Pac-Man CE DX is utter insanity!

Not sure if you guys and girls have heard of Namco's most recent downloadable release, Pac-Man CE DX. If not, it's pretty freakin' incredible.

The game mixes up the format quite a bit; As Pac-Man passes sleeping ghosts, they awaken and follow him in a snake-like fashion. As you navigate through each grid, you'll collect pellets and fruit pieces to unlock new grid sections. Once your trail of ghosts gets long enough, gobble up a power pellet and each the entire row in one foul swoop.

The gameplay is insanely addictive, so much so I've been playing nonstop. The above video is my personal playtime, and current high-score. Can you do better? Let me know!

Microsoft launches Kinect for Xbox 360

Screw you controllers!

Microsoft has finally launched their controller-less motion sensor, dubbed Kinect. The $149.99 add-on is compatible with any Xbox 360 console, even those sleeker, slimmer models, and comes bundled with casual favorite Kinect Adventures.

Are you picking one up today?

Sonic Free Riders launching with Kinect in November

Those excited to get their body's on Microsoft's magical Kinect sensor will only have to wait until November 4th. But what new game will be your free motion debut?

Sega is bringing Sonic Free Riders to Xbox 360 on Kinect's launch day. Take a look at the newest trailer, and be prepared to sweat.

Obama, Bush and Palin join NBA JAM roster

The NBA Jam series has never been a stranger to hosting celebrity players mingling with the game's impressive list of NBA talent. Since the Jam franchise hasn't seen a release this decade, EA Sports knew they needed to add some current newsworthy heavy hitters to the mix.

The company has announced a whopping list containing just some of the special celebrity and political figures featured in the game; George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, John McCain, Sarah Palin, The Beastie Boys.

Not a bad list, eh? Discover all these and many more in NBA Jam, on sale today for Wii and later this holiday for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Vooks

Sonic 4: Mad Gear Zone trailer

SEGA is revealing more and more of the ever-alluring retro goodness that is Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The game, set for a staggered console release starting October 11th on WiiWare, is looking better and better by the day.

Check out the latest gameplay trailer, featuring the game's Mad Gear Zone. No relation to the Mad Gear of Final Fight fame. Enjoy!

Halo: Reach Review

Great Halo Game or Greatest Halo Game?

Let’s cut to the chase. Halo: Reach is the quintessential Halo experience. Bold statement? Yes. But here’s why.

Reach is the swan song for franchise helmer Bungie Studios. While Microsoft plans on churning out more Halo titles in the future, the creators of Master Chief are stepping away from the Halo universe to pursue other adventures. That said, it’s evident that the Bungie staff put every ounce of their heart and soul into Reach.

Starting with the campaign mode, Halo: Reach is the most cavalier spirited Halo title since the original. Players control Noble 6, the aptly named 6th member of the Spartan Noble team. Noble Team has been charged with carrying out high-risk ops on Planet Reach, the last remaining human stronghold against the Covenant forces.

And from the get-go, it’s evident the planet of Reach is in trouble.

This Spartan eats trouble for breakfast. With soy milk.

As Noble 6, you go through a total of ten missions with the rest of Noble Team. These stages include everything you’d expect in a Halo game: epic battles, close quarters firefights, intense vehicle sequences. Plus crazy fun new additions like space combat, and new weapon loadouts like jet packs and holograms leave you feeling like a brand new Spartan.

Speaking of Spartans… In the original Halo, Master Chief is seemingly the last of his kind. Not so in Reach. Each mission pairs you up with one or more members of Noble Team, breathing some camaraderie into what has generally been a lone wolf franchise.

And for the most part it works. By the end of the game I was generally concerned about my squad members. Small talks in between skirmishes reflect on characters’ pasts and the sacrifices of each person really add some oomph to the narrative.

All the while the story reminds the player in a truly grand fashion that the planet itself is at stake as well as all of humanity. In a word, epic.

Nobles 6 and 2 looking their best. Tim Gunn would be pleased.

Not only does Halo: Reach have an epic new story, but the look of the game is better than ever. Bungie gave the Halo-verse a graphics overall to produce some of the most stunning backdrops to ever grace an FPS. Cascading mountains, lush valleys, all beautiful to behold despite the constant onslaught of enemy fire.

I touched on the new weapon loadouts earlier, but let’s elaborate. Loadouts include sprinting, drop shields, armor lockups (temporary invulnerability), and yes… jetpacks and holograms. The names pretty much explain it all but trust me when I say Halo + Jetpacks = win. And strategically sending out a holographic clone of your Spartan to draw enemy fire opens up all kinds of doors for combat tacticians.

But all of these amazing campaign features don’t have to be experienced alone. Up to four people can play through the campaign together and the difficulty scales with each added player. Halo: Reach is arguably the most difficult Halo title to take on solo, so expect a strenuous trek with four people.

There’s also that whole online Matchmaking thing. It’s back and it’s awesome. Hop into games with other players to take down foul-mouthed eleven year olds or build stages from scratch in The Forge to throw down in with your friends. Sign up with the Halo Waypoint community service and you can link your accolades from Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Wars to your Reach account.

And every last detail of online matches can be tweaked in a startling number of ways, ensuring that players have all the creative control they could wish for. Throw in fresh weekly challenges and Matchmaking is the gift that keeps on giving.

"I'm the king of everything!"

For those seeking the ultimate challenge, Bungie has put some polish on the Firefight mode introduced in ODST. Simply take on continuous waves of enemies under a constantly scaling difficulty for as long as you can. Simple in theory, but only the most hardcore of Halo fans will be able to obtain the “1,000,000 Points in Firefight” achievement. Break out the Mountain Dew and black tar heroine, that’s gonna take a while.

It should also be noted that doing anything in Halo: Reach earns players credits which they can spend on armor pieces. You can buy everything from helmets to grenade laced fanny packs and make your Spartan as unique as you. There are a ton of armor additions to buy and it will take a hefty commitment to "catch 'em all." These cosmetic changes carry over into cut scenes and of course online play.

The Game 9/10
So what we’ve got here is a decade in the making labor of love. An epic story of survival and sacrifice, improvements to critically praised gameplay, and an online legacy coveted by its competition. Again, Halo: Reach is the quintessential Halo experience.

The Time 9/10
Checkpoints are abundant in Reach’s campaign allowing you to pick up where you left off versus starting a level from scratch on a new play session. The campaign’s ten stages can easily be knocked out in a weekend, but the online matchmaking is where you’ll get your money’s worth.

The Verdict
If you’ve ever taken part in Master Chief’s adventures, I cannot stress to you enough the delight of going into combat with Noble 6 and the brave souls of Noble Team. A love letter to its fans, Halo: Reach is the most enthralling chapter in Bungie’s book.

Tokyo Game Show 2010 brings big gaming announcements

This year's Tokyo Game Show is wrapping up, but the convention brought with it quite a bit of mega-sized video game news. Here's a run down of the big announcements:

-Capcom announces Devil May Cry reboot, simply dubbed DmC.
-Team Ninja announces Ninja Gaiden 3, as well as Ni-Oh.
 -EA shows off new horror action title Shadows of the Damned.
-Dead Rising: Case West announces as Xbox 360 exclusive epilogue.
-EA displays new My Garden video game for the Nintendo 3DS.
-Steel Battalion coming to Xbox 360 as a Kinect shooter.
-Grasshopper Manufacture readying bloody action title "Codename D" for Kinect

Are you excited about any of these big announcements?

Mega Man Meets Little Big Planet

The only thing cooler than retro Mega Man goodness is creating your own retro Mega Man goodness. Capcom has shed some more light on the gameplay features of Mega Man Universe and it has been revealed that character customization and stage creation will be a big part of the experience.

Creating your own Mega Man isn't just about the cosmetics. As you play through the game you will collect different parts to use that not only change Mega Man's physical appearance, but his abilities as well. This opens a world (or universe) of ways to play through the game, but won't this feature be wasted on having only a set number of stages? Hrmmm...


Enter stage creation. As you can see in the screenshots below, when in stage creation a grid of squares covers the screen allowing you to place tiles in each square. These tiles can be walls, ladders, enemies, obstacles... whatever your 8-bit heart desires.

Will all of this creative power be as deep as Little Big Planet? Doubtfully. Will it be everything a Mega Man fan could ask for? We hope so. Check back soon for more news on the expanding Mega Man Universe.

Inafune's Mega Man Universe

No time for talking! Click the video above to watch Mega Man creator Inafune-san talk about his latest creation, Mega Man Universe.

Note that Inafune rocks the Abercrombie & Fitch.

Sonic Adventure Hits XBLA September 15th

Microsoft's Major Nelson is always a cheery bloke for confirming things in the world of Xbox. And his latest list of release dates should have Dreamcast fanboys dizzy with ecstasy (the emotion, not the drug... or maybe both). Sonic Adventure will be released on the XBLA September 15th for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

News of Dreamcast titles coming to XBLA and PSN has been in high circulation lately but this is the official start of the Dreamcast revival! The last (and short lived) console to come out of the Sega camp has a die-hard fan following that fell in love with its quirky, ambitious, and charming titles.

So what other Dreamcast games can we expect in the near future? The only two specifically referenced in prior reports were Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi, the prior being the only one set in stone for release. But we DC fanatics can hope all day long to see games like Seaman, Jet Grind Radio, PowerStone, Chu-Chu Rocket, and Shenmue (f#ck you haters!) in the near future.

A montage of why my high school GPA suffered.

Regardless, of what does and doesn't happen, one thing is for sure... on September 15th, we're gonna party like it's 9/9/99!

Fallout: New Vegas achievements leaked

Gearing up for an October launch, Bethesda's upcoming Fallout: New Vegas is sure to be another promising entry in the series of post-apocalyptic survival titles. But what would a modern next gen software title be without a roaring list of skill-defining achievements?

A list of 50 achievements with mission titles has appeared on Xbox 360 Achievements. Take a look below, and get ready for action:

-New Kid – Reach 10th Level (10g)
-Up and Comer – Reach 20th Level (20g)
-The Boss – Reach 30th Level (30g)
-Ol’ Buddy Ol’ Pal – Recruit any companion (10g)
-The Whole Gang’s Here – Recruit all companions (25g)
-Crafty – Craft 20 items (15g)
-Mod Machine – Install 20 weapon mods (15g)
-Walker of the Mojave – Discover 50 locations (10g)
-Master of the Mojave – Discover 125 locations (10g)
-Globe Trotter – Discover all snow globes (25g)
-You Run Barter Town – Sell 10,000 caps worth of goods (15g)
-Blast Mastery – Cause 10,000 damage with energy weapons (15g)
-Love the Bomb – Cause 10,000 damage with explosives (15g)
-Lead Dealer – Cause 10,000 damage with guns (15g)
-No Tumber Fumbler – Pick 25 locks (15g)
-New Vegas Samurai – Cause 10,000 damage with melee weapons (15g)
-Stim-ply Amazing – Heal 10,000 points of damage with stimpaks (15g)
-Desert Survivalist – Heal 10,000 points of damage with food (15g)
-Old-Tyme Brawler – Cause 10,000 damage with unarmed weapons (15g)
-Jury Rigger – Repair 30 items (15g)
-Hack the Mojave – Hack 25 terminals (15g)
-Artful Pocketer – Pick 50 pockets (15g)
-Outstanding Orator – Make 50 speech challenges (15g)
-Know When to Fold Them – Win 3 games of Caravan (10g)
-One Armed Bandit – Play 10 spins of Slots (10g)
-Little Wheel – Play 10 spins of Roulette (10g)
-Double Down – Play 10 hands of Blackjack (10g)
-Caravan Master – Win 30 games of Caravan (30g)
-The Courier Who Broke the Bank – Get banned from all the Strip’s casinos (30g)
-Hardcore – Play the game from start to finish in Hardcore mode (100g)
-Ain’t That a Kick in the Head – Completed Ain’t That a Kick in the Head (10g)
-They Went That-a-Way – Complete They Went That-a-Way (25g)
-Ring-a-Ding-Ding – Complete Ring-a-Ding-Ding (25g)
-The House Always Wins – Complete The House Always Wins (30g)
-For the Republic – Complete for the Republic (30g)
-Render Unto Caesar – Complete Render Unto Caesar (30g)
-Wild Card – Complete Wild Card (30g)
-All for Nothing – Complete All for Nothing (15g)
-Veni, Vedi, Vici – Complete Veni, Vedi, Vici (15g)
-Eureka! – Complete Eureka! (15g)
-No Gods, No Masters – Complete No Gods, No Masters (15g)
-Come Fly With Me – Complete Come Fly With Me (20g)
-Talent Pool – Complete Talent Pool (20g)
-Return to Sender – Complete Return to Sender (20g)
-Arizona Killer – Complete Arizona Killer (20g)
-You’ll Know It When It Happens – Complete You’ll Know It When It Happens (20g)
-G.I. Blues – Complete G.I. Blues (20g)
-That Lucky Old Sun – Complete That Lucky Old Sun (20g)
-Volare! – Complete Volare! (20g)
-The Legend of the Star – Complete The Legend of the Star (20g)

The Tanooki

DJ Hero 2 Tracklist Revealed!

I hope you like scrolling through long lists because Activision has released a doozy of a tracklist for DJ Hero 2. Releasing this October, DJ Hero 2 features artists from Afrika Bambaataa to Young Jeezy and all walks between. Real heavy hitters include Kanye West, Lady Gaga, and (brace yeself) Metallica.

Ready for that prior mentioned scrolling? Check out the full setlist below:

2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman - "California Love Remix"

50 Cent - "In Da Club"

Adamski - "Killer"

Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force - "Planet Rock"

Armand Van Helden - "I Want Your Soul"

A-Trak - "Say Whoa"

B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars - "Nothin' On You"

Basement Jaxx - "Where's Your Head At"

BlakRoc feat. Pharoahe Monch & RZA - "Dollaz & Sense"

Busta Rhymes - "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See"

Calvin Harris - "I'm Not Alone"

Chamillionaire - "Ridin'"

Chic - "Good Times"

Chic - "Le Freak"

Clinton Sparks, DJ Class, & Jermaine Dupri - "Favorite DJ"

Daft Punk - "Human After All"

Damian Marley - "Welcome To Jamrock"

David Guetta & Chris Willis - "Love Is Gone"

David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi - "Memories"

David Guetta vs. The Egg - "Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)"

Deadmau5 - "Ghosts N Stuff"

Deadmau5 & Kaskade - "I Remember"

Deee-Lite - "Groove Is In The Heart"

Dillinja and Skibadee - "Twist 'Em Out"

Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden - "Bonkers"

DJ Qbert - "Super Battle Breaks"

DJ Shadow - "Midnight In A Perfect World"

DJ Shadow feat. Q-Tip and Lateef The Truth Speaker - "Enuff (DJ Fresh Remix)"

Donna Summer - "Bad Girls"

Edwin Starr - "War"

Eminem - "Not Afraid"

Estelle feat. Kanye West - "American Boy"

Flo Rida - "Low"

Flo Rida feat. Will.I.Am - "In The Ayer"

Gorillaz feat. Mos Def & Bobby Womack - "Stylo"

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five feat. Melle Mel & Duke Bootee - "The Message"

Harold Faltermeyer - "Axel F"

House Of Pain - "Jump Around"

Iyaz - "Replay"

Janet Jackson - "Nasty"

Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."

Justice - "Waters Of Nazareth"

Kanye West - "Heartless"

Kanye West - "Love Lockdown"

Kaskade & Deadmau5 - "Move For Me"

Kelis - "Acapella (David Guetta Extended Mix)"

Kool & The Gang - "Jungle Boogie"

Lady Gaga - "Lovegame"

Lady Gaga - "Bad Romance"

Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis - "Just Dance"

Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz feat. Ying Yang Twins - "Get Low"

Lil' Wayne - "Go DJ"

Lil' Wayne feat. Static Major - "Lollipop"

LL Cool J - "I Can't Live Without My Radio"

M.I.A. - "Galang"

M|A|R|R|S - "Pump Up The Volume"

Major Lazer feat. VYBZ Kartel - "Pon De Floor"

Malcolm McLaren - "Buffalo Gals"

Metallica - "The Day That Never Comes"

Missy Elliott - "Get Ur Freak On"

MSTRKRFT feat. N.O.R.E. - "Bounce"

Nas feat. Keri Hilson - "Hero"

Naughty By Nature - "O.P.P."

Nelly - "Hot In Herre"

New Boyz - "You're A Jerk"

New Order - "Blue Monday"

Newcleus - "Jam On It"

Nightcrawlers - "Push The Feeling On (MK Mix 95)"

Orbital - "The Box"

Pirate Soundsystem - "Bashy Bashy"

Pitbull - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)"

Pussycat Dolls feat. Busta Rhymes - "Don't Cha"

Rihanna - "Pon De Replay"

Rihanna - "Rude Boy"

Robin S - "Show Me Love (Stonebridge Radio Edit)"

Salt N Pepa - "Push It"

Sam Cooke - "Chain Gang"

Sam Sparro - "B&G" a/k/a "Black & Gold"

Sean Paul - "Infiltrate"

Sean Paul - "Get Busy"

Snoop Dogg - "Who Am I (What's My Name)?"

Snow - "Informer"

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em - "Crank That (Soulja Boy)"

Sparfunk & D-Code - "Apocalypse"

Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"

Talib Kweli - "Get By"

The Chemical Brothers - "Leave Home"

The Chemical Brothers feat. Q-Tip - "Galvanize"

The Crystal Method - "Busy Child (Still Busy After All These Years Remix)"

The Jackson 5 - "ABC"

The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Mase & Diddy - "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems"

The Prodigy - "Omen"

The Prodigy - "Firestarter"

Tiesto - "Speed Rail"

Tiesto & Sneaky Sound System - "I Will Be Here"

Tiesto vs Diplo - "Come On"

Tiga - "You Gonna Want Me"

Timbaland feat. Drake - "Say Something"

Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. - "The Way I Are"

Tweet feat. Missy Elliott - "Oops (Oh My)"

Walter Murphy - "A Fifth Of Beethoven"

Warren G feat. Nate Dogg - "Regulate"

Wayne Smith - "Under Mi Sleng Teng"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix )"

Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West - "Put On"

1UP

Even more Marvel vs. Capcom 3 footage!

Just when you thought you saw all the Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds gameplay footage that you'd see for one night, I come in and give you more!

Enjoy several minutes of Viewtiful Joe, Iron Man, Thor and more battle it out as universes collide. You're very welcome.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 fresh gameplay trailer

The battle continues in Spring 2011 as Marvel and Capcom unite once again. And by unite, I mean kick the living crap out of each other. The latest gameplay trailer for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds shows some fan favorites battling it out for supremacy.

You've got Chun-Li, Viewtiful Joe, Doctor Doom and more! What more could you ask for? Check it out above, and make sure you watch it in HD. It's that much more glorious.

Capcom USA/Europe's New President

Video game developer and publisher Capcom has an outstanding legacy in gaming's history. These are the people behind series like MegaMan, Street Fighter, and Devil May Cry (just to name a few). In hopes of continuing their legacy of greatness, Capcom has elected Kazuhiko Abe as president of their USA and European divisions.

Abe joined the Capcom family in 2003 as their General Manager of Management Planning and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Capcom Japan in 2006. As President of Capcom USA and Capcom Europe, Abe will be responsible for overseeing operations between the two offices to ensure efficient international operations.

“Abe-san has proven to be an invaluable asset to Capcom,” said Kenzo Tsujimoto, chairman and chief executive officer of Capcom Co., Ltd. “His experience of over seven years with Capcom can only benefit the operations in North America and Europe and strengthen the relationships between the Japanese and Pan-Western territories.”

In video game land Capcom is kind of a big deal and for them to have so much faith in Abe is, well, a big deal. So here's to hoping Abe can bring Capcom to the top of their game!

Capcom

College Humor: Reverse sexism on Xbox Live

Gaming girls have it pretty tough. A simple game of Call of Duty on Xbox Live can turn into an avalanche of sexist jokes and innuendo thrown their way.

The guys (and girls) over at College Humor decided to turn the tables on the typical male chauvinist. Take a look in the video above to see the girls finally pwn the guys.

CH

The Tanooki's Review - Nyko's Charge Base 360

Despite the monumental technological advancements that gaming consoles have been through over the past few decades, wireless gaming controllers are still plagued by one major flaw; crappy, die-quick AA batteries. They make me want to kick a baby.

Thankfully, peripheral maker Nyko has been pumping out chargers for all console controllers for quite some time. So how does their Charge Base 360 for the Xbox 360 stack up?

The Charge Base 360 features dual ports for two 360 controllers to rest comfortably within the charging station. Equipped with a standard AC power cord instead of USB cable, your controllers will charge faster, and you’re free to connect your charger to any accessible wall outlet. In order to charge, you’ll have to pop off the original Xbox 360 battery packs, swapping them for the rechargeable battery packs bundled with the charger. Once assembled, you’re ready to charge those rapidly dying controllers. Just drop them into each port and you’re all set.

Continue reading...

New level and game details for Sonic the Hedgehog 4

SEGA and developer Dimps have been hard at work on breathing old life into the struggling Sonic the Hedgehog series. By going back to the game's original roots of 2D sidescroller, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 has its sights set on redeeming the blue hedgehog's place in present day gaming history.

As part of the re-birth of Sonic, SEGA has been releasing new tidbits about the upcoming downloadable adventure. Today, the company gave a peak at the new Lost Labyrinth level set in a dark, dungeoness setting.

SEGA also confirmed that some other big announcements are planned for the next few weeks, so stick around.
SEGA

Street Fighter: Hoff vs. Hoff Edition

If the recent Comedy Central roast of David Hasselhoff wasn't proof of the Baywatch star's growing popularity, I don't know what is! Mr. Michael Knight himself is seen in the above artwork, created by Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono, in a character selection screen from a Hasselhoff infused Street Fighter IV.

I think I could get behind this game. Except instead of Hoff vs. Hoff, I'd like a collection of his different characters battling it out. It would be a mulit-million seller.
Kotaku

Microsoft Announces Avatars 2.0

Our beloved bobblehead Xbox avatars will receive a visual update to coincide with the release of Microsoft's Kinect peripheral this fall.

The news broke straight from the lips of Rare's Senior Programmer Nick Burton, "The proportions will be made more realistic because hand-eye co-ordination broke when using the old cartoony proportions - not in terms of hardware but rather, player perception."

Makes sense. Rare (the developer of Donkey Kong Country and GoldenEye) more or less lead the charge in implementing avatars at Microsoft. So if these guys say changes are a comin', changes are a comin'. Look forward to "Avatars 2.0" closer to the release of Kinect.

OXM