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PSP God of War Gets a Release Date and Demo Details

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Action, Adventure, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Sony, Special Editions,

The next installment in the popular Sony franchise God of War, subtitled Chains of Olympus and a prequel to the original God of War, will be debuting on the PSP March 4, 2008. The news may be a little disappointing for some hoping to add the flagship first party title to Sony’s handheld this Christmas, but Sony has also announced that it will be putting out a demo at the end of this month. When the game’s official website launched back in April, Sony included the opportunity for North American gamers to sign up for a special UMD-based demo version prior to the game’s release.

The limited edition demo will include part of a playable level plus extra goodies including behind-the-scenes footage. A copy of the demo without the extras will be released later this year.

“Trauma Center: New Blood” Premiere Trailer

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Nintendo, Puzzle, Trailers, Wii,

It looks like the Wii is turning the corner as far as compelling third-party content goes. Joining Zach & Wiki, Manhunt 2, and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles at the cool kids table in the not-too-distant future is Trauma Center: New Blood, the sequel to the popular medical/supernatural/arm-flailing/impossible-to-categorize DS and Wii game. Hot from the Atlus oven is this premiere trailer, which shows off more of that cool anime-inspired character design, a brand new co-op mode, as well as some pretty stilted voice acting. Looks like a must-buy. What other game lets you draw five-pointed stars on an unconscious patient’s gaping wound to keep him from flatlining?

The Wii-exclusive Trauma Center: New Blood is slated to come out this holiday season.

Heavenly Sword Boss Battle Video

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, PlayStation 3, Sony, Trailers,

Sony’s PS3-exclusive Heavenly Sword hits stores next week, but if you really can’t wait that long, check out this new GameTrailers video. We realize that video footage is no substitute for the real deal, but this one shows off some more of the counter-heavy arena fighting you saw in the demo. Even better, you get some crisp direct feed footage of the big showdown with evil King Bohan’s slow-witted blob of a son. And yes, the game still looks gorgeous.

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Crackdown Sequel Not Happening

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Microsoft, Third Person Shooters, Xbox 360,

Crackdown cover art In an interview with Develop, Realtime Worlds, developer of the titular Xbox 360 sandbox action game, revealed that a sequel to Crackdown is not in development at this time. Why would Realtime Worlds abandon its hot new IP that has already topped a million sold? Producer Phil Wilson explained, “Microsoft were a little late in stepping up to the plate to ask for Crackdown 2, and by then we had already started working on bigger, better things.”

Wilson let slip that the studio is busy working on two projects: a cops-and- robbers-themed MMO called APB, as well as a top secret project planned for a 2009 release. In other words, a Crackdown sequel could happen someday, but don’t hold your breath.

Burnout Paradise Gets Previewed

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Action, Driving, Electronic Arts, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,

Tom Bramwell has a preview for the upcoming Burnout Paradise that is surprisingly thoughtful and critically considered as far as previews go. He discusses the challenges faced by Criterion Games in re-inventing a popular series practically from the ground up and asks some pertinent questions where they ought to be asked. For example, when the topic of the Crash mode comes up and Criterion mentions that they have scrapped the original concept of the popular mode, Bramwell presses the point, getting Criterion rep Matt Webster to confess they don’t yet know exactly how it will all work out:

Asked whether they’re opting for a Burnout 3 approach of trying to manoeuvre the car in slow motion between power-ups and Crashbreakers, or a Burnout Revenge “golf swing” of perfect start and target cars, Webster admits it’s not all there yet. “We’re still throwing ideas around. I think we’ll be talking about it more in the coming weeks.”

The preview isn’t about sticking it to the Burnout devs, though, it reads more like a fan of the series seeing drastic changes and slowly coming to the realization that if executed properly, these could make for a remarkable game. Among the more exciting aspects of Criterion’s open-world approach to Burnout is the focus on seamless online play that works the way most gamers prefer, by putting the folks in your Friends list first.

Burnout Paradise is scheduled to hit shelves early next year for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Lair Playable on PSP Via Remote Play

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Action, Adventure, Hardware, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, Sony,

A PlayStation 3 and PSP owner has discovered that Liar is playable via the PS3’s Remote Play feature on the PSP. This is the first time a Blu-Ray based game is able to take advantage of the feature and is reportedly quite responsive and playable. It has even been suggested that in light of all the flak Lair has taken over its Sixaxis controls, the use of the PSP’s analog stick is actually preferable.

What’s most curious about the revelation is that it is a revelation at all. This sounds like something Sony would have jumped all over, especially once the disappointing reviews started pouring in.

Mass Effect Gets Official North American Release Date

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Adventure, Corporate News, Microsoft, Release Dates, Role Playing Games, Xbox 360,

The long wait for Mass Effect is about to come to an end. Microsoft has announced that Bioware‘s highly anticipated sci-fi RPG will release on November 20th in North America, exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game, which incorporates GRAW-style action with role-playing elements familiar to anyone who played Knights of the Old Republic, has been one of the 360’s most-wanted games since the day it was unveiled. Until now, it had been pegged with the precarious and open-to-delay release time frame of “November.” So the news that the game will officially be here in just a few short months is definite cause for celebration.

Monster Lab - New Wii Action RPG Revealed

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Adventure, Eidos, Nintendo, Role Playing Games, Screenshots, Wii,

What’s this now? A third-party Wii game that (a) isn’t a lazy PS2 port and (b) actually looks pretty cool? Yes, it looks like Zach and Wiki will have some company on the Wii in the near future. Backbone, the developers of Death Jr. for the PSP, are cooking up a brand new IP exclusively for Nintendo’s Wii. Monster Lab is a story-driven Action RPG that’s all about customization. Indeed, the object of the game is to build, enhance, and accesorize monsters to fight against each other in turn-based combat. The Wii’s motion control comes into play in the creation process through minigames, where players will throw brains into empty heads, hoping to maximize their monster’s power. On hand to make sure that it all doesn’t devolve into complete minigame aimlessness is comic book writer Adam Beechen, who is scripting the game.

The very promising Monster Lab will be published by Eidos and is being groomed for a Summer 2008 release.

Amazing New Halo 3 Videos

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Bungie, First Person Shooters, Microsoft, Trailers, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,

Any gamer with even an inkling of interest in Halo 3 should head over to Gamersyde right away and check out some of that site’s stunning off-screen campaign footage, a sample of which we have posted above. This video shows off the game’s unique replay feature, which allows you to record and play back entire levels of the single player campaign, as well as multiplayer matches, at your leisure. Players can then use the footage to analyze their enemy’s defenses, exploit weaknesses, and polish their own skills to a Legendary sheen. Note how the Bungie representative in the video uses the feature to check up on the exploits of a group of Marines on the other side of the battlefield! This is awe-inspiring stuff.

Halo 3 hits the Xbox 360 on September 25th, but of course you already knew that.

Manhunt 2 Gets Green Light for Release in North America

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Corporate News, PlayStation 2, PSP, Release Dates, Survival Horror, Take2, Wii,

Description Rockstar Games found itself in a bit of a pickle earlier this year when the ESRB slapped Manhunt 2 with an Adults Only rating. Most stores balk at selling AO-rated games, but more importantly, Nintendo and Sony refuse to publish them. As a result, the game’s original release date of July 10th was scrapped, and much hand-wringing ensued on the part of Rockstar executives wondering just what the hell to do next.

Well, Rockstar’s long nightmare appears to be over, as company PR has revealed that Manhunt 2 has been modified, rated M by the ESRB, and will hit North American store shelves this October 31st on PS2, PSP, and Nintendo Wii. “Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we’re glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience. We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it,” said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games.

There has been no word yet on what content changes were made to the game in order to lock down a Mature rating. And sadly, the game is still banned over in the UK.

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