News: PAX Explodes The Internet, Surprising Lack of Dickwolves

2010.09.04

Kitten Boobs

Slightly more appropriate than anything I could post from the actual Duke Nukem game.

Testosterone Overload

If you live under a rock or have been infected with Lane’s insanity disease, you may not know that this year’s Penny Arcade Expo revealed to the public that after twelve long years of development and legal battles, Duke Nukem Forever lost its infamous status as perpetual vaporware to become an ACTUAL GAME. Actually, such mind-blowing news may be the reason why Lane lost his mind, as the raunchy all-American spirit displayed in the short playable demo screams of Texas values, blowjobs and all.  As it has been over a decade since the game was announced in April 1997, it is understandable that the internet has absolutely exploded with an orgasm of screenshots and as much technical data as anyone could fathom to squeeze from it. Vehicles were confirmed, weapons were confirmed, and within any reasonable standard you can expect misogyny and bubble gum. However, after this long of having no release date, it seems the developers were still not ready to give it one. So all that excitement that you have had pent up since you were a wee lad who was taught how to curse from this game? Keep it pent up, we do not want to clean up the overflow of disappointment if it happens again.

Zombie Scout

WTF is the Medic loading in those syringes?!

Zombies? Zombies! Zombies?

In a move stolen from only the best of cockblockers, Treyarch has declined to comment on (or in other sources, even gone so far as to deny) zombies in Call of Duty: Black Ops, yet at the same time, more and more new screenshots with heavily-deformed soldiers that look very undead keep popping up, leaving fans of the FPS scratching their heads. While those interested are confused but paying attention, the developer has released plenty of new screenshots from the game, as well as giving PAX attendees an open multi-player preview event, revealing the two new match modes, Gun Game and Wager Match. In single-player mode, an interesting aspect revealed was the lack of the overhead compass which has always guided players to their next objective, being described by Treyarch Community Manager Josh Olin as a system that did not suit the team emphasis of Black Ops. While single-player and multi-player modes impressed most attendees, there was another let down this weekend as a private interview with Activision Executive Producer Dan Suarez revealed that there will be no open beta for the much anticipated addition to the Call of Duty series. So those of you hoping to stab zombies while in the jungles of Vietnam will just have to wait until the full release of the game, currently slated for Novermber 9th.

Portal 2 Hug

I CAME BUCKETS OF FANGIRL FLUIDS, ADORABLE OVERLOAD COMPLETE.

Do I Have to Share the Cake?

Another highly anticipated game brought new developments this week from Penny Arcade Expo, Portal 2! Despite that Valve is still running on Valve time for their other games (TF2 item trading “this week” two weeks ago?), they were able to show the public a trailer highlighting the new multi-player co-operative mode. In combination with the trailers they released only recently at Gamescom showcasing the new gels and beams, Portal 2 is shaping up to be amazing. …I have nothing else to say about this and there is no other news, BUT I NEEDED AN EXCUSE TO SHOW ROBOTS HUGGING! Is that not the most adorable thing you have ever seen?! Mind = blown.


News: Android is Amazing, Give it a Lick

2010.08.14

Lusi’s Backburner Giveaway

Whether you play Team Fortress 2 with us lovable misfits or if you have never played at all, anyone with half a brain can understand that a multiplayer game with no item trading is annoying as all hell. Case in point, Lusipurr has too many Huntsman…the bastard only needs one to kill us all anyway. Well, the lads at Valve have announced that they will finally be helping with this problem. In an interview with PC Gamer, Robin Walker revealed that in addition to the ability to do item trading, the next update will also include a new game mode and the twenty winning Polycount weapons and items. Of course, he says this update is due “next month” so it will be out some time before next Easter. No word on if it will contain anti-Lusidouche technology, we can only hope.

Android? In my PSP?

Its more likely than you think. As the iPhone works to establish itself as a gaming machine to people other than Ginia’s moronic coworkers, Apple’s competitors are looking to get in on the gaming phone trend. But wait, you ask, what about the legacy of the N-Gage? Easy, Android and Sony are not made of fail and they already have the fanbase to prove it. A trusted source leaked to Engadget this week that it does indeed look like plans are moving forward to create a PSP-style phone, with a five megapixel camera, a 3.7 to 4.1 inch display, and in place of its QWERTY keyboard, controls like the PSP Go. More information of this device is rumored to come out in October, so until then, keep enjoying your fifty DS games.

I apologize for lack of tits pictures and any unsightly formatting issues, but while Android is amazing, it does have some limitations. I love you all enough that I am almost out of battery power, so hush and be happy.


News: All Hail Nodick

2010.08.07
TouhouWarfare

"Gensokyo just fuckin' watched."


Black Ops > Modern Warfare?

While not revealing exactly how much they have spent on it, Supreme Monarch Kotick said during the Activision Blizzard Q2 earnings call that Call of Duty Black Ops represents the publisher’s biggest investment ever in a single game. Blizzard’s boss Mike Morhaime is even calling Black Ops “one of the best products we’ve ever created.” And the COO Thomas Tippl said in a conference call that of the more than five-thousand applications received for positions that will work on COD, they have hired sixty people, with the intention of investing even more resources into the series following the release of Black Ops. Why all this hoopla regarding the upcoming Treyarch production? It might have something to do with the staggering number of pre-orders for the game, and while they have not revealed exactly how many that is, their community manager Josh Olin has stated that it is “out-pacing all other COD pre-orders to date.” The Exalted Ruler Kotick went on to ensure that he gets money from all sides, stating that “the product has incredibly broad appeal, but it also has a whole host of functions that will be unique to the core consumer.” Tippl adds in that the game will be released on more platforms than ever before, and in late July it was announced that North American markets will be seeing two different editions of the game. So whether Black Ops lives up to the hype is yet to be seen, but one thing is assured: Activision will make their money from casual gamers and fan whores alike.

GENTLEMEN.

What do you mean 'picture is unrelated?'

Much Opening His Mouth

This week was definitely the week of Kotick blabbering on and on. At the same Q2 earnings call that he spoke of Call of Duty, he also spoke on behalf of the Blizzard side of the company. While COD may be the biggest investment they have made, an undetailed new IP in also going to be an “enormous” investment. The Blizzard IP is indeed going to be an MMO, but with the recent release of StarCraft II, the rumors of a StarCraft MMO have been mostly dispelled, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what Blizzard is planning. It was originally announced in 2007, but as Kotick put it “we haven’t given a lot of visibility” to this game. Ignoring his inability to haz teh English, he goes on to cockblock the curious masses by stating that it will take “long amounts of time” and “lots of capable talent,” meaning that the fledgling development needs to be able to stave off the effects of delays and the all-too-common layoffs. He likened the game to the announcement made a few weeks ago about another very large, very nondescript Bungie IP, which is also going to take lots of time and money, but the two will be “very good examples [of] from the ground up original ideas.”

StripGaming

Girls playing games with girl characters while having the girls out.


Too Much Open Mouth, Reflexive Foot Noms

In his life’s mission to amass as much wealth as possible through the most selfish means imaginable, Bobby Kotick has said a lot of stupid things. This week, his company has invoked the wrath of estrogen in an interview with former Activision employees that stated they were told to “lose the chick” from several games that featured female protagonists because they “don’t sell.” The game True Crime: Hong Kong was originally titled Black Lotus and followed an Asian female assassin, which the unidentified source says was based on Lucy Liu’s characters played in Charlie’s Angels and Kill Bill. But when pitched to the higher-ups, they pulled the plug on the original concept and reformed it with a male lead and the True Crime name. A look at Activision’s productions shows that the only games they have featuring a female lead are the branded characters like Barbie or Dora the Explorer. Of course, the company vehemently denies any sexism, stating that they use “market research in order to better understand [what] gamers are looking for” and that they are no worse than other corporations that do the same kinds of research. The internet’s predictable reaction was to write many disheartening articles about “how to get your girlfriend to game,” presumably hoping that they would then read of Activision’s treachery and use their ovarian superpowers to create another Boing-Boing Bayonetta game for when said girlfriend is not around.

ParasiteEve

The picture we all masturbated furiously to back in 1998.

Wait, Where Did Bobby Go?!

Just when you thought everyone else was quietly submitting to the will of Kotick, the internet is rocked by the arrival of Square-Enix director Tetsuya Nomura to the wild world of Twats. After joining Twitter on Wednesday at the order of his superiors, Nomura begrudgingly posted about how, at 5:00 AM, he was still awake from the previous night. The Twat promises that a new trailer for The 3rd Birthday will be posted on the official site some time this month, and in a strange twist, Nomura decided to take a picture of the script and post it up. While it is rather vague, the page of the script details a scene presumably towards the beginning of the game, with heroine Aya Brea in some kind of jail cell while a man named Hyde offers her a different room, advising her to value her life more. While this may be vague and frustrating to die-hard fans (like me) who have been anticipating this game for the past ten years, Nomura decided to be a miserable cocktease even further. While he would confirm nothing, he does say that if there is to be another addition to the series, fans will not have to wait a decade for it, and that this theoretical game would be an HD version. But what if you cannot wait any longer for your mitochondrial fix? Nomura also states on his Twat that in anticipation of The 3rd Birthday, he is pushing for a re-release of Parasite Eve 1 and 2 on PSN, so with any luck, you can soon relive your days of masturbation and pseudo-science.


News: Glitches, Bitches, and Oh Noes

2010.07.31

ShinjiBeer

Best example of abstinence ever.

Because There Are Not Enough Gamer Virgins

Are you a slut? Do you wish that someone had told you as a young’un that being a slut is bad? While you wallow in your regret and sorrow, University of Central Florida researchers are working to ensure that no one ever has to deal with your guilt again. The game, which cost over four-hundred thousand dollars to create, has female players put on a motion-capture suit and interact with several in-game avatars that want to get into your digital pants. Members of the opposite sex will ask the player out on a date or make a dirty comment, which the player must ignore in order to win. The game is meant to be released in Spring 2011 and is primarily meant to give youth the opportunity to learn how to say “no” without the social pressures that they would face in the real world. However, in the course of reading this, one has to ask: why is there no such game for male players? And why are players only accosted by male avatars? So to all the young cocksuckers of Florida and beyond, it is okay to be a lesbian or a slutty boy.

AsukaBeer

Asuka is about as pleasant as sticking "yer manhood in the forge."

“Polishing the Mast Just Thinking About Her”

The latest gems of dialogue from the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV has the ESRB up in arms about what the game’s rating should be. Why? Aside from the above reference to masturbation, there are also multiple references to alcohol or drunken characters, as well as the word “shit.” Because we have never heard that awful word before. Also a cause for concern is the yellow or purple blood that comes from monsters’ corpses, or the lingering upward angles taken from below young women. Somehow, as with FFXI before it, Square-Enix’s MMO managed to secure a teen rating despite all of its unsavory aspects. Beta testing of the game began earlier this month on the 13th, and the full PC version game is slated for international release on September 22nd for the collector’s edition and the 30th for standard edition.  The PS3 version is still lingering with a March 2011 release date.

StarcraftRanka

Nihao nyan!

Starcraft II Mania

With the release of one of the most anticipated games of this year (or, it could be argued, this decade), Europe and the Americas saw nearly two million copies sold, with approximately thirty-one percent of that being from Battle.net downloads alone. Despite its staggering sales numbers, the reviews pouring in are quite scathing: its a great game, if it would just fucking work. Glitches and bugs riddle the game, including a delightful one that Blizzard has confirmed can easily overheat your computer due to its unlimited frame-rate screens. While they have released a fix for this particular bug, it is still plagued by compatibility issues, black screens, and even anti-virus software saying that the program is a trojan. These complaints are joined by complaints of Blizzard’s business model regarding this game: DLC everything, yet you still must pay $60 for the game. Many are saying that they purchased only one-third of a game and scoffing at Blizzard’s reliance on their fanboys…they have clearly missed the irony that they bought right into that. Fanboy logic prevails as usual.

GoldenSunDS

So we put sum 3D in yur 3DS so you can headache while you play.

Telegraphing Their Punches

Setting themselves up for the “yo dawg, I herd you like…” meme, Nintendo announced some new information this week. What information have they announced? That on September 29th, they will be announcing the release date for the 3DS. That’s it. While they have stated that the handheld system will be internationally available by March 31st, 2011, they have not assigned that date when it will actually debut on the market. Their marketing manager, James Honeywell:

“Price, we haven’t made any kind of announcement at the moment, but for everyone who already knows, you know, the Nintendo DSi is available for around £129.99. The Nintendo DSi XL, with the larger screens, is around £159.99. So obviously, it’s going to fit, kind of, somewhere within that kind of architecture.”

So there you go. If you want the Nintendo 3DS, you will have to wait until September 29th, and then you can know how much longer you need to wait and how much to pay. We herd you like being confused.

Vesperia Doggy

On three...."Awwwwwww! <3"

Still Not Bankrupt Yet

Nippon-Ichi is working their little Japanese asses off to stay alive in this market, and their latest attempt at staving off failure [Edit: I apologize for my idiocy, I confused the two studios for whatever reason. Thanks, Epyon.] Namco-Bandai is bringing the Wii-exclusive Tales of Graces to the PS3 with another PS3 Tales to follow it, as well as another Radiant Mythology title for the PSP. Of course, this is all in their Japanese market, no dates or even intentions for international release have been stated. And in a recent San Francisco press conference with NIS America’s Nao Zook, some light was shed on the localization process that they face. “Although NIS America is known for niche Japanese RPG titles, it doesn’t mean we just localize any titles released in Japan,” she said, adding that they must first decide if it will appeal to North American audiences, and if it will, how much time the localization process will take. She also does note something which our site has discussed before, WRPGs versus JRPGs. “I think it is easier to shift from Japanese-style RPGs to the Western games than the other way around,” acknowledging that there is a certain ‘wow’ factor that the constant Disgaea re-releases are not satisfying. But she still has a glimmer of hope, assuring us that the next Disgaea game will wow us. Only time can tell.


News: 3D Babby Farming

2010.07.24

ZOMGgrass

Because 3D makes grass better.

Because Stealing the Wii Was Not Enough

With Sony and Microsoft stealing the thunder from Nintendo’s motion controlled exclusivity, the Japanese powerhouse was left to create something new and awesome, a piece of technology that the others did not have. This device was revealed to us at E3, the Nintendo 3DS…which is now being stolen again. In an interview with Kotaku, an unnamed Sony developer suggests that they will be ‘borrowing’ the concept of a slider to adjust the 3D levels of their games for the PS3. Explaining that 3D requires the viewer to be at just the right angle or they could experience vision problems or a headache, the developer worries that not having a slider could lead to players being forced to sit in exactly one spot all the time in order to properly view the game. The addition of the slider would thus allow players to change the level of the 3D or, in cases where you are not filthy rich to own a 3D television, turn it off completely. The first game to utilize this will be a Sly Cooper collection to be released in November.

DarksporeScreen

Your penis monster is burning, told you that whore looked sickly.

Diablo and Spore Make Babby

So you have made your gigantic penis monster alien, like everyone else that played Spore, and now you want to take it around the universe to molest other aliens. Well soon you can! Darkspore got a good deal of attention this week at San Diego Comic-Con, where we received some gorgeous screenshots and a vague release date of second quarter 2011. The creators are quick to point out that, while it does still have the Creature Editor, it is not simply ‘Spore 2′ or a more edgy, emo version of the original game. Instead, it takes a page from the very popular Diablo series with its point-and-click gameplay style. The player will control three genetic heroes who go about the universe to destroy the Darkspore, a storyline that can either be played individually or in a multiplayer co-op mode. These genetic heroes can be recruited throughout the game, sporting and almost Pokemon-like mechanic in the player’s desire to catch them all. Like Valve, EA will be sponsoring a contest for users to create the best creature to be featured in the game, so get your mangled penis monstrosity ready.

GoldFarmers

This is the only non-pornographic WoW picture I could find. Sick bestiality-loving freaks.

Gold Farmers, Your E-Cocaine Dealers

University of Minnesota has a rather interesting computer science graduate program, where you can apparently do your doctoral thesis on the ethics of video game gold farmers. Conducting his research study on Everquest II, Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad, with the assistance of Brian Keegan of Northwestern University, compared the overall structure in which gold farmers do business with the way that drug dealers and other gangs conduct their illicit business. The study found that many gold farmers are just as paranoid about who they deal to as the average street dealer would be, with complex networks arranged to keep them informed about any leads to their illegal activities. The study also proved that, while Ginia is a racist bitch, she is not incorrect: nearly eighty percent of gold farmers are Chinese, though they make up a small percentage of all Chinese gamers, and an even smaller number of the international gaming community.

AltairBabby

How is babby un-formed?

Grand Theft Auto, Now With a Baby Seat

If you live in Ohio, why the fuck do you live in such a shitty state? While I mock your miserable existence, you should keep your eyes peeled for a red Kia Spectra, either because you want to help the police, or because you can get an Xbox 360 if you are willing to steal it back from the man who stole it in the first place. Getting his priorities right, the white male who is described as fat and balding brought his baby into Best Buy with him for Junior’s first robbery, carrying the baby in much the same haphazard manner as the two 360s he stole before rushing out to his luxurious getaway car. Witnesses say that neither the child nor the 360s were properly secured as he sped off, presumably with the economy engine roaring with the full force of their four cylinders. Yet again, America proves that we are morons and, even worse, we are breeding.


News: Pope Bans Frosting

2010.07.17
Broken Loli Doll

Loli - The Pirated Version

The War Against Piracy Rages On

So you are a multimillion dollar corporation, creating video games and minding your own business, when suddenly, the pirates of the internet attack your ship and steal your booty. Of course, you want to do everything in your power to prevent this from happening again, so you assess what the pirates did and plan against it. They began by attacking your ship, so you install some digital rights management software, resting assured that it will ward off your insidious foes. If you are Nintendo, you will brag that this DRM is so complicated that you cannot even begin to explain it, as they said to THQ’s global publishing VP Ian Curran while discussing the 3DS. In the future, we will soon see you regretting this statement, as Ubisoft did when they too said their DRM was uncrackable. So if it is impossible to stop the pirates in the first place, why not just makes your booty less desirable? Such is the logic of Codemasters CEO Rod Cousens, who proposes that instead of trying to prevent piracy, developers should just make garbage that no one will want to pirate. This may seem silly at first, but the second part of his plan is to then sell downloadable content that will make your unpirated-but-worthless game into an awesome game. Furthermore, he says vaguely that with “coding aspects” of the technology, this DLC will not work with the pirated copies of the games, thus leave pirates with an incompatible piece of garbage rather than sweet booty. The internet has not yet exploded with rage, but the obvious first impression is that those with money will have a good game and poor people will also be left with garbage, though Lane’s post this week covers this concept much better than I could (but with less tits).

Catholic Panties

Makes you wonder what he wears under the funny hat...

Crazy People Are Still Crazy, No One Gives a Damn

What do gays have in common with the majority of gamers? Besides being in love with Nate Liles, we also are apparently going to Hell, though astoundingly not because of loving Nate. God dislikes the queers and he apparently dislikes us, or so says America’s favorite group of mental deficients, the Westboro Baptist Church. Known for protesting at the funerals of soldiers, they have decided to inform the public of God’s wrath at ComicCon in San Diego. “If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible,” their site complains, going on to condemn fans for their idolization of comic book characters over God. They urge that “it is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it.” I personally worship Morgan Freeman, and since he is close friends with Batman, I think my soul is safe. It is also worth noting that after their protests at ComicCon, they will be protesting Nate’s goddess, Lady Gaga.

Console Tits

Tits, Not Allowed in China

You Make Console, No Play, Kekeke

Ah, exploitation at its finest. Kotaku brought to light this week a story that has somehow evaded publication in the past ten years: In 2000, the government of China decreed that no company was allowed to sell video game consoles there. To the outside world, this seems ridiculous; the land that cheaply produces our consoles has not been allowed to play them for the past ten years?! The ban went into effect after parents complained that the consoles were wasting their children’s minds (avoiding the question of who bought it for them in the first place), though with the explosion of online gaming, the ban has only shifted the electronic addiction from one form to another. Developers have been keen to find ways around the ban, with Nintendo releasing an all-in-one system called the iQue, as well as releasing the DS there last year. But the ban itself is actually not the primary problem keeping the Chinese from experiencing a wide variety of games: its the piracy. In the land of knock-off everything, developers are wary to produce and release games for Chinese markets. Knowing that their PS3s and Wiis and 360s are being purchased illegally in gray markets, it is safe to assume that the consumers would buy all of their games for those consoles in similar illegal markets also full of pirated merchandise. There is currently no regulatory body to oversee the ban, so it is not strictly enforced, though the suspicion is that the Ministry of Culture, which issued the ban to begin with, will soon be the ones enforcing it or, perhaps, seeing their error and revoking it.

Frosting Tits

California: We dislike violent video games, but are okay with being represented by frosting-ejaculating breasts.

Katy Perry Encourages Neck Breaking, Why Not Ban Her?

Legal briefs have the most misleading name in the world; they are not anywhere near brief. The State of California submitted a fifty-nine page brief to the United States Supreme Court this week, arguing why it should be illegal for violent games to be sold to minors. To establish legal precedence, they cited the 1986 case of Ginsberg v. New York, where it was ruled that there are some forms of speech that should not be accessible to minors. The form of speech in this case was pornographic in nature, but California argues that it there is no justification for treating violent material different from pornography. An interesting point is brought up between the two: pornography is prohibited from minors until they are of legal age at which point they can begin legally having sex anyway, but currently, violent video games are accessible to them despite the all-ages illegality of the violent actions portrayed. They go on to pull a Roger Ebert on us, arguing that certain games portraying violence are entirely worthless, with depictions of needless violence for the sole purpose of collecting points, giving us a game that has no societal value. What the State of California is not able to prove in this case is the causal link between violent video games and a negative effect on children, stating that it would be neigh impossible to isolate a child from all alternate forms of violence as to get a clear read on the effects of just video game violence. This fall, the Supreme Court will hear arguments from both sides, hopefully with the video game industry arguing that Cali is full of idiots.


News: Accidentally the Everything

2010.07.10
Tonberry Stabs Yuffie

For all those who had their money stolen: DOINK!

I Accidentally the iTunes

What is the laziest way to make money that’s taking the world by storm? Make an app. With the phrase “there’s an app for that” running rampant, developers ranging from well-known businesses to lonely nerds in their basement know that where there’s an app for that, there is money for it too. The problem with this is, as with any product, competition. So what is a lonely basement nerd to do when no one downloads their app? Hack people’s iTunes accounts of course! A Vietnamese developer did just that this week, stealing anywhere from $100 to $1,400 on various accounts by using them to download his apps. His hacked purchasing spree sent his illegal manga apps to claim the top forty-two spots on the list of top fifty books downloaded in the U.S., raising eyebrows and eventually leading to him being caught. Apple, as expected, takes no responsibility for this, instead suggesting that all hacked users cancel their credit cards and work through the creditors to get a refund for their stolen money.

Melona (Queen's Blade)

Her acid-spitting breasts are so awesome that even her hair has to cop a feel.

I Accidentally the Tits

Any video game fan knows one thing is true of all female characters: women are more functional on the battlefield as our breasts get bigger and the clothing covering them gets smaller and/or tighter. This week, Sony got a bit confused on this point, both condoning and condemning it. First up, the Guinness World Records has awarded the title of Best PS3 strategy RPG upon Valkyria Chronicles and, presumably, Selvaria’s sweet melons. This decision was based upon its Metacritic and GameRankings ratings, as well as a claim of Game of the Year and Strategy Game of the Year, though it does not say who gave it those two honors. But as they applauded the great SEGA game, they also removed an episode of the titular (literally) anime Queen’s Blade. For those who have never watched it, the series follows one simple rule: attacks do not result in bleeding wounds, just exposed breasts. Because of the explicit nature, the free episode was only on PSN for a short time before it was quickly removed, acid-spitting nipples and all.

Hair Trolling

Right up there with coolface.jpg.

Trolls Trolling Trolls

So you want to log in to World of Warcraft and play a fun game of PvP the noobs. You must be Ginia Herrell! Now, the entire world will know that you are Ginia Herrell, douchebitch extraordinaire! Except you and the rest of the internet bitched, so now you can troll anonymously til the end of time. In the span of a week, one of the biggest stories to come out of Blizzard was announced and almost immediately retracted. In principle, the RealID system proposed by Blizzard was to remove the mask of anonymity that encourages otherwise ordinary people to act like fucktards on the internet, revealing the user’s actual first and last name on the Battle.net forums. The effects were set to occur before the end of the month before the launch of the StarCraft II community site, but in the three days following the announcement on Tuesday, the internet went berserk. Thus, on Friday, Blizzard stated that they have taken the overwhelmingly negative response into account and have decided not to implement the system “at this time.” So for the time being, continue trolling, Ms. Herrell, continue trolling.


News: Prancin’ Aboot With Yer Heads Full’a Eyeballs

2010.07.03

MonaLisaSoldier

Not art. Or shut up.

Gamers Threw A Tantrum, Ebert Gave In

We may not have gotten candy or a new toy, but after much screaming and pounding our fists on the ground, the gaming community got what it wanted: Roger Ebert shutting the hell up. In his latest journal entry on the Chicago Sun-Times website, he writes:

I was a fool for mentioning video games in the first place. I would never express an opinion on a movie I hadn’t seen. Yet I declared as an axiom that video games can never be Art. I still believe this, but I should never have said so. Some opinions are best kept to yourself.

He goes on to speak of the nearly five-thousand comments that his blog received, only about three-hundred of which concurred with his opinion. With his foot in his half-of-a-mouth, he acknowledges that not all were “cretinous comments from gamers,” but rather “intelligent, well-written, and right about one thing in particular: I should not have written that entry without being more familiar with the actual experience of video games.” He goes on to elaborate how he was wrong and to admit one critical thing about himself: he has no desire to play video games, and thus, cannot understand how they can be seen as art. He admits that he may not understand it, but as our site discussed at length, art is experienced differently by each viewer, or in this argument, by each player. He concludes his article with something we all knew from the beginning, “I was a fool for mentioning video games in the first place.”

YukkuriPhone

She's not touching the sides, you should be okay.

I Blame Virginia Herrell

If you live under a rock, you may not have heard of this miraculous device called an iPhone. Another reason you may not have heard of it is because your friends who have it cannot actually call you on it unless they hold it the right way. With the release of the iPhone 4 also came the newest technical problem for Steve Jobs to ignore, in which the user’s signal strength will almost disappear simply by putting their hands on the metal sides, an almost unavoidable task. This is not the first time that a phone has had a design flaws like this, Nokia released models with this type of problem several years ago, and as I was lucky enough to own one of these piece of cheap Chinese garbage, there is one clear difference between Nokia’s fail and Apple’s fail: the Nokia phone explicitly stated “do not touch this antenna area” and you were fine as long as you heeded that warning. Apple’s shining representatives did not state the antenna problem prior to its release, and have been rather unapologetic, with King Jobs even saying “just avoid holding it that way.” And you paid how much for that device again? Enjoy!

EyepatchUnderboob

Eyepatch, check. Underboob, check. Loli panty shot, check. Its definitely a Lusipurr.com picture!

Nintendo Cures Googly Eyes

Amblyopia, or severe lazy eye syndrome, left young Ben Michaels with a severely compromised right eye, with such deterioration over the course of two years that his doctors feared permanent blindness in the eye. After taking him to the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London, his mother was shocked at the treatment plan for her son: video games. Per the doctor’s orders, Ben played Mario Kart DS for two hours every day with a patch over his left eye, and in no time, the boy’s prognosis went from rather grim to absolutely stunning. Because the youngster’s functional eye was covered by the patch, this forced the right eye to work harder and concentrate more on the figures on the screen. “When he started, he could not identify our faces with his weak eye,” his mother told the Daily Mail, going on to say that he now was able to read with the afflicted eye. Doctors are, as always, wary to say that video gamers are the cure, but admit that they certainly help as the child tends to stick with it more than with traditional methods.

WTFinternet

RPGamer finally made Lusipurr's game, and the gameplay videos are out.

Gameplay Videos Are Piracy

For as many tech pirates inhabit the internet societies of Western civilizations, Japan still manages to ravage us in terms of piracy, so much so that publishers are cracking down with an iron fist. Visual Arts and Aquaplus, two visual novel publishers, have started warning users that posting gameplay videos to sites like Nico Nico Douga and Youtube is an act of piracy itself, classifying it as unauthorized distribution and threatening fines and jail time. Since visual novels differ from other games in that all players will follow the same dialogue prompts and answer the same choices, the argument is that these videos show the potential buyers exactly what will happen, thus eliminating the need to buy it. While calling this an act of piracy is not unheard of in Japan, many gamers and other industry watchers warn that any legal action could set a dangerous precedent and perhaps even hurt the developers themselves when sites refuse to even show trailers for fear of litigation. While the U.S. has several statutes regarding the fair use of such media, Japan does not, so the future of video game videos is yet unknown.

Tasty Spy

Probably not in the next update.

Julian ‘SiliconNooB’ Taylor: Master of Moustache Science

Valve is surely making a name for themselves as the most frustrating cocktease ever. In addition to releasing several new Portal 2 videos, they have also updated the Team Fortress 2 blog this week with a new comic. In addition to declaring Australia a cesspool of idiocy allowed to survive only by some strange gold brick, it reveals new details about the RED versus BLU backstory and the history of the Engineer. But what if you could care less about all that and just want to shoot things? We do know that the Engy will soon be getting a golden wrench, rumors are abound that a new shotgun is in store…and a new machine. The comic makes it sounds as if it will be some kind of invulnerability device, dubbed the Not-Dying Machine. The guys at Valve have the good of making English. What they are not good at, however, is giving a date for the next update.


News: Finally Not E3

2010.06.26
ConsolesAreLikeCondoms

Your PS3 is not impressed with what she sees.

‘Consoles are Like Condoms’

No, that is not to be taken as encouragement, put your pants back on and put down the console. Allods Online producer Vincent Douvier gave us that gem of a quote in a recent interview regarding PC versus console gaming. So how exactly is your 360 like a cock-balloon? “99.9% of the time you are safe. You know all the specifications of the machine,” unlike PCs which can vary from user to user. He also gives his view on PC gaming piracy, though this is not a new topic. Honing in on Ubisoft’s notoriously silly DRM, he notes that while publishers put in their DRM for the purpose of preventing themselves from losing money, “hackers do it for prestige and that’s priceless, they will always win in the end.” So while consoles have certain received an endorsement by this producer, another gaming official has a much less optimistic opinion of them. SquareEnix CEO Yoichi Wada feels that consoles are reaching the upper limits of their capabilities, and points to E3 to back his claim. Kinect, Move, 3D…these are all mere peripheral upgrades to existing systems, not further developments in the console’s technology itself. He does feel optimistic though about the future of network development,but this is probably because of his own intentions. He coyly hints that Squeenix is developing a Steam-like digital distribution system, but refuses to give any further details. What a cock-tease, and we got a condom out for nothing.

Where's My Money, Bitch?

This is all you have? Girlfriend request denied.

Cockblocking of the Highest Order

While we are on the topic of DRM, Konami has found the ultimate form of DRM, leaving many wondering if they will expand this tactic in the future. Japanese nerds were aghast this week upon discovering the secret rights management hidden within the insanely popular Love Plus game: you can play your illegally downloaded copy of the game, but the girls will not date your pirating ass. In legitimately purchased copies, the girls react as they normally would and will date you, but no matter what pirates do in the game, the girls will not call and will not accept requests to be your girlfriend. This DRM has not yet been cracked, but it raises a very interesting question: what would you do if your game punished you for downloading it illegally? Would it make you go out and buy it? Of course, the lonely and probably bitter otaku that play the game have already drawn a connection to real life: if you try to be cheap with a girl, they have no interest in your broke ass.

Napoleon Loli

For once, adorable did not sell well in Japan. Clearly the end is nigh.

Glimpse of Squeenix’s Future?

If you have not heard of the Tales series of video games, you might be forgiven, many titles were not released outside of Japan and the ones that have do not hold any huge fan base internationally. But if things continue going at their current pace, you might not hear about the Tales games anymore.  Namco-Bandai’s Tales Studio published their annual financial reports, and the results are nothing short of disastrous. With an annual loss of approximately one million dollars and a total deficit of twenty-one million, many question where the studio can go from here to save themselves from collapse. To those familiar with the Tales titles, it is clear why they have been suffering: like SquareEnix and its endless Final Fantasy remakes or Nippon-Ichi and its rehashings of Disgaea, the Tales series is slowly becoming the same story over and over, which could be responsible for its decrease in sales. What is to become of the studio is yet unknown.

Ni no Kuni

Look how pretty it is! And we will never see it. Sad sad.

Stop Hoarding Things, Japan!

To be fair, this one is our own fault, stupid Westerners and our inability to appreciate anything foreign. Anyone who is even a casual fan of Japanese anime and film has heard or watched something done by Studio Ghibli. My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and the most recent international release Ponyo are all creations of the iconic studio. So when screencaps of their new video game came out, fans everywhere rejoiced. Ni no Kuni (The Another World) begins with tragedy, like many other Ghibli pieces, where thirteen-year-old Oliver (not our resident dumbass) loses his mother. However, with the help of a fairy doll given to him by the deceased parent, he is able to go into an alternate reality, where alternate versions of people he knows exist, including his mother. This fairy also gives him a spell book which the battle element surrounds. No no Kuni is set to release on the DS in December, with a PS3 release in 2011…but these are both Japanese-only releases, with no hint at all as to an international release. Just as with the Tales games, it is going to be interesting to see how well the game does in Japan and if it will spawn an international release, or if it will fail miserably in its homeland and never see the light of day.


News: NOT My Promised Obituary

2010.06.19

Sorry to disappoint, but I have not died from E3 overload quite yet, but I can easily see why someone would. Though I do think part of me died to create the E3 logo for next year.

E3boobs

Given the lopsided performance of the three consoles, I think this is an accurate portrayal.

The Terrible Three

Well, to be fair, only two were terrible. I think all of us are looking at Microsoft and Sony to ask them “WTF?” Let us first begin with the evil monolith, who surprised us by unveiling Project Babby with the new name Kinect. Get it guys, Kinect? Because you get to connect with the system and other cool casual gamers! Yes M$, we get it, Nintendo made the name pun first, along with the entire motion controller to begin with. That nerdiness aside, Kinect is already disappointing us as we learn that not only can you not play while seated, but that certain midget staff members here will have far greater advantages over the rest of us. But not to fear, beloved XBox owners, for one of the predictions was true! You can now buy yourself a sleek, slender 360 that will make you rage in new and exciting ways. Like no more red ring of death, except now you must decipher between green-and-functioning or green-and-broken. Have fun with that! Sony does not bring such obvious glaring errors, but instead underwhelms with severe mediocrity. A list of games that will get Move Motion Dildo updates, a dorky looking gun add-on to your Motion Dildo, Playstation Plus to compete with XBox Live, new Twisted Metal game, some expensive collector’s add-ons to the already-delayed Gran Turismo…*yawn* Are we done here?

3DSblue

I came.

Because what we really want to talk about is Nintendo. The big news is, of course, the 3DS. Joke about the hokey 3D craze all you want, but this new incarnation of the already hugely successful DS made waves at Nintendo’s press conference. All the reviews about the actual 3D performance of the unit have been well-received, though it is theorized that “3DS headache” could be the newest game-related illness up there with “Wii elbow.” The addition of a flat analog stick in addition to the D-pad serves a great functional purpose, but right-handers can already see a serious flaw: WTF power button placement. But both this and the 3D slider, which allows users to change the depth of the 3D (or turn it off completely) are set up this way in current versions while games are still under development, so the system could be changed slightly when it hits production. And what will you play on it when it comes out? Everything, up to and including your mom. Kid Icarus, Nintendogs, Resident Evil, StarFox (ugh, just thinking of a 3D barrel roll make me queasy), Paper Mario, Shin Megami Tensei, Metal Gear, Ridge Racer…the list goes on and on forever. In the battle for E3 supremacy, Nintendo just curb-stomped the ever-loving bajeezus out of Microsoft and Sony.

Stake the Vamp

You've got a little something...never mind.

Information Overload

While there were a lot of games presented at E3, a handful made massive impressions. To appease Grandpa Lusipurr, first up is the next Castlevania game. I am not a big fan of the series myself, but it is undeniable how pretty the game looks. Lords of Shadow brings players a new Belmont to play through fifty levels and adds some graphic God-of-War-blood-everywhere violence to the series. Keeping in mind that this game was originally introduced at E3 2009, we can only hope that the tentative Fall 2010 release date sticks this time. But what if Castlevania is not enough religious blasphemy for you? Then just wait until Spring 2011, when El Shaddai is scheduled to release. Based off of the Old Testament’s Book of Enoch, you play as a human brought to heaven to gather the seven fallen angels before God says “fuck it” and kills everyone.  You are assisted in your quest by Gabriel, Michael, and the other archangels, and even get to hang out with a bad-ass version of Lucifer. The trailers for it are not as pretty as the aforementioned Castlevania, but the styles are different enough that comparing them is hollow. It would be like comparing its graphics to the pixelated Scott Pilgrim game. I will be honest, I do not understand anything that stars Michael Cera, he’s the king of off-the-wall trying-to-be-ironically-indie movies, so I can imagine I probably will not understand the game. But the trailer looks awesome enough that I really do not think it matters. A side-scrolling fighting game reminiscent of a time long past, it immediately instills the viewer with a sense of nostalgia, something that all the geriatric gamers here will definitely appreciate when the game releases this upcoming August. And finally from the realm of nostalgia comes the ageless Mortal Kombat series, which will be experiencing a reboot of its own. The staple of the series, the painful fatalities, will still be there, but they as well as more powerful moves will be more difficult to execute. However, if you can button-mash well enough, expect those super moves to be almost unavoidable and incredibly painful. More realistic physics will be added, though the 3D-rendered characters will still be confined to their 2D plane as is traditional with Mortal Kombat. But like many others, this game is not slated for a release this year.

Room Full of Witch

Cry some more!

But you can have a bajillion zombies this year! The creators of Dead Nation are promising players the most zombies ever, a curious statement given the numbers that Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil, and Dead Rising have produced. The game is set to come out sometime between October and December of this year, so enjoy some zombies for Christmas. Or, if you wait even longer, you can BE  a zombie! NeverDead features your standard bad-ass protagonist, who has the uncanny ability to pull himself back together when blown to smithereens. The dark, semi-futuristic fantasy world looks great, but the trailer does not answer one question: if you can put yourself back together again like an endless Mr. Potato-Head, what are the Game Over conditions if you cannot die? Unfortunately, NeverDead does not have any tentative release date, so we will just have to wait and see.

Gay Black Jewish KKK

From Left to Right: Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Your Mom

Finally, lightning everywhere! No, not FFXIII Lightning, we do not talk about miserable pieces of turd here. I mean force lightning, as in Star Wars The Force Unleashed II. The trailer and demo for the game are both spoilerrific, but quite pretty and rather bad-ass. To Lucas fanboys all over the world, the newest Force power has to be the most amusing: Mind Trick. Yes, the good old “these are not the droids you are looking for” can now be used in the game. The scheduled release date for this is October 26th, 2010.  For more fun with electricity, inFamous 2 also gave us some beautiful screenshots, featuring our hero/villain Cole in a reimagined New Orleans. While it does not appear to have girls shaking their jubblies for plastic beads, it does feature a group that the developers describe as “the KKK meets Batman.” Please, stop using your imagination, mine already hurts enough. These racists vigilantes are after you, but you can easily dispel them with a lightning tornado. Yes, a lightning tornado, how much more awesome can you be? Unfortunately, you cannot be awesome this year…or can you? I really cannot do much to answer that for you, because Hideo-motherfucking-Kojima continues to dick us around about their final electric superstar, Metal Gear Rising. The game was, yet again, not given any tentative release date, but he did say that Rising will chronicle Raiden’s transition from naked cartwheeling pussy to half-mechanical bad ass.

So there is what Lusipurr.com cares about, everything else at E3 was awful and you should hate it because we do. Ginia was lying when she said we care about your opinion. But please, let us know in the comments what other things at E3 you enjoyed, so we can not care about them some more!