Download Area 51 for free
Who can say “no” to a free game? I certainly can’t do it, especially if the free game wasn’t all that bad to begin with. I’m referring to Area 51 which was released on the PS2, Xbox, and PC back in April 2005. Cruise on over to Strategy Informer to get in on all the alien splattering action.
The complete download will take up close to 2GB of space on your hard drive and features the voice talent of David Duchovny, Marilyn Manson and Powers Boothe. How’s that for a star-studded cast?
Area 51 is a…
Play Crysis Wars for free starting October 6, 2008
A lot of us gamers might cringe even at the headline, swearing it’s impossible to run anything with the word Crysis in it on our computers. I’m sure there are a good number of hardcore PC gamers out there that can comfortably run Crysis with no problems at all and that is why EA and Crytek are giving players the chance to experience Crysis Wars online for free from October 10, 2008 through October 12, 2008.
Crysis Wars is the online multiplayer component to Crysis Warhead that features four gameplay modes spread out across 21 different maps. Just because we can play this game for free doesn’t mean it’s going to be a…
Siliconera wants to teach people Japanese with Dinosaurs and Katakana
Siliconera has just revealed a brand new flash game for anyone who’s ever been interested in learning Japanese. Dinosaurs and Katakana is a game designed to help people learn katakana, the Japanese writing system most commonly used to spell foreign words…
Amazon offers Rune Factory 2 squirrel preorder
Oh snap. Amazon is offering an adorable, red stuffed squirrel preorder for Rune Factory 2. Technically, it isn’t a “squirrel.” It’s a Chipp - a type of monster present in the first Rune Factory and most likely in Rune Factory 2 as well. Chipps were one of the first monsters you’d encounter. Not very menacing, but easily one of the cutest in the game.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise though, as Amazon also offered a stuffed chicken preorder for Natsume’s other recent release, Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. What is surprising, is that this deal is an Amazon exclusive. Typically, Natsume preorder bonus items are available at most major game retailers, but only Amazon’s offering the extra incentive this time around…
Nintendo announces a ton of Wii games for 2008, 2009
Nintendo is having a huge day thanks to its press conference in Japan today (October 2, 2008). Fans have been wondering what Nintendo has up its collective sleeve for this holiday season as well as 2009. Well Nintendo has delivered in spades with about forty new titles for the Wii alone to add to its extensive library. Some stand outs include a new Punch Out! title and Sin and Punishment 2.
Click through for the complete list games announced for the Wii at Nintendo’s press conference…
Klonoa coming to the Wii
Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil (in Japan). Samba de Amigo. Bully. Okami. The entire Virtual Console Library. It seems that the Wii is the destination for older titles, and frankly, I have no problem with that, if the games are this good. The latest game to receive a full makeover on Nintendo’s money machine is the stellar PS1 platformer Klonoa: Door to Phantomile. According to 1Up, the game will receive a full graphical overhaul, and will presumably be controlled via a sideways Wii-mote or the classic controller. It’s coming out in Japan on December 4, 2008, for the bargain price of 4800 yen. No US release date has been listed at this time.
Ok, so what do you think about all the remakes? It’s always great to see awesome games get a second chance at life, and quality is quality, no matter the year. But what does it say about the Wii if all the good games are… well, old?
Read [1Up]
Why we play tough games
It’s an age-old question in gaming - why do we play games that punish us with unfair deaths, hair-pulling difficulty, and/or cheap enemies? Why do we, as a group, like this kind of pain? Well, a recent article in The Wall Street Journal asks exactly that: “If a Game Is Too Tough to Win, Can It Still Be Fun?” Of course, the recent poster child is the uber-tough, decidedly old-school Mega Man 9.
I assume the gamer obsession with hard games comes out of a few places - competitive instincts (I’ll beat this boss, even if I die 600 times trying!), a desire to test and prove skill, and good old nostalgia - old games tended to be damn hard. Maybe that’s why they were so good - you had to put time and effort into mastering them.
Read [The Wall Street Journal] Via [Kotaku]
Gamertell Review: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mobile
Title: Star Wars: The force Unleashed Mobile
Price: $13.49 (N-gage pricing: 1 Day for $2.99, 7 Days for $6.99, Full Version for $13.49)
System(s): Mobile (includes *N-Gage, iPhone, iPod Touch)
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Publisher (Developer): THQ Wireless (Universomo)
ESRB Rating: Not Rated
Pros: Really nice graphics, classic Star Wars sound effects and innovative CellWeaver control scheme.
Cons: Physical design of device’s buttons truly effects the enjoyment and playability. Unskipable cutscenes, Midi soundtrack is instead of MP3. No lightsaber slashing action. Very short.
Overall Score: One thumb up, one thumb down; 78/100; C+; * * 1/2 out of five.
For the Mobile version of this much-publicized Star Wars game, the developers took a cue from the DS release and created a unique control scheme based on the physical nature of the system. All the smartphone incarnations of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Mobile rely on the phone’s number pad to tap out patterns to activate various Force powers. On the iPhone and iPod Touch, you use the touchscreen to draw similar patterns.
It’s innovative and sometimes fun but not quite the action-filled, lightsaber slashing game you’d expect from the Star Wars franchise.
Click through for the full review…
Not looking like an idiot in Mega Man 9
So, here’s the scenario. You loved the crap out of the old Mega Man games on the NES, so you downloaded Mega Man 9 (the retro-perfect re-imagining of the franchise), only to have your butt kicked back to the 1980s? Well, Destructoid editor Anthony Burch has kindly posted some advice in a video aptly titled How not to look like an idiot in Mega Man 9. Burch breaks down the game’s old-school design and offers some crucial tips (especially helpful to newbies and old-school gamers who may have forgotten some of that MM muscle memory).
Eagle Eye jumping to the really small screen - as a cell phone game
The movie Eagle Eye has inspired a cell phone game. Magmic teamed up with Paramount Digital Entertainment for the portable endeavor, which follows the storyline of the movie. The portable version is available for cell phones, BlackBerries and Windows Mobile devices, and costs $6.99.
Suprisingly enough, it looks fairly intriguing. Eagle Eye the mobile game has players playin as both Jerry Shaw and Rachel Holloman at the exact same time. Well, not the exact same time - you switch off between the two. But both are onscreen at once. You follow the events of the movie, attacking enemies, solving puzzles and using each character’s unique skills to find out who is controlling them and why a mysterious woman picked Jerry and Rachel to carry out these missions…
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RE: DSi? Do not want.
Sorry for the 2nd post Jenni, but for example, when I was watching the Nintendo press conference from Japan, they showed how you could manipulate…" MORE »
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RE: DSi? Do not want.
Jenni, have you ever thought that maybe, just like the DS’ touch screen, dual screens, and microphone when they were first introduced, that new types…" MORE »
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RE: Screw the PS4 rumors: PS3 will keep us busy for years
You all make valid points, but then I seem to remember the same things being said about the PS2, but when they made it backwards…" MORE »
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RE: DSi? Do not want.
@ Eric C - Yeah, but brighter screens aren’t really a monumental deal, considering there really aren’t any screen brightness issues with the current DS…" MORE »
