Some changes are coming to the Video Game Librarian soon. So if things look weird over the next few days, that’s why.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
January 9th, 2010 by JohnL.A. Noire Delayed into 2011
September 3rd, 2010 by JohnThe long, troubled development cycle of L.A. Noire just got a little longer and a little… troubleder.
Take-Two used their quarterly financial briefing yesterday to announce that L.A. Noire will no longer be making its September 2010 release date. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 detective game will now be released sometime in the first half of 2011. Take-Two didn’t cite a specific reason for the delay, but the developers at Team Bondi likely needed more time to work on the game.
Hydrophobia, Comic Jumper Lead XBLA Game Feast
September 1st, 2010 by JohnThe third annual XBLA Summer of Arcade was just completed and this past Spring saw the debut of the XBLA Block Party. Now, Microsoft plans to cover another season with a new Xbox Live Arcade promotion known as The Game Feast.
Running from September 29 through October 20, The Game Feast will feature four games from upcoming indie developers including the highly anticipated Hydrophobia and Comic Jumper. The full menu for The Game Feast can be found right here:
September 29: Hydrophobia (Dark Energy Digital Ltd) – 1200 Microsoft Points
October 6: Comic Jumper (Twisted Pixel Games) – 1200 Microsoft Points
October 13: Pinball FX 2 (ZEN Studios) – Tables purchased individually, free import from original Pinball FX
October 20: Super Meat Boy (Team Meat) – Pricing TBD
But before we dig into The Game Feast, Microsoft has also announced release dates for several of September’s new Arcade offerings including the XBLA version of Sonic Adventure. More release dates and pricing details include:
September 8: Plants vs. Zombies (PopCap Games) – 1200 Microsoft Points
September 8: Dance! It’s Your Stage (dtp young entertainment) – 800 Microsoft Points
September 15: Sonic Adventure (Sega) – 800 Microsoft Points
Xbox 360 Controller Gets Redesigned D-Pad
August 31st, 2010 by John
For years, Xbox 360 gamers have been complaining about the D-Pad on the consoles official controllers created by Microsoft. Come November 9, Microsoft plans to rectify these problems with a new version of the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller.
Available exclusively in a $64.99 Wireless Controller/Play & Charge Kit bundle, the new controller will come with a “Transforming D-Pad” that Microsoft claims will “[provide] ultimate accuracy and control for both directional as well as sweeping movements.” The “Transforming D-Pad” allows gamers to switch from a traditional plus design on the D-Pad for fighting games or games that map weapons to arrows while a simple twist transforms it into the standard disc D-Pad that currently adorns every Xbox 360 controller.
However, even if the “Transforming D-Pad” fixes the feel of the Xbox 360 controller, Microsoft has managed to bungle another part of it. The colorful A, B, X and Y buttons that now make up the face of the controller have been recolored into lifeless grey blobs that no longer stand out like they should. Not only is this an aesthetic mistake, but it breaks the color-coded functionality built into the Xbox 360’s Dashboard. Green for “go”, red for “back”, yellow to return to the Dashboard. All undone thanks to the recoloring.
Perhaps that’s why the new Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (with “Transforming D-Pad”) will only be available in a special bundle. The regular 360 controllers will still be available.
Microsoft Raising Xbox Live Subscription Price, Amazon to the Rescue
August 30th, 2010 by JohnMicrosoft has announced (via Major Nelson) that Xbox Live Gold subscriptions will be going up on November 1.
Currently, gamers can get a one month card for $7.99, a three month card for $19.99 and a 12 month card for $49.99. On the first of November, those prices will go up to $9.99, $24.99 and $59.99, respectively. Xbox Live subscriptions in Great Britain, Canada and Mexico are also scheduled to be hit with price increases on November 1.
Thankfully, a variety of other online retailers have come to the rescue. Amazon has marked down 12-Month Gold Cards to a much more manageable $39.94. Buy.com and Newegg have followed suit while Target is offering their 12-Month Gold Cards for $44.99. Get ‘em now before they’re gone.
Microsoft themselves is running a promotion to allow current Xbox Live Gold subscribers to lock in their subscription for another year for $39.99 as well. But it almost seems like a slap in the face when the promtion is being advertised with a slogan like this: “Take advantage of limited-time savings. Act now to save on Xbox Live gold before the price goes up.”
Golden Sun: Dark Dawn Dated for November 29
August 30th, 2010 by JohnNintendo unveiled their Fall release calendar two weeks ago and many gamers were dismayed to see that Golden Sun: Dark Dawn wasn’t listed. Naturally, this lead many fans to presume it had been delayed into 2011. Today, Nintendo has assured DS RPG players that this isn’t the case as the publisher announced a November 29 release date for Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.
Offering a planet-sized world of adventure to explore and conquer, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn puts the raw power of the elements in players’ hands. Each of the game’s playable characters is capable of carrying Djinn, spirits that imbue their owner with unique and powerful abilities. Players can collect more than 70 unique Djinn, granting them the ability to summon mighty deities who unleash devastating attacks that fill both Nintendo DS screens. Djinn powers can also be used to navigate puzzling dungeons and overworld environments that will have players flinging fireballs to burn away obstacles, freezing water to raise platforms, or summoning whirlwinds to create bridges out of floating objects.
Dark Dawn takes place 30 after the events of Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age, both of which were released for the Game Boy Advance. As its the first Golden Sun game on the DS, Dark Dawn introduces a new generation of heroes that are struggling to survive in a radically changed world. What they think will be a simple journey to rescue a lost friend turns into a dramatic quest to save the land from catastrophe as players are drawn into a world full of magical energy. That’s always the case with these RPG adventures isn’t it?
Nintendo Drops Price of DSi, DSi XL
August 30th, 2010 by JohnWith the 3DS less than six months away (although no one knows exactly how far away it is), Nintendo has announced a price drop for the DSi and DSi XL. The price of a DSi will drop from $169.99 to $149.99 while the extra large DSi XL will see its price shrunk from $189.99 to $169.99. The new prices go into effect on September 12, three days before the company plans to make a major 3DS announcement.
This move is likely due to Nintendo hoping to wring one last Christmas of huge sales out of their fading handheld line. But they are also looking to get gamers hooked on the system’s 1,300 games before they make the jump to the 3DS.
“We know shoppers want to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our new Nintendo DSi prices make it easier than ever for consumers to access the tremendous variety of games, applications and social tools on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems.”
New Releases (Week of 8/30/10)
August 30th, 2010 by JohnNintendo will release the latest chapter in the Metroid series (and first developed by Tecmo’s Team Ninja), Metroid: Other M, for the Wii this week.
Samus Aran and her awesome spacesuit full of weapons will be joined by new two PSP titles: Valkyria Chronicles II, an RPG from Sega; and Ace Combat: Joint Assault, a fighter jet sim from Namco Bandai.
Also available this week will be Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Ultimate Edition. The PS3 and Xbox 360 package will include the Bad Company 2 game along with downloadable title Battlefield 1943, the four-player co-op expansion Onslaught Mode, Limited Edition unlocks, and all the VIP map packs.
The full list of the rest of the new releases can be found below. …Read Full Post…
Rock of the Dead Coming October 5, But Not to Wii
August 27th, 2010 by JohnRock of the Dead, Epicenter Studios’ attempt to meld the light gun shooter with the music game genre, has finally been given a release date. Gamers will be able to make zombies explode (through the power of rock!) on October 5. But they won’t be able to do it on the Wii, even though the game was originally announced as a Wii exclusive.
Instead, the game will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October with the Wii version coming later (thanks Joystiq!). The Wii version hasn’t been canceled but, according to publisher UFO Interactive, it’s “on the back burner for the time being.”
Like Sega’s Typing of the Dead, Rock of the Dead gives two characters (voiced by Dr. Horrible’s Neil Patrick Harris and Felicia Day) a very unique weapon to stop the zombie horde. In this case, players can use their favorite guitar or drum peripheral to play a short series of notes, just like in Rock Band or Guitar Hero, to kill a zombie. An option to play with a standard game controller will also be available.
If this sounds too awesome for words, then just wait until you see the game’s latest trailer, which can be found right here:
Full Song List for DJ Hero 2
August 26th, 2010 by JohnLast week, DJ Hero 2 was given an October 19 release date. Today, Activision has unveiled the complete track list for the game, which features a massive amount of mixes from the biggest techno, pop and R&B artists. All told, 108 artists have contributed 105 tracks to the game, which will be used to create the 80 mixes that PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 owners will get to play this Fall.
“The individual songs that have been mixed into the DJ Hero 2 soundtrack have been viewed online more than 1.5 billion times, which really speaks volumes to both the size and scope of our music,” said Dan Neil, Music Director, FreeStyleGames. “Working with some of the best DJs in the world, we were able to take this amazing collection of the biggest pop, hip-hop and dance hits, and with some turntable magic, craft the best soundtrack in entertainment.”
To celebrate the soundtrack announcement, Activision has launched the “Name That Mix” contest on DJ Hero’s Facebook page. From now until September 20, fans can view a mashup video that pulls together several of the game’s mixes. If they can decipher which songs were used in the video, they’ll be eligible to win one of 275 weekly prizes.
So which mixes will be included in these videos? Check out the complete DJ Hero 2 soundtrack right here: …Read Full Post…
Angry Birds Fly to PSP Minis This Fall
August 25th, 2010 by JohnThe iPod/iPad sensation Angry Birds will be flying high as part of the PSP Minis download service this Fall.
Once again developed by Chillingo, “Angry Birds is an award-winning physics-based castle demolition game where players use catapults to dish out revenge on thieving green pigs that have stolen the Birds’ eggs. Each feathery fowl has unique destructive powers capable of attacking the pigs’ fiendishly fortified castles.”
The PSP Minis version of Angry Birds will contain over 120 levels, including a brand new world dubbed “The Big Set Up.” The game will also feature graphics specifically optimized for the PSP, a bonus Golden Egg World and a new Big Brother Bird capable of “massive destruction.”
“Angry Birds’ addictive gameplay, amusing antics and phenomenal record-breaking popularity will bring an unparalleled experience as a minis title,” explains Johnny Coghlan, Head of Publishing, Chillingo. “The game’s mass consumer appeal will surely entertain fans of all ages for hours.”
