Monthly Archives: March 2009

Kotaku has posted a video of the Mercenaries mode you unlock when you finish Resident Evil 5.

It’s the same unlockable mode from Resident Evil 4, but without mandatory co-op.

If that’s your thing, time to get a bit excited: it’s out March 13.

There’s a ten-minute video of Wheelman gameplay after the break, taken from the 360 demo released this morning.

It shows driving, skidding, ramming, boosting, some mental shooting, a bit of running around and a small amount of dying.

The game appears to be, after our brief dalliance, “OK”.

Find 14 shots from this video here.

Wheelman’s out for PC, 360 and PS3 on March 27.

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Find 14 direct-feed shots grabbed from this morning’s Wheelman demo below. We’ll have the video up very soon.

The shots show stuff from cut-scenes as well as play, and there’s one of virtual Vin having a bit of a run around.

There’s also one of a woman shouting, “Venga venga venga!” Which is awesome.

Sorry for the lack of a proper gallery. Mark’s working on it as we type.

Wheelman releases for PC, 360 and PS3 on March 27.

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After the break. The Majesco Wii remake surfaced on Nintendo Power yesterday, and looks extremely pretty in motion.

No date as yet. It reminds us of Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, for some reason.

There’s a developer interview on IGN.

Thanks, Kotaku.

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Tekken 6 dev boss, Katsuhiro Harada, has told UK mag X360 that crunching his game into 360 tech has been an effort, and could have a bearing on the development of the next Xbox console.

“It is a challenge to fit this game onto one DVD and to make sure the data is read at a fast rate,” he said.

“It is essential to utilize the 360’s functions and strengths to the fullest in order to accomplish the same goal. I believe that the data and experience gained during development may affect development of the next iteration of the console.”

Tekken 6 was developed for an arcade board based on PS3 architecture. Harada said creating the same effect on 360 was a “great challenge”.

“Tekken 6’s graphics engine was developed for a high frame rate to create fluid motion rather than focusing purely on extravagant still shots,” he said.

“Using a ‘fulltime adjustable animation blur’ which adjusts to each character’s movement and speed, these games show a new level of smooth and dynamic movement. This technology has proved very difficult to realise with fighting games running at 60fps.

“Even here at NBGI, the Soul Calibur Team gave up on it for Soul Calibur 4. In order to accomplish this effect, we had to write a lot of code optimized to make full use of the PS3’s SPU. Ultimately, we implement the same motion blur on the 360 so this will be a great challenge.”

Tekken 6 releases here for PS3 and 360 this autumn.

Thanks, NowGamer.

Criterion’s priced its Burnout Paradise Toys Pack DLC at $12.99/€12.99/£9.99/1000 MS, as you can see here.

That’s the price for all the content available.

“This collection gets you ALL 9 Toy Vehicles,” said the firm on its site.

“That’s the 8 cars and the amazing Toy Nakamura Firehawk motorcycle. This represents the best possible value for you, and it’s the only collection that has the Toy Firehawk. If you love the Toys as much as we do, then this is collection that you want!”

There are two smaller packs as well, each with a selection of all the vehicles, priced $5.99/€5.99/£4.99/480 MS.

All details through the link.

The content releases for 360 and PS3 today.

Thanks, Syrok.

Microsoft just posted demos for Wheelman, Legends of Wrestlemania and Wanted on Live.

We’ll have some vids for you in a tick. We might not do Wanted, though.

Thanks, Darkzero.

Gamespot’s claiming its UK network is now at 4.5 million unique users per month, GI reports.

The number’s taken from December.

Total page views for the period remained flat at just over 58 million. The figures includes all UK traffic to sister-sites GameFaqs and GameRankings.

“Videogaming is now one of the UK’s favourite pastimes with an all time high of 82 million games purchased in 2008 [according to ELSPA], and this is reflected in GameSpot UK’s growth”, said CBS UK boss Geoff Inns.

“We are delighted to re-confirm our number one spot among UK videogaming sites.”

Relentless producer Darren Tuckey has confirmed this morning that the company’s secret project is a PSN affair.

“I can’t confirm any dates as yet, but it will be a PS3 PSN title in the social game genre,” he told VG247.

“We plan to release more info when we get back from GDC.”

Buzz!-maker Relentless mentioned the game on its site for the first time this week, saying it would self-publish the title.

The project was first revealed in an interview with Relentless top brass at Develop in Brighton last year.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope’s now-confirmed June PAL date does not mean the game’s been delayed, Square said this morning, despite a CVG story yesterday to the contrary.

“The game has not been delayed,” a rep told VG247.

“We announced Star Ocean: The Last Hope would be released during spring in January of this year. We use the summer solstice on June 21st as the official start of summer, so by announcing the game will be released in June, it is still on schedule to technically be released in our interpretation of spring.”

The original story said the game had moved out of a previously confirmed spring time-frame.

The 360 RPG has already released in Japan and the US.

On IGN. Snake’s first iPhone excursion looks pretty good, to be fair, what with all its shooting, and such.

There’s no release date confirmed yet, but you’ll be duty-bound to buy it if you’re an iPhone owner. Beats looking at badly-realised share graphs all day.

Take a look.

There’s four videos of the upcoming Left 4 Dead DLC after the break, showing off the new Survival Mode.

There’s an IGN hands-on with it here as well.

It’s out in the next month or so. Take a look.

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UK PS boss Ray Maguire’s told GI that more than 2 million PS3s have now been sold in Britain.

The exec also confirmed that PSP has gone beyond the 3 million mark in the UK.

“If you look at the RRP that we’ve had out there for 2 million units, and compare it to PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, it’s amazing that we’ve got to this kind of level,” Maguire said, speaking of PS3.

“Actually, I’m really pleased with that – it does show that the premium product was the right strategy to have.”

There’s an interview here.

The never-sleeping Digital Foundry has posted unequivocal proof that the latest Fallout 3 patch has made the 360 version look better.

Specular maps have been added to the 360 SKU by the update. There’s some screens of radroaches through there to illustrate.

Don’t argue. DF’s never wrong. Hit the link.

PlayStation 2 was nine years old yesterday as noticed by the eagle eyes of Kotaku.

The machine launches on March 4, 2000, the Japanese release being followed in October and November of the same year in the US and Europe respectively.

PlayStation 2 has now sold more than 140 million units worldwide, making it easily the most popular under-the-TV games console ever made.

Find a pair of rose-tinted spectacles through the link.

The PS3 version of Unreal Tournament’s Titan Pack has been delayed, Epic’s confirmed.

The console version will now release on March 19.

“Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control, the certification process for the PS3 patch and DLC has taken much longer than we expected,” said Epic’s Steven Polge in this forum post.

“As a result, we have been forced to push back the release date for the PS3 version to 3/19.”

The Pack was supposed to ship today.

It includes a ton of free content. Get details here.

It’s a PC and PS3 affair only. Here‘s why 360 owners won’t get it.

As if there were any doubt, Yakuza 3 took an easy first in the Japanese charts this week, and unconfirmed hardware numbers are suggesting a clear win for PS3 over Wii. We’ll have to wait for the Media Create figures for that, though.

Looks as though Wii Fit is finally on the verge of dropping out of the top ten. Note how quickly Star Ocean vanished, as well.

Last week’s chart here. Thanks, ChartGet.

01. [PS3] Yakuza 3 (SEGA) 372,000 / NEW
02. [PSP] Shin Sangoku Musou MULTI RAID (KOEI) 219,000 / NEW
03. [NDS] Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo) 52,000 / 307,000
04. [WII] One Piece Episode 2 (Namco Bandai) 45,000 / NEW
05. [NDS] Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 2 (Namco Bandai) 44,000 / NEW
06. [NDS] Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine Nettou! Dream Nine (Konami) 23,000 / NEW
07. [PS2] King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match (SNK Playmore) 19,000 / NEW
08. [360] Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (Square Enix) 17,000 / 179,000
09. [WII] Taiko no Tatsujin Wii (Namco Bandai) 16,000 / 400,000
10. [WII] Wii Fit (Nintendo) 16,000 / 3,277,000

Sony will be holding an SFIV Q&A with Capcom’s John Diamonon and Seth Killian in Home tonight, starting at 10.00 pm (EST) this evening.

Some attendees can win a more personal Q&A of their own with the pair.

More information on how to get in on the chat can be found over on the US PS Blog.

Also, the Resident Evil 5 Home space will launch tomorrow, March 5.

Free RE5 gear will be available at the Mall.

Majesco announced A Boy and His Blob for Wii this afternoon — after Nintendo Power  already broke the news.

The updated title will feature hand-drawn and painted animation to keep you enchanted as you solve puzzles, defeat monsters, and feed your blob companion gourmet jelly beans which force the poor fella to turn into ladders and other handy items.

“When a boy and his blob first appeared in 1989, it captured the imagination of gamers everywhere with its heartwarming storyline and unique gameplay,” said Majesco’s Gui Karyo.

“Twenty years later, we are proud to bring an updated – yet still charming – reimagining of this beloved title to a new generation of Wii players.”

Expect it to arrive for Wii sometime this fall.

GoNintendo has screens posted here, and you can read on for the press release.

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Warner and MTV may have reached a stalemate over how much Rock Band DLC is worth, which is likely to mean no more Warner music for the game.

Already-contracted content, however, will still be made available.

Those looking forward to tracks from The Grateful Dead, the Pretenders, Jane’s Addiction and others will still get them by the end of the year.

The aforementioned artists were signed to Rock Band before Warner decided it wanted more money for rights.

Look for Warner music to stop being offered by the end of 2009. Even if an agreement is reached it could take another five months to get more.