Pegatron Technology is one popular company, it seems. After being handpicked to produce the next-generation iPhones by Apple, Microsoft has also chosen them to build their Natal devices – in the same Taiwanese factory, no less.
Also, enjoy this Natal prototype image (on a camera tripod, not the official Natal one), probably taken with an iPhone. Sweet irony.
Ah, the humble Tamagotchi. So many lives were lost to one of the most despicable fads ever to grace the hands of the fashion conscious prepubescents of the nineties. These charmless pixel pets were the very bane of my primary school life, only to disappear as soon as the Pokémon epidemic erupted. Since then however, the virtual pet genre has meandered its way into video games, with the likes of Nintendogs winning the hearts of the current casual market generation. And now there’s a new one.
Enter EyePet, Sony’s latest ploy to justify the motion sensing PlayStation Eye camera, which has been woefully underused since its low-key introduction in 2007. The PS3 isn’t exactly renowned for fostering digital pets however, and as a result, its hardcore fan base will most likely dismiss it as a Nintendo reject marketed for puny children. But then, to a degree, that is exactly what I am.
It doesn’t seem too long ago at all since we were all traversing the barren wastelands of Bethesda’s Fallout 3, helped in part by the continued release of DLC after the initial game, but the franchise hasn’t been sitting on its hands for very long.
A new teaser trailer (a fancy name for a video which shows you a lot of nothing very much) has been placed on the official website for everyone (so long as you’re over 18) to watch and debate on what they imagine will feature in the upcoming Fallout: New Vegas.
It’s the Store update I’ve been waiting all week for: the online playable demo for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has landed. See you out on the battlefield.
Elsewhere, this week’s Store update also includes an online playable demo for Alien vs. Predator, along with the usual wave of special offers, minis and a host of downloadable content for titles including Dante’s Inferno, inFamous and Age of Booty. Oh, and Europe finally received Final Fantasy VIII.
Lock and load for this week’s update after the break.
The smart fellows at sister gaming e-zine Pixel Hunt realized, like the rest of us, that a significant amount of great, or at the very least “anticipated”, games are coming out this year. They also thought it might be a good idea if someone took at look at, well, all of them.
So, they rounded up some of the best writers from the likes of IGN and Hyper to tell you why you should, or shouldn’t, take a second look at the plethora of titles hitting our streets over the next 12 months.
The best part? 60 pages of easily packaged, produced and gloriously coloured previews are yours for a single dollar. I liked it so much I paid $10, so you can take my word for it. You can grab it here, or hit the jump for more info.
The speculation over Project Needlemouse is finally over, as SEGA has now officially announced the final game will be known as Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1. The long overdue 2D reboot for the franchise will be available as an episodic download on PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii this summer and will be a direct sequel to Sonic & Knuckles released 16 years ago for the Megadrive.
In addition, SEGA also announced the game will sport online leaderboards and will be utilising motion control for the PS3 and Wii iterations.
You can check out a nostalgic teaser trailer after the break, courtesy of Gamespot.
I loved the heady, Shenmue-enriched days of the Dreamcast. So much so that if Sega were to announce a successor to its outcast little console, I’d hardly be able to contain my excitement – I’d probably have to go outside and kick a pigeon or something just to calm myself down.
So, you can understand my initial glee when I stumbled across some info outlining a motion-controlled, Sega-branded console: the “Zone Sega”, slated for release this summer! In 2001, Sega announced that it would be discontinuing support for the Dreamcast, and the hostile world of hardware altogether, focusing its vastly experienced hands on software alone. Has there been a change of heart?
Read more… »
There hasn’t been a better time to make a 2D Fighting game since the halcyon days of Street Fighter 2. After over a decade of relative inactivity, Street Fighter 4 (though I don’t like to admit it) has single-handedly revived the genre: a genre that was thought to be dead by pretty much everyone except the hardcore enthusiasts, who kept it alive via national tournaments. The franchise is now gloriously revered and celebrated worldwide once again.
Now, Capcom is reviving the “Versus” series, which has thus far consisted of Capcom characters fighting against characters from comic publisher Marvel. This time around, though, Capcom’s characters are pitted against characters from the famous anime company Tatsunoko. While less popular in America, Tatsunoko is renowned in Japan, and responsible for many popular animated TV series. Read more… »
It looks as though the iPad will be getting a few gaming options aside from just being an eBook reader that doesn’t last for ten hours. Love it or hate it, HeroCraft has teamed up with Paradox Interactive to bring the original Majesty to the iPad in full resolution. Majesty is a real-time strategy game in which you have no direct control over your units, instead using bounties to influence your heroes to save your kingdom. It was well received by critics and still maintains a cult following today.
Retooling the game for the mobile platform should present some interesting challenges, but if its pulled off correctly, this could be a huge step forward for iPad gaming, even if the first games released are older, cult classics. Majesty is extremely suited to multi-touch controls, as one of the main features in the game is placing bounties for your heroes to collect, which requires frequent scrolling and precise selection.
What do you think? Will you be getting an iPad for gaming or general use?
Last week, we divulged the news that SEGA was running a contest among its community members. This contest, which tasked members with drawing and submitting 100 pieces of concept art featuring Badniks (the baddies from the Sonic franchise) was backed up with a promise for more information on Project Needlemouse, the next adventure in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe.
Today, SEGA fulfilled that promise. 16 years ago today, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was released. It also marked the beginning of the end for Sonic, as many fans and critics alike have decried most entries in the series since. However, Project Needlemouse promises to take Sonic back to his 2-D roots, and with today’s revelation in the form of two very familiar sights to fans, it looks poised to deliver. Read more… »
In a nutshell, Hand of Greed is a puzzle game that I have dubbed part of the “hand in the cookie jar sub-genre”. The object is to steal a multitude of gems and coins from various trap boxes without getting your fingers sliced off. It features tons of different levels (boxes), and from what I’ve played of it, they’re quite varied.
The end result is incredibly fun, to the point where I actually feel the figurative pain of my avatar when his hand is sliced to bits. It’s an incredibly unique puzzle concept that I would have easily paid $5 for. Try it out!
While a few of us (well just one of us) drooled and boasted well on behalf of the PSPgo, the fact is the system is dreamcasting itself (Zing!) at a much faster rate too. Sales reports have been terrible, game selection is feeble, and the price is too expensive. I’m no financial executive, but it looks like you have a bad product on your hands.
Sources confirmed with Gamervision, that the PSPgo is going into crisis mode, and will be revamping itself with a price drop and a heavy marketing campaign. When it’s suppose to occur is still unknown, but with the recent sales figures, consumers are expecting it very quickly. Read more… »
