Archive for May 7th, 2007
New video game releases week 19, 2007
Here’s a list of this weeks US game releases. Taito Legends 2 for PS2, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars for Xbox 360 and Sam & Max: Episode 6: Bright Side of the Moon for PC are the most popular games this week. On the downloadable games front we’ve got some awesome Wii Virtual Console download releases and maybe Calling All Cars will be in the PS3 Store. No word on any Xbox Live Arcade games yet.
Monday:
Final Fight – $8 (Wii Virtual Console)
Mighty Bomb Jack – $5 (Wii Virtual Console)
Ordyne – $6 (Wii Virtual Console)
Taito Legends 2 (PS2)
Taito Legends Power-Up (PSP)
Tuesday:
.hack//G.U. Vol. 2: Reminisce (PS2)
CellFactor: Revolution (PC)
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Xbox 360)
Driver ‘76 (PSP)
Heatseeker (PSP)
Hot Wheels Ultimate Racing (PSP)
Loco Mania (PC)
Shrek the Third (Xbox 360)
Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam (PS2)
Wednesday:
Double Dragon (Xbox Live Arcade)
Thursday:
Calling All Cars – $10 (PS3 Store)
Sam & Max: Episode 6: Bright Side of the Moon (PC)
No comments »Swashbucklers: Blue VS. Grey new PC trailer
A swashbuckler is a 16th century term used to describe rough, noisy and boastful swordsmen. The 21st century PC game is called Swashbucklers: Blue VS. Grey, which is a third person action game chronicling the adventures of a young and desperate daredevil Captain Abraham ‘Nightingale’ Grey. As Captain Nightingale, you lead his ‘Warble’ cutter through bloody waters of the Caribbean in search of famous Francis Drake’s treasures…
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Mighty Bomb Jack, Final Fight, Ordyne hit the Wii Virtual Console today
Today Nintendo adds three new classic games to the popular Wii Shop Channel. The games go live at 9AM Pacific time. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at stores like Amazon (see to your right).
We’ve included videos of each game for nostalgia’s sake or so you can see if it’s for you. This week’s new games are:
Mighty Bomb Jack (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points = $5): Mighty Bomb Jack is an action/adventure game that was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987 by Tecmo. The hero of the game, Jack, must make his way through 16 levels of a pyramid in order to defeat the demon Belzebut and rescue the royal Pamera family. Each level is split into two parts; an action zone and a Royal Palace room. Action zones can be split up into several portions, and contain power-ups usually hidden in treasure chests such as money bags, Mighty Coins, and Mighty Drinks. Mighty Coins allow Jack to change colors; blue allows Jack to open orange treasure chests, orange allows him to open any treasure chest by simply touching it from the side, and green transforms all enemies on the screen into coins for 5 seconds. Mighty Drinks add 10 seconds to the game’s timer.
Final Fight Article continues »
New PS3 downloadable games this summer: Nucleus, Super Stardust HD, Snakeball and Midway classics
It’s always confusing if you’re supposed to call these PlayStation Network, e-Distribution or PS3 Store games, but they are simply games you download for your PS3, so let’s leave it at that. Since Calling All Cars keeps getting delayed, here some new titles for mid-2007. There are some cool features like Super Stardust HD having co-op, and Snakeball using the PlayStation Eye camera, let’s take a closer look:
Nucleus isn’t entirely dissimilar to Blast Factor, in that it uses the same control system – but it’s a lot more elaborate and sophisticated. You pilot a tiny jellyfish-type thing called a “remote unit” with which you squirt, shoot, and deploy protein bombs (once enough protein has been collected) as well as using a tractor beam of sorts to push and drag cells that can be linked together to form a shield. To gain more protein, players need to shoot cells that release it.
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Alone in the Dark 5: Near Death also for Wii and DS, more new Atari games revealed
European online retailers have updated they release schedules with several new Atari titles. Most notably is the PS3, Xbox 360 & PC version of Alone in the Dark 5 making the jump to Wii & DS as well in November 2007. Although the new subtitle “Near Death” could point to an entirely new title, but it seems more likely the multiplatform horror game will end up being called Alone in the Dark: Near Death.
Other new Atari games listed are:
* Tabaluga 2 for DS in September 2007. The sequel to Tabaluga, a game about a little green dragon for the original GameBoy. Based on a short-live German/British cartoon series, this could be a rebirth of both the TV series and videogame franchise.
* Lucky Luke: Go West! for DS in November 2007. Lucky Luke is quicker than his own shadow, he fights crime and injustice in the Old West, most often in the form of the bumbling Dalton brothers. He’s back again to continue the French cartoon/comic book series.
* Asterix Olympic Games for Wii & DS in January 2008. A tie-in to the upcoming movie of the same name, based on the 1968 French Asterix comic book.
* Cooking for DS in February 2008. It’s described as an enterprise-simulation game involving cooking.
* Fashion Academy for Wii & DS in February 2008. Nothing known about this. — Via Neurope & DSx2
Free online multiplayer game KartRider with 160 million players soon coming to America
Nexon America has announced that KartRider will be launched in North America. An Asian and international sensation from South Korea, 2004’s KartRider is a free-to-download, subscription free, online multiplayer racing-adventure cel-shaded game that is enjoyed by over 160 million riders worldwide.
Nexon launched a closed beta test on May 1, 2007, giving gamers the chance to compete as individuals or in teams with karts of their choice, you can sign up at kart.nexon.net to download and play (requires DirectX9.0c or above).
Competitors can interact with each other online through chatting and community forums. Races are held on a variety of 3D racing tracks and courses based on 10 particular themes, including the fast-paced Zoomtown, the dizzying sands of Desert Drift, and the icy Arctic Rim. — From Gamezone, via Kotaku
Shigeru Miyamoto 92 in the 2006 Times top 100 Most Influential People In The World
It turns out the Times online readers poll voting for who should’ve been in the Times magazine Top 100 Most Influential People In The World wasn’t needed at all. Famed game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was number 92 in the real 2006 list.
Here’s a quote talking about how Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s visionary designer, shook up the gaming world from the 80s till now:
“By making video gaming accessible and fun for people like my grandma, Shigeru Miyamoto, 54, head of the Wii design team, has opened the world I live in every day to people who never even wanted to visit it before. He showed us that video games are for everyone, something social and active that brings people together.”
Too bad pro gamer Fatal1ty (who wrote the article for Time) talks more about his own ambitions than what Mr. Miyamoto accomplished when he created Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda over 20 years ago. Still, it’s nice to see how many people are inspired by Shiggy’s work.
Sam & Max: Reality 2.0 videogame spoofs
Sam & Max: Episode 5: Reality 2.0 is about the duo investigating an internet crisis that’s looming and a viral video game called Reality 1.5, a text adventure game, holding its players hostage. Sam & Max will need to slip into a new reality to set things right. In there they pay tribute to certain videogames through these spoofs:
* When collecting some flying coins, Sam uses the Super Mario Bros. phrase “Look Max, it’s a-me, Sam!”, a spoof on “It’s a-me, Mario!”
* When Sam obtains the wooden sword of intense longness, he raises it above his head with music in a similar fashion to that in The Legend of Zelda.
* When Sam enters battle with the blue slime, it parodies most game RPGs, specifically Final Fantasy. The blue slime may also be a reference to Dragon Quest.
Trivia via Wikipedia, pic via Gonintendo
Game Giveaways
- Contest funds donated to Haiti
