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I’ll be guest bartending at the Denver Press Club tonight.

I talked the bar into letting me hook up Guitar Hero 2 to their television and brought along a collection of guitars and my PS2, so if you’re up for it swing by. Also expect all one of your Denver Kotaku readers to make an appearance. I’m talking to you Handles!

It will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Dave Thomas from BuzzCut and the Denver Post said he would be showing up as well. Oh, also you can yell at me about my choice for best games of the year. I know Dave plans to. (He picked Wii Bowling as the best game of the year, never mind it’s really not a game… Wii Sports is.)

Denver Press Club [Denver Press Club]

Filed under: PC, Portable, Business

Is Dell looking to take on the DS and PSP in the portable console front? Not likely, but it sounds like they might have found another option.

Dell’s Global Gaming Chief Abizar Vakharia, at a European Innovation event in Marbella, Spain, was quoted as saying “you know, [a future gaming handheld is] definitely one that’s on the radar screen, but we have no plans to talk about anything today.”

Dell has shown great interest in touting itself as the premier hardware for PC gaming, even buying game-centric hardware company Alienware. Will Dell make a portable PC with a size similar to PSP? Probably, and they’ll probably market its “awesome graphics and gaming capabilities.” But it doesn’t sound like that hardware will surface anytime soon, assuming it passes the prototype stage. We’ll still lament the plethora of garbage-ware that they’ll fill the device with.

[Via Engadget]

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Filed under: Nintendo DS, Puzzle

If Dr. Kawashima can do it, so can Will Shortz. The New York Times crossword puzzle editor is poised to become the next DS icon when Majesco releases The New York Times Crosswords, a collection of 1,000 wordplay puzzles for Nintendo’s handheld. Well, that’s if developer Budcat decides to pixelize Shortz.

Even without another goading head, Crosswords has the makings of a DS crossover hit — you know, popular with the old folks — with its proper usage of the touch-screen (allowing wordsmiths to scribble in answers or use an on-screen keyboard), progressive difficulty modes, and head-to-head wireless battles … yeah, we said battles!

The New York Times Crosswords ships this spring. Wurd.

[Via 4 color rebellion]

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Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2, Action, Adventure

GameBump spotted this Shadow of the Colossus appearance in a trailer for the upcoming Adam Sandler drama Reign Over Me, which also stars Don Cheadle. So does Fumito Ueda’s wonderful PlayStation 2 epic play a significant role in the plot? Probably not. Still, that a major Hollywood production would opt to use a game that is not easily recognizable to a mainstream audience is significant enough.

Unfortunately, the cameo, as framed by the trailer, is pinned to the old stereotype that when guys get to playing video games they neglect more important obligations (okay, sometimes we do), but the usage of Shadow of the Colossus also ties into an overarching maturation of the games industry; one that is forcing mainstream perception to shifts its view and embrace the critical impact games have on many adult lives. Nice work, Mr. Binder.

[Thanks, Aaron]

Continue reading Shadow of the Colossus cameo in new Sandler, Cheadle flick

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Woke up this morning and poked about on Xbox Live to discover that the demo for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 is up and ready for download. Since mine was busy downloading when I was torn from my 360 by my vile day job, I hit up Major Nelson’s blog to see how the commentors were liking the 625 MB single player demo. Reading through the comments, seems like most love it and want more, while some hate it and think it’s just more of the same. Of course people who comment on game blogs are hardly considered sane, much less a reliable source for information (*ducks*), so download the demo and see for yourself. Michael Fahey

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Demo [Major Nelson’s Blog]

Hey, look! Uwe Boll is here to shit in our eyes again with his latest offering, Postal. The movie looks so bad that it could actually be watchable. Save for that part with fat chick sex or the part with Dave Foley’s penis. Those we could do without. Brian Ashcraft

New Postal Trailer [The Last Boss]

Filed under: Hacks

Critically bashed, critic-bashing and chronically inept filmmaker, Uwe Boll, has once again edited together a sequence of disparate and decidedly amateurish sequences into something loosely resembling a movie. No doubt risking some sort of infection, the folks at 1UP have embedded a NSFW and NSFH (Not Safe for Humanity) trailer of his latest videogame adaptation, Postal, into one of their pages. They’re certainly a brave lot.

Powered by Z-grade star power and disturbing nudity, the trailer boldly declares the film’s intention to be the most disgusting and most offensive piece of celluloid known to man.

So, just the usual Boll film then.

[Thanks, Jonah]

Watch — Postal Trailers (yes, plural)

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Majesco announced today that The New York Times Crosswords, a game that will feature, wait for it, the New York Times Crosswords. Clever title, huh?

The game, which ships this spring, will feature more than 1,000 crossword puzzles and the ability to handwrite in answers with the stylus. It will also include several modes such as Puzzle Me Quick, Puzzle Week and Challenge Mode. Finally, the game will have some coop and competitive two-player modes.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it will support any sort of ability to update with new puzzles. That would kick ass. Imagine a NYT Crossword game that actually updated with the current, in-paper, puzzles. Oh, well. We all know that Nintendo and online just don’t like to mix. Brian Crecente

EDISON, N.J., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Crossword puzzle aficionados will soon have a new outlet as Majesco Entertainment Company (Nasdaq: COOL - News), an innovative provider of digital entertainment products and content, today announced The New York Times Crosswords for the Nintendo DS(TM). Developed by Budcat Creations, The New York Times Crosswords will challenge even the most savvy wordplay enthusiasts when it ships this spring.

“The challenging fun of The New York Times crossword puzzles combined with the stylus-based functionality of the Nintendo DS is a perfect pairing from our perspective,” said Ken Gold, vice president of Marketing, Majesco. “Handwriting recognition lends authenticity to gameplay while wireless multiplayer offers social players a means to enjoy the game with other fans on the go. The New York Times Crosswords really is the ultimate game for passionate crossword puzzle lovers.”

The New York Times Crosswords features more than 1,000 real crossword puzzles and the unique ability to write in answers with the stylus or use a Touch Screen keyboard to enter letters. Various modes of play include Puzzle Me Quick for a fast word fix; Puzzle Week for extended play with progressive difficulty; or Challenge mode with adjustable time and difficulty settings. In addition, the game includes both cooperative and competitive 2-player play so puzzle fanatics can work together or face off in wireless challenges.

For more information about Majesco’s exciting line of products please visit www.majescoentertainment.com.

So Microsoft is advertising on the back of PSM magazine, encroaching on enemy territory, as it were. Well that’s nothing compared to what is set to greet fans who purchase EA’s European UEFA Champions League Event football game for the Xbox 360 once it hits stores. Turns out one of the event’s major sponsors has a mighty big presence in the game.
As you can see from the screen (hit the link below for a larger image) this is a preview build of the game, but since the PlayStation 3 is a big sponsor of the event I doubt they would be taking it out for release. I suppose it will be odd seeing a PlayStation 3 ad appearing in a game that isn’t even scheduled for the PS3, but that’s just how the cookie crumbles in the magical land of licensing. Michael Fahey

PlayStation 3 advert appears in Xbox 360 game [360 Gamer via Xbox Scene - Thanks T.G.!]

This is all we know, but Japanese film studio Shochiku is making an animated Love and Berry. A blurb from the studio’s website:

Two 14 year old girls named LOVE and BERRY are trying to enter Magic school. Their task is to make a lonely girl, Yumi happy. They teach Yumi how to dance and have fun dressing up using their magic. Introduced in 2004 as a card game for girls, the popularity has expanded spinning off to books, music CD, dance DVD and other merchandising. Now comes a feature film of this popular franchise.

Yes, Sega will not stop until they have squeezed the last yen out of every girl under 12. Brian Ashcraft

Love and Berry Anime [Anime News Network]

A 22-year-old Ukrainian gamer, considered one of the top Lineage II players in Europe, stomped another gamer to death after the man tried to stop a fight between rival clan members, The Moscow Times reports.

Alexander “DVP” Ponamorenko has been arrested and charged with the beating death of Alexander “Sverkh” Blyoskin, 22, who was trying to break-up a fight between Ponamorenko and his online nemesis, known only as Shtai, a friend of Blyoskin, according to the Basmanny District Prosecutor’s Office.

The three were at a gathering of 20 to 30 Lineage II gamers at a cafe in central Moscow on Jan. 12 when the fight broke out.

Everybody in the room noticed how the expression on DVP’s face changed when he saw Shtai,” a witness and fellow gamer, identified only as Pavel, told Rossia television on Saturday.

Ponamorenko and Kirill took things outside, and after the two came to blows, Blyoskin, a student at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and a friend of Kirill’s, tried to calm Ponamorenko down, Tatarinova said.

Accounts differ as to what happened next. Some witnesses say Ponamorenko punched Blyoskin, who played Lineage II under the nickname “Sverkh,” and that the student fell and hit his head on the asphalt, Rossia television reported.

Tatarinova, however, said Ponamorenko stomped on Blyoskin’s head while he lay on the ground.

Blyoskin was taken to a local hospital where he died four days later. He was buried at Moscow’s Domodedovskoye cemetery on Jan. 19.

As one of my friend’s pointed out when I told him about this sad story: If it wasn’t a game gathering it would have been a soccer match or just everyday barroom brawl. Brian Crecente

Virtual Conflict Ends in Real Death [Moscow Times, via Koster]

As you may or may not know, many of Gawker’s other sites do public executions, ripping away a person’s commenting access publically while also shaming them with jibes about their family ancestory, currently living arrangements and, if necessary, their general appearance.

I’ve never been one to like such things. I love our readers and when, on that infrequent occasion, one of them happens to go astray by, for instance, posting “this isn’t news” or “I slept with your wife” I typically send out our silent but deadly brood of Ninja monkeys to dispatch them with speed and effeciency. Few, besides the poster, ever know what happened.

But today we have a special case. A spammer. A lackey. A sycophant. (Actually, I don’t even know what that means, but I like the sound of it.)

And for this one occasion we’ve decided to cage up the monkeys and bring out the pirates. Yes, it’s time for a someone to walk the plank… I considered dropping him off on the shores of IGN and sailing into the sun, but I’m not a cruel man.

For the crimes of:

Spamming Kotaku and really pissing off the readers, singing the praises of a really, really shitty game, not bothering to try and at least disguise his spam as something suitable for the stories he’s posting in, begging people to play Left Behind, pretending that Left Behind is anything but the bible-thumping creation of a bunch of Croatian sweat shop coders, being a ultra super douche lord

I sentence SJR to have his commenting tongue plucked from his screaming mouth and his still writhing body to be tossed from the side of the Goodship Kotaku.

May God have mercy on his soul.

Think they’re gonna make a Gears of War sequel? Think? Hmmm… I dunno. I mean, it’s only sold like three million copies, so… Epic’s Jeff Morris says:

If people want another I’m sure there’ll be another one but there are certainly no announcements… It’s funny because I think Gears started after a lot of people were a little fatigued working on UT [Unreal Tournament], and now they’re all probably making Gears for the rest of their lives, so the shoe has turned.

So, we don’t get one Gears of War sequel, but twenty? Hopefully by then, Marcus Fenix and company will figure out how to jump. Vaulting over stuff doesn’t count. Brian Ashcraft

Gears Sequels [Kikizo]

Now this is a developer diary. You’ve got flying helicopters, you’ve got a death valley-esque background, you’ve got strange Captain America references, and, yes, you’ve got shit blowing up. Brian Crecente

News reports say a 23-year-old man who robbed a Chicago games store and stole a PS3 was “hiding” in the store’s heating ducts when police found him.

I don’t buy it.

I smell a guy who has played waaaaaaay too much Splinter Cell, and thought he had the mad Sam Fisher skills to secretly shimmy his way silently out of the store using the heating ducts. Now, most of us know that heating (and air conditioning) ducts are rarely large enough to fit a person, let alone one shimmying with a not-small PS3. But not this guy.

And now our days are just that little bit funnier because of it. Luke Plunkett

Police: Man Hid In Heating Ducts After Game Store Robbery [NBC, via 1UP]

A console that looks like a grill needs one thing: Tasty sauce. Akihabara retailer Sangatsu Usagi is selling unofficial PLAYSTATION 3 sauce. (Actually, a sticker has been placed over Bulldog branded sauce.) The phony product lambasts Sony for recent goofs. It features an illustration of Ken Kutaragi, notice of the SIXAXIS Emmy fiasco and the promised one million shipment number. Below that it says, “However, The Source Was Sony.” There are even 20GB and 60GB versions of the sauce priced accordingly at 399 yen (marked down from 499 yen) and 599 yen (US $3.20 and $4.93). We always kinda thought the PS3 looked like a Victorian waffle iron, so do eagerly wait the mock-up syrup bottles. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Sauce [Akiba Blog]

Ubisoft announced that they’re spinning out a sequel to their air combat game Blazing Angels for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.

Blazing Angels Secret Missions is scheduled to hit this spring and looks like it will be move of the same of the fast-paced, dog-fighting heavy game. Some key features:

Living, Breathing World - Built on all-new, cutting-edge visual technology, the world of Secret Missions is more believable and involving than ever. Fly above hills and mountains, navigate through treacherous mountain passes and dogfight in the clouds with enemies. Take part in large-scale battles through various conditions: darkness, rain, snow, and air turbulence.

Diverse and Unusual Scenarios - Secret Missions takes players around the world, from Paris, Rome and Moscow to exotic locations like Rangoon and Cairo and the highest mountain ranges of the Himalayas. Each mission will bring its own surprises, twists and unique challenges.

Prototype Technology - Players will have access to some of the most advanced and unusual aircraft and weapons of WWII, as well as access to a huge assortment of weapons, including high-velocity cannons and early guided missiles.

Fast Paced Multiplayer Action - Multiplayer features free-for-all, co-op and squad-based play, including the brand new Capture the Flag and Epic Battle modes, the latter pitting two teams of players against each other in a large-scale battle with conquerable bases and objectives that can be destroyed in order to gain the upper hand on the opponent.

Hit the jump for the full release. Brian Crecente

UBISOFT’S BLAZING ANGELS® SECRET MISSIONS TAKES TO THE SKIES ON XBOX 360(TM) AND GAMES 4 WINDOWS®

*Screens are available for download at http://files.us.ubisoft.com/BASMannscreens.zip

SAN FRANCISCO — January 30, 2007 — Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that Blazing Angels® Secret Missions will launch on the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games 4 Windows®. Scheduled for a spring 2007 release, Blazing Angels® Secret Missions is the follow-up to the squadron-based flight combat game Blazing Angels® Squadrons of WWII.

Blazing Angels® Secret Missions shows World War II from a different perspective - that of an elite pilot who is part of a secret team. In the game, the player will undertake some of the most dangerous missions in exotic locations all over the globe. As an elite pilot, the player goes from one great adventure to another, while battling the most lethal experimental weapons of the Third Reich. The squad’s mission is to prevent the ultimate weapon from being built. To help players in this quest, they have at their disposal an assortment of highly experimental aircraft and weaponry. Blazing Angels® Secret Missions comes straight out of the history books of World War II’s most top secret projects.

Key features of Blazing Angels® Secret Missions include:

Living, Breathing World - Built on all-new, cutting-edge visual technology, the world of Secret Missions is more believable and involving than ever. Fly above hills and mountains, navigate through treacherous mountain passes and dogfight in the clouds with enemies. Take part in large-scale battles through various conditions: darkness, rain, snow, and air turbulence.

Diverse and Unusual Scenarios - Secret Missions takes players around the world, from Paris, Rome and Moscow to exotic locations like Rangoon and Cairo and the highest mountain ranges of the Himalayas. Each mission will bring its own surprises, twists and unique challenges.

Prototype Technology - Players will have access to some of the most advanced and unusual aircraft and weapons of WWII, as well as access to a huge assortment of weapons, including high-velocity cannons and early guided missiles.

Fast Paced Multiplayer Action - Multiplayer features free-for-all, co-op and squad-based play, including the brand new Capture the Flag and Epic Battle modes, the latter pitting two teams of players against each other in a large-scale battle with conquerable bases and objectives that can be destroyed in order to gain the upper hand on the opponent.

I know, I thought he was dead too. I know I’d have killed myself if I’d made Heart of Darkness (I kid, Eric, I…kid). But later faux pas aside, the guy did make Another World (cue THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE), and not only that went and released it for free on GBA, so he’s alright in my books.

As for what he’s been up to since HoD’s less-than-stellar reception, he says he’s been into playing Shenmue 2 and “travelling, painting, volcano photography and sound synthesis programming”. Which…well, actually sounds like a good way to spend a decade. Now, though, he says he’s working on a new game concept: what ever could it be?

The closest hint I can convey is it a strategy game but I can’t tell anything more for now

OK, Eric, I’m curious. But only if you can’t tell us anything because it’s so awesome our primitive, genre-bound minds just aren’t ready for it yet. Luke Plunkett

Another World’s Eric Chahi drops new game hints [Eurogamer]

Don’t remember this from when I was a kid (’cos I was looking elsewhere for jubblies), but apparently the Kid Icarus manual has mammaries. While the game doesn’t feature topless female monsters, page 38 of the booklet’s got ‘em. Big deal for family-friendly Nintendo? Nah. The character sports chicken feet and no arms, but does have nipples. And so do we all! Brian Ashcraft

Jubblies In Kid Icarus [Siliconera]

Filed under: Culture, Business

When he isn’t busy plotting the demise of numerous rival and lesser-known academies (like the Academy of Interactive Baguettes and Pumpernickels, of which BioWare is a member), the well-spoken Joseph Olin is orchestrating the annual Interactive Achievement awards. Each year, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences turns to its member panel of game developers and highlights what it believes to be the best games of the year.

With the AIAS awards show taking place on 8 February at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, we decided it was about time to quiz Mr. Olin about all things award-winning. In the second part of the post, you’ll find a lengthy interview touching on the recently announced award nominees, the selection process, non-human academy members, Capcom’s objections and of course, the act of mowing Joseph Olin down with a machine gun.

Continue reading Joystiq interviews Joseph Olin, president of the AIAS

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