Following the success of our Black Lantern Power Ring and Blackest Night #1 contest, the good people at Sidekick Comics have once again come through with another killer cross-promotion. This time, we’ll be giving away a complete set of Lantern Power Rings, pictured above. I have seen these rings in person and they’re of solid construction. They even have a nice metallic finish, which you can’t really tell from this cellphone photo that well.

We’re in the process of ironing out some of the details and will kick off the contest once all the prizing has been confirmed. Who knows, we might even have more cool stuff to throw in as prizing.

Today I added a new electronic instrument to my noisemaking collection: A reproduction Stylophone. The instrument was originally invented in 1968, and according to many online sources was even used by the likes of David Bowie and Kraftwerk. Cool stuff!

Tonight I dug out both my DS systems and jammed along on my Stylophone to preset beats from both handhelds. It sounded okay, but nowhere near good enough to share with the world yet. After I get more practice in on this thing, you can look forward to some lo-fi recordings released under my DJ Finish Him alias.

Sony is holding a contest, open to Canadians only, where the grand prize includes the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter Edition and the Brady Games Uncharted 2: Among Thieves strategy guide.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is an amazing game - but this prize made more amazing by the fact that the Fortune Hunter Edition is limited to 300 units. The contest requires you to solve a series of puzzles in order to be eligible - so hop to it! You have until November 23, 2009 to enter.

The Japanese site for Super Street Fighter IV shows that the game will have the car- and barrel-breaking bonus stages. When I reviewed Street Fighter IV, I said I hoped that DLC would allow for more Ultra Combos and for the bonus stage where you trash a luxury automobile – and in a weird way, I’m getting that wish.

This photo is made of win and is full of amazing geek points. Kat’s busy mixing what appears to be a Jesse “The Body” Ventura album from an Ion turntable to her computer. She also gets bonus points for the Gary Numan, David Bowie, The Beatles, and Prince albums (even if she’s pandering directly to me). Check out that Geordie LaForge character mug! I have one just like it, only it’s a Boba Fett mug. I guess that’s really not quite the same thing, is it?

Kat’s entry also reminds me that girls read this site. This makes me a little nervous.

Have you entered the contest yet? Your face could be right here! Better yet, you might actually win!

This design, for sale on a T-shirt at Threadless, depicts a refreshing take on the Invaders from Space Invaders. Designer Jean Salamin’s use of the iconic, blocky characters we know and love as shadows of actual ships is pretty damn clever. The shirt’s only $18, so get one while you still can.

via TheBBPS.com

When I meet up with Michael Todd, he’s quick to point out his rough, overgrown beard. “I’ve been crunch timing for two weeks,” he says. Besides working on his upcoming game, Broken Brothers Deluxe, he also recently delivered a talk at PAX about the virtues of working solo on small games. He’s been busy.

Prior to the development of Broken Brothers Deluxe, Todd realized traditional methods of game development didn’t work for smaller teams. It’s a lesson he learned while working on his game Engine of War.

“I worked as a team of two for three years before I really got into game design,” He reveals. “The problem was you had to verbalize everything and arguments do exist, and all the penalties of having a team. But then again you only get the benefit of two people. Where [with] ten people you get the same penalties, but, you know, five times the labour.”

After months of development, his enthusiasm for the project dimmed. Inspired by a talk at the Game Developers Conference by Petri Purho, creator of Crayon Physics Deluxe, Todd decided to try a different creative approach.

(more…)

We’ve been playing DJ Hero since its release and although we’ve yet to post a proper review, we’ve been telling our friends about how awesome the game is. Yesterday I commented about how much I’m enjoying the game, and our friend Craig decided to share a link to the video for DJ Format’s “3 Feet Deep,” which incidentally features Toronto rappers D-Sisive and Abdominal fulfilling lyrical duties.

The video shows the two rappers dueling it out via an arcade game starring DJ Format. Pay close attention, as there are a good amount of visual gags and nods to gaming within this fake game.

Watch the video »

There’s definitely no shortage of games based on zombies these days. But the developers of Zombonie, an upcoming iPhone and iPod Touch game, are taking two things Canadians love (zombies and Zamboni machines) and combining them into one crazy concept that might just give them an edge against the other zombie-killing titles out there.

According to the game’s official site, players will paint the town red with the blood of the undead after having rolled over them. Sounds a bit like an unfair advantage, but for good measure there are fleeing civilians that players should try not to run over (but probably will anyway) as well as zombies that will try to hijack the Zombonie. High scores are attained by racking up combo kills and utilizing power-ups.

Zombonie will be available from the App Store later this year. While a price hasn’t been announced, one thing is for certain: the thought of playing this game is giving us Zomboners.

Cobra Commander attended the PlayStation Holiday Preview Event at the Burroughes Building in Downtown Toronto on October 6, 2009. As special correspondent for Toronto Thumbs, he interviewed game PR people and played a bunch of videogames. This is his first report from the event. In this installment, he tackles Katamari Forever and Tekken 6 and also interviews In Joon Hwang, Brand Manager for Tekken 6 and Namco Bandai Games.

Direct link to video »