Tag: Videogames

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)!

I Used Wii Fit at Physical Therapy and it Kicked My Ass

On Monday, I used Wii Fit as part of my physical therapy for my ailing knee. Some of the therapists know that I write about games and some don’t. I think the ones that didn’t were disappointed that I wasn’t incredibly amused by the game. I didn’t bother to tell them why because I was amused that they were surprised that I wasn’t amused. (It was internally hilarious. Trust me.)

Getting to the actual game, I did a bunch of balance exercises and some light stepping. I haven’t played the game in a long, long time — you know, when my knee was in working order. I was surprised at how challenging some of the exercises were. I definitely felt it in my quadriceps the next day.

It’s also funny that my gamer instinct took over. In my previous sessions, I concentrated on doing everything properly, not overcompensating with my hips, and not getting hurt. In a Marble Madness-style game, all of that went out the window. It became all about winning. Ha!

Anyway, I just thought I’d share my worlds colliding with Wii Fit and physical therapy.

Dragon Age: Origins Awakening Character Reveal: Velanna

The next Dragon Age: Origins Awakening NPC revealed by BioWare is Velanna, an angry Dalish elf. She appears to dislike clothing and has the power to animate trees. Along with Anders, this makes two Awakening NPCs that focus on magic. I’m looking forward to learning more about this angry chick. I’m also pretty sure a bunch of you are wondering, “Yeah, but can I bang her?”

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Coffee Talk #84: Vote for the Superman 64 Award!!!

You asked for it and you’ve got it! Here are the nominees for the Superman 64 Awards for worst game of the decade!!! After sorting through your nominees, I’ve selected eight offenders for your voting pleasure. So make your pick and tell everyone why you selected the game you did (please)!

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,whether you give a damn about the Winter Olympic Games, Degeneration X breaking up, or Spider-Man in 3D, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

You asked for it and you’ve got it! Here are the nominees for the Superman 64 Awards for worst game of the decade!!! After sorting through your initial picks, I’ve selected eight offenders for your voting pleasure. So make your choice and tell everyone why you selected the game you did (please)!

[poll id=”25″]

Fifth Generation Pokemon Revealed: Meet Zorua/Zoroark

The first fifth-generation Pokemon has been revealed by CoroCoro magazine and its name is Zorua/Zoroark. After revealing what is essentially the god of Pokemon (Arceus) in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, The Pokemon Company and Game Freak are going with a dark-type for the latest “feature” Pokemon. Serebii.net revealed:

First, the pre-evolution Pokémon is called Zorua/ Zoroa (???) and is a Dark-type Pokémon. Its classification is Evil Fox Pokémon, it is 0.7m tall and 12.5kg.

Secondly, the Pokémon in the sihlouette is said to be called Zoroark/Zoroaaku (?????)and is also a Dark-type Pokémon. Its classification is Monster Fox Pokémon, it is 1.6m tall and 81.1kg.

As I mentioned at the end of last month, there will be a new Pokemon RPG released by the end of 2010 in Japan. Unless you can read Japanese, I wouldn’t count on catching Zorua or Zoroark until 2011.

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Disney CEO High on DS/Wii for Disney, Xbox/PS3 for Marvel

Disney CEO Bob Iger is bullish on the Nintendo DS and Wii for Disney properties and doesn’t see the company going large with the more powerful consoles. For Marvel Comics properties, it’s an entirely different story. According to Develop:

CEO Bob Iger said yesterday that Disney Interactive would be “very, very judicious” in how many high-end console projects it will green-light, focusing instead on more casual platforms such as the Wii and DS.

However, with Disney having just acquired Marvel Entertainment in a $4.3 billion deal, the firm is likely to leverage the comic brand’s recognisable IPs. “We have some interesting opportunities with Marvel,” said Iger, “and that would be a brand that we think would do extremely well on the higher end consoles.”

For traditional licensed games, Iger’s strategy makes sense. For a game like Epic Mickey, I think it’s a mistake. Now I’m not talking about Epic Mickey specifically, but if you have an ambitious project headed by a highly renowned developer like Warren Spector, shouldn’t you tap into the talent’s following? Spector has a ton of fans from his work on Deus Ex, System Shock, and Thief, and I’m guessing those fans are playing on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 instead of Wii.

That aside, are you surprised Disney hasn’t become a powerhouse in gaming yet? Do you think it’s a traditional company that was slow to adapt to an emerging form of entertainment? Or is Disney’s poised to become a giant in the immediate future?

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