Blog5 Games

Celebrating thirty (THIRTY!) years of Zork and twenty years of Leisure Suit Larry, the Las Vegas AdventureCon will act as the meeting ground for gamers who love the dying point-click-read genre.

Old and old-shool gamers who have a fondness for The Longest Journey, Zork, or Gabriel Knight should clear their calendars for the August 28th and 29th get together as it promises some pretty big names… in the adventure game world, of course.

Registration is open now and the whole shebang will set you back $599 per person (including hotel rooms, meals, and con tickets), but cheaper packages are available. Hardcore adventure games hitting Vegas in the middle of summer? I expect a sexy, texty time! Michael McWhertor

AdventureCon Plans Adventure Game Celebration [Gamasutra]

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Driving, Online, Video

The most-watched GameTrailers video, a trailer for Calling All Cars, is our pick for today. We’ve been wanting this title ever since we saw a tiny glimpse of it at Sonys Gamer’s Day back when it was called Criminal Crackdown. The trailer shows some of the party title’s fast, overhead racing gameplay.

Look for the downloadable PS3 game soon, and watch the trailer after the break.

Continue reading Today’s hottest game video: Calling All Cars

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Sure, they’re all cute and adorable on their own, but when they join forces in the way doc18 has captured them, then we start fearing for our safety. Look into those eyes — especially those of Link and the white Pikmin — are they yearning to feast? Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Metareview - SSX Blur
NYCC: Godzilla Wii eyes-on
NYCC: Pirates of the Burning Sea interview
Poll: How much are you playing Wii?

News
Sony hopes to resolve PS3 “shortages” by May
New Year’s gaming gorge ends in death
PS3 firmware v1.54 adds UVC camera support
Sony unveils launch lineup for Euro PlayStation Network
Study finds correlation between violent scripture and aggression, similar to games
Namco Bandai announce Outpost Kaloki successor for Wii
Stuntman Ignition on PS3 & Xbox 360 in summer 2007
Rhode Island’s gaming convention and the college gaming scene
Beatmania IIDX Gold to go on test in an American arcade
Wiicade opens up remote buttons for Flash games
PS2 held ransom for gas money
Warner Music acquires Microsoft game music rights
EA’s pure ‘Skate’ campaign
Multiwinia: Darwinia goes multiplayer in 2008

Rumors & Speculation
PS3 background downloading already broken?
GDC director: PS3 owners will be “very happy” next week
Analyst: Developer profits to suffer until 2008
Is the 20GB PS3 already on its way out?

Culture & Community
Play The Impossible Quiz, lose your mind
Know your roots: The history of consoles (1972-2006)
News flash: Baseball players play baseball games
Six ways to revitalize your old Xbox

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Pricing for upcoming releases on the PlayStation Network has been set, for the most part, for our friends in the UK. It’s okay, guys, unlike other PLAYSTATOIN 3 pricing news, this really won’t hurt that bad. Three titles will be available on launch day via the PlayStation Store, Blast Factor (£3.49), Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection (£6.99) and Gran Turismo HD (free!).

The following Friday (March 30) will see Super Rub-A-Dub hit for an unspecified price with flOw hitting one week later (April 6). No price has been set for flOw either. Go! Sudoku (April 13) and Go! Puzzle (April 20) hit the following two Fridays.

See, that wasn’t so tough! Grab a lollipop on the way out. Michael McWhertor

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox

The console that placed a distance second behind the PS2 and slightly ahead of the GameCube is dead. Kaput. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t use it for good outside of its healthy library of older games.

GamePro recommends six ways to get the most out of your antiquated Xbox. Non-collectors can sell the thing for $50-$100. Hackers can mod the thing for added gaming mileage (who needs a Virtual Console?). Living room enthusiasts can turn it into a cheap media center, or you can give it a face lift. Last-gen is your oyster.

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Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Action, Sports, Metareviews

Should there be reason for concern with another hodgepodge of reviews? IGN gives SSX Blur a thumbs-up, but warns it’s for “hardcore” gamers only; 1UP disses, claiming SSX vets will be turned off. So which is it? Why have we been sifting through so many mixed reviews for Wii games?

It’s sorta like DS’s first year, no? Everyone — publishers, developers, and gamers — are trying to figure out how it works; and what works. So then, aren’t we a little concerned? Fearful that Wii is just a gimmick. The gems will come, but might we also be faced with a lotta “meh.” SSX has been a reliable franchise, but Blur has so far scored the lowest average of any of the series’ console iterations — it’s hard not to see a message in that.

Continue reading Metareview - SSX Blur

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Filed under: PC, Online, Strategy

Introversion has announced that award-winning game Darwinia is going multiplayer. Set for release as a standalone product, Multiwinia will let you play cooperatively or competitively with someone else. The number of people who can play together simultaneously is currently unknown, but we’re hoping for for some pretty frantic action across many, many armies.

The game will be spearheaded by John Knottenbelt while Introversion co-founder Chris Delay “[begins] work on other new projects” (console titles? Subversion?). Knottenbelt mentions there will be graphical improvements from the game, though it’s unclear if he’s talking about the recent Vista upgrades or something beyond that, and a new formation mode, “which will let you organise your Darwinians into ranks to create massive armies.”

Details are sparse currently, though Introversion is expected to make a few announcements at next week’s Game Developers Conference. Multiwinia is being planned for a 2008 release.

[Thanks, Sam!]

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Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sports, Video

EA’s been selling Skate without gameplay footage (pre-rendered or not). With a series of ‘confessional shorts’ — featuring lesser-known, and therefore skaters’ skaters like PJ Ladd, Chris Cole, Jason Dill, Jerry Hsu, and Dennis Busenitz — EA is a building a thinly veiled promise. Skate will be pure; skateboarding without the “X,” Gatorade, and lot of corporate sponsors. EA wants us to believe it’s building art, not its next perennial sports franchise. This is smart advertising. But is it genuine?

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Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Business

According to one research firm, it costs Sony $65 less to sell a 60GB PS3 than it does a 20GB version. With that incentive, the manufacturer likely offers slightly better margins to retailers. So is the 20GB PS3 on its way out? Anecdotal evidence as reported by Next-Gen suggests that 20GB PS3s are near impossible to find in stores while 60GBs are readily available. But Sony PR director David Karraker maintains that his company will not put the kibosh on the $499 model and that their availability is solely up to retailers. “The type of model found in stores is completely up to what the retailer orders, so if they don’t see a big demand for a particular SKU, they simply don’t order it from us,” explained Karraker. “At this time there are no plans to change our US model offerings.” One still wonders, however, if that will remain the case. 20GB PS3s won’t even launch in Europe next month, traditionally one of Sony’s biggest markets, if not the biggest.

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Filed under: PC, Microsoft Xbox, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Warner Chappell Music, the publishing division of Warner Music Group, has reached an agreement to claim, administer, and license music compositions owned and controlled by Microsoft. The catalog includes several thousand compositions; notably those featured in the Halo, Age of Empires, Fable, and Kameo series. Music composed for future Microsoft published games is also included in the deal.

Warner Chappell will be responsible for creating new opportunities to showcase Microsoft’s music worldwide. “By partnering with Warner Chappell, we can continue to extend the value and experiences for our music and also inspire and give further recognition to the composers who are dedicated to working on video games,” said Microsoft senior director Ed Ventura.

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Filed under: Nintendo Wii, Fighting

Tucked away in a secret corner of New York Comic Con was Godzilla: Unleashed for Nintendo Wii. Considering its early pre-alpha form, Atari didn’t want to show off too much of the game. Makes sense: the game really looks incomplete at this point, especially with its primitive, worse-than-Gamecube graphics. Of course, graphics are easily correctable during a product’s development.

How were the controls? You can watch and judge for yourself. Do the motion controls really add much to this brawler? At this moment, it doesn’t appear to. The game still has a long way to go: it won’t be ready until the holiday season later this year. Hopefully, the Wii functionality of the game will feel a bit more significant, and less tacked on, the next time we see it.

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Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 2

Having trouble getting your deadbeat friend to pay you the money he owes you? Just take his game system and see how fast he comes running with the cash.

That was the strategy apparently taken by an unidentified man who stole a PlayStation 2 from Des Moines resident James Kloppenburg while he slept. According to a short article in the Des Moines Register, “Kloppenburg told police he could have the game machine back if he repaid money he owed for gasoline.” We can only assume that if Kloppenburg knows who he owes the gas money to, he also probably has a pretty good idea of who took his system. Still, according to the police report, Kloppenburg later decided not to press charges against the suspect.

Why drop the charges? Maybe the ransomer threatened to harm Kloppenburg’s precious PS2 if he didn’t back off. Maybe Kloppenburg decided to steal back his system vigilante style. Maybe Kloppenburg just paid back the gas money and now everything’s hunky dory. Whatever the case, one thing’s for certain — when debts come between friends, it’s always the innocent game consoles that suffer most.

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Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Sports

Apparently baseball players’ involvement with video games goes further than Guitar Hero related injuries. An Orange County Register story reveals that games like Sony’s MLB ‘07 The Show have “virtually become required playing in every clubhouse and on the PSPs players use to pass travel time.”

The little factoid is unattributed, but probably came from Mets third baseman and The Show cover star David Wright, who goes on to explain the game’s usefulness as a tool for checking out the competition. “Pitchers throw the curves and sliders they’re known for and hitters chase what they chase in the game. It’s like scouting,” Wright said. Does anyone else miss the days when sports games were more about accessible fun and less about being virtually indistinguishable from their real life counterparts?

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A number of readers have forwarded us emails from Microsoft showing that the Games for Windows team is prepping to test Games for Windows Live.

Unfortunately, the Games for Windows Live Beta announcement is rather sparse on details:

Are you interested in being part of a select group that is invited to help beta test a new service that lets Windows gamers connect with their friends on the Xbox through the LIVE gaming network? If you are, please read on.

The registration period for this upcoming beta testing opportunity will only be available for a limited time. To be considered you will need to complete the Games for Windows - LIVE Beta application survey.

The email goes on to say that the beta testers will be contacted in the “coming weeks” with more details. Also if you get in you have a chance at winning some spiffy prizes.

While not a killer app, I am very excited about the potential. I’m sure it will start with games like Texas Hold ‘Em and Uno, but you know full-scale games are going to be hitting the system later this year. Brian Crecente

Those so inclined to turn on their PS3 systems this morning were greeted with instructions to update to the latest firmware version, that being 1.54, which unlocks many new magical abilities of Sony’s futuristic video game box. After a little poking about, I found a list of changes over at the PlayStation.com forums.

* The image of the person you are chatting with during video chat can now be changed to match the screen size.
* You can now use a USB camera compatible with USB video class (UVC) for video chat.

They delayed my morning Virtua Fighter 5 fix for this? Hardly worthy of a whole .01, but I suppose somewhere out there who uses their PS3 for video chat that is just tickled pink right now. As an added bonus, one of our readers named Phil found that after applying the update his 160GB HDD upgrade was no longer recognized.

But hey…full size video chat! Michael Fahey

The One and Only PS3 Updates Thread [US PlayStation.com Forums - Thanks Bjorn]

I watched Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children shortly after it hit DVD and I have to say, while there were parts of it I enjoyed, overall I felt the experience was disjointed.

Apparently I’m in the minority, Square Enix just announced that the CG film was awarded Best Anime Feature during the American Anime awards held at the New York Comic Con last week.

“Thanks to the dedication of our loyal fans, FINAL FANTASY VII has come to enjoy 10 years of undying popularity,” said Shinji Hashimoto, Producer, “FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN, a direct sequel in the COMPILATION of FINAL FANTASY VII series, brings the series into the next century with today’s state-of-the-art CG, and we’re sure fans enjoyed seeing old friends brought to new life on the screen. As creators, we are very proud of the finished product, and as developers, it is truly an honor to receive an award of this magnitude.

We hope for your continued support as the COMPILATION of FINAL FANTASY VII delves deeper into this exciting world. Thank you.”

If you’re a Final Fantasy fan (I’m not) who hasn’t seen this yet you can pick it up for the PSP or on DVD from Sony Pictures. Brian Crecente

Eidos is delivering a little DLC to Xbox 360 owners tomorrow in the form of new battle maps for their World War 2 strategy game, Battlestations: Midway. Two new maps to be precise, one for the single player campaign called The Raid on Truk, and one multiplayer map, The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea. Also included in the new content pack is a variety of new vehicles, including the P-38 Lightning and the stealthy Type A mini-sub.

How much will two maps and five vehicles set you back? 600 MS points, or roughly $7.50, for far less content than many other publishers hand out for free - but who can truly put a price on the freedom of the (virtual) western world? Michael Fahey

Battlestations: Midway Marketplace levels release tomorrow

Tomorrow , the fast growing community of Xbox 360 Battlestations: Midway players will get the chance to engage in fresh new Pacific battles as two new historical battle maps and brand new vehicles become available on Xbox Live ® Marketplace for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

The new battle maps will re-enact two epic battles from the Pacific war: The Battle of Sibuyan Sea and The Raid on Truk. Both maps and five new vehicles will be available to download from March 1st.

The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea provides a new multi player experience based on one of the major battles of the Leyte Gulf Campaign, the greatest naval warfare battle in history that effectively destroyed the Japanese fleet in October of 1944. Players command either the US Fleet featuring the USS Iowa and USS Enterprise or Japan’s finest fleet, Kurita, featuring the super battleships Yamato and the ill-fated Musashi.

The single player battle, The Raid on Truk, is based on Operation Hailstone, a massive naval air and surface attack launched by the United States Navy against the Japanese naval and air base at Truk. The devastating attack took place in mid-February 1944. Players command the US Fleet in a four phase battle starting with a P-38 air strike and leading to the command of the USS Enterprise and her screening force.

The new battles will also feature a new and unique set of air, sea, and undersea vehicles that will challenge the player’s skills and naval strategies:

P-38 Lightning
A fast, powerful and distinctive twin-engine interceptor and one of the most important American fighters of the Second World War. Its long range and twin engines made it well suited for duty in the Pacific.

Nakijima J1N1 Gekko
The first Japanese aircraft designed and built specifically to intercept and destroy other aircraft at night. It was deadly against Bombers and as a powerful kamikaze plane against ships.

USS Iowa (BB-61)
The lead battleship of its class. Nicknamed “The Big Stick”, this famous flagship fought in numerous and significant battles in World War II and the Korean War.

IJN Shimakaze
The IJN Shimakaze (”Island Wind’) is considered to be the fastest and most powerful Destroyer of World War II and she was the only one of her class built.

Type A mini-sub
The Type A mini-sub was a two-man submarine. Difficult to detect, the Type A submarines were used during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and throughout the war.

I just finished playing around with SSX Blur on the Wii for the past hour or so.

I’m sort on the rail with the game. I really like it, but some of those spinning and rolling moves and the grabs seem to work better when you flail your arms around wildly rather than trying to do what they say you should do.

In the tutorial I found that even under the best of circumstances the air controls just weren’t 100 percent. For instance, to roll you’re suppose to turn the remote to one side or the other and to roll you tilt it foward or backwards. I discovered that no matter how hard or often I tried the game only let me roll and spin in one direction. It was really weird.

And the grabs, which entail holding a button while in the air and moving the nunchuck in a direction, only seemed to work about two-thirds of the time.

Initially, I thought the steering was just as touchy, but after playing it for a bit I got into the groove and now I love it.

To steer you use the thumbstick on the nunchuck, but to carve (do wider smoother turns) you also have to tilt the entire nunchuck. Initially it’s as awkward as it sounds, but after a bit I got really into it and the ground controls felt incredibly responsive.

The graphics are fairly good, lots of sunlight glares, flying snow and powder. The character models are a little rough, but Electronic Arts decision to go with a more cartoon-like look helps to disguise that.

The game plays a lot like other SSX titles. You unlock different parts of a mountain and can free ski or snowboard or run into different contest that test your racing and trick skills.

I played the split-screen a few times with my son and we both enjoyed it. No slowdown and the front racer is marked with a column of light, so if you’re not too far away you can sorta see where they are.

I’ve got to spend a lot more time with the game, but right now I’d put it firmly in the buy category. Lots of fun, with a bit of frustration thrown in, but nothing that totally kills the experience. Brian Crecente

Sim City DS, recently released in Japan, is on its way to the rest of the world this summer, complete with replacement of the formerly undecipherable squigglies with actual English-language text, making it much easier for me to play. EA, as they often do, have issued a press release with details on the upcoming game, highlighting the unique features that separate the DS version from the original PC version of SimCity 3000. Feautures like being able to sign off on proclamations using the stylus as well as put out fires by blowing into the microphone.

I’ve often said that the one thing missing from Sim City was the ability to blow on it. Too many games get caught up with simply blowing and have never taken the next step, which is allowing the player to blow themselves. That didn’t come out right.

From what I’ve seen so far the game does fulfill on the promise to put the Sim City experience into your hands, so I will forgive them their good-intentioned flight of DS whimsy there. Hit the jump for the press release! Michael Fahey

EA BRINGS SIMCITY TO Nintendo DS PLATFORM
SIMCITY DS OFFERS CITY BUILDING EXPERIENCE ON THE GO TO FANS AROUND THE WORLD

CHERTSEY, Surrey, - February 28, 2007 - Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) announced today that the SimCity™ franchise is returning with SimCity™ DS, developed especially for the Nintendo DS™ platform. In addition to creating and growing their very own pocket sized city while being on-the-go, players will be able to leverage the unique action features of the Nintendo DS system, discovering an entirely new way to play this internationally acclaimed franchise. The product will make its debut to consumers worldwide in summer of this year.

True to the SimCity series, players will be able to create and control their city in the palm of their hands…and much more. Maximizing the stylus and built-in microphone controls of the Nintendo DS, SimCity DS brings to the franchise like never before the feeling of personal involvement with your city–from blowing into the microphone to put out fires in the city to signing off on mayoral proclamations with your stylus. By enabling the players to communicate with each other, the “wireless data exchange” feature brings additional interactivity into the game. As an added bonus to SimCity fans around the world, the game also offers a wide array of recognizable international landmarks to spice up your city.

“We are very excited to bring the SimCity experience to the Nintendo DS platform,” said Takahiro Murakami, Producer of SimCity DS. “The unique Nintendo DS functionalities inspired us to incorporate many new features to delight the most dedicated SimCity fans. The game is filled with fun surprises that will appeal to new and existing fans of the franchise.”

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS BIGTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2006, EA posted revenue of $2.95 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

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Marvel’s Mark Miller, the guy who wrote the Civil War comic, had a recent sit down with comic site Newsarama to talk about his future plans and the impetus for Civil War.

Things were going swimingly until they got to the last question and the interviewer asked Mark if he would ever be interested in working outside the realm of comic books and Mark deftly inserted his foot into his mouth.

Like all my pals, the TV and movie people have come calling and even the computer game people (which is weird because games are for pedos and I have no interest).

Wait, a guy who writes comic books for a living is saying that games are for pedophiles? I think tipster Neal put it best: What a jackass, especially coming from someone who works in an industry that is often geared toward a young market. What is this, Comic Industry Stupidity Day?

I did note that the phrase was in parentheses, but judging by their use throughout the interview it appears they are meant to denote asides Miller said.

MARK MILLAR’s CIVIL WAR POST-GAME SHOW [Newsarama]