PSA – Get the Ms. Splosion Man Demo Early

Science is a funny thing. It seems every time someone makes a ‘sploding man in a lab, the next logical state is to make one that you can fuck. Cue Ms. Splosion Man, the Ms. Pac-Man treatment to the hit XBLA title Splosion Man. Pretty clever huh? What will we see next, Splosion Man Jr.?

Anywho, don’t wait like the rest of those chumps to get your grubby paws on the pink, because the demo is secretly available NOW!

XBLA Marketplace

E3 2011 – Dead Island

I got some hands-on time with Techland’s Dead Island at E3 this year and came away with a much better understanding of what up until that point had been a mystery to me. Exactly what kind of game is Dead Island, and what differentiates it from every other zombie game in a market saturated with decaying flesh?

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Tron Evolution: The Evolution of the "Movie Game"

I’m probably not alone in this one, but the original Disney classic Tron was one of my favorite movies growing up.  It had a huge following, including some ridiculous guy that became an internet icon after he dressed up in a costume that lit up.  Tron could also possibly be one of the first “Movie Games” with its arcade-only companion that took you into the world of the game.  At the time, Tron’s interactive experience made the game and ahead of its time.
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Gamer Dilemmas: The Paradox of Choice

Being a freedom-loving American is starting to come with a price with the continual bombardment of content, media and attractive choices.  We either have to be very precise with what we like or spend hours and hours of time dedicated to our passions.  This is the story of a gamer’s dilemma, one that maybe some of you relate to and is based on a single principal that is becoming more and more prevalent to consumers, and hopefully to publishers.

The Theory of the Paradox of Choice is not a new one, and if you like to read I hope you go purchase the book that this article is based off, written by Barry Schwartz.  The theory is that more choices are not always a good thing; essentially more is less.

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Good Boys and Gals Get Duty Under Their Tree

I’m probably not the only MERC-fest gamer out there to realize this, but I’m likely going to ask Santa for another Call of Duty game for Christmas this year.  I don’t think it’s the kids that are realizing the publishing methods of Activision, but rather the parents when they arrive at their local game store to pick up another CoD game for their aging son, who unfortunately still lives in their house, thinking, “Which ‘Duty Call’ thing did he want again?”

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Electronic Arts Exclaims, "Tiger, Tiger Woods Y'all!"

Who would have thought that Tiger Woods, who has given so much to EA over the years ($670 million gross sales for his video game franchise), would continue to lay sweet, sweet profitable golden eggs even in rain, sleet or snow?  If you don’t know what’s going on with Tiger Woods by now, then congratulations: you have managed to avoid one of the biggest sports soap-operas in the history of ‘people’s lives are being unraveled before the public’s eyes’.  While everyone has their opinion about him, his choices and his legacy, I am not TMZ, so I don’t really feel the need to get into his shenanigans.  I’d rather talk about the potential cash cow that EA is in for when Tiger Woods 2011 releases this June ($$$).
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Has World War II Ascended from the Realm of History to Sci-Fi/Fantasy?

It was an epic time of heroism, valor and hardship. Millions of men of many countries took up arms to give their lives for their beliefs and their countries. From the characters involved to the grandeur and scope of the undertaking, it’s very evident that this era was and still is a treasure trove of amazing stories and experiences that should be passed on for generations to come. But for video games, it’s become very apparent that simply just reliving these events is not enough. It’s possible that there have been so many WWII games that we just need to spice things up a bit, or that we’re really not interested in retelling history but using it as a muse or an inspiration to tell other stories based on this era. Now that games are a very large part of our society, I wonder if our creative license is forgetting about history, and that we’re simply borrowing from its nostalgia and mythos to set a stage. Continue reading…