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DS needs hack and slash badly
... and it's going to get it! February's speculation after Gauntlet appeared on the ESRB's website has become fact: Eidos and Backbone Entertainment are bringing the classic to the DS. But let's get the best news out of the way up front -- Gauntlet has always been known for awesome multiplayer action, and the DS will continue that tradition. Not only will you be able to throw down with your friends using local wireless, Gauntlet will also support multiplayer over WiFi. They've even thrown in voice chat to make adventuring easier (and potentially more fun). Of course, there's also a single player mode, for those times when you just can't wait for everyone to get together. Gauntlet will come into rotation for Game Night be released in late June. Start hoarding funds (and food) now.
Downtrodden Taito U.S. employee confirms Arkanoid and Space Invaders
With the boxarts, prices, and release dates on Gamestop's website, it seems like a pretty sure bet that Space Invaders Extreme and Arkanoid DS will indeed be published by Square Enix in North America. However, in the absence of an official press release like the one that just came out for Europe, we could use all the confirmation we can get. Two recent bits of information help cement the notion that these games really will come out.First, Arkanoid has finally joined Invaders as a game rated by the ESRB. The E rating has finally shown up on the ratings board's website, indicating that it is planned for release. Second, Keiji Fujita, the sole Taito rep in the U.S., confirmed it directly in a Gamasutra interview. "Arkanoid was released last year in Japan, and Space Invaders Extreme [was released in February]. In fact, these two games will be published by Square Enix in the United States." Since they're being published by Square Enix, though, Fujita has nothing to do with them -- with the only Taito console games to come out this year.If we want more Taito games (and we do), then we should maybe consider buying at least one of these two. Fujita said that the future of Taito games, at least as published by Square Enix, hinges on the success of Invaders and Arkanoid.
Abandon your Sunday plans: Return to Dark Castle ships
As Brett noted in February, the long-in-development next installment of the classic Mac game Dark Castle has been expected "any day now" for years. Rent fans sing along with me: No Day But Today -- the release of Return To Dark Castle has finally happened, and you can buy the game at this moment from the SuperHappyFunFun site. Unfortunately, the planned level editor will not be included with this version of the game.On the one hand, I'm very excited to revisit this diversion from my childhood; on the other, I wonder what my jaded offspring will make of the throwback fun of pitching rocks at bats and jumping off of ropes. $30 says they'll enjoy it as much as I did back in the day.Full feature list after the break.Thanks Mark!
Joystiq hands-on: Street Fighter II HD (XBLA/PSN)
I'm not a Street Fighter fanatic, but I've enjoyed the series over the years. So with this casual approach, I recently tried the XBLA beta of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, available soon to buyers of Commando 3 on XBLA. The full version will be out this Summer for that system and PSN.Frankly, I don't even remember which character I played. It doesn't help that my only choices were Ken and Ryu, who have nearly the same moves. My helpful opponent reminded me how to do some of the special attacks; I was far out of practice on the Hurricane Kick, but I could throw fireballs right away.%Gallery-9066%
Make toon tunes with Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor
Remember back in the early '90s when you couldn't turn your head without running into another knock-off platformer based on some popular cartoon property? Well, it seems the rhythm-action game is the platformer for the new millennium. Case in point: Eidos' just-announced Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor, coming to the Nintendo DS this June.Players will use the stylus to conduct classic tunes from the, er, 'toons, and then be "rewarded with clips from favorite Looney Tunes cartoon moments." Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat and Tweety will be on hand for a game designed for "absolutely everybody who enjoys simple but addictive gameplay." And who doesn't enjoy that? No one, that's who! So that means everybody will enjoy this game! It's logic as indestructible as an ACME Indestructo Steel Ball.
Scrabble, Mini Golf come to iPod family
Today Apple announced a new Scrabble iPod game and updated the Mini Golf game, both released by EA games. Mini Golf was one of the first iPod games, originally released in 2006, which allows you to "putt" through many different mini golf-like levels. Scrabble allows you to play a crossword-style game of creating words from the letters on a 15x15 game board. Both games are available for iPod Classic, iPod nano, and iPod with video (5th generation). You can download them from the iTunes store for $4.99. [via iLounge]
Return to Dark Castle demo returns
Mac gamers can finally play a new demo for Return to Dark Castle, the game that keeps crying wolf about delaying its release date. The delays have gone on for so long that Mac gamers might see this as their personal Duke Nukem Forever. Teases picked up again a month ago, and the game's website uses caps and italics to stress that it'll release "very, VERY soon."Even if the game never ships, the just-released demo is worth a quick play. It feels almost identical to its Mac gaming canon ancestors, with the same sharp controls. The old sound effects we remember from 1986 and 1987 are back. And while we would have lightly updated some of the basics -- like rats that disappear after being hit with a rock -- the unchanged action holds up surprisingly well.Look, Return to Dark Castle, stop being such a tease. Even after all these years, your demo makes us miss you again. Come back very VERY soon.
Official word on classic servers for WoW
We've hit on the topic of "classic" servers before, and there are even players already carrying the idea out in game. Not everybody thinks Burning Crusade is the greatest thing since Molten Core, and so there are still quite a few players who wish they could play on servers that didn't go past level 60, where Naxx and AQ were still the main endgame, Bloodfang was the hotness, and Atiesh was more than just a few splinters taped together.But while people have asked for classic servers before, Drysc repeats what some of them might not already know: that though Blizzard has "seriously" considered the idea before, they eventually determined that it would be too much to run two majorly different versions of the game at a time.It's worth stating that you can definitely still run vanilla WoW without installing Burning Crusade at all, but even if you do that, you'll still see Blood Elves and Jewelcrafters running around, and people in the battlegrounds at level 60 will probably trounce you with all of their shiny Outland gear. It might be nice to experience the old endgame the way its meant to be experienced, but at least until WoW's population slows down and Blizzard determines they have the resources to do so, you can't go back to Old Azeroth again.
The 2400 square-foot private arcade
Sometimes, there's no way to appreciate something someone else has without thoughts of pure envy. Such is the case when viewing Peter Hirschberg's elaborate, sprawling recreation of the greatest arcade that never was, dubbed Luna City. Imagine 2400 square-feet filled with nearly every classic coin-op game you can imagine -- including stunners like Star Wars, Tempest, Tron, Zaxxon, Missile Command, and Galaga -- available for your use, free of charge, 24 hours a day. The massive collection also holds gems like the original Pong arcade machine and the Space Wars copycat Space War (based on one of the earliest known computer games), making the assemblage of coin-ops not just incredibly fun, but also a substantial act of historic preservation. Check out a walkthrough video after the break, and hit the read link for tons of photos and info. Needless to say: want.[Via Retro Thing]
Pursuing the Black Knight again: Return to Dark Castle
You may remember 1986 as the year of Greg LeMond's first Tour de France victory. Or maybe you were more consumed with following the early stages of the Iran-Contra Affair. Perhaps you were preoccupied with being born. In that case, you might not care about this post as much as those who spent the year lost in the monochrome world of Prince Duncan. The original Dark Castle came out on the Macintosh that year, and immediately became a side-scrolling, rock-throwing, rope-swinging hit. In 1987 it was followed by Beyond Dark Castle, and a helicopter backpack and an excess of explosives kept things interesting, if not addictive. Various versions and ports came out in years following, extending the longevity of the classic game even further. 1994 even saw a Color Dark Castle, still playable in Classic under 10.0 and 10.1, and 2006 brought a mobile version. Now, for all of us who get nostalgic at the mention of the Black Knight, Return To Dark Castle is almost ready for prime time after being announced 7 years ago. New levels, new secret rooms, and 5 times the orb collecting fun might just make me waste a little more time than I can afford. Reported finished by Z Sculpt, the previously released beta has expired, but info on the upcoming release and some QuickTime trailers are available at publisher Super Happy Fun Fun's website. There were hopes for a release today, but it didn't happen. If you're anxious, you can join the waiting throngs at the Dark Castle Blog or express your fervent desire at the forum. It could, it seems, turn out to be a wait as cruel as the Black Knight himself.
Calculating the Virtual Console's savings rate
Obviously, owning games on the Wii Virtual Console is a lot more convenient than having dozens of cartridges for a variety of classic systems laying around the house. But does it make fiscal sense as well as organizational sense? To find out, the folks at Vintage Computing & Gaming compared the price of current Virtual Console selections to the going rate for the same classic carts on eBay.The results, unsurprisingly, showed an average savings of about 50 percent over the eBay price across the VC library. Sure, you're paying a few extra dollars for ultra-common clunkers like Double Dribble, but you're saving nearly $200 on ultra-rare games like Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure. In fact, Turbo-Grafx fans can save roughly 75% buying their library on the Wii rather than eBay.Of course, as VC&G points out, games bought for the Virtual Console have functionally zero resale value, so those interested in collectability should shell out the extra money. Those interested in actually playing the games, however ...
Extremely rare Adventure Vision system up on eBay
So, you think your classic gaming collection is pretty complete, huh? You think your unopened Vectrex and mint-condition Fairchild Channel F make you a true collector, do ya? Trust us, your collection means nothing unless and until you own your own Entex Adventure Vision.Released for about two seconds back in 1982 (only about 10,000 were produced), the LED-based tabletop system is currently being sold on eBay complete with all four available games for a "Buy it Now" price of $5500. Amazingly, the auction has been up for nearly three days with no buyers, seemingly showing that people would rather put a down payment on a car than play a monochrome, 150x40 resolution version of Defender. There's no accounting for taste, we suppose ...[Thanks, Steven R.]
Slot machines to become more like video games
There's usually not that much overlap between the gaming industry (the gambling one) and the gaming industry (the one you actually are about). That seems poised to change, though, as the New York Times reports slot machine manufacturers are adding skill-based gaming elements to the one-armed bandits in an effort to attract new players. "We can't just make a slot thinking about the 55-year-old lady who comes to the casino a few times a month," said Rob Bone, marketing director for WMS Gaming. "We need to appeal to new buckets of players, or we'll die."To that end, Bally Technologies has signed a deal with Atari to make machines based on Pong and Breakout, which let you play simplified versions of the games during a bonus round. Don't get too excited, though -- your gaming skills won't let you break the bank at Vegas. As the Times points out, "skill will take a player only so far as these machines are still calibrated to pay out less money than they take in." That's OK though ... back in the '80s we put money into these games without expecting to get any money back.[Thanks Vlad]
Overline gives Wii owners "The Shaft"
Punny headlines aside, The Shaft provides yet another way to control all those Virtual Console downloads clogging up your Wii menu. The wired, 6" x 11" arcade-style stick from previously unheard-of Overline Gaming merges the proud tradition and size of arcade fighting sticks with the svelte, plastic styling of the Wii. It sports analog control for Nintendo 64 games as well as digital "resting points" in the eight primary directions for older-school gaming. Pre-orders are currently being taken for white, pink and black version for mid-December shipment -- $39.95 for one or $69.95 for two.[Via Engadget]
Today's IP-never-dies video: Lucy and Honeymooners
MTV's Stephen Totilo "somehow wound up with an exclusive" about new casual games based on The Honeymooners and I Love Lucy. While most of us are scratching our heads about the properties, maybe this signals a new trend for old IP; there's that Dirty Dancing game after all. Clearly, these titles aren't for us. (And by "us," we mean people who get jokes about the potential for cake and also think that those jokes are played out.)Beanbag Studios anticipates launching at least one Lucy trivia game and one Honeymooners bowling game this year. Yes, these PC and cell phone games are being built into long-term franchises. Witness videos of each game after the break.
RIP, Classic Mac OS: 1984 - 2007
It's not a huge surprise, but Apple's gone ahead and posted a note confirming that Leopard will not support Classic, even on PowerPC machines. Of course, Intel Macs have never been able to run Classic anyway, so only like Hypercard user groups and the three printshops still running QuarkXPress 4 will be affected by this. But this does mark the end of the road for the venerable and oft maligned OS, which ushered in the mainstream GUI era with the 128K Mac in 1984 and remained the default boot on all new Macs until OS X 10.1.2 was released 18 years later in 2002 -- prompting Steve to stage a melodramatic mock funeral for OS 9 at that year's WWDC. Still, the old warhorse managed to hang around for another five years, and we're a little sad to finally see it go. Check a vid of Steve's funeral after the break.
Leopard: now with 100% less Classic
This Apple tech doc is making the rounds on the Mac blogs today. That's right folks, more than 5 years after Steve declared OS 9 dead (that's Classic to those of you who have only known OS X) it seems that Classic really is dead. Leopard will no longer run Classic apps, and Apple suggests you upgrade to OS X compatible applications.Are people out there still using OS 9 applications? If so, what are you forced to run in OS 9?
iPod Classic hit with endless disk-spinning bug?
The tubes are buzzing this morning with reports that the recent iPod classic 1.0.2 update has a nasty bug in it that causes the drive to constantly spin -- a glitch that's a little more troubling than those freezing issues we heard about, since bumping a spinning platter is a sure way to kill your drive dead. Most users see the problem manifest as the battery draining much more quickly than it should, and it seems to be particularly a problem when using CoverFlow, but others say it's totally random and that replacement iPods with 1.0.2 loaded don't exhibit any symptoms. In any event, iPod Classic owners who haven't updated should probably hold off, and those who have should see how their devices are holding up.Read -- Apple support thread #1Read -- Apple support thread #2Read -- iLounge forum thread
Random album flash in iPod Classic
While a lot has been said about the iPod Touch, not much has been said about the new old standard, the iPod Classic. Kirk McElhearn has written a pretty scathing review of a feature that I didn't even notice-- that album artwork on the side while you're browsing music. Apparently it's not related to what you're listening to at all (which is what I originally suspected it was): it's completely random.Why would this be the case? I thought it was a cool feature to put what you're listening to on the side, so even while you browse through the music, you could have a static reminder of what's playing. But no. Kirk says it's flashy and moving and random-- just like (gasp) a Flash ad. Apparently you can turn it off, and have just a static graphic sit there. But that doesn't explain why anyone thought it was a good idea in the first place.To be completely fair to Apple, I haven't actually used the iPod Classic myself yet-- maybe there's some useful function that can come out of showing random, moving art (suggestions for what to listen to next, maybe?). But flash for flash's sake like this seems a weird decision on Apple's part, especially in a device that's supposed to be a Classic iPod.[via Tsai]
Double iPod dissection: 3G nano, 6G classic go under the knife
You've seen the announcement, you've peeped the hands-on, and you've read the reviews -- but how well do you really know the new iPod nano and classic? Well, thanks to the folks at iFixit, you can get familiar with the little guys inside and out. That's right, the first official tear-downs (or take-aparts, depending on who you ask) have happened to Apple's latest and greatest, and the results are somewhat... um, nerdy. Upon unfastening the eight locking tabs on the nano, iFixit made note of an increase in the use of adhesive, particularly on the click-wheel, making replacement "difficult," as they put it. Additionally, it appears battery replacement will be harder because of its attachment to the logic board with three "though-hole" solder points. Switching over to the classic, the tinkerers find that there is a metal plate on the backside of the screen (for protection against breakage, they suspect), and they discover that the battery is exactly the same as the one used in the 30GB iPod video. Don't take our word for it, however, hit the link and check out all the gory details.
