Saturday, January 26, 2008
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Storyline Penned By Final Fantasy VII Writer
12:24PM Michael McWhertor | In the latest “Iwata Asks” column, Super Smash Bros. Brawl lead Masahiro Sakurai tells the Nintendo president more about the game’s single player storyline. He also reveals that the man behind the “Subspace Emissary” plot is none other than Kazushige Nojima, scenario writer for Final Fantasy VII. Nojima, also responsible for the scenarios behind games such as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy X, didn’t exactly have the deepest plot in mind when Sakurai approached him about the project. Nojima’s story, if you can call it that, went like this, says Sakurai “Some of the characters are on a bus on the way to the stadium. Samus is there. Donkey Kong is there and Snake is watching the bus from afar.” Yeah. Two buses. That’s why Nojima gets paid the big bucks, folks. Fortunately, that idea has since changed to something with a more serious tone. More laughter filled interviewing awaits you. Iwata Asks, Vol. 4: The Subspace Emissary [Wii.com] More »
The Soul Calibur IV Roster Expands
10:40AM Michael McWhertor | No surprises on par with Darth Vader and Yoda joining the cast of Soul Calibur IV, but three familiar faces have been confirmed to return to the roster of Namco Bandai’s weapons fighter. Maxi, Seung Mina and Yun-seong will all return, as proven by a new batch of exclusive screens from Gamespy. The new shots look, as expected, sexy as hell, even if the particular characters rate pretty low on my personal Soul Calibur totem. Two new stages also make their debut, a pirate ship and ice cave. Understatement has never been the Soul series specialty, so expect plenty of detail. Soulcalibur IV (X360) [Gamespy] More »
News
Microsoft Snaps Up EA Chicago GM To Head Gears Of War Project
10:20AM Michael McWhertor | When Electronic Arts shuttered its Chicago-based development studio, the one responsible for titles like Fight Night and Def Jam Icon, EA prez Frank Gibeau chalked it up to an inability to meet standards for “responsibility for product quality, ship dates and profitability.” Tough words, especially when some of that blame was most likely shouldered by former general manager of the studio, Kudo Tsunoda. Fortunately for Tsunoda, he has a new home, with GameTap reporting today that he’s landed at Microsoft. Tsunoda, best known for his fighting games, including a licensed Marvel Comics brawler that may have been scrapped, has been supposedly put to work on a popular franchise. A new Gears of War title is said to be his first project. An interesting fit. And by interesting, I mean, you better not screw this up, Kudo, or you’re in big trouble. Oh, and congratulations. Kudo Tsunoda Jumps EA Ship, Lands at Microsoft [GameTap] More »
Dojo Dump Surprise: Smash Bros. Adds Virtual Console Demos
9:30AM Michael McWhertor | It would appear that the Smash Bros. Dojo still has a few secrets squirreled away. With the Japanese release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl just days away, we weren’t expecting something on the level of Masterpieces to squeak out. Masterpieces, you see, gives Wii gamers the opportunity to play demo versions of classic NES, SNES and Nintendo 64 games, Virtual Console titles that just so happen to feature characters from the Brawl roster. Project lead Masahiro Sakurai hints that even more titles are buried within, a very cool feature. The rest of the week features some nice little surprises, from details on well-known fighters, to newish Pokémon, to brand new stages. If you aren’t caught up on your Super Smash Bros. Brawl news, we suggest you spend a few minutes with this week’s Dojo Dump. More »
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
8:40AM Michael McWhertor | With Rez HD arriving on Xbox Live Arcade next week, it’s time to give my PlayStation 2 copy the send-off. A quick 30-minute play through of the original should do the trick, but maybe I’ll cut loose and play in Morolian form. Something zany! No, I can’t be tamed, as this is how I’ve chosen to live my life. I’ve also got an Advance Wars: Days of Ruin campaign to finish, so if you need to use the bathroom on Saturday, let me know ahead of time. Speaking of, need to get that friend code out there. Find some Kotakuites to beat up on. :) Oh, must remember to invest in PixelJunk Monsters, too. And No More Heroes. Damn this economic slowdown! What are you playing this weekend, ladies and gentlemen? More »
David Jaffe’s Wii Is Not His Tea
8:00AM Mark Wilson | When David Jaffe isn’t eating or sleeping, he’s playing. And what’s he playing? Well, he tried out Super Mario Galaxy, and here’s what we’re taking as his 3 second review: I mean, I have a Wii, I barely play it — not because I don’t like it or appreciate it, I just, you know, it’s not my cup of tea at the moment. Mario Galaxy, I thought was pretty cool. But how does it stack up to the latest installment of Ratchet & Clank? I’ve got to be honest: I didn’t think that it was as good as Ratchet. I didn’t get the huge big deal over it; I thought it was a really good Mario game, but I wasn’t like, “Oh my God, it’s Mario 64!” I’m totally in the minority in that. I always feel cheated, wishing that I had that Mario 64 watershed moment. But given that I’d been hardcore into PC gaming already, I’d already named that game “Alone in the Dark.” And for those interested, during the interview Jaffe also predicted that the PS3 will either tie the 360 or outsell it by a wide margin. Now you know. Eat Sleep Play’s Jaffe Talks State Of Console War [gamasutra] [image] More »
The SNES Was The Best Console EVAR
7:40AM Mark Wilson | CNET just published a story by Don Reisinger claiming that the Super Nintendo was the greatest console of all time. He argues that the console was the ultimate successor, “a follow-up that was worthy of the ‘Super’ moniker and gave developers the license they needed to create the legendary titles that we still play today.” Personally, I’d agree with his casually argued logic—there’s a reason I’m anxious to port Super Mario World to every device on the planet but bored by the thought of playing PSOne games on the PSP. Of course, this is all just one man’s opinion and many of you won’t agree. So go ahead and vote below before elaborating in the comments. Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you’re viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser. The SNES is the greatest console of all time [cnet] More »
Keighley Compares Fox News To The Onion
7:20AM Mark Wilson | You may have heard that after Geoff Keighley fell from his lofty position of Kotaku guest editor to some TV show that he made an appearance on Fox Newsdefending Mass Effect. Most of you heard about his experience defending the game’s chastity, but what did he have to say about it afterward? We debated whether I should do that or not. In retrospect I’m glad I went on to at least try to set the record straight…I sort of felt a little bit like I was on an Onion News Network skit or something like that. Yeah, we know what you mean. It’s sad sometimes how it doesn’t feel like our world can really be happening. Keighley: Fox News’ Mass Effect Skit Was ‘Off the Wall’ [gamedaily] More »
