Watch a Videogame Trailer From the Makers of Ponyo and Spirited Away
Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, co-founded in part by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, is known for creating lush landscapes, enchanting storylines and beautifully quirky characters. The studio gave birth to classics like Oscar-winning Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and, most recently, Ponyo. Ghibli recently partnered with video game developers Level-5 (behind a couple of the Dragon Quest games and Professor Layton) to produce a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS.... read more
Alpha Protocol Review (Xbox 360)
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment Publisher: SEGA Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC Saving the world, one decision at a time Choice is the watchword in Alpha Protocol; as undercover spy Michael Thorton, you can carry out missions in whatever style you’d like. You can flirt with that girl on the airplane or just brood and ignore her. You can barrel headfirst into a slum full of mobsters or silently sneak through the shadows, eliminating guards one headshot at a time. You can even tailor Thorton’s facial hair—shooting terrorists is especially fun when you look like Grizzly Adams.... read more
Slayer's iPhone App: Heavy Metal Fun-der
There’s no way a game that begins with a menacing voice promising “Balls of steeeeeeel!” could possibly be disappointing.... read more
Start Press: Daddy's Love, His Yoke
“Then he just sat there holding the binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land. He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.” (Cormac McCarthy, The Road) *** This past Sunday was Father’s Day, an occasion that has historically compelled me to look outward. It’s a day on which I’ve grown accustomed to considering my own dad, actively muting my lingering nitpicks with his job performance and focusing instead on the ferocity of the man’s affection; his contagious, untidy laughter; his irrepressibility; his resolve... read more
Michael Jackson Karaoke/Dance Videogame Announced
“We’ve signed a legend,” said Ubisoft Entertainment CEO Yves Guillemot at the E3 games conference. He was referring to Michael Jackson, whose likeness will appear in an Ubisoft game that will be released in time for this year’s holiday season.... read more
Paste Goes to E3: Day 4
In my mind, I was silently saying “goodbye.” Bye Nintendo! Bye Capcom, sorry we didn’t get to talk this year. Bye Sony! Why didn’t you call back? Bye all the rest of you. E3 would be over in 20 minutes and I fought the urge to stick around until the announcement came: “We are sorry, but the expo floor is closing. Please head to the nearest exit.” It’s always sad to be asked to leave a place. So I headed for the door, for reality. And I got ready for what comes next, the return of the melancholy that goes... read more
Donkey Kong, Zelda, Kirby, More Nintendo Classics Coming to Wii
There are a few things—like, oh, say, blowing on those cartridges to get them to work—that we don’t miss about old-school Nintendo. But some of the old games and characters make us pine a little more. According to an announcement at the E3 gaming conference this week, there’s good news for those who find themselves in exactly this predicament: Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Kirby and GoldenEye will all receive the Wii update, and another new Mario game will be released soon as well.... read more
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
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