Oh man, I must be getting old. I remember sitting with rapt attention in front of my very first non-Commodore computer, desperately trying to decode the musical pattern and intricate puzzles of Myst. It was the first, and only, game I have every bought a “cheat” (read here strategy) book for, when I thought that I might go insane for being unable to find the correct sequence of buttons Well, the game that really got me going just turned 15 years old, having launched way back on September 24th, 1993. It remained the best-selling PC game of all time until The Sims de-throned it in 2002 and played a critical role in the popularization of the CD-ROM format for the PC. Happy birthday old friend and thanks for the memories! Via | Wired [Read more]

It’s a fairly standard equation: good games + lots of them = profit, so it’s no surprise that Microsoft’s XBL pulled in the best monthly sales figures it’s ever had. Microsoft is crediting the 67% increase to its “Summer of Arcade” promotion, which saw five weeks of rapid-fire, high-quality games hit the online platform. Of course it also didn’t hurt that there were some bigtime giveaways that included oodles of Microsoft Points, 360 Elite consoles and other goodies. Geometry Wars 2, Braid, Bionic Commando:ReArmed, Galaga Legions, and Castle Crashers all made their debuts, appealing to both old schoolers with a bit of nostalgia and new gens with some interesting titles. The big names and old favourites... [Read more]

Okay so you’ll have to forgive a moment of gratuitous posting…I couldn’t NOT put this up. Mostly because I want it on record that I’m wondering at the cost of future psychiatric bills for the little boy in this video promoting Guinness World Records: The Videogame. Not only is he forces to look incredibly happy playing a game on the Wii that he probably doesn’t give a crap about, he’s also forced to do so while dodging the talon-like nails of Lee Redmond, who currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest fingernails. On a side note, the game looks horrendous. [Read more]

I love the offbeat, irreverent humour of Lion Head Studios’ Fable II. It’s a cheeky, somewhat abrasive look at a fantasy world that is right up my alley, so to speak. As you can then imagine, I was more than a little disappointed at the announcement that the game would not be shipping with the online co-op as originally promised. No, like every other game studio in existence when under extreme deadline pressures to shove out less-than-finished products, they’re going to release a patch with the co-op hopefully during launch week meaning that gamers really won’t have to wait all that long for the chance at some socializing fun. It kind of begs the question then, if the co-op is that close to being ready, why they can’t... [Read more]

When training your brain, or battling Pokémon, you can now help those facing an infinitely more difficult real-life battle against breast cancer. A new edition of the Nintendo DS Lite has popped up on Amazon.com showcasing a polar white console sporting a pink ribbon to show solidarity and support in the fight against breast cancer. In a burst of charitable goodness, Nintendo has pledged to donate $5 from the purchase of every one of these special edition consoles to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, with a minimum donation of $100,000. If you don’t already have a DS, what better time to jump on the bandwagon? At the already reasonable price of $129.99, you’ll feel better forking over the cash (even for a second unit) knowing that part... [Read more]