Monthly Archives: May 2009

Valve’s Team Fortress 2 is free to play all weekend, starting today.

Download it, play it, buy it for £13.99 if you like it. See how that works?

ESA boss Mike Gallagher has told GameDaily that 2009′s E3 won’t see a return to the grandiose shows of yesterday. Remember? The events that didn’t work for anyone involved?

“Last year we made some improvements based upon the input we received, but this show is not a return to the old E3,” he said.

“It is definitely much more reflective of the energy, excitement and creativity of our industry, but I wouldn’t say it’s our first ‘big E3′ or a return to the old one.

This year’s E3 is “the right show,” apparently.

“It’s a show based upon what the industry needs to project as an image of the excitement we have in the pipeline for the rest of the year. It’s the right show; it’s not a particular reference to any prior year,” Gallagher added.

Fingers crossed, eh? E3 kicks off with the Microsoft press conference on June 1. Thanks, Joystiq.

The ESRB has rated Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil: Director’s Cut for PSP and PlayStation 3, according to this Kotaku piece, which is good news indeed.

Further, Spec Ops: Covert Assault, Spec Ops: Ranger Elite and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six have all also been given the ratings treatment for the current gen hardware.

No dates have been put on any of them, but we’ll take the first MGS, please.

Full thing through there.

Go here and click the top bullet hole to see the latest Splinter Cell Conviction teaser, this one pointing to a US city. It’s probably Washington.

The first one showed a satellite view of Malta. Both have “Big” Sam Fisher emoing about being someone else.

Watch E3.

Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax, has filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for new project called Brink.

According to a report from Gamespot, not much is really known other than that, but when an application like this is filed, it falls under the realm of:

“Computer game software for use with personal computers and home video game consoles; downloadable computer game software offered via the internet and wireless devices; entertainment services, namely, providing on-line interactive computer games and providing information relating to electronic computer games via the internet.”

Currently, Bethesda and ZeniMax are working on an MMO with $300 million to put towards it and other development projects secured in 2007. This includes a development deal with Splash Damage which just got new staff additions by way of Fable II designer Paul Ham and Killzone 2 level designer Neil Alphonso.

Hopefully E3 will shed more light on this, but in the meantime Bethesda has yet to respond to Gamespot’s request for comment.

Grab the link for more.

A Darksiders: Wrath of War video is posted after the break and it looks pretty good actually, what with all the demons yelling in your face, and the swordplay.

The game’s set in a post apocalyptic demon filled world where the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have been betrayed, stripped of all powers, and cast down to Earth.

Players take on the role of the first of the Four Horsemen, War, as he goes on a rampage filled with vengeance and revenge with his phantom horse Ruin.

Awesome.

The open-world game is expected sometime in December 2009.

Thanks, Kotaku.

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SCEE has launched a new online campaign to boost PSP’s popularity with children ages 8-15.

Called pspinyourhands, the community-focused campaign has interactive activities on the site and plans to run competitions ranging from free PSPs or a family holiday as a grand prize.

“PSP is going for a younger market, which isn’t something we’ve really done before,” said PSP product manager to New Media Age. “Our heartland is 16-24-year-old men and always will be — they won’t be neglected in the slightest.

“But the summer’s game releases, such as Harry Potter and Petz, as well as the launch of the new colors, are certainly appealing to an 8-15-year-old audience.”

More over on Edge.

Two nice looking shots of Romulan ships are posted over on the official website for Star Trek Online.

The game is looking very atmospheric and drop dead gorgeous. Hopefully we’ll get to see some action soon.

Cryptic still has yet to announce a release date for the MMO, but it’ll be ready when it’s ready.

Hit the link for more.

New Need for Speed: Nitro screens have surfaced for both DS and Wii.

Expected for an autumn release, gamers build up boost as they drift and drag behind their opponents and use it to strategically to change the course of the race.

Features a variety of fully customizable and licensed cars too.

Head on over to Kotaku for a look.

Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires is out June 23 and 26 in the US and UK respectively, and a trailer has been released to get you pumped up for it.

It’s basically an introductory video which is good enough for us.

Thanks, D’toid.

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Capcom plans to release its future titles on Steam the same day as retail.

Speaking with ButtonBasher, Capcom VP Christian Svensson told the site that Dark Void and Bionic Commando will be available on Steam at the same time as retail, as the company is taking digital distribution “very seriously.”

Svensson also said that more DLC for Resident Evil is being considered, however “there’s nothing to announce by any stretch,” despite the forum thread requests for it being “hundreds of posts long.”

Via Joystiq.

Atlus has announced that it has secured the North American publishing rights for Demon’s Souls.

Expected to hit PS3 sometime this fall, it will feature online support as well as co-op and the single-player game.

According to the press release, players can:

Team up with two other players in simultaneous cooperative play, working together to topple some of the game’s colossal bosses, or force your way into the games of skilled players and challenge them to PvP battle. Leave hints and clues for those who will follow in your footsteps; either intentionally or through your own inadvertent demise, your bloodstains will allow your successors to view a replay of your death, hinting at how to avoid your gruesome fate.

We think it looks fabulous, and Eurogamer even gave it a 9/10.

More details are posted in the press release.
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EA has stated that its “vision for Wii is a long-term one” and the company is ready to take risks and make some new games.

According to an interview with the company’s senior producer Joe Booth, the game industry has “woken up to the Wii in the right way.”

“The vision for the Nintendo group at Electronic Arts is a long-term one,” he told Official Nintendo Magazine. “We always want to have a balanced portfolio but we also want to break some new games and take some risks.

“I can’t speak for the rest of the industry or all of EA but I can speak for my group when I say I think we’ve turned a corner and the industry has woken up to Wii in the right way.

Booth also said that EA has a lot of passion for the games it’s creating, and the people who work there contribute to the enthusiasm.

“We’re seeing a lot of new energy on the platform,” he added. “One of the things I’ve found when I’ve been building the Nintendo group is that there’s a lot of very passionate people here. Our job is to find people that can be passionate about Wii and our mission.”

Booth is currently overseeing Need for Speed: Nitro which is a DS and Wii.

Via Edge.

THQ says that another Saint’s Row 2 DLC pack is in store for gamers, and it’s called Corporate Warfare.

The content revolves around a civil war within the Ultor Corporation, features new vehicles, Achievements, maps and promises to fill players in on the fate of Dex.

Corporate Warfare will be released May 28 for PS3 and Xbox 360 and will run you 560 MS Points ($7.00).

Thanks, D’toid.

Capcom says that Dead Rising 2 will not be shown at E3 this year because of swine flu concerns.

According to a report from OXM, no Dead Rising 2 material will even be present at the show.

Bummer really. We were looking forward to this.

More through here.

A video for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has surfaced showing off the recently announced Deadpool.

Shows explosions, bullets, kicks, and other stuff you would expect from Deadpool.

Watch it over on Eurogamer France.

The game’s out later this year.

OnLive will not be shown at E3 this year: it will not even have a presence.

In a post on the company’s site, chief operating officer Mike McGarvey issued a statement regarding the reasons for not attending.

“More than anything, E3 is a retail-oriented conference, both for retail platforms and retail publishers, and OnLive is neither,” he wrote.

“You’ll hear and see plenty from us this year in the run up to our external Beta and launch.”

The beta is set for summer with a US launch expected in autumn.

Via BigDownload.

Ubisoft has announced Academy of Champions, an arcade football/soccer game exclusively for Wii featuring Pelé.

The game promises to deliver an an interactive experience for children and families with a story-driven adventure starting with enrollment at an Academy where your coach is Pelé.

Players can improve their skills, recruit new team members and build a squad to defeat their rival Academy and win the champion cup.

Wii Balance Board and MotionPlus compatible, the game is set for release sometime this year.

Press release is posted after the break.

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Evolved Games has issued a recall of its PC version of Terminator: Salvation over reports of install errors.

Reports surfaced earlier this morning, after the game’s official release, that “Error Code: -5006 : 0×80070002″ kept gamers from installing the game on their PC.

A representative from Evolved has told 1UP that it was a “defect that occurred during replication of the PC version of Terminator Salvation.”

“The Xbox 360 and PS3 are not affected and function properly,” said the rep. “We have recalled all PC copies of Terminator Salvation from retail in North America and are currently in the process of replicating new copies.”

A “replacement plan for all end users that that purchased the defect units” has gone into effect with details to be “announced shortly.”

Hit the links for more.

Resistance 2 has been given the Home treatment.

The new area is a recreation of the Chicago Railway Station level from the game.

Be quick about visiting it because there’s a poster in the space displaying a promotional code. First 3,000 users to redeem the code will get a free Resistance T-shirt for their customizable Home avatar.

The space will be a gated area open only to users aged 18 or older.

Official announcement is through the break.

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