It was once very simple – when you bought a new video game, the value proposition was simple and easy to understand. For $50, or thereabouts, a buyer purchased a game cartridge (or disc) with a box and instructions (and other printed material). The game was presented as-is – it worked out of the box,…

The first PPV of 2010 is in the books and we have a large cast on board for the Mango PPV Rewind. I’m joined by Grut, SMS and PK as we discuss a PPV none of us really enjoyed. Check out the full podcast at Inside Pulse

One of the best trends of the last couple years has been graphical upgrades of 8 and 16 bit favorites. Quietly, Nintendo released Excitebike: World Rally on WiiWare with little or no fanfare – it was announced exclusively on Nintendo Week and then put on the download service a week or so later. For fans…

At the dawn of 2010, to kick off my new weekly gaming column, I didn’t know where to begin. So much changes on such a regular basis that the games industry as we knew it 5, 10, 15 years ago is almost indistinguishable in many ways from the game industry of today. As I looked…

PixelJunk Shooter is the fourth game in the PSN-exclusive PixelJunk series of games, following Racers, Monsters and Eden. Like the other games, Shooter is a throwback with a modern take, this time the top down shooter. Can Q-games capture the magic of their earlier titles – especially Eden – in this latest installment? Read the…

While epic HD 3D games face rising budgets and astronomical costs, the world of 2D is benefiting from lower development costs and a lower barrier to entry. Twin Blades, by Press Start Studio, is a game that could never be made on a grand scale in 2010, yet finds a place in the market on…

The Metal Slug series began life on the AES Neo Geo, wowing gamers with its hand-drawn sprite graphics and intense battles. Fans of the series have seen a large amount of sequels and ports, and nearly all of the games in the series are playable on multiple systems. Metal Slug 7 was released exclusively on…

We kick of 2010 at Inside Pulse Wrestling Audio with a raucous podcast recorded directly after watching both WWE Monday Night Raw as well as TNA Monday Impact Check out our instant thoughts as I’m joined by Daniels, Grut and SMS. Mango Night Wars Podcast: WWE, TNA Monday Night Reactions

The Globetrotters winning The Amazing Race 15 is a slam dunk. That was the opinion shared by fans of the show throughout the season. After all, how could anyone compete against two star athletes on a show where the alpha males have traditionally reigned supreme? Unfortunately, for Flight Time and Big Easy, their race ended…