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Interview with Sega on new Crazy Taxi
We revealed the new Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars yesterday. Our source was German, so it's nice to see the US associate producer answer some questions to Gamespot ... in English. Some noteworthy highlights: The game is indeed, a compilation of Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 2. Enhancements come in the form of a new multiplayer mode, and updated sound and visuals. "There might be additional changes by the time the game hits store shelves, but details about that will be released at a later time." There will be a multiplayer mode that will utilize a single system. Most likely, you'll pass around the system, trying to outdo each other's score. The exciting movie mode feature will record up to 80 seconds of gameplay and then save onto the Memory Stick. More games should use this feature.
Some kind of Monster Kingdom
Elaborate costumes? Check! Magic seals? Check! Monster battling and androgynous men? Check! Well, according to my checklist Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner is indeed a Japanese RPG. While it sounds similar in title, this game has nothing to do with Capcom's Monster Hunter series. According to RPGamer the game features monster breeding, wi-fi battles and trading, over five hours of voice acting and a soundtrack featuring ten loved RPG composers. The game comes from Cozy Okada of Shin Megami Tensei fame. For the curious, Gamespot has new screens of this Atlus RPG. If after seeing those screens you're anxious to play it as soon as possible, have no fear. You can get grabbed by the jewlies soon since Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner hits store shelves this February.
P.S.P. to see M.A.C.H. A.S.A.P.
For those too impatient to wait for Planet Moon's Afterburner update, soon you'll be able to get your mach speed on with M.A.C.H. According to Gamespot the game is set to be on store shelves in the US on February 20th for $39.99. Developed by Kuju Entertainment and to be published by Sierra, the game has you flying in underground competitions and customizing your flying death machine all the while hoping to keep down your lunch. It also allows for game sharing with the multiplayer, so you can still play the game even if your friends are cheap. The game is rated E10+ which means even if you can't legally pilot a real plane, you can substitute that desire with the game.
PSP has its own Da Vinci puzzle
Alright, so maybe this puzzle doesn't involve Tom Hanks with bad hair and an albino monk, but that's probably a good thing. While browsing new Capcom Puzzle World screens on Gamespot, I came across the image above. It's from one of the Buster Bros games and damn if it don't look trippy. I can't say I have a lot of Buster Bros experience, but I'll likely get this collection regardless since it has a puzzle game I love even more than Lumines; Super Puzzle Fighter II. As a refresher, here is the list of games in this collection: Super Puzzle Fighter II Block Block, Buster Bros (3 versions of it) Capcom Puzzle World puzzle fights its way onto store shelves next month.
GameSpot editor-in-chief resigns, now a developer
Greg Kasavin, GameSpot's editor-in-chief, has announced his resignation from game journalism to work for the enemy, an as-of-yet-unnamed game developer, "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get my foot in the door and contribute to one of my favorite gaming franchises." Kasavin, born 1977 in Moscow, joined the website in 1996. Regardless of what you may think of GameSpot and their review system (2-point inflation, anyone?), the gaming news site is a powerhouse in the industry that carries a lot of weight. We wish Kasavin the best of luck and hope, for sake of curiosity, that we find out soon what studio (and in what aspect) he has found himself a part of.[Thanks, Einhanderkiller]
After Burner still looking good
It looks like the major game sites had the chance to look at Planet Moon's upcoming take on Sega's After Burner. All of them seem to have rather nice things to say. Gamespot notes that "Control is accessible and sticks to an easy-to-pick-up interface." They also praised the high quality of the graphics.For people that are worried that this modern reimagining of the classic will stray too far from the original's formula need not worry. IGN notes that "it definitely plays like an Afterburner game. There's no real-world physics, for starters. Players still rocket through the skies at obscene speeds blowing up everything in sight. Plus, the camera perspective and controls still retain the ease-of-use and responsiveness of older titles."The game will come out in March, so expect more updates in the upcoming year.
GameStop importing a pair of DS games
Looks like GameStop is getting into the importing business, slowly placing their toes into the water and testing the temperature with two different DS titles. These titles, which are great choices, are Jump Superstars and Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 4. News of this comes from GameSpot UK, so we're assuming this is only going to be available to UK consumers for the time being, with a possible test run in the US coming later, as well.With importing being more of a diehard fan practice, could GameStop realistically expect this to take off with the average consumer? Will the language barrier be too much to overcome with shoppers? Besides, with several different online retailers, why would anyone even want to go to GameStop for imports?
Criterion talks about Burnout Dominator
EA recently revealed that the upcoming Burnout Dominator will be a PSP and PS2 exclusive, a strange decision in the light of a new generation of platforms. Nick Channon from Criterion Games spoke to Gamespot in a recent interview, and shared a few more details about the upcoming racer: The game will feature shorter "skill-based" levels, which is "perfect on PSP." The PSP and PS2 versions will not feature any connectivity with each other. All multiplayer will be available via ad-hoc (no Infrastructure? Boo!). Not too revealing, but at least it's something. Expect more updates as this game gets closer.
Left Behind Games ordained with Big Huge Games engine
Gamespot has an interview with Left Behind Games' CEO Troy Lyndon -- whose game, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, they gave a 3.4 to -- about the upcoming sequel to Left Behind and expansion pack for the original game. For the sequel Lyndon says they've acquired the rights to use Big Huge Games' RTS engine. Big Huge Games is the company behind the Rise of Nations titles. In the interview Lyndon discusses the criticism the Christian based game has received from religious leaders; however, this shift to a completely different game engine is quite dramatic for the company. Left Behind: Eternal Forces cost $27 million and the engine was built from scratch, but he says, "We have specially built our game in such a manner that the technology behind it is separate from what makes it work as an RTS. Accordingly, we can change from one engine to another without a complete rewrite of the code." With the licensing deal Left Behind's sequel will have some technical staff from Big Huge Games to assist in development. Let us pray that it's a better game. The sequel will be out in 2008.
Smackdown returns, do the load times still suck?
Smackdown is out today. I was originally going to do a Metareview for this game, but I decided: why not focus on the one crucial flaw of last year's game? The load times. As you may remember, WWE SmackDown! 2006 got smacked down by the gaming community by having quite possibly the worst load times of any game in recent memory. Is this year's iteration of the popular wrestling franchise any better? Let's find out: Gamespot (79/100) - "Load times are still a big issue, as well, though not quite as humongous an issue as they were last year. Prematch load times are still long and annoying, especially when you have entrances set to on; menu transitions, especially in season mode, take longer than they ought to; and creating a wrestler can still be a time-consuming process, thanks to the loading. Again, Yuke's did improve this aspect somewhat this year, but load times continue to get in the way of the game." Games Radar (80/100) - "The developers remembered this, too; they made a focused effort to drastically reduce loading. And it worked: the loads aren't lightning quick, but they are far faster, now measuring in double-digit seconds instead of minutes." GameZone (85/100) - "On to the bad news, the game suffers from heavy lag that just doesn't pertain to the Ad Hoc multiplayer mode but throughout the single-player mode as well. This, of course, is a major annoyance that often leads to missed punches or choke slams. Secondly, the long load times are back, although - on a lighter note -they're not as frequent as the first game." The critics say the load times have improved, but are they tolerable yet? I'm placing an open challenge to all readers: if you own this game, please make a similar video, for PSP Fanboy fame, and maybe even a little swag, or something.
Metareview: Star Trek Tactical Assault
You guys guessed it! The new Star Trek game on PSP didn't fare too well at all. The series certainly looks like it's on its dying breath: no new movie, no new television series, and no good games. Let's find out why the critics disliked Bethesda's offering for the franchise: G4TV (60/100) - "The actual ship controls leave something to be desired... Since weapons need time to charge between each burst, combat is also rather slow-paced-particularly before your officers reach higher ranks. Overall, the action feels too slow for an action game, yet too arcade-like for a real tactical experience." GameSpot (62/100) - "Star Trek: Tactical Assault is brimming with good ideas that just don't feel fleshed out. It's got a nice strategic concept but doesn't run far enough with it. Even with two lengthy campaigns and skirmish options, it doesn't feel quite complete. The underused license is also a shame because a little Captain Kirk goes a long way. Trekkies will find Tactical Assault worth a look, but there isn't enough Star Trek or strategy to give life to the game's promising concept." IGN (64/100) - "As far as Trek games go, Tactical Assault beats out many of its predecessors. Sadly, that's not too hard to do. It offers a decent mix of strategy and action, though both halves never gel very well. The option to pilot several vessels in two different campaigns is definitely nice, but the story and missions could have used more variety. Lastly, Tactical Assault looks and sounds the part, though Trek aficionados will still find the game's presentation ho-hum."
The worst PSP game ever
Congratulations, Dave Mirra BMX Challenge! You are officially called the worst game on the PSP, according to IGN. "You might as well save yourself some cash and just stab yourself in the eye," says IGN reviewer Chris Roper. It seems like terrible level designs, muddy graphics, incomprehensible physics, and stupidly easy difficulty have crafted one of the most painful gaming experiences on the handheld yet. Thankfully, the game only lasts for two hours, giving the reviewer some hope. Any longer, and he may have killed himself.But don't just take IGN's word on the quality of this game. GameSpot had some equally harsh words to give it: "The biggest challenge in Dave Mirra BMX Challenge, it seems, is actually enjoying it."Feel free to leave us a comment if you're an unlucky sap that bought this game. We'd love to hear from you.
Even GameSpot plays pirated games
A keen observer at the GameSpot forums noticed a small detail in one of GameSpot's recent PS3 features. They show how to download a movie file to the PSP's Memory Stick, and as you can see in the screenshot above, you'll see the typical PSP folders: PHOTO, MUSIC, PSP, MP_ROOT. However, you'll also see a folder called ISO, which is the file format ripped games are usually saved as.While there are a ton of other explanations for this (like publishers sending them ISO files to review), it's funny to think that maybe PSP piracy may be in use, even by people at a large site like GameSpot.
Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops video preview
The insanely pretty and ambitious Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is finally coming out soon. December 5th, to be exact. Gamespot seems to have a near-complete version in their hands, and they have a very detailed video preview, featuring tons of new never-before-seen footage of the game in motion.They seem to have nothing but praise for this fully loaded sequel. From the graphics, to the gameplay, to the storyline and presentation-- it appears that Konami has taken no shortcuts for this game. I could say more, but I'd rather let the video do the talking.
US PSone download details emerging
Gamespot talked to a Sony representative about downloading PSone games to the PSP. Currently, the service is only available in Japan, using PS3 and firmware 3.0. Sony says it's "shooting to have the PSone titles available by the end of this month." Although the list of titles is unknown, he did mention that games "will start at $5.99 and go all the way up to $10.99." File sizes will vary between 140MB and 550MB, meaning those of you with smaller Memory Sticks may want to consider upgrading.
Sid Meier's Pirates! swashbuckles its way to the PSP
For all your port haters out there don't look now because the PSP is about to get a port of a port in the form of Sid Meier's Pirates!. In the game, which was originally released in 1987 and re-made in 2004 on the PC, then released in 2005 on the Xbox and is now scheduled to be released in January on the PSP, players take control of a pirate who must find his kidnapped family members, gain revenge and obtain lots and lots of booty."We love the new possibilities from handheld systems like the PSP," added Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development at developer Firaxis Games. "Pirates! for the PSP system allows players to shape the heroic life of a pirate while embracing the pirate's way of life -- always on the go!"Thankfully, the PSP version, which will be published by Take-Two Interactive in North America and Europe, will feature some new features like new treasure hunts, widescreen display and four-player wireless multi-player, according to Gamespot. Pirates! is a game I always wanted to play on the Xbox but never got around to it, so I'm really hoping this version comes through.
Scarface shows PSP software sales are lacking
According to Gamespot, the Scarface video game topped the PSP's US sales charts in October by selling over 37,000 copies. This is distressing for two reasons. Firstly, the game sucks. Secondly, 37,000 copies sounds much too low a number to be the top selling game on any console. For comparison purposes, the new Pokemon game on the Game Boy Advance sold more than 150,000 copies (with the DS version selling more than 140,000).According to PCVS Console, PSP software did not manage to break into the top 30 sales at all this month. This is especially distressing considering the slew of great new releases that were released in October. Will this discourage publishers from supporting the PSP? Should Sony fanboys worry that even the supposedly-dead Gamecube ranked more titles in the top 30?
Zelda impressions recap
A few days ago, Nintendo held a special press event in Redmond (we were invited, but were too busy preventing nuclear war to go) where the media could have a very long, very uninterrupted playthrough of the final build of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. No less than a dozen major gaming sites and publications have already released their in-depth experiences with everyone's favorite kinda-elf, so we've done you the favor of assembling the cream of the crop right here. The overall gist? 1) Don't wait for the Gamecube version, and 2) Holy damn this game is amazing. Of the five listed, we recommend good 'ol Matt Cassamassina's impressions; they're quite thorough.Zelda Impressions from IGN: Matt CassamassinaZelda Impressions from GoNintendo: Raw Meat CowboyZelda Impressions from 1up: Jeremy ParishZelda Impressions from Gamespot: Ricardo TorresZelda Impressions from Planet Gamecube: Steven Rodriguez
New Activision Hits Remixed screens released
Back when we first posted about Activition Hits Remixed's existence, Andrew told you about the game's "modernized front-end graphics." Well, Activision has just released a ton of new screens from the game and even some that show off those fancy schmancy front-end graphics.The game packs more than 40 Atari 2600 games onto one UMD. And while I'm sure Activision probably could have fit a lot more, Gamespot said "these properly emulated golden oldies will be wrapped up in a visually appealing and easily accessible package with some nice goodies thrown in on the side."Besides the game having no load times (Thank you, God!), Remixed features unlockable content like old-school commercials, songs, box art, manuals and even an achievement system similar to the Xbox 360's. Get ready to be rocking with Thwocker come Nov. 14.
Load times quantified by GameSpot
Gamespot recently wrote an impressive feature on load times for the three dominant handheld platforms on the market. They wanted to see how long it took for a game to become playable from a completely powered-down system (no standby mode, which is available on both the DS and PSP). Here are some interesting facts from the write-up: The three quickest loading games were Astonishia Story, Gradius Collection and Lumines. They took up to 55 seconds to load. The longest loading game is (unsurprisingly) WWE Smackdown!: more than four minutes for that game. Games with the highest ratings on GameSpot had the shortest load times. Joystiq asks "Does this show that reviewers appreciate short load times, or just that better games tend to be designed to load faster?" I'd say both hold true, but as games like GTA and Daxter show, developers that care about the PSP know how to get around load times. The average load time for cartridge-based DS? 24.5 seconds. The average load time for UMD-based PSP? 103.4 seconds. This shouldn't be surprising to any PSP owner, but it's fascinating to see the numbers. I hate load times a whole lot, and I will avoid games that have insanely high loads. That being said, I don't see one minute loads to be too bad at all. What about you? What do you think about load times?[Via Joystiq]
