Archive for April 12th, 2007
Game trademarks show new Namco Tales game, mysterious Nintendo Joy Mecha Fight, Sony’s Cell Museum & Sega’s Flicky returns
The following new game company trademarks were registered in Japan, reports Jonnyram. Take a look at the list:
Is Nintendo briging back the NES classic Open Golf to DS, Wii or Virtual Console? What kind of game could Joy Mecha Fight be?
2007-011664 Joy Mecha Fight
2007-011665 Mario Open Golf
2007-011943 Everybody Votes Channel
2007-014031 Big Brain Academy Wii
2007-014032 Mini Mini Daikoushin!
One of Bandai Namco’s three top names will be the title of the next Tales game. Will Smash Court Tennis return to PS2 for a third time?
2007-016169 Tales of Valoria
2007-016170 Tales of Strife
2007-016171 Tales of Vesperia
2007-011877 Jumpin’ Fantasy
2007-012049 Eitan Puzzle
2007-015677 Smash Court Tennis
Lots of new faces for Sega, but what’s this… are the rights to the name simply extended or will Flicky return?
2007-012977 Private Ocean
2007-013996 D Kids Adventure
2007-015049 Sega Blocks
2007-016664 Pictimage
2007-016859 Flicky
2007-011756 Contributing to
Sony Computer Entertainment is up to something with Cell Museum! But what? More questionmarks… Article continues »
2 comments »Namco Museum DS includes 8 classic arcade games like the Nintendo GameCube exclusive multiplayer-only Pac-Man VS.
Namco Bandai announced that Namco Museum DS is bringing its popular arcade games to the Nintendo DS this summer at a price of $19.99. Namco Museum DS introduces a new generation of gamers to an era of timeless games and non-stop entertainment.
Namco Museum DS allows gamers to experience a virtual arcade portal where they can choose from up to eight games: Pac-Man, Pac-Man VS, Galaga, Xevious, Dig Dug II, Galaxian, Mappy, and The Tower of Druaga.
Features that are unique to Namco Museum DS include a screen mode selection that allows the use of different screen combinations on the Nintendo DS. This will allow players the chance to fit their classic games specifically to the Nintendo DS or in the “stand-up” arcade style. Players can also enjoy wireless battles in Pac-Man VS, an addictive take on Pac-Man which was previously only available exclusively with the purchase or pre-order of previous games. This version of the game features downloadable play where up to four players can battle using only one Game Card.
Namco Museum DS includes: Article continues »
Wii Health Pack and Wii Music might have online features
George Katrinakis is the CEO of Nortec Multimedia, the distributor of Nintendo products in the region, and he has made some statements about future Wii titles Wii Health Pack and Wii Music that reveal their WiiConnect24 online features. Wiifanboy translated these comments:
* Wii Health Pack will supposedly send out your personal exercise results data to hospitals that have been contracted out by Nintendo via a new Channel, and will later return some kind of evaluation. Information on how the data will be collected and presented is sketchy as of right now. It seems much more likely there will be an online friends comparison. A program that interprets your training data to give you the basic health state results/progress similar to Eyetoy Kinetic.
* Wii Music sounds a lot like the orchestra demo that Shigeru Miyamoto demoed during the E3 2006 keynote. In it, players will not only be able to control specific musicians in the orchestra, but also save their compositions and send them to other Wii users. Take a look at the gameplay demo:
Sony stops production of 20GB model PS3, since 90% wanted the 60GB version anyway
Sony Computer Entertainment America just announced that they’ve officially dropped the $500 PlayStation 3 with 20GB hard disk set and will now only be selling the $600 PlayStation 3 with 60GB hard disk and added WiFi.
To quote their official reason: “At launch, we offered two separate models of PlayStation 3 to meet the diverse needs and interests of our PlayStation fan base. Initial retail demand in North America was upwards of ninety percent in favor of the 60GB sku, so we manufactured and shipped-in accordingly. Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America. In addition to the larger internal hard drive, the 60GB PlayStation 3 features added storage media slots and built-in Wi-Fi not found in the 20GB system. Based on retailer and consumer feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more popular 60GB model.”
It’s no surprise after the 20GB model was not wanted in Japan, wasn’t selling in America, and wasn’t even released in Europe. Besides, they’ll keep supporting 20GB model PS3 buyers with software and services anyway. So aside from the increase in price from $500 to $600, no harm done to previous buyers. — Via Slashdot
Super Paper Mario Wii video review and free detailed level guide
Super Paper Mario was finally released on the Wii this week in the USA after years of development on the GameCube, the jump has made this into a worthwhile platform-RPG mix of an action-adventure 2D-3D game.
If you bought the game on April 9th or after, you should use WiiGuideYou’s detailed level guide for Super Paper Mario (updated daily for the next week) that not only guides you through the levels with pictures, but also gives helpful hints and shows you how each in-game control options works when you need to perform them.
Let’s explain the mixture of genres a little better. What at first glance appears to be a 2-D sidescroller ripped straight from the pages of the Paper Mario universe soon turns into a 3-D action-adventure that defies all video game logic. Fusing 2-D and 3-D perspectives, not to mention RPG and platformer elements, the game slips back and forth between dimensions. The action sprawls across eight worlds filled with traps, puzzles, bizarre mysteries and items that often draw themselves out of thin air. Oh, and just because Mario’s in the title doesn’t mean he’s the only star, players also get to play as Peach and Bowser. Check out this video review:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance on Xbox 360 getting new heroes (hulk) and villains (venom) soon
New heroes and villains for Marvel’s Xbox 360 version of Ultimate Alliance will soon be downloadable via Xbox Live. Now that publisher Activision has the rights to all these characters they’ll be added, but it’s still unknown at what price. On the goodguy side are: The Incredible Hulk, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and Hawkeye. On the badguy side are: Venom, Dr. Doom, Magneto, and Sabretooth. Here’s a showoff teaser:
Apparently Activision briefly had a patch up for download on April 10th to enable these new characters in Marvel Ultimate Alliance when downloaded, but that corrupted savegames and changed item values or something odd like it. The game update was quickly removed and the characters download delayed, as Activision searches for a solution, reports Kotaku.
Real rock star Gene Simmons (KISS) plays with the top 5 Guitar Hero II gamers
Legendary guitarist, Gene Simmons (of KISS fame), performed at Virgin Megastore in Times Square with the nation’s top Guitar Hero players, and Joystiq was there to record it. While the awesome guitar player comes off as a little cocky, he does make the ultimate point that Guitar Hero II makes you feel like a rock star! No, not with his paid-for promo talk, his actions speak louder than words… Check out the two women in the top 5 best U.S. Guitar Hero players rocking out at the end alongside Gene!
While the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II already had ten extra songs over the PS2 version, Redoctane has released Guitar Hero I music in the shape of 3 Song Packs on Xbox Live. At 500 Microsoft Points (that’s $6.25 / €6 / £4.25) for each download, you can choose between:
* Track Pack 1: “Bark at the Moon” by Ozzy Osbourne, “Hey You” by The Exies, “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead.
* Track Pack 2: “Killer Queen” by Queen, “Take it Off” by The Donnas, “Frankenstein” by The Edgar Winter Group.
* Track Pack 3: “Higher Ground” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Infected” by Bad Religon, “Stellar” by Incubus.
Final Wii Opera browser available for free from today
The Opera Internet browser that will be available for free download through the end of June, has released its final version today. After receiving helpful feedback Nintendo and Opera developers have made a number of improvements to the final version of the browser. Here’s a list of all of them:
* Startup time decreased by 5 seconds.
* Improved zooming and new scrolling interface.
* An improved zoomed font leaves text crisp at all levels.
* Quicker access to “favoritesâ€.
* An ability to auto-hide the toolbar.
* Search button on the toolbar
* Buttons that will instantly type common preset URL text, such as “www†or “.comâ€.
* Improved website compatibility
* Built-in search via Yahoo! or Google
* Ability to view page security information
* Option to delete cookies
* New cursor animations and operation sounds
* Built-in support manual
* Parental Control support
* Display cursors from multiple Wii remotes (though only Player 1 can actually click)
* Optional Internet content filter provided by Astaro (available soon)
* Get it for free from the Wii Shop Channel before July 2007 and save 500 Wii Points (that’s $5 / €5 / £3.75).
Top 10 GameCube games
Nintendo fanboys hold on to your hat, chances are you’re not going to like this Screwattack top 10 list of GameCube games… but isn’t that what makes lists like these great? To each their own favorites. This is a farewell to the 21.52-million-selller GameCube, by selecting the top rated games and only one of each franchise. Luckily the GameCube is included in the Wii so it still lives. Here we go:
Here’s the full list: 10. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (2002); 9. Ikaruga (2003); 8. Soul Calibur II (2003); 7. Viewtiful Joe (2003); 6. Super Mario Sunshine (2002); 5. Animal Crossing (2002); 4. Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001); 3. Metroid Prime (2002); 2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006); 1. Resident Evil 4 (2005).
Cheon Ho Park plays Ami theme from Final Fantasy VIII. Better known as the Squall & Rinoa love theme
This is the fourth piano video (see the third here) played by Cheon Ho Park.
This time he tackles the main theme from the four-disc Playstation masterpiece Final Fantasy VIII.
Eight is one of those games that you either love, or hate. Personally I enjoyed it, although not as much as Final Fantasy’s ten or nine, and it is the only modern Final Fantasy game (excluding 12 and X-2) that I have yet to complete. But I will some day! That I can assure you.
Anyway, this tune (called Ami, which means “friend” in French) is played throughout the game, particularly in scenes that involve the growing relationship between Rinoa and Squall, the two main characters; who are the hugging silhouettes that make up the game’s logo.
This is a good theme (aren’t they all?) although in my opinion it’s not nearly as touching as the theme from Final Fantasy 9.
One very cool note. He recorded this video while there was a storm going on in the background, which adds a very cool touch indeed.
