| GameBump |

E3 2008: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts Images

Aaron Dunlap — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:57:38 -0500

Microsoft has released these first images of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts for the Xbox 360. The game is developed by Rare and is said to be available this November.

Launch Gallery: Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts

(8 images)

New Condemned 2: Bloodshot Trailer

Shiva Stella — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:42:48 -0600

Monolith has published a new trailer of its Condemned 2: Bloodshot, which you can think of as a harsher, grittier, meaner, and bloodier Condemned with a touch of an "I'm bad-ass because I do all the dirty work you can't handle" attitude that I'm not particularly fond of. Guess I'll just have to trust Monolith not to let me down with the sequel.

Condemned 2 releases for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on March 11. You'll be paying $60.

Hot Shots Golf 5 Finally Coming Stateside

Brian Mohr — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:34:10 -0600

Hot Shots Golf 5 has already been out in Japan since the summer. Sony finally confirmed a timetable for a release in the U.S., March 2008.

No official date was given by Clap Hanz, the developer of Hot Shots, although they did give a run down of features including a new shot system, online play, bigger courses, new courses, more detailed putting, downloadable content and of course the crazy characters you expect.

New Condemned 2: Bloodshot Screenshots

Solomon Lee — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:02:54 -0600

Sega has published new screenshots of Condemned 2: Bloodshot for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The release date still remains unconfirmed at this time.

Check the link to view more images.

New Assassin's Creed Trailer, Same Groovy Music, Oh and Screenshots

Shiva Stella — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 09:48:44 -0600

Ubisoft has published another official trailer for its Assassin's Creed, set to launch on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on November 13 (available Nov. 14). Scores are beginning to trickle in, but at this point there are only two of them as follows:

100 - GamesRadar: "With its riveting story, beautiful visuals and surprisingly lifelike world, Assassin's Creed is an incredibly deep, enjoyable game that kept us addicted from beginning to bizarre end."
95 - Game Informer: "Its stunning visual style, high concept story, and wildly open level design are like nothing else, even if too much repetition begins to frustrate in the later hours. Its a game people will still be talking about five years from now."

Check out the trailer at the jump. It's got the same groovy music you should be used to by now.

[Update] New screenshots are also available, viewable here.

New Condemned 2: Bloodshot Visuals

Shiva Stella — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:40:09 -0500

Sega has published four new gruesome screenshots of its Condemned 2: Bloodshot for the Xbox 360. The title is the sequel to Condemned, in which players were cast as a framed FBI agent on the hunt for a serial killer. New murderers, tools, and lots of other goodies will be available to fans once Condemned 2 launches sometime next year. Gross, yes?

Hot Shots Tennis In the Works?

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:38:00 -0500

The latest issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu released information about Minna no Tennis or in America would be Hot Shots Tennis.

The game is a tennis version of the popular golf Sony golf series and is slated to release in Japan September 14th for the PlayStation 2. According to the article, tennis will feature the same art and simple gameplay that is seen in the golf titles by just featuring a two button system of circle to swing and X to lob.

Currently there is no word when and if Hot Shots Tennis will make it's way stateside.

Originally written by Brian Mohr

Sega Announces Condemned 2: Bloodshot For PS3, 360

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Fri, 11 May 2007 13:57:00 -0500

Sega has announced that Monolith is currently developing a sequel to its psychological thriller on the Xbox 360 and PC, Condemned, entitled Condemned 2: Bloodshot.

The game is in the works for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and once again casts players as Ethan Thomas, former FBI agent, as he uses new forensic tools to track down new serial killers in his quest to locate his missing partner. The game also features online multiplayer capabilities complete with a deathmatch mode that offers the "most brutal hand-to-hand combat experience the first person genre has ever seen."

Condemned 2: Bloodshot will keep gamers on the edge of their seats, said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America. Experience all the tension, psychological terror, and a variety of first-person hand-to-hand fighting mechanics in this innovative atmospheric thriller gamers have been longing for.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot is currently slated for a 2008 launch in both Europe and North America. You can check out an image of the "new" Ethan Thomas below... Originally written by Shiva Stella

New Trailer, Screens for Hot Brain

Shiva Stella — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:12:00 -0500

This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Midway has published a new trailer and screenshots for its Hot Brain, a PlayStation Portable exclusive scheduled to launch this summer. The title's host character, Professor Ed Warmer, is voiced by Fred Willard; the game also features 15 different exercises "designed to raise your brain temperature" (the "hotter" your brain is, the "smarter" you rate). Here's the scoop from Midway:Hot Brain is a game that engages the mind through a series of puzzles and challenges designed to raise the activity and temperature of your brain. Hot Brain presents challenging and fun mental activities that help ignite your mind in areas like logic, memory, math, language and concentration. Exclusive to the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, the game allows you to test your skills in several single player modes or you can play with up to three people via ad-hoc connection. Whether you're an expert or a beginner, a robust tutorial mode makes the game accessible and enjoyable to people of all ages.Enjoy.

divxMovie('http://files.gaminghorizon.com/HB_Willard_MKT_Movie_FINAL_Wide.divx',true);

Stuart Little 3 Ships To Stores

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 23:03:00 -0600

SEGA of America today announced the release of Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure for the PlayStation 2 console.

"Stuart Little is a classic character whose adventures have been entertaining children for more than 60 years," said Rick Naylor, director of marketing, SEGA of America. "Video games are a perfect fit for Stuart; it's fun to explore a big family house from the vantage point of a mouse."

Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure is rated "E" for Everyone' by the ESRB, and is available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $29.95

Originally written by Tim Grube

GH Review: Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (PSP)

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Sat, 07 May 2005 01:02:00 -0500

This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Brian Mohr.

Hot Shots Golf for the PlayStation was a big hit and the success has continued over four versions up to and including the PlayStation 2. Now we see the title being featured on the PlayStation Portable. The game isnt as realistic as Tiger Woods PGA Tour, but it does feature impressive physics and attractive graphics.

Open Tee is a wonderful translation of the golfing title and is very similar to Hot Shots Golf: Fore! for the PlayStation 2. Beyond the slight drawback of graphics only because its on the PSP, the game looks and feels great. It even includes all the meters previously seen in Hot Shots Golf: Fore! like the distance meter from the hole at the bottom of the screen, wind meter and more.

The most important thing that is still the same for Hot Shots Golf is the controls. They are easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Its still the simple three tap system to hit the ball and determine your accuracy, so the game has yet to update itself with the analog stick and thus we see that this title makes very little use of the stick. The controls are direct and accurate just as if you were playing the PlayStation 2 version. The controls remain the same as well as you can put spin on the ball by making use of the D-pad.

The graphics are very impressive especially for a PSP title. The characters still have the anime look from the Japanese release late last year, but the courses are landscaped beautifully and have a lot of depth. The courses are a little limited as to where you can shoot, but they still look great. The menus in the game are good and the screen certainly shows off the bright colors of the courses, players and more.

The biggest thing going for Hot Shots though is the tremendous replay value. Despite only six courses, youll find yourself playing this game a long time. You start out with one course and two players, but you can unlock up to 10 players, six courses, five caddies and a whole bunch of customizable items that you can put on your character.

Finally, the sound is very solid. Each character has his own cartoony voice and they all react appropriately to shots and fit the action on-screen, but what is good about this is that the voicework is not overly done. The music in the menus and game are calm and relaxing and fit the nature of the game. The in-game effects like slices, putts and more are also very impressive.

The first thing that youll notice is that there arent that many courses in the PSP version. Its half the amount that was found in the most recent Hot Shots for PlayStation 2, but at least there is some selection.

The bigger problem though is that it will take you a lot of time to unlock new characters and courses. This is both good and bad, but players should be prepared to spend a good amount of time playing the Alps course because youll be there for a while. Youll find yourself unlocking watches, sunglasses, outfits and more which is nice, but Id like to get a chance to play with some of the other characters on different courses to see my variety much quicker.

More importantly though is the fact that every one of Sonys titles to date has been online except Hot Shots Golf. This was particularly disappointing as you certainly would see a lot more replay value from the game, but at least there is the ad-hoc wireless play so you can play locally. The wireless play features no delays or problems and it even allows you to heckle your competition by pressing various buttons. Its a nice addition, but certainly online play would have been better.

Finally, the game does have a few modes of play including multiplayer, stroke and challenge as well as a new mode called putting which allows you to attempt various putts on the greens. Its not the most exciting thing in the world, but certainly does add something to the game. Its just too bad that Clap Hanz couldnt have added miniature golf or even better, the option to create your own courses. Those features would have been a nice addition and something a lot of people would have enjoyed.

Overall, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee is a solid PSP title with impressive depth and plenty of hours of gameplay. The graphics, sound and controls are all very solid. The controls specifically are easy to pickup, but hard to master making Hot Shots a game youll go back to years after its release. The golf titles only drawbacks are that there is no online play, not too many modes of play and it is very difficult to unlock items, but beyond this the game is good and fun to play. Open Tee is a wonderful translation of the Hot Shots series for Sonys handheld and the game is certainly one of the best PSP games to date.

Hot Shots has easy-to-pick-up controls. They do get more challenging over time, though.

The courses and players are bright and colorful and standout on the PSPs screen.

The voicework fits the reactions on-screen. The music is upbeat.

The game is fun to pick up and play; despite only six courses it features a solid challenge.

Theres a lot to unlock including items, courses and players. Youll find plenty to do.

GH Preview: Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee (PSP)

Brian Mohr — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 08:46:36 -0600

This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Like with all their previous systems, Sony always brings the most popular titles in their library to the latest unit, and in this case they are bringing the hit comedic title Hot Shots Golf to the PlayStation Portable.

Graphically the game looks just as good as Hot Shots Golf Fore! that came out last year for the PlayStation 2. The courses are very detailed with mountains, trees, statues and more. The game is very smooth without any lag and all the holes, courses and characters are very colorful. The characters are in full cartoon detail like all previous versions of the game.

Gameplay for Hot Shots Golf is very easy with the simple three tap button system for shooting. The beauty of this shooting system is that whether youve played the game before or not, youll quickly pick it up and thus anybody can play.

As far as options for Hot Shots, currently what is known is that the title will include ad hoc wireless support allowing up to eight players to battle it out in a tournament or two-person match in close proximity to each other. There has been no official word on whether the game will include online support, but currently just about every launch title from Sony has that option, so were hoping to see that option for Hot Shots as well. The game will also feature miniature golf, a nice addition that should provide some replay value for the title.

Beyond that we know that Hot Shots Golf will feature six brand-new 18-hole courses. The game will also include a total of ten characters which you can customize with over 50 body parts, accessories, balls and clubs. Such options include unlocking clothes, hair and improvements on your skills.

When you actually play the game your performance will be tracked so you can see how your play compares to previous attempts. Hot Shots for the PSP will feature the standard replay mode so you can look at your shots again; the game will also allow you to save your replays so if you have an impressive shot you can watch it again.

Finally, voicework is currently only given to us in Japanese, since thats what is currently out. Although we should be able to expect a slight change in the character models and voicework so that they are more westernized. The music is very calm and easy-going, similar to previous versions of the game and just what youd expect for a golf title.

There are few questions concerning the game, first is that it is a little disappointing that Clap Hanz only got six courses in, while the latest PlayStation 2 version has 13. Other than that, hopefully Sony will confirm that the game will support online play upon its release; finally it is a little disappointing the game couldnt make it in time for launch.

The latest Hot Shots incarnation for the PlayStation Portable certainly brings the same popular golf formula to the handheld system. The characters and courses are filled with color and detail literally translating the title directly to the new handheld. The only drawback we have for the game is that it is too bad it couldnt be a launch title, but considering the translation Clap Hanz is working on for the U.S. release, we can wait until its ready. Beyond that it is too bad that there are only six courses, but for a first handheld title thatll have to do. The only other question right now is if the game support online play. But as for now, Hot Shots Golf looks just as impressive in graphics, options, and detail as previous versions.