XCOM Returns as a First Person Shooter

XCOM is one of the classics of the the PC gaming scene, an old-school strategy title where you waged war against alien invaders as the director of a Men In Black type organization. In the re-imagining of the series (done by Bioshock developers 2k Games), you still undertake the role of the leader, but instead of issuing orders from behind a desk, you step out into the field to meet the aliens mano a mano. A trailer dropped for the game during E3, and dang if it doesn’t look intense.

Set during the 1950s, this game bares more than a passing resemblance to another period-piece title from 2K that I mentioned above. While similarities aren’t exactly a bad thing, especially given the fact that this is probably the best team to turn XCOM into an FPS, it still remains to be seen whether this will help or hinder the game come release time. What do you guys think about XCOM? Eager to blast some symbiote-looking aliens, or upset about the change in genre?

Fallout MMO Beta Site Launched

Fallout Online

For many months now, there has been a rumored Fallout MMO in the works, with Interplay and Bethesda caught in a slight legal debacle over the rights to the game. The codename for this game has been Project V13, and while it wasn’t scheduled to go into public beta until sometime in 2012, it seems that things might have changed. A new Fallout Online site has been launched by Interplay, with a flash animation, some artwork and even a form to register for the beta as well as regular e-mail updates. I guess they’ve had their issues worked out, recently?

This is potentially pretty cool news, even though I have yet to finish the game. The Fallout world is a really rich one with plenty of great locales to visit, and tons of room for player exploration. I think it’s exactly the kind of property that lends itself perfectly to an MMO, so the developments here should be fun to see. If any of you are interested, head on over to the site, but just be warned that it’s loading a bit janky right now because it’s servers are no doubt being beaten like a drum.

So what do you guys think of this? Who’s going to sign up?

Source- Blues News

Firefight Returns for Halo Reach

While last year’s Halo 3: ODST divided a lot of people with its price point and the short length of the campaign, I think that we can mostly agree that Firefight, the four-person co-op survival mode, was pretty freaking awesome. Players would band together against ever increasing waves of Covenant troops, competing for points but using teamwork to stay alive. Since Firefight was so well received, fans have been hoping and wondering if Firefight was going to make a reappearance in Halo: Reach, Bungie’s final (?) foray into the Halo-verse. Well, wonder no more, Spartans! Firefight is back and better than ever. Check out the trailer:

Just watching that trailer makes me salivate a little bit, because the thought of Firefight with Reach’s refined mechanics is a delicious one indeed. Better yet, the mode will feature matchmaking this time around, which was a point of contention when it was excluded from ODST. What do you guys think? Who here got even more excited for Reach, and who’s had their opinions changed?

Drowning in a Sequel Sea?

Stormy SeaCan I just say that I’m tired of seeing only sequels? I just want to go out on a limb and say that to the entire video game industry right now: Please. Stop. With. Just. The. Sequels.

Now, allow me to back up a few steps before I continue that thought. Today was truly a stellar day for all of E3, past and present. I honestly can’t remember the last time that an E3 day was this monumental, this exciting, and this surprising. I was right there with everyone who was cheering about Donkey Kong Country Returns, Goldeneye, Twisted Metal, Metal Gear Solid 3, Star Fox and Mario Kart on the 3DS, and the like. Continue reading Drowning in a Sequel Sea?

Check Out These Star Wars: TOR Gameplay Clips

I know that Bioware has shown off little bits of The Old Republic gameplay here and there, but I’ve largely been avoiding it so I could see a more lengthy piece that showed a healthier stretch all together. Well, because of E3, we’ve gotten several of those in a row, taking us on a small quest through numerous classes.

In terms of the gameplay, I’m not quire sure how I feel about it. It doesn’t appear particularly exciting, but then again I’ve never played an MMO. In terms of MMO combat, this is about as exciting as it gets, from watching friends play WoW. It’s also fairly impressive that the entire thing is going to be voiced, which is a gigantic undertaking for that many quests.

What do you guys think? Check out the lightsaber gameplay below, along with the other class videos after the jump. I’ve even included the video that tells you all about ships, which act as the players’ homes in the MMO.


Continue reading Check Out These Star Wars: TOR Gameplay Clips

Sony’s E3 2010 Event Highlights

playstationSo far, Microsoft was mediocre. Nintendo was superb. What is Sony, the Playstation 3 and PSP heavyweight, going to do? Would their press conference be the longest of the bunch? Let’s find out.

Here are the highlights, after the jump!

Continue reading Sony’s E3 2010 Event Highlights

TOR: Hope of Alderaan Trailer

While the Ubisoft press conference was mostly a complete and utter disaster today at E3 2010, EA came through with some nice tidbits and announcements. In particular, there was this rad Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer called The Hope of Alderaan, which has some spectacular jedi on dark jedi action sequences. Sure, it flies in the face of Canon possibly, but who cares, because it is epic.

Still no word on a release date or some official gameplay footage yet from Bioware, but hopefully we’ll get some more information about either of those sometime later this week. We’re running on a couple of these great trailers for the last two years with no idea of when we can expect to see and play this game. Get a move on, Bioware!

Microsoft E3 2010 Press Conference Highlights

x360The Microsoft E3 2010 press extravaganza has come and gone. Naturally, we’ve got lots of great news, videos and demos to talk about.

Here are the highlights, after the jump!

Continue reading Microsoft E3 2010 Press Conference Highlights

The E3 2010 Madness Begins

E3 2010E3 2010 has arrived. And it is glorious. Revel!

Already, the gears of gaming wars are spinning into existence, and the rumors/news flying out is hard to keep up with. This is the week where we, only being dudes who do this for a hobby in our limited free time, will ultimately fail to keep up with the barrage of new information that is coming out. But we will try our hardest to keep everything up to date, and we’ll love doing it, because seriously, this is gaming nerds’ favorite time of the year.

And man, the deluge has already started. We’ve got XBox Kinect, leaked drawings of the Nintendo 3DS (which is supposedly going to make its debut tomorrow), the Metroid Prime team rumored to be working on a Donkey Kong game, and all kinds of other craziness. Check back here later today and you’ll find a bullet-pointed break down of the Microsoft E3 2010 press conference, with handy links for more information for all of you that will miss it when it runs this afternoon.

So, what are you most excited about for E3? Go!

Microsoft: XBox “Kinect”, Plus A New 360 Model

Microsoft KinectEver since last year’s Microsoft press conference at E3 2009, people around the gaming industry have been wondering about what their new motion control system, codenamed Natal, was eventually going to end up being named. We saw a similar thing several years ago, when the Nintendo “Revolution” wound up with the then-strange-but-now-household moniker: “Wii”. Well, news has finally dropped tonight. Natal’s final title will be the Xbox “Kinect”.

While the name certainly isn’t everything, and I see the idea they’re going for, I actually thought Natal was kind of catchy in the same sense that “Wii” was, because it represented something new that we hadn’t seen before. With no controllers, Kinect is certainly going to be an interesting evolution of the motion control platform. By all accounts, this makes Sony’s Move seem like a stroke of genius in comparison.

In addition to that piece of news, there are also reports of the long-rumored “slim” XBox 360 finally making its debut at E3 this week, along with pictures of the new model. Supposedly, the only difference between this new model and the old ones is that the HDD is 250 GB and it also has built-in Wi Fi. To me, this design seems like a step back, especially compared to the PS3 slim, which was such a well done re-design of a system. This rumored model is sharp and angular. If this ends up being real, they might as well call it the XBox 360 Orthanc, after Saruman’s tower in Lord of the Rings.

Anyway, there has also been a short list of Kinect’s launch games, which include a dance game as well as a Wii Sports ripoff. So what do you guys think of all of these developments? Do you like the name Kinect?

Source- Kotaku (Kinect) and Kotaku (New XBox 360 Model)

Review: Red Dead Redemption

red dead redemptionRockstar has a well-deserved legacy of making really engaging, if somewhat wacky and ultra-violent, sandbox titles, one where the player assumes the role of a mass-murderer of some note. Ever since the first Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar has been poking fun at various eras of history, but they’ve never strayed further back than the 80s. The most recent game from the studio, GTA IV, took a look at modern America through a very skewed lens, using the viewpoint of immigrant Niko Bellic to make a commentary on our post 9/11 society.

For their most recent title, Rockstar has decided to eschew the modern trappings of GTA IV and travel all the way back to the Old West; 1911 to be precise, an age where the cowboy still roamed the plains, but the government was slowly encroaching on the frontier. Players assume the role of John Marston, gravelly-voiced gun for hire, forced to hunt down his old gang members at the behest of the Bureau of Investigation. Does Rockstar’s traditional formula survive in the Old West, or does the corpse get picked apart by vultures when I’m done with it?
Continue reading Review: Red Dead Redemption

Today’s WTF: Valve Canceling E3 Event?

Well, file this one under “kind of freaking weird”, I guess. Not even our GameCop feature could have predicted this kind of psycho madness.

So, remember all that E3 Valve commotion that started last week? In case you didn’t remember here’s a brief recap. First, Valve said that it was going to have a “special surprise” at E3. Then, images circulated about a supposed “Gordon Freeman” thing that had to do with the surprise. Then Valve said that no, it wasn’t Half-Life 2 Episode 3. After that, there were rumors that this was going to be a reveal of a new Source Engine. Even farther still, Valve then announced that Portal 2 had been delayed to 2011.

Crazy, right? Well, now Valve has reportedly canceled its E3 2010 event completely. Here’s the note from Valve’s Doug Lombardi regarding the cancellation.

“Just a quick note to clarify the Monday Press Event at the Regal Theater is completely cancelled. Please do not head over there expecting to see us.”

What a strange, sordid tell. So what do you guys think? More Valve tomfoolery, or did this “special surprise” thing blow up in their faces once they realized that what people really wanted was Half-Life 2 Episode 3, and perhaps they didn’t have that for them. Thoughts?

Source- VG247

Great Moments In Video Game Music: Metal Gear Solid 3 – Snake Eater

This one goes out to my loyal listeners Mitch and Eddy, who submitted this idea to me and after a few listens, I fell in love with it. This song plays during the opening credits of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and is very James Bond-ish, which I think works in its favor. The images that play during the movie are very cool, but I think the song works just by itself, which is the point of these posts: game music you can enjoy without having played the game. Enjoy and may the mullet be with you!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CbFAZ2ztlE[/youtube]

Fallout: New Vegas Trailer Hits the Strip

After Fallout 3 consumed my life with its cornucopia of post-apocalytpic goodness, I’ve had my eye peeled for anything pertaining to a follow up to that excellent title. As luck would have it, Bethesda contracted Obsidian studios to craft the spin-off, and for all intents and purposes, it looks like it’s shaping up to a worthy successor. A new trailer for the game hit the internet to lead into E3, so let’s have a watch, shall we?

One thing I really like is the juxtaposition of the cheerful swing tune with the bad-ass combat that’s happened on screen. Another thing I like? Slow motion walking in front of explosions. What about you guys? Are you going to go all in on this one, or will you fold?

Today’s WTF: Metal Gear Without David Hayter

snakeThis news could possibly be the death knell of Metal Gear Solid: Rising for me, even though I’ve seen nothing of the game since last E3. According to rumors, the game, subtitled “Tactical Lightning Action”, will be out sometime next year, and no one has phoned David Hayter yet! For those of you who don’t know who this man is, he’s the guy who’s been providing the gravelly-voiced delivery for Solid Snake for the last twelve years. He’s also a Hollywood screen writer with credits for X-Men and X-Men 2 in addition to the Watchmen draft that stodgy Alan Moore gave his approval to.

One might say that Hayter is the linchpin of Metal Gear Solid in North America, so what will a Metal Gear game without Solid Snake be like? Granted, the game is assumed to be about Raiden, but even Metal Gear Solid 2 (which had Raiden as the main protagonist), featured a lot of Snake. What do you guys think? Could Rising be completely Snake free? What are your thoughts on this game, now that a full year has gone by? Keep in mind that this is just a rumor, but it’s puzzling none the less.

Source: VG247

Russian Snack Company Wins the Internet With Their Commercials

You probably read that title and asked yourself “why is Mitch posting about Russian commercials?” Simple answer my friends: they are awesome, and video game related. The ads take two iconic video game franchises, like Contra and Tetris, and mashes them up in a versus setting. These ads have been running for quite a while, so there’s a few gems in there. The animated commercials are also a bit more mature than we’re used to in North America, but we’re all adults here, right? Catch Tetris versus Contra here, and Mario versus Pac-Man after the jump.

Contra versus Tetris:

Continue reading Russian Snack Company Wins the Internet With Their Commercials

Submit Your Podcast Questions!

MicrophoneIt’s that time again! Next week, we’re going to be releasing the 4th episode of The GamerSushi Show. That means that we need you guys to supply us some of those awesome questions we’ve been fielding during the recording session.

If we’ve neglected your questions before, we apologize. Sometimes we get rolling and we just don’t have the time to get to everything we want- but we seriously love the topics you guys have submitted! We’ll be recording the ‘cast on Sunday or Monday, just before all the craziness of E3 2010 begins, so feel free to make them E3 related if you wish. We’re also thinking of doing a post E3 wrap-up since there’s no possible way we’ll be able to keep up with the volume rolling in around that time.

So, what are your questions? Go!

The Dreamcast is Back as Downloadable Content!

dreamcastThis will surely be good news for those of us who fondly remember SEGA’s last foray into the console business as it has just been announced that the Dreamcast’s library of titles is being made available on the PlayStation Network and the X-Box LIVE Arcade. The Dreamcast garnered over 650 titles during its lifespan, which started on September 9, 1999 with Sonic Adventure.

While some Dreamcast games have seen re-releases on previous generation consoles (the Sonic Adventure series being the most notable) this is the first time they’re being set loose on the current generation featuring all the fancy bells and whistles that we’ve come to expect like updated graphics, sound, and online integration.

SEGA’s VP of Digital Business, Haruki Satomi, had this to say about the Dreamcast’s resurgence:

“The Dreamcast is fondly remembered by a large community of dedicated fans as a console that was ahead of its time in terms of graphics, quality and online gaming. There are few things that are more requested from us than making Dreamcast classics available for download in today’s digital market place. We’re very excited to begin offering gamers our beloved Dreamcast titles again on the current console systems.”

The first games to be out in the fall will be Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi, and I can tell you that those are on my list. What about you guys? Excited about the Dreamcast coming back? What games would you like to see?

Source: Kotaku

Obligatory Viral Video Post: Mortal Kombat Rebirth

By Internet standards, this news is a couple of days old, so by now it’s practically ancient history. However, that hasn’t stopped people from talking incessantly about this brand new Mortal Kombat short film that made its debut on the tubes and swelled to mythical proportions in just hours.

Here’s the rundown: it’s a gritty, well made depiction of the Mortal Kombat universe with some excellent production values behind it. No, it’s not a trailer for a new game, nor a trailer for a new movie. It is, however, a brief proof-of-concept that director Kevin Tancharoen made to pitch to Warner Bros., in the hopes of getting a new movie produced.

While I’m not quite as enthralled as the rest of the Web seems to be over this, it’s still pretty damn entertaining, and would make a great opening to a potential new Mortal Kombat film. If this guy gets picked to bring the next one of these to life, then sign me up.