An interesting and somewhat involved article popped up on Gamasutra last week comparing Blizzard’s World of Warcraft with the social networking site Facebook (yes, WoW has become this ubiquitous). The pairing-up looks into the logistics of each platforms’ interfaces and modes of interaction. The argument seems to be this, though we highly suggest you give it a read: WoW and Facebook are more similar than we previously thought due to both their uses as social platforms and the way in which they impose social conventions. Not to mention, the modes of interaction they mold through their respective interfaces.

Being a recently resurrected WoW player myself and a resident of many virtual worlds in the past, I can dig it. What is surprising is this is not the first nod to Facebook as a potential gaming platform and at this point, it’s quite possible. We can thank games like Farmville for this. Join us after the cut for a bit more on the possibilities. (more…)

The blogger / artist behind the site Infinite Continues is a mystery. I know he’s from the UK (London) and I know he loves video games… but that’s about it. I also know that he’s absolutely awesome at both, judging by his excellent Video Game Minimalism art, currently live on his Flickr page.

Infinite Continues calls the series Video Game Minimalism, and that its “an exploration of how a few key shapes from well-loved characters are instantly recognizable even when reduced to these simple forms.” Too true, IC. Too true.

Anyhow, check out the entire gallery here on Flickr. Truly outstanding. These belong printed out on 8x10s, and placed inside chunky Ikea frames. Tim knows what I’m talking about.

Via Super Punch!

Welcome to Geekadelphia’s weekly discussion column, Cofffee Talk, where we talk about the finer issues and topics concerning video games, technology and all the other things you can’t talk about with your slightly-less-geeky friends. Have a question for us or a suggestion for a discussion topic? Send an email to geekadelphia@gmail.com or tweet with us. Follow me on Twitter if you’d like to keep this week’s discussion alive.

Generally, the goal of absorbing story driven media like film or interactive media such as video games is to briefly escape into another world, right? It would be difficult to disagree that the reason why novels like the Harry Potter series or the Twilight saga are so popular is because they take iconic fantasy tropes like magic and vampires and insert them into our world. Since the birth of the world wide web, web designers and software developers have made several attempts at recreating this faux-realistic fantasy experience in real time using the internet and more recently, smart phones.

The term ‘Augemented Reality Game‘ (ARG) has recently become a buzz word in the tech world as visible progress has been made towards the ultimate goal of being able to see the world through RoboCop‘s eyes. We agree, that would be awesome. After the break, let’s see where ARGs are right now and discuss the future possibilities of what I like to call “holy-crap-there’s-a-dragon-in-my-living-room games”. (more…)

Long time no see, Geekadelphians. I apologize for my lack of presence on the site recently. Let’s just say finals suck and leave it at that. Kay? I’d also like to thank Dan for posting in my stead last week with a poignant look into digital distribution. If you have an idea for something we should be talking about or would like to make any suggestions, please email us at geekadelphia@gmail.com. Also, follow me on Twitter where the discussions can continue throughout the week.

Last week, Dan discussed digital distribution and its potential effects on the games industry. This week, we get a chance to see its realities as Chris Kohler of Wired points out that EA’s The Saboteur will release with some scandalous downloadable content (DLC) included in each new box. Scandalous in that this content will unlock a “nudity switch” within the game’s settings that causes the title’s strip club scenes to go truly topless.

The content will go for five big ones if you decide against buying The Saboteur new or borrow it from a buddy. So, what’s the big deal? Find out after the break. (more…)

I was walking around GameStop this holiday weekend looking at some of the great used game bargains, and something rather odd occurred to me looking at the boxes on the shelf. With the proliferation of buying content online through DLC (Downloadable Content), or on your device via an App store this maybe a thing of the past and if the game publishers have their way, it will be.

Lately I have been really questioning how long physical media is going to hang around for. This is because of the need for instant gratification in our consumer culture, I mean why go to the store and buy a game when you can simply get on the PlayStation store buy it, and download it to your device in minutes. I began to think how this is all playing to the Game Publisher’s advantage; who no longer wish for us to own something, but will gladly license it to us for the same price as buying the physical goods. Simply put when you don’t buy a physical game you can not resell it on eBay, loan it to your friends or trade it in for another game, which is money out of the game publisher’s pocket.

This is because 9 times out of 10 if you buy something online your technically not buying it, your simply licensing it for your device which your using it on. Your also agreeing to an insane EULA that is almost unreadable to someone is not studying law part time. The copy you end up buying is then usually somehow locked to your device in some way shape or form using DRM. If you’re not familiar with DRM it stands for digital rights management, and it’s what companies use to keep you from doing completely legal things with the media you purchase like lending it out or making a copy in case you lose the original. This is because DRM operates under the assumption that everyone is out to pirate their goods and treats everyone as suspect. Wonder why you can’t simply lend someone that game you bought on the virtual console, that’s DRM hard at work. It basically locks content to the buyer, ensuring that if someone else other than the original buyer wants to play it, they will have to buy another copy. So if you’re going over a friend’s house you can’t simply bring that game with you he has to buy a copy for himself, or if the game really sucks you can’t trade it in for another one. Last year GameStop ALONE made 2 billion dollars off used games alone that is a huge market, and that is money the game publishers feel should be going into their pockets instead of GameStop’s. How do you do this? Get rid of used games completely.

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Ah, at last, Peggle is on Xbox Live’s Deal of the Week. I haven’t been this psyched for a Deal of the Week since Puzzle Quest back in September.

If you’re not familiar with Peggle, read up some reviews on Metacritic. It’s easily one of the best puzzle games out there, and on the Xbox 360, you can play it multiplayer over Xbox Live. Awesome.

Other sweet deals this week include the See the Future DLC for Fable 2 for only $5 and Death Tank for $10.

Now I just have to wait for Gyromancer to go on sale. Sigh.

Via 1UP

Wow, it has been an amazing two weeks for special editions. Last week there was the enormous Modern Warfare 2 Prestige Edition, which came with those ridiculously awesome night vision goggles, and today, I’ve got my hands on the Assassin’s Creed II “Master Assassin” Edition.

You can take a look through the Flickr feed to scope out some snaps. The edition comes complete with a great looking action figure, and it’s a HUGE improvement from the tragically disappointing figure that came with the first Assassins’ Creed special edition.

Bravo Ubisoft, thanks for stepping it up.

Assassin’s Creed II Unboxing on Flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/geekadelphia/sets/72157622823505970/

Massively recently reported that EVE Online, CCP’s six-year-strong  outer space exploration and combat MMO, is currently holding its 4th Council of Stellar Management (CSM) election race until November 26th. The CSM is essentially an organization of EVE Online players, elected by other players, that represent the miniature society that EVE Online has become. They are in direct tandem with CCP concerning the outcome of the game’s (a loose term in this case) future.

Other developers are currently working at is normally referred to as player driven gameplay and have seriously impressive ideas, but none will perhaps come to the level CCP has with its very own player base council of movers and shakers. Whether this a good thing is your call. With its own thriving in-game economy driven by resource management, trade and piracy, it’s no wonder the virtual world needed some type of governing body (corruption included!). Prepare to put on your thinking caps after the break. (more…)

Yeah, I know. A lot of other blogs have already done this and some, like our friends over at Joystiq, even posted videos. But whatever. Words can’t describe how excited I was to open up this ridiculous special edition. Steelbook packaging, an art book, exclusive downloads, and of course, the night vision goggles.

Regardless of what some needlessly concerned folks might be saying about the goggles, this is one awesome box set. It’s going to look great on the shelf.

For those of you without a flash player, I’ve posted some snaps of the unboxing on the Geekadelphia Flickr.

Video game arcades are all but dead here in America, but in a magical place called Japan not only do they still exist, they are still the place to check out the newest games before they hit the console market. Tekken 6 for instance was released in Japanese arcades November 2007, and was later revised in 2008 as Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion. Tekken 6 was originally scheduled for a 2008 PS3 console debut, but was delayed an entire year with a very controversial announcement at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show: that this would be the first installment of Tekken NOT to be exclusive to the Playstation hardware. As far back as I can remember, Tekken was Sony’s flagship fighter much like DOA for the Xbox hardware. This all just seemed weird to me, like the first time I saw Sonic in a Nintendo game.

Tekken 6, which combines both Japanese arcade versions, was released in the US on October 26th for the PS3 and Xbox 360, and later this month drops on the Sony PSP. For this review I will be covering the PS3 version exclusively, and I will tell you how to win a copy of the Xbox 360 version later in my review.

The first thing you notice when you put in your disc is the gorgeous intro, which as an old-school Tekken fan, it was great to see my favorite characters updated for the current console generation. It’s been 3 years since Tekken 5 graced the PS2 and a lot has changed. This game looks beautiful to say the least. I remember seeing screenshots and thinking it can’t look that good, but it does indeed. The backgrounds are amazingly rendered and at times, very interactive.

There are 3 main modes of play in Tekken 6. Scenario campaign (Similar to Tekken Force) which is a story mode beat-em-up style fighter that not only manages recap every Tekken game’s storyline but makes it coherent and make sense as well, which is a feat in and within itself. Then there are 2 arcade modes online and offline, which should be familiar to anyone that has played Street Fighter 4. The online play I found really smooth and the load times were pretty good even if you didn’t have the game installed on your HD. The matching system is based on a very well instituted ranking system so you don’t get in a match you have no chance of winning. (more…)

Dhani Harrison, son of the late Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison, recently revealed the goals of his work with Harmonix on Rock Band 3 to the Chicago Tribune. Dhani discusses Thenewno2, his awesomely trippy jam band first featured in previous Rock Band titles, and later his more direct connections with the Rock Band franchise (i.e. his work on The Beatles: Rock Band).

“I’m working on Rock Band 3 and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game,” he confidently claims. “Give me a couple years, it’s going to happen.” More after the break. (more…)

Down, Right, Fierce is a weekly column about the video games, television shows, movies, and books that geeks care about. But mostly it’s a soapbox for Chris Holzworth to stand on and bark out his unwarranted, unwanted, and unwelcome opinions.

Like a lot of gamers, I decided it was time to buy a PS3 when Sony (officially) announced the PS3 Slim and the $100 price-drop during Gamecom. But, like a lot of writers, I’m pretty poor. Honestly, I only make enough money to pay my rent, cell phone bill, and GameFly account, so I decided to take on some side-work in order to earn the cash for a PS3 Slim. Fortunately for me, my father’s house, purchased three years ago, was still in disarray so I volunteered to do some manual labor for him. Specifically, I agreed to tear down the metal siding on his house. It was my naïve assumption that this task would take no longer than a week to complete. Unfortunately, thanks to New Jersey’s persistent rain this season, it took me a few weeks before I finally finished.

What I learned from this experience is that it’s easier to just go out, apply for a job, and earn a paycheck. This is the wisdom I impart to anyone reading this column. (more…)