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Rumor: UFC to Ban EA Sports MMA Fighters?
by Ben Tolmachoff | 07/03/09 | 4:50 PM PST

Mixed Marital Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world, and the UFC is definitely a major reason for the recent popularity growth. The sport has grown so much that each pay-per-view event gained the Ultimate Fighting Championship over $19 million last year.

Trying to cash out on MMA's popularity, THQ released the massively successful UFC 2009: Undisputed, and soon after, EA announced their own MMA title called EA Sports MMA. UFC president Dana White does not seem too happy about the title one bit.

Find out why after the break.

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What if Video Game Characters Were Like Pokemon?
by David Oxford | 07/03/09 | 4:49 PM PST

From an amusing article over at GamesRadar...



Indeed, GamesRadar has taken a number of popular video game characters, and looked at what it would be like if they were Pokemon. And not just Nintendo characters, either, though Link, Mario, and Samus are among the group; Kratos, Kasumi, Master Chief, NiGHTS, Gordon Freeman, and plenty more are there, too.

You can pick and choose which ones you'd want to catch here.

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Marvelous Entertainment Ponders Porting Wii Titles to 360 and PS3
by David Oxford | 07/03/09 | 4:11 PM PST

Though Marvelous Entertainment has thrown in a pretty good amount of support for the Wii, the simple fact of the matter is that the returns have not been very favorable in the company's native Japan. In fact, if you'll recall, they've proven themselves to be downright heartbreaking for those involved in the development of said games.

As such, it is perfectly understandable that the company is considering a move into Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 development, one which would see some of their previous Wii titles moved to the power-packed platforms. Siliconera notes that two likely candidates would be Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Arc Rise Fantasia, as they don't rely heavily on the promise of the Wii's motion controls.

Meanwhile, it is noted that the Xbox 360/PlayStation title Rainy Woods is still in development. In addition, Goichi Suda, whose No More Heroes titles are published in Japan under the Marvelous banner, has also recently spoken of taking the franchise to new territory.

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Big Bird and Elmo Endorse Video Gaming; Oscar the Grouch Mutters Something in Agreement
by David Oxford | 07/03/09 | 2:56 PM PST

It is a well known and widely-accepted fact that Muppets rule, and anyone who does not subscribe to this belief has no soul (also a scientific fact). Sure, a Muppet isn't quite a mop, and it's not quite a puppet, but man...

Anyway, Sesame Street Muppets may not rule to the same degree as their Muppet Show brethren, but are still pretty cool in their own right. Particularly if you're three years old. But regardless of whether you're three or thirty, one has to show them a little appreciation for their recent advocacy of video games.

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Media: Gameplay Footage of Dante's Inferno is Epic as Hell
by Bill Shibley | 07/03/09 | 2:52 PM PST

Dante's Inferno is an upcoming third-person action title from EA that loosely follows the story of the epic poem with the same name. The main character, Dante, must travel into the depths of Hell to rescue the soul of his lover, Beatrice.

The game turned some heads at this year's E3 with some clever viral marketing that involved a fake protest set up by EA. Aside from that, the game has frequently been labeled a God of War rip-off. Are these prejudgments fair? EA has surprised us before. Remember Dead Space? It was supposed to be a Resident Evil rip-off, but turned out to be a lot more.

Anyway, the first trailer showing off gameplay footage of Dante's Inferno was just released. Check it out below and judge for yourself.




I wasn't really looking forward to this game previously. However, now that I've gotten a better glimpse of Dante's Inferno, I can safely say I'm eagerly anticipating it. From the looks of it, you can slaughter demon babies and use a cross as a weapon. Epic.

Dante's Inferno is tentatively scheduled to release on January 30th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows.

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Analyst Expects Two More GTA IV Episodes by 2011; GTA V in 2011
by Ben Tolmachoff | 07/03/09 | 12:08 PM PST

Following in the footsteps of Michael Pachter's recent plethora of predictions, Todd Mitchell of Kaufman Bros. Equality Research has made predictions of his own regarding Rockstar's hit franchise.

Mitchell expects two more episodes to be released for Grand Theft Auto IV after The Ballad of Gay Tony is put on Xbox Live this fall. If true, that means the exclusive-DLC deal Rockstar has with Microsoft will have run out, possibly resulting in subsequent episodes appearing on the PlayStation Network at the same time as their release on Xbox Live.

Mitchell also expects a new, full-length Grand Theft Auto, subtly titled Grand Theft Auto V to be released some time in 2011. Finally, in a more questionable prediction, Mitchell expects a port of the PSP port of the former Nintendo DS-exclusive Chinatown Wars to be released on the aging PlayStation 2, but Mitchell admits that he isn't too confident about that prediction.

Whether there's any weight to any of these rumors remains to be seen, but fans of GTA should have their fill of rumors for quite a while.

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Splinter Cell: Conviction Will Clock In At Around 12 Hours
by Chris Holzworth | 07/03/09 | 12:07 PM PST

While speaking to Official Xbox Magazine, Splinter Cell: Conviction creative director Maxime Beland mentioned that Sam Fisher's next adventure will take roughly 12 hours to complete. Beland told OXM, "…we're going to have the normal mode for normal gamers, that are going to spend 12 hours playing our game and not 30 because they're dying all the time."

That would be me. I gave Splinter Cell: Double Agent the ol' college try back in February, only to shelf the game after a meager five hours of play. In that time, I only reached the fourth mission in the game. There are eleven missions total. Yeah.

Still, many stealth enthusiasts adore Splinter Cell for its difficulty, its emphasis on playing defensively and exercising patience. Has Ubisoft forsaken them, and sold out to garner mainstream appeal? Of course not. Conviction will sport several difficulty levels, including "normal mode" and "realistic mode." Beland describes the latter as "really fucking hard – you're going to need stealth, two bullets is going to kill you, the enemies are going to be super-lethal."

Guess what difficulty level I won't be playing on?

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Podcast: Kombo Breaker - Episode 34: The Wide World of Nintendo with Craig Harris of IGN
by Joey Davidson | 07/03/09 | 11:44 AM PST

Nintendo fans, this episode of Kombo Breaker is certainly for you. Craig Harris of IGN's Nintendo channel (specifically the handheld section) rode in to talk with us about where Nintendo is and where it's headed. We talk the good and bad of Wii Sports Resort, MotionPlus, the DSi and the release landscape.

All of this rocks in at one hour, so enjoy it.

As always, we'd love for you to follow us on Twitter (@kombobreaker)! Come contribute to our discussions and learn about guests as we book them. We always ask for questions and suggestions, so join us. You can also send us questions and suggestions to kombobreaker@kombo.com.

Download | Subscribe on iTunes | Episode 34 | 60m

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Activision Defends DJ Hero Pricing
by Bill Shibley | 07/03/09 | 11:29 AM PST

Sometimes it seems like the future of gaming is in peripherals, and leading the charge to clutter your living room with expensive pieces of plastic is Activision. They have Guitar Hero 5, Tony Hawk: Ride and, of course, DJ Hero all set to release by the end of year. With all three of these plastic-thing-plus-game combos costing upwards of 100 bucks, Activison has been heavily criticized on their pricing strategies. DJ Hero, for example, is going to set you back 120 bucks. Are these gaming toys too expensive, or are they fun enough to justify the price? Activision recently made some comments in defense of DJ Hero.

"We believe that DJ Hero will provide tremendous value for our consumers by delivering an all-new interactive music experience with over 100 individual songs that are highlighted in over 80 unique mixes, a wide variety of music from some of the biggest artists including Jay-Z, Eminem, Benny Benassi, Gwen Stefani and Black Eyed Peas among others."

DJ Hero is set to release on October 27th for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and Wii.

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Patent Suit Getting Real for Mircosoft
by Bryan Roush | 07/03/09 | 10:50 AM PST

I'm not usually one for getting excited over patents, or spending all day looking at legal documents, but this particular patent suit caught my eye today. It seems that Microsoft will be going to court to defend the claim that they created online communication over the internet (using the text and voice function via Xbox Live). Peter Hochstein and Jeffrey Tenenbaum are bringing the suit to Microsoft, claiming they filed a patent in 1994 about "communicating live while playing the same video game in separate locations". Where the plot thickens is that they brought the suit against Sony and Microsoft, but why is Microsoft the only one going to court?

Hit the jump for the dramatic conclusion.

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Latest RPG from Obsidian will Hit Store Shelves October 6
by Alex Osborn | 07/03/09 | 9:59 AM PST

If you're an RPG fan who's growing impatient for 2010's Mass Effect 2 and Final Fantasy XIII, fear not, for esteemed developer Obsidian Entertainment has something to tied you over. The sci-fi and stealth inspired RPG entitled Alpha Protocol will be released on October 6, and it looks promising.

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Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Doesn't Hinder Pre-Orders
by Bryan Roush | 07/03/09 | 9:56 AM PST

According to pre-orders of Left 4 Dead 2, the boycott is not having a negative effect on the sequel. Even with the back and forth as well as the the finger scandal with the Electronic Software Ratings Board, the game is still gathering strength. In fact, some interesting numbers are coming from Valve regarding the number of pre-orders they have received for the sequel to their hit game.

Hit the jump for what Valve is so excited about.

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Cliff Bleszinski Explains why Games are Overrun with Space Marines
by Rhody Tobin | 07/02/09 | 9:21 PM PST

Remember when games had no potential to look hyper-realistic? Remember dreaming that one day, games would look like real life? Oh, how times have changed! Game developers think seem to think that real life is dirty, brown, and filled with bald space marines. Actually, Gears of War creator Cliff "CliffyB" Bleszinski has shared the secret reason behind those space marines. It seems that technology is to blame.

Blockquote:

I just think that the technology of this generation just happens to be very good at rendering metals and stones and dramatic lighting, which is why you see a lot of pillars and girders and destroyed blown-out areas because that's what the bump-mapping happens to do very well.

At the same time, in this generation the translucent effects are very hard to pull off. That's why everybody sees a lot of these bald characters and wonder why games feature so many ****ing space marines. Well, the tech is good at showing off amour and it's not that good at doing hair. That's why we have bald space marines. There's your answer people.

Alright, that explains the baldness, but why the space marines? Might I suggest that Cliffy's next game be a video game biography of Sinéad O'Connor?

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Jaded Since Jade; Has Ubi Gone Soft?
by Joel Windels | 07/02/09 | 5:10 PM PST

There was a time when I looked up to Ubisoft as a beacon of light in what I saw as an otherwise dark and misguided industry. 2003 was a year in which I had the time to play a lot of video games, and managed to play most of the year's major releases. I was, at the time something of a Nintendo fanboy, though I did own a PS2 and Xbox as well. Nintendo were for me, a company that refused to comply with the industry's growing stagnation, yet the GameCube was struggling to economically perform.

Cast your minds back to 2003: EA ruled the roost, with the Need For Speed and sports franchises dominating the charts. The Sims had spawned countless amounts of uninspired expansion packs, the woeful Medal of Honor: Rising Sun and Enter The Matrix were selling well and copycat behavior was abound with lackluster games being marketed into success, such as Tony Hawk's Underground, True Crime: Streets of LA, Burnout 2 and Angel of Darkness. Even Nintendo's new Gameboy Advance SP model reeked of a "cash-in" and all signs of innovation were crumbling commercially, from Nokia's ill-fated N-Gage to the apparent collapse of the much-hyped Capcom Five, following the poor reception of P.N.03 and the cancellation of Dead Phoenix. Aside from a couple of notable exceptions in the shape of Soul Calibur II and Knights of the Old Republic, 2003 represented an industry heading in the direction of Hollywood, a realm where innovation and artistic quality is considered commercially unviable and low-risk, high yield strategies are abundant and substance is sacrificed for style.

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The Role of Female Characters in Video Games Part 2 - Samus Aran
by Joey Davidson | 07/02/09 | 5:00 PM PST

I started this series of articles just a few months ago. I have already told you that my intention here is to investigate the role of female characters in gaming. I am not necessarily trying to provide a solution, but I am definitely looking to further unearth the inherent problem. Female characters in gaming cast a negative shadow over the medium and gender perception as a whole.

If you are looking to understand my full intentions throughout this series, I would like to offer you a chance to read my first article. I spend a lot of time in the early goings trying to explain my position. Well, I have done that already. So I decided that here, and with future editions of this editorial, I will begin more quickly than before.

When I finished the first piece, I immediately started to get a slew of reactions from colleagues, friends and readers. Not all of them were positive, of course, but they did spark the types of discussions for which I was looking. And a lot of people started to offer Samus Aran as a solution for the model of strong females in games. She immediately became my next target.