Filed under: Galleries

Joystiq at the Street Fighter IV Launch Party

by Kevin Kelly { 9 months ago }

By now you're probably tired of reading about slick Hollywood-based video game launch parties attended by C-list celebrities and wannabes who probably game about as much as your grandma. Capcom finally got it right by opening up the Street Fighter IV party to the public. The only problem was that so many people showed up for the event that the fire marshal ended up restricting access, and a lot of people went home without getting their game on.

For those of you who didn't make it to the Geffen Museum Street Fighter Takeover in downtown Los Angeles, we offer up the gallery below from the event. There were tons of console stations where you could play the game, imported versions of the SFIV Japanese arcade game, a Street Fighter Club rumble pit, a "museum" full of Street Fighter products from over the years, Street Fighter arcade cabinets painted by different artists, plenty of people in costumes, and of course, game producer Ono-san.

Gallery: Street Fighter IV Launch Party

New Star Wars: The Old Republic screenshots preview Hutt home world

by Griffin McElroy { 9 months ago }

Sure, they're slimy, revolting creatures, but if there's one thing you can say about the Hutts, it's that they know how to live. If the grim consequences of unadulterated hedonism are morbid obesity and an irreversibly polluted atmosphere, well, that's a price we'd be more than happy to pay. You can catch a glimpse of the Hutts' luxurious lifestyle in the latest screenshot salvo from Bioware for Star Wars: The Old Republic. There's no bikini-clad vixens or rancor pits to speak of, but man, those love handles are just unbearably stylish.

Namco drops 16 new panda-kicking Tekken 6 screens

by Griffin McElroy { 9 months ago }

Namco just dropped 16 piping hot screenshots from their upcoming brawler, Tekken 6, into our quivering hands. They're worth checking out in the gallery below -- while they're all pretty gorgeous, one image in particular stuck out in our minds. We are completely ensorceled by the picture you see above. Not only because we can't wait for PETA's imminent protestations to the strong imagery shown in the screenshot, but also because it's given rise to one of our new favorite idioms. Observe:

"Man, I've had one of those days that just make me want to kick a panda in the throat."

Gallery: Tekken 6 (02-13-09)

Joystiq visits: The Pinball Hall of Fame

by Kevin Kelly { 9 months ago }

click for entire pinball-licious gallery!

Vegas isn't just a mecca for gambling, strip clubs and CES -- it's also the home of the Pinball Hall of Fame, situated a couple of miles off the strip. Although once you walk through these hallowed halls of gaming past, it's hard to figure out why a place like this isn't showcased in the middle of Mandalay Bay or in a sparkletronic gaming rotunda inside the Bellagio.

That's because Tim Arnold and the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club have made this a non-profit labor of love. They aren't interested in razzle-dazzle showmanship or a high-priced entry fee -- which is why you can enter for free anytime they're open and play one of their 141 pinball machines for a couple of quarters.

Joystiq took some time off during this year's CES to visit to the place, and we only left because they wouldn't let us stay overnight. The sheer amount of pinball games they have on display is staggering, including some extremely rare games like The Pinball Circus and Gottleib's two-player, head-to-head Challenger pinball machine.

Check out the highlights of our visit after the break, and make it a point to stop by the place if you're ever in Sin City. It's the most fun you can have without blowing your entire bankroll.

Gallery: Pinball Hall of Fame

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Return and burn: Fake 'PS2' systems retailers took for real

by Randy Nelson { 9 months ago }

Click to enlarge the fine wood craftsmanship

They say there are some things you just can't make up. The accompanying photos, received today from an anonymous tipster who works at one of Sony's distribution centers, are definitely some of them.

What you see are "PS2 consoles" returned to retailers -- such as Best Buy and Walmart -- then subsequently sent to Sony for credit. We're not sure what's more silly: that someone would try to pass off a wooden replica PS2 for return, or that someone would actually take the time to make a wooden PS2 with such detail. The question of "Who would accept these for return?" must also be raised.

We'll take a moment to answer "Yes," "Yes" and "Maybe" to the following questions in advance: "Are those ladies dumbbells inside a PS2?," "Is that PS2 stuffed with towels?" and "Is that some sort of Chinese PS2 knockoff?" We hope that helps ease the pain.

Gallery: Absurd PS2 Returns

Joystiq visits: The Afro Samurai launch party in Los Angeles

by Kevin Kelly { 10 months ago }

Namco Bandai, er ... we mean Surge rented out the Geisha House in Hollywood last night in order to throw a party for the launch of Afro Samurai, and Joystiq tagged along to check things out. The best thing about the night? Plenty of stations to play the game on both PS3s and Xbox 360s. Sadly, the sound was so loud in the place that you couldn't hear the hacking and slashing from the samurai with the gigantic hairdo.

Also puzzling was the fact that Samuel L. Jackson was listed as a co-host of this party and was a no show. That was a real surprise, since he provides both the voices of Afro Samurai and his sidekick Ninja Ninja and is a co-producer of the series. Either he didn't show at all, or he really does have ninja-esque skills and we just missed him. Update: he actually did show up, we just missed him. Plus he was dressed for freezing weather.

Check out the gallery below, and highlights after the break including a video performance by an afro-bedecked The RZA, who provides music both on the show and in the game.

Gallery: Afro Samurai Launch in Los Angeles

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CES 2009: Mattel's MindFlex gives you Jedi mind powers

by Kevin Kelly { 10 months ago }

The author burnt out several synapses levitating the ball for this photo.

Mattel had a booth at CES pimping out things like U.B. Funkeys, a Barbie nail design automatic applicator contraption, and Mindflex, a game that claims to harness the untapped power of your brain's beta waves. These are waves that the brain generates when you're busy solving problems, concentrating, or trying to decipher what the sales chart trends on Joystiq are pointing toward.

Mattel wants to channel said waves into a franchise of games under the Mindflex banner, the first of which offers a "float the ball with your brain" challenge. To play, you slap on a funky headband, attach little butterfly clips to your earlobes and then concentrate really hard. If you do it well enough ... the ball floats. Relax your brain or close your eyes, and it hovers down.

Gallery: CES 2009: Mattel

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CES 2009: The Microsoft outer hub of booth games

by Kevin Kelly { 10 months ago }

Situated in the exact opposite corner of the CES Central Hall, Microsoft must have been strategically placed so that no wars would break out between the two juggernauts. Although Justin McElroy thinks it's so that an employee from Microsoft won't fall in love with an employee from Sony and cause complete chaos. That's definitely more plausible.

However, just like Sony, Microsoft only had a tiny section devoted to gaming. You could get some hands-on time with Fallout 3, Lips, the new Scene It, Gears of War 2, Dawn of War II and Halo Wars. The rumor we'd heard that Fallout's upcoming Operation: Anchorage DLC would be there turned out to be untrue, so we spent most of our time beating young girls at karaoke with Lips. Okay, we kid. We geeked out on Dawn of War II. More on that soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the gallery below for you booth addicts.

Gallery: CES 2009: Microsoft Booth

CES 2009: The gaming sliver of Sony's ginormous booth

by Kevin Kelly { 10 months ago }

Sony's a pretty big company. Shocker, right? They're busy putting out things like new digital cameras, wafer-thin displays, televisions that show realistic 3D images, and some new piece of tech that replaces your brain with a network of recycled Memory Sticks. Amazing.

Still, with all that going on they do still manage to churn out games. Only a tiny part of their booth at CES was dedicated to gaming, but they managed to fit in Patapon 2, Killzone 2, Resistance: Retribution, Flower and an in-progress EyeToy game. Check them all out in the gallery below.

Gallery: CES 2009: Sony

Bungie drops Halo 3: ODST concept art

by Griffin McElroy { 11 months ago }

Many companies have adjourned their regularly scheduled workdays until after the new year so they can face down 2009 with well-rested resolve. Thankfully, Bungie is not one of these companies -- they recently stuffed the proverbial stockings of numerous Halo fans with a gaggle of new concept art for their upcoming sans-Spartan shooter, Halo 3: ODST. Check out all 22 images in the gallery below -- you can get your first look at the silenced SMG, as well as some of the armor your fellow shock troops will be sporting, and as a special bonus, a truly breathtaking watercolor depiction of post-mortem teabagging.

Gallery: Halo 3: ODST - Concept Art 12/26/08

Bioware drops new screenshots and concept art for The Old Republic

by Griffin McElroy { 11 months ago }

Bioware recently released a veritable cornucopia of visual media for their upcoming midi-chlorian-infused MMO, The Old Republic. There's plenty of eye candy to go around between the eight new pieces of concept art and eight new screenshots, giving diehard Warsies an impressive look at some of the far, far away environs featured in the game. You can check out the official site for further details about each image -- not that you don't already know all there is to know about Imperial Sensor Arrays and Republic Troop Transports.

[Via Massively]

Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic Concept Art

Gallery: Star Wars: The Old Republic Screenshots

Activision's Prototype site breaks, spills some assets on web

by Kevin Kelly { 11 months ago }

Prototype, better known as Crackdown + The Matrix + Superman seems to have a busted website that confronts you with an age gate, and then gives up all of its secrets like the wimpy kid during recess. It appears that these are images and videos they are assembling for a presentation at CES in January, but Happy Holidaze! You get it a few weeks early.

Check out the new images from the game in the gallery below, and there are four new videos waiting for you after the break. Just hurry and do it now before someone comes to their senses and flips the switch. Either this is a brilliant marketing ploy, or someone's asleep at the keyboard.

Gallery: Prototype: 12/09/08

[Thanks Johnny Nobody]

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Beam up these new Star Trek Online screenshots

by Griffin McElroy { 1 year ago }

Admit it, watching that guy play the Star Trek theme on the Wiimote theremin gave you a powerful appetite for Roddenberry's magnum opus -- we highly suggest satisfying your interstellar jones with three new screenshots for Cryptic's Star Trek Online, available in the gallery below. These are easily the best-looking images to come out of the game thus far -- just look at the glow from the dry dock's hazard lights, shimmering on the tritanium hull of that majestic, spacefaring vessel. Whoa, apologies for that brief relapse to our Trekkie days. Check out the gallery while we play a few recompensory rounds of Madden.

Gallery: Star Trek Online Gallery

Treat your eyes to these MadWorld screenshots

by Griffin McElroy { 1 year ago }

Seriously, your eyes have been through a lot lately -- all-night gaming marathons, subjection to Repo! The Genetic Opera, possible self-gouging as a result of subjection to Repo! The Genetic Opera -- don't you think they've deserved a little positive visual stimulus? We're happy to deliver this to you in the form of some new screenshots from Platinum Games' stylish, carnage-filled action title, MadWorld. They may lack the brownish hues and bloom lighting we've come to expect from current-gen titles, but despite these deficits, we're sure you can find something to gleefully ogle in the gallery below.

Gallery: MadWorld

Joystiq at the Wrath of the Lich King launch: Southern California

by Kevin Kelly { 1 year ago }

While it might be Launch of the Glitch King (how many writers are hoping and praying they get to use that pun in the next few days?) over on the East Coast, the West Coast launch in Southern California is pretty much going off without a Lich. Er, hitch. While we couldn't get an official head count on the event at Fry's in Anaheim, we did overhear one Blizzard employee telling another that "there are a crap ton of people outside." While that not be a unit of measurement recognized by the U.S. Government, we'll take it.

Check out the highlights from the World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King launch in Anaheim, a mere stone's throw away from the company headquarters in Irvine. More than 100 members of the development team were on hand to sign boxes, people were wearing costumes, schwag was given away ... and they were serving Hot Dog on a Stick. Check out the photos below and the highlights inside.

Gallery: Wrath of the Lich King Launch: Los Angeles