Category: Videogames

Tennis Pro Andy Murray Loses Girlfriend Over Modern Warfare 2

Andy Murray

The word on the street is that Kim Sears broke up with professional tennis player Andy Murray over his habitual videogame play. The Telegraph reported:

Andy Murray’s relationship with his girlfriend Kim Sears allegedly ended because of the British number one’s passion for computer games including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Brad Gilbert, Murray’s former coach, has said in the past that Murray spends “seven hours a day” playing video games.

The source told The Sun: “He would spend all his time glued to them. In the end she just got fed up with it. She wanted more out of the relationship.”

I’m kind of split on the matter. Being a top-ranked tennis-pro means millions of dollars, seeing the world, and hot women throwing themselves at you on a nightly basis. If I were Murray’s age (22) and had that kind of money, I’d be the whore of Babylon. Then again, I love games and have (unfairly) brushed girls aside so that I could sink more hours into an RPG. Murray either needs to slut it up or find a good woman that understands the importance of gaming.

Source

Marc Ecko Envisions a Videogame Version of Macbeth

Macbeth

Fashion mogul Marc Ecko has had enormous success thinking outside of the box, so it wasn’t surprising to learn that he wants to create a videogame version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In a recent interview with Destructoid, Ecko said:

I completely re-imagined Macbeth. Our adaptation, I think, would have made it relevant to people who wouldn’t have otherwise known about this great story. It’s unfortunate, because a lot of people just don’t know Macbeth.

Rumors of Tommy Hilfiger producing a videogame version of King Lear have yet to be confirmed…. Seriously though, I met Ecko a few times when Atari was pushing Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. He was very cool, extremely creative, and genuinely interested in games as a form of interactive entertainment.

I’d love to see Ecko’s interpretation of Macbeth…especially if it lets me go one a Highlander-style beheading spree. (I’m kidding about that last part.) Would you be interested in a Marc Ecko Macbeth game? Or do you think it’s a classic that shouldn’t be touched?

Source

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Headlines Square Enix Jump Festa

Square Enix recently launched a web site for its Jump Festa 2009 fan fest. The heavy hitters in this year’s lineup are Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) and Dragon Quest VI (DS). Here’s the current list as translated by Andriasang:

  • Cross Treasures (DS, movie, playable)
  • Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP, movie, playable)
  • Dragon Quest VI (DS, movie, playable)
  • Star Ocean: The Last Hope International (PS3, movie, playable)
  • Dragon Quest IX (DS)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: Battle Road (Arcade, movie, playable)
  • Final Fantasy IV (Mobile, playable)
  • Dragon Quest III (Mobile, playable)
  • Kingdom Hearts Mobile (Mobile, movie)
  • Dragon Quest: Battle Road Mobile (Mobile)

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

I can’t wait for Birth by Sleep. I want it now!!! Which of these games are you psyched for?

Source

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Headlines Square Enix Jump Festa

Square Enix recently launched a web site for its Jump Festa 2009 fan fest. The heavy hitters in this year’s lineup are Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP) and Dragon Quest VI (DS). Here’s the current list as translated by Andriasang:

  • Cross Treasures (DS, movie, playable)
  • Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP, movie, playable)
  • Dragon Quest VI (DS, movie, playable)
  • Star Ocean: The Last Hope International (PS3, movie, playable)
  • Dragon Quest IX (DS)
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: Battle Road (Arcade, movie, playable)
  • Final Fantasy IV (Mobile, playable)
  • Dragon Quest III (Mobile, playable)
  • Kingdom Hearts Mobile (Mobile, movie)
  • Dragon Quest: Battle Road Mobile (Mobile)

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

I can’t wait for Birth by Sleep. I want it now!!! Which of these games are you psyched for?

Source

Coffee Talk #36: Are You Evil?

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, turkey hangovers, Ali Funeka getting robbed by Canadian boxing judges, or your Black Friday steals, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving. Now that many of you are full of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, let’s talk about something important: being evil. Nah, I’m not talking about going on a random acts of cruelty spree. I’m talking about being evil in games.

Fable II evil

As I started my fourth play through of Dragon Age: Origins during Thanksgiving break, I noticed that I was either totally or mostly good in my three previous runs. Looking back at my history of BioWare and Lionhead games, I almost always play as the good guy — even when I play the game multiple times. The one exception was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, simply because some of the Sith powers were too cool to ignore.

For me, gaming as the bad guy isn’t fun. I don’t fantasize about being the villain. I want to be the hero! Furthermore, I feel guilty about evil choices I make in RPGs. Sometimes I’ll pick a nefarious dialogue branch just to see what happens, but if the consequences are too severe, I’ll go back and reload my game out of guilt.

I wanted to see how you guys play games where you have a choice between being good or evil. Do you usually take the angelic route like me? Or do you enjoy being a devilish character?

What Are You Playing Thanksgiving Weekend?

This excellent holiday has given many of us a long weekend of gaming. I’m planning to use to finish up some odds and ends in Dragon Age: Origins. I have one achievement to nab and it’ll be a piece of cake…but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop playing.

I’m hoping my friend from Sony gets off his ass so that we can play some Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 online. His family is local, so he has to see them for Thanksgiving, but he’s coming back for Ignition Shane’s birthday on Sunday, which means he should be able to free up some hours on Saturday or Sunday for MUA2. If not, he’s just a lamer.

weekly thanksgiving

Lastly, I picked up Brutal Legend in yesterday’s batch of Amazon Lightning Deals. To my amazement, it arrived today. That’s pretty awesome. I’m looking forward to playing this one. I’m thrilled that Double Fine was able to partner with a strong publisher after its ordeal with Activision. I’m especially thrilled for the hot programmer that worked on the game (hi Anna!).

As always, I want to know what games you plan on conquering this weekend. Anything different or special since you had a few extra days?

Coffee Talk #35: Your Black Friday Success Stories

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, the effects of tryptophan, the awesome repackaged WWE Festus’ debut tonight on Smackdown, or your latest comic books, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

First off, I actually just brewed a fresh pot of coffee, so I think the Coffee Talk name still applies. Ha! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday yesterday. Now it’s time for the down and dirty part — Black Friday.

Black Friday shopping

Some of you are out shopping today. If that’s the case, I think you’re pretty nuts. I absolutely can’t stand Black Friday — too many people, too many inexperienced sales reps, too few parking spots, ridiculously long lines, etc. The only time I enjoyed it was when I was a poor college kid; I’d just go to the mall, grab an Icee, and watch all the miserable shoppers.

Having said that, there are a ton of great deals to be had, whether you’re at stores or wisely shopping online. Today I want to hear about your Black Friday success stories. What did you pick up? Anything surprise you? If you found any great online deals, please share them with your fellow RPadholics.