Canadian ninja wins E3 awards

n+ ninja is nimble

A Canadian video game developer’s little ninja has won big accolades.

Toronto-based SilverBirch Studios announced Tuesday its game n+ won both game of show, awarded by GamingExcellence, and the best handheld game of show, awarded by the Blast Magazine, at the E3 Media and Business Summit.

The summit is used by many video game developers to show off their upcoming games and hardware.

“This is obviously a great honour for us,” said Wojtek Kawczynski, senior vice-president, SilverBirch Studios. “Winning two awards at E3 further validates the quality of N+ and is a reflection of the passion that went into the making of the game.”

N+ is the console follow up to computer-based, n: the way of the ninja, a game in which the player has to quickly guide a stick-figure-like ninja past obstacles and enemies that get more complicated and difficult as the game goes on.

N+ is now available on the Xbox 360 Arcade, and will be released on the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable in August, published through Atari.

Just for Sunday funnies…

And I’m desperate for a blog post.

And in honour of Comic-Con.

Gosh I’m sad.

They were right: I’m a geek.

Click the toon to see it bigger.

Win this cool Xbox! … if you’re an American

Rant time.

Rarely do I enter contests. I just don’t have the patience to fill out ballots or deal with the annoying follow up spam. However, I was prepared to make an exception to win this sweet Xbox 360.

The contest was advertised on Xbox’s website here.

Only one catch…

Nintendo says ‘I’m sorry, so sorry’

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata

Forbes.com scored an interview this week with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata.

One of the things Iwata addressed was the disappointment the console’s hardcore fans expressed over Nintendo’s E3 news conference. He called any claims that Nintendo has been ignoring its core gamers “a misunderstanding.”

Normally at E3, Nintendo makes a major announcement, or at the very least talks about an upcoming Super Mario or Zelda game. But not this time around.

Read what Iwata had to say after the break.

Nintendo’s epic fail quote of E3

Xbox 360 graphics

Vs. Nintendo Wii graphics

So we know by just looking at the DS and the Wii that Nintendo could care less about graphics, but get a load of this quote from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

“Players no longer seek more gorgeous graphics.”

Huh? Nobody told me I wasn’t seeking gorgeous graphics. Actually, that’s not true. I’m not seeking them, I expect them. Microsoft and Sony can deliver new tech alongside excellent HD graphics, so why can’t Nintendo?

I mean I love the Nintendo franchise and all, and their Wiimote has added a new twist to video games, but that kind of quote drops the industry back a decade.

Just compare the top two images. Which one would you prefer?

Nintendo speaks at E3 today

As a tribute to Nintendo, I offer this drawing. It made me think differently about Super Mario Bros.

E3 is crack for gaming news junkies

If you follow gaming news, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

E3 is on.

If you happen to be an E3 virgin, Wikipedia has the cure for what ails ya. Here’s a concise description of the event…

I think my Xbox is sad

The life of a gamer has its ups and its downs.

Some weeks, it feels like I just can’t play enough to satisfy my hunger for achievements and urge for beating games. But I’ve found that over the past few weeks, I haven’t had hardly any desire to pick up my controller or pull my PSP out of my backpack.

I realized how little I’ve been playing yesterday when I checked bungie.net for the first time in weeks.

My soft spot for Gamespot

I’ve never been disappointed by a game that Gamespot said was fantastic. In fact, I respect Gamespot’s reviews so much that I’ll check the site before buying a game.

When they gave Assassin’s Creed a 9.0, I bought it — and I hated it for the first few hours. Still, I persisted and can now happily say it’s one of my favourite games ever. I bought Rock Band because of that site. And reluctantly bought Guitar Hero 3, as it got a bit of a mediocre review (I really wanted the wireless guitar).

I say all that so I can relate my utter sadness I felt today w

hen I finally got around to checking Gamespot’s review of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift for the Nintendo DS.

They only gave the game a 7.0 and my threshold for buying a game is usually at least and 8.3 from their critics.

However, I saw something on the site that made me go “hmmm.”

A gruesome replica

Frankly, I’m not certain whether I should be disturbed or whether I should ooh and ahh at this replica of what is one of the most brutal weapons conceived in video games — the chainsaw equipped Lancer assault rifle from Gears of War. This is a prototype of the model, which sells for about $1,000.

You can find more info on the sale and pics of the replica here.

The lancer assault rifle is so brutal that when you chainsaw someone in the game blood splatters the screen.