Dude Creates Team Fortress 2 Dispenser

tf2dispenserI am maybe the least handy person in a world. I can’t build anything for crap. You should have seen my lame shop class creations. So that’s why I’m always absurdly impressed by the things that gamers come up with given the time, determination and the resources.

Take this guy, for instance, who built himself a real-life Team Fortress 2 dispenser. No he’s not a TF2 engineer, and no, it doesn’t give out ammo and health, but it does hold beer as well as all of his network equipment, such as his router and DSL Modem. It’s also got his phone and answering machine. Go figure.

So who wants one? Sign me up. If you’re interested in how he built the thing, check it out here, and if you’d like to see more pictures, check those out here.

Source- Steam Forums

GamerSushi Asks: Halo Killer?

halo-killerEver since Halo claimed the console FPS throne, several games have come and gone to try to take the title “Halo Killer”. As if all of FPS-dom were some huge hill that could be overtaken, and fans would automatically shift their allegiances to this new god-like app with the ability to fell Master Chief and his minions.

Personally, I find that to be a load of garbage, as does The Goozex Report, which has an interesting article up discussing how Sony May Never Have a Halo Killer. While many Sony games have tried, none have come close, and honestly, I don’t see it happening any time soon. Not because of any deficiency of the system, it’s just the fan base is so large I can’t see it being slain and won over.

Not even with Killzone 2, which Sony expects to outsell MGS4 (seriously). Personally, while I’m excited about a lot of games for the PS3 this year, Killzone 2 just isn’t even on my radar. It’s like everyone forgets that the first one was just mediocre.

So what do you guys think? Do you see a Halo Killer coming along any time in this generation? And is Killzone 2 actually going to be any good? Tell us your thoughts!

Source- The Goozex Report

7 Things a Hardcore Gamer Should Never Admit, Vol. 1

As those experienced in the realm of nerdery, we gamers know what it is like to be social outcasts more often than not. We understand that there are certain codes, unwritten rules to being a part of circles, and what must be done to infiltrate them.

The same is true of the gaming community, perhaps more so than other clubs. To keep our hardcore gaming membership card secure in our wallets, there are certain appearances we must uphold in order to earn the respect of the gaming community at large.
Continue reading 7 Things a Hardcore Gamer Should Never Admit, Vol. 1

LittleBigPlanet Rolled!

If I was really mean, I would say this is something other than what it is: Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” performed in LittleBigPlanet. Some fun machinima work right there. Since you know what it is, it’s not technically a Rick Roll, right? Right?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvoSmmkSJ2M[/youtube]

The Most Anticipated XBox 360 Games in 2009

xbox360-1It’s kind of a given that in terms of AAA titles, Microsoft has really set the bar high over the last couple of years. From games like Mass Effect, Gears of War, Halo, and even some great XBLA titles like Castle Crashers or Braid, the 360 set itself up as a gaming machine with some unique content. Will 2009 continue the trend?

Gamasutra compiled a list of the most-awaited games of 2009 for Xbox 360, and the answer might be a sad, resounding “no”.

A quick perusal of the list reveals just a few exclusives, and two of those are Halo spin-offs (ODST and Halo Wars). The only game I can say I’m really looking forward to that is exclusive would have to be Star Ocean: The Last Hope which looks like a proper honest-to-goodness JRPG. So what about you guys? Excited about any of these games?

Source- Gamasutra

Farewell EGM: 1UP Sold to UGO/Hearst

egmI remember one of the coolest things when I was a kid was getting a subscription to Nintendo Power. The idea of getting a printed magazine each month about video games was incredible, and through the years I moved around to different gaming mags. While the Internet is a great and wonderful thing, it has slowly and inevitably contributed to the death of print media.

Which brings us to the news that broke today: Ziff Davis has sold 1UP to Hearst’s UGO Entertainment. While this means that changes are coming to one of the Web’s biggest gaming hubs, it also means that EGM will stop printing. The new January 2009 issue will be the publication’s last. On top of all of this, many employees have been fired from 1UP as well.

So, a sad farewell to a long standing gaming mag. I’ll definitely miss purchasing EGM on the occasional stop at the grocery store or at the airport. I’ve always enjoyed their features. Who else is sad to see EGM go?

Source- Gamasutra

Ghostbusters and Final Fantasy: Advent Ghosts

There are lots of things that work when mixed together. Pizzas and being fat. Hamburgers and cheese. Poker and dudes. But Ghostbusters and Final Fantasy 7? I didn’t really expect that. I’m not really sure that it does work, but hey, it’s funny. Love the magazine/newspaper covers littered throughout.

Don’t cross the lifestreams!

Who’s Got The Best Exclusives?

console-warsIn the epic fanboy debates of ages past and present, the ultimate factor always turns out to be console exclusives. Being able to tout a game that the other console doesn’t have wins major points, even if the other side pretends that they wouldn’t touch Halo or Metal Gear Solid if it was on their console of choice. Yeah. Right.

However, these days, console exclusives are light. Since games cost more to make, it’s just not financially reasonable to make an exclusive for one console when you can make more money by spreading the love and your game around.

Unigamesity has put together a list of the pure console exclusives from 2008, and compares their Metacritic ratings. Who wins? You might be surprised. For the record, I think Left 4 Dead should have been included on the 360 list. Sure, you can play it on the PC. But console-wise, you can only play it on the 360, which is what matters for the purposes of this argument.

Source- Unigamesity

PS3 Games to Watch Out For

ps3In terms of games, the last couple of years have belonged to Microsoft, with just a few exceptions for both Nintendo and Sony. The slew of games for the 360 since 2007 seems to have finally slowed though, and we’ve gobbled up the bevy of FPS games til our eyes have turned red. Now that the 360 doesn’t seem to have much on its plate, this could easily be Sony’s year, and it’s about time.

Edge Online has put together a list of the 10 most anticipated PS3 games for 2009, and I have to say, I’m excited to be a PS3 owner. There are more exclusive games coming out than I realized, and who knows, maybe Sony gets its groove back after all.

List after the jump!
Continue reading PS3 Games to Watch Out For

LittleBig Michael Jackson Planet

LittleBigPlanet has been used to make lots of things. Calculators, music composers, wedding proposals and even side scrolling shooters. Apparently, you can also make music videos to Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and “Thriller”. Yes, there is even some moonwalking. One of the coolest parts of all? The dude that made this actually made it for a machinima class at USC. Good way to make the grade, I guess.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMjwAsThY00[/youtube]

Gamepocalypse: Wii Sports is the Best-Selling Game, Ever.

wii-sportsSeriously. Kick me right in the nuts, because I must be dreaming. I’m not really sure how this hasn’t gathered more attention recently, but it’s true- Wii Sports is the best-selling game of all time, now at over 40 million copies sold, putting it past Super Mario Bros., the previous title holder.

Granted, these numbers are a bit skewed, as both of these games were bundled titles with their systems (a PS2 bundled game would have sold 100 million plus copies), but it’s still significant, as no game has ever sold more than the original SMB until now. And it’s Wii. Freaking. Sports.

Curious about the other top 10 best-selling games of all time?
Continue reading Gamepocalypse: Wii Sports is the Best-Selling Game, Ever.

Gaming Flops for 2008

too-humanThere’s nothing worse than being super excited about a video game only to have it suck. We all know that all-too-familiar pang of disappointment as we pop a game in the disc drive and then play it, only to wonder aloud “WTF” as the game really gets moving. Or not moving, if that’s the case. So what were the disappointments of last year?

Second Story Gamer has put together a list of what they deem to be the 10 Biggest Flops of 2008. Basically, they take some of the more hyped games, and post their MetaCritic rating as well as their sales numbers, to determine which of them underperformed.

Some of the titles aren’t altogether too surprising (Mercenaries 2, Haze, Wii Music), though putting LittleBigPlanet for honorable mention seemed a bit off. Also, where’s The Force Unleashed? Did you guys play any of the games on the list?

Source- Second Story Gamer

Review: Fallout 3

fallout-3-zombie Having been a great fan of Bethesda’s earlier RPG series, The Elder Scrolls, I was eagerly waiting for Fallout 3 and their decision to make it into a FPS/RPG hybrid. Not having played any of the previous Fallout games, I was not concerned with any drastic changes they might have made, so this review will come from the perspective of a Fallout noob.

Continue reading Review: Fallout 3

The Nintendo Wii: Abandon Ship?

wii-abandon-shipYou all know that I’m not a huge fan of Nintendo these days. I won’t hide it, and very often (too often, I know) I like to prod Nintendo where I can, dishing out death by papercut through my snide remarks and witty criticisms. Most of that is due to the Wii, which I feel is a colossal stab in the back to the Nintendo hardcore, but unfortunately, the machine is a ludicrous success, so I guess it doesn’t matter.

Slapstic just recently posted an article titled Why NOW Is The Time To Abandon Ship On The Wii, discussing how 2009’s Wii prospects don’t look too promising. Mad World? Sin and Punishment 2? Wii Sports Resort? Apparently, that’s all we’re getting unless Nintendo has some tricks up their sleeves.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about joining this fellow writer and selling my Nintendo Wii as well. Still not sure if that is foolish or not. What do you guys think? Agree or disagree with the article?

Source- Slapstic

Review: Left 4 Dead

left4deadIf anybody knows anything about anything, they know that zombies are the glue that hold this world together. Or at least, that’s my view. Throw zombies at any crappy old movie/videogame/book and it instantly becomes a winner. Really, I’d be happy if everything had the undead rolling like waves in the sea, overtaking the helpless innocents.

So you can imagine my excitement about Left 4 Dead. Not only because it is chock full of zed heads, but also because it is the spawn of legendary developer Valve, those messiah figures turned game makers (if you can’t tell, I kind of like them). When you break it down, it’s been hard to argue with their track record over the last few years.
Continue reading Review: Left 4 Dead

The Metal Gear Solid Cast Improv Therapy

Sounds just as confusing as the plot of MGS4, no? Basically, there is a new video out that features the voice actors of the MGS games (Raiden, Snake, Roy Campbell, Naomi Hunter and Otacon) all doing an improv session. The idea behind the skit is that they can’t separate the game characters from their actual lives.

It’s completely made up on the spot (improv, duh), and is sometimes bizarre and somteimes hilarious. My favorite bits are when David Hayter busts out the Snake voice, and when they jump in with the “Snaaaaaake” bits. Some good stuff, give it a watch.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN2WkHLIweE[/youtube]

Boomer In A Thong Makes Left 4 Dead Sexy

boomer-thongBeing out of the PC gaming scene for awhile now (not by choice, it’s just that updating rigs is expensive), I sometimes miss out on one of the coolest aspects of it- community content. The mods, the skins, the updates, it’s all totally worth it to buy a game because over the course of a couple of years, you get what you paid for from what people add on.

It seems this is already the case with Left 4 Dead, as there are already mods and such for the zombie shoot-em-up. This one, however, just about made me pee my pants in laughter. The boomer in a thong. That’s right. He’s big. He’s burpy. He’s thongy. And he’s sexy as hell.

You should definitely check out the screenshots for a good laugh. Heck, download it yourself and get in on the sexy action. Anybody else seen some good L4D mods/skins?

Source- FPS Banana. Also, Slowa found this at Left4Dead411, as well.

Today’s WTF: Lady Puts Credit Card in Wii

credit-card-wiiWow, starting the new year off with a bang, eh kids? Already we’ve got a pretty epic fail/wtf-inducing moment to talk about. And this one just takes many a cake.

Apparently, a poster over at NeoGAF has informed the gaming community this his neighbor broke her Wii by putting a credit card in it. The defense? She was trying to buy VC games and she took “put in your credit card” a bit too literally. Now her Wii is broken.

Funny thing is, there are just as many games to play on it… Ok, I kid. I bash on the Wii too much, but let’s transfer that negative energy into making fun of this silly lady. How’s that for an epic fail? View some pics of the ordeal here.

Source- Kombo

Happy New Year!

newyearWell, a new year is coming upon us, and let’s hope that 2009 is just as good for gaming as 2008 was. To be honest, while there were a lot of great games that have dropped on us in the past few months, I don’t know if there were any standout titles that left me proclaiming “greatest game evar!!”, though there were quite a few that I did love.

Anthony and I wanted to say thanks for hanging out around here and reading our goofy thoughts on video games, as well as sharing your own back with us. I have to be honest, I check this site more than SFF, which I know is how many of you found this cool gaming nook. I think we’ve got a sweet community here, and I’m a huge fan of the discussions we get going.

Continue reading Happy New Year!

Kid Gets a Wii, Needs a Slap

Just a warning: watch this at your own risk. You thought the music in that WoW video was bad? Wait til you get a load of this ADHD freak’s screaming about his new Nintendo Wii. I’m not trying to be a grinch, I mean it’s cool that he’s excited. But still.

Major props to Nintendo for keeping the excitement for this going 2 years later. Seriously, I thought it would fade by last Christmas, but I was dead, dead wrong.