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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up joined by Rabbids

Joining the fray of big releases this fall is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up, a brawler based on the turtles that some of us love and grew up with. This latest scoop tells us that Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello will be joined by a couple of their publisher brothers – the Rabbids.

Two Rabbids were spotted at the Japan Expo, making their little cameo in the Wii TMNT fighter. One of them is a Splinter Rabbid from and the other is a Raving Rabbid – both spinning-off from Ubisoft franchises Splinter Cell and Rayman. No info on whether there’s a white-hooded Assassin’s Rabbid or a Rabbid of Persia.

One more notable fact about TMNT: Smash-up is that it’s being developed by Game Arts, the guys behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so this could be a great brawler.

Turtles = good. Brawler game = good. Rabbids = funny. I think Ubisoft just made a good call on this one – love the Rabbids or not, their little cameo still adds some value to the game. Let’s just hope that the the cool TMNT side characters, like Casey Jones and Usagi Yojimbo, are all there first, though.

• Ubisoft’s new TMNT brawler coming this Fall

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Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 The Next Chapter trailer

The next chapter is here for Tomy Corporation’s Naruto series, Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3, — or the trailer of it, at least. The vid below shows the cel-shaded beauty of this latest installment in the franchise, and promising over 30 playable characters plus Wi-Fi for the first time.

But those details, you’d want to read about. This, you have to see.

Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is slated to come out exclusively for the Wii this Fall of 2009. Expect the sales of the Wii console to shoot through the roof at around the same time as well.

• E3 2009: Tomy showcasing new Naruto Shippuden games

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Fumito Ueda on GTA IV and Super Mario Galaxy: Not impressed

Fumito Ueda, director and lead designer for the hit video games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus is not a big fan of GTA IV (Xbox 360, PS3) and Super Mario Galaxy – both hit video games too in their own rights. He expresses his opinion on this issue and more in the latest issue of LEVEL magazine.

On GTA IV, he says that “the biggest problem with the game is the lack of innovative things int he game. The graphic style impresses, but not the base premise, which is exactly the same as the predecessors.”

As for Mario Galaxy:

Yes, I have played it, it was hard not to since it was rumored that Miyamoto-san was inspired by me. But I had expected more, that segment, was like the rest of the game, not so fun as it could have been. I think the fans made a big deal out of nothing when they said Miyamoto had stolen it from me. The thing I am critical over isn’t that they didn’t borrow anything that isn’t unique for my game, but that they didn’t make more fun stages out of it.

Hmmm… that’s an unusual food for thought right there. If you should “borrow” ideas, make sure to utilize them to the best of their potential so as to not add insult to injury. In my words, or something.

• Famitsu Interview: Fumito Ueda talks about the Last Guardian
• Sony Japan releases The Last Guardian screenshots

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Snooze snooze revolution – the finger dance pad alarm clock

Revolutionizing the way you wake up is this fun alarm clock spotted at online retail site, Thumbs Up. It’s very much reminiscent of the arcade dance machine for Dance Dance Revolution, but it doesn’t carry the trademark from Konami. It does, however, make your fingers dance on the lit arrow keys every time you beg the morning to give you five more minutes.

I’m not kidding. You have to earn your extra snooze minutes with this one. If you want to shut this thing up for a few more minutes, it gives you a pattern for your fingers to dance to, much like in the arcade dance game. On a more practical note, having to make your brain work to finger-dance the snooze will effectively help waking you up and prevent the sinister five minutes from turning into 30.

One thing that the product description doesn’t indicate is that if this thing supports song playback (probably not) and if the finger dance pattern is randomly generated or if you have the same one every morning.

Of course, the oldschool alternative to shutting alarm clock would be throwing them into the nearest wall, but you’d be wasting the 9.99 (US 16) that you spent in getting one of these.

• UK Tesco store selling Super Marion Celebration Cakes
• Goomba Cake, yum!
  

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Green Day coming around to Rock Band 2 tomorrow

They heard us crying loud… I can hear Billie Joe Armstrong singing “When I Come Around” while I’m typing this down. Growing up to the music of their Dookie album has that kind of effect. Anyway, as previously announced, Green Day is gonna make their July 7 schedule into Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2), for the Wii version at the very least. “When I Come Around” may not be in the first batch, but I’m still hoping that the Dookie album will have its day.

As it is, the three songs promised as the first batch would be 21 Guns, Know Your Enemy, and East Jesus Nowhere from their upcoming album, 21st Century Breakdown.

Accompanying Green Day would be 24 other songs from various artists including The Presidents of the United States of America, Slayer, and Marilyn Manson. Here’s the list:

• The Presidents of the USA “Dune Buggy”
• The Presidents of the USA “Feather Pluckn”
• The Presidents of the USA “Ladybug”
• Behemoth “Conquer All”
• Black Dahlia Murder “What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse”
• Cannibal Corpse “Hammer Smashed Face”
• God Forbid “Empire of the Gun”
• Job for a Cowboy “Embedded”
• Marilyn Manson “Disposable Teens”
• Slayer “Black Magic”
• Whitechapel “This Is Exile”
• The Offspring “Self Esteem”
• Screaming Trees “Nearly Lost You”
• Static-X “Push It”
• Plain White T’s “Natural Disaster”
• Hot Hot Heat “Bandages”
• Kasabian “Shoot the Runner”
• Sleater-Kinney “You’re No Rock N’ Roll Fun”
• The Stone Roses “Love Spreads”
• Against Me! “Stop!”
• Lamb of God “Laid to Rest”
• The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets “Shhh .”
• Jonathan Coulton “Skullcrusher Mountain”
• MC Frontalot “Livin’ at the Corner of Dude Catastrophe”
• Crooked X “Gone”

The Wii version of Rock Band 2 will get “Hammer Smashed Face” from Cannibal Corpse, although exclusivity does not appear to be final. What’s confirmed for the Wii version, however, is that the last four songs on the above list will come only at 100 Wii Points.

• Pearl Jam joins in the jam on Rock Band

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Nintendo Channel Updates 7/6/09 (NA)

VIDEOS:
Wii:
–The Conduit – TV Spot
–What’s New at Animal Crossing: City Folk
–Guitar Hero Smash Hits Launch Video
–Grand Slam Tennis – First Play Reactions
–Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil – Video
–Mini Ninjas – Hiro
–Let’s Tap – Silent Blocks
–EA Sports Active – Social Play
–Academy of Champions: Soccer Info Video
DS:
–Ace Attorney Investigations – Teaser
–Asphalt 4: Elite Racing Info Video
–Dementium II [...]

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BioWare: Expanding audience will shift games appeal from violence to narratives

Yes, it is possible that in the future, as gaming becomes more mainstream and its audience expands, the appeal of video games will shift from combat thrills to storytelling – a sign that the industry is maturing. This is the opinion of BioWare’s Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka in an interview with GamesIndustry.

Said BioWare’s creative officer Zeschuk:

We talk a certain amount internally about whether you need to have combat as part of the experience. Are there possibilities to actually start separating pieces of the game and actually tailor it to the audience?

Certainly the core gaming experience, folks that are used to playing games over the last ten years, they want to have those battle moments, and the fighting. But there are different audiences that would maybe just enjoy the story. I think it’s actually possible.

I think the interesting thing about it too is I don’t even know if it’s even necessarily a technology thin. I think once we’ve gotten the breadth of audience available to us, there could be really good opportunities created by different people coming to games that are story-driven.

Muzyka, meanwhile, parrots that notion, saying that:

I think the videogame industry is at that point now where you’re going to start to see this blossoming of all kinds of really cool multiple dimensions of settings and genres and kinds of characterisation as the gaming industry moves from early adopters to early mainstream, to the mainstream who are now embracing games as their main form of entertainment.

It’s exciting to be in the industry at this time particularly with something as compelling as emotion and engaging narrative. For BioWare, that’s our vision, to really create these stories and characters that people believe in and they get emotional reactions to. They feel something. We’re excited about it.

They talk more about the maturing games industry in the Via link below.

• BioWare, Mythic join forces for new EA RPG/MMO development group
• Muzyka: BioWare intrigued by idea of developing on Wii
• ‘Unannounced AAA project’ in the works at BioWare?
  

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GH drum kit made over for Guitar Hero 5?

A source for Engadget sent out this image of the supposed made-over version of Guitar Hero’s drum kit. Said to be launched in time for Guitar Hero 5 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii), it looks less bulky — and more like Rock Band’s drum kit.

                                                Before                                                      After

If you look closely, the more obvious changes would be the transfer of the control console from the tip of the drum kit to the other end, right in front of the drummer. Apart from that, the shape of the cymbals had been remodeled from the inverted fan form to the regular round-shaped ones.

What you don’t see even if you magnify your zoom to the max is the presence of three mini ports at the back: two for kick pedals, and one black mini jack for yet-to-be-seen purposes. Much like the one the Rock Band drum kit.

Be that as it may, the other mystery to all this is that Activision has yet to unveil this revamped version of the drum kit. If it really were supposed to be for the GH5, you’d think they’d get a move on the launch of this peripheral given that the game itself is coming out in just a couple of months.

We’ll keep you updated on this one.

• Full Guitar Hero 5 band list revealed
• Guitar Hero 5 slated for September
  

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800 jobs to be created in Ubisoft’s new Toronto Studio

Ubisoft has announced that they have plans to open a studio in Toronto, Ontario to expand operations and make use of creative talent in the region. Another great thing about this new studio is that it’ll create 800 new jobs in the next decade. Win-win situation right there.

So says Yves Guillemot, president and CEO:

We are in an excellent position to grow and after extensive analysis we are thrilled to have reached an agreement with the government of Ontario to found our new studio in Toronto. The city is one of North America s economic and cultural epicenters and our expectations are high. We re excited to be able to count on the exceptional local talent, who will contribute to our accelerated growth and will have a profound impact on the video game industry with the excellence of their creativity.

Ubisoft will be getting the support of Ontario’s local government, which will invest CA 263 million over ten years into the company. Ubisoft, on the other hand, will be investing more than half a billion Canadian dollars into the studio, which will begin operations later this year. ” Today s announcement marks a strategic move for Ubisoft as we continue to expand our internal development force,” said Guillemot.

Ubisoft Toronto will be working on AAA games and will collaborate with the city’s film industry veterans. The new studio is expected to contribute to Ubisoft’s convergence strategy, which involves extending its brands to books, comics, short films, and other products.

• Ubisoft: Splinter Cell: Conviction never gonna happen on PS3
• Guillemot: Ubisoft ready for next console generation, traditional controls still the best
  

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Wii homebrew – Dolphin Unofficial SVN build 3661

The Dolphin Team has released a new update for the Unofficial SVN build of Dolphin, the Gamecube and Nintendo Wii emulator for Windows. The latest SVN build has been described as the best release of Dolphin for a long time. Games such as Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda Wind Waker are both working having functioning sound.

The Super Mario Galaxy graphical issues has also been fixed and is now completely playable. Other changes in SVN build 3661 include:

• Fix a nasty dualcore hang in EFB read (see r3658 comment…)
• Also fix an issue reported by baby.lueshi ( issue 1074 ) in nJoy related to half
• press button being always pressed when unset.

Here’s a little video of Super Mario Galaxy using the latest build of Dolphin.

Download: Dolphin Unofficial SVN build 3661 (Win/32-bit)
Download: Dolphin Unofficial SVN build 3661 (Win/64-bit)

• Wii homebrew – Dolphin Unofficial SVN build 3404