I myself almost couldn’t believe when the Bionic Commando franchise was resurrected. I’m sure it was a shock to many, given the last game was made in the days of Gameboy Color, and most of the titles in the series were for early generation consoles. If you’re sitting there scratching your head wondering why such a relative dinosaur of a franchise was dug back up for a makeover, head over to the Bionic Commando website and check out the first podcast. This edition is from producer Ben Judd who discusses exactly why this classic series is being brought back.
Can you hear that? It’s the sound of all those triple-A titles going gold these days. Yesterday it was Unreal Tournament 3, today it’s Kane & Lynch, another highly anticipated shooter. The game will be in stores on November 14 on the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
Don’t worry, he’s going to leave the West Coast alone. Between wildfires and earthquakes, even he knows they’ve had enough. Two games featuring that legendary lizard are coming to consoles and handhelds this holiday season. The Nintendo DS will be getting ‘Godzilla Unleashed: Double Smash’ and ‘Godzilla Unleashed’ is coming to the Wii and PS2. Both games put you in control of the Japanese monster legend in an epic battle to save the Earth from complete destruction (by wreaking a little havoc of your own of course). The games boast a non-linear storyline where your actions in battle affect the outcome of events. The Wii version takes advantage of motion-sensing technology, while the PS2 version has a slightly different monster roster. The DS version allows for two player cooperative action.
Finally, after weeks of speculation, Midway has finally revealed that PC version of Unreal Tournament 3 has gone gold and will be in shops on November 19. Midway announced the news today, but didn’t mention anything about the PS3 version. Earlier this month they said that they’re not counting on a release this year, but developer Epic on the other hand, is still “pushing for a 2007 release”. We’ll see what happens, one thing is sure though; the PC frag-fest begins on November 19.
We have yet another video game movie coming to us, this time courtesy of director Roger Avary who’s worked on the upcoming Beowulf as well as Pulp Fiction and a few other films. He is reportedly a big fan of the Wolfenstein series, having played the original Castle Wolfenstein and the revolutionary Wolfenstein 3d. The script is almost finished and is being described as a ‘big popcorn adventure movie’. Given the plot and content of Return to Castle Wolfenstein that sounds like a fairly adequate description, especially since the director also makes mention of the horror aspect of the game. My best bet for anticipation of the movie is this: take one part Saving Private Ryan (or World War II film of your choice); add half a cup Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark or Last Crusade, take your pick) and add a pinch of horror and bake for several hours. Garnish with an unnecessary romance and serve.
While Smash Bros. Melee will obviously be best when played with friends or online, there’ll be those times when you’ve got nobody around, or maybe you just want to hone your skills. Enter the ‘Classic’ mode. As you might expect, this is a relatively straightforward game type. Pick your character and difficulty level and get ready for some brawlin’. Each stage will have you fighting a different character chosen at random. The stages are all based on different worlds, so while on stage one you might see two or three different levels from the Legend of Zelda, you won’t see levels from any other games. Level three will be based on Pokemon. To keep it interesting, levels will sometimes have varying game types and rules: team battles, giant battles, metal battles and others will have you on the edge of your seat. As you play this mode you’ll also earn coins which can be used somewhere, although apparently not to shop for new stages, characters, background songs or the usual things you’d expect them to get you.
Blizzard has decided that they’re not happy with dominating PC gaming as much as they already do with World of Warcraft, as the employment section of their website lists postings for workers on a next-gen MMO. There aren’t any hints as to what the game will actually be, but its likely that it’ll be set in one of Blizzard’s other two franchises: Starcraft and Diablo.
The case for Starcraft: First of all there seemed to have been far more outcry for a new Starcraft game than for a new Diablo game. You also have three different factions set up, each with unique abilities and overall styles. Then there’s various unit types which could easily translate into classes: Protoss could attain higher levels of psychic mastery, Terrans get promotions or extra training and Zerg grow or change into various other biological engines of destruction. The game could cater to both action fanatics and RTS fans alike. This worked in Savage fairly well. One player takes over tactical command of a battlefield, issuing orders and allocating resources where they’re needed, while the other players attempt to destroy the enemy. With many different battlefields and some AI-controlled supporting infantry troops there’d be quite some depth and strategy to this approach. World of Warcraft also followed fairly closely on the heels of Warcraft III, so with Starcraft 2 coming out soon they might be following an established plan of success.
The case for Diablo: It’s been a long time since Diablo 2 came out and there have to be some gamers out there somewhere hoping for a new title in the series. The online play was very popular and many gamers used Ebay as a real-world marketplace, selling and buying rare items. There’s a whole plethora of lore and legend in the history of the Diablo universe where it could take place. The game could function in a similar way to World of Warcraft, with the sides of Heaven and Hell warring for supremacy with humanity caught in between. There could even be the possibility of players being able to create Angelic or Demonic characters once they reached a certain level with their mortal characters. Throw in a number of already established classes and character types as well as the simple fact that fantasy MMOs generally do better than Sci-fi ones and you’ve got a decent argument for the Lord of Terror as well.
There is always the possibility that they could be creating a completely new IP, but given the success of WoW, it’s infinitely more likely they’ll be putting their eggs into a basket they know is already a success.
Some copies of the upcoming DS dungeon crawler ‘Orcs & Elves’ will be bundled with some extra limited edition swag. Luckily this isn’t something you have to pre-order. Just be one of the people who buys their copy of the game early and you’ll be rewarded with an ergonomically designed stylus that matches the wand your character uses in the game. It’s also fully approved by Nintendo, so there’s no worries about voiding a warranty if you scratch your screen with it. This is only available at select retailers however, so make sure you’re shopping at the right place.
Ever since the Manhunt 2 incident, questions and concerns relating to the gaming industry’s rating system have been at an all time high. It is now the release day of the controversial game, and chances are, after the game finally launches, parents, and Fox News, will once again be asking the question: does the rating system working as well as it should be? The ESRB isn’t by any means doing a bad job, but unfortunately, the answer is still no. Even though it’s ultimately up to the parents to ensure their kids aren’t exposed to mature content, there are several ways that the ESRB could be informing parents about a game’s contents better. Here’s an in depth look at five ways the rating system for the gaming industry could be modified to adequately inform the consumer if a certain title is too violent, or not violent enough.
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If you or your child are into piñatas, be sure to check out Viva Pinata: Party Animals which will be released for Xbox 360 on November 16. Developed by Rare, this game is based on the children’s television series as well as the previous game. It is set in an episode of the show. Here’s the deal:
In the game, players star as their favourite candy-filled Piñata from the popular Saturday morning animated series including Franklin Fizzlybear, Hudson Horstachio, Paulie Pretztail, Fergy Fudgehog, and more as they compete for fame and fortune in more than 50 distinct mini-games and races across Piñata Island. “Viva Piñata: Party Animals” features Xbox LIVE and local multi-player contests, like Burps Ahoy!, where colourful Piñatas send burp fuelled sailboats across Lake Piñata! Nothing gets a hungry Piñata’s candiosity up like a sweet, yummy caramel apple! Players bob their way through Caramel Apple Gobble taking big bites out of the fruit, chewing it up as fast as they can to be the first one done. Or they can squeal with delight as they tackle Blown Away – a game of hot potato unlike any other – where they trick their pals into being the one left holding an exploding jack o’ lantern.
As expected, the game will feature multiplayer via Xbox Live for up to four players who can also partake in split-screen multilayer. It is not currently known whether it make use of downloadable content or not.
