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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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Xbox Live Gold Free Weekend Starts Now
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
For all of the Xbox 360 owners who haven’t made the leap and subscribed to Xbox Live Gold, this weekend (3/31 - 4/2) features free Xbox Live Gold play for all Silver members. According to Major Nelson, the Xbox Live Free Weekend actually starts at 7pm PST, on March 30th. All Xbox Live Silver accounts will still report as Silver, but all services will see the account as Gold. It will be interesting to see how many people take advantage of this, and how this changes the complexion of the online gamers. Microsoft has also published the list of Xbox Live Ambassadors to try and make the new users feel welcome. This promotion is available only for U.S. Xbox Live gamertag holders only.
Read More | Xbox.com Free Weekend via Major Nelson
UMD Movies Near Death
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Portable/Mobile, PSP,
A report from Reuters/Hollywood Reporter suggests that Sony’s UMD format, at least for movies, is nearly extinct. The article says that Wal-Mart is close to pulling UMD movies from its shelves, and other retailers are significantly cutting back on UMD purchases.
Even more damning are the quotes from movie executives. A Universal Studios Home Entertainment executive reportedly said, “It’s awful. Sales are near zilch. It’s another Sony bomb—like Blu-ray.” A failure pushing the UMD format for movies could reflect badly on Sony’s ability to execute in the Blu-ray arena; it was initially thought that by attaching the UMD format to the PSP could help drive the sales of UMD movies. Failure of this objective casts serious doubt on Sony’s plan to bootstrap Blu-ray’s success on the coattails of the PS3.
Even Sony Pictures Home Entertainment executives are scaling back their plans for UMD, and admit that there are drawbacks to the format: the inability to play UMD movies on the end-user’s television sets, and the ability to playback video content from the memory stick, saying ““I think a lot of people are ripping content and sticking it onto the device rather than purchasing.” Of course, the higher price points for UMD movies versus DVD media doesn’t help at all.
Read More | Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Silent Hill on PSP
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Portable/Mobile, PSP, Rumors, Survival Horror,
1Up is reporting on the new Silent Hill Collection for PS2, but interestingly also reveal Konami plans for a Silent Hill release on the PSP. This will be a separate game from the Silent Hill Experience interactive comic book and game bundle that features Silent Hill 2, 3, and 4: The Room, which will be released as a tie in for the upcoming movie on April 13. The PSP title could possibly be a remake of the original Silent Hill.
Read More | 1Up
Playfeed’s Fight Night: Round 3 Review (Xbox 360)
Posted by Rob Stevens Categories: Features, Fighting, Reviews, Sports, Xbox 360,
What a beautiful game. I don’t buy EA games on principle, so this is one that I’ve had sent by GameFly, but Fight Night Round 3 is just amazing looking. I’m having a ton of fun with it, too, as my wife would attest to after hearing me heckle the other pugilists with ridiculous nicknames like “The Body Snatcher”. (Not that my nickname of “The Professional” is much better.) I sat there last night threatening to send The Body Snatcher home in a body bag, stuff like that.
I normally shy away from the idea of creating fighters in my own image, since I’m not that attractive a guy, but for some reason I decided to make my fighter in the career mode look just like me. I started out pretty pudgy, but as I’ve trained and gained in skill, I’ll be damned if I don’t look like I’m chisled out of granite.
Click to continue reading Playfeed’s Fight Night: Round 3 Review (Xbox 360)
Gaming: Is There A Middle Ground?
Posted by Sparky Categories: Editorial, Features, MMORPG, PC, Xbox 360,
We have come to an interesting time in the gaming history - a giant chasm is appearing in the gaming market, one separating the casual and hardcore gaming audiences. While the hardcore gaming market has existed for quite some time now, only recently has the casual gaming market really come into existence - the question being ‘Is there a middle ground?’; is it possible to create a game with a low enough barrier to entry that it can attract the casual gamer, yet keep a hardcore gaming fan interested for hours on end?
Click to continue reading Gaming: Is There A Middle Ground?
Nintendo Revolution Specifications Unveiled?
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Hardware, Rumors, Wii,
IGN has published Revolution specifications leaked from various game developers. IGN claims these numbers come from developer documentation and benchmark results, but without confirmation from Nintendo, these may or not represent final hardware. However, given Nintendo’s claim for the relative power of the Revolution versus the Gamecube, these specifications do not seem out of line. IGN’s report includes an IBM “Broadway” CPU running at 729Mhz, and the “Hollywood” GPU running at 233Mhz, with 3MB integrated texture memory. Total system memory apparently clocks in with 24MB “main” 1T-SRAM plus 64MB “external” 1T-SRAM. Without access to how the system components are laid out, it is difficult to tell what impact this segmentation will have on the overall performance of the game console.
Compared to the specifications of the already released Xbox 360, and upcoming PS3, the Revolution isn’t going to be a graphics processing monster; Nintendo fans have reacted to this news by carrying the party line, “Its not the graphics, its the gameplay.” While this may be true, it will certainly leave Nintendo at a disadvantage when eye-candy is compared with its competition.
The lack of heavy-duty specifications may not have that great of an impact on what Nintendo is trying to accomplish. Nintendo has said that HD resolutions are not going to be supported by Revolution. With a standard definition output resolution at 480P, the Revolution only has to push 1/3 of the Xbox 360’s native resolution, 720P. Sony promises 1080P gaming, over six times the pixel output of Nintendo’s console. Within these constraints, it seems like the Revolution will be able to deliver on what Nintendo has promised: a unique gaming experience combined with top notch first-party content. Hopefully this will allow Nintendo to carve a niche in the next generation marketplace.
Read More | Revolution.IGN.com
Xbox and Xbox 360 versions of Battlefield: Modern Combat Compared
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: First Person Shooters, Trailers, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace,
TeamXbox.com has a video interview with Ed Thomas, lead technical artist on Battlefield 2: Modern Combat detailing the various upgrades that have been made to the Xbox 360 release. The visual comparisons in the video are very striking in the amount of changes that have been made. Some of the highlighted Xbox 360 changes listed in the video are:
- 10x the polygon count from the Xbox version
- 1.5 million polygons per scene
- 15-20x the texture memory used
- A more advanced lighting and shadow model
- More dynamic lighting used, impacting gameplay (muzzle flashes will more accurately give away positions)
- Overhaul of damage and effects engines
- More AI units in game
Overall, do these changes make the Xbox 360 version worth $20 more than the Xbox version? Of course, it is hard to tell until the game is released, but the video changes and Ed Thomas’ comments certainly make it seem likely. The demo is also currently available via Xbox Live.
Read More | TeamXbox.com
Nintendo has been very tight-lipped about the IBM “Broadway” CPU and ATI “Hollywood” GPU chips set to power the Revolution but earlier today, IGN released a tasty morsel that lets in on the details. The CPU clocks in at 729 MHz, roughly 50% faster than the GameCube, but nowhere near the 3.2 GHz, triple-core Xbox 360. This is all well and good, and exactly in line with Nintendo’s assertion that they’re simply not competing for horsepower anymore, instead focusing on innovative gameplay and peripherals. Meanwhile, the “Hollywood” GPU will clock in at 243 MHz. These numbers are from sources with access to development kits, so take them for what they’re worth, but I wouldn’t expect much of an increase at launch time. System memory will come in at about 88 MBs, with (apparently) an addition 512 MB of internal flash memory for storing data and downloaded games.
Perhaps most promising is the Revolution’s announced expandability with regular ol’ SD cards, and even more exciting, USB-based storage devices. Quoting the Game Over article we mentioned earlier, “Most importantly, Iwata mentioned, were the USB ports that are built into the Revolution ‘so practically any storage method can be used’.” Perhaps any USB-based external hard drive? We’ll see.
Read More | IGN
Xbox Feels Neglected
Posted by John Goulden Categories: Corporate News, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360,
With it’s faster and more powerful sibling taking all the glory, the original Xbox is starting to feel a bit neglected. With an established base of millions of units, Microsoft has all but shunned the original system and seems to be focusing solely on the Xbox 360. Sony, by way of contrast, has just this month stopped producing the original PlayStation console that was released over a decade ago (December 1994). Rumors from earlier this year indicated that once the existing stock of Xbox systems was depleted, there would be no more.
Particularly upset by Microsoft’s unvoiced neglect is Adam Roberts, the Executive VP of Vivendi Europe. Quoted as saying that the Xbox “probably needs help at the moment”, he laments the loss of retailer support for the console. Roberts believes that Microsoft needs to do whatever is necessary to reaffirm the trust and loyalty of the retail segment. Once again, Sony is pointed to as having a clear concept of the life-cycle of the PS2 and that it’s far from over. In fact, God of War 2 will be released not on the PS3, but on the PS2.
Of course, it should be noted that it’s difficult to release a game for a non-existent platform, and when an aging platform is the only one in your arsenal, you have no choice but to support it if you want to maintain market share. Considering the delayed launch of the PlayStation 3, by supporting the PS2, Sony is doing what is required. Microsoft, plagued by hardware shortages, may be doing exactly what is necessary to firm up their grasp on the market prior to the PS3’s release.
Read More | IGN
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