asobo-studios
Latest
PlayStation Move review: The launch games
Once you get past that initial thrill of opening the packaging, setting it up and toying around with its settings, any platform is only as good – and as fun – as the games available for it. With the launch of PlayStation Move, the lineup of what's on offer is relatively limited and, as the hardware's all about getting people to, er move around, focuses on sports and party games, with a couple of notable exceptions. Those would be EyePet, Kung Fu Rider and Tumble, all from Sony, with Tumble being a PSN game. EyePet is a virtual pet "game" that's been available as a PS Eye title in Europe for some time and has been reworked to incorporate Move. While charming, it falls under the category of a kid's title (though I've no doubt some adults will find it fun) and it won't be subject to review here; instead I'll be focusing on the more "core" games in the following pages. As for Kung Fu Rider, it's an odd creation out of SCE Studios Japan. That leaves us with Sports Champions and Racquet Sports from Sony and Ubisoft, respectively. Sports Champions comes bundled with the $100 Move starter kit and the PS3 Move system bundle, but is also available separately ($40) for those who decide to buy their Move setups piecemeal. With that out of the way – and without any further ado – it's on with the reviews: Kung Fu Rider | Racquet Sports | Sports Champions Start the Party | Tumble
PlayStation Move review: Racquet Sports
Ubisoft's initial Move offering is, at its core, an HD Wii Sports Tennis play-alike, only with additional racquet sports (that's some title, huh?), online play, unlockable gear and a roster of characters that bear a disturbing resemblance to the puppets from Team America: World Police. I found the tennis portion on par with what Nintendo delivered in Wii Sports, but the unlocks and different venues are a nice plus. Like Wii Sports (which Ubisoft aped for the Wii version of Racquet Sports earlier this year), you don't have direct control over your player in tennis or any of the sports featured in the Move game, though you can hold the Move pad's T button to gain full control of your racquet, which makes the game both more realistic and more challenging. Beach tennis, squash and badminton are also a lot of fun -- not to mention varied -- but the table tennis feels really off after having played its Sports Champions equivalent. Although, even if I hadn't, I believe it still wouldn't feel right. If you're after a tennis fix with Move and can't hold out for Virtua Tennis 4, this $30 title is a lot of fun and has high production qualities. A word of warning though: The game runs in 1080p at 60fps, but there's noticeable screen tearing. This review is based on a pre-release version of Racquet Sports provided by Ubisoft. More PlayStation Move reviews: Kung Fu Rider | Sports Champions | Start the Party | Tumble
VG247: Console versions of Fuel delayed a week
According to VG247, Codemasters has confirmed that its upcoming open-world racer, Fuel, has been delayed a week -- putting the game out on June 5 in the UK -- for the Xbox 360 and PS3, while the PC version is set to release soon after. It should be noted that VG247 is a UK website, so it's unclear if this delay also applies to North America. For what it's worth, GameStop lists the title for June 2, while Amazon maintains it will release on May 26. Our request for comment from Codemasters has gone unanswered as of press time, but we'll be sure to update this post when we have new information.Still, even if the title is delayed, it's only a week outside of the originally intended May release window. Surely we can keep our post-apocalyptic racing urge in check until then.
Fuel sets Guinness record as biggest console game ever
Codemasters' Fuel is big, and while some may argue that size doesn't matter, they're probably just jealous of the open-world racer's immense girth. In fact, the upcoming off-road racing game was recently crowned by Guinness World Records for having the largest playable environment in a console game ever with 5,560 square miles of accessible in-game terrain. To help us wrap our heads around how big that is, the Codies say that's larger than Hong Kong, Singapore, St Lucia and the Isle of Man put together. Let's just hope developer Asobo (pictured) remembers to fill all that space with enough to do, else it's going to be a very long and boring ride. Are we there yet? %Gallery-45506%
Fill 'er up with new Fuel trailer and screens
We've got a handful of new screens and a trailer for Codemasters' upcoming post-apocalyptic, open-world racer, FUEL. Based on the screens and trailer, we can expect two things for the future of planet Earth. One, the grim, barren landscape will make for some bitchin' races (no gasoline shortages in this future, folks). Two, something will make everything really blurry around the edges. Our money is on excessive radiation. Oh, and let's not forget giant, floating arrows. Those are there, too.%Gallery-45506%
Fuel: post-apocalyptic 'GPS' navigation included
After the coming apocalypse, when the world devolves into an open-world racecourse, we'd be seemingly lost without the Garmins and TomToms of the bygone era. Fear not, though, for it seems a result of the globe-altering warming featured in Codemaster's Fuel is the appearance of giant, airborne ... pointers -- conveniently "pointing" out the path to the finish line. (All that's left, you see, is the finish line.) We suppose then, these guiding arrows are a fair trade for the vicious tornadoes and blinding sandstorms that also -- naturally -- plague this fascinating vision of the future.
Joystiq hands-on: FUEL
click to enlarge As the newest racing franchise from Codemasters, FUEL has a lot to live up to. Namely the pedigree of the publisher's two other racers this generation, the stellar DiRT and GRID. Its premise is grandiose: allow players to race on order of 5,000 square miles of open world in a variety of vehicles, rancing from dune buggies and roadsters to dirt bikes and monster trucks. It's obvious from playing the game that its developer, Asobo Studio, has the big picture covered; everything else is all over the map.%Gallery-45506%
Codies pumps Fuel for French revolution in racing
Replacing political and social unrest with "go-anywhere" driving, Codemasters has partnered with French dev Asobo Studios to publish the company's open world-style racer, Fuel, for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC sometime next year. Asobo's track record isn't likely to relieve you of your socks anytime soon, however. The studio's recent efforts include video game adaptations of Ratatouille, Wall-E and The Mummy, so we're not expecting another GRiD or DiRT just yet.On top of dynamic weather and dozens of drivable vehicles, Codies boasts that Fuel will feature the "largest environment ever created" in a racing game, and that the game's absurd 5,000 square miles of weather-ravaged terrain will "revolutionize" the genre. There is that old saying about size not mattering as much as how you use it, though clearly this is not the approach being used here.
