Whilst the new Bond movie has assaulted UK box offices and gets ready to blow away US audiences the tie-in game quietly slips on to shelves. Does it provide a true 007 experience?
A few days ago, on the second anniversary of the PS3 in the U.S., Sony announced that their users have registered over 14 million PSN accounts. GameSpot did some follow up and they have a clarification on how Sony arrived at that number. As our astute EvAv readers suspected the number does include accounts registered by PSP users. The specific number of accounts tied to the PS3 and PSP remain a mystery though.
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So how many PSN users are logging on via the PS3? Sony declined to release any specific numbers, preferring to play up the PS3's rising registration rate. "We've seen an increase in unique [PS3] consoles registered for PSN compared to the sell through rate, which means we are seeing more PlayStation 3 owners who didn't previously register, do so lately, based on the new features we've added to PSN, such as Video Store and Trophies," said the rep.
I need a double dose of Dramamine after reading that.
Tired of alt-tabbing out of your games just to hit up a forum while you wait for some clan activity? Rogue is here to the rescue! Yahoo Biz:
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GotGame, the company that enables gamers to access the in-game content they desire, today launched Rogue, its highly anticipated web browser.
Gamers spend a quarter of their time in game waiting for teammates to log in or games to load. They want something to do during this downtime, but exiting or minimizing the game means missing critical action.
Rogue eliminates this waiting game, enabling PC gamers to surf the web via a fully functional web browser without ever leaving their favorite games. Players can navigate to Wowhead to obtain information about items in World of Warcraft, or pull up Hulu to watch movie clips between Counter-Strike rounds; these are just two of the countless options available.
In order to use Rogue, gamers simply visit rogue.gotgame.com and download the free application. By hitting a hotkey, users can overlay the application in their favorite games; the browser will appear as though it were a part of the game itself, without disrupting any in-game functionality.
Sounds neat, anyone wanna give it it's day in court?
There's a teaser trailer over on GameTrailers letting everyone know that on December 14th at the Spike Video Game Awards, we'll get to see the first footage of Fight Night Round 4. They tease us by saying "They are legends of the ring, the greatest of all time." Is this hinting at the basis of FNR4, or just letting us know that there are some legends of boxing in there?
Come on Tyson, Marciano, Lewis and Schmeling (and more compelling gameplay)!
The Killers content was already announced, but that's not all coming next Tuesday. We'll get Soundgarden, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Lamb of God as well. From Shack:
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The Killers 3 Pack / 440 Microsoft Points ($5.50)
o Mr. Brightside / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
o Smile Like You Mean It / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
o Spaceman / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
Yngwie Malmsteen 3 Pack / 440 Microsoft Points ($5.50)
o Caprici Di Diablo / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
o Damnation Game / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
o Red Devil / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
Singles
o "Jesus Christ Pose" - Soundgarden / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
o "Pretty Noose" - Soundgarden / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
o "Laid To Rest" - Lamb of God / 160 Microsoft Points ($2)
Teasing another car pack, Criterion has posted their latest update on forthcoming paid DLC for Burnout Paradise. This time its a double pack of cars that both have special boost abilities. Their flames are blue!
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We’ll be back in the New Year with all the details on this powerhouse racer, but for now we’re keeping it under wraps.
We could tell you that it’s the fastest car in Paradise City – a stripped down, ultra low, overpowered straight line monster.
We could talk about its roots in American Rat Rod culture and it’s wildly exaggerated Hot Rod features, based on a ‘20s Roadster.
We could explain that we’ve rewired Burnout’s vehicle dynamics system, so it handles more intuitively and drifts more realistically than any other car.
We could reveal that it’s the first of a pack of 2 cars designed to re-imagine Burnout Boost. Which explains the blue exhaust flames.
We could do all that, but we don’t want to give away too much. For now, all you really need to know is that this car will give you the ride of your life and in early 2009 you will NEED to own it.
Straight from the horse's mouth comes word that Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa is latest game headed to the MMO graveyard.
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To the Tabula Rasa Community,
Last November we launched what we hoped would be a ground breaking sci-fi MMO. In many ways, we think we've achieved that goal. Tabula Rasa has some unique features that make it fun and very different from every other MMO out there. Unfortunately, the fact is that the game hasn't performed as expected. The development team has worked hard to improve the game since launch, but the game never achieved the player population we hoped for.
So it is with regret that we must announce that Tabula Rasa will end live service on February 28, 2009.
Before we end the service, we'll make Tabula Rasa servers free to play starting on January 10, 2009.
We can assure you that through the next couple of months we'll be doing some really fun things in Tabula Rasa, and we plan to make staying on a little longer worth your while. For more details about what we are doing for Tabula Rasa players, please click here.
Stay tuned for more information. We thank you for your loyal support of the game and encourage you to take us up on the benefits we're offering Tabula Rasa players.
If you haven't gotten enough malaria or blood diamonds, then you're in for a treat. By the end of the month, you'll be able to download the "Fortune's Pack" which will add more stuff to the already detailed African landscape. Too bad for PC users though, this looks like its only for Xbox and Playstation for the low low price of $9.99. From Gamespy:
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The Fortune's Pack DLC for Far Cry 2 will include:
In a post (#17) on their official forums a Bethesda Community Manager has confirmed that they are working on a patch for Fallout 3. Little is know about the patch other than "We are currently working on a patch for all three platforms. When I've got more details, I'll let everyone know."
From what I've read here at EvAv and on Bethsoft's forums some users are having problems. I'm about 10 hours in (PC CE - Thanks go to my Evil Master for that) and I've been lucky so far with no crashes or problems to report.
Sony has announced that MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies has been updated with a new patch and content upgrade, including the classic Episode V Battle of Hoth.
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Choose your side and prepare for battle -- the epic fight for Hoth is now yours to be waged! Sony Online Entertainment LLC and LucasArts today announced the latest addition to Star Wars Galaxies™, Chapter 11: The Battle of Echo Base, that brings the epic action and excitement from one of the most gripping fights in Star Wars history to fans and players in a way they've never experienced before.
This latest chapter in the Star Wars Galaxies saga lets players relive pivotal combat missions on behalf of either the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance. The breathtaking heroic encounter adds vehicular combat, so players in groups of up to eight people can jump into the fray at Echo Base and take the controls of a Rebel snowspeeder or Imperial AT-ST.
The fight for both sides begins on the icy North Field, where the battle between the forces of good and evil are joined, and continues all the way to Evacuation Point, the site of the Alliance's desperate, harrowing escape from the menacing Imperial ground assault.
Coinciding with the 1.0 release of Playstation Home, Sony has sent out 100,000 invites into their digital life simulator. Additionally, it looks like more invites will be sent out next week and an open beta is soon to follow. Eurogamer reports:
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This coincides with the launch of v1.0 of the virtual world, according to TedTheDog (he's probably not a dog) on the European PlayStation forums.
Furthermore, next Thursday "another larger batch of invitations will be sent".
Those not invited - perhaps they're not loyal enough - are told an open beta will "not be far behind".
The PlayStation Home update brings a meaty list of changes to the table, such as a tutorial, background downloading, more dance moves, reintroduction of regional travel, and a club support system.
Electronic Arts and IDW have announced that the hardcoverDead Space comic book is now available from your local comic book store.
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The Bloodbath Continues! Today, in association with Image Comics the hardbook comic titled "Dead Space" hits comic book stores nationwide and will hit Amazon, Border's and Barnes and Noble at the end of the month. The Dead Space hardbook serves as a prequel story for the award-winning videogame that tells the gut-wrenching tale of a deep space mining colony that unexpectedly pulls an ancient and vicious alien life force from the dark rock. The Dead Space hardbook combines all 6 Dead Space comics written by Antony Johnson and illustrated by Ben Templesmith with exclusive cover art by Templesmith, an exclusive bonus art section, and a background section on the major characters.
Sony has started up a new ad campaign titled "Entertainment Unleashed". The commercials aren't nearly as far out as they have been in the past and are actually quite clever, covering both games and the Playstation Network.
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This weekend, we’re excited to reveal what triggered the excitement. The spot begins with a guy creating a LittleBigPlanet level on a building wall and from there, the PS3 takes on a momentum all its own, spreading amazing entertainment content uncontrollably from building to building throughout the city. The ad prominently features not just LittleBigPlanet but also two other PLAYSTATION 3 exclusive titles — Resistance 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift. And we’ve also highlighted PS3’s Blu-ray capability by featuring Blu-ray movies like The Dark Knight, showcasing PS3’s unrivaled leadership as both a gaming and multimedia entertainment experience.
With the recent release of Bejeweled Twist on Steam I thought some of you might like to know if it's worth picking up PopCaps's latest little 'gem'. Eurogamer must have been thinking the same thing as they gave it a score of 7/10 in this review, posted earlier today.
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It seems the idea is to force you to make decisions - do you keep pursuing that 9x multiplier, hoping the bomb gems will fall naturally into spaces where you can match and defuse them? Or do you take the safe option and defuse the bombs as soon as possible, even if that means making non-matching moves and letting your multiplier drop back to zero? That's an interesting game mechanic, but it doesn't make up for losing unfairly because of random chance.
It's such a shame because otherwise there is much to recommend Bejeweled Twist. It might be fundamentally similar to the previous games in many ways, but it's also different. The rotating mechanic changes the pace of the game entirely. The ability to make a move without making a match adds a significant amout of depth and strategy, as do the optional bonus challenges.
A couple of weeks ago IGN gave Bejeweled Twist an overall score of 7.4 in this review.
Capcom's Unity blog was recently updated letting everyone know that they will be releasing a deck for beloved XBLA title Uno. The deck will feature the same super Uno fun you know and love with a new face, but will add some new cards into the mix. A "HADOUKEN" card causes a target player to keep drawing until a "block" or "jump" card is picked.
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Devious you say? From a classic family fun game like Uno? Well, let me explain. Available sometime next month will be a Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix themed card deck for the already top selling Uno for XBLA. This deck will feature:
HD background of Sagat's stage from HD Remix
Sagat's classic level music.
Portrait art of characters on all the cards.
Animation of Street Fighter moves on special cards.
Financial woes continue with Midway as a notice has been sent out that they are in danger of being de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange.
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Midway Games Inc. announced today that on November 14, 2008, the Company received notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that it has fallen below the standard for continued listing of its common stock on the NYSE that requires a minimum average closing price of $1.00 per share over 30 consecutive trading days.
Under NYSE rules, the Company has a period of six months from the date of the notice, subject to possible extension, to cure the deficiency. During this cure period, the Company's shares will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE. The Company plans to notify the NYSE that it will seek to cure the deficiency.
Looks like we may not see another M rated MK game... I wonder what this means for This is Vegas.
Somewhere in the last two weeks I lost Matt and Brad but along the way I picked up Matt from Short Attention Gamer. We talk about Gears of War 2, game guitars, the new Xbox 360 interface and some Left 4 Dead. Matt quits at the end of the show so hopefully Matt and Brad will return next week.
It's taken them a little longer than it usually does but news from 1up confirms that the new PSP SKU has been cracked to allow homebrew and pirate games to be played on the console.
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Celebrate, homebrew fans -- while Sony had managed to evade the attempts of hackers to crack into the latest iteration of the PlayStation Portable, the PSP 3000, it's finally been accomplished. Sure, we knew it was inevitably going to be cracked since it was released in October, but with the talent of hackers these days, I'm surprised when things aren't hacked as soon as they're released.
Of course, this comes at a price -- $30, to be exact. A new battery from the England-based maker of Action Replay, Datel, enables users to put the PSP in service mode, reports Maxconsole.net. From there, you'll be able to downgrade the system's firmware, thereby allowing you to access all of those wonderful (albeit typically illegal) tools, apps, and emulators you've no doubt heard of. The battery features a convenient switch to allow you to jump between service mode and normal mode and functions with both the PSP 3000 and 2000.
It seems like the British film classification people go a little easier on games than our the industries own regulatory body. As part of the Byron report it has been revealed that the BBFC downgraded 22 games which ELSPA believed to warrant 18+ ratings. More from GamesIndustry.biz
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ELSPA has released details of the key findings submitted to the government following the Byron Review consultancy period.
It claims that ratings rival, the British Board of Film Classification, downgraded 22 adult titles already given an 18 rating by PEGI.
"The BBFCs downgrading of games opens up the potential of unnecessary risk for UK children and teenagers when playing games against other non-UK players online," said ELSPA.
"Last year, of the 50 games that PEGI rated 18+ and passed to the BBFC for classification, the film rating board downgraded 22 of them – almost 50 per cent."
However, the BBFC claims that it takes into account cultural factors when rating games, something that PEGI's Europe-wide system is incapable of doing.
"We're British, and I do think it's important even in an online game world to be able to take account of British sensibilities and we consult the public very widely when we revise out guidelines," said BBFC director David Cooke.
Those who are signed up over at Ubisoft will be able to download a free Altair skin for the new Prince of Persia title. More information from Eurogamer:
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Ubisoft has decided to reward Prince of Persia fans for their loyalty with a free downloadable character skin.
The skin will let you play as Altair, the hero of Assassin's Creed.
"Prince of Persia is an incredible experience," said Ben Mattes, the man in charge of making Prince of Persia. "We're thrilled to give our loyal fans another way to journey through it."
To download the skin, you must first sign up for a Ubisoft.com account.
"This exclusive reward is a 'thank you' to our fans, who can easily unlock it when they link their Ubisoft.com accounts to their Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 gamer identities."
A cool freebie! Prince of Persia hits 360 and PS3 on December 5th.
In case you were already tired of the songs that came on the disc, you'll very soon be able to download some new stuff to sing along to. Prices for these start at 160 MSP. From Xbox 360 Fanboy:
With Ziff Davis in bankruptcy, they've killed of the print publication of PC Magazine earlier in the week. Now it looks like long running EGM may be next. Gamasutra:
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Buried in the story about PC Magazine is this snippet, which doesn't feature any direct quotes from Young: "Mr. Young said the company was considering taking its other print magazine, the video-game publication Electronic Gaming Monthly, into an online-only format, but would not make a decision before the end of the year."
Ziff Davis was calling me at my house for a month straight, trying to get me to renew my free EGM sub... I didn't. This is my fault. Sry guyz.
One of UFC's top welterweight's John Fitch and his whole fight academy have been released due to money issues when asked for a lifetime likeness agreement for the new UFC video game.
It's an interesting story and makes you wonder if this type of deal is common in other sport games.
Microsoft has always promoted online game play as a key component of its Xbox systems. The multi-billion dollar investment in the Xbox Live online game service is what is supposed to distinguish Microsoft systems from the competition. Xbox Live hit the ground running without any serious online console competition for six years. However, with the current generation of game systems, the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii have major online features and it is getting harder to distinguish the competitive advantage provided by a service like Xbox Live.
Microsoft is hoping to change that with the November 19th launch of the “New Xbox Experience”. The New Xbox Experience does not really change the online game play experience, but is instead about enhancing the interface and community-building features of Xbox Live. This is part of Microsoft’s long struggle to expand the appeal of the Xbox 360 beyond the core action game fan.
I think the short answer is Yes. NXE surely won't drive potential buyers away, right? Sales have no where to go but up. Polling future buyers on whether they bought a console for NXE will be how we discover the true answer.
With such a crowded season of games I thought it'd be good to do a roundup for all the games that we simply don't have time to review in full. So, welcome to the first edition of The Evil Avatar Review Roundup with LittleBigPlanet, Dead Space, Midnight Club: Los Angeles and Silent Hill: Homecoming.
Sony seems to think so. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz company big-wig David Wilson said that the company believes slow sales of their new games are due to a crowded marketplace of more established franchises.
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"We are also pleased with its commercial performance. In other times of the year it would be a clear number one - so you have to put the chart in context. This is an incredibly volatile time of year and the chart reflects that - November 7 saw 47 titles released on that one day alone including many big hitters with Christmas number one aspirations. Look at the chart this week - the top four are all brand new entries."
The game is a flagship title for the PlayStation 3, with Sony claiming it will help sell console hardware.
"LittleBigPlanet has also sold well given that this is a brand new IP," he said in reference to the game's first week of sales which saw it coming in below three sequel titles, Microsoft's exclusive Gears of War 2, FIFA 09 and Fallout 3.
"Our industry is littered with examples of brand new innovative titles that have been lauded by the critics but have sold dismally," Wilson added. "But Sony is delighted and honoured to be working with hugely talented developers who can create brilliantly creative original games."
It looks like after a few short months of operation Google will be shutting their social-networking MMOG Lively down for good. More from 1up.
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Google claims the project was a risk, but "when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off." When the service ends at the end of the year, "Everyone who has worked on the project will then move on to other teams" to help the company focus more on "core search, ads, and apps business."
I'd normally say "enjoy it while you can," but it looks like very few actually enjoyed their time in Lively. Instead, how about you "see why it failed while you still can" and report back in the comments section below.
Exciting news is coming down the wire for fans of downloadable games such as Braid or Penny Arcade Adventures. Square Enix has announced through GamesIndustry.biz that the new LA studio will focus on these sort of titles.
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Square Enix's US president John Yamamoto has told GamesIndustry.biz that the company's new in-house development team based in Los Angeles is currently concentrating on the market for digitally downloadable games.
And after successfully adopting Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for The Last Remnant, the studio is also assessing multiple middleware solutions and feeding back its findings to Japan for future releases.
"All formats – Xbox Live, WiiWare, PlayStation Network – are all viable formats for us," said Yamamoto. "We started the in-house development team a couple of months ago and we're starting with downloadable content because the team is still small.
The potential here is pretty huge. Multiplayer capable ports of old Final Fantasy titles? New spin-offs? Who knows!
Full article right here. The article goes on to reinforce Square Enix's multi-format strategy.
You may well remember a little spat THQ and Activision had over the boxart for there similar games Baja: Edge of Control and Score International Baja 1000. Well, it seems like Activision have given in and changed the boxart to the following.
MCV has word that Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment has acquired the rights to publish a game based on the upcoming movie, Terminator Salvation.
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Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment has signed up the distribution and publishing rights to the new game based on action film Terminator Salvation.
The third-person shooter is due next year alongside the Warner Bros Pictures and Sony Pictures movie, putting players in the shoes of Christian Bale's John Connor character.
The game has come to market by an elaborate but successful rights deal - new Hollywood games firm Halcyon Games is overseeing the project which is published by Equity Games, co-published by Evolved Games and distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
“Terminator Salvation – The Videogame allows players to battle for survival against Skynet enemies utilizing an incredibly fluid and realistic control set,” said Cos Lazouras, president of Halcyon Games.
Surely there's no chance of an epic fail on this one.
lost - It looks like Bionic Commando developer GRIN has been signed up for this.
Trophy fans rejoice! Come January 2009, no longer will new games be hit or miss with trophy support as Sony is mandating that all games released must include them. Videogamer reports:
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VideoGamer.com can exclusively reveal that from January 2009 all newly released PS3 games will be required by Sony to support the console's Trophy system.
Earlier this week VideoGamer.com received a tip from an anonymous source within the UK video game industry that, from January 2009 onwards, all newly released PS3 titles will be required to support the PS3 Trophy system.
Today a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe spokesperson confirmed that this information is accurate, stating: "Yes from Jan 09 all games must have trophies."
This really should have been done since they were announced. Better late than never though, eh?
Gamasutra has the details on GameStop's latest financial report for the quarter ending November 1st.
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Leading worldwide specialty retailer GameStop has announced sales up 5.2% to $1.695 billion in the quarter ending November 1st. But as profits edged down despite good November sales indications, it cut forecasts for the rest of the financial year on economic uncertainty.
Comparable store sales were down 1.8 percent during the third quarter, due primarily to the difficult comparison to last year's launch of Halo 3 -- the largest in GameStop’s history, which drove comparable store sales up 43 percent in 2007.
The mighty 'Halo 3 Effect' continues its reign of terror!
Blizzard has announced that their World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King expansion has set a new sales record for PC games, with more than 2.8 million copies sold in its first 24 hours.
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IRVINE, Calif. - November 20, 2008 - Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®'s second expansion, Wrath of the Lich King™, has sold more than 2.8 million copies in its first 24 hours of availability*, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. This eclipses the previous record of nearly 2.4 million copies sold in 24 hours, set in January 2007 by Blizzard's first World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade®. Wrath of the Lich King was simultaneously released in North America, Europe, Chile, Argentina, and Russia on November 13; Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on November 14; and South Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18.
In celebration of the launch, more than 15,000 stores throughout the world had their doors open at midnight to welcome thousands of expectant players. Several of these locations were attended by Blizzard Entertainment representatives, who met players and signed copies of the game.
"We're grateful for the incredible support that players around the world have continued to show for World of Warcraft," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Wrath of the Lich King contains some of the best content we’ve created for the game so far, and we look forward to seeing even more players log in to experience it in the days ahead."
