Three Words I Said To The Man I Defeated In Gears Of War That I'll Never Say Again 
New Doom 3 For Xbox 360 And PlayStation 3 Supports Head-Mounted Displays 
Far Cry 3 And The Stranger In A Strange Land 
Why Robin Makes Batman Better 
Resistance: Burning Skies: The Kotaku Review 
Harley Quinn's Revenge Is Batman: Arkham City's Bad New Ending Madden, FIFA, NBA Live. Those are the types of games that immediately come to mind when someone says EA. And if not those, how about Medal of Honor, Spore and the upcoming Mirror’s Edge. EA has a very strong brand identity. Well, in the West. In Japan, folks don’t play Madden.
So take Electronic Arts published DS title Hachikoi. Due out next spring in Japan, the adventure title is developed by Osaka’s Neuron-Age and features things like sun tanning — complete with touch pen action. Is this how EA attempts to cater to local tastes?
EAについにギャルゲー！ [はちま起稿]
Huh, an area that Rock Band is beaten out by SingStar? Amazing. Yet also true. When SingStar came out on PS3 – superseding the last version(s), on PS2 – the game’s online store let players buy songs from the earlier games individually. Was a great way for people to catch up on old tracks piece-by-piece, instead of making them buy an entire disc’s worth of content. But Rock Band, well, Rock Band won’t let you do that. With Rock Band 2 now out – superseding the first game – MTV say the songs available on the Rock Band 1 disc won’t be made available as DLC for sequel-buyers to pick up individually. Ever. Because MTV plan on publishing the first game “indefinitely”. You want one or two songs from the disc, you gotta buy the whole thing. Certainly seems an odd strategy to pursue, particularly since they’re trying to sell the game as a “platform” rather than a game.
Rock Band 1 to stay on sale as disc, no songs going online [Variety]
ACK. That’s Lee Redmond, who hasn’t cut her fingernails since 1979, in a promotional photo for Guinness World Records: The Videogame. That kid with her must be frightened out of his mind. We sure as hell are.
Press release after the jump:
First announced a few weeks back, here’s a first look at perhaps the strangest piece of Guitar Hero-related marketing we’ve seen to date: McFarlane’s range of small, stringless, unplayable plastic guitars. It looks like they’re meant to be used by the company’s line of Guitar Hero figures, but since that “feature” is mentioned nowhere in the line’s press release, there remains the possibility these guitars are meant for…well, just sitting there.
When not making music and making fun of Ice-T, hip-hopper Soulja Boy has a dream: He’d like to go to college. And that’s a very admirable dream! Thing is, he’s a superstar right now so he’d cause a big ruckus if he went college. People would bug him while he’s trying to study and stuff. Guess he should wait for when he’s, you know, not famous anymore.
Interesting though to note that Soulja Boy says he wanted to be a flash animator and is interested in getting in the game industry. Hey, why not?! This comes after Soulja Boy gave these insights on Xbox title Braid: “for people who smoke or people drink like if you drink beer and you get drunk or you smoke weed and you get high and you just… anything, like you just get be gettin’ fucked up.” Which was somewhere along the same lines of our review. Personally, we think it’s great that even after becoming a successful recording artist Soulja Boy is thinking about college and education. Good for him.
Soulja Boy Wants To Make Video Games [AnalogHype via Go Nintendo]
No not the TV show, but GoodGames Sydney (Level 1, 857 George St (door upstairs is next to KFC)) is calling on all those who think they’re ready to throw down at Street Fighter IV to hit the store this Friday for a tournament. They’re pretty sure their regulars are the best players in Sydney, so if you think you’ve got game why not drop by and see if you can take their resident elites? All the details can be found right here where the intercity trash talk is in full effect. The essentials: 7.30pm, Friday 3rd October. $10 entry, $8 online. Winner takes the pot minus costs. Full rules breakdown after the jump. So which character do you think will win the tournament?
SYDNEY: First Official SF4 Tourney Feat. Melbourne Guests [OzHadou]
Just got back from spending the morning at Activision HQ in Sydney, getting some hands on time across a few upcoming titles. One of these was Guitar Hero: World Tour, which I’ve been very keen to get some time with. Once upon a time I played drums (though I wouldn’t call myself a real ‘drummer’), so I’ve been itching to get some time on the kits from both this and Rock Band for a long time. Consequently my initial impressions are weighted heavily toward the skins. I’ve had time on Rock Band with the Gamespot Australia crew in recent times, and today it was time to see how World Tour stacked up. The short of it? REAL nice. I wasn’t chasing the kit across the room like I was with Rock Band’s drums. Oh, and Purple Haze is an absolute showstopper! Long story after the jump.
Over the weekend, Nikkei Net announced that Nintendo plans to introduce a new iteration of the Nintendo DS sometime this year. This still yet unconfirmed DS will apparently feature a built-in camera and music playback as well as improved wireless functions. Nikkei Net writes that the new version is “expected to be priced below 20,000 yen” — the DS Lite is currently priced at 16,800 yen (US$158) in Japan. While there hasn’t been an actual announcement, Nintendo issued a statement about this rumoured new DS:
We are always developing new products. However, since nothing has been announced officially, we are unable to comment at this time.
That’s polite for “No comment”.
新型ニンテンドーDSが年内に発売!? [Famitsu]
Looks like nearly every shovelware PC title for Q4 drops on Tuesday. Sorry to paint with broad strokes but that is a kitchen-sink list of titles, and I’ve heard of about four of them. Other highlights for Super Tuesday include Age of Booty, on 360, PS3 and PC and Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood on DS. Xbox 360 gamers, the wait for Mega Man 9 is over as of Wednesday. But holy Toledo, that’s a long list, so I am sticking it on the jump. Let me know of the gems in that lineup that I’ve missed, cause it’s hard to stand out.
Of whatever screen we’re looking at, I’d say at bare minimum a good third of the visual information it displays in an hour is not something we want others seeing. Whether that’s Thundercats reruns, saucy e-mails or online personals, or certain game sequences that, out-of-context, might make it look like you’re up to something else.
GamesRadar, I know I always toss out the lists they’re working on, but they have a list of game moments you don’t want your family or friends walking in on. Super violence is obvious, especially if you’re in a family dwelling. So are strip clubs in Grand Theft Auto and Carla and Lucas having sex in Fahrenheit. But GR also cites “the whole thing” from World of Warcraft — as in, caught playing that is no different than getting busted with porn on the screen.
Age and context matter, I think. If anyone caught me playing We Cheer or Ultimate Band I might be in for an uncomfortable intervention, too. So, have you ever been walked in on at an awkward moment in a game?
Game Moments You Don’t Want a Loved One Walking in On [GamesRadar]
