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PVP video unleashed for new Star Wars game
LucasArts producer Dan Wasson stopped by G4's X-Play show to demonstrate the Duel Mode and Wii controls for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed -- in an empty movie theatre, no less -- and, while it's no Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the game certainly has its charms.Using the force, or unleashing it, as LucasArts suggests you do, to throw everything you can at your opponent while TIE fighters float around you is a scene we have no problem taking part in. All we need to know now is whether or not we'll still be able to play the game with the Wii Light Sword attachment to further immerse ourselves in the Star Wars Kid experience. Jump past the break for video from the preview! Gallery: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
Earn H3 Recon armor with G4's Sarkathlon 2
G4 is challenging Halo 3 players to another round of Mr. Sark's forging torment which is now being called The Sarkathlon 2. And if you have the right blend of talent and persistence to outshine all your opponents, Recon glory will be yours.For those out of the know, The Sarkathlon is a custom Halo 3 map that is created to test players' skills, wit and talent with the goal of completing all the obstacles in the fastest time possible. This time, for The Sarkathlon 2, we're being told that the Legendary Map Pack will be used and will be much, much, much more difficult. So difficult that Bungie has partnered with G4 to give the grand prize winner the exclusive (and so so elusive) Halo 3 Recon armor. The Sarkathlon 2 begins tomorrow and will run through Friday, May 2nd so keep your eyes on G4 tomorrow when challenge details and map download information will be revealed.[Via HBO]
Game Developers Choice Awards on G4 tonight
In case our live coverage of the Game Developer Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival Awards wasn't enough to sate your appetite for GDC's prestigious ceremony, G4TV will be showing coverage of the event tonight.A 30-minute recap of the two-hour event will air tonight at 8:00 PM EST (5:00 PM PST), as part of a special episode of G4's X-Play program. If you miss it, the episode will re-air several times on Saturday, March 1, Sunday, March 2 and Monday, March 3. Check out the episode guide for the full list of times.For those with a distaste for digests, the award shows' organizers will be hosting full-length streaming video coverage of both events on their respective websites sometime in the next week. We'll keep an eye out for when those streams become available.
Zero Punctuation 'previews' begin on X-Play Feb. 12
If you can't wait until Wednesdays to get your Zero Punctuation fix, G4's X-Play will begin showing "previews" of Yahtzee's adventures in game-review land every Tuesday beginning February 12 before the "uncut" reviews are posted on The Escapist the following day.Basically, G4 will probably be showing a watered-down (i.e. censored) version of the profanity-laden reviews before The Escapist gives us our quality fix the following day. Although its nice that G4 is presumably giving Mr. Croshaw some extra cash to spend on hookers with genetic anomalies, perhaps X-Play (and its revamped format) could come up with something original to grab viewers instead of riding The Escapist's coattails? But, this is clearly a win-win for both sides.
Gerstmann talks firing on X-Play tonight
In his first television appearance since his controversial firing, Jeff Gerstmann will appear at 8 p.m. tonight on G4's recently redesigned news show X-Play. According to a G4 press notice, Gerstmann will be discussing innovation (or the lack thereof) in Japanese gaming and will also "field questions regarding his previous position with Gamespot, as well as his current and future endeavors."For those who've missed Gerstmann's calming presence on On The Spot, this will provide a great opportunity to see the big guy back in action. For everyone else, er ... there's another story right below this one!
Video: First Prototype gameplay footage
Last night on G4's X-play, Morgan Webb got the chance to talk with Radical Entertainment and get a first look at a hands-on game demo of a little game called Prototype. And knock us off the sofa with a softball bat, this game has potential.The six minute gameplay preview showcases a 20% complete build of Prototype where they highlight the main character's morphing abilities, the crazy about of mayhem that goes on at any given moment and some serious body dismemberment. All of our previous hopes and interests pertaining to Prototype have been further solidified after watching this hands on demo as we can truly say this game has a lot going for it. Destruction on a mass scale, super human abilities, visceral moments and a little thing called online co-op makes us giddy with anticipation. Watch the embedded hands-on demo above and check out the teaser demo after the break featuring some crazy helicopter hijacking. Just think ... the build you are watching is only 20% complete!
Sessler speaks about X-Play format shift
Love it or hate it, GameSpot TV Extended Play X-Play remains the golden child of the Comcast-owned G4 network. Since the channel's rebirth in 2004, the program has kept its position as the highest rated show on G4 -- beating out reruns of Cops and Cheaters by what we can only assume is a narrow margin. Despite X-Play's pseudo-success, the show will see a major format change come mid-January. Joystiq's own Kyle Orland got a chance to talk to Adam Sessler, X-Play's host of ten years (and G4's recently appointed Managing Editor, Games Editorial) about the show's makeover. According to the Sess, the show will now air five days a week, focusing its attention on gaming news in addition to its usual reviews and feature segments. This doesn't mean the show is ditching its hit-or-often-miss sense of humor: "The tone of the show isn't going to be some grave, severe thing, because at the end of the day this is video games," Sessler said.Sessler goes on to defend G4's somewhat lackluster programming lineup, saying he would rather "see a network with a lot of fresh content that's not always consistent on one topic rather than the same three hours repeated ad nauseum." We agree that it would be difficult to come up with an entire day's worth of programming based on video games, but perhaps they could find something a tad more relevant with which to fill those grim interims than syndicated episodes of The Jamie Kennedy Experiment.
Can't play your MMOs over the holidays? Watch 'em instead!
One of the unfortunate side effects of the holidays is that many of us have to leave our rigs behind us as we make the often lengthy journeys from our gaming hovels to visit family and friends. In a lot of cases, we're lucky if our relatives have broadband, let alone the kind of computer that could run our taste in MMOs. So unless you've got a pretty kick-ass laptop, you're almost assuredly out of luck when it comes to satiating your gaming urges.For those lucky enough to be in a household with cable, we may have stumbled on a bit of gaming methadone to help calm the shakes. G4 recently aired a special on the "MMO Phenomena," which covers World of Warcraft, Tabula Rasa, Age of Conan, The Agency, God & Heroes, Second Life, and more. Nobody on-staff has seen the program yet, so we can't really vouch for it's quality, but it's better than nothing, and it should be on a fairly regular rotation. Keep an eye out!
Morgan Webb talks gaming's double standards
As the start of a week-long series on women in the game industry, MTV Multiplayer has a revealing Q&A with Morgan Webb, the curvier half of the hosting duo behind G4's X-Play. While the interview covers a lot of topics, perhaps the most persistent running theme is Webb's ambivalence about her status as a successful, visible female game journalist.On the one hand, Webb says, "it used to really bother me that men ... would assume that I don't really know what I'm talking about or would know less than a man on the topic." On the other hand, though, Webb acknowledges "I wouldn't be where I am if I were a man, to be honest. I wouldn't be on the show. I wouldn't be writing columns for FHM. I wouldn't be considered just like a rare and interesting... specimen or whatever, if I weren't a woman. So I am where I am because I'm a woman and that's just the way it is."While Webb is a big booster for the game industry, she says she doesn't necessarily see herself as a spokesperson for 'girl gaming.' "I don't think the world will necessarily be a better place if I get lots of young woman to play video games," she said. "If a woman wants to play video games, more power to her ... but I have a lot of girlfriends who couldn't care less about video games ... and I don't think their lives are missing anything for that."The lengthy full interview is packed with more of Webb's thoughts on forum trolls, posing for Maxim and the effects of being both one of gaming's most prominent women and a minor TV celebrity. Take a few minutes and give it a read.
G4 gets LOST, network execs miss obvious joke
Crashing down any hopes that G4 might turn itself around and work at producing quality video game and tech television, the network spent big money for the rights to air reruns of LOST. The series will begin airing in the fall of 2008, joining other nails in the former tech and video game station's coffin like COPS and Star Trek.Sci-Fi also picked up the rights to LOST, but at least that makes sense, because we all know the castaways are actually encapsulated in a glass bubble floating through space. G4 plans to redo LOST like they did Star Trek by creating "LOST 2.0," which will offer interactive elements and display factoids during the broadcast. G4 and Sci-Fi allegedly paid $200,000 per episode for the series -- although Sci-Fi footed most of the bill. Although it's sad to see G4 continue down this path toward becoming the poor man's Spike TV, at least we've got GameTrailers making good video game retrospectives. It could also be worse, G4 could still be doing that whole The Whip Set thing. Don't remember what that was? Check out the trailer after the break.
Sessler says quit hating on Halo 3 already
G4's outspoken and somewhat controversial Adam Sessler is standing on his Sessler Soapbox again, this time defending Halo 3 against all the haters. And yes we were just as surprised as you, but it's fact ... there are Halo 3 haters out there. What a crazy world we live in.Anyhoo, per the video embedded above, Sessler talks about the greatness that is Halo 3, why it is so damn fun and why the haters of the world should pretty much much quit their hating ways and lay off Halo 3 because of its popularity. And to be fair, he even says that it isn't the best game out there or even game of the year caliber (which we whole-heartily dispute), but it's a great gaming experience no matter how you cut it. So, if you know someone or are one who hates on Halo 3 for no particular reason other than your sad, jealous rage then take Adam Sessler's advice and shove your ... well, we'll let you watch the video for yourself. More gravy please![Via 1P Start]
Apple forced to pay up over iBook G4 flaw
Just months ago, the Consumer Complaints Board in Denmark announced that it had "proven" that the logic board within a slew of Apple's iBook G4s were faulty, and now it seems that Cupertino has been forced to cough up reparations. According to InfoWorld, a US-based Apple spokeswoman stated that it "disagreed with the DCCB's findings based on its own investigation, and has a strong track record for customer satisfaction." Apparently, the counter report that Apple assembled wasn't enough to persuade the board that the swarm of customer complaints were unwarranted, and now Frederik Navne Boesgaard (of the CCB) has said that Apple "paid up" after conceding the point.
G4 makes Red Ring of Death metal music video
We've given G4 a hard time in this very space before, but when they get one right, we've got to give it to them. And this is one of those times. We're not sure if we're alone in this, dear reader, but we got some chuckles out of their new "Red Ring of Death" music video by Distended Warranty (disclaimer: We doubt that's a real band).So, yeah, they're just a touch late to the party on this this one. But come on, "console's hotter than a dragon's breath"? That's funny. ... Well, it's funny if your 360 never broke. If you're among the unlucky more-than-a-few who've rode the ring you're probably pumping your fist in the air with the tragic sincerity of a new father listening to Creed's "Arms Wide Open" in the late 90s. Put your hand down, man. You're depressing us.
Deconstructing G4's MySims preview
Tim Letourneau of EA took a few moments to chat with G4 at E3 (it's an acronym party!) about MySims, and he had some interesting things to say about designing the game for the Wii. And by interesting, we mean both vaguely amusing and very revealing. Since we're such nice people, we thought we'd take a moment to offer a translation for some of the things you can hear in the video snippet found after the break.First, Letourneau says, when EA began planning MySims, they needed to figure out how to give a Sims game a unique look and feel for Nintendo and the Wii. Translation: How can we make a Sims game sell well in Japan? He goes on to mention that one of their goals was accessibility -- but what we hear is: the money-printing Sims franchise can bring in a whole lot more money if we finally make a version that's great on consoles. Let's make it all-ages friendly, too! And actually, we agree that this is a fantastic idea; surely you've noticed us mooning over every aspect of the game. However, "accessibility" has become one of those Wii buzzwords that we're getting tired of. But it's the last bit that makes us giggle. Letourneau spends a good portion of the brief segment discussing how the whole thrust of this game -- and how it's different from other Sims titles -- is to allow the player to craft an entire town, from the ground up, for that Nintendo experience. We're pretty sure he wanted to say that Animal Crossing experience ... because other than being able to build and fiddle around in the other houses in the town, what he's describing sounds essentially like that beloved title. But again, we don't mind -- we love Animal Crossing, and a similar game with expanded building and decorating options sounds like something we'll pour entire months of our lives into. Bring on MySims!
Joystiq's Kevin Kelly talks delays on G4
Have all the game delays got you down? Put a relaxing cap on your Tuesday workday by watching Joystiq's own Kevin Kelly explain why Uncle Niko won't be able to visit this Halloween, why Blacksite might be here for Thanksgiving and why nothing short of a Christmas miracle will get Spore out the door before the end of linear time, generally speaking.If you're still not cheered, you can thrill as Kelly storms into the G4 studios and beats the intellectual bejeezus out of Rebecca Swanner, Senior Videogames Editor for Penthouse Magazine! ... And by "beats the intellectual bejeezus out of" we mean "politely disagrees with." Sorry for any confusion. Check the small-ish video out after the jump.
G4 makes Master Chief's True Hollywood Story
Is this video kind of silly and chock-full of groaners? You bet. But there are still some choice moments in G4's True Hollywood Story treatment of everybody's favorite Spartan, especially his Hasselhoffian drunken burger binge.Interestingly, the video is much more entertaining than the Halo film's true Hollywood story, which could be summed up as "What's Halo? They want how much? Who's that guy? It's canceled." That's not even worth posting on YouTube.
G4 broadcasting min-E3 live
If you lack either the prestige to garner an invite to E3 2007 for yourself or the intestinal fortitude to handle the smell of thousands of sweaty game journalists wafting over you, you can find some coverage direct from G4 this year. Perhaps most exciting though will be their plan to broadcast all three of the big keynotes (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) live. We know you're worried that without the Internet to act as a filter between you and Reggie, your head might explode. It's an understandable concern. We've lost a few too many bloggers who didn't have their skulls properly reinforced with titanium. We'd suggest watching G4 while you read Joystiq, allowing your laptop to act as a shield between you and messages of corporate synergy. Of course, that's just us. (Side note: G4 gets adorable points for proudly pointing out how relevant their coverage is now that E3 is "closed to the public." ... Shh, we won't tell them if you don't.)
Is it worth watching X-Play to see some No More Heroes footage?
We say it is! No More Heroes is the pinnacle of Wii awesomeness. Unfortunately the G4 website is the nadir of annoying Flash navigation. You have to click "Videos," then the X-Play icon, then the No More Heroes link. But once you've jumped through all those hoops-- beautiful gameplay footage. And English voice acting!No More Heroes looks as stylish and cool in motion as it does in stills. Sword combat looks great, with insane duels ending in explosions of blood. It looks like a real action game-- much more so than Killer 7. The motion-controlled Beam Katana charging is, well, inspired. The wrestling moves appear numerous. And then, as if merely to fill space, there's a surprise Suda 51 interview.No, there's no explanation of the tiger graphic. Yes, we're a little disappointed too.[Via NeoGAF]
G4's new show Code Monkeys has potential, squanders it
Our expectations for G4 television aren't particularly high, but we admit to having thought for a moment that their new video game-oriented cartoon show Code Monkeys would at least be entertaining. Between having a theme song by geek folkster Jonathan Coulton and cameos from the likes of Steve Wozniak, Nolan Bushnell, and David Jaffe, there was hope that G4 could deliver something actually watchable. It isn't.Edgy video site Break.com is hosting the pilot episode of Code Monkeys, which will premiere on G4's cable network on July 11th. The show, which uses an "8-bit" animation style, focuses on two video game programmers working at a company called Gameavision in the 80s. Peppered with crude drug humor, pop culture references, and bizarre video game-isms, Code Monkeys is oddly reminiscent of the film Grandma's Boy, and that's not meant as a compliment.Those with the time and brain cells to kill can check out the entire 20-minute pilot episode here. Everyone else can take a peak at the NSFW preview after the jump. Don't say we didn't warn you.
Rig of the Week: The ATX G4
This week's rig features one of the best-looking G4s you'll ever see. Enterprising reader :: Jonathan transplanted the guts from his destroyed G4 into an ATX case he had lying around. Sure, the power buttons didn't line up and the had to do some sawing to make the ports accessible, but the important thing is that he saved a Mac. Good job.ATX G4 posted by :: Jonathan.If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. Each Sunday we'll comb through the most recent entries and declare a "Rig of the Week!"
