Here we go again, alternative rock band No Doubt have filed a lawsuit against Activision, claiming their image was used inappropriately in the popular game “Band Hero”. Both parties had an agreement to use the band members in the game.However, the band has taken offense at the use of avatars of their “characters” being able to sing other bands’ songs. The suit specifies one in particular where “the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes.”The band is seeking damages, as well as a cease and desist order for distributing the game as is. It would also like current copies recalled. Activision has responded, saying [Read More]

Walmart will be selling Xbox 360 arcade units from Nov.  7 through Nov. 13 for the standard price of $199, but the deal is they are throwing in a $100 egift card with the console.  Before you run to the store thinking you are getting a Xbox360 for $100, let me explain something.  If you don’t already know, the Xbox360 Arcade unit does not come with a hard drive. You don’t need a hard drive to play games, but if you want to take advantage of the Arcade Market Place, stream movies, or use some of the other features of Xbox Live, a hard drive is required. Adding a [Read More]

BioShock is still in my top five games list this generation. When I started playing this game it took a hold of me in a way that very few games do. I found myself sitting at work counting the hours until I could go home and play more. I thought about getting home and playing the game during my hour long commute and when I got there that was the only thing I wanted to do. When I finished the game I felt like all things Rapture related came to a close. It didn’t feel like there needed to be a sequel and when it was announced I felt disappointed [Read More]

I was five years old during the summer of 1984 when Ghostbusters the movie was released. To a five year old, the Ghostbusters were the coolest guys in the world. I remember going on a family vacation that summer and begging my dad to turn up the radio anytime the theme song came on the radio. When the movie was released on VHS, my brothers and I watched the tape so many times we could repeat every line in the movie from beginning to end. When I first heard that a Ghostbusters game was in production and the story was being written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, that five [Read More]

Sid Meier has stated that he plans on taking advantage of the popular social networking service Facebook to support a new entry into the Civilization franchise. Refering to it as the Civilization Network, Meier states ” the game will allow you to join together with your friends to create the worlds most powerful, richest, smartest, or just plain coolest civilization.”

If you haven’t purchased any of the addition episodes that have been released for Fallout 3 the Broken Steel expansion is the best place to start. There have been a lot of positive changes and updates to the core Fallout 3 game included in this release. Most notable is a change to the ending of the game. Fallout 3 did so many things right but the ending was one of the more anti-climatic endings of a game this generation. Ending the game actually means, ending the game. If players complete Fallout 3 and want continue exploring the wastelands and completing side quests they are forced to revert to a previous save file to do so. Downloading Broken Steel will allow you to complete the main story and continue exploring the wastelands filling those gaps in your achievement list.

Fallout 3’s downloadable content has been very successful. Each package has kept the spotlight pointed in Bethesdas direction well after the launch of the game in 2008. Keeping gamers focus on a single title for all these months is a big accomplishment, so why are they stopping at five?

Microsoft has announced that Grand Theft Auto IV: Lost and Damned will be featured as their Deal of the Week for starting on August 24th.

One of the more interesting Deal of the Week announcements to date, the first Grand Theft Auto IV episode will be available for 1,200 Microsoft Points, instead of the usual 1,600. After purchasing the Lost and the Damned myself (read my review here) I believed it was definitely worth its original price tag, but with the upcoming discount, every GTA fan should give the add-on a try. If you haven’t given Lost and Damned a shot I suggest you take advantage of the discount on August 24th.

I recently completed several fresh installations of Ubuntu’s Jaunty Jackalope edition (9.04) and I have found that getting media playback support working is a little easier than in previous versions of the Linux OS. If you are running an older version of Ubuntu or you want more information regarding media playback issues review my previous post here. If you are looking for the easiest way to getting full media support integrated into your installation, keep reading.

The idea of video games becoming a social experience has been a major staple of the current generation of consoles. Games like Rock Band and Wii Sports have broken the barriers of traditional gaming audiences and have friends and family of all ages lining up across couches everywhere to play games together. The integration of social networking tools into game consoles combined with the growing broadband adoption rate means that playing with friends is as easy as turning on your console. The majority of games released these days include some type of online multiplayer and co-op modes. The real question is, outside of the causal games, has all this massive multiplayer online madness really brought people together or is it pulling us further apart?