Ben Zackheim
Articles by Ben Zackheim
If a game blog fell in the forest would anyone listen?
I hope you don't mind starting the morning with some good, old fashioned self analysis, but I just read a post that touches on something interesting. At least to me. A. Jacobson writes about game blogs in his own (great) game blog, render. Riffing from a Herald article, he asks what a lot of us around here are pondering — do bloggers have any influence on the game industry? The short answer is, not much. The longer answer is, not as as much as they will. Soon.
Sony PSP for 200 bucks?
Reports are starting to come out that Sony wants to offer a cheaper, non-"Value" Pack version of their hit portable. The 250 is a bit on the steep side, as everyone found out when the device didn't sell out within days of launch, as was expected. The new price is much more reasonable, though buyers will have to live without a case and a Spider-Man 2 UMD. Hey, you can spend the extra 50 bucks to buy a cheap case and an actual game. [thanks Anuj]
UN game appears to be a success
According to the UN's own news service, their recently released video game, Food Force, is soaring. The site claims that over a million people worldwide have downloaded the game. That's an impressive number, especially considering it's only been out for six weeks. The title is meant to be an educational product, where kids can negotiate their way through rebel blockades of humanitarian supplies and rebuild devastated areas.
Xbox 360 peripherals get their close up
If you've been pining for some high-resolution shots of Xbox 360 accessories for desktop wallpaper then you should get help. Then head on over to Team Xbox where they have some shiny pics of the camera, headset,memory card and remote. I'll admit the remote is a nice piece of hardware. If it's programmable it could be the only one I use. The site also has a good run-down of the devices' features. I don't know about you, but the original list of Xbox 360 features was a bit overwhelming. They say there were 360 bullet points, but I didn't count. It's nice to see things summed up nice and easy.
Battlefield 2 golden
Battlefield 2 is about to blow us away. The game has gone gold, and is expected to be on shelves in late June. The official shipping date is June 21. The online war game has looked really impressive for a while now, and continued to wow us at E3 this year. According to VE3D, Gamespot will have the exclusive demo on June 10th.
Halo 3 on pre-sale
Well, this is a nice treat to wake up to. According to Gamespot, Halo 3 is on pre-sale at Gamestop. The retailer has the 360 title listed for a June, 2006 release at 60 bucks. They also list DOA VolleyBall 2, Theseis, Metronome, and [eM] for the 360 (11/01 release dates and 60 bucks each). The pic above is from Halo 2.
ATI's Crossfire doesn't utilize Tucker Carlson's radiant smile…
...Sorry, the term "Crossfire" has been forever sullied by that crappy CNN show. Or not. Perhaps my psyche will give "Crossfire" a second chance, if the ATI silicon is sweet enough. ATI just announced a new tech that will allow you to get ATI SLI ASAP. All you need is an ATI video card, an ATI Crossfire Edition video card and an ATI Crossfire motherboard, and you'll be set to go! That's only around a thousand bucks… According to Gamespot… "The CrossFire Edition card contains a chip called the "Composition Engine," which receives data from a regular Radeon X800 class video card via a DVI input. The chip then merges the data and sends out the final output to your monitor." Great idea. But is this whole SLI thing really worth the cash outlay? Hey, if you can afford it, great. But should even the hardest core fall for two cards in one rig, especially when the odds are that a single card solution will probably kick the dual-card's fanny within a year (if not sooner)? Yes, the generational leaps between cards are not as pronounced as they once were, but they're still fast and furious. I'd think twice before jumping into this fad, as tempting as it may be.
E3 from the little guy's POV
We mentioned the big, glossy coverage of E3 yesterday. Today we want to highlight one of the little guys. Actually it was just two people, a camera and a good attitude. You definitely need one of those for E3. Their impressions are fun to read, adding a personal touch to the impersonal expo. A good read, and a great way to say goodbye to E3 2005 (at least until this evening). [via Metafilter]
Bomberman DS impressions
4 color rebellion has some hands-on tidbits for Bomberman DS, the upcoming title from Hudson Soft. The general sense of it is that you can safely get your hopes up. Some outstanding elements include voice activated activities ("BOMB!") and a full list of all the items (28 in all). Purchasing this one will bring my library of DS games up to 3. Boffo on the quality, slow but steady on the quantity…
PSPDrive provides multimedia content for your PSP
If you've been waiting for the flood of PSP media outlets to start, stop waiting. It's coming. PSPDrive is the latest site to offer PSP downloads for those who don't want to, uh, play games on it. You get film trailers, comics, strategy guides and podcasts, among others.
Xbox 360 game box design revealed?
Is this the look of the cover that will read "$59.99" come November of 2005? No, FFXI isn't coming out in November, but this is a possible sample of what the box design will be. It's certainly elegant in its simplicity. Nice logo, unobtrusive. An anonymous source sent it in, so factor that into your opinion…
Joystiq reader gets a peek at a next-gen invoice - Xbox 360 games available 11/02/05, 60 bucks
Saurabh Agarwal sends good tips. Here's an example — a first hand account of what the EBGames folks know about the 360. Whether these tidbits are "final" or not is another question. Saurabh writes… I was just at my local EBGames store here in Pittsburgh, PA, and the guy at the counter showed me this print out he just got with all the release titles, dates, and prices for the games for the XBOX360!!! The majority of the games are slated for release on 11/02/2005 with a few on the sheet slated for within a week after. The games included FIFA 2006, Tiger Woods, and many others (did not see a Halo though…which leads me to suspect it will come out when PS3 comes out). Games were priced at $59.99.
Nintendo World store impressions
If you're itching to get a good look at the new Nintendo World storefront in New York City, check this out. RedAssedBaboon has a little tour, with pics, and impressions of the shop's first week. All in all they liked what they saw, though the place seemed a little sparse in some areas. I look forward to heading there myself this weekend. They'd better have downloadable DS content or I'm calling the manager to the mat. [via 4ColorRebellion]
Playstation 3 grabs the "mind share" thingy
I love marketing terms. They spring forth from millions of dollars in pysch-research, so I have to assume they have some truth to them — but only enough truth to reveal that we like to buy stuff. Big revelation, there. "Mind share" is a great Bullshit Bingo term (an old faithful at this point) and it's reared its head in the next-gen console wars, mere days after E3. If IGN's GamerMetrics system is to be believed the PS3 came out of E3 with the lion's share of mind share. I could have told them that for free. They compute the percentage of our collective brain that thinks "PS3" when we think consoles, and the answer is…42. I mean 34. While the Xbox 360 garners 26%. Hot stuff.
What's the best console controller of all time?
Why do we ask? Well, take one look at Sock Master's Video Game Controller Family Tree, and your mind's eye will probably start going over all the controllers you've loved before. Personally, I prefer the Gamecube's feel more than anything else. I'd say the Atari 2600 is my sentimental fave, though I don't miss those damn thumb blisters. The worst? The original Xbox stick. But it barely beat out the awful Atari 5200 nightmares. [via digg]
The Zen of killing
This is what I would call a challenge. Try to kill your best bud in a Quake 3 Arena deathmatch without breaking a sweat. France Cadet, the French artist who works with gadgets, has made a three-person Arena rig with a Sweet Pad. The Sweet Pad is a USB controller that requires a gentle touch to use. If you get too twitchy you'll lose control, and probably lose the match to a cooler hand. I'm not sure this would be fun for more than a few minutes, but it's intriguing. We all hit that groove once in awhile during a deathmatch; but what if you had to be in that groove from the moment you sat down at the monitor? Talk about performance anxiety.
Big Games keep on catching on
The Wireless Weblog sniffed out a good gaming story this weekend. ConQwest's "Big Game" of 2005, in Portland, Oregon was a chance for hundreds of people to converge in one place, with cell phones in hand. The point of the party was to to roam the area and find "cellphone-readable" pictures. The team with the most pics/points at the end of the event won $5000 for their school. It's a simple test of the Big Game genre, but you can be sure we'll see plenty of this kind of activity in the coming years. Who will be the first Will Wright of Big Games?
Best of E3 round-ups
Now that the coverage/spin on E3 is dead and buried, it's time for the sites to start pulling out the "Best Of…" lists. Here's what we've enjoyed so far: Gamespot IGN Gamespy XPlay 1Up Punch Jump The "Best of Show" awards include Zelda and Spore. Predictable. Sure, the games were familiar — but they did look fresh on those bigger screens.
Nintendo DS gets another skin
The latest hue to hit the Nintendo DS is pink, with hints of Pokemon. The unit will have faint watermarks of rare Pokemon characters prancing around, making it a must-have for kids all over the world. Okay, and adults. The new DS was unveiled at the Nintendo Store in Japan, and will go on pre-order in June. Anyone see it at the new Manhattan location?
Freebie of the day: Puki The Swarm
If you like fun, free games you are our soulmate. If you don't, what the hell is wrong with you? the2bears has been kind of quiet recently, but he's thrown us a bone from the indy stew. Puki: The Swarm is a simple, tight game that combines the trench scene in Star Wars with a cute Chucky doll. It's hard to explain. Just go play.