Most Recent: Articles

World’s Biggest Pac-Man brings user-created mazes to your browser

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Microsoft and Namco Bandai have teamed up with developer Soap Creative to bring The World’s Biggest Pac-Man to your Internet browser. Specifically designed for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 9, the game will run in any HTML5-capable browser.

So how did The World’s Biggest Pac-Man become the biggest Pac-Man maze in the world? The game actually allows players to create mazes that can be attached to the title’s massive continuous maze. And each new maze is linked through the secret passageways that Pac-Man is famous for. The World’s Biggest Pac-Man has been live for a little over 24 hours and users have already created over 1,800 mazes.

“We are giving the world one of its favorite video games through the browser, in a fun and engaging way that truly showcases how developers can deliver a new class of web experiences by taking advantage of modern web standards and hardware acceleration,” Microsoft Australia “developer evangelist” Michael Kordahi said.

While the game is web-only for now, I would bet my last Power Pellet that a “best of” pack will make it’s way to the Xbox Live Arcade someday.

Posted in News, PC |

Extended Twisted Metal trailer released, Axel’s wheels available for pre-order

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

If the last trailer wasn’t enough to get the blood pumping, here’s an extended clip showing the disturbing tales and visceral car combat for the upcoming Twisted Metal reboot. In addition, you can snag the iconic vehicle of former tournament competitor, Axel, when you pre-order at participating retailers. Twisted Metal relaunches on PlayStation 3 on October 8.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Final Fantasy V out on European PSN

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

We caught word a little more than a week ago that Final Fantasy V was being brought to the PSN with some additional cutscenes. It seems the European PlayStation Store has updated, bringing FFV to the PSOne Classics section.

First Vagrant Story, now this? Someone at SCE Europe must have a good connection at Square Enix. Maybe Sir Howard Stringer is a big fan of Ex-Death… Oh well, hopefully it just means we can expect it next week. If not, our PSPs can be occupied with Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection, coming out next Tuesday.

Posted in News, PS3, PSP | Tagged

Logos for Sonic Generations and next Mario & Sonic may have leaked

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

It’s nothing confirmed, but the Sonic Stadium forums have stumbled upon images for the anticipated multi-generational Sonic Generations as well as Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. You can see the pic of the latter after the break.

I know it probably wouldn’t be the final box art, but I kind of like that image of the two Sonics with just a white background. It would be pleasantly simplistic and non-pretentious, and possibly get me more excited for the game (if that’s at all a legitimate reason). Sonic Generations will be coming out this year for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, while little information at all (technically, it hasn’t even been announced yet) is known about the next Olympic mash up of the Mushroom Kingdom and… the Zones. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 | Tagged ,

Disgaea 4 special editions announced, pretty insane

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Mike Gutierrez

NIS America is looking to get everyone pumped for the latest entry in their Strategy RPG series, Disgaea 4, by announcing the special edition options fans will be able to indulge in when the game hits stores.

In addition to the regular Blu-Ray, players will be able to get the Premium Edition and the Super Premium Edition. The former entails the game, a Fuka figure, the soundtrack, and an artbook. If you opt for the more super version, you get all that plus nine, you read that right, nine exclusive figures that NIS considers must haves for any hardcore Disgaea fan. You can check out six of them here, but the rest have yet to be revealed.

No word on pricing has been released, but I’d strongly recommend anyone looking to grab these to pre-order, which the site says starts July 2011, as niche titles like Disgaea sometimes have limited production runs. We’ll have more details on pricing as the game draws closer to its September 2011 release date for PlayStation 3.

Posted in News, PS3 | Tagged

Daily Scoop: April 14, 2011 – A Game of Thrones

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Nicole Kline

News Editor Mike Gutierrez and I are heading to a screening of “A Game of Thrones” tonight, and I’m pretty excited. Why? Not because of the upcoming video game, but because I read these books back in 2005 and I can’t remember much from them and I really, really don’t feel like re-reading them, but I think Boromir is going to do just great as Ned Stark. Also, I’m a little concerned about the video game development so far, because – SPOILER ALERT – there really aren’t dragons in the books. At least, not right away. And certainly not gigantic and threatening and village-destroying ones.

Speaking of spoilers and dragons and Boromir, today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Namco’s Active Life Outdoor Challenge for the Wii. It’s $34.99 down from $49.99, and promises to be “A fun and easy way to get off the couch and get hearts pumping!” That sounds really exciting! It’s sure to train your dragon and prepare you for a grueling, dragon-filled RTS.

I think a few people are going to be excited about today’s t-shirt over at Ript:

Super Sesame Street Fighter! Heyooooo!

Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News |

Blizzard working on another unannounced game

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Buried at the bottom of Blizzard’s press release about the sale dates for BlizzCon tickets was a short announcement of the company’s latest hiring push. Mixed in amongst the open positions related to Diablo III, World of Warcraft, the remaining entries in the StarCraft II trilogy and the developer’s Titan MMO was a single job listing under the heading “Unannounced Game Title.”

The job description is almost frustratingly vague, but it does seem to confirm that Blizzard is working on a fifth project unrelated to any of their currently in-development titles, even if they’re not ready to talk about it yet (emphasis mine):

Do you have a deep passion for developing the tools that empower designers and artists to create epic gameplay experiences? Does the idea of joining a new team in its early stages and establishing pipelines and development environments excite you? […] This person will help build and maintain the development tools and content management system to provide a foundation for the game’s asset pipelines. This is a key role on a new and exciting project within the company.

Posted in News |

BlizzCon 2011 tickets go on sale in May

Posted on April 14, 2011 by John Scalzo

Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon show is always a big hit with gamers. And if you want to attend the 2011 edition of the company’s “celebration of the global communities surrounding Warcraft, Diablo, and StarCraft” you’ll have two chances to buy tickets.

The first batch of tickets will go on sale on Saturday, May 21 at 10 AM (Pacific Time) with another batch up for grabs on Wednesday, May 25 at 7 PM (Pacific Time). Tickets will be priced at $175 each and will only be available at the official BlizzCon website.

Blizzard fans looking for the complete BlizzCon experience will also have the chance to purchase tickets to the BlizzCon Benefit Dinner on Saturday, May 28 at 10 AM (Pacific Time). The $500 tickets will include admission to BlizzCon and the pre-show dinner, which takes place on Thursday, October 20. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Children’s Hospital of Orange County as guests get the “opportunity to rub elbows and trade war stories with Blizzard game developers and other employees before the show.”

If both of those options are out of your price range, then perhaps the BlizzCon Virtual Ticket (priced at $39.99) is for you. According to Blizzard, “the Virtual Ticket grants access to comprehensive live HD coverage from the show floor on each day of the convention, including exclusive interviews, demos, and more.” Ticketholders will be able to access all of the Virtual Ticket content through a multichannel Internet stream and also via Pay-Per-View on DirecTV. BlizzCon Virtual Ticket buyers will also receive this year’s BlizzCon-exclusive World of Warcraft and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty in-game items

BlizzCon 2011 will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center on October 21 and 22.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged ,