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MadWorld Looks A Bloody Lot Like Sin City

Last night, Sega and Platinum Games held a press event in San Francisco where they revealed some details about MadWorld, an action game coming to the Wii in the first quarter of 2009. The superviolent game allows you to control Jack, who appears to be some sort of giant, chainsaw-wielding maniac.

A whole gang of stills from the game show Jack brutally slicing people’s heads off and running road signs through his enemies heads. Yes! Clearly, the game’s look—stark black and white with a splash of color—was inspired by Frank Miller’s comic book/movie Sin City. Check out 9 more pictures from the game below to see what we mean.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Family Trainer Was The Original Wii Fit

With Nintendo’s interactive workout game Wii Fit dropping next week, it’s no surprise that Atari is bringing a suspiciously similar title called Family Trainer to Europe in September. Instead of the Wii Balance Board, the game uses a mat controller to let players compete in a variety of physical events. But before you start calling the copyright office to file a complaint, there’s one thing you should know: Family Trainer was first.

See, way back in 1986, developer Bandai actually released the O.G. Family Trainer for Famicom, Nintendo’s predecessor to the home NES system. Soon after its release, Nintendo bought the rights to the technology and packaged it as the “Power Pad” with their popular World Class Track Meet game. We actually dug up an old Japanese commercial for the original Family Trainer if you don’t believe us. Check the video after the jump.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Grand Theft Auto IV Glitches Are Unbelievable

Like any new product, the first version of a video game is bound to have its flaws. And yes, even the great Grand Theft Auto IV falls victim to the inevitability of bugs.

Despite the next-gen graphics and years of testing, thorough fans have already discovered a number of weird disconnects in the game play. The results are some hilariously odd scenes, including a levitating bus (right) and a boat that damn near breakdances. After the jump, watch two videos that compile all the glitches that have been documented thus far.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Play 8-Bit Nintendo With Your Coffee Table

Twenty year-old Kyle Downes designed this Nintendo 8-bit controller coffee table that’s a nostalgic gamer’s wet dream. Downes claims he didn’t even use a blueprint to construct the table, but instead scanned his original NES, eyeballed the design, and applied the same measurements on a large scale. The best part of the project? The controller is fully functional and you can play all your old favorites by palming the mammoth buttons. We’re thinking this kid is about to do deals like the majors. To see the multi-use table in action, check the video after the jump.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Doom 4: Killing Outside The Box

Years before anyone had thought about Grand Theft Auto, a little PC game called Doom had responsible parents seriously pissed off. With all due respect to Wolfenstein, the popularity of Doom has made it the blueprint for bloody first-person shooters since its release in 1993.

Today, id Software announced that they have started work on Doom 4, and they’re looking to hire some hungry new employees to help (Click here to apply). This got us thinking: for the new Doom, maybe they should step outside of the big-guns, bloody-aliens framework for a completely left-field take on the franchise. Doom fans have been creating their own versions of the game since its genesis, including a gang of mods like Star Wars Doom, South Park Doom and X-Files Doom. After the jump, watch videos of our favorite unexpected Doom remakes.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Two-Face Is LEGO Batman’s Illest Villain

Sure, this summer’s new Dark Knight flick looks great, but there’s another Bruce Wayne incarnation dropping in September: the LEGO Batman video game. Unlike the darker, more modern movie, the LEGO game is based around the light-hearted 1960s Adam West TV show. Today, Warner Bros. revealed one of the villains that will show up in the game: Two-Face. Originally known as Gotham’s district attorney Harvey Dent, he turns into a sociopath after a criminal throws acid in his face. In the game, the character’s weapons will be twin .45 automatics. After the jump, watch Two-Face in action (with a cameo from Scarecrow) and see some new stills from the game.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Faux-Strippers May Work The Pole If WII Game Gets Made

The horny-developers behind Peekaboo Pole Dancing who first got made with Carmen Electra’s “Electra-pole” are back to their sleazy electronic ways with news of a possible forthcoming Wii Pole Dancing game. Although the company claims the game will pride itself on fun and fitness, it’s clear that it caters to the aspiring stripper chick. PPD is still searching for a partner company to help license the game (T-Pain possibly?) and also have been in talks with several developers and publishers. Besides saving stacks of $1s, the potential for drunken after-parties with easy broads may be something to look forward to. Let’s just hope the game isn’t as shitty as Peekaboo’s brand introduction video that can be seen after the jump.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Conan O’Brien’s Friendly Grand Theft Auto IV

Despite the fact that violent crime in America has actually decreased since the Grand Theft Auto series came out in the late ’90s, the game still gets criticism from a slew of haters like Hillary Clinton. After Tuesday’s release of the latest and greatest Grand Theft Auto IV stirred things back up, Conan O’Brien had some fun with the controversy on Late Night earlier this week. During his monologue, the host explained, “The new version, it’s been toned down a lot, I think in reaction to the criticism. I’m not sure it’s better. Take a look.” The abridged version features hilariously polite, upbeat voices from the normally murderous thieves in the game. “I…Love…Springtime!!” Watch it after the jump.

Popularity: 9% [?]

LEGO Indiana Jones Won’t Catch a Brick

Ever since we played the LEGO Star Wars Trilogy, we’ve wondered why every video game doesn’t try to harness the awesome power of LEGO. So when we heard they were in the process of developing both LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Batman, we nearly shit a brick.

First up is the June 3rd release of the Indiana Jones game, which will follow the plot of all three movies from the original trilogy. The only real difference is that they have removed all references to Nazis (the sinister bad guys from the movies) in favor of an “anonymous genocidal, occultist, trenchcoat-wearing master-race.” Close enough. Indy’s whip will be an integral part of the game, allowing him to break down objects and enemies along his journey, but most of the other movie characters will also be playable with their own unique weapons and abilities. After the jump, watch G4TV’s exclusive inside look with Shawn Storc, the LucasArts producer behind the game.

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Explore GTA IV’s Liberty City With Google Maps

Google Maps is basically the greatest thing to happen to navigation since the compass. Too bad we won’t have much use for it—since Grand Theft Auto IV dropped yesterday, we won’t be venturing outside the house for a few months.

In the meantime, IGN has created an amazing, fully-interactive Google Maps version of GTA’s new Liberty City. It works exactly like Google Maps, with a zoom function and dragable movement. Registered IGN users are continually updating points of interest throughout Liberty City as they discover them in the game, meaning you can select a box to view anything you want: mission locations, strip clubs, secret easter eggs, vehicles, etc. Once you display the general category, you can then click on the specific location to view the user-entered details. Now all they need to do is get a “Street View” function popping to catch those drug deals in action. Visit IGN to see the map, and check out the most recent GTA trailer after the jump.

Popularity: 10% [?]