Tech News Today

Download our super-sized pictorial guide to the last fifteen years of Pokemon!

Could this be the year the Wii finally packs a punch for the Nintendo faithful?

Farmville (Web)
Updates from the top Facebook games this week

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: True Crime looks good. The game was demoed for me in a private suite, played live, and talked up by the developer. Mixing the best parts of Stranglehold and Grand Theft Auto IV, it was a game where we walked in with low expectations and walked out very excited about the story of an undercover cop in the wilds of Hong Kong.

Now, let’s talk about the way games are marketed at events like GDC. Activision paid for an area in the W Hotel to look like a shady club from the game and decked it out with seedy characters. Two stripper poles were set up in the room, and beautiful women used them to demonstrate how long they could hold their own body weight upside down. Camera phones were out, free drinks were enjoyed by all, and camera crews worked the room fervently. This is video games.

Read the comments on this post

When the series could do no wrong

Pokemon SoulSilver Version (DS)
Our complete guide is full of a whole lot of heart and soul.

Offers perspective, a positive outlook, and plenty of jokes.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PC)
Eidos Montreal talks breakfast cereals, Detroit’s cyberpunk Renaissance, and the world’s most dangerous idea.

Those playing Assassin’s Creed 2 on the PC got a rude reminder of DRM’s pitfalls when the servers that authenticate the game went down. Many complained on the company’s official forum, and tempers ran hot.

At GDC, Sony showed off its new PlayStation Move controller, along with a number of games. The audience response was positive, but the demos shown seemed both inspired and informed by what the Wii has done before. We got a quick hands-on with the controller followed by a bit more time playing SOCOM 4 with it.

Read the comments on this post