| Impressions: Mafia II
June 7, 2009 at 8:44 pm
|
|   The original Mafia won critics and gamers over with its deep storytelling an intriguing new gameplay conventions -- but for some reason, it never seemed to become a mainstream hit as much as the industry's other huge, crime-riddled sandbox franchise, Grand Theft Auto, did. Perhaps it's because its creators weren't backed by humongous, multi-billion dollar juggernauts. Or maybe the name just wasn't as catchy.  Surprise, surprise. Of nine "games that went too far" named on a network news website, which is the only one gamers have actually, you know, played? Hint: It rhymes with "Schmand Schmeft Schmauto IV.  E3 week delivered a deluge of stories, previews, impressions, hands-on, live blogs and well, just coverage, but that doesn't mean the flood stops here. Let's recap a mammoth news week - more than 250 posts on E3...  Think Shadow of the Colossus meets Halo for this nutso sci-fi shooter. More Lost Planet 2 Coverage I'll keep this short and sweet: Lost Planet 2 is roughly one thousand times more interesting than the original game...  While other members of Team Kotaku are busy flying/driving home today, I had one last E3 appointment to attend: spend some time with 4mm Game's hip-hop karaoke title Rapstar.  Elena Fisher, shrewdly describing herself as "last year's model," is back in Uncharted 2, breaking with the standard serial adventure ethos that values the one-and-done romantic interest over long-term attachment.
|
| Want An Uncharted Muliplayer Code?
June 7, 2009 at 7:30 pm
|
|   Reader Adam S. was kind enough to drop two codes for the multiplayer beta of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on us and look picked up ten. Hop on over to my twitter a bit later tonight, starting around 6 p.m. Mountain Time, to grab em. I'll be posting them in there with the first letter or number missing. First to figure it out gets the code.  Some unsportsmanlike tweets attributed to Billy Mitchell are 100 percent fake, says the Donkey Kong world record holder. G4TV has reported that Mitchell, via Twitter,... Elena Fisher, shrewdly describing herself as "last year's model," is back in Uncharted 2, breaking with the standard serial adventure ethos that values the one-and-done romantic interest over long-term attachment.  This clip for Naughty Dog's PS3 exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves should really be titled Uncharted 2: Among An Awesome Trailer.  Hope you got in on that inFamous voucher for entry into the multiplayer beta test for Uncharted 2. It's live as we speak and people are already downloading it. No word on if the beta test is only for the online competitive modes...
|
| Hands-on: Battle Tanks
June 7, 2009 at 7:27 pm
|
| Battle Tanks, coming to the PlayStation Network from mobile developer Gameloft this July, feels very familiar. At its heart, the game's a two-stick shooter with a few interesting mechanics to help differentiate it from the crowd (bullets ricochet off of walls and power-ups break up the monotony). Which isn't to say what we played of the the game was bad -- it felt like digital distribution's equivalent of a rental-worthy game -- which is quite the dilemma, considering the PSN-based distribution of the title.  The PSP Go is the latest redesign of Sony's handheld, but it differs from the previous models most not for what it adds, but what it removes: it will not have a UMD drive, replacing the disc-based medium with digital distribution.  Let there be absolutely no doubt that Chair Entertainment's Shadow Complex is heavily inspired by 2D exploration games of yore, namely Metroid and Castlevania. The Xbox...  Just a few scant days before the year's biggest gaming event and GameTrailers has snuck into E3's living room and unwrapped one of its biggest gifts. Oh, and it televised what it found inside, spoiling it for everyone.  In January, the NPD Group reported that PC software retails sales had slipped 23 percent in 2008 to $701.1 million, a seemingly alarming figure obfuscated by the rise of digital distribution and subscription-based services.
|
| Dear Bethesda, I'm an Imbecile. Love, Owen
June 7, 2009 at 7:00 pm
|
|  To: Luke From: Owen Re: E3: It Never Ends As painful as this is to share with the entire readership, I feel it is appropriate to take ownership of my dumbassery, because lord knows tech support managers put up with enough of it. I finally downloaded Operation: Anchorage for Fallout 3 on Friday. Had a bit of a problem getting it to work; kept clicking and clicking but nothing was happening. So, I fired off a message to Bethesda tech support.  After hearing about Mass Effect for the iPhone, my first thought was, "Could they put Fallout on there, too?" Apparently Bethesda had the same idea at some point. Speaking to Joystiq at E3...  If you love fighting games and obscure Japanese anime characters, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is a match made in heaven.NOTE: FIX Formatting and IMAGES, Please: All are IGN Watermarked.  So, there's good news and bad news for those of you who'd like to carry the apocalpyse in your pocket. Bethesda wants to bring the Fallout series to smaller screens ..
|
| Top 10 Biggest Announcements of E3
June 7, 2009 at 6:31 pm
|
|  E3 2009 has come and gone, and now it's time for gamers around the world to play armchair analyzers. That includes us here at 1UP, and we've already assembled our lists for the best games of E3, the best trailers, and the biggest surprises. Now, at last, it's time to assess the biggest announcements -- the product reveals and game premiers that had gamers around the globe buzzing with excitement. Our pick for the top 10 announcements follow below (spoiler: Women's Murder Club: Crimes of Passion is not one of them), and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section. The original Mafia won critics and gamers over with its deep storytelling an intriguing new gameplay conventions -- but for some reason, it never seemed to become a mainstream hit as much as the industry's other huge... To: Luke From: Owen Re: E3: It Never Ends As painful as this is to share with the entire readership, I feel it is appropriate to take ownership of my dumbassery, because lord knows tech support managers put up with enough of it.  There were a ton of big announcements at E3 this year, but one thing we didn't see -- from any of the big three -- were price cuts. For Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, that was a bummer.  Tons of companies were at E3 to show off their game accessory series, but nobody had a more eye-catching setup than Gametech's WaSaBi line. The accessory line, which features traditional Japanese patterns and ukiyo-e artwork...
|
| Conan O'Brien enters World 1-1
June 7, 2009 at 6:27 pm
|
|  We were obviously far too busy at E3 last week to watch Conan O'Brien take over Jay Leno's post on The Tonight Show, and look what we missed: O'Brien's backdrop bears an uncanny resemblance to Super Mario Bros. Coincidence? Probably not, when one of your band members looks a lot like Mario in a Panama hat.  Tonight on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Conan O'Brien addressed the Photoshop that's been flying around the internet that show similarities between his show's backdrop and Mario Bros.  The most identifiable new feature of New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the casually competitive multiplayer. Players are ostensibly competing for coins and score, but the gameplay...  Now that we've seen how Super Mario World's level design has helped shape Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show backdrop, we had to get Nintendo's reaction. We did. "That's great...  It. Just. Doesn't. End. We had another day of E3. Day one, two, three, actually! Lots of new, lots of coverage, lots of posts. We've gathered them up and put them in one place.
|
| Week in Games: The Shapeshift Hits the Fan
June 7, 2009 at 6:00 pm
|
|  It's starting to feel like summer, with a robust lineup of more than 40 releases led by Prototype, whose protagonist is sorta like Altair meets Plastic Man. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again, mentioned at E3, will be available or download via DSiWare on Monday, when golf fans can also whack balls with Tiger Woods on all four consoles plus PSP. Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings  Let's be real here - storing your console games on a hard drive has shit to do with "backing them up." More like "keep playing after you trade them in to GameStop." OK, yeah, they also load and play faster.  Video game studies are inherently flawed, according to a writer for a Canadian quarterly, because in most cases researchers are making subjective appraisals of games they don't even understand.  Capcom had this cartoony brawler on display at their E3 booth, so we took the time to beat up on some cybernetically-enhanced baddies. Spyborgs is a good example of how...
|
| Hands-on: Overlord II
June 7, 2009 at 5:44 pm
|
|  The original Overlord was a flawed game with a subversively chewy center. The only thing Overlord II needs to deliver to outdo the original is some polish, which is something we can't really tell is present from messing around with a demo for 10 minutes. That doesn't mean we didn't like what we saw, it's simply noting that Overlord's flaws didn't become strikingly clear until later in the game.  This can-you-stump Scribblenauts game is getting even more absurd. Einstein? Got him. The Kraken? Of course. We were even told they put Crecente in but cut him at the last minute.  There seems to be no end to the ways gamers propose to their brides. A North Carolina man successfully popped the Q with using a hacked Ms. Pac-Man ROM and a modded cocktail table cabinet. Think Shadow of the Colossus meets Halo for this nutso sci-fi shooter. More Lost Planet 2 Coverage I'll keep this short and sweet: Lost Planet 2 is roughly one thousand times more interesting than the original game...
|
| Mod Lets You Store Wii Games on HD — With Current Menu
June 7, 2009 at 5:00 pm
|
| Let's be real here - storing your console games on a hard drive has shit to do with "backing them up." More like "keep playing after you trade them in to GameStop." OK, yeah, they also load and play faster. But whatever your objective, sister site Lifehacker found a new hack that allows you to rig a hard drive to your Wii - even if it has the 4.0 System Menu installed (previous hacks called for an icky downgrade to get around that. It's starting to feel like summer, with a robust lineup of more than 40 releases led by Prototype, whose protagonist is sorta like Altair meets Plastic Man. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again...  Last September, XSEED Games announced its intent to publish Vanillaware's Wii side-scroller Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America, to the delight of hardcore action gamers and people who like to see pretty things.  Bobby Kotick, the Activision CEO, says that in these hard times the console makers should all do their part and lop a hundy off the retail price of the current generation rigs, so gamers can buy more full-price sequels.  I found these two orphans sitting on my doorstep when I arrived home Friday night. The MotionPlus add-ons came sheathed in oversized remote jackets and an instruction...
|
| Activision 'Disappointed' by Lack of Price Cuts at E3
June 7, 2009 at 4:26 pm
|
| There were a ton of big announcements at E3 this year, but one thing we didn't see -- from any of the big three -- were price cuts. For Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, that was a bummer."I was disappointed not to see any sort of aggressive price cutting," Kotick said to Bloomberg on the last day of E3 (via Edge-Online). "Of all the things that the hardware companies need to be doing right now, it's recognizing the difficulties of the economy and pricing their hardware appropriately." Bobby Kotick, the Activision CEO, says that in these hard times the console makers should all do their part and lop a hundy off the retail price of the current generation rigs, so gamers can buy more full-price sequels.  During E3, Activision finally worked the gumption up to show off the DJ Hero turntable in the flesh. Since most of you weren't there, though, here's some renders of the thing.  E3 2009: Publisher taking developer Double Fine to court over EA Partners game it passed on after Vivendi Games merger; Tim Schafer offers lyrical response. LOS ANGELES--This...  Activision Rep: "Have you been to the booth yet?" Xav: "Not yet. I want to check out Brutal Legend... wait sorry, that's EA. You guys used to have it." Activision: "Yeah.
|
| The Problem with Video Game Studies
June 7, 2009 at 4:00 pm
|
| Video game studies are inherently flawed, according to a writer for a Canadian quarterly, because in most cases researchers are making subjective appraisals of games they don't even understand. Video game studies - especially concerning violence -are a staple of weekend fare, and every time we put one up, the reactions are pretty typical. It's not to say they're wrong, but Chris LaVigne's examination may help you focus your thinking the next time you read about one of these things, and wonder how it got its results. It's starting to feel like summer, with a robust lineup of more than 40 releases led by Prototype, whose protagonist is sorta like Altair meets Plastic Man. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again... The PSP Go is the latest redesign of Sony's handheld, but it differs from the previous models most not for what it adds, but what it removes: it will not have a UMD drive, replacing the disc-based medium with digital distribution. Surprise, surprise. Of nine "games that went too far" named on a network news website, which is the only one gamers have actually, you know, played? Hint: It rhymes with "Schmand Schmeft Schmauto IV.  I totally forgot Katamari Forever was going to be at E3, but when I trundled up to Namco's booth and saw it languishing unattended, was glad I found myself with half an hour to kill.
|
| NFLPA Reaches Settlement with Retirees in Madden Lawsuit
June 7, 2009 at 3:48 pm
|
| 
Last year, a number of retired NFL players won a class action lawsuit against the NFL Players Association, arguing that the union conspired with Electronic Arts to use their likenesses in the Madden series without proper compensation...  Last month a former Arizona State quarterback sued the NCAA and Electronic Arts for the uncompensated use of his likeness in EA's NCAA football franchise. Another ex-QB says most have no problem with it.  Electronic Arts told the LA Times during an interview this week that the Godfather franchise is done at the publisher. EA Games label president Frank Gibeau told the paper, "We're not going to do another one. While other members of Team Kotaku are busy flying/driving home today, I had one last E3 appointment to attend: spend some time with 4mm Game's hip-hop karaoke title Rapstar.  Yahoo reports that Activision filed a lawsuit against Double Fine, developer of the Jack Black-fueled Brütal Legend, on Wednesday to "stop the release" of the game.
|
| An iPhone Version of Fallout Exists
June 7, 2009 at 3:30 pm
|
| After hearing about Mass Effect for the iPhone, my first thought was, "Could they put Fallout on there, too?" Apparently Bethesda had the same idea at some point. Speaking to Joystiq at E3, Todd Howard, the game director for Bethesda, said "We've looked into those things." I think that the world of Fallout is unique enough that it could work on any platform. I think some of the things we do like VATS, I think that could translate to any platform, To: Luke From: Owen Re: E3: It Never Ends As painful as this is to share with the entire readership, I feel it is appropriate to take ownership of my dumbassery, because lord knows tech support managers put up with enough of it.  Five independent developers of games for the iPhone and iPod Touch have formed a collective brand, called App Treasures, which they hope will steer more business to indies as larger publishers move into the space.  Ensemble Studios' lead designer Graeme Devine has landed a mystery job at Apple's iPhone group, the developer told Kotaku. Devine was the lead designer and lead writer on Halo Wars before Microsoft decided to shut Ensemble Studios down.
|
| Nintendo canceled new handheld in last three years
June 7, 2009 at 3:30 pm
|
|  Nintendo president Satoru Iwata mentioned in a recent interview that the company had a new handheld all set to go in the last three years, but ultimately decided to scrap the plan. Speaking with CNBC, Iwata declined to give any further details about the product, but did say that the most important thing for Nintendo when releasing new hardware is to maintain "momentum." Iwata implies that the new handheld would not have accomplished that goal.  Face it, the Nintendo Wii is a souped-up GameCube. It's not HD. And that's okay! The console has been incredibly successful. But nothing lasts forever, not even the Nintendo Wii.  E3 2009: President of DSi-maker tells CNBC that company scrapped completed hardware because it wouldn't have sustained company's momentum. LOS ANGELES--With the announcement of a Vitality Sensor for the Wii...  We take an up-close look at this remake of the classic adventure game at E3 2009. The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition is the newly announced remake of the original...
|
| PlayStation 3 | DanceDanceRevolution First Impressions
June 7, 2009 at 3:16 pm
|
|   The icon arcade dance title is back again and we got to check it out on the E3 2009 show floor. After numerous iterations, Dance Dance Revolution is back yet for another year. The biggest change to the series this time is a brand-new eight-way dance mat peripheral for PlayStation 3. There's also good news for existing Xbox 360 DDR fans however, as their dance mats will also work in eight directions thanks to the existing pad's nine sensors.  Konami's sing-along franchise is back and we checked it out on the E3 2009 expo floor. Karaoke Revolution returns without its American Idol-licence this year but it's added a few new features to refresh this year's instalment.  27 BEST GAMES OF E3: We pick our favorite video games shown at E3 2009! ALSO READ: The Best and Worst of the E3 2009 Keynotes ALSO READ: E3 News Roundup! ALSO READ: The...  The release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Gyakuten Kenji has done wonderful things for Nintendo DSi sales in Japan, almost doubling them week-to-week. In fact, improvements were almost across the board.  Earlier this week Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony each hit the show with big news, unveiling a slew of major titles, major surprises and innovative technology. But despite a strong showing across the board at the big three press conferences...
|
| Sony Planning UMD to PSP Go Digital Copy Program
June 7, 2009 at 3:14 pm
|
| The PSP Go is the latest redesign of Sony's handheld, but it differs from the previous models most not for what it adds, but what it removes: it will not have a UMD drive, replacing the disc-based medium with digital distribution. The problem, of course, is what that means for PSP owners with large libraries of UMD games who want to upgrade to the PSP Go. Speaking to Gizmodo, John Koller, director of hardware marketing, said that Sony is already working on a solution. It's starting to feel like summer, with a robust lineup of more than 40 releases led by Prototype, whose protagonist is sorta like Altair meets Plastic Man. Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again...  Sid goes hands-on with the PSP Go at E3 2009, and he likes it...mostly. Let's be honest: The PSP has room for improvement. The existing PSP is a slick device, but overlarge...  Sony had a spot in its press-only booth area reserved for showing off the various accessories that will be available for PSP Go when it hits US shelves on October 1. There were cases, wrist straps, Sony-branded screen protectors . The release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Gyakuten Kenji has done wonderful things for Nintendo DSi sales in Japan, almost doubling them week-to-week. In fact, improvements were almost across the board.
|
| Another Take on Tetris' 25th
June 7, 2009 at 3:00 pm
|
|  Time magazine weighs in on Tetris' birthday, implying that it is by far the most lasting success of the Soviet Union. "Sputnik burned up in the atmosphere, Berlin is now one city," Time writes, "but 25 years later, the Soviet-designed Tetris remains one of the most popular and ubiquitous video games ever created."  Normally, you'd never listen to an 11-year-old kid; but this one's graduating with honors from East Los Angeles Community College this month with a degree in Liberal Studies.  There's a growing sect of Joystiq writers who are walking away from E3 2009 with the same title constituting their Game of the Show. Surprisingly, it's not a big-budget blockbuster...  Alexey Pajitnov, the father of puzzle video games, like the idea of full motion controls, but thinks any such system faces major hurdles. "I am a little bit skeptical about (Project Natal)," he said.
|
| PlayStation 3 | Karaoke Revolution First Impressions
June 7, 2009 at 2:57 pm
|
| Konami's sing-along franchise is back and we checked it out on the E3 2009 expo floor. Karaoke Revolution returns without its American Idol-licence this year but it's added a few new features to refresh this year's instalment. Revolution has always had a degree of cover artists, however for the first time Revolution has included master tracks for every song on disc. There are 50 songs, and accompanying music videos, The icon arcade dance title is back again and we got to check it out on the E3 2009 show floor. After numerous iterations, Dance Dance Revolution is back yet for another year.  "Play, Create, Share" hits the PSP and Sackboy is just like his bigger brother on the PS3. READ: PSP Go hands-on impressions LittleBigPlanet was a curious beast on the PlayStation 3.  My hands-on demo with God of War III was a familiar journey, having seen the same stretch of the PlayStation 3 game played through three times by someone else. I knew exactly what to do. The release of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Gyakuten Kenji has done wonderful things for Nintendo DSi sales in Japan, almost doubling them week-to-week. In fact, improvements were almost across the board.  When dropping by the Sony Online Entertainment booth at E3 for our appointment with upcoming PlayStation 3/PC MMO The Agency, we found out some rather troubling news regarding the game's promised cross-platform functionality.
|
| TF2 Children's Book Teaches a Very Important Lesson
June 7, 2009 at 2:30 pm
|
|  Even if you didn't know the Strong Bad Email that this spoofs, the Team Fortress children's book: "Every Class is Different," would still be a howler. It's only a couple minutes long, and yes, the tone is a bit pedantic. But Spy reminds us of a very important truth at the end, so pay attention. I won't spoil the best line in this video, which went up June 1; but for my money it's the one about Sniper. You can get a look at the source art over here, too.  You heard about it here first, and now new corroborating information has hit the web in advance of Sony's E3 press conference: A leaked episode of Qore, Sony's downloadable PS3 program...  GamersConsoleNetwork scored a big scoop this morning, pulling the first images of the PSP Go (running LittleBigPlanet) out of the latest edition of Qore, which apparently went live early.  Update: A video from the June issue of Qore is now available on YouTube (and after the jump). In the video, Qore host Veronica Belmont discusses the new PSP Go handheld...  Hey! Did you hear? Spike Jonez, director of Being John Malkovich, made a movie based on the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are. And it looks amazing. And...
|
| 'WaSaBi': Game accessories with Japanese spice
June 7, 2009 at 2:26 pm
|
| Tons of companies were at E3 to show off their game accessory series, but nobody had a more eye-catching setup than Gametech's WaSaBi line. The accessory line, which features traditional Japanese patterns and ukiyo-e artwork, first launched in Japan in December of last year. Gametech has just opened sales to American customers, using this flashy booth both to attract their attention and to gauge their interest with surveys. The display worked on us -- we couldn't help but get pictures to share with you. To: Luke From: Owen Re: E3: It Never Ends As painful as this is to share with the entire readership, I feel it is appropriate to take ownership of my dumbassery, because lord knows tech support managers put up with enough of it. There were a ton of big announcements at E3 this year, but one thing we didn't see -- from any of the big three -- were price cuts. For Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, that was a bummer.  One of Microsoft's quieter E3 announcements was confirmation that Perfect Dark would be released over Xbox Live Arcade later this year. Now they've quietly released the first images of what it'll look like...  It's hard if not impossible for Team Joystiq to decide on a place to eat dinner, so choosing the coolest thing we saw at E3 was all but unthinkable. Instead, we asked each member of the team to pick the best thing they saw at the show...
|
| Project Natal And Holodeck Gaming
June 7, 2009 at 2:00 pm
|
|  Kudo "Bam" Tsunoda talks about the possibilities of Project Natal in this video. It is, Tsunoda says, the first step toward true "holodeck" gaming. Check out our full coverage of Microsoft's Project Natal here.  This E3 was packed with explosive news and announcements, from confirmation of the PSP Go and Sony's motion controls to the whispers of a new Metroid and Zelda. But one of the most startling may have been Microsoft's Project Natal.  Earlier this week Microsoft let me try Project Natal in a hotel suite where test-versions of the new gaming sensor array was set up. Three times, I thought I found a flaw in the systems.  You remember Johnny Lee, right? Sure you do, he's the man who can make magic happen with the Wii Remote. And it seems he's bringing his skills to Microsoft's Project Natal controller.  No Banjo Kazooie at E3? No Viva Pinata? Blame Project Natal. We've been looking for Rare at E3. Microsoft's Shane Kim, corporate v. p. at Microsoft for Xbox 360 strategy and business development...  If you haven't seen it yet, here's a close-up shot of Project Natal, Microsoft's motion-sensing camera for the Xbox 360.
|
| Conviction producer says players shouldn't fear the new 'Mark and Execute' feature
June 7, 2009 at 1:39 pm
|
|  Ubisoft Montreal producer Alexandre Parizeau told Joystiq that gamers should not fear Splinter Cell: Conviction's new 'Mark and Execute' feature. Since first showing off the feature during Microsoft's Pre-E3 media briefing, Parizeau says some gamers fear the game will become too easy. "Have no fear at all," Parizeau told Joystiq during a one-on-one interview during E3 2009. "It's an added tool that lets you do the first step when storming a room or area or a situation. But you'll have all the tools that you used to use as well."  A couple pages for Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island went live early, giving up the game's price and list of achievements and trophies. Tipsters who spotted the price page before it was removed said the game will cost $12. Ensemble Studios' lead designer Graeme Devine has landed a mystery job at Apple's iPhone group, the developer told Kotaku. Devine was the lead designer and lead writer on Halo Wars before Microsoft decided to shut Ensemble Studios down. Surprise, surprise. Of nine "games that went too far" named on a network news website, which is the only one gamers have actually, you know, played? Hint: It rhymes with "Schmand Schmeft Schmauto IV.  Rare's Nintendo 64 first-person shooter Perfect Dark is coming to Xbox Live Arcade later this year. Winter, says Microsoft. This is what it looks like. In a word, Perfect Dark looks sharper...
|
| Former QB: "Majority" of NCAA Players "Happy" to be in Video Game for Free
June 7, 2009 at 1:30 pm
|
| Last month a former Arizona State quarterback sued the NCAA and Electronic Arts for the uncompensated use of his likeness in EA's NCAA football franchise. Another ex-QB says most have no problem with it. When at Michigan State, Drew Stanton researched how universities profit from the marketing of jerseys with active college players' numerals on them. Talking to the Detroit Free Press, he said he doesn't consider the NCAA Football game franchise to be the same problem.  At Konami's E3 Booth yesterday I got my first chance to play the video game adaptation of the smash hit horror film series Saw, leaving me questioning the limits of my violence tolerance.  The three works of Dante's Divine Comedy are ripe with possibility. Each of the books paint compelling pictures of the afterlife, describing heaven, hell and purgatory in vivid poetry.  Details about this Japanese arcade title are scant and scattered. Here's what we know: It was announced at the Konami press conference. Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and his studio Kojima Productions are involved.
|
| Hong Kong PSN Battles Swine Flu with DLC
June 7, 2009 at 1:00 pm
|
|  Linking the PlayStation Store to current events or causes isn't new; SCEA donated $10,000 to Earth Day in a video store promotion. But Sony Hong Kong's leveraging of swine flu is a bit dubious. TAWKN found this PlayStation Store promo, only in Hong Kong, that definitely plays on the fact some people there are tripping balls over swine flu. There's no promise to donate to research or recovery or whatever, just a reminder that one of the best ways to avoid sickness is .  What's that you say? It's Friday? Yeah, we've been a bit busy with E3, hence the release of the PSN update post a day late. Plus, it took us forever and a day to type up the ridiculous amount of content that's been dropped...  Shadow of the Colossus in LittleBigPlanet? It's been done, but not officially. A new trailer, viewable after the break, found on the Media Molecule website suggests that...  While speaking to BioWare's leaders slash doctors, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka, Joystiq managed to confirm that the second batch of DLC for Mass Effect (that's the first game!) would be announced and detailed soon.  While we were checking out upcoming PS3 compilation/remix title Katamari Forever, which takes "the best" levels from previous Katamari games and updates them for the PS3 release.  If you haven't already had your fill with the announcements of Metal Gear Solid Rising, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and Metal Gear Solid Arcade, Konami has one more surprise in store.
|
| iPhone Devs Create Games Seal of Quality
June 7, 2009 at 12:30 pm
|
| Five independent developers of games for the iPhone and iPod Touch have formed a collective brand, called App Treasures, which they hope will steer more business to indies as larger publishers move into the space. The seal, called App Treasures, will direct users who bought a game carrying the seal to other games listed under it. It wasn't immediately clear if the games' pages within the App Store would carry a graphic branding, or if they would be linked together by keyword. Ensemble Studios' lead designer Graeme Devine has landed a mystery job at Apple's iPhone group, the developer told Kotaku. Devine was the lead designer and lead writer on Halo Wars before Microsoft decided to shut Ensemble Studios down.  Don't forget that Apple's World Wide Developers Conference kicks off Monday. The press conference is sure to have at least some iPhone gaming news from the company. Earlier... So, there's good news and bad news for those of you who'd like to carry the apocalpyse in your pocket. Bethesda wants to bring the Fallout series to smaller screens ..
|
| Big Surf Island Price, Achievements Leaked Early
June 7, 2009 at 12:00 pm
|
| A couple pages for Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island went live early, giving up the game's price and list of achievements and trophies. Tipsters who spotted the price page before it was removed said the game will cost $12.99 (€12.99 in Europe, £9.99 UK) on PlayStation Network and list for 1000 Microsoft Points on Xbox Live. Couldn't confirm that this morning, but it sounds reasonable. One of Microsoft's quieter E3 announcements was confirmation that Perfect Dark would be released over Xbox Live Arcade later this year. Now they've quietly released the first images of what it'll look like... Rare's Nintendo 64 first-person shooter Perfect Dark is coming to Xbox Live Arcade later this year. Winter, says Microsoft. This is what it looks like. In a word, Perfect Dark looks sharper... "Play, Create, Share" hits the PSP and Sackboy is just like his bigger brother on the PS3. READ: PSP Go hands-on impressions LittleBigPlanet was a curious beast on the PlayStation 3.  Breathe a sigh of relief, because Sid liked Zipper Interactive's 256-player take on the online shooter genre. We've seen this emphasis on numbers before, and it rarely ends well.
|
| Insights on Nintendo's new games from the Miyamoto developer event
June 7, 2009 at 11:40 am
|
|  Shigeru Miyamoto didn't appear at Nintendo's big E3 conference, but he did appear at what Nintendo called a "developer event" later that evening, in a "very relaxed mood" from his morning off. This discussion/Q&A event was the location of last year's Pikmin 3 reveal, and this year Miyamoto came prepared to surprise everyone again at the end, with art from the next Zelda game.
Last September, XSEED Games announced its intent to publish Vanillaware's Wii side-scroller Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America, to the delight of hardcore action gamers and people who like to see pretty things. I found these two orphans sitting on my doorstep when I arrived home Friday night. The MotionPlus add-ons came sheathed in oversized remote jackets and an instruction...  At his developer roundtable event, Shigeru Miyamoto sprang artwork from the next Legend of Zelda game on us. It killed us to be unable to share the image with you, because photography was prohibited.  At a developer's roundtable the other day, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto showed a select group of people some concept art for the new Zelda game. That select group is about to get a lot bigger. I don't know about you, but that's no Princess Zelda...  Shigeru Miyamoto dominates day two of E3's clips selection — appearing not once but twice to talk about the absence of Zelda from E3 and sort of talk about a new game mechanic.
|
| Halo Wars, 7th Guest Dev Lands Job at Apple
June 7, 2009 at 11:00 am
|
| Ensemble Studios' lead designer Graeme Devine has landed a mystery job at Apple's iPhone group, the developer told Kotaku. Devine was the lead designer and lead writer on Halo Wars before Microsoft decided to shut Ensemble Studios down. Earlier this week Devine confirmed that he is working at Apple in the iPhone group. Five independent developers of games for the iPhone and iPod Touch have formed a collective brand, called App Treasures, which they hope will steer more business to indies as larger publishers move into the space. Don't forget that Apple's World Wide Developers Conference kicks off Monday. The press conference is sure to have at least some iPhone gaming news from the company. Earlier... So, there's good news and bad news for those of you who'd like to carry the apocalpyse in your pocket. Bethesda wants to bring the Fallout series to smaller screens ..  Last year, Nintendo only had three playable games from Wii Sports Resort: Disc Dog, Power Cruising, and Swordplay, all of which were used to show the precision of the Wii MotionPlus device.
|
| Interview: XSEED on what happened with Muramasa and more
June 6, 2009 at 10:37 pm
|
| Last September, XSEED Games announced its intent to publish Vanillaware's Wii side-scroller Muramasa: The Demon Blade in North America, to the delight of hardcore action gamers and people who like to see pretty things. Then, in April, it announced that it wouldn't be publishing the title, a duty that then fell to Ignition Entertainment. I found these two orphans sitting on my doorstep when I arrived home Friday night. The MotionPlus add-ons came sheathed in oversized remote jackets and an instruction...  Tucked away at the foot of Nintendo's E3 press kit is an exhaustive list of the known (and in some cases unknown) release dates for what looks like every single announced Wii and WiiWare game.  Not even Silent Hill is afraid of the Wii's casual audience. Speaking to Joystiq during E3 2009, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories producer Tomm Hulett described the game as being very much a true franchise entry (and we can attest to that!)...  Here's a link to a review of the Resident Evil remake for GameCube that came out in 2002. Capcom didn't put any effort changing anything about the game before bringing it to the Wii under the moniker Resident Evil Archives...
| | | 
|
No comments:
Post a Comment