Gekobot

Videogame comics of the week 1st Edition

2011-04-10T17:13:00.001-05:00

Are you having a good Sunday(or Monday)? let me make it even better with these funny videogame comics hand-picked by me, please visit the links below each comic to learn more about each artist and their work!

Penny Acade http://www.penny-arcade.com/

Virtual Shackles http://www.virtualshackles.com

Another Videogame Comic http://www.digitalpimponline.com/

Dueling Analogs http://www.duelinganalogs.com/

CAD http://www.cad-comic.com/sillies/

The Dueling Analogs comic reminds me of my Your Nintendo 3DS Is Not A Door article that I wrote back in February, good stuff.

So, dear reader, which comic do you like the most?

Twisted Metal gets a release date and gameplay trailer

2011-04-08T10:19:00.000-05:00

Developer Eat Sleep Play (nice name!) just released a new trailer for their PS3 exclusive Vehicle Combat game, Twisted Metal.

Twisted Metal is the eighth installment in the series of the same name, the game will focus heavily on multiplayer combat, including various online game modes with up to 4 player split-screen, and up to 16-players online. It is the longest-running PlayStation exclusive franchise with a total of 15 years running from 1995 to present. Here is a nice overview of the franchise from Wikipedia:

Twisted Metal is a demolition derby that permits the usage of ballistic projectiles, machine guns, mines, and other types of weapons (up to and including satellite-based weapons and nuclear weapons). Players choose a vehicle, and an arena—or a series of arenas in the story mode—to engage in battle with opposing drivers. A variety of weapons and upgrades are obtainable by pick-ups scattered throughout the stage. The last driver alive is the winner.

The game will debut on October 4th, 2011 exclusively for the Playstation 3. Awesome trailer.

NMA reviews the recent Nintendo 3DS controversy

2011-04-07T00:53:00.001-05:00

The guys from Next Media Animation are at it again, I'm sure you've heard of them before...

They are the guys behind the funny CGI-animated videos you see all over the web. (I posted one over a month ago, Japan's new Spy Agency).

This time the Taiwanese team used their resources to analyze the recent Nintendo 3DS controversy.

If you didn't know, a tabloid in the UK (The Sun) claimed that Nintendo's new console "has left thousands with dizziness and headaches, after just 24 hours ", causing them to return their consoles for full refunds. Unfortunately for them, Nintendo answered their claim saying that returns were only "in single figures per retailer."

So now you know the story, watch NMA's funny version of these events.

And another amazing Portal 2 trailer is released

2011-04-06T00:12:00.001-05:00

Portal 2 will be here in less than 2 weeks, and Valve is working hard to promote their amazing first-person action/puzzle video game.

Sure, when I post these things I give them free publicity but it makes me so happy to see a Video Game Company produce these high quality trailers. It seems like they really care about their franchises, unlike other gaming companies.

So, what are you waiting for? hit play and watch Aperture Science CEO Cave Johnson try to sell you a Turret Gun for your house!

FU Capcom

NGP May Be Delayed by Disaster, 2012 release date?

2011-04-05T01:20:00.003-05:00

This isn't good. According to Jack Tretton, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, production disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last month may delay the release of the PSP 2, also known as NGP.

Jack told Bloomberg in an interview that several Sony factories in Northern Japan have been damaged because of the disaster, he also mentioned a shortage of parts from suppliers around the whole country. According to Tretton:

"It may be the straw that says ‘maybe we get to just one market by the end of the year."

So that pretty much means Japan will see the NGP before the year 2011 ends, and Europe, America and other parts of the World will see it in 2012. A full year after the 3DS launch.

Trying to see this in a positive way, this means Game developers get more time to polish their games, we all know what happened to the 3DS launch lineup. Those games feel too rushed.

Source: Bloomberg

Video Game Composers unite to help Japan

2011-04-04T00:45:00.000-05:00

In a letter posted on the Play For Japan website, Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka announced that he is working on a benefit album to help the tsunami survivors.

"Play For Japan: The Album" will feature many top video game musicians from the East and West. The album will debut in May 2011 in the iTunes Store. These are the confirmed participants to date:

Akira Yamaoka (Shadows of the Damned, Silent Hill series)
Woody Jackson (Red Dead Redemption)
Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, SOCOM 4, The Walking Dead)
Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Luminous Arc, Xenoblade)
Nobuo Uematsu (Blue Dragon, Final Fantasy series, Lost Odyssey)

Please check out the Play For Japan website, they have lots of video game auctions (all the money goes to charity, they have raised over $70000 USD so far!)

And this is the letter posted by Akira Yamaoka.

(What a great man, he is even selling the guitar he used to compose the Silent Hill music on eBay. LINK.)

Source: Play For Japan website

Capcom cancels Mega Man Universe

2011-04-02T14:42:00.000-05:00

Capcom has cancelled development on Mega Man Universe due to "various circumstances". The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 title had been in development since March 2010 with a scheduled release date of Spring 2011.

This is the message posted on the Official Website announcing the sad news.

Mega Man Universe was an upcoming 2.5D action platformer game in the Mega Man series being developed by Capcom. This PSN/Xbox Live game promised to let players create and share characters and stages online.

Check out this trailer and screenshots of a game we will never get to play.

I guess Capcom is only interested in making 10 million ports of Street Fighter IV (SF4:Arcade, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, iOS. Super SF4:Arcade, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS and probably NGP) and recycling Resident Evil mini-games. Reminds me of a certain evil corporation.

Capcom reveals new Resident Evil game

2011-03-31T01:44:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, Capcom officially revealed Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City. Today, the first teaser trailer was released.

RE:ORC (nice acronym) will be a third person shooter set between the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3. This is the plot according to Joystiq.com

The Umbrella Corp. sends a team (you and up to three friends) to eradicate any evidence of its involvement with the events of Resident Evil 2 in a squad-based shooter developed by Capcom and Vancouver's Slant 6 (SOCOM: Confrontation). There will also be competitive multiplayer, pitting Umbrella against the U.S. Government (which wants to uncover what Umbrella's hiding) -- and both groups must also contend with undead hordes.

ORC is coming to the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year, probably Winter 2011!

Don't mind the HUGE logo in the video.

Source: Joystiq and Capcom's Official Youtube.

Nintendo 3DS breaks one day sales record

2011-03-31T01:20:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, Nintendo released their new portable console: the Nintendo 3DS. Today they made it official...the little guy is a hit. Did anyone think this handheld was going to fail?

Despite the $250 price tag, the Japanese company announced that:

"US day-one sales numbers for Nintendo 3DS were the highest of any Nintendo handheld system in our history."

No numbers yet, but I'm guessing part of the success was because of the amazing pre-order deals offered by retailers like K-Mart or Amazon (not Gamestop).

I know I ordered mine from Amazon, couldn't resist the free $25 gift card and accessory!

Do you have a 3DS already? check out Nyko's Power Pack +. You get 6 hours of 3D playtime with full brightness and max sound (instead of the original 3 hours). Read the Ars Technica Review.

Source: PocketGamer

Microsoft looking to update the Xbox 360 disc format.

2011-03-30T01:07:00.001-05:00

Earlier today "Major Nelson" (aka. Larry Hryb, Director of Programming for Xbox Live) revealed a new Xbox 360 System Update Preview program.

According to a post on his official blog, they are looking for US-based participants for a public preview to help them prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format.

I am happy to announce that we’re doing an Xbox 360 System Update Preview program for our next release, and the opportunity to sign up is now available. We are conducting an open call for US based participants* for a public preview to help us prepare for an updated Xbox 360 disc format.

This is an important update as we continually strive to improve our products and we could not do so without the help of our great Xbox community. As part of the preview program, you will receive a copy of Halo: Reach along with other possible rewards.

Apparently they are looking for multiple thousands of participants, so you have a nice change to get in. If you want to participate you can follow THIS LINK.(Free game!)

What does this mean? is Xbox getting blu-ray discs? probably not since that will require new hardware. Maybe just a new anti-piracy thing, we'll have to wait and see.

Valve releases another amazing Portal 2 trailer

2011-03-29T01:07:00.004-05:00

I guess one amazing trailer isn't enough.

"Humans can not be trusted", that's what Aperture Science's CEO Cave Johnson claims, and I'm going to have to agree with him. So if you can't trust humans, who can you trust? I think I've said enough, enjoy the video.

Top Quality!

In case you're wondering, Portal 2 will come with a single player campaign (where you play as Chell, the girl from the first game) and a co-operative campaign (where you control the robots).

Portal 2 is, of course, the sequel to...Portal, the release is only 3 weeks away.

Release Dates:

-NA April 19th,2011.

-AUS April 21th, 2011.

-EU April 22th, 2011.

Amazon Appstore for Android lets you try before you buy

2011-03-28T02:50:00.002-05:00

Last Tuesday Amazon.com launched their own Appstore for Android phone users. The Appstore for Android hopes to attract costumers with their "A paid app for free, Every day" promotion, a 3800 applications catalog and app recommendations based on past purchases, all this while being backed by Amazon's trusted payment technology.

I checked it out and it looks great, no one offers a better shopping experience than Amazon. You can read the app description, technical details, ratings, costumers reviews and even discussion forums.

There is also a very BIG feature people have missed, it's called "Test Drive". Clicking the "TEST DRIVE NOW" (check the image above) will launch an Android Phone emulator that will let you run the application for up to 30 minutes in your web browser, to let you decide if you want to buy it or not. I tested it and the technology used by Amazon is incredible, here is the official description:

Clicking the “Test drive now” button launches a copy of this app on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), a web service that provides on-demand compute capacity in the cloud for developers. When you click on the simulated phone using your mouse, we send those inputs over the Internet to the app running on Amazon EC2 — just like your mobile device would send a finger tap to the app. Our servers then send the video and audio output from the app back to your computer. All this happens in real time, allowing you to explore the features of the app as if it were running on your mobile device.

Sadly,the Appstore and the Test Drive feature is currently available to US costumers only. (I had to use a VPN to get access). Check out these screen caps I took.

Playing Bomberman Dojo, you get 30 minutes to test the application. You control the phone using your mouse, keyboard input is currently not supported.

Competition is a good thing, and Amazon is doing a great job with the new Appstore for Android. Apple and Google could learn a thing or two from the largest online retailer in the World.

The Nintendo 3DS invades North America (and the rest of the World too)

2011-03-27T02:46:00.001-05:00

After waiting for more than a year(it was revealed on March 23rd 2010) the Nintendo 3DS is finally here!

Now available worldwide, the Nintendo 3DS promises 3D effects without the need of special glasses, this portable console succeeds the Nintendo DS series of handhelds (while featuring backwards compatibility with the old games).

It is available in two colors: Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black. Looking to buy one? Check out my previous article about Nintendo 3DS deals here.

If you are like me and pre-ordered the 3DS from Amazon, you will have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to receive your package. It sucks but their deals are too good and I couldn't resist ordering one from them!

So while we wait, lets check out some interesting info and videos about the 3DS.

Buy extra batteries or charging cradles from Nintendo's Official Store.

It's nice of them to have these things up for sale already. Here is a full list of 3DS related things you can buy (US and Canada only sadly).

3DS AC Adapter for $9.95
3DS Battery Cover Kit for $7.00
3DS Battery Pack for $15.00
3DS Charging Cradle for $4.00
3DS Game Card Cases for $1.00 or 5 for $4.00
3DS 2GB SD Memory Card for $11.00
3DS Stylus for $3.75
Downloadable versions of AR cards included with the 3DS here.

Here is a small guide to access the Store (since their page is a mess).

1. Go to http://store.nintendo.com

2. Click "Parts & Accesories, Manuals".

3. Click the "Nintendo 3DS" icon.

4. Click the "Parts & Accesories" tab.

Also, if you (somehow) already lost your 3DS Games' Manuals you can buy the original Nintendogs + Cats, Steel Diver and Pilotwings Resort manuals for $1.75.

3DS Launch Related Videos

Ridge Racer Launch Trailer

Cute British Girl Unboxing a Blue 3DS (don't blame me it's the first unboxing video I found :P)

The Nintendo 3DS is almost here, check out these nice deals.

2011-03-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

The 3DS is almost here (tomorrow), it already launched in Europe with great success. More than 140,000 people preordered the system in the UK and some analysts suggest the 3DS could achieve sales of 200,000 consoles this weekend.

In the US things are looking almost as good. According to Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian (citing Nintendo's own data), regional preorders for the Nintendo 3DS are nearly twice what the Wii saw at a similar point.

Retailers all over the US are competing for your business, are you going to buy a Nintendo 3DS? who will you choose? Check out the current deals:

Gekobot's Top 5 Nintendo 3DS Deals
1. Kmart	Buy a 3DS and get a $25 discount on any 3DS Launch Game. Walk in and buy your system.
2. Amazon	Pre-order gets you a $25 credit towards the purchase of a Launch 3DS Game. Delivered to you next week. You also get a promotional credit to get a select 3DS accessory (couple of cases) free of charge. You will have to pay shipping though. Both credits will be applied to your account after your system ships.
3. Target	Free $5.00 gift card with your preorder.
4. Walmart	Buying a 3DS gets you a free Flex Case.
5. Gamestop	~~You get +2500 Powerup points, in-store only~~ (don't even bother). Just go to Kmart this Sunday.

And the games:

Gekobot's Top 3 Nintendo 3DS Game Deals
1. Toys R Us	Buy a 3DS game, get a 50% discount on your second game. (aka. 2 games for $60 plus tax)
2. Amazon	Buying any 3DS game will give you $10 credit towards the purchase of a second Launch 3DS Game.
3. Walmart	Buy Super Street Fighter IV or Super Monkey Ball and get a free $10 gift card. Use it to buy cookies!

So if you want your Nintendo 3DS as soon as possible, the best choice would be Kmart, but if you can wait an extra week you can preorder from Amazon, you get free shipping and no tax. You will also receive a $25 credit that you can use to buy your first 3DS game for 14.99 (39.99 - 25.00).

The Android Robot makes me jealous of Android users

2011-03-25T01:22:00.000-05:00

Android users get to play N64 games on their phones, even PlayStation 1 games. Am I jealous? oh yes I am, and watching this incredible Android Robot Dance makes things worse.

The following video was taken in Taiwan, at a Sony Xperia Arc stand. There isn't much I can say, other than: Google's Android Robot is the coolest mascot in the world.

Check out the video, fascinating isn't it? It's hard to believe there is actually a person inside the costume.

For the slowpokes: This green robot is the official mascot of the Android Operating System, this OS was developed by Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance, currently used in lots of smartphones worldwide.

Hacker gets 2 years in prison after stealing chips from a Facebook Poker Game

2011-03-24T02:02:00.000-05:00

Last month, 29 year old Ashley Mitchell (a former council accounts clerk) plead guilty to stealing $12 million worth of "Zynga Poker" chips in a Court in England. And now, according to The Guardian, the hacker has been jailed for two years.

Mitchell hacked into the developer's servers between June 30 and September 7, 2009, using Zynga employee identities. The guy stole 400 billion virtual chips, then started selling them through auctions for around $695 per billion chips. Apparently he only sold a third of the chips.

According to the Defense attorney, Ben Darby, the British Hacker did this to fuel his gambling addiction. He also claimed the valuation was meaningless, since Zynga could create as much virtual currency as they wanted. Sadly, the judge didn't agree with the Defense.

This is what the Judge Phillip Wassall had to say before giving his sentence:

"You deprived Zynga of income, It is quite clear you used a considerable degree of expertise and persistence to hack into the system. It is a considerable aggravating feature that someone hacks into systems in this way when so much business and personal finance is done using electronic means."

"The sentence has to reflect the impact on public confidence in security systems and online business when someone breaches security in this way."

Still, the sentence seems too harsh.

Source: The Guardian

This fan-made live action Mario trailer is the best I've ever seen

2011-03-23T01:38:00.000-05:00

Do you enjoy watching live action videos about your favorite games? Then you're going to enjoy this.

The following Mario trailer was shown recently at this year's South by Southwest. SXSW is a set of film, interactive and music festivals and conferences that take place every spring in Austin, Texas.

This incredible trailer (directed by Joe Nicolosi) takes an "indie spin" on the Mario Bros series, damn it got me so excited...too bad we'll never see it made...because...you know, copyright infringement.

I won't spoil anything for you. Enjoy the video.

Visit the director's website here.

Japanese Pokemon Gamer Asks for Your Help

2011-03-21T15:09:00.000-05:00

This gets me sad, the message you see above was attached to a Japanese Ditto obtained by an American gamer last week using the Global Trade Station.

The Global Trade Station is a place where a player can exchange a wanted Pokemon to another player worldwide. The game also lets you write letters and attach them to your monsters before trading them, you have a few phrases you can combine into simple sentences. According to the guy's personal blog (sorry I couldn't find your name) this is what happened:

So I got a Japanese Ditto off the global trade station in Pokemon to find it was holding mail. At first I thought it was just gibberish then I quickly realized he was talking about whats going on in Japan with the earthquake and what not. DONT WORRY JAPAN. YOUR HERO IS ON HIS WAY.

This is what a Ditto looks like.

Our Japanese brothers are really going through a difficult time right now, if you haven't donated, please consider helping them out. Here are a few ways you can help.

-If you're American you can donate to the American Red Cross. Donate Here!

-Donate to the Mercy Corps, they are delivering emergency supplies to families evacuated from homes in the tsunami-devastated city of Kesennuma. Donate Here!

-Visit Google's Crisis Response website. Using their page you can donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross Society, International Medical Corps, Unicef and The Save the Children Organization.Donate Here!

Thank you for your time.

Source: aworkingclasshero

Minecraft getting Pet Wolves

2011-03-19T22:46:00.000-05:00

Sandbox building video game Minecraft keeps getting better and better. A new video uploaded by Jens Bergensten (one of the guys behind this game) revealed a new feature that is coming soon. Pet Wolves!

The video was uploaded yesterday and shows a work in progress of Wolves, there are no sound effects yet, but you can still see some awesome things. Look at how they shake the water off! It's going to be fun having your own army of wolves.

Valve really wants you to preorder Portal 2

2011-03-18T01:52:00.000-05:00

Have you forgotten? Portal 2 is coming to PC/Mac, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 next month. Hoping to attract more preorders, Valve Corporation (the guys behind this game) has released the following TV Spot. Check it out.

There are a couple of preorder offers right now, here is a quick recap:

-Ordering from Amazon.com gets you a $5 discount. Console versions will cost $54.99 and PC/Mac $44.99. I recommend the PC version of Portal 2.

-Ordering from Steam gets you a $5 discount and a free digital download copy of Portal 1. Price: $44.99. Game is a digital download (around 8GB).

-Ordering from Gamestop gets you a $5 discount. $54.99 consoles / $44.99 PC/Mac, plus some "Custom skins for Atlus and P-body, exlcusive for co-op play"

Release Dates:

-NA April 19th,2011.

-AUS April 21th, 2011.

-EU April 22th, 2011.

Protect your Steam Account with Steam Guard

2011-03-17T01:46:00.001-05:00

Launched as a beta a couple of weeks ago during the Game Developers Conference, Valve has now officially released its Steam Guard feature for all users of its Steam PC game download client.

This new feature is designed to give users of Steam an extra level of protection and preventing their accounts from being stolen or used by others. According to Valve's website:

With Steam Guard enabled, anyone attempting to login as you from an unrecognized computer or browser must first provide additional, one-time authorization. A special access code will be sent to your contact email address, and this code must be entered into Steam before your first login on an unfamiliar computer is complete.

You will also be notified if any login attempts from computers other than those you've authorized occur. Steam Guard essentially acts as a form of "User Rights Management," where you as the user have greater control over access to your stuff.

To use enable Steam Guard, you just need to update Steam to the latest version, then make sure you have a verified email associated with your account, then just restart Steam.

Sounds amazing doesn't it?, just make sure you have an email account with a strong password.

Head to the Official Website for more info.

Batman Arkham City gameplay trailer revealed

2011-03-16T01:04:00.000-05:00

A new trailer for Batman: Arkham City was released today, B:AC is the upcoming sequel to action-adventure game Batman: Arkham Asylum, based on DC Comics' Batman for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

The first game was released in 2009 with huge success, getting high score from reviewers and selling millions of copies, it was apparently a great game (I didn't get to play it). The story in Batman: Arkham City takes place around 1 year after the events of the first game, here is a nice gameplay description from Wikipedia:

The player controls Batman, making his way around Arkham City to complete mission objectives. In addition to the primary mission, the game introduces secondary missions featuring a number of key characters and their stories.

The player can opt to move silently, avoiding inmates and other enemies using a combination of gadgets and to sneak up on enemies to take them down silently, using new tactics to surprise the enemy. At other times, Batman may be forced to fight through inmates using an improved version of the combat system from Arkham Asylum.

Expect lots of Batman villians: Joker, Two-Face, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Talia al Ghul (voiced by the gorgeous girl from Castle: Stana Katic). Batman: Arkham City is currently scheduled to be released the week of October 18, 2011 everywhere!

This Prototype 2 trailer is beautiful

2011-03-14T22:53:00.000-05:00

Coming in 2012, Prototype 2 is an open-world action game developed by Radical Entertainment for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

The story of Prototype 2 follows Sergeant James Heller, who is tasked with destroying the main character from the first game, Alex Mercer. Sounds fun.

Check out the new trailer released today by publisher Activision!

Inside a Super Nintendo

2011-03-13T16:30:00.000-05:00

Designed by Masayuki Uemura, the guy behind the original Famicom, the Super Famicom was released in Japan on Wednesday, November 21, 1990 for ¥25,000 (about US$210). It was an instant success.

Nintendo's initial shipment of 300,000 units sold out within hours, and the resulting social disturbance led the Japanese government to ask video game manufacturers to schedule future console releases on weekends. (The Nintendo 3DS is being released on a Sunday, hah!).

Who doesn't remember playing all those amazing games on the SNES? Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario RPG, Star Fox, Chrono Trigger, Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat, Mega Man X, Super Mario Kart, Super Metroid, etc.

Over 784 games were released in the US and Europe, and around 1400 in Japan (holy!) during the SNES era (1991 to 1996). Great times.

Would you like to see what's inside this wonderful little machine? check out the Super Famicom Teardown posted at the Akihabara News Blog.

You can find the full gallery here.

Nintendo teases new content for Ocarina of Time 3DS

2011-03-12T19:01:00.002-06:00

I like this, it seems that the upcoming 3DS remake of N64 classic Zelda: Ocarina of Time will be more than just a "port".

In the latest edition of "Iwata Asks" (which consists of Nintendo President Satoru Iwata interviewing game developers and talking about games) the big boss made the announcement during an interview with Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto.

"Of course, the Nintendo 3DS version of Ocarina of Time is crammed with interesting things that weren't in the Nintendo 64 version," he teased, "but we'll wait to talk about those."

We already know that the 3DS version will be bundled in with the "Master Quest", a remix of the original game that gives the dungeons different puzzles. But apparently there will be more content than that!

So I guess we'll just have to wait a month or two to figure out what we are getting when we buy OoT 3D in June.

Source: Iwata Asks