To: Crecente From: Ashcraft RE: Best Birthday Ever
August brings not only Flynn’s birthday, but mine. Tomorrow, I turn 29. In one year, I’ll be thirty. Turning 29 seems slightly bittersweet. No. It’s really friggin’ bittersweet. For my b-day, I’m not doing anything special per se: Just eating cake. FYI: I’ll be working tomorrow, business as usual. Yes, I love Kotaku that much. :)
What you missed Microsoft’s birthday present to me. Hint: Red is involved. Three times over. PC BioShock demo Metroid Prime 3 achievements?Euro price cut and new 360 colour? More »
Anyone for more Epic/Unreal Engine dirt? Yeah, me too. Love a good soap opera. The latest plot twist comes from Dark Sector devs Digital Extremes. Specifically, game director Steve Sinclair: A lot of promises were made about the Unreal III engine, particularly on PS3. But as we see now, the time frames haven’t been met and now a lot of games using it are being held up.
Not nice words. Especially when you consider that Digital Extremes are old-school Epic fanboys, using older versions of the Unreal Engine on Pariah and Unreal Championship. The plot thickens. Dark Sector Hands-On [Gameplayer] More »
This October, the Hitman is coming, baby-faced actor and all. You excited? Maybe hearing actor Timothy Olyphant talking about how he’s not familiar with the game will make you eager to check out this flick: …the important thing is I really think we did as best we could to be really respectful of the game. The filmmaker’s a real big fan of the game going in. I was not familiar with it at all, so I really came at it from a fresh look. The script in front of me was my primary focus of the story that they handed me. We had a lovely combination of, on one hand, to be respectful of the source material and, on the other hand, not be a slave to it but be inspired by it.
New standard Hollywood game adaptation line: There have been so many bad game movies, but we’re trying to stay true to the game. Not too true, though. Get used to it, gamer people. Olyphant Interview [IGN via VGB] More »
Seems Germany’s Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (ie their classification board) just rated a trailer for Mafia 2. Funny…the USK are in Germany. Leipzig is in Germany. The Games Convention is going down this week in Leipzig. I wonder if they’ll show a Mafia 2 trailer there. Hope so! I LOVED the first game on PC (seriously), so a sequel with cars you could actually drive? Great. Mafia 2 set for Leipzig unveiling? [GameSpot] More »
Just because SEGA has abandoned the Dreamcast, doesn’t mean gamers have. Better yet, it doesn’t mean developers have! Next year will see two new DC games: Dalforce and Wind and Water Puzzle Battles. The games are being published first quarter 2008 by RedSpotGames, who recently released Last Hope for the Dreamcast and the NEO GEO. Dalforce is a vertical shooter with 11 levels, 4 player mode and lots and lots of bullets. The other game is a port of puzzle game Wind and Water Puzzle Battles. It will have 4 player mode and exclusive DC characters. No word on pricing or distribution sources, but both games will be on display in Leipzig, where hopefully Team K will get us hot hot hands-on impressions. New DC Games [Arcade Renaissance via Sega Nerds] More »
SEGA’s Isshyo ni Wan-Wan (“Together With Doggy”) is a geared-for-children arcade game features a touch screen that lets players “pet” virtual dogs Nintendogs-style. What’s more, the game dispenses cards of different dogs (there are 25 breeds) that can be swipe-scanned in like SEGA’s own Mushi King. To top it off, the game is housed in a little car that rumbles and shakes once feed a coin. It’s even covered with little dogs — like you hit them or something! In short: You put in a coin, you get a card. You swipe the card, and a virtual dog appears on the screen, which you pet. The little car you are sitting in shakes and vibrates. The end. Exciting if you are four years old! Isshyo ni Wan-Wan is a SEGA marketing person’s idea of what Japanese children everywhere desire rolled into one odd machine.
Popped into my local comic store over the weekend, bought some stuff. Stuffed in my bag, as always, was the latest Comic Store News. Normally I don’t pay it much heed, but this time? Paid it a little! Mainly because the Mercenaries comic was on the front cover, which was news to me. Seems Diamond Entertainment have picked up the rights from Pandemic and are squeezing a storyline out of all the guns and explosions and exploding guns you expect from the game. Art looks OK, but I’m a little sceptical on how well star Mattias will come across without Peter Stormare’s help. Issue #1 should be on shelves in October. Mercenaries #1 [Diamond Entertainment] More »
Guess they couldn’t wait for the Games Convention to kick off. Microsoft just announced that European 360s are having their prices cut, probably to celebrate the late arrival of the Elite console in the region. The Core’s now going to set you back £180/€ 279, while the Premium’s been cut to £250/€ 349. The Elite, it’s new, it doesn’t need a cut. It’s going on sale for £300/€ 450. They’re not done with the announcements, though. More »
Nothing is too difficult for Gundam. Not even English! While most Japanese struggle through the language, nerds can get help from a Gundam-based English instruction book, first published back in 2003, teaches valuable phrases like:
• “Let’s test the reaction time of your brand-new mobile suits.” • “Gundam is ready!” • “Fighting with Gundam isn’t always the best solution.”
…and the truly delicious: More »
See this picture? That’s not from Google Images. Oh no, my friends. That was taken on a REAL STREET in the VERY REAL Leipzig. In Germany (Europe).
Stay tuned for more very large beers and a modicum of coverage from GCDC/GC. Beers (from Germany) after the jump. More »
