As we reported a while back, Activision and Treyarch are hard at work on a new Spider-Man game that takes place outside of the realm of the movies. Creating a new storyline surely requires some dedication, but it seems to be paying off so far. A new video posted on IGN.com shows off some of the air-based combat techniques the web-slinger is bringing to the fight this time, in addition to some kick-ass scenes of Spidey sporting the black symbiote duds (SWEET!!). There’s also footage of Vulture trying his best to squash the web-head. This game keeps getting cooler and cooler.
Today saw conflicting reports from G4 and Kotaku over whether or not old downloaded content from Guitar Hero 3 will work with the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour. G4 says no, Kotaku says yes. So who can we trust? My guess is neither as of yet, since the damn game is still at least 4-5 months away, and I’m sure features like dlc and the like aren’t the most pressing issues for Activision and Neversoft at the moment. Plus, downloaded songs from GH2 didn’t transfer to GH3 (as far as I know - feel free to correct me if I’m wrong on this one), so what’s the big deal? New GH, new songs, new dlc. Seems like a simple process.
Any thoughts from you Lemon heads out there?
LucasArts announced Thursday that two new titles in the Star Wars universe will land on the Wii and DS this coming holiday. The games, based around the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie and subsequent TV series, will give players new ways to control lightsaber action and the overall badassery that comes with being a Jedi.
Star War The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels will be exclusive to the Wii and feature motion sensitive lightsaber fighting that even mimicks which direction you’re swinging the Wii remote. Though the rest of the game sounds like it could potentially fall into awful movie-game territory, the idea of swinging your virtual lightsaber is enough to get even the most skeptical of fanboys panting in anticipation. We’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the game looks like.
The DS will join the action with SWTCW: Jedi Alliance, a game that looks to bring back the touch-screen controls that worked so well in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, as all of the action will take place with the stylus. The game also features drop-in/drop-out co-op play via wireless, so provided you can find a friend nearby, you’ll be able to team up to take down the Sith. Perhaps the coolest feature of the game (being a fanboy geek myself) is that it will feature an entirely new storyline within the Clone Wars era, expanding on the movie/TV series and giving players more insight into the time period in their favorite fictional history.
In their efforts to reclaim the music game genre from EA/MTV’s Rock Band, Activision is taking the Guitar Hero series in a new direction with 4-player bands featuring guitar, bass, drums, and microphone. But you probably knew all that already, so we’ll get to the new stuff.
Here’s the new guitar (Wii version, obviously, though they will probably all look very similar), with the major addition of a slide bar in the middle of the neck below the standard five colored buttons.
It looks like this not-so-friendly rock-and-roll rivalry is actually leading to some good innovations. Head on over to IGN for all of the latest details, including pics of the new drum set.
Everyone’s favorite female archaeologist (no, not Shia LeBeouf) is returning for an all-new adventure this fall. But once again, we have reason to be jealous of the lucky SOBs who get to attend E3, because Eidos is reporting that Tomb Raider: Underworld, featuring a higher-def - and thus even more sexy - Lara Croft will be shown at this year’s Expo. Eidos is bringing other games as well, but really, you know what you’re looking for here. Enjoy the tease (thanks to tombraiderchronicles.com for the pic):
edit: just came across a new shot, figured I’d share the love…
(Got that one from Lara’s MySpace page. No, I’m not joking. Yes, she’s in my top friends.)
About a month ago, we gave you a heads up to expect some big Nintendo news around the time of this year’s E3 convention in July.
Apparently the other guys are catching up with Nintendo’s recent announcement that “core gamers” will be getting some good news in the coming weeks. Could this be the next installment in the Zelda franchise? Another long-timer finally getting a Wii update? A few more weeks and our questions will (hopefully) be answered.
- Thanks to Kotaku and GamePro for the info.
P.S. In reference to the previous blog’s info on Mario Super Sluggers, obviously that has been delayed and did not come out in early June, as was suspected. The next best guess is sometime in July, but odds are we won’t get an exact date until around E3.
The official website for Lucasarts’ upcoming game Fracture launched recently, giving gamers a closer look at this highly ambitious (and long-time-coming) project. Set in a dystopian (read: f$#@ed up big time) future, players are cast as a soldier from the eastern states of what used to be the good ol’ US of A.
The game’s main feature is the ability to use specialized grenades and weaponry to mess with the ground beneath your feet. Dubbed “Terrain Deformation” this power allows you to create sinkholes, hills, and fault lines seemingly at will. Proper use of the environment will be the key to outflanking your enemies and winning battles.
Lucasarts’ writers have gone all out with the backstory, too. Giving the US an incredibly detailed “future history,” Fracture could potentially have the best storyline to come out of Skywalker Ranch since The Empire Strikes Back (no mention of midichlorians in the trailers - that’s always a good start). The western states have taken a liking to genetic engineering, forming armies of superior beings that may or may not be classified as human. The eastern alliance, on the other hand, has chosen technology as the way of the future, pumping out cyborgs faster than you can say “Cyberdine.”
The action looks fast and furious, and having that heavy-duty arsenal at your fingertips sure doesn’t hurt either. Look for the game to hit the PS3 and Xbox 360 in October.
That single word has the power to make any gamer shudder - and subsequently light up message boards all across the internet. “OH NOES TEH GAME ISNT COMEING OUT ON TIME WTF AM I GUNNA DO NOW?!?!?!” It’s a sad sight, to be sure, but unfortunately, delayed releases are becoming more and more prevalent in today’s gaming world.
What seems to cause all of this mass-procrastination anyway? It’s hard to find answers among the gaming community. And with the latest reports that Bionic Commando Rearmed for XBL and PSN and Saint’s Row 2 are both going to be late to their respective parties, it’s hard for gamers to keep track of when to spend their hard-earned cash (or pseudo-cash, in the case of Microsoft Points).
In addition to the recent string of game delays, it’s difficult for consumers to keep track of releases even when they know a game is coming out. Working in the retail industry, I know that when I am in on Tuesday, there will be new movies and CDs on the shelves. But games? There are very few occasions when games are shipped to a store prior to release and held for a street date, something that is done nearly all of the time with movies and music. Instead, publishers use Tuesdays as a “ship” date, meaning that the product will arrive in stores at least one day later, sometimes not for two or three days. A definite New Release Day model for the gaming industry would certainly ease the minds of consumers and help add a little consistency to our hobby. It doesn’t even have to be Tuesday - let the masses spend all of their money on the new movies one day, then come back for the games the next. That way everyone wins - gamers, publishers, and retailers.
Okay, enough of my thoughts. What do you have to say? Any ideas on the delays or new releases?
In yet another blow to the Jack Thompsons of the world, the Video Game Voters Network is reporting that video game retailers are - *GASP* - doing their jobs! A record 80% of underaged secret shoppers were turned away while attempting to buy M-rated games during the past year, according to reports from the Federal Trade Commission. This is a drop of 38% from the last report in 2006. As the VGVN puts it, “With this in mind, one has to ask, is targeting video games for more regulation really necessary?” Go stick your noses into something else with more importance to the American people… like steroids in baseball.
According to the report, the media with the highest percentage of underaged purchasers were CDs with Parental Advisory Labels and Unrated DVDs. So when the dude turns you down for GTA IV, at least you know you can still go out and buy some porn. And beer.
[addendum] Of course, that’s all well and good, until something like this happens. Stupid kids. (Although, I like the author’s last line - “You read it here first, folks: reduce your local violent crime rate by buying video games for kids.”)
I don’t usually feel the need to inform the general public of the failures in my bodily functions - except, of course, when I drop a particularly juicy load in my pants as a result of some truly breathtaking occurrence. Today, my friends, is such a day, for Ubisoft has finally announced a sequel to one of my favorite games of all time, Beyond Good and Evil.
Check out the awesome trailer below (supposedly rendered using the in-game engine, though I am a little skeptical), as well as more goodies here.
Today saw conflicting reports from 
In yet another blow to the Jack Thompsons of the world, the Video Game Voters Network is reporting that video game retailers are - *GASP* - doing their jobs! A record 80% of underaged secret shoppers were turned away while attempting to buy M-rated games during the past year, according to reports from the Federal Trade Commission. This is a drop of 38% from the last report in 2006. As the VGVN puts it, “With this in mind, one has to ask, is targeting video games for more regulation really necessary?” Go stick your noses into something else with more importance to the American people… like steroids in baseball.
