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The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers

From Destructoid:

You know those crane games they have inside movie theaters and sports bars in North America? The ones with the seemingly impossible-to-get Batman stuffed toys? They’re huge in Japanese arcades. Who knew?

Certainly not me, so it’s a good thing I had a chance to finish reading through Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers during my “holiday break.” The first chapter details the strange culture of crane games, or “UFO Catchers” as they’re sometimes known as in Japan. It’s a world where skill, not luck, factors into whether you’ll make the catch, so much so that heated claw-machine competition exists. Seriously.

Click here to see the full article [Destructoid]

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Big Man vs. Machine

From The Washington Post:

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. — All around him there is music now. Jangling. Clanging. A little steel ball rolls up a ramp and down the ramp, off the bumper, off the flipper, off the wall, back up the ramp, back down the ramp. Lights flashing. Numbers roll.

At this moment, Todd MacCulloch is not watching the numbers. He seems to hear nothing of the constant noise ringing around him like a Las Vegas lobby in his basement, so engaged is he in the plight of the rolling steel ball. In fact he is a remarkable sight: a 7-foot-tall, nearly 300-pound man who once thrust his ample girth against Shaquille O’Neal’s in two NBA finals, standing at a pinball machine called Medieval Madness that is distinguished from the dozens of other machines that surround him solely by its a ghoulish, metallic moans…
See the full article here [Washington Post]

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Video game classics still generate interest

From Taipei Times:

The HD age dawned three years ago in the video game world and brought novel gaming concepts, breathtaking graphics and crystal clear sound. Video games had never seemed closer to reality. And then something happened: the technological prowess of the consoles was also harnessed to revive ancient classics of video gaming. That means that today’s Xbox, Playstation and Wii aren’t just showing off the latest in visual fireworks, but now also have been put to work on long-lost, but well-loved classic titles as well.

That includes a new iteration of the Prince of Persia game, designed to return the series to its roots. It’s been almost 20 years since the prince first stumbled his way through dank dungeons to rescue his beloved princess.

“In terms of the core gaming concept, nothing has changed to date. It’s still about rescuing women and getting through levels using acrobatic tricks,” said Jan-Erik Sjovall, an animation artist working Ubisoft’s Montreal offices.

Want to see if differences from the original Prince of Persia game are really just marginal? No need to dust off your old computer and floppy disks. Microsoft’s online Xbox shop offers a glimpse…

See the full article here [Taipei Times]

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Trogdor Will Burninate in Final Strong Bad Game

From Wired.com’s blog:

“And the Trogdor comes in the niiiiiiiiight!

“By “Trogdor,” we mean Trogdor the Burninator, the peasant-stomping dragon from web cartoon Homestar Runner. And by “night” we mean the fifth and final chapter of Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, the episodic series of adventure games for PC and Wii.

“Developer Telltale Games gave Wired.com these exclusive screenshots, which show Trogdor starring in the final Strong Bad game. Gaze upon them and witness Trogdor’s stick-legged might, now in three glorious dimensions. Imagine all the peasants he will “burninate” with his 3-D flames.”

You can read the whole article here [Wired.com]

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Pacman Golf available for Mobile Phones

“SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–It’s a hole in one as Namco Networks, the leading publisher and developer of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, today announced the availability of PAC-MAN® Arcade GolfTM, challenging players to complete 27 holes of mini-golf in three courses and master more than 100 mini-games in this combination of mini-golf and classic arcade game fun for the mobile phone.

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X-Arcade Tankstick Gets High Review

Lex Eskobar from High Times gave a short review of the newly released Soul Calibur 4 for the PS3 stating that “If you love fighting games and love smoking weed while playing them then you can’t go wrong with this one.” It received a score of “4 out of 5 pot leaves.” Then the gaming veteren, Mr.Eskobar, was able to take a look at our X-Arcade Tankstick. Here is a little bit of what he had to say:

“X-Arcade’s slogan is “Built like a friggin’ tank!” and they aren’t lying. I put a beating on this controller and it still did the job. I can’t stress enough how nice it is to play older games using this controller. When you put the controller up on a table or somewhere sturdy and have a buddy come over for some good ol’ fashion gaming you really do get a sense of nostalgia for the old days of quarter eating combat.”

The Tankstick gets Lex’s thumb of approval and was rated “5 out of 5 pot leaves.”

Click here to see the full review. [High Times]

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No Place Like Sony’s Home

Find out what’s so special about this home preview by Sony

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