I normally do not like games that place little emphasis on coherent, serious story.  Epic MegaGames’ Tyrian makes up for its lack of engrossing narrative with the sheer amount of everything else.  It’s undoubtedly the best forced-scrolling shooter I’ve ever played, even though it’s very old.

When I was younger, I was a great fan of shoot-‘em-ups.  I would spend hours playing the sprite-animated glory that was Raptor: Call of the Shadows and even the ultimate in simplicity, Asteroids.  But in my memory, none were superior to Epic MegaGames’ Tyrian.  It’s worth revisiting this old triumph even now, especially because the same software that was once worth upwards of thirty dollars is now available as freeware for just about any computer.

Read more

As an avid reader, I have read all sorts of novels: books that made me laugh, cry, hide under the covers and put the book in the freezer, and inevitably cringe at how terrible the writing is. I’ve read plenty of excellent books, books I wanted to read over and over. The Harry Potter series, despite its atrocious epilogue, I’ve adored beyond belief.  I never thought I would find a book that would surpase the HP as #1 in my heart.

Then I read Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind, and my preconceived notions of good literature were blown out of the water.

Read more

Tomorrow night starts the final episodes of the epic science fiction series, Battlestar Galactica. (Technically a remake of an old show from 1978, but that sucked so hardcore, its hardly worth mentioning.)  4 years have led us up to this moment. Thanks to the shitty internet of Europe, I get to enjoy this masterpiece on YouTube. But for the rest of you, glue yourselves to the Sci Fi channel at 10/9c, and prepare to have your minds blown.

Never seen the series? (You fail.) Redeem yourself!
A highly entertaining recap of the first three seasons.
YOU WILL BE SPOILED.
Read more

Gee, bet no one figured that the super-secret project from Bioware, Lucasarts, and EA was going to be a new Star Wars MMO, huh? Talk about coming out of left field! Not much is known about SWTOR (which has to be pronounced something like “swa-tor”, right?), but here’s what we do know (one possible spoiler ahead, so tread carefully):
Read more

Crisis averted.

Until now, the war between music game franchises has left frugal gamers with no option but to pick a side and hope for the best. Following Guitar Hero publisher Activision’s press conference, however, Chris Kohler over at Game|Life brings us good news:

At Activision’s E3 press conference Tuesday, Guitar Hero director Brian Bright told the crowd that if they already owned guitar controllers and drum controllers from “previous games” on the Xbox 360, they’d work with Guitar Hero World Tour.

As a person who owns Rock Band and all its peripherals on the 360, this makes it a lot easier to be on both sides of the music game fence. My Rock Band 2 purchase is all but sealed up, but knowing that I can get the full Guitar Hero World Tour experience without crowding my basement with even more peripherals makes it all the more enticing.

Specifics on now the RB drums will work with GH remain to be revealed, but it should be interesting, as the Guitar Hero World Tour drums require one more input than the Rock Band drums currently have. In addition, Bright did not adress PS3 or Wii compatibility. We’ll have to wait and see.

[Image and info via Wired]

Keeping on track with Activision leaks, Intellisponse has revealed brand new (potential) info about Guitar Hero: World Tour.

First up, the guitar. The new guitar will feature a “touch-sensitive neck slide.” This is going to make guitar solos so much better than they originally were. This detail doesn’t seen so hard to believe, as Activision has told the press before that the new guitar will have new controls, but the company did not reveal any detail.

Next up, the setlists. The songs in Guitar Hero: World Tour could amaze me, IF they are indeed true. Bands that could be in the upcoming title include the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Doors, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, KoRn, System of a Down, Ozzy Osbourne, Interpol, Muse, and many more. 1Up brought up a great detail with the Doors being on the list, noting that their drummer, John Densmore, is very against licensing songs for other media, and if this proves to be true, it can make a very significant difference in future Guitar Hero titles.

Finally, the price. $179.99 is the listed price, according to leaked documents from Intellisponse.

And yes, the leaks are STILL coming. If not from me (I’m totally sure I’m going to be covering everything as I have nothing to do this Monday afternoon), then from another writer I push these stories on. And again, take all of these bits with a grain of salt, as they have not yet been confirmed.

According to Far Cry 2’s producer Louis-Pierre Pharand, the single player campaign in the game could last up to 50 hours. While there are games that last that long (and longer), it’s usually role-playing games like Oblivion, not first person shooters like Far Cry 2. I would assume that’s because of the nature of first person shooters; they are usually fast-paced and more frantic, which means everything is a lot more packed and takes more work to create less play time. This is also what many FPS fans expect and enjoy, and a genre that is usually fast-paced could become tedious if stretched over the equivalent of more than two straight days.

However, the wording of Pharand’s claim didn’t seem as confident as many of the other numbers game producers throw around, and instead sounded more like an optimistic guess:

“Just on single alone, gamers can potentially have close to 50 hours of game play”

Read more

Pay very close attention to what I’m about to tell you, because this very blog post could make you famous. Really famous…

Telltale Games developers of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People are having a weekend contest where users submit tag lines for the fictional game Snake Boxer 5, which plays a significant role in the first episode. The winner’s name will appear somewhere in the episode. Telltale isn’t telling anyone where the name will show up though. It’s a secret!

For more information about the contest and how to enter, check out Telltale’s Contest Blog Post. Be sure to hurry! The contest only lasts until Tuesday, 9 AM Pacific Time. Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People Episode One is planned for release in June 2008 on WiiWare and PC.

[Picture and story via Telltale Games]

Guess what, guys? There’s going to be a Bioshock movie, and the illustrious director of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is going to be making it. For some, this is pretty exciting news, but I know a certain ninja that probably feels otherwise. Still, considering how strong Bioshock’s narrative was, I think it should adapt quite nicely to film. Said Verbinski, “I think the whole utopia-gone-wrong story that’s cleverly unveiled to players is just brimming with cinematic potential. Of all the games I’ve played, this is one that I felt has a really strong narrative.” Hopefully they decide to make the ending a bit more riveting than it was in the game, though. Moreover, this is supposedly going to be the biggest game-to-movie deal since the now-defunct Halo deal in 2005. Hopefully Bioshock won’t end up in the trash, though.

[via Variety.com]

Strauss Zelnick, chairman of Take 2 Interactive and Jack Thompson’s arch-nemesis, is a happy man, a very happy man. His company’s flagship title Grand Theft Auto IV has made over $500 million in its first week of sales. Helping this happy fact along is the knowledge that there have been over 6 million units sold to date, with more than half being sold in the first day. According to Mr. Zelnick:

“We knew Grand Theft Auto IV would break new ground in terms of the player’s experience, with its compelling story line, extraordinary gameplay and action that ranges over a broad urban canvas. Now, it has broken sales and rating records as well…Grand Theft Auto IV’s first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date. We congratulate the entire Rockstar team on creating a must-have experience that takes the legendary Grand Theft Auto franchise to a new level.”

I wonder if EA is now going to come back to Take 2 with a much larger offer than they did a few months ago. If there was any doubt to the Grand Theft Auto series continuing on after this one, let me assure you, a half billion in a week guarantees a sequel. I find it hilarious that at least $50 dollars of that large sum is Jack Thompson’s, don’t you?