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    The black-and-white evolution of MadWorld's graphics

    February 17, 2009 - 1:00pm

    MadWorld Lead Character Designer & Art Director, Masaki Yamanaka, just posted an informative blog that talks about Platinum Games' decision to go with a black-and-white art style and its subsequent evolution -- one that progresses from a high contrast black-and-white look to the addition of desaturated yellow tones and plenty of comic book violence. Something similar to Sin City, but with no Jessica Alba and fewer metaphors.It's interesting to note that early concepts of Jack had him free of bladed weaponry. Thankfully, through the miracle of development, a chainsaw was attached to his arm, which definitely aids in the spilling of Organizer blood.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    WiiGator chomps down on modchips, plays GameCube backups

    February 17, 2009 - 12:00pm

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    Mega64 musically irritates populace with Elite Beat Agents

    February 17, 2009 - 11:20am


    It's nice to see that after all these years, the guys from Mega64 haven't lost the ability to get out there into the public and just really irritate people. Nothing fancy, no higher purpose, just getting on people's nerves for the sheer enjoyment of you, the Internet.In a tribute to Elite Beat Agents, they've added musical accompaniment to the numerous shots of agitated humans who look like they'd like nothing more than to see the three suit-clad gentlemen in front of them die and rot forever in the bowels of Hell. ... Except for thumbs-up guy at the end, he seems like he's feeling it. Check it out after the jump.

    Continue reading Mega64 musically irritates populace with Elite Beat Agents

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    Diatomic puts WiiWare action under the microscope

    February 17, 2009 - 11:00am

    Grendel Games has announced a new arcade-style action game for WiiWare that's less of a shooter and more of a ... whipper? That may be the best description for Diatomic, which puts players in the role of a microorganism in a petri dish, whose main method of both attack and defense is a whiplike flagellum that can be used as both a melee weapon and a shield. Enemy diatoms invade your dish, and you must fight them off, collecting "mystic spinergy power-ups" and deploying the "all-devastating spinball move."Okay, so it's not exactly a biology lesson. But it is a new action game whose style (as seen in this concept art) is like an organic Geometry Wars. And we are happy to see more action games on WiiWare.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    VC Tuesday: Super Darius finds Fun! in The Lost Stars

    February 17, 2009 - 10:00am


    To NES-only kids, Sega's Alex Kidd games must have seemed like a really weird choice for Sega's flagship series: some rambling platformers with a not-so-appealing main character, completely different settings each time, and rock-scissors-paper for some reason. To people who grew up with Master Systems at home, however, they were ... still really weird. The Lost Stars is the most Mario-like of the bunch, with simple running and jumping in place of Miracle World's block-breaking and janken, but it is really, really freaky. Like "nude, mohawked enemies who shake their butts at you, somehow resulting in skull projectiles" freaky.Super Darius 2 lacks rump shaking, but manages to be a good shooter regardless. Both games are out in Japan on the Virtual Console today.

    The single WiiWare release is Shin'en's Fun! Fun! Minigolf, whose title actually increases the fun content of the game.

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    Padres player leans on Wii Fit for weight loss

    February 16, 2009 - 11:55pm

    Heath Bell, pitcher for the San Diego Padres, needed to lose weight before the new season. To achieve his goal, he turned to an innovative home-based training program that makes virtual trainers available at all times -- otherwise known as Wii Fit. Bell credited time spent with his children, playing the Balance Board-equipped exergame, with the 25-pound weight loss he accomplished before returning to training camp."It said I was obese," said the professional athlete (seen here judging a cookie contest). "If you're obese, it makes [your character on the screen] obese. I was disappointed that I was that big."While we're happy to see Wii Fit getting some good press (it's a bit of an underdog, and could use the push!), we can't help but wonder if there might have been some kind of outdoor activity that Bell could have used to lose weight. There's bound to be some kind of sport he would like, right? Like cricket or kickball. Something like that.[Thanks, Joaquin A!]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    No charger required for the solar-powered DS 'Light'

    February 16, 2009 - 8:45pm


    If you're an environmentally conscious DS Lite owner with a proclivity for modding, you may want to check out a recent Instructable that shows how to craft a solar-powered DS "Light" using relatively inexpensive components. By attaching solar panels to the top and bottom of the system, you can get a sun-fueled trickle-charge which should keep you from ever needing to plug in your Gore-approved handheld ever again.Unfortunately, you have to leave your system lying on its easily blemished belly for a bit in order to get an adequate amount of power, but such is the cost of Earth's climatological salvation.[Via Engadget]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Guitar Hero World Tour standalone drums, guitar available now

    February 16, 2009 - 8:40pm


    Releasing right on schedule, standalone versions of Guitar Hero World Tour's drums and guitar are now available at retail. The percussion set and the axe have a suggested retail price of $100 and $70, respectively. The Guitar Hero community site notes the items are available at Best Buy and Gamestop, but we've also seen them available online at Amazon.The standalone plastic peripherals are currently available only in North America. Europe and Australia will receive the items at "a later date." If you have any questions regarding the compatibility of the items across rhythm games, please check out our "Instrument Compatibility Matrix" for a complete rundown.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    VC in Brief: Life Force (NES)

    February 16, 2009 - 7:45pm

    Life Force (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone - Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii PointsWe say: download it! This week, we've only one Virtual Console game again, and it's another shmup. Thankfully, it's also a Gradius (reminder: Gradius is awesome) clone, which makes it all okay.
    Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks.Permalink | Email this | Comments

    MadWorld screens show off new bad guys, same old buckets of blood

    February 16, 2009 - 6:45pm


    Click image for more carnage
    Sega sent us a shiny care package, completely full of new screens from next month's MadWorld. As one might expect, there are at least three awesome things about these images:

    • lots of violence
    • motorcycles looking badass
    • fat guy in a turtle suit

    We're big fans of those three things, which, obviously, make us big fans of MadWorld. The fat guy reminds us of Dynamo, which is the best. Check out the new screens in our gallery below.Permalink | Email this | Comments