Banjo Kazooie 3 Screens Emerge
- Scribbled on May 12th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Platformer, Rumor Mill
Xbox 360 Fanboy is showing off screenshots of what is supposed to be Banjo Kazooie 3, the exclusive Xbox 360 rendition of the popular platformer.
Check out the pics after the break, and let us know what you think of this title - since its announcement at X06, there’s been precious little information on it, even though it’s supposed to have a 2008 release date.
REVIEW: Astro A40 Headset
- Scribbled on May 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Hardware Peripherals, Mac, PC, Reviews
[Originally reviewed by Neks0ne.]
Seven years of competitive gaming (coupled with a compulsive audiophile enthusiasm) has led to many trial-and-error runs with a variety of audio systems. I have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars trying to find the best sound quality. That being said, gaming has expanded my hobby into other realms of audio setups.
After using several headsets from a handful of gaming companies (Tritton, Icemat, Raizer, and others), I ultimately made the switch from gaming to high-end audio headphones.
Needless to say, the recent launch of Astro’s gaming headset – plus MLG’s announcement that Astro A40 will be the official 2008 pro tourney headset – piqued my interest. I checked them out online, read their specs, and noted that they seem to be more or less on par with my current audio headphones, the Sennheiser HD580s ( also at a similar price point to the Astros).
Spore DRM Explained
- Scribbled on May 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Casual Gaming, Industry News, Mac, PC, Press Release, Strategy
Maxis VP Patrick Buechner sent out a press release to media members stating that Spore’s DRM would be quite reasonable - and for once, I agree. In fact, it’s pretty good. The way the DRM functions is as such:
- We (Maxis) authenticate your game online when you install and launch it the first
time. - We’ll re-authenticate when a player uses online features, downloads new
content or a patch for their game. - The new system means you don’t have to play with the disc in your computer. And if you are like me, always losing discs, this will be a huge benefit.
- You’ll still be able to install and play on multiple computers.
- You can play offline.
Very nice. Unlike Mass Effect’s demands.
NEW RELEASES: May 11-17
- Scribbled on May 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Game Genres, Microsoft Xbox 360, New Release(s), Nintendo Wii, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3
Get ready for a buffet of general lameness, as publishers continue to avoid the Grand Theft Auto IV surge with movie licensed titles. In this case, it’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, unusually being released on a Wednesday to, of course, coincide with the film’s release. It’s the only game being released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2 and 3 this week.
There are two sports titles of note, though. We Ski will be a ski game that’ll take advantage of the Wii Fit balance board, and Clay Dreslough’s baseball sim Baseball Mogul 2009, which was supposed to be released last week, will be this week.
Click “Read more…” for the full list of titles.
Ghostbusters Feature on GameTrailers
- Scribbled on May 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Action, Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360, Previews, Sony PlayStation 3
For those of you who need to call the Ghostbusters.
Part two of the feature after the break.
Rock Band Tuesday: Blondie, The Clash, Sonic Youth
- Scribbled on May 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Microsoft Xbox 360, Music/Rhythm, PlayStation Network, Press Release, Sony PlayStation 3, Xbox Live Marketplace
Tuesday, May 13 will feature a little glam and a little punk as Blondie, The Clash and Sonic Youth will be hitting Xbox Live Marketplace on Tuesday, and PlayStation Store on Thursday, and all three songs are master tracks.
- Hanging on the Telephone by Blondie
- Train in Vain by The Clash
- Kool Thing by Sonic Youth
Of course, each song is $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points), but there’s no pack purchase this time for a discount.
(Thanks, Rock Band forum.)
Mass Effect Changes Anti-Piracy, Doesn’t Get Better
- Scribbled on May 11th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, PC, RPG, WTF
Electronic Arts has caved and changed their anti-piracy measures to perform an online validation every 10 days.
Instead of employing the previously revealed DRM madness, Watamaniuk explained that Mass Effect will include just a one time online authentication, allowing players to play the game once validated without the disc in the drive at all. That said, if any new content is downloaded, the game will again have to bite the disc to make sure it’s real. The caveat to all of this, however, is that each Mass Effect purchase will only be able to be installed a maximum of three times.
I don’t know which is worse - only being able to install 3 times or having to have an online validation every 10 days.
(Thanks, Joystiq.)
REVIEW: Ikaruga (Xbox 360)
- Scribbled on May 10th, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
- Filed in Action, Microsoft Xbox 360, Retro, Reviews, Xbox Live Arcade
If you didn’t get it the first time, you won’t the 335th either…
I was excited for the release of this game. I’d sold my copy for the Gamecube and then almost immediately regretted it after seeing the prices it was catching on eBay. Those same prices are what kept me from buying another copy to try and beat it again.
My memories of frustration have slowly been wiped out by the march of time. That was a couple of years ago, and I had long ago relinquished any idea of playing Ikaruga again. Then it appeared on the upcoming release list for Xbox Live Arcade, and for just ten dollars too! The low price point and my inability to remember its balls-to-the-wall difficulty made a purchase inevitable. I downloaded it the morning it came out and then went to work, looking forward to playing a shooter for which I somehow had created fond memories.
James Bond: Call of Duty
- Scribbled on May 10th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, Interviews, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC, Shooter, Sony PlayStation 3
Joystiq is reporting that the new James Bond game based on the upcoming Bond flick Quantum of Solace (what the hell does that mean?) will be using the Call of Duty 4 engine and multiplayer to run it.
Quantum of Solace, currently in development at Treyarch, is running on the Call of Duty 4 game engine and due out this Fall alongside the movie. “We look forward to launching Bond: Quantum of Solace in Q3 concurrent with movie. This game uses the Call of Duty 4 engine and technology to bring Bond games to a new level,” said Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith in a conference call yesterday (36:20 mark).
Of course, Bond is no footsoldier, but a trained spy/assassin, so it’ll be interesting to see how it’s implemented.
Gears of War 2 Gameplay Footage
- Scribbled on May 10th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Game Videos, Microsoft Xbox 360, Shooter
Just a taste of what’s to come for Gears of War 2 from GameVideos.
Facebook Adding Child Safeguards
- Scribbled on May 9th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, Legal Brief
Associated Press is reporting that Facebook will be implementing measures to stop sexual predation and cyberbullying - which is the first I’ve heard of this on the service.
Social-networking giant Facebook, which has faced political pressure to increase online safety, is putting in place 40 safeguards to protect young people from sexual predators and cyberbullies, the company said Thursday. The procedures, part of an agreement with attorneys general from 49 states, include age and identification tools and automatic warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an unknown adult. Facebook, which has 70 million online users, followed the steps of MySpace, which agreed in January to implement similar safeguards.
The one holdout is Texas, by the way. They want swifter justice and execution of violaters 48 hours after sentencing.
Microsoft Exec Greenberg Blasts PS3
- Scribbled on May 9th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, Interviews, Sony PlayStation 3, WTF
Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg blasted Sony for its lying about the PlayStation 3, hurling such salvos as:
Lying about PS3 Game Graphics
We have been fighting Sony’s promises from the day we entered the market. Three years ago at E3 they showed what PS3 games would supposedly look like with the Killzone 2 video, that we are now learning will ship four years later. That means that we will have shipped Gears of War and Gears of War 2 before they can even get Killzone out the door.
Lying about Home and PlayStation Network
Think back to GDC 2007 when Sony promised to leap ahead in online with the Sony Home unveil. Here we are two years later and multiple delays for a product that has appears to have little to no buzz. Where are the achievements? The friends list integration across all games? Where is the long-promised video store?
Lying about PlayStation 3 hardware
Where are all the other products using and networking with their Cell chip? How come Blu-ray did not result in better games? What happened with Sixaxis and rumble? Where is the complete 1080p game library we were promised? If Blu-ray, as they said, would be such a catalyst to PS3 console sales, then why have PS3 sales over the past couple months not seen any lift since the format victory?
It doesn’t help that Sony itself admitted failure, calling Home “too ambitious”.
(Thanks, Eurogamer.)
Burnout Paradise to PC
- Scribbled on May 9th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Driving/Racing, PC, Press Release
Electronic Arts has issued a press release stating that Burnout Paradise will be released for the PC.
Gamers can tune into a live webcast at http://criteriongames.com at 8:00 AM PST on Friday, May 9 for more details on this announcement.
Of course, despite the brag Burnout Paradise won 55 awards, we weren’t enamored of it. Neither was Zero Punctuation.
It’ll be interesting to see how the PC version is received.
FIRST TAKE: Grand Theft Auto IV (360, PS3)
- Scribbled on May 9th, 2008 by Jonathon Howard
- Filed in Action, First Take, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3
I’m about 12% on the completion level and I’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto IV for about 6 hours and I thought I’d share some of my first impressions before you get the full blown review.
The first thing to say is “Wow, this game looks beautiful!” Rockstar has done a phenomenal job in making Liberty City real and alive. A couple of times I’ve just sat back from the controller and let the action unfold around me, and the amazing thing is it does! People walk by, knock into, and interact with each other. Crazies stand on the corner and rave about lizard people taking over the world. Watch people wait in line in front of clubs, chatting over how great this or that thing is. This is the most impressive thing about GTAIV so far, it is what keeps me playing, I just have to see all of Liberty City.
Home Called “Disappointing” and “Too Ambitious”
- Scribbled on May 9th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Industry News, Interviews, Sony PlayStation 3, WTF
The constant delays of Home - due to be released in 2009 or so - are becoming a pain for both developers and Sony.
Peter Moore has been quoted as saying that it’s “disappointing” that Home hasn’t come out yet, and that Electronic Arts’ hands are tied til it does in terms of developing games to work with it. Meanwhile, president David Reeves said that “maybe we were too ambitious with the non-gaming applications within Home, getting sponsors and stuff like that.”
Considering Sony wants to create a Second Life interface without having the servers to support it - which would force Sony to charge gamers for it - and having to use owners’ PS3s as a server… It seems Sony still knows jack about online access. In addition, will Home having Trophies (aka Achievements) 3 years into its lifecycle really matter? Do you want to watch texture-mapped movie trailers - or just download and watch them on your HDTV?
This is starting to sound like when Sony and AOL promised a Netscape Browser on the PlayStation 2 back in 2001. Oops.
Whatever the case, expect Home to be severely scaled back if and when it comes.
(Thanks, Joystiq.)
