Kym Worthy and the Evils of Video Games

I touched upon this yesterday in The Rundown, but today let’s analyze the particulars. This week Wayne County, Michigan Prosecutor Kym Worthy released her list of Top 10 Violent Video Games Played By Teens. The list, which is actually a rehash of the Mature rated section of games from the National Institute on Media and the Family Video Game Report Card for 2008, feature’s a who’s who of the most popular “M” rated games in North America. The link between “teens wanting to play these particular games” is tenuous at best, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

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The Rundown: Dec. 15, 2008

2008 is slowly fading to black. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Here’s today’s news..

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Blitz: The League II Ships

Midway Games‘ Blitz: The League II has shipped to stores for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 and is expected to be available soon for an U.S. MSRP of $59.99. Blitz: The League II builds on the arcade football action that is a trademark of the Blitz franchise with all-new tackles, gruesome injuries and touchdown celebrations that allow more player control.

“Without the typical restrictions associated with the ‘No Fun League,’ Blitz: The League II is able to offer up an entirely new treatment of pro football, touching on topics otherwise considered taboo,” said Miguel Iribarren, senior vice president - publishing, Midway. “Lawrence Taylor returns as our cover athlete, and he’s the perfect symbol of the grittier, real-life side of football that only a title like Blitz: The League II can portray.”

We’ll leave that for football fans to decide, but it’s certainly a unique alternative to Madden NFL 09.

Wheelman Leads Midway’s E3 Line-Up

This morning Midway Games revealed its line-up of games to be shown next week at the E3 Business & Media Summit, July 15-17 in Los Angeles. The company will showcasing franchises that it has already shown off to the press extensively like its fighting game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, the TNA wrestling game TNA Impact!, This is Vegas, the recently released Unreal Tournament 3 for the Xbox 360, and the company’s classic gaming portal, MidwayArcade.com.

Some new games will be there as well, like the recently announced Blitz The League II, Game Party 2 for the Wii and Mechanic Master for DS; though nothing we haven’t already heard about except for Wheelman.

Wheelman is an action driving game for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC starring Vin Diesel as an undercover agent who infiltrates the Barcelona underworld to gather intelligence surrounding a covert heist. The game will be heavily story driven and will focus more on the driving than the action. Midway promises an “adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride.”

I’m not sure if Midway is holding back any surprises for E3, but at least some of its line-up is probably worth a booth stop. I’ll be scoping out Midway and every other company at E3 next week so stay tuned.

Blitz: The Sequel

Midway Games announced today that it is developing a sequel to its action focused, non-licensed football game, Blitz The League. The new game, with the flashy moniker Blitz: The League II, is in development for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Blitz: The League II will feature an all-new story mode penned by former ESPN “Playmakers” writer, Peter Egan, and the return of football legend, Lawrence Taylor. Taylor played the a significant role in the previous game’s storyline as well as serving as the game’s official cover athlete.

Midway promises to build on the “success” of the last game with a bunch of new features and some gameplay refinement. Let’s hope so. Expect to hear more next week during E3.