Category: Videogames

BAFTA Videogame Award Nominees Announced

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced its nominees for the GAME British Academy Video Game Awards. Many of the choices are games you’d expect, while others definitely favor European tastes. Check out the list and let me know what you think (please)!

And the nominees are….

Action
Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Infamous
Left 4 Dead 2
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Artistic Achievement
Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Flower
Street Fighter IV
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Game
Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
FIFA 10
Uncharted 2: among Thieves

Family & Social
The Beatles: Rock Band
Buzz! Quiz World
EyePet
Guitar Hero 5
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Wii Sports Resort

Gameplay
Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
PixelJunk Shooter
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Handheld
Gran Turismo
LittleBigPlanet
LocoRoco Midnight Carnival
Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Insider Story
Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box
Scribblenauts

Multiplayer
Battlefield 1943
The Beatles: Rock Band
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Halo 3 ODST
Left 4 Dead 2
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Original Score
Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
PixelJunk Shooter
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Sports
Colin McRae: Dirt 2
FIFA 10
Football Manager 2010
Forza 3
Wii Fit Plus
Wii Sports Resort

Story
Assassin’s Creed II
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Director’s Cut
Brutal Legend
Dragon Age: Origins
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Strategy
Command and Conquer 3: Uprising
Empire: Total War
FIFA Manager 10
Football Manager 2010
Halo Wars
Plants vs. Zombies

Use of Audio
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
DJ Hero
Flower
Left 4 Dead 2
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Use of Online
Battlefield 1943
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
FIFA 10
LittleBigPlanet
Singstar: Take That
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Source

Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor Wants Your Help in Developing Kings and Castles

Gas Powered Games creative director Chris Taylor is taking a unique approach to developing Kings and Castles for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. He wants as much fan input as possible, using Facebook, Twitter, and silly YouTube videos like the one above to make development decisions. In a recent press release Taylor said:

We’re doing something different this time around. We want to take our fans on a great adventure with us. They’ll get to go behind-the-scenes and watch the game come to life from start to finish.

Synergy will be leveraged, and paradigms will be established. More importantly, buzzwords will be utilized.

Gamers are encouraged to follow Taylor on Twitter, email crackedout@gaspowered.com, join the game’s official Facebook page, and watch more silly videos on the official site to participate in the game’s creation. If you’re not up for that, watching Taylor with farm animals is always fun.

Chris is awesome and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with Kings and Castles!

Coffee Talk #86: Windows Phone 7, Xbox Live, and Your Next Phone

Earlier today, Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress. It’s an important step for the company’s mobile future and by most accounts, it’s a huge leap forward for the Windows Mobile Operating System. After losing ground to RIM’s BlackBerry OS in the business world, as well as Apple’s iPhone OS and Google’s Android OS in the consumer market, Microsoft is stepping up its game. One of the ways it’s attempting to reach out to consumers is through connectivity with Xbox Live. Here’s the official description of Windows Mobile 7’s “games hub”:

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, your lovely Valentine’s Day surprises, the NBA All-Star Game, or what you think of the Winter Olympics so far, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Earlier today, Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress. It’s an important step for the company’s mobile future and by most accounts, it’s a huge leap forward for the Windows Mobile Operating System. After losing ground to RIM’s BlackBerry OS in the business world, as well as Apple’s iPhone OS and Google’s Android OS in the consumer market, Microsoft is stepping up its game. One of the ways it’s attempting to reach out to consumers is through connectivity with Xbox Live. Here’s the official description of Windows Phone 7’s “games hub”:

This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox Live experience on a phone, including Xbox Live games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox Live unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.

There are a several interesting implications here. First of all, Microsoft has a huge opportunity to compete with and possibly eclipse the games market in Apple’s iPhone App Store. The company already has deep relationships with several of the best game developers and publishers in the world. Secondly, Windows Phone 7 Series has the chance to extend the social aspects of Xbox Live in a major way. So many people use Facebook and Twitter on mobile devices. By unchaining Xbox Live from a console or PC, the company could make the service a major force in social networking.

I want to know what you think of Windows Phone 7 Series. Check out the official press release and look at its impressive features. Can you see yourself using a Windows Phone 7 Series device in the future? If so, is Xbox Live connectivity a major reason why?

Super Street Fighter IV Animated Video: Chun-Li and Cammy vs. Juri

To promote its upcoming game Super Street Fighter IV, Capcom has released this awesome animated feature that pits SF veterans Chun-Li and Cammy against newcomer Juri. New to the series, Juri is a Korean powerhouse that works as a spy for S.I.N. Her left eye has been replaced with technologically advanced prosthetic that contains a “Feng Shui engine” that boosts her formidable tae kwon do powers.

My Hands: Leona Lewis Plays and Talks Final Fantasy XIII

British songstress Leona Lewis plays and talks Final Fantasy XIII in this video that promotes Square Enix’s recently announced FFXIII contest. The singer of “My Hands” — the international FFXIII single — is best known for winning The X Factor, as well as her singles “Better in Time”, “Footprints in the Sand”, and “Happy”.

I don’t mean to be linguistically racist, but I totally cracked up when my friend from Sony pointed out that Square Enix selected an artist with a name that many Japanese people can’t pronounce. He joked that she’s referred to, “Reona Rewis,” at Square Enix HQ. I felt enormously guilty for laughing at that joke.

Win Tickets to Two Final Fantasy XIII Events

Square Enix has announced a members-only contest for two Final Fantasy XIII events taking place on March 8, 2010 in San Francisco. Here are the official particulars:

At the Final Fantasy XIII Experience — a fan-focused, daytime event which will take place across two sessions of two hours each — attendees will enjoy the game first hand, browse a gallery of stunning artwork, view trailers and meet the development staff. Some lucky fans will also win fantastic raffle prizes at the event.

A select group of guests will also be invited to the Final Fantasy XIII Launch Party to take place later in the evening. Industry luminaries such as Gas Powered Games’ Chris Taylor (Supreme Commander), Microsoft Game Studios’ Corrinne Yu (Halo), and Final Fantasy XIII director Motomu Toriyama will celebrate the Final Fantasy series and its latest iteration.

I am going to try to break into the launch party. If you win, I’ll see you there or ask you to sneak me in. Also, if you haven’t partied with Chris Taylor…well, you definitely want to…just make sure he stays away from farm animals. Head on over to Square Enix’s members site to enter!

Did You Play the Heavy Rain Demo? What Did You Think?!?

Sony dropped a short Heavy Rain demo on PlayStation Network yesterday. You’ve had sufficient time to download it and play it. Now I want to know what you think! This is one of the most divisive games I’ve come across in a while. Some people are totally into Quantic Dream’s style of storytelling. Some are dismissing it as a non-game or barely a game. Now that you’ve had a taste of it, kindly share your thoughts.

On a related note, the game was listed as #1 on Amazon when I went to grab the link. That surprised me.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

To be completely honest, I’m actually going to try and not play games this weekend. I want to finish up Bill Simmons’ The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy on my freshly gifted Amazon Kindle! That said, I’ll probably sneak in some game time. I won’t play anything heavy though — maybe a little Civilization on my iPhone.

How about you ladies and gets? What’s on your weekend play list for Valentine’s weekend?

Coffee Talk #85: Your Favorite Videogame Valentine’s Couples

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, what Tiger is buying Elin for Valentine’s Day, your favorite American Idol hopeful, or Kevin Smith’s performance at MacWorld, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

With a lovey dovey holiday coming on Sunday, I thought it would be a great time to talk about your favorite romantic couples in gaming. Whether you like traditional romances, bisexual elf assassins, or the timeless tale of a paddle and ball, I want to know who your favorite videogame couple is and why.

As for me, I’m going with Zack Fair and Aerith Gainsborough from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Their love was innocent and tragic. It also led to one of the most emotionally powerful game endings I’ve experienced in years. Here’s part of the ending (spoilers ahead, duh!):

*sniff* Excuse me…a gnat flew into my eye. I have to run off and take care of this gnat-eye problem. For now, tell me who your favorite videogame couple is. Name the couple, the game, and why you chose them (please)!