Valve: Games don’t have ‘moral choices’

“Moral choice” is one of the hottest buzzterms used by game developers these days, with titles such asBioShockandinFAMOUSproudly boasting that their storylines feature complex narratives where actions have consequences. Despite the best attempts of recent videogames, however, these “moral choices” never quite seem to work as advertised. We asked Valve’s Chet Faliszek why this might be, and he had an interesting answer — he believes moral choicescan’texist in a game....

June 2, 2025 · 2 min · 296 words · Monica Erickson

Walmart’s 360 price cut was an error, but will honor sale

You know that Xbox 360 price drop that Walmartadvertised last week? You know, the one where the 4GB Kinect bundle went from $299.99 to $249.99. Yeah, well the retailer was just kidding. Joystiqis reporting that Walmart has indicated that the “rollback” was an “error,” yet will honor the price this week anyhow. The bundle will be available for $249.99 through September 5, or until they run out of ’em. So if you were looking to take advantage of the deal, you’d better not dilly dally....

June 2, 2025 · 1 min · 127 words · Chelsea Gibson

Wii Nintendo Channel gets makeover, Nintendo Week series

Out of nowhere, Nintendo has announced that the free-to-download “Nintendo Channel” for the Wii will be receiving an update today. The channel will get a new look, along with other upgrades like higher-quality streaming, a “top games” list as recommended by other viewers, and a new option to rate and recommend Nintendo DS titles. Possibly bigger news is the addition of a brand new weekly series calledNintendo Week. The first episode features in look atMario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, an interview with the devs behindGuitar Hero 5, some video of people acting like new DSi colors is exciting, and more....

June 2, 2025 · 1 min · 123 words · Jeffery Bates

Yoda won’t be overly cheap due to his size, says Soul Calibur IV director

Chatting withMTV Multiplayer,Soul Calibur IV‘s director Katsutoshi Sasaki offered some insight as to whether or not the regular cast of characters would have a fighting chance against Yoda because of his size factor: “The influences that Yoda will have in terms of gameplay because of his height, [is that] some of the upper attacks won’t hit him,” he said. “However, we always attempt to make the gameplay fun, so we prepare positive demerits of choosing Yoda and also negative demerits on it....

June 2, 2025 · 2 min · 240 words · Robin Porter

You probably won’t need this Xbox 360 S transfer cable

The type of people that would need a cable that transfers data from one Xbox 360 S to another Xbox 360 S are the same type of people that have things like imported Italian marble pillars in their home. Non-load bearing Italian marble pillars. If your range has more than 8 burners, or if yourdog uses Paul Mitchell shampoo, then you might need this cable to transfer data from one of your new ‘slim’ Xbox 360 S units to one of your other ones....

June 2, 2025 · 1 min · 148 words · Heather Lopez

Zombie kids! Dead Island trailer will amaze you

Here’s theDead Islandtrailer in case you somehow missed the entire Internet talking about it yesterday. No actual gameplay, but it will send a goddamn chill down your spine. It’s so beautifully put together and gives you a nice indication of what to expect come later this year. Dead Islandwill be out for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC and you may read my thoughts about itin our preview.

June 2, 2025 · 1 min · 69 words · Joseph Dyer

13 new cars for Forza 2 coming out this Wednesday

Forza 2for the Xbox 360 will be receiving some new DLC this Wednesday. The DLC will cost 400 Microsoft Points and it will contain 13 new cars, adding to the already huge list of 340 cars available. Some of the new rides include an Xbox 360-themed Peugeot 207 Super 2000, the brand new Audi S5, BMW M3, Lamborghini LP640 and Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Follow the jump for the full list of new cars....

June 1, 2025 · 1 min · 198 words · Teresa Roach

Ain’t nothin’ but a game thang: Snoop Dogg coming to Rock Band. Fo shizzle.

That’s right, noted pimp, playa and hustler, Snoop D-oh-double-G will be appearing inRock Bandin the near future. After leaving long-time label Interscope records last year, the rapper has inked a deal with MTV to release his next record,Malice in Wonderland. Along with the record contract, Bigg Boss Dogg will be hosting a late-night talk show on the network and releasing a selection of his greatest hits to theRock Bandgames. Snoop’s incredibly awesome quote from the press release follows: “When Van Toffler and I sat down Boss to Boss, a global quintuple threat takeover was masterminded....

June 1, 2025 · 4 min · 684 words · Carl Phillips

Amazon jumps aboard the Dragon Age preorder train

It’s simply not enough that GameStop and Steam are offering preorder bonuses forDragon Age: Origins, or that there is a standard edition,Collector’s EditionandDigital Deluxeedition to choose from. Nope, now Amazon hasjoined the party, offering its own set of exclusive goodies in exchange for buying BioWare’s next RPG through them. Amazon is offering a $10 gift card along with the Lion’s Paw Boots, an in-game item that adds to the player’s armor, dodge and missile evasion attributes....

June 1, 2025 · 1 min · 201 words · Allison Stewart

Armored Core on PS3 gets a European street date

Considering our core base is mostly here in North America, today’s announcement thatthe mech titleArmored Core 4will be available for PlayStation 3 owners in Europe on April 27 may fall on a few deaf ears. But hey, any non-negative news on the PS3 is always good, right? Right? Heheh, right guys? Here’s the info: Publisher 505 Games is pleased to today announce the April 27th release ofArmored Core 4on PlayStation 3....

June 1, 2025 · 2 min · 398 words · Anna Rice

Banjo-Kazooie DLC is … gasp … POSSIBLE!

They said it was madness. They said it was unthinkable. They said you justcan’trelease downloadable content for a videogame. Well, they were wrong. The boys at Rare have recently turned headswith the claimthat yes, DLC is indeedpossibleforBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Rare’s lead technical artist Neill Harrison hasCONFIRMEDthat Banjo DLC isPOSSIBLE, and that theyAREnotTHINKING ABOUT IT! Well I am stunned by this revelation, as I am sureyouare. The very idea that downloadable content —actualcontent — might very well be possible from a studio that is not thinking about downloadable content completely blows my mind....

June 1, 2025 · 1 min · 168 words · Scott Mccormick

Be the King of Pop with Michael Jackson avatar outfits

Ubisoft releasedMichael Jackson: The Experiencefor Kinectback in April, but they’re just now getting around to offering up the usual avatar tie-ins. You can adorn your avatar in duds based on Michael Jackson’s most popular music videos, including Beat It, Billie Jean, Black or White, Leave Me Alone, Smooth Criminal, They Don’t Care About Us, and Thriller. If you have a female avatar, you can even wear the Thriller Girlfriend outfit....

June 1, 2025 · 1 min · 132 words · Jesus Kelly

Bodycount director Black: Killzone 2 was ‘a bit poo’

Stuart Black, the creative director ofBodycount, is a guy whospeaks his mind; if he’s passionate about something, you’re going to hear about it. While extolling the virtues ofBodycountat a demo on Tuesday, he mentioned the game’s field of vision — the actual “viewing area” that the game renders on the screen — as something that goes a long way toward making it a better shooter. Obviously, if a game is in widescreen, it should show you more on the sides, but some games don’t; Black brought up the originalBioShockandits sequel, noting that both games launched with faux-widescreen FOVs....

June 1, 2025 · 2 min · 296 words · Kelly Williams