Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 30, 2008
44 comments
Somebody get this dude a sandwich, stat!
Long-running television news magazine
60 Minutes ran an extensive profile on Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps this week, and along with brief mentions of his work in Activision's
Guitar Hero World Tour commercials and notes about how his agent has been turning down deals for millions of dollars, it also sounds like he'll be getting his own video game.
Winning a bunch of gold medals? Yeah, I guess that's pretty rad. But if he can somehow be a part of an Olympic-style swimming game that isn't complete garbage, I'll be totally blown away. I'm pretty sure there hasn't been a serious Olympic track and field sports game that's been any good since, like,
Track & Field.
No real details on the game or who's producing it turned up in the
original article, but if he's got an agent that's rejecting a bunch of lesser endorsement deals, hopefully they know better than to pair up with anyone responsible for... well...
any of the Olympic video games that have been released in the last decade. Considering Phelps is already doing business with Activision (and is, as you've probably heard, a big
Call of Duty 4 fan), the speculation points in that direction.
Maybe instead of going down the dreary sports path, they'll just cast him as the lead in a first-person shooter and make a modern-day
Shaq-Fu or
Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. But with swimming or something. Call it Michael Phelps Saves the Orphanage By Swimming and Shooting A P90 and I'm
so in.
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 29, 2008
62 comments
Not as exciting as its title led me to be believe.
The bloodhounds on the
NeoGAF boards dug up a
blog focused on Northfield, MN, which ran a basic profile on the 20 game developers working at
Monster Games. Monster, as you may remember, is the house that gave us
Excite Truck back at the Wii's launch.
Apparently the team is "nearly finished" with its next project for Nintendo. But what is that project? Yeah, no idea. Here's what the original story has to say about keeping secrets:
Right now, the 20 employees at Monster Games are working on a top-secret video game for Nintendo. They’ve worked on it for two years and are nearly finished. The process is so private the designers must darken their monitors when the bottled-water deliveryman enters the office.
I'm having trouble pegging this as a simple sequel to Excite Truck. That probably wouldn't take two years and probably wouldn't need to be so hush-hush... though maybe they just like the super spy nature of keeping their water guy in the dark. About a year ago, the long-gone rumor blog run by Surfer Girl (we miss you!) posted an unsubstantiated bit claiming that this game wasn't Excite Truck 2, and that it
might be an
F-Zero sequel. Now
that seems like something that might take a couple of years to get right, and something worth keeping secret.
Fingers crossed over here, as I would be interested to see an F-Zero sequel right about now. Or, I guess, sometime next year, which is probably when all of us--including the water dude--will get to see the fruit of Monster's labor.
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 28, 2008
54 comments
I love that Microsoft essentially forces everyone to use the phrase "title update" when describing, you know, patches for Xbox 360 games. It's as if someone decided that "patch" is a dirty word. Instead, the net effect is that "title update" are now dirty words, and they have that sleazy "let's not call it a patch" vibe thrown in for good measure!
Anyway, there's now a
title update available for Epic's Gears of War 2. Senior Producer
Rod Fergusson posted these changes on the game's
official boards:
- Adjustments to make Public matchmaking faster, especially in the single player party and the four player party case. Some of these adjustments should be felt immediately and some will play out over several days as our update enables us to reduce player segmentation by reducing the number of servers required to do matchmaking. This will increase the number of possible matches available for you to join.
- A tweak that should prevent us from losing some of our additional detailed stats data that we gather for gearsofwar.com. Due to the large number of concurrent matches, our stats gathering servers were not able to collect data for every single match played. The Xbox LIVE leaderboards are 100% accurate but our existing stats web pages may have some missing data prior to the update.
- A fix to address the issue where some players were unable to start the story-based campaign if Xbox LIVE was down or unavailable.
So those of you who were stuck waiting for what seemed like days to get into a Gears 2 public match should be seeing some relief right about now.
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 28, 2008
27 comments
THQ has announced that six people will adorn the cover of its upcoming wrestling game, WWE Legends of Wrestlemania. In case you forgot, that's the wrestling game that will feature simplified controls and will allow you to relive a lot old Wrestlemania main events in video game form, such as Wrestlemania III, where
Hulk Hogan body slammed
Andre the Giant, who was joined by
Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.
We already knew that those three would appear in the game, and they'll make up half of the wrestlers on the cover. But they'll also be joined by Jimmy Hart, another classic manager, along with more-recent superstars,
Stone Cold Steve Austin and
The Rock.
I would just like to reiterate that this game is nothing without
"Macho Man" Randy Savage. And now, enjoy this video taken from Wrestlemania III.
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 28, 2008
40 comments
Jasper lives!
The hardware modders over at
Xbox-Scene have images of what appears to be a dismantled Xbox 360 with a lower-wattage power supply, complete with a different adapter to ensure you can't plug the new power supply into old units or vice versa. This model is assumed to be the first one to feature a 65nm GPU, which is another change in the continuing struggle to build more reliable hardware for less money.
Manual scans discuss internal storage.
But the most apparent difference between this new hardware and the old stuff is that this one has a larger flash chip. While older models had a 16MB chip, this one contains 256MB. This gives 360s that don't have memory units or hard drives attached enough space to hold all of the newly released NXE data. Users can also now use the internal flash for storage--though most of that space would probably be chewed up by
NXE stuff, there would probably be enough to store your Xbox Live profile, if not a saved game or two.
Scans from the manual discuss the internal memory as if it will work exactly like hard drives and memory units do today, with the ability to format or rename the space if you so desire.
Stores are probably pretty cluttered with older, non-Jasper stock at the moment, so if you're looking to get one of these new models, you may wish to wait a bit for the seasonal rush to clear out the old stuff. If you're the type to read the sides of the box in hopes of finding one, the one torn apart in the posted photos had a manufacture date of 10-23-2008 and came from lot #0843X.
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Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 26, 2008
81 comments
"Bonjour, je m'appelle Guile."
In case you hadn't heard, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix has finally been released, with the PS3 version hitting yesterday and the 360 release out early this morning. We'll have a full review of the game in the near future, but I felt you might be interested in a few quick bits of info about the game based on my experiences.
The online totally works. Really, that might be the only piece of info you need to see. While it'll act a little funky if you're playing internationally or against people with awful connections, it feels fine to me. I'd guess that if you were counting frames, though, you'd probably notice some differences.
Maybe it's just a time of day thing, but the people I was playing last night on the PS3 version were wiping me out. Totally better than me. Now that I'm playing the 360 version, though, I'm running through most players without too much trouble. I think I've lost one match so far, maybe two. Also, I managed to get three perfect rounds in a row against one guy. Another guy's whole strategy was to pick Fei Long and just hit roundhouse over and over again. Duhhhhh.
I ran into a bug on the 360 version where the music just stopped playing during fights. Still works at the menu, but I guess I'll need to quit and restart it to get the music back.
The game lets you revert to original character graphics, original music, and original gameplay, if you want. There's also a pretty heavy menu of switches that let you turn on specific elements of the remixed gameplay, like if you'll be able to "store Honda's command throw" or not.
I thought the new artwork would bother me way more than it does. The "new art, old frames" look still seems a bit choppy, but that's by design, and it's not a big deal. Speaking of which, most of the new art is A-OK. I think the only thing I don't like is Blanka's face. Maybe that's the point.
Oh, and they totally got rid of the stupid-ass announcer that popped up in Super, and changed some of the voices, too. Guile doesn't sound totally horrible when shouting "sonic boom." They just reverted it back to the pre-Super voice. This, alone, makes the entire "remix" worthwhile.
Pretty smart changes, all told. At least that's how they feel so far. More soon.
Added by Ryan Davis on Nov. 26, 2008
30 comments
Headshots for money!
While we currently live in times of economic uncertainty, there is one inimitable truth about money: there is no more reliable way to turn one dollar into two than gambling. It's fast, it's easy, and the sweet endorphin rush you get from it is better than having awesome supermodel sex on the
moon. It's also a really reasonable and responsible way to settle disputes, particularly those concerning video-game prowess. Although it's easy enough to say “I bet you $20 I win this next round of
Mario Kart, dog” when everyone's in the same living room, doing the same over
Xbox Live is nigh impossible. This is the non-existent problem that
BringIt aims to solve by acting as an impartial mediator and escrow service for online video-game wagers.
As picked up by
Destructoid,
ESPN: The Magazine: The Blog has an interview with BringIt founder Woody Levin, where he explains the fundamental concept of the site, its relative legality, and the steps it takes to prevent people from gaming the system. I'm a firm believer that casino video-games are pretty pointless because games like poker and blackjack aren't much fun where there's no real stakes, but I'm not sure that it works the other way around. In addition to seeming thoroughly shady, there's not enough oversight, and the system relies too much on the good faith of both parties not being no-good rotten swindlers. If I want to blow all my money on internet gambling, I'll stick with
the ponies.
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Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 26, 2008
54 comments
Not one to let Sony have all the sales, Microsoft has posted its own list of digital download price cuts. These will take effect at 3AM Pacific on Friday and go through the weekend.
| Item | Old Price | Sale Price |
|---|
| Rez HD | 800 | 500 |
| Arkadian Warriors | 800 | 500 |
| Assault Heroes | 400 | 250 |
| Catan | 800 | 500 |
| Brain Challenge | 800 | 500 |
| Boogie Bunnies | 800 | 500 |
| Golf: Tee It Up! | 800 | 500 |
| Guitar Hero III - Metallica "Death Magnetic" Full Album | 1440 | 1000 |
| Forza Motorsport 2 - March Car Pack | 400 | 250 |
| Crackdown - "Getting Busy" Bonus Pack | 800 | 500 |
| Rock Band - All That Remains Pack 01 | 440 | 290 |
| Lips - The Remedy (Jason Mraz) | 160 | 100 |
| Gears of War 2 - "Last Day" Theme | 250 | 180 |
| Sonic Unleashed - Theme | 250 | 180 |
| Castle Crashers - Premium Theme | 250 | 180 |
Right off, I'd like to say that as much as I enjoy using our radical table-makin' tool, I think I prefer Sony's similar sale to this one, just because everything got cut to the nice, easy-to-remember price of $4.99. That said, there are some winners in this list.
If you don't own Rez HD, you're a bad person. Consider this a great chance to pick it up. Don't worry if you don't actually like the game or think it's totally short and shallow, that's secondary. Also, Assault Heroes for 250 points is a steal, as its one of the better dual-joystick shooters on the service. But don't just wildly buy everything, either. I don't think I'd pay any amount of money for a copy of Brain Challenge or Boogie Bunnies.
Lastly, I love how the Rock Band pack is named "All That Remains Pack 01," as if there will ever be so many All That Remains packs that we'll require double digits.
And though I count myself as the "I think paying for themes is totally lame" type, that NXE-ready Castle Crashers theme is pretty sweet.
[UPDATE] It's probably also worth noting that this sale is only going down in the US, and it will only apply to Xbox Live Gold members.
Added by Ryan Davis on Nov. 26, 2008
163 comments
Artist's interpretation
I recently had the pleasure of taping an episode of
Geoff Keighley's
Bonus Round for Gametrailers, alongside Kotaku blogger extraordinaire,
t-shirt tycoon, and admirably committed trucker-hat enthusiast
Michael McWhertor and Wedbush Morgan analyst
Michael Pachter. This was my first legitimate interaction with Big Mikey P, and it confirmed my standing suspicion that he is a video-game information
monster. He also knows all kinds of stuff that you and I do not. I think that--unlike your average member of the enthusiast press--his job as a financial analyst wouldn't benefit so directly from breaking specific details about upcoming games, so developers and publishers likely end up telling him all sorts of awesome secret business.
I myself, however, am a member of the enthusiast press, so I'll snatch up whatever breadcrumbs Pachter drops. During the taping of Bonus Round, Pachter let slip that Ubisoft would be changing the time-frame of the
freshly confirmed Assassin's Creed sequel from 1191 to “several hundred years in the future” or more specifically, “sometime in the 1700s.” While the time change was presented by Pachter as fact, he went on to speculate that the French Revolution could be a potential setting. It's an interesting prospect, and like the original
Holy Land settings, it's a time and place that hasn't been exhaustively explored by other games. I understand why people were hoping to see the series head to feudal Japan for some ninja action, but I personally find the mental imagery of an Altair surrogate wearing a powdered wig and being all “sacrebleu!” to be way more compelling. Whatever Ubisoft ends up doing, I just hope they can come up with a less anticlimactic ending for the sequel.
Added by Jeff Gerstmann on Nov. 26, 2008
28 comments
Crowds clamoring for this year's hottest items: pistols and ski masks!
With consumer spending here in the US dropping another full percentage point last month--its largest decline since 09/2001--this year's "Black Friday" deals might be sounding a bit more appealing right about now.
This Friday will see a bunch of retailers offering all kinds of crazy deals in the hopes of getting you in the door to spent more money than you had initially planned on their other stuff. It's consumerism at its finest, and maybe if we all just play along, we can spend our way out of the economic downturn. OK, I'll admit that it's been a very long time since I've been in any sort of econ class, so I could be wrong about this whole "maybe if we pretend everything is OK, everything will be OK" business. I do, however, giggle everytime I hear the words "stimulus package."
Either way, if you're in the market for some new stuff, chances are there will be a retailer selling that stuff at a discount this Friday. If you're trying to find a bunch of video game deals,
CitizenKane and a dedicated group of doorbusters have compiled a
handy thread in our forums that list a lot of the big computer-and-game-related sales taking place later this week. Check it out!
If you're looking for something bigger than a video game, a bunch of sites pop up around this time of year to point you precisely to what you're looking for. Though I haven't really checked all of them against one-another,
bfads.net seems to have a good-sized list that's easily sortable by retailer and category. Personally, I'd like to find a nice, big-ass LCD monitor for about nine dollars. So far, no luck!
Filed under :
Assassin's Creed for a New Era?
First Impressions: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Gears of War 2 Gets Its Matchmaking Patch
Excite Truck Devs "Nearly Finished" With Next Wii Project
Xbox Live Marketplace Sale This Weekend
New Xbox 360 Hardware Has Internal Storage?
Michael Phelps Gets His Own Game
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