The New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts with a score of 35-31 in Super Bowl XLIV simulation run by Madden NFL 10 on Xbox 360. The Colts leading 24-21 after three quarters. The fourth quarter begins with a big play, courtesy of the Saints' special teams, when Reggie Bush returns a punt for a 42-yard touchdown. However, with minutes left in the game the duo of Joseph Addai and Peyton Manning put the Colts back on top with a go-ahead touchdown pass. With the game hanging in the balance, Drew Brees hits David Thomas for an 11-yard touchdown and the game winning score. Drew Brees takes home MVP honors as the Saints earn their first Super Bowl Championship title in the franchise's 46 year history.
Madden NFL 10 used each team's current roster and the latest player statistics. EA Sports says it has correctly predicted the Super Bowl winner for five out of the last six years, since the official Madden NFL Super Bowl simulation began in 2004. Here is a video of the Super Bowl simulation.
Dark Void is a science fiction game that promises a thrilling jetpack experience. The humans are in a battle for the planet with an alien race known as the Watchers. The game reportedly already has Hollywood's attention and Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment, may be interested. Dark Void's score was composed by Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary. Take a look:
Rockstar Games has brought its Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars to the iPhone. MTV Multiplayer says the touch controls make driving around problematic. The game costs $9.99.
Here is a demo of the game from TouchArcade. Take a look:
Namco Networks obtained a license from Universal to create The Wolfman Mobile Game. The side-scrolling action game is based on The Wolfman film starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.
Players control two different characters with their own unique abilities in the game: Lawrence Talbot and The Wolfman. In the game the player battles enemies with razor-sharp claws and powerful jaws. The game features ten levels, ranging from settings in the quaint English Countryside to the cobblestone streets of Victorian London. Enemies include angry villagers, woodland creatures, hospital orderlies and English Bobbies. Interactive objects and obstacles include
spike pits, wooden boxes, vertical ladder, ropes and floor triggers that unlock doors, bridges and traps.
These space invaders tights have little green, yellow, red and blue space invaders on them. Geekologie says the tights are made by a company named Black Milk Clothing. We don't see the tights listed on the site currently. There are some similar tights there but no gaming tights.
SteelSeries, a manufacturer of game peripherals and accessories, has the new StarCraft II Limited Edition ZBoard Keyset. The keyboard was designed specifically for the release of Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft II. It features artwork from the game and an intuitive layout designed to help players develop their skills.
"As one of the most anticipated games currently in development, StarCraft II is expected to capture serious attention both from those who enjoyed the classic original and from new players," said Brian Stech, SteelSeries President of the Americas. "This Limited Edition Keyset is a valuable tool for StarCraft II players looking to immerse themselves in the game and improve their performance."
Amazon.com has launched a video game accessories store. To kick-off the new store they are offering 10% off all top accessories and up to 25% off select accessories. The promotion runs from December 25 to January 16, 2010.
Space Ace and Dragon's Lair are now both available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Dragon's Lair was once a very popular arcade game. It had breakthrough graphics at the time. Joystiq says the iPhone version lets you play the arcade version and a different version that has unseen screens. CNET says movements are controlled by an onscreen d-pad.
Movement is controlled, like Space Ace, with an onscreen d-pad that lights up with the direction you need to choose before triggering a death sequence. There's also a sword button for fight instances; while the gameplay is basically a reflex-tester, it's the precursor to instant button-pressing fight moments that made a big comeback in PS2 games like God of War.
You can find links to download both of the games here on digitalleisure.com.
This is a cool version of pong. It is laser projected on to the ground and people play by kicking the "ball" with their feet. The only equipment required is a "stick" that players wear on their feet. You can see some Flickr photos here and find the official website here.
This is a great interpretation of what Space Invaders might actually look like. The design is from a t-shirt available on Threadless. You can buy the t-shirt here.
Taylor Swift, Travis Barker, Pete Wentz and Rivers Cuomo in Band Hero Commercial
The new commercial for the Band Hero game features a Risky Business theme with Taylor Swift singing with Travis Barker, Pete Wentz and Rivers Cuomo rocking out to Taylor's song "Love Story." You can see how Talor Swift was digitized for the game here.
Sid Meier's Civilization game is coming to Facebook. The Facebook version will be called Civilization Network. It will be available on Facebook in 2010 according to the Facebook page.
I wanted to let you know we'll soon be looking for beta testers to help us develop a unique new way to play Civilization. Ever since we finished Civilization Revolution last year, I’ve been looking at ways of expanding the Civ gameplay experience to include solo, competitive and cooperative play to take advantage of the uniqueness of social networks. We're calling this project Civilization Network and the full game will be available next year on Facebook. Civilization Network will allow you to join together with your friends to create the world’s most powerful, richest, smartest, or just plain coolest civilization. You can coordinate your strategy to win great battles, share your technology to jump ahead of your rivals, lobby your family and friends to form your own government and win vital elections, manage and grow your cities to maximize production and happiness, spy on your enemies, and work with your friends to create the great Wonders of the World. The game will offer everything you enjoy in Civ in a fully persistent environment - you can play as much as you like, whenever you like, and it’ll be free to play.
We'll offer a closed beta of the game soon, so stay tuned for details on how you can sign-up to participate. The full game will launch in 2010. For more information about Civilization Network, including development updates and behind-the-scenes posts from me and the Firaxis team, join our Facebook fanpage here.
The Facebook plan is interesting but maybe it would be smarter to have an open online game with a Facebook app. There's no guarantee that Facebook is going to remain popular. The Civilization Network also has a Twitter account, @civnetwork. Information about Civilization Revolution can be found here.
When the Beatles Rock Band video game hit stores last month there was high hopes it would boost game sales. The game was thought to be one of the few titles with universal appeal that can appeal to different generations. However, the sales for the game turned out to be not so fab says Arts Beat.
Though it was promoted here, there and everywhere, a video game featuring the music and the likenesses of the Beatles posted only moderate sales in its first month of release. The Beatles: Rock Band, which was released by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, sold about 595,000 copies, according to a report from NPD Group, a market research company.
The game did turn up twice in a list of September's top selling games. There is still a chance the holidays could give sales of the game a boost.
SurfaceScapes: A Role-Playing Game Project for Microsot Surface
A game called SurfaceScapes was created by Carnegie Mellon University students for the Microsoft Surface Table. The game was based on D&D and was created to show how role-playing games can work using Surface technology.
The objective of the SurfaceScapes project is to create a proof-of-concept for playing tabletop role-playing games on the Microsoft Surface Table. We will be using Dungeons and Dragons as a basis for our prototype, with the option for future expansion to other role-playing games. SurfaceScapes will provide Game Masters and players with a set of features to enhance the combat and role-playing aspects of tabletop games. This will include the ability to interact with the digital environment using real objects such as miniatures and provide automated calculations and visual and audio feedback for actions performed by the player and non-player characters. We are taking traditional tabletop role-playing games to the next level, adding a new layer of immersive and intuitive gaming to the Microsoft Surface Table and assisting both GMs and players in enjoying exciting and engaging adventures.
Microsoft Surface seems perfect for role-playing and strategy type games. Here's a walkthrough of the SurfaceScapes game.
Sid Meier's Civilization game is coming to Facebook. The Facebook version will be called Civilization Network. It will be available on Facebook in 2010 according to the 
