Namco Bandai’s The Munchables looks like it could be the feel-good hit of the Spring for Wii owners. It’s cute, colorful and looks to borrow from the best. The first trailer for the recently announced The Munchables further entrenches the game’s inherent similarities to titles like Katamari Damacy, The Maw and Nintendo’s Kirby series. That’s…
Atlus informed us today that its PSP game Class of Heroes has been given a two month delay, making fans of Japanese role-playing games forlorn and us look like a bunch of no-good liars. The publisher points to a “show-stopping bug” as responsible for the new June 9th release date in North America. Public relations…
While waiting to speak with Q-Games Dylan Cuthbert and PixelJunk Eden artist Baiyon, we burned through a new level from the PixelJunk Eden Encore expansion, enjoying the new “mirror mode” gameplay. The new addition to the third PixelJunk brand game feels like a natural fit, both comfortable and innovative, not unlike the trio of downloadable…
The Midnight Club: Los Angeles “South Central” expansion has finally hit both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. So too has the Rockstar Games‘ promotional swag hit our inbox. The lil’ Saleen S281 Mustang is still mint in package and clearly no expense was spared in bringing us plastic Midnight Club: Los Angeles branded goods.…
It’s hard not to get excited about some trademarks, especially when they’re filed by Sony and they’re registering “Holy Invasion Of Privacy, Badman!” Yes, that’s what the PlayStation maker is protecting. Protecting it against what? The usual video gamey stuff, like “video game software” and “optical disc recorded game programs for hand-held typed electronic games…
Activision’s marketing team looks to be suffering from a bout of March Madness, as the new Guitar Hero: Metallica television spot is ruefully lacking in Heidi Klum pantslessness in favor of Bobby Knight pantslessness. Four NCAA coaches match wits with four Metallica band members—thankfully modest in black denim—complete with Bobby Knight launching a trademark tirade…
Rockstar Games and Microsoft may be giving Xbox 360 owners a chance to brush up on their Max Payne history in advance of the release of Max Payne 3, courtesy of the Xbox Originals program. The ESRB lists relatively new ratings for both Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for…
Sony may be the latest company to explore the hot topic of cloud computing, the off-loading of software and services to remote servers, based on recent trademark filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has registered a trademark for “PS Cloud,” protecting it against it against all manner of video…
TimeGate Studios’ Section 8 isn’t as crazy as it sounds. In fact, the Southpeak-published PC and Xbox 360 first-person shooter is pretty level-headed, as the game’s developers are looking to correct long-standing game convention quirks. We got a chance to preview and play Section 8 at GDC, seeing what TimeGate — developers of multiple F.E.A.R.…
Implying that EA’s Dead Space blatantly borrowed from Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 may sound like a bad thing. It’s not. Because, as senior producer Chuck Beaver said, there are dangers to doing “too much new.” That’s been a common theme at some of the GDC talks we attended this week, as published developers caution their…
Monster Games sequel to Excite Truck, the beastly and bug-filled stunt racer Excitebots, has won us over—even those of us who didn’t particularly care for the Wii launch original game. Why? Super Sandwiches. First shown in the debut trailer for Excitebots: Trick Racing, the Super Sandwich bonus both excited and bewildered us. What was it?…
Noby Noby Boy may be a little bit “crazy,” but its creator says he’s very normal. “I don’t use drugs at all. I don’t drink,” game creator Keita Takahashi contends. “Please, don’t worry about me.” The man behind Noby Noby Boy and Katamari Damacy delivered one of GDC’s most fascinating sessions this week, full of…
First, we want to pass on World of Warcraft lead game designer Jeffrey Kaplan’s apologies. He’s very sorry about Stranglethorn Vale’s 19-piece fetch fest Nesingwary’s Expedition. But it’s clear WoW players adore questing. How do we know? Kaplan says that the legions of players inhabiting Blizzard’s massively multiplayer online game are completing more than 16…
GDC is still going strong. Expect our coverage to do the same, as we catch up on all our interviews, previews and session mining. But we’re making time to play some games this weekend too. Personally, I’ve got a copy of Rhythm Heaven burning a hole in my backpack, ready and waiting to find its…
Harmonix senior designer Dan Teasdale schooled GDC attendees today on the design philosophies that factored into the creation of Rock Band. That includes the critical “one question,” a rule that even affected the game’s name. The question was “Does it feel like an authentic band experience?” Design decisions that elicited a “Yes” to that all-important…
That odor we’re smelling? Crispy zombie flesh as Burn Zombie Burn shambles its way to the North American PlayStation Store alongside Worms. Not a bad Thursday on the PlayStation Network front, we’d say. Those two brand new games join a horde of Resistance 2 downloadables, with skins and maps abound for the PlayStation 3 shooter.…
After a few weeks of the Nintendo DSi being outsold by the PSP, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, the Nintendo handheld returns to the top of the charts in Japan, thanks to mech fans. With Super Robot Taisen K out and topping sales charts, Japanese gamers are storming electronics stores, snatching up DSis at a…
Hellgate: London‘s development, like its eventual implosion, was epic. At GDC, Stephen Goldstein, Flagship Studio’s ex-director of business development, explained just how what seemed like a guaranteed hit went horribly, regrettably wrong. Goldstein reminded us first of the happier, more hyped times at Flagship. In October 2007, when the founders of Blizzard North were on…
Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy creator Keita Takahashi gave Game Developers Conference attendees a chance to learn “All About Noby Noby Boy” today, including that the game was originally developed on the Xbox 360. Takahashi showed off an early prototype of the title, way before it was bound for release via the PlayStation Network.…
Masato Kuwahara, project leader of the Nintendo DSi Hardware group, has a storied history of crafting new hardware prototypes, including a good amount of portable Nintendo game machines that never saw the light of day. Included in those is the unreleased, dual-card capable Nintendo DSi, a hardware design that was rejected at the near-final stages…
Mode
Follow us
