Archive for 2006
Loco Roco gets a global PSP release
Sony has confirmed that Loco Roco, the 2D ball-rolling game that some have likened to a 2D take on Katamari Damacy, will be coming to the US and Europe as part of the game’s worldwide release this summer.
Loco Roco revolves around what can only be described as an orange blob with a voracious appetite. Using the handheld’s triggers, gamers tilt the screen back and forth in order to progress through levels.
No comments »Devil May Cry 3 live action stunts
Some huge fans of the Playstation 2 game Devil May Cry 3 got together and made this pretty cool live-action video. Watch these stuntmen go at it Dante-style!
Sega Rally Revo announced for 2007
Sega Rally Revo arrives on PSP, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC next year.
“Sega Rally Revo shifts into high gear with revolutionary track deformation technology, skill-demanding gameplay and dazzling graphics on the next-gen systems,” said Sega of America VP of marketing Scott A. Steinberg. “We’re redefining the genre with Sega Rally Revo, using next-gen power to guarantee our place in the winner’s circle.”
Article continues »
The Adventures of Indiana Jones go next-gen
Indiana Jones comes to next-gen consoles thanks to LucasArts, the game will showcase NaturalMotion’s euphoria behavioral-simulation engine.
LucasArts revealed their partnership with NaturalMotion to create more realistic and interactive characters. It boasts a new level of simulation, as characters in-game are reacting to what is going on, not merely working off of scripted actions. An example given is a swaying rope bridge, and how characters will react to being on the bridge by attempt to balance themselves - steadying their feet, reaching out to the sides in an attempt to not plummet to certain doom.
Expect the game sometime in 2007. A preview will be at E3.
Japanese Sales Charts till April 23 2006
While not the most important news, it can be interesting to sometimes take a look at Japanese sales charts, as they often not only greatly differ from charts in other parts of the world, but they also usually reflect future releases that will soon hit the US.
For Japanese game sales for the week of April 17 to 23rd, a drastic change finally hit the charts. For weeks upon weeks Nintendo’s Brain Training series of games for the DS has dominated the Japanese sales charts, with, Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju Kanshuu: Motto Nou o Kitaeru Otona DS Training in the number-one position. The game was finally ursurped off the list by none-only than the highly anticipated Mother 3, the sequel to the cult SNES classic Mother 2, which hit the US way back as the quirky RPG EarthBound, starring Ness, of Super Smash Bros. fame.
Nintendo made out like a bandit though, as 5 of it’s DS games made the charts, that’s in addition to Mother 3 in the #1 slot, which is a GBA game. Capcom’s Okami hit the charts at #6, while in a major first, an Xbox 360 title ALMOST made the list. Nintey Nine Nights, from Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s studio Q Entertainment, hit the charts at #11, barely missing the top 10.
Article continues »
Xbox Review: Ninja Gaiden. Ryu Hayabusa returns at long last!
Well it’s the last weekend before the storm. E3 is only days away, and before we know it we’ll be flooded with enough news to melt the minds of every gamer on the face of the planet. But before that happens, I thought I’d take time out to fulfill my previous promise of offering up reviews of every Ninja Gaiden title. And so, I present to you, my review of Ninja Gaiden, for the Xbox. This concludes, for now, my splurge of Ninja Gaiden reviews. All three NES games, and now the Xbox version, are reviewed on the site for your reading pleasure. A review of Ninja Gaiden Black will be forthcoming, although I cannot say for certain when. Click the names for my previous reviews of Ninja Gaiden I, Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom.
And with that, pop some popcorn, pour yourself a nice hot cup of coffee, snuggle up, and get ready to read! Click below for my final review of Ninja Gaiden for Microsoft’s Xbox console. 
Article continues »
Koei announces their E3 line-up. No surprises
Koei today pulled the wraps off the games it will showcase at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, with a pair of offerings for Sony’s next-gen console headlining the publisher’s lineup.
The company’s Omega Force development team will have a hand in both the action game Blade Storm: The Hundred Years War, and the futuristic racer Fatal Inertia, which is being developed in cooperation with Koei’s Toronto, Ontario studio. While both these titles appear to be entirely new franchises, the rest of Koei’s lineup is built mostly of more familiar offerings. The full announced lineup is as follows:
PlayStation 3:
Fatal Inertia
Blade Storm: Hundred Years War
Xbox 360:
Samurai Warriors 2
PlayStation 2:
Samurai Warriors 2
PSP:
Gitaroo Man Lives!
Dynasty Warriors Vol. 2
Nintendo DS:
Dynasty Warriors DS
PC:
Uncharted Waters Online
Dynasty Warriors BB (working title)
More details on Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Activision and developer Raven have teamed up to develop their follow-up to their very successful previous games, X-Men: Legends and X-Men: Legends II, with a new game that will extensively cover the entire Marvel universe. That game is Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Using the same basic engine and a lot of the same mechanics as the X-Men: Legends titles, Marvel: UA is a brand-new game and is not connected to the X-Men: Legends titles, thus the new name lacking a “Legends” monicker.
Article continues »
Video game tax being proposed in Texas
According to a report in The Brownsville Herald yesterday, Democratic Texas senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa has said he will propose a tax on games sold in the state at a Senate Finance Committee meeting this weekend. The tax would hike the cost of games 5 percent. Hinojosa said the measure would generate about $65 million every two years and that the money would go to fund new schools and improvements in poorer school districts.
This is not the first time someone has proposed taxing games. Earlier this year, another Texas politician, Republican gubernatorial candidate Star Locke, campaigned on a platform that included a 50 percent tax on soda, a $10,000 tax on medical clinics for every abortion they provide, and a 100 percent tax on violent games. Unlike Locke, Hinojosa already holds office (Locke came in fourth out of four candidates in the primary elections with 3.5 percent of the vote), and his tax isn’t singling out violent games.
“You have all these kids buying video games, and sometimes they are good, some are bad and that’s not my call,” Hinojosa is quoted as saying in the Herald article. “But I think that we can generate (money) to put toward the schools they go to.”
EA planning Madden plus other games for Wii
While E3 is nearly a week away at this point, EA has announced that they are hard at work with a brand new Madden game for Nintendo’s upcoming Wii console, which will be shown at the show, in playable form. More game titles are also in development by EA for the Wii console, most likely more sports games as well. All will be revealed soon, but for now here’s some details on the new Madden.
Article continues »
