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Rabbids crash Euro 2008
The Rabbids are funny. It's especially funny when they get into situations where freaky white blob animals aren't the norm. Like, a soccer game. This latest teaser for Raving Rabbids TV Party shows one particular Rabbid getting in a bit of trouble after crashing the field at Euro 2008.Kudos goes out to Ubisoft for putting together great little teaser films like this. Video game advertising can sometime get a little stale, and originality ensures gamers continue hitting that play button. The Rabbids can tease better than pretty much anyone else.%Gallery-23883%
More Evangelion, less substance
Ears and eyes are on high-alert with every potentially awesome Neon Genesis Evangelion game. Even though some sketchy first details were examined, a true Eva fan doesn't give up hope that easily. Shinji didn't, Misato didn't, and Iruel didn't, even after adapting to toxic ozone, until finally being destroyed by the quick fingers of Ritsuko and the power of the Magi ... what? Ah yes, the game ...Neon Genesis Evangelion Asuka DS should be pretty lousy, akin to Princess Maker with Eva characters. No brutal combat or complex storyline -- just playing around with some anime girls as they go about their daily lives (with some obligatory mini-games thrown in). If the above anime seduction isn't enough for you, pop on over to Famitsu for a few extra screens. Want to play a little dress-up? Follow your dreams with Rei and Asuka.
Wario Land Shake jiggling its way to Japan
Now officially listed on Nintendo Japan's official site, we can celebrate the unveiling of the latest game featuring pseudo-evil badass Wario. The kanji is translated into English as simply Wario Land Shake, which is a natural connection to the whole motion-sensing thing the Wii's got going on.Now, despite the fact that Wario has been featured in a pile of different games in recent years, the inclusion of Land in the title brings hope to the possibility that this will be a full-fledged platformer that follows on from Wario Land 4 which was released way back in 2001. No longer is our portly friend relegated to hosting mini-game compilations and riding go-karts; he's in the spotlight and heading for the store shelves of Japan on July 24. Stay tuned for more details![Via GoNintendo]
Wii Warm Up: The worst mini-game
So we hear that a lot of these newfangled Wii games are really just collections of mini-games. Some are good. Some are bad. And some are just completely, horrifically awful, and those are the ones we want to hear about today. Just how bad is the worst mini-game you've played inside a Wii game? What was it, and what made it is mind-blowingly terrible? From the controls to a simple lack of any sort of fun, the worst of the worst are usually serious offenders. Tell us all about the steaming piles of poop you've experienced while checking out games.
Joystiq impressions: Wii Fit mini-games
Sure, Wii Fit is about health and lifestyle, but I'm looking forward to the games; I sampled some of the lesser-known modes at the recent Nintendo Media Summit. We've already played with the hula-hoop, soccer, ski-jump, and other basics, so I jumped straight to tightrope walking, floating in a bubble, and other later unlockables. But first, I warmed up with jogging. %Gallery-4815%
Breakout in World of Warcraft
One of the things I really don't like about World of Warcraft, or any other MMORPG, is the waiting that is involved in getting a group together. This can be a real problem in raid environments, where it often times can take half an hour or more just to get the group set. I've been a raid leader before, so I know that they are busy and there isn't much they can do about the time we all just sit there on vent chatting with each other.One of things that I've recently came across to help ease the wait is a little in-game game of bricks, a.k.a. breakout. Breakout is the game that I used to play back in elementary and middle school on the old Macs* where you'd bounce a ball around, breaking (you guessed it) bricks. The ball is bounced off a small platform that you move with your mouse. Pretty simple, and mindlessly entertaining. Lately I've been enjoying a version of this game called WoWonid, which is an Ace2 addon I found via my addon updating with the WoWAceUpdater. It's a good enough implementation of the game (and quite impressive when you consider that it's done in LUA and built using an interface that's designed for game addons). The controls are simple enough, and just like the old Mac controls: move the mouse left or right to move the platform, bounce the ball, pwn.
Hands-on tour of Pirates of the Caribbean Online
Recently, I sat down with Disney Online to get a tour of their MMO Pirates of the Caribbean Online. To be honest, I didn't go in with high expectations. I mean, the movies were fun and all, but with only Toontown Online to DO's credit, I wasn't expecting something that appealed to me as an adult gamer. Boy, was I wrong.An adventure set around helping Jack Sparrow retrieve the Black Pearl is just as perilous as it sounds. You wake up in the same jail as the rogue pirate. Together you take advantage of cannon fire assaulting the Caribbean town of your incarceration to escape and begin your exploits. Those include meeting Wil Turner, the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma and a new villain, Jolly Roger among others. Not to mention facing down the Imperial Navy, hungry crocodiles, rampaging zombies, pirate-eating giant plants and cut-throat card players.There are no classes, servers or banks. This game isn't about inventory management, but is action-based about being a pirate. No tradeskills, either. The scourge of the High Seas don't craft, they take. The number of weapons available is small, but the skill ups for them are numerous. If you are looking for less strategy and more action in your pirate MMO, read on for a tour of the first few levels of the game.Character customization, sea battles, voodoo magic and cameos galore, plus two videos after the jump.%Gallery-14957%
Today's least safe for work video: Chains of Olympus sex game
After offending the easily offendable with slightly off-screen sex in God of War and God of War II, it seemed like a no-brainer that the somewhat adult mini-game would making a return for the PSP's Chains of Olympus. Well, that mini-game has now been revealed through an NSFW video posted of GameTrailers.This time around, the urn and peeing statue that maintained the camera's focus in games past have been replaced with a deliciously suggestive candle (pictured above), which we have to say is an improvement. We can't help but wonder, though, where they'll go next for their suggestive imagery. Rock formations? Vegetables? A lighthouse? Hmmm, they'll probably be OK.Warning: The below video contains adult content.
Fantasy, math, and theater
It must be Final Fantasy IV update day! Jeux-France has some screens of some of the new additions to the franchise's fourth installment's DS version, like the event theater for viewing cutscenes, and a math mini-game that promises to unlock a new character. Yes, you read that correctly -- they've gone and put math all up in our Final Fantasy. Why, God? Why?We will say this, however: math is still better than blitzball. We'd rather do calculus than play blitzball ever, ever again. Really. Bring on the math. And check out the new screens in our gallery below.%Gallery-3278%
The Massively Guide to the Hellgate: London Mini-game
When I was reading the Patch 0.5 notes, I came across a couple of items about the Mini-game. I bought Hellgate: London the day after it came out and have been playing ever since. I even looked at the very small manual. I knew nothing about the Mini-game. Questions to friends produced the same results. What Mini-game?I found nothing official on their website, but I did find a couple of posts on the forums that describe the Mini-game. (If you don't have a Hellgate: London account, you are unable to read the forums.) MSKoSSK summarizes the game and Nocktis has a handy printable cheatsheet. I have further investigated the game and researched the icons, so after the jump, you will find the Massively Guide to the Hellgate: London Mini-game.
Patch 0.5 for Hellgate: London coming tomorrow
The Hellgate: London servers will be down tomorrow, November 20th, from 9am to 11am PST to implement Patch 0.5.I'm very excited about the new patch because the game as is has some cumbersome bugs and clunky features. One bugfix that will not be in tomorrow's patch is the Invisible Party Members bug, though they do have some solutions for this and promise it for the next patch. I have not noticed this bug because, like our Soloist, I tend to play alone.Some differences between previously published patch notes and the new official ones are: Because the Guy Fawkes event is ending, there is some more information about "Fawkes Force Five" They are no longer adding an automatic reset to the Minigame, which means the people who were upset about that (which included me) will be much happier. Full patch notes are after the jump.
Friday Video: It's-a Mario Party!
Mario Party DS is headed our way next week, so it only seemed fitting that we give the crew a little time in the video spotlight. The opening video makes a nice complement to our positively enormous gallery below. And while we may be disappointed about the lack of Wi-Fi support (really, is there a game that needs it more?), we can settle for download play.%Gallery-4736%
Kabu Trader Shun's minigame and big trailer
Half adventure game, half stock trading battles, Kabu Trader Shun hits Japanese stores later this week. Looking to promote its release, Capcom posted a Flash minigame complementing the Phoenix-Wright-styled title. Players can live out the after-hours-lounge experience of a stock trader, text messaging a needy girlfriend while trying to keep the boss' drink filled at the same time. It's a simple, fast-clicking diversion, but seeing the creative steps companies are taking to advertise their games is always interesting.We happened to also spot a lengthy trailer during our stay at Kabu Trader Shun's official site, though we can't guarantee its freshness. Clocking in at just over two-and-a-half minutes, the video introduces the game's characters, trade battles, and adventuring sequences. Head past the post break for the movie.
Square Enix mini game service
If the recent barrage of games from Square Enix hasn't sated your appetite for all things chocobo-related, you'll want to be signing up for Game Town, their new mini-game service. The site is currently in beta, with Japanese registration forms. Luckily, IGN has posted a guide on how to sign up with as little fuss as possible. So far there's only a couple of chocobo games to play, but there are a whole bunch of 'coming soon' slots just waiting to be filled. We reckon there's a good chance we'll be seeing mini-games based on new Square Enix titles showing up here over the next few weeks.
Today's multiplying videos: Rabbids gameplay
The second Rayman Raving Rabbids is in production, and GameTrailers has posted a series of in-game clips from Ubisoft's gaming event. The Rabbids trailer and these clips seem to downplay Rayman even more than the first game. (Here's hoping the shipping version has little to do with the appendage-free mascot. Let Rayman thrive in the platformers; he doesn't add much to these mini-game buffets.)See gameplay clips of bunnies spitting carrots, playing baseball, rodeo riding, and serving food after the break.
In DS-land, playground comes to you
EA likes to swim against the tide. In the era of exer-gaming, they're making a game that's all about sitting on your ass while pretending you're at the playground for a fun-time experience. Obviously, it will sell ten million copies -- after all, it's on the DS, and we all know what that means: profit.Admittedly, EA Playground is a My Street-Wii Sports mashup, and since it's aimed at younger gamers, it's an easy target. The bold, bright visuals and odd character models don't do much for us, but maybe that's okay -- it's not for us. But a mini-game collection with a casual stab at story-telling doesn't sound nearly as engaging as most DS fare, and we can blow into the microphone in a million different ways if we are so inclined. We'll keep an eye on this one, but at first glance, we're not terribly impressed, and we like games largely aimed at younger players.[Via Joystiq]
An empire of new features for Vice City Stories
GTAPortable.com has been keeping an eye out for everything Vice City Stories-related, and they've uncovered a plethora of new information for this highly anticipated PSP exclusive. Golf is now a playable mini-game. It will be played using only one button. "Empire Building" mode allows you to act like The Godfather and invest in businesses throughout the city. Depending on how much you've invested, and how the business is doing, you can make a fair sum of money... so long as you provide the proper protection. You can hire bodyguards, and when the business isn't being hit, it acts like a Safe House for you to save at. Taking a page from Sim City, you'll be able to place the businesses throughout the city, and proper placement can lead to the mad profit (an example cited by GTAPortable.com is a drug extortion business nearby an airport). Spanning over thirty buildings, this mode seems to add a hefty amount of gameplay to an already massive game. Business types can include protection, extortion, and prostitution, with many more to come. Like in Liberty City Stories, there will be load times between the major islands, but surprisingly this time around, the loads will be even shorter, according to TotalVideoGames. Not only can you ride around in helicopters, you can ride around in jets, according to an IGN preview. Although there is no infrstructure multiplayer, there will be more multiplayer modes to compete in. And unfortunately for German and Australian players, the game will be censored, according to Gamepro.de. This really does seem like it's going to be one of the best games of 2006, not only on the PSP, but across all platforms. The depth of this game is incredible, and the fact that it's on a handheld is even more amazing. The game comes out on October 30th for $50.
More mini-games on Bliss Island
The mini-game collections keep on coming to the PSP. The newest one to be announced today is Bliss Island, a port of a fairly popular PC arcade game. You'll be play Hoshi the Zwooph who has the unique ability to shoot out bursts of air. All the challenges featured in the game will revolve around the mastery of the ability. The game will feature 80 mini-games and also feature wi-fi multiplayer. A demo of the PC version of the game is available for free by visiting Funsta.[Via IGN]
Get your Banana Blitz fix...fifty consecutive days in a row
The first Super Monkey Ball featured six mini-games in addition to the main game; the second upped the ante with twelve. These little diversions are what make SMB such a wonderful party game, and as such, Sega has decided to throw somewhere around fifty into the upcoming launch title Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz. Our dear friends at IGN apparently had the moxie to convince Sega to give them an early run-through...of every single one. That's right; over the next fifty days or so, IGN will unveil a video and hands-on impressions of one of the mini-games found within. The first game covered was Ring Toss, which seems enjoyable enough. Check it out daily for more! Seriously. Fifty.
