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The Japanese Hardware Chart, Post Gamescom Edition
What does this week’s update on the Japanese console contest have to do with Germany’s annual gaming show? Not much, other than timing. It was another week won, ever so slightly, by Nintendo. The PSP and PlayStation 3 may enjoy first and second place, but Nintendo piled up enough DSs and Wiis to win the…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 22, 2010 -
Playing Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions In The Year 2099
Activision brought a new universe from Spider-man: Shattered Dimensions to Gamescom, one that I was lightly familiar with; the one set in the year 2099. That’s the one that doesn’t have Peter Parker as Spider-man’s alter-ego. Instead we play as Miguel O’Hara. This Spider-man universe is shiny to the point of being distracting, bursting with…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 22, 2010 -
The Cosplay Of Gamescom 2010
It’s dangerous to go to Gamescom alone. Take a friend.. and make them dress like a second Link or a Solid Snake or a Troll, Orc or Night Elf from World of Warcraft. Gamescom 2010’s biggest day, today, featured some capable cosplay from its attendees, as well as a trainwreck or two. It featured more…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 21, 2010 -
Mortal Kombat’s Post-Launch Balancing, Add-on Character & PC Plans
Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon says that his studio’s newest fighting game is being built with better online balancing in mind, letting the developer finesse aspects of the combat after it ship—without the need for software patches. Boon said at Gamescom this week that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 fighting game has software “hooks”…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 21, 2010 -
This Is How EA Germany Wraps Up Gamescom
For the general public, Gamescom is just getting started. For the folks at EA Germany—the business types—the show is over. This is how Electronic Arts sent off Gamescom 2010, with a few German-language standards and a huge tool.
By Michael McWhertor Published August 21, 2010 -
Killing My Boss With Cyrax & Kitana In Mortal Kombat
At this year’s E3, I played each and every available Mortal Kombat contestant. At Gamescom, I played the two newly added classic killers Cyrax and Kitana, a chance to slice the head off my boss. Cyrax was familiar and fun to play. He shoots an ensnaring net at his opponent, deploys ticking time bombs and…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 20, 2010 -
Ratchet & Clank’s New Co-op Game Is Good (For Griefing)
Insomniac Games’ newest Ratchet & Clank title originally began life as a two-player game, but eventually grew into something bigger. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One is a PlayStation 3 action-adventure that rewards cooperation, but also encourages griefing your teammates. That team is a motley crew of friends and enemies. In All 4 One, series…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 20, 2010 -
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
There’s one thing that I’ll be working very hard to play this weekend, even if only for 10 minutes. That would be Diablo III, a game I last played about one year ago at Gamescom 2009. Blizzard has a demo version of the game playable on the Gamescom show floor, but, from what I hear,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 20, 2010 -
Live Action Tekken Vs. Street Fighter Starts Weird, Gets Weirder
Namco gave Tekken and Street Fighter fans in Germany an unforgettable presentation at Gamescom this week in the form of a live action match between fighting game characters Ryu and Kazuya Mishima… and a cross-dressing Chun-li. That Chun-li turned out to be Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono, on hand to challenge his Namco Bandai-based…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 20, 2010 -
Wii Party Keeps The Festivities Going In Japan
Nintendo’s latest Wii hit shows its impressive legs once again this week, with mini-game collection Wii Party returning to its first place spot on the Japanese video game sales charts. Almost zero competition certainly helped. Really. There wasn’t much in the way of competition for Wii Party—or anything else for that matter. New PSP game…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010 -
Knights Contract Cuts Its Way Through A Quickly Crowded Genre
Namco Bandai’s Knights Contract is an action adventure game that combines bloody melee combat with magical spells. It’s also a game that shares a major similarity to a handful of other games on the verge of release. The “slash action” game is set in a stylized Middle Ages in Europe. The game’s producer, Ryo Mito,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010 -
LittleBigPlanet 2 Lets You Make Music (That Makes Levels)
I played a LittleBigPlanet 2 basketball game with Media Molecule co-founder Alex Evans today, then watched someone else control multiple Sackbots in a puzzle game. Both were very different from LittleBigPlanet’s platforming sections. Neither was as cool as the racing game Evans demonstrated. The racing game itself, which saw a Sackboy ride on a fuzzy…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010 -
Metal Gear Solid: Rising Lets You Cut With A Conscience, Continues No-Kill Tradition
One of the Metal Gear Solid series’ trademarks is the option to complete the game without killing a single human being. Despite Metal Gear Solid: Rising‘s gloriously gory debut trailer, you can clear it too without registering one kill. Metal Gear Solid: Rising producer Shigenobu Matsuyama says that he’s trying to change the series with…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010 -
An Early First Look At Tekken X Street Fighter
Namco held an unusual event at Gamescom today to give its European audience a peek at Street Fighter X Tekken. But fans of both fighting games also got a sneak peek at its successor sibling, Tekken X Street Fighter. Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono and Katsuhiro Tekken producer Harada showed Gamescom attendees the same…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010 -
Gran Turismo 5 Injects Some RPG Into Your Hardcore Racing Sim
Gran Turismo 5 is coming to the PlayStation 3 later this year, stuffed with nearly 1,000 cars, over 70 courses, new racing leagues (NASCAR, WRC, Super GT), a track creator and, finally, high-speed kart racing. But wait. There’s more Developer Polyphony Digital is adding a few new tricks and tweaks to what Gran Turismo series…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 19, 2010 -
Hands-on With Fable III’s Main Course & Two Sides
Gamescom represented my first chance to go hands on with Fable III for the Xbox 360, a game that’s more action adventure than its forebears. It’s also a game that matches its dark side with a lighter one. Playing through a small section of Fable III’s core storyline at a Microsoft preview event wasn’t its…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 18, 2010 -
New Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Screens Start With Creeping Coffins
With the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow mere weeks away, what can reignite our interest in the latest and perhaps greatest attempt at a three-dimensional Belmont adventure? How about the creepiest coffins you’ve ever seen in a video game? Frankly, everything in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow looks pretty good, whether it’s Gabriel Belmont riding…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 18, 2010 -
Step Aside! New NeverDead Screens Comin’ Through!
Konami didn’t have too much to say during its brief Gamescom 2010 press conference today, but it did delight the crowd with a trailer for NeverDead, the action horror game from Metal Gear Acid! director Shinta Nojiri and Rebellion Developments. Konami also released new screen shots of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game today,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 18, 2010 -
The New Mortal Kombat Adds Two More Classic Characters
NetherRealm Studios adds two more to the roster of kombatants appearing in the all-new Mortal Kombat, with cybernetic ninja Cyrax and queen of fans Kitana officially committed to beat the shit out of each other next year. The new Mortal Kombat also has a few new old stages that fans may recognize, the Desert and…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 18, 2010 -
Gran Turismo 5 Adds Course Creation, Kart Racing
The course count for Polyphony Digital’s real driving simulator Gran Turismo 5 is now approaching infinity, thanks to the game’s just revealed Course Maker, shown off today at Gamescom in Germany. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi demoed the Course Maker feature today, showing that it’s not the type of tool that will let players build a…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 18, 2010
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