It seem’s that EA has decided to break the speculation regarding the Fight Night Round 4 lineup and has gone ahead and released information on all but 1 Heavyweight boxers that will be in the game.

As provided by EA Sports the Heavyweight roster for Fight Night Round 4 is as follows:

- Muhammad Ali
- Eddie Chambers
- George Foreman
- Joe Frazier
- Lennox Lewis
- James Toney
- Mike Tyson

What about that last “fighter to be revealed in the upcoming weeks”? Who might that be?

For complete break downs of each character including screen shots and biographies, you can head here.

Thanks to Fight Night Nation for the video.

Curiosity has always killed cats.  And maybe the best example of curiosity that killed the cat is in the old legend of Pandora’s Box.  Mentioning this legend, surprisingly, allows me to segue in nicely to a review of Legendary, recently released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and on PC.

The storyline behind Legendary is a real mouthful in and of itself.  First, Legendary will treat us to a retelling of the original Pandora’s Box legend, in which Zeus himself presents Pandora with an unusual wedding present–a box containing all the evil that’s ever existed and provides strict orders not to ever open the box, but keep it as a kind of keepsake.  What, silverware or small appliances just out of line there, Zeus?  You chuck thunderbolts around the way we toss a baseball but you can’t be bothered to drag your godly ass down to Bed Bath and Beyond and get the newlyweds a MELON BALLER or something?  No, it’s GOT to be a BOX FULL OF EVIL for you….  Anyway, Pandora, of course, is overcome by curiosity and opens the box, unleashing evil on the world.

The game will render that whole description a perfect waste of time by postulating that, in this world, Pandora’s Box is a real life artifact thingy easily on par with the Ark of the Covenant, in that it will shoot out mystical energies that set people on fire, and also summon legions of monsters to wreak havoc on the earth.  Thus, as is generally the case with mystical thingies that can set human flesh on fire, it’s been warred after for years by various countries and factions with silly names like the Council of 98 and the Black Order.  The Council of 98 were the last ones to have possession of said mystical thingy, but someone, possibly an intern, misplaced it and now absolutely no one knows where this thing is.  Until one day, when for reasons that will never be explained unless I missed that part, it resurfaces in a museum in New York.  The Black Order, wanting to show up the Council of 98 and get their hands on the human flesh burner, sends in master thief for hire Charles Deckard to reclaim the box.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that he then opens the box, and now has to return the monstrosities to the box and do it all before the Black Order can seize control of them and rule the world.

The best way to describe this is that Legendary has a plotline that’s unnecessarily complex for yet another first person shooter.  You’ve already played this game, folks, just with a few different characters and baddies to kill.  It’s an absolute crying shame that this kind of thing is still being released—I don’t know how many times I’ve played what amounts to the same game on my Xbox, and I don’t know how the companies that make them sleep at night knowing they’re continually pumping the same drivel into the market with little or no difference in the one that came before it.

Of course, there ARE a couple significant differences in Legendary’s gameplay—first, you have the ability to heal yourself by sucking in Animus magic and using it to heal, or as a weapon if you prefer.  Second, the controls are patently godawful, and aiming your numerous handguns is a downright joke.  I found myself swinging way too far left or right, and there’s no reason that ONE ENEMY should require an entire pistol magazine to bring down as early as LEVEL ONE.

For those that suggest that Legendary is little more than a playable movie, I find myself largely unable to disagree with them.  I got much the same feeling as I walked through the levels, waiting for the next cut scene to hit.  And there sure seemed like a LOT of cut scenes.

It’s bad enough that Legendary is derivative, but it’s downright insulting that it couldn’t have done any better with its ripping off than this.  I am ashamed on developer Gamecock Media’s behalf, and I had nothing to do with them.

If you remember the fun of eighties classic Bionic Commando, where you swung across platforms via an extendible bionic arm, then you may enjoy a new game I spotted on Newgrounds, a fun little platform hopper called Ninja+.

There isn’t a whole lot of story in Ninja+–you run around and jump on platforms gathering gold coins as you go.  You’ll be able to throw unlimited kunai (those small ninja daggers that may or may not be attached to a chain, in case you don’t watch Naruto around the clock) and you’ll be able to swing on a line.

The idea is fun, but I found I had a tough time with some of the controls.  Hopping from platform to platform was as fun as advertised, but switching to the space bar to throw kunai was a difficult move for me.  In retrospect, I almost wish that the grappling hook had been weaponized instead, completely leaving out the kunai and thereby eliminating the problem, but that’s just me.

But people who like their action games fast and agile will definitely find plenty to love in Ninja+.

While most game developers are focusing on improving graphics and gameplay, NeuroFocus is aiming for something different in terms of gameplay interface. NeuroFocus announced NGame, a suite of products and services providing game designers and developers with brainwave-based tools for creating and marketing games.

The NGame suite includes NSequels, which is designed to identify core game elements that build into a franchise; NTarget, which offers user group analysis, design, implementation, and marketing recommendations; NeuroNet, which is geared for multi-player and social gaming; and TGA (Total Gamer experience), which measures multi-sensory gaming effectiveness.

By measuring neurological reactions to games on a millisecond-by-millisecond basis, NeuroFocus believes that the NGame suite can determine how gamers interact with and respond to elements like characters/avatars, storylines, authenticity/realism, weaponry/properties, game scenarios/action sequences, colors/schemas, and in-game advertising.

(Source) Gamasutra

When you’ve been gaming for a few years, you start to get used to seeing the same thing done over and over again with varying levels of success.  One of these terribly familiar tropes is the game collection game, essentially where a studio takes a large quantity of its earlier releases and bundles them together into one larger collection.  Namco’s done this several times, as has Capcom, but quite possibly the most frequent repackager is Sega.

And now, Sega brings us Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection on both PS3 and Xbox 360.

When they say “Ultimate”, I’m relatively sure they mean it.  How can I tell?  Check out the list:   Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Alien Storm, Alien Syndrome, Altered Beast, Beyond Oasis, Bonanza Bros, Columns, Comix Zone, Congo Bongo, Decap Attack, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Dynamite Headdy, ESWAT: City Under Siege, Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Fantasy Zone, Fatal Labyrinth, Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II, Golden Axe III, Golden Axe Warrior,  Kid Chameleon, Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom,  Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Ristar, Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force, Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing, Shinobi, Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, Sonic 3D Blast, Sonic & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Space Harrier, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3,  Super Thunder Blade, Vectorman,  Vectorman 2 and  Zaxxon.

This constitutes the single biggest list of Sega games that I’ve seen in one place outside of an Electronics Boutique in 1995.  Seriously, there’s something here for everybody.  The down side, of course, is that many of these games are games you’ve already played on other “ultimate Sega collections”.  By the time we get to the next generation of gaming, there will likely be another “ultimate Sega collection”, and maybe, just maybe, it will finally have Splatterhouse.  But then, I’m looking forward to the remake too, so maybe that means I’m just weird.

You can tell from the list that there are plenty of opportunities for fun here, whether you just like a quick casual beat-em-up like Streets of Rage or Golden Axe, or if you like a deeper RPG, there’s plenty of those too, just not with all the amazing graphics that we’re all so used to since Square-Enix pretty much refused to release a game without them.  The sheer versatility of the disk makes it well worth it to spend a little time with it—you could probably go for a couple weeks straight just sampling all the games.  Plus, if you’re an old school gamer like myself, you’re probably already neck-deep in a reminisce about the first time you played some of this stuff, or the first time you took on your friends in two-player, or maybe the time you got your girlfriend hooked on Sonic.  Possibilities all, and possibilities well remembered.

As an aside, it’s also very interesting to see the differences in gaming technology and perception on an anthropological level–used to be, you’d save your money for weeks to buy Streets of Rage.  Now you can play similar games online for free; they’re called “casual” games now.  What a difference a decade makes, huh?

Leaving aside the fact that this game is probably a horrible buy, because you’ve already bought one or two “Ultimate Sega Collections”, there’s a lot of reason to like it, even if you only just rent it.  There’s just too many fun things to do with this disk to turn it down outright.

There are puzzle games, and then there are puzzle games that make you want to scream and throw things at your monitor.  Colourshift is one such game, now available to play on Kongregate.

The concept is simple enough–move tiles around to complete circuits of color.  And in the beginning, it’s as simple as it sounds.  But where it gets downright difficult is when you’ll be required, around level 4, to do color blends.  It’s not enough to just link up blue and yellow, no sir–you’ll have to do a GREEN linkage, running circuits of yellow AND blue simultaneously.  And when that particular complication is introduced into the mix, the game goes from relatively easy puzzler to total mindbender.

Colourshift will either make you hate puzzle games entirely or make you feel proud enough of yourself to burst as you beat a level.  If you’re a sense of accomplishment junkie, then Colourshift is your new drug of choice.

Nintendo has launched a new DSi but it looks like it is not solely for the portable gamers. The handheld gaming system will come complete with two new built-in cameras and an SD card for saving music files. The gadget comes complete for social networking abilities and priced at $169.

Nintendo DSi handheld is compatible with all 850 titles available for the DS and is supercharged with characteristics not found in the original handheld gaming system. The device comes with two cameras and 10 different interactive lenses that can be used for snapshots. Furthermore, gamers can fully engage with other players by using the new digital camera which offers a greater interactive experience.

DSi is also ideal for social networking Web sites including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Users can merely save photos and share them across the Internet. Nintendo designed the new handheld to provide a better gaming experience.

While the Nintendo DSi Camera is one of the most distinct features, it also comes with a complete sound application, microphone, stereo headset, and offers full voice recording solutions. Users can actually modify their voices and change the rhythm and beat of a song when utilizing the application. Music files can be saved on an SD card for better portability.

Another impressive feature is the new Nintendo DSiWare application which lets users download new software for the device. This is similar to Nintendo’s WiiWare where developers can create new applications and make them ready for use online.

(Source) NEWSOxy

If you’ve ever played Patapon, you’ll be happy to know there’s a free to play version of Patapon 2: The Art of War out there, and you’ll be happy to know that it’s available on Newgrounds.  Not in fact stolen, but rather created as a public service for Sony to use to promote Patapon 2.

In Patapon 2: The Art of War, you’ll take command of a legion of tiny little creatures and send them marching off to battle.  You’ll have essentially two commands, executed by a drum rhythm–march forward with pata pata pata pon (left left left right on your keypad) and attack with pon pon pata pon (right right left right on the keypad).  You’ll gather an army, take out a tower and kill a dragon in your three-stage sample quests.

Simple, clever and catchy beyond all reason or common sense, this short game should get somebody a job with Sony, because it’s pretty sweet.  It’s got ME interested, and music games are not normally my speed.

One caveat, however–the title is NOT just hyperbole in headline form.  The tune WILL lodge in your head.  Good luck getting it out; took me nearly two days to forget pata pata pata pon…oh great.  Now it’s BACK.

Fresh, hot, and recent– it’s the expansion for Fallout 3 that I’ve been waiting for since it came out: it’s called The Pitt, and it’s easily the most story driven expansion yet.

For those of you not already familiar with Fallout 3, and heaven help you because this is easily one of the best games ever, you are a lone wanderer in a post-apocalyptic war zone doing various things to help the world or help yourself. And in this case, you’ll have that same dichotomy as you venture into the ruins of what used to be Pittsburgh. Yes, I know that’s something of a contradiction in terms because Pittsburgh in its normal state looks something like a ruin anyway, but that’s just me being snarky. Anyway, once you’ve downloaded this particular expansion you’ll receive a radio transmission directing you to head north. Once you reach the designated meeting point, you’ll find a man in the midst of a fight for his life against three raiders. But these are not ordinary raiders—these are subhuman wastes of flesh from a settlement of woe known as The Pitt (see, Pittsburgh? The Pitt? Get it?) who are using large quantities of slave labor to rebuild the city’s steel milling industry and use it to advance their own goals. You of course will have the option of freeing the slaves or siding with the raiders, as is fairly standard for this sort of game.

As I said previously I’ve been waiting for this expansion since the original game came out– I even went so far as to get a fully repaired and fully armed gatling laser, because I had every intention of walking into that town of human filth, cleaning it off the face of the earth in a shower of heavily charged ions . Or possibly protons–physics is not my strong suit. And picking the carcass clean of every scrap I could sell for a bottle cap, of course– I considered that my just reward for killing that many raiders.

So why was I disappointed?

Maybe I built it up too much in my mind in advance. Maybe my visions of frenzy were just too much for any one game to provide. Maybe I was irked by the fact that I’d have to work around slaves; no wandering in and blasting everything in sight, no sir, not for this boy… there might be collateral damage. Maybe I was really irked by the fact that I would temporarily be a slave to get into The Pitt.

By the time I got into that particular expansion, I was carrying enough armament to sink an entire battleship by myself, possibly even sink Rivet City itself. I had my gatling lase, I had the Gauss rifle from the Operation: Anchorage run, I had my alien blaster, and I had maybe fifty raiders to shoot.

And the looting opportunities were not the greatest, either. While I DID get some sweet new guns in the form of the Metal Blaster (which is basically just Protectron’s Gaze for laser rifle, sweet on all counts and blows Biwwy’s freaking Wazer Wifle right off the MAP) and of course, The Mauler (a refined version of something called an “auto axe”, which is basically a sawblade made from a hubcap mounted on a stick with a gas throttle), I found myself downright disappointed that there wasn’t A. more to use these sweet new weapons on and B. more places to loot dry. Half the fun of Fallout 3 was wandering into houses and such and turning them upside down in a quest for bottle caps and such. There just weren’t that many places in The Pitt, aside from the raiders’ quarters and an abandoned apartment building, which irritated me. I’m in PITTSBURGH, for crying out loud. There’s GOT to be more loot than this in PITTSBURGH!

Ah, but then, I’m looking at this the wrong way. The Pitt is merely PART of Fallout 3. It isn’t a new game…it’s just a piece. And as a piece, it adds a definite flavor to Fallout 3 that’s plenty enjoyable. And maybe if you play The Pitt first, you’ll have a lot more to use those fantastic new weapons on. But either way, The Pitt will provide plenty of extra fun to your copy of Fallout 3 for just a few dollars more.

It’s been a while since we last heard about Batman: Arkham Asylum but with the Game Developer’s Conference comes new information about gameplay.

Showcased in the above video is what the developers call “invisible predator gameplay” which is essentially using Batman’s skillset and gadgets to stealthily take down the Joker’s henchmen.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is shaping up to be a true blockbuster but we’ll hold full judgement until it hits the shelves June 9th for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.