Activision hasn’t been #1 in a lot of people’s books in quite awhile.  Between increasing the Modern Warfare 2 MSRP, using Kurt Cobain as a commercial tool, and milking their Guitar Hero license to the point of ridiculousness, they need to do something to redeem themselves.

Enter DJ Hero.  Can a hip-hop-flavored booster shot inject life into the over-saturated music game genre?  Or is Activision’s latest experiment merely a high-priced hip-flop?

Read more… »

The funny thing about Left 4 Dead 2 on PC and Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox 360 is that they share a bunch of the same files… including Xbox 360-exclusive Avatar Awards.  On the PC, they’re just relegated to a hidden text file.

So, in much the same way that San Andreas‘s “Hot Coffee” mod was discovered, PC Steam users have delved into the seedy underbelly of L4D2 and revealed the yet-to-be-revealed Xbox 360 Avatar Awards.

Read more… »

Deep down inside, I enjoy management sims more than I probably let myself admit. In games like Sim City and Evil Genius, I have relapsed into this genre from time to time but never really let it fall into my radar as something I admit I play. Now with Tropico 3 in my lap, it’s probably time to come out of the closet on this.

Well, the management sim closet, no other closets are involved.  Let’s just move onto the review before I ramble myself into a coma, shall we?

Read more… »

Halloween is here, and so I thought it would be a good idea to have a reunion with a classic horror game of the past.

When it comes to survival horror and Resident Evil, the two will never be separated, despite its evolution. Although Capcom’s previous title, Sweet Home, was the true pioneer of the genre, and Alone in the Dark had created the recognizable framework that later titles would copy, it is Resident Evil that represents the “everyman” of the genre.

The game’s creator Shinji Mikami was originally tasked with making a survival horror game set in a haunted mansion. However, he thought that things needed to be more visceral in order to have a more significant scare impact. Mikami, inspired by George Romero’s films, therefore decided that zombies would be a more appropriate enemy than ghosts.

The resulting blend of extreme violence and lateral thinking was named Bio-hazard. Unfortunately, Capcom realized that they would find it extremely difficult to secure a trademark under that title. Resident Evil was thus born, and it arrived on the PS1 in 1996. Hit the jump for more fond memories. Read more… »

Machinima usually comes in the form of cheap, pixelated, and distorted Youtube videos. However, when you’re Activision, and you’re marketing for one of the biggest games of the year, there are a few specific perks to make your 50 second PSA actually kind of clever.

Infinity Ward has teamed up with Cole Hamels, and produced a Fight Against Grenade Spam PSA. After you’ve figured out that little quip in the title, hit the break for the full video.

Read more… »

Ahh, poor N-Gage.  Nokia’s cell phone/game platform/commercial flop was finally put out of its misery today, after six long, brutal, unspectacular years.

In a reorganization of their mobile game strategy, Nokia is consolidating its N-Gage store into their new Ovi Store in an attempt to consolidate all their games/mail/music/apps under one all-encompassing service.

The N-Gage service for downloading and playing games online will be shut down at the end of September 2010.

Read more… »

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the Half-Life RTS/FPS modification Natural Selection. In celebration of this event, independent developer Unknown Entertainment sent out some screen shots of its upcoming sequel Natural Selection 2.

Slated to arrive on Steam sometime in 2010, NS2 promises to deliver the same intense multiplayer action as the first. If NS2 is a “must buy” for you, you might want to pre-order it; you’ll get early access to a level editor and the beta.

To see the screen shots, hit the jump. Read more… »

A few days ago I reported on how a demo of God of War III will appear on the Blu-ray disc of District 9. Today Sony announced another way to get a GoWIII demo.

According to the announcement, gamers who pre-order the gory game from “select retailers” will receive a download code for a demo. This pre-order incentive goes into effect today, so feel free to get your pre-order on.

Sony also revealed a GoWIII “Ultimate Edition.” To see what is included in this $99.99 package, hit the jump. Read more… »

Yesterday, Nintendo announced their latest money-grubbing innovative handheld system reboot.  Entitled the DSi LL in Japan and DSi XL in the U.S. and Europe, it’s the same basic system but with 93% larger screens.

The screens are bigger.  The stylus is bigger.  The price is bigger.

Read more… »

I absolutely love it when game developers get into the Halloween spirit. Usually they send out funny little press releases or Halloween themed trailers, but not Valve. They went way above and beyond what any other developer has done by releasing a patch for Team Fortress 2 that adds a whole bunch of Halloween themed content.

Dubbed “The Terrifying Team Fortress Haunted Halloween Special” update, the DLC adds exploding pumpkins, five new achievement that unlock “Mildly Disturbing Halloween Hats,” and a new map called Harvest.

To find out more about the new update hit the jump. Read more… »

Today Sega announced that PlatinumGames’ sexy action title Bayonetta will hit North American stores on January 5. Our European friends will have to wait until January 8 to get their hands on this stylish game.

Created by Hideki Kamiya, the man who brought us Devil May Cry, Bayonetta promises to bring similar gameplay. Kamiya said, “it’s been eight years since [the first Devil May Cry (DMC)], so of course I wouldn’t create a game that hadn’t progressed from those days! Of course, if there hadn’t have been DMC, there wouldn’t be Bayonetta, which has evolved from DMC.” Read more… »

Bakugan and I have sort of an enigmatic history. I used to work at Target, in the toy department, and strangely, we never had Bakugan in stock. I’d work evenings, and every day I’d go in, I was told “we got Bakugan at 8AM, and they sold out in an hour”.

Intrigued, I took a morning shift just to figure out what in the world these mysterious best selling toy trinkets were. If you seek the answer, read on for my review of the hot new game! Read more… »