created a new world in Entropia for us all to enjoy. Continue Reading

Today, the sequel to one of the most creative, unique, and simply adorable games I’ve ever played was “formally” announced, alongside the trailer above.

So what makes this announcement momentous?

Little Big Planet 2 will feature full integration with all 2 million player created levels from LittleBigPlanet 2. This news is HUGE, especially from a developer who has gone on the record in the past to dismiss a sequel as “counterproductive” to building and improving upon the player run community. The added features: namely player created AI, are really just icing on the cake.

LittleBigPlanet wasn’t a perfect game. I had a few issues with several aspects of the game that I am excited to see resolved in the sequel. These include:

• Multiplayer support without sharing the screen. This would allow for greater flexibility, especially in large levels, and help eliminate some of the frustration when one player getting stuck offscreen.
• A better level/user search engine. Sometimes I’d play a great level, but forget to favorite it, and would never be able to find it again.
• Better navigation and interface. sometimes the sheer number of items and tools available to the user were daunting, especially within the simplistic GUI that they were forced to fit in.
• Better precision with the creation tools. The amount of time required to achieve the level of precision necessary in building mechanical devices or large set pieces was often overwhelming. The snap-to grids were helpful in the first game, but they didn’t always suit the need of the situation.

What new features/fixes would you like to see in LittleBigPlanet 2?

The newest level in the Left 4 Dead saga is a 3-chapter kill-a-thon entitled The Passing. This level is situated between L4D2’s first two acts, Dead Center and Dark Carnival. If you’re at all familiar with the campaigns, you know that Dead Center ends with our four heroes gallantly omitting themselves from a zombie-infested shopping mall, with the help of a NASCAR-ish stock car. The Passing attempts to create a bridge between the mall and the Dark Carnival levels, with middling success.

Continue Reading

I’ve been playing the Halo: Reach Beta for a few days now, and it’s definite change from the past.  Or…maybe they’re returning to the past.  Or maybe they’re bringing the past into the future.  Now my head hurts.

Here’re some impressions–without any appearances by Michael J. Fox.   Continue Reading

It’s been about six months since one of the most difficult and innovative singleplayer experiences I’ve ever played went live. This is an aftermath review of one of my most hated and revered games. Continue Reading