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Star Trek: The Video Game due April 23

Spock and Captain Kirk will team up again on April 23, 2013, when Star Trek: The Video Game comes to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Publisher Namco Bandai and Paramount Pictures announced the game's release date today.

The game originally was targeted for a 2012 launch, but in February got delayed to 2013.

Star Trek: The Video Game will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3 at traditional retail outlets, while the PC version will only be sold through digital channels. What's more, gamers won't not need to trek to a brick-and-mortar store to buy the … Read more

Is Dark Souls too hard?

Back in 2009 From Software's Demon's Souls made numerous game-of-the-year lists because of its innovative crowdsourced hinting system, but at the same time honoring the tough-as-nails mentality that seems to have been lost in modern gaming.

Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls. It doesn't continue any sort of linear story, but most of the mechanics remain in tact, including the unforgiving difficulty of the game.

But in a landscape where regenerative health and multiple save points are the norm, can Dark Souls find a place amongst the mainstream?

Jeff: Part of the difficulty that inherently lies in games journalism is remaining indifferent even when a given product isn't something you'd normally want to play. A perfect example of this was my experience with 2009's Demon's Souls. Forcing myself to play such a difficult title wound up making me appreciate so much about what I didn't know. I became immersed in the universe the game was able to convincingly create, even though I had died a thousand deaths exploring the world.

Of course I knew what I was getting myself into with From Software's follow-up, Dark Souls, and the game's tagline of "Prepare to Die" isn't really an attempt to be something it isn't.

Dark Souls can be infuriatingly difficult, and for the gamer who thinks he or she can just march right in with a sword and shield drawn is in for a world of hurt. Not only does the game punish those who play nonchalantly, it basically offers no real explanation of the various items, powers, and hollowing abilities that are at a player's disposal. This lack of hand-holding will be jarring for those not hardened by the "good-old days" of gaming, but Dark Souls is a crash course for the inexperienced.… Read more

The making of the World's Biggest Pac-Man game (Q&A)

When we think of Pac-Man, we think of a single screen, and a series of new mazes that become available only after players finish the one they're on.

But that's not how Ashley Ringrose and his colleagues at Sydney, Australia-based Soap Creative agency thought of the mega-hit 30-year-old video game. So when they were given a chance to design a promotion for the game that was both innovative and social, the lightbulb that went off over their heads was all about big.

Big, as in the World's Biggest Pac-Man game, in which fans are able to design … Read more

Get ready to play the world's largest Pac-Man game

A week after an Australian creative agency launched The World's Biggest Pac-Man, players have built nearly 12,000 levels for it. And eaten nearly 300 million dots.

Launched last week at Microsoft's Mix 11 event in Las Vegas, the game was built as a promotion for Namco-Bandai, the publisher of the all-time classic video game. And it is a brilliant departure for Pac-Man. This time around, anyone can create their own level and then connect in a global map of others' levels. It's all playable, and scores are ranked on a worldwide leader board.

The game was … Read more

Apple's App Store price wars: Gameloft and Namco join fray

How important is having the top spot in Apple's App Store listings before the holiday "freeze," when applications cannot be added, changed, or updated? Important enough for most of the major players to drop prices on their biggest titles.

After Electronic Arts dropped the prices of most of its popular game titles, many to 99 cents, Gameloft and Namco quickly took stock and have now done the same.

The all-out battle for Apple's App Store charts is important, as the holiday "freeze" is fast approaching. iTunes Connect will not be accepting any App Store … Read more

Breaking free from the action mold, here's Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

With the holiday gaming season just beginning to turn its gears, we've already been greeted by an early contender for a spot on wish lists. Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is one of the best games you probably haven't heard about this year, so allow us to introduce you.

For those who'd rather watch than read, please enjoy our exclusive trailer for the game.

Jeff: The story told in Enslaved pairs an unlikely duo: a monstrous and agile man named Monkey and a sweet but helpless tech-savvy accomplice who goes by Trip. Together they must navigate through a decaying New York City of 150 years into the future, absent of any life save for an antihuman race of robotic creatures. Bound together by a mysterious slave headband, Monkey and Trip must help one another survive the decomposing landscape and its flesh-hungry automaton inhabitants.

With the ever-capable developer Ninja Theory at the reigns (see Heavenly Sword), Enslaved features an exciting combat system and a refreshing take on the action-strategy genre. Fans of the Uncharted and Prince of Persia series will be happy to hear that Enslaved occasionally resembles some of the acrobatic gameplay from these two classic franchises, all while keeping itself unique enough--not to mention the game's opening 30 minutes are among the best we've played all year.

There's a solid amount of variety to keep things moving along, including an upgrade system that rewards the player to explore all of the nooks and crannies of the game space. Enslaved is as linear as games come, but don't assume there is only one route to take.

The game isn't without its fair share of faults, however. Camera and environmental glitches are aplenty, though we never found ourselves completely stuck. There are a few moments where the next move isn't abundantly clear, but it's a welcome change of pace compared with a guide arrow or breadcrumb trail.… Read more

Google gets Pac-Man fever

Saturday is the 30th anniversary of the release of Pac-Man, and to commemorate the occasion, Google is rolling out its first-ever truly interactive and playable home page logo, a fully-functional version of the iconic 1980s video game.

For years, Google has produced its so-called doodles for all kinds of holidays and special occasions, from Valentine's Day to the Fourth of July to Mother's Day and many others. In each case, the Google Doodle team works on a special logo that appears on the search engine's home page.

But a few months ago, when the team discovered that … Read more

Game video that'll burn in your retinas: Muscle March

Sometimes a video is so fascinating, so hypnotic, so awe-inspiringly strange, that it just doesn't leave your head. It stays for days and days, over a whole weekend, while the mind reels at the possibilities. Namco-Bandai's Muscle March is just such a brain injection of oddity.

Japan is a lucky country. It gets titles like Muscle March for WiiWare, while we get to watch YouTube videos instead.

Witness the rainbow-colored bikini briefs and posing polar bears...almost like Punch-Out!!, if Punch-Out!! involved slamming your shirtless body through walls while on psychedelics. The style is reminiscent of the best … Read more

Where we've got Belmont Fever

Tech goddess Veronica Belmont joins us on the show today and dishes her thoughts on the $200,000,000 Pac-Man movie, video games in Las Vegas, nebulous Apple line-ups, and her quasi defunct Make Out Club profile. EPISODE 106 Download today's podcast