Archive for May, 2007
John Woo and Warren Spector working on Ninja Gold game and film simultaneously
Action filmmaker John Woo will direct and produce Ninja Gold, a new property from the creator of such video games as Deus Ex, Thief: Deadly Shadows and System Shock. Warren Spector, the video game creator, will executive produce.
Ninja Gold centers on a ninja warrior, part of a centuries-old legacy and bloodline, forced to confront the reality of covert warfare in the modern world.
“The game concept is actually based on facts that the Yakuza and the Russian mob are involved in tons of gold being stolen in South Africa,” said Terrence Chang, Woo’s production partner. Mr. Spector added: “The idea actually started with John Woo. He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me. I was intrigued with the idea of what happens when the traditional and the contemporary come into conflict.”
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No comments »New BioShock video chock-full of water, fire and freaks
BioShock is a first person shooter set in a failed underwater art deco utopia populated by scavenging Dickensian waifs and their genetically modified guardians. It’s not for the faint of heart if you know what I mean…
Faceless mutants stop at nothing to get your genetic material? Check!
Little Sisters and their Big Daddies kill if you get in their way? Check!
Plenty of DNA powerups to inject yourself with? Check!
Cool explosions and beautiful water effects? Check!
It will be released for PC and Xbox 360 on August 21st, 2007. — Video via Kotaku
Madden NFL 08 and FIFA 08 also go online on Wii
American games magazine Nintendo Power has revealed online modes for the Wii version of the multiplatform sports games Madden NFL 08 and FIFA 08. Good to see Nintendo letting developers like EA go online now, following the already online versions on Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles.
Madden 08 details:
* Exhibition match-ups
* Online lobby with real-time leaderboards
* EA Locker features
* EA “My Profile†when online, which includes country of origin, win/loss record, defensive percentage, overall ranking, and 5-star
reputation score
* ESPN ticker updates
* Promised downloadable content such as roster updates planned for late 2008, early 2009
* Friend Code Implementation: Unknown as of right now, interface will be similar from other versions. Wii players will be able to
randomly play against an opponent.
* No voice chat, but will offer EA’s instant-messaging system
* Offline: 22-mini-game party mode, which allow players to play new drills such as the 40-yard dash. Also includes a football-trivia
mini-game. Your performance in party mode will also affect your party mode rating, which can go as high as 99. This rating is recorded via your system’s own Mii roster.
FIFA 08 details:
* Instant head-to-head action with worldwide gamers
* Online tournaments can be joined by the player through the Virtual League.
* Up-to-the-moment roster updates
* Offline: Full Mii roster functionality with mini-games and more. — Written out by Gonintendo.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror sneakes from PSP to PS2
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror recently was one of the newest additions to the PSP Greatest Hits collection, this means the game will only cost $19.99 in stores. Through EB Games‘ online store a new product listing for the mature third-person shooter game was discovered.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror will also be released for PS2 on September 4th 2007, at a price of $29.99. In the game you play as a highly-trained Precision Strike Operative, Gabe Logan, who commands a black box United States Agency that legally doesn’t exist. It’s been welcomed to PSP over a year ago as one of the best games available on the handheld, with an average Gamerankings score of 87%! So it should make for a great game on PS2, hopefully with polished up graphics and online multiplayer for 1-8 people intact in the conversion.
The release date of the fifth game in the series on PS2 is no coincidence, on the same day the PSP is getting the sixth game in the series: Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow. — Via PSPfanboy
Time to cheer for Ouendan 2 demos and 19 songs list
After the Japanese music rhythm DS game “Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan“, Americans (and on July 13 Europeans) got their own unique English version called “Elite Beat Agents“.
Two weeks ago Japan got their own sequel “Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! 2” and this is some trial gameplay footage of a Japanese store demo. Let’s hope there’ll be a Elite Beat Agents 2 too.
Below is a list in order of appearance of all 19 artists and their songs (last 3 are unlockable) that are in Ouendan 2.
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New video game releases week 22, 2007
Here’s a list of this weeks US game releases. Forza Motorsport 2 for Xbox 360, Shadowrun for Xbox 360 & PC, Crush for PSP and Mario Party 8 for Wii are the most popular games this week. On the downloadable games front we’ve got some awesome Wii Virtual Console download releases and Mad Tracks on Xbox Live Arcade. No word on any PlayStation Store games yet.
Monday:
ActRaiser - $8 (Wii Virtual Console)
J.J. & Jeff - $6 (Wii Virtual Console)
Kid Chameleon - $8 (Wii Virtual Console)
Tuesday:
Atelier Iris 3: Grand Phantasm (PS2)
Circus Empire (PC)
Codename Panzers: Commander’s Edition (PC)
Crush (PSP)
Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
Mario Party 8 (Wii)
Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia (PC, Xbox 360)
Pony Friends (DS)
Puzzle Scape (PSP)
Secrets of Atlantis (PC)
Shadowrun (PC, Xbox 360)
Surf’s Up (PC, GCN, PS2, GBA, DS, PSP, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)
Tamagotchi: Party On! (Wii)
Tank Beat (DS)
Wednesday:
Mad Tracks - $10 (Xbox Live Arcade)
Thursday:
Halo 2 (PC)
Championship Sprint - $5 (PS3 Store)
ActRaiser, Kid Chameleon, J.J. & Jeff 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:
ActRaiser (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points = $8): A masterpiece of game design originally released in the early days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, ActRaiser’s enduring popularity stems from its revolutionary combination of action- and simulation-based game play. The user plays the role of the Master, a dethroned deity whose once-idyllic world has fallen under the control of the Evil One. Stripped of godly power, the Master must somehow put an end to the Evil One’s reign and rebuild his desolate realm. Game play alternates between two modes: Action and Simulation. In Action mode, the Master must battle against impossible odds to pacify six lands. Pacifying a land unlocks Simulation mode. In this mode, the Master must oversee the development and repopulation of the territory he has reclaimed. In doing so, he will gain followers who gradually restore his godly might, empowering him to take back the next land and, ultimately, defeat the Evil One.
Kid Chameleon Article continues »
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors new Wii video
“Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors” is developed from the ground up to take advantage of the Nintendo Wii and its motion sensing technology. Dragon Quest is a worldwide phenomenon that has captivated more than 41 million players across the world for more than 20 years and now slashes its way onto Nintendo’s next- generation platform in 2008 in the form of “Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors”.
This exclusive title utilizes the Wii’s motion sensing controls as players use the Wii remote to slash, parry and slice their way through a land filled with trademark Dragon Quest foes. Developed with both longtime fans and casual audiences in mind. Square-Enix mention they hope Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors will take video gaming to an entirely new level of fun and interaction. Take a look at the new Dragon Quest Swords video:
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Gothic 4 announced for PC and consoles, but looking for new developer
The fantasy-themed RPG Gothic 3 was released on November 14th 2006 and since then Pluto 13 (the new name for the series developer Piranha Bytes) and publisher JoWooD have not come to terms regarding the development of Gothic 4, the collaboration has come to an end. So who will be making Gothic 4?
JoWooD confirms having been in promising negotiations for the development of Gothic 4 on PC and console with various prospective development studios. Releasing Gothic 4 on current-gen console is the next logical step for the Publisher’s strategy. JoWooD said it puts most of its focus on high quality standards as well as reacting to the communities comments and requests for the sequel to its flag-ship title.
Namco Bandai 2006 profits up thanks to million-sellers Tekken: Dark Resurrection and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
Earlier this month Namco Bandai Holdings announced details of the company’s full year 2006 results (that’s between April 2006 till March 2007), which showed net profits growth of 71% to 24.2 billion Yen ($201.9 million), despite net sales growth of less than 2%, and slower than expected PlayStation 3 sales.
The company’s bestselling game of the year was Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 on PlayStation 2 (and Nintendo Wii?), with 1.2 million units sold. This was followed by Tekken: Dark Resurrection on PSP (and PlayStation 3?) with 1 million units sold and Tamagotchi: Corner Shop 2 on Nintendo DS with 900,000 units sold.
Not including localized titles, Namco Bandai sold: 63 different games on the PlayStation 2 during the financial year, together with 6 PlayStation 3 titles, 7 Xbox 360 games, 5 Nintendo Wii games, 50 PSP titles and 42 Nintendo DS titles. — Via Gamasutra
