PS3 Features

Whether they’ve advanced menacingly toward our camera lenses, hidden their faces when we look at them or just sort of hovered aimlessly, ghosts have been a semi-constant threat in videogames almost since the medium was invented. One of the great things about games, however, is that they’re a way to explore unusual viewpoints – and every once in a while, they give us a chance to see through the eyes of these undead phantoms, and find out what it’s like to flit insubstantially through an earthly plane that’s perpetually, almost comically afraid of us.

Only a handful of games have actually offered a chance to see things from the proverbial Other Side, but these are our favorites...

It is required by law that every fitness videogame published after 1978 must include an attractive female in tight clothing on its cover, regardless of actual content. This naturally got the attention of our boner, as most things eventually do, and launched us on a Quixotic quest to discover which videogame fitness coach will best service your insatiable autoerotic needs. But buying fitness games can be embarrassing, so rehearse this simple script before entering the store...

When did professional darts players attain to the status of WWE stars, playing to stadiums full of screaming fans and strutting into the place with an effing intro? Bluster aside, there is no way that holding a Wii remote like a dart is “realistic.”

It is required by law that every fitness videogame published after 1978 must include an attractive female in tight clothing on its cover, regardless of actual content. This naturally got the attention of our boner, as most things eventually do, and launched us on a Quixotic quest to discover which videogame fitness coach will best service your insatiable autoerotic needs. But buying fitness games can be embarrassing, so rehearse this simple script before entering the store...

E3 2009 is alive and kicking, and T-Dar is bringing you the first of many updates from the show floor. Up first is a look at Batman: Arkham Asylum, Just Cause 2, Aliens vs Predator, Microsoft’s Natal motion tech, the big three press conferences and oh so much more.

EA announced it would be entering into the world of mixed martial arts at E3 this year by showing off an MMA logo and little else. It was enough, however, to have fans wondering how the hell EA could pull off a MMA game in the face of UFC, which has a stranglehold on the world's most recognisable fighters and a sucessful game license already being looked after by THQ.

 

I’m not a miserable sexist ass; I’m just a practical observer. One thing I’ve observed is that men and women are different (I figured that one out pretty early on). Since I’m a rational person, I’m aware that nothing is entirely one way or another. Even the divide between life and death is ambiguous (uh, zombies, amirite?).

July is a bit dry in terms of new-stuff quantity, but we’re really looking forward to the majority of its releases. We have a healthy amount of oddball gems, sequels and re-releases to look forward to. It’s as much a month to experiment on weird stuff as it is to catch up on stuff you may have missed a year (or five) ago. What’s particularly exciting is that we’re seeing a solid number of awesome-looking downloadable games. If you’d rather not spend $60 on bananas-bullshit like Catherine (which we’re way into, by the way), put that money toward a few XBLA games instead. You’ve got slimmer pickin’s than usual, but them pickin’s look good...

Fact: Gordon Ramsey, that TV chef who screams at everyone all the time for putting too much pan-seared fennel in the sous de l’orange, loves chili dogs and tater tots.

Okay, that particular fact is probably not true because we just made it up. But we bet there is something he loves that you can get in a drive-through. The point is a meal doesn’t need a five-star chef’s intimate knowledge of ostrich curd and starfish sauce to be enjoyable. And by the same token, a videogame can absolutely fantastic even if there’s no highbrow artistic statement mixed in with the action. Here are the games we can’t wait to dive into, even if they appeal to the summer popcorn-movie side of our brains instead of the snooty, art-critic lobe...

Have you heard of a game by Rockstar North called Wild Metal? No. Don't worry, neither did two thirds of this week's podcast team but that doesn't stop Cundy going on about it for 20 minutes or so. We'd like to say the rant is informative but, well, give it a listen and you'll find out why it isn't.

Also on this week's TalkRadar UK there's prolonged chatter about Shadow of the Damned's brilliance, why one team member won't be returning to the streets of L.A. Noire and why Uncharted 3's multiplayer beta is good, but not great. Oooh, controversial. 

There's also a bizarre tale of how one of the men has ended up with a pair of blue arms. This alone makes this week's show worth a listen, so come get some gaming goodness in your ears.