Gamestradamus Predicts: The Nintendo 3DS

A couple of years back, we did a feature about the Gaming Fortune Teller, in which we interviewed Gamestradamus, who sees into the beyond when it comes to the future of gaming. He is blessed with a unique ability to see gaming events before they happen. Rumor has it that he ran into Bobby Kotick when Bobby was but a wee lad, and saw the dollar signs in his eyes even then.

Unsurprisingly, Gamestradamus was accurate in most of the predictions he made two years ago about motion control and Bungie, so we thought we’d pay him another visit this week. Specifically, we wanted to get some insight into his knowledge about the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s new 3D handheld with unprecedented 3rd party support and a huge offering of classic games we know and love. Continue reading Gamestradamus Predicts: The Nintendo 3DS

Def Jam Rapstar Ad is Full of WTF

I’ll be honest: half the reason I am posting this video is to make sure someone didn’t spike my food with a concentrated dose of LSD because I am clearly seeing unnatural things. The new ad for Def Jam Rapstar, the hip hop based karaoke game, features Hulk Hogan, his daughter the failed pop star, Brooke Hogan and Jimmy “Mouth of the South” Hart, hanging out, playing some Def Jam Rapstar and making me wonder what manner of crack the marketing team that thought this one up is smoking.

Video below, but be warned: it features a daughter shaking her ass for her father and said father flashing his old man junk, although, in an act of kindness, it’s censored.

Still with me? Okay, try to breathe, we can get through this together. Seriously, what demographic are they aiming for here??? This has to be the worst ad for a video game I have ever seen in my life. Hulk Hogan lives in my area and I vow to you, if I ever see him, (and it has happened) I will get some answers.

However, the question remains: are you going to buy Def Jam Rapstar now? Does this ad make you want to give up on video games forever? Or are you incapable of speech right now? Snap out of your comas and comment!

Star Wars Arcade Turns Your iPhone Into the Millennium Falcon

I recently picked up an iPhone 4 and I’ve been loving the junk out of it. Most of my time is divided between Angry Birds and Plants vs Zombies and I’m kind of surprised at how versatile a gaming platform the device is (I guess it’s also a phone too, or something). I’ve been keeping my eye out for unique or bad-ass iPhone games, and Star Wars Arcade fits the bill perfectly. It uses your iPhone’s camera to produce the background and it throws waves of TIE Fighters at you, superimposed over whatever your phone is looking at.

That looks pretty awesome, and I for one can’t wait to shoot down the minions of the Empire while I’m on the can. IPhone gaming is starting to really take off, so how many of you are taking the plunge? Anyone going to pick this up when it hits the app store later this month?

GamerSushi Poll: How Many Hours a Week Do You Spend Playing Video Games?

It seems like forever ago, but a discussion happened on our podcast that covered the topic of how many hours a week a “hardcore” gamers spends on playing games (the answer was something ridiculous like 45+). We decided that this survey was a bit skewed, and it only occurred to me just now that we never conducted a census of our own.

I’m here to remedy this situation with a new poll, which you shall cast your votes on. It’s rather simple, we just want to know how many hours a week you spend glued to your TV or PC monitor. Personally, I’d say about 10-15 because anymore than that interferes with “real life”, that bothersome thing that keeps making me go to work and pay rent. That’s just me though. What about you?

How Many Hours a Week Do You Play Games?

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Mega Man Creator Leaves Capcom, Calls for Changes in Japanese Video Game Industry

Mega Man

I’m getting a bit of an EA Louse flashback here, only with less tantrum.

For those who are not aware, Keiji Inafune is the creator of the popular Mega Man franchise, and has been a producer at Capcom for the better part of the last decade. Not only did he create the legendary character formerly known as Rockman, he also worked on Dead Rising, Onimusha, Lost Planet, Street Fighter 2, and Resident Evil 4 and 5. Needless to say, he’s been a staple at Capcom. Which is why it’s a shame to hear that he’s leaving the company, which he announced just last week.

Inafune has actually been critical of Capcom on numerous occasions in the past. He hasn’t always been happy with the direction of the company, and has been vocal about trying to change some of its culture. However, it seems he’s finally decided to part ways and take his talents elsewhere.

And for those of you who want the dirty details, he had some particularly biting things to say about both Capcom and the Japanese gaming industry as a whole. Continue reading Mega Man Creator Leaves Capcom, Calls for Changes in Japanese Video Game Industry

LittleBigPlanet 2 Takes This Battle to the Sky with an Awesome Afterburner Homage

Sackboy and his Sackbot’s have struck again, with another gem that makes me feel inadequate about my creativity. Using the beta, an adept gamer has created “Sackfighter Dogfight”, a game that owes more than a little to Sega’s classic jet-fighter shooter. Complete with barrel rolls, cinematic camera movements and even a gun that can overheat, LBP 2 just shot up high on my want list. Take a look at this:

What say you? Impressed yet? This thing isn’t even out of beta and it’s making that calculator from the first game look like child’s play. Anyone going to get this? Do you have any game ideas you want to share?

The Marvel of Great Gaming Worlds

Red Dead Redemption

There’s nothing more immersive or impacting about a video game than a fully realized world, one that you love to be in and help shape by your actions or general goofing around. One of the reasons Red Dead Redemption enthralled me so fully was that its world was something that totally sucked me in, grabbing me in its noose and refusing to let go. Even after I finished the game, I didn’t want to leave, and kept coming back for more.

CVG recently posted a feature about 9 Game Worlds You’ll Never Want to Leave, and just looking at it makes me want to go through and pick up Assassin’s Creed 2 again, a long with a few others. Interestingly enough, they also include Mirror’s Edge, which, while very linear, still had a cool and bleached look about it. The thought of the sequel being an open world game is more than tantalizing. In addition, Rapture, Azeroth and San Andreas all make an appearance. Honestly, I would throw Mass Effect’s universe in here as well, as it’s one of my favorite gaming creations to date. Sometimes I find myself itching for more space adventuring with the Normandy.

So what do you guys think? What are your favorite gaming worlds?

Source – CVG

JFK, Castro, Tricky Dick and McNamara Team Up Against Zombies in Black Ops

Black Ops Zombie Mode

In what may be the greatest thing I have ever heard of in my entire life, a trailer depicting John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon and Foreign Secretary Robert McNamara joining forces (and guns) against the zombie horde in Call of Duty: Black Ops has surfaced. GamesRadar had the trailer, but it has since been removed due to Activision’s long arm of the law smacking them down. We will update when we get the video back up.

Personally, I think this might be the best game of all time at this point. At least, the best game I have never played. As a history buff and someone who likes shooting things, being able to shoot the undead as any one of these 4 people is a dream that I never realized I had come true. Are you pumped about this? Do you think it might be disrespectful to JFK since he was killed by (at least 1) a gunman? Would you rather play as faceless soldiers?

Is this too over the top? Or just the right amount of cheese? Commence!

Source: GamesRadar

Microsoft Expects Great Kinect Sales Even if Reviews are Poor

Microsoft Kinect

After all the months of speculation, ridicule and “is that actually what I’m going to look like playing that thing”, the launch week of Microsoft’s Kinect has finally arrived. The hands-free motion control system will be out tomorrow in North America, prompting all of its purchasers to get their Wavy McJiggleArms swinging. I jest, but I am actually interested to see what this thing does, especially considering that it is Microsoft’s big horse, on which it is pinning many of its gaming dreams.

So how do they feel about it? If you ask Aaron Greenberg, head of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, he thinks it will do just swimmingly. He feels so strongly about this, he believes it will sell units even in the face of negative game reviews for Kinect’s launch titles.

Why is that? Because Kinect is different. Continue reading Microsoft Expects Great Kinect Sales Even if Reviews are Poor

Review: The Force Unleashed 2

Aside from a few misgivings, I actually enjoyed 2008’s The Force Unleashed. Despite the sometimes buggy way that all of its different engines would work together, it still managed to be a good game with a great Star Wars story that filled in an important part of the canon. Taking on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, you guided Galen Marek, nee Starkiller, through various worlds until you reached the final confrontation on the first Death Star.

The game was filled with great moments and definitely seemed to have some promise of better things to come lurking around. We’ve seen a few games this generation that used the first game in their series as sort of a tech demo, a jumping off point for bigger and better things. The Force Unleashed seemed poised to make this leap when it was announced last year at Spike’s Video Game Awards, so how does it do now that it’s on the second iteration? Is this game any good, or has Star Wars disappointed us for the last time?
Continue reading Review: The Force Unleashed 2

GamerSushi Asks: Unnecessary Sequels?

rainbow_six_vegas_2

There’s been a specific game I’ve been playing over the last couple of days that got me thinking about the necessity of sequels in the gaming world. Obviously, publishers want more money, and if a game does well enough the first time, they’re going to try and make the lighting strike as many times as possible. What I’m talking about are sequels from our perspective.

While it doesn’t happen often, there are usually a couple games that get sequels pumped out in a short time frame with little to no improvements aside from maybe a sprint button or the addition of an experience system, just to capitalize on the good will of the first. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (hereby known as “double Rainbow”), is the first example that comes to mind, as that game just stinks of a quick cash in, made to take advantage of the overwhelming surprise success of the first game. Aside from the addition of the aforementioned sprint, the game was exactly the same, so it was panned critically and didn’t fare as well as the first did commercially.

I can think of a couple more examples, but I want to know if you guys were ever disappointed by a sequel. Are there any games out there that just broke your heart when they came out because they didn’t do justice to the legacy of the first? Maybe it was a third game in a trilogy that fell flat? Let us know!

GamerSushi Asks: Halloween Costumes?

Bioshock 2 Halloween costume

Trick-or-treat, GamerSushi dudes and ladies. Since it’s officially Halloween, and I’m answering the door for screaming hooligans that want candy, I thought I’d stop in to ask you guys about the day of scares and pumpkins.

Myself, I just played NBA2K11 all day, and it’s seriously one of the best sports games of this generation. It’s definitely some of the most fun I’ve had playing a basketball game, and yes, that includes the boom-shaka-laka NBA Jam days of old. In terms of Halloween festivities, last night I helped carve a pumpkin (and by that I mean I watched someone do it), and later tonight I plan on watching the junk out of Walking Dead. However, Friday was the Halloween highlight of the weekend, seeing as how I won a costume contest at work by dressing like Bob the consultant from Office Space. I’m not always a huge costume guy, but that one was a fun one that got a lot of laughs. I only wish I could grow a mustache like that.

What about you guys? Did any of you have any awesome Halloween costumes this year? See any awesome video game related ones? What did you guys do for Halloween? Go!

Gaming Pop Quiz, Halloween Edition

Well gents, today is Halloween, which means that we’re back with a brand new edition of Gaming Pop Quiz, this time all about the genre of horror games and all of the frights therein.

If I’m being honest, I haven’t always the biggest fan of horror games, but I can remember some truly terrifying moments in games that I’ve loved. Whether it was the Berserker battle in Gears of War or hearing that Tank music cue in Left 4 Dead, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of a truly scary event that smacks you in the face while you play. And sometimes, the scariest games of all have nothing jumping out at you and announcing how frightening it is, but rather are dark and moody and full of something sinister, such as Myst or Limbo.

Anyway, I’m setting all of this up to give you a few awesome questions, naturally. As always with our getting-to-know-you type games, feel free to answer with as much or as little as you like. Answer to the best of your ability. Go! Continue reading Gaming Pop Quiz, Halloween Edition

Donkey Kong Returns Trailer is Old School Fun

If there’s anyone on the planet who knows how to handle Nintendo properties right, it’s Retro Studios, makers of the critically and commercially successful Metroid Prime series. While I originally thought it was overkill to put the team that handled Metroid’s transition to the previous generation on something as simple as Donkey Kong, I’ve been hearing things that indicate that Retro approached Nintendo with the outline to revive this classic platformer. A new trailer just went up for the game, and it looks like a gloriously fun time. Have a watch:

Sort of in the vein of New Super Mario Bros. Wii but with the addition of the big ape we all know and love. It also looks fairly ridiculous, and it has the added benefit of being co-op enabled. So, what do you guys think of the trailer for Donkey Kong Country Returns? Got room in your holiday season for the resurgence of the Kong? The game comes out November 21.

Garry Newman Talks GMod and the Future of PC Modding

Garrys Mod

In the discussion about mods and sandbox games, Garry’s Mod stands as one of my favorite PC sandbox tools of all time, and a standard bearer for how a mod can become a force all its own in the gaming world. It proved a valuable asset for creating our old Leet World show, and was the primary reason that we felt we could make the series to begin with.

I’m thinking of all of this because Kotaku posted an interview with Garry Newman, the creator of Garry’s Mod, and it’s quite the read. It’s got some really fascinating thoughts, not only about the success of the mod itself (Garry has made quite a bit of money, considering it’s sold over 770,000 units and he gets a cut of each sale), but also about the nature of modding and where it’s going in the future. A brief snippet:

“What’s the difference between someone modding an engine and someone licensing an engine? There’s no difference at all, it’s just what you call it. A mod isn’t just a mod anymore, it’s a game.”

He even talks a little about his interview with Valve. Seriously, this piece is totally worth the read if you’re at all interested in the subject, especially considering where PC modding have come in the last year with its rousing success stories.

So, how many of you guys have played Garry’s Mod? What are some of your other favorites and where do you see PC modding going in the future?

Source – Kotaku

PS3 Narrows The Xbox 360’s Lead To 3 Million

After Eddy’s initial foray at starting a console war earlier this week, this bit of news has come to light that might really get some panties in a twist, although why this would bother anybody escapes me. Turns out that the PS3 has, according to VGChartz, pulled to within 3 million or so consoles worldwide of the Xbox 360. Of course, the Wii is so far ahead of them both that Nintendo likely wouldn’t even click on this article if they came across it on the Internet.

What’s interesting about this is that the PS3 still lags in the United States and Canada by a wide margin, but is much more popular in Japan and especially Europe. Another aspect worth mentioning is the 360’s year head start, which has basically been nullified, although I have a feeling that Kinect will widen the gap once again for Microsoft.

After the expensive price tag and tons of bad press, it appears the PS3 has the Eye of the Tiger and is not going down without a fight. Is this surprising to you? Have you taken the plunge? Do you think the PS3 will ever surpass the 360? Flame on!

Source: VGChartz

From Dust is Like Minecraft on Steroids

If you haven’t heard of Ubisoft’s From Dust, which drops sometime next year on PC, PSN and XBLA, it’s a sandbox god-style simulation game that lets you shape the world as you see fit. Create mountains and forests, form new rivers and protect the inhabitants of the island, and do it all with the aid of truly gorgeous visuals.

While this is a bit old, yesterday I caught this From Dust tech demo and found myself thoroughly blown away. It looks like the drunken lovechild of Minecraft and Sim City, and I mean that in the absolute best way it can possibly be taken. Just watching this video brings back memories of letting natural disasters destroy my complaining taxpayers. Does that mean I’m evil?

Review: Fallout: New Vegas

fallout new vegas review

Fallout 3 was probably the best game of 2008, its massive, interactive world allowing players to explore the ruins of an alternate reality Washington DC destroyed by nuclear war. I personally must have spent at least 100 hours roaming the Capital Wasteland, and I’m pretty sure that I still haven’t done everything in the game. The DLC added a lot more to do, but eventually the font of encounters was going to run dry. As good as Fallout 3 was, gamers wanted more.

Bethesda tapped the infamous sequel team Obsidian (known for Knight of the Old Republic 2 and Alpha Protocol) to deliver on a follow up. Their answer is Fallout: New Vegas, which hearkens back to the original games by way of having several members of Fallout 2’s team on staff at Obsidian. Making the trip back to the American West, New Vegas puts players in the boots of the Courier, shot and left for dead in the Mojave by Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry, for those of us who never watched Friends). Was putting Obsidian in charge of the sequel a good gamble considering their previous offerings?
Continue reading Review: Fallout: New Vegas

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Trailer Welcomes You to Rome

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (or AC:ODST if you aren’t sick of that joke) just went gold, and to celebrate Ubisoft has dropped a new trailer on us showing a bit more of Rome and the various characters. Also included is some footage of the city being renovated and Ezio’s hired hands kicking ass. If you’re so inclined, we’ve embedded the trailer below for your viewing pleasure.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is the second last big title dropping for me this year, and that’s especially welcome considering how much my wallet is hurting. 2010 has been quite the year, and I’m probably going to be in serious debt for a while. We’ve posted a few trailers on Brotherhood before, but as always we’d like to read your opinions if you feel like giving them. Now that we’re almost out of the holiday blitz, are you revising your spending plans?

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood drops November 16 on the Xbox 360 and PS3 with a PC release following next year.