...will he ever win?

As heroes go, Jackie Estacado is pretty unappealing on the surface. The protagonist of the video game (and comic book) series The Darkness is a hard sell on two counts. First off, he's a hitman turned mob don, whose day-to-day activities involve running a criminal empire. If that wasn't bad enough, ...

January 25, 2012 10:38 AM

If you've ever looked at our New Releases page (and if not, now's a good time to start!), you've seen that each game has a "shipped on" date. For items heading to game stores -- that is, anything that isn't an e23 release or a Warehouse 23 exclusive -- that is the day that the games started shipping from the PSI warehouse in Atlanta to distributors, who then send it on to your Friendly Local Game Store. It's about two weeks from the ship date to the "now in stores date," often called the "street" date. (Obviously, it takes longer for games going to overseas destinations; we're talking specifically about North America here.) Why "street" date? Sometimes, a new game is assigned a "do not sell before" date, the official date that games hit the street. We don't often set a hard street date, but two weeks from "ship" to "street" is a good general rule for most of our games.

I thought it was a good idea to put this information together so I could tell you that, after juggling schedules and freight loads, we managed to get Munchkin 8 on the water a little ahead of schedule, and now our February New Releases shows Munchkin 8 as a new release . . . when the game will actually be in stores in March because the ship date is right at the end of February. Since our New Releases page is driven by our in-house scheduling system, everyone can see when I shift a ship date between months, and I wanted to dispel any confusion.

This is basically a long way of saying two things:

1. Munchkin 8 is ahead of schedule!
2. Munchkin 8 is on schedule to be in stores in March.

-- Phil Reed

January 25, 2012 06:12 AM

Radical Books of 2011, 8/10

You Can’t Have Everything… Where Would You Put It!, Bruce Andrews, Veer Books

There is no way this book will get past your spam filter:

facework cootie itsier-off
we are the dream sequences in your conventional cultural life -

Indeed we are. Here’s verbal salad (French dressing? Russian dressing?) shot through at times with lines of split and reassembled words:

zy^rit
sect^in
sing^franchi
cres^offi

It’s a delight to apprehend such text, passing words beneath one’s eyes, thinking about what it all might mean and sound like. Looking back now, I wonder if I should have flipped this open and read at random when I encountered it originally. Instead of plodding through, I might have thought for days about a line such as “tractor the Real.” But, as it happens, I can still do that. Although I have everything, I had nowhere to put it. I have to delve in again for specific examples of juxtapositions that Bruce Andrews fashions. The book is no doubt worth reading, scanning, or hashing into – however you want to have it all.

January 25, 2012 03:57 AM

Right Click Here and 'Save As' to Download!
(An Interactive 38.3 MBs, 1:06:51)

This week Lara, Karla and Shawn talk loads of games and the non-gameplay stuff pushing further into games.

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January 25, 2012 02:45 AM

Valve's Dota 2, currently in beta, is a beautiful, loyal recreation of the fan-made Warcraft III mod that spawned a sub-genre, and it's still missing about half the original's roster. It's really good, as anyone who has played (or even watched) it can attest. But thanks to League of Legends, I just ...

January 25, 2012 02:16 AM

About seven years ago, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was released for the PlayStation 2. It was a crowning achievement for the stealth action genre, one that pushed the series forward with its innovative new combat and health system, as well as its advanced character models. The game marked an une...

January 25, 2012 01:11 AM

Nailing an aesthetic can go a long way towards making a game memorable. Titles like Team Fortress 2, The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker and Rayman: Origins are memorable not only because they're fun, but also because their unique visual design and music help set them apart. In this regard Unstoppable Go...

January 24, 2012 11:25 PM

Little by little, the 3DS eShop is coming into its own, helped along by a handful of download titles that offer a certain kind of charming 3D experience you can't find anywhere else. Mutant Mudds is one of those titles. The game is retro throwback care of developer Renegade Kid, and should hit the spot for gamers who grew up in the 8-bit era, as well as those who can appreciate the joys of pure, simple, old school platforming...

January 24, 2012 10:22 PM

Pingus is a Lemmings-like game for GNU/Linux, FreeBSD and Win32.

More about Pingus

January 24, 2012 10:09 PM

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the darling of critics and RPG-lovers. While the game is beautiful, involving, technically impressive, it's a long way away from being the perfect RPG. Indeed, developer Bethesda has a lot to learn from other RPGs and even action games, in terms of creating a convincing narrative experience, tweaking leveling mechanics and generating emotional pull...

January 24, 2012 09:26 PM