Archive for September, 2006
Angry Nintendo Nerd reviews Wally Bear and the NO Gang on NES
This is the eight in a series of bad video game reviews by the Angry Nintendo Nerd. “Wally Bear and the NO Gang” was made by the then bankrupt American Game Carts Inc. In 1992 AVE released the NES game and sadly couldn’t name it “Wally Bear and the Just Say No Gang” because “Just Say No (To Drugs)” was a copyrighted slogan. The game tries to instill moral values in gamer kids, but after watching the review all you’ll want is to say NO to awful games!
1 comment »Japan goes Pokemon Diamond and Pearl crazy!
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl have just been released in Japan today. New information says there are a total of 114 new Pokemon in the two new games, taking the series up to a total of 500 Pokemon! So prepare to fill up those 18 boxes holding 30 Pokemon each, early in 2007 for us English speaking folks. If you want to spoil the game, see all new Pokemon evolutions here.
As you can see from the above waiting line with over a thousand people in it, Japanese young and old are excited. Nintendo put on quite a Pokeshow. The first (unconfirmed) reports suggest Nintendo sold out of TWO MILLION Pokemon Diamond/Pearl copies available at launch, as well as selling out of the extra half a million DS Lites they manufactured especially for the Pokemon launch day.
Exciting of course is the possibility of online co-op treasure hunting, trading (Pika!) you can see here, and watch a WiFi online battle demonstration below:
Xbox 360 Brings it Home - Day 9 disappoints
Majornelson says these downloads are now available on the Xbox 360’s Live Marketplace.
Trailers: Tony Hawk’s Project 8, Wheelman, Frontlines Fuel of War, X06 Event Game Montage, Crossfire.
Demos: WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2007.
Gamer Pics and Themes: Fable 2 Theme, X06 Theme.
Call me spoiled, but I was expecting something more than a Sonic demo that wasn’t even from the X06 event Microsoft held yesterday and today. At E3 we got a Lost Planet demo which made you feel like you were at the show, except from the comfort of your own living room. To me not getting any demos from Viva Pinata, COD3, NFS Carbon, or SC Double Agent seems like a missed chance. I doubt anyone wanted a free “Mass Effect Picture Pack” when they are showing a demo at X06 that looks as gorgeous as this! Click the pic…
Speedball 2 and Chaos Engine getting PC remakes in 2007
Frogster Interactive announced a deal with Bitmap Brothers to release remakes of its classic retro-titles to PC in 2007.
The deal includes cult-classic Amiga games like: Speedball 2 and Chaos Engine, which will be release for PC in 2007 with development assistance from The Bitmap Brothers.
The futuristic sports game, Speedball 2 was originally released in 1988, snatching The Golden Joysticks Game of the Year award and subsequently appearing on nearly every relevant system thereafter. Chaos Theory also saw success in 1993 with the “SEGA Award 1994 for Best Action Game”. C&VG adds gameplay details and online features will be announced soon.
Gunpey first DS gameplay video
A block-shifting/line-building puzzler challenging gamers to connect as many lines together as possible by moving set blocks with line parts on top. The basic Gunpey gameplay has square pieces, each containing a diagonal line, rising from the bottom of the screen toward the top. You move the pieces up and down, attempting to form a line from left to right. The panels then disappear. The game ends early if the pieces reach the top of the play field.
For this portable version, Q Entertainment is placing its focus on an aspect that it has become well-known for: its integration of music into gameplay. With the DS version, each time you clear a panel, the game releases a sound. By lining up the sound with the background music, you can make your own music. The game also features new control aspects for the Nintendo DS touchscreen. The first Gunpey gameplay shown below. More footage at IGN. Take a look here:
To bring the WonderSwan original game Gunpey back, Namco Bandai enlisted the aid of Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment, with whom we’ll have a video interview online hopefully tomorrow (audio editing = slow).
Xbox Live Arcade new games roundup
Doom from Activision and Sensible World of Soccer from Codemasters were the new games announced for Xbox Live Arcade at the X06 keynote yesterday. But as the X06 event opened up to the press a showreel showed off lots more new Arcade games were coming to the Xbox 360!
Newly announced Arcade games are: Assault Heroes from Vivendi, Mutant Storm Empire from PomPom, and Street Trace: NYC from Gaia Industries. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and Defender from Midway, Contra and Gyruss from Konami, and indie titles Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank from PopCap, and Small Arms from Gastronaut Studios.
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No Sega Genesis games on PS3?
Last week at Sony’s Ken Kutaragi’s TGS 2006 keynote speech revealed that the PS3 would be backwards compatible with 16-bit games on the MegaDrive/Genesis, much like the Nintendo Wii. Oddly enough SEGA Japan has issued a short statement clarifying that such claims are not correct at this point, that the option is merely being considered, and is currently “under examination.”
Another last minute addition that’s not copied from the competition? Zing! Yeah I went there, but seriously, let’s hope Sega consider it a positive matter classic Sonic and the Genesis archive can appear on the PS3 as well. Via WP
Eidos announces Crossfire for Xbox 360
Eidos announced Crossfire, a new FPS title by Pivotal Games. Players become operatives in the CIA’s Special Activities Division - a paramilitary group used when American politicians want to keep their hands clean. Members of the Division carry no identification, and are completely disavowed if caught or killed.
Like EA’s Army of Two, Crossfire’s gameplay focuses on a tag-team approach. Gamers might use one operative to distract an enemy or pin him down, and then switch to the other soldier to make the kill. Eidos also promises two-player co-op play, “true next-gen lighting techniques,” and “fully destructible environments.” The Xbox Live enabled game will come out on Xbox 360 & PC in 2007. Via Gamerscan
Xbox 360 Brings it Home - Days 5 to 8
The following content is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Update: The latest X06 additions are bolded.
Demos: FEAR, Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Sonic the Hedgehog.
Arcade: Doom.
Trailers: Call Of Duty 3, Banjo Kazooie, Marvel Ultimate Online, Viva Pinata, Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Bioshock, 
FIFA 07, Rainbow Six Vegas, Halo Wars, Project Gotham Racing 4, Virtua Tennis 3, NBA Live 07, NHL 2K7, Battlestations Midway, Eragon, Import Tuner Challenge, Need for Speed Carbon, The Darkness, Forza 2 Physics & Damage, NBA 2K7, Sonic The Hedgehog, Shrek 3, Just Cause, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.
Videos: TGS Showfloor video 2, TGS Showfloor video 3.
Picture Packs: Halo Wars Picture Pack, Halo Wars Theme, Mass Effect Picture Pack, Battlestar Galactica (US Only).
Via Majornelson
Halo Wars first Xbox 360 trailer
At X06 today Microsoft Game Studios announced Halo Wars, an all-new real-time strategy game based on the legendary Halo universe and built exclusively for Xbox 360 by Ensemble Studios, the creators of the Age of Empires series. Halo Wars places the player in command of human UNSC armies as they deploy for mankind’s first deadly encounter with the enemy Covenant forces.
Halo Wars takes place before Halo 1. Players will lead the crew of the UNSC’s “Spirit of Fire” from initial skirmishes to an all out war against the evil Covenant. The trailer is pre-rendered, based on Bungie’s Halo world concepts and uses lots of in-game models. The sound and music were done at Ensemble Studios. First warm up trailer here:
