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Warhawk soundtrack available on iTunes next week
Lair won't be the only PS3 game soundtrack on iTunes. Next week, the soundtrack to Warhawk joins the growing list of downloadable game scores on Apple's music service.Christopher Lennertz and Timothy Wynn both worked on the soundtrack, which was performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. The duo ended up recording over 100 minutes of music over the course of a 6-day period.Adding such a symphonic score is no easy task, and the team at Incognito had to create a suitable way of applying the music to the gameplay experience. According to a 1UP report, it appears that the music is triggered by the amount of enemy fire near the player. "If a certain threshold of enemy gunfire is met, the combat music starts to play." Listen to samples of the soundtrack before its release at 1UP.
Level-5 chats White Knight Story
1UP chatted with Level-5, developers of hit RPGs like Dragon Quest VIII and the upcoming White Knight Story. In this interview (which includes game footage), see why the developers chose a single action button for battles. Get a better look at the henshin battles, and the beautiful CG-like graphics that the magicians at Level-5 have somehow managed to conjure up. See also:TGS hands-on: White Knight Story
Rumor: Kingdom Hearts prequel heading to PSP
We've just landed in Tokyo, getting ready for the Tokyo Game Show. Supposedly, Square Enix will have a few surprises regarding the Kingdom Hearts series tomorrow. The focus will be primarily on the handhelds, and according to 1UP, PSP owners can (hopefully) look forward to a prequel to the original PS2 fan favorite. The next iteration of the franchise, though, will most likely appear on a next-gen console, with PS3 very likely.Stay tuned -- we're sure to find out the true details soon enough.
Don't expect any Treasure games on PSN anytime soon
On the cusp of Tokyo Game Show, the 1up crew tracked down Treasure president Masato Maegawa to ask him all sorts of questions regarding his company's future. Treasure, of course, is the company behind such great titles like Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun and Guardian Heroes.While we're sure plenty of you would love to download any of those games via the PlayStation Network, it doesn't look like it'll be happening ... at least not for awhile, anyway. Maegawa said that Treasure is just now "fully up and running on developing for Xbox Live Arcade, so to move resources to PSN just now wouldn't make much sense."Ouch, did you hear that? That's the sound of my heart being crushed under Maegawa's steel-toed penny loafers. You'll rue the day for this decision, Maegawa. RUE!
1UP's Shane: DualShock 3 is "confirmed"
A listen to the latest episode of the 1UP Yours podcast reveals that the rumbling DualShock 3 is "confirmed," at least according to 1UP's lead Sony fanboy, Shane. He says that TGS will ultimately reveal the long-awaited rumbling controllers and the now-legendary 2.0 firmware, which will magically allow you to run many XMB tools from within a game. We're sure Sony's going to playing hardball at TGS, and you'll probably want to tune into our continuing coverage of the event, starting this Wednesday. [Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
PAX 07: 1UP Yours podcast still John's
As the special live PAX edition of the 1UP Yours podcast kicked off in front of a densely-packed crowd (hence the distance and over-some-guy's-shoulderness of the picture), the team (including Special Guest Luke Smith, for the classic 1UP Yours lineup) made an announcement that should be comforting for fans of the show. John Davison may be leaving the 1UP Network, but he won't be leaving the his most publicly visible task as a member of the team: the podcast. After he makes the big move (he says his new office is "a block away"), he'll continue to appear as normal on the 1UP Yours podcast. Bless his commitment to giving people things to listen to idly during work.Tonight's podcast isn't online yet, obviously, but look for it within a few days.
Boogie producer defends his game against reviews
Boogie producer Jean-Charles Gaudechon is not entirely pleased with the critical reception to his game. One review in particular upset him, and with good reason-- 1UP basically assassinated his game.Gaudechon mostly defended the controls in his statement to MTV's Gamefile. "Difficultly should come from the game. It should be easy to dance. It should be tough to dance on a certain level of difficulty." He said that his team reexamined motion control schemes after SSX Blur's controls were panned as too complicated, and that Boogie's controls were focus-tested on a diverse age group.Of course, none of that addresses the major issue found in the 1UP review, that "this game is fun for exactly 20 minutes, and only in a group of two or more." Of course, that's a little harder to respond to than specific complaints about the oversimplified, rhythm-insensitive controls.
Watch a delicious, 15-minute Mass Effect preview
With the delay of one big property last week, you might be a little down in the dumps about your gaming prospects in the fall. Allow yourself to be soothed by the healing power of Mass Effect, namely 15 minutes of previewing from your friends at 1UP.There are some dialog scenes, a look at the driving mini-game and a fairly extensive sample of the character creation. Oh, and, of course, there's some good, old-fashion shooting. You don't need to hear anything else from us. Go. Watch. Delight.
Warhawk review in EGM may change depending on price
Editor's Note: The following reflects the personal opinion of Nick, and does not necessarily reflect the views of PS3 Fanboy staff. PS3 Fanboy does factor price into consideration when reviewing games.In a complete wrong move on EGM's part, 1UP reports that the reviewers over at the magazine have had little notes posted onto their Warhawk reviews stating, in some form or another, that the review "score should be dropped a whole point if the price was announced above $30." Sure, Sony hasn't officially announced a Warhawk price for the downloadable version and that's a little odd, but I've got problem with this bit of news.An unannounced price shouldn't affect a game's review score by such a significant margin. It's tough to grasp what the point of dropping a review score is because of a game possibly being priced above the rumored price created by the media. Does it make you enjoy it less? Does it make the graphics worse? Does it hinder the framerate? It might dissuade people from buying the downloadable version if it were, say, $50, but if that's the case, the retail version is a great deal. If the downloadable version is $30, that's a budget title and a great deal.It's a bit difficult to explain, which is exactly why the EGM staff are concerned about how to review the game. I'd like your take on the situation, in that case! Is there a difference between buying a game due to price and buying a game due to quality? Price does affect many people's willingness to buy, but should it necessarily affect the score given to a game by reviewers getting the game for little or no cost?
The Darkness gets reviewed and it's good
Fresh out of hell's oven is the first review for upcoming 360 release The Darkness and word on the street is that it's actually good. 1UP posted the first review and gave the game a whopping 9.0 out of a possible 10. They felt that the presentation, the look, the gameplay and overall incorporation of the Darkness features (tentacles and all) were very polished and fun. As the saying goes, "it just works". Completing the game will take an average of ten or so hours, but 1UP feels that players can easily get distracted by messing around with the physics engine or taking advantage of the game's down times by roaming the city. The only drawback to the game is its somewhat gimmicky multiplayer, which developer Starbreeze even admits shouldn't be taken too seriously. Overall, we're impressed by how much 1UP was impressed by the game and will be patiently watching metacritic for more reviews to hit the internet. Who knows, The Darkness could actually be a solid game.[Thanks, intRvenous]
The masterminds of WoW on gaming
Have you ever wondered what the names and faces behind WoW do in their off time? In the recent interview 1up had with Shane Dabiri, Rob Pardo, Jeff Kaplan, and Tom Chilton, we get to find out a bit about that -- at least in regards to some of the games that they're playing right now. Two of them were really no surprise to me: Guitar Hero II and God of War. Those two have been all over the gaming media and are a lot of fun to play, so it makes total sense. The two titles that caught me off guard were several mentions of Viva Pinata and Rob saying that he plays the PopCap game, Peggle. They also covered some great background information from their gaming roots, to some ways they think WoW has changed the genre. Check it out!
1UP details first few hours of BioShock
1UP received some hands on time with BioShock and aren't afraid to spoil the first few hours of gameplay. Their BioShock preview article is more or less a recap of the gameplay and events of their play session. So, if you don't like spoilers, stay away from this BioShock "preview". But we'll sum up their overall impressions. 1UP feels BioShock is more of a shooter than anything else with solid controls and a great atmosphere all rolled up into a very fun free roam adventure. The encounters are memorable, the look is unmistakable, and they really enjoyed their time with the game (end summation). They also posted a few new screenshots of their underwater adventure, so be sure to check those out. And yes, we're just as excited to take down a Big Daddy ... we can't wait.[Via Game Stooge]
Next SimCity changes hands
We brought word of the new SimCity title earlier in the week and now 1UP reports that SimCity Societies won't be developed by Maxis, which is presumably swamped with not finishing Spore. The reins will be passed to Tilted Mill Entertainment, which you might know from their work on Caesar IV. Surprising no one, the internet wasted no time in losing its mind. We see some of the first evidence in the hit forum thread "You killed Sim City!". Showing more consideration (or is it cunning?) than we've ever been accused of having, Tilted Mill president Chris Beatrice tried to calm fears in the thread, writing "This SC is not a realistic urban simulation, which I understand, to many, represents the heart of what SC is. No one is blind to that. And if you're just completely turned off, even angered by the mere notion of any game called SimCity that is not a detailed, realistic urban simulator, I absolutely understand that viewpoint, and absolutely respect it." Looks like SCS will be the big game in this month's Games for Windows Magazine, so we'll reserve judgment until we lay our eyes on that. Or, you know, until the game comes out and we actually play it. One of the two. [Via CVG]
The 1UP Show: Final Fantasy Tactics
Our friends at 1UP have been playing a lot of the new Final Fantasy Tactics remake on PSP. It's fascinating to see what exactly is new about the game, and it's pretty surprising to see the vast number of improvements from the PS1 original. As expected, there are the new cinematics, but there's also a slew of new battles and characters to face. Hopefully, the new localization of the game when it comes to the US will be a marked improvement from the awkward PS1 original. The game will hit American and European markets this October.
A second SOCOM to come from original developers
Reaction to the newly unveiled SOCOM Confrontation was mixed at best. The multiplayer-only title is being developed by Slant Six Games (also responsible for the new PSP title SOCOM: Tactical Strike). While the prospects of playing on a 32-player online battlefield is exciting enough, many commented on the barren, uninspired look of the game.Worry not -- there's yet another SOCOM game in the works from the series' original creators. Zipper is starting work on its own SOCOM title, but as 1UP points out, it's going to be a long way off -- most likely late next year. Unlike Confrontation, which will launch this November, Zipper's own title will feature a single-player campaign in addition to the requisite multiplayer modes. While we hope Confrontation turns out to be a worthy addition to the SOCOM franchise, we're somewhat relieved to know that a true sequel is still in the works.[Via Joystiq]
Breakfast Topic: Desert island mod
A few days ago, 1up was asking readers about their "desert island game". You know the scenario, you've probably done this with friends before. It's usually books or CD's or movies, but 1up's article got me to thinking. Let's say you're stuck in a desert island, you have a gaming laptop powerful enough to play WoW well, and have rigged up solar power and wireless internet. Unfortunately, for the sake of our conversation, your internet and power only work to get your laptop playing WoW, no other outside communication, and you inexplicably forget to ask your guildies to send a rescue plane to your island. Oh, and your account is free. Hmm, come to think of it, why would anyone WANT to leave this situation?? Great weather, we'll pretend there's ample food, and all the WoW you can handle! It's like a little gamer's paradise there, just hanging out, getting tanned, swimming with little Nemos in the nearby offshore coral reef, finding new and interesting ways to cook fish in coconut milk. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, so you're on this island, with your WoW laptop and all that goodness, but you can only bring 1 addon/mod with you (no compilations). What would your addon/mod be, and why?
God of War: Chains of Olympus fully revealed
God of War: Chains of Olympus. You know you want it, and 1UP has the exclusive.preview. There's six pages of beautiful info on quite possibly the most anticipated PSP game of all time."A lot of what we're telling with the later stories is Kratos when he's just really realized he's a puppet of the Gods, really realizing that he's getting screwed over, and [the PSP game will] flesh out when he did have maybe a little bit of faith and when that faith started to crumble a little bit -- when he started to see some cracks in the stories they were telling him," says Chains of Olympus creative director Cory Barlog.We don't want to spoil the rest, so you're going to have to check out 1UP for the rest. Hopefully, we'll see even more of God of War: Chains of Olympus soon enough.
The final days of Ziff Davis games according to Folio
Folio Magazine, a magazine about the magazine industry, has as their cover story for May "Ziff's Last Stand." An in-depth look at how the once great magazine empire is falling apart like a leper. Sure, it's still functional, but it isn't looking too pretty anymore. It's no secret that the games division has been up for sale with no buyers. The article lays out in no uncertain terms that the relevance of game magazines is on the decline and uses Ziff Davis' issues as the poster-child of the future to come.The prime example Folio uses is a scuffle between Edelman (a major PR firm) and an editor of PC Magazine. The battle concerned Senior VP at Edelman, Steve Rubell, publicly stating that he throws out his free subscription to the magazine. For any gaming media, when the PR guys stop reading your stuff, you can kiss access, interviews, information and general livelihood goodbye. And, in what really is the cherry on this story, the whole thing played out online.According to the article, buyers of the ZD game division are actually interested in 1UP, the company's online portal and its 13 million monthly visitors. 1UP currently competes against Gamespot and IGN's 20 million monthly visitors. The path sounds pretty solid at this point. The magazines will continue to lose readers and relevance and, if the staff survives, will probably be transferred to online. [Via GameSetWatch]
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup: comical review edition
Jeremy Parish from 1UP is known for adding a little flair to his reviews. Like turning them into full-fledged comics and rhyme. Such is the case here with Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Almost, at least -- Parish eventually scrapped the idea and went a more conventional route. Fortunately for our interests, he posted the unfinished project his personal blog GameSpite.We applaud the effort in making reviews more interesting and eye-catching, and of course for using pretty pictures. Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics, be sure to vote for your favorite! (As always, if you feel that we've missed a golden comic strip, be sure to let us know.) Tryouts So easy, a caveman could do it Chalk it up to idiocy Nothing like a Sony bash Lidless eye Name game What if ... (inspiration) Stranger than iction [Via DS Fanboy]
Xbox 360 can't handle the PS3 heat
Toddlers are dangerous creatures. Especially when they get their hands on expensive gadgets. This life lesson comes to you via 1UP Editor John Davison, who recently discovered it for himself when his two sons woke up early one morning wanting to play video games. It seems Davison keeps his PS3 and his Xbox 360 in a less-than-well ventilated entertainment unit. Usually this is of no consequence as the two consoles are rarely running together. Davison also makes sure to keep the doors open whenever the PS3 is running. Unfortunately on this particular morning his wee-est nipper decided to play along with the older brother as he played on the Xbox 360. To make a short story shorter, the toddler pushed the PS button on the SIXAXIS controller (which was obviously the young lad's controller of choice when pretending to play - such good taste at such a young age), causing the PLAYSTATION 3 to fire up.And fire up it did. The temperature within the unventilated entertainment unit shot up, initiating some kind of Scandinavian sauna challenge between the two consoles. As the 360 started showing signs of its encroaching Red Ring of Death, the PS3 was still going strong. In the end Sony's behemoth emerges victorious. And the 360? Don't ask, it's not pretty. Oh well. I guess it's perfect timing. Time to go pick up one of those Xbox 360 Elite's I've heard so much about, right?[Via Joystiq]
