Paste Goes to E3: Day 3
Every year they hold E3 in LA. But they could just as well hold it in any city. Even Omaha. Despite the somewhat opulent use of local facilities to host parties, get-togethers, schmooze-fests and marketing throw-downs, the reality is E3 insulates you in a parka of videogame fluff. So, even as I walk into the conference this morning, and notice that the North Koreans have, apparently, taken over a parking lot next to the convention center, I don’t have to wonder about this peculiar military strategy of Kim Jong Il. Nah, surely it’s just some marketing stunt and I eagerly... read more
Paste Goes to E3: Day 2
Some things kind of amaze me about E3 this year: 1. We still are talking about 3D (even though it’s a new kind) 2. We are still trying to perfect the shooting game. 3. Nintendo fans love Nintendo more than everyone else likes all other game makers put together. 4. Despite rumors, the booth babe culture is alive and well. 5. Lakers fans make game fans seem normal. Now I don’t want to pick on the Lakers, even thought I’d be perfectly happy to see the Celtics win. But in an amusing twist of fate, the sixth game of the... read more
Start Press: Immersion 2.0 (A Bug Report)
If you’ve watched any online streaming video coverage of E3’s press conferences this year, chances are you’ve seen people jumping and/or flailing their arms in front of a television. At Microsoft’s press conference on Monday, they showcased their Kinect motion-sensing device, previously called Project Natal. Onstage at LA’s Wiltern Theatre, a handful of Microsoft staffers navigated a virtual white-water raft down a virtual river. They leaned to steer. They jumped to launch the raft into the air to reach in-game collectibles. They squealed with delight, presumably when the scrolling text on the teleprompter read “[SQUEEEAAAL!!]” The rafting mini-game actually... read more
Microsoft's Project Natal Rebranded, Debuted by Cirque du Soleil
Two days before the start of E3, Microsoft presented its new motion-capture peripheral to a huge audience of celebrities, VIPs and media at an extravaganza with a performance by Cirque du Soleil at the University of Southern California. The unveiling followed an announcement that what was once called Project Natal was now called Kinect, Microsoft’s answer to motion-capture peripherals being developed by Sony and the already-existing market on Wii.... read more
Paste Goes to E3: Day 1
After two hours of sweating through a preview of Ubisoft games at the historic, cramped and quite beautiful Los Angeles Theater, the crowd poured out onto the street. The dank air of downtown felt oddly refreshing and as I inhaled a lungful of LA smog, a PR guy I know stopped me for an impromptu chat.... read more
Green Day Rock Band Review (Xbox 360)
Developer: Harmonix, Demiurge Studios Publisher: MTV Games/EA Games Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii They may not deserve it, but these punks have themselves a fun music game Of all the rock groups that could follow The Beatles, Metallica, Aerosmith, Queen, AC/DC, and Van Halen into the pantheon of bands with their own music game, Green Day isn't the first that comes to mind. Or the second. Or even the 25th. But having played Green Day: Rock Band, its pretty clear that the worst thing about the game is the idea that they should be next in line... read more
Paste Goes to E3: Day 0
Every E3 starts with a bit of melancholy. Before the biggest videogaming event of the year, I always find myself sitting in some LA bar, wondering whether all the travel and planning is worth the trouble, whether this year some spectacular announcement or some undiscovered game will make it all worthwhile. Every year I start E3 wondering if I should even bother. At that point, sitting in LA, the city of dreams, just makes me miss my family. I suppose for your average young games writer, a week away from the daily grind at home is a refreshing respite. But... read more
Guitar Hero App Now Available for iPhone and iPod Touch
There are just those times when the desire to push some colored buttons and pretend to be a legitimate musician is overwhelming. Thanks to the new Guitar Hero app from Activision for iPhone and iPod Touch, there’s a portable way to get the fix.... read more
Mortal Kombat Film in the Works?
The history of video-game-to-movie adaptations is littered with casualties. There’s Super Mario Bros., Resident Evil and the newest in a reach for new source material, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. In 1995, the original Mortal Kombat movie surfaced with kitschy costumes taken directly from the popular fighting game and a plot that revolved around a fighting tournament (really, what else can you do with a game whose main focus is beating the snot out of each other?)... read more
Start Press: Pining is Evergreen
My most vivid childhood memory of my dad involves his obsession with classic rock. The '80s were winding down and our family had relocated from Ireland to Southern California. If there was music on his car radio, you better believe a DJ at K-Earth 101 FM was serving it up. My dad lost his mind every time they spun “Crystal Blue Persuasion,” a psychedelic slow-jam from 1969 by Tommy James and The Shondells. Singing along wasn’t enough; he compulsively slapped his fingers, tabla-style, on the steering wheel of his ’78 Toyota Celica. The loose fit of the horn buttons in... read more
Red Dead Redemption Review (Xbox 360)
Developer: Rockstar San Diego Publisher: Rockstar Games Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 High times and cheap thrills on the last great American frontier “Change is only good when it makes things better.” “Old friends make the worst enemies.” Spoken in the early goings of Red Dead Redemption, these two sentiments encapsulate the successes and shortcomings of the game itself far more than they do any of its narrative themes. For even as Rockstar’s ambitious Western adventure strikes out in some promising new directions, it is held back at times by a certain slavishness to the developer’s own open-world storytelling formula.... read more
Salute Your Shorts: John Hillcoat's "Red Dead Redemption" Machinima
After the success and eventual cult following of his 2005 film The Proposition... read more
Mass Effect Movie in the Works
With Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time opening recently, it’s no surprise that video-game-to-movie transitions are on the mind. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the next game to get the big-screen treatment will be BioWare’s 2008 sci-fi epic, Mass Effect.... read more
Listen to José González's Track From the Red Dead Redemption Soundtrack
Any good gunslingin’, blood-splatterin’, Old West-evoking sandbox game should have a weathered, gritty soundtrack to go with it.... read more
EA Placing Spendy Bets On Old Republic's Success
If you think the perfect Star Wars-themed video game would be one where you bulls-eye womp rats from your T-16 or are allowed to repeatedly kill Jar Jar Binks, think again. Electronic Arts is betting the perfect Star Wars-themed game will be an MMORPG like World of Warcraft. And they’re betting more money than they’ve ever bet on any other game they’ve developed, ever.... read more
Start Press: The Floating Gun Barrel
I watched the dawn of the first-person shooter genre in third person. It was my older brother Trey obsessively playing id Software’s Wolfenstein 3D at the family computer, while I skeptically eyed the proceedings over his shoulder. I had no interest in playing the game myself, steering that floating gun barrel down one indistinguishable stone corridor after another. Every few seconds he’d plug a Nazi or an attack dog. I never stuck around to see if he got a chance to nestle a bullet in Hitler’s pencil-thin moustache.... read more
Microsoft's Project Natal Prepares for Battle of the Motion-Capture Consoles
Its name sounds like the product of a top-secret meeting of Anarchist OB/GYNs, and, appropriately enough, Microsoft’s Project Natal now has a due date.... read more
Skate 3 Review (Xbox 360)
Developer: EA Black Box Publisher: Electronic Arts Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 100% 'boarding, 0% boring During the five years of my childhood I spent in Southern California, I was obsessed with skateboarding. I can’t say that I actually skated all that much, but I spent hours hunched over pieces of paper, drawing skateboarders wiping out on half pipes. I memorized all the trick terminology I could. The very mention of pro skaters such as Tony Hawk caused my little 4th-grade pupils to dilate. Skateboard culture provided a heady fantasy world. Watching videos of pro skaters, it seemed as though... read more
Live-Action Roleplaying Theme Park In Development
Put away your plastic guitar, your Xbox controller and the hours you put into building the perfect character in that dialogue-heavy role-playing game. If developers are successful, the real-life version could be in the works.... read more
Start Press:
Groundhobbit Day
So I’ve finally managed to get my hands on a copy of Demon’s Souls. It’s been out long enough for me to glean its reputation for being an adamantium-tough nut to crack in terms of gameplay difficulty, just a smidge less forgiving than the God of the Old Testament. But I’ve also been assured that it amply rewards patience and dedication. Both assessments have proven entirely accurate. I spent my first 4-5 hours with the game logging a series of failed attempts at scaling the outer ramparts of Boletaria Castle, a gorgeously imposing bulwark that has presumably driven many an... read more
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