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We’re pretty sure that the new Mass Effect 2-centric video from Mega64 that you’ll find after the break is pretty funny. The crew seems to be grilling everyday citizens on censorship, specifically relating to all the xenofornication going down aboard the Normandy.

We say “pretty sure” and “seems” because … well, we can’t watch this sort of thing with the sound on because it makes us too uncomfortable. There, we said it out loud. That means we also have no idea if the language in the video is safe for work, since we can’t hear it. Let’s just play it safe and assume it’s not, OK?

Continue reading Mega64 talks Mass Effect 2 sex censorship

Mega64 talks Mass Effect 2 sex censorship originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It may seem at this point that we’re kicking an already downed and plenty insulted victim here, but we couldn’t help but note the shockingly low price of a Tony Hawk: Ride bundle — complete with board, unopened — discovered by Gamertell at an Arlington Heights, Il. Goodwill store. Two Wii versions of the game were on sale for just $74.99 (down from $119.99 MSRP) — a Goodwill employee said the game’s presence could be explained by donations from local retailers, listing Kohls, Sears, Borders, and Target as potential donators. Alright, alright, we’ll admit it — the price drop isn’t that steep, but a near $50 difference on a barely four-month-old game sounds pretty decent to us.

Presumably, one of the aforementioned retailers was more interested in the shelf space (and the tax write-off) than waiting for the game’s fairly cool sales to heat up. Either way, if you’re looking to get your … ahem … feet on the game, maybe your local Goodwill could offer a better deal than the other brick-and-mortars, eh?

Discounted: Brand new Tony Hawk Ride at … Goodwill? originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a fun little piece of 16-bit history for you — did you know that when Sega made its big announcement last week, a game called Sonic 4 had actually been floating around for 14 years? Sure, it’s not an official Sonic game, mind you — it was merely a modded version of the classic Sunsoft SNES platformer Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos. 1UP recently shared the game’s illicit history — a group of Peruvian hackers known as Twin Eagle Group got their hands on the game in 1996, removed all instances of the hasty Mexican mouse, and replaced them with Sega’s spiny mascot.

Check out a gameplay clip of the unsanctioned Sonic 4 after the jump. Yeah, it doesn’t look great — but to be fair, Sonic doesn’t whip out a gun at any point, nor does he engage in light bestiality, so we guess it has its charms.

[Via Kotaku]

Continue reading We sure hope the new Sonic 4 isn’t a remake of this Sonic 4

We sure hope the new Sonic 4 isn’t a remake of this Sonic 4 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Los Angeles Times’ “How I Made It” feature has shined a spotlight on none other than Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig, illuminating the secret of how a 45-year-old woman can conquer the gaming industry and nab Joystiq’s Game of the Year with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. She started out as a film student back in 1989 and says she had a revelation while working freelance for Atari that gaming “was a more interesting and pioneering medium” than even the movies.

She worked her way up the ladder and took chances when they came along. When the lead designer on the wacky Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City left the project, she stepped up and took the job. And having talent and intelligence can’t hurt either — she says that she puts her whole education into gaming, from English lit to film editing, and while she downplays her place as a woman in gaming (”This is a young enough and progressive enough industry” to avoid most problems with sexism, she says), she does admit that she, erm, moderated the male perspective on breast size with some of her developers. Because somebody’s got to, right? Excellent profile of one of gaming’s more unlikely stars.

[Thanks, MikeIriye!]

Naughty Dog’s Amy Hennig tells the LA Times how she made it originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PopCap today announced that the iPhone port of Plants vs. Zombies is heading to Apple’s handheld on February 15, seemingly aiming for the exact day that it had originally approximated for a delayed release. What’s more, the publisher has also released the first trailer for the game (seen above), showing off the port’s pared down touch-based controls and getting us even more (trepidatiously) pumped for the impending release. Sure, some other games are releasing this month or whatever, but do those games grab us by the dopamine receptor and refuse to let go? Yeah, didn’t think so.

Plants vs. Zombies shambling to iPhones February 15 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re almost certain that the Game Informer staff is delighted that information from their big L.A. Noire cover story is hitting the Web tubes. But it’s not our fault. It’s all Geoff Keighley’s, who recently tweeted that the article about Rockstar’s game reveals a September release date for it.

This is the part where I’m supposed to have something interesting to say. I totally don’t because I don’t get early access to magazines. I do, however, have access to some French onion dip. Excuse me for a few moments.

Keighley: L.A. Noire coming this September [Joystiq]

With Activision’s holiday fiscal report expected to release this week, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is predicting that the Call of Duty profit machine may not repeat its fantastic 2009 performance this year. As reported by IndustryGamers, Pachter believes the Call of Duty franchise will generate “sharply lower revenue,” in 2010, to the tune of a $250 million decline. Not to worry, though, as he notes that Activision is likely to more than make up for that amount thanks to Blizzard’s impending releases (hello, StarCraft II). Aside from that, of course, it’s important to remember that we’re talking about a $250 million decrease on almost a billion dollars, so it’s not like Pachter expects Call of Duty to wind up in the toilet.

It’s worth noting that the previous Call of Duty title, World at War, initially outsold Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, though Modern Warfare remained on top after the dust settled. Unsurprisingly to anyone paying attention, Modern Warfare 2 turned around to outsell the original Modern Warfare. Still, all three remain among the best selling games of all time, so maybe it’s okay if the next one is only phenomenally successful.

Pachter: Call of Duty to decline $250 million in 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Enix has applied to trademark Deus Ex: Human Revolution in Europe (#008862153). A quick scan of other international trademark bureaus hasn’t revealed anything similar. As Siliconera notes, it could very well be the official name for the upcoming Deus Ex 3, but that may simply be a conspiratorial assumption based on logic.

Information on Deus Ex 3 is still quite scarce, with the little tidbits we do know highlighted by Square Enix handling CG cinematcs and that whole PC-exclusivity kerfuffle. Hopefully, this trademark signals that the Deus Ex prequel is ready to pull back the fiber-optic curtain.

[Via Siliconera]

Square Enix applies for ‘Deus Ex: Human Revolution’ trademark originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It feels like the iPhone version of PopCap Games’ Plants vs. Zombies is 65 million years in the making. We have known about its existence for so long that I almost don’t believe PopCap when the company says February 15 is the date of arrival.

I’d even go so far as to say there’s been a large enough gap between Plants vs. Zombies on PC and this iPhone port that I would gladly double dip. If I owned an iPhone, that is. Which I don’t.

Too bad. Portable Wall-nuts sound like the best thing ever.

‘Plants vs. Zombies’ iPhone Coming Next Week [MTV Multiplayer]