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Capcom’s hotly anticipated title, Okami, is scheduled to be released in North America sometime this summer - unfortunately, there’s no official release date yet.
Okami is a stylish action game based on Japanese folklore and presented in a traditional Japanese art style. Players will assume the role of Amaterasu, a sun god who takes the form of a wolf on Earth. Artistic ability isn’t limited to Okami’s graphics, as gamers will use the PS2’s controller to perform “brush strokes” to battle enemies and solve puzzles.
Read More 
| GameSpot
Gallery: Okami Coming to the U.S. This Summer
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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
Gallery: LEGO Star Wars II Preview
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
Gallery: Kingdom Hearts II Voice Actors Revealed
Black Hands-On Preview
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: First Person Shooters, PlayStation 2, Xbox,
Kikizo has posted a recent preview of EA’s upcoming FPS, Black. The game certainly looks impressive, and Kikizo says the game “could turn out just as great as Burnout” - since after all, it’s by the same developer. Of course, when it comes down to it, the verdict’s still out.
We haven’t seen enough of Black to be able to tell if it’ll live up to the hyperbole. Does it do for shooters what Burnout did for driving games? Mostly. But we’re betting (and hoping) that there’s still a lot for us to see. Check back next month when we jump the finished product through our hoops.
If you’d like to read more on the game and check out some media, check out Kikizo. We’re certainly looking forward to this one.
Read More | Kikizo
Gallery: Black Hands-On Preview
State of Emergency 2 Goes Gold
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Action, PlayStation 2, Release Dates,
Maybe I shouldn’t be posting this, but State of Emergency has gone gold. The game isn’t even Rockstar’s anymore but I still have an extremely bad taste in my mouth from the first title. It was a huge disappointment and was definitely overrated by the media. But hey, maybe you’re willing to give the new publisher, SouthPeak Interactive a chance.
Taking place four years after the events of the first game, the story follows returning character Spanky MacNeil as he and the rest of the Freedom Movement wage war against “The Corporation” and its oppressive dictatorship. Many new game-play elements such as a reputation system, gang control, interrogation, driving and flying vehicles add to the fun. Gamers can also bang out in 1-4 man multiplayer modes such as Last Man Standing and Battle modes.
Hopefully you’ve got enough of a backlog of quality games from the holidays that you’re not even considering getting this one. I’m willing to bet that SOE2 won’t be overrated - the media’s hopefully learned from its mistake. SOE2 is due out on Valentine’s Day, February 14th.
Read More | IGN
Gallery: State of Emergency 2 Goes Gold
The Evolution of Controllers
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Nintendo, Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Retro, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360,
Revolution Advanced has put together an extremely comprehensive feature on the history - or rather evolution - of video game controllers. The article spans from the Atari 2600 controller all the way to the Nintendo Revolution remote control. It’s almost hard to believe how far controllers have come since the industry’s inception - but then again, technology has really advanced over the years. On second though, the controller featured at the bottom of the list, the Revolution controller, is arguably one of the simplest controllers ever made. Thoughts?
Read More | Revolution Advanced
Gallery: The Evolution of Controllers
Guitar Hero Meets Karaoke Revolution
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Culture, Mods/Hacks, PlayStation 2,
Brian Crecente has put up an entertaining feature on how to “rock two games at once.” That is, how to play Guitar Hero and Karaoke Revolution simultaneously. Brian figured that since both games feature the hit “I Love Rock and Roll”, he’d be able to play them together. What’s linked is a lengthy description of how Brian went about his endeavor as well as a video of the concept in action. Unfortunately, as he says, the songs don’t sync perfectly between the games but it sounds like it’s close enough.
We applaud Crecente for trying this out. While it looks like it takes some time to set up - as well as a good amount of equipment - we’d personally really like to play both games at once too.
Read More | Kotaku
Gallery: Guitar Hero Meets Karaoke Revolution
PlayStation Sales Contribute to Sony Profits
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Corporate News, PlayStation 2, PSP,
Sony released strong results for its fiscal third quarter. Net profit and sales were substantially than they were a year ago for the company. Furthermore, PSP and PS2 brought the game division’s profits to $589 million from last year’s $387 million.
Thinking about these results for a minute though, sales clearly should have been higher. The PSP simply wasn’t out a year ago so any income brought in from it is greater than nothing (what it brought in a year ago!). Still, Sony has a great understanding of the industry. We’d be interested in seeing what kind of profits were made separately for the company’s PS2 and PSP.
Read More | Game Daily
Gallery: PlayStation Sales Contribute to Sony Profits
EA Price Cuts
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Corporate News, Nintendo Gamecube, PlayStation 2, Sports, Xbox,
Just recently, EA announced a number of price cuts for recently released games. The Street reports that prices on games ranging from Madden ‘06 to NBA Live ‘06 to Need For Speed: Most Wanted have all be cut $10 or $20. Of course, the price cuts are only for games on current generation consoles, so you’ll still have to pay $60 if you’d like to get an EA game on Xbox 360. Otherwise though, the price cuts are good news - if you’ve been holding off on getting Need For Speed: Most Wanted, or any other EA game, now might be the time to run out and spend that gift card you received for the holidays.
Madden NFL 06, NBA Live 06, FIFA 06, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on Xbox, PlayStation 2, GameCube, and PC versions are all now going for $29.99. Furthermore, Need for Speed Most Wanted is now $39.99 and Medal of Honor: European Assault is a low $19.99.
Read More | The Street
Gallery: EA Price Cuts
Wireless Guitar Hero Controller
Posted by Brandon Gribin Categories: Mods/Hacks, PlayStation 2, Strategy,
Shelled out the $80 for the Guitar Hero game and controller? Then we’re sure you’re having a blast with the game, as it’s one of the most original video games to come along in a while. But one problem we’ve had to deal with is the relatively short length of the guitar controller’s wire. It now looks like we may be able to take care of that problem.
TheDude06 over on the Make forums has posted a thread describing how to mod a Guitar Hero controller to make it wireless. The mod looks awesome - in fact, many of the Make magazine’s mods are incredibly slick - however, we’re a little worried that the mod may be a little difficult to undertake. If anyone has the courage to undertake this project, feel free to let us know how it turns out!
Read More | Make
Gallery: Wireless Guitar Hero Controller
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