So when the collector in me sees game rooms like this (and this) it really makes me question my commitment. I fully understand that I, in fact, do have a life, and other things that I have to spend money on than video games. At least that’s what I tell myself, because, frankly, I’m jealous… very, very, very jealous.
Working in the game industry, you get lots of Tchotchkes or swag -- essentially, promotional items or gifts given away by game companies. Aside from the usual mugs, pens, backpacks and stickers, once in a while, we get a really unique piece of swag. Case in point: this Brooktown High letterman jacket. We gave it to one of our producers/whipping boy Jason M., who graciously modeled it for all to see. Look how he instantly transforms from geek to jock just by putting it on...
Continue reading "Swag o' the Week: Brooktown High Letterman Jacket" »
Pac-Man has made more than a few video game appearances since the early '80s. Even though he’s appeared in what seems like hundreds of derivations of the original he’s never really stepped too far out of his rotund role as a pellet-chomping ghost hunter. Unlike other video game mascots (who've played so many sports they're going to the Olympics this year), the Pac's hefty weight hasn't really let him step up his game. However, this could all change with the release of Smash Court Tennis 3 for the PSP in early July. It looks like Pac-Man might be able to shed some pounds on the courts as the star of one of the training mini-games.
I always thought Lara Croft and Hitman would make a cute couple, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Famed MTV video games journalist Stephen Totilo is in need of a bit of help putting a gaming twist on his upcoming wedding reception. At the suggestion of his future wife, they have decided to name all their tables after locations in video games. Hit the jump for the list as it stands right now, but they need about six more. Any suggestions are completely welcome.
What’s the deal with official sites for games having countdowns lately? Why do we need a countdown? Just as much buzz is generated by the news itself. I blame Grand Theft Auto. (Wow, saying that kinda makes me feel dirty… like Jack Thompson.)
In the last couple of months, a slew of games have set themselves up with countdowns, and it’s getting kind of annoying, and extreamly cliché. We get it: There's a game coming out! Just give us the info. Make it stop, please make it stop.
Remember Bases Loaded? Better yet, remember Bases Loaded 3? Back when baseball games were really easy and let you play a quick game and then move on with your life without having to obsess over stats, lineups, and bullpens? For those of you who haven’t played a baseball game since then, there’s a new glimmer of hope: 2K Sport’s The BIGS. The main focus of the game has the players act as heroes and baseball as the sport of gods. In other words, they went a little over the top, but in a good way. I spent a little hands-on time with the game earlier this week and it looks like it could be a much more attainable and fun version of every other baseball game out there.
Continue reading "Put Me In Coach.... Hands On With The BIGS" »
Koji Igarashi likes to apologize.
We're sitting in a private room, and Igarashi (the man shepherding Konami's Castlevania franchise), is having a hard time with his own game. He's showing off Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, and he's doing pretty well, but is still unnerved whenever his character in the game dies.
"I'm a terrible gamer, don't you think?" he asks me through his translator. When I suggest that he's not bad, and that maybe the game's difficulty hasn't been tuned yet, he says, "Maybe I am too old."
Self-deprecation and apologies for the unfinished state of his video game aside, Igarashi is a pretty neat guy to talk with, even if a lot of stuff gets lost in the translation. When I asked him about the changes he's made to the Castlevania timeline, I got a 20-minute explanation in Japanese and three sentences in English from the translator that boiled down to, "the story in Castlevania Legends makes no sense."
This is just too funny. If this ain't a diss to Sony, then I don't know what is! In a recent mini catalog flyer for EB Games in Canda, they are offering a trade in deal were you bring in any old handhelds and get money towards a new DS lite. The handhelds they are offering money back on include the DS Fat, Gameboy Advance and PSP. They are offering some pretty good cash back towards the new DS Lite. But what makes this trade-in such a diss to Sony is the title of the promotion...."Trade The Past......Play The Future." SAY WORD!!! So they pretty much put the PSP in the same boat as the old systems implying that it's pretty much old news! Sony's been getting a lot of negative press with the PS3 and now it seems some of that bad vibe is rubbing off on the PSP. For a major retailer like EB to consider the PSP to be "the past" says a lot about how they feel about the system. Either way, this is the straight-up diss to Sony and consumers not in the know will probably think its true and just avoid anything PSP in general. Man, Sony could use a prayer right about now.