Posted 03/11/10 at 08:02:56 AM by Paul Lilly

What happens if you take Nintendo's Wii remote and nunchuck and paint them black, streamline the controllers, and cut the tail? You get Sony's PlayStation Move motion controller and sub-controller.

Instead of a sensor bar, the PlayStation Move platform relies on the PlayStation Eye camera to help "deliver an innovative and highly immersive experience." The camera purports to detect precise movement, angle, and even how far away the player is from the console.

As for the motion controller itself, it includes a three-axis gyroscope, a three-axis accelerometer, and a terrestrial magnetic field sensor, as well as a color-changing field sensor that the camera uses to track movement. According to Sony, this combination allows for both fast and subtle motion.

Kotaku has put together a handy list outlining the differences between the PlayStation Move and Nintendo's Wii remote (see here), including fewer buttons, "a smarter controller," and no wire between the motion- and sub-controller.

Sony says it will launch the new controllers worldwide this fall, but didn't offer up any pricing info.

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Posted 03/10/10 at 10:31:45 AM by Paul Lilly

You're not likely to find a bona fide rock star on stage pounding a series of colorful buttons rather than strumming away on real guitar strings, so as fun as Rock Band and Guitar Hero are to play, they're not very faithful recreations of the real deal. Looking to bridge that gap is Seven45 Studios and the company's upcoming game, Power Gig: Rise of the SixString.

Like other musical videogames, you'll follow on-screen beat sequences, only you'll have to strum the right string rather than mash a button. There will also be a "Power Gig" mode in which players have to hit specific strings to produce chords. When you're finished chasing achievements, you can then plug the guitar into any standard amp and start playing for real.

"The leap to (playing) guitar will be seamless," said Jeff Walker, vice president of marketing at Seven45.

While price could end up an obvious prohibiting factor, Seven45 promises it will be comparable with existing music games. Look for Power Gig to ship this fall for the PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles. And if you get attached to the included guitar, Seven45 says it will also work with Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Groovy.

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Posted 03/09/10 at 10:18:19 AM by Paul Lilly

We don't often post Mac-centric news (being primarily a Windows PC-based site and all), but every once in awhile, we can't help ourselves. This happens to be one of those times.

Valve yesterday announced plans to bring Steam, its gaming service, and Source, Valve's gaming engine, to the Mac platform.

"As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients," said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. "The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services."

Valve said its library of games, including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series, will all be available next month, though the company didn't specify an exact date. And these won't be run through emulation, but natively.

"We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation," said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. "The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360."

In addition, Cook said that Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, so it will be entirely possible to settle the debate between PC vs Mac in head-to-head matchups.

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Posted 03/08/10 at 12:41:12 PM by Dan Stapleton

Somehow, blowing things up never gets old—especially blowing up Nazis. Sixty-five years after the fall of the Third Reich, it’s still a gaming favorite.

As the titular Saboteur, Irish mechanic turned French freedom-fighter Sean Devlin, you throw a wrench into the gears of the Nazi occupation in 1940... except this wrench is actually a wad of TNT that detonates in a spectacular fireball. The game equips you with an ample pile of explosives and turns you loose in a target-rich open-world version of Nazi-occupied Paris (complete with Eiffel Tower and Louvre) and its surrounding rural areas. Much of the joy of playing comes from planting bombs on poorly guarded Nazi equipment and casually strolling out of the blast radius before it blows, then watching it crumble down, jackbooted thugs and all.

Sure, the story, which follows Sean’s quest for revenge against a sadistic S.S. officer/race car driver is a little hammy and more than a little absurd, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, it works well with the roguish Indiana Jones–style attitude of the character. The voice actors play along, delivering entertaining performances with caricature Irish, French, and German accents.

Continue reading this review after the jump.

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Posted 03/05/10 at 08:53:52 AM by Paul Lilly

Holy moly, talk about a kick ass giveaway. 2K Sports this week announced it would give away an unprecedented cash prize to the tune of $1 million to whoever is the first person to pitch a verified perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K10.

"To compete, gamers must play in MLB Today mode, select from any of the available matchups, and then choose the option to participate in the ‘Major League Baseball 2K10 contest’ that will automatically default to the proper gameplay settings according to the official gameplay rules," 2K Sports states. "Entries must be recorded via camera or digital video recorder in compliance with guidelines provided by 2K in the Official Rules, and all eligible entrants must submit a copy of their recording in its entirety for verification. Submissions will only be accepted on DVD."

There are a handful of other rules you must follow, such as not being allowed to make any pitching substitutions, pause the game, or wait 60 seconds or more in between pitches. But should you be the first to get through nine innings with no walks, no hits, and no runs, you could end up a millionaire, at least until the tax man takes his cut.

Note that this contest only applies to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions.

Rules and Other Info

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Posted 03/04/10 at 09:45:23 PM by Nathan Grayson

Dragon Age: Origins is the first in a new franchise from role-playing powerhouse BioWare, and while its swords ‘n’ sorcery setting may, at first glance, appear to be the result of an especially fruitful attempt at robbing J.R.R. Tolkien’s grave, don’t let that fool you. Dragon Age may very well contain one of the finest, most compelling videogame worlds ever created.

But that on its own isn’t what makes Dragon Age great. Rather, the game’s heart lies smack-dab at the intersection between setting and character development. It’s a fine line that many sprawling RPGs attempt to walk, yet BioWare has managed to cross the proverbial tightrope with startling ease. Chalk it up to years of experience with similar games, but with Dragon Age, BioWare has truly perfected its craft.

The story initially appears to be something of a straight line but quickly spins out into a complex web, with you at the center. It’s a surprisingly personal experience—especially when contrasted with other story-based RPGs—that begins with your choice of an origin story. Depending on your race/class combination, you’ll encounter any one of multiple, wildly different opening scenarios. Your origin, then, follows you through the rest of the game. Human, elf, or dwarf, male or female, rich or poor—the whole game changes in ways both big and small to reflect your humble (or not-so-humble) beginnings.

Continue reading this review after the jump.

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Posted 03/02/10 at 11:14:02 PM by Nathan Grayson

The past 24 hours have not been kind to Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward.

It all began yesterday evening when rumors surfaced that Activision ordered security personnel to go check in on Infinity Ward in what we’re sure was a polite, completely non-threatening gesture. Infinity Ward employees were “freaked out” and “confused” by the nasty turn of events.

It only got uglier from there.

Apparently, Activision was investigating "breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward." These two senior employees were later identified as none other than the company’s heart and soul, respectively, bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella. Both men are now jobless.

Shortly after, in a move that seems a bit too convenient for our tastes, Activision announced the creation of a Call of Duty business unit, which will be headed-up by Philip Earl, who currently runs Activision Publishing’s Asia Pacific region. Meanwhile, Activision vets Steve Pearce and Steve Ackrich will take up the reigns over at Infinity Ward until suitable candidates are found to permanently steer the wagon. Again, fishy.

This came after Activision CEO Bobby Kotick flew in for an emergency meeting with Infinity Ward’s remaining staffers this afternoon.

So, what exactly caused this plate-flinging, staying-at-mother’s-house-for-a-month lover’s spat? Activision’s not talking, but the Internet’s made a valiant effort at putting together the pieces. For one thing, rumor has it that Activision’s been withholding royalty fees from Infinity Ward. Meanwhile, Infinity Ward's apparently been shopping around for a new publisher despite a deal with Activision that doesn't expire until October. And the developer's hoping to take the Modern Warfare franchise with it, as it's a partial owner of the Call of Duty franchise. Also, earlier this year Infinity Ward was rumored to have decided to focus on a new franchise instead of developing Modern Warfare 3 – a move that, we’re sure, had Activision’s piggy banks squealing in desperate fear of starvation.

But here’s the kicker: earlier today, after announcing a new action-adventure entry in the Call of Duty series developed by Sledgehammer Games, Activision said that Infinity Ward is still “central” to the Call of Duty franchise. An odd thing to say about a studio that hopes to develop a new IP. Now, maybe we’re reading into things a bit, but if your billion dollar horse was bucking, we bet you’d consider doing some fairly unscrupulous things to whip it back into line.

We wish the best of luck to everyone at Infinity Ward. Keep fighting the good fight, guys and gals. 

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Posted 03/02/10 at 07:39:18 AM by Paul Lilly

Maybe it all started with the 1997 Atari 2600 title Combat, in which you were tasked with blowing up your best friend (or whoever you invited over) with a tank, bi-plane, or jet. Or maybe it was something else, but no matter what videogame first began shaping our feeble minds, one thing's for sure - violent videogames increases our violent thinking, attitudes, and behaviors, says a new study. Oh, and those shoot-em-ups you've been playing do absolutely nothing to promote positive social behaviors.

To come to the above conclusion, psychologist Craig Anderson of Iowa State University and his team combed through the results of existing studies of 130,000 people from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Anderson says he found an association between exposure to violent games and aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive "affect."

"Videogames are neither inherently good nor inherently bad," the study says. "But people learn. And content matters."

Naturally, not everyone agrees with Anderson's findings. Two such critiques include Christopher Ferguson and John Kilburn of the department of behavioral applied science and criminal justice at Texas A&M International University. Ferguson and Kilburn point out flaws in Anderson's study, including what they believe is a selection bias, as well as a weak connection at best. Furthermore, Freguson says that violent crime in the U.S. and other developed nations has decreased over the decades, even though videogames are becoming more popular than ever.

More info here.

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