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New Awesomenauts character Genji announced
Ronimo Games introduced its 13th character to Awesomenauts, and his name is Genji. Genji is one of the last living Entin, a caterpillar-like monk "on a pilgrimage to restore his faith in the great space butterfly."He is also a support character that specializes in "shielding allies and banishing enemies." Ronimo tells us that Genji is being put through testing in closed beta, along with a sizable balance overhaul for the game, so there's no specific date for when the character will join the rest of the Awesomenauts crew. The official site for the game lists him as a Steam exclusive, though. %Gallery-179192%
Robo-Garage recreates Murasaki Shikibu in robot form
Murasaki Shikibu, famously known for penning The Tale of Genji, practically has goddess status in Japan. For those who scoff at such a statement, just take a look at the robot above. The MURASAKI stands in at 31-centimeters tall and weighs 1.5-kilograms (3.3-pounds), and while the design is subtle, this gal still demands respect. Reportedly, the bot is powered by NiMH batteries, waltzes about on two wheels and sports an 8-axis system for moving her neck and arms. We're hearing conflicting reports about it actually being on sale or simply being a prototype, but we're sure the misdirection is all part of the allure that makes her so irresistible.[Via CrunchGear]
Brash working with Folklore dev on film-based game
Grab your popcorn! Film-focused game studio Brash has inked a deal with the Folklore and Genji devs at Game Republic for a game based on, you guessed it, an upcoming Hollywood movie. The announcement follows Brash's recent critically-panned game adaptation of Jumper, as well as confirmed plans by the company to bring gore-porn series Saw to consoles in '09.Having Game Republic on board does give us a modicum of hope that things will turn out at least playable, with 20-year industry vet Yoshiki Okamoto of Street Fighter II and Resident Evil fame throwing his weight behind the project. Neither studio has let slip exactly which movie will be the victim recipient of the adaptation, however, stating only that it will be based on a "popular" film based in "an incredible fantasy world," and will be released sometime in 2010.
Resistance and Motorstorm topping charts in UK (not Europe)
After briefly, mistakenly and idiotically reducing the entirety of Europe, with all its many cultures, languages and shoes to just the UK in an article yesterday, we've taken steps to reinforce the pathways that connect our brains to our rapidly typing fingers. Said fingers insist that we now draw your attention to the PS3's continued success in Madagascar the United Kingdom, with launch titles Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorstorm perching comfortably atop the Chart Track software list for the week ending 24 March.Insomniac's first-person shooter debuted in the number one spot, with the muddy Motorstorm slotting into second position. Virtua Fighter 5 is all the way down in 14th position, bested by Namco's symphony of slide, Ridge Racer 7 (11th) and the comparitively out of tune F1: Championship Edition (7th). Finally, historically accurate crab battle simulations find themselves relegated to 16th position. With these PS3 exclusive (for now, in the case of Virtua Fighter 5) titles making a splash in the charts alongside the PS3's strong launch performance in Guam the UK, it seems the doom and gloom impression that resulted from so many dead launch events was unwarranted. The coming weeks will show us whether or not the PS3 can maintain its momentum in both hardware and software sales.
Hitting crabs for massive damage, or overcoming allergic reactions?
All right, all right... so this isn't official news or anything, but it's just silly enough to merit spreading around this series of tubes known as the interweb. Way back when, there was this whole big joke with Genji and attacking crabs for massive damage. Half of the humor came from a big "WTF?" reaction to there being a gigantic crab in feudal Japan. The other half was about the massive damage. Funny, right? Well, turns out there's a reason to it all.The creator of Genji, Yoshiki Okamoto, had something to admit in the latest issue of PSM3. He said: "Obviously no-one among us believes there were giant crabs in feudal Japan. But [I am] allergic to crabs and that's the reason why, if you find its weak point, you can kill it with one blow. It's [my] way of defeating the crab [I] hate." This was via his translator, so we made it less third-person sounding, but the meaning is the same. Allergic to crabs? Well, we suppose hitting them for massive damage is one way to conquer your fears, allergies, etc.
Okamoto, Genji creator, promises more PS3 power harnessing next time
We know that Genji didn't fare very well in the eyes of critics and gamers alike. Some will forgive the game, as it was no more than a launch title. Others will keep a grudge, vowing never to play a mediocre game again (so... they'll play about five games a year?). However! For people on both sides of the lawn there is hope, as Yoshiki Okamoto, executive producer of Genji (and brains behind Street Fighter), promises that the next title will harness much more of the Playstation 3's power. Will it be Street Fighter 4?! No.The new title in the works will be using the same engine used to create Genji. Hopefully they'll get rid of the invisible walls, though. Whether or not it will be a new title in the same series, Okamoto would not say. He did say how the development team is used to programming for the PS3 now and is excited to see how much more they can do. He said, "If Genji shows what we can achieve with a launch title then think what we will be able to do in the years to come, when we are harnessing the true power of PlayStation 3." Yeah, Genji was pretty gorgeous, but the gameplay kind of fell on its face. Not entirely, but it wasn't "new"... or "fresh"... or something. A good game, a great launch game, but a mediocre next-gen experience? Whatever, you get the idea.
Downloadable content is coming our way!
You know you're tired of looking at the same fugly outfit your character in Genji is clad in. You know you're sick of handing off the controller when you die in Blast Factor. So what're you going to do about it? Initiate some microtransactions, that's what! Coming soon to the PlayStation Store are: Genji: Days of the Blade costume pack Blast Factor co-op play download pack flOw game and demo Granted, flOw might take a litter longer than the rest. Heard rumors of a January release, though, so maybe they'll all hit at once. In any case... gentlemen, start your engines! Ready, set, down...load? Damn. Wanted a clever download phrase/cliche, but alas. Next time, surely.
Prospective QA manager shuns Sony practices, Microsoft too
Sparked by uproar over a "game-killing" bug in Genji, Ritual Entertainment QA manager Michael Russell recalls a job interview for FPQA Manager, held at Sony's San Diego offices. There he caught a glimpse of Sony's QA process, which, according to Russell, "allows creativity to squash quality" -- he promptly removed himself from consideration for the job.Before Ritual, Russell was a lead tester at Microsoft Game Studios. He claims his previous employer is also failing at quality assurance, but from the other end of the spectrum: "At Microsoft, the stringent QA processes often strangle creativity."Russell calls for some middle ground to be walked, lest the industry fall into turmoil, but neglects to offer any advice to Sony or Microsoft. Are we to be doomed by bugs and boredom?[Thanks, SickNic]
Viva Pinata takes stab at Genji jokes
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Xbox_360_s_Viva_Pinata_Makes_Fun_of_PS3_s_Genji'; Rare's latest title, Viva Pinata, looks to have reopened the now-infamous -- and somewhat tiresome -- crab joke from Sony's E3 2006 press conference. A GameSpot forum member stumbled upon this during his game time and took a picture for everyone's amusement. Consider this one company using a first-party title to give its heated competitor a paper cut and pouring lemon juice on it.After the E3 2006 press conference, the PlayStation 3 title Genji: Day of the Blade was derided for the description of "real-time weapon changing" and "giant enemy crabs" which you could "attack for massive damage." The meme has gone on to be more popular than the game itself, which has received poor reviews since its release alongside the PS3. Viva Pinata, for its part, has actually garnered some positive critical reception, given developer Rare some much-needed praise.Now that Microsoft has taken the bait and retold a seven month old joke, can we please, please, please let it go?See Also: Pile on: Contact takes a jab at Sony meme[Thanks, Brandon][Update: Missed one part of the joke -- real time weapons changing -- and fixed Rare's first-party status.]
Get stuck in Genji? It's not you, it's a massive glitch...
The development team for Genji did a big-hearted thing the other day -- they sent out helpful tips to players in the form of an e-mail. What they failed to give a tip for was avoiding a massive, massive bug in the game that renders your entire playtime useless and forces you to start over. Oh, okay... I'll feed you, baby birds...At around the 2 or 3 hour mark of playtime, you'll have to hit two switch-thingys on top of a building -- you'll need a key to enter said building and make your way to the roof. However, due to a glitch in the game, that key may or may not appear for you to pick up. That means everything you did is useless. Or is it? Apparently you can stand under the switches and perform an upwards-swinging attack to hit them from the ground, but there's still no access to the building itself. Essentially, you're pretty screwed if that key didn't pop up for your acquisition. Keep multiple save files, guys! Anyone run across this problem?
IGN Reviews Genji, verdict: passable
Ouch! For those of you who thought all early next-gen games would get high scores simply because of the "oooh, pretty" factor, think thee again. IGN posted their review of Genji and in contrast to the slightly higher scores issued by Famitsu a week back, the verdict is... well, passable. Here's the reasoning behind the meager (but not unsavory -- remember a 5.0 is average) scoring: Beautiful graphics, beautiful presentation, and pretty good sound, but meh voice acting (big surprise...) The gameplay suffers through repetition, not long-lasting appeal since game can be long... and repetitive What always surprises me about IGN reviews is how the breakdown never really adds up and they don't supply a weight scale to see what is measured as more important. Genji received an 8, 8.5, 8, 6, and 7 for presentation, graphics, sound, gameplay and lasting appeal, respectively. Divided by 5, that's a 7.5 -- yet it receives a 6. We're thinking gameplay and lasting appeal are weighted far more heavily, but then, why break it down? Oh well, if you liked the first Genji, you will enjoy this one too. Any questions?
Famitsu reviews the first wave of PS3 games
The overall verdict? Not a sad bloke in the lot. Then again, this ever-intrepid blogulator considers a 7 as it should be considered: above average, but not great. Besides, that number was the lowest. Let's also remember -- Famitsu is a tough cookie when it comes to reviews. Only six games have made perfect scores (and lo and behold, some of my favorites): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64), Soul Calibur (DC), Vagrant Story (PSX... Best. Game. Ever.), The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GC), Nintendogs (DS), and Final Fantasy XII (PS2... same people who made Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story... and the lesser cared about Romancing SaGa games, which are also great). You can check out what else got almost-perfect scores on Wikipedia. Some surprises, really, but you have to remember -- unlike our video game magazines that seem to arbitrarily pick numbers based on "awesome factor", Famitsu bases their scores in comparison only to other games in the same genre. A perfect score means that, in that particular genre, nothing else can possibly be better.Whew. Sorry about that, but it's just so exciting! Without further ado, here are the review scores/highlights for the first wave of PS3 titles: Miyazato Golf Club: 7, 7, 7, 7 good tempo, hard to judge where shots will land, doesn't quite look next-gen Genji: 7, 7, 7, 8 camera is difficult, but the game looks great; challenging for beginners, good amount of content, good controls Gundam: 8, 8, 8, 8 excellent Mobile Suit models, problematic system, great textures, tons of optional/unlockable stuff, satisfying, but with divided opinions (don't look at me -- just copying from the forum) Resistance: 9, 8, 8, 8 (keep in mind, a lot of people say the Japanese don't like the FPS genre -- but again, the grading is based on others in the same genre, so...) standard FPS gameplay, excellent netplay, very high standard of next-gen Riiiiiiidge Racer 7: 9, 9, 9, 9 totally satisfactory, tons of content, very high quality graphics and sound There you have it. Report your reactions in the form of comments! Dismissed!
PS3's Genji uses HDD to quarter load times
Before jumping into Genji to deal some massive damage to historically accurate giant crabs (nyuk nyuk) during Sony's Gamer's Day event on Thursday, MTV News' Stephen Totilo noticed a curious menu option: INSTALL What's this all about? Totilo writes, "Also unexpected was a feature in Genji to install the game, committing 4GB of data from the game's Blu-ray disc to the PS3's hard drive -- a three-minute one-time-only procedure available from the game's start menu that a Sony rep said cuts down in-game load times from about 15 seconds to four seconds."So, regardless of the debate about the relative read speeds of 2x Blu-ray drives and 12x DVD drives, we can all recognize the obvious benefits of having a hard drive included by default. Why Genji appears to be the only title sporting this option is another question. Did excessive load times in the PS3's first finished title necessitate extraordinary measures, or will most games offer this time-saving option, à la PC games.
Japan gets some prices for their PS3 titles... it's not too bad
Not too bad is about the extent of it. While one price shouldn't be indicative of any other game prices, there's at least a little comfort in the recently announced pricing of Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, and Genji. 5980 yen. Roughly $50 US. That's really cool, should the prices remain the same upon the North American release. Will they? Maybe. Maybe not. No use guessing, but we can pray to the almighty lords of gaming to make it so. Let's not forget that Sega also released some prices a few weeks ago: Sega Golf Club and Sonic are both being priced at 7140 yen (about $60)... the expected next-gen pricing, but didn't someone see Sonic for cheap somewhere? Maybe that was a dream. Seems the pricing will be stuck around $50-$70. Oh well. Is anyone unnaturally bent out of shape about this?
Six PS3 Japanese launch games confirmed
As part of a flood of press materials coming out of Sony during the Tokyo Game Show, the company has confirmed six of the titles that will launch with the system in Japan on Nov. 11. They are: Resistance: Fall of Man Ridge Racer 7 Genji: Days of the Blade Sega Golf Club Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight Mah-Jong Fight Club Online This list is tentative, and is liable to grow and change in the weeks leading up to launch. While none of these titles have been officially confirmed for the North American release on Nov. 17, the system is region-free for games, so if worst comes to worst you can get your Mah-Jong fix via an importer.Speaking of the North American launch, Gamespot is reporting that Activision and Electronic Arts have pledged a combined seven to eight games for launch on this side of the Pacific, with Take Two and Ubisoft likely to contribute a few more in the launch window.
Sony Playstation 3 Conference Details
Lets get down to the facts. $499 w/20GB HDD, $599 w/ 60GB HDD in the United States No new details about Blu-ray movie playback or drive speed Japan launch date: November 11 US Launch date: November 17 2 million PS3s to ship in "launch window" Accelerometer in a wireless dual shock controller, much like Nintendo's, no rumble support Showed Gran Turismo HD: a special version using GT4 models rendered at 1080p and 60fps Well there it is folks, don't forget to check out Joystiq for the moment to moment updates, although they are likely to slow down momentarily as Sony's last announcement was that they had playable PS3 games onsite. Now I suppose the question is why would anyone buy an HD DVD player for $500 when they can get a PS3 for the same price. Did anybody else check out the stream (via Gamespot.com or E3insider.com), what were your impressions?
