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Games on Demand: Medal of Honor Airborne, SoulCalibur IV
Microsoft has added two more popular Xbox 360 titles to the console's Games on Demand system -- Medal of Honor Airborne and SoulCalibur IV are now available for download, priced at $19.99 each. Those of you overseas (or in the US with amazing memories) will know that MoH Airbourne actually appeared internationally back in February, but now everyone can enjoy the relentless slaughter of WWII soldiers from above. Oh, and playing a fighting game as Yoda is fun, too. Xbox.com: Add Medal of Honor: Airborne to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99) Xbox.com: Add SoulCalibur IV to your Xbox 360 download queue ($19.99)
Google Pac-Man made permanent
If you need a disconcerting reminder of Google's power, you need look no further than May 21, when the search giant got the entire planet excited to play Pac-Man using only its logo. If you never want to search for anything on the internet again without the potential for distraction, we've got great news (or bad news, if you're an employer): The Pac-themed logo has become a permanent fixture here. So as not to be left behind, we've enabled the Joystiq logo to play chess. Just set the board up in front of your screen and wait for its first move. Oh, don't let the wait fool you, it just needs a while to think. ... Should be just a moment or two more now. [Via Game Hunters]
Knights Contract confirmed for North America in 2011
Click image for more shocking displays of power Namco Bandai has announced that last week's unveiling of Knights Contract also pertains to us knaves here in North America, where the game will launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. It stars Heinrich, a medieval knight tasked with guarding the resurrected witch that he once killed and who now has him under her spelll. It sounds like a bum deal, to be honest. The first trailer for the game portrayed Knights Contract as a Bayonetta-esque action-adventure game. Have a look at the screenshots in our gallery below, but know that they're quite gory -- not Killer Clowns from Outer Space gory, but like Kill Bill gory. You've been warned! %Gallery-93657%
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 trailer is epic
We could go on about all of the badass ninja action going on in the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 trailer above, but we just can't get past how amazing it all looks in HD. It's like this trailer opened our skull and scooped out our brain, only to leave a drooling husk of a human being in its wake. We guess it's kinda impressive we managed to write this post. So hit the play button above and see Naruto and company throw down in splendid HD glory. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 launches this fall. [Thanks, Andre]
Google celebrates Pac-Man's 30th anniversary with playable logo
A playable ... logo? That's exactly what web giant Google has today, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man's Japanese release. The doodle (Google's term for its event and holiday-specific logos) is accessible on its main page and is a full 255-level game complete with a 256th level "kill screen," just like the original coin-op. The interactive doodle -- a first for Google -- is the brainchild of senior user experience designer Marcin Wichary, whose earliest exposure to Pac-Man came at age five while traveling across his native Poland with his father, a game technician, to repair arcade machines. Wichary worked with Google doodler (yes, it's a real job) Ryan Germick to create the finished design. So, for today at least, you can tell your boss: "I may be browsing the web and playing a game, but I'm also being part of something historic." Note: Joystiq assumes no responsibility for any repercussions that result from playing Google's Pac-Man doodle at work.
Pac-Man Reborn explores Pac evolution on mobile and Twitter
Namco Bandai teased the "next evolution" of Pac-Man earlier this month; now we think we have a pretty good idea of what game the publisher was talking about, if not exactly how the game works. The Japanese side of the company has announced Pac-Man Reborn, a mobile game based on the idea of building and evolving the ultimate Pac creature. Players create their own Pac-Man thing in different colors, using parts like antlers and kebabs, then pit them against their friends, with the winner spawning a new Pac-Man thing. And somehow, this crazy mobile / iPhone game will interact with Twitter. We expect to find out more about this game -- like how to play it and what Namco is talking about -- during the E3 Pac-Man party. A beta will be released in Japan tomorrow, marking the 30th anniversary of the original game. [Via Siliconera]
Namco Bandai announces new action game Knights Contract
According to Siliconera, this week's edition of Famitsu outed Namco Bandai's current project: A frantic, Bayonetta-esque action game titled Knights Contract. You play as the titular, scythe wielding soldier named Heinrich, who must slay groups of gruesome enemies while protecting Gretchen, a witch who has cursed you with immortality. Why are you protecting the witch who put a curse on you? We have no idea. Probably because she's pretty, and you're a knight? If that sounds like a winning combination, you can check out the debut trailer for the game just past the jump. Right now, it's only slated for a 2011 release on 360 and PS3 in Japan, but we think fighting monsters with agricultural hand tools is a concept the whole world will be able to get behind.
Namco Bandai predicts sales for Dead to Rights, Splatterhouse
During a recent investor's presentation, Namco Bandai relayed some projections for a few of its top titles -- specifically, recent releases Clash of the Titans and Dead to Rights: Retribution and upcoming Splatterhouse and Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom. The presentation is available here, though due to the fact that it's in some foreign language (what are they speaking, Klingon?), we defer to Siliconera's translation. For Clash and DtR, Namco Bandai isn't expecting either to clear a million units: each is projected to sell around 700,000 copies. That's certainly nothing to scoff at. Namco Bandai has higher hopes for Splatterhouse and Majin, however, predicting sales of one million for each. Really? A million units? Sure, we've heard that "sex sells," but charmingly bumbling monsters and bloody, deformed hockey mask-garbed behemoths? People can't possibly be into either of those things, right? [Via Siliconera]
Our Enslaved: Odyssey to the West trailer is your trailer
The most recent episode of GameTrailers TV brought with it the first moving pictures associated with Ninja Theory's upcoming Chinese fable-turned-video game, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Our initial thoughts on the trailer is that it loses a significant amount of points for sheer bossiness ("My something is your something," the video frequently informs us), but regains said points for the protagonist's creative methods of ladder navigation. Update: Trailer embedded above.
Dead to Rights: Retribution 'GAC Pack' DLC coming May 26 [update: June 1 in North America]
Click image to dance into our gallery Grant City officers looking to extend their Turner and Hooch-like experience in Dead to Rights: Retribution will soon get a new DLC pack. The "GAC Pack" (400 on Xbox Live / $4.99 on PSN) drops on May 26 in PAL territories [update: June 1 for North America] for Xbox 360 and PS3 and adds two new gameplay modes: Assault on the 87th Precinct and Riot Control. In Assault on the 87th Precinct, players take up the role of the enemy -- Grant City Anti-Crime. Playing as a Sniper, Brawler and Tank, players must perform the titular assault on the Grant City Police Department and secure the building, a twist on one of the game's campaign missions. Then there's Riot Control, which is essentially Dead to Rights' version of Horde mode: Jack and Shadow face off against waves of GAC forces, earning points "based on speed and style." Riot Control will support international leaderboards. As an added incentive for downloading the "GAC Pack," two previously pre-order exclusive DLC items will be included: the "Jack Pack" and the "Shadow Pack." These add a new set of armor for Jack and some camouflage for Shadow, as well as an "action mode" which turns every bullet into a tiny, exploding grenade. Finally, there's a noir graphic filter included if staring at all of those colors upsets your delicate retinas. %Gallery-91977%
Released: New shots of Ninja Theory's Enslaved
Click to free this screen from its 580-pixel-wide constraints Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the latest batch of screenshots from Enslaved, developed by Heavenly Sword's Ninja Theory. The year is far from over, but we're already donning the game with an award (albeit a made-up one) for "Most Copious Use of Post-Processing 2010" because we can't fathom another game having more of the stuff. Don't take this as a slight against the game by any means -- we think the post-apocalyptic retelling of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West looks just super. Plus, this round of shots seems to include a few that look like actual gameplay, which is always, y'know, good -- with or without fancy-schmancy shader effects. %Gallery-91853%
Splatterhouse trailer borders on tasteful
For those that have been following the bloody trail of Splatterhouse marketing thus far, the latest trailer is something of a departure. By that we mean to say that the first minute or so is essentially devoid of blood and gore; in fact, it's almost ... refined. But fear not, gore hounds: The last thirty seconds deliver the brutal (recently cel-shaded) mayhem we've come to expect.
Demon's Souls hack-'n-slashing through Europe in June
Namco Bandai will unleash Demon's Souls upon European territories on June 25, ending the region's dearth of pleasurable pain, the publisher has announced. The PlayStation 3 exclusive will be released as a limited "Black Phantom Edition" retail package, featuring the game, a soundtrack CD, an artbook and a strategy guide (trust us, Europe, you'll need it!). Atlus, as you may recall, published the game in North America, following its debut in Japan under the Sony label. The game was co-developed by From Software and SCE Japan Studio. If you're a would-be demon slayer anxious to learn more about what's in store should you embark on this difficult quest, might we point you to our review?
Hands-on: Dead to Rights Retribution
Our protagonist awakens, covered in debris from a train wreck he managed to narrowly escape from. How did he get there? The game rewinds to earlier in the adventure, as our hero makes his way on a sordid journey towards the disastrous ride. Along the way, he'll have to dispatch enemies, taking cover, mixing gun play and melee combat. No, this isn't Uncharted 2. It's Namco Bandai's Dead to Rights Retribution. And unfortunately, it too easily welcomes comparison to Joystiq's Game of the Year 2009 ... and comes up short.%Gallery-45220%
Namco launches iPhone puzzle-shooter, Lt. Fly: Rise of the Arachnids
Namco's iPhone racket isn't just limited to remakes of beloved arcade classics, you know. The company recently decided to publish a neat little puzzle-action game from Teravision Games titled Lt. Fly: Rise of the Arachnids, which combines Match 4's brick swapping with Missile Command's target shooting. To put it simpler, it's like Puzzle Quest, only with less questing, and more artillery. Puzzle Gun. The game's currently available on the App Store for $1.99. If you're intrigued by this odd combination of gameplay mechanics, you can check out a gameplay video after the jump, play the title's free, online counterpart on Teravision's site. Lt. Fly: Rise of the Arachnids ($1.99)
Dead to Rights: Retribution trailer enforces slow-mo justice
Namco's marketing department must have really gotten a kick out of that 300 movie, because the latest trailer for its upcoming Turner & Hooch adaptation, Dead to Rights: Retribution, is chock full of the slow-mo. It's not that we're complaining; a lady falling from the top of a skyscraper or beating the crap out of a group of similarly uniformed thugs is made infinitely better through the tactful use of slow-mo. That part's fine -- what we still have trouble with is protagonist (and police officer) Jack Slate's inability to value human life. Sure, these guys are criminals, but that doesn't mean you have to do some weird wrestling move that breaks their neck and kills them dead, right? Since when did a can of mace and the Miranda rights stop being standard procedure?
Pac-Man Battle Royale: competitive Pac-Man for omnivores
As advertised, Namco Bandai brought a prototype of its new Pac-Man Battle Royale to the 2010 Amusement Expo. Arcade Heroes captured some off-screen footage of the multiplayer arcade title (posted after the break), revealing a cross between the GameCube's Pac-Man Vs. and the XBLA hit Pac-Man: Championship Edition. Instead of putting certain players in the roles of ghosts as Pac-Man Vs. did, however, Battle Royale takes the direct approach and pits four cannibalistic Pac-Men against each other, as they compete to eat the most dots, ghosts and even each other. The game would be totally brutal if the cocktail-style cabinet didn't make it all appear so classy. Hopefully, Namco Bandai will use that cabinet for the final version of the game, due for a September release, as well. [Via GameSetWatch]
Clash of the Titans screens highlight multi-headed beasts
Click image to fetch some more screens If you think our last batch of screens depicted some ugly creatures from Namco Bandai's upcoming Clash of the Titans, then we guess this latest round of shots are par for the course. Featuring several screens of the multi-headed nasty you see above, our gallery below is a veritable playground of potential nightmare inducers. This beast is like a smaller, more nimble version of Cerberus from Devil May Cry 3. Maybe a bit less chilly, too. Anyway, feel free to hit up the gallery below for the new screens. %Gallery-87927%
