On Shelves This Week: May 31 to June 6, 2009
Filed in External News, May 31, 2009, 7:03 pm
When I say there are slim pickings this week, I mean it. The home consoles only get two releases, and there are no new games at all for the Wii and PSP. There’s also only one release on PC, but since it’s The Sims 3, it’s sure to sell a bucketload by its lonesome. The only console not experiencing a game drought this week in the Nintendo DS. There really are no slow release weeks for the DS in terms of quantity, really.
The lack of new games called my attention to the fact that more than half of these games have colons in their titles. We could call this the Colon Edition. Now all it needs is an accompanying Nobby.
Red Faction: Guerrilla – Set 50 years after the original Red Faction, Red Faction: Guerrilla is a third-person shooter that puts players in the shoes of an insurgent fighter with the newly reestablished Red Faction guerrilla movement on Mars. The game features a huge open-world, fast-paced combat, 16-player online multiplayer and physics-based destruction.
Fuel – In an alternate present, vast stretches of America have become no-go areas as the devastating effects of global warming ravage the continent. So what do people do? They race in these areas, of course.
Crazy Chicken: Atlantis Quest – Crazy Chicken’s hunt for treasure leads him to the lost kingdom of Atlantis. Of course, the Atlanteans don’t want some weird chicken running of with the treasure (which is probably rightfully theirs), so the chicken kicks their asses. What a douche. Getting beaten by a chicken doesn’t really put the Atlanteans in a good light exactly, either.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Crazy Chicken: Star Karts – Think Mario Kart, only Mario and his band of wacky racers (heh) have been replaced by Crazy Chicken and his chicktacular family. Oh, and the races are in outer space. That’s what this game is.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Crazy Chicken: The Pharaoh’s Treasure – Crazy Chicken (or Morrhuhn) shows his intellectual side here. He’s still after treasure — the greedy greedy fowl that he is — but first he must solve archeological puzzles ala Puzzle Quest.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Imagine: Boutique Owner – This game lets you “become the most fabulous boutique owner in town” by “unleashing your creativity”. It’ll let you “design all types of gifts”, “[help customers] choose the perfect gift”, and “offer complimentary gift-wrapping”. Yeah. Quotation overload right there.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Ubisoft
Johnny Bravo Date-O-Rama – Johnny Bravo is thrilled when he’s invited to appear on the game show Hukka Mega Mighty Ultra Extreme Date-o-Rama to try to win a dream date with a hot chick, but even with his self professed stunning good looks, incredible strength, and superior intelligence he has his work cut out to win the competition.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone 10
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Knights in the Nightmare – Now this is what I’m talking about. Knights in the Nightmare is an action-SRPG hybrid that ties into the Riviera and Yggdra Union games. Players take control of the wisp, who has to give orders to its allies as well as dodge enemy attacks. If you’re buying a DS game in this crop of releases, this is what I’d recommend. Unless you’re into that Crazy Chicken stuff.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Teen
- US 33.99
- Atlus
Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4 – This is the first DS Naruto game that deals with the Akatsuki’s capture of Gaara. Players get to play as Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and other Naruto characters as they conduct a rescue effort to retrieve the captive Kazekage.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 29.99
- Tomy
PowerBike – Another racing game, only this time you get to race motorcycles. There are eight different courses that range from wide-open deserts to congested urban areas. You know the drill: winning gets you cash, and cash lets you buy upgrades. PowerBike also supports local multiplayer.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Majesco
The Sims 3 – In this latest iteration of the Sims franchise, you can now explore a “seamless, living neighborhood”, meaning there are now more neighbors for you to lure into your house/deathtrap and leave them to die in hastily-walled off enclosures. Haha, that’s always been the best part.
The Collector’s Edition comes with a 2 GB Plumbob USB drive and carabiner, an exclusive European sports car download, new theme music, Prima hints and tips guide, and US 10 worth of points for the Sims 3 store.
- PC – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- Regular Edition – US 49.99, Special Edition – US 69.99
- Electronic Arts
On Shelves This Week: May 31 to April 6, 2009
Filed in External News, , 7:03 pm
When I say there are slim pickings this week, I mean it. The home consoles only get two releases, and there are no new games at all for the Wii and PSP. There’s also only one release on PC, but since it’s The Sims 3, it’s sure to sell a bucketload by its lonesome. The only console not experiencing a game drought this week in the Nintendo DS. There really are no slow release weeks for the DS in terms of quantity, really.
The lack of new games called my attention to the fact that more than half of these games have colons in their titles. We could call this the Colon Edition. Now all it needs is an accompanying Nobby.
Red Faction: Guerrilla – Set 50 years after the original Red Faction, Red Faction: Guerrilla is a third-person shooter that puts players in the shoes of an insurgent fighter with the newly reestablished Red Faction guerrilla movement on Mars. The game features a huge open-world, fast-paced combat, 16-player online multiplayer and physics-based destruction.
Fuel – In an alternate present, vast stretches of America have become no-go areas as the devastating effects of global warming ravage the continent. So what do people do? They race in these areas, of course.
Crazy Chicken: Atlantis Quest – Crazy Chicken’s hunt for treasure leads him to the lost kingdom of Atlantis. Of course, the Atlanteans don’t want some weird chicken running of with the treasure (which is probably rightfully theirs), so the chicken kicks their asses. What a douche. Getting beaten by a chicken doesn’t really put the Atlanteans in a good light exactly, either.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Crazy Chicken: Star Karts – Think Mario Kart, only Mario and his band of wacky racers (heh) have been replaced by Crazy Chicken and his chicktacular family. Oh, and the races are in outer space. That’s what this game is.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Crazy Chicken: The Pharaoh’s Treasure – Crazy Chicken (or Morrhuhn) shows his intellectual side here. He’s still after treasure — the greedy greedy fowl that he is — but first he must solve archeological puzzles ala Puzzle Quest.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Imagine: Boutique Owner – This game lets you “become the most fabulous boutique owner in town” by “unleashing your creativity”. It’ll let you “design all types of gifts”, “[help customers] choose the perfect gift”, and “offer complimentary gift-wrapping”. Yeah. Quotation overload right there.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Ubisoft
Johnny Bravo Date-O-Rama – Johnny Bravo is thrilled when he’s invited to appear on the game show Hukka Mega Mighty Ultra Extreme Date-o-Rama to try to win a dream date with a hot chick, but even with his self professed stunning good looks, incredible strength, and superior intelligence he has his work cut out to win the competition.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone 10
- US 19.99
- Mumbo Jumbo
Knights in the Nightmare – Now this is what I’m talking about. Knights in the Nightmare is an action-SRPG hybrid that ties into the Riviera and Yggdra Union games. Players take control of the wisp, who has to give orders to its allies as well as dodge enemy attacks. If you’re buying a DS game in this crop of releases, this is what I’d recommend. Unless you’re into that Crazy Chicken stuff.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Teen
- US 33.99
- Atlus
Naruto Shippuden: Ninja Council 4 – This is the first DS Naruto game that deals with the Akatsuki’s capture of Gaara. Players get to play as Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and other Naruto characters as they conduct a rescue effort to retrieve the captive Kazekage.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 29.99
- Tomy
PowerBike – Another racing game, only this time you get to race motorcycles. There are eight different courses that range from wide-open deserts to congested urban areas. You know the drill: winning gets you cash, and cash lets you buy upgrades. PowerBike also supports local multiplayer.
- DS – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- US 19.99
- Majesco
The Sims 3 – In this latest iteration of the Sims franchise, you can now explore a “seamless, living neighborhood”, meaning there are now more neighbors for you to lure into your house/deathtrap and leave them to die in hastily-walled off enclosures. Haha, that’s always been the best part.
The Collector’s Edition comes with a 2 GB Plumbob USB drive and carabiner, an exclusive European sports car download, new theme music, Prima hints and tips guide, and US 10 worth of points for the Sims 3 store.
- PC – June 2, 2009
- ESRB Everyone
- Regular Edition – US 49.99, Special Edition – US 69.99
- Electronic Arts
QuickJump QuickPeek 74: The drought that didn’t happen the week before E3 2009
Filed in External News, , 4:18 pm
For the weekend directly leading up to the E3 event, it sure was jampacked with news, wasn’t it? If you’ve been hanging around the industry for a while now, you’d know that the usual occurrence during this time of the year (or whenever there is an event, actually), is to have some kind of drought in news in the days leading up to the event.
But not this year. As you will see in our QuickPeek Edition for the week past, you’ll be surprised – and glad, nonetheless – at the tidbits we managed to pick up. Most of them are rumors and “leaks”, yes, but I dare say that only adds up to the excitement of the upcoming E3, right?
It’s just but a couple of weeks away. Soon, it will be upon us all, and we can all dive ourselves into the merry land that is the gaming world for the rest of the E3 year once more. Break a leg, you publishers and devs (rather a leg, than our hearts). Let’s hope they keep the disappointments to a minimum this year.
Straight from the left field, we saw some earth-shattering, mind-boggling news items burst into the PSP blog the past week. Spearheading the pack of surprises was the “leaked” PSP Go images and videos, coupled with a confirmation later on.
Link: PSP Weekend Warrior
For the homebrew front, we saw the gates burst open with applications especially designed for the ChickHEN homebrew enabler. Homebrew games and emulators also rained in, a much welcome respite from the dry spell we had some couple of months back.
Link: PSP Homebrew Weekend Warrior
Taking the spotlight yet again is the Kojima teaser production, thanks to its cryptic and exciting updates. Is it Raiden? Is it the Big Boss? Do those letters spell PS3? MGS? E3? What? What?
Link: PS3 Weekend Warrior
Microsoft had some heavy-hitters as well, with the unveiling of the new Zune HD. Just before the week ended, they also announced their XBL’s partnership with Sky TV. Itagaki also stole some thunder with his comeback announcement, unveiling his new team, and teasing us with his new game – exclusive for the Xbox 360.
Link: Xbox 360 Weekend Warrior
Nintendo is definitely all geared up for their appearance on E3, confirming the attendance of their bigwigs: Iwata, Reggie, and Cammie. Sound like characters from a kickass fighting game, huh? Let’s see if they’re gonna be able to score some major points this time around with their E3 presentation. No need for maracas, please.
Link: WiiDS Weekend Warrior
As if there weren’t enough iPods going around already, news — or rather, a rumor — broke out identifying a new iPod nano and iPhone models. The big surprise: the nano will come with a built-in camera. Expanding much, eh?
As for software, more games for the iPhone and the iPod Touch are making their way to the App Store, making Apple all the more merrier, skipping their way to their banks.
Link: iPhone Weekend Warrior
Industry News:
- This is most certainly good news, especially when we all thought print publication really is just about on its last curtain call. Gamers’ favorite magazine, EGM, has been reacquired by its founder, Steve Harris, and will be back on the presses ASAP this year. Link
- Phil Harrison steps down as Atari president, assumes non-executive role. At least he’ll be sticking around, right? Link
E3 2009 Watch:
With the final stretch of the pre-E3 week down to a close, it would be an exercise on futility on our part if we list down everything that we covered that’s related to this highly anticipated event.
And so in practice of brevity and efficiency, we suggest you keep a close watch on our E3 articles by checking out the title; it should have “E3 2009″ as the header. The banner images would also be decorated with E3 identifiers, so that shouldn’t be too hard to do. Have your fill, cos there’s definitely more this week.
QJ Front Page:
Beyond the hardware (which we had a lookback on last week), we also had a software retrospective, checking back on the games that were presented at last year’s event, and how they fared later on in the E3 year. The most spot-on, basically, would have to be Sony, although it was Microsoft who had the biggest shocker with the revelation of an Xbox 360 version for Final Fantasy XIII. Nintendo, well, they were all smiles (that was their theme), and they gave us quite a laugh with their Wii Music presentation.
Link: QJ QuickPeek Special Edition: The E3 2009 software retrospective
Right at the tailend of this weekend was another QuickPeek Special Edition, this time looking forward to what the publishers and other attending companies have to offer to us at E3 2009 in the LA Convention Center. Wanna catch a recap of all that was said to have “More details at E3 ‘09″? This is the list for you.
Link: QJ QuickPeek Special Edition – The games of E3 2009
Aaaaaaaand, that’s it. You know what comes after this: E3 2009. All those weeks of anticipation have finally come down to this. We’re certain it will be a blast, and we’re hoping that the big folks out there won’t disappoint.
This is one big spark the gaming industry needs. We’re all positive that this will be just the right jumpstart that we all need to come back with a bang from the slump we’ve all been through the past year.
Here’s to us all crossing our fingers for the success of E3 2009. Keep it right here, we’re definitely gonna be bringing you all that you need to know from E3.
Keep it jumpin’!
QuickJump QuickPeek Special Edition – The games of E3 2009
Filed in External News, , 3:00 pm
We’ve had a few publishers whip their E3 lineups out this week, so we’re starting to get a picture of all those publishers and developers packed inside the LA Convention Center next week – but hold up, a few won’t cut it. There are over a hundred different companies flocking to show their goods at the Electronic Entertainment Expo – publishers, developers, retailers, game sites, and all sorts of businesses having to do with electronic entertainment.
For this edition of our QuickPeek E3 Specials, let’s put the spotlight at what some of gaming’s hottest companies have in store for us at the expo.
How many times did you read, “More details will come on E3″ or “the announcement will be made on E3″ blah blah blah this week? I’m sure all the please-wait-for-E3 lines must’ve gotten annoying at some point, and the tough part is that we put up with it every year. So let’s put out this little checklist of everyone who told us what they’re bringing and see next week if they deliver on the promise or not.
It’s gonna be quite a list, so I hope you have a drink and some chips close by. Now let’s get this thing going!
Games announced
Activision didn’t promise on this one, but they are likely to get quizzed on the possibility of a GTA-MMO. But even if the subject isn’t brought up at the expo, the publisher already has a very formidable roster as it is. They could make a killing over there even if they stuck to that list. Also note that Wolfenstein is the only one with an actual date up there, so it would be helpful too if we got release info.
Since Atlus refused to reveal their full E3 lineup until June 2nd, we’re left to play guessing games as to what they’re bringing. For certain, there’s gonna be something for the US version of Demon’s Souls, and it’s very likely that the newly-announced Trauma Center, Hospital may get some more details as well.
Possible lineup:
- Class of Heroes (PSP) – June 9
- Demon’s Souls (PS3)
- Devil Survivor (DS) – June 23
- Hospital (Wii)
- Knights in the Nightmare (DS) – June 2
- Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament (PSP) – June 30
One of the sure spectacles on the Bethesda booth would be the new Splash Damage creation, Brink. For Fallout 3, there may be some more info on DLC for the PS3 version this time around, and Pete Hines may reveal some more info on the future of the franchise. Bethesda may also feature their newly-acquired Wet (PS3, Xbox 360) after having rescued the title from publisher limbo.
It was too early in May when Capcom’s E3 lineup was announced, leaving two mystery titles in the shadows. The first one didn’t survive the secrecy for too long and was confirmed to be Tatsunoko vs. Capcom with a US release. Little by little, the second Capcom mystery title gets some more hints and a few Tweets. We know it’s not Devil May Cry 5, but we still don’t know what it is. Maybe they’ll leave that for the actual expo proper?
Games announced:
- Overlord II (360, PS3, PC)
- Overlord: Dark Legend (Wii)
- Overlord: Minions (DS)
- DiRT 2 (360, PS3, PC, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP)
- Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (360, PS3, PC)
Games announced:
- Monster Mayhem: Build and Battle (Wii, DS)
- My Virtual Tutor (DS)
- Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (Xbox 360, PS3)
- Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection (Wii)
- Real Heroes: Firefighters (Wii)
- World Championship Athletics (Wii)
When you’re a publisher the size of Electronic Arts, you’re bound to pack your bags full and fly to E3 like you’re moving there for good. EA, is bringing a hefty roster to E3 that spans across multiple genres and platforms. It’s a long list, so you might want to take a look and check if some from your watch list are there.
Games announced:
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Just Cause 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Mimi Ninjas (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS)
Unlike EA, Eidos will sport a quiet booth, with the exception of the very crisp Batman: Arkham Asylum. The expo will see the Free Flow and Invisible Predator challenge maps and we would most likely get some more info on the game apart from the stuff we’ve seen in the vids and screenshots. It’d be interesting to see if the Squeenix acquisition has made its mark on the publisher, or if the Japanese giant will leave its European stronghold, at least for now.
No lineup for this developer, but the focus of their booth at the expo will be the closed-door presentations of the Unreal Engine 3 and all its features. We’ve covered a few details and screens, but more is sure to come once the Epic Games guys bring their stuff out at their E3 presentations.
Games announced:
- Jakers! Let’s Explore – (Wii, PC)
- Moomin: The Mysterious Howling – (DS, PC)
We have a winner! Flying to Los Angeles carrying only two games is Graffiti Entertainment, making them the lightest traveler on our list. Both titles still have a pending rating but they’re a definite E for Everyone with their family-friendly content.
The highlight for High Voltage Software this year probably won’t be The Conduit because that one’s showing up at Sega’s booth. Instead, we’ll be watching out for its two new projects, one of which, is the Coliseum carnage of Gladiator A.D. They released the first video earlier this week, but it’s nothing too snazzy at the moment. Perhaps by E3, they’ll have a much better presentation for the rare Wii bloodfest.
Games announced:
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii)
- Nostalgia (DS)
- The King of FIghters XII (PS3, Xbox 360)
No lineup press release for Ignition Entertainment, at least not recently. As it is, their list stands as the ones mentioned above, but that was way early this month to be final…or isn’t it? Either way, King of Fighters XII is definitely their booth’s centerpiece for the expo, and fans will definitely be keeping an eye out for the back-to-basics gameplay as well as for Mai Shiranui.
I’m personally more intrigued with Warriors: Legends of Troy. If indeed this is gonna be a Trojan War Dynasty Warriors game, then I’d love to try and do some damage with Hector. I’m not even expecting big innovations for the game, just a few would be good enough as long as it keeps true to the Dynasty Warriors slaughtering frenzy.
All eyes will be on Konami at E3, largely because of that @# Kojima Productions teaser site and its aggravating chain of countdowns. Hopefully by E3, Kojima and his band of Snake-wranglers are gonna tell us what those characters mean, who that beat-up looking guy is, and how their consciences could handle doing all that to us. That would a good start to their “revolutionary announcements.”
As for their other games, expect Silent Hill: Shattered Memories for the Wii, and Zephyr: Rise of the Elementals for the PS3, Xbox360, and the Wii.
Games announced:
- A Boy and his Blob (Wii)
- Flip’s Twisted World (Wii)
- Go Play City Sports (Wii)
- Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2010 (Wii)
- My Hero Firefighter (DS)
- Our House: Party (Wii)
No Babysitting Mama? I was kinda curious about that one since Majesco filed the trademark. Oh well. There’s A Boy and His Blob anyway, that ought to be good too.
Ah, yes. Microsoft. They’ve got a lot to cover in E3 in a couple of days so they must be smothered in work right now. For starters, there might be some clarification on the Halo: Reach rumors that started floating around recently. There’s also the big Lionhead Studios announcement from Peter Molyneux to look forward to, with his “insanely simple” and yet “ridiculously ambitious” comments earlier. Either would qualify for the announcement of the AAA exclusive that they promised.
Now things are gonna get juicier. With the announcement of the Zune Marketplace for XBL, it might not be a far-fetched idea to expect the ZuneX to be confirmed in E3. If the rumors are true, then we might be saying hello to a new handheld very soon.
Speaking of new hardware, the rumored magic wand controller and Xbox motion-sensor should also be brought to the table. Whether the two are linked remains to be seen, but if the Xbox motion-sensor is hands-free like the rumored specs say, then we might be looking at two separate controllers for the Xbox 360.
As for a few new games, Tomonobu Itagaki has a lot of friends at Microsoft, so expect him and the rest of his new crew to make their presentation at the Microsoft booth.
Aaron Greenberg himself revealed that previous attempts to guess their E3 news is far from what they’re actually bringing. Coming up with answers for all of these is big, but will it be as big as greenberg promised?
If there’s one thing that MTV Games will be hyping up this year, it’s gonna be Beatles: Rock Band (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii). George Harrison’s son Dhani says that the E3 exhibit will “blow our minds,” but then again, he already said the same in an interview back at the Spike VGA. Whatever the case, it’s about The Beatles, and it should still be worth a look.
With only four titles coming to E3 this year and the absence of their other notable titles such as Tales of VS, the Namco Bandai booth is gonna be more Namco than Bandai, with eyes watching Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion and Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny. Those expecting to see some Dragon Ball may have to settle for interview confirmations or minor announcements because the publisher didn’t take any of the ones they’ve announced.
With Nintendo big brass Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime, and Cammie Dunaway in attendance, Nintendo is sure to whip out some major announcements in the expo. While they don’t have hardware rumors to quash like Microsoft and Sony, the king of the casual games market does have a new confirmed controller coming up, which is the Wii MotionPlus.
With the sizable number of games to hit the Wii before the end of the fiscal year, Nintendo may confirm which titles will have MotionPlus support. And when it comes support for the new controller, expect Wii Sports Resort to make an appearance.
To some extent, Nintendo has kept quiet about their E3 plans. Macquarie Research analysis says that Nintendo should have a Mario or Zelda game announcement at the expo, and according to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, a new Mario game might be on its way. Looks like we’ll really have to see what they do in E3.
And on a completely off-topic note, we won’t be seeing a Nadal-Federer match on the French Open with a surprising Nadal loss to Robin Soderling earlier. This means that the Grand Slam Tennis trailer “prediction” can only be half-fulfilled at best.
With the kick-ass Bayonetta trailer coming in the nick of time, the tide may have turned for Sega and the rest of its E3 2009 lineup. High Voltage’s The Conduit sounds promising, but the developer is gonna be busy with its two new projects in its own booth. As it is, Sega’s got a pretty respectable lineup for the expo.
Games announced:
- Fat Princess (PS3)
- God of War III (PS3)
- Heavy Rain (PS3)
- Infamous (PS3)
- Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
- MAG (PS3)
- MotorStorm: Arctic Edge (PS2, PSP)
- Pain! Sore Spots (PS3)
- PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe (PSP)
- PixelJunk Shooter (PS3)
- Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)
- SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 (PSP)
- Singstar: Queen (PS2, PS3)
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
- White Knight Chronicles (PS3)
- DC Universe Online (PC, PS3)
- Free Realms (PC)
- Kung Fu Hustle (PC)
- Legends of Norrath (PC)
- PoxNora (PC)
- The Agency (PC, PS3)
Combining the forces of SCEA, SCEE, and Sony Online Entertainment comes Sony with a monster lineup that’s sure to draw a big crowd. Titan Studios is gonna be carrying Fat Princess into the LA Convention Center so something tells me they might serve cake to some of the attendees.
New details about God of War III just rolled in, and expect the exhibit to reveal more footages as well as motion-control details. For MAG, hold on to your seats because SCEE and Zipper Interactive have confirmed that the massive action shooter will be playable at E3. It’s also possible to see more of the eight-player multiplayer mode of MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, and the four-player co-op for Fireteam Bravo 3.
Don’t leave the Internet-loving world this week because there’s gonna be a lot of heat in the expo.
Tecmo may not be the biggest booth in the convention but it would be interesting to see the Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 demo that Team Ninja promised for their E3 exhibit. Now that the core group of Tomonobu Itagaki packed up and left, it’d be interesting how the rebuilt Team Ninja handled the franchise.
No press release from THQ yet, but it’s not that hard to peg which titles they’re taking to E3. First is their newly-announced FPS, Homefront. Waiting to be unveiled is the new Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, a new action RPG. It’s also possible for THQ to take attendees around the octagon in UFC 2009 Undisputed as well.
Games announced:
- Assassin’s Creed 2
- Rabbids Go Home
- Red Steel 2
Games announced:
- Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii)
- Flower, Sun, and Rain (DS)
- FRAGILE: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)
- Half-Minute Hero (PSP)
- JU-ON: The Grudge (Wii)
- Little King’s Story (Wii)
- Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP)
- Ragnarok Online (DS)
- Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii)
Full Guitar Hero 5 band list revealed
Filed in External News, , 1:42 pm
After trickling the whole thing out piece by piece on different websites, Activision has finally put up a complete list of the bands whose songs will show up in Guitar Hero 5 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii) on the game’s official website.
The list contains a whopping 84 different bands (I thought it was supposed to be 85?), but it’s not clear if all of them will be included on-disc when the game hits retail or if some will be held back as future DLC releases. Guitar Hero 5 is slated for a September 1, 2009, release.
- 3 Doors Down
- A Perfect Circle
- AFI
- Arctic Monkeys
- Attack! Attack! UK
- Band Of Horses
- Beastie Boys
- Beck
- Billy Idol
- Billy Squier
- Blink-182
- Blur
- Bob Dylan
- Bon Jovi
- Brand New
- Bush
- Children Of Bodom
- Coldplay
- Darker My Love
- Darkest Hour
- David Bowie
- Deep Purple
- Dire Straits
- Duran Duran
- Eagles Of Death Metal
- Elliott Smith
- Elton John
- Face To Face
- Garbage
- Gorillaz
- Gov’t Mule
- Grand Funk Railroad
- Iggy Pop
- Iron Maiden
- Jeff Beck
- Jimmy Eat World
- John Mellencamp
- Johnny Cash
- Kaiser Chiefs
- King Crimson
- Kings Of Leon
- Kiss
- Love and Rockets
- Megadeth
- M tley Cr e
- Muse
- My Morning Jacket
- Nirvana
- No Doubt
- Peter Frampton
- Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde
- Queen & David Bowie
- Queens Of The Stone Age
- Rammstein
- Rose Hill Drive
- Rush
- Santana
- Scars On Broadway
- Screaming Trees
- Smashing Pumpkins
- Sonic Youth
- Spacehog
- Stevie Wonder
- Sublime
- Sunny Day Real Estate
- T. Rex
- The Bronx
- The Derek Trucks Band
- The Duke Spirit
- The Killers
- The Police
- The Raconteurs
- The Rolling Stones
- The Sword
- The White Stripes
- Thin Lizzy
- Thrice
- Tom Petty
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
- TV On The Radio
- Vampire Weekend
- Weezer
- Wild Cherry
- Wolfmother
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Phantom Brave: We Meet Again to have dual voiceovers
Filed in External News, , 9:36 am
Anime fans generally fall into two camps: those who hate dubs and those who prefer them (there’s also a third camp: those who don’t give a damn). The same is basically true for gamers. Some just prefer their localized games to have the original voice acting intact.
For Phantom Brave: We Meet Again, NIS America is catering to the whims of both groups by putting in dual English and Japanese voiceovers. Here’s a blurb from the NIS America press release:
In appreciation of all the great fan support, NIS America negotiated with the developer in Japan and they have happily accepted the request. The development team has noted that as long as fans and gamers can enjoy Phantom Brave we ll do our best to get this feature in .
The implementation of this feature is a double-edged sword, however. Due to the extra development time needed, Phantom Brave: We Meet Again won’t be meeting its June release date. It will instead launch on August 4.
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E3 2009: XSEED lineup includes Yuusha 30, Lunar, more
Filed in External News, , 8:48 am
XSEED’s E3 2009 press release got buried in the mass of press releases we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks, but I just had to post it even if it’s a bit late since it confirms US releases for two PSP games I’ve been watching out for.
First is Marvelous Entertainment’s Yuusha 30, which has been renamed to Half-Minute Hero. This game has one of the quirkier gameplay mechanics I’ve seen recently. Second is Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, Game Arts’ PSP remake of the classic Lunar RPG. Both games are scheduled for fall releases.
Other notable entries in the XSEED lineup are Suda51’s Flower, Sun and Rain for the Nintendo DS and Namco Bandai’s Wii RPG, Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. Here’s a complete list of what XSEED will be showing off at E3 along with their release targets:
- Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP) – Fall 2009
- Half-Minute Hero (PSP) – Fall 2009
- Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii) – Winter 2009
- Arc Rise Fantasia (Wii) – Winter 2009
- Flower, Sun and Rain (DS) – June 16, 2009
- JU-ON: The Grudge (Wii) – October 2009
- Little King’s Story (Wii) – July 2009
- Ragnarok Online (DS) – Winter 2009
- Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga (Wii) – Summer 2009
Related articles:
- Famitsu whips out screens for the remake of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
- Yuusha 30 multiplayer mode detailed
Nikkei: New Mario Wii game later this year, Wii Fit Plus also coming
Filed in External News, , 7:06 am
Nintendo said last year that the Mario and Zelda development teams were working on new Wii games, so it’s already a given that we’ll be seeing new games in those franchises soon. According to Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, that “soon” means “later this year”. For Mario, at least.
The Nikkei report was a bit vague on the subject, but apparently Nintendo plans to release a new Mario game by the end of the year. The question here is whether it’ll be a major Mario game or not.
Another new Wii game mentioned in the report was Wii Fit Plus, an online-capable follow-up to the bestselling Wii Fit. The paper was more specific about the details for this game, mentioning that the online feature will let users compete with friends and family, presumably by sharing and comparing fitness data. Wii Fit Plus will also feature more accurate measurements.
Chances are, both games will be in the spotlight during Nintendo’s E3 2009 press conference, so hopefully we’ll learn more on Tuesday.
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Wii Homebrew – Wii Quizz v2.1.5
Filed in External News, May 30, 2009, 8:26 pmStraight off Cashman’s Productions is this enjoyable Wii homebrew quiz, Wii Quiz v2.1.5. As the name implies, it’s not gonna be an easy walk in the park as this game is meant to challenge your ability to complete quizzes and puzzles.
For this version, you will be faced with French quiz questions, so unless you at least read French, then on that front alone you’d have already lost the game. But if language is not a barrier for you, then you might go on to win one million dollars. Be careful, cos it’s a right-minus-wrong score system.
There’s also the Wii Quiz Online, which lets you see if a newer version of the game has been updated online. Also, you can check and compare your high scores, as well as see the six best scores in each mode.
As for the controls:
Download: Wii Quiz v2.1.5
Phi Harrison steps down as Atari president, assumes non-executive role
Filed in External News, , 4:59 pmLast year, Phil Harrison made quite a ruckus when he severed ties with SCEI as their president, and then jumping on board Atari’s team, via parent company Infogrames, to serve as President. Today, however, we receive word that he will be stepping down from the position, and will assume instead a non-executive Director role.
In an official statement made by Atari, as part of their fiscal year report:
Because of a shift of business operations to the US, Phil Harrison will move from the role of President to that of non-executive Director of the Group. As all Board Members, he will continue to assist, support and guide the Company’s strategy.
“Non-executive”… that sounds synonymous to “teethless”, don’t you think? But we’ve yet to hear from Harrison himself, and from Atari, as to how this “step down” occurred, and who will be taking Harrison’s place as Mr. Prez.
We’ll keep you posted on the details.
Related Phil Harrison Articles:
- Phil Harrison now president of Infogrames
- Phil Harrison talks about Atari, reason for quitting, opportunities for gaming
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