We've got another update for the mean, green, and angry machine, The Incredible Hulk. This time, we get some eye candy from the DS, PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions and more details regarding the upcoming video game from Sega, Edge of Reality (consoles), and Amaze Entertainment (handhelds). Check them out at the full article.

 

The last time we heard about Manhunt 2 and the controversy surrounding it, it seems that we're not going to find any closure soon until the game itself gets released and the public is able to truly digest just how the title can get gruesome. A writer for the New York Times by the name of Seth Shiesel then went forward to find out for himself, and with rather surprising results.

Dropping by Take-Two's Manhattan offices, Seth met up with company chairman Strauss Zelnick, in order to clock in about three hours' worth of playtime with the now-infamous title. The two exchanged pleasantries and opinions about the game, and then finally got down to the bloody task at hand: playing the highly-controversial Wii version of the game, which the critics have been blasting for the sole reason that you had to imitate the killing actions your character does in order to get the full gameplay out of it.

So what were his impressions of the game? Seth calls Manhunt 2 a highly-conventional game. Playing as Dr. Daniel Lamb, you look around for tools like a crowbar to open a door, or solve little puzzles with simple solutions. He notes the creepy music and the creepier bondage outfits, but we got that in Manhunt 1, didn't we?

But as we all know, those aren't the parts of the game it's being banned for, and so he moves on to talk about the gameplay's execution system - and while he admits that Manhunt 2 IS indeed quite violent and quite gory, it pales in comparison to today's more prevalent media, with Hostel and Saw II as his examples. The actual execution scenes, violent as they are, are quite optional and last no more than 10 seconds. And with the game being pretty much about your character trying to break out of a heavily-guarded facility, you're more focused on not getting swarmed by the enemies rather than seeking on inflicting as much violence as possible.

Seth Shiesel's final verdict? Confessing that he's not a gorefest fan, finding himself quite the squeamish one when it comes to violence, Seth found Manhunt 2 to be not particularly sickening or frightening. And compared to today's movies, he says that Manhunt 2 is more of a violent, interactive cartoon than anything else.

It's certainly good that someone actually tried playing the game to see for themselves just what every parental watchdog group is eager to ban. You can read the entire article at the read link below, and let us know what you think by your comments.

 At the New York">New York">Nintendo World store in the city where the food is as diverse as its people, Nintendo hosted a Cooking Mama "Cook Off Challenge" for virtual chefs over at Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan. Promoting Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii, the event brought avid Cooking Mama fans over to try out the game and even compete with each other through different in-game challenges on provided Wii demonstration stations.

And while they were sprucing something appetizing, a real chef was also there to provide something to munch on while the public were on their way to win a copy of Cooking Mama: Cook Off, and get to walk home with a limited edition, collectible apron. It's funny that one of the winners was an actual culinary student who came down to test his mettle. Now how about that?

Majesco Entertainment and the Nintendo World store sponsored this fun-filled event to promote the public release of Cooking Mama: Cook Off for the Wii. It was held on March 31 in New York City. Picture courtesy of Alex. Head on over to his photo collection to view other photos of the contest via our Read link below.

The versatility of the Nintendo Wii Controller (a.k.a. Wiimote) was put to the test, Tuesday, by games publisher THQ in the basement of confectionery Dylan's Candy Bar of Manhattan's fancy Upper East Side.

With a by-invitation-only affair, the company allowed select journalists and kids to try out the work-in-progress versions of Wii games based on Disney's Carsmovie and Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender,Barnyard, and Spongebob Squarepants franchises.

Many of the maneuvers seen in other companies' previewed Wii software were also exhibited in the THQ games. A punch in a rampage mode of Spongebob results from a jostle of the Wii remote, while a quick downward swipe makes your character stomp on the ground. Then, turning the device like a steering wheel - with the Wiimote held sideways by its shorter ends - controls the Cars racing game. "One minute you're using the [Wii remote] rampaging and hitting buildings, and the other you're holding it like a joystick in a jet fighter," says Ali Bouda, brand manager for kids' games at THQ, as he surveyed the players in the room.

Meanwhile, these rules have been found to be malleable enough to a certain degree. For example, in the Cars game, holding the remote like you would the horizontal steering wheel of a city bus, rather than like the vertical wheel of a regular car, may work. However, a quick test revealed that the game only reads a twist on the vertical plane. Flipping the remote upside down and then steering would work as well, but again, only on that vertical plane, like the movement of the hands on a clock.

THQ representatives at the event said they did not advocate these alternate ways of playing Wii games. Rather, they merely offered instructions for the standard approach and even gave sufficient warning against attempts to play the games the wrong way, like trying to steer Cars with one hand: "You can't do it. You do need to hold it like a steering wheel."

What this activity has shown is that games can possibly break the rules concerning use of the Nintendo Wii controller. Now, whether or not these alternative ways of playing will prove to be enriching or devastating to the system will be determined when Wii is launched this fall.