<![CDATA[Kotaku: celebrity sports showdown]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: celebrity sports showdown]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/celebritysportsshowdown http://kotaku.com/tag/celebritysportsshowdown <![CDATA[EA Showcase 08 - AJ's Trial By Fire]]> This has been a hell of a first week at Kotaku - I had an event Tuesday, three events Wednesday, and yesterday was EA's super-huge Showcase which contained all the stuff that didn't make it to E3.

Here's how AJ earned her keep this week:

Battlefield Heroes – Battling The Stigma Of Battlefield
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Wii Impressions
Tetris, Spore, Scrabble and Sudoku – EA’s iPhone lineup
Boogie SuperStar – Objectifying And Empowering Tween Girls Everywhere
Celebrity Sports Showdown Impressions
The Odd Couple - EA & Grasshopper or Suda 51 & Shinji Mikami
Epic's New Game – President Tells All

And stay tuned next week for more from EA's 08 Showcase and some stuff on those mysterious events I'm not allowed to talk about yet.

Thanks for the big welcome, y'all! (And I can say that because I'm from Texas, so back off.)

]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5037758&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Celebrity Sports Showdown Impressions]]> I’ll be honest; I didn’t spend more than twenty minutes with this game. Can you blame me? It’s a hodgepodge of sports minigames with some celebrity likenesses slapped on. I played as Mia Hamm because Sugar Ray Leonard was taken and Fergie makes me physically ill.

There’s a slew of sports to choose from – skiing, tubing, badminton, dodge ball… I faced off against the PR rep in a tubing race where the idea is to gather the most stars. The Wii motion controls worked fairly well. Jerk the remote up to jump and flick it down to slam your airborne tube onto a competitor and make him lose his stars. On a skiing level, PR totally destroyed me as we sped down the slopes, trying to do tricks whenever we caught a jump.

The thing that has the most potential for drunk-fun are the rowing games. We played co-op on this level and each had to control a paddle by moving the Wiimote in a rowing motion while held sideways. I confess I blew it by dropping the remote twice. Nailing that synced rhythm with your partner is way harder than it looks even if you aren’t a klutz like me.

The game ships in October. Here, have some screen shots.

]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5037702&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Celebrity Sports Showdown In The Creepy Flesh]]> While we may have had a first look at EA's upcoming Wii survival horror celebrity sports title last week, the company has just officially announced Celebrity Sports Challenge for the Nintendo Wii, along with a bevy of truly terrifying screenshots featuring big-headed versions - well, bigger-headed versions of the game's stars. The game features 10 "celebrities", including Avril Lavigne, LeAnn Rimes, Nelly Furtado, and...Sugar Ray Leonard? Said stars compete in sports such as beach volleyball, smash badminton, and curling. It's like the old Battle of the Network program from back in the 80's, only I actively despise most of these people. Hit the jump for the full listing of participants and events, and keep an eye out for Celebrity Sports Showdown this winter.

REACH FOR THE STARS WITH EA'S CELEBRITY SPORTS SHOWDOWN
Ultimate Party Game from EA SPORTS Freestyle Featuring 12 Outdoor Sports Activities and 10 Celebrities
Guildford, UK – Wednesday, August 13, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that Celebrity Sports Showdown, an all-new intellectual property, is currently in development at EA Canada and will be the first Wii title to launch under the new EA SPORTS Freestyle brand. From the makers of EA Playground, Celebrity Sports Showdown features 12 outdoor sports games and is the ultimate party game to play with people of all ages. Play as your favourite celebrities, with featured stars including singers Fergie and Avril Lavigne, and athletes like Paul Pierce and Mia Hamm, to determine who will be the ultimate celebrity athlete. Get off the couch and get into the action with fun and easy-to-play controls designed specifically for the Wii.

“We feel that this game is the EA SPORTS Freestyle answer to a great Wii party game. It explores the lighter side of sports and pulls inspiration from the entertainment spectacles that are so prevalent in pop culture today,” said Dave McCarthy, Executive Producer. “Celebrity Sports Showdown will bring people to the party with a collection of games and celebrities that appeal to everyone.”

Hit the great outdoors as you paddle through rapids in Wild Water Canoeing and hold on tight as you fly behind a speed boat for some wild Inner-Tubing! Get out of the water and onto the court as you hit away in Beach Volleyball and Smash Badminton, or take aim at your opponents in Arena Dodgeball. Cool down while you hit the slopes in Slalom Showdown, or sweep past your opponents in Curling. Get a bird’s eye view scaling a wall in Cliff Hangers or flying through the sky in Air Racers. Perfect your aim and nail the targets in Rapid Fire Archery, then gauge your strength in the gladiator-style Joust Duel, and hold on to the reigns of a champion thoroughbred all the way to the finish line in Hurdle Derby. With such a variety of sports to choose from, Celebrity Sports Challenge is the ultimate party game experience.

Celebrities featured listed below:

• Fergie
• Avril Lavigne
• LeAnn Rimes
• Keith Urban
• Nelly Furtado
• Paul Pierce
• Mia Hamm
• Kristi Yamaguchi
• Reggie Bush
• Sugar Ray Leonard

Games featured listed below:

• Beach Volleyball
• Inner-Tubing
• Wild Water Canoeing
• Hurdle Derby
• Slalom Showdown
• Cliff Hangers
• Smash Badminton
• Rapid Fire Archery
• Joust Duel
• Curling
• Arena Dodgeball
• Air Racers

Celebrity Sports Showdown will be launching for the Wii™ in winter 2008. The game has not yet been rated by PEGI. Media can find screenshots of the game at www.electronicarts.co.uk/press. For more information, please visit www.easports.com/celebrity.

EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL Football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® and NASCAR® racing.

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]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5036464&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[EA Does Smash Bros. Sports With B-Level Celebs]]> If you've ever wanted to pit Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi against country singer Keith Urban in an inner-tubing battle to the death, we have to ask — what the hell is the matter with you? We might ask the same question of the idea men at EA, who have announced, by way of MTV, Celebrity Sports Showdown, a collection of Wii Sports-like challenges for Nintendo's little white wonder. Featuring good natured events like skiing, dodgeball, badminton and even curling, big headed B and C-grade celebs will battle it out virtually on Wiis this holiday.

The cast includes semi-known faces from the pro sports and music world, with folks like Nelly Furtado and Reggie Bush, making for an odd mix.

MTV has first video of Celebrity Sports Showdown in action, should you ever want to see Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas wield a curling brush with Wii caliber graphics. It's sure to... impress? Stupify? It's sure to do something.

Fergie Takes On Nelly Furtado In Badminton, Dodgeball, Jet Racing In New Wii Sports Game [MTV]

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