Gamertell

Everyone who follows 1up and it’s impressive stable of podcasts (and the 1up show) is surely mourning the loss of Jeff Green - former Editor-in-Chief of Games For Windows Magazine and overall awesome games journalist. Green had been with the company 17 years, and he states in his farewell blog post that the closing of the magazine (which occurred a few months ago) was a major factor in his decision to leave.

He’s actually going on to a better place, however, as he’ll be joining EA to work on The Sims brand - and surely his talents will be well harnessed there. I know I’ll miss his brand of good-natured snark on the GFW Radio podcast. It’s sad to see so many long-time staffers go (in the last year alone, several of the better-established editors, including Dan Hsu and Crispin Boyer, have left the building) - anyone feel like taking bets on who’s next? In any event, best of luck to Mr. Green.

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Steam has a very good deal for anyone itching for id action this weekend. 1up is reporting that all id software will be 50% this weekend - including the amazing id super pack, which includes everything from early titles to Doom 3. That’s 22 mostly great games (ok, Hexen kind of sucks, but everything else is pretty hot) for $34.99, and certainly the bargain of the week.

The only big game not included in the special is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, which is still sitting at $29.99. Still, anyone looking for serious bang for their buck would be crazy not to jump on this offer - after all, we can all use a little Doom in our lives.

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I thought the Guitar Hero/Rock Band battle was the big thing of fall 2007, but it’s clearly shaping up to be one of the more interesting rivalries of this fall as well. Guitar Hero: World Tour is going to feature all the extra instruments (vocals, bass, drums) of Rock Band, as well as celebrity cameos, while Rock Band 2 has a tracklist (and impressive DLC set-up) that should make everyone happy.

Adding to the GH side of the argument was Activision’s recent announcement that Sting and Tool will appear in the upcoming game. Sting will be playable as a vocalist, and he will perform every time The Police’s “Demolition Man” is selected. Tool brings songs like “Parabola”, “Schism” and “Vicarious”, and an all-new arena was developed in collaboration with the band that will feature the “art style that has become a staple in their music videos, live shows and album artwork”.

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While it must be admitted that Square Enix has not shown much love to the Xbox 360 by way of role-playing games aside from the MMORPG series Final Fantasy XI, Fall and Winter 2008 will bring a much needed end to the drought.

Click through for a look at the three RPGs coming from Square Enix this year: Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant and, of course, Final Fantasy XIII…

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As if responding to Sony’s redesigned PSP, rumors are circulating that Nintendo is working on a redesign of the DS. Sales of Nintendo’s handheld system continue to show remarkable market stability in the US and Japan and Nintendo obviously wants to keep that trend going by giving the DS a face lift. IGN got its hands on leaked information that suggest more than just another small and lighter design.

Between April and May 2009, Nintendo will allegedly introduce a new DS that incorporates widescreen technology into one of the screens. At the same time, both screens are rumored to become be touch-enabled…

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This is probably the craziest deal of the year or maybe even the decade. For this weekend only Steam is selling the id Super Pack which contains some of the best games from id Software’s library.

The pack includes 22 - yes, 22 - separate games an expansions for only $34.99.Some of the games include Doom 3, Quake II, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Commander Keen.

If purchased separately these games would easily cost more than…

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Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• Sony delays Life with PlayStation release
  “ When Sony Computer Entertainment head honcho Kaz Hirai announced Life with PlayStation at the end of June 2008, PS3 owners expected the service to be available by the end of August 2008 after a post was made on the…” MORE »
• Future PSP firmware updates hint at new features for Fall 2008
  “ The PSP refuses to back down despite some claims of impending doom. Today (September 2, 2008), Sony Japan let loose a few details regarding future firmware updates to the handheld. These updates will focus mainly…” MORE »
• Nyko creates the Wing - a wireless Classic Controller for the Wii
  “Nyko’s shown that it is interested in developing peripherals for the Wii (previous examples being the Cord-Free for Wii Nunchuk and the Kama Nunchuk), so it should come as no…” MORE »
• Microsoft confirms Xbox 360 price drops
  “ Microsoft has finally fessed up to one of the worst kept secrets of the summer. After seeing ads and SKU inquiries hinting at the possibility of lower prices, it’s about time the rumors…” MORE »
• Studies indicate video games may help teach positive life-long skills
  “ Two papers presented on August 5, 2008, at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association (APA) in Boston, MA (USA), demonstrated that some videogames can help improve the ability to solve problems and dexterity.  In a…” MORE »

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A new fashion-based game has been launched by MumboJumbo to coincide with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Fashion Apprentice is a new hidden-objects game (much like those Highlights puzzles or Mystery Case File games) geared towards casual, female gamers. It was just released today (September 5, 2008), and is available through online game portals in trial and full versions.

Fashion Apprentice stars young Anna, who has decided she does not want to be a lawyer (like her father hoped), and abandons law school to work in her aunt’s boutique. Classy. In order to progress through the game and make Anna a famous designer, players have to find lists of items in 28 different levels. The game also contains music and dress-up mini-games, and the ability to use Glam points earned from finding objects to buy Anna new outfits or power-ups…

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If you have a hankering to play a free game, and you just happen to be an Entourage fan, then you’ll want to try the Viking Quest game from Fuel Games. Its a free, promotional mini-game you can play in your web browser, and has you fighting as Tarvold to try and defeat Thorfin Skull-splitter.

You can even watch Johnny Drama (aka actor Kevin Dillon) rant about the outrageous audacity of the creators of the Viking Quest game and the studio for releasing the show on DVD. Its on YouTube, of course. Its short enough to get the point across and be funny, without going overboard.

Watch Johnny Drama rant about Viking Quest…

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Xbox 360 Rock Band owners can start preparing for Rock Band 2, thanks to the latest game patch released yesterday (September 4, 2008). The title update patch creates a new option in the Extras menu which will allow people to access the Export Disc function. For $4.99/400 Microsoft Points, people can export 55 original Rock Band tracks and use them in Rock Band 2.

Even if you aren’t planning on purchasing Rock Band 2, this latest game patch might be a necessity. All new downloadable content (DLC) for Rock Band will require the game to have this new patch. If you don’t download tracks for Rock Band, or you already have downloaded tracks, you don’t have to worry - this patch won’t effect previous downloads. So all of the original Rock Band songs, with the exception of “Paranoid,” “Run to the Hills” and “Enter Sandman” will be able to be transferred over…

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