All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

While reports circulated last week that Project Natal would launch sometime in November 2010, Xbox UK boss Neil Thompson says the details were only rumors. Speaking with Eurogamer at a launch event in London for the console's new social media applications, Thompson said the rumors "weren't accurate" and claimed Microsoft has yet to determine "a lot of things" related to the launch of its new motion-sensing technology. According to the rumors, Microsoft was set to ship around five million Project Natal units next fall, alongside 14 supporting titles at a price point that could go as low as $50 (£30). When asked about the rumored details and price, Xbox's head of Europe, Chris Lewis, jokingly added, "Now you know better than to listen to that stuff! We will announce in good time." However, Lewis did remind Eurogamer that Microsoft is striving for "unique" and "compelling" experiences with the technology. "That has to happen and will happen," he said. As long as whatever "happens" doesn't follow Microsoft's traditional Xbox 360 peripheral pricing scheme, we'll be happy.

Media Molecule lead architect Paul Holden said he would like to make a proprietary memory monitoring tool his company developed for the PlayStation 3 available to other studios. Speaking at the Montreal Game Summit, as reported by Develop, Holden said the tool helps map and control memory usage in games, which became necessary during the development of LittleBigPlanet. "It would be great if we could release it for people to use," Holden told the crowd during a Q&A session following his keynote address. "We could definitely get it released to PS3 developers with little difficulty." The tool, named HeapMon, allows software to make and manage numerous requests of the PS3's hardware memory. However, before Media Molecule is able to hand the "very simple tool" off to other development teams, Holden clarified that Sony would first need to approve the decision. We suspect an online petition is in the works, because they work.

A portion of an ONM review… A missed opportunity to right the first game’s wrongs. A by-the-numbers platforming experience.

A portion of a Eurogamer review… Once on-track, few F1 games have managed to be as encouraging when it comes to pushing yourself to attack corners and better your lap time, and fewer still have proved as much fun. This may not be the revolution the Formula 1 sub-genre has been waiting for, but you’re not [...]

I always pictured myself as a version of Zangief that let himself go. Maybe one day I too could have hairy ankles!

Another game with bath scenes. Is this really going to add anything to the next Luminous Arc, or is it just a way to entice gamers to make the purchase? I guess we’ll find out when the title launches.

Get the full details here (thanks CoffeewithChess!)

Having gotten the obligatory joke out of the way in the first post about SouthPeak's Crime Scene, we're now free to look at, you know, the game and stuff. And it certainly delivers on the promise of the title! It's basically a crime scene on the DS for you to explore. You have to comb through whole rooms, collecting fingerprints, footprints and other evidence. You get to tweeze -- and swab. Crime Scene is one of the few M-rated games on DS -- joining an elite club comprising games like Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, the Dementiums, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and, of course, Touch the Dead. With that rating, it may turn out to be a more realistic, serious take on crime than the other cop games on DS.

Should EA cut down the nets or consider this a rebuilding year?

Start your engines.

This cake was dropped off at Capcom headquarters to celebrate the release of Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles. Now, the burning question is, will the cake be better than the game?!

Sequel to one of the biggest games ever gets its face.

Check out this latest list of trademarks from the Big N…. Book Room Music Room Picture Book Room Manga Room Local Room I wonder what these could be all about. Sounds like some sort of Pictochat-like service to me, with various rooms for users to enter. Would Nintendo really let us do this with our DSis?

What are these cute little rabbids getting into now.

If you were planning on picking up a PSP Go for that special physical-media-phobic someone in your life, you might want to hurry over to Amazon where (today only) the purchase of a PSP Go will net you a bonus $50 to spend in Amazon's PlayStation Network store however you like. Just make sure that the recipient spends their new loot the right way: on the Andy Dick PAIN DLC -- twenty five times! No, we don't care if they have a PS3 or not, they're missing the point.

The Phantasy Star Zero soundtrack contains 95 songs, and releases in Japan on January 28th, 2010.

Aussie dev gets behind DSiWare in a big way.

Below you’ll find some links from NWR concerning Activision’s Tony Hawk: RIDE press event… Experiences with Tony Hawk: RIDE launch event Tony Hawk: RIDE impressions Tony Hawk: RIDE impressions 2 Tony Hawk interview NWR: Was there ever any talk of making the game with the Wii Balance Board? TH: We got a Wii Balance Board when it was first available in [...]

Our verdict on the little one's portable adventure.

Not to be overshadowed by BioWare's latest effort to depict Mass Effect 2 in one epic cover, 2K Games has released the box art for BioShock 2 -- and it doesn't win any points for originality or cleanliness. Just like the first game's cover, it features Big Daddy (this time he's you!) and Little Sister (not you). Only now, everything's behind cracked, grimy glass and the logo's covered in barnacles. Eww. You can lay your eyes on high-res versions of the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC covers for the sequel in the gallery below. You might want to put on some rubber gloves and grab a can of Scrubbing Bubbles before you click on 'em, though. [Thanks, Geoff]

Tetris definitely puts you in a zen state of mind. Sure, things might get a little hectic when you reach the faster levels, but for a large chunk of the game you can almost put yourself on auto-pilot. You don’t really play Tetris, so much as you experience it!

It's no longer one editor's opinion: Nintendo's latest offering is great. Check out who chimes in with their two cents.

Wow, guys, you really like your Super Smash Bros. Brawl, eh? Nintendo Channel data reveals the fighter has spun around in Wii disc drives for a collective 100 million hours and then some. On average, each gamer has put just over 73 total hours. To put some perspective on the figure, some of Nintendo's most notable titles haven't even come close to approaching 100 million hours played. Mario Kart Wii has only been played for 46 million hours, while Super Mario Galaxy has managed a mere 34 million hours in total. Wii Sports, however, remains the obvious top game played, netting a total play time of 105 million hours. [Via Coffee with Games & Go Nintendo]

More screens here SAN FRANCISCO, CA – November 17, 2009 – Today, Ubisoft announced that two games from the brand new Style Lab(TM) series are now available on store shelves in North America. Building upon Ubisoft’s leadership on the Nintendo DS(TM) system, the Style Lab games are developed specifically to take advantage of the Nintendo [...]

You may have completed Metroid Prime Trilogy and begun to enter Full Excitement Mode[TM] for next year's Metroid Other M, but there could be even more Metroid in store under Prime's banner of first-person action. Nintendo's Kensuke Tanabe, who oversaw development on the Prime games for Nintendo at Retro Studios, recently told ONM that Nintendo is "always planning to make new games in the Metroid Prime series." Tanabe didn't speak of a continuation on Wii, but noted that depending "on the timing and the situation, we cannot deny the possibility of realising it on DS or DSi." Though Retro hasn't isolated itself from the franchise, we know Nintendo isn't shy about sharing Samus with external developers. Just don't call it "Metroid Dread," guys. Bad memories.

There was no bag big enough at GameStop for this bad boy.

[geekadelphia.com] Joystiq has confirmed that the blurry video and NeoGAF forum member's claims of a Splinter Cell Conviction demo voucher shipping inside Xbox 360 versions of Assassin's Creed II were nothing more than an enticing balloon full of hot air. As the picture you see above reveals, copies of ACII sold by GameStop included a Splinter Cell Conviction leaflet meant to solicit pre-orders of Ubisoft's next big game, while a similar leaflet (included in our Amazon.com copy) contains a URL and code ("CONV1C71ON") for ... ringtones and wallpapers? Yes, sad, but true. Looks like we got our hopes up for nothing, folks. [Thanks Eric!]

Every major Square Enix release comes with a limited edition hardware bundle in Japan. The upcoming PSP-exclusive Kingdom Hearts prequel is no different. This Birth by Sleep silver PSP-3000 will be available on January 9, 2010 for ¥22,000 (about $250). Unlike other LE bundles, this package only contains the branded PSP system you see above and a copy of the game. We're a little disappointed that Square and Sony didn't make a special edition PSP Go bundle, as that's something we'd love to see. Perhaps that's being set aside for when Square Enix finishes its other big PSP games: The 3rd Birthday and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

An exclusive look at the field of honor.