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Paramount won't use 'Section 8' name, TimeGate drops suit
We were just getting geared up for a protracted legal cat fight between developer TimeGate and movie studio Paramount over the rights to the name "Section 8" ... but the whole thing fizzled nearly before it began. If you'll remember, TimeGate claimed that it shared the name of its FPS with Paramount, which later announced it was working on an interactive property of the same name, prompting the game developer to sue the studio. Now, Paramount has agreed to not use the name and, in turn, TimeGate has dismissed the suit. Bor-ing.
Pirates vs. Ninjas (vs. Mushroom Men) Dodgeball coming May 12
SouthPeak just announced a release date for the retail Wii version of its XBLA sports/fighting/party game, Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball. Obviously the game didn't make its winter release, but finally, on May 12, Wii owners will be able to pit internet memes against each other, in order to determine, once and for all, who can take a hit to the face better. With the Wii version, naturally, you'll be able to use motion control to deliver those hits to faces. According to the game's official site, the Wii version allows you to pick between the following teams: Pirates, Ninjas (of course!), Zombies, Robots, Aliens, Monsters ... and Mushroom Men. We missed those guys! %Gallery-30671%
Velvet Assassin coming April 28, Achievements revealed
We don't understand the types who want to dig through achievement lists before a game's even out. Though they're occasionally enlightening, they're far more often spoilery, dull or just plain confusing. This list of Velvet Assassin achievements is no exception.So, why are we taking up your precious bytes with this article? Well, the achievement list from 360sync also includes the official release date for the game: April 28. So, you know ... plan accordingly.%Gallery-17268%
TimeGate sues Paramount for using Section 8 name
We know that legal squabbles can be a little dry, but a new conflict between Section 8 creator TimeGate and Paramount at least has an interesting story behind it to spice things up. According to a suit recently filed by TimeGate, the two companies met several times to discuss business opportunities related to the game. But after said meetings, Paramount allegedly cut off contact with TimeGate and, three days later, announced a new interactive project entitled "Section 8." We asked TimeGate for further comment, a request which its lawyers advised it to decline. It's a shame, too, because we had a great suggestion for their next legal battle.
Dementium: The Ward releasing in April ... in poor, forgotten Europe
At last, forgotten souls in Europe will be able to wander Dementium: The Ward's grainy, dimly lit halls. After scaring up modest reviews in the US and sending Japanese hospitals screaming, Southpeak announced that it will publish Renegade Kid's spook-tastic freshman effort in Europe on April 17.The Nintendo DS survival horror title was first released in the US in 2007, and casts players in the role of an amnesiac stuck in a grimy hospital full of puzzles and the occasional not-so-friendly monster. Finally, survival horror fans in Europe will have something to keep them busy on the commuter train besides the latest Jamie Oliver, though honestly both are probably just as frightening.
GDC09: Hands-on with sci-fi shooter Section 8
Getting killed isn't really a treat in any multiplayer experience. Sure, it gives you a little time to hastily make a sandwich, but that's not really why you're playing the game in the first place, is it? Developer TimeGate (you know, the one behind the F.E.A.R. expansions) has figured out a clever way to circumvent that in its FPS Section 8. After death, you literally dive back onto the battlefield from 15,000 feet in a location of your choice and woe to anything or anyone that's in the way. It's a clever way to make even death enjoyable, and it's just one of the smart tweaks TimeGate has made to the eternal battle between gun-toting guys in space armor and -- well, other gun-toting guys in space armor. %Gallery-4522%
New Velvet Assassin trailer misappropriates Churchill's famous speech
Velvet Assassin has been tasked with performing something rarely possible in games centered on WWII-era events: Basing the story on a real person and keeping things classy. Take, for example, the new trailer the game's publisher, SouthPeak, dropped on us today. Employing one of the most powerful and moving speeches ever given by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, we don't exactly consider the modern rock ending on this trailer keeping anything classy.Though our time spent with the game at the New York Comic Con last month left us feeling a bit less than ecstatic for the game's impending "April release window," we remain intrigued by Velvet Assassin -- even if the trailer misappropriates one of the most famous speeches in all of history.
Kid-friendly Roogoo Twisted Towers and Attack box art
(click to embiggen) "Cheery," "colorful" and "cute" are all words that describe the recently released box art (and new screenshots) for the Wii's upcoming Roogoo Twisted Towers and the DS' Roogoo Attack. Admittedly, block for block, these Roogoo boxes have shaped up quite nicely. Except for the large and out of place red circle block on the Attack box. It's just trying too hard to steal our attention away from the green triangles and blue squares of the world! That's just twisted and shameful.%Gallery-34664%%Gallery-47579%
SouthPeak is apparently rolling in the dough
Sure, you used to laugh up your sleeve at SouthPeak when it unleashed My Baby and Dream Pinball 3D on an unsuspecting public. But SouthPeak couldn't hear you. Know why? Because SouthPeak's ears were stuffed with money. GI.biz reports that the publisher's income was at $17.3 million for the most recent quarter, a jump of 76 percent over the previous year.Financial apocalypse sweeps through the nation, and only the people behind Two Worlds are able to rise above it all. Strange times, friends. Strange times.
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NYCC 09: Roogoo Twisted Towers and Roogoo Attack! hands-on
When we first got our filthy mitts on a demo of Xbox Live puzzler Roogoo way back when, we noted its deceiving looks in comparison to its addictive and surprisingly complex gameplay. Nearly a year later and we're back in the same position, though this time we're playing Wii and DS iterations Roogoo Twisted Towers and Roogoo Attack! (respectively). Checking out a demo of each before this weekend's New York Comic Con, we walked away smiling once again -- childish looks and throwaway story aside, Roogoo Twisted Towers and Roogoo Attack! look to be shaping up very well.%Gallery-44143%
NYCC 09: Velvet Assassin hands-on
click to embiggen When we first got our hands on Velvet Assassin nearly eight months ago at E3 2008, we were impressed. The level of polish exhibited for a game still months from any formal release was a good sign to us that the game was on the right track to becoming one of few stealth/action titles we might really enjoy. We delighted in sneaking up behind a group of unwitting Nazi soldiers, pulling a pin from one of their grenades, and watching the resultant explosion of humanity from a comfortable distance. Not just for the obvious reasons but because little touches like that helped to make VA feel like a living world and brought you into the role of French WWII-era assassin Violette Szabo, the interesting real life person the game's based on. And though we were assured the grenade trick has been left in the game (even if it wasn't in the most recent build we checked out just before the 2009 New York Comic Con), enough has changed since we first met protagonist Violette Summer to be concerned. The polish once exuded by German developer Replay Studios' first game for the Xbox 360 has all but vanished, leaving behind kludgey player animation, poor enemy AI and glitch-prone graphics. With two months to go until the "April launch window" of VA, we're hoping (but not exactly confident) they can bring back the experience we had so many moons ago.%Gallery-17268%
Velvet Assassin box art is explosive, leathery
click to experience enlargementSouthpeak Games and Replay Studios' Velvet Assassin has been taking the whole stealth concept a bit too literal, remaining quiet about game specifics and release date details. But that doesn't mean the box art has to stay hidden. Viewable here, the packaging artwork is one part BOOM!, equal part black leather and a dash of average.We're also informed that our good friend Peter Chung (who really isn't our pal, but we fantasize to be our drinking buddy) partnered with SouthPeak by putting together a 15+ page graphic novel that will be gifted to those who pre-order Velvet Assassin at GameStop. Chung will also contribute to the game's sure to be sexually charged storyline.Did we mention this game remains too stealth for our liking? %Gallery-44074%
Big Bang Mini pops up in Rio
There's only one thing more explosive than new Big Bang Mini screens, and that's a new Big Bang Mini trailer. Wait, no, really, that's completely inaccurate. Lots of things are more explosive than video and images, including, uh, actual fireworks, but maybe we can get away with the hyperbole when we're talking about a game that uses fireworks. Anyway, despite the extended opening and music from the other Big Bang Mini trailers, this footage from the schmup is new, fresh, and even a little Brazilian. Welcome to Rio de Janeiro. In this Rio, the weather is bad and you've got no homing missiles. But then again, would you have them in the real Rio? Confirmed: Big Bang Mini is like going on vacation.Oh, just watch the trailer.%Gallery-18714%[Via press release]
Big Bang Mini's mini New York
SouthPeak has revealed another one of Big Bang Mini's unique environments, with yet another visual style completely unlike the others. The fireworks-based shmup's New York level combines a backdrop of NYC-style skyscrapers (and, as seen here, girders) with a stereotypical American comic-book aesthetic, with comic-style text and sound effects that evoke Comix Zone, and a cool halftone explosion effect for fireworks.Each world also comes with a unique ability for your avatar, and in New York you can grab enemies with your stylus to steal their weapons. Of course, good luck trying to do that while also using the stylus to fling fireworks at the top screen.%Gallery-18714%[Via press release]
Oh snap! Mushroom Men dev has Deadly words
In an interview with MTV Multiplayer, Dan Borth, lead developer on Red Fly Studio's Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars, offers his thoughts on the market for "core" Wii games, his own game's chances on a system dominated by Wii Fit and such, and designing a game to be accessible to a wide and varied audience.Oh, and he calls out Deadly Creatures. When asked if he's familiar with Rainbow Studios' critter-based brawler, Borth responded with: "I have heard about Deadly Creatures. I have many opinions on that game, especially how it came into being right after THQ received our pitch document for Mushroom Men. I will let you draw your own conclusions."We can't say if there really was any such malevolent behavior behind the conception of Deadly Creatures, but oh snap just the same. And while we may not have seen a parallel before, now that he mentions it, they're both 3D action/fighting games about small creatures adventuring, unseen, in the human world. But we still think Creatures could turn out awesome.%Gallery-18243%
Some kind of large explosion of Big Bang Mini screens and video
It's been a while since we checked in with Big Bang Mini, but we're making up for it now with a delightully Hungry Man-style serving of media. We've got screenshots of four of the game's levels in our gallery, and two new trailers to share! At first glance, the trailer above and the one following the break seem identical; however, the gameplay footage is totally different! It was pretty confusing to us, too -- and kind of ironic that a game for which no two levels look anything alike would have trailers that look identical. SouthPeak says the game comes out January 20, and, well, it had better. Because we want to play it again.%Gallery-18714%
Things on Wheels: A look at the muscled Buster
(click to embiggen) Load Inc.'s upcoming Xbox Live Arcade racer of radio controlled proportions, Things on Wheels will be releasing to the Arcade in the not too distant future and, in preparation, every week they're revealing information about each lil' racer. They're actually using a series of collectible digital cards (trade 'em with your friends!) that detail car stats and information. To start off the RC car revealing fun, Load Inc. sent us the first card announcing the muscle car Buster which we're told has the "best handling of its class." High fives to that!Check the gallery below for a few screenshots of Buster, view the nifty card and keep an eye out for more Things on Wheels vehicle reveals in the weeks to come. Vroom! %Gallery-35798%
DS Fanboy Review: Ninjatown
When I received my pretty-much-complete build of Ninjatown, I was floored at just how much fun this ridiculously cute game is. But, beneath its layer of cute sprites and witty dialogue hides a masochistic game that loves to punish you for making an incorrect move. Of course, it is a strategy game, after all. %Gallery-15839%
Nintendo Channel: won't you take us to Ninjatown?
The Nintendo Channel has been great recently about giving Wii/DS owners the chance to try out quirky DS strategy games. Well, great in that there have been two. A few weeks ago, a Lock's Quest demo hit the channel (and we do hope you checked it out!) This week, SouthPeak's super-adorable tower defense game Ninjatown is featured.Limited-time demos returning for this week include Brain Quest Grades 3&4 and 5&6, MySims Kingdom, and Ubisoft's mysterious Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs. It seems to be some kind of touch-screen dinosaur fighting game for kids. We suppose we could actually play it and find out.%Gallery-15839%
Go ga-ga over Roogoo screens
We've known for a few months now that XBLA title Roogoo was being ported to the DS and now we finally have some screens to ogle. The screens are bright and colorful, showing us that Roogoo hasn't lost its visual appeal in the jump to DS.According to the fact sheet, the game will not only be a visual treat, but it will also support multi-card play, featuring "6+ different multiplayer attacks such as Meemoo Attack, Anvil Attack and Meteor Shape Color Attack." Roogoo DS is currently slated for a Q1 2009 release.Hit up our gallery below and check out the fresh screens. %Gallery-34668%[Via press release]
