inVoid

Nintendo Power review scores - 7.5 for Okami?

Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 9.0
Battle of the Bands (Wii) - 7.0
The World Ends With You (DS) - 9.0
Teenage Zombies (DS) - 7.0
Puchi Puchi Virus (DS) - 7.0
Okami (Wii) - 7.5
N+ (DS) - 7.0
Summer Sports: Paradise Island (Wii) - 3.5
Minicopter: Adventure Flight (Wii) - 6.5
Rondo of Swords (DS) - 6.5
Castle of Shikigami III (Wii) - 7.0
MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars (DS) - 6.5

IGN: 9 Page GTA IV Feature + 5 New Screenshots

Why is this the first true sequel to GTA III? How do you make a multiplayer component that still feels as free and open as the single-player of GTA? And what's Rockstar's take on downloadable content? IGN spoke with VP of Creative, Dan Houser and Rockstar North Art Director Aaron Garbut to get the answers.

IGN: 9 Page GTA IV Feature + 5 New Screenshots

Why is this the first true sequel to GTA III? How do you make a multiplayer component that still feels as free and open as the single-player of GTA? And what's Rockstar's take on downloadable content? IGN spoke with VP of Creative, Dan Houser and Rockstar North Art Director Aaron Garbut to get the answers.

Confessions Of An Xbox 360 Gamerscore Cheater

Meet Aaron “coldraccoon” Mesec, an 18-year-old Xbox 360 owner from Murrieta, California. He’s a gamerscore cheater.

He’s a former cheater — or so he now claims to MTV Multiplayer.

Mesec was one of the gamers caught during Microsoft’s attempt last week to reign in gamerscore cheaters. Microsoft won’t say how many people have, like Mesec, been branded with a “Cheater” tag, had their questionable Achievements stripped and their gamescores re-set. But MTV Multiplayer heard that the number of users whose gamerscores were reset wasn’t more than a few handfuls. The punishment is meant as a message to others.

And it appears to have worked on Mesec. “The cheating days are over for me. I just want to kick back and enjoy gaming again,” he told MTV Multiplayer over the weekend.

The Witcher Web-Based Game Coming

CD Projekt RED has announced the launch of The Witcher DuelMail closed beta, a game based on the company’s best-selling PC RPG, The Witcher.

PS3 1080i support working in Burnout Paradise

Criteriongames reports:

Here’s a hot news update for all you PS3 1080i gamers – we’ve found a way to support 1080i in Paradise!

This will enable any gamers who own a 1080i TV that doesn’t support 720p to run the game in HD instead of SD.

If you have the option to run 720p, we still recommend you run the game in this mode, because the 1080i image is effectively scaled from 720p.

This will appear with the "Cagney" update – that’s version 1.3, if you’re new to the site.

To trigger this feature, all you'll need to do is make sure you have 1080i ticked and 720p unticked in the XMB display options, once you've installed the Cagney download.

Chinese Wii Rip-Off Localized For… Japan?

Kotaku writes: "Remember the Vii? Surely, it's burned somewhere into the back of your brain. The Chinese Wii rip-off has gotten a Japanese localization called V-Sports. We're pretty sure the Vii isn't text heavy, so localizing it was a cake walk. This release does mean more Japanese people can point and laugh at it, too! The console is retailing for ¥7,980 (US $79). That's not very funny at all. Then again, never is the current dollar-yen exchange rate".

Chinese Wii Rip-Off Localized For… Japan?

Kotaku writes: "Remember the Vii? Surely, it's burned somewhere into the back of your brain. The Chinese Wii rip-off has gotten a Japanese localization called V-Sports. We're pretty sure the Vii isn't text heavy, so localizing it was a cake walk. This release does mean more Japanese people can point and laugh at it, too! The console is retailing for ¥7,980 (US $79). That's not very funny at all. Then again, never is the current dollar-yen exchange rate".

Mass. Effect: Game Design Student, Game Developer Offer Insights from Massachusetts Game Bill Hearing

Gamepolitcs reports:

"It’s always great to see members of the game community - not just the industry lobbyist types - involving themselves in the politics of gaming.

Thus, we were pleased to find student Josh Diaz’ first-hand report of the Massachusetts’ Legislature’s recent hearing on HB1423, the Jack Thompson-authored bill which treats violent video games similarly to pornography. From Josh:

Earlier this month, I went to the Boston State House to witness a hearing on House Bill 1423… The first mention of the video game bill came from Rep. Dianne Wilkerson [who] offered a few points. First, she said that the bill wasn’t going to limit access to these games’ intended audience, adults. Secondly, she pointed to a recent rise in violent youth crime in Boston neighborhoods and a need to stop the exposure of these “images and acts” to children.

Her argument provided the backbone for the bill’s ostensible purpose: stemming a tide of rising youth violence in Boston and surrounding neighborhoods by removing violent media from the hands of children." Tags: Gaming

Halo 3: Wintertime in Valhalla

Modified maps of a snowy environment in Halo 3's Valhalla spark attention from Bungie workers who pass somewhat positive feedback on the four screenshots.