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Dead Head Fred interview
Dead Head Fred was one of the games I said "you should keep your eyes on." And for good reason: it's an original action game, made exclusively with the PSP in mind. QJ had some time to sit down with Eric Peterson, president of Vicious Cycle Software to get some info on the game. Here are some of the more interesting comments: "Dead Head Fred is a very ambitious game and we plan to deliver on all fronts. We want people to buy a PSP just to play Dead Head Fred." "Currently our load times are extremely fast and we are pleased with the results... the E3 demo that we showed, allowed for 30 min of straight gameplay without the player ever experiencing a load time." "The last thing we want people having to do is fight then camera when they should be fighting the enemies in the game." You acquire new powers by attaching new heads to yourself. Here's a few examples of heads you'll find in the game:"The Mutant head helps you survive radiation fields. The Scarecrow head lets you float on the water. The Stone Idol head makes you sink underwater. The Shrunken Head lets you get into tight spaces and glide along high wires. The Corpse head allows you to inflate with air and hover over obstacles; you can also fill it with water or gasoline to generate different effects and attacks. The Dummy head allows you to interact with citizens without scaring them out of their minds. " The full interview has details on the graphics engine, combat, mini-games, and more. The developers would love to do a downloadable demo for the game, so hopefully we'll see one down the line. The game has still a lot of development time left: it comes out next year.
New Metal Gear Portable Ops trailer and details
As we promised earlier, a new trailer for the upcoming PSP-exclusive Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was revealed today at the Games Convention in Germany. As you know, Naked Snake no longer works alone in this mission, which takes place six years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3. You'll have to choose your allies wisely, and strategically coordinate with them. According to Gamespot, you can even switch control between your four allies by pressing a button. Fans will be giddy to know that the original voice cast is back, including David Hayter who called the script for Portable Ops the best one yet. Also revealed was the downloadable characters feature: you can access different wi-fi points around the world and have characters (either from the story or randomly generated) appear in your game. Wow. How the GPS feature of the game will work hasn't been revealed yet, but let's not forget the game will be appearing at TGS.Once you're done watching the trailer, visit our sister site Joystiq for some more hands-on impressions and a crazy motherload of screenshots.
HOT PXL really takes advantage of the PSP
Wario Ware-styled games seem to be all the rage these days. We had a look at WTF a few days ago, and although HOT PXL also uses an all-capitalized abbreviated title, it has an interesting feature set that may help distinguish it from its competitor. Firstly, it has a 150 game off the bat, and is one of the few games that takes advantage of one of PSP's greatest features: downloadable levels. Atari plans on making at least fifty available to download. In addition, Atari is going to leverage the weight of its incredible catalog of games, and will bring out some quick retro remakes of their classic titles.Not only does HOT PXL feature an incredible breadth of game content, but it appears like it will feature tons of multimedia content as well. In addition to an original licensed soundtrack, the game will feature videos, and some kind of podcasting ability. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but it appears like this game will finally utilize all of PSP's unique capabilities. Unfortunately, the game won't be available until next February, so WTF may have to satiate you until then.Read - Gamespot's Hands-OnRead - AMN's Hands-On
New PGR3 content peels out on XBLM
Time to make room in the garage. Bizarre Creations just put the pedal to the metal with 12 new cars available on Marketpace as part of the PGR3 Style Pack. Here's the vehicle list: MW M6 (2006) BMW Z8 (2001) BMW M3 CSL (2003) BMW MINI COOPER S (2005) Gumpert Apollo Coupe 4.2 V8 (2005) 2005 Chrysler® Firepower Concept Ferrari 365 GTB4 "Daytona" (1968) Ferrari F430 Challenge (2006) Mercedes CLK DTM AMG (C209) Pagani Zonda F (2005) RUF R.K. Spyder 3.8 (2006) Vanwall GPR V12 (2006) The new wheels will set you back 400 MS Points, or 60 points per car if you you go the a la carte route. The pack also includes Photo Mode Integration and three mini-games so it's probably worth parting with the full Abe Lincoln if you're PGR freak. Race fans weigh in with your value assessment. Do you appreciate the option to download individual cars?[Thanks Sinz]
PS3 service goes after Xbox Live Arcade
With a keen eye, IGN noticed a job offering floating around the internet that is described as looking for a "a superstar engineer with a strong graphics background to develop an unannounced downloadable title for the PlayStation 3 launch in November."So we all know that Sony's PlayStation Network Platform wants to compete head-on with Microsoft's service, but this gives even more fuel to the fire in their effort to tackle Xbox Live Arcade with downloadable games as well. That Game Company posted the call for programmers, and it turns out they want to bring the trippy web game flOw (that's free) to the next-gen console. This begs the question: What other downloadable games are being cooked up for the PS3 service? Guess we won't know until November.
Bang! Howdy now in open beta
Those on the lookout for an online game that doesn't involve orcs, elves or magic may find Bang! Howdy refreshing. From Three Rings, the makers of Puzzle Pirates, Bang! Howdy is a western-themed online strategy game.Although we featured it in our MMO roundup, it's not the same sort of MMO as Puzzle Pirates -- it features small-scale multiplayer strategy matches rather than a large persistent world. It's a Java-based game, meaning it runs on PC, Mac and Linux happily, and today it entered open beta. The game itself will be free, but with micropayments for various in-game features.
Lost Planet demo lost, but not for long
It looks like the Lost Planet demo was briefly available on XBLM a day earlier than scheduled and then yanked. Photographic proof above. It should be back tomorrow. Gamers who were lucky enough to grab it early, please report your impressions.
MS releases E3 content on XBLM
E3 content has started showing up on Xbox Live Marketplace, as promised. Here's what you can download so far ... High-Definition Trailers Showcasing: BattleStation: Midway Brother In Arms Hell's Highway Bullet Witch College Hoops Dance Dance Revolution Universe Dead Rising John Woo Presents Stranglehold NCAA Football 07 Rain Sonic the Hedgehog Test Drive Unlimited The Lord of the Rings: The Battle For Middle-Earth II Demos Showcasing: Test Drive Unlimited Top Spin 2 Movie Trailer Showcasing: Poseidon Gamer Pictures To Use: Adidas Promo Set X-3: The Movie Set... with more stuff on the way. Here's the official schedule. I'm gonna need a bigger hard drive.[Thanks, BrklynKid]
