Fanart: The PAAKT

Hey everybody! I know I promised to make up for Friday’s non-gaming post with a new feature, but sadly, it’s not quite ready yet. So to make it up for you, I’ve posted a fanart pic I drew a few years back for a comic strip me and my wife were playing around with.

The strip is called The PAAKT, which stands for “The Prince, Alucard, and Kratos Tales,” and follows the exploits of three of gamings badasses, The Prince of Persia (from the PS2/Xbox trilogy), Alucard of Castlevania fame, and of course, the God of War himself, Kratos.

The piece below was a “teaser” of sorts for the strip. I’ve only finished two pages, as it was more of a side project done for fun, and not a real serious strip, which is why the art is extremely loose, with no thought to things like perspective and anatomical accuracy. She wrote the words, I drew the strip. The two pages can be found at the link under the drawing. Hope you like!

Link – The PAAKT, pg 1
Link – The PAAKT, pg 2

Michael Jackson is Dead.

It’s a very weird thing to see it just laid out flat like that, but it’s the truth. The King of Pop has died.

I wouldn’t consider myself a diehard fan of Michael Jackson, but I’ve been enjoying his music since the 80’s and even loved the movie Moonwalker (and the arcade and Sega Genesis games of the same name). I remember being 5  years old, and running out of the living room during the zombie sequence in the music video Thriller, because it scared the bejeebus out of me.

For the most part, this post is unrelated to gaming, but I promise to make it up to you this weekend, as I am planning a new weekly feature that I hope you will enjoy (it’s taking a little longer to complete).

In the meantime, I just wanted to give my condolences to the Jackson family, because, despite what anyone may think of Mr. Jackson as a person, he was no doubt one of the most talented and influential entertainers of my lifetime. In this day and age of over-produced, low quality dreck, the music industry is truly a lesser place than what it was just a few days ago.

RIP – Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

Faceoff! Resident Evil 5 vs Dead Space

This week’s addition of Faceoff is taking a turn for the horrific, pairing Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 against EA’s newcomer franchise, Dead Space. We’re going to compare everything from visuals, to story, to controls, gameplay and scare factor, to bring you the lowdown on which title will bring you more scares for your buck. Let the Faceoff begin!

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars hitting PSP this fall

Rockstar Games has announced that DS title, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will be arriving on the Playstation Portable this fall.

The title originally released on the Nintendo DS earlier this year to mediocre sales, despite being a rather quality Grand Theft Auto game, in all it’s old school, 2.5D top down glory. The game will be available on both UMD, and as a digital download via the Playstation Network.

No word yet on whether the game will feature the same visuals as the DS version, or if it will follow in the footsteps of previous PSP exclusive GTA titles, Liberty City Stories, and Vice City Stories, and feature an open world, 3D environment.

Source – Press Release

Activision’s Bluff

An Editorial by Figboy

Earlier this week, Activision VP Bobby Kotick made this comment concerning Sony: “They have to cut the price, because if they don’t, the attach rates [the number of games each console owner buys] are likely to slow. If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.”

Now, I generally try to avoid talking about sales and “console war” topics, because I don’t find them productive, but this particular comment by Kotick has driven quite a few gamers into a panic, and I thought I’d throw in my two cents to view the situation logically.

Faceoff! inFAMOUS vs Prototype

It’s never easy when two products of similar themes get released around the same time period. Whether it be Deep Impact and Armageddon, Dante’s Peak and Volcano, or Mall Cop and Observe and Report. No matter what, the two will always be compared, and the cold hard truth is that one is destined to be better than the other.

Such was the case with Mays release of Sucker Punch’s superhero open world game inFAMOUS, and Radical Entertainments similarly themed open world game, Prototype, release in June, just two weeks after inFAMOUS hit store shelves.

Starting now, every week we’ll present you with a new Faceoff pitting two similarly themed games against one another, and objectively weighing their pros and cons from main character, to gameplay, to graphics, and deciding the victor. Face off begins now!

Review: Ghostbusters: The Video Game – UPDATED MP Impressions

I’m a huge Ghostbusters fan. Ever since I saw the first movie over 2 decades ago, I’ve dreamed of strapping on a Proton Pack and busting ghosts. Unfortunately, the history of Ghostbusters video game adaptations is not a rosy one. In truth, the games just downright blew. Whether it be the limitations of the technology, or simply poor design, the Ghostbusters just didn’t seem to have much luck with video games (although the Sega Genesis Ghostbusters game was rather enjoyable).

All that changes with the release of Terminal Realities’ Ghostbusters: The Video Game, on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. And while the game doesn’t hit all four cylinders, it is most certainly in tune with the vibe of the movies, and features some genuinely enjoyable, if not repetitive, ghostbusting antics.

Review: Prototype

Prototype has a lot in common with Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and that commonality goes beyond the New York setting seen in every Spider-Man game since 2004’s Spider-Man 2. Your hero, Alex Mercer, has been gifted with great powers, including great strength, the ability to glide through the skyscrapers of New York, and even the ability to run along walls like our favorite arachnid.

Even the start of the game is presented in the same way as Web of Shadows, with our hero at the end of his journey, where everything seems lost, and then the actual game flashing back to just after Alex awakes from a morgue, and discovers he has strange, deadly powers. This serves as a springboard for Alex’s ultimate goal, which is to find the people that did this to him, and “make them pay.” Not only does Alex have to contend with his new powers and the soldiers trying to bring him in, but a plague has been unleashed upon the city, turning a portion of the population into zombies, who are out for blood.

The Last Guardian Screenshots

Kotaku has posted some screens of Team Ico’s upcoming Playstation 3 title, The Last Guardian.

Not much is known about the game other than it’s slated 2010 release, but it’s looking absolutely gorgeous, and Team Ico’s previous works, Ico, and Shadow of the Colossus, are among two of the best games of all time, so I have high hopes for The Last Guardian.

Source – Kotaku

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time Screenshots

Kotaku has posted some sizzling screens of Insominac’s upcoming Playstation 3 exclusive, Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time.

The game, which is the 7th Ratchet and Clank title, follows Ratchet as he searches for his lost pal, Clank, across gorgeous planets teeming with hostiles. As you can expect, there will be plenty of cool weapons to use, and I’m sure a few space battles as well.

The game is slated for a fall 2009 release.

Source – Kotaku