It’s yours truly again with more knowledge, laid out for you on a silver platter of black and white pixels on a screen. So, there’s a paradigm shift coming. It’s a doozy. The gaming industry will forever change in the next 5 years, and while we can’t say if it’s for good or ill, it’s definitely happening. The reason for this is, of course, the almighty dollar. GamesIndustry reports that development costs for next-gen consoles are likely to double, according to sources who are already working with the new Microsoft-codenamed-“Durango” devkits. “I’m having to double my budget for models,” one…
Author: RurouniQ
Fortunately for those of us that are particularly forgetful (this guy!), this year April Fools’ Day fell on a Sunday. AFD is usually more subdued when it falls on a weekend (probably so companies don’t have to worry about mobilizing an entire PR department on a weekend in case of a fiasco), so yours truly only got fooled a couple times. Man, you’d think as often as it happens to me, that the word ‘gullible’ actually was in the dictionary. I’m surprised that it’s not, really. Either way, this year still saw some gems, and like every year, a few…
It’s time again for the first installment of our most popular editorial segment, More QQ! (Disregard the fact that we don’t have any other editorial segments… and while you’re at it, disregard all preceding and following non sequitur.)
We are LIVE recording The Game Show episode 1007! Featuring our brand new co-host! Can’t make it to the live recording? Come back tomorrow for the podcast. To write in questions during the show, join us in the Twitch chat below (login to Twitch.tv required). Click HERE to watch us LIVE Watch live video from Padinga on www.twitch.tv
First, I must apologize. I just am completely unable to come up with any pun for the title that resembles the Jeremy Lin “Linsanity” meme. “Framesanity”? Nnnno. “Linksanity”? Not quite. “Fightsanity”? DEFINITELY NOT. In the meantime, you’ll have to make do with having a headline in early 2012 that has the word ‘insanity’ in it, unaffected by puns. My bad. Regardless, the true topic here is not current events in sports or Twitter; rather, we’re here to talk about the current trends in modern fighting games. A lot of gamers will pick up a controller at their friend’s house, playing…
We are LIVE recording The Game Show episode 1006! Featuring Mike Vaughn! Can’t make it to the live recording? Come back on Saturday for the podcast. To write in questions during the show, join us in the twitch chat. Click HERE to watch us LIVE Watch live video from Padinga on www.twitch.tv
On the next Game Show, we have Mike Vaughn, the voice of Spider-Man in Activision’s Spider-Man: Web of Shadows! He has also done voice acting roles in many other video games, including GTA: San Andreas and Final Fantasy XIII-2. Come hear about voice acting in the video game industry and about his role in the upcoming film The Gamer! We are live on Monday, March 5, at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific! Come back to the site then to view our live video feed!
Wow. This game is actually really coming along, isn’t it? They’re actually taking it seriously and not just cashing in, huh? It might actually be as good or better than its previous incarnations, right? PPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTT Ok, maybe not THAT good, but this video IS impressive. Have a looksee!
Rejoice, US Wii owners! Last week and hot on the heels of the European release, Reggie Fils-Aime personally confirmed in a video released on the 3DS Nintendo Video network that XSeed would be bringing The Last Story to US shores. Of course, all of this was made possible by the grassroots internet campaign known as Operation Rainfall, which has made it their mission to see Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, and Pandora’s Tower brought safely to the West. So far, they’re 2 for 3. But there’s another layer to these events. All 3 of these games have or will see…
Epic Zelda Violin Girl and America’s Got Talent star Lindsey Stirling will be joining us on the next Game Show! Come and listen LIVE here at breakmanx.com on Monday, February 20, at 10pm Eastern, 7pm Pacific! Link-tastic!
Ok, what the hell, Games Industry? I just survived one November, BARELY. I don’t need another one so soon. November is traditionally the big release month for the Games Industry, with October serving as a close second, but this year, it looks like Spring is getting its own November. The month of March has a staggering amount of new releases, preceded by a fantastic February, and it’s enough to make the average gamer’s wallet suffer a stroke from sheer overwork. Of course, February (and January 31st) had a strong month with releases like Final Fantasy XIII-2, Soul…
So here we are folks. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has been out for about a week now, and it has already occupied a strange little space in my heart. Personally, I’ve been looking forward to it since before it was even announced; Curt Schilling had announced his Amalur world previously, when it was under the codename Copernicus, and the concept of a full world being developed by someone which such a love for fantasy as Schilling, along with the writing powerhouse of R.A. Salvatore, had me in raptures just thinking about it. Now, many years later,…
Here you go, Games Industry. Here comes another Free Idea. You’re welcome. Over the weekend, I finished reading an amazing book by my favorite author, Sir Terry Pratchett. It’s called The Wee Free Men, and though it’s targeted towards 7-11 year-olds, it’s one of those things that are made for kids but are packed with hidden adult-level jokes who have to sit through them as well, like Animaniacs used to do. If you’ve never read any Terry Pratchett books, especially his Discworld series, but love The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you can’t go wrong by starting…
Due to illness, this week’s Game Show is sadly canceled. We’ll be back next week!
Alright bear with me one second here… Just let me put on my flak jacket… get my riot armor on… aaaand set up the barricades. Okay, ready to go! Phew, last time I made predictions, I not only whacked the metaphorical hornets’ nest, I treated it like an outpatient piñata. Or at least, you’d THINK I had, with the reactions I got. But a promise is a promise; I told people Microsoft was next, so I prepared my own personal fallout shelter for the inevitable deluge of delusional vitriol. Better keep at least 20 yards back;…
Well folks, the new year is upon us, and for us here at Padinga, that means one thing… getting our Video Game P&P* License re-certified. (*Press and Punditry; and no, there really isn’t such a thing. It’s called satire.) So to prove ourselves as official Pundits At Large, I give you… Our Official Predictions for the Playstation 4. In 2012. Probably nearly two years before its release. Balls, folks. We have them. Michael Pachter, eat your heart out. Read up after the Break.
A Merry Christmas to all you Padingans out there! Wait, what’s that I hear? The wailing of souls and the gnashing of teeth? Could that be… Little Johnny got PokePark from his Grammy even though he’s 15 years old? Jenny asked for Halo and got Barbie Pet Grooming Adventure? Is this the sound of gamers not getting the games they wanted for Christmas?! Fear not, my fellow partners in entertainment enthusiasm. I have a solution. After the Break.
Over the weekend, Spike’s VGAs (or Video Game Awards) have come and gone. I’m not certain who appointed the network responsible for giving us Striperella and The Joe Schmo Show as the Academy of Video Games, but it is what it is. Despite its disastrous beginnings in 2003 (to give you some indication, Madden won Game of the Year that year), like a fine cheese, it has slowly improved with time, earning some credibility in the industry. I say “some” credibility, because a good portion of the show is funded by game companies; specifically, those that pay to…
There’s a new Assassin’s Creed game out, one that revitalizes its genre and gives life to its platform. No, I’m not talking about Revelations, despite the fact that it has many letters in common (a fact which surely must be intentional). This is Assassin’s Creed Recollection; it’s an exclusive for the iPad, and it’s a… card game? Yeah ok, so this is not your typical AC game, but from the hours I’ve put in so far, this entry is still a very worthwhile venture. The story is completely separate from the game itself, and in fact, the system and cards…
The NDA is lifted. The betas have come and (are almost) gone. Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the top talks of the industry, despite other AAA releases, not to mention the fact that it’s not even out yet. We here at Padinga have been playing the beta with gusto, and therefore we wish to share with you, who may be undecided or have not played the beta, what this game is all about exactly. These are the things you need to know going in. 1. Simultaneously, it IS and IS NOT WoW with…
Up until yesterday, I was not a fan of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, to say the least. I felt upset and betrayed from my experience playing the game at E3, and it was one of my biggest disappointments of the entire show. I felt for certain that it was going to be the low-point of the series (not counting the CD-i atrocities, of course), and was bound & determined to ignore it entirely. I have publicly declared my dislike for Skyward Sword, and that I felt it was not a well-made game. Four hours in,…
The image above is from today’s released weekly ad for GameStop. Never mind the nonsensical misspelled caption hanging below the image on the right side. See, here’s my concern. As far as I’m concerned, THIS AD MUST COME FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION, BECAUSE THERE IS NO REALITY I AM AWARE OF IN WHICH BATMAN FUCKING FOREVER WAS EVER CONSIDERED A BONUS. Come on, GameStop. 1995 called, and they want the worst movie of the year back. No, wait. They don’t want it back, and I can totally understand why. Whoever determines your bonus promotions really should have gotten…
We in the gaming community are well-versed by now when it comes to the propaganda infection of “game hype”. We’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again; the marketing and media machine stir up excitement and fervor, like a beef stew being cooked in a Crock Pot, filling the house with promises of glory and flavor in the form of heavenly scents. Then you take that first bite, anticipating the delight… and it turns out someone put WAY too much salt and pepper in. The stew, metaphorically representing the game here, of course, is simply…
Here you go, Games Industry. Here’s a free idea. YOU’RE WELCOME. Over the weekend, a group of professional thieves “liberated” a shipment in France using timed automobile collision, knives and tear gas. The cargo? Reportedly, 6000 copies of Modern Warfare 3, estimated as having a total value of over €400,000. What a world, huh? PROFESSIONAL THIEVES stealing a VIDEO GAME. I don’t know about you, but to me, this says that games, as a cultural fixture, are more mainstream than ever. And what better way to celebrate that position, than by creating new culture based around it?
You know, we could be like every other gaming site and post things about horror games on Halloween. The fact is, however, that there is a true horror out there, one that permeates the gaming industry and is slowly KILLING YOU. Ok, so by “killing you”, I mean killing a few of the cells on the tips of your thumbs from all the extra button presses. But it is little bits of death, hyperbolically KILLING YOU. There is a trend in modern gaming, one that many have readily accepted as a matter of course, graciously accepting the…
Dudes, check it out! Bethesda just released a new trailer for Skyrim! Man, I don’t have to tell you how much I’m looking forward to having this game in my hot little hands. Let me grab some popcorn, get mah brewskis, settle down in this comfy recliner, kick my feet up, and press play… (1 minute and 5 seconds later) OK what the fuck, Bethesda?! I’m covered in popcorn, I’ve got beer in my hair, and lying in a crumpled heap across the room from where I started. I think it was because my recliner exploded. Yup, there are definitely…
What’s the matter, friend? That same old WoW game got you down? Tired of running around Azeroth again and again? Got nothing better to play online until December? What’s an online gamer to do?! Well fret no more, dear gamer! Now, there’s Rift! What’s Rift, you ask? Well, it tastes like WoW, it feels like WoW, it even talks like WoW, but guess what? It’s not WoW! If you’re looking for a WoW-like experience, but without the same old setting, Rift is for you! And now through Oct. 19, you get can this amazing game for only…
Capcom has released a new set of videos showing gameplay of two more confirmed characters for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Phoenix Wright and Nova. In one video, the characters are fighting against a background that is obviously made to resemble the “imperfect” future shown in many X-Men comics, where Sentinels are hunting mutants. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, yeah we already knew about those characters, kinda cool background, big deal. But here’s the thing, people. In this video, Capcom may have inadvertedly shown its hand. Check out this section of the screenshot: This poster…
The holidays are fast approaching, and you know what that means, my gaming friends. It means a deluge of experiences, a flood of new games hitting the market and overwhelming our senses. As many of us finally hold in our hot little hands the objects of our prolonged desire, the problem becomes, frankly, deciding which of our new children comes first. Such a terrible dilemma! Just take a look at what has just come out, and what is coming in the weeks to come… Gears, Battlefield, Dark Souls, Batman, Skyrim, Modern Warfare, just to name a few. Many…
I mean, seriously people. What the hell does Sony think they’re doing?? They’re all… like… doing things people want… and shit. I know, right? What the hell?? Now before you get all righteously indignant on me, one way or another, bear in mind that I DO have somewhere intelligent I am going with this, despite my earlier sentence fragments. Earlier today, Sony announced the ‘Only on PSN’ program, an organized focus on the PSN titles that are coming to the PSN exclusively in the coming months. The fine print, however, revealed a surprising twist that actually seems to…