Full FeedMinnesota game law defeated in federal court
Minnesota is another state in a long series that has passed video game legislation only to have it mercilessly beaten down by the US court system. The Minnesota law was a little unusual in that it would have fined game purchasers rather than retailers. Children age seventeen or younger trying to buy a Mature-rated video game (or an Adults Only game, if you can find a store that sells them) would face a $25 fine for the transgression.
It was struck down first by a US District Court judge back in July 2006, then finished off for good by a…
World of Warcraft saves boy from moose attack
We hear all these stories about how video games teach kids how to be violent, but this is a little ridiculous.
A 12-year-old Norwegian boy and his sister were walking in a forest near their home when the girl was attacked by a moose. Hans Jørgen Olsen did exactly what his hunter character is supposed to do in World of Warcraft - cast spells.
First he cast “demonizing shout” (not actually a hunter skill), shouting at the moose to draw its attention and let the magic user his sister escape,. Ten he used “Feign Death,” dropping to the ground and waiting until the monster lost interest and wandered away. I can’t read the original article at nettivisen.no, but it appears that nobody lost any hit points during the encounter.
Also to young Hans’ credit, he did not try to shoot, stab or fireball the moose. He correctly guessed it was a little over leveled for the party.
Anyway, this is an obvious counter to the much-bandied-about ill effects of video games. Hooah, Jack Thompson, hooah.
Read [Wired] Via [Kotaku]
RelatedRumor: Smash Bros. Brawl might have third-party physics engine
We know almost nothing about Smash Bros. Brawl that Nintendo hasn’t spoon-fed us through their Smash Bros. Dojo website. There is, however, one strong rumor working through the mills.
Havoc, a maker of game development tools, briefly listed Smash Bros. Brawl on its website as one of the official sponsors of their software, along with Halo 3 and PAIN. Just as soon as it was posted, it was gone without comment. There hasn’t been much press about it but it’s far too juicy to be a coincidence. Over at the Smashboards blog, there are a handful of screencaps that explain what this might mean for the game.
One of the hallmarks of Super Smash Bros., and to a lesser extent, Smash Bros. Melee, is the wild and sometimes unpredictable physics that include being hit toward one direction and launched in another. Having a professionally designed physics engine might nudge the game toward more competitive multiplayer respectability.
Read [Wii’s World] Also Read [Gamer’s Hub]
RelatedNeo Geo games coming to the Wii Virtual Console
SNK Playmore, the company that brought us the Neo Geo, brings us Neo Geo games on the Wii Virtual Console. Standing alongside Nintendo’s home consoles and Hudson’s TurboGrafx-16, the Neo Geo will open up a whole new roster of classics to gobble up our Wii points.
Actually, we already knew the Neo Geo was coming to Virtual Console in Japan. In fact, three titles were supposed to be online overseas yesterday, September 11, 2007, but haven’t actually been released yet. Those titles were World Heroes, Magician Lord, and Fatal Fury...
Ikaruga on its way to Xbox Live
Rez isn’t the only awesome shooter getting the Xbox Live treatment today. Treasure, which also recently announced a DS sequel to Bangai-O, is also porting Ikaruga to Microsoft’s download service.
Ikaruga is considered to be one of the best Dreamcast shooters out there. For those unfamiliar with the game, the player’s ship has two sides which you can flip between at will—the white side absorbs white bullets and deals more damage to black enemies, while the black side absorbs black bullets and deals more damage to white enemies. Absorbed bullets charge a super shot, and you gain score multipliers by defeating the same color enemies in sets of three. Add to this an immense number of bullets flying at you at once and you have a frantic, exciting game. There is also a two-player simultaneous mode, for those of us with friends.
Even better? Ikaruga was very pretty for its time, but the Xbox Live version will feature enhanced visuals, according to Kotaku. Expect HD, at the very least. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find a release date yet.
RelatedHizbollah game spawns online petition
Some games have embedded political messages. A few games flaunt those messages openly. Much like the United States’ America’s Army, a game called Special Force 2 is an advertisement for armed forces, but for terrorists.
Designed by Hizbollah, an international terrorist organization, Special Force 2 re-enacts a 34-day war between Hizbollah and Israeli forces in Bahrain. The game is not free, like America’s Army, but it costs only BD5 (approximately US$10). The game has made quite a stir in the Arab nation, Bahrain, enough to spark an online petition to…
Gamertell Opinion: Retail outlets regularly rely on ratings hypocrisy
When all the hoopla about Manhunt 2 was flying around I started noticing the movies in my local Walmart. Walmart, as you probably know, does not sell AO games. It also does not sell NC-17 movies. However, when I wander down the aisle of new releases (which happens to be just opposite the XBox 360 and PS3 shelves) about a third of the titles are prominently displayed as “Unrated.”
These unrated movies were very much rated when they were shown in the movie theater, usually with an “R.” The r to NR rating switch typically means that all the content left out of the theater release to get down to that coveted R rating was put back into the DVD release. These movies are unrated because if they were…
Nintendo and Toys R Us offer free download of uber rare Pokémon, Manaphy
Do you like Pokémon but haven’t beaten Pokémon Ranger? Nintendo and Toys R Us are teaming up to release the rare legendary Pokémon, Manaphy, as a free download to the eager masses. According to Nintendo Power, on September 29, 2007, from noon to 3 p.m. you will be able to download Manaphy to your copy of Pokemon Diamond or Pokémon Pearl via Nintendo DS download.
Previously, players hoping to catch Manaphy could get a Manaphy egg for completing a certain objective in Pokémon Ranger. Unlike most legendaries, Manaphy can breed but it’s baby form, Phione, can never evolve, making the Manaphy an especially rare catch, indeed.
Dungeons and Dragons fourth Edition announced at GenCon
Wizards of the Coast announced the fourth edition of the pencil and paper roleplaying game Dungeons and Dragons yesterday, August 16, 2007 at GenCon.
based on fantasy literature, Dungeons and Dragons, or D&D, has nfluenced huge swaths of videogame canon, including arguably the entire RPG genre. Wizards of the Coast routinely licenses out the D&D brand for a variety of console and PC games.
The core of Dungeons and Dragons is three manuals, to be ...
Take-Two delays GTA IV, fights Manhunt 2 ruling
Take Two Interactive Software, the ever-controversial company, has added added to its list of many woes. On Thursday, August 2, 2007, it announced it is delaying the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, originally slated for October 2007, until Spring 2008. The company cited the need for more development time. The game is slated for release on the PS3 and XBox 360.
At the same time, Take-Two reduced its earning forecasts for a year in which the company had already prepared for a third quarter loss, hoping to break even with GTAIV‘s practically guaranteed success.
Amid reorganization costs, litigation, the failure to launch Manhunt 2, and now the delay of GTA, Take-Two forecasts a ...
Experience what it’s like to download at unlimited speeds from a massive collection of over 800 Terabytes of user uploads. You’ll max out your Internet connection downloading a file in… Continue Reading »
Important Importables
Jenni Lada brings us information about all of the groovy new gaming imports from around the world.
