Yesterday Preview (PC)

Yesterday recently came on our radar so it was time to give it a look and see how the company that brought us the Runaway series and The Next Big Thing did when they took on a thriller.  Pendulo Studios maintain their excellence in 2D animation with this work though the mood from the opening animation is one of creepiness and occult.  After the first animation it plays like a standard puzzle game, introducing the quirks of a couple of likable characters who it is soon revealed have some very unlikable quirks.  In New York City, beggars are disappearing one after another later to be found burnt alive.  Meanwhile, a Y-shaped scar forms in the…

World of Warplanes Interview

We got the chance to ask Wargaming.net’s World of Warplanes development team some questions regarding their upcoming online, aerial action game, World of Warplanes.
Q) Can you tell us a little bit about the challenges being faced by the development team in creating World of Warplanes?
World of Warplanes differs a lot from World of Tanks. WoWP is a game with full-scale three dimensionality battle space and the pace of game is much higher. So the main challenge was to adapt the gameplay to the new game conditions. Every plane is in constant movement and the rate of fire is tremendous, so players should react faster and perform maneuvers to survive, since there are no hideouts.
 
Q) What…

2011 Holiday Gift Guide

It’s that time again – time for the GamingShogun.com crew to write up our favorite gift picks. Behold, the Official GamingShogun.com 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! WOOOOoooosh (cue swooshing sound effects)! Also, if any of our loved ones are reading this – feel free to pickup any of these gifts for us… Just sayin’!
Bring on the gifts!
 
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ($59.99)
I had to include this new game from Bethesda Softworks as it is simply an incredible experience that will give you hundreds of hours of game time if you fully-explore the game world. The game allows players to customize their characters as they like and play the game their way via Bethesda’s “Radiant Story” system…

Xbox 720 Due in 2012 with Announcement in January (RUMOR)

File this under rumor for now, but EDGE is reporting that Ubisoft Montreal developers are currently working on build computers tricked out to match the specs of the next-gen gaming console from Microsoft. According to EDGE’s unnamed source, more of these build computers should be reaching other developers prior to Christmas of this year, pointing to an Xbox 720 (or whatever it will be called) launch later in 2012. With CES coming up in early January, it is not too hard to speculate that, if another rumor is correct, we will see some sort of announcement during the Microsoft keynote.
This other rumor, recently posted at VG247, claims that the new Xbox runs a hex-core CPU…

On the Set of Noobz

GamingShogun.com had the pleasure of hanging out with cast and crew of the upcoming gamer comedy “Noobz” at a sound stage in Santa Monica, CA. Lead Actors Matt Shively (True Jackson), Zelda Williams (Don’t Look Up), Moises Arias (Love Bites), director/Actor Blake Freeman, and Jason Mewes (Mallrats, Clerks II)  spoke with us about the film as well as their views on gaming in pop culture. Also, special guest Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) talks about, well, Casper Van Dien! Thanks so much to everyone for sitting down and chatting with us and a special thanks to Jim Redner for showing us around!
Video from the Set

Images from the Set

OnLive’s Halloweekend Free Game Play

No plans this holiday weekend?  Not the kind to drink punch filled with dry ice and look down Wonder Woman’s top?  Well in case you haven’t already heard about it, OnLive will be hosting Halloweekend free play of four of it’s titles through Monday to keep you in the Halloween spirit and familiarize yourself with their system.
The choices include Orcs Must Die, F.E.A.R. 3, Metro 2033 and Amnesia while most of their other titles include 1/2 hour free trial play.  So tell a buddy and sign up for some free play before the Witching Hour on Halloween has come and gone for another year!  But wait there’s more!  Check out their Facebook page on Halloween…

Blizzcon 2011 – Thoughts from the Show Floor

This past Friday and Saturday marked the sixth time that Blizzard invaded the Anaheim Convention Center with their very own show, aptly named Blizzcon.  I made it to the convention center just in time to grab a spot and check out the opening ceremony, which this year was filled with big news, surrounding four upcoming releases from Blizzard.  Let’s take each release in turn.
Diablo III
Diablo III was the lightest this year in terms of actual news.  The Collector’s Edition was introduced and looks very substantial.  Besides receiving Diablo III, you get a 4GB USB drive that contains Diablo II and its expansion, The Lord of Destruction, you also receive a very cool looking Diablo stone…

Steve Jobs Dies (1955-2011)

“We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,” read a statement from Apple. “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.”
Our world has lost a genius, a man who changed our lives in so many ways since he started his work he didn’t just make an impact on his future he shaped our futures and his legacy will live on.  When you go to Apple’s…

IIOY’S Guide To Halloween Haunts 2011

Here is our list of 2011 Halloween haunts with an emphasis on our personal experiences over more than 16 Seasons of the Witch in California.  We have also included a few places we would like to see in other parts of the country so that those who have the ways and means to travel to them, or in many cases are located in their backyard cemeteries, can get the most of the season and hopefully tell us what they thought so we can include it in next year’s list.  Sure, it is an ambitious plan to get followers to send us their thoughts for next year’s list but, if you can’t trust your fellow travelers…

2011 Eyegore Awards Red Carpet Report

If you are not a serious fan of horror movies and your answer to “What’s your favorite scary movie?” is “Ghostbusters”, you may not have heard about the annual awards ceremony for those who cut a path through a path full of cutting and blood. If your tastes tend more toward “Psycho” than reality shows about New Jersey, then you probably know about the Eyegore Awards presented every year on the kick-off night of Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood, CA.
Honoring those who have made an impact in the horror genre, this year recipients included David Arquette and Jamie Kennedy of “Scream” fame, Rainn Wilson for his work in Rob Zombie’s “House of 1,000…

SpookyShogun TV: Ghost Adventures Preview

With the Halloween season moving quickly upon us, we got a special look at the first season five episode of the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures. The formula behind Ghost Adventures has been seen before in various other “ghost hunt” programming. Basically, a team of ghost hunters goes into various “haunted” locations and stays the night, recording video as well as numerous other forms of instrumentation in an attempt to catch any paranormal activity for viewers. What sets Ghost Adventures apart is its ghost hunting crew. Headed by the boisterous, melodramatic, and often muscle-shirted Zak Bagans, the three-man crew has a very likeable quality to them and they are entertaining as hell to watch in their…

Free OnLive Consoles At PAX

So anyone who has read a review of a game on OnLive or the review of the system itself knows that I am a pretty big fan of them and I tend to particularly suggest getting involved with the system at this time while they are still relatively small and working on not just advertising on places such as YouTube but using word of mouth as much as possible by getting free consoles out to the players.  A lot of their new titles have come with the consoles for free giving you PC and console play from one game purchase.  Well now they have upped the ante.
Attendees of PAX can follow this link to OnLive…

D23 Expo Photo Blog #1

Here is our first photo blog from in and around the D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA. If you look closely at these pics, you may even catch Lando himself: Billy Dee Williams!!!!
Images from the Day

D23 Coverage Starts Tomorrow

D23 begins tomorrow, folks! For those of you who have not heard of D23, it is the official convention of all things Disney and (now) Marvel Entertainment. The event is closed to the public (if any are left, tickets can be found at the event website) and runs through Sunday.
Some of the highlights:

Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Event (Friday)

Join Tom Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, as he gives D23 guests a special behind-the-scenes glimpse into some of the exciting projects currently underway at Disney’s parks and resorts around the world.

The Walt Disney Studios Event (Saturday)

Get a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse at the exciting roster of projects on the horizon at The Walt Disney…