Pokémon , as a series, has thrived on repetition. For over ten years, Game Freak has managed to ensure that the Pokémon franchise is one of Nintendo’s most successful without making any drastic changes to the way Pokémon is played.

Even after ten years, the series has consistently sold hundreds of thousands of copies, even though Magikarp still stinks, and a level 7 Zubat will still manage to attack you every 2 steps in any dungeon in the game. Yet the Pokémon community is alive and well. Competitive Pokémon battling has been thriving since the games first debuted. Those who participate take Pokémon out of the casual arena and unexpectedly transform the experience into the hard-core.

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The word is out that the European pricing for the upcoming DJ Hero, the latest addition to the ever growing family tree of the music rhythm game genre, has slipped out. And just what is the price, I hear you ask? Well, DJ Hero is now set to retail for a mere £107.99. This news also comes just after the suggested American price was revealed to be $120, which equates to roughly £73. And yet, sadly, I can’t say I am surprised – this isn’t exactly the first time Europe has been mercilously snubbed when it comes to pricing in the games industry.

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Thanks to a recent interview, Microsoft has given new details on the upcoming Last.fm addition to Xbox Live.

According to Xbox Live general manager Christina DeRosa, Xbox Live Gold members will be able to stream music later this year for free. Silver members “will be able access what we’re considering a trial period of three hours a month, which comes with video advertising.” Read more… »

Last week I was in the presence of gaming Icons. Giving a talk as part of the Video Game Nation exhibition in Manchester’s (England) Urbis, were the famed, fantastic and frantic Oliver Twins of Blitz Games Studios. Some of you may know them from knowledge of Blitz, others may have seen those cheesy documentaries about bedroom development, and then there’s the obsessed few clutching the nostalgia of Dizzy games to their chest (or maybe just clutching a stack of Dizzy cassettes.)
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The BBFC has been classifying games for twenty years. With the recent Digital Britain report by the UK Government, that is all set to change.  As has been well documented on many gaming sites, the report has recommended that Pan European Gaming Information (PEGI) take over this duty. What kind of legacy has the BBFC left behind?

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Have you ever wanted to open your own business that caters and serves the public’s appetite?  Have you ever wanted to be a connoisseur of an artsy desire?  Well, in Enlight’s recent development, Restaurant Empire 2, players get to experience the highs and lows of running their own business without the fear of ruining their financial history, their own health, and the normal headache that comes with the long hours.  Actually, long hours can be expected. Read more… »

Breaking out into song is one of the strangest things to yet happen on our podcast. Oh, and the lack of pants is equally disturbing. Join Josh, Steve, and Paul as they discuss the happenings around the gaming community.

Be sure and listen closely for a code for R-Type that I give away at one point in the show.

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When I first heard about MAG I was immediately interested, not only the massive scale of the battles but in demo videos there seemed to be some very distinct and interesting classes to choose from. These PMC classes seem to be very similar but still different enough to attract different kinds of players to them.

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