Pixel Ranger for iPhone and iPad feels as deep, engaging and modern as most Atari 2600 games, a CMYK-colored blend of Pitfall! meets Galaga, light on substance, heavy on visual charm. Conceptually, Pixel Ranger is simple to the point of bordering on dumb. Pixelated aliens swarm from above, bothersome lifeforms (snails, turtles, etc.) lurk below.…
Hunted | TOKYO, JAPAN – Capcom held its 2011 Monster Hunter Festa over the weekend. (Photo: Game Watch Impress) Final PS Vita Box Design for Europe. Launch Apps, Too. When Sony detailed the PS Vita launch apps for Japan, the questions was how many of those would be available in the West. Well, how many?…
Near is the PS Vita’s social feature that scans the area for PS Vita brethern. Sony’s detailed Near at Gamescom and Tokyo Game Show, but with so many Vita features, it might have gotten lost in the shuffle. It’s a neat feature, and it’s worth teasing out. To use Near, press the Update button. Your…
What happens when you go the wrong direction in Forza Motorsport 4? You smash shit up. The cars sure make a noise on impact, especially compared to Gran Turismo 5, which sounded like a cardboard box being kicked. Though, pretty sure something like this is totally impossible. Call it a hunch. Crashing into Little Cars…
When Sony detailed the PS Vita launch apps for Japan, the questions was how many of those would be available in the West. Well, how many? The launch app for Europe include Welcome Park (PS Vita tutorial), Party (text and voice chat), PlayStation Store (shopping), Group Messaging (messaging), Photos (well, photos), Near (location-based gaming network),…
Regular Fancy Pants posts have been on a little break for a while as we recharged from a glut of events like PAX and the Tokyo Game Show. We’re back as usual this week, though, and it seems the time off has worked wonders Why? Because for sheer quality this might be the best we’ve…
A Microsoft patent, filed in March 2010 but only publicly released last week, is called PARENTAL CONTROL SETTINGS BASED ON BODY DIMENSIONS. It’s about using tech like Kinect to automatically restrict content on a PC or Xbox depending on who (or what) the camera sees in the room. Basically, it would use a camera (Kinect…
The PS3 version of Ni no Kuni, the prettiest game of this year’s Tokyo Game Show, is coming to America The game’s Japanese title needs an English localization, because its Japanese title Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Jyoou is a mouthful in English. According to a U.S. government trademark registration by Level-5, the game…
These kids (and adults!) have invested what looks like a ridiculous amount of time and energy creating a documentary on Portal’s Aperture Science. Not a short five-minute web clip. Like, a 21-minute documentary. Don’t worry, it’s not serious. It’s not a Valve neckbeard convention agonising over easter eggs and links to Half-Life 2. It’s just…
It’s not like the world was clamouring for it, but here we have it regardless: there’s a new Bloody Roar game in development. It’ll be the first in the animal-punching series since Bloody Roar 4 in 2003. UPDATE – And, it was a hoax. Nothing to see here!
Japan’s Tech Arts 3D doesn’t just make video games. It also makes things to put on your junk. Some might call this unnecessary or disgusting, I’ll call it multitasking. Tech Arts 3D is the studio behind computer title 3D Custom Girl, which allows players to create custom computer girls and then do things Last fall,…
I’ve been dreaming for a while now of picking up a PS2 game I already own, putting it in my PS3 and having it work. Ever since my launch console died that’s been totally out of the question, so I guess I’ll have to settle for the next best thing. Sony has launched a new…
For what feels like forever, there’s been talk of something in the Mass Effect universe turning up soon that features multiplayer. Some say it’s a standalone expansion, some say it might be nothing Whatever it is, over the weekend it reared its head again: once in the form of an upcoming feature for Xbox World…
As far as iconic games in Japan go, they don’t get any more iconic than Dragon Quest. It’s one of those rare games that still ensnares people who don’t game as much as they used to or don’t game at all. So in Japan, working on Dragon Quest must be a pretty big deal, no?…
Ghost towns aren’t just found in the Western United States. They’re everywhere. Even Japan, where they’re slightly more interesting than usual, because they’ve got dirty old video games (and dirty old video cassettes). Nichitsu was, like old American ghost towns, a settlement based on gold mining. Named after the company which owned the mines (and…
Hatsune Miku is a virtual idol. She exists in the virtual space. In the latest Kids React, a group of kids react to the singer. Footage is shown of the Sega-produced Miku concert, and the kids, while initially WTF-ing, do offer up some insightful and open responses about the virtual popstar, as well as some…
Gabrielle Salonga, who’s had it up to here with internet commenting system fanboys, shows that it’s neither red nor blue (green?) that matters. It’s the space between. 1 Oct [Game On] You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our…
Japan is expensive. Tokyo and Osaka consistently rank among the most expensive cities in the world. With the strong yen, Japan is even pricier for foreign visitors. It’s no steal for nerds, either. It’s highway robbery. Geek mecca Akihabara has a bevy of maid cafes to tempt otaku with cutesy food. Popular dishes include “rice…
Playing as a mayor, or a President, or a Captain in a strategy game gets boring after a while. You’re always the straight guy, the man in the suit, the uniformed leader burdened with responsibility. How refreshing it is, then, to play Super Cult Tycoon and take charge of a crazy cult leader. Built in…
It’s a sad world we live in when the best Battlestar Galactica games available are a rather dry MMO and some fan-made mods Yet like the crew of the Galactica we’ve got to make do with the world we’re left with, no matter how cruel and unfair it is. So today, let’s make the most…
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