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Dragon's Dogma: The Kotaku Review Seriously, can’t a gal suck on six inches of beef without the Internet getting into a tizzy? I don’t get what’s so great about G4′s Olivia Munn deep-throating a hot dog—
Wait. I think I just got it.
Olivia Munn’s Hot Beef Injection [Fleshbot]
Don’t necessarily agree with the order (City of Heroes? DOES NOT COUNT), but the list certainly proves that maybe we’re wrong to constantly criticise movie games. Maybe it’s just hard adapting anything into game form. That or they need to start picking better comics to make games from. If anyone publishers would like to hear my ideas for a Tom Strong adventure game or a Planetary X-Com clone, my contact details are to the left.
Hey Xbox 360 owners! Played that BioShock demo yet? Nice. Just don’t tell PC gamers. They’re waiting, ’cause it’s coming. 2K Games is burning the midnight oil so that the PC demo gets out before the August 21st drop date. The publisher leaves this apology: We tried as hard as humanly possible to get it out to you guys simultaneously with the 360 demo, but we needed to make sure that it was perfect — that all drivers were ready, and that the game looked great on a huge variety of computers.
Christophe Gans sat down for some croissants and tea with Ecran Large, mainly to discuss his upcoming Onimusha adaptation. What did he have to say? Filming starts next March and will be shot mostly in Beijing, in the same studios Hero was shot. Nearly the entire cast and crew are Chinese locals, they’re hoping to wrap filming up by next July and the things got a $US70 million budget co-financed by backers from the US, Japan, China and Gans’ bestest friend Samuel Hadida. And…that’s about it. Shame about the cast thing, if only because it greatly reduces the chances of a Jean Reno appearance. Onimusha : Tournage confirmé en mars 2008 [Ecran Large, via Dark Horizons]
You’ve seen the Wonder Festival figurines, here are the funny costumes. There were apparently over a hundred cosplayers at the event. Stand-outs include the cute Doki Doki Majo Shinpan, the freakazoid Lucky Star and the simply amazing Optimus Prime. That last one isn’t really game related, but hey, he’s feigning drinking a Coke in the dead of this hot Japanese summer. Not posting that would be a grave disservice. Wonder Festival Summer 108 Cosplayers [Akiba Blog]
Once again proving that Japan will make ANYTHING into a DS game comes A 13 Year-Old’s Hello Work. It’s an adventure game based on, get this, a humourous job guide book for early teens. Players are a young girl from the future who has traveled back in time to help people who have lost interest in work. Yes, there are mini-games.
The original book A 13 Year-Old’s Hello Work was written by respected author Ryu Murakami, who penned the novels Almost Transparent Blue and Coin Locker Babies. Hello Work is a famous Japanese job placement agency. Murakami’s book is actually quite funny! The book lays out likes particular interests children have and then possible careers connected to them. It’s not entirely flip, but the book is light hearted. For example, it tells kids that if they like fighting, they should become professional wrestlers. Sound advice! I was actually thinking of picking it up for Mini-Bash for when he turns 13. Guess I can just get the DS game instead… Hello Work DS [Famitsu]
If you’re in a part of the world that’s just getting started for the day, you may not have noticed your Wii flashing away in the dark. Yes, it’s another update. It’s not as big/upsetting as last week’s, though, just a few minor tweaks here and there. Oh, and if you’re in the US you’ll also find two more Metroid Prime videos. If you’re not, sorry, you won’t.
The twice-a-year Wonder Festival is Japan’s biggest figure-selling bonanza with over a thousand dealers taking part. The event recently wrapped up in Tokyo on the 12th. The next one will be in Osaka this winter. Here’s what makes it so damn cool: All fan-made kits are given a one day licence by copyright holders via the Wonder Festival Executive Committee. Meaning? Sellers can put their work on the market without fear of breaking the law.
I’ve put together of official and fan-made stuff. It’s mostly game-related like Ayane from Dead or Alive (above). So you should be able to pick out Resident Evil, THE iDOLM@STER, SNK ladies, Metal Gear Solid and a fuckton of Haruhi Suzumiya figurines.
Wonder Fes 2007 Summer [Senaka Blog]
Speaking with Famitsu, Shigeru Miyamoto has tried to calm the growing ranks of dissatisfied Nintendo fans left wanting at the lack of “old-fashioned games” on the company’s release schedule. Nutty, disembodied doctors, puppies and face exercises are all well and good, but sometimes we just want to play some stages, in sequence, culminating in some kind of near-impossible boss battle as part of a thinly-glued, over-arching narrative. The latter sound like your cup of tea? Avert your eyes: While there are indeed games designed for core and casual markets, core users are also enjoying casual gaming. It is very hard to tune the difficulty just for the core market. Even for us, we would still have difficulty finding the right balance. But I think the future is games that are not difficult and yet very fun to play.
In other words, fewer games just for the “core” market. Hope you like puppies and Pokemon! Miyamoto: “Games Should Feel Like Games” [Next-Gen]
Just look at how fun multiplayer is Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates. It’s friggin’ tickle party! Single player FFCC:ROF, well, that’s merely “heh” inducing.
