All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

The delayed update for the Xbox 360's Game Room, featuring Pitfall! and Super Breakout, will arrive this Wednesday, May 5, according to a representative from Krome Studios.

Prompted by last week's tweet by an Xbox Europe representative -- saying that Game Room content had been "delayed until further notice" -- coupled with the unfortunate layoffs at developer Krome Studios, we followed up to find out if Game Room development had been affected by the developer's current situation. A Microsoft representative stated, "We're working to bring you additional Game Room titles as soon as possible! We appreciate your patience, and we've been thrilled by the community response so far. ... We enjoy working with Krome and they are doing a great job on Game Room."

Asked directly whether it was still developing Game Room content, a Krome spokesperson told Joystiq, "Krome is continuing to work on Game Room content. The recent layoffs have not impacted Game Room at all or any of our titles in development. We're looking forward to the release of new Game Packs for Game Room."

#screens Ready at Dawn is back on the Playstation Portable development train, promising to top their best portable effort and one of the greatest games ever made for the PSP with God of War: Ghost of Sparta. More »

It looks like we finally know what the "Spartans Stand Tall" teaser site was all about. Sony has just announced God of War: Ghost of Sparta, a new PSP-exclusive game developed by Ready At Dawn Studios, the same team responsible for Chains of Olympus. "Excitement for the God of War franchise is at an all-time high and we're thrilled to continue that momentum with God of War: Ghost of Sparta," Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA, said in a press release. "This new adventure will showcase Kratos on PSP like never before in an experience that fans and newcomers can enjoy on the go, anytime, anywhere."

Ghost of Sparta features Kratos once again, this time in an adventure that takes place after the first God of War on PS2 and delves into Kratos' rise to power. According to Sony, Ready At Dawn will utilize "state-of-the-art visual technologies" that will allow "higher quality environments and characters." In addition, Ghost of Sparta will offer "over 25% more gameplay" than its PSP predecessor, while adding more enemies on screen, and a greater number of boss encounters.

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is planned for release "later this year." We expect a lot more to be revealed at E3.

#clips ! But he has an awesome beard. And a big heart. And the song is touching. Depressing as hell, but touching. More »

#psp God of War: Ghost of Sparta is headed to the Playstation Portable later this year and the best part, it's being developed by the folks who made the first, fantastic God of War PSP title. More »

There are some promising releases bookending May, like Lost Planet 2 and Modnation Racers, but the show stopper has to be May 18, which will mark the arrival of a ton of heavy hitters like Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. Oh, and let's not forget the return of Planet Earth's favorite plumber.

If you're ready to start planning your buying strategy, you can flip through our gallery here.

God of War fans –

I’m pleased to share some exciting news involving our favorite Spartan warrior. Fresh off his incredible run in God of War III, Kratos will be coming back to PSP and PSPgo in God of War: Ghost of Sparta!

The last time we saw Kratos on the portable platform was in God of War: Chains of Olympus, a game that coupled stunning visuals with stellar gameplay and is still the highest rated PSP title of all-time on Metacritic.com. So what can you expect this time?

First of all, it’s developed by Ready At Dawn Studios, in close collaboration with SCEA’s Santa Monica Studio, so we have the same talented team that brought you Chains of Olympus — they know the franchise and know what it takes to create an amazing game. I can also tell you from
first-hand experience that we are pushing the limits of what PSP can do with state-of-the-art visual technologies, higher resolution environments, and greater depths of scale. We’re also providing over 25% more gameplay, an improved weapon system, and new magical powers — all enjoyed anytime, anywhere.

Here are a few screens to give you a taste of the action…

As for the storyline, this new adventure will serve as a prequel of sorts, picking up where God of War left off. Ghost of Sparta tells the story of Kratos’ ascension to power as the God of War. In his quest to rid the nightmares that haunt him, Kratos must face his dark past to prove his worthiness to the Gods — a journey that will reveal the origins of lost worlds and finally answer long-awaited questions about Kratos’ tattoo, scar, and family.

Well, that’s all I can tell you right now, but we’ll have plenty more to share as we move closer to E3 and our release later this year, so stay tuned for more God of War: Ghost of Sparta news and be sure to keep an eye on SpartansStandTall.com and http://forums.godofwar.com for updates.

#konami There will be a 2010 release of Konami's venerable football series Pro Evolution Soccer. It will be called Pro Evolution Soccer 2011. If you need a moment to compose yourself, now is the time. More »

#art Oh boy. Remember those professional Mega Man renders we showed you last month? Turns out there are more of them. More »

#nomoreheroes These days the majority of multi-platform games look about the same. Not No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise. More »

Reach could be Bungie's last Halo. Here's why it might also be the best Halo yet.

#art Like movies, the design of games can often be reduced to a set of "building blocks", various elements that you can combine to form the final product. It's an abstract concept, but one that's perfectly illustrated in this...card game. More »

#akb48 You know, why not. That's what ears are for. More »

#screengrab Bring a Nintendo DS! As seen by me. More »

#dreamparty These folks are cosplaying booth companions. While booth companions at most trade shows are decked out in skimpy clothes with a corporate logo, geek event Dream Party is a little different. More »

#ps3 No, no it's not. More »

#wii A state minister from Victoria, Australia has been publicly rebuked after personally campaigning - in parliament - for one of his constituents to be given a Wii. More »

#rip Jack Friedman, the founder of publisher THQ - the guys behind UFC, Dawn of War & Company Of Heroes - passed away yesterday at the age of 70. More »

#netflix Proving that owners of Nintendo's current home console are perfectly happy with "Wii Definition" visuals, it's been disclosed today that "almost" one million Wii users have "participated" in the Wii's Netflix streaming service since its launch last month. More »

#japan Released in Japan, that is. One Japanese man has amassed a collection of all the Xbox 360 games released in The Land of the Rising Sun. More »

Reader CoffeewithChess threw one hell of a b-day for his son. Just look at the amazing treats that party-goers got to scarf down! While they look the part, I don’t think anyone went home a few inches taller, or with an extra life to spare.

#ibm Computing giant IBM will later today unveil CityOne, which is basically SimCity, except IBM made it instead of EA, and the focus is on sustainable cities instead of rampaging UFOs and reticulated splines. More »

You know where The Sims franchise came from, and you know who works on it. You also know the man that’s responsible for the creation of the entire series. What’s left to learn about the long-running, million+ selling Sims? How about you take a look inside the walls of the studio where [...]

A very nice bit of work, done by GoNintendo reader Fabian’s girlfriend. Make sure to hang onto that girl, my friend!

Osaka-based game developer Capcom is known for...developing games. The company's boss now has side business, though. Let's drink to that. No, literally. More »

#comics During the Free Comic Book Day festivities last week, one man in Adelaide, Australia attempted to make off with a pricey old X-Men book. Lucky Spider-Man was on the scene! More »

#art Look what turned up at my house this morning: the large, beautiful art book for Sega's PS3 strategy game Valkyria Chronicles. More »

#playstation3 Hideo Kojima's next major Metal Gear game is coming to the PSP this summer. According to one report, it sounds like Konami might interested in bringing that game to the PlayStation 3 as well. More »

#review Iron Man was cool. I like to think it was the world's first rock n' roll superhero movie, one so confident in its performances and style that it could afford a little swagger. Iron Man 2 does not swagger. More »