The Rundown: Jan. 22, 2009
Another day in New York. It’s hard to work with all this talk about Priceline and the flurry of nerf darts that pierce an otherwise quiet Thursday afternoon. Today in the news NOBY NOBY BOY gets a date and a price on the PlayStation Network, Mines of Moria gets an award, the IGF Student Showcase winners are named, details on Global Game Jam, Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad goes gold and much, much more. Please join us for yet another pulse pounding edition of The Rundown - right after the break.
Mega Man Star Force 3 Announced
Capcom announced that Mega Man Star Force 3 for Nintendo DS. This alter-universe Mega Man game will be coming to North America in early summer 2009 in two different versions: Black Ace and Red Joker. New to MMSF3 are Noise Changes, random enhancements that change Mega Man’s form and unlock new abilities. The two versions of the game have over 100 unique Noise Types that can be combined with Mega Man to unlock elemental powers based on earth, air, water and fire. The new Noise feature will add randomness to battles, encouraging players to explore, collect and battle across the digital world of MMSF3 - at least according to Capcom. Look for it this summer wherever Mega Man games are sold..
Killzone 2 gold
Killzone 2 has gone gold and will hit U.S. retail space on Feb. 27th for the PS3. The game is available for pre-order if you want to get it early. Hopefully Guerrilla’s latest title in this popular action game franchise is a little bit sturdier than the previous game.
IGF Student Showcase Winners Announced
The ten winners of the 2009 Independent Games Festival Student Showcase have been revealed today. The winners were chosen from a pool of 145 Student Showcase entries (up over 15 percent on last year’s 125 entries) and will now advance to compete for an overall Best Student Game prize, to be awarded at the IGF Awards Ceremony on the evening of March 25th, 2009. Some of this year’s Student Showcase winners include CMU’s ‘active play’ exercise-centered game Winds Of Orbis, quirky Danish first-person dish cleaning game Dish Washington, and ecological management puzzle game City Rain from Brazilian students. Also honored are titles including USC’s abstract painting game The Unfinished Swan and reality-manipulating side scrolling shooter Zeit Squared. All IGF finalist games will be exhibited at the IGF Pavilion at this year’s Game Developers Conference. Find out more by visiting www.gdconf.com.
NOBY NOBY BOY Dated, Priced
Namco Bandai Games America revealed that NOBY NOBY BOY will be available for download from the PlayStation Network in North America on February 19 for a price of $4.99. The latest game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi, NOBY NOBY BOY lets players expand a creature named BOY to incredible lengths across playground-like planets of the solar system by eating and spitting. While this concept sounds kind of gross on paper, Takahashi’s games tend to be totally awesome. Look for it in the middle of next month.
Mines of Moria Wins 1Up Nod
Turbine’s newest expansion to its MMO The Lord of the Rings Online, Mines of Moria, was named the best MMORPG of 2008 by 1up.com - you know, before it was sold to UGO. the expansion beat out the likes of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures and Pirates of the Burning Sea. Congrats to Turbine.
Global Games Jam Begins Jan. 30th
This year’s Global Game Jam is set to kick off January 30, 2009 with an interesting premise: build a bunch of different games using a simple theme. From 5:00 p.m. on January 30th, until 5:00 p.m. February 1st, more than 1,000 developers of all skill levels will join together for a 48 hour game building marathon, in the first Global Game Jam (GGJ). Participants will be given the details of the game design theme, constraints and mechanics allowed when the clock reaches 5:00 p.m. local time in each region. As the time zones change, so will the constraints, mitigating any advantage location might give one team over another. While individual and regional Game Jams have been held in the last few years, there has never been one the size and scope of the GGJ. Details about how all of this will work can be found at globalgamejam.org.
Bikini Samurai Squad Games Golden
Girls. Bikini’s. Swords. Zombies. I smell a hit! Two Onechanbara Games have gone gold and will be in stores Feb. 5th. Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad for the Xbox 360 lets players take control of two sword wielding samurai sisters who just happen to like wearing bikinis and cutting up lots of zombies (watch out for that zombie blood - it apparently makes you go ape shit). The sequel to Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers, this Wii game charges players with using the Wii remote to wield their samurai sword, slicing and dicing zombies as you go. Like the first game, that zombie blood will make you go nuts and send you on a magical killing spree. You can learn about both games by visiting www.d3publisher.com.
Meteos Wars Planet Pack
A new Planet Pack has been released for the popular game Meteos Wars today. The Planet Pack features nine planets, two of which are entirely new to the series. If you have all but given up on this game perhaps the pack will drag you back in.. or not. but for those that are interested, a visit to Xbox Live Marketplace is probably in order.
Zeno Clash on Steam, D2D
ACE Team today announced that it will distribute Zeno Clash via Steam and Direct2Drive this Spring 2009, for$20.00 USD. Zeno Clash is a PC-based action/fighting game set in a steampunk fantasy world. A retail partner is still to be determined. The game is also a finalist in this year’s Independent Games Festival (IGF) Awards for Excellence in Visual Art.
My DoItAll Gold
TOMY Corporation’s first original IP development out of its North American office, My DoItAll, has gone gold and will ship to stores on February 10 for Nintendo DS. Billed as the first lifestyle game for both boys and girls, My DoItAll allows players to become the ultimate whiz-kid by staying organized and up-to-date with a calendar and reference tools. Players can interact with friends through customization capabilities, mini-games and voice over and sound effect applications. Sounds safe at least. find out more by visiting www.TOMY-USA.com/videogames.
Konami’s New iPhone Games
Konami Digital Entertainment has released Silent Hill: The Escape and DanceDanceRevolution S Lite in North America for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Both titles have been re-designed to take advantage of the iPhone’s capabilities, including the Multi-Touch Interface and accelerometer. Silent Hill: The Escape is available for $7.99 from the Apple App Store, while the DDR game is free. find out more at www.konamimobile.com.
F.E.A.R. 2 Demo on XBL
The F.E.A.R. 2 single player demo is now available via Xbox Live today (but not in Germany or Asia).The single player demo gives players a taste of Monolith’s survival style shooter that opens with a routine mission gone awry and an inevitable fight for survival against an enemy that goes by the name of Alma Wade. Look for it on Marketplace now.
Raptr in Gunbound Revolution
Raptr has partnered with NHN USA to include its Raptr client in the game Gunbound Revolution. More ijji.com titles will soon feature the Raptr client. Raptr’s client allows players to have a more social exereince by sharing information like what your friends are doing and playuing.That information can also be broadcast to the user’s friends on a variety of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Through this partnership with NHN USA, Raptr users will be able to surface their game play of Gunbound Revolution and other games as well as discover other people within Raptr’s network who are playing NHN USA games.
Sacred 2 Free E-Book
cdv Software Entertainment is giving away an e-book of the Sacred 2’s “Art and Vision” today. This illustrated e-book showcases hand-drawn character designs, renders and other artistic creations from the game’s universe, while also showcasing the progression of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel from a vision to fleshed out RPG. To download the “Art and Vision” e-book, visit www.cdvus.com.
Dawn of Heroes Announced
Majesco Entertainment announced Dawn of Heroes for Nintendo DS, a tactical role playing game that combines classic RPG concepts (character development, epic combat, quests and puzzles) with humor, head-to-head multiplayer and the ability to trade collected items. the game promises 50 playable missions with branching paths and side quests, 25 playable classes from six factions and a multitude of enemies. the game is set for release this summer.
Puzzle Quest Galactrix DS Dated
D3Publisher today confirmed that it plans to ship Puzzle Quest: Galactrix for Nintendo DS on Feb. 24 for North and South America. The company also confirmed plans for a PlayStation Network version of Puzzle Quest: Galactrix in Early 2009. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix is also confirmed for Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 and Windows PC download for Early 2009.
Neil Young Headlines GDC Mobile
Neil Young, CEO and founder, ngmoco will headline the 2009 Game Developers Conference Mobile (GDC Mobile), with a keynote presentation titled “Why the iPhone Just Changed Everything.” Young’s keynote will declare the iPhone the most exciting innovation of the last year and explore the opportunity Apple’s device and the ecosystem offers. Additional content includes keynotes and sessions by Mike Pagano of EA Mobile, Sega’s Ethan Einhorn, Guido Henkel of G3 Studios and Paul Forster of Pick Up And Play.
Hellfire Hits iPhone
Handmark has released Hellfire on the Apple App Store. Hellfire is a helicopter game that uses the accelerometer to control your helicopter through 16 locales in 4 missions. Hellfire is available for $4.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore.
Ether Saga Online Beta Sign-Ups
Perfect World Entertainment today announced the closed beta program for its MMORPG, Ether Saga Online, will begin on Feb. 10, 2009. Beginning today, gamers are invited to visit eso.perfectworld.com, for a chance to receive beta keys that will provide early access to the Ether Saga Online game world prior to its official launch this spring. Hit the link to get started.
Blade3D Contest
Gamers now have an opportunity to create a game thanks to the Blade3D contest. Entrants are being called to develop a game on an affordable ($14.95/mo) and allegedly simple development platform. The Prize? A chance to be flown to San Francisco in March for GDC (air, lodging and admission paid), have their game showcased on the show floor and an opportunity to be published on Xbox LIVE and Windows via XNA. To enter, simply create a game using Blade3D and submit by February 24th. More details at www.blade3d.com.
