VGB Week In Review from Sunday June 24th to Saturday June 30th

2 July 2007

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Posted by:Josh

A lot of video game news can happen in a week, from big game announcements like Contra 4 for DS to new game trailers like the one that dropped for Grand Theft Auto IV. And here you will find links to each and every one of our stories over the past week, just in case you missed a story. You will find quick and easy access to them all here in one place.

SUNDAY – JUNE 24TH 2007

* The US magazine Play got to try out Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for Wii, which they say is the biggest revolution in first-person gaming since Halo!

*Metal Gear Solid 1 Full Story video shows every cut-scene including the tape briefings, the opening and, of course, the ending. Also includes sections of gameplay, all the boss fights, as well as many of the codec transmissions!

* An official commercial for The Biggs debuted which includes gameplay footage. The Biggs is coming on June 27th for Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PS2 and PSP.

* Top 15 Banned Violent Video Games list includes some surprises, such as . . . . POKEMON!

* No More Heroes’ director Goichi Suda has trouble describing exactly what his new follow-up to Killer 7 IS. So instead, he gives us 3 examples of what No More Heroes ISN’T.

MONDAY – JUNE 25TH

* Nintendo announced that Nicole Kidman will be the spokesperson for More Brain Training in Europe!

* In what must come as a huge blow to Sony’s morale, Nintendo’s market value overtakes Sony’s stock worth for the first time!

* Sega, Bandai-Namco, and Capcom say that they have started to shift their focus away from Sony systems and toward Nintendo systems.

* We posted a video preview for Luminous Arc for the Nintendo DS, a brand new exclusive RPG from Atlus.

* Sega announced Sonic Rivals 2 for the PSP. Tails joins the fun in this sequel.

* We posted a video preview that shows gameplay for Call of Duty 4, which is coming for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on October 30th 2007.

* F-Zero X, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting and China Warrior hit the Virtual Console. A very nice group of games!

* GameSpot, one of the most read sites for all things gaming (and one of the oldest) announced that they are giving their reviews a complete face-lift, after 11-years! The new review system will use medals similar to their “Emblem” system they use for the site.

* The Collector’s Edition for the upcoming World in Conflict RTS (PC version only, it’s also coming to 360) will include an authentic piece of the Berlin Wall in the package!

* And like always, the day ended with a list of the newest video game releases in the US.

TUESDAY – JUNE 26TH

* With news the day before of Nicole Kidman being Nintendo of Europe’s spokesperson for the Brain Age sequel “More Brain Training”, we now have the first commercial featuring Nicole Kidman playing More Brain Training on her DS.

* A glimpse of Master Chief’s face has been found in the Halo 3 beta using the rotating camera . . . that is, if you can even make it out. It’s too dark!

* Square Enix says that the PS3 is the closest console to being able to express their imagination. No doubt that’s to the incredible horse power of the machine.

* Namco revealed to EGM that Soul Calibur IV will have online multiplayer! It’s about friggin’ time!

* Two different Sony sources say that Sony is working on a force feedback version of the Sixaxis controller and that it’s been in development for months

* In an interview with GameTrailers, Shannon Lee, daughter of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, hints at a new Bruce Lee game being in development.

* Rare (developer of the recent Xbox 360 hit Viva Pinata), via their web-site, denies that Killer Instinct 3 or Jet Force Gemini 2 sequels are in development. They also say no more releases are coming from them until Banjo Threeie is finished.

* Sierra announced that they are working on a video game entitled Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy set for release on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in summer 2008.

WEDNESDAY – JUNE 27TH

* We posted a video preview for The Darkness, the newest first-person shooter to hit the Xbox 360 & PS3, based on the demonic comic book of the same name.

* A console video game modder/pirate was caught by CATCH, and charged with 10 felonies.

* Data Design announces that they are bringing 9 out of 30 budget Wii titles to the US. games include Ninjabread Man and Elviz.

* So Blonde, a wacky new PC adventure game by Broken Sword writer Steve Ince, is picked up for worldwide release by publisher “dtp” under their Anaconda label, and it’ll be releasing to German-speaking countries this November.

* On the heels of the PSP’s best-selling month in the US, Sony revealed in an interview that several third-party exclusives are coming for the PSP.

* The Xbox Live Arcade game for this Wed. was Carcassonne, a fully featured virtual version of the medieval strategy board game.

* We previewed Hannah Montana: Music Jam for the DS, a game based on the extremely popular Disney Channel TV show, which features some very interesting music technology that goes beyond it’s tween license.

* Global video game sales have surpassed music industry sales for 2007! Talk about video games becoming THE preferred entertainment medium of the new Millennium!

* Nintendo announces WiiWares, a game-creation service for budding game designers that will be for sale for anyone on the Wii Shop Channel in early 2008.

THURSDAY – JUNE 28TH

* Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game was released worldwidee for Wii, DS, GBA, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, PC, Mac and Mobiles. We of course, got you a video preview.

* It’s discovered and later confirmed that a Soldier of Fortune 3 game (subtitled Pay Back) is coming for next-gen consoles and PC.

* The PAX (Penny Arcade) expo grows significantly as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo announce that they will be at the PAX show this year.

* Lucasarts confirms that they are making a Wii Star Wars light saber game! Whooo-hoooo!

* Midway confirms a Cruis’n Wii game (new installment in Midway’s arcade racing game) for the Nintendo Wii!

* A brand new installment in the Civilization strategy series, Civilization Revolution, is announced by Sid Meier for a 2008 release on both next-gen consoles and handhelds!

* We had a video preview and behind the scenes documentary of the PS3 dragon game Lair, which is being made by the Factor 5 guys (who brought you all the N64 Star Wars games) and has a release date of August 14th in the US and September 26th in Europe.

* Blizzard says that they still hope to revive the canceled Starcraft Ghost 3rd person action game. Great news for Starcraft fans!

* Grand Theft Auto IV gets a Special Edition $90 package that includes a duffel bag and fully lockable “safety deposit box” while the second GTA:IV trailer debuts!

* Stardust HD hits the Playstation Store as does the 2nd Grand Theft Auto IV trailer!

* Mistwalker announces the final release dates for their Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon. It’ll be hitting Europe first on August 24th with the US receiving it 4 days later on the 28th.

FRIDAY – JUNE 29TH

* Sony announces the song list for SingStar 90′s on the PS2. Includes 30 tracks and gets a release date of August 9th in Europe/Australia & New Zealand.

* A brand new version of Dragon’s Lair is announced, this time for the DS, and we got a preview for you.

* We got another video preview for you, this time for a brand new Wii action game called Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire. Looks very cool!

* THQ announces a sequel to Supreme Commander called Supreme Commander 2: Forged Alliance. The new game features over 100 units and an entirely new faction.

* SNK Playmore finally announces that they are replacing the faulty SNK VS Capcom Card Fighters DS games in stores, and if you have a faulty game you can send it in to them for a replacement.

* Rockstar games gives a thanks to the fans who supported Manhunt 2, and announced that, despite all the controversy, no, the game HAS NOT been canceled.

* Activision shows the full list of songs that will be included in their upcoming Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80′s for PS2.

* Destroy All Humans 3 is announced for Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PSP! The Blob also announced by THQ, exclusively for Wii.

* Universe At War: Earth Assault, an upcoming PC and Xbox 360 RTS by Sega is announced as the first third-party game to have Xbox 360 & PC cross platform multiplayer. Hopefully a new trend in upcoming PC & Xbox 360 titles.

SATURDAY – JUNE 30TH

* Five new TurboGrafx-16 games are heading to the Wii VC in July (for the US) while Europe got Kirby Dream Course on their Wii Virtual Console.

* Mind Quiz is pulled from stores in the UK when a women discovers that the word “spastic” is used to describe someone when they don’t score high enough.

* I posted a really cool video of a club DJ using Wii remotes to control the music! Very innovative stuff.

* We posted another Full Story video, this time for the PS2 Shinobi, shows every cut-scene from beginning to ending, including gameplay and bosses!

* We got you a video preview of the just announced Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS! Looks very fun!

* As well as a video preview for the upcoming Geometry Wars: Galaxies for Wii and DS. Equally as fun. Includes a co-op mode!

* The day ended with the Top 5 best-selling games worldwide for every system that week.