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New Castlevania May Allow WiFi Play
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Adventure, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Rumors,
In addition to removing the tacked-on rune-tracing from the new DS Castlevania game, series creator Koji Igarashi has announced that he is looking into whether to include WiFi-based play for the next Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. If he decides to, this would mark Castlevania’s first foray into the online arena.
Says Igarashi:
“It’s not confirmed yet, because I haven’t started work on it. [Laughs] That’s why I can’t confirm. But actually I’m thinking about preparing a special unlockable stage where you can do co-op over WiFi.”
Personally, I’ve never thought of Castlevania as a multiplayer game—I can’t imagine doing battle against another player or anything like that. Still, the possibility of something like co-op play might be a great addition to an already great series.
Read More 
| Kikizo
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Cipher Complex announced for PS3, Xbox 360
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Fighting, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
Development studio Edge of Reality has announced Cipher Complex, a Splinter Cell-lookin’ game for the Xbox 360 and the upcoming Playstation 3. Details are scant at this point beyond the title and some concept art contained in a trailer that can be found here. Edge of Reality has a mixed track record, including
movie-based games like Shark Tale and some good console ports/re-mixes like The Sims.
Straight from the press release:
[Cipher Complex is] an intense, cinematic military combat game that will deliver a brutal shot of adrenaline straight to the hearts of next-generation gamers. ...
In Cipher Complex, a recon satellite is mysteriously blasted from orbit, and when diplomatic requests for information are stonewalled, the US government is forced to call in its last resort – Operative John Cipher. Charged with uncovering the truth by any means necessary, Cipher is going behind enemy lines to extract information the hard way.
Sounds like the next Schwarzenegger movie, but who knows, it could be fun. We’ll keep our eyes open for more details as they emerge.
Read More | Xbox Circle
The first part of a six part series on the development of MechAssault: Phantom War for the Nintendo DS has been posted to IGN.com. While gamers have probably seen development diaries for more complex games on the PC and next generation consoles, the DS seems like an interesting platform to develop for; there are new technologies on the console, like the dual screens, and the touch screen, but a lot of the rendering hardware is limited in ways that hearken back to previous generations of non-portable consoles. So, this installment deals somewhat with the challenges of working with the limited 3D rendering power of the console, and the trade-offs that must be made to fit the content and graphical detail into smaller spaces than most developers are used to. It is interesting that the difference between the 512 megabit and 1024 megabit cartridge is not merely size, but also memory access speed. Hopefully, more of the technical challenges will be addressed in future episodes, giving gamers much more insight into the smaller end of console development.
Read More | IGN
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Quake Wars Pre-Order Details Announced
Posted by Matt Haselton Categories: Action, First Person Shooters, PC, Release Dates,
While the release date for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars remains “sometime 2006,” Activison has announced that some retailers will begin accepting pre-orders at the end of July. The cost of reserving a copy wasn’t mentioned, but some of the perks were; most notably, players will be able to call dibs on their favorite username before the game’s official launch. There’s also the promise of receiving “advanced strategies and gameplay tactics,” though it’s doubtful such information will remain exclusive for any longer than it takes to copy-and-paste into a public forum.
Read More | IGN
Madsen, Hamill Lend Voices to Sega’s Yakuza
Posted by Matt Haselton Categories: Action, Corporate News, PlayStation 2,
Michael Madsen and Mark Hamill headline the US vocal talent for the upcoming release of the PS2’s Yakuza, released last year in Japan as Ryo ga Gotoku. Joining them are fellow voice-acting veterans Michael Rosenbaum (Gladius, Justice League, and Smallville), Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer series and video game), and Rachel Leigh Cook (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Kingdom Hearts II, and She’s All That). In an interview with Gamespot, Yakuza’s US producer, Justin Lambros, explained that space constraints prevented the game from including both English and Japanese dialogue, but added that all of the American actors “put a piece of themselves into their character.”
The gritty, GTA-influenced game is due to ship in September.
Read More | Gamespot
LucasArts President Takes Potshot at EA’s Delayed Relases
Posted by Matt Haselton Categories: Action, Corporate News,
“When you have EA failing to bring Superman out with the movie, that’s inexcusable. Moving games like Medal of Honor and Godfather out of the fourth quarter -– that’s the old way of thinking and you can’t do that any more.”
In an interview with MCV, a British trade magazine, LucasArts president Jim Ward argues that over-budget and late-shipping games hurt the industry as a whole, and cites EA as an example of bad behavior. He goes on to suggest that other developers should adopt the LucasArts policy to “make kick-ass games, but on time and on budget. Failure on any one of those three points is failure for the project.”
EA has yet to respond, but one has to speculate if this business mantra was the driving force behind the seemingly premature release of KOTOR 2…
Read More | Total Video Games
John Woo’s Stranglehold Will Launch With PS3
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, Fighting, PC, PlayStation 3, Release Dates, Xbox 360,
It had been suspected for a while, but today IGN confirmed with Midway that John Woo Presents Stranglehold will launch on November 17th with the Playstation 3. Of course, the title will also be launching for the Xbox 360 and the PC at the same time. This is great news for fans of gunfighting, slow-mo and Chow Yun Fat, and appears to be one of the stronger launch titles for the PS3.
IGN earlier had a chance to play through a demo and was impressed with the completely destructible environment and free-form gunfighting controls. This sounds like one of those games that’s going to be a great way to demo your brand-spanking new PS3 to your jealous friends on launch day.
Read More | IGN PS3
Saint’s Row Release Date Announced
Posted by Josh Smith Categories: Action, Release Dates, Xbox, Xbox 360,
THQ has announced that Saint’s Row for the Xbox 360 will be released August 29, 2006. Saint’s Row is an action adventure game with free roaming capabilities similar to the GTA series. The game takes place in Stilwater where you are a member of the 3rd St. Saints. On your rise to power you are given a multitude of choices in a given situation, each of which will affect how other characters in the game respond to you. THQ is also developing a version of Saint’s Row for your mobile phone, though it isn’t clear if you can get the mobile version through Live Anywhere.
Read More 
| Saint’s Row
The Da Vinci Code Impressions
Posted by Denise Shively Categories: Action, PC, PlayStation 2, Reviews, Role Playing Games, Xbox,
The compelling plot behind the blockbuster motion picture The Da Vinci Code has bloomed into a video game spinoff that seems worthy of all the attention its release has garnered. Whereby most games that take their cues from books or movies may seem lackluster or untrue to the original, The Da Vinci Code is jam packed with enough thrills, mysterious puzzles, and a variety of things to see and do that will make this game worth your while.
Click to continue reading The Da Vinci Code Impressions
A Look At The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess For Wii
Posted by Denise Shively Categories: Action, Adventure, Nintendo, Nintendo Gamecube, Wii,
Among the multitude of news bits about the upcoming Nintendo Wii, gamers can’t stop talking about the launch titles that will go along with this console. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess offers fans a new spin on the traditional Zelda series, but leaves many wondering whether the game will work with the Wii’s newfangled controllers or format? Fortunately, the consensus is that long time fans and newbies alike will not be disappointed by this upcoming installment in the Zelda series.
Click to continue reading A Look At The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess For Wii
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