So this post is a big Thank You and a shout out to the folks at fellow WordPress blog The Heads Up! Display Show. Jim and his crew produce a regular podcast that’s definitely worth checking out if you enjoy round table discussions of video game news and updates on what the hosts are playing.

Long story short I won a code for XBLA Doom from The Heads Up! Display Show after I left a comment about how fun this game was as it was one of my first introductions to modding PC games. And playing Enya with the sound muted (Don’t judge until you’ve tried it).

Normally the Hermit wouldn’t stoop to pandering to schwag, but The Heads Up! Show has made it onto my list of weekly shows. And it’s Doom. Nuff said.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360 could arguably go down as the Gamehermit’s Game of the Year for ’08. Bethesda did a masterful job of creating a world a gamer could both believe and empathize with. Anyone who got frustrated when the game ended knows what I’m talking about here.

So when news that Bethesda had terminated their agreement with Interplay broke last week, I was more than a little disappointed. And more than a little relieved. Since 2007 Interplay has held the rights to develop Bethesda’s Fallout 3 IP into a MMO, and Bethesda’s recent actions were falsely construed by the Hermit as a sign of the times. Outwardly downtrodden, but inwardly releasing a small sigh of relief (the Hermit is on the 12-Step for EverQuest II), I assumed the Fallout MMO was dead.

Rejoice, then, all ye that despair! Hope shines eternal. Chris Faylor and Nick Breckon of WordPress blog -Yosuan Iam- today report:

At a press event in the United Kingdom, Fallout 3 developer Bethesda today announced a new externally-developed entry in the post-apocalyptic role-playing series. Titled Fallout New Vegas, it’s being developed by Obsidian Entertainment (Alpha Protocol, Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II) with PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions planed for a simultaneous launch in 2010.

New Vegas will be an RPG in the style of Fallout 3, Bethesda noted, but the company did not confirm if it uses the same engine. The studio also stressed that it came up with the idea for New Vegas internally and then pitched it to Obsidian, not the other way around. (via yosuaniam.wordpress.com)

Sure, they said RPG, but they just cut Interplay out of the deal. Read between the lines. Planning a three-way simultaneous release has online MMO written all over it.

Let the Hermit have his little dreams.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

With 200 different pieces, Edge has taken a great snapshot of the history of video games. The full collection, along with some wallpapers, can be found on the Edge site, or if you prefer to see all the covers on one page check here.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

Back to point. Blizzard’s recent non-statement at GDC, and their subsequent retraction, concerning their involvement in the future of consoles reopened that next gen can o’ worms. Besides all the corporate posturing and evasive “he said, she said” nonsense, if you look closely, you will find some some nuggets of truth.

No, not whether Blizzard was actually talking with Microsoft about future consoles. Imagine two representatives of large software/entertainment companies talking shop? Inconceivable!

No, the interesting points are when people start talking specifics when it comes to what to expect from the so-called next generation of gaming technology. Not the buzzword bingo VPs sling concerning the “immersive technologies” being developed to “transcend traditional user experience,” or some such drivel. Real ideas.

One such truism actually came from Gameindustry.biz’s original article reporting Blizzard and Microsoft in the sack. Concerning console manufacturers, or presumably Microsoft specifically, Blizzard’s Rob Pardo said,

If I was them, I’d be sitting around trying to figure out what’s a cool input device that supports all types of new kinds of games.

Not surprisingly, most of the contemporary ideas for the future pertain to how we interact with the gaming environment. Sadly, we can’t seem to break the mold of a console being a box with a controller hanging off one end. It probably won’t happen next generation either.

Fortunately, there are a lot of independent and creative minds at work on the input side. While none of these inputs will eliminate the need for a central console, each one gets props for thinking outside the box.

One of the key factors of the Wii’s success is accessibility. The Wiimote and nunchuk are innovative, but arguably their true appeal lies in how immersive they are. One feels much more a part of a game if they are actually swinging the controller to putt the golf ball. Leaning on a balance board to skate is much more immersive than leaning one’s joystick.

Acknowledging this, the following gaming innovations will not be listed by novelty, availability, or platform, but rather by potential to break the fourth wall and bring the gamer one step closer to the game.

Mindball: NovelQuest Enterprises has its fingers in more than a few technology pies, and Mindball is by far the most exciting.

Mindball’s play is quite simple, two opposing players each attempt to role a single ball to their opponent’s side or goal. Players accomplish this, however, by meditatively controlling their brain waves. EEG sensors attached via a headband monitor Alpha and Theta waves in the brain, translating the results in real time to an adjoining monitor suite. The player who can produce the most Alpha and Theta waves wins.

Here’s the hook. Alpha and Theta waves are produced when the body and mind are at a state of rest and relaxation. So basically, if you’re bored stiff  and wish the round of Mindball was over you’re going to have a hard time losing. Consequently, if you’re having a great time playing, you probably just lost.

My first thought upon seeing this game was that a narcoleptic would most likely be a hard opponent in this game. My second thought was that this was a phenomenal game technology that was being misused.

All jokes aside, as a visual showcase for the technology, Mindball does a good job displaying the EEG reading technology. They even show how to make a game out of it. But it just doesn’t look fun. Not counting the fact that if you start having fun you lose.

Imagine the possibilities of this technology. Haven’t you ever been frustrated by how some games simulate human unsteadiness with scoped weapons? The ole’ “wandering eye” sniper rifle? Envision forcing yourself to calm down during a firefight to stabilize your scope sight. That could definitely add some depth to the zombie shooting genre or sniper mechanics in war shooters. I can see a game with stealth elements using this in some manner as well.

Taking the same idea and adapting it in reverse has potential as well. How about a Dragon Ball Z game where you have to get really pissed off before you can make your final transformation? Or perhaps an Incredible Hulk where your actual EEG sets off your in-game switch from Banner to Hulk? Maybe a horror game that saves your anxiety level for each creature you encounter throughout the game, so facing the final boss is custom-tailored to make you wet the bed?

Or we could just install it on Xbox Live microphones. Wildly pontificating 13-year-olds would cause it to self-mute.

On a side note, NovelQuest makes the sublime Emperor gaming rigs. Only $39,500.

The J-Dome: A product truly designed with total immersion in mind, the J-Dome replaces the third gaming archetype: the screen.

The J-Dome is a projection screen formed into a half-sphere. With a projector mounted behind the sphere, the player steps up to the cusp of the cup to experience full 180-degree vision. In the demo video it appears that some of this effect is achieved by stretching or blurring the pixels in the periphery, but that’s to be expected. While all the games in the demo are FPS, one can’t help but imagine how great this would look with a racing game or a dog fighting simulator.

The press rendering does not give the J-Dome justice. To really get a feel of what gaming with this “screen” might be like, you have to check out the video. As an added bonus you can listen to designer John Nilsson and wait for him to say “Pump it up” ala SNL (but he never does).

The J-Dome was only in prototype stage at the time of that video, but Nilsson now has limited quantities of the folding J-Dome prototype (above) available for serious inquiries. As in, come with money.

In the video Nilssen narrates as a computer animation shows the difference in viewing area available on the J-Dome. It’s not just a projector on a curved screen, it actually projects the game differently to show a full half-radius. Of course, this is all animated, with no monitor vs. J-dome side-by-side. The product looks incredible, as long as it actually delivers.

3rd Space Gaming Vest. Worn in conjunction with the HTX Helmet (coming soon), the 3rd Space Gaming Vest uses “eight pneumatic impact cells” to simulate shots, kicks and assorted battle damage.

The vest has four zones in the front and four in the back, allowing the user to feel the intensity of the blow as well as the direction it came from. “The vest communicates with compatible games to give precise, three dimensionally accurate impacts where it happens, as it happens.” While I’m not in any hurry to wear extra gear and get beat up by my video games, the appeal of being able to estimate the direction you’re being sniped from is strong, indeed.

At this point the Gaming Vest is compatible with over 20 PC games, and has had a recent price drop from $199 to $139. It’s also available in pink for the ladies. Or anyone who likes pink.

The Gyroxus “makes every game come alive” by delivering “a true full-motion gamer’s experience by combining the familiar handheld game controller with an innovative full-motion system.” That’s quite a boast about a product that is basically a joystick you sit on. Not like that, it’s a chair, too.

By shifting your center of gravity around the chair, which is mapped to directional control, the gamer must shake his or her booty to get their on-screen alias moving. “GYROXIS makes team playing a real sport!”

Now, if you give your average gamer some free shwag, say a free $250 gaming chair/controller, they’ll say almost anything favorable about your product. To prove that the Gyroxis team has compiled footage of gamers playing on the Gyroxis with over 20 different titles on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. But to be fair, most of the reactions seem pretty honest in their amazement and amusement. If the gamer in the Grand Theft Auto demo was an actor, he’s amazing.

Another sign of the times: although the Gyroxis just hit international distribution, the price has already been slashed from $389.95 to $249.95.

An Honorable Mention goes to JennyLC Chowdhury’s Intimate Controllers. Her project is another that truly attempts to break down the barriers between player and game. Unfortunately, after a round of this, the non-gamer girlfriend or wife will most likely be turned off by both games and you for a long time.

Finally the Booby Prize goes to the male twist on the Intimate Controllers theme (possibly NSFW).

Are these the forces that will shape future consoles, or will new technologies and new applications of existing technology be the driving force behind a new dawn of gaming?

Most likely everyone will just wait for Nintendo to think something up.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

More than a few developers are better at selling games than making them. Sometimes you find yourself wondering if a development team had access to even a tenth of the funds that obviously went into advertising said crap title. And don’t even get me started on “Collector’s Editions” of shovelware.

That being said, we’ve got two new previews for titles that just may live up to the community’s expectations. If BioShock’s sequel can deliver an experience even close to the original, then I’m already sold. The following preview sealed the deal. 2K Games officially has my $60.

On the other hand, Sega’s Bayonetta is forcing me to keep my fingers crossed. Forums are abuzz with accusations of “it’s a Devil May Cry clone!” However, there’s no consensus as to whether that’s a bad or a good thing. The title has some great gimmicks going for it, with a massive array of weapons including high heel guns. Plus, Bayonetta’s special attacks derive from her mystic Hair, which is actually her outfit. No, that’s not a skin-tight latex suit. It’s her hair, shades of Marvel’s Medusa. So, opening up a can of whoop-ass leaves our protagonist in the buff. I can’t imagine that will sell to prepubescent boys.

So hit the jump for an undersea plasmid BBQ and a sexy librarian fighting dragons.

“You naughty little angels deserve a spanking!” Oscar-worthy material, but it really makes one wonder about how much is changed in localization. Naughty angels?

I don’t even want to spoil any of the fun in the next video. Suffice it to say you get a glimpse of the Big Sister, you get to see some great water effects again, and it all ends with small massacre involving a Magnum Rivet gun, Incinerate plasmids, and a very large drill.

Steampunk weapons. Death by rivet. Doesn’t get much better than that.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

In a blatant effort to post consecutive rants with the keyword “teabag”, the Gamehermit proudly brings you some of the finest multimedia produced in homage to the legendary Spartan, Master Chief.

Any Halo fan who can get on the web but not into a Halo match knows one thing: there is a LOT of bad Halo rap out there on the interwebs. You won’t find any of that vomit-inducing drivel here. Well, just one, but it’s bad in a good way.

Halo fans, FPS players, and all those that want to know why this post has “tea bag” as a keyword, hit the jump.

First up we have Top Honors for JamesatWar with Blame Halo 3 – Spoof of Akon Sorry, Blame It On Me. The sound and mixing on this are spot-on, and it tells a great story. This is by far the best of the lot, a real snorter even if you’ve never played Halo 3. I contemplated including an excerpt, but I don’t want to spoil the true comic genius of this work.

JamesatWar has some other great stuff on his YouTube channel, including Gay Asian Kitten – Bare Naked Ladies YouTube Parody. Classic.

Next up we have a collaborative effort, Halo ((All I Play-Oh)). The soundtrack on this video, a parody of the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Snow ((Hey Oh)), was provided by Pallate-Swap Ninja. The song spawned a small slew of machinima, the very best by YouTube’s usethefork. Noting his dedication to Halo, usethefork’s page points out that the video games flipped through in this video have fake printed covers. This piece had to take a ton of time to set up, and the video was even recognized by the Ninja team as “beyond awesome.”

Whether you loathe that bastard on your team who makes such a big friggin’ deal every time they pull of a no-scope, or you’re the guy with the sniper rifle cheesing off, you’ll dig this video. The guys at machinima produce a lot of … well, Halo machinima, and it’s damn good. Their Matchmaking series, usually a colorful view of the Halo experience, took a brief departure with this musical number. We proudly present, Matchmaking Episode 13 – No Scope Was Involved.

Narrowly squeezing in for the honors is The Brigadier Rap. SymmetrixStudios is a group of young’uns that share my pain. Except replace Brigadier with Staff Captain. The shame.

Brigadier Rap has a catchy beat, but the real hook is the lead singer. At one point into the song he starts channeling Humpty from Digital Underground.

Honorable Mention goes to Bryan Simon’s I Won’t Teabag On The First Date. Bryan’s songs have some catchy Halo lyrics, and what he lacks in strumming skill he makes up for in sheer quantity of Halo songs. Check out his page for hits like: I Bought My 50 – An Ode To Halo 3, Can My Mom Have Recon, and Snipers Are Wussies.

If that’s just not enough Halo video goodness for you, you can always check out some incredible MLG artistry with this Str8 Rippin montage. This is a professionally edited video sponsored by Dr. Pepper, so get ready for high production value. If that doesn’t do it for you there’s always more MLG videos of Lord Mongoose taking out noobs with the laser. Mid-air on a mongoose. Seriously.

Bonus Booby Prize – An old school homage to the Needler, sung by someone channeling Kermit the Frog.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

As far as being related to video games, this really stretches it. And it’s juvenile. And I’m slightly ashamed at the “Liberals” for having so much fun with it. Okay, now I’m lying. It’s deliciously juvenile.

If you’re unaware, those wacky Republicans have started a campaign to send teabags to Washington, a symbolic nod to the Boston Tea Party’s demonstration against excessive taxation by King George III. Their rallying cry? “Tea bag the White House!”

Now, if you don’t play First Person Shooters, the humor may be lost on you. Go do some research and come back before you watch the video. For rest of us, hit the jump and enjoy a wonderful clip from the Rachel Maddow Show. It gets a little slow in the middle, but it’s worth sticking around to hear “Who wouldn’t want to teabag John McCain?” at the 5:47 mark. Plus, any Halo fiend will love the “teabagging 24/7″ snippet at 6:00 as well.

I imagine the line to teabag McCain will be a long one.

(via youtube.com, via huffingtonpost.com, via usemycomputer.com)

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

Not to kick the Gamefly dead horse too often, but besides the obvious, the site can be useful for getting updates on game launch delays and new titles. The “Coming Soon” area is a pretty common sense guide to what to expect. A title you’ve never heard of with no box art is set to release in two months? Good luck with that. On the other hand, sometimes PR guys drop the ball and a confirmed game is just short on details.

But that’s just Gamefly. Renting thousands of titles across all major consoles and handhelds, you’d have to be fairly anal to expect them to meticulously detail every last potential title. Surely Xbox.com will have some small nugget of information? You probably won’t be surprised at the answer.

Gamefly’s “Coming Soon” for the Xbox 360 had three titles set to release in the next three months with virtually nothing but cover art, publisher, category, and release date. So what’s up with these games?

Raiden Fighters Aces – Due out May 8th, this scrolling shooter is being published by Valcon Games. A Japanese port, this game is a compilation three prior arcade titles, and had been speculated to be an XBLA port. Valcon’s site definitively debunks this on the RFA page, listing among the key game features, “All three Raiden Fighters games on one disc.” There’s the standard features list following that, with the exception of, “vertical scrolling, full-screen side-scrolling, or full-screen vertical scrolling on a rotated display.” Just so no one misses that they say it again.

“Comprehensive screen and control settings let you play each game full-screen as a side-scroller, or even vertically on a rotated 4 : 3 display!” Sweetness. (via Valcongames.com)

To sweeten the deal, Raiden Fighters Aces is also listed with a MSRP of $29.99. Of note is the fact that Gamestop’s page has it listed for $19.99. I don’t advocate giving GS your money, but this looks like a mistake in pricing. You could almost look at it as screwing the man.

For the cynical Microsoft users this won’t come as much of a shock. With 30 days until  launch, Raiden Fighters Aces still isn’t listed on Xbox.com. For shame, Microsoft! What does that Major Nelson guy do all day, anyway? Maybe he could stop making pontless videos to post and stream over Xbox Live, and instead spend more time on his service. Or he could just stop with the videos and we’ll call it even.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger – Another Japanese port, this 2D fighting game features aminated fighters against a 3D background. Published by Aksys, the creators of Guilty Gear, BlazBlue is slated for a July 2nd release. The official site, however, lists no such date, even though Destructoid noted back in March,

“The latest issue of Famitsu reports that BlazBlue is coming to the Xbox 360 and the PS3. We all could have probably guessed that, but now we have a rough date for the Japanese release: summer.” (via Destructiod.com)

So the Japanese versions are a tentative “summer,” add in the localization time and such, and July 2nd seems pretty optimistic. I’d say this date is busted. That’s right, I went there. Oh, and no Xbox.com love, either.

Brave: A Warrior’s Tale – This game stretches the three-month window a bit, but what the hell, it’s my blog. Due up July 23rd, Brave is being published by South Peak Interactive, the creators of Monster Madness and Two Worlds. Strike one. Rated E 10+. Strike two. For all platforms. This is a friggin’ Wii game, too? Strike three.

Too harsh? Maybe too harsh too soon. Let’s hear the PR pitch.

Set in a fantastic world based upon the mythology of Native America.

First off the box art shows the hero, Brave, and a female Native American with a mohawk. Brave, however, doesn’t sport the mohawk. Ummmm… Let’s hope that Brave isn’t of the Mohawk tribe and he’s joined by the Mohawk female. Okay, that works. Surely Southpeak isn’t about to take the fantastic history and mythology of Native America and bend it over the metaphorical barrel.

* Simple game play and easy to master combat – use sticks, longbow or tomahawk to defeat enemies
* Over 15 very different levels including lush forests, desert plains, raging rivers, and even the spirit world
* Numerous enemies to fight, from wolves and giant bees to mythical beasts
* Use ‘mobile stone’ to speak to a Spirit Guide for help and advice – three help levels allow difficulty to be tailored to suit different age levels
* Learn to mimic and possess different animals in order to acquire new skills or reach hidden inaccessible areas
* Perform ancient spells in battle and use ‘dream catchers’ to restore health (via Southpeakgames.com)

Sticks, longbow and tomahawk, check. Mystic stone and spirit guide, check. Supernatural affinity with animals, check. Dream catchers, check. Well, that’s most of the required stereotypes. If this wasn’t a Wii game, too, they would have added liquor and casinos, no doubt. As long as they don’t sully the native mythology.

Sadly, this game looks on target to launch on time, although Xbox.com lists the date as TBA. One out of three, way to go, Team Xbox!

Of the three games Raiden Fighters Aces would be my top choice, but only by default and price point. Who doesn’t love a great scrolling shooter that adds an excuse to flip your flatscreen onto the floor?

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

The bastards* knew they had me when I asked for the game specifically. After a check on the computer, the GS employee stated there was one for $17.99 as he pointed to the bin of $5.00 Xbox games I was searching. Of course.

Long story short, I arrived back at the old shack $20 lighter but with a slightly used Conker Live and Reloaded. Sans cover jacket.

So here comes the good part. After washing all the Gamestop off me I set to finding a replacement for the missing cover art. I found a passable jacket using google image, but then I stumbled across two sites that specialize in videogame jacket art:

Coverproject.net – The Cover Project is a sweet trip down memory lane. Over 9000 games total, with a major focus on old school. NES, Atari 2600 and Colecovision titles abound, with a descent group of contemporary console titles as well. Virtually every major console through the ages is represented to some degree.

If you had a NES you remember the horrible Mega Man box. Abominable art aside, the frigging sole screenshot on the back cover is the stage select. How did this even sell? Now, the PAL Mega Man, he was suave. Note that both of these links take you to a thumb, because Cover Project has you manually download the 4+Meg files.

CDcovers.cc – If you’re looking to actually replace a cover for a more recent used game purchase, CD Covers boasts itself as the “World’s Largest Cover Archive”, and they might not be boasting. As of yesterday the site had 1,903 Xbox 360 games, 1,956 Wii games, 5,542 Xbox games, and 358 PS3 titles. Definately more titles overall, but consoles only go as far back as PS1, Dreamcast and Gamecube. CD Covers loads the image in your browser as opposed to Cover Project, which could be valuable if you want to get a detailed inspection before you save. Bonus: CD Covers has over 236,000 DVD covers as well.

So if you’re in the market for a new game insert or just want a Atari-fueled flashback, try checking these time-killers out.

———-

*By bastards I mean the Corporate Gamestop beancounting bastards, not the poor little bastards that work for them.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]

[UPDATE: New Post on Blood Bowl Star Players!]

I previously stated that Gamehermit’s Rant wouldn’t be a news page, but somehow this little gem has been missed by the major game sites. I just couldn’t resist.

Bloodbowl-game.com went live this morning.

Nerdgasm. Seriously. If you’re not familiar with the upcoming title, Blood Bowl is a former boardgame RPG turned football sim in this latest incarnation. The genius is: you can play turn-based strategy style or real-time football sim style. Two ways for me to lose at a football game, joy!

The page adds a lot of info to the sparse details provided by Cyanide Studios and Focus Home Interactive to date. They’ve been slowly leaking details for some months now, and I’ve been salivating over them like a crazed ferret, but this page finally adds some character stats to the already intriguing gameplay.

We already knew about the eight playable races: Humans, Orcs, Dwarfs, Skaven, Lizardmen, Goblins, Wood Elves and Chaos. Bloodbowl-game.com outlines the strengths and weaknesses of each race  plus the “Big guy” character for each. My favorite so far is the Treeman, but apparently he has a “bad tendency of taking root in the middle of the field.” This sounds too good to be true.

Some other new bits, like the equipment breakdown of four class of items, seem pretty standard fare for this type of game. You know, the RPG/Football sim genre. Two great tastes that taste great together.

If you’ve been awaiting this game with the same feverish anticipation as I, then head on over now and get in on the first-come-first-serve beta testing.

[Update: If you find the drunken meanderings of the Game Hermit amusing, check out his new rant at OedipusGames.com. Read game commentary and podcast updates served with that same side dish of sarcasm seen here.]