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Hudson defends crappy Bomberman
Someone by the name of J. Montes over at Hudson has written a short post about why Bomberman Act: Zero is in fact not a crapfest of epic proportions. "I'm here to tell you why Bomberman Act: Zero is actually pretty damn cool. And if you think I'm talking out of my ass, check out my Xbox Live Gamercard - I'm actually playing the game - and enjoying it! Forget the haters out there and all the lemmings who've jumped on the bashing bandwagon. Bomberman Act: Zero matters most in one key area: gameplay. And if you love multiplayer gaming, this is your calling."He then goes on to cite five reasons why the game is good. And, to be honest, he does have a point. Whether or not you're completely turned off by Act: Zero's character designs, the gameplay probably is solid. I wouldn't know. I haven't played it, and I'll tell you why. Look at Montes' number one reason:"IT'S BOMBERMAN!"I'm sorry Mr. Montes, if it doesn't have local multiplayer, it is not Bomberman. Granted, lots of 360 games don't support local multiplayer, but Bomberman, above all else, is about destroying your friends on the couch. Plain and simple. I wouldn't care about the design if I could play with my friends on the same TV. I know there are people out there enjoying this game. More power to you. I will wait for a sequel with a complete feature set, thank you very much -- either that, or Saturn Bomberman on Live Arcade.[Via digg]
Hudson contemplates new Bonk game on the Wii?
Over at the official Hudson forums, the above image was posted by a Hudson employee while posing the question of whether this was a "taste of things to come?" or not. The poster, one Dementia, seems to enjoy torturing loyal Hudson fans, dangling the smallest morsel of delicious meat above their cramped cage, just out of their malnourished hand's reach. Shame on you Dementia... Instead of torturing everyone with what could be, why not just find the proper outlet to announce something for you? [Via N-Sider]
Fuzion Frenzy 2: more mini-games, but in space
Perhaps most remarkable for being an Xbox launch game that wasn't Halo, Fuzion Frenzy attempted to fill the oddly shaped party game niche way back in 2001. Ignoring the use of some of the most pathetic and annoying characters to ever grace the gaming universe ("Where is the competition?!"), the game was quite an amusing diversion, though one might argue that it's hard to go wrong with bopping people over the head and rolling about in giant hollow balls.Microsoft has officially announced the holiday arrival of Fuzion Frenzy 2 for the Xbox 360. Interestingly enough, this one's actually being developed by Hudson, a subsidiary of Konami (the first game was done by Blitz). Aside from oh-so-creatively shifting the 40 mini-games into space and across multiple planets, the new developer has seen fit to add full online functionality, allowing players to create custom tournaments and build up a rank that gives them some authority in picking which mini-games to play next. It isn't specifically mentioned, but you can probably count on purchasing and downloading extra activities months after you've grown tired of the original selection.That original selection had better feature Sumo and Twisted System, or we'll be so angry. You won't like us when [censored by the clichè police].
Fusionnnnn Frennnzyyy!...um...2!
Microsoft announced today that the sequel to Fusion Frenzy -- creatively titled, Fusion Frenzy 2 -- will be released in the US in time for the holidays. The title is being developed by Hudson (Mario Party, Bomberman) and published by Microsoft Game Studios. For those unfamiliar with the original Xbox title (pictured above), Fuzion Frenzy is a party game full of frantic minigames and eXtreMe! character designs. It's kind of like Mario Party without all the boring board game sections (oh, snap!).It will be interesting to see what Hudson does with the franchise -- the original game was developed by Blitz games, who are currently working on another 360 game, Possession. Anybody itching for a good 360 party game?[Thanks, Paul]
Screens 12, Bomberman Zero
Since we're doing Japanese game screens this morning, take a gander at these Bomberman Zero screens fresh from the Xboxyde ovens. Personally, I'm puzzled by Bomberman's eXtreMe! makeover, especially considering the gameplay looks to be exactly the same. Apparently there's some sort of plot as well. Ah well, as long as it plays like the Bombermans (Bombermen?) of yore, it should be blast. Now if Hudson would just hurry up and put Saturn Bomberman on Xbox Live Arcade...
Bomberman online a go
Cubed3 is reporting that via Japanese website Rakuten, Bomberman Land DS has been confirmed to release this year from Hudson Soft and will feature WiFi Connection implementation. There is little else that can be gleamed from the news supposedly, but with E3 coming next week, hopefully we will have more to report on then. Any kind of new multiplayer gametypes you'd like to see featured? [Thanks Thrillho and Artimus!]
A look back at Hudson and Sega
With the bomb that Iwata dropped back at GDC about Sega and Hudson being onboard with the Revolution's Virtual Console, Game Informer wanted to take a look back at the two companies' past offerings in the video game industry to determine exactly what we can expect to see from them come time the system launches. If anything, it's a nice history lesson for all you young whippersnappers who were born after the 16-bit age of gaming and a tear-inducing bit of nostalgia and hope for the rest of us. Who else wants to see a Bomberman build with online play?
Claim: Revolution Pilotwings developed by Hudson
In an innocent little e-mail sent to all members of the press attending E3, the expo's media relations team provide a list of some of the games that will debut at that annual nexus of flashing lights, blaring noise and ludicrously dressed women. Hudson Entertainment happens to be on the list, along with a brief description of their Revolution game, cleverly entitled "Flight Game". "Flight Game" - Nintendo Revolution - Take to the skies in a way never before experienced on any home console. Using the Revolution's "Gesture System" built into their innovative controller, Hudson's new "Flight Game" allows total plane control as players pilot their planes through various acrobatic flight maneuvers ranging from sky artistry to bomb drops.My claim? Flight Game is actually Pilotwings. The evidence? Well, it isn't difficult to make a connection between the above description, the Pilotwings rumors of the last few weeks and the recently announced relationship between Nintendo and Hudson regarding Virtual Console games. Add that to Nintendo's past habit of handing classic franchises to other Japanese developers (see: Sega and F-Zero GX), and it becomes a fairly reasonable claim to make.
Saturn Bomberman being evaluated for XBL Arcade
According to comments made by a Hudson online marketing manager to 1UP, Saturn Bomberman — considered by many to be the best version of Bomberman and one of the greatest multiplayer titles of all time — is "under evaluation" for Xbox Live Arcade. The original Sega Saturn game featured a frantic 10-player Battle mode that would likely be a huge draw for 360 owners looking for a simple, but addictive multiplayer experience. Let's hope the evaluation process comes to that same conclusion.
Revolution global launch not in the cards
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata recently spoke to Bloomberg during the Game Developer's Conference. In regards toward a global launch for the Revolution, Mr. Iwata said "We don't think it's necessary to do the simultaneous worldwide launch simply because others are doing this." Kudos Mr. Iwata...kudos. It's obvious that Nintendo strives to innovate and remain easily identified as the company attempting to evolve the industry beyond progressively better graphics and essentially define it for a new age, it's just nice to read these affirmations that we've selected the right company to stand behind once in awhile. However lacking in concrete information regarding the Revolution beyond the inclusion of a past competitor's games to its Virtual Console service, we at least now know that the Japanese will once again luck out over the rest of the world and will most likely receive the console first, while we're left to bathe in our salty, warm tears. [Via Joystiq]
GDC Recap: Retro Revolution
The keyword that was bandied about during Satoru Iwata's speech at the Game Developer's Conference was "disruption". Through the DS, Mr. Iwata illustrated how Nintendo was disrupting the mechanistic game industry by creating new and unusual games, some which may not even have been considered as games if Nintendo hadn't pushed the idea that maybe, just maybe, exercising your brain was just as fun as exercising your trigger finger.Unfortunately for some (particularly us), the attention placed on Brain Training meant that not much information was revealed regarding that most secretive of next-generation consoles. Sure, Nintendo's strategy of unsettling the games industry is equally applicable to the Revolution, but what we really wanted was a few more cold, hard facts. Undoubtedly the biggest Revolution news (which we completely failed to predict) to emerge from the speech was Nintendo's announcement that the "best" Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 games would be available on the Virtual Console service. What exactly "best" entails has yet to be seen, but we're fairly confident that we'll have once again the opportunity to wise fwom our gwaves.Iwata also implied that original content would likely be hitting the Virtual Console, possibly in the form of smaller games generated by independent developers. With plenty of retro power already backing it up, the service would truly enjoy the best of both worlds if it could obtain unique games on par with the Xbox 360's insanely addictive Geometry Wars. Let's just hope that the machine's 512MB storage capacity gets upgraded between now and E3, lest we constantly be switching SD cards in and out. It looks like we'll have to wait until E3 before we get any more substantial news on the Revolution front. And yes, that's still the console's name. For more coverage on Iwata's keynote, check out Chris Grant's ramblings over at Joystiq by clicking the "Read" link.
Mario Party coming to DS?
Mario Party might be on it's way to the Nintendo DS. Aussie-Nintendo writes: "In a recent interview with Hudson Soft, Shuichiro Nishiya expressed that he would like to develop Mario Party for the Nintendo DS. With its microphone and its two screens, Nintendo DS would be perfect to accommodate a game like Mario Party." The producer is said to be looking into the expansion on the DS and intends to make it happen. While not official, it's a safe bet we'll be seeing the party game grace the DS handheld soon based solely on the franchise's success.
Mario Party, Civ IV help give Amazon.com record holiday season
It was a very good holiday season for Amazon.com. The ever-popular online store has reported approximately 108 million items have been ordered since November 1st - their best holiday season yet. In their press release, Amazon.com notes that "video games were popular this year," citing their top sellers as Mario Party 7, Civilization IV, and Age of Empires 3. Top in video game hardware were, unsurprisingly, the three portable consoles: the pearl blue Game Boy Advance SP (not Micro?), the electric blue Nintendo DS, and the Sony PSP value pack. How many of you used Amazon this year for the majority of your holiday shopping? [via Gamasutra] Read
