Napalm Riot

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Okay, normally, this kind of review passes under my radar, and barely registers on my list of things to read, but hey, I was swept in by the title.

Heather Chaplin of Next-Gen.biz has reviewed/discussed the book Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Videogames, written by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson. Both Kutner and Olson are mental health experts, who conducted this research out of interest, rather than the champion one school of thought over another.

Found [url=" . . . Read more

The first Deus Ex game was hugely successfuly with rave reviews, a Bafta award and great influence amongst video games of all time, no doubt because of its intriguing and intelligent plot, cutting decision-making, and cult cyberpunk persona.

Deus Ex 2 however, was felt my many loyal fans of the first Deus Ex, to have been "dumbed down", with the decision-making less significant in the overall dynamic of the game and less challenging problems.

Roughly this time last year, very vague rumours . . . Read more

Namco Bandai's X360 exclusive Tales of Vesperia combines real-time combat, captivating storylines and remarkable graphics while introducing original elements that set a new standard for role-playing gameplay and interactive storytelling.

The Xbox 360 might not have launched with a very strong RPG catalog, but in the past year, both Microsoft and its third-party developers have made a relatively strong showing on the role-playing front. Last fall, Namco debuted Eternal Sonata on the X36 . . . Read more

Kotaku's man-in-Japan Brian Ashcraft takes a look at a few of the challenges most Western games face when trying to make any sort of in-roads in a market that just doesn't seem to care for the genres they tend to represent.

"Players don't typically like the first person point of view and want to see their character. It makes it easier for them to support that character," explains Ben Judd, formerly in localization and now a producer at Capcom, working on the upcoming Bionic Commando sequel.
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The Diablo fan site that had been resident at Diablo3.com has, according to the site's webmaster, been asked to move to new premises so that Blizzard can take ownership of the domain.

"A few months ago we were contacted by Blizzard in regards to the Diablo3.com domain name. While they appreciate all the work that's been put into running this big Diablo fan community over the years, they still want the domain name," explained the fan site's webmaster.

The webmaster continued: "... while Bli . . . Read more

After drooling over the eye-candy dazzle of "Super Mario Galaxy," with its topsy-turvy levels ripped right from the rabbit hole, I can't help but feel underwhelmed at the much-anticipated Wii arrival of "Mario Kart," a franchise that's begging for a breakthrough.
Instead of delivering fans a one-two punch of wild motion-control frenetics and amped-up visuals, "Mario Kart Wii" seems to be holding its breath in order to open the door to the "casual gamer" crowd.

Sure, it's the same "Kart" we . . . Read more

When you have an MMORPG that hasn't been officially launched yet, curious players will want to know what they can about it. Fortunately, Flagship Studios Seattle has chosen to inform Mythos players about the latest developments regarding the game.

For example, here are some of the things that Flagship Studios Seattle has been tweaking in Mythos, based on player observations and feedback:

Flagship Studios Seattle has been working on enhancing the social component of the game with a contigu . . . Read more

VestGame Entertainment has released the latest version of its popular 3D martial arts game "World of Kung Fu". World of Kung Fu (WoKF) is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) based on the traditional arts and mythology of ancient China. The new version includes many new features, additions, and enhancements to gameplay.


World of Kung Fu is a virtual world set in ancient China.
One major new feature is the country-to-country battle system. Players are now . . . Read more

D3Publisher of America, Inc. (D3PA), a publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, will bring Cartoon Network’s next generation series BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE to videogame systems with BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE The Game on the Wii™ home videogame system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™ system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. The successful inaugural game for the brand, Ben 10™: Protector of Earth, launched in October 2007 and has sold more tha . . . Read more

Shortly before midnight on a cold Monday in downtown Toronto, a man in a brown leather jacket scowled as a trio of attractive female police officers handcuffed him and forced him roughly into the back seat of a waiting police cruiser.

But the car was not painted in the familiar white, red and blue of the Toronto Police. Instead, it bore the black and white markings of the Liberty City Police. This "arrest" was not a rogue police act, rather it was a staged performance as a part of the launch . . . Read more

Majesco today unveiled Rollin' Rascals, a puzzle game for the Nintendo DS in which players must up the lost residents of Kololo Kingdom and return them to their homes.

Rollin' Rascals challenges players to reunite matching pairs of critters, randing from pandas to puppies to pigs, by rolling them around obstacles and into each other to clear the game board of pets before time runs out.

In the game, the animals of Kololo Kingdom have been kidnapped, and it's up to the player to bring the an . . . Read more

Sony knows when it's got a good thing going, and so do most of its fans. The Gran Turismo series, for example, has a rabid following due to its graphical excellence and top-notch simulation gameplay, and Sony's own PlayStation team counts itself among the franchise's biggest fans. So when it became apparent that Gran Turismo was going to take its time appearing on the PlayStation 3, you'd better believe Sony scrambled for ways to give gamers -- and themselves -- an early taste of the GT5 goodnes . . . Read more

It's safe to say most consumers' first, if not only, exposure to Jason Bourne was the series of Bourne films starring Matt Damon. Sure, Robert Ludlum may have written a few novels, but Hollywood reigns supreme when it comes to mass-media action, and, well, Matt Damon's version of Jason Bourne is 100 percent action. With that in mind, it's a bit disconcerting to fire up The Bourne Conspiracy for the first time on the good ol' next-gen console, because Jason Bourne is (gasp) not Matt Damon. Howeve . . . Read more

Dead Space is Electronic Arts' newest intellectual property, and while we've become used to the idea of next-gen survival horror games being first-person shooters such as F.E.A.R and Condemned, EA's game will instead be a third-person shooter developed by their Redwood Shores studio. It's being put together for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC all simultaneously, with no lead platform designated.

First off, a proprietary engine made by EA is powering this new game, so you won't be playi . . . Read more

How different gamemakers cope with death.

In videogames, there are but two certainties: death and boxes. ("Crates" just doesn't have the same ring.) From 1979's Asteroids to 2007's Crysis, technology hasn't changed the fact that death -- both dishing it out and avoiding it -- remains the most valuable currency of games, to the point where death has become synonymous with failure. (How many times have you said "I died!" after merely crashing your car or missing a checkpoint in a game?)
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Ubisoft confirms Namco’s fighter will arrive on UK shores this summer.


The highly anticipated Soul Calibur IV will arrive in the UK around the same as the US.

The beat ‘em up, which features Star Wars characters for the first time, will appear on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in July.

Earlier in the month Namco announced the game is to hit North American retail on July 29th, so UK gamers can potentially look forward to a simultaneous launch.

(Source: http://www.mcvuk.com/ne . . . Read more

Silverstar Holdings, Ltd.'s (Nasdaq:SSTR) PC software publishing unit, Strategy First Inc., and Parallax Arts Studio unveiled the highly anticipated title, 'Exodus from the Earth,' set to hit shelves this Fall. Exodus from the Earth will be Strategy First's ninth release for 2008, which includes hit titles like Culpa Innata, Bill Lee's Baseball Mogul 2008, and the recently released Jack Keane.

Developed by Parallax Arts Studio, the upcoming first-person shooter takes players out of this world . . . Read more

Fatal Inertia's long, strange voyage to PlayStation 3 began with the hovercraft racer originally slated for the system launch in 2006, then indefinitely delayed for the platform in 2007 (while a generally underwhelming Xbox 360 version quietly shipped last fall), and a vague 2008 release target reinstated a few months back.

Now it appears the Koei title will never find its way to a Blu-ray disc, but that does not mean a PlayStation 3 release has been canned. MTV Multiplayer reports that Fatal . . . Read more

Majesco sent us several new screenshots from Wonderworld Amusement Park, a fully 3D world of games, rides and prizes across multiple themed areas that players can explore with personalized avatars. Wonderworld Amusement Park includes 30 different mini-games that mirror real carnival games but are re-imagined in the park's five stylized fantasy areas. The game will launch in summer 2008.

(Source: http://www.gamershell.com/news_49460.html)

It's been AGES since we've seen anything of Codemasters' Rise of the Argonauts - around 10 months in fact - but the silence has been broken by new screenshots today.

Rise of the Argonauts is an RPG in development at Liquid Entertainment for PS3, PC and Xbox 360 and drops you into the shoes of Jason - as in 'of the Argonauts' - who is exploring and battling his way through the jungles, cities and forests of Aegean, ancient Greece.

Hercules, Achilles, Atalanta and other big heroes will also . . . Read more

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