Spotted at the 2008 Licensing show held in New York a couple weeks back, this is a prototype of NECA's Nathan Spencer action figure, due in spring. Looks even more detailed than their Gears figures, which is saying something. No official details on it yet, but you can pass the time between now and the time you find out how much it costs by admiring the craftsmanship on those hot dogs wonderfully redesigned hydraulic arm cables.

Read More »

God of War designer David Jaffe is sad. Sad and angry. He is a Marvel fan — no, he is a "Marvel fan for life". And as such, he knows one thing: Spider-Man deserves way better. In a recent blog post, he writes an open letter to "The People Who Make Marvel Comics Video Games", stating:

Read More »

It's as exciting a decree as "sun to rise tomorrow", but hey, these kind of announcements have to made at some point, so we may as well indulge them. Konami have released the first screens and details for Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, promising that this year's edition will feature "a raft of extensive new additions that will further bridge the gap between PES and the real thing". Which it would want to: the last two versions of the game have been lazy updates, allowing the FIFA series to claw back some respectability in a football market once dominated (at least critically) by Pro Evo. If Konami can't convince us this version is a significant improvement over the 2005 edition (and sort out the editing...and sort out their inability to secure the licences for some of the world's biggest teams), EA will be sending fruit baskets and Thank You cards to Konami HQ all year long.

Presser follows. Interestingly, there's no mention of a Wii version. Maybe the Wii series will be permanently spun-off from the "main" Pro Evo games?

Read More »

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4 was fantastic. Treyarch's CoD3 wasn't as fantastic. Granted, it was pretty good! But honestly, not as good as Infinity Ward's CoD2. (See where this is going?) Says CoD5 senior producer Noah Heller:

Read More »

It is! Look at it. While you sit there and process words, and surf internets, and play games, it just sits there, red light pulsing, whooaaaammmm, whooaaammmm. It knows it was created by man, and does not care. It will rebel. It will rise up, infiltrate our ranks, and rain death upon us all (mostly with its quad-core CPU, 8GB of DDRIII RAM, 3-way NVIDIA GTX280 SLI and 4TB HDD). No mention of price in the press release, but we'll put $5 on it being "not cheap".

Read More »

Read More »

While the upcoming Ghostbusters game will star many of the real film's principal characters - including, crucially, all four Ghostbusters, William Peck and the Stay Puft marshmallow man - not everyone thought signing on was a good idea. Sigourney Weaver, for one. And Rick Moranis is another. But why'd Rick say no? Not like he's exactly busy at the moment. Sierra's Ben Borth:

He made so much money off of Honey I Shrunk The Kids that he retired. He just doesn't want to work anymore.

Oh. Well. Good for you, Rick Moranis.

An Inside Look At The Making Of Ghostbusters [Das Gamer]

The Metal Gear Solid 4 publicity machine keeps on trucking! Konami's even using its arcade games to publicize MGS4 Hobby Blog's Frankie points out. He tells us:

Few days ago I found that the arcade game Magical Quiz Academy, while in demo mode, promotes METAL GEAR SOLID 4.
Basically, while everyone is talking about in-game advertisement, Konami has made a "game's in-arcade game promotion". I think this is a pretty smart move to reach hardcore users without speding a yen...

Clever, Konami, clever!

Yes. Not just screenshots, but details. Details like a confirmation that the game will be taking place in both the Pacific and European theatres, as you control not only the Americans fighting the Japanese, but the Russians on their advance towards Berlin as well. Again. More details: the game will boast four-player, drop-in-drop-out co-op play for the 360, PS3 and PC versions of the game (Wii owners, you get "a unique co-op mode for two players"). Oh, and the game will also feature a scaling difficulty curve, based upon "a player's experience rank and rank of the player's friends" (when playing co-op). Screens are below, concept art and presser after the jump.

Read More »

There you have it. Our first footage of Pandemic's upcoming LotR game which, for those not in the know, is Battlefront, plus Rohirrim, sans the Stormtroopers. I kinda wish the battles looked...bigger, but then the fact Pandemic were confident enough to release a debut trailer consisting entirely of in-game (or at least very close to in-game) footage is always enough to bolster my confidence in a title.

Read More »

Upcoming Platinum Games' DS game Infinite Line is being co-developed by Tokyo developer Nude Maker and directed by Nude Maker's Hifumi Kouno. Nude Maker? That's an interesting name! And meaningful. The company spent a few years, cutting its teeth on erotic PC games. Says Kouno:

Read More »

I realise for anyone with an NTSC disc and a copy of Freeloader, this is not a big deal. Heck, it should've come out months ago, so I doubt it's news to anyone.

Nonetheless, if you had doubts about the June 26 launch date from Nintendo's local presence, a photo of an OFLC-rated copy of the game on my loungeroom floor (complete with mild gambling references) should be proof enough.

No announcement accompanying this, so I guess Sony are looking at soft-launching the things, but reader Terry sent us these pics of some PlayStation Network pre-paid cards available right now at his local Meijer store. Both $AU 20.93 and $AU 52.34 denominations are available, and Terry lets us know that (like the card says), unlike those for the 360 and Wii, the PSN cards are only activated once they've been run through the register. Another shot of the cards (in the wild) after the jump.

Editor's note: Let us know if you spot any in Australia!

Read More »

Ultimate Band is Disney Interactive's answer to those people who want to have the music band game experience without the need for all of those expensive, room-filling peripherals that are required for titles like Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour.

This band game light is both peripheral and original music free, using only cover bands so the developers would be allowed to tweak the music to better fit the game. Those tweaks include the ability to have the lead singer be either a man or a woman, no matter who originally sang it.

The Disney folks told me that they did a number of focus tests during their development of the game. In them they asked potential gamers which of nine versions of the game they would want to play. The options ranged from a peripheral-heavy version of the game with original music, to the game they ended up producing. All of the tests showed, they told me, that gamers wanted a game that didn't require peripherals.

Read More »

So what was it that had Bethesda's Pete Hines surprised at today's Fallout 3 preview? It wasn't that my bobblehead broke - apparently a number of journos reported similar mishaps soon after last year's Washington DC preview. No, it was the fact that the Fallout 3 CE is going to be exclusive to EB Games in Australia.

Not only was it "news" to Hines, he also wasn't aware of a similar deal anywhere in the world. He went as far as to say that all appropriate stores in the States will have the CE. Now, Hines knows a lot about Fallout 3, and probably a great deal on how the game will be distributed, but he's not omnipotent (sadly). So it's quite possible Oz publisher Red Ant decided to organise something under its own power without informing Bethesda.

There's a chance Hines will bring it up with Red Ant, and hence an outside hope retailers other than EB will see the Collector's Edition. We'll just have to wait and see.

Read More »

Bethesda PR guru Pete Hines is currently in Australia to show off the company's upcoming FPS/RPG Fallout 3. Well, I should say "showed off" as today was his last press day, with the rest of his trip a meeting-fest.

I had a quick chat to Pete after the two-hour presentation, and one of the topics that came up was the Collector's Edition. Pete was a bit surprised about the arrangement we have here in Australia (which I'll fill you in on shortly), but he did confirm the bobblehead included in the Fallout 3 CE will be made of plastic, rather than the ceramic or plaster of the ones from the press preview last year.

At first, plastic might sound like a cost-cutting measure. I can assure you - it isn't. My bobblehead met an untimely demise when faced with the rigors of international flight. Seems Vault Boy had the ankles of a 90-year old grandma.

A decent plastic construction offers both quality, when done right, as well as structural integrity. I know which one I'd pick, given the choice.

Blockshooter will be the next instalment in Kotaku's AU's Game A Week feature, where I do my best to code a new game in seven days.

Departing from the simulation and turn-based genres I've explored in the last two weeks, I've decided to code a shoot em' up. It's pretty conceptual at the moment, but the basic idea is that you fire lasers at blocks and collect the goodies from inside. You can then "build" those goodies onto your ship to make it better. It's like a combination of Breakout, Space Invaders and MacGyver. Or Spore.

You'll be free to create ugly ships that have ten super guns, or sleek, sexy creations with less firepower but more grace.

Friday again is my deadline. Wish me luck!

If you missed the previous Game A Week releases, Zafehouse and Wizkill, be sure to give them a play!

Alone in the Dark takes you to Central Park this week. Also Guitar Hero comes to the DS and Aerosmith to Guitar Hero. Then you have major drops like Battlefield: Bad Company for the PS3 and 360, plus Supreme Commander for and Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath for the 360. And a Hellboy movie adaptation. If tennis is your game, 2K's Top Spin 3 is out.

Yes, gamer, you will consuuuuuuuume. Or at least rent. Tell us in the comments if you've been waiting on any of these.

Read More »

"Strategic dismemberment?" Counterproductive headshots? And bodyshots? I'm ready to call Dead Space the No. 1 and No. 2 game of its genre* -- because it looks like it'll both piss me off and scare the shit out of me. It also looks like you get to relearn all you know about third-person shooting just for one title.

(*Note to EA, that's not a testimonial. Don't lift it out of context pls. Kthx.)
New Dead Space Trailer Advises Strategic Dismemberment [PS3Fanboy, video hosted by IGN]

Complete Set List for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Revealed
It's music to our ears. Too early for a bad pun?

The Gamesman: 100% Kiwi Pwned
EB Games puts the smooth moves on the Gamesman in NZ.

Rumour: Infinity Ward Working on Sci-Fi Title
Call of Duty 4 In Space? Probably not.

Kotaku Originals: Power to the Paper Trail
Stories you may have missed during the week. Important, ground-breaking stuff. Really.

Tomb Raider Underworld Gets Web Site, Release Date
Lara gets ready for yet another outing.

The list of songs in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has been trickling out for about a month. Now VideoGamesBlogger has just posted a list of all 41 tracks. It looks like a typical four-hour rotation for WKRR-FM "Rock 92" of Asheboro, N.C. back in my sophomore year of high school. The non-Aerosmith tracks are bands the gang either toured with or are big fans of.

Not a huge fan of Aerosmith, but I don't hate them, so, there's no real do-want moment here for me -- except then I see "She Sells Sanctuary", which has been an air-guitargasm going back to the days of velcro sneakers. But I've already got carpal tunnel coming on like a heart attack, and I'd probably spaz before getting to The Cult's classic.

The game releases August 6 in Australia. Full list after the jump:

Read More »

Spot on and speaks for itself. I really can't disagree with a one of these. Plus it's nice to see Heavy as something other than the butt of a joke. He has feelings, too.

Full size version is at the link.

TF2 - D&D Alignment Chart [Halolz]

Tale of Tales has an interesting little interview up with Takayoshi Sato, who was responsible for the art and CGI direction of Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2; after relocating to the US, Sato did art for some big titles, then made the switch to 'serious games.' On making the switch, he has this to say:

I feel that games are being standardised into only a few formats lately: FPS, RTS, MMO, 3rd Person Action and Sports. There's a tendency to create the same games over and over with only a visual upgrade. And the only thing artists are supposed to do is "be professional" and gift wrap the same game elements with a pretty new skin.

Then I encountered serious games. Despite of the downsides -small budgets, clients to satisfy, etc- serious games allow us to convey social messages, for instance. There hasn't been an opportunity for deep story telling yet. But even making a game about behaviour changes in the context of social problems, seems a little more creative than just making more and more weapon concepts. I find it hard to like games that only provide a "kill kill kill" experience. Since serious games are in their infancy, I thought it might be a great place to seek future possibilities. I hope that very interesting things will happen down the road.

It's brief, but has some good thoughts on art in games and where Sato's headed next. On the serious games front, he sounds like a man after Ian Bogost et al's hearts.

Interview with Takayoshi Sato [Tale of Tales via GameSetWatch]

Sonic, Master Chief, Goombas and, of course, Super Mario have all been added to the Sporepedia, reports MTV Multiplayer. Also in the catalog, Yoshi, Metal Gear Ray (props for at least thinking outside the box there), the Chimera from Resistance, and an ass-ton of Metroids. Super Mario looks like a muppet, and Sonic looks like Spike from Gremlins in purple-face.

I suppose I should applaud the Spore Creature Creator, because it's such an outlet for energy that would otherwise go into cosplay. You can waste a ton of time surfing Sporepedia for obvious video-game homages. So let's get a pool going on the next video-game character to be added to the Sporepedia. I'll lay out the odds:

Read More »

I'm really fond of the Brainy Gamer, mostly because Michael Abbott's posts almost always live up to the title of the blog; this week, he tackled the question of 'genius' and auteurs, amongst a lot of MGS 4 talk (especially in reference to Citizen Kane). Abbott looks at the parallels between D.W. Griffith (director of Birth of a Nation and Intolerance, among a lot of others) and Kojima Hideo of Metal Gear fame. Leaving aside the question of whether Kojima 'is' a genius (at the very least, he is an auteur), Abbott draws parallels between the two, especially in terms of a 'blind spot':

Read More »

Geekpulp is reporting unofficial word that The Gamesman, New Zealand's largest independent gaming store ("100 percent Kiwi-Owned!"), will be consumed by the EB Games empire and rebranded. This comes on the heels of Kiwi-run GamesPlus, which also caved in last year.

It's a blow to Kiwis who take pride in local ownership and believe that retailing games and consoles isn't a job so complex only American multinational corps get to do it. As far as actual economic impact, Geekpulp says Gamesman staff have been told no job losses are planned. However, there are eight stores in five cities, all of whom also have EB stores. So it's inevitable that some will close down the line. Not happy news for our gamer friends in New Zealand.

The Gamesman Set to be Acquired by EB Games [Geekpulp, thanks Ahmad]

netGameRadio's Inside Battlefield show spoke to
John Hargelid of Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (the developer behind Battlefield 2), and he dropped word that a new Battlefield 2 patch is coming, and it will include a new map pack with the update. An official announcement is set for Monday.

It's a lengthy podcast. The comment It's at timestamp 37:22 if you want to hear it for yourself. netGameRadio is suspender-popping proud at all the attention this has earned, but all that attention has put a whammy on its servers.

The entire podcast can be retrieved from TotalGamingNetwork, too.
The Inside Battlefield Show [netGameRadio via TotalGamingNetwork

Anthropology isn't my thing, but I like the idea of a "game anthropologist"; the column at GameSetWatch with that exact title is young yet, but had an interesting look at Team Fortress 2 this week. What exactly makes the environment seem so much more mature than other FPS? The older user base? The official taunts and animations that render inelegant cursing obsolete? Because team playing really is built into the game? Mike Walbridge isn't exactly sure, but has some ideas:

Read More »

Fresh off a sendup of Metal Gear come two more amusing trailers flacking Battlefield: Bad Company. One (above) cracks on Gears of War's haunting "Mad World" campaign. The second (below, after the jump) goes after Rainbow Six.

Despite all that has gone on with this game in the past, I kinda do want to see what this one is all about. It gets really enervating playing tactical shooters that faithful adhere to painstaking rules of engagement, when all you want to do is huck a grenade and wade into the firefight. Whether indulging that release is enough to sustain an entire game, I dunno, but I at least wanna see it.

Read More »

User generated content is something of a hot issue, with even universities like Stanford getting in on the game of how to make it easier and more intuitive for people to make their own stuff for games. At the recent Social Gaming Summit, a couple of industry types got together to talk about user generated content in virtual worlds, and why the model works for their games (such as Habbo Hotel or Puzzle Pirates):

Read More »

So, one of the things you do in Washington is have lunch with people who were once friends but now go by the title "colleagues". And if you can discuss something that involves both of your jobs, you then walk down to the IRS and give 'em a big ole fanger because you get to write off the lunch. Which probably knocks 20 cents off my tax bill, but what the hell.

Yesterday, the very same thing happened. I was "lunching" with a "colleague" from my AP days, she works for CNN now, and of course she mentioned the John McCain Facebook app "Pork Invaders". In it, you manoeuvre your Campaign Yard Sign back and forth, firing off vetoes at the flying pigs who spend taxpayers' money and hurl heathen inverted crosses at you (it's the subtle imagery that appeals to the conservative Christian base). Complete a level and get a fun fact about the candidate. And a perpetual come-on to sign up for another Facebook app. God, I love it when with-it parents try to get hip with the kids. How is this not a top 20 app?!

Read More »

Last week's MLG San Diego was notable for its debut of the Cold Storage map for Halo 3. It also gave people a look at a "very early test phase" version of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., the arcade flight combat sim forthcoming from Ubisoft by the end of the year. The game was a demo playable by anyone in attendance. A reader who was there said the Ubi rep didn't care if anyone took pictures, so he did, and he gave them to us. The full size pics are after the jump. Our reader also took notes of what was said and sent back a report.

Read More »

Last week, getting a look at materials thanks to the sieve that is Intellisponse, hints dropped that Forza 3's car and track cataloguewas so deep it would need to release on two discs. The Angry Pixel says it has a source who "claims that this may not necessarily happen in the long run".

We questioned the possibility of Forza 3 being distributed on more than one disc. Our source was quick to comment that "one way or the other, the core game will be shipped on a single disc. Content won't be sacrificed ... fans will be pleasantly surprised for what's in store."

Angry Pixel went snooping around Dhruva Interactive, a Bangalore-based developer that's worked on Forza in the past, as well as Project Gotham Racing 3 and 4, so presumably the unnamed source is from there. There was the obligatory "more to come fairly soon" (which means E3) but no other details.

Forza 3 is Coming, Sans Disc-Swapping [The Angry Pixel, via Gamer Centre Online]