Ah April Fools… this is the time of year I like to have an authoritative-sounding man call my mother and tell her I was in a horrible car accident. Then as they're lowering the casket into the ground I pop out at the last second and we all have a good laugh. Except for poor old Uncle Marty, may he rest in peace.
But this year I thought I’d focus on other people's (less mature) April Fool’s jokes. From World of Starcraft to Shrek Calibur II, there have been some decent attempts to trick the ever-gullible gaming community. So without further ado, I present some of the greatest AF pranks in gaming history. I say “some” because I’m sure there is a small third-world country somewhere out there that has a really witty sense of humor, but as they won’t have the internet for another 300 years, I have no [...]

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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Watch the above video.
No, really. Go ahead, I can wait.
Ok, done? Impressed? Neither was I. I watched the entire thing and all I was thinking the whole time was "Wow, the DS runs circles around this thing." Sure, we all know the PSP has all kinds of horsepower and that when properly utilized it makes the DS look like a kid's toy, but comparing this to the stunning work Squenix did on the remake of Final Fantasy 3 is like comparing Uri Geller to Jesus. Yes, they both have magical powers, but one can barely bend spoons, and the other turns water into orgasms on a daily basis. 
I realize I'm going to get a ton of comments from people telling me I just "don't get it" or that "2D is the new 3D", but the reality is that this compilation is just a cash-in for the publishers. That wouldn't be [...]

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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I’m aware that the whole world has gone Grand Theft Auto IV crazy, but just wanted to make sure everyone found this David Kushner-written piece for Wired on ‘The Road to Ruin: How Grand Theft Auto Hit the Skids’.
It’s been referred in a couple of places (such as Planet Grand Theft Auto) that the article is a ‘hit piece’ against the company. And while I don’t think that’s entirely true, I didn’t find this piece very satisfying - despite the smart guys who helped put it together. The reason? Rockstar’s insane levels of secrecy. The only interviews with the co-founders are from 2002 or later, and I would say that Wired were pretty unsuccessful at finding anyone with any insight into the inner workings of the company.
Obviously, with Take-Two getting taken over by activist shareholders this week, the entire future of Rockstar as a division could be in the [...]

Original post by editors@gamesetwatch.com (simonc) and software by Elliott Back

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It was inevitable — the mere mention of the word spartan completely cancels out the entire Roman empire to a Halo gamer. While there may be a few out there in YouTube land already, I present to you a new mashup of the 300 movie audio and high quality Halo 3 footage pieced together by our own PR Nightmare Greybush Workman, whom was last seen urinating on a mangrove while drinking cough syrup. Wheaties is weak sauce for the bold and strange.

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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It seems that lovable fata*s-turned-skinny-white-guy Jared isn't cutting it anymore. He's tired, played out. Sooo 2006, as it were.
Without Jared, how is Subway supposed to sell sandwiches? By playing on people's deep seated fear of all things geeky, digital, and holy, of course!
The above commercial depicts some 7-year-old gamer as a lazy, compulsive eater playing some Pac-Man knockoff called Snakka, the point of which seems to be to eat as much junk food as possible. The character dies by getting stuck in an opening while trying to eat the bonus sundaes. 
Cue the dialogue: "What kind of eating habits are your kids learning?" Real subtle, Subway. Not only does the commercial buy into the fat, lonely white guy gamer stereotype, but implies that children could somehow base their diet on a video game. I remember finding whole chickens in Wolfenstein, and I can assure you that if I ever find [...]

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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Do your loins burn in anticipation? Perhaps you've got the IV!
After bringing the Internet to its knees with the trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar has decided to once again give Game Informer the first exclusive look at their upcoming sure thing. Previously, Game Informer snagged exclusives for other games in the series, including Vice City and San Andreas.
Perhaps mail carriers nationwide will be trampled upon delivery and EB Games/GameStop stores (whose employees mercilessly pimp the magazine at every given opportunity) will be mobbed when the word of the magazines arrival gets out.
More likely, someone will scan the article and post it on our forums. Not that we'd encourage that or anything, because we don't and that would be wrong; the guys at Game Informer work very hard to put together a quality magazine, month after month.
But you know, if you must, make sure they're [...]

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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“George” as he’s known in the video, decided to show off his mad drawing skillz by drawing everyone’s favorite video game character, but the Paper Mario version of him. It kind of makes sense since he IS drawing on paper.
Nintendo, Mario, sketch, Paper, YouTube, video

Original post by BB and software by Elliott Back

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[’Cinema Pixeldiso’ is a semi-regular column by Matt ‘Fort90′ Hawkins that takes a look at movies that are either directly based upon or are related to video games, with a focus on the obscure and the misunderstood. This week’s selection is a documentary that chronicles a world record attempt.]

This is the story of man vs machine. The machine in question is the arcade classic Missile Command, and the man is Bill Carlton, an average run-of-the-mill kind of guy.
High Score
Its perhaps safe to say that when most people hear about some expert game player, or at least someone who is obsessed with video games, they immediately make assumptions: among other traits, this person more than likely has zero friends, let alone a girlfriend, is perhaps unemployed, has poor hygiene, and maybe even “talks funny”. But not Bill. He has a decent job, friends, even a girlfriend, who may not understand Bill’s [...]

Original post by editors@gamesetwatch.com (matth) and software by Elliott Back

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I wish I could say "I told you so", but I didn't write the post. But if I did go through with some long-winded rant about how Richard Denton, creator of the fabled Ocarina of Time 2D fan project couldn't possibly be dead, you can be damn sure I'd be laughing about this now. Oh, okay, I'll laugh anyway. Hah!
As it turns out, Denton's been pretty busy — you know, for a dead guy. Since the news of his untimely demise broke, his MSN and MySpace accounts have been active, and legions of Internet Detectives have picked apart the story of his fatal car accident, searching for police records and news reports, any evidence of a Richard Denton eatin' it on a stretch of highway. As the Latin goes, whole lotta nada. 
Yeah, he's not dead. Faked it. Why? Dude, you'd be wishing for death too if you had all [...]

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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In case you're irritated over the season three finale to Battlestar Galactica (not the finale itself, just the fact that it'll be half a year before any new episodes get made), then be thankful that some hardcore BSG fans have created a standalone Freespace 2 mod taking place in the Battlestar universe.
It's called Beyond the Red Line, and, though the mod is not technically done yet, they've posted a demo for us sci-fi nerds to enjoy.
I haven't played it yet, but there are two things you should know: firstly, that if you didn't know already, Battlestar Galactica is one of the best sci-fi shows still on television (next to Doctor Who); and secondly, that this demo is a standlone product that does not require you to own Freespace 2. 
Regardless of whether or not you're a fan of the show, you're not only getting [...]

Original post by mrdestructoid@gmail.com (Destructoid.com) and software by Elliott Back

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