In August 1982, about 26 years ago, the ColecoVision sported a 3.58MHz processor, 1KB Ram and 16KB VRAM, a 256x192 resolution with 32 sprites and 16 colors, 3 tone and 1 noise sound generators and storage cartridges ranging from 8 to 32 KB. Just thought it'd be fun to put some things into perspective. Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I have discovered the crack-cocaine called Civilization Revolution. It's a completely different experience from actual Civilization and I haven't decided whether or not I like it; however, four hours just disappeared the other day while I was playing it, so the addiction level is certainly still there. Need to test the multiplayer.
Christopher Grant: After trying – and subsequently failing – to find my controllers and AV cord for the original Xbox, my copy of Beyond Good and Evil must wait. Instead, I'll be giving some TLC to Fable: TLC this weekend. Works great on the 360, except if you want widescreen support, you need to set the console to 480p mode. Ahh, that's better. Also: Siren and Eden ... and maybe GeoWars 2.
Jason Dobson: With Disgaea 3 promising to have me grinding teeth on the PS3 later this month, I've recently returned to the series' PSP flavor, Afternoon of Darkness, to help prepare me for the long hours of power leveling, character building, and manic wit to come.
Justin McElroy: I'm playing a bizarre combination of The Neverhood and Alone in the Dark, if I get any free time. Go figure.
Ludwig Kietzmann: I've been nursing a hangover all day. Not from drinking, but from the unrelenting assault of colors and particles that is Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2. Playing it until 5AM this morning was not a good idea ... but quitting the game seemed like an even worse decision. And I expect this trend will continue throughout the weekend as I zip through gates (which could kill you OH NOES) in Pacifism mode.
Randy Nelson: Geometry and PixelJunk filling my screen. Who will win? Why, me of course. That is unless I can't stop playing to eat. Actually, when was the last time I ate? Or drank anything? Oh my. Fact: the Remote Play function of the PS3 is super-rad. It lets me take PixelJunk Eden anywhere. Anywhere.
Ross Miller: I've been told to haul my Rock Band and Mario Kart Wii gear to a friend's house for a birthday celebration, but while that's going on I'll likely be sipping on a beer playing The World Ends With You.
With the bleeps and bloops of our beloved games -- and we suppose Mega Man 9 was the only thing that sounded like that, really -- echoing through a cavernous and lifeless Los Angeles Convention Center, it was clear that this year's E3 was different. But the more things change, the more they stay the same. We still got to play some promising games, we still had to endure some rotten ideas and we still had to roll our eyes at corporate PR foibles. Thankfully, that's exactly what the Joystiq E3 2008 Awards are for.
E3 may be over (and it may have not been the greatest installment of the event) but Big Download has some more game impressions from the show plus some other original features to check out. Here are the highlights from the past week:
Interview: Microsoft's Kevin Unangst: We chat with the Games for Windows general manager about their decision to make Games for Windows Live free and offer the first screenshot of the revamped UI for the service.
Downloads
Far Cry 2 E3 trailer: Check out the shoot-em-up action in this trailer promoting the Ubisoft FPS
Project Origin E3 trailer: It's both exciting and scary at the same time. It's footage from the Monoloth shooter sequel
Thanks to the power of the internets, a brief childhood memory about "a game where you move boxes" was decoded in approximately 28 minutes. (Answer: Shove It! The Warehouse Game for Sega Genesis). Here's what we'll be playing this weekend. Be sure to let us know what games will be occupying your time!
Alexander Sliwinski: I'm gong to finish MGS 4 this weekend. E3 got in the way, but it's time to finish the fight ... er, yeah.
Andrew Yoon: I have to finish MGS4, but will I be able to stop playing PixelJunk Eden to do that?
Christopher Grant: I've got a handful of Xbox 1 games that I've been meaning to play, and chief amongst them is (the back-compat-less) Beyond Good & Evil. That means busting out the old Xbox ... I have no idea where those controllers are ...
Griffin McElroy:Having already finished Fable after picking it up on Wednesday, I've started my second run-through -- though I'm finding my new character, a nefarious mage named Dickfish the Piemaster, much more enjoyable than my original hero.
Kevin Kelly: I'm playing "Comic-Con 2008: Line Waiting and Panel Liveblogging: The Return". You can follow along at home!
Kyle Orland: Gonna try to squeeze in some more time with MGS4, out of some misplaced sense of obligation to the series more than anything else.
Jason Dobson: I finally unboxed Diablo II, and while everyone has likely moved on from the Diablo thrill ride last month, I'm going to install the game and click on some demons till they die.
Ludwig Kietzmann: Well, I haven't been home in almost 3 weeks, so I'll probably stick with the portable systems. Despite the lousy story, I really want to go back to Crisis Core's bite-sized grinding.
Randy Nelson: Chant it with me, people: Pixel-Junk E-den (da-da-dadada!) Pixel-Junk E-den (da-da-dadada!). All right, that was my exercise for the day. Once I've fully absorbed all that demo-y goodness I'll head back into Liberty City. I've got a few dozen more flying rats to cap.
Ross Miller: I've been playing my own version of Shove It! by moving across town to a new apartments. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to play eight hours of Little Nemo: The Dream Master.
Yes, motorcycles in Azeroth. One half of the octopus on a motorbike Druid form is complete! This and many other revelations came to us this week at WoW Insider as the Wrath of the Lich King beta opened up, and all kinds of Death Knight and Northrend news and information came falling out. Here's our most popular posts from the last seven days, with lots of new info about the reason you'll be playing WoW again this winter.
It's E3 week and we were there getting some hands-on time and some eyes-on time with some of the biggest PC game releases in the next several months. Here are the highlights from Big Download for the past week.
When Harmonix throws a party they get The Who to headline that jam; when Joystiq throws a party, we get Harmonix to headline. The generous devs from Boston brought Rock Band 2 to our E3 afterparty in Santa Monica for the 300 plus attendees to prove their mettle. Take Joystiq superband The Blueberry Muffintops who closed off the night with this rendition of Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" – take note: by this point in the night, we'd already blown out the setup's speaker. Rawk!
So really, our heartfelt thanks to Harmonix for making everyone's night. But we'd also like to thank Nyko for the peripherals, Naughty Dog for the great signed stuff, and of course Mahalo.com for the super generous use of their space. Most of all, thanks to everyone that showed up. We put Joystiq together every day for you guys and it was flattering, and humbling, to see everyone turn out today. This one's for you (hit play now!).
Yes, we are actually live blogging our own party -- we have an addiction. Stay tuned for images and updates from the party with special guest The Who [Update: Turns out The Who couldn't make it, but we do have Rock Band 2] and if you're within 100 miles, get over here!
If you're interested in getting your hand on some of our over 200 lbs. of schwaggage, imbibing in free food and drink, and oh, meeting your favorite damn video game bloggers in the blogosphere, then get yourself to our Second Post-E3 Joystiq Meetup and Schwag-Off™. Find out how to get there after the break, and set your GPS to FUN.
Our very own Ross Miller, in his bubbling excitement over tonight's Joystiq reader meetup, was overheard commenting on the Nuka Cola from Bethesda & Fallout 3 that we'll be bringing. "Get nuked at the Joystiq meetup!" We're planning on it, Rosco.
Veronica Belmont, of Qore fame, jams into a van with various Joystiq-network bloggers for this "special episode" of Qore. You'd think that a site owned by mega-corporation AOL would be able to give us more than one van to squeeze into. Just, don't tell the Los Angeles police department how many people we packed into the car (and its trunk).
Le sigh. A sincere question coming from the developers of acrobatic Gears of Civil War shooter, Damnation, once again brings us in direct competition with longtime Joystiq nemesis and mistaken alternate identity, Joystick Magazine. "You guys did a cover for us, right?" asks a member of Blue Omega Entertainment, unaware of our disdain for paper and our geographical avoidance of France.
Being mistaken for Joystick has become one of our favorite trade show traditions (does it happen to them too?), if only for the ironic reminder that the Joystiq with a "q" is the one that isn't French.
There are plenty of reasons to attend tonight's second annual Joystiq E3 afterparty. The first one (pictured above) weighs in at roughly 200 pounds -- masses of game-related clothing, doohickeys, doodads, thingamabobs and pointless junk could be yours! You'll also be able to devour free food, meet your fellow readers and play some video games on our projectors. Which video games? That's a surprise.
As for the drawbacks of coming ... well, you might run into us. If you want to have a good time, be sure to avoid the individuals with pasty skins, bloodshot eyes and a habit of muttering endlessly about some unreleased game.
When: 6pm - 10pm PT on Thursday, July 17th Where: Mahalo HQ, 902 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica 90401 (map) Who: Yes, this event is all ages! RSVP: Facebook
Just like last year, we'd like to give a shout-out to the folks over at Mahalo.com for hosting the event.
After an extremely long day of liveblogging, keynotes, booth appointment, trawling the show floor, writing stories, taking photos, and recording podcasts, an evening of cocktails and parties sounded like an ideal way to unwind. However, we were smacked in the face with a tidal wave called "tired" and we just couldn't keep our eyes open. Next year: portable energy drink IVs.
We vacated Activision's fairly swanky reception and party early last night, with our destinations set on "Bethesda." Jetting from downtown Los Angeles to the Sunset Strip in mere minutes, we arrived like rockstars only to leave like geriatric mall-walkers a short hour later. However, we did witness some things we'd like to share. Check 'em out after the break.
Activision might have dropped out of E3, but that didn't stop them from having a huge party, complete with tiny hamburgers, pork buns, sushi, and other things we couldn't pronounce. We liveblogged it, then got some chow on. Head after the jump to find out the kinds of things Activision has been spending their money on, besides Blizzard.
Our very own 
Le sigh. A sincere question coming from the developers of acrobatic Gears of Civil War shooter, 
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