Archive for April 9th, 2007
Rumour: Sadness Inches Closer To Vapourware
For anyone still hoping/believing that Nibris‘ Sadness will ever see the light of day on the Wii, sorry. This just isn’t your day. Seems that Frontline Studios, who were developing Nibris’ “concept”, may have parted ways with the Polish studio. When a Sadness “fan” emailed Frontline to see what was up with the game, he got this response:
Hello Ryan, I can confirm that FRONTLINE is no longer interested in developing Sadness game based on Nibris’ concept, and also Nibris is not authorized to claim anything on behalf of FRONTLINE.
Sounds fair to me, since this “game” has never been anything but one enormous lie. No official confirmation from Nibris, but considering the level of info we’re heard from them over the past 9 months I wouldn’t expect any, either.
Rumour: Frontline Studios Drop Sadness? [N-Europe]
MotorStorm Designer: Japan Not Bothered About Online
Man, when the first images of MotorStorm appeared, I was so excited! Then the next year, the footage didn’t look as a amazing. It looked okay. Still, my interested remained. And when the game finally arrived in Japan, where I live, it lacked online. Poof! My interest was gone. Says the game’s lead designer Nigel Kershaw:
Well, the European and American versions have online. The Japanese version does not, they weren’t as bothered about online. We also tweaked a lot of things under the hood. Nothing you’d probably notice — we played around with some of the numbers and some of the graphics — but the main thing we did was add online play.
Sure, I can’t speak for Japanese people, but I know that no online convinced of one thing: Not buying MotorStorm. Bet I wasn’t alone, either.
Interview With Nigel [The Wire]
Image Comparison [1Up]
Clip: Spore Gets Violent. In Space.
Ah, combat. Space combat, even, and some ballsy combat to boot, as one wee ship takes on an entire planet. Been looking forward to seeing some of this. Love the kitsch “pyaow” laser sound effects.
DIY Guitar Hero II Controller Fix
Got Guitar Hero II on the 360? Got one of the busted guitars?
HairyArse over at All About The Games has a DIY fix that lets you patch up your existing guitar instead of having to go and swap it over. This means there’s no stoppin to your rockin, plus you get the added bonus of showing off a little handymanship.
All you’ve got to do is unscrew the back of the guitar, loosen some screws and adjust the positioning of the motion sensor. Screw everything back in place and it should work fine. That should do it, and even if it doesn’t (but it SHOULD), it won’t void your warranty.
Just be sure to wrap the base of the guitar in electric tape when you’re done. It’ll look a lot more rock and roll than just screwing everything back together.
Faulty Guitar Hero II Controller Fix [All About The Games]
Clip: Japanese Celebrities Duke It Out Wii-Sports Style
Last night, TV show Waratte Iitomo! (”It’s okay to laugh!”) had its big spring special on late night Japanese television. Usually, the housewife favorite is on in the afternoon, every afternoon. During a segment in last night’s special, Wii Boxing was rolled out for celebrities to pummel each other’s brains in. Think: Wii commercial on network TV. The guy in the sunglasses is the show’s host, Tamori. He doesn’t wear sunglasses because he’s a sleazoid, but because he’s got a lazy eye or something. He likes trains, too.
The above fight? Miho Kanno vs. Arisa Mizuki. Advantage does to Arisa (long hair), because she owns a Wii — But doesn’t play boxing that much. Miho (short hair is a total newb). Yet, she get so into it that her jubblies almost jump out!
Hit the jump for more celebrity fun!
It’s the battle of the pretty boys! Tomohisa Yamashita from boy band NEWS takes on Junnosuke Taguchi from boy band KAT-TUN. While both lip sync their songs, they are actually playing the Wii. We think.
Masami Nagasawa fights Satomi Ishihara. Masami (in blue) used to play basketball, while Satomi played tennis. Yup.
There were a couple more matches that include 30 year-old bikini model Aki Hoshino providing an eyefull and one-testicle comedian Yuji Tanaka from Bakusho Mondai breaking a sweat. As soon as the clips pop up online, I’ll post.
Idiots Guide To Res 4 Wii Controls
Capcom were dears and, on the Japanese Resident Evil 4 Wii site, posted a chart explaining the new controls. Which is great for people who can read Japanese. Most of you lot can’t. So this, this is for you.
Pretty standard fare, yes, but the reloading sounds satisfying, as does the new-and-improved, easy-accesss shiv/knife attack controls. So you can CUT THE ZOMBIES. Right in THE FACE.
RE4 Wii Control Chart [IGN]
More On That SNK Witch Touching Game
Plot elements for SNK’s witch-toucher Doki Doki Majo Saiban have surfaced over at Famitsu. The game stars naughty Akuji Nishimura, who is commanded by an Angel Lulu to search for angels lurking in his junior high school. When the search is narrowed down, the suspected junior high school witch is examined with the touch pen.
How do you know if the little girl is a witch? Usually, there’s a “witch’s crest” hidden somewhere on her body which can appear in “Witch Check Mode.” The goal: Make her heart beat quickly. Players use the stylus to touch the girl, whose expression will change depending on how her heart beats. The background with change as well. However! Rush things, and the girl does not respond. Players must take it slow with the touching — These witches are flowers, or something.
Suspects include cheerleader Akai, who has apparently has a “50 percent chance” of being a witch, and 14-year-old Maria Abe (pictured), who belongs to the school’s occult society and enjoys talking about UFOs and, well, the occult. Chances of being a witch? “80 percent.” Durr.
Hit the jump for screenshots of “Witch Check Mode.”
In another new screenshot published on Famitsu, that buxom character above seems to be inviting our hero to bed.
Doki Doki Info [Famitsu]
King of Fighters Figure Does T&A Right
SNK’s perpetually bouncy brawler is getting the plastic figure treatment, this time from Japanese toy manufacturer Max Factory, who show that, when making a proper T&A sculpt, don’t forget the T&A. Brian Ashcraft may be our SNK go-to-guy, but when it comes to anatomically impossible sculpts of otaku fantasy girls, I hope you’ll come to trust me.
This cleavage rich, twelve inch statue of the King of Fighters ninjitsu mistress will set you back $85 if you pre-order from importer National Console Support, so you’d better be sure this is the sort of thing you’re into.
If you’re on the fence, you can check out some very revealing shots of the Capcom Vs. SNK 2 version of Mai at Max Factory’s site or just go to NCSX and throw down your credit card number. Just make sure the kids are put to bed.
Kinu Nishimura 1/6 Mai Shiranui Figure [NCSX]
OK, EA Did NOT Sink $200 Mil Into The9
Proof that not all that glitters is gold…or true, even, EA have denied buying a 19% stake in Chinese online gaming operator The9. Despite Chinese paper Shanghai Securities News saying yesterday that they had. Odd.
EA spokesman Jeff Brown (pictured):
There is no signed agreement with The9.
Which I read as EA saying they haven’t signed an agreement with The9. This isn’t to say a deal isn’t going to be signed, just that they haven’t done signed one already. Maybe it’s a work-in-progress, and The9 jumped the gun. Or maybe Shanghai Securities are full of shit. Who knows! Murky.
Electronic Arts says no signed agreement with The9 [Reuters]
Day Note: Tri Training
To: Ash
From: Crecente
Only into my second week of working from home and I’ve already become a lump. I spend my days posting, watching old movies and, oddly enough, the occasional episode of Walker: Texas Ranger. Meanwhile, my wife just jumped back into her second season of triathlon training and my son is a few months away from entering first grade.
I’ve got to come up with something else to do besides work. On the bright side, I did download a bunch of music to use if and when I ever get off my ass.
What you missed:
The game bounty, not to be confused with the game booty
Clip of Annex, yes I know how to spell that word.
The Input Device needs a name, but quick
I get on my high horse again
Rez with a Wii Mote
Assassin’s Creed DS?
Good catch on the Assassin’s Creed by Fahey. I tried getting something from Ubi, but no word yet. I’m going to try and get my PSP feature up tomorrow. It has some interesting numbers in it.
Uwe Boll Makes With The 9/11 Hilarity
Looks like Uwe Boll’s latest celluloid travesty Postal won’t be playing in theaters in the United States, as it features one seriously too-soon attempts at (I’m guessing) comedy by exploiting the September 11th attacks on New York’s World Trade Center for a sight gag.
Boll-centric site BollBashers had what they called an “exclusive Postal clip” of the Running With Scissors game turned movie. That exclusive may have been rendered obsolete with the release of an extended trailer featuring all sorts of offensive stuff. I mean, it has Verne Troyer in it. Disgusting.
The potentially not safe for work Postal trailer is available on YouTube if you really want to see it. (You really don’t. Really.)
Exclusive Postal Clip [BollBashers via 1UP]
Circuit City: Super Paper Mario guaranteed in-store or $20
Filed under: Nintendo Wii, RPGs, Business
Circuit City in their most recent flyer guarantees Super Paper Mario to be in-store April 10 by 2 PM or the bamboozled customer receives a $20 gift card. Those addendums you see there represented by “3″ and “**” are that the offer is only good this week and the $20 needs to be used on a future purchase, which means if the game isn’t “in-store” tomorrow that’s an insta-twenty bucks off — that’s a free greatest hits title on any system.
We really are having a hard time seeing the downside to this deal. If the product isn’t there, that’s an automatic $20 gift card. Or the product is there and we get a new game — and not Gamestop’s definition of “new.” Then again, we could check Gamestop today and maybe they’ll have a video of the Super Paper Mario ending and save us $50 right from the start. Definitely worth the trip to Circuit City if you were looking to pick up Super Paper Mario, the newest Gamecube title for the Wii.
[Via WiiFanboy]
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Alien Storm, Mach Rider On Deck For Wii VC
Two more games destined for the Wii Virtual Console have shown up on the ESRB’s web site, making them likely candidates for upcoming Shop Channel releases.
Alien Storm started out as a Sega arcade title, taking the Golden Axe formula, all the rage in 1990, and sending it to the future. Eliminate an alien invasion with your choice of three Alien Busters, Karen, Garth or Scooter over eight stages in this Genesis… um, classic. I think I still have this cartridge.
Mach Rider also takes place in the future, one in which Earth has been, you guessed it, invaded by “evil forces” the Quadrunners. The NES racer was released in 1985 by Nintendo, featured a level editor and looked almost exactly like F1 Race. Minutes of fun, this one.
Is it hot in here or is it just this Wii Points card burning a hole in my pocket?
Super Sexy Heavenly Sword Shots Emerge
I may have given PSM a bit of crap for busting out the better-than-CGI hype-beast for their preview of Final Fantasy XIII, but maybe I ought to shut up about that, ’cause I’m internally gushing over the latest shots of Heavenly Sword.
GamePro has posted ten new shots of Ninja Theory’s hack and slash awesomeness and it’s looking better and better every time I see it, making me wonder if the Square-Enix graphics wizards are going to outshine it.
Better than Pixar? No way. Better than Square’s abyssmal Final Fantasy flick? Still, no. But heavenly? Definitely. Look at all those people! If that’s in-game, color me impressed.
Heavenly Sword Week begins [GamePro]
Clip: Metal Gear Solid Philanthropy
The team behind the fan-made Metal Gear Solid saga project Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy have released their first trailer and it looks… surprisingly okay. The preview for the 30-minute flick, already four years in the making is a low budget mix of live action and computer generated effects and hints at what’s to come from the Kojima fans.
More details on the movie and its creators are at the official site. Check it out.
Metal Gear Solid Philanthropy Official Site [via NeoGAF]
Rumor: LocoRoco PS3 Hits In June?
I don’t want to say I called it, but I totally called it. When Home was shown off at GDC and LocoRoco creator Tsutomu Kouno dropped not-so-subtle hints, LocoRoco for PLAYSTATION 3 seemed like a lock.
Then we got snaps of the latest Edge which pretty much confirmed it. Now, according to PSP Fanboy, the game has shown up on the Sony Trade Marketing extranet with a June 23, 2007 date.
What do you think? Will you rebuy LocoRoco in HD? I wasn’t totally sold on the original, but with SIXAXIS support, I could bite.
Sony extranet site reveals Loco Roco release date? [PS3 Fanboy]
Today’s duckiest video: Rockin’ Duck Hunt
Filed under: Culture, Retro, Adventure, First Person Shooters, Video
Retro love is everywhere these days, including this hard rockin’ Duck Hunt video, complete with sounds and graphics from the Nintendo classic and clever usage of the light gun as a microphone. Plus, if that isn’t enough, the guy’s name is Robby Roadsteamer.
“I got a Duck Hunt, in my brain! Ready to take you out!”
Classic.
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News: RedOctane accidentally confirms Guitar Hero 3?
References on the RedOctane support site detail plans for Guitar Hero 3 on all major console formats, but the information has since been removed.
Feature: GP Q&A: Pandemic talks Saboteur
GamePro recently spoke with Trey Watkins and Phil Hong, the director and producer behind Pandemic’s just-announced Saboteur.
News: Bungie devs outline new multiplayer features in Halo 3 trailer
In Bungie’s latest “vidoc”, a host of developers illustrate many of the changes made to Halo 3’s multiplayer modes, giving gamers an idea of what to expect in the near future.
