Friday, March 2, 2007

Waggle your Wii!

Ok so you played through Zelda: Twilight Princess and you are a Pro on all the Wii Sports games, and are wondering what is next. What will developers do with Wii controls now that they have had more time to implement them in their games. Well, here is one example. This is footage from the upcoming Wii game Prince of Persia: Rival Swords. For those of you not yet blessed with a Wii and wondering how the controls work and if you really have to be as spastic as the people in the commercials take a look at the video and see how precise the controls are and know that you don't have to act like a goofball to play.

Crom's teats! Some video footage of upcoming Conan for Xbox 360

We must have Stygian spies in our midst. I was just discussing the dearth of games other than shooters for the Xbox 360 with a colleague (I use the term colleague loosely). Lo and behold, there appears, as if plucked from the aethyr visual evidence of not only a new game that is NOT a shooter, but a Conan game for Crom's sake! I have long been a fan of the Cimmerian powerhouse and have been eagerly following the development of the Age of Conan MMO. With that game being pushed back to the Fall, I can slake my thirst for blood by playing as the man himself! Check out the footage below and drool.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Round 5 of Sony's bout with reality

The folks over at Sony must either use the same PR firm as the White House or they are taking the same drugs. They announced that soon the "shortage" of PS3s will be over! I must be halucinating when I go to Best Buy and Gamestop and see stacks of PS3s sitting there. I can just imagine the meeting that spawned this announcement. They must have been giggling between bong-hits as they wrote it.

"April or May is when we feel like we're going to catch up to demand and have product fully in stock across North America and stay there," said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Asked about widespread reports on video game Web sites that stacks of unsold PlayStation 3s are a common sight in many electronics shops, Tretton told Reuters in an interview that the console was still out of stock in some areas three months after its November launch.

"It's a testament to the fact that we've been able to manufacture and ship units on a greater pace than any previous console," Tretton said.

"Our goal is to fill shelves across the United States. Our goal is not to have empty shelves, it's to have full shelves. If we have empty shelves, that's one less consumer who could have bought a PlayStation 3," Tretton said.

Here is the rest of the Reuters article. Enjoy.

Simcity coming to the DS

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."


Breaking News! Mark your calendars!

I was wrong. I can admit it. Back when the PSP and the DS were first released I thought the PSP was a slam dunk over the DS. The whole dual screen thing seemed gimmicky to me. I perceived the DS as being a kiddie hand held and that the PSP was for real gamers. Since then I have purchased and sold a PSP and am now the proud owner of a DS. I got a pink one for my girlfriend for Valentine's Day and she loves it. She is no gamer by a long stretch, but the Wii and DS are changing that. My ingenious plan is coming to fruition! The first time she buys herself I game, I will have won! Nintendo are doing some really great things with gaming right now on the Wii and DS platforms. I take my hat off to them.

Simcity is a classic game. I spent countless hours building cities back in the day. And guys, for some reason chicks seem to really dig this game. Trust me.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

C&C 3 Demo is out, get it at Fileplanet!


March, 2047. A massive nuclear fireball explodes high in the night sky, marking the dramatic beginning to the Third Tiberium War and long-awaited return of the most groundbreaking Real-time Strategy franchise (RTS) of all time.

The critically-acclaimed Command & Conquer™ (C&C) series returns with Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars™ (C&C 3). Setting the standard for the future of RTS gaming once more, C&C 3 takes you back to where it all began—the Tiberium Universe.

In 2047, Tiberium has blanketed the Earth, which is now divided into zones based on the level of Tiberium infestation. Pristine Blue Zones represent 20% of the planet's surface and are the last refuge of the civilized world. Partially habitable Yellow Zones make up 50% of the planet's surface; most of the world's population lives in these war-torn and ecologically ravaged areas. The remaining 30% of the planet is uninhabitable, a Tiberium wasteland swept by violent Ion Storms. Red Zones are like the surface of an Alien planet.

The infamous Kane has returned to lead the Brotherhood of Nod in a massive global assault on the Global Defense Initiative and the few remaining Blue zones left on the planet. Only you can stop him. The fate of humanity – and the planet – is in your hands.

Featuring state-of-the-art, next-generation graphics, an epic story with live action, full-motion video sequences, and the classic fast-paced C&C style of play, C&C 3 sets the standard for the single player RTS experience.

When you decide to test your skills online, a suite of truly innovative features, such as the ability to transform online battles into a spectator sport, unfold.

This is one of the few RTS games I could be competitive with a certain friend of mine. In most of the others he kicks my ass pretty badly. Time for some payback. I'm calling you out, Psycho! On a side note, this game is also coming to the Xbox 360. For those of you who think their PCs might not handle the game effectively at higher resolutions (sadly, this includes me at the moment) you might want to consider the Xbox 360 version. I am curious to see how they implement the controls in this one. EA did a decent job with Battle for Middle Earth 2.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time footage



Lucky North American owners of the Wii can now download Zelda:Ocarina of Time from the Virtual Console for 1000 points. I have been playing video games for over 25 years and I somehow missed out on all of the Zelda fun. I am making up for it in spades now however, as I have about five different iterations of Zelda going at the same time. I'm holding off until the weekend to keep playing Zelda: Twilight Princess so I can see it on our new HDTV!

Monday, February 26, 2007

New Xbox 360 Platinum Hits titles released.

Thanks to Gamerscore Blog for this one.

On the heels of the expanded Platinum Hits launch in Europe earlier this month, we announced today that the next round of titles in the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits library will be available March 16 in North America, Latin America, Japan and the Asia Pacific region.

Next month’s Platinum Hits releases include Call of Duty 2, Fight Night Round 3, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Top Spin 2.

Next month's Platinum Hits lineup will include the following titles in the Americas, starting at an estimated retail price $29.99 (U.S.):

* Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Electronic Arts)
* Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts)
* Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
* Dead or Alive 4 (TECMO Inc.)
* Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts)
* Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
* Top Spin 2 (2K Sports)
* Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)

In Japan the Platinum Hits titles listed below will be available in March for 2,800 yen:

* Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (Electronic Arts)
* Burnout Revenge (Electronic Arts)
* Chrome Hounds (Sega Corp.)
* Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios)

In the Asia Pacific region these new Platinum Hits titles will be available. New pricing for these games will vary slightly by region:

* Dead or Alive 4 (TECMO)
* N3: Ninety-Nine Nights (Microsoft Game Studios)
* Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
* Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)

Gamers throughout Europe are able to pick up the following new Platinum Hits titles, launched earlier this month, for an estimated retail price of 29.99 euros:

* Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
* Dead or Alive 4 (TECMO)
* Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
* Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (Rockstar Games)
* Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
* Lara Kroft Tomb Raider: Legend (Eidos Interactive Ltd.)

More details in the press release.


Some really good titles there. GRAW and CoD2 especially. -- FN

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Call this my Sunday cartoon...

A float depicting U.S. President George W. Bush being spanked by the Statue Of Liberty passes by during the Rose Monday carnival parade in Mainz, western Germany, on Monday, Feb. 19, 2007. Thousands of spectators attended the traditional street carnival parade in the state of Rhineland-Palatinates's capital. (AP Photo Bernd Kammerer)

Cat Fight!

It's not what you think.... But funny anyway!