Category: Videogames

Coffee Talk #252: What’s Your Favorite “Name” Game?

A lot of videogames have a famous name attached to them. Some have athletes (Frank Thomas: Big Hurt Baseball). Others have game designers (American McGee’s Alice). And some have…

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, Verve’s Panama Elida Estate Natural, Derek Jeter’s contract negotiations, or Sergio Martinez vicious knockout of Paul Williams, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A lot of videogames have a famous name attached to them. Some have athletes (Frank Thomas: Big Hurt Baseball). Others have game designers (American McGee’s Alice). And some have musical groups (The Beatles: Rock Band). Today I want to hear about your favorite “name” games.

As for me…well, it’s a little embarrassing. I should say that it’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, but I’ll admit that it’s Britney’s Dance Beat. It has the same gameplay as the excellent Bust-a-Groove and was released before Britney lost her mind.

Now it’s your turn! Lay your favorite “name” game on me and enjoy these Britney Spears photos.

 

 

This Week’s Videogame Releases

After 72 years of delays (not really), Sony is finally releasing Gran Turismo 5 for PlayStation 3. Whether or not the game is worth the wait, it’s sure to sell millions. The games I’m looking forward to this week are from Namco Bandai: Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom and Splatterhouse. Need some pop in your life? Then check out Michael Jackson: The Experience. Last, but not least, is Raving Rabbids Travel in Time.

Random note: as of this writing, GT5 is #2 and Michael Jackson: The Experience is #11 on Amazon’s videogame best seller list.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Kingdom Hearts 3DS Details

Tetsuya Nomura dropped some details on the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3D for Nintendo 3DS. Andriasang translated a recent issue of Famitsu and discovered the following:

Past screenshots showed Sora and Riku as they looked in the original Kingdom Hearts timeframe. They reason they appear like this is currently a secret. Nomura would only say that it was a necessity for the story.

They’re also currently going through world selection for the game’s Disney areas. The plan is to use all new Disney worlds this time. It appears that Traverse Town and other original creations will carry over into the game, though.

There could be some deeper meaning to the “3” in the title. In addition to indicating the use of 3D visual output, the game will be connected to Kingdom Hearts III both in terms of gameplay systems and story. It’s possible that the ending of 3D will lead into the story of KHIII.

As a Kingdom Hearts mark, I’m super excited for this game (especially the new areas!). I’m sure it will be a system seller for the Nintendo 3DS. Are you psyched for this game? Would you buy a 3DS for it?

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Deux Ex: Human Revolution Screens and Video

Here are some fresh new screens and a video for the upcoming Deus Ex: Human Revolution. As a fan of the original games, I’m super psyched for this one. I think it’s looking hot, but I’d love to hear what you think. Kindly check out the goods and share your thoughts!

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Coffee Talk #251: Your Greatest Gaming Comebacks

I was playing a game of WordFeud for Android against a random player. He/she had two of the three 10-letter tiles and busted out two seven-letter words. I was getting slaughtered…but I kept with it.

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 RPad.tv merchandise sale, Bud Selig expanding the MLB playoffs, or San Antonio Spurs players hiding their wives from Tony Parker, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I was playing a game of WordFeud for Android against a random player. He/she had two of the three 10-letter tiles and busted out two seven-letter words. I was getting slaughtered…but I kept with it. Through a combination of clever letter placement, dumb luck, and poor choices by my opponent, I ended up winning the game. It was a glorious and I almost sent my opponent a message that said, “Don’t call it a comeback!”

Do you have any stories like that? Have you had any ridiculous gaming comebacks where the odds were completely stacked against you but you managed to pull out a victory? I’d love to hear your stories. Share and be proud!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This will surprise some of you: I’m going to try to play Call of Duty: Blacks Ops this weekend. It’s not my usual deal, but some friends of mine are trying to rope me into playing online…and I’ll probably oblige them so that they’ll shut up. Aside from that, I need to get some SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 game time in, as well as my usual WordFeud for Android juggling. To be completely honest, there’s a chance I’ll disappear for a few hours this afternoon to catch Harry Potter 7a.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Exclusive: Heroes’ Greg Grunberg Confirms Role in L.A. Noire

In the immortal words of that Spike TV guy, I have a “worldwide exclusive”! Heroes actor Greg Grunberg confirmed his role in Rockstar Games’ upcoming L.A. Noire at EA’s Need for Speed Hot Pursuit launch event. The video above features Grunberg talking about the game and the unique motion capture used by Depth Analysis. Check it out and let me know what you think (please)!

ESPN Slams Kobe Bryant Over Call of Duty Commercial

ESPN The Magazine senior writer Tim Keown blasted Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant for appearing in the commercial for Call of Duty: Black Ops. He preys on ignorant readers’ sympathies by weaving a tale of teen-aged boys killed by gun violence and ties it to Bryant appearing in a commercial for an M-rated game. Here’s a clip from this amazingly irresponsible article:

Seriously, is that really Kobe Bryant carrying an assault weapon with the word “MAMBA” on the barrel? Did Kobe Bryant, the highest-paid player in the NBA, take money not only to advertise a shooting game but actually shoot — or simulate shooting — an automatic weapon while doing it? None of his people, not his wife or his agent or someone in the NBA offices, advised him against this?

I love ESPN — the network, the web site, and the magazine — so I was incredibly disappointed by Keown’s piece-of-crap article. Keown is a fine writer, but it was totally bush league of him not to mention that the game is rated M by the ESRB. I don’t believe for a second that he (or his editors) didn’t know this.

As some of you know, I’ve hated Bryant ever since he waved off a Karl Malone pick in an all-star game. I can’t believe I’m defending the alleged rapist, but Keown’s attack is ignorant and irresponsible. Sadly, people will buy into because he leaves out details like the game’s ESRB rating and intended audience. Ugh.

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Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Celebrity Launch Video

Here’s my video from last night’s launch party for Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. Entourage’s Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara were on hand to follow up the fine work they did in the game’s commercials. I also caught up with Playboy Playmate Jenna Bentley, 24’s Roger Cross, Heroes’ Greg Grunberg, and more. Since RPadholic N8R mentioned her in a comment, I was sure to get some footage of Shannyn Sossamon too! Please, please, please check out the video and let me know what you think!

Confession: when I started editing this piece, I was still drunk from the party. I’ve written previews and opinion pieces while buzzed, but this is the first time I edited a video while inebriated. I think it’s a fun clip…but I’ll have to watch it again after I wake up. Ha!

Also, what do you think was up with Ethan Embry last night? I found him thoroughly entertaining…but a bit strange.

NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of October 2010

It’s time for NPD Group’s sales figures! It’s the second month of neutered NPD numbers (*sniff* *sniff*) and I miss the flame wars the old numbers started. That said, the game sales data is still interesting. Let’s have a look!

It’s time for NPD Group’s sales figures! It’s the second month of neutered NPD numbers (*sniff* *sniff*) and I miss the flame wars the old numbers started. That said, the game sales data is still interesting. Let’s have a look!

  1. NBA 2K11 (Take-Two Interactive, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, PC)
  2. Fallout: New Vegas (Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  3. Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
  4. Fable III (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
  5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (LucasArts, Xbox 360, PS3, WII, PC, NDS)
  6. Halo: Reach (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
  7. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft, Wii)
  8. FIFA Soccer 11 (Electronic Arts, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, NDS, PC)
  9. Madden NFL 11 (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP)
  10. WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011 (THQ, PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, WII, PSP)

I’m said that more people didn’t buy SmackDown vs. Raw. The people need games with superior writing and that game has the best writing (of any kind) of 2010. Combining platforms and market saturation have changed the way the top 10 has looked for the last few years — way fewer Wii exclusives on the list. I’m surprised  and pleased that NBA 2K11 and Fallout topped the list. Not that those games were release by “small” publishers, but it’s good for the business when Acitivsion and EA aren’t completely dominating the scene.

What do you think of October’s numbers? Any surprises for you?