| News: Peter Molyneux Sets Games "Journalists" Off AGAIN. |
Peter, Peter, Peter. When will you learn to get a press agent and just stop talking to the media, I mean, after all that's done wonders for other developers out there like...er...well, okay, it's done no one any favours but at least it doesn't start up the frothy mouthed ramblings of the insane to give hope to idiots who care not such things as "common sense" and "the way things work.
You see, Mr Molyneux has decided that he wanted to say "I really would love to redo a version of Syndicate. Syndicate was probably one of my favorites,". Now quite apart from being one of my favourite games of the SNES era I'm mentioning this because he said he'd like to redo it. What Peter Molyneux did NOT say was "We are actively pursuing the rights to Syndicate", or "Syndicate 2 will have...", or even "Work is under way on Syndicate 2". Now this is very important for someone like Peter Molyneux because he always overblows things (just ask anyone who listened to him talk about Fable 1).
Let's set aside the fact he doesn't own the rights to the series, and that if EA saw it as a valid prospect they'd have released about 12,000 versions by now (Including The Simdicates, an all new game where your Syndicate base is kitted out by you with cryo pods, steroid production labs, and MORE!), and let's forget that Molyneux is working on Fable 2, then Dimitri, and then probably something new and equally mysterious. Now that we've set that aside let's concentrate on the fact that Mr Molyneux is not, nor has he hinted at the fact of a new Syndicate. Just thought I'd make this very clear for all the journalists out there with their knickers in a twist.
Yes, the news is all about the fact that Peter Molyneux is not making Syndicate 2...and that makes me a little sad inside. |
| Article: Deconstructing the Role Playing Game |
We've added our first article, and it's a rather good one if we do say so ourselves. Called "Deconstructing the Role Playing Game", we take a look at what it is that that makes a modern RPG and focus our attention on three of the most popular ones.
You can find it here, or by clicking on the Articles button at the top of every page as normal. |
 | Categories: Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, PC, Other
Posted on 19 Mar 2008 by Fnor | 0 Comments |
| News: Easter Video Store Deal |
For just a few short days, in just a few short days, Microsoft will be lowering the the price of some movie rentals on their Video Marketplace to what they should already be.
For 100 points each you'll be able to nab Transformers, Order of the Pheonix, 1408, Naked Gun and Swordfish. Personally I'd recommend both Transformers and 1408.
Still, while we appreciate the gesture Microsoft, we'd honestly rather just see an overall drop in the frankly extortionate prices that already exist. Especially when places like Tesco and Amazon are offering superb deals on movie rentals. Come on, we're not even dealing with an actual disc here! Maybe then some of us will actually use it at normal times, not just during a deal like this. |
| News: Pro Gaming League You've Never Heard of Shuts Down |
The CPL or "Cyberathlete Professional League" has announced its intentions to cease operations immediatelly, and cancel all future events. In the wake of this tragedy I thought I'd try and find out what the heck this thing was because I'd never heard of it.
Apparently this "league" has been running since 1997 and has handed out £1.5m to around 600,000 competitors. Now just look at those numbers. Every year over 11 years they have paid out roughly 23p to every competitor. WOW, what a prize heavy environment to be a professional gamer in!
Let's just forget how much of a joke the term "cyberathlete" is and move straight on to some sarcasm, shall we? I mean with all those amateur videogaming leagues packing in hundreds of spectators to watch each match, and with TV coverage at fever pitch it was obviously time to go pro here, the market was SCREAMING for pro gaming, and the CPL is a casualty of the economic crisis. I mean, seriously, most people do not want to watch someone else play Quake 4 when THEY could be playing Quake 4, it's the way videogames work, they're inclusive, there's very little physical barrier to entry, that's the point.
I don't think I can be bothered to write much more mockery, here is the full story if you can be bothered to read it, or can make it the whole way through without laughing. Maybe if more people take a bath on this we can finally see the end of this lunacy...at least until someone comes up with something MORE insane. |
| News: Lionhead Attempt Association With Classic Comedy |
It seems that Peter Molyneux has run out of jokes to make about Arhurian Legend, the Wizard of Oz, and grumpy local British Bobbies. So much so in fact that he decided he wanted to do jokes about male prostitutes.
There's just one MINOR problem with the joke though. Blackadder got there first. You see, many years ago in the 1980s when there was such a thing as "Well written Television" a character called Edmund Blackadder was forced into being a male prostitute and held up a sign labelled "Get it here". He too had a devillish little beard and moustache. He too had a mole on his cheek.
I can't decide if this is Peter Molyneux ripping off classic comedy, or just trying to do some sort of half baked homage that will never make it into the full game. Then again I'm cycnical like that. It's not like we have anything more interesting to report anyway. |
| News: Datel Cure Brawl Woes |
We just want to make it clear that importing is VERY BAD, and you should never ever do it. Ever. There, that should make sure we keep our Nintendo press access.
Right then. Remember when we said we wouldn't talk about Smash Brothers Brawl any more? Well we lied. The pain of the lack of European release was too much, but Datel have come to our rescue.
Much like the Gamecube days, they've gone and released a new Freeloader designed for the Wii. Do note that from now on we will be calling it the Wiiloader, because even if Datel didn't spot the awesome name potential, we did.
So when it was announced a while back, the question on everyone's lips was "Will Brawl work on a PAL console?". The answer is yes. Sort of. First you need to update your console's firmware to allow for reading of the new dual layer format that Brawl uses. Many users on forums reported nothing but black screens when trying to boot up the game, neglecting to read the damn leaflet that came with the Wiiloader. The one that says "Boot up the Freeloader twice first to allow firmware updates on a disc to run". Idiots. Still, once they'd found this out, the game then worked with no problems.
So there we go. Why wait for the European release when you could be playing US Brawl on your PAL consoles right now? There is no reason!
Head here to grab yourself a Wiiloader for a measly ten quid. |
| News: Rockstar Founder Excites Games Journalists |
Before I write about the rest of this story I must issue a retraction on a previous story. The information about Rockstar co-founder whose name we previously printed as "Dan Mouser" of "Mario Brothers 2 fame" was factually incorrect and we apologise sincerely for any offence that may have taken place. Thank you for your time.
Dan Bowser, of Super Mario Bros. fame, co-founder of Rockstar Games has decided to say stupid stupid things to make games journalists wet themselves. As is being reported by several reputable, and disreputable, Mr Bowser is alleged to have said that a Grand Theft Auto MMO would be "a very compelling proposition" and that a subscription model for it would be the "Holy Grail".
Now I'm genuinely interested here, because he seems to be under the illusion that Realtime Worlds CEO David Jones is still working for him. You see, Mr Jones is currently, and very publicly, working on an MMO, oh yes, one that is set in the modern day and has one faction as Enforcement, the other as Gangs. You know, if it wasn't called APB (or All-Points Bulletin depending on who you ask) I'd just assume it was going to be a GTA title.
Look for the Internet to announce GTA-MMO by Thursday, complete with a feature set from a "trusted" source. Meanwhile we'll stick with stuff said by real people that we can be sarcastic about and have a chance of them caring. |
| News: Harvest Moon for Wii |
Note that we haven't said much about the release of Smash Brothers Brawl in America. It hurts too much, frankly, so this is the last we will speak of the matter.
But come on Europe, chins up! What big release this week could make up for our tears? Well Fire Emblem is out, but we're "off" Nintendo right now so that doesn't count.
Natsume and Rising Star Games to the rescue, then! We don't need no stinking Brawl, we have a Wii version of Harvest Moon Magical Melody this week. And frankly, it looks wonderful. Back to the cute Harvest Moon we all know and love from the SNES days, rather than that atrocious "realistic" style of the first Cube one, it's pretty basic looking but we don't mind.
The back of the box offers a few insights into what we'll be getting up to, including (and you might want to sit down for this) getting married, raising cows, beating rival farmers and interacting with town folk!
Oh, right, that's always the case. Well this also offers features such as the ability to choose where your plot of land is located, multiplayer minigames, Wii specific controls (sigh) and something about collecting lost notes to bring the Harvest Goddess back.
If that wasn't enough, the box blurb ends with the words "This is the most challenging Harvest Moon game ever!". Sold.
Out on 14 March in Europe, with no release in sight for America. So nyah. |
| News: Xbox 360 Price Cut in Europe |
It looks as if the rumours were correct, for once. Well mostly. The Financial Times reported on the facts over the weekend and now we present them to you.
Previously, we reported each Xbox SKU in Europe may be dropping by €50. This isn't actually the case, it would seem, but read on before you start to get upset.
Currently, the "Pro" SKU sells for €339 and will be dropping by €30 all the way down to €299 (about £230).
The biggest cut, though, comes to the "Arcade" SKU. Currently going for €279, it knocks off a massive €80 down to €199 (about £150). So it would seem you can now pick up an Xbox 360 for less than you can get a Wii, so you cheapskates out there no longer need to wrestle with vanishing pointers. |
| News: THQ Reveals Your Worst Nightmares |
Gamers, take a seat, relax, get a drink. Done? Okay, now stay cool here, we need you to be totally calm with this. Remember how when the Balance Board was released we all groaned about how it was the death of "true" gaming? Okay, so maybe that was just me.
THQ have announced that they intend to bring out "All-Star Cheerleading" for the Wii and that it will be using the Balance Board. Now, is it just me or is someone starting to take the mick with Wii games? I realise Nintendo are bringing us quality titles like Mario Galaxy and Smash Brothers Brawl but why are third parties taking the Wii as a licence to release massive amounts of shovelware?
Mind you, when have THQ ever made anything else? |
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