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| Everybody was Car-Fu Fighting |
| May 9, 2008 at 3:32pm |
It's not road rage; it's just
successful Car-Fu.
The old Speed Racer cartoon's theme song
began with the words, "Here he comes. Here comes Speed Racer. He's a
demon on wheels." Then the opening visuals would show him bumping a
competitor's car off of the road and the car exploding in a fiery
plume — all to the accompaniment of cheery, Herb Alpert-esque
trumpets. What would be considered poor sportsmanship, road rage
or even vehicular manslaughter in our world was considered as
good-natured competitiveness in Speed Racer's world of stunt
racing.
The Speed Racer movie, which opens today, tries to capture that
video-game feel of drivers ramming each other off of the road to get
the trophy. Oddly enough, the video-game versions of Speed Racer are a bit more successful at capturing
that video-game feel, but they have the advantage of actually being
video games to start with. The games will allow you to experience
the combat style of driving as you smash, jump, flip and spin other
cars off of the track. They even have a name for this act of
using your car as a weapon: Car-Fu. That's the beauty of video games.
They allow us to get away with things that are normally frowned upon
in polite society. We're pretty sure that saying, "I was just
practicing my Car-Fu" won't get you out of a speeding ticket. That's
the beauty of movies, as well. They allow us to escape the
constraints of reality for a while and imagine that it's perfectly
normal for saw blades to come out of a car.
While supplies last, you can enjoy the escapism of both a movie and a video game.
A limited number of
Speed Racer
games for Wii
and DS contain a
ticket worth up to $7.50 for the Speed Racer movie. So order yours
now, or pick up a copy at your local
GameStop
to become a Car-Fu
master. |
| EA SPORTS Hits the "Add Fun" Button |
| May 8, 2008 at 4:55pm |
The simpler controls of Freestyle
games will allow you to jump right into the breaking of faces.
EA SPORTS has a loyal, hardcore following for
such games as Madden NFL Football, NASCAR and Tiger Woods PGA
Tour, but they found that some casual gamers have a hard time
picking up on the complex controls. In response, they
recently announced the launch of a new sub-brand of Freestyle games,
which are designed to allow anyone to jump right in and start having
fun.
The first of three Freestyle titles to launch this year will be
Facebreaker, which is set to release in September. We recently had a
chance to try out a demo of Facebreaker, and both casual and avid
gamers quickly adapted to the controls and enjoyed the arcade-style
action of breaking each other's faces. In fact, one of our 98-pound
Moms dominated the winner's circle for quite a few rounds before she
was finally taken out. We were also shown a feature for Facebreaker
that will allow you to upload pictures of yourself, or your arch
nemesis, to go to fisticuffs as virtually anyone or with virtually
anyone. We envision William Shatner and Patrick Stewart duking it out to decide who was the best Enterprise captain.
You hardcore gamers out there can rest assured that you core
favorites will still have the realism and total control that you've
come to know and love, but it never hurts to get casual once in
while. For a sneak-peek at Facebreaker, check out the video trailer
on our Xbox 360,
PS3 or
Wii
Facebreaker pages. |
| Slug Your Way to the 2008 All-Star
Game |
| May 7, 2008 at 5:26pm |
If you can knock' em out of the park on
MLB 2K8, it could earn you a trip to the 2008 All-Star Game.
We hope you've been enjoying our weekly
Madden Mondays blog posts, each featuring another exclusive peek at
Madden NFL 2009. However, since it is baseball season, we would be
remiss if we didn't mention America's favorite pastime.
So buy yourself some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and get ready to slug
your way to the 2008 All-Star Game in the 2K Sports Major League
Baseball 2K8 Tournament. By the way,
did you know Jack Norworth, who composed the lyrics for Take Me Out
to the Ball Game, claimed he had never been to a Major-League
Baseball game at the time he wrote the song in 1908? However, he
admitted to owning a copy of MLB 1908, which ran on the
little-known Abox console,
which was apparently an actual wooden box with a baseball in it.
But we're concerned with 2008 right now. If you enter the tournament
and show off your MLB 2K8 home-run-derby skills at a Gamestop
near you, it could earn you a trip to the 2008 Major
League Baseball All-Star Game. Round 1 of the
MLB 2K8
Tournament begins this Saturday, May 10th. So head to a
participating store
before then to sign up. You can find
official rules and details
here. You can also order a
copy of
Major League Baseball 2K8
to start building up your slugging
percentage. |
| Madden Mondays Week
4: Returning Missed Field Goals |
| May 5, 2008 at 11:12am |
Would you attempt a field goal with
Hester in the end zone? Click the photo for the
larger version.
It's going right to him! Maybe you
should have punted. Click the photo for the
larger version.
In chatting with the Madden NFL 09
production team, we find that every year they are
challenged with a dichotomy of sorts. They want Madden NFL to raise
the bar in innovations and features, yet, in keeping with their
reputation for authenticity, the Madden franchise must remain true
to the overall game experience. That's why, no matter how many times
we ask, we won't see a running back activate his rocket boots to get
a first down. In fact, we're told that the list of the more than 85
new features for Madden NFL 09 does not contain rocket boots,
gravity guns nor mushrooms that make players grow to twice their
size.
However, sometimes innovations in gameplay easily lend themselves to
NFL authenticity. One of these Madden NFL 09 innovations is
the ability
to return missed field goals. Over the past couple of years, we've
seen in the real-world NFL how a seemingly insignificant field-goal
attempt can be turned into a momentum-changing, or even
game-deciding, touchdown return. Some of these are among football's
most memorable plays, like Nathan Vasher's and Devin Hester's
108-yard returns, or Antonio Cromartie's record-setting 109-yard
return last year for the Chargers.
This may change the way you think about that end-of-the-half 55-yard
field-goal attempt. If you look into the end zone and see Devin
Hester flapping his arms and practically salivating for the chance
to take your kick to the house, will you go for it or just take a
knee and regroup for the third quarter? You just might face that
exact scenario when the Standard and 20th Anniversary Collector's
Editions of Madden NFL 09 release August 12.
We'll bring you another exclusive sneak peek at another Madden NFL
09 feature next Madden Monday. |
| Experience the Magic of Your Local
GameStop this Weekend |
| May 2, 2008 at 4:54pm |
Could it be magic? Don't worry, it's just a
sale.
If you visit your local GameStop between now
and Sunday, May 4, you may experience a magical phenomenon. Just buy
two used games or accessories and "Poof!" You will get a third one
free! While at first glance it may appear to be something Doug
Henning would refer to as "the power of illusion," we assure you
that no occult powers nor even smoke nor mirrors are involved.
This offer is quite real. Buy two used games or used
accessories and you can choose a third used game or used accessory
of equal or lesser value at no charge. The details are on our
Trade-in Values page.
Have you ever wondered what happens to all of those magician's
assistants that go into those large boxes and then disappear? They
rematerialize inside one of our GameStop stores in southern Florida,
near the eastern tip of the Bermuda triangle. If you happen to know
a magician, this is a quick way to get to a GameStop store, but the
magician's assistants usually pick through all the good games. So
you should probably just walk, ride, drive or use some other form of
traditional transportation to get to the GameStop nearest you
this weekend. |
| We'll Put You on the Fast Track to
Ninja-dom |
| May 1, 2008 at 4:15pm |
We can't make you an official ninja,
but we can help you look the part or brush up on your ninja skills.
What does it take to become a ninja? Years of
training? Mastery of stealth and weaponry? Graduation from an
accredited ninja school? We're not sure what it takes to
become a real ninja, but we are sure you'll have a chance to look the
part or even get your hands on an Xbox 360 Elite console that looks the
part when you enter our "Are You a Ninja?" Sweepstakes.
Five lucky winners will receive an exclusive Ninja-Gaiden-2-branded Xbox 360
Elite gaming system and a copy of the Ninja Gaiden 2
video game for Xbox 360.
One lucky, but not quite as lucky, runner-up will receive the game
and a ninja suit, including a set of rubber shuriken stars and a
pair of rubber ninja swords. So It's a win-win-win-win-win-ninja situation!
Enter here for your chance to win.
Although we don't know the
minimum age to be a ninja, we do know that you need to be legally
considered an adult in your state to enter the sweepstakes, and you
need to be at least 17 to purchase Mature-rated Ninja Gaiden
2. Please look over the official rules here.
You can learn more about Ninja Gaiden 2 or
pre-order it online before its June 3 release. May destiny be with you in your quest for ninja-dom! |
| Grand Theft Auto IV Receives Perfect
Rating from Game Informer |
| April 29, 2008 at 4:10pm |
"Perfection" is a bold claim. There's always room for improvement… and
soft-serve ice cream.
Stunning realism, depth of story, freedom of choice, cutting
satire and outstanding gunplay are just a few of the reasons
Game Informer gave
Grand Theft Auto IV
a perfect 10-out-of-10
rating. Their online review is simply titled "Perfection," and they
sum up the game like this, "Grand Theft Auto IV doesn’t just raise the
bar for the storied franchise; it completely changes the landscape of
gaming. Once you play it, you won’t look at video games the same way again."
Although they say the single-player mode is worthy of
the perfect 10 rating by itself, they also describe the multiplayer mode as, "… insanity — wonderful insanity…."
While we agree that Grand Theft Auto IV promises hours of
satisfying, Mature-rated single-player and multiplayer action, we think the
claim of "perfection" is a bold one. There's always room
for improvement, right? We're not sure what that improvement would
be for Grand Theft Auto IV, but if there were some way it could
dispense soft-serve ice cream, that would be better. Soft-serve ice cream makes everything just a little better. If you visited your favorite buffet and kept
filling your plate until
you said, "I couldn't possibly eat another bite," and then you
spotted a soft-serve ice-cream machine in the corner, we bet you'd
make room.
However, until our team of GameStop scientists discovers a way to make
soft-serve ice cream come out of your console, you should be
satisfied with the kind of dark, gritty perfection that Grand Theft Auto IV
delivers. You can order Grand Theft Auto IV
for Xbox 360
or PS3
online, or visit your local GameStop. |
| Keep it Moving! Madden Mondays Week 3:
Options on Demand |
| April 28, 2008 at 11:20am |
Check player stats from the play-call
screen.
Click the photo for the
larger version.
Madden is poised and ready to dish
out one of his video tips. Click the photo for the
larger version.
Realistic action, graphics and presentation
are a big draw for Madden NFL games, but having to hit the "pause"
button several times a play can slow down the action, which detracts
a bit from the realism. In their efforts to keep the action moving
at an NFL pace, EA SPORTS has given us an exclusive peek at another
new feature for
Madden NFL 09:
the Options OnDemand Picture-in-Picture
Play-call Window.
To keep the game moving, the Options OnDemand PIP Play-call Window
will streamline the flow of important information, like player and
team stats, instant replay and even Madden Tips, which suggests
a feature you haven't used yet with a video tip explaining it. Think
of it as the animated paper-clip thing from Microsoft Office, except
it's MADDEN! You'll also be able to make substitutions right from
the play-call screen or challenge a call with Coach Picture-in
Picture.
Our EA SPORTS contacts tell us this is just one of dozens of
features that will improve the overall presentation of the game.
It's part of their "Beyond Broadcast Presentation" goal, which means
they are striving to make Madden NFL 09 redefine the broadcast
standard in such a way that the football networks will try to
emulate Madden NFL 09's presentation on their own broadcasts. Take a
look at Madden NFL 09 here,
including the 20th Anniversary
Collector's Edition, and check back here next Madden
Monday for another exclusive sneak peek. |
Previous Blog Entries
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Blog
April 21 - April 25, 2008
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April 14 - April 18, 2008
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April 7 - April 11, 2008
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March 31 - April 4, 2008
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March 24 - March 28, 2008
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March 17 - March 21, 2008
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March 10 - March 14, 2008
Blog
March 3 - March 7, 2008
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February 25 - March 01, 2008
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February 18 - February 22, 2008
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February 11 - February 15, 2008
Blog
February 4 - February 8, 2008
Blog
January 28 - February 2, 2008
Blog
January 21 - January 25, 2008
Blog
January 14 - January 18, 2008
Blog
January 7 - January 11, 2008
Blog
December 31, 2007 - January 4, 2008
Blog
December 24 - December
28, 2007
Blog
December 17 - December
21, 2007
Blog
December 10 - December
14, 2007
Blog
December 3 - December
7, 2007
Blog November 26 - November
30, 2007
Blog November 19 - November
23, 2007
Blog November 12 - November 16, 2007
Blog November
5 - November 9, 2007
Blog October 29 - November 2, 2007
Blog October 24 - October 26, 2007 |
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