Monthly Archives: June 2009

New shots from Tekken 6′s online modes after the break. Want to kill kangaroos with your friends? You’re in luck.

It’s out for 360 and PS3 this autumn.

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And that’s that. One of the greatest E3s for years is done. There were megatons. People are still hiding under their kitchen tables. The conferences were nothing if not sensational. Our goosebumps refuse to settle.

But let’s not be rational. Let’s mark the platform holders’ performances out of ten. Let’s say who “won”. Why not?

Hit the link.

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MTV’s posted up a lengthy play-test of The Beatle: Rock Band from E3, including new video footage.

MTV only allows its movies to be viewed in the US, unfortunately, so you’ll just have to make do with the intro movie in the meantime if you’re European.

It’s out on September 9.

Ubi’s released the direct-feed Assassin’s Creed II gameplay footage shown in the Sony E3 press conference earlier this week, and it’d be fair to day this is an expo winner.

Watch it on Shacknews. It’s out for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 17.

You see. Years in the desert. The horrors of Wii Music. Funny plastic finger clips. Cammie Dunaway dying in front of a growling internet. And then Miyamoto does this.

It’s concept art for the next Zelda, which the developer hopes to announce next year. Pictures: a thousand words.

Thanks, Kotaku.

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Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said that adding HD compatibility to Wii would have no “significant meaning” for players.

“If we have an opportunity to make a new console, it will probably support HD because it is now common throughout the world,” the boss told VentureBeat.

“However, as far as the Wii is concerned, we have not found a significant reason to make it HD-compatible at this time. What is the significant meaning to the users?

“I don’t think we should do it unless we find that reason. If we decide for other reasons to make new hardware, then HD is one of the things we would naturally add.”

Iwata was speaking at E3 this week. Must-read. There’s a lovely quote there about why he still feels comfortable using a Mac in his presentations.

Some of us are excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, some are a bit nervous.

If you are having qualms, Joystiq is there to ease your mind a bit.

Here’s what the site had to say about its hands-on time with the MMORPG:

“Each of the game’s classes will have its own personal story arc that lasts throughout its entire lifespan. Beneath this umbrella is an epic class-specific story as well as a few serialized mini-arcs which include a ton of tied-together quests and instanced dungeons. Daniel Erickson, The Old Republic’s lead writer, explained that the game’s quests are so linked to a player’s personal story that no one quest will be embarked upon by two different classes.

“Or, in other words, two characters from two different classes won’t receive any of the same quests. The replay value here is going to be mind-boggling.”

Color us extremely excited to get our hands on it. Now we just need to decide: Sith or Republic.

Hit the link for more.

This week’s European PSN update is pretty decent.

Trash Panic, Final Fantasy VII, a free MotorStorm ad-on pack and loads of E3 videos are just waiting for your  download.

Most is posted below, and the rest is over on Joystiq.

Playable Content

• Trash Panic full game (£3.99/€4.99)
• Final Fantasy VII PS1 game (£7.99/€9.99)
• Fight Night Round 4 demo (free)

Add-on Content

• GTI Club+ car pack 1 (£2.39/€2.99)
• 2x Resistance 2 multiplayer skins (free)
• 2x High Velocity Bowling packs (£0.79/€0.99 each)
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift VooDoo Signature Livery pack (free)
• Rock Band DLC

PSP Content

• Tokobot full game (£11.99/€14.99)
• Final Fantasy VII PS1 game (£7.99/€9.99)
• Rock Band Unplugged DLC

BigDownload was lucky enough to get behind closed doors with Gearbox’s Borderlands at E3.

The site says it’s one of the “more unique games” it has seen and the art style has made the game stand out more than when it was shown at E3 2007.

Game is expected this fall for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Hit the link for the rest.

Shadow Complex will more than likely cost buyer at least $20.00 when it launches on Xbox Live.

At least that is what Epic programmer Rob McLaughlin told Joystiq when asked.

The title would “likely not see price point below $20″ he told the site.

So there ya have it.

Sony says that it will offer a digital replacement for UMD games if you buy a PSP Go. Some maybe even be for free.

“We’re in the midst of putting together a good will program”, John Koller told Gizmodo. “We’ll be unveiling that soon [because] we actually think there’s a significant group that will be upgrading from the 1000.

“In the past, we’ve seen a 20-25% trade-up factor, and I assume that’s going to be the case here. We’ve modeled that. So we’re looking at a good-will program—a short term good-will program that would continue for years afterward.”

Stipulations and specifics were not mentioned regarding the service since nothing solid has been decided.

More through the link.

Katamari Forever is expected to release in the US sometime this year, and to get you psyched for it, Destructoid has posted three new videos of it.

The site says that the in-game filters allow you to play levels any way you like, and Namco is promising a “best of” bit of levels from each Katamari title.

We have one posted after the break. Hit the link for the rest.

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Shuhei Yoshida says that Sony plans to launch its new motion controller in spring 2010.

Among other things, the peripheral will have a zero learning curve, because it tracks movements that are already natural to the human form.

“The first thing we thought about was how to make the interface seamless and easy for consumers,” he told CVG. “”We’re trying to make it so precise that what you do is exactly what get in the game. You don’t have to learn any specific moves; how you move already is how you move in the game.

“But as we learn to use this tech, more and more ideas are coming from studios that would be great to use in an adventure-type experience, or a firstperson shooter. So we’re not limiting ourselves to certain types of audience or experience.”

Yoshida also added that Sony is currently at work with a tech company in Tokyo on the possibility of integrating it alongside the DualShock for some games.

Compared to Natal, he feels the two differ because buttons and triggers have to be taken into account in certain respects.

“I saw the [Natal] demonstration and it’s a very sweet video; it’s more futuristic and I felt like I was watching some Consumer Electronics Show event.

“However, we know from working with camera technology for a long time that just using the camera without precisely detecting what the consumer wants to do, with buttons and triggers, is quite difficult, especially when bringing it into the game context. So while it’s very interesting, what we’re providing with our technology is very different.

“We’re looking to launch this technology in spring next year.”

Peter Moore says that EA already had a look at both Natal and Sony’s motion controller months ago, and the company is already scouting ways to take advantage of both in the fitness realm.

“We’ve seen both Natal and the motion controller from Sony several months ago,” he told Gamasutra. “So we’re already looking at opportunities to bring both our licensed product and our fitness product to these new controller mechanisms.”

Moore also reiterated what John Koller said in an earlier interview about sometimes needing a device in your hand, and he attributes this to “gesture control”.

However, boxing games like Fight Night would benefit highly from an hand-less device.

“We’re constantly evaluating,” he added. “I think what you’ve got to do with Natal in particular is you’ve got to come up with new experiences that feel natural without something being held or something on your body. And that’s going to be the key to successful software for Natal.”

More through the link.

Huxley: The Dystopia will no longer contain cross-platform play between PC and Xbox 360, and is also going with a free-to-play microtransaction business model.

“At this point, yes, [Huxley is] microtransaction supported,” ijji’s Boo Won Kim told Joystiq.

As far as no longer being cross-platform, it was confirmed to be true “at this point.”

More through the link.

Paradox Interactive has released a video for the Warband expansion to Taleworld’s popular indie game Mount & Blade.

It’s posted after the break.

The expansion adds multiplayer, and will support up to 32 players and eventually handle 64 once mods are created.

A complete graphics overhaul will be included, better AI with a greater sense of morale, and improvements to the combat system.

No exact date was forthcoming, but it is expected by the end of the summer.

Via Indiegames.

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The whole Activision-Double Fine-EA fiasco just keeps getting uglier and uglier, and now Activision has made good on its promise to block the sale of Brutal Legend unless it gets paid or publishes the game itself.

According to the Associated Press, Activision filed papers with the district of Santa Monica, California yesterday, claiming that Double Fine transferred rights owned by the company to EA after it had already invested $15 million in the project.

Activision claims it still has a valid contract to release the game.

This is despite the fact the game was dropped along with Ghostbusters and Assault on Dark Athena back during the Vivendi merger, which CEO Bobby Kotick said was because none had “the potential to be exploited every year on every platform.”

Jesus.

Konami has announced that the original Metal Gear Solid will arrive on PSN on June 18.

This is the US date, and it will run you $9.99.

No word yet on Europe, but we will keep you posted.

Via Joystiq.

2K demoed Mafia II to attendees at E3 this year and according to most, the game looks nice and has a bit of stealth to it that those who have played Uncharted or GTAIV should find familiar.

Apparently, you can stick to walls, hide behind objects and the like, but gunfire can damage and destroy your hiding place, according to Kotaku.

Driving was described as being a bit slow, but not as slow as in the first iteration, and the radio in the vehicles plays music specific to the time period.

The city is bigger, more realistic and the game features a checkpoint system so missions will not have to be replayed all over again should you fail.

Basically, it looks good so far. Loads more about it through the link.

John Koller has said that Microsoft’s new motion sensor controller is impressive, but the company may have some issues when it comes to certain genres that require a “hand” controller.

“Microsoft’s is impressive because it does a full-body scan,” he told Gamasutra. “But depth issues with the Z axis is something Sony avoids. The PlayStation Eye is more accurate and more precise. Microsoft’s [solution] is going to have issues with shooting games, for example.

“We want to be as diverse as we can; the controller that we’re looking at will be open as possible.”

Don’t expect it to land anytime soon, though, especially this year.

“It’s not going to be this calendar year,” said Koller. “Developers are looking at it now.”

More through the link.