See The Banner Saga‘s Tactical Combat In Action

We’ve been keeping an eye on Stoic’s Kickstarter’d strategy role-playing game The Banner Saga for a while now. The small studio, consisting of three ex-BioWare developers, describes their game as “role-playing meets turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about vikings.” In this video above, the developers spend a long time (too long a time)…

Five Comics That Cross Boundaries This Week

If you’re here in the Panel Discussion programming block, you might be a lapsed comics reader, trying to find a way back to the JLA Satellite. Or you might someone killing time until you pick up your weekly Wednesday pull list. Or maybe you’ve said goodbye to dozens of longboxes to embrace the promise of…

Closed beta for MMO Marvel Heroes is now live. You can still register to play the beta here, or read about it here

The Best Part of Pandaria So Far is This Gorgeous Graphic Novel

The Mists of Pandaria parted in World of Warcraft last week, unlocking a long-hidden, lore-heavy civilization for players of the popular MMO to explore. The most enjoyable tale out of the land of pandas, however, can be found between the covers of the Pearl of Pandaria graphic novel—a work that began development before the expansion…

Thorchu Is the Cutest Pokémon Avenger of All

At first I wasn’t sure if this new crossbreed of Pokévengers by AstroZerk made The Avengers more or less menacing. But then I saw Thor/PikachuRaichu and I realized just how darn cute these new creatures are. Be sure to expand for full cuteness. Pokevengers [deviantART via Reddit]

This Graphic Novel Shows Why Mermaid Sex Is a Very Bad Idea

Nobody really gets scared of mermaids. I mean, yeah, there are much more frightening things underneath the surface of the sea, like sharks, octopi or stingrays. But that doesn’t let mermaids off the hook. (Why, yes, that pun IS intentional.) When you get down to it, they’re a slightly disturbing myth. We may be pretty…

Non-Game Software Is Now Available On Steam

Programs like GameMaker and 3DMark are now available on Steam. Valve sent over a press release today to announce the news. Here’s what they have to offer: ArtRage Studio Pro CameraBag 2 GameMaker: Studio 3D-Coat 3DMark Vantage 3DMark 11 Valve adds: Many of the launch titles will take advantage of popular Steamworks features, such as…

Nintendo Shouldn’t Treat ‘Gamer’ Like a Dirty Word

Just when we start thinking that the world has accepted that gaming is a widespread, diverse hobby on the same level as any other form of media, an awful marketing campaign comes along to remind us that, oh yes, some people still believe that “gamer” is a dirty word. “I am not a gamer,” proclaims…

A Fighting Game That Will Let Famous American Presidents Throw Down In The White House

Just yesterday, we saw this funny Slate article that re-imagined the current presidential elections as a Mortal Kombat-style fighting game. But if the folks at Candax Productions have their way, we won’t have to imagine it. Their game, Battle For Presidency, is currently doing pretty well on Steam Greenlight. You can see a trailer above,…

Need Lessons In Avoiding The Big Yellow Monster? Go To Ghost University.

The “Soviet propaganda” art style has been trendy for fan art lately, and that’s what artist Joseph Baranowski’s Pac-Man themed design project seems to have started as. But I think the best part are the two above: posters for Ghost University! I can imagine it now. A whole campus of ghosts, flitting and flirting through…

Someone Made That Giant xkcd Comic Into An Actual Game

Remember that giant, expansive, awesome xkcd comic that was packed full of video game references? A group of intrepid designers have turned it into an actual video game. You can stomp and fly around the huge comic panel, hovering atop trees and bouncing over cars to your heart’s content. You can even see who’s playing…

Our Favorite Monster-Killing Move in Resident Evil 6 Involves a Microwave

In Resident Evil 6, you can microwave an enemy’s hand. Why would you do that? Because the hand is trying to kill you! This is our favorite Resident Evil 6 easter egg, so far. Find it in Leon Kennedy’s campaign, fourth chapter. The video above shows you how it’s done.

E.T.‘s Mission Continues 30 Years Later in The Green Planet

It’s been three decades since Steven Spielberg enchanted the world with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, changing the way a generation thought about potential alien life and Reese’s Pieces. Chillingo and Universal celebrate 30 years of friendly aliens next week with E.T.: The Green Planet, or as I like to call it, E.T. Farms Home At the…

Mobile Gaming Apps Are The Beanie Babies Of Our Age

Remember Beanie Babies? Anyone old enough to remember the 1990s can probably remember the stuffed toys that became not only a craze, but a phenomenon. They were everywhere. Small children, old women, and a whole great swath of the American population in-between knew all about them. Collectors fought over rare ones on eBay. The little…

Reconstruct the Life of George from Physical Bricks in This LEGO-Powered Gaming App

There are plenty of LEGO video games out there, but most of them focus on the appearance of the popular building toys rather than the most important element—construction. Rather than assembling the LEGO memories of a pretty awesome guy via button presses, Life of George has you build them out of physical bricks. Life of…

Mysterious Dangers Stalk Our Survivors In The Next Episode of The Walking Dead

Around every corner is yet another danger. Around every corner is another hard decision. Another mystery, and more paranoia. Around Every Corner is the next episode in the fantastic episodic series of Telltale’s The Walking Dead series. We find our group of survivors in a new area (episode 3 spoilers)—Savannah, GA—fighting against both zombies and…

Stop Playing Politics on Facebook and Start… Playing Politics on Facebook

Rocket Surgeon’s For the People: Fantasy Politics officially launches on Facebook on the early January swearing in day for new members of Congress. If you consider that a holiday, then you might want to be sworn into the open beta. Congressman Fahey reporting for duty! For the People: Fantasy Politics casts players in the role…

Here Are The Names Of Some Good Things, Mostly Video Game Sequels, That End In 6 (Or “VI”)

The release of Resident Evil 6 raises the question of whether we can reasonably expect any sequels that include the number six. This is a question I asked the good people on Twitter. The good people replied, sometimes usefully. Sometimes not. And… So, yeah, there have been some good sixes, after all!

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Gets Three DLC Packs This Week For $2.50 Each

You can start buying downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. 2 this Thursday. The first three DLC packs for the game, each including three courses, are the Gold Rush Pack, Coin Challenge Pack A, and Nerve-Wrack Pack. Here’s Nintendo’s description of each: Gold Rush Pack: Fun new courses that give novice players the best…

Jimmy Kimmel And His Celebrity Friend Are Pretty Terrible At Draw Something

It’s hard to say, really, who is more at fault in this sadly failed guess from last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. While Kimmel got sidetracked and failed to remember pertinent information that would have helped him, the celebrity—armed not with a phone, but with a full-sized iPad—could have done a much better job rendering their…