<![CDATA[Kotaku: Disney Interactive Studios]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: Disney Interactive Studios]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/disney interactive studios http://kotaku.com/tag/disney interactive studios <![CDATA[ Ultimate Band's Band-Free Setlist ]]> Peripheral-free, douche-simulator Ultimate Band hits store shelves next week. While I found the theory interesting, I wasn't totally sold on the concept when I got a chance to check out Disney Interactive Studio's take on Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band. On the plus side, you don't need yet another set of plastic instruments to pack away in your slowly filling closet. On the negative side, the game when I played it was far too easy to feel satisfying.

The song list for the DS and Wii versions of the game aren't that bad actually, with appearances by hits from The Who, Blondie, Devo and The B-52s. Too bad they're all covers, and from what I remember, bad covers. The full list is on the jump.

Wii Song List
· Girls Not Grey
· Complicated
· Hanging on the Telephone
· Song 2
· I Want You To Want Me
· All Right Now
· Anna Molly
· Club Foot
· Won't Go Home Without You
· Dashboard
· Helena
· Get the Party Started
· Crushcrushcrush
· Just
· Stumble and Fall
· When Did Your Heart Go Missing?
· In Too Deep
· Unconditional
· Somebody Told Me
· Always Where I Need to Be
· Debaser
· Fell in Love With a Girl
· Break on Through
· Beverly Hills
· Move Along
· Rock Lobster
· First Date
· Whip It
· Take Over the Break is Over
· Hold On
· Our Time Now
· Just What I Needed
· All Day and All of the Night
· Steady As She Goes
· My Generation

DS Song List
· Move Along
· Rock Lobster
· First Date
· Whip It
· Take Over the Break is Over
· Hold On
· Our Time Now
· Just What I Needed
· All Day and All of the Night
· Steady As She Goes
· My Generation
· All Star
· Call Me
· Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
· 9 in the Afternoon

About Ultimate Band

With Ultimate Band, you don’t need to break the bank buying instruments to rock out with this peripheral-free performance music game. Use the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ to become the ultimate “air band” as you perform to more than 30 hip indie and mainstream hits. This storyline-driven game also lets players create and customize characters that reflect their own unique personalities and attributes. For rocking-on-the-go, the Nintendo DS version features exclusive songs and puts players in the studio to let them create and perform their own tracks. Ultimate Band has ESRB ratings of E on the Wii and E10+ on the Nintendo DS, and is available this holiday season. MSRP is $29.99 for Nintendo DS and $49.99 for Wii.

]]>
Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:00:00 MST Brian Crecente http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5091921&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Pure Review: Pure Fun ]]> When you think Disney you don't typically think off-road racing. Which is probably why Disney Interactive bought up Black Rock Studios, a developer known for their off-road racing titles, including their work on the ATV Offroad Fury and MotoGP franchises. This time around the studio created Pure, a brand new franchise for Disney that focuses more on the exhilaration of speed and tricks than on the nitty-gritty of realism and detail.

Can Disney break into an already saturated genre, taking on BAJA: Edge of Control and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift with an ATV trick title? Lets see.

Loved
Exhilarating Tricks: Tricks in Pure truly stand out. They are what make this game different from the others hitting this year. And it's not just about the occasional can-can or Superman, it's about building up your ability over the course of the race to do increasingly absurd, over-the-top tricks that have you floating free of the ATV for giant chunks of time. Better still, if you mess up, and don't scramble back into your seat in time, you know there's a good chance you'll lose.

Snappy Controls: Forgoing the realism of locked tires, or speed-induced topples, Pure concentrates instead on making sure the controls are exceptionally responsive. It might not be completely realistic, but it's fun.

Custom Rides: I'm not a gear head myself, but even I thought that it was kind of neat to be able to change every single piece of my ATV out with a laundry list of substitutes earned through races. You can even paint everything. And if you don't want to bother you can have a ride randomly created for you.

Tight track design: The tracks in the game, there are only a dozen locations, are all fairly hitch free. Each offer up enough different routes over the course of a race to almost give the illusion of total access.

Strategic Boost System: Boosting in Pure is tied directly to tricks, which are tied directly to boost. To earn boost you need to perform tricks. The more boost you have the more complicated the trick you can perform, which delivers even more boost. This yin and yang of boost and trick adds a bit of strategy to races as you try to determine if you can pull off a trick in the short amount of air time you get on a jump. If you don't take the chance you can boost as much, but if you do and fail it's going to be hard to catch up.

Hated
Limited Tricks: With the game relying so heavily on its beautifully animated trick system, you'd think the developers would have included more. Sure, getting up to the highest level of tricks is hard and performing them requires monster air and very good timing. But even the 70 or so tricks will get old overtime.

Static Tracks: The tracks are well designed, but it would have been nice if they showed a bit more wear and tear as you zip around them over and over and over again. I'm all about track deformation these days and while the game says it has deformation, I've yet to run a race where it was noticeable in a way that affected the outcome.

No Local Multiplayer: Local multiplayer should be a must, in my book, but I understand the reasoning behind not always including it. Well, usually I do. With a racing title, one that has such a short list of tracks and tricks, you really should include the option for split screen racing.

I like Pure, a lot. But I suspect that won't last. I need my off-roading to be a bit more robust, offer split screen races, maybe some more modes, to keep me interested. Despite that, Pure has one of the best trick systems for an off-roader that I've seen in quite awhile.

Pure, developed by Black Rock Studios and published by Disney Interactive onami was released on Sept. 23 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Retails for $59.99. Played all tracks and modes of Playstation 3 version and tested online.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

]]>
Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:00:00 MDT Brian Crecente http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5057157&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Pure Demo Coming This Thursday ]]> Is Pure really the next evolution of offroad racing? We'll be one step closer to knowing the answer to that question come Thursday, when a demo of Disney Interactive's racing title hits both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. The demo will feature a 3-lap race against 15 AI competitors on Italy's Mount Garda track - one of 35 tracks shipping with the full retail version of the game. The demo also includes a qualifying track that functions as a tutorial to get players up to speed, no pun intended.

I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the game, though I've not been truly satisfied with an offroad title since Motocross Madness for the PC back in 1998. Here's hoping I can trade in my old favorite for a shiny new one.

]]>
Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:40:00 MDT Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5044345&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Pure - But Slightly Censored - Bliss ]]>
The Pure press party wasn’t much to look at – a huge dark room with some faux Italian statues and sweet-looking bikes you couldn’t touch – but that might’ve been Disney Interactive Studios’s plot all along, because compared to the party, Pure itself looked awesome.

This is due in no small part to the visuals. Each track in Pure is loaded with smooth-looking graphics and lush backgrounds that almost distract you from racing. The bikes themselves don’t look half-bad, either. Though there are no licensed models, each part of the bike is licensed and if that means anything to you, you can look forward to cobbling together some pretty sweet custom bikes with some of the best parts; there must be more than a thousand combos you could come up with. Bikes either skew towards fast racing models, or slower trick bikes. An auto-build-your-own mode lets you get as crazy with customization as you can stand without having to go through each and every bolt and frame choice.

On to the actual gameplay. We were treated to the multiplayer experience – not a great idea because they pit journalists against the production team so needless to say, we got slaughtered. But at least we got to see most of the seven tracks in the game while getting our asses handed to us. There were two tracks apiece for Thailand, New Mexico, and of course, Italy (hence the statues) plus one extra track I never made it to because I kept toppling off of cliffs. The idea is that one track usually has all the high jumps and is better for trick-racing, while the other is a lot shorter with tighter turns, a true racing track. Both are decked out with images appropriate to the area (hot air balloons for New Mexico, jungles for Thailand, etc.)

We spent most of multiplayer going through Freestyle mode where the idea is to do as many tricks, grab as many power-ups and (obviously) finish first to get the highest score. Tricks are crucial to gameplay in Pure because without them, you don’t earn boost – and without boost, you can’t win. Other modes include Sprint (a straight-up race) and a third mode I again didn’t make it to by virtue of dying a lot.

But don’t cry for me, Argentina – dying in this game is fun. Of course since Disney’s holding the leash, you’re not going to get bloody gore, or sickening bone breakage; but developer Black Rock Studio sure knows its rag doll physics. After the third time I failed a coffin trick and landed on my head I deliberately started to see just how sick a wreck I could get into, giggling like a girl with a glitter stick in art class.

A PR rep noticed and tried to correct my epic fails by re-explaining the controls. “Just hold down the right trigger to go forward… Yes, that’s it. Now, you’ve got to push the right stick forward when you’re going up a hill and then pull it back right before you launch to get really high… Good, good… Okay, you start out only with basic tricks by pressing A while jumping. Oh, look, you unlocked B tricks… hey, you did a Superman! Okay, okay… Now, land it. Land it.”

Crunch.

I asked about a crash-cam. He said something about ESRB ratings and took me off of multiplayer. “Let’s see how you do on a basic track… let you get the feel of things.”

I did get the feel of things pretty quickly in single-player. Pure is nothing if not intuitive. By the end of the first track, I was pulling of the Y button tricks; insane feats that you simply can’t do in real life – like ghost-riding the whip 150 feet in the air. Apparently, if you nail these tricks, you’re given the option to create your own tricks by holding down the left and right buttons.

“We want this game to be for everybody,” said the PR rep. “We can’t make it too hard or too graphic.”

“Uh-huh,” I said, ramming into the side of some ancient Roman ruins.

He gave me the hairy eye. “You really are a fan of Burnout, aren’t you?”

Pure is out September and I look forward to getting my driver killed in new and interesting ways with every race.

Here’s the most massive blitz of screens ever – plus a few pics I took of the party.

]]>
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:00:00 MDT AJ Glasser http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5039454&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Prince Caspian Game Gets Exclusive Movie Scenes ]]> Disney Interactive Studios has announced that the video game of the film for the book The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian will contain two exclusive scenes that don't appear in the theatrical release of the film. The live action shots, filmed on location in Prague during the movie shoot, connect the first and second movies together by having Dr. Cornelius explaining to Caspian how Narnia fell to the Telmarines hundreds of years ago. The exclusive clips are two of the sixteen live-action clips appearing in the game.

"The special filmed content that is exclusive to the video game provides insight into Narnia and the events around the 'Prince Caspian' story like nothing else," said Andrew Adamson. "With movie fans' enthusiasm for unique experiences in video games as well, these scenes are ideal to complement the 'Prince Caspian' game's action."
It almost sounds as if they included the clips in the game that were then cut from the film, but we'll run with the whole 'special filmed content' bit. As long as they maintain the quality of the last title we'll be fine either way.
Disney Interactive Studios Introduces Original Scenes Exclusive to Disney/Walden Media's the Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Video Game Ben Barnes Reprises Role as Prince Caspian in Two Live Action Filmed Segments

BURBANK, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Fans of The Chronicles of Narnia will get to experience two unique film scenes only one way - on their home consoles or Windows-based PC. Disney Interactive Studios announced today that two original scenes for Disney/Walden Media's The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian video game were filmed exclusively for the product and appear separately from the film. The unique scenes link The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian stories with Dr. Cornelius (Vincent Grass) telling Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) the story of how Narnia fell to the Telmarines hundreds of years ago.

The scenes were shot on the film set in Prague, Czech Republic, during principal shooting and feature dialogue revealing plot based on the events of the book, game and film. The creation of the live action content was directed by Andrew Adamson, the film's director. The two original scenes are part of 18 live action moments in the game, which include 16 excerpts from the feature film.

"The special filmed content that is exclusive to the video game provides insight into Narnia and the events around the 'Prince Caspian' story like nothing else," said Andrew Adamson. "With movie fans' enthusiasm for unique experiences in video games as well, these scenes are ideal to complement the 'Prince Caspian' game's action."

The England-based game production and development teams worked in cooperation with the London-based film crew and Andrew Adamson to assure the game's overall accuracy to the film. Capturing two original scenes was only possible through the collaborative partnership between Disney Interactive Studios; and Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media.

"The close partnerships we maintain with our film division and Walden Media allowed us to utilize the cast, crew and set to create two unique scenes exclusively for the video game," said Ed Bainbridge, vice president of European production, Disney Interactive Studios. "These entertaining and memorable scenes enable us to portray a part of the Narnia history that is drawn from the fiction and played out in the game."

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian video game will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ home video game system, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and Windows-based PC. A separate Nintendo DS™ version will also be available.

Developed by Traveller's Tales, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for home consoles and Windows-based PC takes players throughout Narnia and includes a gameplay level, which is unique from both the novel and the film. The level, which is set between the events of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian," takes place at the castle of Cair Paravel and tells the story of how Narnia fell to the Telmarine hordes. In "Prince Caspian," Cair Paravel is seen only as abandoned ruins the Pevensies discover hundreds of years later.

The action/adventure game offers gameplay for one or two players on the same system and drop-in/drop-out features, allowing either player to join the game and leave. With combat, exploration and puzzle solving that extends beyond the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the ideal complement to the movie-going experience. The game features more than 20 playable characters including the ability to play as Prince Caspian. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian console game is the sequel to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe for consoles, which received the prestigious IGN.com Editor's Choice Award.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for Nintendo DS, which is an action/role playing game, will include the debut of DGamer, Disney Interactive Studios' innovative new technology that provides a fun, connected game community for Disney video game fans. With DGamer, players earn content, interact and chat with others on Nintendo DS through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or on a computer through the Disney.com website. DGamer will be offered in North America in future Nintendo DS games from Disney Interactive Studios with a future launch scheduled in other global regions. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for Nintendo DS and DGamer are being developed by Fall Line Studio, the Nintendo platform-dedicated development studio of Disney Interactive Studios.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for consoles and Windows PC is rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and will be available for Xbox 360, the PLAYSTATION 3 system and Wii for $49.99; and the PLAYSTATION 2 system and Windows-based PC for $29.99. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian for the Nintendo DS has an ESRB rating of E10+ for Everyone 10 years and older and will be available for $29.99.

For more information about The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian video game, log on to www.princecaspiangame.com.

]]>
Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:20:00 MDT Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=383035&view=rss&microfeed=true