Hockey is a sport that, sadly, has completely fallen off the radar of most Americans. Out of the four major sports in America, it was already the least popular one, but losing the entire 2004-05 season due to that damn lockout dealt the sport a terrible blow. And when ESPN decided not to renew its broadcasting contract at the start of the 2005-06 season, hockey became hard to find on TV.

But it’s still the top dog in Canada — I’m sure our Canadian readers, such as DJDuffy and The GHost, can attest to that. And plenty of gamers around the world certainly enjoy the hockey videogames that come out each year. So tear yourself away from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a moment and check this out: 2K Sports has just announced that Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets will grace the cover of NHL 2K9.

Nash is one of the NHL’s brightest young stars. At the NHL All-Star Game this January, he scored the quickest goal in All-Star history (just twelve seconds into the game), and finished the game with a hat trick (for those of you not hip to the hockey lingo, that means that he scored three goals in the game). Pretty impressive, no?

You’re going to have to wait a while to get your hands on the game, though; NHL 2K9 will be out this fall for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2. For more info, hit up the press release after the jump.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Share This

We’ve finally got some gameplay footage from Madden NFL 09 — and it’s more than the two seconds or so that we saw in the teaser trailer. This trailer showcases just under a minute and a half of video. For the most part, it comprises people getting (and trying to avoid getting) tackled. If you find smash-mouth football unsettling, or you just don’t like seeing people get the crap kicked out of them, you may not want to click the ‘play’ triangle above.

Obviously, people are excited about NaturalMotion’s upcoming football game, Backbreaker, for many reasons — not the least of which is that it’ll make use of the company’s already-famous Euphoria physics engine. The tackle animations in Madden 09 don’t look quite as realistic, but they’re not too shabby, either. It’s clear that EA Tiburon has been working diligently to improve that aspect of the game. The “flow” of the game looks much better than it has in the past.

Still, am I the only person who feels that any and all football videogame footage should be set to NFL Films music? That stuff is inspiring. Oh, well…this trailer is all about the visual impact of Madden 09, and on that front, it delivers. Hit the comments to let us know what you think of it.

[Thanks, Justin!]

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

Whores, every last one of them. Except for you, MRirian.

That’s what I find myself saying just about every time I check out the popular videos on YouTube. There’s always countless videos of skanky young girls doing seductive/awkward web cam dances in the upper ranks… not that I have a problem with that or anything. Now these skanky gals may make their way into your PS3 games, alongside videos of cute puppies, nifty dog tricks, and that weird girl that stares into the camera for a minute or two before waving good-bye (above).

Develop says that Sony Computer Entertainment has added support for the YouTube API to the PS3 SDK, making the PS3 the first system to officially support the video site. This would let developers easily integrate YouTube uploading into games, getting these game makers into the popular user-created content world.

This technology will debut in the free Japan-only Mainichi Issho daily news and entertainment service, and will uploads of user-created movies to YouTube directly within the game.

What do you think about this? Do the countless American Idol recaps have a place in your gaming?

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

Yes, I’m reusing the pic. Gimme a break. No one got the joke last time, anyway.

In a

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

After I review a new title for Destructoid, it’s usually shelved after we run the review, as I move on to the next title. This is not the case for Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds for the PlayStation 3; I still play it nightly.

I adore every aspect except one: the characters’ quirks. In this version, the golfers look and sound better than they ever have before. And you can change their clothes, swing styles, and even equipment. But you can’t change the stupid things they do. One character, Bjorn, runs up to the “camera” and sticks his face in it, usually scaring the sh*t out of me. Another, Sasha, does this creepy/seductive loli legspread before she tees off; I don’t feel right looking at it. Oh, and she frequently clears her throat. And this isn’t a womanly throat-clear; she sounds like a burly trucker! Why does she do that?

I could play this game for the rest of my life, but I need some new characters that don’t do stupid things. The PlayStation Blog gives me hope with the announcement of Gloria and Alex. Players know Alex as the hostess of the game’s menu screen. Gloria is…well, Gloria. I don’t know her, but she seems nice.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

Sony has a history of disturbing ads, but this most recent one may even have the power to usurp the infamous PS3 baby commercial for shock value. An ad agency in Vienna for some reason thought that they would take the shadowed image of a man with an attractive body and add something a little bit…opposable. Should you be brave, hit the jump to see the full picture. (NSFW!)

This is your usual “LOL” material as far as the Internet is concerned, but what Thumbcock and the PlayStation 3 have to do with each other definitely eludes me. I want to say it’s not a real ad, but its appearance on the Ads of the World Web site scares me. I need more information here.

I scrabbled around the internet trying to see if Sony ever actually commissioned or used this ad, but had no luck. I assume it was either a creative project or a part of a pitch, but regardless it produced a third, unplanned effect, which was to instill nightmares in the hearts of human beings all the world over. Thanks TBWA/Vienna; I will make sure to stay fifty feet away from anything you produce in the near future.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Share This

The internet image of Metal Gear Solid’s Snake in Alta

Popularity: 8% [?]

Share This

“In a world where Metal Gears are Solid, one man makes his stand…” is not a direct quote from this “theatrical” trailer, but it might as well be. Though the above video is incredibly cheesy, it doesn’t stop me getting chills just watching the promise of pure, concentrated awesome coming out of Hideo Kojima’s insane mind.

My only gripe is that I wish they’d have used Cam Clarke for Liquid Ocelot. Clarke is one of my favorite parts of the MGS series (as my constant Liquid impressions on Podtoid might suggest) and while Patric Zimmerman is doing a fantastic job of adding a Liquid flair to his regular Ocelot voice, it’s just not quite the same.

That said, this trailer is facepalm-worthy and yet it’s still getting me pumped and/or superpumped for Guns of the Patriots, and that’s not a bad thing at all. EVIL IS POWERFUL; COURAGE IS SOLID, GUYS! I can’t believe they said that.

[Courtesy of taumpytears’ c-blog]

Popularity: 8% [?]

Share This

GameStop has revealed their first-week sales numbers for Grand Theft Auto IV exclusively to Level Up, and they’re certainly not too surprising. According to the specialty retail giant, roughly 64 percent of the copies sold were on the Xbox 360, with the other 36 percent (obviously) for the PlayStation 3.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

Pretty much a Wii overload this week. WiiWare is now out, and some interesting little titles are out for it. LostWinds looks like a really fun game. I love the concept and can’t wait to play the game. And oddly enough, Pop looks really fun to me too. I don’t know why, but the trailer makes me think I could lose five hours of my life to it easily.

What’s looking sw33t to you this week? Hit the jump for all the trailers for the games listed below.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Share This