Comedy starved night owls are probably already aware of the attention that Rockstar's latest crime drama has received on the late night entertainment scene. We chuckled at the Daily Show's coverage of the game's midnight release, but thoroughly LOLed at Conan O'Brien's previews (embedded after the jump) of the toned-down version of Grand Theft Auto IV(if only Stephen Bishop's classic "It Might Be You" really were available on Liberty City's airwaves).
However, we didn't truly board the ROFLcopter until we saw the above skit from The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (the former unitesticled boss on "The Drew Carey Show"). Perhaps it was the visit from "Saturday Night Live" veteran Tim Meadows that made it our fave, or perhaps it was their subtle send-up of the criticism the game has endured due to it's adult content. On that note, if there's anything funnier than the actual media coverage of Rockstar's mature blockbuster, we've yet to see it.
If the annual shame parade known as the Spike TV Video Game Awards have taught us anything, it's this -- famous people love video games. Take, for example, "Arrested Development" star Will Arnett and "SNL" funnyman Jason Sudeikis, both of whom outed themselves as FPSophiles last week on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien".
While we were amused by Arnett's endorsement of Call of Duty 4 and his tales of domestic disrespect, we think Sudeikis pulled away with a higher chuckle per joke ratio. You can watch his entire interview after the break -- jump to 4:17 for his gaming testimonial, or to 5:48 to watch a grown man demonstrate Halo 3 teabagging in front of a live studio audience.
The community manager for Funcom's upcoming MMO, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, has announced on the game's official forums that players in Germany would encounter some alterations when it (eventually) releases there. Though "full gore" will be featured, decapitation, dismemberment and "over-the-top" fatalities will be chopped out. The rest of Europe, on the other hand, won't suffer from censorship and will be able to enjoy decapitations to their hearts' content. Gore-loving Germans might want to look into obtaining the game from a neighboring country.
Originally, the community manager also reported that the US version would "not see nipples." It wasn't made clear at the time whether the negative nipple mandate applied only to female mammaries or if the men would also need to wear pasties, but a correction posted later confirmed that the US would be free to see "breasts with nipples." Phew, crisis averted.
It would seem that Conan (the Late Night talk show host, not the barbarian) had a lot of time on his hands since the Writers Guild of America put down their pencils, pens and iBooks in order to get their fair share of the royalties pie, and, as a result, put his show on hiatus for nearly two months. When he wasn't frittering time away planning his grand return to Late Night or growing an unsettling beard, the Cone Zone killed time with a game that many of us cuddled up to during the rerun-filled winter months -- Rock Band.
As seen about a minute into the video (which, funnily enough, probably isn't netting any royalties for any writers), Conan chooses to sing the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" in the style of Edith Bunker. It's great, but we prefer our version of Faith no More's "Epic", where we do an alarmingly accurate impression of Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds. What flourishes you add to your Rock Band vocal performances to coax precious lulz from your bandmates?
Also, we missed you, Conan. Please don't do that to us again.
Everyone knows that World of Warcraft is the hottest thing to hit the MMO genre since BakeQuest: The Battle for Sliced Bread. But according to at least one rival developer, that popularity may be starting to dwindle. Speaking to the accurately named VideoGamer.com, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Quest Designer Joel Bylos cites a "feeling on the Internet" as evidence WoW is beginning to lose its appeal. "You get that just from online communities, which of course we all pay attention to as well," Bylos said when asked if people might be getting tired of WoW.
We're sorry, but a "feeling on the internet" probably isn't the best way of measuring satisfaction in a game with 9.3 million paying subscribers (up from 7 million roughly a year ago) and a celebrity-packedad campaign. Sure, there will always be internet trolls and forum whiners that threaten to leave over every little problem, but by and large the silent majority seems just as hooked on the game as ever. Much like Democrats who promised to move to Canada if George W. Bush was reelected, these vocal complainers seem good at making threats but bad at following through on them. Then again ...
Monday, Monday, Monday! At home right on your 360, Microsoft dishes out twodemos -- a double dose of pain that'll rip out your guts, blow your mind, and leave you burned beyond recognition. The Simpsons Game, fresh off its appearance on the PlayStation Network and getting publishers' panties in a bunch, drops all 442.71 MBs right on your hard drive, with complete disregard to public safety. (Oh, hey, the achievements list still mentions Grand Theft Scratchy?)
Then its time to get barbaric with Conan. Rated M for Mature, the ESRB says this game contains "BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, AND NUDITY." You can't take this game home to your mom, because it'd tread all over her face! Demo Monday, Monday, Monday! You'll pay for the whole controller, but you'll only need the edge!
Conan the action game, not the MMO, has actually moved up from its '08 release and will be hacking and slashing its way onto consoles Sept. 28. This should most definitely not be confused with the recently announced delay of the Conan MMO, which continues its state of everlasting development.
If you actually have no idea about this God of War-style Conan adventure, you can check out some of our previous coverage and we've placed the newest trailer we're aware of after the break. Admittedly this was a game that flew under the radar, but aren't you glad its not another delay announcement?
Remember when Funcom promised in January that their delay of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures to October was guaranteed as the "final launch date" for the MMO? Well, they totally lied. Age of Conan has been delayed again until next March. This time around they aren't silly enough to say it's the "final" time. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas said, "We believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners."
Our time with the game has been fine, but a ten minute demo doesn't give enough of an answer to how this game will avoid the MMO trap of making players not realize they are "waging a war against the mind-numbing effects of repetition." Obviously the developers think they need more time and publisher Eidos seems to be on board with that idea. Funcom now has until next March to announce another delay.
What we witnessed during our brief demo of Conan was violence that would make Kratos himself rise from his throne atop Mount Olympus and say, "Kudos." Announced earlier this week, we got a chance to check out THQ's latest for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Cut from the mold that brought us God of War, it's a straight forward action title that thinks not with its brain, but with its gigantic, barbarian-sized testicles.
Beyond the violence, Conan looks to sport solid, if not uninspired mechanics. Looking past the usual combo and experience systems, interacting with the environments already looks hugely entertaining with tons of hazards in which to torture enemies with. Any weapons they drop can be picked up, dual-wielded and utilized with their own unique statistics and combos. And if giant swords aren't your style, Conan possesses some mean grappling skills that are straight out of the world of professional wrestling. We'll admit it. We marked out when Conan popped some guys head off with what appeared to be the Canadian Destroyer.
Scheduled for an early 2008 release, the developers at THQ seem to be in good shape despite the overall clunkiness we witnessed. It also must be pointed out that Conan is a single-player experience without any multiplayer or online modes to speak of. They may not be reinventing the wheel, but we're looking forward to getting some hands-on time with THQ's half-naked hero.
With the latest Conan-scooped issue of Game Informer resting beside your toilet, having had a few weeks to collect a residue of bathroom scuzz (its measure an acceptable method for determining the length of an NDA), THQ has deemed it time for the interweblings to be enlightened. 'Old news' has been made new again as THQ today announced a new Conan (the Cimmerian cum Barbarian, not O'Brien) game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed by Nihilistic Software.
What we've been told is vague. We're to expect an action-adventure game in early 2008, highlighted by "a story of epic brutality, sheer evil and visceral combat." Sounds -- and if you've got that GI issue lying around, looks -- a lot like God of War (minus the Greek influence).
What should you do when you have a former World Number 1 ranked tennis player on your late night talk show? Challenge her to Wii Tennis, of course!
That's what Conan O'Brien decided to do last night when he had Serena Williams on as a guest. We caution the little ones to avoid direct eye contact with O'Brien's scantily-clad body, as the sheer paleness reflects light and can blind you. Look closely and you'll see that the production team made Miis of the host and guest.
We won't give away the final score, but it was a close game. Video embedded after the break.
Developer Funcom dropped in on the official Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures forums to bring news of further delay. Bad news first: the PC version has been pushed back to October 30, 2007. And now the good news: Funcom promises this is the "final launch date." Specific details regarding this latest delay were not disclosed.
Age of Conan is currently in closed beta. Funcom is expected to announce details about open beta in the near future. An Xbox 360 version will be released sometime following Age of Conan's debut on PC.
Development of an Xbox 360 version of the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures MMORPG will soon be underway. The PC version was lauded by numerous media outlets as the 'Best MMO of E3' this year, certainly fueling the decision to extend the game's reach to Microsoft's console. Age of Conan has not yet been confirmed for cross-platform or Live Anywhere support. Age of Conan begins as a single-player adventure, and once complete, morphs into a persistent world, online-multiplayer game; highlighted by activities like city building and PvP siege warfare. Brutal gameplay is defined by a "Real Combat" engine, which relies on active combo-inputs.
