Archive for June, 2007
Uwe Boll Says: Postal Is “One of the Best” Films. Ever.
Citizen Kane. Vertigo. 8 1/2. Postal? According to “filmmaker” and chowderhead Uwe Boll, who says his film got a standing ovation at the prestigeous Cannes Film Festival and “no other film has ever been applauded there since it’s all business people who attend the screenings.” No other film has ever been given a standing ovation at Cannes? Bwah?
What’s more, Boll says:
Postal is my final statement. You can’t make a more radical movie… There is no way you can ignore Postal — it’s one of the funniest and most important films of the last decade! …It’s one of the best films of all time!
If by “final statement” he means “final film,” all is good!
Uwe Talks Postal [Boll Bashers via 1Up]
Will Wright Says: There Are Too Many Sequels
Speaking with German site Stern, Will Wright has said that, well, there’s just far too many sequels on the market for his liking. When asked what he thinks about there being so many 2’s and 3’s and even 4’s hitting the shelves, he said the practice is a bad one, and is the result of a conservative games market.
Ja, das ist in der Tat eine schlechte Entwicklung. Man setzt lieber auf Nummer sicher, als kreativ zu sein. Noch scheint das zu funktionieren. Nur wie lange noch? Zudem gibt es einfach zu viele Spiele auf dem Markt. Viele tolle Spiele gehen dadurch schlichtweg unter. [Yeah, that is indeed a bad development. One would rather play it safe than be creative. Still, this seems to work. But for how much longer? Besides, there are simply too many games on the market. Lots of bad games are coming out because of this]
Interesting! I wonder if he thought like this when the fourth SimCity kicked around. Or the second Sims. Or, indeed, whether he’ll still be thinking like this when we’re all playing Spore 2.
Spieleentwickler-Ikone Will Wright [Stern, via Gamefront.de]
Day Note: No iPhone Here
To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: New Phone
Your cell sounds kinds cool. I have a Treo which I love, except when it locks up, which is always. I’d get an iPhone, but I refuse to change cell service because Apple is being obnoxious about how they sell their cell. Also, I dread the idea of being an early adopter for a cell by Apple. Makes me cold inside.
What you missed:
Monkeys and guns in all the wrong places
De Blob
E3 Journo Par-tey
God of War Chains of Olympus screen and art
Oh, they fixed the issue with comments, so they’re back to looking good. I believe I am completely done booking appointments for E3 aaaaaand, I got some help from the E3 folks in fixing up our hotel issue. No spooning with Joel, hurray!
Clips: Contra 4 DS Looks Amazing In Motion, Too
1UP squeezes more juice from their exclusive look at Konami and WayForward Technologies’ Contra 4, this time with sweet, sweet video. This 1UP Show look at the Nintendo DS sequel reinforces just how closely the development team is sticking to the Contra basics. There are bits of analysis and hands-on impressions throughout making this clip a helpful primer for Contra newbies.
Virtual Summer: Hudson Dates TG-16’s July Virtual Console Releases
Next month’s TurboGrafx-16 releases for the Virtual Console were revealed by Hudson Entertainment, bringing a quintet of 8-bit releases that venture deep into obscure territory. Vertical shooter Dragon Spirit hits the VC next Monday with Air Zonk, Devil’s Crush, Drop Off and Silent Debuggers rounding out the rest of the month.
While Alien Crush follow up Devil’s Crush and shooter Air Zonk are probably recognizable to many TG-16 fans, Silent Debuggers and Drop Off—both G-mode developed games—will probably leave others wanting. The only thing I’m wanting is to get my hands on some hellish pinball action. Hail Satan!
Virtual Console Titles [Hudson]
It’s Named Beth: Bethesda’s Blog
Just in time to leech it for information about Fallout 3, Bethesda has launched a company blog. The Beth Blog has been quietly in the works by the Maryland crew for quite awhile, Pete Hines, tells me. But apparently there was some sort of hang-up with permission slips. The currently the blog is a little sparse, with absolutely no revelations about Fallout 3, not even a nice crisp high-res screen shot. Get on that guys, will ya?
Go On, Get Paid: Rockstar: Games Shouldn’t Be Singled Out
After Rockstar Games‘ Manhunt 2 was given the commercial death sentence earlier this month, the e-mail inboxes of the developer were surely stuffed to the e-brims with well wishes and fans showing their support. Petitions were virtually signed. Protesters gathered in the streets, burning effigies of BBFC chairpersons and ESRB decision makers. Dogs and cats were living together. It was mass hysteria.
Rockstar must’ve felt pretty warm and fuzzy after this outpouring of good faith. The company sent the following correspondence to fans to thank them for their support and decry the singling out of their “horror experience.”
We wanted to thank everyone who has taken the time to contact us about Manhunt 2, which we had been planning to release on PlayStation 2, PSP and Nintendo Wii. As you know, Manhunt 2 was effectively banned around much of the world, after it was refused certification in the United Kingdom, prohibited in Ireland, and denied an M rating in the United States.
We are very proud of Manhunt 2 and believe it builds on what the team accomplished with the first title in the series. The game was developed as a horror experience, and to be an M rated title, aligning it with similar horror content created in other forms of media. Unlike many other people, we do not think video games should be singled out for special treatment from the authorities. We hope to have more information for you soon, but in the meantime, we wanted you to know how much we value all of your messages of support.
Unfairly singled out or given some of the costliest unintentional promotion ever seen for a video game? Or are those one in the same? I’ll go with the former, as, even though I respect a corporation’s right to choose what appears on its platform, it’s illustrative of a somewhat broken aspect of our industry and will limit its potential as a serious medium. Or something.
Thanks for the e-mail, Matt.
Teed Off: The King Of Games Brings Back Nintendo Classic Tees
If you were too slow to have picked up one the many coveted Nintendo shirts designed by The King of Games, you’ll soon have your chance to make reparations for your mistakes. The The King of Games royalty have reprinted a number of their most sought after shirts, including the original Mother 1+2 Starman tee, the Legend of Zelda 20 Anniversary tee and the Super Mario Bros. Fantastic Adventure tee. There are a dozen re-releases due to hit the online store on July 1st, so get your credit cards warmed up. While lovely and well-designed, The King of Games does not come cheap!
In other news out of the KOG camp, the t-shirt maker is planning to sell give away The King of Games book covers starting on July 14th—but only to Japanese consumers. Yep. Book covers. The Japanese love ‘em! I’m not sure why, but they’re everywhere.
Since I haven’t bought a t-shirt in over a week, I think it’s high time I make with the credit card abuse and snag that Fantastic Adventure number.
Reprints July 2007 [The King of Games]
Medal Of Honor: Airborne: Go Anywhere Trailer
I like the idea of taking a different look at a saturated subject matter. I particularly like how vertical this game is and how it allows you to drop in anywhere to start playing. That could have some very real impact on the way you play this shooter.
Asteraiden: Super Stardust HD Impressions
Super Stardust HD for the PLAYSTATION 3 is a Housemarque developed remake of the Amiga shooter Stardust that will inevitably draw comparisons to Bizarre Creations’ Geometry Wars. That’s a bit misguided, as the PlayStation Network already has a Geometry Wars clone in Blast Factor. Super Stardust HD should more fairly be compared to classic shooters like Asteroids and Raiden, as it draws from similar gameplay systems.
The $7.99 downloadable title is, first and foremost, one of the better games to be released on the PlayStation Network service and a fabulous arcade entry. While it may not immediately show its gameplay strengths based on its first planet, the game’s frenetic pace and strategy in later levels show what Super Stardust HD is capable of.
What separates SSDHD from the game it willy surely be measured against is the game’s weapon system. You’ll face three elements in the game, as rock, gold and ice hurtle toward each planet, awaiting your total destruction. Fortunately, you have three upgradeable weapons—the Rock Crusher, Gold Melter and Ice Breaker—each best suited for eliminating a type of asteroid.
Glowing green cores within asteroid pieces will drop tokens that will grant you extra ships, shields, weapon upgrades or points. The Rock Crusher, for example, will upgrade first to fire faster, then fire a double spread, then faster, then a triple spread, then faster, then… you get the idea. Each time you pick up a weapon upgrade token, you’ll see, on a percentage basis, how powerful your weapon is.
You’re also outfitted with screen clearing bombs and a boost function, assigned to the R2 and L2 buttons, respectively. While bombs are expendable, requiring bomb tokens to refill your compliment, the boost simply refills on its own. In a tight spot? Boost out of there safely, destroying whatever is in your path.
At the end of the planet’s five-round cycle, you’ll take on an end-of-level boss, usually a spaceship out to destroy you. They’re challenging, adding an extra element of danger as you dodge their fire while avoiding the dozens of pieces of floating debris.
Graphically, the game is a rich, spark-filled treat. It explodes with colored lighting effects but runs at a smooth clip no matter how many objects are thrown at you. Occasionally, this intense action can obscure enemies behind showers of particle effects, resulting in the odd unforeseen death and the occasional surprise kill.
The only initial complaint I have about the game is in its default view mode. I would suggest changing the camera to “far” to get a better view of the battlefield when on the run from asteroids.
Otherwise, if you’re looking for a good shooter that features solid single player and two player co-op, one that evokes gameplay feelings of Asteroids, Smash TV, Raiden or Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD is a fairly safe bet at a decent price.
The Price Is Wrong, Bob: Ted Price: PS3 Is The Media’s “Whipping Boy”
Insomniac Games CEO and helluva nice guy Ted Price told GameDaily that he believes the PLAYSTATION 3 has become a “whipping boy” for the media, theorizing that “I think everyone just wants to fill it full of arrows because Sony’s had some pretty amazing success over the years. And it’s easy to overlook that it’s been, I think, the fastest selling PlayStation console.” Well, that may be, Ted, as I don’t have my sales figures handy, but I think that assumption overlooks a number of other important factors. (Five hundred and ninety-nine dollars, obviously.)
I would think it’s pretty clear that the combination of high price, the loss of numerous exclusives, various Sony PR missteps and little in the way of standout exclusive software is probably the reason behind some of the cool reception. But, hey, I just work here.
While Price is concerned, justifiably so, of negative press and its impact on his company’s PS3 game Resistance: Fall of Man, some of us who own both aren’t as upset about the alleged muddy spin. While I feel I’m getting the most out of my investment in this impressive piece of kit, others are having a hard time justifying the buy in. I also can’t say I’m too unhappy from an ownership perspective that the press is keeping Sony on its toes to work harder at making the PS3 a success.
Ted Price: PS3 Has Become ‘Whipping Boy’ for Press [GameDaily Biz]
Heavenly Sword: Factapalooza
A bunch of little things seem to be hitting today about the PS3’s next big thing, Heavenly Sword. While I remain cautiously optimistic, Ninja Theory is unrelentlessly giddy about the upcoming game, talking it up on two continents using the SCEE-shell blog ThreeSpeech official Playstation blog and their very own Heavenly Sword blog over on IGN.
The Playstation blog entry is a 13 question Q&A about the game and the upcoming E3. In it Ninja Theory co-founder Nina Kristensen talks up the game’s storyline and distinctly artistic approach to over-the-top sword combat. A selection:
4. What do you think is the coolest aspect of this game?
The super-style moves are the coolest. They’re big and dramatic, you have to work quite hard to get them (especially the level 3 ones) and they completely annihilate the enemy. It’s just so much fun. My personal fav is the one where you drag a guy massively up into the air, ride him back down, slam him into the floor, and while you’re cart wheeling off him, a huge shockwave from his impact with the floor wipes out everyone else.5. Describe it in five words or less.
Big Sword, Hot Girl!!
The IGN Heavenly Sword blog talks a bit more about play mechanics, in particular they break down and explain the different stances you can use in the game:
In play, your main weapon is the Heavenly Sword itself. It comes in three stances which you can switch between on the fly to create your own combos and fighting style.
Speed Stance has the sword split into two blades. It’s fast, technical and has a lot of depth to it. It’s good in one-on-one fights against skillful opponents but deeper combos hold the key to unlocking defenses and delivering massive damage.
Power Stance has the sword blades join to form one huge powerful sword. It’s slow and powerful and great against tougher enemies or to break enemy defences.
Range Stance has the sword’s blades extend from its handles with chains. It’s the weakest of the three stances but it covers a large and wide area. It’s great for taking out lots of enemies or knocking them into the air for follow-on aerial combos. It can also be used to sweep debris at enemies.
My indifference and concern over the game’s progress is steadily decaying. I just hope they deliver at E3.
Gallery: Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure
Floating closer and closer to the top of my most wanted Wii games list is Capcom’s unfortunately monikered Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure. The company released a handful of sort of new screens of the brutal puzzle solving adventure game, many of which look familiar, but are officially indeed new. They’re mostly worth reviewing for the fact that, hey, at least Capcom is releasing something that ain’t a mini-game collection. Nine technically new screens are in our gallery.
Rumor: DICE Working On New IP “Mirror’s Edge”
CVG reports that Digital Illusions CE, the gang responsible for approximately umpteen squared Battlefield titles is making good on their desire to diversify. According to the report, DICE is readying a (wait for it) first-person shooter dubbed Mirror’s Edge for the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360. Details on the game are absolutely minimal, with CVG wagering the game will have a futuristic—possibly cyberpunk—theme.
Beyond that, we have little to go on, other than the name, release platform and description of early Mirror’s Edge concept art. Hopefully we’ll hear more about the game at E3, now less than two weeks away.
Guess they didn’t dig on my Swedish meatball-themed game concept. That means it’s up for grabs, developers!
New DICE shooter revealed [CVG]
Tease: A Taste of a Halo Wars Battle
Halo Wars moderator Thunder updated the official Halo Wars forums with a bit of news and a taste of what battles in the Halo-themed RTS will be like when it releases. The ever-so-slight news is that the July 6 monthly update will have some more game details and that July will also see the relaunching of the Halo Wars website which will include a new look and “something cool going on the side as well.” Hit the jump for Thunder’s description of his Halo Wars match against programmer Rob Fermier.
Picture this. I’m sitting on one side of our open playtest area with one of our programmers who goes by the name of Rob “Xemu” Fermier” having just cleaned my clock in a game of Halo Wars sitting on the other side. To be honest, he had completely mopped the floor with me. It was sad, and a number of people who had just witnessed the game were heckling me. We ended up having a rematch…
To further set the scene, we had a new surround sound system hooked up to the TV that I was using and at this point, Producer Chris Rippy stepped in to crank the volume.
The game fired up and I had to weather some early raids by Rob’s Warthogs. I managed to survive that and then eventually managed to field a large force of units, the largest force I’ve seen in the game yet. The screen was almost full. As I wiped out Rob’s units, I just kept cranking out more guys. I was using a combination of land and air units that not only looked cool, but was very satisfying to use in Rob’s base with the sound of destruction and weapons fire ringing in my ears. I think I may have heard Rob’s units calling out for him to resign so they could be spared the onslaught. (This is where Rob stops reading and comes down to my office and challenges me to a game, and I tell him I have to wash my hair.)
Thanks for the game Rob, especially taking it easy on me during the rematch! In short, the game ended up not only really looking like a massive battle scene from Halo, but also sounding like a war from Halo. It won’t be too much longer before we’ll be comfortable to share more imagery with you all.
That was actually the first of two “Holy…cow” moments for me this month. The second came when… [CENSORED]
I know it’s just a long tease, but it still makes me all itchy to play the game.
Halo Wars Update 06.29.07 [Halo Wars Forums]
It’s A Gas: Dojo Dump: From Zelda To Wario Farts
Another well-rounded, but largely uninteresting list of additions to the encyclopedia of all things Super Smash Bros. Brawl hit the internet this week, courtesy of the official site. The collective dump of this week’s Smash Bros. Dojo updates follows.
Monday: Zelda, the princess in need of constant rescue, returns to fight again.
Tuesday: Another earful of a song selection is added with The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time medley.
Wednesday: Everything you always wanted to know about the banana peel is revealed.
Thursday: Personalized button configuration becomes less of a pain with Names. Hope your name is 4 characters or less!
Friday: Wario’s special moves, including the infamous gaseous Wario Waft are put on display.
Anyone wanna place bets on next week’s potential character reveal?
Koopa Krap: Super Mario Bros. 3 The Complete Series
If you’ve grown tired of watching your Captain N: The Game Master DVDs, more craptastic Nintendo-licensed animation is just a credit card authorization and a regrettable decision away. Shout! Factory has released another Nintendo nostalgic cartoon series to DVD, this time collecting the entirety of the awkwardly titled The Adventures Of Super Mario Bros 3 in a three disc set.
The Adventures Of Super Mario Bros 3 ran a brief 26 episodes (or 13 double episodes, if you prefer) and features a bizarre Milli Vanilli guest appearance in a journey outside of the Mushroom Kingdom. That appearance, sadly edited to remove Rob and Fab’s hit “Blame It On The Rain” can be seen on YouTube if you don’t feel like ponying up the $29.99 for the DVDs.
Thanks for the heads up, Derrick!
The Adventures Of Super Mario Bros 3: The Complete Series [Shout! Factory]
Where Women Glow…: PS3 Outselling Wii and 360 in Oz
The Aussies (my wife excluded, but she hates all of the consoles) apparently love the Playstation 3. GameSpot Australia reports that according to Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (the other SCEA), the PS3 is the number one console in the country, outselling both the Xbox 360 and Wii nearly every week since its launch.
SCEAus’s managing director Michael Ephraim told GS that the Playstation 3 has sold more than 50,000 units since its launch in the end of March, while the Wii has sold 100,000 units since its launch in early December and according to data trackers GfK, the PS3 has been the number one selling next-gen console everyone week since it’s lauch… with the exception of last week.
“Since March 23, PS3 has been the number one-selling next-gen console in Australia, and this is GfK figures. We’ve now sold 50,000–and we’re very excited about the fact that it’s being sold in retailers that are gaming retailers as a gaming device and other things, but as you’ll notice it’s now being sold in Harvey Norman consumer electronic stores as a Blu-ray player.”
First Australia, then Java and then the WORLD!
PS3 outselling Wii and 360 in Australia: SCEA head [GameSpot Aus]
In The Hunt: What Are You Playing This Weekend?
What little gaming time I have during the week is often in bite sized chunks. A quest in Diablo II here. Some Jet Grind Radio there. The new games I’ve purchased over the past weeks mostly sit idly or are enjoyed by my house’s other residents. For instance, I’ve had a wonderful time watching Tomb Raider: Anniversary being played, offering backseat gamer suggestions and strategies, longing to get off the laptop and get my hands on a controller. This weekend, however, I’ll be plowing through some new and old titles.
I downloaded Super Stardust HD from the PlayStation Store last night, impressions of which will follow later in the day. Following a discussion with N’Gai Croal of Level Up fame over drinks and Madden NFL 08, I have a renewed interest in revisiting Manhunt. Yes, I may have been in my cups at the time, perhaps too deep, but I’m pretty sure I told Croal that I considered the Rockstar Games splatterfest one of the most important console games of the previous generation. I should reevaluate that with a bit more playtime, me thinks.
And you? What are you playing this weekend? Anyone got E3 Fever yet?
Geometry Wars: Bizarre Talks Galaxies
Bizarre Creations has a new Geometry Wars Galaxies blog up on IGN. In their first post the team talks a bit about how they avoided making a straight port of Geometry Wars from the 360 and instead focused on the unique qualities of the DS and Wii platforms in making Galaxies.
We wanted to expand upon the game, however to do this we looked inwards to help expand the game outwards. It’s very easy for games to become overcomplicated or to loose in their focus. A game like Geometry Wars is all about the detail, and there is no way we were going to lose sight of that. Once we were happy with this we started to create the nucleus of the design and Galaxies was born.
Lots of prototyping then ensued to test the fundamentals would work. Once confident of the results the next step was to find someone to help develop it. The team at Kuju impressed us from the beginning as they really did understand the detail of the original game, and grasped our ambitions on how to take it forward on the Wii and DS.
There’s going to be a lot to sample in the new game. Multiplayer is already starting to look like it will cause some fierce lunchtime rivalry in the office!
There is a new single player campaign that has new battle grids, game types, enemies, strategies, weapons and a companion to follow you along for the journey.
Yet with all of this, it still retains the essence of Geometry Wars.
The post then goes on to give a sort of dev team roll call, naming off all of the people working on the game and talking about their roles in its creation. The game, they say, is progressing at a “sweet rate” so hopefully we’ll see something soon.
Geometry Wars [IGN]
