Monthly Archives: February 2009

Following rumour yesterday that Splatterhouse developer BottleRocket had gone bust, Kotaku’s fleshed the story out with talk that the horror reboot’s been moved in-house at Namco.

The game is to be completed by Namco’s Afro Samurai team, according to that piece. Less than ideal if you’re BottleRocket, obviously.

Splatterhouse made an appearance at Comic Con this weekend, making the news even tougher for the Californian developer.

The move essentially means it’s curtains for BottleRocket. Staff are apparently in the process of being paid up.

There’s no news yet on quite why any of this has happened. More next week, probably.

Those who pre-order Southpeak actioner Velvet Assassin through GameStop will receive a 15+ page digital graphic novel as a thank you.

Based, as is the game, on the life of WWII spy Violette Szabo, the graphic novel was designed by Peter Chung, the creator and director of Aeon Flux.

Chung previously had his hand in The Animatrix and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury animation projects.

Velvet Assassin releases for PC and Xbox 360 on April 14. While we’re on the subject, IGN has three new in-game screens posted for it here.

Press release after the jump.
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Sunday megaton: Cooking Mama 2: World Kitchen is now available for Wii.

The sequel features 3D characters, added modes and loads of new recipes. So, instead of actually cooking real food in the kitchen and slicing and dicing your meats and veggies, you can simulate the whole thing in you very own living room — all without the repercussions of food poisoning or a trip to the ER.

Press release after the jump.

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Namco will be breathing new life into the Dead to Rights franchise later this year, according to the March issue of OPM.

Neither release date or platforms have been confirmed as yet, but come Q4 you’ll once again be entering Grant City with a faithful dog companion.

Game mechanics are to stick with third-person shooting, but this time you’ll be able to engage in more hand-to-hand combat than previous versions.

1UP reports that shots in the magazine have a bit of a “Jason Bourne-style” look about them, and that the game is reportedly not a prequel, spin-off, nor a sequel — but an entirely new beast all together.

Sounds rather interesting.

Gearbox is looking for a few good men or women to apply as game testers for upcoming titles like Aliens: Colonial Marines and Borderlands.

Both titles are out for PC, PS3 and 360 this year.

You must be able to work Monday to Friday, 10:00am – 6:00pm, live near or able to commute to the studios located in Plano, Texas, and, of course, you must be 18 years or older and love to play games.

This sounds like a fun “job”, but it’s more of an internship really: you will only get paid with “cool stuff” instead of real money.

Apply through the link.

GameTrailers has posted an interview with Rockstar’s Jeronimo Barrera discussing upcoming GTA IV DLC, The Lost and the Damned.

There’s essentially nothing new in it, although Jeronimo did confirm that new multiplayer modes will be included.

The video also features the first look at the new Left 4 Dead “Survivor Mode” DLC, where your jaunty group of four zombie-slayers attempts to survive endless waves of attack over 12 different maps.

Sounds harrowing.

Video posted after the jump.

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During the annual company town hall meeting this week, EA’s John Riccitiello assured employees that despite Q3 losses announced on Tuesday, the company still plans to take risks with both new and proven franchises.

Comms boss Jeff Brown reiterated this when he told Kotaku: “We can take risks because we are pretty sure our blockbusters are going to generate good revenue that allow us some cushion. So we’re not living hand to mouth.”

With EA releasing more proven IPs to retail this year, Brown said this does not mean that there will be a lack of new titles.

“We are working on Dante’s Inferno, Dragon Age, things like that, new games, either announced or about to be announced,” he said.

“You will not be able to see a dramatic drop off original IP.”

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter does not agree, though, and feels that developers can’t afford to take such risks, referring to financial pickles both EA and THQ got themselves into last year.

“If you take too many in a row you end up with no money and no franchises,” he said.

“Even EA got in trouble last year doing way too much. The right idea is to have your core franchises and then take measured risks.

“It’s easier to sell a (bad) Iron Man game or a 50 Cent game with the right license and it’s hard to create a new Dead Space. The cost of potential failure (on a new idea) is too high.

“I think you’re going to see moving forward one new game a year from a publisher, not five.”

Looks like rumor that Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor will release for DS in North America on June 23 is correct.

Amazon leaked the information last week; yesterday Atlus officially confirmed the game, although the release date isn’t set in stone as yet.

Devil Survivor is the first Shin Megami Tensei game for DS, and will be more of a strategy RPG compared to the PS2 titles in the series.

More over at Siliconera, including a nice little trailer.

New shots of Resistance: Retribution have popped up over on IGN — eight of them to be exact.

The shooter’s releasing on March 17, so get your PSP battery charged.

More pretty pictures through the link.

After announcing that Bethesda was working an iPhone game at Comic Con yesterday, Todd Howard spoke his mind on Nintendo’s Wii, saying that he was “not threatened” by the console because “it’s a toy.”

MTV’s Stephen Totilo brought the subject up, and Howard said that from a consumer’s point of view “the Wii is a kids’ toy,” and the public thinks that “the PS3 and Xbox 360 are for evil killfests”.

NewsWeek’s N’Gai Croal responded to Todd’s remarks by mentioning the sales advantage Wii has, to which the Bethesda boss retorted that “the Wii is not a threat” because it caters to games that are vastly different to those his team develops.

Thanks, That VideoGame Blog.

South African gamers looking forward to playing Killzone 2 on February 27 with the rest of us will have to wait just a bit longer.

Now, before you go off yelling “dat suig!” — it’s not that much of a delay. It’s only been pushed back seven days, so come March 6 you’ll get to hold a shiny, new PS3 shooter in your hands.

No reason for the slip’s been given, according to Lazygamer, but a delay is a delay no matter how small.

During its weekly update, Bungie mentioned that Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) will ship with all 24 multiplayer maps when it hits retailers in September.

The maps included are: The Heroic Map Pack, The Legendary Map Pack, Cold Storage, The Mythic Map Pack, and three brand new ones.

More good stuff through the link.

Capcom’s posted up six new videos of the Wii version of Dead Rising, Chop Till You Drop.

It’s all in Japanese, but there are some handy “advice” bits to show how the Wiimote should be used to dispatch the pesky undead. There’s pictures too, and we all understand the universal language of “waggle”.

It’s out on February 27 in Europe. Thanks, GoNintendo.

Well, sort of. There’s a fair amount of twitching and blood in there, which should suit pre-modern horror fans down to the ground.

Slick, though. After the break. The Warner FPS is actually out for PC, PS3 and 360 next week.

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Steam’s offering 50 percent off its Ghost Recon Complete Pack this weekend.

This gives you Advanced Warfighter, Advanced Warfighter 2, Ghost Recon and its two expansions – Desert Siege and Island Thunder – for the frankly stupid price of £14.99.

You may as well. Going outside’s for the weak.

The Saturday thrill-off continues with a video of Eidos Hungary staffers talking about historical accuracy in upcoming war thing, Battlestations: Pacific. Watch it on FileFront.

There’s some game footage in there, as well as suitably grainy film from the War.

Bombs, Japanese people, planes blowing up, that sort of thing. “Q1 2009″ for PS3 and 360, according to Gamespress.

Ubi’s put out an HD trailer of the cockpit view from upcoming flight combat banana Tom Clancy’s HAWX. Watch it on GamersHell.

If you’re an Ace Combat fan, our bet is you’re going to love it.

It’s out for PC, 360 and PS3 on March 6 in Europe. We’re still waiting on a US date.

Superheroes everywhere. Acitvision’s got into the Comic Con spirit by releasing a Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion trailer, and very super it looks too. After the break.

The action RPG will be high on the list for super-fans, what with its warring superheroes, super effects and ability to combine powers.

No firm details on this, but PS3 and 360′s a given. No date.

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Splatterhouse developer BottleRocket Entertainment has gone bust, says an apparently solid rumour.

The company is showing off its horror reboot at New York Comic Con this weekend.

BottleRocket – based in Carlsbad, Calfornia – was formed in 2002 of the core team that created Mark of Kri and its sequel at Sony’s San Diego studio.

Details are non-existent at the moment, but we should have some more for you soon.

Good shit, yo. Speaking at Comic Con yesterday Splatterhouse co-producer Mark Brown confirmed that the original game’s to be included in the upcoming re-boot.

“Everybody wants that,” he said. “In one form, we’re gonna deliver on it.”

Brown called the original, the “crown jewel of the [Namco] back catalog,” at the event, and said the original may be included as a “premium edition” bonus.

Splatterhouse ships later this year for 360 and PS3. Thanks, Joystiq.