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Red Steel Producer Blogging At IGN
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: First Person Shooters, Wii,
Marie-Sol Beaudry, producer of Red Steel, has started a developer blog on IGN. For her first entry, she discusses how the Wii controller is being utilized for the sword and gun fighting first person shooter. She states, “…everything we’re doing in the game is directly effected by the controller… everything from level design, overall game design, movement [to] storyline.”
On the development of the game: “shooting was…straight forward, point-and-shoot…the sword play…proved to be a true challenge.” From the feedback that Ubisoft received at E3, this seems clear. Still, the developers seem to have taken the responses to heart and are tweaking the controls. Sword fighting should see an improvement with “more diversity in movements and a couple of special moves…” Beaudry is coy on this point, and gamers who want to find out more will have to wait for a future installment.
Read More 
| IGN
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Metal Slug Does Well in 3D
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, PlayStation 2, Retro, Reviews, Third Person Shooters,
When SNK / Neo-Geo fans heard that their darling franchise Metal Slug was going 3D, the general consensus was “Nothing good can come of this”. With a game that focused on Contra-esque shoot-anything-that-moves game-play and meticulously drawn, gorgeously animated 2D sprites, a lot of fans thought the announcement of a 3rd-person Metal Slug shooter was the death knell for the series.
Well, there aren’t a ton of reviews in yet, but there’s a hint of good news for fans. Famitsu, the Japanese gaming magazine recently gave the 3D translation straight 7’s (i.e., a total score of 28 out of 40) which is quite respectable for that particular publication. So far, this is the only review of the game posted (and it’s of the Japanese version), but it’s still a glimmer of hope for everyone who couldn’t imagine Metal Slug taking on an extra dimension.
Read More | NeoGeoForLife.com Forums via ArsTechnica Opposable Thumbs
Do you have a desire to play your original NES games on the go? Can’t be tasked with remembering where you put all those tiny cartridges Nintendo has re-released your favorites on? Ben Heck has got the solution for you! Ben has been known previously for his portable reincarnations of the NES, PSOne, and the Nintendo 64. Ben claimed his fame by taking the guts of your “sit on the TV stand consoles”, and placing them into custom made portable enclosures! His latest creation is a portable NES known as the nPod. The unit runs off your original NES cartridges and is roughly the thickness of two stacked cartridges. The nPod includes a headphone jack and runs off 4 AA batteries. While this thing is amazing and would let me get more use out of the 15 or so NES cartridges at home, I’ll be sticking with my DS Lite. However if this gets your gaming thumbs twitching, then shoot Ben an email, since he is potentially selling these for around $250.
Read More | Ben Heck
Intelligence is the new black, and the video game industry hopes the suddenly popularity in intellectual challenges translates into increased sales for a number of newly released games in this category. Nintendo’s Brain Age is leading the challenge, but there are several other notables in the electronic “brain teaser” arena.
Big Brain Academy (DS) another Nintendo title, uses cartoons and a wider array of puzzles than its predecessor. (The reviewer gives it 3 of 4 stars.) Puzzle Challenge: Crosswords and More! (PSP) by Crave, fails by having such a horrible interface. (It gets only a half star.) And Magnetica (DS), another Nintendo title, is an update of the arcade game Puzz Loop. (The game is somewhat of a mixed bag, according to the reviewer who gave it 2 stars.) In order to be successful with a wide audience “brain” games need to have a component that cannot be found in their pen-and-paper equivalent. Not all titles are successful.
Read More | Casper Star Tribune
Wes Craven, the man behind several very successful movie franchises, recently spoke at the MI6 Game Marketing conference. He had some interesting thoughts on the current and future state of the video game industry, saying that video games will become ever more prominent providing the target audience is not underestimated. “Young people are smart. They’re doing things…that show their creativity… (and) marketers and artists should respect the audience.”
In an interview after his speech, Craven commented that he thinks all the mass-criticism of video games and graphic horror movies is too far overboard, because games and movies are art forms. These disciplines serve as simulated tests of our ability to handle certain situations. Craven, who doesn’t want to be known as just “a scary movie maker,” also said he’s in talks to create a game. He ended by remarking that the video game market has a lot of subject areas yet to be explored.
Read More | Mercury News
Shatner to Host Canadian Video Game Awards Show
Posted by Thea Davis Categories: Announcements, Culture,
William Shatner has agreed to host the first ever Canadian Awards for the Electronic and Animated Arts (CAEAA) this year. Canadian achievements in talent development (New Media and Animation Art Schools), animation, and video game development will be honored at the program. CAEAA Producer Holly Carinci said, “We wanted Mr. Shatner as our host from the beginning and I cannot tell you how excited we are to learn today that he has accepted the role.” The awards show is scheduled for September 14, 2006 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Read More | Canoe
New pricing has been announced for the latest edition of the Faith Explorer video game series. Cokesbury and Third Day Games would like for churches to be able to give copies of Faith Explorer to all children in their congregations, and have introduced a licensing program to facilitate such widespread adoption. The game uses a monthly video lesson to recreate prominent stories from the Bible. Parental response to the Faith Explorer video game has been very positive. And kids seem equally enthusiastic about the interactive learning experience the game provides. Bobby Wells, Third Day Games CEO, said that “extending Sunday’s learning to kids’ video game playtime is a powerful way for churches to expand their ministry into the home.”
Read More | Christian Newswire
Video games are increasingly popular with popular culture – rap acts want to do game soundtracks, movie stars want to voice characters—but the average American has yet to buy into the hype. Still the game industry pushes ahead, hoping to find a watershed moment where every home in America will own a game console and consider it the height family entertainment. It hasn’t reached such a point ...yet.
Mothers of young children rated the television higher than game consoles in providing worthwhile content for their children in a recent study. Part of the problem preventing widespread adoption of video games as family entertainment is the games themselves. Many people feel the scope of video games is too narrow. The video game industry is mainly marketed toward young, single fanboys – which doesn’t leave much room for a middle-America family with kids. The industry is working to widen its demographics but it has some way to go before families are gathering around a game console for a quality evening together.
Mercenaries 2 Stirs Political Tensions
Posted by Thea Davis Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Politics, Role Playing Games,
“Mercenaries 2: World in Flames,” a new game by Pandemic Studios due to be released next year, is already igniting controversy. With tensions high at present between the United States and Venezuela, news of the game’s plot, which revolves around a group of mercenaries invading Venezuela to guarantee oil supplies for the US, received a less than favorable welcome in Caracas. Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel called the Bush administration “a government of gangsters, drug traffickers, and criminals” upon hearing about the game. However, the game’s developer insists that “Mercenaries 2: World in Flames” is merely a game and not a commentary on the state of world affairs, even though startling similarities exist between its plot and current events.
Read More | My Broadband
Top Ten Video Game Weapons
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: First Person Shooters, Internet, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation 2, Retro, Xbox, Xbox 360,
GameTrailers.com put together a quick video of the Top Ten Video Game Weapons on YouTube. The list ranges across the past decade of gaming, and includes some of my favorite video game weapons. The weapons on the list aren’t just limited to shooters, as you will find items like the “red shell” from Mario Kart, as well as a throwback to the original Metroid’s Ice Beam. The list does a good job of including at least a few of everyone’s favorites, but what changes would you make to the list? Sniper rifle, anyone?
Read More | Game Trailers
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