Archive for August, 2006:
Get Your Own BFG (Replica)
BFG (Big Force Gun), the most powerful gun in Doom and Quake, famously know as the “Big F***ing Gun” for its mass devastation. And for being a pain in the ass if you’re in its sight (kind of like the modern AWP/AWM sniper in Counter-Strike).
You can now, for only $79.95, own your own replica of the gun. But be prepared to wait a while, they’re already sold out.
BFG Replica $79.95 (via coolestgadgets)
Video of The Rock using the BFG in Doom (the movie).
Games Convention Attracts 183,000 Visitors
Leipzig Games Convention is over and attracted a record number of visitors; more than 183,000 visited the show, with some 2,600 journalists from 38 countries covering the event. Last year, “only” 138,000 visitors stopped by, while 2000 journalists covered the event. CEO of Leipzig GC, Josef Rahmen said,
“Success on this scale is unique ever since the Leipzig Fair’s new exhibition centre was opened ten years ago. GC has clearly demonstrated that it’s the European number one not just among the general public but also in the media and business sector – making it one of the leading events in the industry anywhere in the world.
Twilight Princess Rated T?
Nintendo’s Bill Trinen speaks to GameInformer about the Wii and Twilight Princess, and says they expect the game to be rated T (for Teen). His reason is the new, more realistic looking graphics (with more realistic looking violence).
He also mentioned that Twilight Princess would include a much bigger storyline, including twice as much text as Wind Waker. The game will have connections to all previous Zelda games, he says,
“With Twilight Princess, the depth of story and its connections to past games means not only does it have twice the text as Wind Waker, but it includes a fair number of legacy terms that originate in past games, so consistency is a big focus there.
“We’ve also been given the opportunity to provide a lot of input on everything from play control to character design, so over time our role has grown from simply localizing the Zelda games to almost being a branch of the development team itself.”
Via TheWiire
Weekly News Roundup
This week all the big news came coming from Leipzig Games Convention. Few new games were unveiled, but a lot of new info, videos, and screenshots from some of the most anticipated titles. Here are some of the most popular news this week.
General News:
DigitalBattle’s Top 10 Most Anticipated PS3 Games
Battlefield 2142 Veterans Program Live
Half Life 2 Episode Two Delayed Until 2007
Crysis Multiplayer Details
Rumors:
EA Buying Crytek?
Third Party Wii Games Offline In 2006
ATI Denies DX10 For Xbox360
Call of Duty Wii Delayed
Business:
Xbox360 Core Official Price Drop In UK
Analyst Cuts PS3 Estimates In Half
Wii No More Than 250 Euros In Europe
Sony Concentrates On Tokyo Game Show
Leipzig Games Convention:
Blizzard Talks StarCraft 2, Diablo 3
Only Two New Wii Games Announced
Team Fortress 2 Video
Crysis Multiplayer Video
Team Fortress 2 Gameplay Video
Half Life 2 Episode Two Gameplay Videos
Halo 2 Vista Screens Look Bad (Really Bad)
Bungie recently released some screenshots of Halo 2 for Windows Vista, supposedly to showcase the power of the new platform. I doubt many are impressed with the screens; they look little better than Halo 1, and can in no way match recent games like Call of Duty 2, F.E.A.R., or even Doom 3. Not to talk about upcoming games like UT2007 or Crysis. Check out some more disappointing screens after the jump.
Xbox360 Classiscs
Microsoft has unveiled the Xbox360 Classics lineup, games that have been out for some time and achieved decent sales, like Perfect Dark Zero. It’s their version of Player’s Choice or Platinum series.
The first two titles to be released this October are Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo, both originally launched in 2005. The games will retail for 30 Euros, or £20 in the UK.
New Zelda Twilight Princess Screenshots
It’s one of those games you just cannot wait to play. Nintendo released some new screenshots from the spiritual successor to one of the greatest games ever, Ocarina of Time. Check out the rest of the Twilight Princes screenshots after the jump.
Xbox360 Core Price Drop In UK
Yesterday the Xbox360 Core pack received an official price drop of £10 in United Kingdom, and now costs £199. The Core pack doesn’t include a hard a hard drive and a wireless controller. Should you chose to buy those items separately, it would cost you more that the Premium bundle (retailing at £279.99).
Microsoft contacted distributors and told them the cut the price by ten pounds, in order to get under the 200 quid. It has a certain physiological impact on buyers of course, but also simply because the Core pack isn’t that popular among gamers.
Gran Turismo HD Is Not GT5
In an interview with Famitsu magazine, Polyphony Digital boss Kazunori Yamauchi said that Gran Turismo HD wasn’t the true next-gen Gran Turismo sequel. Gran Turismo HD is merely a title to showcase PS3s graphical capabilities, running at 60fps in 1080p HD resolution. He called GT HD a “port” of Gran Turismo 4, released on the PlayStation 2 in February 2005. Gran Turismo HD is also the final title of the game, scheduled for release during the PS3 launch window.
He also revealed that they are working on the true PS3 version of Gran Turismo that will use the full potential of the PlayStation 3 console.
Battlefield Bad Company Screenshots
The first crisp screenshots of Battlefield: Bad Company have emerged, and a few magazine scans showing off a completely destructible environment. You can see how a house can be destroyed part by part, brick by brick. The visuals are also top-notch, using the full potential of the PS3 and Xbox360. Check out the rest of the stuff after the jump.
EA Buying Crytek?
A German newspaper suggest that EA might be buying Crytek, the developers of Far Cry and the upcoming Crysis. EA has already secured the publishing rights to Crysis, and according to Die Welt, EA’s Gerhard Florin describes Crytek as a “very very interesting candidate” for an acquisition.
Co-founder of Crytek, Faruk Yerli confirmed they have been talking business with EA, but declined to mention anything about a takeover. He did mention however, that Crytek might be considering an initial public offering.
Considering that EA is already the publisher of Crysis, it wouldn’t be much surprise if the acquisition rumor turns out to be true. Only a week ago, EA bought another German developer, Phenomic.
UT2007 Trailer
[gv data="http://www.youtube.com/v/gKeqJ8bDyLc"][/gv]
Brand new trailer from Unreal Tournament 2007, some genuine gameplay footage this time. You get to see many of the weapons in action, as well as vehicles. One thing I must admit thought, it doesn’t looks as good as other Unreal Engine 3 powered games, like Gears of War.
Guild Wars Nightfall Dated
NCSoft has announced that the second Guild Wars expansion, Nightfall, will be released on October 27. The game will come in both standard and Collector’s Edition sets. The Collectors Edition will include a bonus DVD with behind the scenes footage, an art book, a poster sized map of the world Elona (where Guild Wars takes place), and the official Guild Wars Nightfall soundtrack.
Bomberman Land Touch Screenshots
Bomberman is back in his latest adventure, Bomberman Land Touch! for the Nintendo DS.
The game will take full advantage of the touch screen and stylus, and will include the classic Bomberman style multiplayer, with up to 8 players on one single card, wirelessly. Bomberman Land Touch! even includes Wi-Fi play, for up to 4 players.
Longevity is also a plus. Story mode is 15 hours long, and includes 36 stages in Attraction Mode and 20 stages in Battle Mode. Look for Bomberman Land Touch! sometime in November of this year, with the price of $29.99. Check out some screenshots after the jump.
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged
Microsoft has announced that a number of the top selling Xbox Live Arcade games will be released for stores under the name Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Vol. 1. It will retail for $39.99, and include six games, Geometry Wars, Wik: Fable of Souls, Outpost Kaloki X, Bejeweled 2 Deluxe, Hardwood Backgammon, and Texas Hold ‘em.
The package will also include one-month free Xbox Live Gold subscription, and three downloadable XBLA demos, Uno, Marble Blast Ultra and Feeding Frenzy. It looks like a great deal, the price for the games, if bought separately, would total at $50. You’ll be able to purchase it in store on September 5th.
Head over to Joystiq for the full press release.