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Pac-man is, without a doubt, one of the greatest games ever made. So great, I proudly wear my Pac-Head around the office (even when people are looking). However, even going to that level of devotion, I can’t even come close to this Malaysian fan’s love for the game. His full back tattoo rivals only a few others in its size and dedication… as well as possible insanity.
Or cakes of war? Whatever. If you're a sucker for game cakes like I am, then check out gamecakes.com. What's a better way to combine your love of sugary baked goods and awesome video games? Nothin' -- that's what.
Last week my lovely friend K.B. called wanting to set me up on a blind date. Now, normally I'm not into that sort of thing, but after checking my social calendar and stumbling upon the harsh reality that "Eat Cheetos" and "Cry myself softly to sleep" was the only entry I had for the next 3 months, I accepted. Not wanting to set myself up for disappointment, I set my expectations at an all-time low. So imagine my surprise when I arrived at my romantic table on the beach and caught my first glimpse of the angel that was to be my dinner companion. She was about 15 inches tall. Black as the sweetest dark chocolate. Trim and fit, but with enough space to hold 120GB of gaming goodness. The most beautiful HDMI port I'd ever seen, and the cable to plug it into my soul. And her controller. Dear Lord, her controller. When I held her sleek black wireless controller in my hand, I knew it was love. The conversation flowed as freely as the champagne -- a $479.99 bottle of bubbly that was well worth every penny -- and was filled with stories of superior graphical quality and engaging online connectivity. Without exception, the most emotionally fulfilling conversation I'd ever had. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and as I watched her stroll off into the sunset, my head was filled with one thought, and one thought only, "I love you XBOX Elite. You had me at Halo."
I just got my ticket the other day. I'm going to the circus. By circus, of course, I mean E3. This year, E3 is invite-only, as compared to last year's event where you needed, say, a pulse to get in. Game companies finally tired of the huge crowds, the excessive expenditures on booths to show off their games, and the general uselessness of E3's show floor. So instead of a mass gathering of game store clerks with T-shirts designed to show off this year's newest bulge, E3 has morphed into something a little more cozy, a little more intimate. "Welcome to the E3 Media & Business Summit," the E3 Web site reads, "an exclusive, invitation-only, three-day event which offers the opportunity for both ESA members and non-members to stage major press events, and to have personal meetings in hotel suites and meeting rooms with media, retailers, developer partners, and other key industry contacts. In addition, [Santa Monica's] Barker Hangar will be converted into a software showcase where attendees will be able to casually test drive featured video games outside of the companies’ suites." So, basically, everyone is going to have to shuttle back and forth between this hangar and various hotel rooms in Santa Monica. One of my friends, who happens to write for the very fine game-related publication EGM describes this as "a train wreck ready to happen." And, may the the good lord Luigi have mercy on my soul, but I think he's right.
I collect Nintendo games. Yes, I spend large chunks of my income on old-gen 8-bit graphic games that came out 20+ years ago, just so I can play them once and then they sit on a shelf with the 300+ other games I have. Call me nostalgic. Most of my games come from eBay, or other auction-type websites, and usually cost me no more than $5 a game. Some days I catch a rare game for a few dollars more and I’ll pick that up. Some days I’ll see super-rare games and dream about buying them. Once in a lifetime I see an auction like this, and wish I had an extra $21,000 lying around.
You see, the seller here had no idea what they had in their possession. The last cartridge listed in the lot is the golden cartridge for the Nintendo World Championships in 1990 which is the holy grail of NES collecting. There are only 26 of these games in existence, and I’m pretty sure number 26 just fell into the hands of a collector. It is a sad, sad day for poor NES completists out there.
Video games usually defy reality in one way or another. However, there has always been one genre of games that does its best to give you an accurate representation of the real world: Sports games. Thanks to this week’s Virtual Console release of the second best boxing game ever, Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (the best is Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!) we can see how it stacks up to reality, and examine some of the more nefarious questions that it raises...
DC Direct recently announced a new deluxe figure in their line of World of Warcraft toys: Illidan Stormrage. For the non-Warcrack addicts, Stormrage (a.k.a. Illidan the Betrayer) originated from Warcraft III and is now the ruler of Outland in a little game called The Burning Crusade. (Yeah, he's kind of a big deal.) At 6.5-inches tall with a wingspan of 11 inches, that brings Stormrage to a total height of 13 inches. Your own personal Stormrage will be able to take over your bookshelf starting December 19th. With over 8 million logged on to the World of Warcraft, you'd better pre-order this and the other figures at your local comic book retailer stat!
[via Kotaku]
Bored with a closet full of office supplies? The engineering students at UCSC sure were. Check out their Donkey Kong homage, which took them a total of five hours and 6,400 Post-It Notes to make. Click here to see more pics.
[via GayGamer.net]
He’s been around for over 20 years.
He’s been around in a bunch of different forms; remade, skeletal, a baby, a really crappy character in a movie, even Giga.
He’s golfed, played soccer, kart-raced, even been invited to the party.
He’s even got kids!
Isn’t it really about time that the King of the Koopas gets his own game?!?!?
Continue reading "King Bowser and the Generic Nintendo Title" »
As Major Nelson announced last week, today Gene Simmons made a special appearance at Times Square's Virgin Mega Store, which happens to be right across the street from our offices. We waded through the crowds to get a glimpse of the KISS guitar hero with the um, Guitar Hero 360 controller. Also at the event were the nation's top five Guitar Hero gamers who jammed onstage in front of many bewildered tourists. The highest scorer, which in this case was J.W. McNay, got to play "Strutter" with Simmons (Simmons played on his own ax... literally shaped like an ax). The kid also got a custom-made 360 controller signed by Simmons. Except for the fact that I was in the same building as a member of KISS, it was pretty odd and uneventful. And Major Nelson was nowhere to be seen... For more of pics, make the jump.
Continue reading "Gene Simmons Brings Tongue, Self to Guitar Hero II 360 Event in NYC" »