Is this the image that ran through your head when you thought of playing as Booker DeWitt, a former Pinkerton agent who is trying to rescue a captured female character by the name of Elizabeth?

via GamesRadar

Gove is currently pushing the UK's government to allow video games into the classroom, because he feels that kids can relate more to figuring out equation involving one of their favorite past times, rather than the standard text book questions.

"When children need to solve equations in order to get more ammo to shoot the aliens, it is amazing how quickly they can learn. I am sure that this field of educational games has huge potential for maths and science teaching and I know that Marcus has been thinking about how he might be able to create games to introduce advanced concepts to children at a much earlier stage..." ~ Michael Gove, UK Secretary of State for Education

Gove is working with the Stanford Research Institute here in the states and Hong Kong's Li Ka Shing Foundation overseas to make video games that will help students in a classroom setting excel in their math and science studies. Gove says that since techonolgy is changing, the way that teachers teach their students need to adapt as well.

"We need to change curricula, tests and teaching to keep up with technology. These developments are only the beginning...The new environment of teaching schools will be a fertile ecosystem for experimenting and spreading successful ideas rapidly through the system.." ~ Michael Gove, UK Secretary of State for Education

What do you think? Would video games in the classroom be beneficial to students or would the games prove to be more of a distraction and possibly cause a drop in grades?

via Edge

"...And you mentioned DLC. We would like to do DLC; we don’t have any specific plans yet, but they’ve been really successful and we like making them. So right now I can say that we’d like to do less DLC but bigger ones -- you know, more substantial. The Fallout 3 pace that we did was very chaotic. We did a lot of them -- we had two overlapping groups -- and we don’t know what we’re going to make yet, but we’d like them to be closer to an expansion pack feel." ~ Todd Howard, Bethesda Executive Producer

Howard also explains that the team plans on letting gamers continue to play after beating the main storyline unlike their previous title, Fallout 3.

"No. No, that was a mistake, yeah. We were really confident about that, then the game came out and we heard pretty loud and clear that was not what they wanted. So we’re not gonna do that again. No, you’ll definitely be able to.. when you finish the main quest you can just keep playing." ~ Todd Howard, Bethesda Executive Producer

So there you have my fellow Elder Scrolls junkies. No "DLC" horse armor and we can continue our gaming experience even after we beat the main story. That has this fan and I'm sure plenty of others mighty pleased.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set to release on November 11, 2011.

via Aus Gamers

Swery, the Director at Access Games put out a public call for help on their website and states that "I promise I’ll make something good!" and "I’ll work real hard!" among other one liners that are just begging to be made fun of.

If he is relying on those cries for help, Access Games might be waiting awhile before a publisher jumps on that "hit making" train.

via Access Games Blog (Scroll down for English translation)

Better make sure that you grab your snacks and have a bathroom break before you sit down to play.

via VG247

The graphs that were released by the NPD group today showcase that the Xbox 360 has had a steady and continuious rise in the number of online games and point cards that are being sold since 2006. Sony's PS3 appears to be staying steady with their numbers, while the Nintendo Wii looks to be hitting rock bottom during the four year period which the study was made.

via Gamasutra

• Bastion: July 20 ~ 1200 MS Points
  
• From Dust: July 27 ~ 1200 MS Points
  
• Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet: August 3 ~ 1200 MS Points
  
• Fruit Ninja Kinect: August 10 ~ 800 MS Points
  
• Toy Soldiers Cold War: August 17 ~ 1200 MS Points
  

via Major Nelson

"It didn't end up being the game that I dreamed it would be..." ~ Peter Molyneux, Producer with Lionhead Studios in an interview with Gamasutra "The game came together so late that we had so little time to balance and refine. There was just a few weeks to do it. That meant that what could have been a great mechanic turned out to be a good idea."

Molyneux further explains his disappoint with the game when his Fable III goals of selling 5 million units were not met.

"...So when we came down to it, the edit -- I think the ruling section in Fable was the one that really suffered a lot here. The edit was very harsh and hard to actually make the game fit. That being said, I still think it was a good game! I just don't think it was a great game that took us to 5 million units. I know I probably should say it's a great game just respective of whatever it was, but the Metacritic score was sort of low-'80s. I think I'm pretty ashamed of that, to be honest, and I take that on my own shoulders, not the team's shoulders. I think that, when you have something like that, which you can feel as a kick in the teeth, you have to pick yourself up and fight even harder." ~ Peter Molyneux

With that being said let's hope that the next Fable game that rolls out gets back to it's roots and leaves us wanting more instead of saying, "Another Fable already? Please, the last one kind of blew...".

via Gamasutra

"There's some story behind his new look. There are specific reasons why he looks the way he does and why some of his behaviours have changed. We'll see in good time." ~ Frank O Conner, 343 Industries "A lot of things have changed in that intervening period."

We will have to wait to see what those changes are as more details emerge regarding 343 Industries, Halo 4.

http://youtu.be/TC2yMKMENdg

via OXM

http://youtu.be/G2FjqieajyY

via

“We’ve probably been guilty of bringing too many Sonic games to market too quickly.” Alan Pritchard, Sega’s US Sales and Marketing Vice President

The famous blue, chili-dog eating hedgehog spawned a comic book

series, television show, and numerous toys and clothing for kids of all

ages is getting ready to celebrate his 20th year in the gaming

industry. Fans have been complaining year after year that Sonic related video games have gone downhill, but even after Sega admitting that they shoved sub-par Sonic games down the throats of gamers each year, will they actually listen?

“If you look at all of the Sonic releases over the

last four or five years, there’s a real mixed bag out there. A Sonic

game can sell if it’s a 60-percent Metacritic game, that’s not an issue.

But is that really what the consumer wants? Is that what we should be

doing as a publisher and a developer? We should be bringing much higher

quality products to market to deliver a better experience for the

consumer..” ~ Alan Pritchard, Sega US Sales and Marketing Vice President

As CVG pointed out, there are four Sonic

games that are coming out all within a month of each other so it does

not appear that Sega is going to be taking their own advice anytime

soon.

"It’s difficult to go very far into this because it’s tied to the story, and we want to keep some information confidential for now. As a player, you will learn and understand why Amy has this condition," responded Cuisset when Edge asked why they decided to make Amy autistic.

In Amy, you play as Lana, a woman who is protecting a young child with autism and also has powers that cannot be explained. As Lana, you have to help the 8 year old Amy escape a city that has become overrun with monsters and other types of enemies and military.

The graphically gorgeous and somewhat Silent Hillish Amy, is releasing on the Playstation Network in Fall of 2011 and will be making it's way to the Xbox Live Arcade at a later date.

http://youtu.be/t4KtIqirCME

via Edge

Sometimes wizards don't get along -

PvP Mode, Map Pack, and New Robes Now Available for Download

New York, June 21, 2011 – The mages of Paradox Interactive are proud to announce that the PvP mode is live, free, and available online. If you are the unfortunate owner of a conscience that prevents you from retaliating against your friends when they “accidentally” explode your head, your chance to seek sweet revenge in one of Magicka’s sanctioned arenas is finally here!

Nothing feels better than taking matters into your own hands, right? Plus, we’ll be on the sidelines cheering! Cheering for hysterical demises, that is.

Players will be able to wreak havoc in the Havindir Arena and Training Ground maps, and a new Reservoir wizard robe will be available as new free content.

To celebrate the occasion Vlad, who isn’t a vampire, is sending the wizards on a new special mission:

Available for sale will be the all-new Final Frontier Map Pack, priced at .99, which include the never-before-seen Vulcanus Arena, a sci-fi themed map that doubles as a PvP map and a challenge map. Also available for purchase is the chilling Frozen Lake map as well as a “stop staring at me, you’re freaking me out” Watch Tower map, both priced at style="".99. As always players will be able to play the maps even if they didn’t purchase them – as long as the player hosting the map owns the map. Players will be able to don new robes suited for the new PvP game modes – a tank robe, a support robe and rogue robe.

Magicka PvP offers three modes of gameplay:

Classic Deathmatch: Instead of accidentally zapping your companions, you kill them on purpose! It’s every wizard for himself as up to four physically inept beings duke it out in a one mage takes all battle.

Brawl mode: In Brawl, each player/team only has a set number of lives, and the last ma…wizard standing wins. Just make sure your “friends” don’t squander those precious lives.

Krietor mode: A fiendish new mode named after a clever Magicka fan who modded the game, the round-based Krietor mode unlocks Magicks at special intervals during the match, forcing players to come up with different strategies as new spells become available.

Check out the latest Magicka PVP developments:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MagickaGame

Webpage: http://www.magickagame.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/magickagame

Forum: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/

Other deals include Super Monkey Ball 3D discounted from $39.95 to $21.99 and two more unannounced deals that have a countdown clock and hints for you puzzle guru's to figure out.

via Amazon

This news was made recent after a public Facebook posting made by Namco Bandai's Community Manager, Charlotte Toci which happened to be directed towards a fan asking a question regarding a PS3 version was never seen outside of Japan.

"Microsoft paid for the exclusivity the same way Sony paid for having Heavy Rain only on PS3. It's just one way the business works, sadly." ~Charlotte Toci, Community Manager Namco Bandai

Considering that Namco Bandai has not given any details regarding the "exclusitivity" of Tales of Vesperia and the un-professional manner that she ousted the news in, do you think that Namco Bandai will soon be hiring a new community manager?

To read the full Facebook posting, please go to the RPG Site

The release date that is noted on both of the online selling behometh's show a date of December 1, 2011. Rockstar Vancouver who is at the helm of Max's driver seat have not confirmed or denied the release dates.

via VG247

"On Kinect we’ve definitely bought into that with what Microsoft has been saying, they’ve done a great job on Kinect, so we’ve got Rise Of Nightmares exclusively on it, and we’re using Kinect functionality in our games going forward. So it’s ticked a lot of boxes,” ~ Mike Hayes, Sega West CEO in an interview with Games Industry

Hayes further went on to say that Sega is also backing Wii U and Sony's Vita which were both announced and shown at this year's E3.

via VG247

http://justin.tv/ebildustbunny/b/288287909

"I have no comments regarding bad reviews by clueless critics. They seem to want to compare Duke Nukem Forever to Call Of Duty and other FPSs and they are missing the point. My thoughts about Duke Nukem Forever: It freakin ROCKS! Lots of action, lots of fun, sexy, funny, irreverent... It's everything I hoped it would be." ~ John St. Jon, Duke Nukem voice actor speaking to The Joy Pads

Meanwhile, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford was throwing in his two cents on what critics are saying.

"With sales data, it seems like *customers* love Duke. I guess sometimes we want greasy hamburgers instead of caviar..." Randy Pitchford, Gearbox CEO via Twitter

These harsh words that are being thrown towards reviewers come after Take Two's stock plummets 15% since mid-May follwoing the release of Duke Nukem Forever.

via Eurogamer

Where did the fun go? Over the past few years games have become more and more dependent on real world situations, social commentary, and political correctness to drive their narratives along. The days of the simplistic story and overall fun gaming seem to be slowly coming to an end, with little resistance from us, the gamers. The select few games at the top echelon in gaming are becoming more and more like simulations and less and less like the games that started the industry. “Games as art” has become the battle cry for almost every company out there trying to reach the top. While I have no issue with that comparison, what concessions are we allowing companies to make their art? Sacrificing fun for art, in a hobby that was built for fun, is truly sad and somewhat asinine.

Back in 1985 when I received the NES and Super Mario Bros. as a birthday gift, after much begging and pleading, I knew from pressing Start that I was a gamer from that day forward. The story, as everyone knows, revolved around a kidnapped princess. However, without reading the manual you didn't know that until the end of world 1-4 when the major crux of the story was, "I'm sorry Mario but the Princess is in another castle". No matter how hard you try the sheer fun of running, jumping, and shooting fire from god knows where never felt forced or serious at all. It literally was just fun in its simplest form. Even before the NES the Atari, Commodore 64, and even Tennis for Two were all just "fun". No social commentary. No "art" comparisons. Just fun.

Fast-forward to present day. The biggest franchises in gaming are arguably Call of Duty, Halo, Gears of War and many others of the same type. All of which amount to "war simulations". The stories try and try to take themselves seriously to convey the argument of "Videogames should be considered art" as best they can, but at what cost? I tried playing through Call of Duty 4 and found myself getting more and more depressed by the story that was playing out. The "shocking twist" that happens to one of the main characters did more to make me not want to continue than anything else in the game. If I want to see death, images of war, and the horrors of history or present day, I would turn on the history channel or the nightly news. Yet a game that resorts to dick and fart jokes or making off color jokes about things such as abortion are literally shit on by critics and most players alike for being juvenile/crude. The people that find these diversions from reality fun and funny are more often than not ostracized or called out for not wanting to have everything in gaming be so damned serious. A good story does not have to have some social or moral commentary to be meaningful or fun. Hell, some of the best games don’t even have a story.

This is not to say that the games mentioned can’t be fun but I have yet, in a single-player environment, found anything remotely fun about them. Multiplayer can be a plus in quite a few of these games. Whether it be rolling through the story in co-op and saving your buddy’s ass from certain death or just making up your own game types in open world environments, this can be the saving grace for some games. Take GTA IV, it is/was a critical darling. Yet, the overall story just got monotonous and wasn’t very fun. However, get a group of friends together (drunk or otherwise) and get set for some truly fun times. Non-scripted, no story, everything as YOU make it. Boiled down to its simplest form, it is fun.

Yes, I understand the word "fun" is all a matter of opinion and everyone has their own views on what the word means. However, any gamer my age can agree that pouring hours and hours in to Super Mario Bros. was a hell of a lot more fun than seeing a group of innocent people being gunned down with machine guns, mass graves being covered up, or an atomic bomb going off in the middle of a populated city. If "games as art" have to sacrifice the fun to gain critical acclaim or we have to be serious constantly throughout our pixelated adventures, this old timey gamer may need to find a new hobby.

The views expressed here are not Gamercide's, nor are they endorsed by the site. They are the views of the author and the author alone.

Recently, EA's Sports Division head honcho Peter Moore sat down with Gamastura and discussed the techonology of the Wii U and why offline gaming is a thing of the past.

"My dev teams -- their heads are exploding, in a good way and a bad way," Moore responded when asked about Nintendo's new entry into the console war. "How do we look at this new technology? We don't just want to bolt this on; this has to be relevant to the sports gamer."

Moore later discusses his thoughts on offline gaming and why social gaming has exploded in recent years.

"...clearly becoming an industry that's taking massive franchises and then spreading that experiences across multiple platforms and multiple geographies, anytime, anywhere. There will be no offline games, and it's very pleasing to see how our industry has embraced connectivity, has changed our business models to react to consumer demands." ~ EA's Peter Moore in an interview with Gamasutra

It looks like EA, at least their Sports Division will be abandoning offline gameplay. What does that mean for the future of single player sports games or other titles from EA's lineup? We will have to wait to find out.

via Gamasutra

Double Fine's Anna Kipnis jumped the gun early on Twitter by announcing that Double Fine now has the publishing rights to the Psychonauts brand. However Tim Schafer clarified the news by stating that they are in the process of converting all of the rights to the franchise to Double Fine.

"It's true the publishing rights have reverted to Double Fine, but there are some more deals that need to be worked out and contracts that need signing before that actually means anything, financially. After that's all squared away, we will have some fun stuff to announce! (And no, it's not Psychonauts 2.)" - Tim Schafer, in an email to Gamasutra

Does this mean we can expect a "Pyschonauts HD" remake appearing on XBL or PSN?

via Gamasutra

"Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilitie. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn’t warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.." Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President

Iwata did confirm that there will be some social media functions.

via VG247

OREM, UTAH and SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - June 15, 2011 – Akimi Village, the city-building simulation game from NinjaBee, published by Sony Online Entertainment LLC (SOE), is now available exclusively on the PlayStation®Network for USD $9.99.

Those familiar with NinjaBee's previous city-building titles, A Kingdom for Keflings and A World of Keflings, will assuredly enjoy the gameplay of Akimi Village. Set on a mysterious floating island in the sky where the tiny Akimi villagers are trapped in the tight grip of the Gloom's thick shadow. Players must help the Akimi by putting the villagers to work harvesting and refining resources, unlocking a huge set of blueprints in order to rebuild their village, spread the light and purify the island from the Gloom's dark power.

"We are extremely excited to release our first game on the PlayStation®Network as we’ve definitely made something special just for PlayStation®3 gamers," said Brent Fox, Art Director at NinjaBee. “Akimi Village is about much more than just building a city; it's about freeing a people and their island from darkness by closely managing resources and securing blueprints to construct buildings, developing land and building a beautiful living city!”

“At SOE we pride ourselves on our ability to deliver immersive play experiences for a diversity of gamers,” said Christopher Sturr, Executive Director of Business Development, SOE. “Akimi Village absolutely accentuates our portfolio and features unique and fun non-combat centric gameplay that engages players regardless of their age or gaming background.”

Akimi Village is rated E for Everyone and is now available exclusively on the PlayStation Network for USD $9.99. Akimi Village is scheduled to be available in European territories on June 22.

Be sure to check out the screenshots and game trailer here: http://www.ninjabee.com/akimi-village/