Archives for January, 2008
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
A rule of thumb for Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: whenever XKCD is nominated, it wins. Generally; then again, with an overused punchline, we were hesitant the trend would continue.
Second and third place go to Shortpacked! and Dueling Analogs, respectively. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know of any game-related webcomics you stumble upon this week!
Here’s the breakdown:
Quick, to the archives!
Source: Readers pick best webcomic: pod bay doors
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
One of GP’s favorite political games (okay, there aren’t that many), President Forever 2008 + Primaries, is offering the 1992 presidential campaign as a free download for registered users.
Publisher 80soft discusses the scenario in a recent e-mail to customers:
You can now add the new, official 1992 campaign (including primaries) to your game.
Can Clinton weather his scandal to take the Democratic primaries? Will Bush lose to Buchanan? Can you manage Perot’s comeback after he drops out of the campaign?
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 31st, 2008 at 7:39 am and is filed under Game Consumer News, Game Decision 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Source: Political Game Recreates 1992 Prez Race (Clinton vs. Bush, Sr. vs. Perot)
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News
Let’s face it, the Xbox 360 is hardly the most reliable console on the block. Seemingly destroyed by so much as a stiff breeze, older models weren’t exactly made to last. Thus, 360 owners everywhere are intimately familiar with the replacement process that begins with a call to Xbox customer service. The Consumerist is reporting a new twist on that process: emailing Bill Gates directly. When the 360 originally launched, a Consumerist reader named Jon spent weeks dealing with Microsoft customer service before finally being handed to the escalation department which finally fixed his problem. Two years later (i.e now) Jon is experiencing 360 problems again. However, instead of calling customer service, Jon dug up Bill Gates’ email address and wrote him an email. Within a day he was called by the escalation department and informed that his new console had been shipped.
We’d like to know exactly what Jon’s problem was though. After all, Microsoft replaces Red Ring of Death consoles with no questions asked these days. Still, Jon’s story is impressive, but it would have be even more impressive if he had gotten Bill to throw in a free Surface.
bill-gates, customer-service, rrod
Source: Need a new 360? Email Bill Gates
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
Perhaps you remember in 2006, when Governor Kathleen Sebelius took a stand for gaming legislation that eventually failed to get off the ground, saying “video games and music lyrics promote violence … Moms and dads shouldn’t be alone in their fight to raise children the right way.” Perhaps unwilling to learn from mom’s example, her 23-year-old son John has created a board game called “Don’t Drop the Soap” in which players “fight [their] way through 6 different exciting locations in hopes of being granted parole … Escape prison riots in The Yard, slip glass into a mob boss’ lasagna in the Cafeteria and steal painkillers from the nurse’s desk in the Infirmary.”
But mom doesn’t seem to be terribly outraged, with her spokesperson saying both parents “are very proud of their son John’s creativity and talent.” So, we’re confused. Has she softened? Or are digital games the only ones that are posing a threat to kids?
Source: Kansas governor’s son makes ‘Don’t Drop the Soap’ game
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
Developer Void Star Creations has confirmed that its Xbox Live Arcade title Poker Smash is coming next Wednesday, February 6. Of course, it could be a bluff, but the excitement seems legit and we doubt the team would want to give away its tell this early in the game.
No word yet on price. If your loins are craving for a poker-Tetris hybrid, perhaps the soothing use of Rez HD will tide you over until next week.
Gallery: Poker Smash (XBLA)
[Via X3F]
Source: Poker Smash on XBLA next week
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
You’ve seen the movie; you’ve seen Carrie Elwes in a role just slightly different from the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride; and now you want to play the game. Has anybody ever told you you’re a sick bastard?
Well, if you really are sick (and yes, your mother can be married to your father but you’re still sick), you will want to know that a video game based on the Saw movie franchise is coming next Fall. As an absolutely amazing coincidence, it’s noted that this release date is also the same as the release date of the final Saw movie, Saw IV: We Still Need the Cash. Brash Entertainment will release the game and presumably buy us all barf bags with the inevitable limb removal this game will surely entail.
More tongue in cheek and sharp-implement in hand coverage to come…
Source: Saw, The Video Game Coming to PS3
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
Dustin Burg
Filed under: News, Rumors
The always disturbed crew over at the ANGRY pixel have jump started the rumor mill once again with a claim that Halo Wars is also being developed for the PC.
According to one of their Microsoft insiders (who contracted a “case of verbal diarrhoea”), the ANGRY pixel claims that Ensemble is planning on bringing Halo Wars to the PC as part of Microsoft’s Games for Windows initiative and, get this, will feature cross platform play with its brother on the 360. They say that Ensemble was ready and willing to take on both 360 and PC Halo Wars development and were up for the challenge to completely integrate cross-platform gameplay. They also mentioned that the PC version may include a map editor (nothing too fancy for a PC RTS), but that the custom maps would be playable on the 360 as well.
Rumor or not, Halo Wars PC isn’t all that far fetched of an idea. If it doesn’t come to fruition day one when Halo Wars on the 360 releases, we wouldn’t be one bit surprised to see its PC release come six months down the road.
[Via CVG]
ensemble, ensemble-studios, halo-wars, rumor
Source: Rumor: Ensemble planning a Halo Wars PC release
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
Heartless Gamer writes “Valve is rocking the boat in a big way, especially for PC gaming piracy. They have just announced the release of a complete collection of publisher tools, called Steamworks. They’re making it available to developers and publishers completely free. Valve notes that beyond simply making the product available to consumers some of the tools can integrate copy protection, social networking services, or even server browsing features into a developing game.” [+] pcgames (tagging beta)
Firehose:Valve Release: Steamworks by heartless_ (923947)
Source: Valve Takes on Piracy With Free, Pre-Packaged Game Publishing Tools
Posted on Jan 31, 2008 under Main |
Andrew Yoon
Filed under: News
Europeans are in for a nasty surprise when they go to order Devil May Cry 4 from many popular retailers. For some reason, the PS3 version of the game costs a significant amount more than the Xbox 360 version — up to £10 in some instances. However, this isn’t a Capcom-mandated price difference. Rather, it appears retailers are taking it into their own hands.
Speaking to VideoGamer.com, a spokesperson for Capcom said: “We don’t set the prices of our games, that’s at the discretion of the retailer. In this specific instance, the process has resulted in a price difference, but the process itself is not something we completely control.”
Hopefully, gamer outrage will remind retailers that no one likes to be treated unfairly. Stay tuned for our full review of Devil May Cry 4 next week.
[Via Next-Gen]
capcom, devil-may-cry, dmc4
Source: Europeans being price gouged by retailers for PS3 DMC4
Posted on Jan 30, 2008 under Main |
Do you wake up in the morning and say to yourself, “Boy, I have all these fabulous clothes, but I don’t know how to wear them in an ensemble?” Perhaps you’ll need to import a Japanese DS title that teaches you how to dress properly. We’re still not exactly sure what the name of game is, but we reckon our trusty comment crew translation squad can help.
The game features 200 recorded lectures on dressing yourself and includes a 3D model to dress up and coordinate properly. We doubt this game will make it out of Japan, but it’s good to know that if we ever get desperate enough there’s a game out there to help us — or we’ll just take notes watching Carson Kressley on Queer Eye reruns.
[Via GayGamer, Go Nintendo]
Source: Japanese DS title teaches you how to dress