DVR Alert! - Discovery presents "Rise of the Video Game"

When I'm not busy reading about video games, or writing about video games, or discussing the merits of video games, I like to watch stuff about video games. That's where The Discovery Channel comes in. Beginning November 21, they will be airing a five part series on the "Rise of the Video Game"


I enjoy the Discovery Channel, and this will be a unique chance to see my favorite subject covered on their airwaves. The first episode in the five-hour long mini-series, which delves into the game industry's history and its significant contributors, airs Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 8PM, with subsequent episodes every Wednesday until it is done. On Discovery I've seen a whale rise, a space shuttle rise, a sunrise and the Earth's temperature rise. Now I get to see the 'Video Game' rise. Sweet!!

Review - Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

I've been blowing stuff up in Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction on the PS3 for the better part of the past three days and now I am ready to share my thoughts on the game with you. Is the series getting stale? Is it worthy of a PS3 exclusive? Most importantly, will it give those not yet invested in this generation of consoles a reason to go out and buy a Sony console that just happens to play Blu-Ray movies?

My first thought when starting the game was that I found it to be more graphically impressive than I expected. Yes, I know it's a Playstation 3 game, but what little I had seen of it in commercials and online hadn't left me drooling or anything. The lighting and particle effects are excellent, and with a ton of objects on screen at once, the frame rate rarely dips, and never enough to be any kind of hindrance to game play.

The cut scenes are truly laugh-out-loud funny. The writing is top notch; worthy of anything Pixar has put out in theaters.

The game's fundamental game play mechanic is using outlandish weapons to destroy all the little (and large) minions on your way to a boss battle at the end of each level. Certain weapons are only effective against specific foes, and learning the combinations is the difference between being an apocalyptic warrior or a grease spot. There are some puzzles thrown in for good measure as well as some mini games, ranging from a "hacking" game similar to the one found in Bioshock, only instead of using tubes filled with water, R&CFTOD has you moving a metallic ball on a motherboard to make electrical connections. The most notable mini games involve rail grinding while avoiding obstacles and enemies and some flying ones that actually play out as semi boss battles themselves. There is usually a pattern to be learned for each boss, and once you've gotten it down, beating them is fairly simply.

In fact, simplicity is probably my only real gripe with the game. Most of your weapons are so grossly over-powered that defeating even the toughest bosses is child's play. That's not all bad as it keeps the story moving forward and gives you the opportunity to view another hilarious cut scene.

All in all, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has been a pleasure to play and an excellent diversion from the darker and more "adult themed" games I often play, such as Call of Duty 4 and the like.

I highly recommend it for anyone who owns a PS3, and for those that don't, it's not a bad reason to get one!

Guitar Hero III Wii only outputs sound in Mono

Guitar Hero III is not exactly off to a rousing start. At release, Activision shipped out the game with no offline co-op quickplay mode. That issue was resolved on the Xbox 360 version (sorry PS3/Wii owners) with a quick patch, but now a few attentive Wii shredders have noticed another thing they left out - several channels of sound.

Despite the advertised Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound support, several Wii owners have noticed the game's sound only comes through the center channel in monaural audio. That's right, it doesn't even output sound in stereo. Activision is looking into the problem, but they said in regards to a potential fix, "the time frame is still unknown." Until a fix is devised, just pretend you're Robert Johnson jamming in the pre-stereo days of the early blues. Think of it as an added feature.

Tesco sells Xbox 360 bundles for £33.24 - D'oh!!

Someone over at UK retailer Tesco is likely out of a job today. Apparently, a mistake on the company's online store had an Xbox 360 bundle normally priced at £340 GBP selling for just over 33 pounds sterling. The listing was up long enough for a number of customers to cheerfully order the 21st century system at a 19th century price.

Sky News reports that once the payment is accepted, Trading Standards rules in the UK state that the retailer must comply and deliver the product. Numerous payments were accepted for the drastically-reduced Xbox 360 bundle, which also includes Forza Motorsport 2 and Viva Piñata. One enterprising consumer successfully ordered 39 consoles, although no orders have yet been delivered.

Despite the rules set forth by Trading Standards, Tesco's site maintains that they do not have to conform to erroneously-marked prices unless they fail to contact before shipment. Considering the potential profit for the person ordering 39 consoles, it will be interesting to see if a lawsuit arises if Tesco does not honor the orders.

Assassin's Creed earns 9.5 from Game Informer

Assassin's Creed is one of the biggest releases in a holiday season full of huge releases. The game's visuals have been widely praised since it was first revealed to the public more than a year ago. The game has been publicly embarrassed by a few glitches along the way though, so a review of the final product has been eagerly anticipated by yours truly.

Game Informer is the first to provide a non-exclusive verdict, and it is a resounding 9.5 out of 10. The graphics do indeed impress, and apparently the controls are simply fantastic. The reviewer notes, "you’ll wander a huge open world – three massive cities and the connecting countryside. It’s a strange mix of meticulous historical recreation and totally open level design. Climbing and leaping can get you to almost any place in the world – usually by any number of different paths. Hero Altaïr is as much ninja as medieval warrior as he goes about the grim business of hunting down evil men who are oppressing the people of the Holy Land. Rarely has a character without superpowers or magic been quite so powerful and exciting to vicariously inhabit, whether he’s perching on a high tower of the Acre Cathedral or countering the blows of a Templar knight." He does not mention whether one version looks better than another, and considering the remarkable sameness of Call of Duty 4 on both the PS3 and 360, I doubt there is any noticeable difference.

I will give you my own take next week after I've had the game in my hands for a few days.

Xbox 360 outsold PS3 in Japan Last Week

The end is nigh! Repent! Duck and cover! Pucker up and kiss your...ok, you get it. If the numbers from gamesindustry.biz are correct, the apocalypse is surely at hand. According to their report, the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in Japan last week, sparked by Namco Bandai's Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, which debuted at #2 behind Super Mario Galaxy, which sold nearly as many copies as the rest of the top ten combined.

The PS3 sold 17,434 units compared to Xbox 360's 17,673. Yes, it is a tiny difference of only 200 units, but considering Microsoft's well documented difficulties breaking into the Japanese market, it is huge news for them. The dramatic increase in sales for the 360 represents a nearly five-fold upswing from the previous week when only 3,718 units were sold. What will happen with Call of Duty 4 releasing this week? Oh yeah, they will probably ignore it.

Spike TV's Video Game Awards Gets Real

The Spike TV Video Game Awards 2007 (VGA's) nominees were announced today. Before you scoff, you should know Spike has brought some serious legitimacy to the show this year by employing a who's who advisory board of respected game writers and editors. The board's more well-known members include Andy McNamara of Game Informer Magazine, Chris Grant from Joystiq, Geoff Keighley, host of GameTrailers' "The Bonus Round", Gamespot's Jeff Gerstman, and Dan "Shoe" Hsu of 1up. My invitation must have been misplaced by my local postal carrier. Oh well, at least they got it (mostly) right. Apparently someone told the shows' producers that nothing screams "noob!" like having Madden nominated for GOTY, as was the case in past years.

As far as this year's list goes -- BioShock, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, and Halo 3, all of which will undoubtedly be on GOTY ballots around the globe, made it of course. However, some lesser known and/or unexpected titles are being recognized as well, including Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, Puzzle Quest: Challenge the Warlords, and Portal.

Take Two Settles Hot Coffee Lawsuit - $35 for the "Offended and Upset"

Take-Two, the parent company of Rockstar Games, has announced the settlement of all consumer class action lawsuits pending in the United States" related to the infamous GTA: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" mod. Take-Two has committed at least $1.025 million on the settlement, and by the terms of the agreement, their total costs are capped at no more than $2.75 million.

If you feel you were burned by Take-Two's "hot coffee" incident (sorry), you can get satisfaction if you are willing to jump through some hoops. OK, a lot of hoops. If you swear that you bought a copy of GTA: SA before July 20, 2005, further swear that you were "offended and upset" by the existence of the Hot Coffee mod, and further swear that you wouldn't have bought the game if you had known about it, and also swear that you would have returned the software if you "thought this possible," you may be entitled to exchange your tainted disc for a brand new disc devoid of any beverage mods, hot or otherwise.

If a new disc doesn't do it for you, you may be able to receive a cash payment of $35 provided you can supply a valid proof of purchase and jump through some more hoops. Good luck with that! Now, can we all move on please? OK, good.

Call of Duty 4 Review - Best Shooter to Date!

I've been playing Call of Duty 4 for the better part of the past two days, and I can tell you, it is one amazing game. Infinity Ward has returned the series to it's rightful position of genre defining leader.

Taking the risk to move the series' setting out of WWII and into modern day has proven to be a brilliant decision. The modern weapons and settings combined with the modern graphics and hard-hitting story telling make this a showcase for what shooters can be when they are designed by the most talented game makers in the world. Multiplayer is just as good as, if not better than, the campaign. Tons of game play variants and the excellent "perks" system give the online play a depth and exhilaration factor of the highest order.

For a full review of the game, check out this full length write-up from IGN. In the meantime, take my word for it...if you own a PS3, Xbox 360 or decent gaming PC, go buy Call of Duty 4 right now! I promise you won't be disappointed.

Xbox 360 Family Timer

Xbox 360 is great, and I spend a lot of time on mine. I also spend a lot of time on my other consoles too, so don't get riled up! But for kids, too much time spent gaming can be a bad thing, especially if it interferes with school work, or developing those all important social skills, like actually holding a conversation.

Microsoft recognizes the potential for game addiction and will offer a "family timer" feature beginning sometime in December, just in time for those all-important Holiday sales. Set a daily or weekly time limit for your kids Xbox 360 play, attach a password to it, and viola!, you're machine will automatically shut down when the time limit is reached. We assume you will be prompted to save your game before the console unceremoniously goes dark, although there is no confirmation of this yet.

Microsoft has been trying to soften their image as it relates to kids and gaming for some time, but I suspect this particular feature came straight down from daddy Bill Gates himself.