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Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine: it's real and Mark Dacastic
Once nothing more than a completely plausible rumor, the Iron Chef video game has been revealed, giving two competitors one hour to devise four to five dishes featuring the game, made in their signature styles. Oh, no, wait, we're thinking of food. This has been revealed, giving you notice that it'll be out in stores this summer for people to buy.Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine, developed by John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland (and Elf Bowling 1&2) developer Black Lantern Studios, will be based on the Food Network's version of the popular Japanese cooking game show, and not the original. It'll feature the voice and likeness of Double Dragon's Mark Dacascos, with other personalities to be announced later. Could an Alton Brown appearance in a game be far off?Even if it is the new show, we're all about the idea of an Iron Chef game. At the very least, they've made a funny video.[Via Joystiq]
Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine officially cooked up for Wii, DS
After making a brief appearance on Gamestop's website before being summarily pulled down, Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine has been officially announced, confirming that Wii and DS owners will soon be able to decide whose cuisine reigns supreme. The game is being developed by Black Lantern Studios, a company whose catalog is rife with shovelware, making it a logical partner for publisher Destineer.Few details about the game are currently known, other than it will feature "a series of fast-paced and intense culinary challenges," and that players will compete in Kitchen Stadium to become the next Iron Chef. Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine will also include the likeness of show host Mark Dacascos, who replaced the original pepper-eating (not to mention snappily dressing) Takeshi Kaga. As much as we'd like to get behind the idea of waving our arms in the air in order to make squid ink ice creme or rabbit kidney stew, we're disappointed that the game will be based on Iron Chef's North American incarnation instead of the original, albeit more absurd Japanese original. Nevertheless -- Allez Cuisine!Check out the game's teaser video after the break.
DS Fanboy Review: Homie Rollerz
I was pretty worried about reviewing Homie Rollerz. I didn't really get into game blogging to discuss serious issues, and the Homies franchise seemed to involve one. Is Homie Rollerz a good thing because it is designed for a Mexican-American audience (which, as a goal, is very cool and laudable), or is it an insult to that audience with broad stereotypes? The toys continue to be popular, so I happily suspect the former. However, my own impression of the characters and storyline is that I might find them offensive if I belonged to the supposed target audience. In any case, further investigation of this cultural issue turned out to be unnecessary, because Homie Rollerz is not very good. The biggest issues with the game turn out to be with the game and not with the subject matter.%Gallery-17245%
Spitfire Heroes aims high, embodies other airplane cliches
We haven't covered Destineer's Spitfire Heroes: Tales of the Royal Air Force much, except to note that it came out last week. The game is kind of a surprise to us now, because this trailer actually looks pretty neat. The environments are a bit spare, but that's pretty much what happens when a game takes place almost entirely above the ocean.In terms of gameplay, Heroes looks like a fast-paced, arcade airplane game like the vaunted After Burner -- with a little throttle control on the touchscreen, which is fun. We can only tolerate flying games when they're arcadey like this -- we don't want to take a class to play a flight simulator.[Via press release]
These screens are rolling with the homiez
If the Homie Rollerz short that we posted yesterday piqued your curiosity about the game, you might want to check out some screens for it -- after all, that video yesterday didn't show us anything about the actual game.We couldn't help but poke some fun at it (making some alterations to the screenshot on the right), even though Homie Rollerz is clearly aiming to be silly. You can even race as an alien or some guy that looks like a jester ghost, which we suppose is something. Still, the biggest problem with these screens is that they're not exactly ... nice looking. We know our DS is capable of more, so we'd like to see a little more polish in the game. We hope the final product ends up looking and playing a better than what we saw in these videos.%Gallery-17245%
DS Daily: Samurai Deeper Kyo and the last GBA game you played
Just when we thought we had played the last great GBA game, Siliconera pointed us towards Samurai Deeper Kyo, a slick action title recently brought to the US by Destineer. Marvelous Interactive published it in Japan back in 2002, but that doesn't take away from how fun it looks! The game only comes packed as a bonus with the Samurai Deeper Kyo anime series DVD set, so you'll find it difficult to acquire a copy. Anyway, the idea of having another GBA release to look forward to finding and playing reminded us how long it's been since we tapped that bottom box on the DS's initial menu screen. Months! How long has it been for you? And what was the last GBA game you loaded up?
DS Fanboy Review: Indianapolis 500 Legends
Indianapolis 500 Legends isn't your average racing game. Instead of presenting the player with a series of circuits, this DS title focuses on one, and only one track. To state the obvious, in the game you race in the Indy 500, an event known as "the Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Since Legends doesn't try to woo you with a bunch of different courses, it attempts too add variety with the help of history. Through the game, the player is not only able to experience the Indy 500, but also learn about it. One way in which the game achieves this is by letting the player race as (and against) famous drivers (well ... they're famous in relation to other Indy car drivers, at least). But, can combining history with racing really work in the context of a video game?
Wii Fanboy Review: Indianapolis 500 Legends
Simulation racing games have never been a major interest of mine. They focus on realistically modeling car movement and performance, with the goal of encapsulating the true experience of doing something that most people cannot do: driving expensive, powerful cars very fast. Often efforts are made to model real locations as well to enhance the veracity of the experience. Simulation racing games provide a form of wish fulfillment that serves an interest shared by a lot of people. But I'm a lot more likely to wish for not having to drive than for more advanced forms of car driving.Arcade racing, I have no problem with -- the high-speed, powersliding gameplay has less to do with accurate models of car physics and more to do with game-specific mechanics. The car is governed by what's fun instead of what's real. I generally prefer activities that are more game-like than simulation-like. That's why I don't mind not having to simulate putting bowling shoes on in Wii Sports.Destineer's Indianapolis 500 Legends seems to have been intended as a simulation of classic Indy 500 races. But the racing feels more arcade-like. The game ends up straddling the two styles, and fails to succeed in either category. Bottom line (except not really, because there's a lot of review after this): this game is really only suitable for people with an abiding interest in driving in a circle, and an iffy proposition for that crowd.
Iron Chef game listed, then pulled
We always enjoyed Cooking Mama, but always felt that it lacked one of the most important qualities for any video game: Seething machismo. So it makes perfect sense to us that someone would stumble on the idea of creating a cooking game based on Iron Chef America, the second-manliest show on TV (you win this round, Deadliest Catch).The game appears to be on the brink of an announcement, with a listing appearing and disappearing on Gamestop's website for DS and Wii versions of the game, and Siliconera's Spencer Yip indicating that an IC game was being created at Destineer. (Yes, that Destineer). We're already sharpening our knives in anticipation, but we have to ask: To whom do we have to give World's Best Backrub Coupons to get Alton Brown in the game?
Homie Rollerz: it's racing, with Homies
When I played Homie Rollerz at PAX*, two things occurred to me: first, that I am absolutely not the target audience for this game (in that I'm not a fan of the Homies toy franchise) and that it would be amazing and pretty hilarious if the game turned out to be a really good kart racer. The version I played was way too early to make any judgments, but these videos at least show progress being made. There's a second video after the break.Will Homie Rollerz be a Mario Kart killer? Well, no. Probably not, right? Trying to look at the thing objectively, however, and not as a weird licensed game, I can say that I like the track designs. It's got a lot of tunnels, which is interesting and different from the more open-air track designs of Mario Kart. Also it's online, which really makes any game better. I also feel the need to mention burrito car.*I'm not trying to brag about having played Homie Rollerz or anything -- just stating my experience with the title.
Shovelware: A cause and effect
Wii owners certainly can't complain about the number of third-party games available for the console. As MTV's Stephen Totilo puts it, where there was once a game drought for Nintendo systems (specifically in the N64 and GameCube eras), there's now a flood. What Wii owners can complain about, however, is that a lot of these Wii games are nothing but shovelware. But, how do these games end up on the popular console? And, is it even ultimately a bad thing that they do?
Wii's cuisine reigns supreme
A product listing for an Iron Chef game on Wii and DS showed up on GameStop (the listing has since vanished), and Siliconera's Spencer Yip indicated that he is aware of such a game in development at Destineer. Destineer has yet to make any announcements regarding the game, so this remains unconfirmed.If true, this couldn't be more perfect fit for Nintendo systems, as an overblown, hyperactive counterpart to the mellow Cooking Mama, currently the champion of Nintendo cooking games. Iron Chef is already structured similarly to a fighting game, as well!Unfortunately, Spencer says that the game will be based on the Iron Chef America show and not the superior original. No matter how many times the show is remade, Chairman Kaga Takeshi (pictured) taking a hearty bite out of a pepper will always be the iconic image of Iron Chef. Maybe we'll be able to unlock the original cast, so that we can lose to the King of Iron Chef, Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai.It seems likely that the voice of Iron Chef America, Chairman Mark Dacascos, will appear in the game (if the game is real), as he has a history with the medium. In addition to starring in the Double Dragon movie, Dacascos recently voiced a character in John Woo's Stranglehold.
How Destineer dropped 6 Wii games in one week
If you browsed the Wii section of your local video game store this week you may have seen a glut of new racing games, a kid's basketball title and whatever Myth Makers: Orbs of Doom is. The shocker isn't that the Wii got a heap of shovelware, it's that this whole lot was coming from one publisher that you've likely never heard of: Destineer. MTV Multiplayer grilled the company's CEO about how a company goes from Nowheresville to releasing six titles in one week.The answer? Well, basically, the company found them. Boss Paul Rinde told MTV that while in Europe, he ran across group called Data Design Interactive that was looking for an American publisher to work with, and a match in budget heaven was made. So, if you're wondering how many Wii games are waiting in the wings, there's your answer: They are littered across the ground, inviting strolling publishers to pick them at their leisure like ripened blackberries and foist them on to an unsuspecting public.But is that necessarily a bad thing? And if so, who is it bad for? Rinde makes a fairly convincing case that the market isn't at full saturation, but what do you think?
DS Fanboy Review: John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland
What do tractors, video games, and shoveling up cow poop have in common? If you guessed John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland, you probably read the title of this review. In case you haven't heard of this brand-licensed game, though, it's essentially a farming simulator that was recently released for the Nintendo "Niche Games Haven" DS.While the brand might not mean much to gussied up city folk, Deere & Company happens to be the world's leading manufacturer of farming equipment (thanks, Wikipedia!). In fact, the John Deere brand became so popular that it incited a horrible fashion trend a few years ago that led to people who weren't truckers wearing trucker hats. But, what does this all mean for Harvest in the Heartland? Is it possible that John Deere would not only find success in agriculture and fashion, but in video games as well? Let's find out, shall we?
DS Fanboy Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Trading Card Game
Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game on the DS suffers from its source material on two different levels. First, the original property, Fullmetal Alchemist, doesn't really lend itself to a card game. Fullmetal Alchemist, for the uninitiated, is a show about two brothers who attempt to use alchemy to revive their dead mother, but fail and accidentally maim one brother and trap the other brother's soul in a suit of armor. Then they have adventures!The card game, then, revolves not around simple competition with adversaries, as would be expected of card games; or rather, it does, but altercations are treated in the card game's "storyline" as ancillary to the goal of locating the powerful alchemical relic, the Philosopher's Stone, and fixing their bodies. Perhaps, then, FMA was not the ideal choice of properties to translate into cards.Second, the DS game suffers by being such a faithful translation of said card game, which, to be blunt, is far too complicated to be worth attempting. The DS game makes valiant attempts to streamline the process and teach the game, but every person on Earth who has a strong enough interest in Fullmetal Alchemist to learn the card game has done so, and nobody else has any reason to try.
Destineer taps Unreal Engine 3 for new project [update]
These days, it's often more difficult to find a company who is not using Epic's Unreal Engine for something rather than one that is. Be that as it may, Minneapolis-based Destineer, the distributor behind the Unreal Engine-based Red Orchestra, have continued to look to the popular middleware solution, announcing that the studio has licensed Unreal Engine 3 for an upcoming project.Nothing yet has been announced about the game, though Destineer's pedigree suggests that we should at least save a spot for the title on our ever-crowded radar. The company was founded in 2001 by former Bungie exec Peter Tamte, and has been involved with realistic combat games, such as First To Fight , which is so realistic that it's used by the U.S. Marine Corps for training purposes. That's all well and good, but we're hoping that Destineer uses the new license for something more creative, like letting us be farmers.[Update: Corrected Destineer's role in Red Orchestra.]
DS Fanboy Review: WordJong
Destineer's WordJong is not a revolutionary game, and it won't be on any Game of the Year lists. Due to its origin as a PC downloadable and its simple concept, the game is destined to end up as a relatively low-profile release. And, while Destineer may not agree with this, that's probably fine. Not every game needs to be a big deal and the subject of endless discussion in magazines and on websites. WordJong deserves to be as mellow in marketing as it is in play. But WordJong does at least deserve not to be buried under all of the more hyped releases in November. WordJong is the very definition of a solid game: it is easy to understand, easy to play, well-designed, and leaves the player with a pleasant feeling. It also provides a unique option for online DS gaming. In its simplicity, WordJong is the embodiment of the addictive puzzle game.
Preview: WordJong brings good fortune(s)
WordJong fills a noticeable void in the DS's puzzle game lineup: word games. That makes it interesting by default. Luckily, it's also pretty interesting in and of itself. WordJong is basically Scrabble and mah-jongg mashed up together into a pile of tiles. Each tile has a letter on it, and you arrange those tiles into words, gaining access to more letter tiles as you clear the top and sides of the pile. Bigger words and less common letters give you more points as in Scrabble. It interestingly provides two separate modes of advancement, one based on the traditional video game level structure, and the other on Brain Age-style daily gaming.
WordJong has an intimidating strategy guide
A preview copy of WordJong just arrived at the expansive DS Fanboy office complex, and the item that Destineer included with the game was fairly daunting. We weren't sure if we even wanted to try the game out, if it came with this 400+ page strategy guide. After all, we haven't spent our lives avoiding PC strategy games just to start having to read giant manuals now. We thought we were getting a nice little puzzle game.We finally summoned up the courage to crack the tome open. Check after the break for an example page!
WordJong: our new favorite Jong
Destineer sent over some lovely screens and video of their word-puzzle game WordJong, and they look quite nice. The video in particular, with its soothing chime noises, highlights the kind of mellowness of a puzzle game without time limits. That's not to say it isn't challenging, just that you can take the time to figure stuff out.That turns out to be an interesting change of pace (literally) versus other puzzle games, and changes the experience completely. There's no piling-up of pieces, no countdown, no frantic rush to get through the puzzle. The challenge comes entirely from scouring your brain for words. Words like "waggle," which was the highest-point-value-word used in the demo video, and which we personally enjoy.We've put the video on YouTube; we'd ask that you click the aspect-ratio icon on the YouTube video to display in the correct proportion; it makes for a much more pleasant experience for everyone when you can see what the game really looks like, and not some squatty stretched-out version.%Gallery-6955%
