Crispy Gamer News

It’s almost time to fire up the ol’ Ecto-1 again, Ghostbusters fans. Terminal Reality’s upcoming video game take on the classic comedy flicks has been lost in ethereal plane for some time now. First, the game was set to come out last year via a publishing deal with Activision. The game even got a huge push from the publisher at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Then, in the wake of the massive Activision/Blizzard merger, the game was surprisingly cut from the Activision lineup. Eventually, it ended up with a new home over at Atari, but with no firm release on the calendar other than sometime in 2009.

That all changed yesterday, though the news didn’t come out of Atari, but rather Sony Pictures, who is gearing up for the 25th anniversary of the Ghostbusters film debut. In a release sent out yesterday, Sony Pictures announced plans to bring the film to hi-def Blu-ray on the week of June 16th. The Blu-ray disc will be released, according to Sony Pictures, in time with the “simultaneous launch of Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the highly anticipated videogame from Atari, celebrates the film’s 25th anniversary, with an all-new adventure from by the film’s original writers.”

“This great franchise is one of the crown jewels in the studio’s library,” said Lexine Wong, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Senior Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing. “With Ghostbusters 25th anniversary upon us and the forthcoming release of an eagerly anticipated new video game, this is the perfect opportunity to release this exciting new edition on Blu-ray Disc.”

So, come the week of June 16th, gamers will finally get their hands on Ghostbusters, and both Activision and Atari will know for sure just how smart it was to cast off and pick up the eagerly anticipated title. For fans, all they’ll have to remember is “Don’t cross the streams!”

(Contributors: Adam Oldakowski - Managing Director GOG.com, Hal Halpin - ECA President, Tom Ohle - CD Projekt RED, Rich Carlson - Digital Eel, Eric Holmes - Radical Entertainment, and Game Trust members Evan Narcisse, Gus Mastrapa, David Chapman and James Fudge)

Crispy Gamer wraps up its Top 21 News Stories of 2008 with our top 7 news stories. See what stories were the most interesting and had the most impact on the game industry and gamers in 2008. We start with #7 right now.  Also be sure to check out #8 - 14 and #15 - 21, if you haven’t already.

Next: #7 –>

In recent month, publishers everywhere have been picking at the castoffs of the Activision/Blizzard merger. First, THQ snatched up 50 Cent:Blood on the Sand. Then came the news that Atari had gobbled up the rights to both The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and Ghostbusters. However, one game whose fate was left in limbo was the Double Fine produced, Jack Black starring, heavy metal action game, Brütal Legend. Today, we finally learned its fate.

Earlier this morning, Double Fine and Electronic Arts announced that they have signed an exclusive publishing agreement to bring Brütal Legend to headbanging gamers worldwide next Fall. Crafted by video game icon, Tim Schafer, Brütal Legend tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, played by Jack Black, who somehow gets tossed through time and space (a la Army of Darkness) to a mythical world ruled by Rock n’ Roll.
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Video games and drumming … all in the name of science? That’s the word coming out of the UK this morning. The Clem Burke Drumming Project, a unique scientific research collaboration between Blondie drummer Clem Burke, Dr. Marcus Smith from the University of Chichester, and Dr. Steve Draper from the University of Gloucestershire, has today announced a year-long collaborative research project which will examine the potential benefits of using the drum kit from Activision’s Guitar Hero World Tour.

The Clem Burke Drumming Project was first created with the purpose of using science to research the possible health and psychological benefits of people involved in drumming. For example, the project’s recently released first wave of findings found that professional drummers had a heart rate profile similar to professional football players and expended a significant amount of energy. Physiological tests included the measurement of heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate in rehearsal tests and monitoring heart rate and blood lactate during live stage performances.
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While Guitar Hero: On Tour for the DS wasn’t as ground breaking as other believed (see our take on it in this review from Scott Jones), it was undeniably a retail success. Building on that success, Activision has released the follow-up, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, in Europe today. The game will hit North American retail outlets on Nov. 16.

The game uses the same technology of its predecessor and expands the experience with a new journey rocking out to classics of the 1970s through today’s greatest hits. The game promises a number of enhancements, including the ability to stream songs with the original Guitar Hero: On Tour, three different solo career paths (Lead Guitar, Bass Guitar, and Guitar Duel), 28 master tracks and more than 60 songs that can be streamed with owners of the original game. The game is being offered as stand-alone software or packaged with the Guitar Hero Guitar Grip peripheral and pick-stylus.

When fans of Guitar Hero said they wanted some “killer” tracks added to the series’ downloadable content, Activision decided to take them literally. The company announced today that multi-platinum alternative rockers The Killers will celebrate the release of the band’s third album, Day & Age, with a new selection of downloadable content, available simultaneously with the album’s release on November 25th, The new downloadable tracks will feature two singles off Day & Age: “Human” and “Losing Touch”. The track pack will also feature the song “Mr. Brightside” from the band’s debut album, Hot Fuss.

The Killers Track Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation Store for $5.49. In addition, all three tracks will be made available as single downloadable songs for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, the PlayStation 3 for $1.99, and for Wii via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for 200 Wii Points.

You remember what they say about real estate? It’s all about three things: Location. Location. Location. That’s the first thing that came to mind when we got word today that Codemasters had reached a deal with Activision Blizzard to buy UK-based developer, Swordfish Studios. If you’ve got that odd sense of déjà vu, you’re not alone. Earlier this week, we reported that developer Monumental Games had also acquired Swordfish from Activision Blizzard. No, this isn’t a case of double dipping, and yes, both news bites are correct … it’s just a matter of location.
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