After that they just pressed on, showing more and people were playing the Beta. All the while, we were just waiting for the release. And now it is a phenomenon. Other companies need to pay attention. This is how you market a game. I can’t wait to see where these numbers go from here.

[via Techcrunch]

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It’s got tanks, jets, robots, jumping out of planes, close combat with helicopters and more bullets flying than an A-Team mission to rescue B.A. Baracus.

[via EA]

First let me just try to collect myself as I point out that this 64 player multiplayer combat game has jets! Yes jets. But that’s not all. They have thrown everything but the kitchen sink into this one.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

One of the coolest things that you’ll notice in the trailer is the inclusion of military robots, which i am psyched about, because before Black Ops came out I was hoping that some robots would be in that game. Of course sadly they were not. In this game we have tanks, helicopters, robots, jets and enough explosions to make Michael Bay wet his pants and subsequently dry them with wads of money.

[via Joystiq]

If you are a fan of the NFS Hot Pursuit game on the PS3, EA has announced a content pack that you will want to buy. The pack is called the Super Sports Pack. It adds in 13 new race and pursuit events and three new supercars that will make you wet your pants. The new cars include the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, GUMPERT Apollo S and Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Those cars are available in race and pursuit modes. Veyron police car FTW! The pack will hit the Xbox on December 21 for 560 Microsoft points and will land on the PS3 on December 22 for $6.99 (USD). I would assume Wii and PC players of the game will get the pack too, though EA doesn’t mention it.

Not only does the game look awesome, it was written by Marianne Krawczyk, who wrote God of War. The side-scrolling action game puts you in the shoes of a man on a quest for revenge against an nasty villain.

Throughout the game’s incredibly illustrated levels, you’ll kick serious butt with just about every weapon you can imagine, including guns, chainsaws, grenades, knives and even a machete. There’s even a local co-op mode which let’s you take on enemies in a gore-fest together.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Shank is rated M for violence, sexual content and language, so it’s definitely not one for the kiddies. It’s available today on the PlayStation Network and should show up in the Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow (8/25), and sells for $14.99 (USD).

I even beat a certain Stephen Totilo.  Then again he may not care – for all I know he just wanted to check the game out. Unfortunately for him, his team came across my Inter Milan, and despite being just at Level 1 we beat his Level 2 Guessers 2 to 1.

I just started playing today – hence the level – so I won’t be able to show you all of the game’s features. I started off with a bunch of players, which of course are relatively weak. Then I played training matches, after which I earned experience and a bit of gold coins. As in Football Manager, the game itself plays out behind the scenes, meaning you don’t control your players – it’s their stats vs. the opposing players’ stats. When you enter a match, there’s a bit of commentary and maybe 4 or 5 animations, but that’s it. You’d best skip to the end and see what the outcome is to save time.

There are three kinds of currencies in the game – match credits, which you need to play games,  gold coins, which you need to buy players and better facilities for your stadium and training ground, and of course Playfish coins, which is exactly like gold coins except you buy Playfish coins with real money. You get gold coins (and XP) whenever you play a match, whether you win, draw or lose. Match credits – the number next to the football icon in the picture below – are replenished after a set number of hours. You can also buy more match credits with real money.

The game is a bit like web MMORPG Skyrates, in that the training actions take a substantial amount of real time, allowing – forcing – you to . Unlike Skyrates however, the game warned me that if I let my players be Idle – meaning if I don’t issue another training routine after they finish what they’re doing – their ‘Training’ stat will decrease, which I guess is realistic. What’s not realistic is that even while your team is training, they can still play matches.

You move to higher leagues after beating a set amount of opponents. You can also give mystery gifts to your Facebook friends who have signed up for the game. And when you win against your friend, you can brag about it on his Wall. Which I just did. It felt awesome. So that’s about all I have for now. So far I’m actually having fun with EA Sports Superstars. I hope they don’t give players who spend real money too much of an advantage.

Granted, it may have been Green’s “finicky” Internet connection that was the direct cause of his problem, but why should one’s enjoyment of a single-player game be dependent on another service (beyond electricity of course)? Green proposes alternative modes of verification, but unless people stop buying games with DRM, I doubt that EA would listen even to one of its own.

[via Ars Technica]

I think Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn have been free for some time now, and EA says the addition of Tiberian Sun and Firestorm to the list of free downloads is an early Valentine’s gift.

But with Red Alert 4 on the horizon – the game comes out on March 16 – we’d all be stupid to think that this isn’t a way to promote the aging series. Still, it’s free! Head on to Command & Conquer Classics to download the games. The Red Alert Soviet & Allied ISOs are 520 MB each, Tiberian Dawn’s GDI & NOD ISO’s are 600MB each, and the Tiberian Sun & Firestorm installer weighs in at 1.2GB.

[via CVG]

These pictures are from that patent application, and while I don’t know whether or not they actually have much to do with this rumor – or if this rumor will come to fruition at all – it seems to be a safe bet here, adding one and one to come up with a fitness game. One that features you, in a jersey (optional), running around your living room, throwing a controller. Wait, wasn’t throwing the Wii controller bad? Didn’t people break their televisions and sometimes their faces?

Oh well. If EA can figure that one out, there just may be a more active companion to the Madden franchise next year.

[via Joystiq]

The new game was leaked by a Joystiq reader, and according to the info the game’s protagonist, Jacob Taylor, is “a biotic-powered super-soldier who stumbles across a plot to terrorize civilization’s greatest beacon of hope.” For a second there I thought the enemy was after the bacon of hope. That would have been a better idea, because we’re all willing to fight for ordinary bacon, what more for the bacon of hope.

As you can see the game will be a top-down shooter ala GTA II. It’s supposedly a short game, clocking in at just 2 hours, half of which consists of elevator rides. Kidding. Marc DeAngelis over at thebbps thinks that the tactical aspect of Mass Effect will still be there, i.e. pausing the game to give orders or use tech abilities, as evidenced by those icons in the image above. And judging from the image below, yours truly thinks that the Paragon/Renegade aspect of the game will be there as well.

Mass Effect: Jacob’s Story will reportedly cost $3 USD, no word on release date yet. If this game becomes a hit, EA and BioWare might expand the Mass Effect story further, and may even release additional mobile games based on another franchise, Dragon Age. Trust me EA: Bacon of hope = $$$.

*Update: BioWare Community Coordinator Chris Priestly has clarified that the game is not a prequel but a side story of one of the characters in the upcoming Mass Effect 2, and he says that it’s not crucial to the lore of Mass Effect: “Consider it a “fun optional ‘extra’ game.” So should we still buy it? I definitely won’t, because I don’t have an iPhone.*

At this point, I would typically make fun of the silliness (and potential awesomeness) of this title, but I’m distracted by the Jack White-ness of the above character. The combination of guitar and outfit is a little too evocative, and Mr. White has been known to wear a few ill-fitting hats here and there over the years. But the necklace throws it all off (though not quite as hilariously as the LEGO chest hair in another screenshot. So instead, it seems they’re just going with “minifig rock dudes who look like they might be actual rock dudes.” That’s a fair approach.

Oh yeah. Chest hair.

So Jack White-ness (and my own personal White Stripes obsession) aside, it looks as though the LEGO and Rock Band franchises will both be well represented here in a fun combination that should add a new dimension to music gaming.

A partial track list was revealed as well, and it’s likely we’ll see more announcements as we get closer to the game’s release date.

• Blur, “Song 2″
• Carl Douglas, “Kung Fu Fighting”
• Europe, “The Final Countdown”
• Good Charlotte, “Boys and Girls”
• Pink, “So What”

[EDGE Online via NeoGAF]

Per announcements at DICE 2009 and a press release from EA, the game is set for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, though there’s no word yet on release date, gameplay information, or just how demented the sequel will be compared to the original. In fact, all that’s really been said, officially, is that the game is coming.

American McGee himself took to his blog, however, and revealed, at least, a title: The Return of American McGee’s Alice. I’m sure the game itself will be much more creative.

[EA and American McGee via That Video Game Blog]

In Hachi Koi, the young male protagonist learns that he’s going to die in one month–unless he can fall in love and convince one of the title’s hapless, caressable ladies to return his feelings. That other infamous DS girl-touching game (Doki Doki Majo Shinpan, and its sequel) was all about witches and angels, and after that, life and death seems slightly more sane.

So how must you go about molesting romancing these girls? By touching them, of course; you can rub suntan lotion on the girls, or touch them in other ways, as directed, with the stylus and the handheld’s touchscreen.

One thing I can actually praise in this title is the variety of girls. While they all look creepily young (except for their head-sized boobs), there’s at least variety. You’ve got the tomboy, the skinny waif, and even an overweight girl. Uh… girl power? Yay?

Doki Doki Majo Shinpan’s hilarity earned that title a cult following, and it’s likely we’ll see the same for Hachi Koi. Here’s a quick video clip that, while pretty safe for work, manages to still be just a little creepy, probably thanks to the music Eric Caoili added for the YouTube video.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Unsurprisingly, Hachi Koi is currently slated for release in Japan only, but interested importers can look for it next spring.

[Anoop via Tiny Cartridge]

If your response is also a resounding “what?”, then just wait–it gets better. “The time is right for the world of interactive entertainment to adapt this literary masterpiece, and to re-introduce Dante to an audience that, until now, may have been unfamiliar with the remarkable details of this great work of art,” said Jonathan Knight, executive producer for Dante’s Inferno. “It’s the perfect opportunity to fuse great gameplay with great story.”

Somehow, epic poems that form a cornerstone of classic literature need “third person action adventures” to serve as their introductions. It’s not at all a bad idea, guys, but please, roll back on the hubris. Y’know. For the (uneducated) children.

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EA’s teaser trailer is certainly evocative of Dante’s hell, but I’m gonna guess, from this footage, that the game will have considerably less fainting and fewer political overtones than the source material. EA  has not yet announced any consoles, release dates, or really anything other than the fact that the game exists.

[Dante's Inferno via 1UP]

The guys over at Borne Games have created this flattened version of the game (in partnership with EA), and it’s kind of reminiscent of classic Prince of Persia type of game when squished into just 2 dimensions. I suppose if there were some enemies in there, I’d think more Shinobi.

The keyboard controls are still a little wonky compared to a joystick, but it is only a Beta, so I’m sure it will improve.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

While the video above gives you a taste of what the game looks like, the best way to check it out is to head on over to the ME 2D web page and play it now. What are you waiting for?

[via The Awesomer]

Originally a one-of-a-kind guitar mod designed by a guy going by the name A4AJ, it’s now available as a (patent-pending) kit you can install on your own guitar.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The kit includes everything you need to swap out the plastic bar with a playable string, special strum switch, along with several metal strings, springs and even a Fender guitar pick. Yep, with this mod in place and the tension cranked up, you can play the guitar with a pick!

Keep in mind that the kit does not include the guitar or the wood backboard, and requires that you perform some fairly significant surgery (Dremel, drilling and soldering) on your stock Stratocaster — obviously voiding your warranty.

The kit works with the PS2, PS3 or Xbox 360 versions of the guitar and is currently up for auction on eBay with a starting bid of $75. At this point A4AJ hasn’t geared up production on the kit, so you’ll have to have the top bid if you want this one.

Inspired by the game Rainbow Six Vegas, the console is disguised as a casino tower in the midst of the Vegas Strip. If you squint really hard, it’s reminiscent of the design of the Wynn.

Illuminated with bright colorful LEDs, the PS3 serves as the backdrop for the Strip, which includes a tiny Eiffel Tower (Paris), a Pyramid (Luxor), little tiny people, and even a light up S.W.A.T. van to get you in the Rainbow Six mood.

Built by German casemodder Butterkneter, the Vegas PS3 was built for a special UbiSoft promotion.

[via PCGames Hardware X]

Inspired by the game’s handy Weighted Companion Cube, this pendant will accompany you through the test chamber of life. Please take care of it.

Brisbane Australia artist Heather Blacklock handcrafts these little cubes from Fimo polymer clay, and says they’re perfect on a necklace or on a keychain too.

After the Fimo is baked, there will be cake.

The rare item is currently available for bid over on eBay, but is located in the UK, so shipping a heavy brick across the pond might set you back a bit of coin. Just think if you had enough of these to build an entire house.

[via GameSniped]

Unlike many other EA titles, the team didn’t set out to make a big cross-platform game, rather something intended purely for Nintendo consoles. The first thing you’ll notice about MySims is the cartoony style of the characters. EA made a conscious choice to make them more exaggerated and expressive than the more realistic characters in prior Sims games. While they may look similar to Nintendo’s “Mii” avatars, they’re not interchangeable with one another.

Rather than controlling each individual resident of the town, you’ll control a single, central avatar that you create. There’s a tremendous amount of control over the details of your mini-doppelganger, from hair to skin color to clothing, to eyeglasses and other accessories. You can even adjust the tone and pitch of your character’s voice. You can change these attributes at any time, and once you become “friends” with other characters you can change their looks too. My favorite feature in the character editor has to be the randomizer, which produces some really funny and weird looking folks.

Besides your character, all of the other residents of the town are NPCs (non-player characters) who you try to befriend (or offend). You’ll interact through actions like being nice or mean to them, and offering them items for their homes. There are about 80 unique NPCs in the game, but since you can only have 27 live in your town at any given town you might not see them all at first. New NPCs show up at the town hotel, and you can invite them to stay if there’s room. Otherwise, you’ll have to kick out another resident to make room for the new character (which makes them very sad indeed).

At the core of the game is a concept called “essences”. These are the primary currency of MySims and influence everything in the world. Essences include “Cute”, “Geeky”, “Studious”, “Spooky”, “Tasty” and “Fun”. Each NPC has a couple of essences that they really like, and one that they don’t. So for instance, if you build a cute house for the “spooky” goth kid, you’ll make him upset. On the other hand, if you build him a haunted house, he’ll be your best friend. Essences also influence what kind of characters move to your town.

While the game is mostly an open sandbox for experimentation, there’s a simple narrative structure to the game, putting you in charge of a down-on-its-luck little town, with the goal to bring back its former glory. As the overall quality of life in your town improves, new characters move in, asking you to complete some RPG-esque side quests. Each quest asks you to build objects that meet certain design objectives, as well as to include certain essence-giving objects. The cool part is how the game leaves it up to your own imagination exactly how to meet those demands. You’ll do plenty of exploring to get the components needed to fulfill their demands, and this is where your creativity really comes into play.

In addition to the robust avatar editor, there’s a house-building tool and a object construction tool. All are easily controlled using the Wii-mote and Nunchuk, although you’ll probably be happier sitting down to build stuff as it requires some precision. You’ll use a variety of primitives to make your own crazy and artistic creations. The only real downside to the construction system is that you can’t share your creations online, which seems like an obvious omission to me, likely due to limitations in Nintendo’s current online capabilities. Regardless, if you have friends over, it’s great fun to create and share with them on screen then. We all sat around the monitor and had a good laugh as I made some absolutely hideous furnishings, and dressed my characters in gaudy baubles.

While I was only able to make some pretty simple homes and furnishings with my feeble skills, it’s clear that with patience and time, you can build insanely complex objects. As you move through the game, you earn more building blocks and decorative objects which let your creations become more complex. Think of the game like a giant set of LEGO blocks that gradually rewards you with new parts to play with.

Since this is the first truly family friendly Sims game, you won’t be able to set your residents on fire, let them die of starvation, or watch them have virtual sex. Sure, you can make them upset or make them act goofy, but they won’t be dropping dead on you. For those of you who want to torture your Sims, this game isn’t for you.

For those kinder of heart, MySims looks like it could be a really fun way to spend time creating. While on the surface, the game exudes cuteness, it’s actually quite deep, and it really was a blast to play.

MySims for the Wii ships on September 18th.