Bethesda Softworks unleash an explosion of concept art.

From the hand of their concept artist Adam Adamowicz, they've put together one big team diary for Fallout 3, chock full of creatures, weapons, buildings, and more.  All sorts of designs have been put on display in these 11 new pieces of concept art.

Read and see it all at the official site: http://fallout.bethsoft.com

Their official site now also includes a fully translated Russian version, to go along with English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Polish.

Remember how you used to get excited when your parents gave you a couple of bucks?

Felt good didn't it. Then they told you not to spend it all in one place. You felt like one of the richest kids on the block. So imagine how the imagination of one particular 13-year old felt when he decided to steal his dad's credit card and enjoy a night on the town. While most would probably act with some amount of common sense, Ralph Hardy chose to treat his friends to a $3,000 shopping spree consisting of junk food, tons of video games and two hookers to share in their big party event at a Texas motel.

Hardy's fun was naturally short-lived after a delivery clerk contacted authorities, shortly after dropping off from Fritos and other snacks for his pals and the hired escorts. He was charged with three years of community service, while the hookers were let go since they didn't actually do anything other than play Halo with the kids. Yeah, you read that right. Reportedly the hired escorts whose services run for $1000 a night became suspicious. Hardy told them that they just won a World of Warcraft tourney and wanted to kick back and relax. He also added that his group was part of a traveling circus and were of restricted growth. Seeing as the State law prohibits discrimination against the disabled, the escorts couldn't refuse them. 

I hope Hardy enjoyed his day of festivities because his actions has surely scarred his reputation in more ways than one. 

Indie developer to restore E3 to its former glory.

It seems like the hullabaloo of the "old" E3 will never be put to rest. Some prefer the original format set up at the LACC while there's a considerable percentage in favor of the more business, invite-only approach. While the new approach definitely offers some welcome benefits, it appears that the annual event has lost of its glimmer and entertaining spark. A spark that the Gamecock Media Group is hoping will be reignited with its upcoming campaign to bring the the "fun back to the gaming industry". 

This afternoon's press release left me scratching my head to say the least, but full details are forthcoming. Gamecock will be setting up it's campaign at the Hotel Figueroa (awesome hotel by the way) during the week of E3 (July 15 - 18). So who's invited? Well, if you're in the area - everyone. No need to wait for a special invite or jumping through the hoops. 

"I read last week that some of my most high profile supporters are not happy with the current administration of the ESA. Many of them apparently feel that I am the right man to right the ship, before it sinks entirely, due to my intimate experience with, or at least near, the E3 Expo's of the past," said Mike Watson. "After a long conversation with my wife, we have decided to step forward and bear the slings and arrows of public life this election season. Since the macabre, but strangely high-spirited burial of E3 last year, we are glad to see that it still hassome life left in it. My only hope is that it can be rebuilt and become what the all-knowing gaming god intended it to be. Good luck and God bless." In short - Mike's message is saying: Make your voice heard. 

I should point out that Mr. Wilson has announced his candidacy to replace the current ESA President. It remains to be seen if he'll actually be successful, but it's clear that an E3 revolution is underway; one that I am very eager to see how things pan out in the months to come.

This blog article should be recognized as the sole opinion of the editor and does not necessarily reflect GotNext's official position on the subject.

Capcom revives a few more killer franchises. 

I remember as a kid playing Commando at the local Pizza Hut.  The controls were stiff and the bullets were tiny.  I don't think I ever made it past the first stage.  Then MERCS came along to the arcade just across the street, and it seemed like insane destruction and top down blasting action for me and two other Rambo-wannabes until we ran out of quarters.  Capcom has been on a trend of reviving their nearly forgotten gems to the delight of former arcade junkies, with the latest offering of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 for XBLA and PSN.  Outside of the more cartoonish gleam, the latest footage shows a game that sticks surprisingly close to its roots, with a variety of scrolling, destructible environments for up to three players, both online and off.  The action is quick and furious, while the weapons are insane and highly destructive.  It's already looking better than the upcoming pretender to the throne, Assault Heroes 2, though both pale next to what else Capcom has up its sleeve.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has been a long time in coming, but hey it takes a long time to draw all those frames at 1080p.  They must be close to release now, however, because coming with Commando 3 will be an online beta of SSF2THDR (on XBLA at least).  Yeah, it's only going to be Ken and Ryu, but outside of seeing how high Chun-li still kicks, they were going to be your first picks anyway.  This is a series that kicks in even more nostalgia, but these new visuals are a lot better than I remember, while the rebalanced mode should end cries of cheap among friends.  Maybe it'll even stop the droppers online.

MADD wants GTA IV labeled AO because of the drunk driving, but is perfectly fine with the rest of the content.

Apologies for yet another Grand Theft Auto IV article, but it seems to be generating all the headlines this week.

There's been a lot of talk from the mainstream media about GTAIV, most of it of the informed quality one would expect.  It's easily ignored, seeing as there are only so many hours in the day and there are things that matter to deal with, but MADD went above and beyond the call of duty to get a response.  This is copied and pasted from their media page-

"Each year nearly 13,500 people die in drunk driving crashes and another half a million are injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes. This is why MADD is extremely disappointed by the decision of the manufacturers of the game Grand Theft Auto IV to include a game module where players can drive drunk. Drunk driving is not a game and it is not a joke. Drunk driving is a choice, a violent crime and it is also 100 percent preventable. MADD is calling on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board to reclassify Grand Theft Auto IV as an Adults Only game, a step up from the current rating of Mature and for the manufacturer to consider a stop in distribution – if not out of responsibility to society then out of respect for the millions of victims/survivors of drunk driving."

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