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Dark Sector removed from 'crowded' holiday season, due early 2008
Digital Extremes' Dark Sector, one of the first games to brandish the unnaturally shiny "next-gen" label, has been shoved out of its proposed holiday season release period and into the first quarter of 2008. A representative from D3Publishing tells FiringSquad, "We've decided to pull Dark Sector out of a very crowded holiday season and it is now slated for release in Q1 2008."Apparently, the publisher believes that releasing a third-person sci-fi title into a throbbing crowd of anticipated games is a mistake. Of course, where D3 sees Dark Sector getting trampled, Midway sees Blacksite: Area 51 being hoisted up by Halo 3 and surfing the crowd. We'll see which decision fares better soon enough.
Halo 3 will boost BlackSite sales, dev prays
According to BlackSite designer Ricardo Bare, there are two "schools of thought" among developers who must release their games alongside Halo. The first, and most obvious, is the understanding that your game is doomed, and therefore you should curse your publisher for scheduling an imbecilic release date and quickly settle into the realization that you won't be receiving a bonus for all those sleepless hours spent smoothing out the buggy corridor in that damned missile silo near the end of level four. But then, there are those, like Midway (who has no publisher to blame), who believe that blockbusters like Halo 3 help to spur sales of like-genred alien shooters. (Note our reaction to this theory in the image above.)"Whenever you go and see a really bad ass action movie like X-Men, it just makes you want to go and see Spider-Man 3, right? You usually want more of the same," Bare told CVG, adding, "when something really huge comes out, it helps the other two or three really good games that also come out, because you want more FPS action." But Bare was also quick to draw a distinction between Halo 3 and his team's Area 51 follow-up, which adds squad-based tactics and political commentary to the alien extermination plot. So whether you want "more of the same" or something a bit different, BlackSite has you covered? Have we got the slogan right? Midway had best launch a stronger marketing campaign than that (and start reaching out to the PC and PS3 crowds) and, even more importantly, beat Halo 3 to store shelves. In other words, stop cannibalizing resources for another demo (this time with multiplayer) and don't waste any more time pondering the BlackSite sequel -- Halo 3 is here September 25th. Guys, maybe it's time to consider a 'strategic' delay?
New multiplayer BlackSite demo on the way, sequel rumored
Speaking to Eurogamer, Midway's Harvey Smith, creative director for BlackSite: Area 51, admitted that he's already thinking of ways to expand the next game in the series. While he doesn't officially confirm a sequel is in development, it seems at least that he's hoping for one. More intriguing to those of us who exist in the here and now, Smith intimates that Midway is considering another demo in addition to the one already available on Xbox Live Marketplace. Smith notes that it may be longer than the (very short) demo already available. Also, the new demo should include some multiplayer elements from the game. The retail game is expected to include deathmatch, CTF, and co-op modes, so a multiplayer demo would certainly be welcome. No date for the new demo has been announced
Solve these new Hot Brain images
Just to warn you, PSP Fanboy Theatre and Ask PSP Fanboy features will be very, very late today. Why? Let's say that blogging from our PSP systems isn't the most efficient way to do things. Until I get seated next to an actual computer, let's try solving these new Hot Brain images from Midway. We'll be getting our review copies soon, so stay tuned for our impressions.%Gallery-3240%
Myst coming to the DS
The game that practically launched a genre, Myst has remained one of the most engaging (or boring, depending on who you ask) and mysterious adventure titles ever released. The series has expanded to include sequels, an MMOG, and most recently a release on the PSP. Now, Midway is preparing to port the aging title to the DS so we can finally live out our oldest Myst fantasies: jabbing Sirrus and Achenar with a stylus. For starters, Myst DS will include a brand new age to explore as well as the Rime Age from realMYST. The game's source code has been re-written specifically for the DS, new sounds and clips are scattered throughout, and the video and audio have been re-mastered as well. Touch screen control is a given, but Midway hasn't revealed how both screens will be utilized. Keep an eye out for Myst DS this November in Europe.[Via Eurogamer][Update: Fixed Rime Age/new age error.]
North American PSN releases for June 1st -- Prepare to be bored
In another rather underwhelming PlayStation Store update, Sony has released the SOE remake of the arcade classic, Championship Sprint, for the standard price of $4.99. Be warned though, even compared to the previous Midway classic remakes, the reviews have been pretty bad on this one. In addition to Championship Sprint, Sony also included a handful of new tutorial videos for their baseball sim MLB 07, for people just dying to know how to play the game. Not particularly interesting for the general market though.Namco also chipped in this week and released a boatload of Ridge Racer 7 add-ons with dozens of new events and car decals for free. They've also released pack of 20 background songs for the game, but rather surprisingly they actually cost money. The songs can be bought individually for 99 cents or as a package for $14.99. The new events and decals are pretty cool -- it's kind of fun whipping around corners with a Katamari decal plastered on you car. Plus they're free, which is always a nice bonus. The background music is kind of a write off though unless you're really into Ridge Racer tunes. And finally, rounding out the update are two theatrical trailers; one for the Pixar flick Ratatouille and one for the um ... stuntman movie Hot Rod. Nothing real special here, but if you combine this with the European PSN update -- it's almost a worthwhile release.
Totally visceral presentation of Mortal Kombat fatalities
What's more brutal than seeing gruesome fatalities performed before your eyes, while blood and bone spill all around and the hopeless fake cries of voice actors echo in your head? A list of moves in the PDF format. Those with weak stomachs should look away from the rawness. While this isn't as MORTAL KOMBAAAAAAAAAAT as, say, screenshots or video would be, we admit that we were pretty curious about how the moves in Mortal Kombat Armageddon were going to be pulled off (not curious enough to buy it, but certainly curious enough to read a thing on the Internet.) We knew waggling would be involved, but it's cool to learn what the specific waggles will be.This totally reminds us of downloading Mortal Kombat FAQs from Compuserve and leaving them to print from our dot-matrix printer overnight. Sometimes we'd wake up in the morning only to find that our pet dinosaur had shredded all the pages, forcing us to start over.[Via Joystiq]
Mortal Kombat's Wiimote-enabled fatalities
While we're not sold on using the Wiimote for traditional fighting games -- and neither is Midway, you can play the newly released Mortal Kombat: Armageddon with the classic controller or GameCube controller -- the mere thought of Wiimote-enabled fatalities has us all bloodthirsty giddy with curiosity. We perused the list of moves conveniently hosted in PDF format at JOEyGADGET, and selected our three favorites, ranked in order of offensiveness to your grandparents: Rip off Both ArmsRemote & Nunchuck: Both poke, Remote toward and Nunchuck awayHead Crush FinisherRemote & Nunchuck: away then toward each other (clap)Spine Rip FinisherRemote: Poke, twist clockwise Between this and Manhunt 2's Wiimote-enabled depravity, the Wii is becoming the console of choice for not only the octogenarian cruise ship crowd, but the graphic simulated violence crowd as well.
Retro GC compilations offer Wii owners options
Virtual Console pricing got you down? Not to fret -- there are plenty of GameCube compilation titles available at a budget price. Racketboy recently took an in-depth look at a few of these game sets, offering readers a detailed look at what's included in each ... and some answers to the question of whether or not they're worth your $10. For instance, he reports that the Namco collections play well, but Midway Arcade Treasures seems to feature a few games with below average controls. But even with a few duds, the pricing on most of these sets is just right for gamers on a tight budget who need to get their retro fix.
Hour of Victory demo now Live
The only question is, will the Hour of Victory demo now on Xbox Live provide an hour of fun? Also, did Activision release new Call of Duty 3 content today specifically to distract you from this fellow first-person double-dub dos shooter? Wait, well we guess that's two questions. So, the only questions are the two we've already asked. Oh, and will Midway please develop Hour of Victory Airborne so we can fire up the Joystiq Acronizer 3000 and use up these Jay-Z jokes we bought a few years ago on clearance? So, three.Come to think of it, will the less-than-stellar reception the demo is receiving so far keep you from downloading it? And, lest we forget the most important question: What did you think? So, just those five questions, no more. We promise.Update: The Hour of Victory demo has now apparently been pulled from Xbox Live. We don't know if has anything to do with the game's negative reception as this thread suggests. We'll let you know if anything changes.
Stranglehold cover system is a lot like Space Invaders
The latest post in the development blog for John Woo's Stranglehold explains the action game's cover system with a rather ingenious analogy: Space Invaders.More specifically, Senior designer Patrick Curry is describing medium-sized objects (e.g. couches, concrete columns) that you can use for cover and are destructible. "As your cover shrinks Tequila will automatically crouch down to use whatever cover's left," he said, "but in Stranglehold no cover lasts forever." It was lead designer Neill Glancy who came up with the analogy, which explains how gunfire will slowly whittle down cover that either you or your opponents may be using.We know what you're thinking: will you have the cojones to blast through your own cover, just like in Space Invaders? Real-world application of retro gaming skills embedded after the break.
Championship Sprint heading to PSN, but first, a video
Here's another classic Midway arcade title -- Championship Sprint. For some reason, the title of the game made us think we were going to see some horses racing, but alas, there are no horses. Just horseless carriages. While we'd love to "relive the classic arcade action", we're not entirely pumped to have another really old title hit the PS Store. It may be nice to relive those memories, but personally, preference goes to R.C. Pro-Am for the NES. It's awesome. This? Maybe ... there are crashes, after all.
Hour of Victory demo coming next week
Hour of Victory, Midway's next entry into the often neglected WWII genre, will be receiving a demo next week on Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo will arrive next Wednesday, giving eager gamers a chance to try the game before it assaults retail on June 22. While it's true that the WWII genre is somewhat saturated at this point, Hour of Victory attempts to stand out from the rest of the crowd by offering a character switching gimmick. There are three characters in the game, boasting different specialties and presumably different personalities (sort of like a hairier, sweatier Charlie's Angels). There is the stealthy spy type capable of stealth kills and other forms of sneakery, the out-and-out soldier eager for a brawl, and the sniper, who, um, snipes things. To get an idea what you'll be in for when the demo drops, check out a trailer for Hour of Victory after the break.
Hour of Victory coming June 22, demo next week
Gather your brothers in arms into a company of heroes and get ready to answer the call of duty to earn a medal of honor, Hour of Victory is coming June 22. If you're unconvinced that you want to make the 60-year-long journey back to WWII yet again, you'll get a chance to sample Midway's Unreal Engine 3-based FPS next Wednesday with an Xbox Live demo.In case you've forgotten (and who could blame you?) HoV's gimmick is that players switch between three different types of soldiers like the Army Ranger and British Commando to accomplish their goals. You'll be able to play all three types in the demo and, one would assume, get a good sense of what the game is all about. Hopefully you'll be able to tell if your hour of victory will be when you drive to the store to buy the game or stay home to get some extra sleep.
Joust to impale the PS Network tomorrow for $5
What is the price of nostalgia? Sony has announced that starting tomorrow, you will be able to ride your ostrich and thwart buzzard-riding knights when Midway's Joust arrives on the PlayStation Network for $4.99.Judging by the press release and attached screenshots, the game looks to be visually untouched from its original state. We had a hard time recommending the game for $5 (then 400 MS points) last year when it was released, with updated visuals, on Xbox Live, and we have just as hard of a time recommending it now on the PS3. However, if you have deep-rooted memories in this game (and don't already have it in one of the other Midway bundles), this is for you.
Joust to headline tomorrow's Store update
In addition to the firmware upgrade and Warhawk beta, the PS Store will feature a brand-new old game tomorrow: Joust. Players will battle enemy knights, lava trolls and pterodactyls in this revived Midway classic. In addition to enhanced resolution, the game will also feature online leaderboards.The download will be available on the Store tomorrow for only $4.99.%Gallery-3387%
Where's Rampage?
According to Sony, this week they released the Midway arcade classic, Rampage: World Tour through the PlayStation Store. There's a problem though. Rampage is not actually available for download in most places in North America. We have reports of people on the east coast being able to download it, but for most people on the west coast - Rampage is conspicuously absent.For many people (me included), the ONLY thing added this week was the Joust video. Whats up, Sony? When you say a game is available for download, it's a good idea to actually make it downloadable.*Update*It looks like Rampage is available to some people on the west coast after all. It appears its a lot more random than we thought. We'll let you know if we hear from Sony about what happened.
North American PLAYSTATION Store releases for the week
Sony continues to release a steady flow of Midway arcade classics over the PLAYSTATION Store. As we mentioned yesterday, this week's new downloadable title is Rampage: World Tour. Unfortunately, that's about it for this week. The only other thing is a video of the next Midway arcade release, Joust. Joy. Sony has also temporarily lowered the price on flOw. For a limited time, you can download one of the best PSN titles out there for only $4.99 (normally $7.99). Not much this time around, it's really a shame Sony didn't load up a bunch of the HD trailers from Gamer's Day. I'd LOVE to see the Uncharted trailer on my big screen.
Rampage World Tour tears up the PS3 tonight
Sony has announced that tonight they are releasing the SOE remake of the arcade classic, Rampage World Tour, through the North American PLAYSTATION Store. Priced at the standard rate of a mere $4.99, the downloadable title allows you to play as any of the three classic Rampage characters as you tear down skyscapers and generally terrorize the city. The game also offers multiplayer action for up to three people, online or local - no word on if it supports voice chat though.I'm pretty stoked about this title myself. I liked Mortal Kombat II a lot, but Gauntlet II was kind of lacking in the fun department. Rampage looks solid though, graphics held up surprisingly well and something about the simple, destructive nature of the gameplay of the original always entertained me.[Via Press Release]
Best Special Edition ever? Stranglehold SE exclusive to the PS3
Wow. After years of videogame special editions including nothing more than a making-of DVD or a lame in-game item, Midway Games has decided to up the ante considerably. Included with the exclusive PS3 special edition of Stranglehold is a full-length high-def remastering of John Woo's greatest movie (and Stranglehold prequel), Hard Boiled.A stunning example of 90's Hong Kong cinema, Hard Boiled pretty much put John Woo on the map. Starring Chow Yun Fat as the hardened Hong Kong cop Tequila, the violent action movie has some of the most memorable shoot-outs in the genre. The finale, a 30 minute gun fight in a crowded hospital remains one of the most intense scenes in an action movie to this very day. A classic in every sense of the word, the movie has had a bumpy release history in the US. The DVD has been out of print for many years, and the Criterion Edition will command prices upwards of 100 dollars on eBay. But now, thanks to Midway, for just 10 extra dollars ($70US total), you can get the special edition of Stranglehold with the first ever HD remastering of Hard Boiled. Suddenly, my interest in this game just went from moderate to INSANE. [via blu-ray.com]
