Power Gig: it’s a rhythm game… with a real guitar

Posted on : 10-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games




There is a point when playing rhythm games such as Rock Band or Guitar Hero where you hit a kind of wall; there is only so much to learn hitting buttons as notes flow down the screen. Power Gig: Rise of the Six String—in addition to having a terrible title—wants to break that wall by teaching you actual guitar skills if you choose to move past what the tradition rhythm game has offered. The guitar peripheral is an actual six-string electric guitar, although we’re promised that the full band bundle of guitar, drums, and microphone will be priced competitively with other rhythm bundles on the market.

Read the rest of this entry »

etc: Lady Gaga will find her way to the Rock Band store next week. Four songs will be available, along with one cover track with vocals from South Park’s Cartman.

Posted on : 09-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games

Lady Gaga will find her way to the Rock Band store next week. Four songs will be available, along with one cover track with vocals from South Park’s Cartman.

Read More:
Rockband.com

Read the rest of this entry »

Valve: full "Steam" ahead on Mac OS X with free syncing

Posted on : 08-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games

Valve has stopped with the teasing and has officially announced that its online gaming service Steam is coming to the Mac. As a bonus, the company also plans to make the Mac a “tier-1″ platform, promising simultaneous release of games on Mac OS X, Windows, and Xbox 360.

Valve has developed a Mac-native version of its Source engine, using the cross-platform OpenGL. “We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation,” John Cook, Director of Steam Development, said in a statement. “The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Indie Fund offers cash, wisdom to aspiring game devs

Posted on : 08-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games




Making games is expensive. Unfortunately, for independent developers, getting ahold of enough money to actually fund a game can be a daunting task. Enter the Indie Fund. Founded by a who’s who of independent developers, including members of 2D Boy, Capybara Games, and thatgamecompany, the fund is being billed as “a brand new funding source for independent developers” and “a serious alternative to the traditional publisher funding model.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Week in gaming: Activision goes to war, God of War 3

Posted on : 06-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games




Activision Blizzard has become an immensely successful company with three large franchises under its belt. So what’s the only thing to do? Begin burning one down! The drama between Activision and Infinity Ward has lead to lawsuits, stories in the press, and rampant speculation about what’s really going on. What’s clear is that the people who were the driving force behind the series have left the company, and Activision is looking to release as many Call of Duty games in as short of time as possible.

Read the rest of this entry »

The closet is opened: Xbox Live welcomes LBGT signifiers

Posted on : 05-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games

Microsoft hasn’t been the most progressive company when it comes to dealing with gay and lesbian issues on Xbox Live, but the company has just announced a small but important change to its Code of Conduct for the service. You can now describe your relationships with a number of preapproved words.

“Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs,” Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten wrote. “However we have since heard feedback from our customers that while the spirit of this approach was genuine, it inadvertently excluded a part of our Xbox LIVE community. This update also comes hand-in-hand with increased stringency and enforcement to prevent the misuse of these terms.”

Read the rest of this entry »

etc: The Rock Band Network Music Store is live! New music by Jonathan Coulton, KMFDM, and Steve Vai included. Hit the link for the full list.

Posted on : 04-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games

The Rock Band Network Music Store is live! New music by Jonathan Coulton, KMFDM, and Steve Vai included. Hit the link for the full list.

Read More:
Rock Band Forum

Read the rest of this entry »

Valve creates fake Apple ads, teases Steam on OS X

Posted on : 04-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games

Valve has been getting clever when its announcements recently. The company has intrigued fans by placing hints of something in an update to Portal, and gamers are still following the clues to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. The next announcement? It looks as if Steam is coming to the Mac.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hail the victorious dead: the first section of God of War 3

Posted on : 03-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games




Kratos is starting to look long in the tooth. His gruff growl, his single-minded pursuit of the gods, his willingness to destroy everything between himself and his goal… at the beginning of God of War 3 we already know who he is. We know how he got there. The only question for the Ghost of Sparta is simple: what next?

Read the rest of this entry »

Pocket-sized downloads: Ars explores DSiWare and PSP Minis

Posted on : 02-03-2010 | By : Admin | In : Video Games




With the release of the PSP Go and the DSi, both Sony and Nintendo brought small, downloadable games to traditional gaming handhelds. It’s a concept that has been met with mixed success on the iPhone and other mobile platforms, spawning both a refreshing wave of creative new games and a glut of shovelware. But several months after the launch of the DSiWare shop and PSP Minis on the PlayStation Network, both services are still struggling to find their legs.

Read the rest of this entry »