Gamertell

Last year (2007), Hallmark released the Player 1 Christmas ornament, which was a pretty cool mini game controller with sound effects.

This year (2008), Hallmark is again releasing a game-themed ornament, reaching a little further back in time and producing a mini Pac-Man arcade machine complete with sound effects. The ornament,  which stands approximately 4.5 in. tall, retails for $18.50, is battery operated (batteries included), lights up and plays classic Pac-Man sounds. Wakka-wakka!

The cabinet is…

MORE »

You may recall the third part of our Prince of Persia series, where we discussed the up-and-coming movie.  Well, it appears pop gossip site JustJared has posted pictures of Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince. 

It looks like Gyllenhaal is on his way to the first take, as he is more shirtless than Matthew McConaughey on a normal day.  It would appear that Jake has gotten into great shape for the role, so this would be a good time to lay off (or on?) the Brokeback Mountain jokes…

MORE »

Further fueling Pac-Man fever, Hanna-Barbera Productions has announced its newest cartoon based on the popular arcade game Pac-Man by Namco to begin airing September 25, 1982.

The cartoon follows the adventures of Pac-Man, his wife Pepper and their child Pac-Baby as they deal with…

MORE »

A lot of lesser known, smaller games got their moments in the sun at the Game Developers Conference, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any love for more established, smaller sized games. Xbox Live’s Arcade has been one of the providers of tiny games that get you and all your friends buzzing for a week and a half. At GDC 2008, the results of a community vote for 2007’s batch of Live Arcade games was unveiled. Any chance Space Giraffe took top honors?

It was Hudson’s Bomberman Live as Best Overall with just a bit of an upset over Namco Bandai’s Pac-Man: Championship Edition, which won for Best Original Game. And looks like Bungie’s magic couldn’t rub off on its 1994 shooter Marathon, as Konami’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was named…

MORE »

Eidos New Media announced the developer’s first Xbox Live-exclusive title Thursday (July 19, 2007), titled Geon: emotions. The Strawdog studios co-developed title features psychedelic visuals, twitch gameplay, and several “emotions” to play as, and is due for release later this summer.

The arcadey game plays a bit like a mix of Marble Madness and Pac-Man on acid, with an unexpected dose of Super Princess Peach thrown in for good measure. The premise is quite unique: you play as one of eight emotional states, including rage, passion, fear, envy, rapture, courage, bliss or melancholy, as you race through the stages collecting pellets, using your “emotional” strengths and weaknesses to advance. Each emotional state has its own unique way of moving through the arena (for example, “passion” is a bright ball that moves quickly, while “courage” manifests as a cube that moves at a steady, heavy pace).

The title features three single (duel, time attack, and mini games) and three multi player (duel, team Geon, and last man standing) game modes.

Site [Eidos] Read [GamersHell]

• Hallmark’s Christmas 2008 Pac-Man arcade cabinet ornament
• First images of Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince of Persia
• Feeling emotional about games

This week’s three additions brings the total count to 90 games available for download through Nintendo’s Wii Shop (playable on the Wii).

Pac-Man (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) - If you don’t know what this game is, you’ve never played a video game, watched TV or otherwise been conscious for the past 25 years. For those eight people - you move a yellow, pizza shaped avatar around a maze, eating dots and avoiding four ghosts to earn the highest score. It was originally released in 1980 as a coin-op arcade game, then ported to the NES in 1984 and re-released in June 2004 as part of the “Classic NES Series” of games for the GameBoy Advance (as well as many, many other systems).

Ninja Gaiden (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) -You play as Ryu Hayabusam flipping, climbing and slicing your way through this classic 2D sidescrolling platformer. As you progress your weapons get upgraded. Can you believe I used to play this game while studying Pyscholopharamacology (as in the course, not a recreational pastime) in college? Yep, I aced a course while kickin’ arse.

Ninja Spirit (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) - This second Ninja game for the week is not as well known as Ninja Gaiden, but still a fun side-scrolling action game. You play as Moonlight who battles to avenge his father’s death. Weapons include the standard katana, shuriken, bombs and sickles. Even better, you can select between Original Arcade and PC Engine modes.

Site [Wii Virtual Arcade]

• Gamefly offering pre-Thanksgiving discounts on select games
• Study debunks belief that playing with your Wii can lead to aggression
• Japanese Import: Hori Classic Controller for Wii