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"Darksiders: Wrath of War" is a decidedly old school game. The developers freely admit that they take a lot of their inspiration from "Zelda" ("'Zelda' for grown-ups" being the running tag line), with character upgrades, puzzle-based dungeons and giant boss fights.

The traditional nature of the gameplay is apparently not lost on the marketing minds at THQ, who doled out cloth maps (pictured above) at a recent press event. The cloth map, as many old school gamers can attest, was long a staple of classic RPGs like "Ultima", so it's good to see them making a comeback.

I put in a word with THQ to see if they'd be releasing these as a pre-order bonus for those who plunk down early money for "Darksiders" (which releases on January 1st, 2010). Thus far no response, but check back, we should hear something shortly!

Tags darksiders, thq

UPDATE: That may actually be "Tekken" mainstay Yoshimitsu, in a Cardboard Tube Samurai outfit. Seems that pre-orders through various retailers will allow you to access a code to unlock the costume for the samurai robot.

Fighting games seem to be the genre most open to strange cross-overs. A SPARTAN in "Dead or Alive"? Darth Vader in "Soul Calibur"? The latest in a long line of franchise jumpers is probably more niche than you'd expect from a big name like Tekken, but it's guarenteed to bring it a wave of fans.

Yes, that's the Cardboard Tube Samurai, a long-time spin-off character in the universe of Penny Arcade. Even though his head is cast down and his hat covers most of his face, the telltale Pac-Man which adorns his robes makes him pretty much a given.

While the CTS (as he's commonly known) is a perfect fit for "Tekken," I couldn't help but wonder what other characters would've made for good fighting game fodder. The Fruit F***** seems like an obvious choice, but what about Twisp and Catsby as a potentially deadly duo?

Tags penny arcade, tekken, tekken 6

Shia LaBeouf, who is starring in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," is apparently not a huge fan of the Wii (despite there being a Wii version of the new "Transformers" video game. Speaking with The Big Download, LaBeouf said the following incendiary remark:

"This is how in a simple way you can find out if it's a gamer you want to play with. Ask them if they have a Wii. If they say yes, get the f*** out of there."

Wow, don't hold back there, Shia! Always good to see actors going off the chain a little bit.

Tags shia labeouf, tranformers: revenge of the fallen, transformers

Rockstar Games announced today that "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" will be PSP this fall.

The game will be a port of the up-until-now-exclusive DS game, which released to extremely favorable reviews but middling sales. Many attributed the DS's lower numbers of "hardcore" users as the cause for the less-than-stellar sales, so the PSP release should be an interesting test to see how well it performs (despite that platforms' considerably lower install base).

Like all new PSP games going forward, "GTA: Chinatown Wars" will be released as a downloadable title in the PSN store, as well as a straight UMD release, thus supporting the PSP Go and the older, disc-based PSP.

Tags grand theft auto, grand theft auto: chinatown wars

All of the games that support Wii MotionPlus have you holding the Wiimote in one hand like a wand, and it works great (depending on the software, of course). But what about the games that allow you to turn the Wiimote sideways like an old school NES controller? Say, for example, "New Super Mario Bros." The game, which was developed to be approachable to gamers of all skill-levels, can be played just like an old school Mario game...but not if you have Wii MotionPlus attached.

Tags nintendo, wii motionplus

"Adventure Quest" is a play steeped in video game history. Its direct inspiration goes back to the late 80s and early '90s, when point-and-click adventure games ruled with an iron fist. Titles like "Space Quest," "Kings Quest" and "Quest for Glory" have very strong memories associated with them, and the idea of making a play in the same style seems, well, novel.

Adam Swiderski is the director of "Adventure Quest," which is playing at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn throughout June and July. He says much of the crew is made up of true fans of the genre, all of whom have a "connection to Sierra-era adventure games."
Read more...

Tags adventure quest, gamer culture

The last in a lengthy series (well, 2 videos, but whatever), today we examine the fate of Totilo's game cabinet when it's placed in the hands of interns.

Here's the set-up: If you've seen the video, you know the cabinet was awash with ancient games of varying quality. Needing extra storage space I decided that the best way to clean the cabinet out would be to fill two large boxes with the remaining games and let the folks at MTV News have their way with them. The boxes were placed in the office which houses our friendly, neighborhood interns. This is the scene moments after I sent the email blast.

And so ends the story. The games that are left-over will either be sent off to the troops or recycled, depending on their level of good vs. terribleness. I hope you've enjoyed this two-part series (and the resulting response video)!

Tags mtv office

Yesterday, news was floating around the web about a possible game based on "Antichrist," a new movie from Lars Von Trier which has received a boatload of controversy. The film, which revolves around a couple staying in a cabin in the woods, is filled with extremely sexual and violent imagery, ranging from the graphic death of a child to close-ups of vaginal insertion and genital mutilation. It's not, shall we say, for the kids.

Today I had a chance to speak with Morten Iversen, the Game Director behind "Eden," the title based on "Antichrist." Iverson is not new to the video game world. He worked at Io Interactive as the writer of the "Hitman" series for six years before forming his own company. When that company went under he joined up with Zentropa, Von Trier's production company.
Read more...

Tags antichrist, eden

Bethesda has had some snafus with their recent DLC releases, but this time it's not on them. According to Kotaku, GameStop has begun selling boxed versions of the next "Fallout 3" DLC, "Point Lookout." The box really just contains a card with a redeemable code for Xbox Live, but typing in the code theoretically allows you to download the add-on, a full four days ahead of schedule. Bethesda says no, readers say otherwise, drama ensues.

"Point Lookout," set in Point Lookout, Maryland, is, according to Jeff Gardiner of Bethesda, the largest DLC pack yet. The world map for the add-on is about one fifth the size of the Capitol Wasteland, and it features a variety of new weapons and enemies to face off on. Here's Jeff giving us the lowdown on the pack.

Tags bethesda game studios, fallout, fallout 3, point lookout

Yesterday we had a little fun going through Stephen's cabinet of old games. My replacement at my former job, Chris Plante, thought it might be a good idea to do the same thing with my old stuff. Here's what he found.

What can I say, I ran a quality shop over there!

Tags mtv office