Hardcore FPS fans take note: you may have to reconsider your decision not to buy a Wii. Third-party developers seem to finally see the potential millions to be made by filling in the holes Nintendo has left in the Wii’s software library. Sega and Platinum games have the ultra-violent action genre covered withMadWorld, and now we have theThe Conduitto fill Wii owners’ need for a story-driven, core gamer-appeasing, alien-murdering, multiplayer FPS....
Asreported, theGod of War IIIdemo is live, with customers who pre-ordered the game already receiving vouchers for the game. I went out of my way to get my own voucher for a few reasons. First, despite having seen this very demo played multiple times since last February, I hadnever actually played it. I’m a huge fan of the series — I’d probably lumpGod of War I,II, and the PlayStation Portable’sChains of Olympusinto some kind of “favorite games ever” file....
This month in the forums, people mock collectors editions with vegetables (or are they fruit?), manly men flaunt their beards, the Cinema opens for movie ratings and discussion, and sometimes we talk about games. It was a bit of a slow month actually, what with PAX fever taking up the majority of the first few weeks, then consars immediately following. Still, if you haven’t been to the forums lately, here’s what you’ve been missing....
Blaster Tankis basically a total rip-off of XBLA classicHeavy Weapon. It’s almost exactly the same, including the background screen-clearing nuke exploisions, except that it’s not as good and there are no bosses (as far as I could tell). You’ll probably get bored of it after 5 minutes at a time, but it’s another reason to try out the pretty long trial version ofHeavy Weaponas well, so there’s that. Shadow Runnerhas kind of a mix betweenBraidandN+gameplay vibe to it....
While not everyone listens to video game and anime music, there is quite a large following within the gaming and animation online communities, and it seems to be growing daily. Many news outlets likeSpin, MTV, TechTV, EGM, and Nintendo Power have covered the growing phenomenon, and even Destructoid’sbig daddy robothimself is said to be a fan. And you’re going to this year’sPenny Arcade Expo, right? Newbies will get a real taste of how huge the follwing is there when the biggest game music concert ever rocks the convention....
How are you going to gather up the scratch for that $250 PSPgo? And what about its downloadable games? How about selling off some of those UMDs you won’t be able to use anymore? That’s what GameStop expects that you’ll do. In a recent earnings call, GameStop EVP of merchandising and marketing, Tony Bartel, said that he was all for the PSPgo, and expected that gamers would be trading in UMDs to get that new system and its download-only games....
Crayon Physics Deluxewas, for all intents and purposes, a good game. It was also a spectacularly interesting and possibly flawed game; while the core mechanic was incredible, the cosmetics pleasing to the eye and ear, and many of the puzzles imaginative, much of the game could be brute-forced by less creative players (i.e., myself). It was refreshing, then, that Petri Purho’sCrayon Physics Deluxepostmortem, the final Independent Games Summit lecture I attended today, did not shy away from such issues....
On Friday,rumorsbegan circulating that Gearbox, developers of theBrothers in Armsseries, handed walking papers to as many as twenty-six employees. Speculation as to why ran from lackluster sales ofHell’s Highwayto, God forbid, Sega pulling out ofAliens: Colonial Marines, forcing the developer to cancel the project.. Responding to the rumors, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford has stated that the FPS tactical shooter is still still on track. He confirmed that staffing changes have occurred, calling them “transformative,” which I really want to believe means that they’ve hired Optimus Prime but is ultimately meaningless PR speak....
The Spike VGAs may not have quite found the g-spot of gamers’ desires with this year’s show, but there’s no denying that many were excited to finally hear some conclusive news about theGears of War 2“Combustible” Map Pack, which will be released tonight at midnight PST for your blasting pleasure. A price was not confirmed, although rumors are flying that the cost will be 800 MS points. I heard some complaints about the idea that the map pack wouldn’t be free, but either way, I have a feeling a lot of people may be up late tonight....
Last year, PlayStation 3 owners seethed with jealousy asGreg Hastings Paintball 2hit both Wii and Xbox 360. Patience is a virtue: it’s out on PlayStation Network today with Move support! The $19.99 download will bring the paintball experience into your home, without all of the mess and bruises. Or something. It features both single and multiplayer modes, each of which has you splattering paint on moving targets instead of shooting off their faces with a real gun....
Thanks to the lads atOfficial Xbox Magazinewe’ve got word of three upcoming packs of DLC forGuitar Hero III. TheOXMkids make buckets of cash for doing this sort of thing, so let’s let them tell it: Expect a Foo Fighters pack with All My Life, The Pretender and This Is A Call, a Velvet Revolver pack with Slither, She Builds Quick Machines and Messages and the final pack for the boss battle music....
Here’s something you don’t see every day. MTV posted an interview with Tom Bean, the CEO of Digital Praise. It’s a developer dedicated to making christian-themed versions of popular games. So far, their catalog consists of titles like theDDRcloneDance Praiseand the recently releasedGuitar Praise, but there’s a possibility that they could venture into GTA territory. When asked if the company would open to the idea of developing a GTA-style game without all the negative aspects people identify the series by, Bean had the following to say:...
Zombies and Halloween go hand in hand, don’t they? Plants? Well, I don’t know where they fit in as far as the holiday goes, but they come with the package, so deal with it. We’ve already told you thatPlants vs. Zombiesis a fantastic game, and now, just in time for Halloween, the game is on sale at a couple of places. The lowest price you’re going to find is $6.99, atPCGameStore, where it’s now on sale, down from the regular price of $19....
