Monthly Archives: October 2009

Good news everyone. ACE has found a publisher for Zeno Clash, and it is none other than Atlus.

Because of this, the game is set to be released on Xbox 360 as Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition via XBL.

That’s not all though, come spring 2010, the updated version will have online and splitscreen co-op, along with some gameplay enhancements suggested by the community.

Also, players can expect a brand new mode for the game that Atlus is saving as a surprise.

Flipping fantastic!

Press release is after the break.

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A video for LEGO Indiana Jones 2 was released today.

This time around, players can participate in scenes inspired by both the original movie trilogy and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull along with additions created specifically for the game, and the ability to create your own adventures.

Should you have the desire to play the demo of the original, you can download it from BigDownload, and the video after the break is courtesy of the site as well.

It’s out in November.

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Activision has put out a press release announcing that Taylor Swift is a playable character in Band Hero.

Along with the announcement comes word that Styx, David Bowie, Marvin Gaye, Big Country, and tracks from many others are featured in the soundtrack.

New tracks announced for the console version include:

• The Airborne Toxic Event – “Gasoline”
• Big Country – “In a Big Country”
• The Bravery – “Believe”
• Cold War Kids – “Hang Me Up To Dry”
• Counting Crows – “Angels of the Silences”
• Dashboard Confessional – “Hands Down”
• David Bowie – “Let’s Dance”
• Devo – “Whip It”
• Evanescence – “Bring Me To Life”
• Fall Out Boy – “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down”
• The Go-Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed”
• Hilary Duff – “So Yesterday”
• Jesse McCartney – “Beautiful Soul”
• The Kooks – “Naive”
• Marvin Gaye – “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”
• Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “Impression That I Get”
• OK Go – “A Million Ways”
• Pat Benatar – “Love Is A Battlefield”
• Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue – “Kids”
• Styx – “Mr. Roboto”
• Yellowcard – “Ocean Avenue”

Wonder if Gaye and Stuart Adamson will be with gamers in spirit during play or haunting their record companies over the inclusion.

The full list is after the break.
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A video for the motion control-enabled Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition is posted past the break, courtesy of Joystiq.

It’s basically RE5 with a new flashback mission starring Jill Valentine set in the Spencer Mansion, but spruced up with jiggling of the PS3 controller.

Capcom’s Jun Takeuchi said at TGS that the new content may come to 360, but in a “different format,” meaning a possible release on XBL.

More through the link.

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Nintendo support forums are being hammered with customers stating that the latest Wii system update 4.2 is freezing halfway through, giving system errors stating that their Wii has been modified (even if not) and failing to start.

Some are also reporting disk read errors after applying the update with some of these errors happening to customers with new systems that were just brought home from the shops.

Nintendo’s solution for the problems is for customers to send the console in for a free repair.

“Some of you have reported problems with your Wii console after updating to the Wii System Menu 4.2″, read a post on the support forums. “The symptoms most people are describing usually occur when the Wii has been modified. However, some of you also mention your system has never been modified.

“We’d like to help get your system working properly again. If you’re experiencing problems with your Wii console after downloading Wii System Menu 4.2, and you believe your system has not been modified, please give us a call. If we find that you have a normal system and the update caused your system to not work, we’ll repair it at no charge.”

We are afraid to update our paper calenders now, what with all these update issues floating about. It might burst into flames on us.

More over on Kotaku.

Kristin Bell, as every boy who loves her knows, will be appearing in Assassin’s Creed II as Lucy Stillman from the first game.

There are pictures of her lending her voice to the game over on D’toid.

“As an actress, it’s both challenging and rewarding to play a complex character with this great mysterious background,” she says. “I’m very happy to be Lucy once more, and I look forward to fans discovering more about her – they will be pleasantly surprised.”

Game’s out on PS3 and Xbox 360 November 17.

PC gets it next year.

Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz has stated that “EA has largely missed this console cycle”, while lowering sales estimates for the publisher’s games citing that Dead Space: Extraction and Dragon Age: Origins will under perform at retail.

Need for Speed: Shift is not expected to do as well as planned either, according to Creutz, predicting that the racer will move less than 900,000 units in the US during its first year at market.

Creutz has lowered sales expectations of Dragon Age: Origins by 550,000 units to less than 1.5 million.

“We continue to believe that EA has largely missed this console cycle, and despite recent speculation, we believe it is highly unlikely that EA will be an acquisition target due to a variety of factors,” wrote Creutz in his note to investors.

On a brighter note, Cowan feels that The Beatles: Rock Band will outsell Guitar Hero 5 in the US, selling over 3.5 million units and Rock Band 2 will move 2.2 million.

Thanks, GI.biz.

Dark Energy Digital plans to release Hydrophobia onto Xbox Live via a three-episode series.

According to a preview in Xbox World 360, each episode will last five hours and released over a 12-month period.

If the game proves popular, DED may release three more episodes.

To refresh your memory, Eurogamer says Hydrophobia stars Kate Wilson who is “a woman with a fear of water, who is trying to escape from the depths of a sinking ship after terrorists bomb it during a party. It’s a mixture of platforming and Dead Space-style atmospheric action.”

No word on other formats or a release date.

Namco Bandai has opened a new branch of the firm called Namco Bandai Online, which will focus on online PC games.

The subsidiary aims to grab the attention of Japan as well as the Asian and overseas online markets.

Current online games from Namco include Gundam Network Operation 2, Pro Baseball Famista Online, and NikQ.

Via Siliconera.

We’ve posted a full, 23-minute playthrough video of the Brutal Legend demo after the break.

The rockathon’s taster was released openly to Live and PSN today after being walled off to pre-orderers for the past week.

No longer. See what you’ll be buying come October 15 if you have the slightest amount of common sense.

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The collector’s edition for Splinter Cell: Conviction has been revealed in Australia.

Retailer JB Hi-Fi has it on the site, and it features: a code to unlock “exclusive” in-game content; a 32-page comic book that links the Double Agent storyline to Conviction; the obligatory “making-of” DVD; and a code to download Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory from “Xbox LIVE Arcade; a Sam Fisher figurine”.

No word on a version of this being released elsewhere was to be found, but it is probably very likely.

We’ll send a mail over to Ubisoft just in case.

Thanks, D’toid.

Valve’s Gabe Newell has decided to fly to Australia to meet local game designer Joe W-A, who raised over $3000 for Newell’s visit through the gaming community.

“The power of the gaming community and their ability to rally around a cause – be it serious or fun in nature – is amazing,” said Newell. “In 2003, the community helped the FBI and European law enforcement officials find the people who stole the Half-Life 2 source code. This year, the community is putting me on a plane to the other side of the world to meet Joe W-A and see his MOD.

“It’s going to be a fun trip.”

Newell and Joe will meet in Sydney next week, with Newell donating the three-grand Joe raised to charity instead of using it for his trip.

Press release after the jump.

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The first three levels of Machinarium were released in demo form by Amanita Design today.

You can get it via FilePlanet, Demonews.de, and the full game’s out October 16 on Steam, Direct2Drive, Impulse and probably quite a few others.

Below the break is a video for the game, courtesy of Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

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Deep Silver and Piranha Bytes released a demo for Risen today.

It contains some adventures on the island of Faranga and allows users to test how well the full version of Risen will run on their PCs.

The demo includes the introduction of the game where the nameless hero survives a shipwreck in a storm and lands on the shore of the Island of Faranga.

Risen is expected for release on PC tomorrow.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game has been given a November 3 release for PSP and PSPgo.

Atari, the US publisher, says it will contain “features unique to the platform”, including the ability to “switch between four equipment sets to access eight unique proton pack functions and use gadgets like the PKE Meter and Parapgoggles to scan and analyze targets.”

The portable version of the handheld was developed by Red Fly Studios.

Thanks, CVG.

Sony claims that issues PS3 owners are experiencing with the Blu-ray drive following the release of firmware 3.01 have nothing to do with the update.

Speaking with Eurogamer, a Sony spokesperson told the site that the update cannot affect the Blu-ray drive on a PS3, stating that the problem is “not an issue with the firmware”.

Over on the US PS Blog, there are 16 pages of complaints regarding the issue, with most claiming to have had no previous issues with the console playing Blu-ray films until after the update was applied.

The general complaint is that films and games are freezing, along with error codes and unrecognizable disc notices when inserting a Blu-ray movie.

Most who contacted Sony customer service were told to send their machine in for repair, which costs $150/£128 if out of one-year warranty.

More through the links.

During a video interview with Byteside, Australian film critic Margaret Pomeranz has said that the current Australia’s classification system is turning middle class citizens into criminals.

Speaking out regarding South Australia’s Attorney General Michael Atkinson, she stated:

“You have one AG calling the shots for all of Australia. It must be very frustrating for videogame players who do want to play R rated games.

“It’s the start of danger, where you have a government effectively saying this is what we will allow you to see. Fortunately, they have very little power these days because we can see anything we want, as long as we are prepared to break the law.

“What you are doing is turning middle class people into criminals.”

More through the links.

Thanks, GamePolitics.

Sony has said that the transferring of Blu-ray films to PSP is a decision for Hollywood studios, not the platform holder.

Speaking with Eurogamer, a spokesperson for Sony stated that Blu-ray releases of Tropic Thunder and RocknRolla already support the feature for the handheald, but are viewed at a reduced quality.

This statement from Sony comes on the heels of a report from Blu-ray.com, which stated that the first two Blu-ray releases to feature PSP copies of the films will arrive November 10 in the US.

These movies are Godzilla and The Ugly Truth, and include a digital copy especially for the PSP but you will need to use your PS3 to transfer them.

More through the links.

Activision has told Eurogamer that Tony Hawk: Ride will be released on December 4 for PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

Along with the skateboard peripheral, it will run you £99.99.

It was previously announced for a November 20 date in the UK, with Germany being the only other European country to get the game in 2009.

More through the links.

The writer, producer, and director for Dante’s Inferno, Jonathan Knight, has told PlayStation: The Official Magazine that it’s a compliment for the game to be compared to God of War.

“We never get sick of hearing it because it’s the greatest compliment we can be paid,” he told the mag. “We hope to be worthy of that. Those guys are at the top of their game and there’s no question God of War III is going to be spectacular. I’ll be the first in Line to get it.

“I hope those comparisons are being made because of our combat system and is just as responsive; the control over the character is very immediate, it’s very fast-paced, you can branch out of moves very easily, you feel very powerful and overall is a very fun game to play.”

You can read the full thing in the latest issue of PTOM.

Via GamesThirst.