Beggars can’t be choosers; and with so little gameplay footage of COD:MW2 available, I’m getting desperate. Enter Game Crazy retailer convention. Employees and retail outlet owners generally get to see games before their release, to not only help build buzz around a game, but also to help developers if they are on the right track. It’s not as if Modern Warfare needs it, being the most highly anticipated game for the 2009 holiday rollout, however for us gamers it’s always nice to be thrown a bone.

Your thoughts? Will I be playing with anonymous voices or our some of our DDN community plan on picking this up as well?

[Joystiq]

At the beginning of March we had reported George Miller of the Mad Max franchise was planning a 4th installment to be a 3D animated film. While there has not been confirmation the anime project has been cancelled, industry reports and the Aussie newspaper The Herald Sun are reporting that scouting locations are underway for a live-action film.

Many of us here were hoping for the 3D anime to be green lit. With the possible cancellation of the animated feature and Mel Gibson being deemed “too old” for the live-action role, many questions now arise. First and foremost if Mel isn’t Max, who will take his place and how can they be mad?

[Digital Spy]

[Herald Sun]

Dead Space Extraction Producer Interview c/o IGN

Still holding on to a Fall 2009 release, producer Steve Papoutsis discusses further details on Dead Space Extraction in this video interview care of IGN. He assures us there is a co-op mode where friends can instantly grab a controller and play; this leads me to speculate there will be squad based gameplay. Coupled with a high level of detail in the graphics engine and the uniqueness of Wii mechanics, Extraction will allow a more immersive first person experience than previous titles.

Steve also mentions the Dead Space as a franchise, now existing on every platform, a graphic and animated film. I’m just waiting for a fan made live action movie*.

[Joystiq]

*the last line is hinting at a comment direct to me…the only way you’ll understand is if you read them and comment yourself! :)

Ah, that old familiar logo and that old familiar sound. It certainly brings back some good memories.
If you haven’t heard already, Mac is back! The NES classic Punch-Out!! is receiving the royal treatment and is being made over for the Wii to be released on May 18, 2009 (according to Gamestop).

Earlier today Gametrailers posted a new clip that reintroduced us to a few familiar faces (Glass Joe, Von Kaiser, King Hippo) and lifted the veil on a new opponent: “Disco Kid.” Little is known about this new character, but he sure does look like an average Joe amongst a sea of odd-balls.

The game is shaping up nicely, and with only a couple of months to go before launch let’s hope Nintendo’s old-school remake has what it take to go 8 rounds with the press when review time comes. This is definitely one to keep on the radar.

[Game Trailers]

What do you get when you mix 2-parts RPG with 1-part adventure and 4-parts multiplayer party game? You get Dokapon Kingdom: a unique title that sets out on a quest to surprise gamers of all ages by raising the bar on the party game genre.

Without question Dokapon Kingdom is definitely a unique game. Its as if developer Sting decided to play the part of Dr. Frankenstein and began to lop off the best bits and pieces from the gaming universe; a little from genre A, a little from genre B and little from genre C and then proceeded to fuse them all together. The end result is a cute and colorful title that is sure to provide you with hours upon hours of entertainment and laughter.

So if you feel like kickin’ some serious monster butt, humiliating your soon to be ex-friends and hording ridiculous amounts of gold as you spin your way to victory then follow me as we hack-n-slash our way through Dokapon Kingdom.

Read more!

EXT. SKYSCRAPER ROOFTOP – DUSK

DAVID
You know, Faith, from this height… you could really hock a loogie on someone. (V.O)

FAITH
… [Rolls eyes and shakes head]

If from 39 floors above ground looking down at the scattered groups of pedestrians sends chills down your spine then imagine bounding from rooftop to rooftop without the luxury of harnesses, wires or a safety net and having bullets whizz by your head. You’re running because it is your duty, your job; you are a Runner, and this is Mirror’s Edge.

Read more!

With the arrival of BlizzCon comes the announcement of a new class! As part of the opening ceremonies of this year’s BlizzCon, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime surprised us all with the announcement of the Wizard! Nice to see our spellcaster roll filled, although I’m not certain how much different this class will be from our previous sorcerer/sorceress casters. So far we have our summoner (Witch Doctor), our melee specialist (Barbarian), and our spellcaster (Wizard). Needless to say, I’m pretty excited to see what they announce next.

[Official Wizard Character Page]

GamePolitics recently stated on their website that the (in)famous Dr. Phil McGraw, of Dr. Phil show (duh), is scheduled to tackle videogame violence scheduled this Thursday. His stance on the issue? Here’s a quote from the horse’s mouth, when he was interviewed on the Larry King Show:

“�the problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me – common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high. And we’re going to have to start dealing with that. We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murders of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose. “

So far, his guest for the show will be a “game violence specialist”. As long as his or her name doesn’t rhyme with “Jack Thompson”, the videogame community can calm down. Then again, this is a show associated with the word “media circus” and “publicity cruxification”, so I’m not sure if there would be anything positive coming out of this.

Technorati : dr. phil, game violence, media circus, videogame