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Rainbow Six first-look
Gamespot just went hands-on with Ubisoft's suspiciously beautiful Rainbow Six: Vegas. The game, originally supposed to ship in October, has been delayed further into the holiday shopping season, into December. As mentioned earlier, the PSP iteration of the game will take place in a new story, with evil terrorist Lucas Picares trying to poison Vegas' water supply. Little does Picares know that the closest thing to water that's drunk in Vegas is vodka. Still, you and your Rainbow Six squad will have to stop him.The game controls like most every other FPS game on the system. Although the PSP's single analog nub has proven problematic in the past, the slower and more tactical pace of the Rainbow Six franchise should fare better on the handheld. The PSP version also features many of the same gameplay options of its next-gen console brethren: You can enter a third-person view when backing up for cover, and you can lock-on selecting between body and head shots. More details should be released in the coming weeks, and we hope the development team churns out a winner.
Loco Roco wins two awards at BAFTA
Loco Roco was the most-nominated game for this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts' annual video game awards. The award winners were revealed tonight, and Loco Roco was able to score two victories from its eight nominations. The game won for both Best New Character, and Best Children's Game, an award usually reserved exclusively for Nintendo titles. Congrats to the brilliant Loco Roco team: you guys deserve all the praise. Read on to see the winners of other categories.
Chili Con Carnage is a refried port?
When I first looked at Eidos' press release for their new PSP game Chili Con Carnage, I thought to myself "cool, a new exclusive PSP action game." However, Gamespot checked the developer's track record, and I angrily shouted a four letter word: PORT! It may be an original game, but the game shares too many similarities with Deadline Games' Total Overdose. They both feature the same gameplay, same character and the same story. Both games feature the same "Spicy Moves" (pictured). So, why did Eidos decide to call this game Chili Con Carnage instead of Total Overdose? I think they know that PSP fans are sick of ports, so by cleverly retitling the game, they're trying to pull a fast one on us. While questionably juvenile sites might be fooled, it won't work on the superior PSP Fanboys, right? If you're going to give us a port, might as well make sure it's one of a good game, instead of Total Overdose, which only scored a 71 from Metacritic.
Ridiculously awesome Metal Slug trailer
Things blow up real good in this insanely awesome Metal Slug Collection trailer. You might notice the trailer is surprisingly gory, featuring "blood, blood and more blood." The trailer clocks in at over 5 minutes, making it quite an amazing montage of guns, explosions and gore: sounds like the perfect game for me. And because I love you guys, you can download a PSP formatted version here.[Via Gamespot]
Free t-shirt with Vice City pre-order
You probably don't need any more motivation than awesome graphics and gameplay in order to pick up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. Or maybe you do. That's where free t-shirts come in. According to janamil of the PlayStation.com forums, EBGames is offering a free t-shirt for pre-ordering the game. Not too shabby. So, if you've run out of things to wear, head over to GameSpot/EBGames and give them your money. (While you're there, don't forget to ask for a few free demo UMDs that they're sure to be hoarding!)
TGS 06: Monster Hunter 2 features long lines
Unlike the now-defunct E3, Tokyo Game Show has always been an event for the masses. The public could wait on enormous lines to get their hands on upcoming video games (something I'd love to have here in the States!). The general success of an upcoming product can usually be seen by the approximate wait for the product.Enter Monster Hunter Portable 2nd, the sequel to Japan's top-selling PSP game so far. The Japanese absolutely love this game, and according to Gamespot, were willing to wait for two hours to get their hands on it. Wow. (And they say the PSP is dead in Japan. Wrong!) Although the sequel will not feature any online gameplay, it does appear that the beautiful graphics will be enough to make the game an instant bestseller in Japan.
TGS 06: Gamespot goes hands on with Jean D'Arc
Gamespot has just went hands on with Jean D'Arc, the strategy RPG based on Joan of Arc, at the Tokyo Games Show. Although they couldn't read a lick of any text due to the game being in all Japanese, they did play enough to tell the main game will be similar to other grid-based games, like Nippon Ichi's insane library of great SRPGs. One aspect of the game that seems pretty interesting is when Jean receives damage, she, at times, will take a page out of the Hulk's book by transforming into superpowerful Jean and inflicting major damage upon her enemies. After a few turns, Jean returns back to her normal self. They go on to say all the basic elements of an SRPG are here and graphically, is much better than any other similar game on the PSP to date. Unfortunately for us, there's no definitive information on whether we'll get this game stateside. Keep your fingers crossed boys and girls. (Via Gamespot)
TGS 06: More Metal Slug Anthology screens uncovered
I don't think I can ever get bored of Metal Slug's super expressive and detailed sprites dying ultra-violent deaths, and this year's Tokyo Game Show kicking off today, Gamespot has uncovered a cache of new screens for us all to drool over.Now, in case you don't already know, Metal Slug Anthology is a collection of six previous Metal Slug games. It is set to ship Nov. 7, 2006 and will support two-player wireless multi-player.God, I love this franchise and to think we get six games in one really gets me excited.(Via Gamespot)
TGS 06: Gunpey & Every Extend Extra media
Gamespot has just posted up new media of the upcoming Q? Entertainment games, Gunpey and Every Extend Extra. Of note is the comprehensive interview that goes over the features of the PSP version of Gunpey. The interview reveals there are 5 artists contributing music to the game, each with their unique genre. One of the new features for the PSP version is the 10x10 mode, which has you creating a horizontal line twice the length of the original. (Trust me, that won't be easy!) According to the interview, the beginner gamer can squeeze out about 20 hours of gameplay out of this title. But, can you really quantify the amount of time you spend with a puzzler? Hell, I still play Lumines.Watch - GunpeyWatch - Every Extend Extra
EB/GameStop hates Hawaiians, not everyone
Over the weekend, the Internet was all abuzz with the latest outrageous rumor -- that EB Games and GameStop wouldn't take money for Wii preorders, but instead were only accepting $50 worth of trade-in goods. Not your old credit either; the trades had to be made on the spot for credit toward a Wii (or, if that's your fancy, a PS3). But it turns out that the doomsayers jumped the gun. While the program does seem to be for real, it only applies to certain stores in Hawaii and Guam, not to every EB Games or GameStop around. This may be the first time we're glad we don't live in Hawaii. However, none of the stores we called were yet taking preorders at all, at least, not on the system itself. If the test goes well in Hawaii (oh, that's likely), then this may be the future of console preorders, but we wouldn't toss out those credit cards just yet.[Via Joystiq and various tipsters!]
Sony to buy stake in Gamepot
Sony Communication Network Corp. has announced it will buy a 27-percent stake in Gamepot, (No, not Gamespot or Gamestop) a mobile content and solutions provider, for about $22 million, according to Gamasutra.So-net says the move will broaden its online games operations.In addition, Sony Communication, which operates So-net Internet service provider, will purchase 8,200 new shares of Gamepot in a third-party allocation. It will also buy 15,000 existing Gamepot shares from Aeria Inc., Gamepot's parent, a Reuters report stated.Gamepot made a name for itself by publishing the popular online fantasy golf game, PangYa. I doubt this will have much of an impact for anything coming stateside, but it's encouraging to see Sony continue to take online gaming seriously.(Via Gamasutra/Yahoo)
New ProStroke Golf: World Tour 2007 screens released
I'm not very familiar with ProStroke Golf, which recently had a name change from World Tour Golf, but it released today in Europe and will release in a few months here. The game focuses on "the perfect swing above all else. The game lets you alter all aspects of your shot, from your position on the ball to the path of the club, allowing you to play shots exactly as you would in real life," according to Gamespot.Developer Gusto Games added in real golfers like Ian Woosnam, Sergio Garcia, and Mark O'Meara and a total of 18 different courses."All versions of the game will include four-player multiplayer modes, though, including the PSP version over ad hoc wireless. Also, if you've created a map and want to play it with your friend, the PSP will stream the map over to them so that they can try out your designs," said Struan Robertson, ProStroke Golf's producer.Sweet! I'm a sucker for map editors, especially when I can share them with friends.(Via FCS Publishing/Gamespot)
Medal of Honor video overload
Gamespot has gone absolutely bonkers with video coverage of the upcoming PSP-exclusive Medal of Honor Heroes. There is impressive gameplay footage of multiplayer battles (which will support up to 32 players!), and a video interview. The Gamespot preview is absolutely glowing for the game, which gets me pretty excited: "Heroes is shaping up to be as fully featured a Medal of Honor game as you could want on the PSP, with visuals that come close to the PlayStation 2 installments in the series."
Gamespot possibly debunks redesigned PSP story
Yesterday, Joystiq reported news about a story in the newest PlayStation Magazine issue about a redesigned PSP in the works. The article said the new PSP would have 8GB of flash memory, be smaller and thinner and would have a built-in camera, but those super sleuths at Gamespot looked deeper into the article and say it isn't true. Gamespot's Rumor Control argues nowhere in the article does it say the new PSP will have the internal memory, but only that Sony purchased the flash memory units. Also, they say a large portion of the article is speculative and includes such terms as "likely" and "if we retooled the PSP."Gamespot's final verdict? Bogus.Whatever the case may be, I think Sony needs to do something to counter Nintendo's DS Lite. Sony is getting slaughtered in Japan, but I'm still not sure if throwing some internal memory, a camera and making the system smaller is really what will make the system any more successful. I would go for the dual analog nubs, though.(Via Gamespot)
Metareview: Star Fox Command
One of the highest-profile Wi-Fi titles of the year has finally released and the critics were quick to offer up their opinions. Generally, the game has seen a fair amount of praise, however critics have mentioned that the title's multiplayer is not exactly on par with the game's single-player experience. The scores are as follows: IGN - 80%: "It's at the very least a great start to the franchise. Bump up the difficulty, add some variety to the missions, bring back the forced-scrolling on-rails levels and the wingman-in-danger elements in a sequel and you'll have yourself the ultimate Star Fox adventure." Gamespot - 75%: "Star Fox Command has great controls and introduces a strategic layer that's fairly interesting. However, the random feel of the story battles and the frantic multiplayer mode don't make the most of this game's solid foundation, which might cause nostalgic fans to long for the series' good old days." 1UP - 70%: " None of the strategy elements that comprised the core of the single-player game are in multiplayer -- how cool would it have been to battle for strategic positions and race to key items on the overhead map against friends? How loudly does this game scream for a custom map editor? Should Command see a sequel, competitive strategic multiplayer ought to be a big part of it." We've heard from the critics, now how about the readers?
Fight evil llamas and chickens in Death Jr. 2
Konami's Gamers Day has been very good to PSP owners. Gamespot (are they the only ones covering this event?) posted some new gameplay videos of Death Jr. 2 in motion. While I can't really see any HDR lighting in it, the game does look pretty sharp, and if Gamespot is to be believed, it does have advanced light blooming and shadow effects. Although my eye may not be trained to see the technical details, I do see that the quirky charm has been retained: there are crazy chickens that shoot lasers at you!!! They are far more vicious than the chickens of Zelda and clearly, they must be stopped.Watch - Fight against chickensWatch - Boss fight
New Coded Arms Contagion footage and details
Coded Arms Contagion didn't really impress former PSP Fanboy blogger Adam, and looking at new footage posted a few hours ago by Gamespot, it doesn't really seem like the game's shaping up too well. Although the original Coded Arms' randomly generated maps are no more, the controls still look awkward and sluggish, and the graphics and animations don't look too good, especially in light of Konami's other PSP gems. The controls are customizable, and the game will feature 20 hours of story-driven single player gameplay and 8-player online infrastructure multiplayer... but I can't really get too excited for this game. Why not check out some of the footage, and judge for yourself? (Hopefully, the game will shape up a lot more: according to IGN, the game's only 30% complete.)Watch - Interview with producerWatch - Gameplay footage
Activision joins the return to retro
A slightly old news story about games that are very old. If you aren't sick of retro games yet, then Activision would like for you to read up on their offering of repackaged classics. Activision Hits Remixed will feature more than 40 games from the Atari 2600 era, such as Pitfall, Kaboom!, Chopper Command, Stampede, and Keystone Kapers. Thankfully, games that feature multiplayer will utilize the Game Share feature of the PSP, so that you and a friend can duke it out with a single UMD.The disc will also feature "modernized front-end graphics" (as fancy as the PS3's front-end?) and unlockables. I would get excited, but I'm too busy not caring.[Via Gamespot]
Cash Money Chaos video interview
Gamespot has a new video interview with Cash Money Chaos' lead designer. While the video doesn't offer any new info on the game, it does provide plenty of in-game footage of the game's bloody carnage. The designer compares it to Smash TV and Robotron, but with a crazy alien 70s game show feel. Keep this one on your radar: it'll be a mere $30 when it launches in Q1 2007, and it'll feature 8-player online infrastructure play with stat-tracking.
Kaz Hirai talks PSP, denies redesign
Nintendo fans have Reggie. We have Kaz. There's no real new info in his interview with Gamespot, but it's always interesting when a Sony exec goes on the record about the system. Here are some bullet points summarizing what he said: Sony is still "hard at work" on Connect. (Note: It was originally supposed to come out in March.) PSone downloads will come "close" to the PS3 launch. "Obviously, we certainly are not going to have 1,200 titles come out at once. You also need to realize that some of the games just don't translate well onto a PSP environment, games that require the use of the two analog sticks, for example." No plans for a PSP price drop OR redesign. Sony is "happy" with PSP; it is their "fastest-growing product."
