Goooooood MORNing, 411! Ashish and Newbs let me out of solitary confin the Review Crew bullpen to fill in for Joshua today? Why isn't he here? Well, I had to sign a "gag order" saying I couldn't "tell anyone" or Mafioso goons would "break my legs". Suffice to say, his absence either involves a wallaby, three-grit sandpaper and an industrial smelting accident... or he's having computer troubles. I report, you decide.
Hey! Reporting! That means NEWS! You can check 411 Games for news you can use, so let's use this opportunity to venture down the road less traveled in gaming news last week...
Scurge: Hive is now live (via Toastyfrog)>.
Last seen at E3 in 2005, it seemed that Scurge: Hive for the Game Boy Advance had the deck stacked against it: It was under development for a console that was heading into its twilight, it wasn't based on an existing gaming property, and the developer wasn't exactly a household name. That was quite a shame, because early impressions showed that this game had all the elements to be a success, too: beautiful, detailed act, old-school arcade action, and getting to blow up aliens. Now the game's been confirmed for release, hopefully more people will get a chance to play the greatest GBA game you've never heard of
Manifesto: The Revolution Will Be Computerized (via BoingBoing)
Last week, tabletop game producer Greg Costikyan (he's the guy behind the Star Wars RPG, as well as having a hand in SJ Games' Paranoia and the delightfully wacky Toon) announced that his new studio, Manifesto aims to change not just the way video games are developed and published, but the way they're played. From Manifesto Games', er, manifesto:
"Games are art. Some are bad art, of course, but some are sublime products of the human soul. We strongly believe in small teams who love what they do and risk their livelihoods and their futures on ideas that they need to instantiate and impart to gamers. But because of the conservatism of the conventional industry, teams like this will never get funded, or achieve conventional retail distribution. Manifesto Games is committed to helping them find a market... We believe that gamers are smart. We believe that gamers, given the tools to find the kinds of games they like, will make intelligent decisions. We believe that gamers are not only willing but enthusiastic about spending money on games they love."
In addition to being innovation-focused and gamer-focused, Manifesto promises to be independent developer-friendly, too: Should they publish your game, you'll still retain all the trademark and intellectual property rights, a generous share of total sales, and a willingness to bank "out-there" games that
larger publishers wouldn't touch. Between this launch and the recent XNA game development program that lets smaller developers create and release their own games for the Xbox Live service, we just me be entering into a new age of "indie" video games.
I'd Buy That! (via Playthrough.net)
IN fact, this game demo looks like it would be a perfect example of the "next great indie game". As Playthrough notes: "24 year old student of design, Patrik Berg created a brilliant prototype for a musical video game named Wicki! Wicki! where the player 'scratches' along to various electronica and hip-hop tracks using a special turntable peripheral." It continues: "To create the peripheral, Berg merely refinished an old Technics turntable, mounting an optical mouse as a pickup, which was then hacked to be controlled by a PC running a Flash game developed by Berg and his school team. So far only used in a school competition, this is definitely a fun little game for those budding DJs out there who are tired of scratching up their record collections."
Some publisher needs to snap this game up, STAT, because I would be all over this game like white on rice.
PAX Imperius Awesomus (via Kotaku)
Nerdcore hip-hopper MC Frontalot and video-game tribute band The Minibosses had an impromptu throwdown yesterday at PAX (Penny Arcade Expo). Guitarist vs. guitarist faced off in Guitar Hero II! Who won? Well, why don't you see for yourself?
Also announced at PAX yesterday was a $10,000 Penny Arcade college scholarship for a prospective student that plans to attend college and work in the video games industry. First they started with the children's hospital charity Child's Play, then the recent donation to a charity in Infamous Media Opportunist Lawter's name, and now this: this just goes to show how awesome gamers can be giving back to the community, too. Full scholarship details are here.
LouisannaViolentGamesLaw Has Lost The Lead (via Gamasutra)
A preliminary injunction against Louisiana's HB 1381 , the so-called "violent video game law", signaling a possible end to the months-long fight over the latest State-specific iteration of a violent game law. Drafted with the help of controversial Florida attorney and anti-game activist He Whom I Will Not Give Free Press To By Mentioning His Name, allows a judge to rule on whether or not a video game meets established criteria for being inappropriate for minors and be subsequently pulled from store shelves. A person found guilty of selling such a game to a minor would face fines ranging from $100 to $2,000, plus a prison term of up to one year.
This injunction pretty much prevents this law from being acted upon until a full review is completed.
So see? The system does work! Sometimes.
All YouTube, All The Time 
Grand Theft Auto.. Coca-Cola Style
Metal Gear Solid (PS1) Commercial
Ultimate Utopia XII: a.k.a. "Real Life Final Fantasy"
World Of Warcraft: Mundane Edition
'Cause Fighter's Misery Loves Company
Y'know you yougin's complain about crappy fighting game chracters, but, the gold standard is still Dan Hibiki.
Of course, it could be worse... you could be an ad exec that "decide[s] that you can't win in the video game console biz. But you also decide that since you have nothing to lose (aside from lots of money, but hey), you might as well go down fighting. So, like a cornered animal, you go about on your most ambitious (read: only) advertising campaign ever... someone who will combine the attitude of Sonic with the fatness of Mario... JOHNNY TURBO!
But... but... PLUGS!
David Wilcox reviews Monster House. Dude, it can't be any worse than a Hell House.
Sean Garner previews NBA Live 07, while Armando Rodriquez is on the PC tip with a preview of Freestyle Street Basketball.
This week's Fact or Fiction covers everything from the PS3 to video games as a sport. Damian Sarcuni... Michael Joyaeux... FIGHT!
This week's Retro Review covers one of the best consoles of all time: The Sega Dreamcast.
Joel Beggs' Hardcore Gamer column is SO hardcore... if you put your ear really close to the monitor, you can hear a crowd chanting "ECW! ECW!"
Jordan Williams makes his 411 Working Title's recurring feature debut with the Under/Over, looking at underrated and overrated games in lots of different genres. This week's Over/Under deals with fighting games.
Armando Rodriguez is a cheap bastard. Bad for his waitress-- but good for us gamers, as he serves up another heapin' helpin' of Cheap Gaming 101.
I heard this rumor that there was more to life than video games, but I didn't believe it until I checked out the rest of 411. Hidden Highlights turns a year old, Vida Guerra talks with 411 Movies/TV, Win An Eliot Morris Acoustic Guitar, 411 Roundtable debates war and peace, and John Hartley throws down!
That's all, folks!
411 Games will be back to its normal column schedule tomorrow, so until then, be excellent to each other and read my stuff, too!
