Picture Nikola Tesla in his lab trying to create the world’s first electrical platypus. He toils for hours on his mechanical horror, before falling asleep sometime around 1AM. Come morning, an errant sparrow flies in his window, lands on the instrument and is immediately devoured by its whirling, sparking beak, struggling just enough to dislodge […]
Video Games
Politics, Xbox Style: Obama Beats McCain By 12 Percent
No need to worry your stereotypically bong resin-filled heads, dear liberals: Barack Obama is going to be the next president of the United States. How do I know this? My Xbox told me. More specifically, a poll conducted by Rock the Vote via the Xbox Live online gaming service shows Obama beating McCain by a […]
Mass Effect: The Movie.
Mass Effect‘s one of the most cinematic games I’ve ever played–and given the other film-influenced AAA titles that’re making their way to the big screen (like Gears of War and Bioshock), it’s not too surprising that Mass Effect‘s movie rights just got snatched up. (Especially when you factor in that the buzz on J.J. Abrams’ […]
World of Warcraft, Bejeweled Link Up (Possibly Form Voltron)
In the unnecessarily decadent tradition of the Matryoshka or the Turducken, this Thursday, PopCap Games will release a version of hyper-addictive puzzle title Bejeweled to be played within World of Warcraft. PopCap spokespeople broke the news to Wired’s me earlier this week along with a story of why they’re the one Seattle corporation you shouldn’t […]
Gamers Are Depressed Junkies
Crushing the stereotype that videogame fans are all gross fatties, an article in New Scientist has found gamers to be more fit than the average American — though, also, we’re all a bunch of weepy addicts, apparently. The science: The results suggest that adult gamers have an average body mass index of 25.2, compared to […]
Off-Road Velociraptor Safari!
Off-Road Velociraptor Safari. Those are words that don’t seem like they should go together. But oh, they do! I’ll explain. Yesterday, a friend sent me a link to the trailer for a new game called Jetpack Brontosaurus. It is exactly what you probably imagine. Just in case your imagination isn’t so hot, here’s the trailer: […]
Microsoft Cans Xbox 360 Whistleblower
Microsoft has fired Robert Delaware, a temporary employer of the firm who spoke candidly with VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi on the technical problems of the Xbox 360. According to Mr. Delaware, Microsoft knew all about its console’s tendency to spontaneously die — unsurprisingly the suits in Redmond didn’t take too kindly to Delaware outing them like […]
Rock Band 2 Makes Old New Again
It’s the weekend of Rock Band 2. The Xbox 360 version of the game hit shelves today, so you’ll forgive me if there isn’t anything else to talk about. I just finished my review of the thing — no hints on how it scored, sorry — but my 330 word box didn’t leave me a […]
Ground Kontrol’s Rock Band 2 Launch Party (for Charity!)
Update: Details have changed! Most crucially the admittance fees have dropped to $3 per person for the daytime event and $3 for entry, $1 to play for the late night event. Have a look at the updated press release if you need more comprehensive info. Let’s face it: You’re a godless heathen. Instead of skipping […]
Evolutionary Road: Spore on the iPhone.
One of the reasons I decided to get drunk a few months ago and hack out my kidney with a steak knife was so I could use the profits from selling it on the black market to buy an iPhone. And one of the reasons I wanted an iPhone so badly was the promise of […]
Mountain Goats Write a Song for Toad
You might know Toad as that annoying little fucker who greets you at the end of every fourth level (except the last one) of Super Mario Bros. and breaks your heart with the news that–despite you risking your very life to make it this far–the princess is in another castle. Upon hearing that fateful line […]
The Supernatural Convergence of Judd Apatow, The Office, and Ghostbusters 3.
The fact that Ghostbusters is one of my favorite movies ever has previously caused me to get kind of rabid about the possibility of anything new and shiny and ghostbuster-y. Up until a week or so ago, any such developments were limited to the videogame (which is currently languishing in a weird sort of limbo). […]
