Even if you may not be familiar with the name Rokoban, chances are you've already played it, or even just a spin-off of the game. If you want to experience it in nice, juicy 3D, however, you can check out homebrew developer Zalo's take on Sokoban, Rokoban. Check it out in the full article.

Download: Rokoban

Looking at the lighter side of the World of Warcraft MMORPG, Blizzard has revealed the winner to this month's Comic Contest. The winner of the April series of comic submissions goes to Tygwa, who depicted a rather amusing strip based on the travesty of buying insurance off Taurens. You can read the comic strip in our full article after the jump.

 

Enter Axas, a comic artist and World of Warcraft avid gamer, has won Blizzard's World of Warcraft Comics Contest with his entry for the month of April. Up against eight other contributors for the past month, Axas now gets a free Jinx gift certificate worth US$ 100 to use on his next roll down the shopping aisle.

Okay, so it's not as great as the iPod Nano prize way, way back in 2006, but at least the worth of the paper was mentioned. If you've always wanted to create a comic of your own, you might want to find out how you can join Blizzard's comic creation competition and start on something funny. Just remember: some eligibility rules apply!

But if you can't draw, the World of Warcraft community was thoughtful enough to help those who are artistically challenged yet wish to contribute World of Warcraft-related art - if you can call it art. Just don't be surprised if the audience isn't so forgiving; it's a community contest with no prizes, after all.

Click on Full Article to view the winning comic strip in its entirety.

Penny Arcade has recently published a three-frame comic strip in its site based on their experiences finding a copy of the seemingly rare Puzzle Quest. The comic features Tycho and Gabe talking about the game with a dialogue that pokes fun at killing and games. The character talks in a way similar to a certain public figure infamous in the gaming world.

Need a clue? He's been suing people left and right for violent content in video games which he sees inappropriately rated by electronic media regulatory boards.

On a side note, there's been some buzz with people saying that the game is a little hard to find the past few weeks. Although the game has a PSP version, some gamers prefer the one on the PC because of the display size. Apparently, some don't enjoy the game fully when all the text crowds up in the PSP's screen. Blending RPG and puzzle elements, the game has hit a significant niche in the crowded game market.

Puzzle Quest is also available for the DS and mobile platforms.

We people tend to ignore EB Games employees after they help us get the games we wanna play, the accessories we wanna try out, or the consoles we would go ga-ga for. Well, this particular EB games employee wants to be noticed, or wants people to see her art. Count this as a bit off topic (and kinda old), but going over the net, we managed to find this comic strip drawn by an EB Games employee about her experiences with customers at EB Games. Here's a snippet of the comic strip:

Not only is it amusing, it also mirrors how some parents complain that video games are teaching kids violence, but they forgot that they are the ones who bought it for their kids. If only they were more aware of the ESRB ratings, then the finger-pointing may stop. Anyway, click on the read link below to check out the whole comic strip.

The cast of nutty characters are at it again! In this new Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts!  trailer for the PSP, Hammy and his gang display the kind of over-the-top energy that characterizes the game. Interestingly, Over the Hedge wasn't always this sugar-buzzed. It started as a comic strip, by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, about con-artist RJ the raccoon, Verne the philosophical turtle and Hammy, the squirrel.

In the recent film adaptation by Dreamworks, RJ tricks a group of woodlanders into venturing into suburbia. His motive was to help him get some food which he needs to pay back the supply he stole from a bear. Providing voices to the characters were Bruce Willis (RJ), Garry Shandling (Verne) and Steve Carrel (Hammy).

While the movie top-billed RJ the raccoon, the game is Hammy's territory and he runs away with it like a critter that forgot to take its ADHD medication. In fact, in "Hammy Time" Hammy turns into greased lightning overcoming his opponents in the blink of an eye. Fur will fly once the game starts.

In Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts! gamers can also play against up to three friends in wireless multiplayer mode and unlock secret features like comic strips, film stills and special gameplay modes. The PSP version of this title from Activision has eight playable arenas of multiplayer and several multiplayer modes.

Download: [Over the Hedge: Hammy Goes Nuts! Trailer #2]

Oops! QJ reader meh pointed out a boo-boo we committed in this article. Nick Nolte, in fact, did not provide the voice for Hammy the squirrel. It was Steve Carrel (the zany boss in The Office) who gave life to Hammy. Sorry about that and thanks meh.

Want a free Wii? Of course ya do! Well, in addition to the other "Win a Wii" contests we've featured earlier, N-Philes is hosting yet another one!

BUT, this time the stakes are higher, and you'll not only get a chance to take home a free Wii, but also a free copy of Red Steel, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, and Dragon Ball Z Budokai: Tenkaichi 2!!!

In a team-up with Activision, Atari, and Ubisoft, N-Philes will be hosting a Win a Wii Comic Contest, where contestants will vie for the much-awaited console and the free games by creating a comic strip based on N-Philes, the Nintendo universe, or the Wii. Time to get those creative juices flowing guys! And as you know, competition will be tough, in fact there have been over 30 entries submitted in less than a week!

You can also create your comics based on the three games also up for grabs; you can turn your strips into an anime or base it on Red Steel's take on the funky Japanese culture. All entries should be submitted by November 11th to give site visitors and the N-Philes community ample time to vote for the most creative comics.

To join the contest, first of all you'll have to register at the N-Philes forums because only registered forum members can join. Once you've done that, it's time to let the smart-assed AND creative Picasso in you take over and create your comics, which you will then send to contest@n-philes.com to submit it straight to the staff. And remember, all entries should be in by November 11.

Visitors can vote November 11, while N-Philes community members will have 'til November 15th to cast their votes. Out of the ten highest-rated comics, the N-Philes staff will choose three lucky winners based on originality and humor. The very lucky winner will be announced on November 18th, a day before the Wii launch.

And because we're such nice people here in QJ, we've provided a link for you guys that'll lead you directly to the N-Philes forums 'coz we know a lot of you will automatically be registering once you read this article. Hahaha. And with that, we wish all Wii-hopefuls tons of luck and you never know, maybe we might feature your winning comic strip right here on QJ.*winks* Good luck!

 

When a Hudson Entertainment feature article is subtitled, "An unbiased comparison of two awesome games!" you know something is bound to be wrong. That's the case when someone tries to compare Bomberman for the PSP and Bomberman Act: Zero for the Xbox 360.

Now, the feature article tries to compare the merits of the PSP and Xbox 360 versions. According to the feature, the PSP game is blessed with the gameplay features such as taking place over 10 different worlds, and having classic bomberman levels as unlockable features. The Act Zero version, however, seems to be getting the dud criteria for winning points against the PSP version, such as "The bombermen boast over-sized left hands and spherical ass cheeks," and bouncing... things.

Of course, Bomberman Act: Zero does have greater multiplayer functionality, with up to 8 players trying to blow each other up at the same time, but even the author makes a self-referential remark as to how bad the game appears to reviewers. "From outside the industry, losers attack the revised Bomberman" sounds like a very slanted way of talking about the game for an unbiased comparison.

In any case, the comparison ends with a draw, saying that you can't go wrong with a Bomberman game. If you take the whole article (and the many reviews online) as an indication, however, you apparently can.

Still, there's two good things that come out from the article. First, it doesn't look like the actual view of Hudson, so they may just be thinking of going back to what made Bomberman such a big hit in the first place. Second, it makes for a funny photo comic.

What do you think: New Bomberman or Old Bomberman? Why'd you pick one over the other? Let us know!

Throughout the month of August, we've been posting entries about the 3rd annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). And just to remind you guys, the 3-day consumer gaming extravaganza started today (and like they said, it's not exactly like E3)! It's a gaming culturefest that includes music shows, exhibits, seminars, lectures, and, of course, lots and lots of games - the expo floor is home to Microsoft, Nintendo, and other developers who are exhibiting some of their upcoming games.

So, if some of you fanboys and girls have nothing to do during this weekend... you might have missed the events today, but maybe you'd want to drop by and join in on the all the following activities:

Saturday highlights:

Expo Floor 10:00-6:00
Halo 2 Tourney 10:30 - 2:30
D&D Open Duel 11:00-3:00
"Pitch Your Game Idea" panel 2:00-3:30
Penny Arcade Comic Strip Creation 3:30-5:00
Music Concert B 9:00-1:00

Sunday highlights:

Expo Floor 10:00-6:00
Guitar Hero Tourney 10:00-1:00
Soul Caliber III Tourney 1:30-4:30
Omegathon Final Round 4:00-6:00

These are just some highlights for the next two days, but there's much more, including more tournaments during the course of the expo.

Is there something in the air? If you've noticed recently, there has been a phenomenal surge of PSP magazines coming out from all over the planet. The most recent ones that were featured here on QJ are from Germany, Russia and Poland. Now,another PSP magazine is on the block courtesy of the PSP Tribune team.

One of the magazine's most notable features, aside from the content of course, is the little comic strip they have in it. The QJ squad gives the team a pat on the back for that bit. However, there a lot of graphics and layout work you have ahead for you PSP Tribune; hopefully, we'll see improvements on the upcoming issues. Good job!

Thanks to the magazine's head editor Dexter for the tip.

Download: [PSP Tribune Issue #1]