Cruel Gamer PC Video Game Reviews For Adults!

The Entertainment Software Association, a major U.S. video game industry trade organization, spent $1.1 million to lobby on behalf of game publishers and developers in the second quarter of this year, a slight drop from the organization's recent spending. In the second quarter of last year, and in the first quarter of this year, the ESA spent about $1.2 million lobbying, making this quarter's figure an 8 percent drop on both a year-over-year and quarter-to-quarter ...

[Sister site FingerGaming rounds up the week's most popular paid and free iPad gaming applications on the App Store as of today, with Gameloft taking the lead with steep price drops for Shrek Kart HD, Iron Man 2 HD, and Brothers in Arms 2 HD.] This week's top paid titles are: 1. Shrek Kart HD ($0.99) 2. Iron Man 2 HD ($0.99) 3. Brothers in Arms 2: Global Front HD ($0.99) 4. Chopper 2 ($2.99) ...

The state of Maryland has officially recognized local developer Firaxis' Sid Meier's Civilization V by naming the day of its release after the game itself. As dictated by a gubernatorial proclamation, September 21, 2010 will be known as "Sid Meier's Civilization V Day." Governor Martin O'Malley signed the proclamation today, citing the achievements of legendary designer and studio founder Sid Meier, "a longtime and celebrated Marylander who has spent his full professional life in this ...

Farmville developer Zynga has teamed up with telecommunications/media corporation Softbank to create Zynga Japan, a joint venture focusing on social games and the local mobile market. Along with announcing the Tokyo-based joint venture, Softbank revealed that it's completed a previously reported $150 million investment in Zynga, boosting the San Francisco's total amount of venture backing raised since its founding three years ago up to almost $370 million. With the establishing of Zynga Japan, the developer ...

[Every other week, we'll examine the fastest growing Facebook games (according to monthly active users), looking at which titles and developers are having the most success attracting new players on the social network.] Though Lyore Network's QuizBone doesn't seem to really qualify as a game, the quiz-making title was still the fastest growing app listed in Facebook's "Games" category, doubling its audience to 2.9 million after gaining 1.5 million new users in the last week. ...

There will be no video game based on the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse -- at least not the one that was under development by Green Bay, WI-based developer Frozen Codebase. "Yeah, it's not going on any longer," studio found Ben Geisler told Gamasutra in a Thursday phone call, confirming an earlier report on Siliconera. "We were making the game for Konami, and Konami lost the license." For Frozen Codebase, the game's axing is old ...

For game makers, deciding whether to charge for certain content in online games can be a tricky balance between fostering player loyalty and making some quick revenue. To charge or not to charge is something that the Aion team at NCsoft was recently pondering. The MMORPG, released in September 2009, is due for a substantial expansion in September 2010 with Aion 2.0, now known formally as Aion: Assault on Balaurea. The game's lead producer Chris ...

Emergent Game Technologies, the company behind the multiplatform Gamebryo and Gamebryo LightSpeed engines, announced today a multi-SKU licensing deal with Tencent, a Chinese provider for Internet and mobile value-added services. Tencent's interactive entertainment division develops and hosts a catalog of online games, including shooters like Cross Fire, MMOs such as Fantastic Melody Online, and a collection of casual and social online games. Tencent plans to use the Gamebryo engine for several of its unannounced projects. ...

Taking note from their previous game Bayonetta, which featured an automatic mode that made the game playable with one hand and ultra easy, Platinum Games has confirmed that their upcoming shooter, Vanquish, will feature a “Casual Auto” mode — which will presumably deliver the same features as Bayonetta’s automatic mode.

Director Shinji Mikami said of the mode on Platinum’s blog, “Before we started work on it, I can’t say that I had high hopes; however, once we got it up and running, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong.

“Once you get your target on the enemy, the rest is easy as pie. I’m sure saying it that way makes it sound totally uninteresting, but when you actually give it a shot, the tempo it gives the game play will make you jump up and say, ‘Woohoo!’”

“This mode is only for the chosen few (you can’t select it on your first play through). If you are a bit of a masochist, I think you will have a good time. It is something for our fans to look forward to,” said Mikami.

In Vanquish, Players take the role of Sam, a government agent who must stop the threat before it is too late. Armed with a special suit and a plethora of weapons, Sam also has an array of martial arts skills that he can use to take down his robot enemies. Vanquish is expected for release on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 sometime next year.

2K Sports today announced the soundtrack for NBA 2K11, the latest installment in the top rated and top selling NBA basketball simulation franchise*. Complementing the appearance of Michael Jordan, the series’ greatest cover athlete to date, the soundtrack is the biggest and best in 2K history, offering an eclectic mix of upcoming breakout bands and highly acclaimed artists. The soundtrack includes an original, exclusive track from the quadruple platinum-selling artist and 12-time Grammy nominee, Snoop Dogg, that illustrates his long-standing enthusiasm for the NBA 2K series. Other notable artists include Outkast’s Big Boi, Drake, Kid Cudi, Two Door Cinema Club, The Constellations, and The Alan Parsons Project performing the Chicago Bulls’ intro song.

Featuring Michael Jordan as this year’s cover athlete, and several new gameplay modes and updates, NBA 2K11 continues its trailblazing reputation of weaving both emerging and well-established musical acts into the basketball mix. The soundtrack will sharpen this year’s greatest basketball simulation ever with an extensive collection of 29 tracks from artists that tap into the energy, hustle and excitement of the NBA®.

“NBA 2K is the basketball game that everyone plays, from NBA athletes to celebrities to music artists.  Snoop has been a long time fan of the NBA 2K series and because music is such an integral part to the gameplay experience, it was a perfect fit for this year’s title - one of the greatest rappers making an exclusive track for the greatest NBA game,” said Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. “With NBA 2K11 we hope to exceed expectations by featuring both an impressive array of established artists like Big Boi, Kid Cudi and Drake who definitely balance the hoop action, alongside emerging talent, such as the winners of our national MC/producer contest.”

Following is a complete track list for NBA 2K11:

1. Snoop Dogg - NBA 2K Theme
2. Big Boi - Shutterbug
3. Drake - Over
4. Cassidy - Game Time
5. Ron Artest - Champion
6. Duck-Down All-Stars feat. Buckshot, Skyzoo, Promise, and Sean Price - Better Than You
7. The Alan Parsons Project - Sirius
8. Art vs. Science - Hollywood
9. Big Rock Candy Mountain - Rocketship
10. Brunettes - Red Rollerskates
11. Chicharones - Little By Little
12. Children Collide - Skeleton Dance
13. Constellations feat. Asher Roth- We’re Here To Save The Day
14. Dan Black feat. Kid Cudi - Symphonies (Remix)
15. Delorean - Deli
16. Ev - Home Of The Brave (Instrumental)
17. Failsafe - Hope & Only If We Learn
18. HOGNI - Bow Down
19. Kidz In Space - Downtime
20. Middleman - It’s Not Over Yet
21. Rakaa feat. Aloe Blaac - Crown Of Thorns
22. The Redland - So Far
23. The Russian Futurists - Paul Simon & Precious Metals
24. Sonny Bones - Rise
25. Two Door Cinema Club - I Can Talk
26. Yung Autmatik & Bayroot Productions - Go Hard or Go Home
27. Dux Jones - Pourin’ It On

NBA 2K11 is not yet rated by the ESRB and will be available October 5, 2010. For more information, please visit www.2ksports.com/nba2k11.

*According to 2008 - 2010 Gamerankings.com and The NPD Group estimates of U.S. retail video game sales through June 2010

Realtime Worlds, developer of APB and the original Crackdown, has announced Project: MyWorld, a PC platform that combines social media with a virtual representation of the real world. More of a social platform than a game, Project: MyWorld uses data from GIS (geographic information system) mapping services to create a 3D render of entire countries. Users can then alter the features of cities and towns using in-game tools to make buildings and other structures more ...