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New “Wing Commander” is a 3rd-Person Asteroids Clone?
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Retro, Screenshots, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade,
EA, always the master of doing something evil in the realm of videogames, has shown off a first movie of their upcoming Wing Commander: Arena game, and the results are, well, disappointing to fans of the franchise. Expecting a great space shooter along the lines of X-Wing and TIE Fighter? Well, forget it… from the looks of this movie, the new Wing Commander is going to be an arcade-y Asteroids clone that for some reason goes with a zoomed-out, 3rd-person (3rd-ship?) perspective. Oh, and no 3rd dimension for you. It looks like you’ll get to yaw and pitch your ship all you want, but the roll is decidedly missing in this 2.5-D shooter.
If the final game ends up looking like this, I expect Wing Commander will be quickly added to the list of franchises that were killed by their respective copyright holders. EA will be producing this game for Xbox Live Arcade, so it’s understandable that it looks like more of a casual gaming title. But frankly I’d be happier if they just put the original WC series up for download.
Read More 
| Gamevideos.com via Joystiq
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Sega Brings Four New Virtual Console Titles
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Retro, SEGA, Virtual Console, Wii,
Destructoid has a Sega press release indicating Beyond Oasis, Vectorman, Sonic Spinball, and Sword of Vermillion are soon to be hitting Nintendo’s Virtual Console service. There isn’t an official release date, other than “soon” from Sega PR, but there are a couple of standout titles in the list, and some from gaming history. Sword of Vermillion isn’t a great RPG by today’s standards, but it does offer an early look at some of Yu Suzuki’s work. Beyond Oasis, though, is a strong action-RPG that saw a follow-up on the Sega Saturn in Legend of Oasis. Vectorman was strong platformer using pre-rendered 3-d graphics, and was generally seen as a response to the release of Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, so its only a little ironic that the game is coming to the Virtual Console after this week’s Nintendo releases.
Read More | Destructoid
Donkey Kong Country, Three Others Hit Virtual Console
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Retro, SEGA, Virtual Console, Wii,
Nintendo posted four new games to the Virtual Console for the Wii today representing the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, NES, and Turbografx-16. The biggest title would probably be Donkey Kong Country. Originally published on the Super Nintendo, the game had a re-release on the Gameboy Advance, and represents a time when Rare was entering the collective consciousness of gamers with pre-rendered 3D graphics and decent gameplay. Donkey Kong Country sells for 800 Wii Points. The Virtual Console also gets the side-scrolling beat-em-up, Streets of Rage for the Sega Genesis at 800 points and the platformer New Adventure Island for the Turbografx-16 at 600 points. Rounding up this week’s releases is The Legend of Kage for the NES at 500 points.
The full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Donkey Kong Country, Three Others Hit Virtual Console
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Ikaruga Info Leaks Onto Xbox Live Partnernet
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Eurogamer did some poking around on Partnernet, the Xbox 360 internal debug network for Xbox Live Arcade and found some clues that indicate that Treasure’s shooter, Ikaruga may be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in the future. Their investigation on the network turned up a couple of files; when those files were downloaded, Ikaruga shows up. Unfortunately, the game itself doesn’t run, but Eurogamer was able to get a glimpse at a list of achievements for the game. Ikaruga has had somewhat of a difficult past, first as a 2002 release for the Dreamcast after console production had ceased, and then in releases for the Gamecube in Japan and the US. Hopefully the game will see an international release on Xbox Live Arcade, expanding the shooter’s audience.
Nintendo Drops 3 NES Classics To Virtual Console
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Retro, Wii,
This week’s Virtual Console release consists of three classic NES titles, all selling for 500 Wii Points. All three titles are platform games and represent some of the better releases for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Kirby’s Adventure started a franchise for Nintendo. Kid Icarus is another significant platformer in the NES pantheon and often causes gamers to wax nostalgic. Ice Climber fits more into the classic arcade gameplay model, but still offers some retro fun.
Nintendo’s full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Nintendo Drops 3 NES Classics To Virtual Console
Super Mario World Headlining Virtual Console Monday
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Retro, Wii,
Nintendo’s Virtual Console releases for the week include titles for the Super Nintendo, Genesis, and TurboGrafx-16. Of main interest to gamers will be Nintendo’s Super Mario World, one of the original launch title for the Super NES and a strong entry in the Super Mario platformer franchise. The game, like other SNES titles, sells for 800 points. Also arriving this week is Gain Ground for the Sega Genesis at 800 points and VIGILANTE for the TurboGrafx-16 at 600 points.
Nintendo’s full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Super Mario World Headlining Virtual Console Monday
10 Classics to Hit Xbox Live Arcade in February
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Corporate News, Puzzle, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace,
Microsoft today announced a slew of classic titles that will shortly be making their way to the Xbox Live Arcade. The titles announced include:
- 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
- Alien Hominid HD
- Band of Bugs
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Catan (Settlers of Catan)
- Eets: Chowdown
- LUXOR 2
- Paperboy
- Root Beer Tapper
- Worms
Specific release dates or prices aren’t available yet for these games, but assuming the prices are fairly reasonable, I expect we’ll see a lot of sales on XBLA next month. Castlevania is the obvious contender for most popular retro title, but Worms, Settlers of Catan and Alien Hominid are also titles that you should definitely check out for your retro library.
Read More | Gamespot.com
Mario Kart Leads Virtual Console Monday
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Nintendo, Retro, SEGA, Wii,
This Monday’s Virtual Console releases are lead by Nintendo’s classic cart racer, Mario Kart 64 for 1,000 Wii Points, but three other titles have hit was well, including Contra III: The Alien Wars for the Super Nintendo and two Genesis titles, Bonanza Bros. and Comix Zone at 800 points each. Comix Zone has hit a ton of platform in various Sega Genesis collections; Bonanza Bros. has only been in a few. Mario Kart is probably the shining gem in this round of releases, though.
Nintendo’s full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Mario Kart Leads Virtual Console Monday
The Most Ruined Game Franchises Ever
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: CAPCOM, Eidos, Retro, SEGA,
Games Radar has a really interesting and insightful piece about the games that, in their words “had it, and lost it”. Just think Tomb Raider, and you’ve got the idea - these are the games that were fresh, original, and fun, until their producers started hastily making hundreds of sequels and ruining the franchise.
This is a great read, and somebody who obviously knows their games. I shed a little tear for each of the titles on this list.
Read More | GamesRadar.com
Wii News Channel, Mario Kart 64 Launch Soon
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Retro, SEGA, Wii,
Nintendo outlined their upcoming releases for the first quarter via press release today. While the first-party Wii-original list is spare, consisting only of Wii Play with a bundled remote launching February 14th, next week will see the release of Mario Kart 64 for the Virtual Console, bringing one of the best entries in that franchise to the Wii. In addition, Nintendo will finally be making the Wii News Channel available on January 27th; hopefully the News Channel will be more fully realized than the Weather Channel. Third-party releases will see SSX Blur coming, which has been getting some decent early buzz. Others include The Godfather: Blackhand Edition and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07; it will be interesting to see how EA handles the Wii remote in its upcoming titles.
The full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Wii News Channel, Mario Kart 64 Launch Soon
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