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GB Review: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (DS)

Solomon Lee — Mon, 04 May 2009 19:42:14 -0500

Echoes of Time is a fun hack n slash multiplayer game. The game improves upon its Ring of Fates predecessor with a greater emphasis on multiplayer combat and teamwork. Though the Wii version leaves much to be desired, the game is still a solid title on the DS to be enjoyed with friends. Square Enixs efforts to allow both DS and Wii players to connect and play together are admirable, but one that definitely needs to be tweaked concerning the Wiis control scheme. Echoes of Time should keep fans happy for some time until the arrival of the upcoming Wii title, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Ring of Fates was Square Enixs follow-up to their Gamecube title: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. After receiving fairly positive reviews, Square has returned to tweak the multiplayer features with a greater emphasis on combat in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Though the gameplay is similar, the ability to play with your friends over a Wi-Fi connection on both the DS and Wii versions is a welcome addition to the series. Echoes of Time combines the best of Ring of Fates and its Crystal Chronicles Gamecube brethren into a fun, light-hearted RPG for both casual and experienced players.

The story tells the tale of a young hero who reaches his or her sixteenth birthday. According to village customs, every young villager participates in a special ceremony by defeating hordes of monsters in the dark forest that surrounds the village. The victorious are crowned with a glowing crystal found in a forest clearing guarded by Sherlotta, a fellow villager. However, a village girl falls gravely ill on the brink of the villages celebration that sends the hero on a mission to acquire the items needed for a cure.

Combat in Echoes of Time is similar to the earlier Ring of Fates DS title. You can attack, pick up and drop and jump in the open field in battle. There are four tribes are available: Clavats, Yukes, Selkies and the Lilties. You can engage the enemy with standard attacks, charge attacks (powerful attack that leaves you temporarily vulnerable) or magic attacks by acquiring various spells. This time around, you can either grab your friends or partner up with the A.I. to form a party. At the start, you can customize your party with as many warriors, mages or tribe kinsmen and kinswomen as you like. Towns and villages hold save crystals with most locations situated around a trotted path on the world map. A diary is kept by the main character that contains the chronology of events and adventures throughout the game.

You can assign different tactics for your A.I. party members in battle that includes Protect Yourself, Do Your Best, Just Follow Me and Go Nuts With Magic. You can add and drop party members at the Adventurers Guild in town prior to your quest. For multiplayer coop, you can team up with your friends via Nintendos Wi-Fi connection. You can easily communicate with your party members with a communication panel that features phrases like Attack Together, Ill take this one and Hit it. Phrases are customizable with a total of twelve phrases available for you to create your own unique message.

Echoes of Time allows you, just like its predecessors, to pick up and drop items, barrels and enemies at will. This is necessary on various quests to solve puzzles and unlock doors. Fighting enemies helps not only to gain experience but also helps you to acquire materials to place custom orders in town. By doing this, you save lots of money that would otherwise be spent on scrolls and materials at Custom Fabrications.

Visually, the game has polished character designs and detailed environments. After a short run, the Wii version is essentially a ported DS game. The graphics are only slightly improved with a rather mediocre control scheme using the Wii remote. Between the Wii and DS version, the latter is preferable as Echoes of Time was originally designed with Nintendos handheld in mind. The soundtrack is soothing and accompanies the game quite well with its light hearted and relaxed musical tunes.

Regrettably, the A.I. party members are more trouble than they are worth as they will often miss platform jumps, fall into lava pits and stand around idly while your enemies are attacking you. Echoes of Time shines in the multiplayer aspect as the single player adventure mode is very short-lived. Regarding the portability and the convenience to play with your friends, both Wii and DS owners can connect online with one another for quests. However, I personally recommend the DS version as the Wii online interface to join other quests is not very user-friendly at all.

Five New Guitar Hero Titles Coming in 2009

Zach Lott — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:14:39 -0500

Activision has announced that it will continue to milk the Guitar Hero franchise, revealing that five new iterations, including one based off of the works of Van Halen, will make their way to store shelves in 2009, according to Eurogamer.

The releases of Hard Rock Van Halen, Guitar Hero 5, DJ Hero, and Band Hero will span four platforms (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and PS2) and should occur within the span of a few months during the second half of the year. Activision also has plans to release another Guitar Hero: On Tour title for the DS during 2009.

It seems that, for the time being, the oversaturation of the rhythm game market will continue unabated.

Prinny Game Now Available.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:43:07 -0600

NIS's game about explosive blue demon penguins who consider fanny packs to the the pinnacle of modern fashion has been released to wreak havoc on non-believers. Feel free to pick up this maddeningly hard gem for the PSP at your local retailer or hit up NISA's awesomely named Rosenqueen.com. Enjoy.

Virtual Console Update For 2-16-09: Evasive Space, Life Force

Zach Lott — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:03:44 -0600

The weekly Virtual Console and WiiWare updates are here, making available two new games for download: Evasive Space, a new WiiWare title, and Life Force, a classic NES shooter. The former is 1,000 Wii points, while the latter will cost you 500.

Hit the jump for details on each title.

WiiWare

Evasive Space (Yukes Company of America, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): Launch a one-of-a-kind mission to rescue the stars. The universe is going dark, and it's up to you, Konki the Stellar Guardian, to set things right. Dr. Dark Matter and his roving band of space thieves have stolen many of the Constellation Stones that make up the heavens. It's time to suit up, power up, recover the Stones and once again bring light to the night sky. Using the Wii Remote controller's unique pointer capabilities, simply point and thrust Konki through 20 dangerous time- and collection-based missions in the harshest of environments. Navigate through narrow, mazelike astral caves riddled with space worms, steam pipes and mining drills. Explore vast space stations while avoiding turret fire, mines and huge crushing gears. Weave through cluttered asteroid fields and gaseous planetary rings. Evade the hazards, pick up precious items and ship upgrades, and save the Constellation Stones before the night sky is lost forever.

Virtual Console

Life Force (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): This classic shooter, originally ported to the NES in August 1988, is a spin-off of the seminal Gradius series. Pilot the Vic Viper through six stages of intense action, alternating between horizontally and vertically scrolling environments, and take on wave after wave of enemies. Destroy particular enemies throughout the game (which takes place within the body of an enormous alien) to release power-up capsules and equip your ship with your choice of more powerful weapons, extra speed and shields. Utilize the power-ups carefully, though, as a fearsome guardian lurks at the end of each stage and won't be easily defeated. You can go it alone or bring along a friend to take on the challenge simultaneously. Do you have what it takes to save your planet?

Nintendo's EarthBound Gameplan: Cold Water on the Crotch.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:40:47 -0600

In a move that, honestly, surprises no one, Nintendo has essentially shelved plans of releasing the best SNES RPG (empirical fact; eat it FF/CT fans) on Virtual Console. Earthbound fans, accustomed to being the red-headed, freckled, bastard step-children of a drunken, abusive Nintendo, have long since given up hope of Mother 3 or 1 ever being officially translated. In fact, they actually got so down and out over it that they decided that the only way to ever see a translaton was to do it on their own. That being said, at least there was some glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, if they wished hard enough Earthbound would be released on VC and the glorious throngs who would show that there was in fact a market for the title would convince Nintendo to release Mother 3 in America with the only currency that currently holds currency with Nintendo, curren... cash. Alas due to any number of possibilities it will never happen. Move along, nothing to see here. Please, kindly, click the link if you wish to know more. I think I may go take up drinking.

Nintendo Constructing New R&D Center

Zach Lott — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:23:12 -0600

The news out of Japan is that Nintendo, despite forecasting lower profits for 2009, is set to begin construction on a new research and development center, according to Kotaku.

The center will be built on a 40,000 square meter lot that was formerly a golf range and was procured last year for 12.8 billion yen.

Nintendo is planning on integrating it with their existing R&D complex and will use it to develop new software and do research for new hardware. It should be interesting to see if they use it as a casual games division or for something else.

Japanese Metroid Website Reveals Potential Prime Spinoff

Zach Lott — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:50:42 -0600

Excellent news for Metroid fans: 1up has discovered a banner on the official Japanese Metroid website that declares that "Another Side Story" set in the Metroid universe is "coming soon."

Furthermore, the Japanese text below translates to "Follow Metroid Prime's history from the perspective of the Space Pirates," most likely meaning that the project, if a game instead of a manga, as 1up points out, would let players play as a space pirate instead of Samus.

Don't get too excited in case Nintendo later reveals it to be an online manga similiar to what they've done in the past, but stay tuned, as if this turns into a game, we'll let you know.

Chinese Democracy Headed to Rock Band This Spring

Zach Lott — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:08:20 -0600

It took over fifteen years and millions and millions of dollars, but Chinese Democracy, Guns N' Roses' newest album, finally hit store shelves last year, and now it seems like the folks at MTV are planning to bring it to Rock Band.

In an interview with Billboard back in December, lead singer Axl Rose said that the release would be at the end of this month, but MTV has now changed that to "spring."

Rose mentioned that Harmonix "felt the record - based on the nature and complexity of the depth of instrumentation - deserved a bit more attention and some more involved elements than they've generally dealt with. I have no idea what that means but it's my understanding they were very enthusiastic."

Well, we don't understand what that means, either, but be on the lookout for the release in the next couple of months.

New Batch of Star Trek Online Images

Zach Lott — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:43:19 -0600

Cryptic Studios has released a fresh batch of images for the upcoming MMO Star Trek Online, and we've got them here for your viewing pleasure. Check them out.

Launch Gallery: Star Trek Online

(20 images)

Prince of Persia DLC Not Coming to PC

Zach Lott — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:18:42 -0600

Here's a story for those of you who played Prince of Persia on the PC: Big Download is reporting that Ubisoft has chosen to release the game's upcoming DLC pack, which continues the storyline, only on the 360 and PS3.

From Ubisoft's community manager via the Ubisoft message boards:

"Unfortunately for business reasons we won't be seeing any PoP DLC appear. Sorry guys!"

While unfortunate for PC gamers, the expansion will make its way to the Xbox Live Marketplace and Playstation Network on February 26.

Mario Kart Wii, GTA IV Among 2008's Top Sellers (Editorial)

Zach Lott — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:20:56 -0600

Over at Joystiq they're reporting that the NPD, Enterbrain, and GfK Chart-Track numbers for software sales from the past year have been compiled, revealing the industry's top-selling titles for 2008 in the U.S., U.K. and Japan:

Mario Kart Wii - 8.94 million
Wii Fit - 8.31 million
Grand Theft Auto IV - 7.29 million
Super Smash Bros. Brawl- 6.32 million
Call of Duty: World at War- 5.89 million

Also, according to the report, the U.S. and U.K. markets both saw significant gains in sales at 15 and 26 percent, respectively, and the Japanese market took a big dip, dropping 13 percent.

It's not surprising that the best-selling games were either first-party Wii titles or established core games that appeal to a broader audience, seeing how creativity hasn't lent itself well to high sales figures over the past few years.

Overall, though, the industry is doing better than ever from a sales standpoint, but whether it's in good condition or not is a highly debatable topic depending on how you feel about the impact of the casual player upon gaming.

Many of these gamers aren't the kind of people that are willing to take risks on innovative new titles that aren't from an established franchise or developer, opting instead to stick with name recognition. However, there's a growing number of core gamers who are doing the same thing, and this is stifling innovation and creativity in the gaming community.

Of course, part of that is the fault of the gaming media, because we don't always give enough time and space to games that don't have that name recognition that demands attention from gamers. We have to do a better job of letting everyone know about fresh and exciting games coming down the pipe, but it's also fair to expect gamers to be willing to take the chance on a new game that may not get much press coverage but seems like it's doing something innovative.

If these kinds of games don't sell, then their developers either have to shift focus to something more bland and played-out or shut down, and that's not good for the industry, for us as gamers, or for anyone else. So please, take a chance. Be willing to support creativity in gaming, because this great cornerstone of design is quickly being lost.

GTA Chinatown to be "Far Bigger" than PSP GTA Titles

Zach Lott — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:47:52 -0600

The Grand Theft Auto games have been known for their massive worlds, and according to Rockstar Leeds president Gordon Hall, that isn't going to change with Chinatown Wars, the upcoming portable GTA title for the DS that is going to be even bigger than the PSP's Liberty City and Vice City Stories games.

Chinatown Wars is much bigger than anything we have ever done before [in terms of scope]: more odd jobs, deeper missions, and more moments of over-the-top action," Gordon said in a recent issue of Nintendo Power according to Nintendo Everything. "We have a huge interaction with the Rockstar Social Club, a massive [narcotics trafficking] game that would stand alone on its own. The list goes on and on; this thing is huge. We are very proud of all of the PSP games we have made, especially the two GTA games, but this game is far bigger.

It's also worth noting that the game's map is supposedly as large at that of GTA IV's, which could easily make this the largest handheld game yet. It'll be hitting retail shelves on March 17.

NeoGAF strikes awesome again. Prototype Thread.

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:09:44 -0600

In the interest of not ripping off other people's work please visit the link. In the interest of getting people interested in clicking the link: You'll find prototypes of Microsoft's 360 (pictured above), several Nintendo systems throughout the years including the quashed fruits of their abandoned collaboration with Sony, lots of Sega stuff, some NEC stuff, many Sony prototypes, and well... since it's a thread, assumedly much more in the future. Many of the things are garish, gaudy, or naked, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying a glimpse of what may have been. Think of it like a box of Christmas presents that you'll never get to enjoy.

Toys "R" Us in Times Square Opens Dedicated Nintendo Department

Zach Lott — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:42:40 -0600

It's been four years since the launch of DS and two years since the launch of the Wii, but it seems like neither system is showing any signs of slowing down when it comes to the sales charts, and that's never been more apparent, as the Toys "R" Us in Times Square has opened an entire department dedicated to everything Nintendo.

MarketWatch has an article up about the new department, which is around 1,000 square feet and is located on Level One of the store. It features a slew of Wii and DS demo stations along with a gallery containing images from throughout Nintendo's history.

"What we've been seeing all year long is the expansion of video game fun to people of both genders, and all ages and tastes--there's literally something for everyone," said Nintendo's Cammie Dunaway about the partnership. "But in recent weeks, Nintendo products appear to be appealing to even more people, as every form of fun is being measured against a price tag. And that's what makes this experience in Toys"R"Us so compelling--all the fun and information is available right at your fingertips."

This is just further proof of Nintendo's unprecedented success this generation, and it's hard to imagine that Nintendo has turned things around on the console front in just two years. Sony and Microsoft can't even begin to compete with Nintendo at this point, and that's a shocker considering how dead Nintendo appeared to be at the end of the last generation.

However, it seems that Nintendo's plan to ensnare the mainstream has worked beautifully, even if it has disillusioned some of their existing fanbase. It doesn't matter, though, because they're laughing their way to the bank.

Square Announces Dissidia Final Fantasy for mid-2009

Zach Lott — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:18:13 -0600

Square Enix announced today that Dissidia Final Fantasy, the PSP fighter featuring famous Final Fantasy characters, will be hitting North American shores in mid-2009.

The game will feature a lengthy story mode along with a new battle system that incorporates classic Final Fantasy battle features such as overdrives and limit breaks and RPG-based character development.

In addition, Dissidia Final Fantasy Trading Arts figures will be available through the North American online store around the time of the release.

Final Fantasy Trailer's from (Random Latin and Greek Letters) Event Released.

Ryan Fulton — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:40:00 -0600

Videos from Square Enix's Summer event, just recently released to the public. Please enjoy.

FFXIII VS:

FFXIII:

GB Review: Prince of Persia (360)

Aaron Dunlap — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:20:24 -0600

Prince of Persia is a reboot, re-imagining, re-everything of the longstanding platform jumping/climbing/sliding franchise. As far as reboots go, it's no Batman Begins or Casino Royale. It might qualify as a The Incredible Hulk. It's full of the basics (acrobatic maneuvering) but with none of the frills. It's fun to play, but it could have benefited from some gameplay experimentation and some play-testing to remove some control issues and bugs. It's a short game, maybe between 10-15 hours, so it's definitely worth a rental.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Prince of Persia, like Assassin's Creed before it, is a pseudo-historical acrobatic adventure game that could have benefited from a few months of play-testing and polishing. Unlike Assassins Creed, this more-or-less "reboot" of the Persia series doesn't suffer from an impenetrable story or some of the unbelievably frustrating elements that plagued last year's romp in the Holy land.

Comparing this Prince of Persia with the previous games, retroactively referred to as the Sands of Time series, is a bit difficult as they feel almost like they come from different genres. Sands of Time and its two sequels could be referred to as puzzle games mixed with action games. The puzzle element was built into the construct of the game itself. Often, simply figuring out how to progress through a level was a challenge, as wall-sprints had to be masterfully combined with wall-jumps and swings and rolls. Between the challenges of overcoming terrain and architecture were several battles against multiple foes. The battles themselves were almost like puzzles; simple sword swipes would never be enough, you had to combine acrobatic attacks and various superpowers.

This Prince of Persia is a different beast altogether. Here the puzzles are almost entirely removed. While almost the entire game is spent performing acrobatic feats such as running across walls and jumping from poles to ledges to walls to (somehow) ceilings in order to traverse otherwise-impassible areas, there is little challenge to figuring out how. What you're supposed to do is always made obvious by scrapes on the wall (apparently plenty of acrobats have been through here before you), or the sheer lack of alternative. If you're clinging to a pole and the only objects possibly within reach are another pole and the pole you just came from, it's not hard to figure out where to go. Even if you are hopelessly stuck, which I would surmise to be impossible, with a simple press of the Y button your AI teammate, Elika, can summon a floating blue orb that will mark the path to your next destination step-by-step.

Yes, Elika. This feisty princess acts as your guide, companion, and exposition dispenser throughout the entire game. My initial concern was that this would turn the whole game into one protracted escort mission (shudder), but I was rather impressed how well the AI character was able to keep up, stay out of the way, and fend for herself. If she's ever in your way, the two characters will simply hop over each other or scoot around each other, occasionally throwing in some cute banter. You never have to worry about protecting her or taking a path that she wont be able to follow. For a game like this, having a computer-controlled tagalong that never becomes annoying is quite an accomplishment.

Elika has a few vital functions, aside from providing the bulk of the plot. Y'see, Elika has some unexpected (to her) powers that let her fly in short bursts. The only gameplay implication of this is that it allows you to double to distance of a jump the Prince makes by having her catch you mid-air and give you a boost forward. This is novel, sure, but not very interesting. Elika's other function, the thing that could motivate philosophical discussions about this game is that she makes it impossible for your character to die.

If you fall off a ledge, miss a landing, or fall so far that the landing would kill you, Elika swoops in with her blue sparkle-magic and catches you, bringing you back to the last sturdy platform you were on. This sort of emulates the effect of the time-reversing ability in previous games, where if you made a mistake and plummeted to your doom you could just rewind time to before you screwed up, but that ability had a meter on it and was optional. If you were out of sand, or simply didn't care to muck around with causality at the moment, you'd die like normal, and have to restart from a save.

In this game, however, it is completely, 100% impossible to die. She will always save you.

Some say this makes the game too easy. I disagree, I think the lack of challenge makes it too easy. What it does do is raise an interesting question about one's stake in a game where death isn't an option. There are other games, sure, where you can't exactly die, but none where you cannot even fail. If in Prince of Persia if falling to your doom meant a quick "you died" message and you were instantly teleported back to where you were, would the game be different? What if dying meant having to reload a save and wait a few seconds? Playing a game where you can't die might make you feel powerful, but playing a game where you can't even fail just feels meaningless. In a way, the only way to fail at this game is to not complete it. The only way not to win is not to play.

It probably seems like a favor to the player, a way of simply automating the process of dying and reloading and saving them the frustration, but I think the way it's executed is damaging to the experience.

A penalty in a home video game will always be arbitrary, but time has shown it to be essential to the process. We're like rats in a maze. If we never get zapped and told we're doing it wrong, we'll never get it right. Removing the possibility of death, or even the fleeting sense of failure, could create an environment where the stakes of the game wont matter, and the sense of immersion desired by the game designers will be destroyed.

The only perceived penalty of screwing up in this game is having to try again, which I suppose can be punishment enough without the need to drag in the concepts of life and death.

I haven't mentioned the fighting system, or even anything about the story, I realize. This is because they left no lasting impression. After completing this somewhat-short game, the only thing I really remember about it is the running on walls and climbing up vines. The story is basically a good-god vs evil-god tale based in a small part on Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion. The fights are unbearable little segments where the game demonstrates how little it cares about your sanity for the sake of insinuating some excitement into the title.

Yes, this game boils down to wall-running and little else. I had fun while playing it, and when I wasn't playing it I actually wanted to pick it back up and continue (which is a rare thing for a game reviewer after a few years). I think if the game had tried to add something new, or tried to turn the tables partway into the story, it would be a better game.

The problem I'm having, and one that could very well cause me to re-write this whole thing, is that I rather enjoyed this game but the only things I can think to write about are the negatives. This is a well-made game, for certain. It's a major release from Ubisoft, how couldn't it be? It's a nice, well-made, short game that passed the time well enough for me and made me consider the nature of reality. Worth a rental, I'd say.

Prince of Persia could have been much, much better if they had tried something new instead of falling back on the old hat of acrobatic climbing and swordplay. But perhaps it's best that they didn't try anything new. Last time they tried something innovative, we got Assassin's Creed, a game of which the very existence I consider an insult. I wished that game had dropped all the complicated nonsense and just stuck to the acrobatic stuff. Prince of Persia is a game that just sticks to the acrobatic stuff. It's kind of like a Campbell's chicken noodle soup game -- kind of bland, nothing creative or zesty thrown in, but you can't say you don't enjoy it at the time.

GB Review: Midnight Club LA Remix (PSP)

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 11:48:26 -0600

Midnight Club LA Remix is a competent racer with few niggling issues and annoyances. The portable version holds up well to its fully featured console cousins and for an arcade style racing game on the go you're unlikely to come across a better example of the genre at the moment, but it's far from a must have title if you're not really in the market for a portable racing game. It's worth a buy if you're interested in a racer that's not tethered to a television.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Every once in a great while, in every field, in any genre, there is a title that exemplifies, redefines, and generally leaves everyone else involved in the business both gob-smacked and flabbergasted. Midnight Club LA Remix for the PlayStation Portable is not such a title, but it is a competent arcade racer spread across the cities of Los Angeles and Tokyo where you can pop parking brakes and bust nitrous boosts to your heart's desire. While it exhibits a few issues it ultimately proves itself to be a fun title.

Launch Gallery: Midnight Club LA Remix

(15 images)

As with any arcade style racer, realism takes a backseat to outlandish physics, over-the-top crashes, and general mayhem. The gameplay is flawed at times, but ultimately enjoyable. The game engages you by using the city as a glorified menu system allowing you to chose races and upgrade your car at your will once you unlock the features. While this is enjoyable to an extent, it feels like a chore after a while -- considering how you're forced to endure at least two healthy loading screens merely to accomplish any task. Once you arrive at your destination you can look forward to a one to five minute race followed by some more loading screens. Repetition of races is also a minor gripe that should be considered.

The racing itself is a blast, the sense of speed is very real, and the turning on most cars feels just right once you get a hang of how to handle each of your cars. The AI controlled races vary from laughably pathetic to fiendishly difficult. While this is not a bad thing it's difficult to find races where there is a definite sense of being in just the right spot for an exciting finish which is somewhat of a let down. On a related note, which explains the lack of exciting finishes to a degree, the AI does not resort of "rubber banding" their way back up to you when you're in the lead or vice-versa. The car modification system is exceptionally robust and the number of modifications available for each individual car is nothing short of astounding.

The game's sound is difficult to quantify. The racers and main character all feature voice acting that's subpar across to board, and the dialogue is beyond poorly written unless you consider 2 Fast 2 Furious to be the apex of screenwriting prowess. That being said, there is a certain campy value that the dialogue and voice acting adds that makes the game endearing or at least mildly amusing the first few times you hear the insults that are thrown about by the other racers. The music is a standard faire of rap, electronic, hip hop, and rock songs. Featuring nearly 100 musical tracks the selection is anything but constrained, and the long list of artists should almost guarantee that there is at least once act that you're interested in listening to. Unfortunately most of the races are shorter than the songs included in the game so the music is often cut short by the lack of a continuation feature.

The graphics are generally sharp with minimal pop up when moving. Upon closer inspection the textures are rather drab and lack much in the way of definition, but this is hardly a deal breaker since this is really only noticeable when you're stopped and looking directly at an object (which really isn't the point of a racing game, is it?) The cars themselves look as if they were recreated with care and the cities seem as if a great deal of forethought was put into their design. Each city has defined districts that differ in appearance from the rest of the city, and the streets seem to flow comfortably in such a manner that doesn't punish the player too badly for making a wrong turn. All things considered it's an attractive visual package for a portable racer.

Midnight Club LA Remix is a passable effort at an arcade racer that while falling short on a few points manages to create an enjoyable casual experience for a portable racing title. The loading screens sort of detract from the pickup-and-playability of the title, but if you've got an extra moment or two it may just be worth your while to put rubber to the streets of LA and Tokyo during your free time. Far from redefining the genre the game offers an experience that is generally pleasing and engaging.

GB Review: Samba de Amigo (Wii)

Zach Lott — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:20:43 -0600

While it was a great idea to bring Samba de Amigo, an old Dreamcast game in which you play Latin songs with two maraca peripherals, to the Wii, the final product suffers greatly from absurdly imprecise controls. It's difficult to have fun playing various tracks when you're frustrated to the point of violence at how hard it is to line up the Wii remote and nunchuck's cursors with the symbols on screen. Stay away unless you are really itching for yet another rhythm game to play.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Let me be honest: I never played the original Samba de Amigo. I don't know how fun it was, nor do I know whether or not this Wii port does a good job of replicating the original's gameplay. What I do know is that this version of the game isn't good.

My complaint has nothing to do with the colorful, friendly presentation or the cheesy Latin music or the dancing animals or the core gameplay element itself, even if it is a little antiquated in this new era of rhythm games. Nay, all my problems with this game boil down to one thing: controls. This game controls horrendously, and it makes what could be a great experience into a nightmare.

The way the gameplay is set up is that you have six circles on the screen arranged in a hexagon, with each colored pair representing a target area. The nunchuck controls the circles on the left side while the remote controls the circles on the right side. Each has a cursor that shifts to different circles based on where in the air you hold them (high, middle, and low). Notes appear in the center of the hexagon and shoot out to the various target areas, and once they enter the center of a circle you can shake your controller in order to play them. There are also poses and dances that you must perform throughout certain songs with the controllers.

However, the problem with this is that the controls are insanely imprecise. The game refuses to properly recognize what target area your controllers are pointed at, and it's because of this that the game becomes so frustrating. It's not so bad when you play on the easy and normal modes, as the rhythmic patterns are simple enough that you can easily earn the "C" rank needed to pass your playthrough of a track, but once you start playing on the higher difficulty levels you must quickly change through the high, middle, and low positions while playing more difficult rhythms. It is when this occurs that the game becomes unplayable.

There's a few extra features, such as downloadable tracks and some mini-games as well as some useless unlocks, but these can't do anything to fix the fundamental control problem that ruins this game. While you may enjoy the game with a friend if you play on moderate difficultly levels, I can't recommend that you buy this title. There are games out there that are far more deserving of your money.

Jimi Hendrix DLC not coming to Wii

Zach Lott — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:55:15 -0600

Turns out that the Wii won't be getting this week's Guitar Hero World Tour Jimi Hendrix pack after all, as a representative from Activision Blizzard has confirmed to MTV's Multiplayer Blog that the console won't be getting the download pack.

Due to technical or licensing restrictions, the DLC offerings will not be the same for every console platform, the representative told Multiplayer's Patrick Klepek. For example, certain artists prefer to keep the integrity of the track pack rather than releasing singles and the Wiis infrastructure only allows us the ability to release single songs as DLC.

This kind of occurance isn't doing Nintendo any favors when it comes to competing in the online space, but when your console is printing money, what does it matter?

Metal Gear Online MEME expansion set for November 25

Zach Lott — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:39:47 -0600

Good news for those of you still playing Metal Gear Online: Joystiq is reporting that MEME, the game's second expansion, is set for a November 25 release at the low price of $9.99. You'll also be able to pick up the expansion through a $14.99 bundle that includes GENE, the first expansion.

New content includes two new characters, Mei Ling and Liquid Ocelot, as well as new avatar content and three new maps, Silo Sunset, Forest Firefight, and Winter Warehouse. An official tournament lobby and a couple new modes will be available without purchasing MEME.

Square Enix to Open US Studio.

Ryan Fulton — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:14:51 -0600

According to Gamasutra Square Enix has plans to open a US studio based in Los Angeles for the purposes of creating an action game based on an original IP (assumedly for the 360 based upon the job descriptions.) It should be interesting to see how this pans out in the end. Square Enix, original IP, and action game aren't usually phrases that you see lumped together. I'm personally just excited to see what sort of art direction we can expect to see from this new studio. I'm going to be really disappointed if it's full of man-tough space marines rather than my beloved effeminate Gackt copies. In the end, I'm just glad to have had a chance to use this image.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Now Available...Again

Shiva Stella — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:07:06 -0600

In celebration of Persona 4's ever-nearing release date, Atlus has reprinted limited copies of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment in the original PlayStation format; rest assured that it will also play on your PlayStation 3 (or so I'm told). You can only pick up this gem at Amazon.

The cost is a bargain at $39.99, which should qualify you for free shipping if you're on a holiday budget (which should be all of you given the current state of our market economy). This may also be a good time to spend those $10 gift cards that Amazon has been giving out with preorder deals lately.

I would like to take this moment to laugh at everyone selling their copy on ebay at outrageous prices--this is $300 you will not be getting.

World of Warcraft: WotLK Prepares For Invasion Tonight

Tim Grube — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:08:03 -0600

It's here. Well, technically a couple more hours you will be able to purchase World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King in stores. Several stores will be opening up at midnight this evening, so check with your local retailers.

Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?

Ryan Fulton — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:29:21 -0600

Remember that Prinny game that I posted the screens of? Remember how it the date was unknown? If not, it's less than 10 posts down... And more importantly, you can forget the part about the date being unknown! NISA released a statement today announcing that the demonically hard semi-2D platformer will be hitting the states, hard, in February of 2009. Please, kindly, hit the jump for a full press release.

Santa Ana, CA NIS America announced today that Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? will be heading to the PlayStation® Portable System in late February 2009.
As Nippon Ichi Softwares first pure action game, Prinny will be the most heartpounding
and challenging sidescrolling action game ever. Players will control an unlucky
penguin dude called a Prinny and slash their way through various Netherworlds.
For this tough‐as‐nails action game, youre given 1000 units to accomplish your mission,
but even with those 1000 units you will have to use everything you find on the
battlefield to survive. Lift and throw objects, stomp enemies, even pilot tanks and
planes to bombard whatever gets in your way!

MULTIPLE DIFFICULTIES: Standard mode allows you to take damage up to 3 times
before losing a life, giving mere mortals a chance to beat the game. We also have Hell
mode, where one means instant death! Good luck!

KEY FEATURES

1000 Units: Players will get 1000 lives to beat the toughest action sidescroller!
Lift & Throw: Prinnies are able to lift and throw objects on the battlefield.
Vehicles: Steal and control powerful vehicles, like tanks and UFOs.

Hip Pound: Jump and pound enemies to stun them. Then you can inflict multiple combo
attacks for extra damage.

3D World with 2D Characters: In Prinny, character art is created using fluid 2D sprites,
giving it a classic look with a comical tone. Battlefields and backgrounds, however, are
created with 3D models. This allows for a smooth and unique combat action where certain attacks are rendered in a 3‐dimensional view.

NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM Ships

Tim Grube — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:33:03 -0600

Namco Bandai Games America Inc., today shipped NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM to retailers across North America exclusively for the PlayStation 3 console.

The Ultimate Ninja series is recognized by Naruto fans and gamers alike as the video game franchise that best captures the high-energy ninja action of the hit animated series, said Todd Thorson, director of marketing and public relations at Namco Bandai Games America, Inc. NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM represents an incredible leap forward for the franchise as we make our debut on the PLAYSTATION 3 system with an all-new battle system, free-roaming gameplay and undeniably stunning graphics.

Developed by CyberConnect2, NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja STORM is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and carries a suggested retail price of $59.99.

World of Warcraft Patch 3.0.3 Released

Tim Grube — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:59:29 -0600

Blizzard is getting things ready for the big expansion launch next week and today they released a new patch that updates World of Warcraft to 3.0.3. The patch comes in at 21MB. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King launches on November 13.

General

* Removed "A Mask for All Occassions" as criteria for the "Hallowed Be thy Name" meta achievement.
* Replenishment: Players below level 50 can now benefit from this effect.

Racial

* Blood Fury: No longer triggers global cooldown.
* Shadowmeld: The cooldown will now start on use instead of on break.

Hit the jump for the entire patch list.

General

* Removed "A Mask for All Occassions" as criteria for the "Hallowed Be thy Name" meta achievement.
* Replenishment: Players below level 50 can now benefit from this effect.

Racial

* Blood Fury: No longer triggers global cooldown.
* Shadowmeld: The cooldown will now start on use instead of on break.

Druids

* Druid talents points have been refunded. Players will need to visit a class trainer to relearn spells and abilities.
* The Swift Flight Form is now available on the trainer at level 71, requiring 300 riding skill, and Flight Form learned.
* Bash: The interrupt from this ability will now work on targets who are immune to the stun.
* Berserk: Now clears the cooldown on Mangle Bear.
* Earth and Moon and Moonfury (Balance) reduced from 5 ranks each to 3 ranks each.
* Eclipse: Buff duration extended to 15 sec and bonuses doubled. The cooldown has been increased to 40 seconds.
* Growl: Cooldown changed to 8 sec.
* Insect Swarm: Tooltip corrected to indicate it does not affect hit chance with spells.
* Nature's Swiftness: This ability will no longer give chances to trigger Omen of Clarity.
* Omen of Clarity: Will no longer be triggered by the Honorless Target buff gained when entering the world.
* Survival Instincts will no longer be on the Global Cooldown.
* Swiftmend: now benefits correctly from Genesis talent.

Hunters

* Aimed Shot: Added to Barrage and Improved Barrage talent.
* Animal Handler: Now increases your pet's expertise by 5/10. (No longer increases the pet's chance to hit.)
* Aspects now have a shared cooldown category of 1 sec and no longer have a start cooldown.
* Aspect of the Dragonhawk: New aspect added that combines the benefit of Aspect of the Monkey and Aspect of the Hawk, available at level 75 and 80.
* Aspect of the Monkey: The Dodge chance has been increased from 8% to 18%.
* Aspect of the Viper: The per attack mana regeneration has been reduced by 50% but this ability now generates 4% of maximum mana every 3 sec. In addition, the per attack regeneration now also works on melee attacks.
* Disengage now fails if you're rooted and is no longer on the global cooldown.
* Hunter vs. Wild: The attack power bonus from this talent now applies properly to Hunter pets. In addition, the bonus attack power will now be recalculated properly from equipping items.
* Improved Aspect of the Hawk: This talent no longer causes incorrect mana costs when interacting with the Rapid Recuperation and Improved Steady Shot talents.
* Mana cost of Disengage has been lowered to 5% of base mana, down from 14%.
* Pets
o Rake (Cat), Scorpid Poison (Scorpid): Lowered damage of all ranks.
o Stampede (Rhino): Lowered the knockback to 10 yards.
o Raised the damage of exotic attacks: Spirit Strike, Lava Breath, Froststorm Breath, Acid Spit, and Stampede.
o Lowered the cost of pet specials from 25 to 20.
â€¢ Thrill of the Hunt: The mana gained from using this talent with Explosive Shot is now 1/3 of the normal amount per critical strike (but gets 3 opportunities per cast.) â€¢ T.N.T.: Explosive Shot can now only trigger this talent when it is initially fired.

Mages

* Arcane Potency: The additional crit bonus is now consumed immediately on cast of a travel time spell, so it is no longer possible to make two spells benefit from one charge. (Ex. Fireball followed by Fireblast.)
* Blast Wave: no longer receives double the intended critical strike bonus from Combustion.
* Burnout: Now consumes extra mana as intended when livming Bomb gets a critical strike.
* Deep Freeze: Now consumes a charge of Fingers of Frost when used.
* Focus Magic: Now works properly when mages with this talent use the ability on each other.
* Frostfire Bolt: The periodic damage effect from Rank 2 of this spell now benefits from spell power gans.
* Living Bomb: Mana cost reduced to be the same as Arcane Explosion.. It no longer causes the caster to stand up when the final explosion occurs and it is now possible for each mage to have Living Bomb active on a target.
* Master of Elements: Now works with Living Bomb.
* Molten Fury: This talent no longer prevents Ice Lance ranks 2 and 3 from dealing triple damage against frozen targets.
* Reduced the mana cost of Fireball, Frostbolt, Frostfire Bolt, Arcane Blast, Arcane Missiles, and Arcane Explosion.
* Torment the Weak: Now works correctly when the Mage also knows the Molten Fury Talent.

Paladins
* Art of War: No longer increases critical strike damage on Judgements, Crusader Strike, and Divine Storm, instead increases all damage done by those abilities by a smaller amount.
* The Avenger's Shield bounce distance has been reduced to 10 yards (from 15).
* The epic ground mount is now available on the trainer at level 61, requiring 150 riding skill, and the non-epic mount learned.
* Blessing of Might: Rank 8 points increased slightly to prevent from being overwritten by BattleShout 8 that has a shorter duration (also applies to Greater Blessing of Might 3.)
* Blessing of Sanctuary: It is no longer possible to have both Blessing of Sanctuary and Greater Blessing of Sanctuary active on a target at the same time.
* Crusade: No longer applies damage bonus twice to critical strikes.
* Divine Plea: This spell's duration is no longer affected by haste.
* Divine Purpose: Rank 1 of this ability will now correctly determine its chance of remove stun.
* Enlightened Judgments now increases range by 15/30 (was 10/20).
* Eye for an Eye: No longer breaks crowd control effects.
* Hammer of Justice: The interrupt from this ability will also be redirected when the stun is redirected. In addition, the interrupt will now work on targets immune to stun.
* Hammer of the Righteous: Tooltip corrected to indicate it does 4 times weapon dps instead of 3.
* Infusion of Light (Holy) now affects Flash of Light too, reducing its cast time down to zero and can be used while moving.
* Judgements: The debuffs from Judgement of Light, Judgement of Wisdom, and Judgement of Justice will no longer be applied if the Judgement spell itself misses.
* Judgements of the Pure: Haste increased to 3/6/9/12/15%.
* Repentance PvP duration reduced to 6 sec.
* Righteous Defense cooldown has been lowered to 8 sec (was 15 sec).
* Righteous Vengeance: No longer increases critical strike damage on Judgements and Divine Storm, instead applies a DoT effect similar to Deep Wounds.
* Seal of the Martyr: Tooltip for Judgement damage was incorrect and has been fixed.
* Sheath of Light: Now correctly benefits Judgements of Command, Blood, and The Martyr.
* Shield of the Templar now also reduces all damage taken by 1/2/3%.

Priests

* Binding Heal: Now only consumes one charge of Holy Concentration per cast.
* Borrowed Time: Charge no longer consumed by spells with a base cast time that is instant.
* Devouring Plague: The bonus coefficient has been increased to be on par with other DoT spells. Base damage on ranks 7,8, and 9 decreased to partially compensate for better scaling.
* Divine Providence: This talent now also reduces the cooldown of your Prayer of Mending spell by 6/12/18/24/30%. With 5 points applied, it takes Prayer of Mending's cooldown from 10 sec to 7 sec.
* Divine Spirit: Now can be refreshed properly on self after logging in and out or zoning. (Also applies to Prayer of Spirit.)
* Guardian Spirit: A target may now have only one Guardian Spirit active.
* Healing Focus: Now works properly with Penance.
* Improved Divine Spirit: No longer improves Divine Spirit after untalenting sometimes.
* Inner Focus: Now works properly with Mind Flay, Mind Sear, and Penance.
* Prayer of Spirit: Will no longer stack with other raid spell power buffs.
* Shadowform: Devouring Plague, Shadow Word:Pain, and Vampiric Touch cast in Shadowform deal increased damage percentage equal to the player's chance to get a spell crit on their target.
* Shadow Word eath: The self-damage from this spell can no longer be reflected or redirected.
* Vampiric Touch: The Spell power coefficient has been doubled and no longer triggers Replenishment when other priests cast Mind Blast.

Rogues

* Combat Potency: Now only works with autoattacks (no more Shiv.)
* Fan of Knives changed to be castable with no targets, further improved the visual affect and it no longer plays an impact on the caster. Now benefits correctly from the Find Weakness talent.
* Killing Spree: The rogue is now untargetable during the duration of the spree. In addition, no longer sometimes selects dead targets and no longer breaks stealth on nearby targets.
* Riposte: Duration of this effect no longer reduced by other effects that reduce disarm duration.
* Shadow Dance: The cooldowns on Sap, Garrotte, Ambush, Cheap Shot, Premeditation, Pickpocket, and Disarm Trap are no longer increased while this ability is activated.

Shaman

* Flurry: Now grants the proper number of charges when it triggers.
* Improved Fire Nova Totem: Increases the damage done by your Fire Nova Totem by 10/20% and your Fire Nova totem has a 50/100% chance to stun all targets damaged by your Fire nova Totem for 2 sec.
* Lava Burst: The base damage has been increased by approx. 10%.
* Maelstrom Weapon: Tooltips corrected to correctly describe the chance for this talent to be triggered.
* Riptide: The initial heal amount has been increased on ranks 3 and 4 and periodic healing has been increased on all ranks.
* Stormstrike: Other shamans can no longer consume charges of your Stormstrike, and each shaman can have their own stormstrike on the victim.
* Storm Reach is now called "Elemental Reach" and now includes Lava Burst.
* Thunderstorm: Mana gain has been increased to 8%.
* Tidal Mastery: Now correctly applies its critical strike bonus to Earth Shield.
* Tidal Waves will now also proc with Riptide.

Warlocks

* The epic ground mount is now available on the trainer at level 61, requiring 150 riding skill, and the non-epic mount learned.
* Demonic Sacrifice: The buffs from this ability will now be retained properly when logging out or zoning.
* Demonic Empowerment: This talent no longer gives excessive threat to the Warlock's Voidwalker.
* Destructive Reach: Now properly reduces threat on Chaos Bolt and Shadowflame.
* Drain Soul: Rank 6 now properly deals additional damage ot targets below 25% health.
* Haunt: The cooldown has been changed to 8 sec, and refreshing the Haunt will trigger the heal from the existing Haunt.This ability will no longer heal for incorrect amounts or fail to heal when the Huaunt damage was the killing blow.
* Inferno: The Infernal is now useable indoors and the tooltip has been updated.
* Master Demonologist (Felhunter) will now also reduce damage taken by Holy.
* Ritual of Doom: Now works correctly even when the Warlock already has a pet (dismissed the existing pet.)
* Shadowflame: Damaged increased approx. 75%. Coefficients unchanged.
* Shadow Embrace: Now works on ranks 1-4 and stacks properly with multiple applications.
* Soul Link (Demonology): Increased from 15% to 20%.

Warriors

* Armored to the Teeth: Grants only attack power( as intended) and recalculates the bonus immediately upon learning any rank of the talent.
* Bladestorm: Now breaks all snares and roots on the warrior when activated.
* Bloodthirst: Cooldown reduced to 5 sec.
* Deep Wounds: Now works properly with Heroic Throw.
* Heroic Throw: No longer gains increased damage from the warrior's agility.
* Improved Rend changed to 10/20%.
* Rampage: Can now be triggered by off-hand Whirlwind damage.
* Rend: Damage has been adjusted to be less base and more weapon based.
* Rend: Ranks 9 and 10 now do 35% more damage when the target is above 75% health instead of 4 times damage when the target is enraged. Sudden Death: Now has 3/6/9% chance on hit instead of 10/20/30% chance on crit.
* Titan's Grip: Changed to 12% penalty instead of 15%.
* Vigilance: Now properly transfers threat generated by heals.

Professions

* The level requirements required to train gathering skills have been removed.
* Alchemy
o Reduced the effect of Elixir of Mongoose and Elixir of Major Agility.
* Inscription
o Glyph of Crusader Strike: Now reduces mana cost by 20% instead of increase damage on stunned and incapacitated targets.
o Glyph of Flame Shock: Now extends duration by 6 sec and prevents Flame Shock from being consumed by Lava Burst.
o Glyph of Lava: Glyph of Earth Elemental removed and replaced with this glyph. This glyph increases coefficient on Lava Burst by 0.1.
o Glyph of Mind Flay: Now sets snare to 10% instead of removing it.
o Glyph of Rejuvenation: Now works correctly when the target is not self.
o Glyph of Shiv: Replaced with Glyph of Vigor, which increases maximum energy by an additional 10 for those with the Vigor talent.
o Glyph of Shadow: Glyph of Mind Soothe removed and replaced with this glyph. This glyph increases spell power by 10% of spirit for 10 sec after critting while in Shadowform.
o Glyph of Shadow Word: Pain: Increases damage done by Mind Flay when SW:P is present by 10%.
o Glyph of Sinister Strike: Chance increased to 50%.
o Glyph of Souls no longer removes soul shard cost. It instead reduces the mana cost of your Ritual of Souls spell by 70%.
o Glyph of Spirit of Redemption: Tooltip corrected to 4 sec. extra when the glyph triggers.
o Glyph of Strength of Earth: Replaced with Glyph of Lava Lash which increases the bonus from having Flametongue Weapon by 10%.
o Glyph of Trueshot Aura: Now increases Aimed Shot crit chance instead of increasing attack power bonus.
o Glyph of Totem of Wrath: Replaced with Glyph of Elemental Mastery, which decreases the cooldown on Elemental Mastery by 30 sec.

User Interface

* For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros forum.

Items

* The war against spelling errors continues: many items have had typos removed or their functionality clarified.
* The item quality on several quest rewards was incorrect and has been altered.
* The phoenix summoned by Ashes of Al'ar has had his flame trains restored.
* Guardian's Band of Subjugation now correctly grants universal haste.
* Girdle of the Warrior Magi now has a socket bonus.
* Some one-hand spell power weapons are now main hand only.
* Heart of the Dragon should now provide a consistent amount of Ranged Attack Power.
* Loatheb's Shadow should now provide a consistent amount of Ranged Attack Power.
* Spirit-World Glass now correctly has a cooldown.
* Discerning Eye of the Besat procs should now be more obvious.
* Focusing Lenses now have a cooldown.
* The Horseman's Reings should again function in Dalaran.
* Haute Club Membership Card no longer prompts players to open it.
* The buff granted by Frenzyheart Insingia of Fury now has a correct tooltip.
* Harness of Carnal Instinct no longer has bonus armor.
* Boots of the Protector have been brought in line with protection paladin itemization changes.
* A tootip error in the Glyph of Spint has been corrected.
* Grilled Sculpin now correctly grants Ranged Attack Power.
* Libram of Souls Redeemed should now only affect Holy Light.
* Legacy items that had both melee and spell critical strike rating have been integrated to the unified rating.
* Held in hand books created by Inscription are now Bind on Equip rather than Bind on Pickup.

Bug Fixes

* Fixed an issue that was affecting terrain rendering on GeForce 3 and 4 Ti cards. Those that added the command Set fixedfunction 1 to their config.wtf file should remove it to avoid a decrease in performance.
* Glyph of Rupture: The tooltip has been corrected.
* Hunter: Ferocious Inspiration will now apply raid-wide, as intended.
* Hunter Pets
o Sonic Blast (Bat): Will no longer ignore LoS.
o Bad Attitude (Croc): Will no longer ignore the Longevity buff.
o Thunderstomp (Gorilla): Will no longer have a physical coefficient instead of a magical one.
o Gore (Bore): Fixed an issue where a wrong value was being applied.
o Savage Rend: Corrected typos in the tooltip.
* Mage: Burning Determination will now work properly.
* Mage: Living Bomb's "explosion effect" will now be properly classified.
* Priest: Holy Reach (Rank 2) will now increase the radius of Divine Hymn properly.
* Priest: Inner Focus will now properly increase the critical strike chance of the talent Penance.
* Shaman: Totem of Wrath tooltip updated to reflect that it affects all crit chance and indicate that it increases Spell Power (instead of just damage).

WildTangent Closes Studio, Lays Off Staff

Tim Grube — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:54:17 -0600

WildTangent, the company behind many games such as FATE and BlasterBall announced today that it has closed its internal development studio, WildTangent Game Studios, laying off around 20 of its staff in the process. CEO and co-founder Alex St. John has also been replaced by Mike Peronto, formerly COO of the firm - but will stay on as chairman.

The company also manages the advertising sales for a group of gaming properties comprised of MMOGs and game portals including PopCap.com, FreeOnlineGames, Jagexs Runescape and FunOrb properties, as well as Artixs AdventureQuest, DragonFable and MechQuest properties.

Approximately 30 of the more than 600 games were produced by the company's own WildTangent Game Studios. The rest of the games on the WildTangent Game Network are from other game developers and publishers.

Metal Gear Online Reaches One Million Mark

Tim Grube — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:02:57 -0600

With all the mass voting going on here in the states, Konami was able to sneak in some good news surrounding Metal Gear Online. The company revealed that Metal Gear Online has established over one million members since the service launched back in June.

To go along with this great news, Konami will launch a special campaign Metal Gear Online: Commemorative Campaign, which will officially begin on November 25, 2008, awarding reward points to gamers who access Metal Gear Online during the promotion. The 10,000 reward points will be updated to account owners on the last day of the campaign, December 9, 2008.

These reward points can be used to purchase new online gear from the in-game reward shop.

Warhammer Online Exceeds 800,000 Subscribers

Tim Grube — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:18:14 -0600

Mythic's MMO, Warhammer Online, published by Electronic Arts unveiled that the game has exceeded 800,000 subscribers, according to recently released Electronic Arts financial documents. Within the document it states, 1.2 million copies of WAR has been sold since its release in September.

Battle of Giants Dinosaurs Pounds Into Stores

Tim Grube — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:13:15 -0600

Ubisoft announced today that Battle of Giants Dinosaurs has shipped to retailers nationwide and is available exclusively for the Nintendo DS. Developed by Ubisoft Quebec, Battle of Giants Dinosaurs will allow players to choose from 25 unique dinosaur species, explore and conquer a variety of terrain maps and fight against other dinosaurs.

Key features:

Choose your dinosaur
Select between 25 different species including ravenous predators, cunning scavengers, horned territorials, mighty tanks and peaceful herbivores.
Challenge other dinosaurs!
Experience an exciting and accessible combat system based on dexterity that rewards speed and accuracy, not luck, in battle.
Fully customizable dinosaurs
Unlock and equip your dinosaur with special attack and defense features.
Add spikes, feathers and bones to your dinosaur and then change their color and stripe patterns!
Three exciting game modes!
Play solo in Adventure and Quickmatch or take on up to six of your friends in Multiplayer Tournament!

Battle of Giants Dinosaurs is rated "E for Everyone and has an MSRP of $29.99.

Prinny: Is It Okay If I'm the Protagonist? Screens.

Ryan Fulton — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:08:40 -0600

Dengeki Online has posted quite a few screenshots from the upcoming NIS game Prinny: Is It Okay If I'm the Protagonist. So far the game is confirmed for US release, but no word on a release date. Rumor has it that it's one of the harder games that you'll come across. If you like what you see, you can always try out the demo that's available on the Japanese PSN Store.

Launch Gallery: Prinny: Protagonist

(41 images)

I Wrote A Book: Mind + Body Published Yesterday

Aaron Dunlap — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:22:31 -0500

In addition to my duties as co-owner and lead editor of this website, I also write non-videogamey stuff. For example, I just published a novel. Mind + Body, she's called

In addition to being able to buy the book, like most goods and services, Mind + Body is also available as a free digital download in various ebook formats, released under a Creative Commons license. Yes, you can download it for free. Legally.

Click here to check it out on Amazon.

Mind + Body is a thriller about a teenager trying to unravel a conspiracy that seems to surround and envelop his entire life.

For the uninitiated, books are kind of like video games where instead of controlling them via a gamepad or plastic guitar, you control them with your brain. They're entirely portable, require no batteries, and have no region locking.

Unlike some books which are about John Adams or make metaphors to caged birds singing, this book has guns and killing and explosions and wisecracking penguins. I made one of those things up.

Little Big Planet: See You in Another Week.

Ryan Fulton — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:42:24 -0500

In a move that's just shy of incomprehensible Sony and Media Molecule have decided to push the release date of the exceedingly anticipated Little Big Planet back by a week and to break my heart in the process. Citing issues of a song that contains messages from the Qur'an, the game has been delayed in shipping until October 27th in order to remove the offending lyrics; the game can be expected around the 4th of November if Amazon is to be believed.

So... Feel free to play Fable 2 without feeling guilty now. At least for a week or two. Unless Sony does something awesome for atonement and opens a full public beta or something. Please do something awesome?

Ragnarok Online: Play for Free, Now! (Legally.)

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:17:54 -0500

Ragnarok Online, the MMO that put artist Myung-Jin Lee on the Western map, is now officially and legally available for free.

Gravity Interactive, the purveyor of all things International Ragnarok Online, has gone live with their Valkyrie server where you can come to study at the altar of ungodly grinding without paying alms. If I weren't already completely burnt out on Ragnarok Online from a series of addictions in the years past I would be rather tempted to try my hand at RO again.

Mother 3: If You Want Nice Things, Sometimes You Just Have to Do It Yourself.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:12:22 -0500

Glorious news for those of you eager for information concerning the perennially disappointing handling of the Mother series by Nintendo. No, Nintendo hasn't announced that they're translating and releasing the title. If you're the sort of person who has been waiting for a new Earthbound, you're the sort of person who knows that Nintendo will never release a new Earthbound.

For several people who were faced with that stark reality the solution became apparent, if the masses were to ever have any hope of Mother 3 getting an English copy they would have to do it themselves. So thusly, they embarked upon an epic journey involving translating squiggles into slightly more recognizable characters and attempting to pay service to Shigesato Itoi's legendary writing ability.

Fortunately for them and for the rest of us who were not blessed with such multi-lingual functionality, their work is nearly at an end and the patch for an English Mother 3 is ever closer to release.

Thanks to Shannon of Ganza Watching for the amazing picture.

Surprise of the Century: Assassin's Creed Sequel In Development

Shiva Stella — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:26:21 -0500

Though it should hardly surprise anyone, a recent slip at TGS has almost-kinda-sorta confirmed that a sequel to 2007's controversial hit, Assassin's Creed, is indeed being developed.

According to Animation Director David Wilkinson, "He [Assassin's Creed animator] is busy making Altair even more beautiful. Last thing I saw him do was [get] Altair to swim."

For those of you keeping track, this means that:

The ninja theme suspected given the original's indecipherable ending is a little less likely
He can finally swim--now you won't drown every time you touch the water. And that, children, is progress.

TGS 08: Demons Souls, a New PS3 RPG.

Ryan Fulton — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:19:00 -0500

Sony has announced a new RPG title for the PlayStation 3 by the name of Demon's Souls. Billed as a spiritual successor to the Japanese only PS1 RPG King's Field, not much is known about the game at this point.

Launch Gallery: Demons Blood

(11 images)

Thanks to NeoGAF for the original link.

Nintendo Announces Punch-Out!! Wii

Zach Lott — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:57:29 -0500

One of the more exciting announcements to come out of Nintendo's latest press conference was the revelation that Punch-Out!! Wii is in the works. Besides the 2009 release date, there aren't any details to be had, but a trailer has been made available. Check it out after the jump.

Club Nintendo Turns its Baleful Eye Towards American Soil.

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:36:24 -0500

Wide spread panic ensues as word of Club Nintendo setting up point-shop stateside reaches the general populace. This is not a joke, lock up your wives and daughters because Americans may soon be exposed to such things as: Tingle's Balloon Fight, Zekkyō Senshi Sakeburein, and the exceedingly awesome Super Famicom classic controller. Granted, it's not likely that these will be released in America, but we can only hope.

In other regions the club is known for making available otherwise unreleased games, and for doling out exclusive accessories. The club's opening date is undisclosed, but it's said to be sometime this holiday season.

Nintendo DSi Announced, 2009 North America Release

Tim Grube — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:07:34 -0500

It was promised to be announced and it is finally here. Nintendo unveiled the next unit in the DS line, entitled Nintendo DSi, via a press conference in Japan this morning.

It will feature a three megapixel camera positioned on the back bottom left side as well as a camera centered on the front, a slimmer body, and a new interface.

Nintendo also revealed that the unit will not integrate any GameBoy Advance slot into the Nintendo DSi - a fact that should not surprise those who have fantasized about possible DS redesigns. Instead, the company will insert an SD Memory Card slot so gamers can easily bring in their videos and music, as well as a place to store their downloaded items. The company will also introduce the first DS Internet browser, which you can use to purchase items directly from the new DSi store utilizing Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points).

The Nintendo DSi will launch in Japan on November 1 for ¥18,900 ($178) with both white and black finishes as well as 1000 free Nintendo Points until March 2010. Other releases are set for a 2009 release. Expect a more "exact" date very soon here in North America. Pictures at the jump.

Virtual Console Update For 9-29-08: Art Style Orbient, Bomberman Blast, Super Terrican 2

Zach Lott — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:08:09 -0500

The weekly update for the Wii's Virtual Console is here, featuring two new WiiWare titles: Art Style: Orbient and Bomberman Blast, priced at 600 and 1,000 Wii Points, respectively.

For the Virtual Console, Nintendo released Super Terrican 2 (Super NES) for 800 Wii Points.

Hit the jump for a list of details for all the games.

WiiWare

Art Style: ORBIENT (Nintendo, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): Explore the universe like never before in Art Style: ORBIENT. Take control of gravity and anti-gravity and carefully maneuver your small star through 50 stages set in multiple galaxies. Collide with other stars to absorb them and make your own star expand in size, or capture the stars in your orbit and have them become your satellites. Space isn't empty, though, and you'll have to avoid bumping into obstacles or getting pulled into a black hole. If you feel like relaxing while still being challenged, this is the game for you. Its combination of simple controls, atmospheric sound and unique environment make for an experience unlike any other.

Bomberman Blast (Hudson Entertainment, 1-8 players, Rated E for EveryoneMild Cartoon Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): A brand new addition to the Bomberman series is available on WiiWare. Up to eight players can battle online simultaneously via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection. Simple controls make this a great game for family and friends to enjoy anytime. You can trigger new items by shaking the Wii Remote controller, creating new levels of Bomberman excitement. You can even take the intensity up another notch by adding your own Mii caricatures to the mix. Battle results can be recorded on the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Ranking, so you can see how you stack up against others around the globe. This title will prove to be a blast for everyone--from those who've never touched a Bomberman game to the Bomberman masters.

Virtual Console

Super Turrican 2 (Super NES, 1 player, Rated E for EveryoneViolence, 800 Wii Points): As the last survivor of the United Freedom Forces, it is your duty to destroy the Machine's forces that have devastated the galaxy. Fight through countless hordes of enemies using everything at your disposal. Use weapons and power-ups to fight back the tide of oncoming enemies. Use special abilities like the Energy Wheel and Cyberfist to find secret areas and score extra lives. When your lives and continues are gone, the mission ends. You are the galaxy's last hope. Are you up to the challenge?

SCEA's John Koller: PSP's Got Games in 2009, Really. Probably?

Ryan Fulton — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:46:09 -0500

On Tuesday Edge Online posted a feature detailing the decline of third party games for the PSP. Backed with data the findings seemed almost damning despite the last years increase in PSP sales. Within two days, John Koller, SCEAs hardware marketing head, responded to this report.

In the short, boring, and abstract, the answer is that somewhere around two years ago businesses decided that the PSP wasnt selling super well and decided to push their resources elsewhere, specifically into the then emerging current-gen consoles.

Where the article gets interesting is when Koller mentions that, [Sony has] a number of very strong franchise games on the docket that will be launching next year. We havent gone public with those, and many third-parties have not yet either because theyre concentrating on holiday, but we have a number of very strong titles coming. As to what those titles may be is anyones guess. Needless to say, this is a welcome sign for PSP owners and an open invitation for those who were on the fence about the system.

GB Review: Infinite Undiscovery (360)

Solomon Lee — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:48:45 -0500

Infinite Undiscovery is an action RPG from tri-Ace, the folks behind Valkryie Profile and the Star Ocean series. The game employs an interactive real-time combat system. Teamwork is a vital part of the game as the game has its fair share of puzzles that can only be solved with the aid of a party member. While the visuals and sound design are decent, the game fails to achieve its potential. It's overcomplicated and unresponsive, and altogether feels like an incomplete package. Fans of tri-Ace and RPGs in general might get a kick out of the 30-or-so hour game, but it's nothing for casual gamers to get excited about.

Click here for an explanation of our review and scoring format.

Infinite Undiscovery is the latest title developed by tri-Ace, the development powerhouse behind the Valkryie Profile and the Star Ocean series. At its core, it's an action RPG that blends situational battles with open exploration. These battles are influenced by conditions and choices made by players resulting in, as the name implies, new discoveries that affect the world around you. The first of three highly anticipated Square Enix RPGs (The Last Remnant, Star Ocean: The Last Hope), Infinite Undiscovery marks tri-Ace's return to the RPG limelight.

Infinite Undiscovery puts you in the role of Capell, a young lad who is imprisoned and mistaken for the leader of a Liberation force. The Liberation force is a band of resistance warriors rebelling against the Dreadknight and the Order of Chains -- an evil force that has bound the moon with chains and brought chaos to the surrounding lands. After a period of three days, he is rescued by Aya, a brave girl who is shocked to learn Capell is, in fact, a cowardly flutist. Against his own wishes, he reluctantly joins Aya to regroup with the Liberation force in their efforts to stop the Order's sinister plans. On his journey, Capell meets the real Liberation leader, Sigmund, to whom he bears a striking resemblance. Further in the game, he teams up with various allies like Edmund, a loyal swordsman; Balbagan, a brash warrior and the conniving twins, Rico and Rucha.

The game employs an interactive real-time combat system. Both standard and power attacks are used to perform combos and special attacks. Though Capell lacks the ability to cast magic, his flute is used in place of it to cast special status effects on his party members. In the thick of battle, the A.I. is quite receptive to the tactics you assign to them that range from "Spread out" to "Focus on single target". You are also able to sneak up from afar or behind your enemy directly for a higher chance to acquire rare items -- thus giving you the "Player's Advantage." After a chain of successful attacks and combos, the AP sword gauge will gradually rise; boosting the power of your special attacks that can be used to devastate your enemies. In addition, you can issue healing requests from your party members to reduce the extra time spent scrolling the menu for healing items.

Teamwork is a vital part of the game as the game has its fair share of puzzles that can only be solved with the aid of a party member. This is done by "connecting" with a team member that allows you to use their battle skills that are mapped to two buttons. The ability to use a team member's skills only works some of the time as they tend to be slow in responding; which is frustrating. Outside of combat, the team member acts on your behalf by opening treasure boxes, inspecting items and talking with others. Consequently, Capell can only connect with one party member at a time. Notable skills include Sigmund's Observant skill that allows you to view enemy stats and Rico's Beastmaster skill to speak directly with animals.

Party members will automatically split up upon entry to towns and villages. You can connect with them to discuss the party's current affairs or to chat with the locals. Specific team members are handy as they can draw out different responses from the townspeople and help with mini-quests. However, the towns differ so greatly in size from one another that simply searching around for your comrade is tiring enough. Granted, the ability to connect and to collaborate with your team members is a promising feature that should have been better implemented in this game. What's more, Capell will recruit up to 17 allies over the course of the game that is quite a hassle to manage. Assigning weapons, armor and accessories to all of your respective team members is a very cumbersome task.

Certain missions throughout the game require you to divide the party members into separate groups. Your choice of team members ultimately dictates the items, Fol (currency) and the experience gained. All items and spoils found by the other party will be added to the inventory list. With respect to Item Creation skills, Aya and Rucha are bestowed with cooking abilities, Rico is a composer, and Capell has the enchantment skills as a flute player. During the missions, food that is acquired is useful for curing negative status effects and healing party members. Each character has their own food preferences as the item's effects are more effective when they eat their choice foods.

Infinite Undiscovery's visuals are decent. The character designs are average and the surrounding environments respectable. One particular note: the game's graphics are not bad by any means. It's just that the game does not sport the imagery or gorgeous visuals of other Square Enix titles like the Final Fantasy series. The voice acting is standard -- but it's odd how many cut-scenes have no voiceovers at all. Fortunately, the voice behind Aya and a few other characters was performed well and was very believable. As for the soundtrack, composed by Motoi Sakuraba, the music fits the game accordingly and provides acceptable accompaniment.

Overall, the game fails to achieve its potential. It's hindered by the number of party members falling under its management system. It could have been enjoyable with half as many characters; demonstrating in this case that less is more. On top of this, the connecting feature in battle feels sluggish as the A.I. reaction times are slow at best. While the game is short and can be completed by most players in less than thirty hours, Infinite Undiscovery is still worth checking out for tri-Ace fans and RPG enthusiasts.

Atlus Confirms Pre-order Bonuses for Persona 4, Other RPGs

Shiva Stella — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:01:53 -0500

Everybody loves a good treat, and Atlus has definitely been known to "spoil" its hardcore fans with numerous pre-order goodies and special collections. This holiday season Atlus will be doing the following pre-order bonuses for three anticipated RPGs, including:

Persona 4 (PS2) - bonus CD soundtrack included in every copy; Persona 4 Visual Data, full color, 100 page 7''x10'' art book included in pre-orders
Luminous Arc 2 (DS) - bonus CD soundtrack included in every copy; Luminous Art book, full color, 7''x10'' featuring characters from the entire series included in pre-orders
Eternal Poison (PS2) - bonus CD soundtrack included in every copy; Librum Vespera full color, 5''x8'' art book included in pre-orders

So far the pre-order bonuses only apply to Amazon, GameStop, EB Games, and Game Crazy. Feel free to hit the link below to take a peek at the whole collection.

World of Warcraft = $200 Million Since 2004

Tim Grube — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:40:56 -0500

We all knew Blizzard was making a fortune off of World of Warcraft, but did you know it cost them $200 million dollars to run the entire game since 2004 up until now? Does that include the employees? Or the hundreds of servers, heck even the buildings just to store everything? Yup it sure does. $200 million since November 2004 and now they have over 10 million subscribers. To put it bluntly, they STILL make out in the end with estimating at over or close to $140 million dollars made every month from WoW addicts.

Below is an excerpt from the 1UP article:

Okay, so let's do a conservative estimate, and say even 1 million of these counted subscribers are still in their free month. That leaves 9 million paying subscribers who, at the $15 fee, are generating $135 million every month. Hell, even if you adjust that to, say, $120 million (since many subscribers may be paying for slightly discounted 3- or 6-month subscriptions), that still means Blizzard more than recouped their entire upkeep costs over a four-year period in just two months."

Get ready, the expansion (World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King) is due out in stores on November 13, 2008.

Monster Jam: Urban Assault Debut Trailer

Tim Grube — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:35:39 -0500

Activision is almost set to release Monster Jam: Urban Assault and today they released the debut trailer showing off some of the visuals and gameplay. The game is due out in stores October 28 for the Wii, PSP, DS, and PS2.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Out Nov 13

Tim Grube — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:20:01 -0500

It's finally announced! We all knew it'd be November, but we now have the official date! Today, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced that World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King,will arrive in stores on November 13 in North America, Europe, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Russia, and November 14 in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

"We're looking forward to launching Wrath of the Lich King and finally giving World of Warcraft players a chance to take on Arthas and his minions," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Until then, we'll continue to refine and playtest the expansion content to make sure it provides a highly polished and entertaining experience."

The expansion will be available in Korea and the regions of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau on November 18.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows XP/Windows Vista and Macintosh in two packages: a standard edition, which will sell for a suggested retail price of $39.99, and a special Collector's Edition (in select regions) priced at $69.99. The limited Collector's Edition package will contain:

The Art of World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, a 208-page book featuring never-before-seen images from the game.
An exclusive in-game pet: Frosty, the baby frost wyrm.
A behind-the-scenes DVD containing over an hour of developer interviews, the Wrath of the Lich King intro cinematic with directors commentary, and more.
The official soundtrack CD, containing 21 epic tracks from the game, along with exclusive bonus tracks.
A mouse pad featuring a map of the newly opened continent of Northrend.
Two World of Warcraft Trading Card Game March of the Legion starter decks, along with two exclusive cards available only in the Collectors Edition.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) Ships To Stores

Tim Grube — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:34:50 -0500

Mythic Entertainment and Electronic Arts today announced that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR), will ship tomorrow to retail stores across North America, Europe, and Oceania in preparation for launch on September 18th.

This is truly a historic day for both EA and Mythic as we prepare to send more copies of WAR to retailers than any other newly launched MMORPG in North America and Europe. Over the course of our beta, over a million gamers throughout the world sent a clear signal to us - they want WAR, and we are more than happy to oblige them, said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. In three days the real battle begins we have declared September 18th the Day of Reckoning, and WAR will soon be upon us!

WAR set a company record for the most retail pre-orders placed by consumers for a PC title in EAs 26 year history. Overall, the company has sold 1.5 million units of WAR to retailers.

Ubisoft To Push Subtitles On All Games

Tim Grube — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:12:04 -0500

So how do you help the deaf community? One way, put subtitles in videogames. Ubisoft today announced that it will make all there games accessible to this group by incorporating subtitles. First games that will feature this new addition will be Far Cry 2, Prince of Persia, and Shaun White Snowboarding.

"This commitment entails modifications to some of our game engines, as well as the inclusion of subtitles in the conception phase of game development," stated the company.

Far Cry 2 is due out in stores October 21, 2008.