Gadgets and Video Games

It looks like we’ll get to see the next Tony Hawk joint soon enough. The skateboarding legend recently tweeted that he just concluded a meeting with developer Robomodo . Tony Hawk said the project is already ” much better than I expected,” though we think he may be a bit biased on the matter

View original post here:
Tony Hawk: details on next Robomodo project coming soon

Much like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves demonstrated in 2009, Halo: Reach will be expected to deliver an experience that not only speaks highly of its developer, but also of the technological capabilities and commercial identity of its home platform. Whereas Halo 3: ODST was built upon Bungie’s 2007 space hoop outing (has it already been that long?), the developer tells Edge that its next shooter is already “bending the Xbox as far as it’ll bend.” Surely that voids the warranty? “We are… taking every advantage of everything on the CPU and GPU, and every bit of memory in order to produce the look of Reach beyond anything of Halo 3 , ” creative director Marcus Lehto noted, attributing the evolution — which also benefits the size of environments and complexity of the AI — to increased understanding of the hardware.

View original here:
Halo: Reach ‘bending the Xbox as far as it’ll bend,’ Bungie assures

And here we thought PopCap was quite the expert dealer, allowing people to try Peggle for free, then charging when users inevitably came running back for another hit of the sweet stuff. Instead, the casual games giant has just revealed it’s going to offer free bonus content for Peggle Nights , the sequel to its first Peggle game. The “Art Contest” level pack features five brand-new levels, based on submissions in the Peggle Art Contest from early last year. These new levels can be played in both the Quick Play and Duel modes, and are also the basis for five new challenges in Challenge mode

Here is the original post:
PopCap offers free levels for Peggle Nights

A BBFC classification for a “Game of the Year” edition of Batman: Arkham Asylum has popped up online, causing quite a stir here at Joystiq HQ. While we all agree that Batman was ” a game of the year ,” the listing offers no clues as to what would be included in a GOTY package. So, allow us to activate detective mode: First, there are the two DLC packs for the game to consider: the “Insane Night” Map Pack (free for everyone) and “Prey In The Darkness,” available on PS3 in the US and on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in Europe

Read the original here:
Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY edition outed by BBFC listing

At first glance, the headline may not make much sense, but that’s exactly what this screenshot for the newly announced The Flying Hamster is telling us. Newton the Flying Hamster will have to soar through six levels, from the “big Japanese city” to “crazy ancient Egypt.” No trips to normal ancient Egypt for this rodent! Developed by The Game Atelier for the PSP, The Flying Hamster will also feature more than thirty enemies, ranging from “sneaky penguins, anti-air cows, exploding foxes” and worst of all, “ninja squirrels.” Who else just became incredibly excited for this shmup? Gallery: The Flying Hamster The Flying Hamster fights laser-shooting owls in a race for beer, on PSP originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Former Electronic Arts executive Mitch Lasky, who is now a member of venture firm Benchmark Capital , is not holding back his thoughts on the current financial turbulence at EA. Once EA’s executive VP of mobile and online, Lasky now writes on his personal blog , “EA is in the wrong business, with the wrong cost structure and the wrong team, but somehow they seem to think that it is going to be a smooth, two-year transition from packaged goods to digital .” Strictly from a business perspective, Lasky lays out what he sees has gone wrong at EA, noting that in February of 2007 he made the argument to the former EA CEO that the company needed to cut $200 million annually by “reducing headcount and cutting back on ridiculous expenditures on risky titles” like Spore , Godfather and The Simpsons . He also advocated for “hyper-aggressive [research and development] investment and acquisitions in a transition to digital distribution and games-as-service.” EA is starting to make such a transition, as seen in the publisher’s strong iPhone and mobile sales , along with its dabbling in Facebook games.

See original here: 
‘EA is in the wrong business,’ ex-exec Lasky blogs

“Understand this: The Sam Fisher you knew is dead.” Spolier alert! Nah, he’s very much alive (albeit starring in a game that’s delayed yet again ), and this latest trailer for Splinter Cell: Conviction features one Victor Coste, private military contractor and veritable encyclopedia on all things that make a (now) former Third Echelon agent go ker-azy . And man, can he lay it on. “He’s off the leash and going for answers,” Coste says, in an extremely serious tone. We think the first question Fisher’s going to ask this guy when he catches him is, “Just how many times have you watched The Bourne Identity , anyway?” Sam Fisher off his leash and in this new Splinter Cell trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Go here to see the original: 
Sam Fisher off his leash and in this new Splinter Cell trailer

Dead Space 2 is shaping up to be quite the sequel, as executive producer Steve Papoutsis told CVG a lot of what we’ve heard about the Game Informer cover story is in fact true: engineer Isaac Clarke is a lot more vocal in the sequel and won’t be confined to the claustrophobic corridors of the Ishimura. Instead, he’s now an inhabitant of the space metropolis Sprawl. Papoutsis did more than validate suspicions in his interview, as he also pointed out a greater focus on action and telekinesis in the sequel

Read the rest here:
Dead Space 2 producer confirms Sprawl, doesn’t sweat Schofield departure

Namco Bandai is unsurprisingly working on a sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm . Revealed in the latest issue of V-Jump, the sequel will take place right where the first game left off, at the beginning of the Shippuden series.

Read more here:
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 revealed, goes multiplatform

Would it be possible to use Dante Alighieri’s spinning corpse in oil derricks, as as a sort of fleshy drill, or perhaps to power a large centrifuge? That might be a real opportunity if Dante’s Inferno executive producer Jonathan Knight gets to make a follow-up to his forthcoming adaptation, a hope he elaborated on for G4 . There’s a hitch though: While Knight knows that EA will want a sequel to the game if it performs well, he’s not sure that the follow up in The Divine Comedy , Purgatorio , will lend itself as well to a game.

See the rest here:
Dante’s Inferno producer hopes for sequel, despite challenges