Reuters - Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.OS) Wii game console outsold Sony Corp’s (6758.T) PlayStation 3 by 3-to-1 in Japan in March but its DS handheld machine fell behind the PlayStation Portable for the first time in six months, a game magazine publisher said.
While sales figures show the US gaming industry has weathered recent economic uncertainty well, analysts have warned that no industry can be considered truly recession-proof. Evidence of that can be seen in the fates of Perpetual Entertainment, Iron Lore Entertainment, and Stormfront Studios, all of which have closed up shop or suspended operations since the beginning of the year.
Another name can be added to that list of developer casualties, as Castaway Entertainment president Michael Scandizzo told If Its Games today that his studio was suspending operations due to financial troubles.
“If somebody came in tomorrow and said, ‘Here’s a whole bunch of money. Can you get back up and running,’ then Monday we could be back up and running,” Scandizzo said. “But a couple of weeks from now, as we slowly wind down, there will be a point by which we will not be able to get back up and running.”
The company–one of a handful of studios formed by ex-Blizzard developers after the success of the Diablo series–had been in negotiations on two projects, both of which fell through. In one case, the would-be publisher opted to have an internal studio make the game instead. In the other, negotiations stalled when the publisher became the subject of recent mergers and acquisitions activity and slowed operations until the corporate dust settled.
Castaway has trimmed its payroll from a staff of about 25 to the six most senior members and stopped development activity. The studio was founded in 2003, but was the primary developer on only one released game–the Xbox Live advergame Yaris–due to a series of unrelated project cancellations and shifting market demands.
As a result, the studio is still most closely associated with the Diablo series of games. At one time, the company boasted a cumulative 75 man-years of experience on that franchise alone. Now Castaway finds itself about to go under, but still holding out hope for a lifeline.
“It would have to be soon, but if anyone wanted to come in and save us, we’d give the whole kitchen sink to them on the extremely cheap,” Scandizzo said, adding “Otherwise after almost 10 years of this group working together, we’re going to have to dissolve.”
USATODAY.com - The title Final Fantasy has become synonymous with gaming, and arguably the game that resonated strongest with its fans is 1997’s Final Fantasy VII. Over ten years later, the tale first told on the original PlayStation returns to the forefront on the PlayStation Portable in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, an elaborate adventure with a dynamic story and engaging combat system.
Calling XIII Century: Death or Glory a poor man’s take on the Total War series may seem like a condemnation of this tactical RTS with mere faint praise. But even though this compendium of great medieval battles might not be as all-encompassing as its big brothers from Creative Assembly, first-time developer Unicorn Games Studios has put together a challenging historical warfare simulation with outstanding depth. It feels a little stripped down when it comes to frills and extra gameplay options, although the game has it where it counts if all you’re interested in is pitting your mettle and might against enemy generals on the battlefield.
Freeing Andalusia from the occupying Muslim armies, one bloody battlefield at a time.
There actually isn’t much here aside from you going all medieval on the computer’s posterior. XIII Century swaps the stereotypical grand campaign where you rule an empire for “campaign light” mission packs where you fight alongside the medieval armies of England, France, Germany, Russia, and the Mongolian hordes of Genghis Khan. Each of these collections features five separate historical battles that you unlock one by one. So the English start with Evesham then move on to Falkirk, Conwy, Lincoln, and Lewes. The Russians fight at Yaroslav, Torchev, Lake Peipus, Rakovor, and Lipitsa. The French take to the bloody fields of Taillebourg, Muret, Tagliarozzo, Benevento, and Bouvines. And so on. You get a pretty comprehensive tour of all the 13th-century hot spots by the time you work your way through all five nations and a set of bonus battles that open up as your rank grows through winning battles.
All this might seem a bit on the skimpy side to anyone coming off of an overwhelming epic like Medieval II: Total War. But since the battles here are so thoroughly depicted, it’s hard to quibble with the warfare-centric focus. For starters, XIII Century is tough. Battles are founded on a rigorous rock-paper-scissors formula, so you can’t just lumber about and rush foes with no consideration as to their relative strengths and weaknesses. This isn’t a simple formula, either. Although many basics are in play here (keep cavalry away from pikemen, keep archers on high ground, that sort of thing), unit statistics are heavily detailed. This gives you a lot to keep track of during battles, which tend to fly by even at regular speed, but at least the interface provides ready access to everything you need to know. Moving the mouse cursor over unit formations provides banks of numbers detailing morale, number of wounded, whether or not the flanks and rear are covered, and so forth. So you can get instant snapshots of how your troops are faring when things are going hot and heavy, which lets you keep pace and give the right commands at the right times.
Stats aren’t much help when it comes to dealing with battlefields, though. Maps here are so intricately detailed that you have to use the terrain to your advantage in order to have a chance at victory, even if the odds are heavily in your favor. Each is packed with hills that provide great positions for archers, paths that allow cavalry units to pull off sneaky flanking maneuvers, rivers that let you set up almost impregnable defenses, and so forth. Having to take the lay of the land into account before giving even the most basic order really enhances the realism of medieval warfare, and underlines how battles can turn on presumably minor issues such as how well a general uses a hill. Beautiful, detailed graphics really bring these backgrounds to life, too. Panning around during battles reveals postcardlike vistas of hills, mountains, and rivers, along with the rather incongruous (if majestic) sight of soldiers in full armor.
Cunning artificial intelligence makes the challenge presented here even stiffer. Enemy forces know the rock-paper-scissors formula well and use it to pull off some truly stunning attacks. Expect any and all openings to be exploited, so be sure not to leave any archers uncovered by heavy ground troops or enemy cavalry will decimate them in moments. One mistake can easily cost you a battle, even if it looks like you’re presiding over a triumphant rout. Defenses are also adroitly handled by the AI. Even if you execute a brilliant plan that catches the enemy off-guard, computer-controlled forces tend to launch counters that can turn things around in the blink of an eye. Battles can’t be won on one or even two astute maneuvers, so you have to string together a full series of smart moves to emerge victorious. It’s astonishing how well computer armies rally from serious setbacks, regularly bouncing off the canvas from even crushing blows like having archers slaughtered by a sly flanking cavalry charge.
The scope of battles in XIII Century is more than a bit daunting, but at least you’ve got a great interface to help you make the tough decisions.
As good as XIII Century is on the battlefield, it doesn’t offer all that much off of it. Only the Custom Battle mode is a worthwhile addition to the campaigns, as it lets you set up battles with more than a dozen nations and family factions and buy armies with set starting amounts of cash. Multiplayer is something of a lost cause at present, as it supports only direct IP connections (although a patch providing access to a matchmaking server is apparently in the works). And the visuals and sound are a bit on the wonky side, with occasional frame-rate hitches and sharp pops whenever you get into heavy battles with hundreds of units onscreen at once. The game can become nearly unplayable very fast when this happens, which can sabotage your ability to control battles.
Still, XIII Century: Death or Glory provides a deep, challenging taste of medieval warfare even with its singular focus on the field of battle. That might not be enough for some strategy gamers, although anyone with a mind for military tactics should appreciate this exacting look at one of history’s bloodiest centuries.
Telltale has announced that Sam & Max Season One will be coming to Nintendo\’s Wii console. The Wii release is expected to ship to retail stores worldwide this fall.
Real-time strategy may be one of those genres that intimidate a lot of people, but it’s proven to be rather flexible in recent years. Although games such as Supreme Commander still exist at the far end of the complexity spectrum, we’ve seen more and more casual RTS games pop up on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and various handhelds. One recent example of this is a game that THQ unveiled at this week’s press event in San Francisco. Currently operating under the tentative name Lock’s Quest, this DS strategy game was described to us by the game’s creative director as an “arcade-y one-man strategy game” that blends the simplified combat of Advance Wars with the stylus-based movement of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.
Build your base, then battle the forces of evil in Lock’s Quest for DS.
What you’re essentially doing in Lock’s Quest is building a fort to help defend you and your fellow villagers from incoming waves of enemy soldiers. Appropriately enough, the game is divided into build mode and battle mode. As you might guess, build mode is where the construction takes place. You pick any spot on the current map to set up a safe zone and choose the various types of walls, towers, and other defenses to suit your needs. All of these will cost you the in-game currency called source. That cost factor seems to be the main point of consideration in this mode because we’re told that the building process itself is quite simple and intuitive. One example we saw of this is how the pieces adapt themselves to what’s been built so far; if a tower or chunk of wall is facing the wrong way when you drag it out of the selection palette, it will automatically rotate to fit what’s on the ground already. It’s a simple touch, but when you’re building bigger and bigger structures, the convenience is sure to add up.
The style of fighting is very much driven by the stylus and isn’t just limited to selecting an attack in the menu. Many of the attacks that you’ll find yourself using come with a motion prompt on the screen that mimics what you’re trying to do to the enemy. For example, a cyclone attack might have you draw quick spirals on the screen, whereas a more rapid-fire spell will force you to tap a box as quickly as you can for maximum damage. You’ll also move your character around the screen by pointing with the stylus, which you can do by guiding him at all times or simply setting a target point for him to travel toward. We’re told that the overall pace of the game is quite frantic. Though we didn’t get to play the game, the aforementioned member of the development team sure looked like he was getting a workout on his stylus hand.
One of the more interesting parts of the game is how the enemy AI changes its strategy as time passes. The campaign is divided into days, and each day the AI commander will deploy its troops in a new formation. If yesterday’s mass ambush didn’t work so well, the commander might choose to divide the troops in half to make a pincer formation that will attack you from opposite sides. Your opponents learn from your battles every day to keep you on your toes.
As the days pass, you’ll also see a very traditional role-playing game story unfold to match the game’s old-school, sprite-based visuals. You play as an archineer (think architect meets engineer) known as Lock, whose seaside village has been invaded by a villain called Lord Agony. This bad guy has spawned a race of minions known as the clockworks, which are the troops who come rushing headlong into those forts you’ve been designing. However, that’s just about all we got to hear at this early stage in development.
Finally, Lock’s Quest will offer competitive multiplayer through both local and Wi-Fi connections. You can expect it to arrive on the DS later this year.
-If Its Games
Atari has had its fair share of success with its 3D fighters based on Dragon Ball Z in the past few years. The publisher is looking to keep that streak going with Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 upgrade to the series developed by longtime Japanese collaborator Dimps. We had the chance to get a first look and try out a work-in-progress version of the upcoming game, which is looking like a promising first step into the current generation of consoles.
Whether battling on the ground or in the sky, DBZ Burst Limit promises intense action.
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit doesn’t appear to be straying too far from the formula that’s worked so well for the previous games. You’ll find five modes that cover the expected bases. Z Chronicles is the story mode, which lets you play through one main story. For those keeping score at home, the game’s storyline will run from the beginning of the series to the end of the Cell saga. Rather than have you play as a set character throughout, you’ll take control of different characters, depending on how the story plays out. The game will feature three main characters, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin, which should not come as a surprise to anyone, considering when the story is set. However, as you progress through the story, you’ll come to unlock more than 20 playable characters. If that’s not enough characters for you, the game will offer dozens of cameos through one of the gameplay mechanics, which we’ll cover in just a bit. While Atari reps were tight-lipped about the exact stages in the game, if you know the story, you can make some guesses as to where you might be duking it out.
The Versus mode offer four match types, three of which test your skills and one of which offers you a chance to learn by watching. Versus CPU lets you test your skills against the computer, while Versus player lets you take on a friend on the same machine. Xbox Live lets you take on random folks online from around the world, which is a first for the series. This will feature leaderboards and rankings to let you see how you stack up against the competition on the world stage. Finally CPU versus CPU lets you pit the computer against itself, which can be handy if you’re looking to figure out some fighting techniques. The Trial mode is a collection of three submodes, but Atari reps would only reveal the Survival mode to us. The other two unlockable modes are currently being kept under wraps. A Tutorial mode will get you up to speed on the game’s fighting system, and a Training mode will let you practice against a customizable CPU opponent.
As you might expect, a game like Burst Limit will live or die by its fighting system, and from what we’ve seen so far, it’s shaping up well. The system is more along the lines of Dimps’ Budokai games and has a solid, balanced feel to it. Combat will take place in a general sphere, whether you’re on the ground or in the air. As with previous games, the battle can go from land to air in a heartbeat. There isn’t as much interactivity with the levels from what we’ve seen so far; think of the modest stuff done in the early Budokai games, but combat does have a good feel to it. Counters and special attacks feel pretty good although timing is always something that takes some getting used to with each game.
A new addition to the combat is the drama piece system, which lets you pick three helpers before going into a battle; you’ll start out with a modest pool of them but unlock a small army as you go through the game. The characters trigger automatically during combat if specific conditions are met. So, for example, if you equip helpers who block throws or shield you from a certain type of attack, they’ll just hop in and do their thing when your opponent tries to get the move off during a fight. The downside is that the helpers act as one unit only during a fight, so you can’t rely on them to compensate for any lack of skills on your part. The guard system offers the same blocking and teleporting options we’ve seen before, but the timing is trickier given the game’s blistering speed. You’ll also be able to block supermoves at the cost of ki energy.
You’d think all that hair would be a detriment in combat.
The visuals in the game are eye-popping, courtesy of the sexy marriage of slick cel-shaded art with the HD power-up afforded by the PS3 and the Xbox 360. The work-in-progress version of the game we tried was just stunning and popped in HD. The action was fast, almost to the point of not being able to follow what was going on, and the frame rate held steadily even in this unfinished state.
The audio will, again, be pitch-perfect for fans of the series, thanks to the use of both the American and Japanese voice actors. Expect the special kind of rock music that only DBZ could roll with, as well as the standard clutch of familiar sound effects for the various blows and powers.
Fans of DBZ will most definitely be pleased with where Burst Limit is heading. The game is looking great, and the gameplay is solid. It may not be not as robust as what we saw on the latter games on the last-gen systems, but it’s a good start for the series, especially with the inclusion of online play. Newcomers to the series may want to check it out because the fighting system is accessible and 3D fighters are pretty thin these days. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is set to ship this July for the PS3 and the Xbox 360.
-If Its Games
In the latest Iwata asks, a product developer talking about Mario Kart Wii revealed that there were 30 prototypes for the Wii Wheel. The prototypes meant Nintendo could make the Wii Wheel the perfect size, weight and color. They even made sure to put the Wii logo on the back so that everyone it could be seen by those not playing.
A picture of the Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle box has been released. The $49.99 package which will be released on June 22 in the US will include the game, the guitar grip, an adjustable strap, pick stylus and more. The picture also shows you will get a free Guitar Hero key chain!
MGS4: Guns of the Patriots 20th Anniversary Trailer, hard to believe it\’s been 20 years of tactical espionage action.
Some new ads created for the Sony PS3 by a Chilean firm have surfaced. It is unclear where the the ads will be used.
Lost in Blue 3 is the third in Konami’s survival adventure series and maintains the franchise’s traditional premise, casting you as either a male or female character stranded on an island after the mysterious sinking of a cruise ship. After you’ve washed ashore and regained a few memories you’ll run into your partner, another miraculous survivor, at which point you must keep each other alive until you’re rescued or manage to escape. For perhaps the series’ sole plot twist, the game includes two additional characters you’ll run into as the storyline progresses, and all three partners offer their own unique services that’ll aid you in discovering a way off this tropical deathtrap.
Looks like someone’s stamina is about to take a dive.
Just as in previous Lost in Blue titles, the bulk of the gameplay tasks you with keeping a steady eye on your characters’ four status gauges, measuring stamina, food, water, and health. Each gauge drains over time and has a particular effect when it reaches zero, either reducing you to a walk during exploration, keeping you awake so you can’t sleep to refill your stamina gauge, or preventing you from eating dry food to raise your food bar; the steady reduction of one or several bars costs you health points, and a character whose HP reaches zero dies a slow and tragic death. Because it would be just plain cruel to let the other characters escape after the death of a comrade, it’s game over, so your immediate survival depends entirely on filling these status gauges.
To this end Lost in Blue 3 boasts a heavy emphasis on micromanagement, requiring you to scavenge for food, trek to the nearest freshwater stream for water, and collect a full host of other items that make island life a little easier. After you’ve gathered several items you can forge tools that’ll allow you to engage in simple minigames, including blowing into the mic to start a fire or tapping fish to spear them. You can also grill by drawing circles on food items to flip them over, cut up fresh fruit for salads by “slicing” them with the stylus, or even milk a goat if you’re in the mood. While most of the minigames provide a refreshing break from the monotony of downing gallons of water and stuffing your face with coconuts, some of them–in particular grilling and furniture building–are very finicky when it comes to the stylus. If you’re not drawing circles directly on the center of each delicious unit of sustenance or placing pieces of wood at exactly the right location, with the “aesthetic” side facing upward, you’ll burn your grub or spend forever trying to nail two sticks together.
Island exploration is another key element that adds a touch of variety and excitement to the gameplay. The island is dense enough to require several real-time hours to explore and contains all sorts of treats to discover, like shipwrecks, new types of food, crazed crocodiles, and even a few deer if your stomach is rumbling for Bambi. While it is fun to stumble upon new areas, quite often you’ll have no idea of what you’re doing, as the game gives you few instructions; usually you just wander around until you find something to discuss with a partner back at the base, which amounts to a lot of backtracking. Getting hints from partner characters is also frustrating due to the discussion menu, which conveniently kicks you from the dialogue screen after you mention a topic, like “build me a table.” If you need multiple things from a character then you’re forced to waste time toggling through requests. Furthermore, even if you have the appropriate partner with you on the field during an important event that you want to discuss, you can’t converse on the spot–you have to drag him back to the cave before he’ll acknowledge what he just saw. If you’re feeling lonely you can re-experience Lost in Blue with a friend via a Download Play option or a cooking battle, but after you complete the main storyline your only incentives to revisit the island include playing another character or trying your hand at survival challenge, which tests how long you can last on the island before pitifully dying alone.
Though the best parts of the game involve exploring and playing through the minigames to gather materials, both have huge caveats: You can’t explore for very long because your buddies at the cave wither away and die without your constant supervision, while spearing fish, shaking trees, and cooking a thousand meals gets old and tiresome fast. All you really want to do is advance and find out what happened on the cruise ship and, of course, if the group ever gets off the island, but you’re forced to babysit idiots who will kill themselves without your undying love and support.
But finicky minigames and poor dialogue menus are the least of your worries, as filling the status gauges will quickly vex and bore you. It’s just too easy for characters to die; for example, even if all three of your partners are starving at the base they will wait for you to return with food instead of foraging on their own, sometimes unto their own demise. Dehydrated characters, especially those standing next to a conveniently placed oil drum full of vast quantities of fresh water, won’t actually drink it until you leave the cave, as if they’re waiting on you to fetch it for them.
You’ll unlock some violent memories if you can keep up on your firewood and coconuts.
Lost in Blue 3’s greatest fault, however, lies not in its merciless backtracking or tight micromanagement control but in its vast amount of recycled material. Most of its minigames, food items, and menu graphics are stripped from its predecessors, and the game retains the franchise’s fixed camera and bland visuals culminating in a poorly textured 3D island populated with 2D trees. The sad reality is that series veterans experienced all this franchise has to offer two games ago.
According to reports, Konami have unveiled the official EU Packshot of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. What do you think?
A writer at Future Publishing has said that GT 5 Prologue is being spoiled by cheaters bouncing off walls to get the top times on the leaderboard in the Time Trial mode. They say that gamers can use the metal barriers on two of the corners in the High Speed Ring course to bounce round the course faster then you can do a perfect lap.
A survey of 14,921 people conducted in Japan from March 1 to 5, has found that 81.4% of all respondents want to buy a Blu-ray recorder, however 69.4% respondents said \”I have no specific schedule for purchasing it.\” the stufy also revealed that Panasonic was the most popular manufacturer in a question asked which manufacturer\’s DVD or other format recorder and player they wanted to buy. The second most popular manufacturer was Sony followed by Sharp and Toshiba.