Videogames Archives - Page 48 of 178

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD Available on PSN

Just Add Water has announced that Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD is now available on PlayStation Network for $14.99. This remake of the Oddworld Inhabitants classic was developed in conjunction with OI founder Lorne Lanning. It runs at a native resolution of 720p at 60 frames per second.

Here’s an excerpt from the press release:

Stranger’s Wrath follows the story of Stranger, a fearsome bounty hunter that captures outlaws to raise “moolah” for a mysterious surgical procedure. After encountering the backwater town of the Grubbs, Stranger discovers that there are a few too many secrets about the past and his future as a bounty hunter.

Just Add Water worked with Lorne Lanning to preserve every nuance of the original while making sure that the new game took full advantage of current generation hardware.

As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Oddworld Inhabitants and Lorne Lanning. I’m looking forward to seeing how this remake looks and if the gameplay holds up. Any of you interested in picking up Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD?

Coffee Talk #436: Your 2011 Game of the Year

Let’s do the game-of-the-year thing in reverse order. Usually, most outlets build up to it by going over different categories and capping things off with the game of the year. Today I want to hear about your favorite and second-favorite game of 2011. Later on…

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, being sad about the Dallas Mavericks’ crappy start, being happy about the Los Angeles Lakers’ crappy start, or if Chris Jericho is the mystery man that will appear on the first WWE Raw of 2012, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As for me, there’s a ton I didn’t play yet so I can only talk about what I enjoyed, not necessarily the best game of 2011. I definitely need to put more time into Skyrim and pick up Arkham City (PR flaks never sent me a copy). Of the games I did spend significant time with, Dragon Age II was my second-favorite. I loved the storytelling and gameplay; unlike some players, the changes in game mechanics didn’t bother me at all. And as most of you know, I’m a total BioWare homer.

The top spot has to go to Portal 2. I was pretty much floored by the game on every level. The gameplay is inventive, the storytelling is humorous and witty, the graphics are great, and the sound design is the best I’ve experienced all year. Valve completely rocked this one and Eric Wolpaw is my videogame-writing hero.

Now it’s your turn! Please leave a comment with your 2011 game of the year and the runner-up.

Coffee Talk #435: Your Tech & Videogame Christmas 2011 Haul

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 thoughts on the first day of the NBA season, the Samsung Galaxy S not getting Android 4.0, or Jorge Posada possibly going to the Tampa Bay Rays, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, or commercial holiday. I’ve heard about some of your Xmas loot, but I’d love to hear about it all! Any of you get new games? How about a new phone or tablet? Maybe you had a really vivid dream about a new MacBook Pro or iMac and one magically appeared under your Christmas tree?!? (That technique didn’t work for me, btw.) Kindly share your tech and videogame Christmas look in today’s comments section!

Judge the PlayStation Vita Launch Lineup (Please)!

Sony Computer Entertainment America has announced the North American launch lineup for the PlayStation Vita. The list includes first-party and third-party games. It’s also broken down by titles that will be available on day one and those that will be available during a nebulous “launch window”. Check out the list of games below and let me know what you think. Are you excited (or not)?!? Are you impressed (or not)?!? How would you rate it compared to the Nintendo 3DS launch lineup?

SCEA Launch Day Titles
Escape Plan™ (PSN Only)
Hot Shots Golf®: World Invitational
Hustle Kings™ (PSN Only)
Little Deviants™
ModNation™ Racers: Road Trip
Super StarDust™ Delta (PSN only)
UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss™
wipEout® 2048

Launch Window Titles
Gravity Rush™
MLB® 12 The Show
Reality Fighters™
Unit 13™

Third Party Publisher Launch Day Titles
Army Corps of Hell © (Square Enix, Inc.)
Asphalt® Injection (Ubisoft, Inc.)
BEN10™ GALACTIC RACING (D3 Publisher of America)
Blazblue: Continuum Shift EXTEND* (Aksys Games Localization, Inc.)
Dungeon Hunter Alliance (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Dynasty Warriors Next (Tecmo Koei America Corporation)
F1 2011™ (Codemasters®)
EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer (Electronic Arts, Inc.)
Lumines ™ Electronic Symphony* (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Michael Jackson The Experience (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Plants vs. Zombies™ (PSN Only) (Sony Online Entertainment LLC)
Rayman® Origins* (Ubisoft, Inc.)
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen (Namco Bandai Games America Inc.)
Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs (PSN Only) (Drinkbox Studios)
Touch My Katamari™ (Namco Bandai Games America Inc.)
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3®* (Capcom Entertainment, Inc.)
Virtua Tennis™4: World Tour Edition (Sega® of America)

Launch Window Titles
LEGO® Harry Potter™: Years 5-7 (Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. Inc.}
Disgaea ®3:Absence of Detention (NIS America, Inc.)
NINJA GAIDEN® Sigma PLUS (Tecmo Koei America Corporation)
Ridge Racer® (Namco Bandai Games America Inc.)
Silent Hill Book of Memories (Konami Digital Ent. America, Inc.)
Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted™ (505 Games)

Game of Thrones RPG Trailers

Here are a pair of videos for the upcoming Game of Thrones RPG being developed by Cyanide and published by Atlus. As a mark for the books and the show, I’m definitely going to give the game a shot. I’m even a little excited for it, despite the mediocre graphics and seemingly derivative gameplay. At a glance, it looks average (at best) from a gameplay perspective, but I’m super curious about the writing. The game’s plot was written in conjunction with George RR Martin. I’m hoping it’ll be interesting, especially since I’ll be in my 60s when he finally finishes the damn series.

Check out the trailers when you have a chance and let me know what you think. Any of you interested in the Game of Thrones RPG?

What Are You Playing Over Christmas Weekend?

I hope everyone has an excellent weekend with their families whether you’re celebrating a holiday or just hanging out. Since some of you have an extra day off or two, I was wondering what games your were planning to play. A long weekend is a great time clear out your videogame backlog or put some major hours into a lengthy RPG. So how about it?

Atlus was kind enough to send me a code for Trine 2 for Xbox 360, so I’m going to give that a whirl. I’m also going to sink some time into Disgaea 4. It’s going to be a weird Christmas for me with my brother in Hawaii and my parents in New York. My love and thoughts will be with them…as I get my game on. Ha!

Now it’s your turn! What’s on your Christmas (or other holiday) weekend?

The Best Videogame Commercial of 2011

Here’s my favorite videogame commercial of 2011. Surprisingly, it does not star Kevin Butler. I’m a huge fan of the ads starring Sony’s fictitious vice president, but the “Michael” spot outdoes them all. It’s just awesome to see so many different characters from so many different games hanging out in the same room. Worlds collide…and it’s awesome.

Consider this a warm up for next week’s Coffee Talk columns when I’ll be asking you about your favorite game, videogame graphics, electronics, etc. of 2011. For now, please let know what your favorite videogame commercial of 2011 was and embed it in the comments section if you have a chance.

Coffee Talk #433: Gaming, Tech, and Jimmy Fallon

During a multifaceted geek chat with Nerd Friend X, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon came up. As a tech enthusiast and a gamer, I feel obligated to support the show. It helps that I actually dig Fallon’s humor and my buddy Gavin works on the show…

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, if Tebowmania will die down now that the Broncos’ streak has snapped, your WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan (!!!), or Rooney Mara vs. Kate Mara, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

During a multifaceted geek chat with Nerd Friend X, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon came up. As a tech enthusiast and a gamer, I feel obligated to support the show. It helps that I actually dig Fallon’s humor and my buddy Gavin works on the show. I was surprised to learn that Nerd Friend X hates the show and Fallon. It’s one thing if he doesn’t like Fallon’s humor and the show’s writing; it’s not for everyone. As a gamer and tech enthusiast, I feel that he should support it. After all, nobody else in late night features game developers and tech editors.

I love that Epic Games’ Cliff Bleszinski showed Gears of War 3 on the show. It’s awesome that Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra dropped by to demo Uncharted 3. Microsoft got a ton of press when Microsoft’s Kudo Tsunoda showed Kinect to mainstream America on Fallon. TheVerge.com’s Joshua Topolsky (ex-Endgadget) drops by regularly to tell Jimmy and his audience about the latest and greatest in consumer electronics. Is there a late-night show that’s more nerd-friendly than Late Night with Jimmy Fallon?

Jimmy Fallon, his writers, and his producers are the future of late night…at least the future of what I want late night to be. People that grew up with games and/or obsessed with nerd toys are getting older. I love that there’s a late-night TV-show that covers my interests with respect and enthusiasm. I dream of the day Fallon gets the 11:30 slot, bringing great games and tech content to “the big show”. With your support, he’ll get there.

What do you think of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon featuring videogames and consumer electronics? If Fallon gets an 11:30 show, do you think he’ll continue bringing on game developers and tech experts as guests? Or will games and geek stuff be relegated to after midnight instead of before it?

Get Your Ghosts Attack and Tarver Games T-Shirts

My pal Chris Cross at Tarver Games recently blogged about a few slick company t-shirts. Available now is a sweet Ghosts Attack t-shirt. The shirt features the icon from Cross’ slick iOS game. Coming soon, partially because I pestered him about how cool it would be, is a Tarver Games t-shirt. I’ve always loved the Tarver Games logo. Donkeys are funny.

Picking up a Ghosts Attack t-shirt has been proven by Ivy League statisticians to increase the coolness of your wardrobe by 22 percent. Matching it with some RPad.tv swag (an excellent holiday gift) improves your wardrobe immeasurably. Seriously though, the Ghosts Attack shirt looks great and supports future projects from Tarver Games. Pick one up if you get a chance (please)!

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m not traveling and I have no work commitments this weekend…and I have no idea what to play. This is a good problem to have. Ha! I could use a laugh and a dose of my favorite genre. Thankfully I have an unopened copy of Disgaea4 to fill both needs. Yeah, that sounds like the perfect game this weekend. It’s going to be all about demons, wicked humor, and tactical battles!

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