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DeviantArt is an amazing place. You can find people from all walks of life, drawing about all kinds of freaky shit. There are fetishes there even I didn't know existed. Today, we'll step away from the 4Chan inspired artists, and take a look at Yaku-Zan, who seems to have more of a focus on video games than animatronic genitalia.


Boasting a collection of works inspired by NES, SNES, Genesis and Amiga characters, Yaku-Zan shows that retro = classic = memorable. From Ganon to Tails, each of these pixelated creations bring back memories that were never quite as clear as they are here. Where else are you going to find GBA Pokemon standing next to SNES Boba Fett? Never I tell you! Comparing an 8-Bit version of Samus Aran with her 16-bit counterpart reminds me of how big a jump we took between console generations.


Visit Yaku-Zan's page and see for yourself. http://yaku-zan.deviantart.com/gallery/

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Steve Lanoce is a detective on the NYPD Bomb Squad. He and his canine partner, Duke, were there for 9/11. Detective Lanoce has received the Medal of Valor for his service at that time, making him much brave than you. He and Duke have been on duty for presidents, heads of state, the UN, Yankee and Shea stadiums, the US Tennis Open and in the transit systems for New York City.

Now you can work side by side with Det. Lanoce in Bomb Squad: NY, a game from those who brought you Buku Sudoku on XBLA. Partnered with Duke,  you must trust your skills and his instincts to find possible bombs and deactivate them before disaster strikes. Together, you will advance in skills and hopefully bring the terrorists threatening the city with bombs to justice... before it's too late.

Bomb Squad: NY is an opportunity to take the police procedural so popular on TV to the next level...Only in the gaming sector can the player actually interact with the characters, and more significantly, interact with real heroes like Detective Lanoce. That’s something that NCIS or Criminal Minds could never match.

Merscom is a pretty successful casual mass market game developer. Having produced 9 'Top 5' casual games in 2008. The secret seems to be in the teams they have working with them. Merscom’s Analytics Team, which consists of leading consumer behavior researchers from Duke University, MIT’s Media Lab and Vanderbilt University, has directed the design and development of Merscom’s online survey system and data gathering tools. These tools allow them to make changes to their games which players find to be important.

Although they have released Buku Sudoku for the Xbox 360, I'm think Bomb Squad: NY will be a strictly PC end...

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Alien Arena has been a staple in the Open Source game world. Having been built on a customized version of id's Tech-2 CRX engine, the game received generally good reviews from the gaming press. Being free to download and play on both Linux and Windows operating systems helps boost the games coverage.

Now, Games On Net has a story showcasing the features in Alien Arena 2009. It's highly suggested readers head over to their site and check out the incredibly advancements made by the team.

http://games.on.net/article/6304/Free_FPS_Alien_Arena_2009_Out_Now

Here are a few quick highlights.

• GLSL per-pixel lighting on all surfaces.
• OpenAL 1.1
• Ogg-Vorbis support.
• GLSL post process framebuffer effects.
• New scoreboards.
• New HUD.
• Stereo music files.
• Seven new maps and two new player characters.
• Light volumes.
• Voice taunt system.

To some of you, that list might not mean anything, so let me break it down. This means a leaner, meaner, faster and smoother Alien Arena. The game is supposed to set a new standard in freeware FPS games. If you like deathmatch fragging, check it out and let us know what you think.

[EDIT] The icculus servers seem to be getting hit pretty hard. This was to be epected, but if you don't get through, know that it's because of the games popularity. This means more players for you to get involved with 

http://icculus.org/alienarena/rpa/

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George Costanza, what can I say about the man? George was never able to hold down a steady job, but thanks to loving parents, he always had a place to stay. Then complained about what crappy parents he had. If anything, George was a loser. Overweight, unemployed, annoying to his friends and great at video games. In an episode of Seinfeld titled, 'The Frogger' , George and Jerry visit their teen hangout. A typical pizza parlor that hosted girls in short skirts, shared milk shakes, and a Frogger arcade machine in the corner. At the pizza parlor, George discovers he still has the high score on the old Frogger video game, with a score of 860,630 points.

That is, until June 20th, 2009. Donald Hayes will be challenging the mythical score at Challenge Arcade in Wyomissing, PA. Having already accomplished the feat using MAME, Mr. Hayes is setting out to prove it can be done on the original arcade machine. This wont be the first time George's score has been challenged, not even by Don Hayes himself. Approximately an hour into each previous attempt, the machine being used would become glitchy, forcing the game session to be compromised and a high score to be inconclusive. This time the hardware has been analyzed and approved by the folks at Twin Galaxies.  Judge Dave Nelson will be present for the event, making sure the run is properly recorded, and the high score documented should it happen.

If you are in the area, make sure you stop by and watch the event. If you don't like crowds, pop in on Friday and watch the practice rounds. If you aren't in the area at all, but would like to see a small bit of video game history get made, check out the Challenge Arcade justin.tv livefeed. [ http://www.justin.tv/challengearcade ]

Al...

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THIS WEEK!

It's super Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! This week has a little something for everybody, unless you happen to own a Playstation 3. If you do happen to use a PS3 to fulfill your needs for interactive entertainment, then you are probably used to most weeks looking like this one. ZING! Hate the messenger, not the message.

Notice: Boom Blox Party Bash is released this week.

Terminator Salvation (PS3, 360) makes it's consumer debut Tuesday. I have to admit, I know nothing more about this game other than it's based on the new movie that's set to be released, which I also couldn't give two shits about. Seriously, if John Connor looks at a fucking Terminator and utters the line, "Who are you?" I'll personally come to everyone's house and kick them in the balls so as to distract them from the painful stabbing that inflicts their brain as the dialogue pours from sorrow filled speakers. I bet the special effects are AMAZING though.

Punch-Out! (Wii) It's no secret I have been awaiting this game. Aside form humming the music and annoying the hell out of my co-workers by sporadically screaming out, "ZE UPPACUT!!" I have also managed to use this games release to pre-order my first ever game. That's right, my first time ever pre-ordering was for Punch-Out! on the Wii. The reason? Target has these cute little pre-order cards they use now. Yes, I am aware the title will probably not be difficult to find, and yes, it's unlikely that the Target will run out of copies. Either way, I'll be knocking the croissants out of Glass Joe tomorrow evening. Eat that.

Bionic Commando (PS3, 360) Crap. I lied. Here's another game for the PS3. Both Sony and Microsoft are sharing releases this week. Bionic Commando finally sees it's release on the 19th. The hottest thing the video game industry has going for it right now is new edition...

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Marblet is a time waster from Dutch (we believe) developer Kenney. Taking a note from Marble Madnees, this flash game puts the player in control of a fragile round glass. The purpose, of course, is to navigate the narrow corridors and rubbery obstacles to reach your destination. The game looks a lot better than it's predecessor, but the controls are just as frustrating. Having the playing field tilted at 45 degrees makes navigating with up, down, left, and right arrows incredibly difficult. Of course, after getting used the response time, the game simply becomes a challenge on your patience and quick reactions.

Some unique features of Marblet is locked tile spaces that prevent the player from advancing until they roll over a switch. This allows Kenney to force the rest of use to balance plateaus we would rather not venture. Give Marblet a try and see what you think. Hell, it's the weekend and you don't have anything better to do anyway. All in all, I found the game to be quite enjoyable.

[edit] OH HEY! Here's a link to the site! http://kenney.nl

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DeviantArt(ist) Orioto likes video games. Apparently, he also likes to paint. Lucky for us, when these two combine inside of his mind, we get to see some stunning results. Imagining a world where classic video games get remade into high definition versions without losing their charming personalities, Orioto has composed precisely that. Visit his DeviantArt page to find high quality, freely obtainable versions of his art. Here are just a few I've decided to showcase.

http://orioto.deviantart.com/gallery/?6943610#Videogame-Remakes

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Hey, I know you were thinking about that new Hello Kitty DS game. Before letting your Hello Kitty fanboyism get in the way of your better judgement, take this moment to learn something about the game... through song.


This isn't the first video game review Rebecca Mayes has done as a ditty. Previously, her Hotel Dusk review garnered her internet stardom. Also, a Christmas song that's called Press A and is centered around Wii Sports.Making the most of her 15 minutes in the limelight, Ms. Mayes now accepts donations from those suggesting her next game review. The reviews are freely available in the MP3 format from Game People.

Here, I present an interview that was performed with Ms. Mayes, and put out as a press release from the Game People website. I didn't conduct this interview, but since it was handed out for me to publish as if I had, feel free to believe that I have a relationship with a gorgeous, talented, video game nerd that is talented enough to sing about Okami. I wont hate you for it.

Rebecca Mayes Hello Kitty Interview

Are your audio gamer songs really reviews or just odes to the games?

They're certainly not classic reviews, and neither are they particularly thorough. I wouldn't recommend relying solely on my reviews if you want info on a game, but they are most definitel...

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The first mission of The House of the Dead: OVERKILL is also Special Agent G’s first mission. He has been dispatched by his agency, the secretive AMS, to investigate Papa Ceasar’s connection to a host of mysterious disappearances. At the exact moment G arrives, Detective Washington also turns up at the gates of the plantation house, on the trail of his missing father.

From the outset a tension exists between these hardboiled professionals, each feeling the other is stepping on their turf. But, when mutants attack, the Detective and the Agent are forced to accept that two guns are better than one and that an immediate and violent response is required.

The pair storm the plantation house grounds, gunning their way between trees and shrubs, capping mutants left, right and centre. Before long they reach the doors of the plantation house itself. They break in and find the place overrun with mutants. Something has gone badly wrong here…

Inside the Plantation House, a host of sick and twisted surprises awaits our heroes, and holed up in the basement is their nemesis, Papa Ceasar, with the first surprise in what promises to be a long, dangerous night in Bayou City.

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL uncovers the ugly, terrifying, red hot secrets behind the House of the Dead; the daddy of all over-the-top shooters.  While staying true to the classic gameplay this hugely successful SEGA series is getting a new retro look, with distinctive graphics, sound and attitude that will add to its horror cool status.  Plus, thanks to the Wii Remote™, players will fight off zombies when they get too close; pistol-whipping jaws off and smashing in skulls with their shotgun butt.

[Editors Note:] House of the Dead 2 & 3 Returns has me primed for this game. If you already have that and need more zombie shooting action to get read...

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Infinite Ammo has caught a lot of attention for their recently announced game, Marian. Although it's the project that originally brought the team together, it's not their first. Before Marian is released, we'll be able to play another game from Infinite Ammo, Heroes and VIllians. There hasn't been a definite release date for Heroes and Villians, but if you're impatient to see what this team is capable of, you might want to check out a title they've been working on for 3D Gamma.

Paper Moon is a sidescrolling platformer that has characteristics similar to a pop-up book. The images are hand drawn, on paper, than scanned into the game and used for characters and environments. Although playable in 3-D (which one would imagine makes the pop-out parts of the game look totally awesome) I wasn't able to find the glasses required to make that work. Unfortunately, it seems most retailers don't carry 3-D Glasses. Regardless, the game has a concept that works perfectly without said accessory. The ability to pop-out portions of the level gives the player the ability to reach portions of the level that would otherwise be inaccessible. The puzzles force the player to think outside of the rules they've become accustomed to, while the unique levels keep anyone interested.

The Paper Moon demo was released back in November, and somehow was overlooked. If you like games, or just want to see what a small team is capable of, you should check out Paper Moon. Input options include keyboard or X360 controller. No word on when the final version of the game will be released.

Download the demo: http://infiniteammo.ca/blog/paper-moon-demo-released/