What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This weekend I’m going to decide between my DS Lite and PSP. You see, I’m going to Asia on Sunday for another super secret project. I only want to bring one system. I can fill a lot of time with excellent DS RPGs like Glory of Heracles, Pokemon SoulSilver, and Dragon Quest IX. Then again the PSP’s power adapter will definitely work in the various countries I’m hitting (DS is 11o only) and I can download lots of great games for my trip (carrying physical media is stupid). Hmmmm, Final Fantasy IX on a trans-Pacific flight sounds like a great idea….

Anyway, what’s on your weekend playlist?

Darkspore Gamescom 2010 Screens

One of EA’s more recent and curious announcements was Darkspore for PC. Loosely — and I mean loosely — based on the Spore universe, the action-RPG looks like a sci-fi version of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance or Marvel Ultimate Alliance. I absolutely love these kinds of games, so even though I didn’t care for Spore, I might give this one a go. What say you?!?

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DC Universe Online “Savior or Destroyer?” Trailer

I’m really not an MMO guy anymore (went through a bad EverQuest phase and I’m scared to be that way again), but the more I see of DC Universe Online, the more excited I am for the game. I’m pretty sure this game will drag me back to the dark side. I’m a videogame nerd and a comic-book geek. I don’t think I can resist.

Check out the latest trailer when you get a chance and let me know if you’re interested in forming a superhero team with me. We can be The Super Buddies, Part Deux!

Dragon Age II Trailer Looks Awesome…Probably Nothing Like Game

As expected, the latest Dragon Age II trailer looks awesome. Having said that, I’m pretty positive it’s all pre-rendered and doesn’t look like actual gameplay. BioWare and EA did the same thing with the original game — release hot trailers and commercials that don’t truly represent the game’s look. As a huge BioWare fan, I’m fine with that because I know what the company does and I know I’ll love the results. I have to wonder if gamers unfamiliar with BioWare (a ridiculous notion, btw) feel duped by these videos.

Anyway, let me know what you think of the trailer and the matter I brought up (please).

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m almost definitely not playing videogames this weekend. For some reason, I woke up with a pounding headache this morning (without the benefit of being drunk the night before). I should be receiving a Motorola Droid 2 for review tomorrow. THQ is having an event for the outstanding WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2011 on Saturday, which will be followed by Summer Slam on Sunday. Some San Francisco friends are going to stop by on their drive up from Disney. I also need to go to the post office. There’s no time for games (sadly)!

Actually, I still have games of Wordfeud on Android going with some of you — I’ll definitely be playing those. I’ll even cut off The Miz during our interview just to play with you guys. Ha! So…what’s on your weekend playlist?!?

Coffee Talk #198: What’s Your Favorite “Hard” Game?

There’s a fine line between a satisfyingly difficult game and a game that’s so annoying that you want to hurl your controller through your television. Some titles have tough sections that adequately reward your Herculean efforts. Others are just difficult for the sake of being difficult. In my mind it’s the difference between something like Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man 9. It’s so tough to do it right.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, whether Lada Gaga is a fashion genius or a fashion nut job, James Toney’s MMA career, or (the asthmatic and old) Dave Batista’s possible MMA career, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

There’s a fine line between a satisfyingly difficult game and a game that’s so annoying that you want to hurl your controller through your television. Some titles have tough sections that adequately reward your Herculean efforts. Others are just difficult for the sake of being difficult. In my mind it’s the difference between something like Ninja Gaiden and Mega Man 9. It’s so tough to do it right.

Today I’d love to learn about your favorite “hard” games. What are some titles that really challenged you and pushed you to the limits in a satisfying way? While you’re at it, what are some games that were so hard that you had no choice but to quit? Sound off (please)!!!

Spencer Halpin’s Moral Kombat Documentary Available on Hulu

Spencer Halpin’s critically acclaimed Moral Kombat is now available on Hulu (or you can just watch it in the embed above). The documentary covers the “controversy” of videogame violence and first amendment rights. It features some of the biggest developers in the business, including Lorne Lanning and American McGee. My good friend Andy McNamara, editor-in-chief of Game Informer, is in there too.

It’s an interesting documentary with lots of interesting points on both sides of the argument. Check it out if you have a chance and let me know what you think of it (please). Kudos to Hulu for offering content like this!

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Michael Pachter Says Activision is Teh Doomed!!!

Your favorite gaming industry analyst, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter, believes that tough times are ahead for Activision. After posting extremely impressive financial results during a (long) stretch of time where most publishers were struggling, Activision’s Q2 financials weren’t the best. According to Industry Gamers, Pachter said:

The Q2 results reinforce Activision’s dependence on a handful of franchises, and calls into question whether its future franchises will contribute meaningfully to the bottom line as performance of additional IP seems uncertain at best.

We fear that after so many years of near-flawless execution, Activision has begun to slip a bit, perhaps in the process becoming overly reliant on the parts of the business that are phenomenally successful.

Do you agree with Pachter’s assessment? Is Activision on the decline? Or is his analysis along the lines of his awesome estimate where he allowed himself a two-million unit margin of error?

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What Are You Playing This Weekend?

After watching Batman: Under the Red Hood, my PlayStation 3 has been busy playing other DC Universe Blu-ray movies. I’m going to keep going with the PS3 this weekend. Hopefully I can make some progress in Final Fantasy XIII. I haven’t played the game in so long that I have no idea what chapter I’m in. Oops. I’m probably going to pick up some games from Sony’s PSN summer sale; echoshift and Lunar: Silver Star Harmony are calling to me. I’ll play some echoshift now, but I’ll probably save Lunar for the end of the month — there might be another super secret project in Asia for me.

How about you people (what do you mean you people?) What’s on you weekend playlist?

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Screens

Square Enix sent over a batch of new screens for Deus Ex: Human Revolution…and they’re hot! Check ’em out and let me know what you think (please)! As some of you know, I was bummed that I missed out on a demo for this game at E3 2010. Even though I didn’t get to see the hotness that many of my friends saw, this game is still on my radar.

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