Blog Posts by Ben Silverman

Beyonce Knowles - Getty Images

She might be a major talent, but not everyone is crazy in love with Beyonce.

Top of the list is video game developer Gate Five, who are suing the entertainer for $100 million over a "bad faith breach of contract."

A summons filed Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court claims that Beyonce backed out of a deal to create a motion-controlled dance video game called Starpower:Beyonce. Gate Five alleges that out of nowhere Beyonce "made an extortionate demand for entirely new compensation
terms," a move that scared off investors, causing the developer to lay off
70 employees the week before Christmas and eventually abandon the game
entirely.

The dance game genre is booming business these days. A

Read More »from Beyonce sued for $100 million over video game

Peyton Hillis He might not enjoy the name recognition of other Peytons, but he's got the cover.

In a live announcement on ESPN's SportsNation, EA revealed that fans have chosen Cleveland Browns running back Peyton Hillis to be the cover athlete of EA's upcoming Madden 12, wrapping up a five-week tournament that featured representatives from every NFL team.

To nab the honor, the 10th-seeded Hillis had to overcome heavily-favored stars like Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers, Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan and eventual runner-up, Michael Vick, whom he trounced in a finals landslide by raking in 66 percent of the vote. Over one million fans voted in the final round.

Cleveland's rabid fans had a lot to do with

Read More »from Peyton Hillis beats out Michael Vick for Madden 12 cover

Call of the Dead The next piece of downloadable content for the record-breaking Call of Duty: Black Ops is getting a little help from some famous friends.

Danny Trejo (Machete), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) and Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund are featured characters in 'Call of the Dead,' a new mode included in the upcoming 'Escalation' content pack releasing May 3 for Xbox 360.

Inspired by the works of legendary zombie director George Romero -- who also puts in an appearance -- the new game mode sees players battling hordes of corpses on a snowy Siberian island. And in keeping with their new tradition of stylish Call of Duty trailers, Activision has

Read More »from Star-studded cast breathes life into new ‘Black Ops’ zombie mode

With the last Harry Potter film set to cast its final spell
on moviegoers this summer, it was only natural that EA would pull another
video game out of its hat.

The company revealed the somewhat long-winded Harry Potter
and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: The Videogame today in a cryptic trailer filled
with wizarding, flashbacks, evildoers, and Emma Watson. What did you expecto?

See? Cryptic. Set to release in July for most platforms, it's
being developed by EA Bright Light, the same team who crafted the action-oriented
game based on the first Deathly Hallows film. Unfortunately, that turned out to
be something of a disaster, so here's hoping they've learned a few new tricks
since then.

Read More »from First look at ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2′ game

Remember that amazing Mortal Kombat short that wowed the web last year? It's now a full-blown episodic web series -- and it's a certifiable hit. The first episode has racked up nearly 6 million views, and the follow-up launches today.

In honor of Mortal Kombat week (the new game hits stores Tuesday), we partnered with our friends at G4 to catch up with the makers of the series, who talk shop about their characters, the web series, and what it's like being a part of the bloodthirstiest franchise this side of Saw.

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From Borg legend to tough-as-nails brawler? Find out how Jeri Ryan handled playing Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat Legacy.

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Get the lowdown on the new series from its creator and some Read More »from Jeri Ryan talks Mortal Kombat: Legacy

Portal 2 - Valve Software It's not just still alive -- it's alive and kicking.

Cleverly written, boldly innovative and filled to the brim with some of the most brilliant gameplay ever put to ones and zeroes, the short but sweet first-person puzzle game Portal was an instant hit when it was released as part of The Orange Box compilation of Half-Life games in 2007.

While it never enjoyed the broad crossover success of blockbusters like Halo and Call of Duty, Portal introduced a deliciously duplicitous meme, topped countless Game of the Year lists, and set the stage for a serious coming out party in its sequel.

Thanks to a few ugly delays, that took a bit longer than expected. And now that Portal 2 has arrived for the

Read More »from Mind-bending masterpiece ‘Portal 2′ hailed as year’s best

Between affordable apps, discounted older titles and must-play
downloads, there are more ways to play games on the cheap than ever before.

But what if you don't want to drop a dime? No worries. Free-to-play
games have flooded gaming over the past year or two, making it possible to
enjoy hours and hours of legit online gaming without forking over those
annoying subscription fees. Sure, they'll noodge you to drop coin on microtransactions
or pony up for 'premium' content, but such nuisances are a small price to pay
for essentially free gaming.

Unfortunately, "free" doesn't necessarily mean
"good" -- and in many cases, it means a lot less than that. Luckily,
there are more than a few

Read More »from Seven free online games worth playing

They keep coming. Mario might be wealthier, Pac-Man might be hungrier, and Lara Croft might be, uh, curvier, but if video gaming in general has one indelible, iconic mascot, it's a Space Invader.

Created by Tomohiro Nishikado and released to Japanese arcades in 1978, the game-changing vertical shooter was more than just an exercise in alien-blasting action. It broke old rules, wrote new ones, and was tantamount in transforming the fledgling video game industry into a legitimate entertainment force of nature.

If you're over 40, there's a good chance you forked over a few handfuls of quarters trying to protect the planet from the oncoming waves of slow-moving baddies back in the day. But we're betting you

Read More »from 5 things you might not know about Space Invaders