How Much Would YOU Pay for a Pristine Copy of Atari Air Raid?
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/06/12 at 09:41 PM CT
I know I'm not alone in that I like to collect items. Other members of this site have quite the game and strategy guide collection themselves. However, there comes a point in time when you have to decide what kind of collector you're going to be: casual or hardcore. You will know when you step over that line - if you spend as much on a video game as you would a new vehicle, that's hardcore.
Take this recent example of what is regarded as the rarest game for the Atari 2600: Air Raid. A near pristine copy was found (the only known copy with an intact instruction manual) and was sold for an Atari Record - and actually the record for any non-prototype, non-competition video game, ever. So, how much you ask? How about $33,433.30.
What is the most you've spent on a game? For me, at least recently, I dropped $149.95 on the collector's edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic (which I have yet to play, sadly). I thought that was a pretty good chunk of change for a single game - even …
Wreck-It Ralph: Finally a Video Game Movie That Works
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/04/12 at 01:13 PM CT
Hollywood has hurt me too many times. Why is it so hard to make a decent movie out of an existing franchise? I mean, it's right there - character, story, action, emotion (most of the time) - all you have to do is come up with an interesting and novel way to present that to audiences. But has Hollywood really ever had success with that? Well, let's see what we have had up to deal with up to this point in time:
Remember this?
Or this?
Or THIS?
If you do, I'm sorry, because those are all examples of how easy it is to take a great video game and turn it into a terrible film. Even the movies that I thought were OK - Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider - are just that: OK. They don't add anything to the video game experience. They are mediocre at best - entertaining, but ultimately empty.
But, this weekend, I'm happy to report a movie finally captures the spirit of video games and manages to make a film that doesn't just work as an animated film, not just a video game …
Backlog: The Embiggening - November, 2012
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 11/03/12 at 02:23 PM CT
Welcome to another look into the near future. The holiday build-up continues this month as developers endeavor to get as many titles as possible onto the shelves of bricks & mortar retailers in time for Black Friday.
The overwhelming assault of licensed games continues, with the immense list of titles playable on every viable platform (as well as dead platforms like the Wii, DS, and PSP) stacking up to form the foundation for a veritable Tower of Babel to confuse, coerce, and appeal to buyers’ worst judgment. In November we’re getting games based on Nickelodeon TV horrors like “Big Time Rush,” “Bubble Guppies,” “Dora the Explora,” and “Victorious.” Not to be left behind, Cartoon Network is contributing a portion of awfulness as well, with new “Ben 10” and “Adventure Time” titles. Outside of those two big IP mills, November will also see new releases covering “Dragon Ball Z,” “NASCAR,” “Winx Club,” “The History Channel,” “LEGO Lord of …
Original Crew Aims to Kickstart "Shadowgate" Remake
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/31/12 at 11:03 PM CT
While there have been a number of spiritual successors and soulless sequels to old point-and-click games recently, the original crew behind the classic graphical adventure, "Shadowgate" wants to remake their game with new puzzles, enhanced gameplay, and an expanded mythos. While I loved "Shadowgate" back in the day, the horrors of "Shadowgate 64" and "Beyond Shadowgate" have me leery of this. I want it to be good, but I'm afraid to get my hopes up!
Controller Retrospective
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/27/12 at 07:17 PM CT
The ways in which we interact with the virtual worlds of videogaming are incredibly important, despite the fact that a proper player:game interface recedes into the background. The best controller is one you can forget about because it fits perfectly into your grip and has ergonomically-placed and responsive buttons. With the WiiU just around the corner and its promise to revolutionize the player:game interface with its tablety Gamepad, it seems like a good time to take a walk down memory lane and remember the controllers of the past, both the great and the awful. Of course, there have been an incredible plethora of terrible third-party controllers, and few good ones, so this list is confined to first-party offerings. Here are my favorites and least favorites.
Top 5:
1. Xbox 360 Controller
My choice for best controller may seem surprising, considering I don’t own an Xbox 360 and never have anything nice to say about it. Well, I’m saying something nice about it now: The …
PlayStation 3 Hacked Again - LV0 Master Keys
Nick - wrote on 10/24/12 at 01:58 PM CT
Looks like Sony will need to put more effort into the PlayStation 4, cause the PlayStation 3 has seen its final blow by hackers. Information has been leaked, forcing the group responsible for the hack to publish their findings publicly, to avoid profits being made off of their efforts. The LV0 master keys, that are manufactured directly in the PS3 itself, have been discovered. These keys are the only thing that kept PS3 firmware secure, allowing Sony to patch other hacking issues. With these keys, anyone can decrypt any new firmware updates from Sony, and know exactly what they do, as well as get their hands on any new PSN authentication keys put into the firmware update. It won't be long, and jail-broke PS3s will be common, and you'll see countless articles on how to do it. Is this a bad thing for Sony? I actually don't think so, the PS3 is near its end of life, and people are anticipating the PlayStation 4. This will only motivate Sony to get the PS4 out to market sooner. …
Wii U Commercials Starting Up
Nick - wrote on 10/22/12 at 01:51 PM CT
We are about a month away from the official release of the Wii U, and we are just now starting to see some commercials popping up. Seems one of the first TV commercials debuted in the UK. I don't know if this kind of cheesy type of commercial is normal for ads in the UK, but it is almost humorous to watch. We get a big taste of someone using the new gamepad controller with screen. It also shows how you can apparently play any game without a TV entirely, solely using the screen on the controller, so your hot Russian girlfriend with heavy accent can watch her favorite soap opera. It also appears the controller has some Wiimote like motion controls utilizing the screen. This is a clear sign that Nintendo is focusing on the new controller as its selling point. Too bad you can only use up to two of these controllers on a system.
So what else do you get that the commercial doesn't tell you? Well, the system finally has a muti-core chip, however we don't know exact details. This …
True D&D as a Videogame
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/21/12 at 04:42 PM CT
Way back in 1999, I got my first real taste of what Dungeons & Dragons was supposed to be like. Despite the fact that I had been playing the tabletop RPG (or some conglomeration of D&D mythology slapped onto another game, like HeroQuest) since 1991, the overwhelming rules system and library of rulebooks involved always bogged things down. Back in the AD&D 2nd Edition era, despite all the rules, there was no codified set of rules relating to character balance, which lead every game run by an inexperienced Dungeon Master for inexperienced players down the path of Munchkinism or Monty Haul. It was only by pushing all of the rules into the background and forcing the story campaign into a solid framework with balanced distribution of experience and treasure that the game was really able to come to life. And while there had been myriad D&D-based videogames prior to 1999, like the horrendous Gold Box Series, none of them were able to successfully bridge the gulf between videogame RPGs and …
Horrible Pokemon Art Brings Back School Memories
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/19/12 at 01:44 PM CT
Back in Junior High, Chris and I used to draw disturbing representations of our favorite DragonLance characters all over our English class folders. Had "Pokemon" existed at the time, we might have instead drawn something similar to this: The Pokeymans Project.
Just look at this Bidoof:
Look at it and despair!
Halo 4 Scanned Trailer by David Fincher
Nick - wrote on 10/19/12 at 01:32 PM CT
Halo 4 is just around the corner, and XBox has released a new longer trailer to entice you to buy the game on the November 6th release date. But it isn't any normal trailer, it is more like a movie trailer. And in fact, was produced by David Fincher, known for countless movies like Fight Club, Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and many more. This trailer is pretty amazing, using real people for actors, and lots of CGI just like any sci-fi film. In fact, this should be a movie and not a video game, too bad Halo is an XBox exclusive game. Either way, I expect Halo 4 will be a big hit not just on November 6th, but for the Holiday season.
View Archive
