Gaming Revelations

UNSOLVED CRIMES: NEW SCREENS

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:31:00 +0000

Yes, we know it only seems to be all about new screens at the moment but given that we’ve only just had E3, that’s all you can really expect. Fortunately this is one we’ve been looking forward to and Unsolved Crimes is, said to be, an absorbing, enthralling, character driven adventure video game experience which integrates the thrills of an action game with the mental challenges of a 3D crime investigation.

You're a rookie detective - part of the Homicide Division. An aspiring model, Betsy Blake has disappeared. A loner is the prime suspect. But this case is a whole lot deeper than it first appears… Crime is rampant in this city, and the disappearance of Betsy Blake is the latest in unnerving series of events that are slowly bringing New York City to its knees. Can you crack the cases the regular cops can't? And can you get to the bottom of the kidnapping that's all over the news? It's up to you to disentangle the truth from lies, and try to save Betsy before it's too late.

Source: ds-x2

New Game Modes Coming To CoD4

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:22:00 +0000

Even though Halo 3 may have taken over Call Of Duty 4 as the most played Xbox Live title, Infinity Ward has not given up! Infinity Ward are planning to add an additional 4 game modes. Although there is currently no set date yet as to when these new playlists will go online, but I imagine it won't be too long now.

After glancing over the list of upcoming modes it would seem that a couple are just old modes that have been redone with the good old 'Hardcore' prefix though some looks quite interesting. Be sure to read over the list of new game modes, courtest of FourZeroTwo.

Bare-bones Team Deathmatch
No more excuses. No more blaming Martyrdom or Juggernaut for your lack of skills and kills. Bare Bones Team Deathmatch eliminates the excuses and takes it back to basics with standard Team Deathmatch with no perks, no kill streak rewards. Just you, your skill, and your weapons.

Hardcore HQ
Hardcore HQ requires a lot more than just spamming the HQ position with nades and running in guns blazing. Hardcore HQ encourages more tactical gameplay and communication to win with increased damage, no HUD elements, and friendly fire on.

Multi-bomb Search and Destroy
Multi-bomb Search and Destroy starts every member of the attacking team with a bomb. So everyone has the opportunity to plant if they’re good enough.

Hardcore FFA
Even faster paced Free For Alls, where every bullet counts and playing smart is key for a solid k/d ratio. Standard Free for All rules, with Hardcore mode enabled for extra damage, no HUD, and no health re-gen.

Source: Leeds Student Gamers

First Demigod Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:18:00 +0000

Gas Powered Games finally releases a debut trailer for their upcoming title Demigod, which is being described as an amalgamation of action, RPG and RTS genres. Check it out:

Demigod is being developed exclusively for the PC.

Source: actiontrip

Xbox 360 60GB Already In The Wild

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:15:00 +0000

The official street date for the new 60GB equipped Xbox 360 — the new "Pro" model — isn't for another week, but some retailers (Target) are already selling the console. It's priced at $349, a not-quite-a-price drop replacement for the 20GB model, if you're in the market for an extra 40 gigabytes. Your mileage may vary, but if you happen to cruise by a Target on the way home, you might score.

Xbox 360 60GB already out at Target [Penny College via Gizmodo]

Source: Kotaku

Semi hands on with the PSP GPS unit

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:12:00 +0000

Sony had a working version of their GPS package at Comic-Con to play with, but it didn’t really “work”. The PSP was tethered on the show floor and the receiver wasn’t properly getting data either since it was buried inside the convention center. Unlike the build I saw at CES the software has been updated with full US maps. Sony included a handful of 3D maps for major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. I asked if we will be able to buy maps for Europe and there are no plans for that, but Sony is considering releasing downloadable content with points of interest in North America. The GPS unit is currently scheduled to come out around this holiday season and it will be packaged with the US mapping software.

I asked if Sony has any plans to bring the camera over too. A representative felt the 1.3 MegaPixel Chotto Shot camera wasn’t powerful enough since many cell phones have cameras with a higher resolution. At this time I agree with Sony. It's too late for the Chotto Shot / Go!Cam unless Sony starts making games that work with the peripheral.

Source: Siliconera

The Wheelman: video presentation

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:07:00 +0000

Here is a video presentation of The Wheelman made during E3 2008 on the Midway booth. The game scheduled for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC has recently been delayed to early 2009.

Source: Gamekyo

Counter-Strike coming to XBLA?

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:04:00 +0000

Valve’s Director of Marketing Doug Lombardi certainly seems hopeful.

In an interview with OXM, Lombardi was asked about games currently in development at Valve including Half Life 2: Episode 3, Left 4 Dead, and Portal: Still Alive. After responding to a question about Portal DLC, he was asked about bringing old games on to the Xbox Live Arcade. And on Counter-Strike, resonded with: “We’ll certainly consider it,”

Would you think about bringing older Valve games like Counter-Strike to XBLA?
We’ll certainly consider it. If you look at what we’ve done on steam, we try to make all our games available and we’re always reviewing the prices to keep them current. We’d love to do that, but this is our first step at doing that beyond the PC.

Former Microsoft employee and Valve co-founder, Gabe Newell has always maintained a healthy relationship with the PC and looks to finally be bringing that over to the Xbox 360. Orginally being a PC developer, making the move to the Xbox console was much easier for Valve, which may be the reason for the Xbox 360 getting Valve exclusives such as Portal: Still Alive and Left 4 Dead, and this may also be the reason the Playstation 3 version of The Orange Box was seriously lacking.

Along with Portal DLC and Counter-Strike, the interview goes on to mention things such as the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead and Half Life 2: Episode 3. Lombardi also seems to reaffirm the relationship between Valve and Microsoft saying: “We don’t have any immediate plans to do this on PS3 or Nintendo.”

Click here for the full OXM interview with Doug Lombardi.

Source: casualtygamer

How To Play: PixelJunk Eden

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:54:00 +0000

Confused about how to play PixelJunk Eden, now you’ve got your grubby mitts on the playable demo? Well, here’s a nice, easy cut out and keep guide. Use your eyes to see the pictures, use your brain to interpret the words, and your Dual Shock 3 to catch those pesky Spectra.

Eden’s great fun, and we’re big fans of everything PixelJunk here at TheSixthAxis. We’ll have the full review of the complete game on Monday, but until then, get swinging!

Source: thesixthaxis

Syberia coming to the DS

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:51:00 +0000

Syberia, a really great PC point-and-click adventure for PC is coming to the Nintendo DS.

Microids, the developers of the franchise have now also put up a site called Syberia-Series with more details and the ability to get media, demos etc. as well. While the Syberia series of games aren’t incredibly well known, they offer the same great adventure game experience that we all think of so fondly right before we realise how old we are getting. Puzzles, mystery and adventure… I really do miss games like these sometimes.

According to Microids, they are doing all that they can to remain faithful to the original, but are going through the game piece by piece to optimize it for the DS and to also make it fun to play again even for those that have beaten the originals. If you have a DS, you really should check this game out.

I sincerely hope that this game sells well so that more companies think of bringing point-and-click adventures to the DS. I have been looking for an excuse to buy myself a DS lately and something like this is definitely starting to make my wallet cower in fear.

Source: lazygamer

Resistance 2 vs Gears of War 2

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:48:00 +0000

One of the biggest head to head’s this year is going to be Resistance 2 vs Gears of War 2.

If both of these titles were cross platform then I don’t think anyone would be pitting them head to head as they are so different. However since Killzone dropped into next year the war of the shooters has been left to these two to decide.

Gears if getting the media hype but it seems that most people who have played both are actually falling onto the side of Resistance 2.

8 Player full co-op sounds awesome and the lack of 4 player Gears co-op is quite the let down.

The nice thing from a sales tracker point of view is that this is going to be an easy war to choose a winner. Both consoles have huge install bases and both games are being released before Christmas. The game with the most sales by the 1st of January 2009 is the winner

Source: Lazygamer

First Look: DC Universe Online

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:46:00 +0000

By Lore Sjöberg

SAN DIEGO -- Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman will soon be major players in the world of massively multiplayer games, at least if Sony Online Entertainment has any say in the matter. The publisher showed a pre-alpha version of DC Universe Online, the upcoming superhero MMO for PC and PlayStation 3, at San Diego Comic-Con.

The section that was up and running was a simulated world event, a pitched battle with Brainiac's minions in the middle of Metropolis. The player's job as a pre-generated demo hero was to battle mind-controlled civilians and help Superman and Green Lantern take out Bizarro and Lex Luthor as they duke it out amidst the mayhem.

The gameplay involves real-time action rather than the "select and auto-attack" approach more common in MMOs, so it plays more like a traditional shooter. The landscape offers a nice selection of improvised weapons, and some powers even allow you to use one enemy as a bludgeon to take down another.

Further details were vague, but the game will allow you to play either a hero or a villain, and some servers will have PvP enabled, while others won't. The big names of the DC Universe, whether members of the Justice League or the Legion of Doom, will be an important part of your life, sending you on missions and asking you for help.

SOE is aiming to provide a more organic leveling experience for players. The game world isn't divided into level-appropriate zones. Instead, level-appropriate challenges will spawn wherever you find yourself. Powers will be selected a la carte instead of locking you down into a tank, dps or healer role from the start.

The game looked very shiny and larger than life, suitable for the demigods of the DC universe. It's way too early to tell what sort of experience the game will eventually provide, but it certainly captures the look and feel of a pitched battle among spandex-clad titans.

Source: Wired

Spider-Man Web of Shadows: surprising video

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:41:00 +0000

Here is the new Spider-Man: Web of Shadows' trailer unveiled by Activision Blizzard during the Comic-Con 08 with a little surprise at the end.

Source: gamekyo

Analysts: EA revenues up in Q2, $100 million in losses expected

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:59:00 +0000

EA will announce its second-quarter results on Tuesday and, according to an average estimate by analysts, is expected to report a loss of $111 million. Forbes reports EA had a $132 million loss the same quarter last year. Not that EA is hurting for customers, revenues are estimated to be up about $200 million this quarter despite the overall loss.

This second-quarter loss isn't surprising as EA -- along with almost every other publisher -- "backloads" its games to cause a hellish purchasing climate during the holiday season. Analysts are uppity with EA because this is the first quarter the company hasn't provided them with guidance, causing analysts to have a huge spread on the quarterly financial expectations. EA is also waiting for the results of an FTC investigation into its buyout of Take-Two. There's probably going to be a lot more cloak and dagger as the dethroned publishing king tries to crawl its way back to #1.

Source: Joystiq

The Link Between The Sony PS3 and Retro Consoles

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 16:54:00 +0000

Some people might say the Playstation 3 looks like a sandwich maker or an expensive BBQ grill and I tend to agree with them. However, I do think that the PS3 does take after some retro consoles. Don’t believe me? Have a look at these sandwich maker-like video game consoles of yesteryear:
The NEC PC-Engine Duo, released way back in 1991 had Bomberman hidden in its OS and multi-regional, unlike its earlier PC-Engine models.

The Fujitsu FM Towns Marty was released in 1993 and had a PC microprocessor, a 386 running at 16 MHz to be exact, for a brain.

The Philips CD-i would probably be the sucker of this entire bunch, with only 90 games released throughout its entire product life-span. The picture above is of the CD-i 450 released in 1994.

Notice the distinctive curve on top of each console? Yup, sandwich makers were in vogue years ago.

Source: nineoverten

Rumor: Xbox Live to Become Free?

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:47:00 +0000

Well it seems and most everyone knows that during The Xbox Live Weekend event that online play is free for silver users, however. A reader over at N4G.com has stated that he has been playing his xbox online for free since July 23rd. This includes Cross platform and Exclusive platform games. The readers account has been checked and has played since then on Silver. Many people speculate that Microsoft may be opening up to free gaming. This also could unlock another big addition to their next update, Its still a guarantee that Gold will still exist and have its perks over free gaming if it occurs.

Source: consolespot - n4g - kotaku

New Gameplay Demo for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe!

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:42:00 +0000

Midway have just sent out a brand new kick ass gameplay demo talking us through the various styles etc in the game. Because my computer has decided now would be the best time to run super slowly I can only post a link to the youtube vid for now, I will have it on this page today don’t you worry.

“In a nutshell” Kick ass new gameplay demo for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.

Source: namelessgaming

Blu-ray sales rise 300%

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:36:00 +0000

In a beneficial turn of events for the home entertainment industry, Blu-ray sales continue to rise drastically despite the staggering U.S. economy.

As DVD sales decline, Blu-ray has been filling in the gap, generating more than $200 million in the first half of 2008. This is in stark contrast to the same point last year, where Blu-ray earnings were less than 33% of current figures.

“We are trending 8% Blu-ray sales [per title], and at the end of the year, we will be between 10% and 12%," stated Mike Dunn of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Lori MacPherson, general manager for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, North America contributed her thoughts.

“I think people are becoming pickier on what they spend their money on, but home entertainment always represents a good value. Thirty dollars for a Blu-ray movie that you can watch over and over again is still a great value,” she commented.

As Blu-ray production costs begin to drop, savings will be passed on to consumers and, in return, Blu-ray will take an even more prominent place in people's homes. With HDTV penetration higher than ever, Blu-ray may very well overtake DVD prior to 2012, the previously accepted prediction.

Source: PSU

Madden 2009 Screens, Brett Favre return due to Cover?

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Was Brett Favre’s decision to return influenced by his Madden 2009 Cover Photo?

As you may already heard, Brett Favre is trying to make a comeback. He currently has not reported to any camp yet, including his former team the Green bay Packers. The couple of teams that are interested are the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Bucs. Since April 24th, when Brett was announced the new cover athlete for Madden 09, minor rumblings began about his return. Could the video game football franchise influenced his return? If he DOES play this upcoming year, I say it helped! We have new screens of Madden 2009, and boy do they look good. Here are some of the new features you can expect to see this year.

Gallery: Madden 2009

New Features

Madden IQ system: players train in a holographic environment, which grants them a “Madden IQ” based on their practice in 12 different drills. The game’s difficulty adjusts itself to the player’s Madden IQ.

EA Sports Backtrack: the game analyzes the player’s playing ability and points out mistakes during gameplay a la a television-styled telestrator

Improved online leagues: server-based leagues, supporting up to 32 players, with full schedules including the playoffs and the Super Bowl as well as draft and trade support. Schedules can be played in a round-robin style as well.

Revamped graphics: Improved stadium models, new weather particle system, new lighting models, new player models, field goal nets, improved sidelines, user-controlled celebrations, clear visors, new facemask designs, and Total Control animation system.

Improved gameplay: Offensive line slide protection, smart routes, realistic fatigue, improved gang tackles, true penalty based animations, formation substitutions, new fumble system (weather affects it), new player weapon types and the ability to return short field goals.

Revamped franchise mode: Simulated stats have been improved (e.g. fewer running backs gaining 2,000+ yards in one season), rivalry games have special value and played games have more crowd and television intensity.

On-demand picture-in-picture play-call window: Picture-in-picture style interface to allow the player to see key information and call plays and formations without leaving the current window.

New Dynamic Camera System: The new camera system moves with your receivers so they will never fall out of view during gameplay. The camera automatically pans out, zooms in, and adjusts angles to keep the receivers in screen. Once you complete that pass, if the ball carrier happens to break away from his defenders, the ActionCam will rock back and forth, zoom in and follow the ball carrier, giving you that intense feeling that you’re sprinting alongside him. And if a defender happens to really lay into the ball carrier, the Big Hit Camera will rattle the screen with the force of the crunch.

New Tackling Engine & Animations

New Running/Ball-Carrier Engine: total control system, new transition system, character grounding with foot-plant, new procedural animation system, realistic momentum, new locomotion system, improved visuals and animations, left and right stick moves, directional diving.

Source: kezins

You don't need to brave sweaty crowds to see the Mirror's Edge comic book

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Didn't make it to San Diego Comic-Con to pick up the convention exclusive Mirror's Edge comic book we told you about last week? Yeah, me neither.

But thanks to our friend Spencer over at Siliconera, it's like we were actually there, man. He braved the not-so-long lines at Electronic Arts' booth to pick up a copy of the comic, and then used wacky new technology to scan it for all of the world to see. Thanks, Spencer!

The comic (the first in a series that will be released by DC to coincide with the game's release) features Mirror Edge protagonist Faith jumping across rooftops and balancing on things. Hey, you can do all of the stuff in the game! Wait a minute, is this comic book a thinly veiled advertisement?

Sneaky as it might be, it's still pretty cool, and certainly doesn't make us any less excited for Mirror's Edge's Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 release. Hit up Siliconera for the comic book goods.

Source: destructoid

Lord Of The Rings: Conquest Gameplay Video

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:04:00 +0000

Snagged on the showroom floor of last week's Comic-Con. It's...certainly looking a lot like Battlefront, which is mostly a good thing. Battlefront with arrows. A lot of arrows. And while everything looks quite lovely, we're still a tad unsure over the choice of levels: in RotK, that battle had thousands of bad guys. This level has a few dozen. Which makes it look like you're on mop-up duty, instead of war-winning duty.

Source: Kotaku

Bionic Commando Rearmed set for August 13th on XBLA

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:02:00 +0000

Update: Microsoft seem have very, very quickly taken down the date as soon as word got out.

It seems Bionic Commando Rearmed has finally got a date, and should hit XBLA on August 13th. The news comes direct from Xbox Japan as they’ve let slip the date on the games splash page on their official site. As of yet it has not been confirmed if the game will hit US and Europe on the same day, but it is very likely to happen as most big games are usually released on the same day worldwide.

No release date has been confirmed for the PSN and PC versions of the game as of yet, but it is possible the game could hit PSN the Thursday after its XBLA release.

Source: darkzero

Tenchu 4 new video

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Here's a new video of Tenchu 4 for the Wii. This new episode of the series will be released on October 23 in Japan.

Source: Gamekyo

If Batman had an Xbox 360 it might look like this

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:55:00 +0000

Microsoft had a Comic-Con booth with Galaga Legions on display and a handful of limited edition Xbox 360s to giveaway. Nobody got to take home the Dark Knight themed Xbox 360 consoles, though. These were in a glass case for eyes only. Lucky winners who stopped by and scanned their badges received Xbox 360s branded with art from DC Comics, the Watchmen, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Gears of War 2.

Source: Siliconera

Fallout 3’s Hines: “The next milestone for us is ‘get everything done.’”

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:54:00 +0000

Bethesda comms boss Peter Hines has told VG247 that the next major milestone for Fallout 3 is to “get everything done.”

“The next milestone for us is ‘get everything done,’” he said. “From a PR standpoint, we still have lots more things to see and show and talk about and we’ll be doling that info out over the coming months.”

Hines was quick to point out, though, that a move into the final push on the anticipated RPG’s development shouldn’t be an indication that there’s nothing left to reveal.

“There is tons of stuff left to see,” he said. “Half an hour you got to see at E3 is barely scratching the surface.”

The game’s out on October 7 in the US. Still waiting on a European release date.

Source: videogaming247

Star Trek Online Now Due on Consoles, PC

noreply@blogger.com (GamingRevelations) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:52:00 +0000

Months after Perpetual Entertainment ceased its work on Star Trek Online, City of Heroes developer Cryptic Studios has confirmed that it is now handling the sci-fi MMO and will be brining it to unspecified consoles in addition to the expected PC release.

It is unclear how much of Perpetual's original work will be reflected in Cryptic Studios' rendition of Star Trek Online. The project is now powered by the studio's Cryptic Engine technology, with the first gameplay footage due at this year's Star Trek Convention on August 10--suggesting many of Perpetual's assets are being re-used.

Source: shacknews