Red Faction to get the Syfy treatment sadly

Red Faction and Red Faction II are games I enjoyed yet never beat. Haven’t played Red Faction: Guerrilla save for the demo, which was fun, but I’m sure I’d have a great time not beating that game as well. Pew pew pew, explosion, explosion, save, accidentally forget to play again. That’s my process, at least. I enjoy them for the slow-paced shooters they are, and blowing holes in walls is always a party.

That said, I’m a little concerned about this news: THQ signed a deal with the Syfy channel that will allow them to produce a two-hour, direct-to-television movie based on Red Faction, the first game in the series which was about space mining and a rebel uprising.

And more so this news: In addition, Syfy will be involved with the next Red Faction game in some capacity.

Eep.

As well all know, videogame-movie adaptions never work out well. Yes, I know, I own Street Fighter: The Movie on DVD, but hush. The adults are talking. And just because Red Faction has all the makings of a Saturday afternoon Syfy “film” (let’s use that word sparingly)–mining colonies, slaves, futuristic weapons, bad voice-acting–that doesn’t mean it should be made. Alas, I don’t get the Syfy Channel anymore so I won’t be able to tell you all how this monkey-made movie turns out…

LEGO Harry Potter Collector’s Edition to cast Avada Kedavra on your wallet

It seems that LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 is getting the royalty treatment of a collector’s edition, ramping the price up to $70 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Wii versions. This magical package will include the game disc, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a set of four House Crest LEGO magnets, and an exclusive Avatar item for those gaming on the Xbox 360. Yeah, I’m gonna go out on a limb and just say that for $20 more, it’s not worth it. The featurettes will surely be on the Interwebz in time, and then that really just leaves us with…magnets. Things you stick to your fridge’s door and forget about for months. I mean, c’mon. It’s a LEGO-themed game. Why not just give us some actual LEGOs to play with? We know you have ’em.

Right. So, what has two thumbs and just can’t get excited over magnets? THIS GUY.

Chances are that my Purchase of the Month for May 2010 will be LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, but most certainly not the CE. Not unless someone casts a Confundus charm on me…

Nintendo announces the Nintendo 3DS, and I am mad

No, no, no nonnononono NO!

That is my gut reaction to the news that Nintendo has announced the successor to its Nintendo DS system, and that it will be all about 3D gaming. I’m sure we all remember how well the Virtual Boy fared. Regardless, I’m more put off that there seems to be a…market for 3D gaming. I just can’t get its appeal. The portable platform will somehow offer 3D gaming without the need for 3D glasses, a first I think. However, I am and will always be more interested in games than gimmicks.

P.S. I blame Avatard for all of this.

Introducing PlayStation Move, Sony’s Downfall

Okay, maybe not its downfall, but really, a motion controller this late in development and then so shockingly close to that of Nintendo’s Wiimote and Nunchuk…well, I just can’t see the PlayStation Move being a huge hit. The system is full of adult-oriented games from Heavy Rain to Uncharted 2 to Metal Gear Solid 4. Rarely does a more kid-friendly game release itself unto the wild, but with this new controller will come a slew of Move-heavy entries. Whether they will be gimicky or fun is for many to decide later. There’s a reported price tag of $100 for the whole kit and caboodle, which probably has no one reaching for their wallets. Ultimately, Sony has a lot of ground to make up. Not sure if this is the right path. Guess you could say they really need to move it, huh?

Sorry ’bout that.

Happy 10th birthday, Playstation 2!

Sony released the Playstation 2 on March 4, 2000, in Japan. Thank the mighty stars they did. If they hadn’t, the North American release of the Playstation 2 on October 26, 2000, might never have happened. And then my life would be completely different.

See, I’m a part of the NES generation, but the first gaming system I ever sought out and bought on my own was the Playstation 2. I’d gotten its predecessor for Christmas some years back, and the fact that the latest system worked also as a DVD player and still ran PS1 games fine was all I needed to hear to have me shell out some hard-earned buckos. So I did, some time vaguely in 2002 or early 2003, and I picked up two games to keep me busy: Dark Cloud and Red Faction.

Both blew me away. I remember being extremely impressed building the town and dungeon crawling in Dark Cloud, as well as destroying entire walls in Red Faction. The system showed great promise early on, and my subscription to PSM only reminded me more of all the great games soon to come out.

The Playstation 2 was my college (and post-college) console. I supplied the videogaming fun for all my roommates, and too many fond memories strike me now: FIFA tournaments, learning together how to roll then jump in Jak and Daxter, borrowing Final Fantasy X from an upstairs neighbor and declaring it as “meh!” after 15 minutes, Grand Theft Auto III drinking games, and using the console as a comfort buddy during a relationship breakup (many collect-a-thons were completed during this era).

I only jumped into the latest generation of systems last April or so with an Xbox 360. That’s right. I’ve been playing my Playstation 2 (the same one, actually ::knocks on wood::) since I got it. About eight years. Same single memory card, too. There’s no reason not to play it. It’s a haven system, especially for RPG fans like myself, bloated with JRPGs and big-name ones like Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII.

With a humongous library, there are still games out for the Playstation 2 I’ve yet to experience. The latest Jak/Ratchet games, God of War II, Ico, and many more. Games are still being released for the system ten years later, which I think says a lot.

It’s a great console all-in-all. Always is, always will be.

DSi XL releasing for $190 on March 28

Nintendo announced today at its Media Summit that the North American release date for its newest (and largest) iteration of the DS, the DSi XL, will be released on March 28 for $189.99. That’s about twenty bucks more than the current DSi. I’m still rocking the DS Lite and feel no immediate tug on my heartstrings to need this version. To me, the point of the DS is that it is small, extremely portable (like front pocket portable).

But don’t worry about what I think. The system will sell fine, it always has. This one is especially locked in for pure gold with the older generation that just can’t squint hard enough at their grandchild’s tiny DS screen. Here, Pop-pop, have a super-sized game system! And don’t forget your meds!

I’m just really scared that developers are eventually going to stop making DS games and only sell DSi XL games, cutting off an entire slice of the market. I wouldn’t think they’d do that, but who knows these days. With portable gaming systems bigger than your head, anything is possible.

Alabama college shooting suspect also roleplayed

Last week, Amy Bishop Anderson, a University of Alabama biology professor, killed three faculty members. According to BostonHerald.com, she also enjoyed playing Dungeons & Dragons, that popular dice-and-paper game sponsored by Satan himself.

Y’know, it always depresses and bothers me to see games (both video and boardgames) as a blaming post for these sorts of acts; I mean, I bet this woman also liked eating a certain type of pizza and had a favorite movie she could watch over and over, but these have yet to be highlighted as driving forces for her horrific crimes. Because if they were, well, I’d like to think most people would go, “Um, that’s stupid.”

But Dungeons and Dragons has a lot of stereotypes. Basement dwellers, Cheeto-tinted fingers, bad skin, horrible social skills, the creation of new smells, intense fights over dragon loot, loneliness, and so on. Some might apply, a lot might not. I’ve met people throughout life that I would’ve never guessed played D&D, and to some extent think that some people have trouble believing that I play it, too.

I could really say a lot about murder and linking games to it because the topic, sadly, comes up all the time. The debates will never end, and there will always be those that strongly believe that Grand Theft Auto IV taught them how to hotwire the neighbor’s car and then run over a prositute. Not mental unstability, no. Yet I only have one point: it’s not about the game, it’s about the person.

Viva Fallout: New Vegas

Bethesda tweeted earlier today that Fallout: New Vegas will hit the cover of Official XBOX Magazine next month, revealing this sneak peek:

Mmm. That simple snapshot of the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign really warms the cockles of my heart. It’s much like the sensation I got upon stepping out of Vault 101 and seeing the ruined Washington Monument in the distance. Hurry on over, February 11!

First details about Fallout: New Vegas surface

There’s a great write-up of some information that will soon be revealed in the next issue of Game Informer pertaining to the rather mysterious Fallout: New Vegas over at That VideoGame Blog. It all sounds pretty legit though so I’m going to start getting excited this very second.

Fallout: New Vegas, from what was divulged, seems to be keeping in with some Fallout 3 traditions while also exploring new ways to tell a story via means like Dragon Age: Origins.

Looks like you’ll be playing as a number of different characters in the beginning, which would unlock specific perks. One such character would be a Crimson Dragoon on a mission to destroy the Hoover Dam who ultimately becomes a ghoul. Or you can go blank slate and be a Lone Wanderer type. Either way, with or without a moral system, this should up the replay value.

Also, it sounds like there will be much more strategy needed into distributing your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points. One of the silly things in Fallout 3 was the fact that you could get a 100 in every focus, or, if not 100, very high up there. I spent all my time focusing on laser weapons and lock-picking that once I filled them to capacity I just started completing other skills. Wasn’t hard to do at all. I’d like a tougher challenge, and this seems to be it.

The leaked details claim that the size of the Vegas wasteland will greatly dwarf the Capital wasteland, which now gives reason to having accessible vehicles. Would love to hop in a car and go cruising across the desert. That said…dwarfing the Capital wasteland? We’ll just have to wait and see.

And, as expected, there’ll be a bit of gambling going on. C’mon Lucky 7s…ka-ching! Wonder if bottle caps will still be the currency used in the West Coast or if traditional money will still play a part.

In summary, mmmmmmmm. I need this now!

I’m a Silver-Tongued, Glitch-Using Devil

I did not get to play many videogames over the weekend because, well, I was a little busy getting engaged. Didn’t even turn my Nintendo DS on once! How about that? Caaaaah-razy, I know.

But I did manage to make some more time last night for Fallout 3. Still trying to finish up some achievements and good karma-focused quests before I start over with a new, evil weasel of a character. After sneaking around for an hour and more or less getting nowhere (found one more bobblehead in Vault 108), I did the worst thing ever:

Cheated.

Well, took advantage of a glitch to be more specific. See, I was sitting at around 43 successful speech attempts, and you need 50 to unlock the following achievement:

Silver-Tongued Devil (20G): Won 50 Speech Challenges

Basically, if you go to Little Lamplight, there’s a kid sheriff there named Knock-Knock. Ask him to tell you a joke, use your intelligence to guess the answer, and then select the [Speech 100%] response. Rinse and repeat. You can do this as many times as you need to. Something, perhaps, Bethesda should have caught.

So I did it six more times until I heard that infamous ping, the very same ping that echoed in my head as I tried to sleep last night. It just doesn’t feel right, “achieving” what I did, but I was worried that I’d run out of proper speech options at this point, and I didn’t want to have my evildoer being all talky in my next playthrough. His/her speech success is most likely going to involve a rocket launcher to the face.

Not terribly proud of this, but I guess in the end it doesn’t matter.