It comes as no surprise that most movies based on videogames turn out to be, well, not so great. I would put all the blame entirely onUwe Boll’s shoulders, but one man is not the reason for the failure of an entire genre. In fact, there have been plenty of videogame movies directed by different people that have been just as terrible as anything birthed from the cinematic loins of our beloved Uwe....

Hey, look — it’s part eight of ten in our series, “How to not look like an idiot inTeam Fortress 2,” wherein we dispense advice of questionable worth and validity for each day leading up to the release ofThe Orange Box. Which, if you haven’t been paying attention, is in four days. The Demoman is the only class in the game whose primary and secondary weapons canonlydeal indirect damage. He is also the only class whose taunt involves yelling loudly and showing his penis....

The long strange journey that was the past two weeks is about to come to a close. As you loyal readers know, Destructoid took over San Francisco last week at GDC and then went ahead and decided to spread the seed in Austin, Texas, for the SXSW Interactive conference. As I sit here at the airport, with about one hour of sleep and a drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles ahead of me when I land, let’s take a look at some of the top stories we brought you during a convention-filled month....

[Backlogis the ongoing quest to ridConrad Zimmerman’scollection of unfinished games. As voted on by the Destructoid community, Conrad plays each game from start to finish live onDestructoid’s Twitch.tv channelevery weeknight at 8pm Pacific] Things are about to get creepy. We’re beginning the 23rd series of Backlog tonight withSilent Hill 3grabbing the lion’s share of the votes this weekend. I have my radio and my flashlight handy to venture back into the sleepy little burg known as an ideal vacation spot for folks looking to lose themselves in a horrifying nightmare dimension....

We’re in the final chapters ofDeadly Creaturesand I’m confident we’ll see the conclusion of the game tonight. What will happen to the scorpion, the tarantula and the traitorous white trash with his lost Confederate gold? I’m crawling through dollhouses and over upturned trucks to find out. Come join me and the goons in our live chat as we finish this unique and fun Wii title. It’s all going down right now onDestructoid’s Justin....

Do you read The Fanboy Review everyday? Me neither, but I think that’s about to change. Back on November 21st, a good two weeks before the news aboutMega Man 10broke,The Fanboy Review put upa pretty detailed postabout the game. Some of what they reported, like the robo-virus storyline, the playable Proto Man, and continued use of the NES style graphics, turned out to be totally accurate. That makes the other stuff they mention, like 2-player co-op and Bass being the third playable (via DLC) all the more credible....

Major games getting pushed back to next year? That’sModern Warfare 2’sfault. The economy in the sh*tter?Modern Warfare 2’sfault. Frankenstein defeats vampires?Modern Warfare 2’sfault yet again! Modern Warfare 2isn’t even out yet and it’s caused so much pain and suffering on our world. You know how the planet is said to be ending in the year 2012? That’s bullsh*t. The world is actually going to end next Tuesday, whenModern Warfare 2is released....

Here’s a story that will warm your heart. Thanks to its ongoing relationship with a disabled gamer, Sony San Diego has added a special difficulty level to this year’s iteration of its annual baseball series,MLB 11 The Show. Hans Smith, a 25-year-old St. Louis Cardinals fan with cerebral palsy, wrote a letter to the developer a few years ago, and the studio was so struck by his words that they put him inlast year’s game, reportsESPN....

David Hindmanhas created a new way to play videogames. They use their (real) guitars to control the fighters fromMortal KombatandMario Kartas if the guitars were actual buttoned controllers.Modal Kombat(the mod ofMortal Kombat), is controlled by different pitches, volumes and their sequences that tell the fighter what to do: The result,Modal Kombat, is a modern-day “dueling banjos”. It has raised the bar for performers, composers, interface designers, and competitive gamers.Modal Kombatdelivers an engaging combination of music, choreography and good old-fashioned fantasy street fighting....

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfareis one of my favorite shooters, but its single-player campaign did have afewissues, most notable among them being the respawning enemies that would only cease after players crossed an invisible line. I’ve never understood why this haseverbeen considered a good design choice, but it seems that, fortunately, Infinity Ward has finally got the message. “We are aware of it and we’re actively trying to eliminate it,” states Infinity Ward president and CCO Jason West....

Last weekproved that great music in a game can make all the difference, and easily turn a decent game into something much more impacting and memorable. This week we visit theColourseries once again, as we get caught up withSilverStitch‘s short and simple flash game series. We’ve already completedColour My World, and SilverStitch recommends we also play throughColour My Heart(it only takes two minutes to beat!) before moving on to this game....

Monster Hunter madness seems to show no signs of stopping in Japan, and these two new limited edition PSP sets surely show proof of that. Called the Monster Hunter Rookie pack, it contains a copy ofMonster Hunter Portable 2nd Gand aCarnival PSP(either red or blue packs are available). These packs come out on July 23rd in Japan and will retail for 21,000 yen, which is roughly $220 US. Buying the pack will save you a few thousand yen, as the game alone is 3,140 yen and the PSP retails for 19,800 yen....

Move it, football-head. It’s Friday, so today’s episode ofThe Destructoid Showwas carefree and whimsical. Here’s the rundown: Jimmy Fallon, that guy who was inTaxiwith Queen Latifah, sometimes covers video game news on his late-night talk show. This week’s been all post-E3 exclusives, including some PS3 footage ofBattlefield 3.I say more irrelevant things aboutDuke Nukem Forever‘s critical reception, and so doesDuke himself. Jim wrote a really good article about why the game isn’t a parody which you should readhere....