We all know the real reason to play videogames these days and that’s so you canwave your arms around like a maniaccompare your videogame skillz with your friends. The latestNeed for Speed: Hot Pursuitknew this and that is why the developers put in the Autolog, a nifty little feature that lets you keep track off all your stats and compare them with all of your friends in an incredibly seamless manner....

Being shownMadWorldat this year’s E3 was like some sort of moment where time freezes and you may’t believe what’s happening is actually happening. While a polite group of people from Platinum Games showed Dale North and myself the blood festival that isMadWorld, all we could seem to do was shake our heads in a kind of confused delight.This newest trailer came on a disc packed with the latest issue of Famitsu, which would have been very difficult to get one’s hands on outside of Japan....

Okay, that title’s kind of a lie. WhileGametrailershas indeed got a new showreel up for Wii and DS action game Mushroom Men, the trailer is actually another showcase for the game’s production art rather than its gameplay. Sad news, yes, but I feel it’s better to tell you now than have you get all disappointed, as I did, when you load the thing up. It’s not all bad news though, as if the artwork and tone of this trailer are anything go on, there are some very sick minds indeed working on this game....

I’m not sure if its our weird Monopoly-like money or our cute one and two dollar coins that Sony marketers love so much, but its obvious that Sony loves Canadian money more than American, because why else would they ask for more of it. Sony has hiked the price on the Playstation 3 60 GB unit in Canada from $649.99 to $699.99 in a very head-up-their-butts move recently. BothFuture ShopandBest Buyare listing the console at the new price which has myself and probably other gamers hugging their Xbox 360s and Nintendo Wiis for being so cheap....

Nintendo’s legendary history has only been integral to videogames for a relatively short time, and pretty much everything they sold before the mid-eighties was quirky plastic playthings, playing cards and the occasional bit of software. One such Nintendo offering from 1969 is the Nintendo Love Tester. This device is simple. A sweetly paired couple will come together to test their love, and each partner will grab one of the silver balls, and then embrace....

While Nintendo is still turning a profit andliterallyeating Fabergé eggs for breakfast, the Kyoto firm has admitted that the Wii isnot doing so well in Japanright now. With sales hovering around the 20,000 mark for six weeks, sometimes dipping close to 15,000, Nintendo has labeled the console’s status as “unhealthy.” “The Wii is in the most unhealthy condition since it hit the Japanese market,” conceded Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. It might have something to with everybody in the world owning one already....

[Update: Straight from Behemoth: “There seems to be a misunderstanding on one of the items written in that article. The quote from Joystiq that was taken from Dan Paladin was misinterpreted and we are not waiting to release the game due to the size limit increase. In fact we still have to get permission from Microsoft to qualify for the 150 limit. In short I just wanted to make sure there was some clarity on the topic....

Continuing with our groundbreaking coverage of flying old guys and their pets, here’s a trailer showing off some gameplay footage ofOmega Five‘s unlockable character Sensei that wetold you aboutearlier.You can see some of his special attacks, but not shown is thedimensional fieldmove, which allows you to quickly teleport to another dimension for a brief time to avoid enemy attacks, albeit at the expense of a small chunk of your lifebar. All characters in the game have this ability, but when Sensei pulls it off, he manages to deal some damage to whatever enemies are in range of the resulting shockwave....

The latest issue ofGame Informerhas a feature called “Beyond Polygons,” which collects a number of stories from within the studios working on a few big-name titles. Among them as Triumph Studios, and since I’m a big fan ofOverlord II, I homed in on the fun facts about the evil sequel’s development. According to Triumph,Overlord IIis attempting to offend as many different groups and ideologies as possible, “so nobody has to feel discriminated against....

Last night, celebrities and their personal entourages from around the country came out for the red carpet premiere of my feature length short filmP.A.D The Motion Picture. Staring me and directed by international sensation, Venom!P.A.D The Motion Picturehappens to be one of the greatest film I have ever seen in my entire life. Not because I was in it, but because its both terrifying and beautiful. Don’t just take it from me, listen to what these other top Critic’s have to say aboutP....

Netherlands-based publisher of games, Playlogic, has filed for the Dutch equivalent of Chapter 11 bankrutpcy. They’re most recently known for publishingFairytale Fights, but have released almost a dozen games in their 8-year history includingObsCure: The AftermathandInfernal. Playlogic is blaming their financial woes on the standard issues of the day. Current economic conditions combined with some late payments (including €1.7 million from their distribution partner Koch Media with whom they are currently in litigation) has forced them to give up the ghost....

[Editor’s Note: We’re not just a (rad) news site — we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on ourcommunity blogs.] Last month, a group of Destructoid editors, myself included, looked back atMass Effect 2and discussed how we felt about the game a month after its release....

It’s only recently that I’ve even begun to play theRatchet & Clankseries of games, having started with the last full-retail release,Tools of Destruction. Why it took so long for me to get around to it is probably chalked up to years and years of notable platforming protagonists wearing me down. I feel as though I really missed out on something with the series, as it’s one of the most charming and genuinely humorous series of platform games I’ve played in a long time....