videogame

Three ways to save big on video games

Video games are an expensive hobby. A typical new release for a console like the PlayStation or Xbox costs about $60. That might not seem like a lot relative to the number of hours of entertainment you can reasonably expect from a game, but it's still a pretty big chunk of change.

For example, when LEGO Star Wars III and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean came out last year, they were priced at $49.99 apiece. My kids desperately wanted both.

Sorry, kiddos, but in my day we dropped a quarter in a slot and liked it. No way … Read more

The Walking Dead game is not what you think, and that's a good thing

Image Comic's "The Walking Dead" series has seen explosive success over the past few years even though the monthly comic book has been in production for nearly nine years with its 97th issue due out mid-May. It's been licensed out in almost every way imaginable, highlighted by an adapted television drama that just concluded its second season on AMC.

As a longtime fan and reader of "The Walking Dead," I've realized that what makes the franchise so good is that it focuses more on the human reaction to a worldwide outbreak rather than the carnage an apocalyptic zombie narrative could more easily weave. It's not without a fair share of gore, but its black-and-white pages force you to consider emotions first and bloodlust second.

So while it's no surprise then that "The Walking Dead" has now found its way into a video game, I was curious to see how developer Telltale Games would convert the character-driven series into a game, especially since Telltale's story focuses on a main character not yet discovered in the comic or TV show.… Read more

Netflix kills Qwikster but still considering games

Video game enthusiasts can hold out hope that Netflix will still make a foray into video game rentals.

Earlier today, Netflix announced that it had canceled plans to break out DVD-by-mail operations into its own service, called Qwikster. Last month, CEO Reed Hastings unveiled the strategy for the new service, which included video game rentals.

While Qwikster may be gone, the idea for enabling people to rent Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 titles is still on the table, Netflix Vice President of Corporate Communications Steve Swasey told CNET.

No word on when a final decision might be made yet, so … Read more

The 10 most disappointing games of 2010

If there is one lesson to learn from the most disappointing titles of 2010, it's "don't make a movie game." It seems that this year followed a bizarre pattern: the better the film, the worse the game. Almost half our list consists of failed attempts at such adaptations, more than any year before it.

Unlike last year's dishonorable list, we've decided to tackle games that let us down rather than picking out a handful of bad games. We've personally tested out each of these titles that failed to impress and can vouch for … Read more

Great Scott! 'Back to the Future' game debut trailer

Though it's not as blasphemous as talk of Justin Bieber supposedly playing Marty McFly in some ill-conceived "Back to the Future" remake, the fully licensed video game does seem like a promising extension to the classic story of Marty and Doc Brown.

Developer Telltale Games (Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island) plans to episodically release five chapters of Back to the Future: The Game, the first of which is titled "It's About Time." Not much regarding the game's actual gameplay has been disclosed, but the debut trailer does hint that Marty will … Read more

preGame 34: Epic Mickey

Today on preGame, we'll demo the highly anticipated Wii exclusive game from Disney, Epic Mickey. We can't remember the last time Mickey starred in his own game, so make sure to catch our gameplay and impressions.

But first we'll screen the brand-new full in-game trailer for L.A. Noire, the '40s-inspired mystery thriller from Rockstar Games. Due out in the Spring, L.A. Noire features some of the most impressive facial expressions on characters we've ever seen; no joke!

Finally, Mark helps pick apart Jeff's top 10 games of 2010 post. Did your favorite game … Read more

The 10 best games of 2010

For a gaming year that started out with a bang, 2010 has stumbled to the finish line. Of course, it's impossible to ignore the outrageous success of the recently released Call of Duty: Black Ops--but aside from that title, most of the second half of 2010 remains forgettable.

A reason for this lull in quality console games is likely the bombardment of motion-gaming initiatives from Sony and Microsoft. In a way, these product launches ostensibly carved out a release window that saw plenty of Kinect and Move-friendly titles but forced conventional "button-games" to take the backseat. Was this the reason for the sharp drop-off in the fall of 2010?

Regardless of when in the calendar year these top-notch games were released, 2010 did see some excellent efforts for each platform as well as a few surprises along the way. Like in 2009, sequels seem to highlight our list, with a few new franchises breaking into the top 10, too. We also think portable gaming suffered in 2010, with only a few titles being released that are even worth mentioning.

Of course, no top-10 list is complete without honorable mentions, so please click through to view some titles we'd like to recognize but that didn't quite find their ways into top-10 placement. As always, be sure to sound off in the comments section if your list is different from ours!… Read more

preGame 28: TGS 2010 wrap-up

With TGS 2010 in the books, we'll highlight the most notable debut trailers to come out of the show. Today on preGame we'll screen previews of The Last Guardian, DMC, Wrath of Asura, and Shadows of the Damned.

But first, we'll hop right into a brand new gameplay video of BioShock Infinite! The just-released movie certainly raises even more questions about the city of Columbia, but also gives us plenty of action to analyze.

Before we dive into the trailers from TGS 2010, we'll talk about a recent New York Times article that suggests Japanese developers … Read more

Nintendo gives you wings

Oh all the jokes I could make about the Wii Wings! How many more ridiculous peripherals do we need for the Wii?

Picture this:

Person A is geared up with Wii accessories including wings, a balance board, a rowing machine, a steering wheel, a gun, and some Wiimote weights. All of these things are available for the Wii.

Person B has Natal on Xbox.

Which person do you want to be? Pretty soon, outfitting yourself to play Wii will have you looking like Doc Brown.

Other links from Tuesday afternoon's episode of Loaded:

Sony brings HBO to the PlayStation Store… Read more