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New GoldenEye 007 also coming to DS this year
When rumors were flying about a new GoldenEye game just before E3, both Wii and DS versions were supposedly in the works. But when Nintendo and Activision made it official during the expo, only the Daniel Craig-ified Wii game was announced (despite the DS logo also appearing on the official game page). Today, the DS version of GoldenEye 007 showed up again, this time in Nintendo's upcoming releases calendar that joined the company's quarterly earnings report. Following the appearance, we confirmed with Activision that a DS iteration of GoldenEye 007 is, in fact, in development and will be released alongside the Wii game later this year. The handheld version will be developed by perpetual mobile game port house n-Space; though an Activision representative emphasized to us, "it's not a port." Additionally, both Daniel Craig (Bond) and Judi Dench ("M") will voice their characters in the DS game. We were tempted to ask about John Cleese, but then we remembered he's busy doing other, likely wonderful voice work at the moment.
Call of Duty: Black Ops to do wet work on DS
Much like the other Activision-published current-gen wargamez that preceded it, Call of Duty: Black Ops will make an appearance on DS. The handheld game will arrive alongside all other versions of the title on November 9 and is being cared for by the professional portable porters at n-Space -- the same studio called upon for all the other DS Duties. The Black Ops DS iteration will see the return of six-man multiplayer matches, which will adopt the unlockable "Perks" system from the home console versions of the franchise. Now you can complain about how cheap Commando Pro is ... on the go! Check out a few teeny-tiny screenshots of the game in the gallery below. %Gallery-98397%
James Bond 007: Blood Stone hurled through holiday release window, courtesy of Bizarre
Assassinating months of speculation, Activision has finally announced its new James Bond game, helmed by Project Gotham Racing and Blur developer Bizarre Creations. Featuring an original story by Bruce Feirstein (who penned the screenplay for GoldenEye and the script for 2003's Bond game, Everything or Nothing), James Bond 007: Blood Stone features a mix of third-person cover-based shooting, hand-to-hand combat and "adrenaline-fuelled driving sequences" on land and sea -- and air, if there are enough exploding ramps. Daniel Craig will reprise his role as suave spy guy (it's not like they need him for a movie right now) alongside Judi Dench, who once again plays stern boss lady "M." Grammy award-winning singer Joss Stone will be playing Blood Stone's obligatory gun-toting temptress, presumably because Oliver Stone couldn't quite pull off the evening gowns. Stone -- that's Joss -- will also provide the game's original theme song, "I'll Take it All," with the aid of Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics. Bizarre's James Bond 007: Blood Stone is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this holiday season. N-Space is developing a DS version for the same time frame. You can watch the trailer for the console version here. %Gallery-97612%
Report: New GoldenEye coming in November, to be revealed at E3
More evidence to support the circulating rumors of a GoldenEye remake surfaced this past week. The most convincing comes from Eurogamer, which reports that a source has confirmed Activision is working on a revamped version of the classic Nintendo 64 shooter for the Wii and DS to be released this November. The game is supposedly being developed by n-Space and Eurocom, the latter of which created the N64 version of The World is Not Enough. The source also mentioned the publisher will showcase the title for the very first time at E3, so we won't have to wait long to learn if this unnamed tipster is on the money. A slightly more suspect piece of evidence comes to us via GoNintendo, which posted a series of images from an anonymous source, purportedly stripped from a survey referencing a GoldenEye Wii-make. This survey mentions "a modernized version of the classic story with the new Bond (Daniel Craig)," which, if true, would be a minor travesty. Don't get us wrong, we love Craig -- but you really can't out-Brosnan Brosnan, you know?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized trailer, screenshots
Now that you've seen the first screens from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on Wii, we know what you're thinking: "Man, how did they make the Wii port of Modern Warfare look worse than last year's Wii port of World at War?" First, you're absolutely right, it does look worse; second, you seem to be confused. The video after the break may remind you of the upcoming Wii port's shoddy looks, but they in fact belong to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, the DS variant of Modern Warfare 2. On the DS, we're far more forgiving of blocky graphics. Games like Dementium: The Ward and Metroid Prime Hunters have shown us that a solid first-person experience is possible on Nintendo's dual-screened wonder, blocky pixels or not. We'll find out if developer n-Space – which has created DS versions of Call of Duty titles Modern Warfare and World at War – can deliver with this latest effort, launching alongside its console big brother on November 10. %Gallery-70481%
Winter: yet another publisher-deprived mature Wii game
Haven't we heard this story before? A relatively small developer touts its desire to make a good-looking mature game on Wii, only to have the project shot down by the major publishers. Then, the developer releases tons of media of the in-development game to the public, and hardcore Nintendo fans rally the troops demanding the game's release. If this sounds familiar, it's because you've been following The Conduit.n-Space (developer of Geist on Gamecube) looks to be repeating history yet again by revealing its in-limbo Wii game, Winter. The survival horror game reminds us a little bit of Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy): an inexplicable snowstorm shuts in a Midwest town, and the main character must figure out the dark secret behind the situation. The developers wanted to create a HUD-less world, where the Wii Remote and Nunchuck became extensions of the player's hands.Speaking to IGN, n-Space president Dan O'Leary explained that publishers simply couldn't get behind marketing a mature game on the Wii. "In almost every case we got hung up with the sales and marketing groups. They simply could not get behind a survival horror title on the Wii ... The idea of an 'adult' game on what they perceived to be a 'kids' console was simply too big a leap for them."If given the opportunity to finish development of the game, one of the goals would be to drastically improve the visuals, "making the best looking Wii game possible." See video footage after the break.
Winter held up by unadventurous publishers
n-Space's Winter harks back to the days of early Resident Evil games, featuring as it does claustrophobic corridors, a jumpy-as-hell atmosphere, and gruesome monsters. If that sounds promising, the footage above will probably only convince you more of the game's potential. Although a bit glitchy in places, this took only six weeks to create.Now here's the sad part of this story: Winter is another of the Wii's lost games. n-Space enjoyed a hugely positive response after pitching the project to numerous publishers in 2007, but Creative Director Ted Newman has told IGN that the game "got hung up with the sales and marketing groups." The game was put on hold, and n-Space instead focused on Target Toss Pro: Bags, presumably a title that appealed more to the suits.IGN's interview with Newman manages to be simultaneously depressing and enlightening, but is definitely worth your time. Understandably, n-Space is happy to bring this to market, but they'll need a publisher first. Interested, Sega?
The Force Unleashed video dump may 'blow your mind'
We can only imagine how dejected you must feel right now, sitting at home with a tummy full of popcorn and a heart brimming with disappointment. Your friends and family inquire about the reason for your sorrows, until they notice the tear-soaked ticket stub for Star Wars: The Clone Wars lying on your dresser. No amount of playing with your highly collectible Mego Han Solo seems to help -- your infatuation with George Lucas' epic space opera is dwindling, flickering like a candle in the unforgiving wind.Allow us to offer you this minor consolation -- a sextuplet of videos from Lucasarts' upcoming dark side frolic, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, via GameTrailers. The trailer above is one of the best pieces of media we've seen from the title, showing some familiar faces from the series and ... what's this? A romantic sub-plot? After the break, we've got five videos which apparently highlight one of the first levels from the game. Before pawning your collection of X-wings in protest, we highly suggest checking them out -- they might just rekindle your once unflappable Lucas-love.
N-Space making a ... bag-tossing game for WiiWare?
Considering that the only N-Space-developed game we ever enjoyed was Geist on the GameCube, it's no surprise that we had absolutely no idea they were working on a WiiWare game (but we did know they were working with Wii). Now that we've found out what it is (Target Toss Pro: Bags), we're actually kind of intrigued, albeit because we think we're in some kind of dream right now, waiting for someone to wake us up.Seriously, you toss bags? Like, that's the game? We're shocked into submission, because we really can't believe that they're making a game where you toss bags. What's in the bags? Smuggled diamonds? Dirt? What's next? A WiiWare hopscotch game? How about Duck Duck Goose? And what's with the name of the game? Is it implying that other Target Toss Pro games are on the horizon? Target Toss Pro: Bottles and Target Toss Pro: Your Wiimote into the TV anyone?Perhaps we're just too cynical, but with so many great ideas floating around out there, we're just upset when we see someone is developing a game where you toss bags. Because it's more fun in a video game than in real life. And, believe us, we've tossed bags in real life before. It's not that fun, so we imagine a game based on that concept won't be much more fun, either.
Here come Amazon's Gold Box deals [update 2]
Just a reminder to all you friendly folks in the U.S. -- Amazon is having crazy DS deals today. The retailer kicked off its Gold Box sales awesomely, offering Advance Wars: Days of Ruin for $16.99. If we don't say so ourselves, that is damn sweet. You have until 12am Pacific time to bite on this, but we recommend getting it sooner rather than later because we doubt supplies will last.As for the lightning deals, we've listed them here (with our guesses for ones that haven't been confirmed yet). Keep in mind, these are in Pacific time, and each deal lasts for four hours (assuming they don't go out of stock): 6am-10am: "Will you answer the call?" - Confirmed: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for $18.99 10am-2pm: "Dazzle your unsuspecting friends with your magical prowess." - Confirmed: Master of Illusion for $14.99. 2pm-6pm: "Protect the Earth, destroy the invaders." - Confirmed: Tranformers: Autobots 6pm-10pm: "Your destiny awaits. Experience the power." - (Our guess: Naruto: Ninja Destiny) We suppose that with such an awesome "Deal of the Day," we can forgive Amazon for everything else being subpar. Keep in mind, though, that these are just our guesses. We'll update the post as other sales are confirmed.[Update 1: Master of Illusion was confirmed as the second lightning deal and was added to the post.][Update 2: Transformers: Autobots is the third lightning deal. And, would you look at that -- Master of Illusion sold out. Who would have thought?][Via CAG]
The Force Unleashed ... unleashed on September 16
After the strain induced by writing such a complex and infinitely witty headline, we think it would be best to stay on target for the rest of the post and merely deliver the facts. LucasArts has announced that its physics-based jedi sim, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, will arrive on September 16th in the United States, September 17th in Southeast Asia and Australia, and September 19th in Europe. That's the plan and, given our anticipation for the title, we can only pray the publisher doesn't alter it any further. Developed internally for the Xbox 360 and PS3, The Force Unleashed has players becoming Darth Vader's "Secret Apprentice" and, as the title vaguely alludes to, unleashing the force. Other "equally enthralling" versions of the game releasing on the same date include the Krome Studios-developed Wii, PS2 and PSP titles, as well as a DS game from n-Space. You'll be able to spot exclusive footage on SpikeTV this month, but rather than subjecting you to watching it for hours on end, we've posted a schedule of the game's appearances after the break. %Gallery-1662%
Joystiq hands-on: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (DS)
The PC-and-console version of Call of Duty 4 rocks as much as expected. But at a recent hands-on session, the DS take also impressed. The 3D graphics look surprisingly good; after a few minutes of settling in, I stopped scrutinizing textures and focused on the gameplay. And that gameplay carries the title.COD4 switches between FPS sequences, helicopter-gunner modes, bomb-disarming moments, and AC-130 gunship sections. The DS version feels full of care and craft, from thought put into controls, to the segmented sessions that play well on a handheld.%Gallery-8364%
n-Space opens new studio for Wii development
I must admit, if I weren't being paid my weight on the moon in gold here at The Fanboy, I'd probably try to get in with n-Space, developer behind the FPS/possession-sim title Geist for the GameCube. See, they're expanding and hiring new people, with the new space being dedicated to Wii development. More importantly, they're based in Orlando, which happens to be my current stomping grounds. Oh, I know what you're thinking."But Dave, how can you apply for a job if you're just some dumb jerk who blogs about stuff? Don't you need real assets and experience to get a job with such a kickass developer?"Immediately following Timmy's question, I'd probably hit him with a shovel and bury him in my basement. See, I don't like people pointing out my shortcomings and dashing my dreams. Dreams of long shifts staring at code and being whipped by team leads.Ridiculous ranting aside, if you're interested in applying for a job and aren't a whacky blogger, might I suggest hitting up their homepage right over hynah?
