Gamertell

The Game Critics Awards list of the best games of 2008 has just been announced and the winners for the Best of E3 2008 include Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet, Spore, Gears of War 2 and Madden NFL 09.

Click through for the complete list of winners…

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Not many attendees were impressed with this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). During an interview held Thursday, (July 17, 2008) Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s senior managing director and general manager of entertainment analysis and the development division, told MSNBC that even though many fans of long running Nintendo franchise games such as Mario, Zelda or even StarFox were upset he felt that E3 was no longer a place for those types of game.

Click through to find out what game companies thought of E3 2008…

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From the hilariously stupid department comes this little gem from Destructoid: a young child got into his grandfather’s SUV, drove it around town, and crashed it near an Outback Steakhouse in Muncie. A concerned citizen followed the pint-sized driver and cornered him into stopping (into a tree, no less) when he noticed that the driver looked “awfully small”. So what does this have to do with videogames? Well, according to the post:

“Police are speculating that the boy learned to drive for over a mile from a PlayStation videogame.”

Oh man. So games cause violent behavior, and they also possess little kids to commit grand theft auto (was tat even pun-worthy? probably not) and crash near local steakhouses? What’s next, games cause girls to have babyz at age 12?

Read [Destructoid]

I can’t wait for my copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots but I don’t want to say goodbye to elite agent Solid Snake, whom we’ve grown to love while following his adventures.

We pray that rumors of an end are not true and continue to pose theories about why the series could never end.  Even so, as a preemptive memorial to help cope with the denial that this may be the absolute last game for Snake, here is a look at the MGS franchise....

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Nearly every successful video game series has a mascot, a character who immediately calls to mind a genre of games or perhaps a company. They’re instantly recognizable and, more often than not, prompt fond memories of classic games.

Mario, Sonic, Pikachu and Pyramid-head are some of the more recognizable figures, but there are plenty of other memorable mascots who often get pushed aside.  These are mascots from some really entertaining and enjoyable games that might not have enjoyed the same popularity as other series. Classic gamers may remember some of our five favorite obscure mascots.

Keep reading for the full list…

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In a post by QJ.net, the site mistakenly reported that a countdown clock on the Rockstar web site suggested that Grand Theft Auto 2 (and yes there was other games before GTA3) was coming to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network as a full download.  It was soon discovered that the source codes was actually from 1999. Fans of the series who wanted to see what GTA was like before it became the world’s most hounded game are out of luck.

The site’s codes had miscounted the date, setting the clock back to…

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The current trend is to try and go Green to help conserve natural resources and protect the Earth. It should come as no surprise that video games have been going Green for years. Quite a few titles convey Earth friendly messages to players in both subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Their methods may occasionally be unconventional, but at least they’re putting a positive message out there. In order to celebrate Earth Day (which happens to be today, April 22, 2008), Gamertell is going to salute Captain Planet and the Planeteers, Final Fantasy VII, Chibi Robo!: Park Patrol and Eco Creatures: Save the Forest, just a few of the Earth-friendly games which have appeared over the years.

Each game will also be thoroughly analyzed to see just how effective its methods and execution are. After that, the games will be ranked in shades of green, based on the crayon colors shown at Crayola’s website.

Keep reading to see how your favorites fare…

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All too often, female characters in video games are given bit parts, or designed in a manner that shows developers clearly intended them to act as eye candy. While female characters have become incredibly visible in games as time has gone by, it still can be difficult to discern characters who are really good role models for female players.

To make matters worse, when lists are compiled of strong female leads, they tend to feature the same characters over and over again. I’ve seen Lara Croft appear in lists at least 20 times, and frankly she doesn’t always deserve the spot.

Here are eight female characters, many of whom are often forgotten and should be considered role models for girl gamers. They are unique individuals in their various storylines and possess strong personalities…

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PC Authority writer Alex Kidman listed what he believes the five most violent games in last 25 years in a recent article. Instead of jumping to attention getting titles that have only been out for a few years, like Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat or Silent Hill, Kidman does his research and goes after some games which truly deserved their mature ratings. The five titles he lists as most violent/graphic are Custer’s Revenge, Night Trap, Carmageddon, Thrill Kill and Manhunt.

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If you’re a fan of music video games, then chances are you’re a Bemani fan without even realizing it. In Japan the term has become synonymous with music games, but it specifically refers to the music video games created by Konami. This division of Konami handles 10 different game series which all require music and intense player interaction to play.

In fact, many of the Bemani titles have been the inspiration for other music video games that have come to light in recent years. Also we can’t forget that the localization of Dance Dance Revolution is what brought dancing games to North America and helped game publishers and developers realize that audiences outside of Japan were ready for these kinds of games.

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