Well "Wha? News!" didn't seem to appealing, and uncreative, so I decided SNN would be better.
ESA on Universal Media Ratings?
I'm the God Damn... Sergent?
Hot or Not?...?
Batman in Guinness?
FIND OUT!
ESA Rubbish Idea of Universal Media RatingsESA VP Rich Taylor has attacked plans by the FCC to hold an inquiry into taking the USA onto a single rating system for all media, calling the idea unconstitutional.
The FCC has unvieled plans to investigate the possibility of unified ratings for media across all platforms, based on the findings of a report to Congress on the 31st of August that questioned whether children are harmed by inappropriate content such as sex, violence and obscenity.
The FCC's report will be the preliminary steps into determining whether new laws are required. A move towards a unified rating system would take the USA put of step with the other major games markets where games are regulated by industry based bodies.
Predictably, the ESA aren't especially keen on the idea as VP Rich Taylor made clear in a statement: "The ESA appreciates the FCC and its important role however, the ESRB rating system is considered by parents, family advocates, the Federal Trade Commission, and elected officials as the gold standard in providing caregivers with the information they need to make the right choices for their families."
"Universal ratings will, in the end, only serve to confuse consumers, violate the Constitution's first amendment, and are a solution in search of a problem," he added.
Dark Knight Composer Scoring Modern Warfare 2Hans Zimmer, the Oscar winning composer behind The Dark Knight score, will be making his debut writing music for videogames when he scores Modern Warfare 2.
You can rest assured that all those epic moments in Modern Warfare 2 will have an appropriately grandiose soundtrack. Hans Zimmer, the composer behind the scores for The Dark Knight, Gladiator and Rain Man, will be writing music for Infinity Ward's upcoming blockbuster. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, which was confirmed by Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling.
Modern Warfare 2 will figure as Zimmer's first foray into writing music for videogames. He joins the company of names like Harry Gregson-Williams (he did the Metal Gear Solid scores and the main theme for the first Modern Warfare) as Hollywood composers with videogame scoring work on their resume.
You might be most familiar with Zimmer's work in recent times for his Dark Knight score, but the guy's done quite a bit in addition to that, notably having received an Academy Award for his work on The Lion King in addition to nominations for quite a few others. All I can say is that if Modern Warfare 2's music is anywhere near as good as The Dark Knight's, we'll be in for quite a treat.
Hot or Not? ...?Uh... well... I don't really have a Hot or Not topic this week... So... uh... here's a lolcat!
Guinness: Arkham Asylum Is Most Acclaimed Superhero Game EverIt might have only come out this week, but Batman: Arkham Asylum is already in the record books. Guinness World Records just declared the well-reviewed title the "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever."
According to the numbers, Batman: Arkham Asylum's doing pretty well when it comes to winning over the minds of jaded videogame reviewers. Currently sitting pretty at the top of the Metacritic pile with a 91 Metascore, it's clear enough that there are many people out there who are digging The Caped Crusdaer's latest...erm, crusade.
Whether or not the game passes the test of time remains to be seen, but Guinness World Records would seem to not give a damn, because they've awarded Arkham Asylum with a unique accolade: the World Record for "Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever." Arkham Asylum had undoubtedly stiff competition in this most vaunted of categories, having needed to best other notable superhero game masterpieces like Iron Man and Superman 64.
"We are so pleased to be awarding Batman: Arkham Asylum a Guinness World Record," Gaz Deaves of Guinness World Records said. "It is a fantastic new game and due to the reaction of gaming experts we believe it has a well deserved place in the Guinness World Records book."
In all seriousness, the record itself might be a tad ridiculous (not to mention fishy), but from what I've heard (and what little I've played) of Arkham Asylum, it certainly is a few notches above your average superhero game. I might say that X-Men the arcade game deserves this honor more than Arkham Asylum, but I guess this will do.
