Friday, August 8, 2008
News
Sierra’s Last Game Is A Sad Way To Go Out
11:20PM Luke Plunkett | Ah, Sierra. So, so, so many fond memories. King’s Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Quest For Glory, Half-Life 1, Homeworld, SWAT…so many good games, so many good times. So it’s crushing to see that, as the label prepares to fade into oblivion following the Blactivision merger, its last game is…less than memorable. Hitting the printers as the ink dried on the Activision-Vivendi merger was Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, making it most likely the last game to be sold under the Sierra brand name (at least until someone digs it up, Atari style). An awful game based on an awful movie. Shame, that. Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Sierra’s sad swan song [Variety] More »
TV Ad Focuses Only On PS3 As Blu-ray Player
11:00PM Brian Ashcraft | The above ad shows a father and Sony with a PS3 either buying or renting (can’t tell) a bunch of Blu-ray discs. Haven’t really seen the PS3 promoted solely as a Blu-ray player on TV here, but yeah, why not? It makes sense — the machine plays Blu-ray discs and help win the format war. I use my PS3 to watch tons of Blu-ray discs. You? More »
Third Time Lucky For Okami?
10:20PM Luke Plunkett | Despite being one of the best damn games we’ve ever played, Okami bombed (at the register, relative to its quality) on the PS2. Bombed on the Wii, too. So maybe, uh, third time’s a charm? Let’s hope so (because this isn’t official confirmation)! A listing for a Greatest Hits version of the game – on PS2 – has turned up on retailer Play-Asia, with a ship date of later this month. Who knows, maybe a cheap, cheap price will look great to the 3-4 people who somehow missed it first time around. And don’t own a Wii. Okami (Greatest Hits) [Play-Asia, via Siliconera] More »
Yakuza 3 Features Seven Young Fashion Models As Hostesses
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Once again, the Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza in the West) series add real-life females to its cast of charaters. While Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 featured adult video actress Nana Natsume and Ryu Ga Gotoku KENZAN! featured the talents of pin-up model Yinling. The upcoming Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 will feature seven models from fashion mag Koakuma Ageha in-game as night club hostesses. Included in those seven is Osaka gal Rina Sakurai, whom I interviewed earlier this spring for the arcade book I wrote. Smart kid — we talked about sticker pictures. “小悪魔ageha”のカリスマモデルたちが『龍が如く3』にキャバクラ嬢役で出演 [Famitsu] More »
PAL PlayStation Store Update: Squat. SQUAT!
9:30PM Luke Plunkett | Well would you get a load of this. A PAL PlayStation Store update with nothing in it? Incredible. Insulting. Disappointing. Predictable. Take your pick of any of those. There are five items available today, Europe. Five. And that’s across both stores, PS3 and PSP. Surely this is the lowest moment yet for a weekly ritual that prides itself on low moments. PS3 store Guitar Hero III: Interscope Track Pack Civilisation Revolution – Wonders & Artefact Pack #1: The Mythic Dead Space – Loved Ones Trailer PSP Store Secret Agent Clank Demo Secret Agent Clank Trailer Don’t download it all at once, Europe, or you’ll have nothing left to do until…Saturday. More »
News
Batman Game Exists, But Is In Limbo, Says EA ‘Insider’
8:30PM Luke Plunkett | We already know a new Batman game is in development. IGN accidentally spilled the beans, Gary Oldman accidentally spilled the beans, that’s too many spilled beans. But…if it’s been in development for so long, where, uh, is it? There’s been no official announcement from the rumoured publishers, EA or the rumoured developer, Pandemic. No screens, no vids, no press releases, nothing. Speaking under the condition of anonymity with the Associated Press, an “EA Manager” may have revealed why. Not only has this insider given further confirmation that the game’s currently in development, but has seemingly given AP a laundry list of potential reasons for the delay, which they say range from Heath Ledger’s death to “missed deadlines” to “questionable quality”, amongst others. None of which sound particularly promising. ‘Dark Knight’ reigns not in video game [AP, via MCV] More »
News
These Talking Heads Are Freaky Real (Mostly Freaky)
8:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Hello Uncanny Valley! Here is another face retargeting demo from mocap team AlterEgo, “the facial performance division of award-winning animation studio, Pendulum”. The team has lent its tech expertise to Stuntman: Ignition and Silent Hill 5. You can read about it here. Amazing stuff, but it really does make it seem like that woman has a mannish voice. Thanks Michael for the tip! More »
A DS In The Red Light District
7:30PM Luke Plunkett | Simon Parkin’s written a piece over on GameSetWatch about a little trip he took to to Amsterdam. Nothing saucy or inhaled, mind you, just a bunch of impressions of one of the city’s more adult tourist attractions. That and the brief tale of a walk past a young girl, in one of said attraction’s shop “windows”, and her dalliances with a Nintendo DS. Nothing newsy there, no screenshots or video clips for you to pore over, nothing that you can feverishly pass on to 100 friends as the latest “internet thing” for the day. It’s just a really nice piece, about a girl and a DS. COLUMN: Chewing Pixels: ‘Sex and Tetris’ [GameSetWatch] More »Child vs. Crane Game
7:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Not sure to laugh or feel really, really nervous. The odd thing is that this doesn’t seem to be an isolated event. Ah, to be young and small enough to fit inside a crane game. Video of kid climbing inside claw game [Boing Boing] More »
