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Mega Man doubles up on the PSP
Capcom has announced that not just one, but two new Mega Man titles are PSP bound! Mega Man Powered Up touts a totally redesigned Mega Man look and feel and completely new gameplay options, including a level designer that will allow players to design their own stages. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is a remake of the original Mega Man X title that first appeared on the SNES. The game builds upon the original, adding newly rendered 3D character models and new environments. Initially available in Europe (and via import elsewhere), Mega Man Powered Up will be available March 24 while Mega Man Maverick Hunter X will be available a month earlier on February 24.
Creator of Geometry Wars "interviewed"
Bizarre developer Stephen "Cakey" Cakebread talks about some of the design decisions behind his creation (and Joystiq favorite), Geometry Wars. Nifty. Not so nifty: because the interview was conducted by Bizarre's PR group, no off-beat or difficult questions were asked (bummer). What self-respecting interviewer would let this one slide, for instance? "I could tell you about all the rough edges I want to improve, but that would take too long!" Take too long? You friggin' work at the same company as your interviewer! We're sure you could find the time. Canned interviews are totally insincere. Questions we would ask: What's your high score, Cakey? How will coop mode work in GW3? Has the success of the game taken you by surprise? How many full versions of the game have you sold on Xbox Live Arcade? Microsoft says that developers see more than half of the revenues from such sales. What's your actual cut been? What's the highest known score on the retail version of the game (Xbox Live should capture all scores now, but the retail version was available prior to November 22nd)? [Via John Porcaro's blog]
Scoring with PMS GibGirl: uber tips for Geometry Wars
We interviewed 31-year-old gamer PMS GibGirl with intent to uncover the secret behind her fantastic top-10 score of 1,377,920 points in the Xbox 360 Live Arcade game of Geometry Wars. She dropped a knowledge bomb on us: Take out snakes as quickly as possible - not only are they hard to kill, they block your shots with their bodies. I think they're the #1 most dangerous enemy. Manage gravity wells - you don't have to destroy them all, but make sure to keep the number down, and know where they are so you know where the blue circles come from when you hear one blow. Once the # of enemies increases, your goal should be to look for where on the playfield is safer then where you are, and try and get there - and remember that this is a constant task, you'll always be looking to get somewhere safer. Learn to listen-each enemy makes a distinct spawn sound, and certain ones should be listened for. Especially the red horseshoe-it makes a rumbling before each run across the board. If you hear it, you know it's coming. And finally, practice-learning to "read" the board and react fast enough to make use of it only develops from playing. I just happen to have spent a lot of time playing Robotron: 2084 [since the late '90s] and similar games in the recent past, which has helped. If you're a gaming badass want to share your patent-pending techniques, get in touch with us.
Mario Kart, street cred, and Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection
Over a week now since its release and I still can't put down Mario Kart DS. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it sure has been getting good vibes overall (GR composite is 92%), including a whopping 10/10 review from Slashdot. Is this the kind of street cred Nintendo needs to shed its kiddy image and make the Revolution a success, or does it even matter? Kiddy or not, Mario Kart DS is a blast to play. On top of that, in only a few minutes, with no wires or connection fees, you can duke it out with up to four players from anywhere in the world. Slashdot writes: "The ease and fluidity with which you can be racing other gamers from the comfort of your cozy WAP is enough to make even the most jaded technology aficionado pause." It's that easy. Granted, this is only one of two currently playable games on the free network, so Nintendo has their work cut out for them (think Phantasy Star Online for the GameCube). But with Nintendo's Wi-Fi adoption rate of 45%, signs point to this easily becoming Nintendo's version of Xbox Live during the next-generation. Sure they've had their mishaps in that past, but the company is looking less and less niche by the minute.
Joystiq is better than Gamespot
Even though the 48-hour gamathon is winding down, that doesn't mean we've given up! Our love affair with Geometry Wars continues even as our rank gets lowered by incoming players. We don't know what will happen this Tueday but for right now the image above speaks for itself: Joystiq has p0wned Gamespot! True, bapenguin from Evil Avatar has managed to best us both... but not for long! En garde!
Joystiq review: Geometry Wars demo
Let me begin with this: we love Geometry Wars! This Xbox Live Arcade offering combines fast-paced shoot-'em-up gameplay (think Ikaruga) with that old-school Arcade style (think Robotron). You control your ship by maneuvering the left analog stick while controlling a steady stream of projectiles with your right analog stick. The control scheme is a little like pat your head/rub your belly and takes some getting used to, but learning curve aside, you're in for some twitch gaming action!
Joystiq hands-on: Condemned (Xbox 360)
The surprise hit of Tuesday's exposé was Sega's Condemned: Criminal Origins. To bring you up to speed, the game pits you as an FBI agent on the hunt for a deranged serial killer that likes to pose his victims with mannequins. Taking a page out of DOOM 3, the game unfolds in darkness. Luckily, you've got a flashlight, which has the habit of fading out now and again, but at least you can wield a weapon while it's in use. I played through the opening level, which teaches you the game's mechanics and sets up the plot (don't worry there won't be any big spoilers in this post). The game has a nice cinematic touch to it, almost like you're playing through a game adaptation of Se7en. In the first sequence you arrive at a crime scene and are greeted by a detective that leads you into an abandoned building. You follow him through a series of dark corridors as he babbles on about this and that-the truth is, it's hard to pay much attention to what the detective is saying since you're distracted by the darkness. At one point the detective turns into a room and just as you are about to follow, you catch some kind of movement in the shadows down the hall. "What the #*$@ was that?!" I asked the rep sitting next to me. "Exactly," he said.
Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360--the games
I'm slowly recovering from a 10-hour date with the Xbox 360. For an event that offered free non-stop gaming-true, it was invite only-the number of attendees (on Tuesday) was shockingly sparse; but the room did start to fill up once cocktail hour rolled around. Needless to say, I was free to hop from station to station and get down n' dirty with the following titles (listed alphabetically): Call of Duty 2 Condemned: Criminal Origins Dead or Alive 4 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Kameo: Elements of Power King Kong NBA Live 06 Need for Speed Most Wanted Perfect Dark Zero Project Gotham Racing 3
A special edition of Devil May Cry 3 to be shown at TGS?
The Japanese web site for Enterbrain (publisher of respected Japanese game-mag Famitsu) reportedly contains an "announcement" that Capcom will be revealing a new Devil May Cry game at the Tokyo Game Show later this week. The news comes from an update to a contents page for the next Famitsu Wave DVD, which will contain many new trailers from the upcoming show. Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition will apparently have such a trailer ready for TGS, even if the game itself won't be made available in playable form (which remains unconfirmed). The biggest question here is which platform the souped-up version of Dante's Awakening will eventually come out for. Like the international editions of previous games like Final Fantasy X, DMC3:SE could very well end up on the PS2 once more, but it would be a great coup to see the Sony-exclusive series finally make its debut on the Xbox, GameCube, or even the Xbox 360, as DMC4 has already been announced for the PS3. (Gotta love that trailer.) [UPDATE: DMC3:SE will be coming to PS2s (drat!) with the addition of Vergil as a fully playable character, a new "very hard" difficult mode, and a "demo digest" option to watch all those pretty cutscenes (without having to kill yourself replaying the game). Thanks, Alex C!] We would point you to the page directly, but we can't read Japanese. Any help here from our so-enabled readers? Translations with further details are always welcome.
Mega Man remakes announced for PSP
Capcom has confirmed that two classic Mega Man titles are being remade for the PSP. First up is Rockman Rockman (Japan), which is a remake of the original Mega Man for NES. The most obvious change is a 3D visual upgrade (see right)-looks like Capcom is going for the Blue Bomber bobblehead look-and the inclusion of Constructor mode. Constructor will allow players to create their own levels and trade them with their friends. Rockman Rockman will also feature new stages and boss battles. The second Mega Man remake, Irregular Hunter X (Japan), is based on the SNES classic Mega Man X. Expect updated visuals, new stages, and unique modes of play. In addition, Mega Man will retain his more mature look from the original SNES game. Irregular Hunter X is tentatively set for a March 30 release (in Japan), while Rockman Rockman will make an appearance at the Tokyo Game Show next week. So with that, does the prospect of games of yesteryear being remade for portable systems excite you?
Got any questions you'd want to ask Lorne Lanning?
Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning will be speaking at the meeting for the Chicago chapter of the IGDA (that is, the International Game Developers Association) on the evening of Tuesday, August 23rd (tomorrow night). He will be giving a multimedia presentation called "In a Wal-Mart world, Creative is a dirty word" concerning "the creative process, sources of inspiration, how Yoda saved his life, why the label of 'Creative' has become a liability, how game engines will change film making forever, ...why owning your own brand can be a handicap in today's marketplace, and how digital distribution is the great hope for creatives as we continue heading deeper into a brave new world of media." I will also be there, blogging the event. (If you were hoping to go, you may be sorry to learn that reservations were made for attendants well in advance. Sorry!) What this post is for, however, is to make a small request for question suggestions. I could read as many past interviews as I want, but that wouldn't give me as much insight into the machinima and digital distribution issues that I'd surely get from our dear Joystiq readers. If possible, I hope to ask Lorne a few questions (during the likely Question & Answer session if necessary), but nothing's set in stone. (The current Oddworld web site is a bit bereft of proper contact information right now, so if anyone can get me in touch with Mr. Lanning directly, I'd certainly appreciate it.) At any rate, a concise report should be up by Wednesday morning, with or without interview. Wish me luck! Update: Moving the report back to Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. Hopefully I'll have a good picture for you then! And, yes, I did get to ask Lorne a few of your questions. Should be fun.
Sega announces Christmas line-up
Sega's cashing in early on the pre-christmas hype machine with a list of eleven games it hopes will be given as gifts this coming December. The most notable announcements are Virtua Tennis for the PSP (so you can go out and play tennis on a screen whilst sitting ironically close to real tennis courts), Spartan: Total War for PS2, Xbox and GC as well as Condemned for the upcoming Xbox 360. Full Auto, a promising high octane racer from the line-up of Xbox 360 games, unfortunately won't be making the holiday season. It's been pushed back into early 2006. Now remember to be good little children or else Sega will go all Santa on your ass and replace the DVDs with coal! Hohoho! [Thanks, JamesO]
The new *unofficial* Xbox 360 launch lineup
Electronics Boutique (EB) has released a questionable list of 21 launch titles for the Xbox 360-presumably to be released on November 2nd. The list (via IGN) includes: Amped 3 (2K Games) Call of Duty 2 (Activision) Condemned (Sega) Dead Or Alive 4 (Tecmo) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda) Final Fantasy XI (Microsoft) Full Auto (Sega) Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Gun (Activision) Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft) Madden NFL 06 (EA) NBA 2K6 (2K Games) NHL 2K6 (2K Games) The Outfit (THQ) Perfect Dark LE (Microsoft) Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft) Quake 4 (Activision) Ridge Racer 6 (Namco) Saints Row (THQ) Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision) Top Spin 2 (2K Games) Also included in the initial list released by EB, were three games that will definitely not be ready by launch: The Godfather, Too Human Part 1, and Burnout Revenge. However, Perfect Dark and Kameo have been confirmed as day one launch titles-there is still some question about PGR3. EB expects each game to retail for $59.99, except for Kameo ($49.99), but these prices are not final. One final note, EB has listed Halo 3 for a July 1, 2006 release-can you say, PlayStation 3?
Upload to FTP, an Automator action
I like the Automator, and I like to FTP things (I just do, ok?). If only there was a way I could combine my two passions into one uber-passion.Luckily for me Peter Dekkers has got me covered. He is the creator of Upload to FTP, which is a pretty sweet Automator Action. You set some parameters, use it in a workflow, and it just works. The only time there is a UI (outside of creating your workflow) is when there is a problem with connecting to the FTP server.Simple and sweet, just like yours truly.
Condemned: Criminal Origins to be delayed past Xbox 360 launch day
The anticipated Xbox 360 horror game Condemned, from Monolith and Sega, has had its release date pushed back past the launch day of the next-gen console. The title was originally speculated to be a launch title but now Xbox Circle is claiming it won't be out in time due to the official release date being announced as the winter of 2006. The game has been billed as having a "heightened level of psychological tension" with the use of the first person to give "maximum visceral effect". This basically means it'll be a scary game with plenty of hacking and slashing. Rather than using your brain, you'll be trying not to get it shot/eaten/smashed by sociopaths that have more in common with zombies than humanity. Sounds like Sega are giving us gamers a break whilst we mentally prepare ourselves for the game over Christmas. [Thanks, Casper] Update: Looks like somebody somewhere slipped up as the Condemned section on the Sega site has been altered. It now shows Condemned as shipping "Holiday 2005". Prepare to be scared! (Thanks to Joe Waters over at Monolith for the correction)
Interested in some Phantom Dust skills?
All you'll need is some cold hard cash. That's right, DBLDN has decided to hang it up, and is offering to sell his sweet labor. I'm no expert, but 41 Rare Skills sounds special and 1,200 wins is just plain silly. You've got just under a week to bid, or you could buy the package outright for $45.00-that's more than twice the cost of the game, by the way. In DBLDN's own words: "Thanks for reading and good luck bidding!" [Aside: We could be seeing a lot more of this kind of thing in the upcoming Xbox Live marketplace-under the guidance of Microsoft, of course.... Think they'll care about this little transaction?]
Automator Action: Automatic v.1.0
Creating actions with Tiger's Automator is fun, easy for most users and certainly useful. If you're like me, you already have more than a few custom workflows floating around. "More than a few" can become an unwieldy crowd quickly, which is why I like Automatic so much. Automatic is an Automator action that lists all of your existing workflows and allows you to launch any with a single mouse click. Automatic also includes a dock icon that offers similar access to all your workflows. Pretty nice.
Fable: The Lost Chapters
The PC version of Fable is on it's way. Whether this is greeted with cheering or booing, is largely governed by what you believe about the Xbox version. Some people hated it, others loved it, Peter Molyneux apologized for it. Regardless, it looks prettier than your Aunt Mabel did in High School, before the ravages of time wore her down to the husk she is today. (ed. note: perhaps she played too much Fable.)
Oddworld no more
Steve walks warily down the street, with his brim pulled way down low... Yep, another developer is no more. Though this time it's their own decision. In short, Lorne Lanning has seen where games are headed, said "No thanks!", and left for other pastures. Hollywood Reporter (?!) has a good interview with Lanning about his decision. Buh-bye, Oddworld. At least in games.
Oddworld keeps getting odder
Oddworld started off as a light-hearted world. Sure, it had a dark side of farts and spitting green slime, but for the most part it was a hopeful place. But that environment shifted to the dark side with the surprisingly good Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (average of 88% on GameRankings). It was a first person shooter that sprinted away from the platformer-feel of the original. Now comes word from IGN that the next installment will go even darker. You'll play a shepherd named Fangus who is slowly being driven mad by rabies. You have to save your herd from invading aliens while you still have your head on straight. It may be a departure for fans of the series, but if you consider the developer's track record there's probably no need to worry. [thanks Fady]
