There have been more open world, sandbox style adventures in recent memory than ever before. Non-linear gameplay is fully embraced and every videogame genre has felt its influence at one point or another. The ability to turn off, or flat out ignore mission objectives is a must in today's titles and the unlimited access to a living, breathing game world is embraced without reservation. How often, however, have we allowed that freedom to take the place of a well crafted and well explored story? Grand Theft Auto is usually quoted as a landmark franchise for the ability to blend an open and emergent gameplay with a dedicated and evolving storyline. Read More...

Two words that should never belong to each other: Movie Game. Let's face it, except for a select few (and let's keep in mind that GoldenEye 007 came out 2 years after the movie did), very few licensed games of a film have been even halfway decent, and yet more and more are coming out. Games from series like Harry Potter and Ice Age have been hits with kids that liked the films, but movie based games have failed to find a home with more mature audiences. Games like Resident Evil, Max Payne and Tomb Raider have spawned successful (Box office wise) movies, yet very few mature movies have spawned successful games. Perhaps it's due to the inherent fact that while in video games, players often feel like they have the freedom to make a choice that will affect how the game turns out. Read More...

Since its inception in 2005, Video Games Live has been entertaining crowds across the globe.  With its epic scores, great energy and audience participation, VGL promotes the gaming industry in an extremely positive way.  Created by famous video game composers Jack Wall and Tommy Tallarico, the concert series’ agenda of solidifying game music as an art form and the games industry as a positive force are present and spotlighted but are carefully swaddled by the fun, excitement and showmanship.  The first show, in the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, had over 11,000 people and was instantly a phenomenon.  As the first few years have passed, the show has slowly made its way down to smaller cities and venues. Read More...

Previously Mike reported on an upcoming Street Fighter 4 tournament taking place August 2nd in Rockville, Maryland. The full article can be checked out here and here. In a move that could only be referred to as awesome goodness, Gamestop is now offering the title for $19.99. The details of the deal are as such: Step 1: Add Street Fighter IV for the Xbox 360 or PS3 to your cart. Step 2: Proceed to checkout as normal and your discount will be applied at checkout! You can check it out over at their "The Deal" site. Read More...

The Aggrocast episode 35 is now live and available for download. Michael, Brian and Binh are more than happy to welcome Adelle on board as our special guest for this episode. Adelle hails from Gametopius.com and their own podcast, Gametopia, and is also a model at Charisma +2. We discuss Michael's recent weekend at Otakon 2009 in Baltimore, MD, revealing just how much of an Otaku he really is and how he managed to survive the Otaku Funk. We also discuss what we've been playing (BlazBlue, Kuros, Bioshock and more), our bargain bin selections, and a look at the upcoming convention scene for the remainder of the year. You can find more of Adelle at Gametopius or Charisma +2. Read More...

The Debut Trailer For ModNation Racers Since E3, there hasn't been much talked about this new IP from United Front Games. It was a sneak hit during the Sony E3 Briefing and shown a little bit, in trailer form, around their booth. After that, it has fallen off the radar from all gaming sites, even here at Aggrogamer. But that is not to say that it has completely been scrapped and forgotten. To show that it is still there and on track (pun intended) for a 2010 release, United Front Games hands out their debut trailer for the game. Read More...

As a fan of hidden object and puzzle games, I was pleased to be able to review Kuros, the newest game from Sandlot Games. You begin the game as Katya, a young woman who finds herself in a mysterious land with no recollection of whom she is or why she is there. As she sets out to regain her memories, she finds herself solving the problems that have arisen in the strange land. The game consists mostly of locations in which you must discover hidden objects throughout each landscape. Each area consists of an Elemental Glyph (Fire, Water, etc... Read More...

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Provides Financial Update This makes me very sad to say, but it looks like the original release date of Late October of this year is no longer for BioShock 2. In fact a solid release date is no longer anywhere attached to BioShock 2 any more. Just a time frame. A year long time frame at that too. With only the excuse of needing to take extra time to give towards development time for the title. This places the sequel around 3 years after the original release on the PC and XBox and only 2 years since the PS3 launch. Read More...

Dante's Inferno Lust We all know the meaning of Lust. We all know what is attributed to this "deadly sin" as well. When you think of it, most of the time humans will go the low brow version of this concept. Something that one of the developers at Visceral Games talks about in the below video. Another developer diary for Dante's Inferno. This go around is all about the second level of Hell, Lust. In the video, they bring up all the concepts that they had and currently are working with for this level of the game. Read More...

As the stock market continues its disappointment, unemployment rises, and necessities rise in cost, it is becoming even more difficult for gamers to justify that $60 price tag on most games these days. Luckily for all of us gamers, there are various options to help us stretch our wallet. Whether you are looking to buy new, used or even trade games, I am here to broaden your horizon on various ways to nab a great deal on the game you want. Buying new can be costly, but only if you must have a game the day it comes out. Even then it is not impossible to find some good deals on brand new games. Read More...

High Voltage Software unveiled its Wii-exclusive first person shooter (FPS), The Conduit, to the eager gaming public more than a year ago. Nintendo fans saw the game as a surprising, yet welcome, departure from the Wii’s library of casual games. Furthermore, the lack of exclusive quality shooters for the Wii have starved owners since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption back in 2007. It goes without saying that The Conduit has high expectations to meet. Now that it has finally arrived on store shelves, will High Voltage’s alien blast-fest live up to the hype? Read More...

Twitter Madness! For those who are not indoctrinated or already addicted, you undoubtedly have friends or acquaintances that can not speak enough about how many followers they have, that they tweeted what they had for lunch (I'm having leftovers) or whether or not Nathan Fillion liked Halo ODST (he did, btw). The interconnectivity can be considered amazing or intrusive depending on how often you check Twitter in a day, how often you tweet, when you're on your [insert phone here] Twitter application and how many text messages are sent to your phone. iList, Inc. Read More...

Harmonix: Music Games Could Abandon Consoles If you had to only buy a fake instrument to plug into your TV to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero, would you? Just to be able to plug and play with out the worry have having to get a specific console or said console purchasing early rights to said game. Would that sale better than what the current generation is now? Josh Randall from Harmonix thinks that may be the way the music genre may head in the not to far off future. In an interview with Videogamer. Read More...

Yesterday a post on the official Sony blog announced that four different preorder packages would be made available for the upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusive Ratchet&Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Each of the offerings brings something unique to the table so whether you’re into behind-the-scenes type material, bonus weapons, or adding to your PlayStation Home closet, there’s something for every Ratchet & Clank fan. The packages are as follows: Discovery Package – Explore the Insomniac Moon, a special level that resembles the layout of the Insomniac Games’ offices! Scattered through this museum-like level, you will discover a moon’s worth of extra content that didn’t quite make it into the game. Read More...

What's to do when your company posts a $431 million loss? Leave! Which is exactly what Scott Guthrie did about a month ago. The former Executive Vice President of Publishing for THQ was officially hired on as Executive Vice President and General Manager for MTV Games. Also joining MTV Games as Senior Vice President of Sales is David Cox the former Senior Director, Sales, and Merchandising Executive at SCEA. “With our acquisition of Harmonix to our relationship with Jerry Bruckheimer Games, Inc., MTV Games has quickly risen to become one of the top five video gaming publishers. Read More...