The Latest Video Game News from 1UP

More Country Tracks Coming to Rock Band Tomorrow

Dustin Quillen — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 11:30:00 PST

Rock Band is gearing up for another batch of country DLC this week. The "Going Country Pack 02" will include many of the songs that were previously exclusive to the standalone Rock Band Country Track Pack disc.

Xbox 360 and Wii owners can start their downloads tomorrow, December 29. PlayStation 3 owners will unfortunately have to wait until Thursday, January 7 for their country western fix. Individual tracks are set for the usual $1.99 (160 Microsoft points; 200 Wii Points) apiece, while the seven-track bundle will set you back $10.99 (880 Microsoft points).

The full list of upcoming DLC follows:

"Good Time" by Alan Jackson
"Cry Lonely" by Cross Canadian Ragweed
"She's Country" by Jason Aldean
"I Told You So" by Keith Urban
"The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers
"This One's For the Girls" by Martina McBride
"Any Man of Mine" Shania Twain

Capcom Considering Shifting Established Franchise Development Overseas

Kat Bailey — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:52:00 PST

Capcom has recently outsourced a number of projects to western developers, including the upcoming Dead Rising 2. It appears that they will continue with that strategy going forward, but with more defined roles for western development houses and Capcom's in-house teams.

In a Q&A on the company's investor relations site (via Joystiq), a Capcom representative writes that the Bionic Commando reboot "demonstrated the difficulty of outsourcing the development of [a] new title to overseas companies." Developed by the now defunct GRIN, the reboot received mixed reviews when it was released earlier this year.

In light of that experience, Capcom is considering giving franchises with "well-established characters and universal themes" to international developers. Should they go forward with this new strategy, it wouldn't be surprising to see the likes of Resident Evil outsourced to western studios.

Paul McCartney Live Tracks Coming to Rock Band

Kat Bailey — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:51:00 PST

Paul McCartney starred in Citi Field's inaugural concert back in July, an event which was later released on the live album Good Evening New York City. Selections from that album will soon be making its way to the Rock Band Music Store, marking McCartney's solo debut on the platform.

Harmonix will release New York City Pack 01 early next month, with the three available tracks including "Band on the Run (Live)," "Jet (Live)" and "Sing the Changes (Live)." The pack will be available through both the Rock Band and Lego Rock Band music stores.

The tracks will be available individually for $1.99, or as a pack for $5.49. Look for it January 5 on the Wii and Xbox 360, and January 7 on the PlayStation 3.

Castlevania, PilotWings Hit Nintendo Downloadables

Steve Watts — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 07:35:00 PST

With gift-giving holidays behind us, we're all looking ahead to the new year. As a celebration (and clever marketing opportunity), Nintendo is offering 10 new games as we prepare for 2010. Of course, with that kind of volume they can't all be winners, but a few standouts should satisfy. One of them is Castlevania the Adventure Rebirth from Konami. The new game takes cues from its 8- and 16-bit cousins for a new imagining of the classic game, and it costs 1,000 Wii Points ($10). Check out our preview for more information. Also on the WiiWare service is Eat! Fat! Fight! for 1,000 points, a cartoon Sumo game with single and multiplayer modes. Rabbids Lab for 500 Wii Points ($5) treats the Ubisoft critter like a pet living inside your Wii remote. And The Magic Obelisk is an adventure game for 500 points, in which you shine a light to guide a tree spirit to his goal. Virtual Console has one lone offering this week, but it's one that fans have been looking forward to: PilotWings for 800 Wii Points ($8).

On DSiWare, Gameloft brings The Oregon Trail, an update on the classic game you all remember playing in school. This is a port of the Wireless/iPhone game for 800 DSi Points. Sudoku Sensei brings 100 super hard puzzles for 500 DSi Points. Glow Artisan, also for 500 points, is a puzzle game for 1-2 players. Master of Illusion Express: Psychic Camera is yet another piece-meal cut of the main game for 200 points ($2). Finally, Arcade Hoops Basketball is a quick shot basketball game using the stylus, available for 200 points.

3D Realms CEO Teases Duke Nukem 'Resurgence' in Coming Years

Kris Pigna — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 12:25:00 PST

It's been a rough decade for Duke Nukem (and a particularly tough year for developer 3D Realms), but it looks like 2010 will be the start of a comeback for the flat-topped action hero of so many cringe-inducing one-liners -- or at least that's what 3D Realms has planned. Speaking in the first issue of Gamesauce magazine (via Shacknews), CEO Scott Miller reveals that they have a number of new Duke Nukem games in the works.

"The next few years should see a strong resurgence in Duke," Miller says. "There are numerous other Duke games in various stages of development, several due out this year. We are definitely looking to bring Duke into casual gaming spaces, plus there are other major Duke games in production. Almost all of these [projects] are unannounced."

While Miller wouldn't specify what the projects were, it's likely a couple of them are the two remaining iPhone Duke Nukem games Miller promised earlier this year. Then there's Duke Nukem Trilogy in the works for Nintendo DS and PSP, and according to Shacknews, a rumored port of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project for Xbox Live Arcade. And on top of all that, last month 3D Realms released an image from what was apparently a new game called "D-Day," with "Duke Nukem" teasing on his Facebook page that he "doesn't stay down for long."

Aonuma Wanted to Make Link's Crossbow Training 2

Kris Pigna — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 11:29:00 PST

If Legend of Zelda series director Eiji Aonuma had his way, we'd all be looking forward to Link's Crossbow Training 2 instead of another full-fledged Zelda title right now. In an interview with gamesTM magazine (via NowGamer), Aonuma revealed his real interest in making the next Zelda title was to create a sequel to the Wii Zapper pack-in game.

"To tell you the truth, I actually wanted to create Link's Crossbow Training 2," Aonuma said. "I thought that we should do something more and better in the field of the first person shooter, based on our experience of the first game. For example, I was thinking that maybe we could intensify the multiplayer mode. The original game was really just a solo game but I thought that we could add a true multiplayer mode with multiple users playing together, from remote areas, over the Wi-Fi Connection."

So why aren't we anticipating a new online multiplayer Zelda crossbow FPS right now? ecause Nintendo higher-ups (mercifully?) shot Aonuma's idea down. "The fact of the matter is that a lot of people inside Nintendo insisted that I should work on a new Legend Of Zelda title rather than working on more Crossbow Training," Aonuma said.

Uncharted 2 Gets Double Cash Weekend, Christmas Spirit

Steve Watts — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:33:00 PST

Uncharted 2 is ringing in the holiday weekend with another Double Cash event, according to a post on the PlayStation.Blog. For the uninitiated, all of the multiplayer unlockable skills and loadouts in the game cost money, so a double cash weekend is like a double experience event in other games. It's set to kick off today at 10 a.m. PST, and last until Sunday at 11 a.m. PST. So if Nathan Drake's award-winning adventure is waiting under your tree, you'll still have a little time to rack up the cash and catch up with other players.

The blog also revealed that for the weekend, characters will be sporting seasonal hats to show some Christmas spirit (above). If you've unlocked the Fat Drake character model, you can just imagine you're playing as a young, smart-ass Santa Claus as voiced by Nolan North.

Lego Indiana Jones 2 Demo Hits Xbox Live

Kat Bailey — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:27:00 PST

Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues has been out for a month now, but LucasArts wants to make sure you give it due consideration before you embark on your last-minute Christmas shopping spree. A demo is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace

The demo will take up 425 megs on your hard drive, and features areas taken from the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The full game throws in the original three movies and a variety of other extras.

The demo can be found here.

Maine Group Calls for Modern Warfare 2 Ban

Kat Bailey — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:05:00 PST

When the footage of Modern Warfare 2's "No Russian" level was leaked shortly before release, there was a fair amount of speculation about the outcry it would provoke. The Maine Christian Civic League has opted to add their voice by condemning the game's violence, saying that "any decent citizen" ought to ban it.

"There is a well-established cause and effect relationship between video games and school shootings, and parents of some of the victims have sued video game makers. Mercifully, our own state has been spared the occurrence of any school shootings, but the danger is growing with each passing day," the group wrote on their official site (via GamePolitics).

"The ready availability of drugs, violent video games, and outrageous rock music is a witch's brew which will eventually lead to tragedy here in Maine."

THQ Secures WWE License for Eight More Years

Kat Bailey — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:00 PST

THQ's WWE SmackDown vs. Raw won't be going anywhere soon. The publisher has secured the license for an additional eight years, beginning next year.

"This agreement ensures that WWE games will continue to be an important cornerstone of THQ's annual release schedule for the long term," said THQ CEO Brian Farrell.

"We look forward to working directly with WWE to expand their brand in the video game space through continued game play innovation and increased online delivery of WWE content."