Video Games Archive

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Guess Who’s The First Person To Have Madden 09?

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on August 4, 2008Posted in: Music, Video Games

In case you couldn’t recognize this hip-hop “superstar” (I couldn’t), it’s Twista, Chicago’s very own fast-rhyming MC! It’s slightly baffling to me why EA would would want the first person to have Madden 09 be a rapper who peaked in 2004 (with “Slow Jamz feat. Kanye West and Jamie Foxx”). Maybe he suckled the teet of Peter Moore at E3 real good.

Also, I can see why an average Joe would want to make the video equivalent of the “FIRST POST!” comment, but a rapper with (former) cred like Twista?  Really? Has hip-hop fallen this far?

(Extra points for the shady-looking copy of the Wii version of the game.  Looks real nice on a blatantly obvious promotional video, EA.)

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New Prince of Persia Trailer Is Breathtaking

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on July 15, 2008Posted in: Video Games

Wow. Ubisoft’s new trailer for the upcoming Prince of Persia game is absolutely stunning.  I was skeptical about the new art direction for the game, but am no longer.  Do yourself a favor and watch it in HD.  Your life will thank you for it.

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Official Rock Band 2 Song List Revealed!

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on July 14, 2008Posted in: Video Games

rock band 2 logo

The speculation is over.  Harmonix and MTV have revealed the final song list for the much anticipated songpack sequel to Rock Band.  We knew it was going to have 80+ songs on the disc, but in a slightly surprising twist, rockers will be getting another bonus 20 songs that will be downloadable for free in the fall.

As expected, Rock Band 2 will be a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360, releasing on that platform in September with the PS3, Wii, and PS2 following a few months later (presumably in November).

From the press release:

• After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy.

• Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, “Let There Be Rock.”

• For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue.”

• Rock Band 2 will feature backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date.

• Owners of the original Rock Band will have the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay–the first time ever in videogame history!

There are some really awesome songs on this list.  If all Rock Band 2 was just a song addon pack, it would be worth the $60 for the dvd by itself as each song would be costing you just $0.57.  However, it appears as if there will be some minor improvements to the gameplay and the fact that you can import all of your songs from Rock Band 1 into the new format for free gives me a warm and tingly feeling as a customer.  Harmonix is really pushing Rock Band as a platform, as opposed to yearly stand alone exploits to siphon money from our wallets.

Read the full press release

Read on for the full song list.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Junot Diaz Gives Us A Reality Check

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on July 1, 2008Posted in: Video Games

junot diaz lol pulitzer

2008 Pulitzer Prize winning author of the novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz, is a Grand Theft Auto fan.  He’s played all of them since the first 2d entry into the series and has liked them.  But does he think the game is art on the level of The Godfather, as many critics have said?

According to his missive on the WSJ, the answer is “No.”

GTA IV for all its awesomeness doesn’t have the sordid bipolar humanity of “The Sopranos,” and it certainly lacks the epic flawed protagonists that define “The Godfather” and its bloodier lesser brother “Scarface.” Successful art tears away the veil and allows you to see the world with lapidary clarity; successful art pulls you apart and puts you back together again, often against your will, and in the process reminds you in a visceral way of your limitations, your vulnerabilities, makes you in effect more human. Does GTA IV do that? Not for me it doesn’t, and heck, I love this damn game.

Take that GTA fanboys!  How do you like dem Pulitzer-winning apples now!

Read Junot’s entire essay [wsj.com]

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Harmonix Announces Rock Band 2, Reveal Almost Nothing About It

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on June 30, 2008Posted in: Music, Video Games

rock band 2 logo

IGN has an interview with Harmonix’s Lead Designer, Dan Teasdale, on the newly announced Rock Band 2 that will ship in September for the Xbox 360 and later in that year for other platforms.

Mr. Teasdale does an admirable job of answering interview questions without really saying anything of substance.  He says that they have been reading internet forums rabidly and have made improvements to the game based on said feedback.  Basically, it seems like there will be modest improvements across the board in game interface and instrument build.

The biggest tidbit of news is that all of your existing Rock Band DLC that you’ve purchased will work with Rock Band 2 and vice versa.

As far as Harmonix is concerned, there’s no difference between “Rock
Band 1 DLC” and “Rock Band 2 DLC” – we’re just releasing awesome songs
every week onto the Rock Band platform, all of which are playable by
the Rock Band titles that support DLC.

This is awesome news in the nascent rhythm game wars as a lot of people have sunk a significant amount of coin into downloading new songs.  Making their investments obsolete *cough* Guitar Hero 3 *cough*, just leaves people with a bad taste in their mouths.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’d actually feel better buying a $60 game with modest improvements, than sinking $200 on all new hardware.  Especially if said $60 game contained a bunch of awesome songs as well.  Granted, Guitar Hero has to catch up to the whole “full band” experience, but a lot of people have bought three generations of Guitar Hero hardware already.

For Pete’s sake, give us some time to enjoy the Chinese Plastic we already have!

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Playstation 3 Firmware 2.40 Impressions/Reactions

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on June 30, 2008Posted in: Features, Video Games

Millions of Playstation 3 owners can rejoice finally as the Holy Grail of firmware updates hits this Wednesday, July 2nd. Firmware 2.40 brings in-game XrossMediaBar (XMB) access along with infrastructure for the achievement trophy system. If you have eight minutes to kill, watch the video above for a walkthrough of the XMB features, otherwise here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of what you can actually do with the new XMB access in game:

  • View your friends list and send/receive text messages
  • Play your own music stored on the hard drive while playing a game that supports it (The list of games supported is unconfirmed right now)
  • Connect/fiddle with your bluetooth device settings – this is most likely going to mean hooking up your bluetooth headset for voice communication in game
  • Check the progress of your queued downloads from the Playstation Store

While this goes a long way in bringing the online feature set of the PS3 to parity with the Xbox 360, it’s still missing a few key features. Namely:

  • Private voice chat
  • Voice message capability
  • Invite friends to a game

Arguably, these features are the most important for an easy online gaming experience. I always use private voice chat whenever I’m playing with a buddy because you can talk with them through game loading screens and such – something that you can’t do if you simply use the in game voice communications. Text messaging on a console is just a pain and being able to send invites directly from a friends list is a no-brainer. Still, one shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess, as being able to see and communicate with your online friends in any form is better than the status quo.
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Review: Metal Gear Solid 4

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on June 16, 2008Posted in: Reviews, Video Games

metal gear solid 4 logo

(This review is written to avoid any sort of spoiler reveals)

Metal Gear Solid 4 presents an inner dilemma for me. Part of me wants to tell each and every person in the world who has a modicum of interest in video games that they need to go out and buy it immediately. The other, more reasonable part of me says to be more reserved in my recommendation.

I’ll do both.

Let me start by saying that MGS4 is without a doubt one of the best experiences I have had with a single player video game. If I had to rank it, it would probably be in my top 5 single player games of all time. Like many other people, I bought a $599 USD Playstation 3 for this game (and Final Fantasy XIII). If this was all the PS3 was good for, I’d say it was worth it. You heard me, MGS4 was worth $685 to me.

The problem is that it’s not going to have as a great of an impact on you if you’re new to the series. An analogous comparison might be that of Lost. The season 4 finale of lost was amazing and even if you don’t follow the show, you could see why. But you won’t get some of the references, and you won’t fully appreciate the events that take place simply because you don’t have the historical reference points that you would have if you followed the show from the beginning.

If you’ve played through any of the previous games in the series and enjoyed them, what are you waiting for? Go finish off the previous 3 games in the series and buy this one – you’ll have an unforgettable experience.

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Battle of the Bands for…A Game Soundtrack

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on June 16, 2008Posted in: Music, Video Games

attack the soundtrack logo

InstantAction, an action web-gaming destination powered by Garage Games, is running a competition for aspiring music artists to get their music featured on a game soundtrack. The competition is called “Attack The Soundtrack,” with finalists determined by a fan vote and the winner by a panel of “industry vets” including rapper, Fat Joe.

I’m curious as to which industry they’re talking about, music or gaming. As a connoisseur of both mediums, I’d actually feel better if the judges had backgrounds in game music supervising or design, rather than large rappers who “get it poppin’.” It’d also be cool if we knew more context of game the competition was for, so musicians could get a better feel for what types of songs would work the best.

Nevertheless, I like the idea of emerging game companies and musicians forming a symbiotic relationship. It’s a natural evolution in the age old “battle of the bands” competition. Hopefully in the future we can see game scoring competitions and the like. Who knows, maybe the next John Williams will get his or her start with video games.

Enter the competition here

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EA Brings Fantasy Football To The Xbox 360 / Playstation 3

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on June 16, 2008Posted in: Sports, Video Games

ea fantasy football title logo

EA’s looking to get into the fantasy sports market with the upcoming NFL season.  The company’s advantage in the crowded fantasy sports marketplace is their ability to integrate functionality with game consoles.

And integrate they shall!

Although pricing has been unannounced, EA will be selling software on Xbox Live and the Playstation Network for users to follow their fantasy football teams. (the web-based game will be free)

The main three advantages for the game console applications are:

  • Life drafting on the big screen if you have a local draft party – the game will upload the results to the web
  • Easy import of your fantasy team into Madden 09
  • Live scoring/team tracking

None of these features are revolutionary, but if the price is right it could be worth it if you have everyone over for a draft party.  Importing your team into Madden should be possible to do manually and the live scoring is nice, but having to constantly flip from your console input to the TV input is going to be slightly annoying – I’d rather just have a laptop or iPhone nearby.

EA’s biggest hurdle is going to be convincing existing players/leagues to relocate from ESPN/Yahoo/Sportsline/etc. to the EA servers.  With the main draw of the product essentially being a TV-output of the draft, I’m not so sure people make the leap.

View some more screenshots [easports.com]

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I Weep For Humanity

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on June 16, 2008Posted in: Internet Phenomena, Video Games

spore creature creator box picture

Many of you may heard of Will Wright’s upcoming “revolutionary” game, Spore.

Some of you may know that EA is selling the “Creature Creator” portion of the game later this week (for $9.95) so people can get a head start on making their own creatures for the game.

A few of you may have even downloaded the leaked demo of said Creature Creator which has 25% of the body parts for you to play with.

But I guarantee that none of you are prepared to view the creation in the video above. It scoffs at all of the amateurs who hastily created penis or even goatse creatures as their first creations. Instead, it serves as the torchbearer for what the human spirit can accomplish on the internet.

(video after the jump may be NSFW if you are in a very conservative environment)
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