Curtain closes on Guitar Hero; genre next?
The world’s largest video game publisher pulled the plug on “Guitar Hero” on Wednesday. What happened?… Read More »
What I played this week (May 30-June 5)
“Super Mario Galaxy 2″ continued to rule my life this week, but I found time for a few other games, too.… Read More »
What to play this weekend (June 4-6)
This week’s high-profile new releases, “Alpha Protocol” and “Backbreaker,” have been getting mixed reviews, so we’re gonna switch things up a little and go with a great game that just got a price drop, two games that got downloadable content and a couple of downloadable games.… Read More »
What to play this weekend (April 2-4)
There’s not much in the way of compelling new games this week, but a handful of existing titles got compelling downloadable content.… Read More »
Warming up to Green Day: Rock Band [update]
While I’m still skeptical that there’s enough demand out there for a $60 “Rock Band” game devoted exclusively to Green Day, I’m a little less so after watching a few of the folks from Harmonix Music Systems play the game on stage during Wednesday night’s “Rock Band” party on the sidelines of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The crew played through a setlist of five songs (a medley of “Brain Stew” and “Jaded,” plus “Hitchin’ a Ride,” “Wake… Read More »
What you should have been playing this weekend (March 5-7)
“Battlefield: Bad Company 2″ (rated M, $60 on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, $50 on PC): Like its closest competitor, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” this game features a single-player campaign but is really all about the online multiplayer. The main things this game offers over its rival are dedicated server support for the PC and the ability to use party chat on Xbox Live. “Modern Warfare 2″ disabled the latter feature in the interest of discouraging cheating, but… Read More »
What to play this weekend (Feb. 12-14)
“BioShock 2″ (rated M, $60 on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, $50 on PC): You’ll return to the underwater, Art Deco-influenced city of Rapture in the sequel to my favorite game of 2007. I’ve deliberately been avoiding reading too much about it, so I’ll keep this preview nice and short. Early reviews have been generally favorable, and this game packs an online multiplayer mode the original title lacked. “Dante’s Inferno” (rated M, $60 on Xbox 360 or PS3): Loosely based… Read More »
What to play this weekend (Feb. 5-7)
The new “Star Trek” MMO is the lone major release, but you can pick up “‘Splosion Man” on the cheap on Xbox Live. If you’re a PC gamer who hasn’t played the first “BioShock” yet, a couple of sites are giving away the original if you preorder the sequel.… Read More »
Getting the most out of your gift cards
Soon, it’ll be Christmas morning, or less than a week after the end of Hanukkah, and you’ll have a stack of gift cards. Rather than burning a huge percentage of your haul on a $50 or $60 game like “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” or “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” you might want to make your gift card last. Most of us are scrimping and saving where we can, and why buy one or two brand new, blockbuster games… Read More »
Hoping for an Umloud! repeat
Normally, I wouldn’t post about an event I attended more than a week ago, but when the event is for a good cause, I’ll make an exception. Just before I took some time off of work, my wife and I attended the Ümloud! fundraiser in San Francisco. Held Dec. 9, the event let donors team up and play “Rock Band 2″ on a real stage, in front of a real cheering audience. The money donated by the bands, plus donations… Read More »