Tue, 8 Jun, 10
Author:
Jonathan Lester

Category:
Game news

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From New Gaming iPhone to Rare’s Mystery Countdown- News Roundup 8th June 2010

Apple Announces iPhone 4: Good For Gaming?

From New Gaming iPhone to Rares Mystery Countdown News Roundup 8th June 2010

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 4 in a surprise announcement at their WWDC. The latest iteration of their staggeringly popular smartphone will feature a screen with over 4 times the pixel density of the original, an A4 processor (that also powers the iPad) and an internal gyroscope. It’ll release on June 24th in the US and UK, though we don’t have a price point yet. Preorders will begin next week.

The big news for us gamers is that the iPhone 4 will feature an integrated gyroscope that will provide extremely precise motion control. According to Apple, this gyroscope will allow user acceleration, angular velocity, and rotation rate to be detected with similar precision to the DualShock 3. Jobs is convinced that the increased accuracy of the iPhone 4’s MoCon input will make for better games (putting the iPhone in direct competition with Nintendo’s DS… just as they feared). Not only that, but the increased pixel density promises to deliver much shiner graphics. However, game quality tends to be very mediocre on Apple’s mobile platforms, with developers more concerned with making a quick and nasty buck rather than a truly excellent game. There are exceptions, but they’ll have to seriously up their game if they want the iPhone to be a serious handheld contender.

Here’s a video of the announcement- in case you missed it.

Lucasarts Reveal E3 Lineup

From New Gaming iPhone to Rares Mystery Countdown News Roundup 8th June 2010

Another company has revealed their secrets to us, though you might be a little surprised at the brevity of Lucasarts’ lineup.

  • Monkey Island 2: Special Edition
  • Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic

Whilst this list is admittedly very short, Lucasarts did hint at there being “more” titles in the offing that they aren’t revealing yet. Perhaps it could be the rumoured Starfighter remake or LEGO Clone Wars? Personally I’d give my left leg for Battlefront 3…but we’ll have to wait a few more days to find out.

Rare Tease… Something

From New Gaming iPhone to Rares Mystery Countdown News Roundup 8th June 2010

After their (godawful) 25th birthday rebranding, Rare have updated their ugly site with a countdown, an avatar and the slogan “One in a million.” No other clues, folks- though we can piece together a few ideas from what we already know.

It’s likely that “One in a million” could be Rare’s new slogan (since it’s technically the definition of the word “Rare”)- and I doubt it has anything to do with their new announcement. Our current prediction is that Rare’s going to be unveiling their Natal fitness/yoga title… or some sort of upgrade to the 360’s avatars. Maybe a PS Home-style virtual space?

Our money’s still on the fitness game. Whilst the mighty has certainly fallen a long way these last few years, at least we know that they’ve been working on something. Why not take a misty-eyed look back at the history of this classic British developer in our recent Game Buzz?  [Rare]

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Fri, 7 May, 10
Author:
Jonathan Lester

Category:
Game news

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id’s RAGE, Lucasarts’ Resignations and Wii Party – News Roundup 7th May 2010

Bethesda: RAGE Will Show id’s True Potential

ids RAGE, Lucasarts Resignations and Wii Party News Roundup 7th May 2010

The gaming press has been saturated with FPS news recently thanks to the Infinity Ward debacle, Black Ops reveal and Bungie’s surprise partnership- but Bethesda are keen to remind us that id Software is still alive and kicking. They’re the original masters of the FPS genre (in fact, id practically invented first person shooters as we know it), and apparently their upcoming Mad Max-style project will cement their reputation once again. Speaking with MCV, Bethesda’s Pete Hines was quick to state that EA and Activision aren’t the only publishers with serious internal studio clout.

“id Software brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the first person shooter genre. To have a group like id working as an internal studio for Bethesda is a tremendous advantage.”

“I think what they’re working on with RAGE and Doom 4 is going to show the world their true potential.”

In other RAGE news, id Software’s Creative Director has confirmed that the title will have a conclusive ending as well as some incredibly detailed graphics courtesy of the new Tech5 engine. Apparently, it’ll leverage NASA geographical data to produce staggering terrain rendering… though we’ll likely be too busy thrashing our beastly muscle cars around to notice. It’s also very interesting to see Doom 4 get a mention (as details have been extremely thin on the ground), but we can expect a reveal at this year’s QuakeCon. Frankly, it’s great so see that id’s managed to hang onto one of its original IPs rather than palming it off to Raven (who brought us the solid but underwhelming Quake 4 and Wolfenstein).

We can’t wait to get our spiky fingerless-gloved hands on RAGE next year. Naturally, we’ll keep you updated by the wire. [VG247]

Lucasarts President and Execs Resign

ids RAGE, Lucasarts Resignations and Wii Party News Roundup 7th May 2010

Daniel Rodriguez has resigned as President of Lucasarts along with a number of mysteriously unnamed top-level execs. Whilst the reason behind Rodriquez’s departure hasn’t yet been announced, Lucasarts has made it clear that its current portfolio will be unaffected by the change in management.

We can expect Force Unleashed 2 to release this October with Executive Producer Jerry Bowerman at the helm. [Gamesindustry]

Fight Farmville with Farmvillain

ids RAGE, Lucasarts Resignations and Wii Party News Roundup 7th May 2010

Hacked off by the constant stream of Farmville spam on Facebook? Want a little payback? Well, there’s an app for that.

Farmvillain gives you a selection of extremely tasteless fake status updates and gift requests to prank your mates with, including finding a dead hooker, illegal immigrants, swine flu and vomiting sheep on your farm; as well as asking your friends to take them in (and hide the bodies). It’s not big and it certainly isn’t clever, but it’ll provide you with a few minutes of cathartic fun. Get pranking now while it’s still funny! [Kotaku]

Iwata Reveals Wii Party

ids RAGE, Lucasarts Resignations and Wii Party News Roundup 7th May 2010

Gosh, the Wii certainly isn’t short of minigame collections- and quite rightly so. The peripherals lend themselves exceptionally well to riotous, wholesome and frequently embarrassing local multiplayer sessions, and Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has revealed that Wii Party will be the next game to join Wii Sports, Sports Resort, Wii Fit and the abysmal well-intentioned Wii Music in the Wii branded flagship series.

At the recent Nintendo Financial Briefing, Iwata told investors that a new “Marquee Party Game” has great potential- after all, three years have passed since the launch of Mario Party 8. He also indicated that the title “will play an important role for this fiscal year,” meaning that we can expect Wii Party to hit before the end of March 2011.

Screenshots indicate that Wii Party’s minigames will include sugoroku (the inexplicable Japanese board game that features heavily in WiiWare’s Family Pirate Party), Balance Ship, International Vacation Game, Mii Jyan, roulette, and bingo. Basically, its going to be Mario Party with Miis- which can’t be a bad thing. Or at least things can’t get any worse, right? [Joystiq]

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Tue, 5 Jan, 10
Author:
Matt Gardner

Category:
Games deals

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Fracture £4.95 @ ShopTo [Xbox 360 Games]

Fracture £4.95 @ ShopTo [Xbox 360 Games]

Sometimes there’s nothing like taking a pending global disaster and making an action romp of a game out of it. Thankfully a couple of year’s back when LucasArts were bumbling around not remaking Grim Fandango (if only!), they decided that it was time to give the meteorologists and geologists a game for which they had probably been clamouring for years. Enter Fracture, a game set in a future where the US has split into two warring and xenophobic factions due to global warming and you have a gun that can deform and restructure the Earth’s surface.

If you fancy getting in on the terraforming action you can pick up a copy of the Xbox 360 version of Fracture for just £4.95 from ShopTo, which will save you around £3 as the nearest competitor is MyMemory, listing the game at £7.95.

The year is 2161, the United States has been literally torn apart by rising water levels caused by global warming, into two factions: the Atlantic and the Pacific, and they hate one another. You take on the role of the worst named protagonist in gaming history – Jet Brody – as he attempts to stop the Republic of Pacifica from engaging the Western world in all-out warfare.

Fracture has a few things going for it, not least the ability to manipulate the game’s landscape. The Entrencher – the part of your Super Suit that can raise and sink raw dirt – is possibly one of the best gaming weapons since the gravity gun . . . or at least it would be if it wasn’t limited to mud. You can create trenches and hills outside, but don’t expect to have any fun when you’re on the inside unless there’s a conspicuous patch of dirt in the corner of the room, which kind of gives the escape route away.

The gameplay has been pulled out of everything from Halo to Resistance, and even with the ability to turn people into icicles or hurl boulders at your enemies, it all gets pretty generic rather quickly. For £4, that’s not too much of a problem, but don’t expect the innovative concepts on offer a particularly unique experience. The multiplayer’s pretty good (although you might struggle to find a game online), and the single campaign is fun for the first hour, but after that everything just sort of blends into everything else.

Fracture suffers from being a game with big ideas and poor execution. That said, it’s an absolute steal for under £4. You won’t necessarily be thrilled or dazzled by anything in this game, but it’s a fun way to pass a couple of hours, and is a damn good bet for all you avid achievement hunters out there.

Thanks to doboworth at HUKD

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Tue, 3 Nov, 09
Author:
Matt Gardner

Category:
Games reviews

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Lucidity Review (XBLA): Red Riding Hood Meets Tetris

Lucidity Review (XBLA): Red Riding Hood Meets Tetris Dealspwn Rating: 4/10

Developer: LucasArts

Play It! : Xbox Live Marketplace (800MP)

I remember a time when LucasArts used to represent fun. X-Wing, The Secret of Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, these games were all near-perfectly designed in their construction, critical classics of the Nineties and, most importantly, an absolute blast to play. The millennium ruined that. Personally I blame The Phantom Menace, after which LucasArts simply stopped innovating and decided to pump out a bunch of shameless Star Wars cash-ins that never touched the dizzy heights of their decade old big brothers. They’re not stupid either: after finally realising that all their best staff had jumped ship (bye-bye Sam & Max, au revoir Tim Schafer), LucasArts simply went back and made a load of their old games shinier for re-release on XBLA and Steam.

Which brings us to Lucidity: the first true original from LucasArts available through the Xbox Marketplace. Braid has a lot to answer for here; since the watercolour soaked puzzle adventurer wormed its way onto Microsoft’s gaming marketplace and snaffled a bundle of awards in the process (msnbc), nearly every developer worth their salt has been experimenting with the ‘Games-as-Art’ formula. Now, it would seem, it’s LucasArts’ turn.

Lucidity Review (XBLA): Red Riding Hood Meets Tetris

Oh she's sitting still now, but just you wait...

Original is definitely the word to describe this game: no remakes here, thank you very much. Ostensibly, Lucidity’s premise is to shepherd Sofi – a little girl who dislikes standing still – through a nightmarish, cartoon manifestation of her grief at her Nana’s demise. Sofi, being a little short in the brain department, walks mindlessly across the screen, never stopping and never watching out for chasms or forest monsters. The camera is fixed on her and there’s nothing you can about it except help her on her merry way by putting obstacles in Sofi’s path to help her deal with the dangers to which she remains so obstinately oblivious. So far, so simple. But the items/powers/abilities – whatever you want to call them – you use to help young Sofi manifest themselves in a random order much like the blocks in Tetris, the idea being that with careful time you can use the right item at the right time to help Sofi out. Of course, what actually happens is the game devolves into a chaotic mess as you swear violently at the screen for not giving you the spring-shoes at the right time, or offering bombs when what you really need is a mini trampoline. This is fine in the early stages of the game, but later on Sofi starts being chased by A Big Black Cloud of Misery and Doom, that basically kills her if you fail to help her out in time.

Click here to find out where everything goes wrong for Lucidity...

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Thu, 10 Sep, 09
Author:
Admin

Category:
Game news

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From A Bungie And Microsoft Lawsuit To Courtney Love’s Fury: News Roundup September 10th

Today’s news sees legal action taken against Microsoft and Bungie as Halo 3 is accused of being unplayable on the Xbox 360.  In other news Red Steel director Jason VandenBerghe admits he would like to see the series on other consoles, LucasArts plan to reveal a brand-new original title by Friday, and Courtney Love rages as Kurt Cobain’s likeness is incorporated into Guitar Hero.

Bungie And Microsoft Sued Over Halo 3

From A Bungie And Microsoft Lawsuit To Courtney Loves Fury: News Roundup September 10th

Halo 3 has been the source of conflict in a lawsuit directed at Microsoft and Bungie.  According to Randy Nunez and others, Halo 3 fails to work on the Xbox 360, despite claiming that it does.    The filing argued consumers were buying Halo 3 believing Microsoft and Bungie can release a satisfactory product based on their skill and judgement.  However, “Halo 3 does not function with the Xbox 360, and to the contrary, attempted use of Halo 3 consistently causes the Xbox 360 to ‘crash,’ ‘freeze’ or ‘lock up’ while the game is being played.”

The finger was then pointed at Microsoft, who was blamed for failing to recall the game or fix the problem, despite “repeated and mounting customer complaints” regarding the operational flaw in Halo 3.  As Halo 3 does not deliver what it promises “defendants have breached the statutorily implied warranties of the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.”  Although they may have a rather hard time arguing Halo 3 doesn’t work on the Xbox 360 considering millions of people play it every day.  [TGDaily]

Red Steel Director Would Like To See Series On Other Consoles

From A Bungie And Microsoft Lawsuit To Courtney Loves Fury: News Roundup September 10th

Red Steel may be exclusive to the Wii, but this hasn’t stopped creative director Jason VandenBerghe from expressing his desire to see it on other consoles.  “I personally would love to see any and all consoles have more sword fighting experiences,” VandenBerghe said.  Although he did point out Ubisoft’s approval would be necessary to develop the series on other consoles.

A high definition Red Steel hardly seems out of the question considering Project Natal and the PlayStation 3 motion controller are due next year.  But in the meantime, Red Steel remains a Wii Exclusive, with Red Steel 2 approaching early next year.  [JoyStiq]

LucasArts To Reveal Brand New Game By Friday

From A Bungie And Microsoft Lawsuit To Courtney Loves Fury: News Roundup September 10th

LucasArts looks set to reveal what they’ve been working on for the future this Friday.  The host of GameTrailers TV, Geoff Keighly, teased the new LucasArts game in a twitter message; “LucasArts will announce a brand-new original game on this week’s GTTV – with first footage. More details soon.”  LucasArts confirmed this by posting the Tweet on their own account.  This “brand-new original game” appears to be just that, a new game and not a sequel, or a game based on any existing license.  Whatever the case we should know more by Friday.  [Eurogamer]

Courtney Love To Sue Activision Over Cobain Guitar Hero Appearance

From A Bungie And Microsoft Lawsuit To Courtney Loves Fury: News Roundup September 10th

Activision recently announced Kurt Cobain would be appearing in Guitar Hero 5, inspiring action from an infuriated Courtney Love.  “WE are going to sue the shit out of [Activision] we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises” said Courtney Love on her Twitter account.  Love’s latest tantrum stems from the fact Activision featured a digital version of Cobain in Guitar Hero 5 playing along to Smells like Teen Spirit and Lithium.

Although Activision got permission to use these songs from Love and Nirvana, they were apparently never given the go-ahead to use his likeness in the game.  Love called the idea “necrophilic” announcing “Wow they’re just LIQUIDATING kurt and IM THE DEVIL? I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH GUITAR HERO I LOATHE IT AND FIND IT ODIOUS KURT WOULD HAVE TOO.”  Activision is yet to comment, but we’ll let you know as soon as they do.  [PerezHilton]

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