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Resident Evil 4 HD and RE: Code Veronica X HD infect the US this September
Fresh news out of Comic-Con for zombie hunters and presidential-daughter-babysitting-simulator enthusiasts alike: the previously announced HD remakes of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X will be shambling and moaning onto US shores this September. RE4HD lands on September 20, with Code Veronica X HD's charmingly incomprehensible plot following a week later on September 27. That's a few weeks after the far superior Japanese launch, not that we're bitter or anything. Both titles will be available at your local brick & mortar, through the PlayStation Network and as Xbox Live Games On Demand titles.
WD's Caviar Black and RE4 2TB drives get benchmarked, one is wicked fast
Western Digital plopped itself firmly in the midst of the 2TB HDD battle back in early September, and if you've been holding off on buying your next slab of storage until the benchmarks hit, we're pleased to inform you that the wait is over. The crew over at Hot Hardware slapped both the Caviar Black and RE4 drives into their testing rigs in order to put 'em both through their respective paces. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, both of the 7200RPM drives were mighty quick in real-world use -- not SSD quick, mind you, but pretty darn snappy given the capaciousness. When push came to shove, the Caviar Black managed to pull ahead in terms of raw speed, but given that the RE4 is really an enterprise drive, we doubt you're keeled over in shock. Hit the source link for all the charts and bars, but only if you've got a C-note or three to burn once you get the itch.
WD ships 7200RPM 2TB desktop hard drives: Caviar Black and RE4
Surely you recall Western Digital's earlier 2TB effort, the Caviar Green -- right? While said drive was just perfect for the casual storage junkie, performance gurus know that it left something to be desired on the speed front. Thankfully, WD is looking out for that crowd too with a new pair of 7200RPM 2TB drives: the Caviar Black (shown left) and RE4 (shown right). Both four-platter drives boast 64MB of cache, a dual stage actuator, 3Gbps SATA interface and an integrated dual processor. The latter also promises 1.2 million hours MTBF, Active Power Save, a multi-axis shock sensor and a few other high-end advancements designed for enterprise users seeking long-term reliability. The pain? Try $299 for the now-available 2TB Caviar Black, while the RE4 awaits an MSRP as it's "being qualified by OEMs." Check the full release just past the break.
MS disables Resident Evil 5 demo's Live co-op [update]
Update: Just to be clear, we're not 100% certain that Japanese gamers have access to Live co-op and are under the assumption that the Live ban was directed at regions that do not officially have access to the demo.Last week, Capcom released a meaty Resident Evil 5 co-op demo to the Live Marketplace. All would've been peaches and cream except for the fact that the demo was only released to the Japanese Marketplace. But non-Japanese gamers soon found a few ways to snag the demo and all was right with the world. That is, until now, because Microsoft won't let non-Japanese gamers play RE5 co-op over Live. We just discovered that MS might be using some sort of Xbox 360 IP identification to disconnect non-Japanese gamers from Xbox Live as soon as the Resident Evil 5 demo is loaded. That means that no matter how you "illegally" obtained the demo (Japanese accounts or torrent downloads), if you don't live in Japan, you'll be booted off Live. While the demo is still playable offline, your dreams of RE5 Live co-op have been infected with an incurable virus.[Thanks, MDK x2002x and AlkalineProdigy]
Capcom store holds Black Friday promotion
If you've been holding off on some of Capcom's games, then this weekend is a good opportunity to grab some. The Capcom store will be holding a special promotion starting tomorrow and running through Sunday where you can get 15% off the purchase of two Wii games and 25% off of your purchase of three or more. On top of that, if your order is over $75, then Capcom will ship your order for free.What's interesting is that apparently pre-orders work here. In their Capcom blog post, they mention that the soon-to-release Neopets Puzzle Adventure qualifies for this, so we're assuming others do as well, including Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop.%Gallery-28028%
Resident Evil 4 vs. Resident Evil 5 vid showcases scary similarities
We'd like to share the game comparison video one person dared to create. One person who goes by the nom de keyboard of "WiiSixty" on GameTrailers, which is fitting since they've created a short subject film pitting Resident Evil 4 for Wii against Resident Evil 5 for 360.The video runs on a bit, but it nevertheless does a solid job of comparing everything from weapon reload animations to door opening animations (helpfully shown above) to the way enemies react when shot. We'll give you one guess which game's prettier overall, but we think the gameplay similarities between the two might surprise you. Well, maybe they won't, since we've already talked about just how much won't be changing from RE4 to RE5.(Note: Looks like the embeddable video has caught a bad case of the T-virus; you'll have to hit up GameTrailers to watch it.)
Resident Evil 4 vs. Resident Evil 5
There's a lot of speculation about Resident Evil 5 coming to the Wii, especially after a statement made by Simon Jeffery added some fuel to the fire. Perhaps because of such rumors, or perhaps for fun, one fan decided to make a comparison between Resident Evil 4 and what we've seen so far of Resident Evil 5.After watching the video, we don't see why the game couldn't come to the Wii. Granted, the graphics won't be as pretty, but everything else should translate simply enough. With that said, we wouldn't be surprised if Capcom one day ported the game, especially after announcing Dead Rising: Chop 'Til You Drop for the Wii.Of course, RE5 still has a long way to go in development, so there maybe something else under the title's zombified sleeves that will end up surprising us.[Thanks, Adam!]
RE4 for 360 rumor shot down by Capcom
What's with all the rumors these days? A rumor that began only hours ago has now been officially shot down by Capcom. Specifically, the rumor stated that Resident Evil 4 was set to be remade again, this time for the Xbox 360 and PS3. It began with a forum post showcasing some blurry shots of would be box art for the title. Capcom has officially squashed the rumor, with Vice President Christian Svennson saying quite plainly that the company has "no plans" to bring Resident Evil 4 to either 360 or PS3 "at this time."Looks like 360 gamers will just have to settle with a new Resident Evil game instead.[Via Joystiq]
Capcom debunks rumors of RE4 on PS3, 360
Resident Evil fansite The Horror is Alive caused a minor stir yesterday by posting a phonecam pic of the purported box art for a "Classic Edition" remake of Resident Evil 4 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. The rumor got picked up by a variety of gaming sites -- including a somewhat incredulous Xbox 360 Fanboy -- and THIA followed it up today with supposed hi-res shots of the box art, adding further fuel to the fire.Enter Capcom with a rumor-dousing fire blanket. Writing on Capcom's community forums, Vice President Christian Svennson said outright that there are "no plans for RE4 on 360 or PS3 at this time." Of course, that's exactly what he would say if there was a super-secret remake that Capcom just wasn't ready to announce yet. We'll take him at his word though, mostly because we hope the company is focusing its resources on Resident Evil 5 at this point. Besides, how many more remakes of a three-year-old game do we need exactly?
Promotional Consideration: Resident Evil Crossing ... 4!
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.Many of the commercials for Nintendo-published DS titles in Japan or Korea follow the same formula -- alternating shots between in-game clips and reactions from the player, typically a celebrity. It's an effective approach, as game and system sales can attest, but what happens when a bored video editor decides to mess with the recipe, replacing the cheerful game scenes from a Korean Animal Crossing ad with much more violent footage? Follow us past the post break to find out!
Rumor: Nintendo still hurt about RE4, reason why Capcom doesn't have a Brawler
There's a rumor floating around that the lack of a playable character from Camp Capcom is due to a little game by the name of Resident Evil 4. You see, before it ended up on the PC and PS2, along with the Wii, it was meant to be entirely a GameCube exclusive. That didn't last that long, however.With the inclusion of Sega's Sonic and Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid line of games, the inclusion of one of Capcom's characters (oh, let's say ... Mega Man) quite possibly would've been too much for this blogger's weak little heart. The rest of the world, however, probably would've liked to see one of Capcom's characters make it into the already overstuffed line-up of playable brawlers. What Capcom character would you have liked to see in Brawl?
Four48 faces Resident Evil challenge
Remember that group of guys who tried to beat four Zelda games in forty-eight hours? They've dubbed themselves Four48, and have done quite a few marathon gaming sessions in order to raise money for charity.Now they're at it again, it seems, but this time, they're not just racing against the clock. The Four48 crew is competing against seven other teams this weekend to see who will be the first to complete Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. The only thing at stake, besides gamer pride, of course, is a copy of No More Heroes that will go to the winning team. They'll be taking donations as per usual, which will be given to Child's Play. They're also webcasting the event, so if you find yourself with little to do this weekend, it might be worth checking out.[Via Joystiq]
Four48 crew takes on the world in Resident Evil 4 race
With three marathon gaming sessions neatly tucked under their belts, the Four48 crew are starting to get a little overzealous. Attempting to beat four Zelda games in forty-eight hours was a lofty enough goal -- but for their latest effort to raise cash for Child's Play, they're attempting to establish global domination by besting seven other teams in a race through Resident Evil 4.The first team to cross the finish line (via jet ski, if memory serves) nets themselves a copy of No More Heroes, along with bragging rights in the rapidly expanding competitive marathon gaming scene. As always, you can watch their live webstream to see if the Four48ers can back up their boasts -- that is, if you can stand ten straight hours of listening to the death rattles of Spanish pseudo-zombies.
Best of 2007: Games that remind me of your mother
I have fond memories of your mother -- yes, all of your mothers. Up until now, I've kept those memories separate from Wii Fanboy, mostly out of professional courtesy. After seeing how most of you ignored Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, however, I have thrown civility out the window. The gloves are off now, and good riddance, as it'd be difficult to type about the games that remind me of your mom while wearing those restrictive mittens.
Man with awesome name rules out GTA on Wii
As we've seen throughout the first year of its existence, the Wii isn't exactly lacking system-selling software. There is one big-selling franchise that looks highly unlikely to appear on Nintendo's all-conquering platform, however: Take-Two and Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto.Admittedly, we always suspected a Wii version of the epic crime series was highly unlikely, but now Take-Two chief Strauss Zelnick has seen fit to bang the final nail into the coffin, and altogether rule out bringing GTA to the Wii. Speaking in a conference call earlier today, Zelnick concluded that "there are other titles better suited to the Wii than Grand Theft Auto." You know, like Carnival Games.We're curious about Zelnick's statement, simply because we think GTA could work on the Wii. If the PlayStation 2 had the technical muscle to support numerous GTA games, then the Wii would surely cope just fine. It's not a question of audience taste, either -- let's not forget how Resident Evil 4 shifted a cool million copies earlier this year. Honestly, Strauss, if you didn't have such a rad name, we'd be pretty miffed.
Best of 2007: Worst attempt at a cash-in
During 2007, lots of companies realized that the Wii was doing good. Perhaps, too good. So, they scrambled to make games that they could port or "enhance" for the Wii, or other games that were made to take advantage of the console's adopters who were new to gaming and thus susceptible to spending money on crap games the unique capabilities of the Wii's controls scheme, causing a slew of cash-ins on the console that didn't necessarily bring anything new to the Wii other than another game sitting on the shelf. So, let's look at those games and you tell us what the most shameless and useless game of the lot is.
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup says good riddance to Halloween
Important notes about the above comic from Monday Night Crew (larger version): Notice the sign on the door says "Resident Evil 4 party" Realize that the recently-arrived guest is not in RE4 attire If you don't recognize the out-of-place guest's costume, shame on you Doesn't this make you want to see an episode of Arthur where the gang fight off anthropomorphic zombies and ultimately learn a life lesson about family and proper viral containment procedures? It's November, so put your costumes away and start thinking about next year's attire. While you enjoy shopping for discounted candy and debating whether or not you should provide a link to your gamer costume in the comments below (we think you should), here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics. Be sure to vote for your favorite! No Ghost Left Behind Boss fight Shine spike Painstaking market research Lost without you 3-for-1 special Domestic bliss Neurons and hammer-ons
Resident 'Wii'-vil 4 ships a million units
Looks like the spit and polish Capcom put on Resident Evil 4 for the Wii paid off as the game has shipped one million units worldwide. It seems we're now able to say that the Wii version of RE4 brought the old game back from the bargain bin grave and gave it life once more at a consumer friendly $30 price.Capcom plans to keep showing that third party developers can cash in on the Wii with the launch of Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles on Nov. 13 and We Love Golf early next year. It's worth noting that Capcom really has been the publisher to watch on new consoles. So far they've had numerous million sellers this generation like Dead Rising and Lost Planet -- well, at least outside of Japan.
Capcom ensures a port-filled future with RE4
Capcom released a statement today congratulating themselves for the awesome sales of their Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. They claim to have shipped over one million copies of the survival-horror game worldwide. Of course, 'shipped' does not mean 'sold', but we can at least assume that the majority of these discs have found their way into homes, unless Capcom 'shipped' a few hundred thousand copies into their own Sales Inflation Warehouse.This should remove any lingering doubt as to the motivation behind the Okami port, since Capcom has discovered that old games can do excellent business on the Wii, while saving on annoying costs like development. We should look forward to the inevitable rush of PS2 and Wii ports, as companies mine every old game that seems the least bit viable. And also Ninjabread Man.
Resident Evil called 'racist video game series'
An author on left-leaning AlterNet.org not only jumps on the controversy of Resident Evil 5's alleged racism, but calls it a "racist video game series." The article is such a mess that you really have to enjoy it for its absurdity. The piece starts by saying those who go to see the "blockbuster Resident Evil: Extinction" in the theaters may want to play the game, but those who do "will likely enter a world little-known beyond the expensive and expansive universe of gaming, a world increasingly populated with very dangerous depictions of nonwhites."The author only covers RE4 and RE5 in declaring the series racist. For RE4 he says its Spaniards have "stereotypical Mexican accents" and that RE5 "could be a training video for a white supremacist race war or another U.S. military adventure in one of the increasing numbers of deserts on the planet." Beyond the Resident Evil series there is a rehash of the Haitian controversy from GTA: Vice City -- although the author is way off in his timeline calling GTA: VC "this year's most popular video game." There's a lot more "racist" issues brought up, but the article really stands as great piece to highlight how even when you introduce diversity to gaming, it's not just the extreme exclusionists who get upset and don't understand why there are women, gays, non-whites in games, but the extreme inclusionists too. Although in the inclusionist's case they want a rosy picture painted of the non-majority group; however, that's boring for narrative, unrealistic and in the end racism really depends on context. There are more moderate views on race issues in video games and that really shouldn't be forgotten. The AlterNet article is just so weird in its "one step forward, two steps back" presentation, we can't help but share.[Via GamePolitics]
