Greetings fellow gamers! If I could have a brief minute, I would like to tell you about myself. My name is Bryan Ray, frequently referred to as King Xanadu, and I will be writing for Aggrogamer over the next several months. (Perhaps years? I like the thought.) I play mostly XBox 360 though I do have a Steam account for my dated laptop (It's old enough to have a “supports Windows Vista” sticker on it) but I don’t use it as much as I’d like. I love music, a lot. So much that I am currently attending college for it. Read More...

Again in my travels across the lush open world of YouTube I have come across a golden gem; A short little film by Andrewfilms of how awesome it would be to play Metal Slug via Augmented reality. A great show of post editing skills, makes this a must see viral video. The short captures the good old nostalgia of Metal Slug, a truly epic series of running and gunning. Sit back and enjoy this Nazi stomping, Zombie blasting good time Leave your thoughts and opinions below. I'd personally love if they threw in a boss fight at the end. Read More...

In the pursuit of making games 100% immersive there are an ass ton of gadgets, gizmos and displays to make you feel truly in the middle of the action. That is what the whole motion controller craze and revitalization of 3D is all about isn't it? But no one will rest until you can fully experience the game world as if you were truly standing there and walking around it. That is what gamers enjoy isn't it? Moving around and having all of the game character's skills based on their own motor functions that don't require basic thumb presses. Read More...

Hey aspiring artist gamers, wouldn't that be amazing? To get you artwork shown off in one of the largest gaming conventions? Too good to be true is what I am sure you are thinking, but again you have your chance to get your art viewed. The submission period for this year's Into The Pixel exhibit is now open and will be open until April 15th. In case you are in the dark about this, Into The Pixel is an exploration and celebration of the art of video games from around the world that is put on by The Academy of Interactive Arts&Sciences (AIAS) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Every year that I have been to E3 they hold an exhibit and cocktail party to showcase the top pieces for all to see. Read More...

By Matt Waitt Microsoft has recently posted a few job listings on their website, which suspiciously looks a lot like some console building jobs. The job listings include: A Graphics Hardware Architect stating "The ideal candidate should have a broad background in 3D graphics rendering architectures and algorithms (ideally with gaming applications in mind), 3D software pipelines, and physics." As well as "a solid understanding of graphics hardware implementation, including design methodologies and production yield and cost analysis." Hmm... Read More...

So being as the VGAs have kind of moved away from being an awards show and are now just another way to sell ad space for gaming companies, you would think they would try to do something to bring gamers' interest back. Am I right? I mean you had the Brütal Legend hour-long ad when Jack Black hosted in 2008. In 2009, the biggest thing I remember was the teaser for Batman: Arkham City and a small attempt to get Samuel L. Jackson linked back into the show. Read More...

Editor's Note: This article was written by my wife, Vanessa (Gorley) Bentley. You can find her on Twitter, Pwned, or teaching a Videogames and Philosophy course at the University of Cincinnati. From April 6-9, 2011, philosophers and academics will be meeting to discuss some of the most important and pressing issues of the 21st century: video games and identity. The Philosophy of Computer Games is an international conference that will be held in Athens, Greece. The conference is open to scholars in any field researching computer games. Read More...

The votes were tallied, the trailers were cut, NPH was put in makeup and thrown on stage and the VGAs have come and gone again. In case you missed it, we have a recap of what went on this year. The announcements (Mass Effect 3, inSane, [Prototype 2]), the new trailers (Batman: Arkham City, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Resistance 3) and the actual awards handed out are all rolled up in a nice little package below. First the awards. All of which were no big surprises. Read More...

This weekend Bethesda revealed their latest endeavor with a new Elder Scrolls series during the Spike TV VGA's. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the long awaited sequel to Oblivion. The teaser doesn't give us much except for a little bit of story and some awesome stone wall which comes to life. If you want to take a full look at the wall check out the Skyrim teaser site. Skyrim also brings with it new technology, a new graphics/game play engine actually. Bethesda has announced that this time around they will be using a custom built game engine that will be more powerful than the previous Gamebryo engine which brought us Oblivion, Morrowind, and Fallout 3. Read More...

Well I think we all saw this coming. Mass Effect 3 revealed its debut trailer at the Spike TV VGA show this weekend. This was by far one of the most anticipated announcements for the VGA's, with BioWare running a Facebook and Twitter campaign leading up to its debut. Mass Effect 3 is slated for a holiday 2011 release, but as we all know that can change. This is the final chapter in the Mass Effect trilogy, focusing on Commander Shepard and his battle against the Reapers, except this time they've decided to hit home and invade planet Earth! We've all seen this formula before (*cough* Halo *cough*) but hopefully BioWare will be able to add its own flare on an already used up storyline. Read More...

With how the Uncharted franchise boomed and wowed us gamers is it really shocking that a third game is coming? Not at all. Especially since the sequel did something that is relatively not done in entertainment. That is being better than the original. Now it is time to see if Naughty Dog can again out do themselves in making an awesome game. If we are lucky, we might get to see some impressive things during this weekend's Video Game Awards on Spike TV. Submitted for panties to start bunching are a few screen shots, box art, concept art and a teaser for the teaser that is going to be shown during the awards show. Read More...

Well it looks like BioWare is at it again. According to a recent commercial spot for the Spike TV VGA's on Dec 11th, BioWare will be announcing their next big thing. What is it? Well we currently have no idea. I can tell you one thing it's not Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Why is that you ask? Well the picture below which, was posted on numerous official BioWare Twitter accounts, gives me a more Mass Effect feel. Possibly Mass Effect 3? Read More...

You may have heard that back in July Redbox was testing the gaming market waters to see if it could pull in more revenue. Well it looks like everything has gone pretty well and Redbox will be providing the service to thousands of kiosks nationwide. The service is not available yet, but is expected to launch later this month. If you want to find the closest Kiosk to you and possible video game selection check this out. According to XBox 360 digest games will be available at $2 per night. Read More...

Today at the University of Cincinnati, students began their next summer session. While normally a Philosophy class on your schedule may be cause for alarm, a class full of students is tackling Philosophy in video games. Designed by Philosophy Ph.D. student and gamer Vanessa Gorley, “Violence, Sex and Immorality: Video Games and Philosophy” will explore philosophical topics through the eyes of one of our own. About the class, she says, “This class explores the social and moral implications of video game play. Video games are a substantial part of our culture and we need to look into how they affect us. Read More...

Popular concert series Video Games Live has announced a crazy line-up of the of some of the most familiar and epic video game soundtracks for a new 90-minute special they are filming for PBS. Now, Video Games Live has been around for a while and is the brainchild of game music composer Tommy Tallirico and Jack Wall. For the unitiated, Video Games Live consists of video game music performed by a live orchestra with game footage and different lighting effects to coincide with the footage. This version of the concert will include music from the Super Mario, Zelda, Sonic, Halo, Warcraft, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, God of War, Civilization, Chrono Cross, StarCraft and Guitar Hero franchises, and will also be "including a musical journey through Classic Gaming". Read More...