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Dragon's Dogma: The Kotaku Review I like the kids at Swedish mag +N. Very crafty. I like their swank mag covers, and I also like the theme music collabos they run with Swell Session. We’ve checked out the Zelda one previously, but it was admittedly a little…noisy. Abrasive, even. This one’s easier on the ears. It’s a hip-hop Punch-Out remix, with Little Mac and Doc on the mic. Definitely worth a couple of minutes from your busy schedule. +N/Swell Punch-Out Remix [+N]
Sunday night, I settle in for some Gears of War single player. Ten minutes in, my Xbox 360 freezes up. I switch it off. Fire the machine back up, and two minutes in, the thing freezes up. Turn off the console. Wash, rinse, repeat. After a few times, I could get the 360 to play through a game without freaking the fuck out. The harder games have the Xbox 360 work, the more likely the console is to die. My 360 is sick, and the rot is setting in. I can hear the death rattle.
The PSP can do a lot of things! The PSP can do things over wi-fi. The PSP can now run at 333mhz. Both good things. Problem is, it can’t do both of them at the same time. Beyond3D have found that a game can only run at top-speed if the PSP’s wi-fi is disabled. If it’s not, the fastest a game can run is a good old-fashioned 222mhz. David “Davey” Karraker has confirmed this with GameDaily, saying: The article is correct that increased CPU speed cannot be used with the PSP’s wireless feature.
No confirmation on just why the limitation is in place, but I’d think the 34-second battery life you’d get with both features running may have something to do with it. Sony PlayStation Portable: 333MHz comes with restrictions [Beyond3D, via GameDaily.biz]
And the next Super Smash Bros. Brawl character is… Pokémon Trainer. Yup. That’s what the English Smash Bros. DOJO!! site is calling him. And that’s what the Japanese DOJO!! site is calling him, too. This excitingly bland character doesn’t fight directly, but “watches from the background” uses three Pocket Monsters: Squirtle, Ivyasaru and Charizard. A special move called the “Pokémon Change” is used to switch between them. Being a Trainer, the Pokémon Trainer doesn’t directly fight, but watches the brawl. Yup, Nintendo just unveiled a spectator.
Think you couldn’t get any more excited after the demo
Last week, Gamestop pics surfaced, showing Sonic on a Super Smash Bros. Brawl mock-up cover. This week? Kotakuite Cody sends up an ad from a Canadian Best Buy that shows Sonic standing between Wario, Samus, Kirby and Link. Is this a marketing foul-up? Is Nintendo sitting on a big announcement and totally forgot to check their fliers? Got me! Though, with Sonic and Mario now making games together, I wouldn’t rule this out just yet — especially with Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto and Smash Bros. Masahiro Sakurai saying that Sonic was the character fans want most.
Eds Note: PhotoShop time stamp is ours.
To: Ash From: Flynn Subject: OMG BioShock Demo!
Ahoy! Well it was certainly exciting weekend around here. Got some nice news from home, friends came to visit and I even got to go out drinking on a Friday night which happens relatively rarely since I have to be in tip top form on Saturdays for my various Kotaku duties. It’s going to be crazy travelling for me for the rest of the month. I leave for NYC on Tuesday for a week then I come back and leave the next day for PAX. The it’s back to Atlanta for Dragon Con. Should be a good time!
Some things you might have missed this weekend:
Proof that you can’t please everyone: the BioShock demo already has many PC users crying foul (amongst other less family-friendly words). “What about us!” they wail, indignant that some scruffy little console will be playing at least some part of the game before they are. Well, Irrational are saying that a PC demo is coming. Not here yet, but it’s coming. For those of you who are looking for a BioShock demo on the PC, it is in the works and will be out later this month. I’ll give you more details about it tomorrow.
See, they haven’t forgotten about you. Just kicked you down their list of top priorities, is all. Wait til tomorrow before reaching for that pitchfork/torch. BIOSHOCK DEMO LIVE NOW ON XBOX LIVE MARKETPLACE [Cult of Rapture]
The bastards. They killed the Dreamcast and now Shenmue apparently. Shortly after Shenmue II hit the DC, there were rumblings that a sequel was in the works. We’re still waiting. Then, back in early 2006, the game’s producer and director Yu Suzuki stated at event China Joy 2006 that Shenmue Online was *still* in development. (The game was originally announced back in 2004!) This year’s China Joy turned up no Shenmue Online, and according to Adam Doree from game site Kikizo site, fat chance on seeing Shenmue III: As for Shenmue, I would have to say at this stage, it is worth forgetting about… Suzuki’s status is, once again, up in the air, which counts Shenmue III totally out of the picture right now. This is confirmed, it seems.
SEGA has yet to provide an official statement on the game. Shame to see the rot set in. Really.
No More Shenmue [VGB]
