Archive for December 5th, 2007:
PS3 Rockband Patch to add GHIII Controller Compatibilty
For all PS3 owners out there you are finally up to par with Xbox 360 owners, concerning Rockband at least. Announced over on the official Rockband forums the patch is said to address issues involving guitar controller compatibility which one could only assume to mean that it will add support for the Guitar Hero 3 controller. This is great news for PS3 Rockband owners who also own Guitar Hero 3 because it means you no longer have to buy an additional controller but still can add an extra member to your band.
Furu Furu Park Trailer Released
Developed by Taito and 505, Furu Furu Park includes 30 arcade style game that utilize the Wiimote for a unique experience. The game will hit shelves early 2008 and you can head over to Gamershell to check out the trailer of in game footage.
EVE Online Expansion Launches
Announced over at the official website, the latest expansion for EVE Online has went live today. Entitled Trinity, it’s a free expansion that will feature new things like a revamped graphics engine. You can head over to the for manual download clients and more details on Trinity.
New Elf Online Screens and Details
New details and screen shots were released today regarding the comedy based MMO Elf Online. Featuring a new level of customization Elf Online will allow players to craft weapons and amour to their liking. You can head over to Gamershell to check out the screenshots here. Details regarding the new professions in Elf Online can be found below.
ELF Online is a revolutionary cute style online game for its creative and exquisite graphic and characteristic jocose prank system. All players can enjoy themselves in such a dreamlike paradise created by ELF Online.
The large scale profession system has become the most prominent feature of this game: The inborn fighting desire of the worriors who perfectly present the close-fighting art. To defend like cast iron or to attack overwhelmingly? Thatfs a question! Worriors fight in the front line forever; Smart agility, excellent accuracy, high attack are the characteristics of the rovers who are known as gthe most swift assassinh. Their distant attack ability is considered as the eternal nightmare to the enemy; With devout belief, the scholars cure and protect their fellowers. Their incomparable cure and revival skills make scholar undoubtedly the unshakeable spring of life; Group attack is the symbol of magicia. High damage caused by the magician series is hard to resist for all the adversaries. Their unfathomable magic can not only hurt the single enemy easily, but also inflict pain and sufferings on the major monstersc
These four professions and their ten branches have composed the large profession system of ELF Online. Each of the four factions represents firmness, power, piety, sagacity and has their own characteristic mighty skills. Now, letfs unveil the mysterious exclusive skills of these four profession and appreciate the mighty skills we havenft seen before.
Rover Leopard Guard
Magician@Magic Flame
Scholar Group Therapy
Soldier Group Mock
New Folklore DLC Coming
Priced at $3.99 a peice or $5.99 bundled together the PS3 title Folklore will be getting 2 new downloadable content packages. Involved in the add-ons are things like new costumes, a whole new Folk and 4 additional quests each. The Official Playstation Blog describes the new add-ons:
Add-On Pack 1: “The Kidnapped Folk”
Set during the timeframe of the original story, this is your opportunity to return to Doolin – gateway to the Netherworld – and take Ellen and Keats’ extraordinary adventure a little bit further. The quests include a mission to recapture a kidnapped Folk and an attempt to regain the trust of Brumbear’s soldiers. The pack also includes a new look for Ellen and a Folk called Maximillian who has a mean cannonball attack.
Add-On Pack 2: “”Bottom of the Sea”
Search the seabed for a mysterious item requested by Damona, get to the bottom of an accident that takes place in the Endless Corridor and complete the Wandering Thoughts mission started in “The Kidnapped Folk” Add-On. For Anime fans, Keats gets a “familiar” body suit that appears when he is in his “trancenscion” state and can face Phutcampus, a new Folk to defeat.
Ghostbusters Preview
Computer and Video games had a chance to get an inside scoop on the upcoming Ghostbusters video game. There’s a little too much to summarize so I’ll just give some of the highlights. The game will ease both long-time fans and casual ghostbusters into play by bringing back some old faces. Along with the original quartet of boiler suit wearing guys you’ll run into Slimer and the Librarian, the first ghost seen in the original movie. Instead of leaping the Ghostbusters storyline to the modern day the game will start in 1991 after the events of the second film. You’re recruited to help with the extra workload due to increased paranormal activities that may or may not have something to do with the recent opening of Gozerian museum in NYC. Almost all your weapons will be based off the proton pack (along with the HUD) and will be upgradeable with cash. You of course get more money for tools and equipment by busting ghosts. Your interactions with the four original ghostbusters will be full of the humorous one-liners and tension breaking jokes as the game will be penned and heavily influenced by Ramis and Akroyd who wrote the previous films. Even the frightening moments promise to be a little goofy as they plan on avoiding any sort of gory content unless absolutely necessary. Ecto 1 will also be returning in a level where you’ll be racing towards Times Square. Sadly one of the only characters who won’t be returning is Dana Barrett who’ll be giving way to a new female lead. That’s just some of it, head over to their website for the full treatment.
US Prosecuter Sadly Behind On The Times
Since some people can’t stop ragging on violence in video games as the biggest problem with our youth today, a US Prosecutor has unveiled her list of the ten games all parents should avoid buying this holiday season with rather amusing results. Kym Worthy has insisted that the violence in our society is symptomatic of the violent video game culture. Here’s the full (laughable) list with her comments and mine.
1. Grand Theft Auto
“Allows to players to act out crimes and rewards players for doing so.” Hmm, can you even find the original GTA for sale anywhere these days? Not so much to worry about then.
2. Manhunt
“Revolves around the making of a snuff film.” This is about as accurate a description as saying Gone With The Wind was a film about the south.
3. Scarface
“Involves buying and selling drugs and killing hundreds of people.” Hmm. Yeah, I guess she’s pretty on with this one.
4. 50 Cent: Bulletproof
“Rapper 50 cent is involved in a web of corruption, double crosses and shady deals that lead him on a bloody path through New York’s drug underworld.” Yes, be sure to instead buy your children some of his albums. Much safer. That and you know your kids would love bad games from two years ago.
5. 300: The Video Game
“Invites game room gladiators to slice their way through the Persian army.” Another relatively crappy game that won’t likely affect your children because they won’t want to play it that long.
6. The Godfather
“Opens with a ‘child’s version’ of the player witnessing the murder of his father.” Seriously, does this woman realize how old some of these games are?
7. Killer-7
“Experienced adult gamers call this the most violent and twisted game ever played.” And I say this woman is a soap-box hogging idiot. Does that make it true? Be sure to buy your kids this two year old gamecube game.
8. Resident Evil 4
“Shoot outs involving massive crowds of enemies in large open areas. A typical play-through can result in the killing of up to 900 enemies.” Seriously, if we’re talking sheer body count why didn’t she tack one of the Dynasty Warriors games on the list. I’ve killed over a thousand enemies on one battle alone.
9. God of War
“A sea of unrelenting violence” Totally true. However the game is rated M for mature, so if you buy this for your kids and then they kill off an ancient Greek deity you only have yourself to blame.
10. Hitman: Blood Money
“Self-proclaimed ‘most violent’ game of a series. This game glamorizes killing.” So do craploads of violent movies, why don’t people protest that anymore?
Grill the Bungie Dudes
Get your fingers and keyboards ready – EuroGamer will host a LiveText interview with Bungie’s production director Jonty Barnes and writing lead Frank O’ Connor (pictured) as they face questions straight from the fans. Set to be held on December 7 at 3pm GMT, the LiveText system allows the site’s readers to submit questions to interviewees through a moderator, with answers appearing live on the website without the need for refreshing. The system was used quite successfully with Peter Molyneaux; the transcript can be found here.
“I’m really looking forward to being grilled by Eurogamer readers on Friday. When I lived in the UK, it was one of my favorite gaming sites. It always had the reputation as being hard yet fair. I expect nothing less from its readers on Friday!” said Jonty Barnes, Bungie Production Head. Frank O’Connor, Bungie Writing Lead, added: “I have been studying European culture carefully since finding out about this interview and I believe that the authoritative piece on the continent and its people, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, will be an excellent preparation for me. I have no worries about the types of question these Aussies and Kiwis have planned for us.”
Burnout Paradise Demo on December 13
A timer on developer Criterion Games’ website reveals that a downloadable demo for Burnout Paradise will be hitting the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live on Thursday, December 13. It was previously announced by EA that a demo would be released in December, though no exact release date was given till now. It is also not known what sort of content the demo will include.
The full game itself will be out in stores on January 22, 2008. Burnout Paradise expands on the series by including next-gen graphics, free-roaming city and more.
Test Your Ninja Reflexes
EA is teaming up with the appropriately named Nunchuck Games to bring a new title that will test your ninja potential. Called “Ninja Reflex” the game will test the reaction time of you and your friends (it’s a party game) with a series of martial arts based challenges. With practice you’ll be able to get good enough to earn a virtual black belt and dominate your friends in multiplayer battles with up to four people. The game will be coming to both DS and Wii in March 2008.
Guitar Hero Controller Modded with Touch-screen
From the totally-awesome-mods department comes word that a guy has installed a touch-screen on a Guitar Hero controller as well as a magnetic switch that allows him to play the game with a magnetic pick. Apparently, it plays “much better than before,” though it makes no sense to me.
The touch-screen included in the controller mirrors the action on TV and also allows the player to control the whammy bar by sweeping their fingers across the screen. It took 3 days to make and was actually quite cheap. Videos and more pictures can be found on Gizmodo.
Twisted Metal Head On PS2 Announced, Media Released
On a post up on the official PlayStation blog, David Jaffe, creator of the series, announced Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition, introducing the PS2 port of the well-received PSP title. This will be the first title by Eat Sleep Play, his own development company, and he states that this won’t be “just another port”.
According to his post, the game will be “stuffed [to the] brim” with bonus features, new levels, updated graphics and more.
“I thought I was burnt out on the whole franchise but the second I sat down to design, it was like coming home,” he writes. “It’s been so much fun! So there she is. Our first game from EAT SLEEP PLAY! Our love letter to Twisted Metal fans old and new.”
The post carries further screenshots as well as a video showcasing some action from the game which is scheduled for release during Spring 2008.
SCEA CEO Admits PS3 ‘Missteps’
While the PS3 celebrated its first birthday just a few weeks ago, the console’s first year in the market saw lots of failures resulting in price cuts and other competitive moves by Sony. As it stands, SCEA CEO Jack Tretton admitted the company’s mistakes, noting that the console’s first year was a “year of issues.”
He also believes that the launch was “the biggest disappointment for the last year,” but he diverts attention to the company’s old line: a 10-year lifecycle for the PS3. The console is now doing far better than it started out, outselling the Wii and competing strongly against the Xbox 360 in the past few months.
Kynapse on Wii
Already available for developers on other major platforms, Kynagon today announced that Kynapse, its AI middleware tools, is now supported on the Wii, allowing developers to use the tools to empower their NPCs with advanced behavior.
Kynapse offers a complete 3D pathfinding solution handling dynamic terrains and hierarchical computations. It also includes advanced spatial reasoning functionalities to dynamically identify 3D hiding positions, threatening zones, access ways, etc. On the tool side, Kynapse automates 3D pathfinding and perception data generation. Finally, Kynapse is highly optimised and can bring to life several thousands of Non Player Characters. Although only recently available, Kynapse for Wii is already being used by 2 game developers.
The AI engine has been used in other major titles, as well as AAA games, including Crackdown, Lord of the Rings Online, as well as upcoming titles like Fable 2 and Alone in the Dark 5.
Lumines on PC for Free
Having first made the world addicted to the game on the PSP and then the PS2 and Xbox 360, Q Entertainment and WildGames today announced that they have joined forces to bring Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s masterpiece music-based puzzle game Lumines to the PC. For free, too.
The game is being offered on WildGames’ site, offering five modes of play and an online leaderboard in a 120MB sized file. As mentioned above, it is free to download, though it will play a short ad before it launches. Ad-haters can purchase the full game for $20.