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Civilization Revolution to revolutionize 360
2K has announced plans to bring a brand new Civilization title to new-gen consoles, including our beloved Xbox 360. Title Civilization Revolution, the game is reportedly the game that Sid Meier has always wanted to make. We're inclined to agree with him, since he's already made it four times. Joking aside, Civilization Revolution looks to bring a console level of "action-packed" goodness to the series, which has traditionally been a relatively slow affair on PCs. The new console iteration promises to streamline the experience, giving console gamers the instant gratification to which they've become accustomed. Civilization Revolution will also include multiplayer with integrated video and voice chat. Of course, the big question on everyone's mind is whether or not the game can appeal to both console gamers and a loyal PC following. We'll find out when the game releases in Spring 2008. [Via Joystiq]
GTAIV trailer is live. Thoughts?
Well folks, the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer is up. You can either watch the tiny, poorly streamed version at Yahoo! Games, or you can watch the higher resolution trailer at Rockstar's website. Either way, expect to do a little waiting. As we suspected, the trailer gives a marginally closer look at some of the colorful characters we'll be seeing in Liberty City. We also get a deeper look at Niko, the main character. Sprinkled throughout are bits of action, like kicking in doors, hanging from helicopters, hanging on to the back of a speeding truck, and evading the newer, smarter police. All in all, the trailer is short, but definitely sweet. Alright, talk amongst yourselves.
GTAIV trailer goes live at noon EDT
Just so you know, the second trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV will be hitting the internet equivalent of the airwaves today at noon EDT. It will be available at the official GTAIV website as well as Xbox.com, and hopefully it will hit Xbox Live Marketplace on time too. Now that we've been introduced to the world of GTAIV, we're hoping to see at least a little gameplay. We wouldn't be surprised, however, if the second trailer is used mainly to introduce us to the other characters aside from Niko (the game's protagonist). As you sit there watching the minutes go by (this time without an oh-so-trendy countdown clock), you might as well check out our GTAIV gallery, which we've updated with an entire two new images. Yeah, we know. We spoil you.%Gallery-3451%
NOA's Reggie Fils-Aime talks Manhunt 2, AO titles
Talking with Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime about WiiWare, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal used the opportunity to bring up Nintendo's stance on games rated Adults Only by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, first in relation to their "hands-off" approach to the download service and then with the recent Manhunt 2.Fils-Aime makes the company's stance with the ESRB very clear: no AO-rated titles. "This is not an image issue, Wii welcomes games rated E, T and M," he said, adding that he doubts Nintendo will ever approve an AO-rated title.Concerning Manhunt 2, Fils-aime said that, "What Rockstar has right now is a game rated outside our spectrum, outside any manufacturer's spectrum," and asserted that they are still interested in releasing the game if it receives a Mature rating.
2nd GTAIV trailer brings new theme, gamer pics
Those of you looking forward to experiencing the second Grand Theft Auto IV trailer tomorrow will be happy to hear that it will also be available on Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox.com. In addition, Rockstar will be releasing Grand Theft Auto IV gamer pictures and a theme. The press release (featured at Gamertag Radio) makes no mention of a cost associated with the gamer pictures and theme. We're hoping Rockstar has the sense to make them free.If you simply can't figure out what to do with yourself until tomorrow, why not take a gander at our Grand Theft Auto IV galleries? We've got tons of screenshots, and some images of the special edition. Maybe that will take the edge off of the long wait.%Gallery-4323%%Gallery-3451%
GTAIV Special Edition images revealed
Fresh from Rockstar we have the first images of the Grand Theft Aufo IV Special Edition. With the special edition -- for the not-too-low price of 90 bones -- you get the game, an art book, a soundtrack CD, a duffel bag, and the particularly cool locking safety deposit box. Yes, you'll have all the makings of your own (pretend) robbery. We have to admit, as special editions go, Grand Theft Auto IV looks to be right up there with the cat helmet. Check out high resolution images of the special edition in the gallery below.%Gallery-4323%
Final reminder: win The Darkness from X3F
Alright folks, this is it. Today is your last day to enter our Fanboys Fight for The Darkness giveaway. Not to be cocky, but we currently have just over twice as many entries as PS3 Fanboy. If you don't already know, whichever site gets more entries gets an extra copy of The Darkness to give away. So far, it's looking pretty good for us to have that third copy. If you'd like your shot at The Darkness, head over to the official contest page and enter. If you don't, then the Darkness will possess you and give you cool superpowers. Wait ... no ... if you don't, then the Darkness won't possess you and give you cool superpowers*, so hurry up and enter already.*Regardless of whether or not you enter this contest, you more than likely will not be possessed by anything other than jealousy of the winners, or elation, should you turn out to be one those winners.
NY Times: R-rated movies gorier than AO Manhunt
Looks like Take-Two invited the mainstream media over to play Manhunt 2 the other day, because not only did Newsweek and MTV check it out, but so did the New York Times. The NYT essentially walked away saying that games like Manhunt 2 have a long way to go before they reach the gore found in modern "torture porn." Seth Schiesel writes, "Banning the original version of Manhunt 2 may be a good way to demonstrate that the industry can police itself. Side by side, though, movies seem to be way ahead of games in delivering top-notch gore."Schiesel tests this by renting the R rated version of Saw II, where the "first scene was of a young man in a bleak cell being taunted to find a key by digging into his own oozing eye socket. If he does not yank out the key in 60 seconds, his head will be crushed in a spiked metal 'death mask' around his neck." Scheisel points out that the game probably got the rating because all the ESRB sees is a highlight reel of the game, they don't actually play it. He says it'll be "fairly simple" to re-edit the game for an M rating in time for the holiday season. And the New York Times isn't above going with the general conspiracy theory floating around about Manhunt 2, saying, "Whenever it does ship, Manhunt 2 is likely to enjoy a level of public awareness (and potentially sales) that it could never have attained without the ban. That of course may well have been what its makers intended all along."
Watch Darkness shape-shifting multiplayer
We've heard quite a lot about heart-eating single player campaign of The Darkness. We've seen all the Darkness powers put to good use. Kill all the lights, yadda, yadda, yadda. What we haven't seen much, however, is multiplayer. Lucky for us, GameTrailers has posted a video showing off exactly that. While the multiplayer appears to offer the same run and gun action as the campaign, it also offers up a new shape-shifting twist. Players are allowed to turn into Darklings (the little goblin/imp things) at any time. As noted by the video, Darklings are small and agile, whereas humans have superior firepower. Honestly, it's a pretty neat little twist, one we're looking forward to trying. Check out the video after the break.
Reminder: win The Darkeness from X3F
Just a quick reminder for those of you who missed it on Friday (or don't look at our fabulous pinboxes on the right side of the page), we're still running our Fanboys Fight for The Darkness contest. We're having a little competition with PS3 Fanboy, you see. Whichever site gets more entries also gets a third copy of The Darkness to give away, leaving the losing site with a paltry two.It's super easy to enter. All you have to do is go to the official contest post and leave a comment that finishes this sentence: "The 360 version of The Darkness is better than the PS3 version because ... "See? Easy, right? Head over to the contest page and get commenting. We're accepting entries until 11:59 EDT tomorrow. You can read the official rules by clicking here.
Fanswag: Fanboys Fight for The Darkness
The Darkness, as you may have heard, is fast drawing in upon us. In celebration of this glorious gloom, 2K Games decided to give us 5 copies of the game. The only problem is, they didn't bother to tell us which version. As such, we have decided to collaborate with the heathens over at PS3 Fanboy. We came up with a cordial little contest, and we need your help to settle it. How will you do that? With a good old-fashioned flamewar, of course! All you have to do is: Finish this sentence: "The 360 version of The Darkness is better than the PS3 version because ... " Submit your idea to our comments section. Two winners will be chosen from Xbox 360 Fanboy. Here's the kicker: if Xbox 360 Fanboy receives more entries than PS3 Fanboy, we'll also give away a third copy to another lucky winner. As an added bonus, all winners will receive a prize package from 2K Games including both the game and a special The Darkness comic. We'll accept entries until June 26, 2007, so get cracking. Please note that this giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only, ages 18 and older (it's an M rated game after all). One entry per person.Click here for official rules and regulations
The Political Game: Winners & losers in Manhunt 2 meltdown
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games: Perception is reality, except when it isn't. And in the case of Manhunt 2, it's not as easy as you may think to pick out the winners and losers from this week's craziness.Start with the Adults Only rating that the ESRB slapped on Manhunt 2. That may seem like a bad thing, but it's not. Just as new NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently cracked down on thug players for the good of the sport, the ESRB needed to prove to parents and politicians that the video game industry could police itself. By assigning an AO to Manhunt 2 ESRB president Patricia Vance certainly did just that. Surely new ESA top dog Mike Gallagher was in on the final decision as well.In any case, Gallagher and Vance did what needed to be done. The bottom line is that the industry comes out smelling like a rose. And -- bonus cliché -- the proverbial line in the sand has now been drawn. While some content creators will understandably chafe at any sort of limits, the fact is that video games are not only big business but a form of entertainment which people invite into their homes. There needs to be a certain amount of public trust. Designers who can't deal with the realities of the market are welcome to go the Ryan Lambourn route.
Video: BioShock open-ended gameplay
So, are you getting sick of BioShock footage yet? We hope not, because GameVideos has posted a video with Irrational Games' Ken Levine, who walks us through a gameplay scenario. In order to display the many options available to the player, the video runs us through the same scenario three times. On the first try, it's played as a straight up FPS with guns blazing (hint: this won't get you very far). The second time through, the player uses forethought and all the Plasmid skills available. The third time, he takes on the Big Daddy. Unfortunately, the battle with the Big Daddy is cut short, so we don't get to witness the whole thing (you may recall that it takes a lot of firepower to bring these guys down).Also, we noticed what appear to be enemy health bars in the video too. Hopefully that's a feature that can be turned off. Kind of ruins the suspense, you know?
Manhunt 2 release "temporarily suspended"
Well, we can cross off one more game off the already-crowded PSP summer release calendar. Manhunt 2 was scheduled for release at the beginning of July, but due to its recent AO rating from the ESRB, Take-Two must reconsider. In a statement to Gamespot, Take-Two stated it has "temporarily suspended plans to distribute Manhunt 2 for the Wii or PlayStation platforms while it reviews its options with regard to the recent decisions made by the British Board of Film Classification and Entertainment Software Rating Board."It seems like an edit of the game is most likely. However, they also admitted that "We continue to stand behind this extraordinary game. We believe in freedom of creative expression, as well as responsible marketing, both of which are essential to our business of making great entertainment." Let's hope the game doesn't undergo too much of a drastic change.[Via Joystiq]
Take Two's Zelnick: Manhunt 2 is 'fine piece of art'
Following the lead of developer Rockstar, Manhunt 2 publisher Take Two has come out in support of the game in light of restrictions on its sale in England, America, Ireland and likely bans in Australia and Germany. Take Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick said in a statement that the game's content "fits squarely within the horror genre" and "is in line with other mainstream entertainment choices for adult consumers."A fine enough defense, but Zelnick went even farther in support of the game, saying it "brings a unique, formerly unheard of cinematic quality to interactive entertainment, and is also a fine piece of art."We haven't played the latest Manhunt game so we can't really judge it on its artistic merits just yet. That being said, the whole idea of games as art is a pretty thorny subject as it is. Throw it in with the "do game cause violence?" debate currently raging around Manhunt 2 and you've got a perfect storm of controversy liable to melt message board servers the world over.Which is, of course, what Take Two probably wants right now. Remember that 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty as They Wanna Be" went on to sell over two million copies due in part to the controversy over its racy lyrics. If Manhunt 2 is eventually released for sale, in any form, you can bet all the controversy surrounding it will only make it more desirable to its potential audience.
Feast your eyes on The Darkness, huge gallery
So, have we mentioned that The Darkness looks totally freakin' HAWT? Oh, we have? Well, sorry, but it does. We just happened to get a boat load of The Darkness images, and we'd be total jerks if we bogarted them all to ourselves. As such, we've dumped them all into a massive gallery. Truly, it is a gallery so massive, that is in danger of collapsing into itself, thus forming a neutron star. You'd best take a look at it before its darkness consumes us all. Oh, and we just might have some very spiffy The Darkness related news soon, so keep your eyes peeled.%Gallery-4153%
BioShock preview reveals tasty gameplay info
GameSpot has posted a lengthy preview for BioShock, the upcoming first person shooter from Irrational Games and 2K. We've seen our share of BioShock previews, but this one really focuses on the actual gameplay experience. In particular, the preview highlights the borderline survival horror aspect of the game, noting the literally insane AI of your enemies. If you've been wanting to get a feel for the things you will actually be doing in BioShock, it's a pretty good read. Be warned though, there are some minor spoilers contained in the preview, though there is nothing drastic.If you've dismissed BioShock as "just another shooter," you should definitely check out the preview. August can't come soon enough.[Via Evil Avatar]%Gallery-3532%
Manhunt 2 not likely for Australia, Germany
After Britain, the United States and Ireland, where do Australia and Germany stand on the issue of Manhunt 2? Australian officials are saying a release in their country is doubtful, meanwhile an official for the German USK ratings board has told Joystiq that game has not been submitted.Insiders in the Australian government reportedly told Smarthouse (via GamePolitics) that the game is likely not to be released down under. "We don't want to preempt the decision of the Office of Film and Literature Classification Review Board but it is looking very doubtful," they said. The Office of Film and Literature Classification was closed when Joystiq tried to reach them for comment, but Jason Hill of The Age reports that as of yesterday, the game had not been submitted for a rating.In an email correspondence with Joystiq, the USK's Christine Schulz told us as of this morning there was no application submitted for the game. Should Take Two and Rockstar forego submitting Manhunt 2 for any country, it would not be surprising.Both German and Australian ratings boards are notorious for banning games, by refusal of rating, with too much violent content. For the German USK, past titles to not get rated have included Dead Rising, Crackdown and Gears of War -- and the banning protocol is rather confusing. Australia's OFLC has Restricted 18+ ratings, but they are not applied to video games, so the highest rating for a game is Mature 15+ age. Hence, if a game were to be deemed too inappropriate for MA15, then it would be refused classification and the game must either be edited and resubmitted or just not sold. Games who were refused classification include Reservoir Dogs and Marck Ecko's Getting Up.
Manhunt 2 gets AO rating from ESRB
After being rejected by the BBFC in the UK, Rockstar's Manhunt 2 is seemingly getting banned in America as well. According to Game Politics, the "murder simulator" is getting an AO (Adults Only) rating, which effectively bans it from all major video game retailers.Take Two games will certainly fight this decision as fiercely as possible in the coming days. Remember, the game's release is supposed to be only a few weeks away ...[Via Joystiq]
Manhunt 2 rated AO by ESRB
Manhunt 2 isn't in as dire a situation in the US as it is in the UK, but it's close. The ESRB has labeled Rockstar's controversial game with an AO "Adults Only" rating. If the game ships with this rating, most retailers will refuse to carry it, cutting sales massively. The only other console game to have an AO rating in stores? Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was re-rated following the Hot Coffee scandal, and quickly re-released in an edited form.Rockstar has the option to appeal the rating, or they can edit the game and resubmit it. We doubt they'll release the game at AO, because they like selling their products.[Via Joystiq]
