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Pokemon Ranger: Gotta Draw Them All?
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, Nintendo DS, Role Playing Games,
A new preview of the Japanese version of the latest Pokémon game to tap into the “gotta catch ‘em all” compulsion, Pokémon Ranger for the Nintendo DS has surfaced. Ranger is probably the closest of any of the spin-offs to the parent RPG in gameplay yet, but with all input handled by the stylus. The gameplay is purportedly a mix of action-RPG style gameplay using the pen input and the more traditional RPG offerings of a standard Pokémon game. Pokémon are captured by drawing circles around them; the more advanced the monster, the more circles have to be drawn. Complicating this is the fact that the creatures move around, and there are obstacles to be dealt with. The Pokémon “rock-paper-scissors” style gameplay comes into effect when the player has captured some Pokémon, the various special abilities can be used to proceed further in the game, and to hinder enemies in battle. Nintendo has yet to announce a U.S. release date for the game, but this almost seems to be a lock for U.S. customers.
Read More 
| 1Up
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Crytek’s Crysis Screens Released
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Action, First Person Shooters, PC, Screenshots, Trailers,
DailyGame has screenshots from Crytek’s upcoming PC Shooter, Crysis, and a link to the GDC Trailer. DailyGame gives the visuals high praise, and from the screenshots, it is easy to see why. The trailer was apparently promoting ATI technology, and its probably best to not think about what kind of monster CPU/GPU combination was running this demo. Screenshots and trailers never really tell the whole story, but it is easy to get caught up in the level of detail in the environments in the game, matched with Far Cry style gameplay.
Read More | DailyGame
For those of you who don’t know, God of War is one of the most incredible games on the PS2, and Sony has announced that a sequel is on the way. Here is a look at some God of War II footage from the GDC.
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‘The Outfit’ Demo Available On Live Marketplace
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, THQ, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Marketplace,
For those of us who wait with baited-breath for new playable content to hit the Xbox Live Marketplace, we can now breath easy while we download the latest demo. The Outfit demo is available in all Xbox Live regions, which rocks because this one is multiplayer (up to 8 people) if you are an Xbox Live Gold subscriber. Silver members get to play as well, but they get an offline experience. Here are some level details:
Name: Estate Assault
Game Type: Strategic Victory
Overview:
•After a coordinated offensive - Allied Command has commandeered a French villa just across the river from the Axis HQ.
•Choose your side (Allies or Axis) and squad leader to play (3 from either side; 6 total) and lead your squad into battle to destroy the enemy’s HQ, while defending your own.
•Capture strategic points located throughout the map to earn Field Units (F.U.s) – that can be used on the fly to call in Destruction on Demand™ - air-dropped into the action at any time. Everything can be called in from tanks, jeeps and half-tracks to squad reinforcements, machine gun nests, anti-tank guns and even air-strikes on enemy positions.
This one weighs in at 440.89 MB.
Read More | Major Nelson
CVG reports that SOCOM 4 and a new God of War will be coming to the PS3. SOCOM 4 is rumored to be due out at PS3’s launch, while God of War is a bit further behind and won’t see a release until later on. Also, look for SOCOM 4 to be on display at E3. Additionally, not abandoing its PS2 base, Sony is also rumored to be working on PS2 versions of the upcoming titles. We think that’s a good idea considering how many people own PS2’s. Sony certainly won’t abandon the PS2 platform anytime soon.
Read More | Pro-G
LEGO Star Wars II Preview
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Gamecube, PC, PlayStation 2, PSP, Screenshots, Xbox,
IGN has put up a great preview, with screens, of the upcoming LEGO Star Wars II title that will feature the original three Star Wars episodes.
The first one was a blast so the sequel is definitely something to look forward to. Unfortunately, the game won’t be coming out for the 360 or PS3, but we’ll manage. And besides, if the game did hit the next-gen consoles, it’d probably take longer to develop and would retail for a higher price than what the game will go for otherwise.
LEGO Star Wars II will feature two-player co-op on the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, PSP and PC, with four-player co-op for the DS version. It’s due out later this year.
Read More | IGN
New Super Mario Bros. Screen Shots
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Screenshots,
A bunch of new screenshots of the yet-untitled New Super Mario Bros. Nintendo DS game have surfaced. I tried the game at last year’s E3 and honestly wasn’t very impressed. Of course, E3 ‘05 was a while ago so hopefully the game’s much better now. And hey, we’re talking about Nintendo here. Head on over to Kotaku for a host of more images.
Read More | Kotaku
Kingdom Hearts II Voice Actors Revealed
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, PlayStation 2, Release Dates, Role Playing Games,
Square-Enix has released a partial list of American voice actors for its upcoming Kingdom Hearts II.
- Haley Joel Osment as Sora
- David Gallagher as Riku
- Hayden Panettier as Kairi
- Jesse McCartney as Roxas
- Britany Snow as Namine
- Christopher Lee as DiZ
- Steve Burton as Cloud
- Rachael Leigh Cook as Tifa
- Mena Suvari as Aerith
- Hedy Buress as Yuna
- Tara Strong as Rikku
- Gwendoline Yeo as Paine
- Ming-Na as Mulan
- James Woods as Hades
- Zach Braff as Chicken Little
KHII is due out in North America on March 28th and is sure to be a hit. If you played the first title in the series, you probably can’t wait to get your hands on its sequel. As for the voice actors, it looks like we’ve got a good amount of returners - including Haley Joel. I’m glad to see James Woods is back as Hades but I am a little disappointed to see that Chicken Little will make an appearance in the game. In all honesty, Chicken Little wasn’t the best Disney movie, so my hopes aren’t too high for his section of the game. Of course, Square could always do wonders with it so, I’ll just wait and see.
Read More | Square-Enix
Evil Avatar has shares details of a Full Auto Review.
Now here is a game that’s likely to split reviewers down the middle. Full Auto doesn’t quite feel finished, there are problems with using custom soundtracks and the Xbox Live hosting screen is very hard to read on standard definition televisions. Yet despite these problems there’s a really fun game that combines elements of Burnout and SpyHunter here.
I mostly agree with the above comments from my impressions of the demo. While I recognized I played just a demo and not the final game, I came away with mixed feelings. The game didn’t seem polished or really ready for release, but its concept was pretty cool. Hit the link below to then make the jump to the review. The game was given a 7 out of 10.
Read More | Evil Avatar
Tony Hawk Downhill Jam
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, Activision, Corporate News, Sports,
In a recent announcement, Activision declared that it would take Tony Hawk down a new road; specifically, into a Downhill Jam. The new Tony Hawk title, Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam, is slated to be released within the next year - most likely during the holiday season. According to IGN, the title will be geared toward a younger audience.
I bet the main idea behind a move to a younger audience is as follows - Activision has the Hawk license for another ten years or so. Since sequels haven’t been selling as well recently, Activision might have decided to leave the Hawk license for the kids - who have always strongly latched onto celebrities and IPs - while reallocating assets to create new titles/IPs for the slightly older gamers who are becoming burned out on sequel after sequel.
Additionally, I’d expect THDJ to be a bit more linear in level structure. Downhill Jam was one of the levels in the original THPS where you basically skated down a linear venue. Certainly not one of my favorite levels in the series, but I’m still curious as to how this new title will turn out.
Read More | IGN
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