Nothing has provided more gamers with a intrepid sense of war and bloody carnage then the First Person Shooter. Generations of gamers can, scarily enough, name and identify weapons by model, modification and in some cases, manufacturer. M-16? Assault Rifle of choice for the US Army. AK-47?  Infidel remover for terrorists and freedom fighters the world over.

With the epic evolution of realism that has merged into mainstream gaming, weapons are now more then a mush of pixels in the bottom middle of the screen. Everything from Iron Sights to Silencers are now recreated in minute detail. They jam too, as well as misfire, slam your avatar’s shoulder with immense recoil and ricochet shrapnel across the room you’ve decided to unload a personal arsenal in.

As games merge closer with the battlefields they emulate, I decided to take a look behind the scenes and find out exactly how your RPG-7 gets from the range to your monitor.

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Join us as Kelso takes an evening out of his vacation to discuss the latest on-goings in the gaming industry via Limitcast: Episode 10. This week, Paul and Josh discuss their impressions of Telltale’s first Tales of Monkey Island episode, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal while simultaneously congratulating Kelso for finally experiencing Gears of War II.

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Join Olivia Munn and some pop-punky sounding fellows for a music video tribute to “the female retail employee”, in honor of G4′s 1,000th Attack of the Show. Read more… »

Ahh, pirates. The one demographic of villains that seemingly never gets old, no matter how many films, books, and games are created in their honor. Age of Pirates 2, by Playlogic, seeks to further popularize the pirate genre, and create an incredibly detailed swashbuckling RPG simulator for the PC.

One of the best parts of Age of Pirates 2 is that it doesn’t force you to be a pirate. Does it do anything else right? Read on to find out. Read more… »

First person shooters are not a rare commodity, and the majority that do exist, don’t derserve the $60 price tag publishers slap on there.  You’ve got your Conflict: Denied Ops, Quantum of Solace, Haze, The Darkness (decent, but not $60), Call of Juarez, Perfect Dark: Zero…I could go on.  However, now that companies are starting to test the limits of downloadable gaming we are starting to see original, and higher budget, titles creeping onto each system.

Last week, PSN released their new FPS The Punisher: No Mercy, which hasn’t fared too well critically, and now both sides are getting a taste of DICE and EA’s Battlefield 1943. So, hit the jump and report in, soldier! Read more… »

Yesterday Piranha Games announced that it is working on a new MechWarrior title. Serving as a reboot to the MechWarrior franchise, the new game, simply titled MechWarrior, will feature 1-4 player co-op and multiplayer modes that have some level of persistence (think Call of Duty).

MechWarrior is being developed for the PC and Xbox 360 using the Unreal Engine 3. Piranha Games president Russ Bullock stated that cross-platform play is “a large goal of ours.”

As of right now, there is no solid release date. The official trailer is after the jump. Read more… »

Developer diaries have quickly become a great way to get some new information on upcoming games. In this case, with a Mass Effect 2 developer diary shows off some gameplay for 4 fantastic minutes. Be warned, if you don’t want any spoiler’s best steer clear as this video expands on some storyline options and branches.

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Paradox Interactive and 1C: Ino-Co’s latest creation, Elven Legacy, is a turn based strategy title that combines the strategic concepts of chess with an engrossing storyline. The game forces players to move units into hexagonal positions for control of the map.  Turn restrictions, overwhelming enemy forces, and a severe lack of resources will force players to bring out their inner tactician in order to survive. Read more… »

Another store update has graced Playstation 3 owners this week, and, fortunately, there is little to complain about this time round. The undisputed highlight comes from the launch of the eagerly anticipated Battlefield 1943, but the update still manages to pack in a few other note worthy additions, such as the second donwloadable expansion for MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and a couple of demos for Ghostbusters: The Game and Fuel.

View this week’s update after the break.

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You might recognize the name Team17 from the title screen of the latest XBLA Worms title: Worms 2 Armageddon. You might also recognize the PC game Alien Breed, which was a huge part of my childhood, and partnered with the Alien movie to torture me with endless nightmares.

So what is Alien Breed like? Remember Zombies ate my neighbors? Well, add aliens, flamethrowers, and hi-tech locales, and you’ll be close to describing Alien Breed Evolution, the current generation remake of the original. Follow the break for a full press release and the first ever screenshots for the game.

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Announced by EA today, for the first time in the franchise’s history, the football management simulation EA Sports™ FIFA Manager 10 will feature an online mode that will allow gamers to play against each other via LAN or online. Read more… »

One of my most beloved games of the past year is the sprawling and, at times, painfully ambitious Far Cry 2. The trouble is, I’m not entirely sure why I loved playing through it so much. At times I felt so immersed that I came close to retrieving my extra strength sun lotion from the back of the bathroom cupboard for fear of actually getting a sunburnt nose. Meanwhile, at others, I could have easily ejected and tossed the disc from my open window into the rainy night.

It is, without doubt, a game of extremes.

My love/hate relationship with this open-world FPS continues to intensify the longer I have been away from its grip. This has brought me to the conclusion that, rather than crying over spilt milk, I should concentrate on what its follow-up – tentatively titled Far Cry 3 – should add to make the series that little bit better. Welcome to the first edition of our new feature: Here’s a thought…

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