Video games

Guitar Hero 5 Complete Track List!

by Justin Hubbell on Thu, 2009-07-30 10:53

Guitar Hero today unveiled the final 15 tracks to be showcased in the epic 85 song set list in Guitar Hero 5. Among the varied collection of current hits and classic artists are Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," TV On The Radio's "Wolf Like Me," Muse's "Plug In Baby," Stevie Wonder's classic "Superstition" and Nirvana's multi-award winning, chart-topping "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Be sure to grab your copy of Guitar Hero 5 on September 1st!Read more

JU-ON: The Grudge coming to the Wii this year!

by Justin Hubbell on Tue, 2009-05-26 11:20

XSEED Games just announced that it will be bringing the Nintendo Wii exclusive, JU-ON: The Grudge, to the U.S. this year. Dubbed as a "Haunted House Simulator," players can expect to be scared non-stop as they experience the game based off of Takashi Shimizu's original Japanese horror film, JU-ON. Takashi Shimizu will be serving as a creative consultant for the game's development, as well.

Players will use their Wiimote as a flashlight to explore haunted areas, including an abandoned warehouse, a dimly-lit hospital and a mannequin factory. Also, your friend can grab a second Wiimote and push buttons to make in-game events happen immediately.

JU-ON: The Grudge will launch this October. Grab the full press release of the horrifying game here.

Atlus Bringing Demons to the PS3 this Fall

by Justin Hubbell on Thu, 2009-05-21 11:01

Demon's Souls, an action RPG, was released a few months ago in Japan. It sold very well, thus, Atlus is bringing it stateside. This game's biggest draw is its online functionality. Demon's Souls offers cooperative, player versus player and single-player modes as users will be pitted against hordes of demons.

This game is open-ended, so you can choose your own path and do whatever you want. From building and customizing your character to developing your stats and equipment, Demon's Souls offers an immense amount of replayability. Demon's Souls also uses a "World Tendency" system, which changes the aggressiveness of monsters, the rewards for killing them, and the triggering of events based on players' actions.

For the full press release and more information on the background of Demon's Souls' story, venture here.

Game Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2)

by Justin Hubbell on Wed, 2009-05-20 12:42

From Atlus comes the second installment of the Shim Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner series, Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. The game picks up not too long after The Soulless Army ends.

Graphics

Remember, this is a PS2 game, so don't expect anything epic but, it does hold up very well. The Tokyo that you explore is very expanse and fun to experience. Kazuma Kaneko has created a very flashy, amine-like game that oozes with style.

- 18/20

Read more

Full track list for Rock Band Unplugged (PSP) announced!

by Justin Hubbell on Mon, 2009-05-18 13:52

We would like to introduce Justin Hubbell, our BestStuff.com Summer 2009 intern. He does have his own blogs (1, 2, 3, 4), and will be writing content for BestStuff.com as well as other tasks. Justin will be our resident gamer for the immediate time period, and his interests are in line with ours. Keep an eye on his postings, and comment when you want more info. We are glad to have him on board, and we wish you luck, Justin. Here is his first post on BestStuff.com:

We were given a taste back in March about the possible track list for Rock Band Unplugged. But now we have the official, full track list! You'll get to play 41 songs, ranging from the 60s - 2000s and, on June 9th, you can download another 10 song set.Read more

Vuzix Goes 3-D

by jessica on Mon, 2009-03-30 13:29

Last week Vuzix demonstrated the world's first consumer augmented reality video eyewear at the 2009 Game Developer's Conference. When used with their VR920 Virtual Reality Video Glasses, the new Augmented Reality Accessory Kit brings printed pages to life with 3-D animated characters. The Vuzix AR Accessory Kit has two main features:

CamAR, a clip-on USB camera that mounts onto a pair of Vuzix Video Eyewear. The CamAR allows the user to see through to the real world but also tracks objects and the user's position in 3-dimensional space.
PhasAR, a wireless augmented reality input controller is designed to be used with the CamAR. The PhasAR allows users to interact with virtual, mixed and augmented reality worlds with a revolutionary 6 degree of freedom tracking system that lets the computer know exactly where the user is touching in the virtual and real worlds. Depending on the application, the PhasAR can become anything from a virtual magic wand to a 3-D virtual paint brush. The PhasAR enables 2-D like mouse support in order to control virtual objects in 3-D space.

Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

Hard Core Gamers Taking a Back Seat

It came as a rude shock to our son…he was no longer one of the most sought after people on the planet – the hardcore gamer. It dawned on him after watching his sister and Mom play their Wii musical instruments, exercise with the system and do a little Dancing With the Stars. While he and his comrades were busy shootin 'em up, bustin 'em up; the gaming industry had discovered there was a brave new market existed beyond teens…beyond boys! We sorta, kinda knew it back at the beginning when worked with the Tramiels to introduce the 7800 console and Lynx. We just didn't admit it. The game industry was in its infancy and only accounted for a few hundred million bucks. Today the market is huge and serious.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the anemic economy, the gaming industry appears to be hell-bent on fighting the tide again this holiday season with another record year!

In good and bad times the game industry has grown steadily. Read more

Add new comment

My Pet Shop Brings Over 40 Virtual Pets to Nintendo DS

March 10, 2009 ―TAITO Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd., announced today that it has shipped My Pet Shop for Nintendo DS to retailers across North America. This adorable simulation game is easy to play for children of all ages and perfect for kids who love animals.

With over 40 different types of animals, My Pet Shop offers a wide range of pets for kids to play with. From popular dog and cat breeds like pugs, golden retrievers and Russian blues, to animals from the wild such as pandas and penguins, players are sure to come across some of their favorite creatures. While the game is fun and easy to follow, it also teaches children to be organized, responsible and caring as they help run a pet store and learn to take care of animals. Read more

1 comment

The Beatles: Rock Band Hits Stores in September

by jessica on Thu, 2009-03-05 12:08

Okay, Beatles fans! The date has been announced – The Beatles: Rock Band will be in stores on 9/09/09…just six long months from now. It will be released worldwide for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii gaming systems.

The Beatles: Rock Band will be available as standalone software and hardware and they will also have a limited edition bundle. The game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers, but if you want to rock it Beatles style, a limited number of instruments modeled after those used by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr will be available. Read more

Understanding MMOGs

Video games have come a long way since a couple of early computer scientists got together and decided that people might like to play a game like tennis on video screens rather than on a clay court. Since then, the quality and depth of video gaming has been improving almost exponentially. The end of the twentieth century saw what is arguably the single most important evolution in video gaming since families first started bringing consoles home in the late 1970's. The Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) was born.

MMOG's were an instant hit the moment they entered the video game world. They brought the final missing link of the video gaming world to fruition -- being able to game and interact with friends and family in different locations and interact with people half a world away without leaving your home. MMOG's are identical to other video games in that they're played on a home computer or laptop -- with a few versions being released for console platforms -- and the user inputs commands via keyboard and mouse, and receives feedback through the monitor/display, and speakers. While most of the similarities end here, all MMOG's share, to some degree, the following three characteristics:

In an MMOG, typically, the setting or environment is persistent. It doesn't matter if the player is playing the game or not, the world that the game takes place in continues to age and progress with or without them. Events occur, the date changes, night becomes day, and day becomes night, regardless as to whether the player is an active part of the game or not. Read more