Dead or Alive: Too Hot for Europe?

Dead or Alive is a fighting game series produced by Tecmo and was first released in 1996.  Its reception was greatly acclaimed, as it put an emphasis on fast-paced fighting, a 3D perspective, and a quick reaction-speed requiring countering system. 

Anybody that's familiar with the Dead or Alive series is also privy to the rather..  voluptuous animation and suggestive attire of its constituents.  Well, as graphics get more and more realistic, they also have the potential to get a little explicit.  Apparently, several European governments: including Sweden, Denmark, and Norway have ceased all shipment of the new Dead or Alive: Dimensions due to it's graphic content. 

Apparently, a few of DoA's feminine fighters are under 18.  This constitutes a big taboo, given their scantily clad and near-nude 'armor'.  This unfortunately propels this game into a realm of child pornography under their regional laws.

Nintendo has cancelled all DoA releases in the aforementioned countries in order to avoid legalities.  The characters in the game are only as old as the developers say, so if they were to change the ages to 18, wouldn't that alleviate the problem?

I've seen the beauties of DoA, and I don't think they look like teenagers...  Do you?

Hunted: The Demon's Forge

Hunted:  The Demon's Forge is a co-op action game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Bethesda Softworks.  It is a multi-platform, third-person co-op action fantasy powered by the Unreal Engine 3.

Check out the E3 2010 Trailer!

The game is set to release May 31.  The game will feature tactical mechanics and two-man strategies, with the players abilities and skills designed to work together.

The gameplay will feature Baldur's Gate-style action; complete with dark magic, dungeons, skeleton warriors, and endless hordes of evil minions.  However, the perspective is similar to Resident Evil 5.  Overall, it looks like it would be fun if you had someone to play with, either on the same console or over a network.

Jax Beach Console Doctors

It's time for a Jacksonville, FL retail highlight.

JaxConsoleDoctors has been in Jacksonville, Florida since 2005.  Owner Kyle Grant has been persistently helping disconcerted gamers everywhere by offering quality electronic console repairs.  From the more common, simple console shortcomings to the arcane, inexplicable defects, Console Doctors truly fits the niche.

Fixing broken and awry consoles had previously been an intimidating and discouraging ordeal.  Warranties are a limited adherent - they run out, and are only partially beneficial.  Also, the time that it takes to ship a system out and wait for its return can take weeks.

Console Doctors offers excellent repair service that takes 1-3 days.  Another offer is console swapping;  for as low as $60, a defective or broken console can be traded for a brand new one! 

Console Doctors is located at 6653 Power Ave, Suite 13.  Jacksonville, Fl 32217  near University and Phillips.  Call the Jacksonville location at  (904) 302-4962.  Owner Kyle Grant can always be found there and is anxious to assist new customers. 

When your console breaks down, you don't have to!

Battlefield: 1943

Electronic Arts has their hands in every video game genre imaginable.  And they're constantly creating new genres.  Avant-garde and seemingly omnipotent, EA has grown into the largest video game publisher in the world.

Battlefield 1943 is an X-Box Live Arcade game downloadable on the X-Box Live marketplace.  It takes the familiar combat of World War II era first person shooters, and relocates it to tropical, pseudo-paradisiac Pacific Islands.

Monday Night Combat: All Week Long!

Monday Night Combat (MNC) is an increasingly popular third-person shooter published by Microsoft. available on X-Box Live Arcade and PC's Steam Network.  It was developed by Uber Entertainment, and released August 11, 2010.

Monday Night Combat begs the question:  What is the future of competitive gaming?  Well..  it's lethal.  It's class-based.  And it's kill or be killed.  It fuses the fast-paced, class-based shooting of Team Fortress 2 with the strategic macromanagement of any Tower Defense game.  It offers "gameshow-like challenges and rewards to produce an action experience unlike any other".  The cartoon-style gameplay offers a stark contrast to the multitude of more realistic war-time shooters.

Minecraft: Turn Hours into Minutes!

Einstein stated that things should be ''as simple as possible, but not any simpler."   If Einstein played video games, he might not have shared that frame of reference.  Although, as far as first impressions go, Minecraft looks about as simple as video games get. 

The E3 Strikes Back

As summer burns closer, so does the desire for E3.  The Electronics Entertainment Expo is returning to the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Last year, the LACC hosted an enormous, three-day event that housed hundreds of exhibits, and thousands of fans.

The annual entertainment trade show, presented by the Entertainment Software Association, is considered to be the 'ultimate expo in the video game industry', with little room for argument.


After an overwhelming 70,000 attendees in 2005 and 60,000 attendees in 2006, the expo was unfortunately limited to invitation only guests and legitimate members of the media.

Super Mario Frustration

Super Mario Forever has become the most flagrant and formidable ROM hack of the original Super Mario Bros game.  The hack became ubiquitous through the website tudou.com, a Japanese gaming site.

The video then made its way to various gaming sites and forums.

The popularity that ensued was, in part, due to the narration of someone attempting to beat this ridulous mod.  It was released as 'Super Mario Frustration', and has become an intenet sensation.

This is the comic relief of Mario.  The narration is hilarious, and the complexity of the gameplay itself is hopelessly entertaining.

                                                 Laugh!  I demand it!

Alien Swarm

With over 1100 games and counting, Valve is cranking out all types of games for all sorts of PC players.  Economy got you down?  Free games from Steam!

 Alien Swarm is a Sci-Fi co-op shooter from the Valve Corporation.  This game first appeared as a mod of Unreal Tournament 2004.  It's success was the driving force behind this 2010 remake.  The same team was hired by Valve to produce it, which is free to download on the Steam network.

This game is a top-down shooter; much like the first Grand Theft Auto, Gauntlet Legends, and (more recently) Zombie Apocalypse.  It features a fresh new look:  new graphics, weapons, and equipment.   There are tons of items to unlock, achievements to liberate and strategies to forge.

Characters are featured with class-specific abilities and signature weapons.  Up to four Steam friends can join a match.  Helping each other is optional though, as survival strategies make it perfectly possible to weld a door shut on a former companion and leave him for alien food - if not to save a few seconds as you make a mad dash for the exit.  Dirty tactics are still tactics.

Alien Swarm also features an SDK (Software Development Kit) that is equally as free as the game itself.  This program allows users to completely customize the game - creating their own levels, aliens, weapons, and even characters.  Over time, more and more custom features will be added.  In the same way that Counter Strike:  Source was modded, this game too will share a uniqueness among games that other platforms can't offer:  user-developed software.

From the developers who brought Half-Life, visit their site and download Alien Swarm for free!

OMGPOP!

OMGPOP.com is a popular, Flash-based social gaming site. 

Individuals can connect to OMGPOP through most social networking sites, like AIM and Facebook.  Best of all, it is FREE to sign up and play!  Friends and players from all around the world can connect and challenge each other at a number of games.

The atmosphere at OMGPOP has a propensity for nonchilante, easy-going gaming.  It is a very clean and respectful gaming venue that doesn't house the typical, over-competitive e-thugs you would normally find online. 

Be A Hero.... Battlefield Heroes

In 1982, Trip Hawkins founded Electronic Arts, an American video game developer, marketer, and publisher.  By 2000, they were one of the major third party video game publishers.
They run the gambit of video game genres;  from Adventure Pinball to Zany Golf,  Tiger Woods to Space Hulk, you'll be hard pressed to find a genre that doesn't involve EA.

Buffy the.. Zombie Slayer?

Seven years of slaying vampires can get monotonous and predictable.  Scary things aren't supposed to have emotions.  Brain-dead zombies are perfect fodder for hot babes to take out their blood lust.

Today, May 3, saw the release of  Treyarch's new Call of Duty: Black Ops DLC, entitled 'Call of the Dead'.  This game features a brand new Zombie survival map with four new All-Stars picking up the guns.  Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street), Danny Trejo (Machete), Michael Rooker (Walking Dead), and the femme fatale Sarah Michelle Gellar (TV's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer").

Hollywood takes the time to organize a chrome cast of vixens and vigilantes to lend their voice talents in a spectacular homage to the Godfather of Zombies, George A. Romero.  George has promised to make a cameo during the course of the game, but will most likely not be signing autographs.