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DDR Disney Mix, no console required
Looking to get down with The Mouse without visiting the Magic Kingdom? Konami, Buena Vista Games, and Majesco will be partnering to produce a Plug 'N' Play version of Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix. The game plugs directly into TVs and includes a custom Disney dance pad. DDR Disney was originally released for the PlayStation back in 2001 to average reviews, but console-free technologies have been giving older games second lives. How many Plug 'N' Play titles do you own?
Frogger hops onto XBLA, hit by semi
The arcade classic, Frogger, is now available on Xbox Live Arcade for the low, low price of 400 MS Points. In addition to the classic coin-op, there are now several multiplayer modes, including versus and co-op(!). Sounds absolutely ribbit-ing.[Via QJ]
Konami trademarks "Guitar Revolution"
Following the rockstar reception Harmonix's Guitar Hero has received, it appears Konami might try to emulate that success by bringing the heretofore Japan-only Guitar Freaks series to the US under the recently trademarked moniker, Guitar Revolution.Filed on 6/29, the Guitar Revolution trademark covers, "video game machines for use with televisions with video game controller in the form of an electronic toy guitar, sold as a unit." So we think what they're trying to say is you'll be able to buy a killer guitar controller to shred your way through a game. Now it comes down to who gets what songs and whose guitar controller rocks harder. That one just ain't cutting it, Konami.[Via Gamespot]
TY the Tasmanian Tiger confirmed for Wii
Because somebody out there has to care. In a follow-up interview to one conducted way back in February, Aussie developer Krome Studios confirms that their furry friend from down under will indeed make an appearance on Nintendo's next console. After commenting on the studio's current projects, Konami's Hellboy and The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, the tricky-to-pronounce Steve Stamatidiadis notes that "the Wii is the perfect platform for a TY game and you can bet your booties that we'll be doing one down the track."Since our considerably valued booties are on the line, we'd also wager that the Wii version of TY the Tasmanian Tiger will involve chucking the wiimote like a boomerang in order to defeat at least one evil robot kangaroo. With a talking animal jumping over platforms and such, the game will no doubt be a veritable explosion of creativity (and other Australian stereotypes). Somebody can't wait.[Thanks saigon!]
Castlevania movie: "The whip is still in it"
New details have emerged about the upcoming Castlevania movie. For one, the Belmonts won't be making their big screen debut for at least several more years since director Paul W.S. Anderson is still filming Resident Evil: Extinction, which he plans to follow up with his remake of Deathrace 3000. Producer Jeremy Bolt describes Castlevania's plot as a Dracula origin story that integrates the Belmont's history. Bolt promises that there will be plenty of references to the NES games, despite the movie providing "a whole new spin to Castlevania." Thankfully, that 'new spin' doesn't mean the Belmonts will now be packing heat (à la neo-vampire-hunter Blade) -- we hope. "The whip is still in it," says Bolt.
Silent Hill 5 rumor round-up
QJ.net rounds up some Silent Hill 5 rumors from the Team Xbox forums and provides instant analysis: The game will have a next gen release, all signs indicate it'll be coming to the PS3, but it's likely the 360 will not be left out in the cold. It'll be developed by an American R&D team. Gameplay will be influenced by the highly successful and popular Resident Evil 4 They pretty judge it "Obviously," "Interesting," and "Neato, but don't screw it up" in that order. I'll silently agree.
Portrait of Ruin drops the touchscreen stuff and hints at Wi-Fi
In having a chat with Koji Igarashi, the man behind the upcoming Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin for everyone's favorite handheld, Game Informer managed to squeeze such deliciously sweet juice from the man as if he were a large citrus fruit. On second thought, that analogy is a bit gross. Forget I ever wrote it.So, onto the things that matter then? Game Informer put the man to work, grilling him as if they were the police who were holding their prime suspect in a double homicide. The first thing they started questioning him on was touchscreen functionality in the new game, something that this blogger felt was an unecessary addition to the gameplay in Dawn of Sorrow. Like any respectable individual, he is able to recognize his own mistakes."My concern was over the Castlevania pure action gameplay, which you actually had to stop and let the user use the stylus to do something. So now that it's approximately two years after the launch of the hardware, I took it easy (laughs)." Later on he commented that "It felt a little uncomfortable after beating a boss to get your stylus out and draw a magic seal. It seems to stop the moment of pure action."Naturally, Game Informer would bring up something about Wi-Fi connectivity, and Igarashi commented that he was thinking about implementing a single unlockable level for some co-op gameplay. He also said that he thinks he's able to implement full co-op into the game, but wants to tackle the challenge of successfully utilizing any co-op this time around before attempting such a huge task.
Elebits Q&A
Gamespot has recently posted an interesting Q&A session with Elebits producer Shingo Mukaitouge. Though the game suffered a rather iffy showing at E3 this year, Mukaitouge states that it was an extremely basic build of the game. He plans for over one hundred of the power-bestowing creatures to inhabit the game, each with unique properties that will eventually allow the player to perform such daunting tasks as levitating automobiles and houses.Elebits will be released either at launch or very soon thereafter. Claiming a wide appeal, this game might be the sleeper hit of the initial Wii lineup.
Metareview - Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel
It's not a game. You know that, right? Good.For Metal Gear fanatics, Digital Graphic Novel is a must, containing countless (unlockable) tidbits of data that are used to piece together the Shadow Moses Incident. But if 'Shadow Moses' doesn't ring a bell, then you're better off waiting for Portable Ops to get your Metal Gear fix on PSP -- unless you're a sucker for graphic novels. DailyGame (85/100) - "Whoever thought of creating the Digital Graphic Novel needs a raise." GamePro (80/100) - "MGS: Digital Graphic Novel will probably confuse the heck out of you." GamerFeed (70/100) - "Seeing as how it's $20, MGS:DGN is one of those 'what the hell' purchases."
The geek version of the World Cup
Alice spotted this snap of the geek's version of the World Cup from the Electronic Football Challenge '06. I'm sure many gamers are intrigued by the logic behind a football game that doesn't require much more effort than rapid wrist movements and lets players argue with the referee over irc. Also, check out the absent keeper from the nearest team: they must have replaced him with a firewall (sorry).If you're the type that prefers -- slightly more -- real football, then you might be pleased to know that Konami dropped us a line to say that they've signed (according to the press release) "one of the most dangerous strikers in soccer today", Adriano "lightning balls" Ribeiro, to be the figurehead of Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2007.
Calling all Metal Gear fanboys: Kojima Productions wants you!
If you're interested in developing the online gameplay of Metal Gear Solid 4 or Metal Gear: Portable Ops, and not getting paid isn't a concern*, now's your chance -- join the 'improvemgsonline' club at 1up.com. You'll be able to vote in polls and post your gameplay ideas, which theoretically, could be chosen by Kojima Productions. There's already a plethora of suggestions blossoming on the forum, so you best get those 'gears' in motion!*Technically, you could receive exclusive Metal Gear Solid wallpapers.
Kojima speaks out some more on MGS4!
So if Afrika didn't do it for you and nothing else tickles your fancy on PS3 just yet, then you know there's always Metal Gear Solid 4 to look forward to. Hideo Kojima shared some great information about the gameplay for the upcoming title in an interview with PSM2. One of the things he talked about was the "octo cam" suit. This puppy can adapt by changing color and form based on your surroundings. Of course that will happen on the fly, and most interestingly enough is only possible on the PlayStation 3 (the graphical effect that is, according to Kojima). He also talked about the destructible environments. Only certain things will have that potential, so don't expect everything to just go down in flames. He wrapped it up with his infamous sign-off stating that this would be his last Metal Gear title ("No guys I'm serious this time...").
So Dark the Contra of Man
We have to thank our readers for picking our absolute favorite webcomic this week. Steve Napierski of Dueling Analogs deserves a round of applause for showing some artistic merit and creativity in using The Last Supper to recreate the cheat code of old (which, if you haven't noticed, is portrayed by the hands of all characters in the picture).Second place goes to VG Cats' love-hate relationship with Nintendo and third can be claimed by Penny Arcade and their look at E3's Kentia All-Stars. Thanks to everyone who voted, and be sure to let us know (via comments below, preferably) of any game-related webcomic you stumble upon this week!
Joystiq Video: Karaoke Revolution Country
As luck would have it, the edited version of Randall and I's Karaoke Revolution performance live in LA just got uploaded during a nice slow night of blogging. Now, instead of getting washed away in a torrent of E3-related posts, it'll sit on the front page, gathering exposure and accumulating your precious mockery ... alright Joystiqers, have at it!If the embedded video isn't working, check out our local version (.mov).[Thanks, Alexia and Randall!]
Wii impressions: Elebits
Elebits has Katamari potential. It's got quirky, anyone's game appeal. The premise is simple, use the Wiimote to target an object in the environment (the demo featured a fully stocked kitchen) and latch on to it with a laser beam. Then, use a push, pull, or toss motion to move the object and uncover the tiny elebits. The goal is to zap as many elebits as you can in the time allotted.The fun is that you can literally tear the environment to pieces. Granted, in its current state, the controls need work. It took nearly a minute of gameplay time to grab hold of a door handle, pull the door open, and walk through into the next room.Zapping tiny Teletubby knockoffs, and making a mess in the process, isn't exactly mainstream gaming, but it has the potential to reach a segment of the broader demographic Nintendo is after.
First impression: Coded Arms Contagion
We're still not sure why Konami was so defensive about the new Coded Arms, considering that they wouldn't let us into their press event and all, but it could have something to do with the complete awkwardness of the game. When I showed up to finally see what Contagion was all about, I was a little bit disappointed with how uncomfortable the whole thing felt between my hands. Graphically, it was okay for an FPS on the PlayStation Portable. Not any better looking than the first installment though.
Portable Ops: MGS on PSP sans card battles
Since we didn't get into Konami's keynote this afternoon (they had a little tantrum when we didn't remove a post at their request) we're linking to Gamespot's coverage of the latest installment in the seminal Metal Gear Solid series: Portable Ops for the PSP. What makes Portable Ops special? No card battles, that's what!According to Gamespot, Ops is "even more intriguing than [they] would have expected." Errr, okay. Whatever that means. We will say that it features that same MGS action that console gamers have come to love, packaged in a convenient portable factor. Taking place in 1970, six years after the events of Snake Eater, Ops will detail Naked Snake's fall from grace ... we're talking Big Boss people. Plan on getting some portable sneaking on winter '06. Awesome.
Kojima's DS game touts vampirism and meteorology
If you spend a good deal of your time watching classic Dracula movies or, uh, the Weather Channel, you would no doubt be interested in Hideo Kojima's new DS game, Lunar Knights. Featuring loads of snarling vampires and weather effects, Gamespot notes that the game follows the adventures of two warriors looking to spill the blood of some blood-suckers. The stylus is used for plenty of actions in the game, just as you'd expect, but the interesting part comes in with the use of the DS' top screen. As your characters traverse the bottom screen, the weather above them (so to speak) will change and affect their abilities to successfully fend off the vampires plaguing the planet. If the thought of umbrella-wielding heroes slaying in the rain doesn't appeal to you, you are most likely dead inside.
18 Xbox Live Arcade titles revealed [update 1]
Here's a quick n' dirty breakdown of the 18 Xbox Live Arcade games that were playable at Microsoft's after (media breifing) party: Cloning Clyde - indie platformer Contra - arcade port; Konami code works; diagonal shooting was spotty Defender - arcade port Frogger - arcade port Galaga - arcade port Heavy Weapon - indie side-scrolling tank shooter Lumines Live - like PSP version, but with downloadable videos Mutant Storm Empire - indie sequel with upgraded visuals; continuous levels; room-to-room (a la Smash TV) Pac-Man - arcade port RoboBlitz - indie title using Unreal Engine 3; build was unplayable unbearable Scramble - arcade port Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting - arcade port; controls (on gamepad) were inconsistent Small Arms - indie Smash Bros. ripoff Texas Hold 'Em - poker (without real money) Time Pilot - arcade port Totemball - indie camera-controlled musical platform adventure Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 - arcade port Uno - card game A Microsoft representative told us that these titles should be available by the holiday season, with some seeing summer/fall releases. Street Fighter, Texas Hold 'Em, and Uno will represent the next available batch of XBL Arcade games and should be released in the coming weeks.Update: Uno is (available on) Live! [Thanks, Dan]
Konami to blogs: How does that work again?
At this very moment, Konami is holding a mysterious press conference in the depths of LA, presumably revealing details on their flagship title, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, as well as several new titles that will be available on the E3 show floor. Sadly, Konami decided earlier today to unceremoniously lock Joystiq out of the conference due to a heinous act that was committed yesterday. It seems that Konami is still trying to wrap their heads idea around the blogosphere, struggling to come to grips with the concept of us providing readers with information on forthcoming games. Konami requested us to remove the offending snaps of their booth on the show floor, snaps which revealed some games that were not due to be announced until, well, now most likely. Since we believe that to be an unreasonable request that will disadvantage our readers, the post will not be coming down. We apologize for not being able to provide more excellent liveblogging from their conference.We'll still be providing normal coverage of Konami's many titles on the show floor and will not let their rampant blog-o-phobia affect our writing. C'mon, how could we not be excited about more Solid Snake?
