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Stephen Colbert introduces World of ColbertCraft
After posting a teaser on Friday, GameVideos.com is now shoing the full 93-second introduction to the MI6 Conference as done by Stephen Colbert. Unfortunately, the full version is not much different than the teaser; there is really only one or two more jokes in there. Still, the frame rate is less choppy, and the clip is funny enough to warrant a second view.Stephen Colbert kicks off the MI6 Conference by introducing his latest game, World of ColbertCraft. We won't spoil the rest for you. The MI6 conference is a game marketing event. It has no relation, unfortunately, to the United Kingdom secret service agency formerly known as MI6.
Tony Hawk's Project 8: First gameplay screens
Team Xbox has the first gameplay shots from Tony Hawk's Project 8 and they look pretty...um...gnarly. Most would agree the last Tony Hawk game didn't do next-gen justice to the long-running series. Let's hope this Hawk has enough tricks to end Tony's video game career on high note, before he starts turning up with a wheelchair rather than a skateboard.[Thanks X Budd]
A new Tony Hawk for the next generation?
Kikizo Games reports that Neversoft is starting from (almost) scratch with the next installment of the only perennial skating franchise. This version's dubbed Tony Hawk's Project 8 and it's being built with a new engine and character modeling tools. Of course, over-the-top skating is still the focus, exploited further this time around with a shallow depth of field.Will the aging skater be reborn on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360? Or is Tony Hawk headed 'downhill?' Project 8 is slated for a Q4 2006 release.
Rumor: 16 titles at launch
There's a list of Wii launch games traveling through the myriad computers, routers, cables and robotic gnomes that comprise the Internet, though it mostly amounts to a bunch of good guesses as opposed to official confirmations. No doubt obtained from retailers and not publishers, the list suggests that the following games will be available when Nintendo unleashes their Wii: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Wii Sports Red Steel Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam Madden NFL 2007 Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Metal Slug Anthology Trauma Center: Second Opinion Elebits Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Blitz: The League Rayman Raving Rabbids SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab Disney/Pixar's Cars Since most of these games were playable at E3, it's not too much of a stretch to think that they'd fall within the system's launch. However, this could be another case of that mysterious launch window marketing nonsense messing with our calendars and drawing a distinction between games that launch on day one and games that release shortly afterwards. Atlus told us specifically that Trauma Center: Second Opinion was a "launch window" game and if Activision is serious about Tony Hawk, Downhill Jam will be one too (because people, that game still needs a lot of work).
Wii impressions: Tony Hawk Downhill Jam
Unlike previous Tony Hawk titles, Downhill Jam is a standard racing game -- there is no free-roaming, as far as we can tell from the demo and press releases. In fact, it does not feel like Tony Hawk at all -- more so, the game feels derivative of the skateboarding games found in local arcades a few years back. The Wii remote is held horizontally like a NES controller, and the button layout is smart -- the 1 and 2 buttons for jumping and grinding, the D-pad for tricks. The problems begin with steering, which is accomplished by rocking the controller right and left. A slight move does very little, but move it just a little more and the turning becomes chaotic. The controls will no doubt be tweaked and improved upon before launch.Visually, Downhill Jam could hold its own with a second-generation Xbox One title. It's a pretty game, although not as impressive as other Nintendo first- and second-party titles. Load times, if there were any, were not noticeable.Ironically, by breaking from traditional Tony Hawk games, Downhill Jam became even more formulaic. It could be a fun racer, but we feel the title would have benefited from more elements associated with the Tony Hawk franchise. The tracks are moderately fun, with plenty of shortcuts, but the game gains nothing from being a Tony Hawk title.
Next-gen Tony Hawk footage leaked
If the folks at Gaming Age are to be believed, this footage was swiped from an early build of a next-generation Tony Hawk game. There's nothing in the video that points towards this being Downhill Jam (confirmed for the Wii last month), but footage this early is unlikely to be tied down to a specific platform yet. It appears to be an animation test, showing a skater flail his arms about while attempting to maintain his balance. It looks good (if it's real), though expect next-gen naysayers to complain that "It's still just a guy on a skateboard. What's so next-gen about that?"[Via Gaming Age]
