Crispy Gamer News

THQ’s Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon is now in stores for the Xbox 360. The latest chapter in the popular action-focused alien invasion game series promises hi-fidelity destruction, new alien weaponry, open-world environments and new online multiplayer modes, putting players in the role of Crypto the alien as he embarks on a journey of destruction and enlightenment in the 1970’s. The game is available for the Xbox 360 at a suggested retail price of $39.99.

Proving that sometimes advertising outshines the product it is trying to promote, the Mercenaries 2 anthem “Oh No You Didn’t” is a viral success and a personal favorite of the Crispy staff. They can’t get enough of this song about getting paid, vengeance and ensuing mayhem - all performed by some hip white boys (it’s like an evening at the Apollo or something). Check out the commercial after the jump:

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It’s a holiday weekend so EA and Pandemic want to remind everyone that Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will be available for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PS2 on August 31st. The game will land in Europe on September 5th, so no worries for those of you across the pond itching to play this Pandemic sequel.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an open-world, third-person action game set in a war-torn Venezuela - a setting that Hugo Chavez did not appreciate too much. Oh well, I’m over it and isn’t that what really matters at the end of the day?

While providing a new setting, Mercenaries 2 also features the familiar gameplay and trio of protagonists from the original, and all the driving, shooting, and huge explosions players long for. But one of the most interesting features is a new seamless cooperative multi-player mode that allows friends to enjoy the entire game together online via Xbox Live or PlayStation Network.

Look for it early next week. For more on Mercenaries 2, check out the game’s official site.

In a recent interview, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello vowed that his company would not make anymore crappy licensed games. For my part, I vow not to be snarky anymore. Speaking to MTV, Riccitiello said that his company is not in the business of creating crappy games to exploit licenses. Yes, all those Harry Potter games EA has created were totally awesome.

But all kidding (am I really kidding here?) aside, EA’s line-up of licensed properties is pretty light this year anyway; the company is working on a Littlest Pet Shop game, A Nerf title, a Hasbro console game, A new Harry Potter title, and a Lord of the Rings game. The rest of the company’s line-up are wholly owned franchises (EA Sports, The Sims, products form Pandemic and BioWare, etc), publishing partnerships with companies like Valve and id Software, and new IP’s like FaceBreaker, Mirror’s Edge, and Dead Space.

If anything EA ought to stop exploiting its wholly owned franchises.. like The Sims.

Source: MTV Multiplayer

Electronic Arts today announced its Holiday 2008 line-up, much of which will be shown of at E3 next week in Los Angeles. I am not sure if EA is showing the most titles of any publisher this year, but they sure are showing off a lot. We will get to the usual suspects in a minute, but some of the new stuff listed in today’s announcements includes some interesting iPod and mobile offerings and several new casual games.

EA Mobile’s offerings range from pedestrian to highly imaginative. On the low end of the spectrum is Tetris POP, a game that puts 17 different mini-variations on the popular puzzler and the recently released Kung Fu Panda mobile game. Also on display is Spore Origins, an action-puzzle game from the creators of The Sims and Wolfenstein RPG, an action RPG based on id Software’s classic WWII shooter. EA Mobile’s iPod games include SCRABBLE, Sudoku, Tetris and Spore Origins - based on the PC/Mac version of Spore.

From EA’s casual label comes Hasbro Family Game Night, a collection family favorites including Connect Four, Battleship, Yahtzee, Boggle, Sorry! and the all new Sorry! Sliders. The game will be hosted by Mr. Potato Head and will allow family and friends to take on each other on both the Wii and PS2.
Another casual game offerings geared toward you girls is Littlest Pet Shop. If you have ever seen the popular girl toys, then you can guess what this game is all about - cute little animals. Besides these sickeningly sweet animals, players can enjoy a series of mini-games, 100 collectible pet accessories and more. The game is being developed for DS, Wii and PC. Last on the casual front is Zubo, a pet collection game for children featuring strategic combat, rhythm action mechanics, skill building and more. Expect to hear more about this game at E3.

Finally, EA revealed SimCity Creator for the Wii. SimCity Creator is a city building game that was designed to take advantage of the Wii Remote using 13 city styles (American, European and Asian themes, as examples. Players can also build transportation systems including roads and rail lines.

Check out the big list after the jump.

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In a conference call to discuss its financial results with the media, analyst and investors, Electronic Arts revealed that two of its top franchise releases would be delayed. EA CEO John Riccitiello told conference callers that Battlefield: Bad Company and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames would not be released until fiscal 2009:

We have made the decision to move Battlefield Bad Company and Mercenaries 2 into fiscal 2009. Both titles are looking great and we believe with additional polish, we will build a better consumer experience and thereby maximize our economics. However, our Q4 bottom line guidance will be negatively impacted.

Sad news for gamers. The Crispy Nation bows its head.

Want to buy a piece of a game publisher? You”ll have another chance later this year if Codemasters has its way. Hot on the heels of one of its biggest financial years, the company is looking to make an initial public offering of stock by the first of September, barring a huge bid from a third party. Of course, in the wake of deals like the Vivendi/Activision and EA/BioWare-Pandemic mergers, anything is possible.

Speaking to MCV recently, Codemasters” CEO Rod Cousens stated, The day after the Activision/Vivendi deal went through, I’d say that on quite a few companies’ radar screens we went from being a blip to a beep. If I’m a media company, I’m looking at that situation and I’m looking at games. And Codemasters is uniquely placed in terms of its premium. We’re the fastest growing company in the fastest growing entertainment sector. Add to that our strength online and technology such as EGO and, as a privately-owned company, we’re unrivalled.

Cousens” talks of buyouts and IPOs comes after Codemasters enjoyed a successful year last year. The company saw a 37.5-percent leap in revenue over last year, bringing its value up to ?71.5 million (approx. $140 million), with an increase in profits of about ?1.1 million (approx. $2.15 million).