Roger Ebert started some sh*t when he stated that games could not be art… The Cultist from the Miami New Times would like a word with you, sir. He cites 5 games that can be considered works of art, including our very own Bit.Trip BEAT.

“Famed movie critic Rogert Ebert recently said that video games will never be works of art. Overnight, he and his thumbs became major objects of ire for gamers across the globe. And although he later apologized and retracted his statement — no doubt due to internet trolls bombarding his website and uploading hate videos to YouTube — Ebert raised an interesting question: Can video games exist on the same cultural level as movies or literature?”

See the full article here.

What do you guys think? Can videogames be considered art? Discuss via our high-tech, web 2.0 commenting system below.

If there ever was an opposite to yesterdays hate mail, and I do mean HATE mail, this review from Gamers Daily News would be it.

“When BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger was released it was hailed as the obvious successor to Guilty Gear, maintaining that series’ tradition for detailed character designs and a very in-depth engine. Unfortunately, what started as modest balance problems later became so severe that a major update was necessary. Yet instead of a balance patch, we’re getting a sequel in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, and the result is quite good. $40 will net you a much improved version of the original game, with new characters joined by significant tweaks to the old cast and game rules, most of them for the better.”

Read the full review here.

We sure like to toot our own horn around here but I think in this case this is a well-deserved honor for Commander Video.

“As a whole, the Bit.Trip series is an amazingly well designed throwback to the days of Atari and 1980s game design. Our favorite of the bunch so far, Bit.Trip Runner, features the franchise mascot, “Commander Video,” in a series of platforming levels that span over an amazing 50 challenges. It’s also a pretty fast-paced experience, as you’ll race through several worlds crammed with retro-styled enemies and obstacles, all set to an impressively catchy soundtrack supplied by famous chiptune punk band Anamanaguchi.”

See the full article here.

Check out what the nice fellows over at Original Sound Version had to say about the Deathsmiles soundtrack that’s included with the game.

“The people (and by people, I mean heroes) at Aksys Games who brought us Blazblue: Calamity Trigger are now giving even more awesome niche Japanese goodies to North America. In this case, it is the first officially localized title from shoot-’em-up (or “shmup”) developer CAVE. Said game is Deathsmiles, available on Xbox 360 since the end of June.”

Click here for the full review.

In an interview with Nintendo EVP of sales & marketing Cammie Dunaway on Gamasutra… And of the Gaijin Games founder and Bit.Trip series developer Alex Neuse, Dunaway let drop that he told her “he is just over the moon on 3DS, and he can’t wait to do Bit.Trip.Runner ideas in 3D.”

Read the entire interview here.

A Bit.Trip-themed party at LA’s GR2 gallery/store served as an E3 kickoff of sorts for us, as we prepared to be dazzled by new games with a night of dazzling Bit.Trip games projected on the walls outside the store.

Gaijin Games CEO Alex Neuse took a break from watching attendees’ minds be blown by the magnificence of gigantic Bit.Trip Runner to speak to Joystiq about the future of the Bit.Trip series, the successs of Runner, and being in awe of Tetsuya Mizuguchi. A note: the wink at the end will make more sense after you read that Gaijin announced an iPhone version of Bit.Trip Beat two days after we conducted this interview.

See full interview here

Siliconera has traversed the haunted grounds of Gilverado. Check out their preview here!

Gaijin Games’ Bit.Trip series has been one of my favorite bundles of fun to come out of Nintendo’s WiiWare service. By marrying minimalist gameplay mechanics with charming retro vibes, each of the three previous titles has turned blocky graphics and bleep-blooping chiptunes into addictive affairs. Bit.Trip Runner carries on this torch, but for the first time puts you in direct control of the rectangular, gold-grabbin’ CommanderVideo. Does this frantic platformer have the stamina to keep up with the quality of its predecessors, or should our pixelated hero have spent more time carbo-loading?

Click here for the full review.

Tired of rhythm games filled with glitz and glam, high-priced plastic instruments, and licensed music you may or may not enjoy? Commander Video comes to the rescue with Gaijin Games’ latest WiiWare title, Bit.Trip Runner.

Read the full review here.

Alex Neuse: So basically, the initial concept behind Bit.Trip Runner in particular is that we wanted a sort of run-and-jump platforming game, kind of on par with some of those older games on the Atari 2600 like Pitfall!, Jungle Hunt, or even H.E.R.O., if you remember that one.

We also needed to evolve the character and story a bit by game four. It was a very deliberate move that we built up the abstract stuff in the first three games, which kind of represents the abstraction of what it means to be a human. And then we explore what it means to actually play as a human in game number four, with Bit.Trip Runner.

This is what NintendoLife thinks anyway. Read the full review!

“Unless you live in Europe, Record of Agarest War might be an unfamiliar game to RPGamers. This quirky SRPG ask players to forge relationships with their female companions through the process of soul breeding. Soul breeding? That sounds diiiiiiirty.

Hawt.

*cough* I mean, yeah… awesome!

Anyway, Aksys Games has our perverted, inner-otaku fantasies covered, as they are bringing Record of Agarest War to both the PlayStation Network and the Xbox 360. Do you love boobs? Do you love boobs in your SRPG? This interview is full of them! Man breasts included. For more information on how to retrieve your boobie mousepad—I mean, to learn more about Record of Agarest War, check out the official website.”

Click here for the full interview!

Check out 2D-x.com’s “hands-on” preview of Record of Agarest War’s awesome Limited Edition item. Coming April 27! Be sure to pre-order your copy from either Amazon.com or GameStop.com to guarantee your copy!

Check out IGN’s first preview for Deathsmiles…

“During our trip to the Tokyo Game Show last year, one of our favorite discoveries outside the show was the arcade shooter DeathSmiles II. A “bullet hell” game created by the masters of the genre, Cave, this is a gothic horror shooter starring cute anime girls that fly around blasting the crap out of fantasy monsters. This year we’ll get the next best thing on Xbox 360: the original DeathSmiles. While it’s a surprise to see a game like this coming to retail as opposed to Xbox Live Arcade, we’ve been spending some quality time with it and are pretty sure it will appeal to shmup fans.”

Click here for the full article and some screens and video of the game.

A fine gentleman (I assume) named Sam Bishop over at IGN has been kind enough to write up a hands-on preview of our own Mimana Iyar Chronicle, a game which will be released on the PlayStation Portable. And if that weren’t enough, another fine gentleman (I assume) named Ryan Clements has written up a similar hands-on preview of BlazBlue Portable, also for the PSP. I would provide you with highlights, but that would both dilute the impact of these wonderful examples of quality journalism, and make this post even more blatantly self-serving than it already is. As such, I entreat you to visit IGN and read them. If the Mimana article wets your appetite, I would humbly remind you that it is available for pre-order from a number of quality retailers.

IGN has written up an awesomely positive preview on Commander Video’s latest adventure.

“Gaijin Games has three Bit.Trip titles under its belt and they’re some of the best, most artful titles available on WiiWare. The next installment in the series, Bit.Trip Runner is more ambitious than the first three in every way. An onrails platformer much like the recent indie hit Canabalt, Runner combines retro game nostalgia, catchy chiptunes, and hardcore twitch gameplay into one impressive package.”

Click here for the full article.

Record of Agarest War: The Really Naughty Limited Edition has now gone global. The Japanese article can be found here. What is even more awesome was comment #75, the contents of which are behind this jump, as they are excessively naughty.

75. Posted by 名無しゲーマーさん   2010年01月28日 00:10
外人のオナニー激しすぎだろ
それとも抱き枕に腰振ってんのか？

Which translates to…

“Gaijin’s jacking off is too intense…
or is he thrusting the pillow?”

I’d like to thank Google translate for its wonderful translation of the Japanese headline.

Botaku we salute you!

If you haven’t checked out Kotaku, our newest addition, Cherie Baker gave the low down on the ESRB rating, gameplay and what PS3/PSN owners can expect from Record of Agarest War.

Read the full article here at Kotaku.

“RUNNER is closest to BEAT in terms of player/music interaction, Neuse said, being that you traverse the environment to the beat of the music and interact with the music in a more passive manner than the on-beat precision of CORE or the looseness of VOID. And while you have always been in control of Commander Video, this marks the first time his corporeal body is directly in your hands.”

Read the full article at NintendoLife.com.

A Winner is us!

NintendoLife awarded Gaijin Games Best Sound AND Best Developer of the Year! Congrats guys!

Full article here.

Keep an eye out for the latest on what these guys have cooking for 2010!