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What we're playing this weekend

Posted by: Chuck at 9/13/2007 11:40 PM - Comments (0)
More On: What we're playing Gaming Nexus
Elliot Bonnie - Staff Writer/Fighting off the urge to join the SIXAXIS nation
This weekend I am busy trying to fight off the urge to purchase a PS3. Hopefully some Halo and beers can do the trick instead. I also want to check out the demo for FIFA 08. In between a bunch of football watching and these games I may head to the local Gamestop and see if they have a copy of Call of Juarez.

Sean Colleli - Staff Writer/Playing a NIN song
I've been playing a game I received to review (for once), a weird little shooter called You Are Empty.  It's set in 1950s Russia after some experiment went wrong, and crazy people are running around trying to kill you.  The gameplay is pretty standard, point, shoot, find exit, but the environments are phenomenal.   Cities,  buildings, even an opera  house are  presented in a very lonely, very realistic way that sets a great atmosphere.  The cutscenes are done very artistically too, like some kind of European animated art film.

Randy Kalista - Staff Writer/Wondering wherefore art thou
Sunday night has me locked into an Oregon Shakespeare Festival showing of Romeo & Juliet.  Don't laugh -- the OSF is freaking incredible.  But until then, I'll be chopping some woods and pumping some irons in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, spiking my hair in a flight with Project Sylpheed.  Alas, poor BioShock, you'll know my shelf.

Dan Keener - Staff Writer/Wondering what that red light on his forehead is
Looks like I will be getting into the Call of Duty 4 beta, orb Whoring in Crackdown and whatever else I may have time for.

Matt Mirkovich - Staff Writer/Taking a gun to his head for all the right reasons
Ok, so I've got close to 80 hours in Persona 3 and I'm at the end of the calender year, I think I'm close to the finish on this one, but then again I may go through again to complete all the social links. The crappy part about this? I'm playing on the press build, making my save incompatible with any other version. So if Persona 3 FES comes out, I am totally boned. YOU HEAR THAT ATLUS!? THAT'S DEDICATION HOLMES! (Not to be confused with levitation). Also I've got some Beatmania IIDX 13th Style DistorteD on the music games front. Along with some Heroes of Mana in my DS for when I am not training my brain (Review coming soon) and Soul Nomad: The World Eaters (Review also coming soon).

Shawn Sines - Staff Writer/Knee deep in poo monsters
Atrociously cute Akira Toriyama designs normally scare me (though Dragon Quest rocks) but I've been seduced by the old school charm of Blue Dragon. In many ways it feels like a hybrid mix of the Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior games of old and the Final Fantasy 16-bit games (FF VI and even a bit of FF VII actually). I'm 12 hours in and fighting walking piles of poo has still not lost its appeal. Despite the fact the bad guy is a purple septuagenarians called Nene I'm still playing. Only Two more DVD's to go till the end!

Rachel Steiner - Staff Writer/Cooking Queen
I’ve personally started playing Cooking Mama in order to bridge the gap between major releases that I expect to get in the next few months. This is the DS version, and the mini-games for the cooking are awesome. I love the idea behind the game and it’ll probably keep me busy for a bit.

Tyler Sager - Sr. Staff Writer/Titan of Armageddon
This weekend I'll still be fiddling around with Titan Quest, and I'll finally get around to taking a look at Armageddon Empires, a turn-based CCG-like game.  I may also dive into a quick game of Civilization IV, if the time permits.

Charles Husemann - Editor in Chief/Hunter- Killer
Now that I've finished Bioshock I'm going to switch over and try to bang through Heavenly Sword and maybe force myself to play more Lair.  Time pending I'll hunt down Dan in the Call of Duty 4 beta and play a litte CyberBall 2072.

Classic Gaming Trivia for 9/8/08

by: John - posted: 9/8/2008 1:09 PM - Comments (0)
Ok, now that I have some things taken care of we should be back to regularly scheduled trivia. The last trivia was the horrendous Time Traveler. I tried it a few times in the arcade and just gave up because it didn't really look that good and played horribly. I mean check out the bad acting.


Today's game was one I played at home a lot back in the early days because there wasn't a good hockey game for the system.

EA pushes Harry Potter game to next year

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:43 PM - Comments (0)
One of the fun things about movie tie in games is that you're always tied to the release date of the movie.  Normally that's not a problem but when Warner Brothers moved the release of the new Harry Potter movie to next year it forced EA to decide between releasing the game when it was ready (this year) and lose out on all the hype around the game or ship it with the movie and defer all the income generated from the game until 2009.

It looks like EA has decided to push the game back and now Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (i.e. the one where you know who kills that one guy) will hit stores when the movie is released next year.  I don't know if this means they'll continue development of the game until the movie is released or just sit on copies of the game until next year but it's probably for the best.  [READ MORE]

Gaming Gibs for 9/8/2008

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:31 PM - Comments (0)
Here are a few things I missed while learning to differentiate my Spocks:
  • Spore won't work on Macbooks made before 2007, take that Mac guy
  • Stephen Colbert latest person to shoot their DNA into space, this promotion is still a bit on the creepy side
  • Home impressions posted, still a lot of bare cupboards online
  • Check out the Rock Band 2 cymbals in their new ad, doesn't look too bad
  • Force Unleashed still not coming to the PC, may not be a bad thing as early reviews have not been kind
  • Chainsaw coming to Castle Crashers, hopefully a patch soon as well
  • Will Wright knows which side of the bread his toast is buttered
  • Chatpad hacked to work with the PSP, have to wonder if new Sony keyboard will do the same

Metallica Death Magnetic album hits GH III via DLC this week

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:25 PM - Comments (0)
Pop in your Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock disk this Friday to download Metallica's Death Magnetic Album the same day it hits retailers. The album will feature two exclusive Guitar Hero versions of "Suicide & Redemption" (extended solos). In addition, the entire Death Magnetic album will be forward compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour when it launches later this fall at no additional charge. Death Magnetic will cost 1440 Microsoft Points for the Xbox 360 or $17.99 for the Playstation 3. [READ MORE]

Wiikly wiileases wiivealed

by: Chuck - posted: 9/8/2008 12:24 PM - Comments (0)
Another week, another trio of releases for Nintendo owners to think about purchasing.  This week's WiiWare title is Groovin' Blocks (800 points), a new music game that will punish those of us with no inner rhythm.  Retro fans are getting two TurboGrafx16 games with Cho Aniki(900 points ) and Final Soldier(700 points) now available on the service.   

Be sure to check back on Friday for Cyril's take on the games.  Until then here's the trailer for Groovin' Blocks
[READ MORE]

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Demo on Marketplace

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:24 PM - Comments (0)
Those that know me are familiar with my distaste for Demos of games that have been released for weeks or months. And that is exactly what we are getting today from Activision, as they unleashed a demo for Guitar Hero: Aerosmith on Xbox Live Marketplace. We recently reviewed the game and gave it a mediocre C-, but if you really want to decide for yourself, then feel free to download and play the included songs “Sweet Emotion”, “Dream On”, “Walk this Way” and “I Hate Myself For Loving You”. Much like a movie trailer for a comedy that includes all the funny scenes, that's about it as far as recognizable songs go.

Spring Cleaning continues for Xbox Live Arcade

by: Dan - posted: 9/8/2008 12:10 PM - Comments (0)
 Another week of stuff for Xbox Live Arcade that was stuck in the back of the closet, as RocketBowl (800 pts), Samurai Shodown 2 (400 pts), Shotest Shogi (800 Pts), Buku Sudoku Puzzle Pack (200 pts) and N+ Levelpack (200 pts) will hit the service this Wednesday at 5:00 a.m. EST. That's a lot of stuff with some high point values to be throwing our way all at once. Check out all the details on the next page.... [READ MORE]

Dead Space banned in three countries

by: Chuck - posted: 9/7/2008 6:30 PM - Comments (2)
Despite what GamePolitics thinks, it looks like Dead Space has been banned in China, Germany, and Japan according to the game's official blog.  Germany isn't too much of a surprise but China and Japan are.  It does look like the gruesomeness of the game combined with the "would be suicides" are what pushed the game into the land of the banned.  Sucks for them as the game is looking to be one of the better games of the year.

Notes from the NHL 2K9 press call

by: Chuck - posted: 9/7/2008 3:50 PM - Comments (0)
For those too lazy to listen to Dan’s recording of the NHL 2K9 press call last week with Ben Bishop (Producer) and Jay Iwahashi (Online Producer) here my notes from the call:
-Virtual Concepts is replacing Kush this year
    -Felt like the first opportunity to rebuild the franchise, game had been extending old content for a while, chance to replace a lot of old code

-Fresh perspective to the game, try to bring the fun back to the game, The controls are really the focus, want people to be able to pick up and play right away
    -Lot of modern games are getting too complex, focus is on fun and making it easy to play
    -Old code base thrown out, completely re-worked
    -Simplified controls so that pass, shoot, check are all you need to know

-Zamboni and playoff beards coming to the game, along with custom Stanley cup celebrations
    -Can skate around the ice with the cup, can skate around, raise, kiss, and pass the cup to a teammate

-Some presentation content ported in from NBA 2K9 team, cross team sharing of resources
    -Game summary replays
        -Save and replay – make your own highlight reels
        -View all hits, goals, etc after game

-Should be a much different experience than last year
-Not concerned with being the underdog, the fans are the hardest audience to please
-Differences from NHL 09
    -Only Wii hockey game this year
    -Easier control scheme – bringing the fun back
    -Feels that the games are on a different path

-Had some issues with the Wii port, went from the 360 to the Wii
    -Trying to find memory and get the graphics to work

-Can switch between control schemes, can used advanced if you want to
    -Hybrid scheme
    -Pro-stick evolution – more focused on using right stick for shooting
    -Scheme from 2K8 not in the game
    -Cannot customize controls

More on the online modes and other changes after the break.

Here's the final teaser video for the game
[READ MORE]

Mount & Blade goes Gold

by: Elliot - posted: 9/7/2008 2:46 PM - Comments (0)
Get your saddles and riding boots all cleaned up because Mount & Blade for the PC just went gold. Look for the game online plus on store shelves September 16th for North America and September 19th for Europe. More information after the jump. [READ MORE]

New DS color launches today

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 9/7/2008 1:35 PM - Comments (0)
September 7th marks the release of the Metallic Silver DS Lite, so if you still don't have Nintendo's strangely popular portable this is another excuse to finally get one.  The silver DS joins a host of other colors already on the market, including a very limited edition gold Legend of Zelda DS.  I can imagine the lucky collectors with that piece of swag are comparing their DS bling to the new silver model.  Personally, I'll stick with my jet black DS, at least until Trauma Center makes me wear out the touch screen. [READ MORE]

New Puzzle Quest website launches

by: Sean Colleli - posted: 9/7/2008 1:30 PM - Comments (0)
D3 Publisher is gearing up to release the latest game in their popular Puzzle Quest series, Galactrix.  To get the fans excited and keep them informed, D3 has relaunched the Puzzle Quest website.  There is now comprehensive info for all the games in the series and preview material for Galactrix as well.  There is also a section dedicated to strategies for the XBLA expansion pack.  It's nice to see D3 supporting their fan base this much, and I know I'm looking forward to the new release even more. [READ MORE]

Dean Takahashi details the RROD problem

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 3:55 PM - Comments (0)
Dean Takahashi has published a long, in depth article that details the reasons behind the RROD problem that caused so many Xbox 360's to fail.  It's a long read (6 pages) but it's worth it just to get a look inside what went on and why there are so many defects.  There's some new information but the core reason of why the device failed was because Microsoft rushed it to market to beat Sony, even though they knew there were problems with the Xbox 360 when it shipped. 

While it certainly makes Microsoft look bad it's worth noting that the strategy seems to have worked as Microsoft is currently leading the PS3 right now.   The real question now is will people still line up to buy the next Microsoft gaming system when it comes out or will they wait until Microsoft fixes all the issues (real or perceived). 

Sierra demonstrates l33t Gin Rummy skills in new video

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 1:19 PM - Comments (2)
Gin Rummy was released on Xbox Live last week and the folks at Sierra have put together a little video showing off some tips and tricks for how to play the game.  Personally I'm not much of a card game guy (no guns, not enough explosions) but the video does provide some sound strategies for the game if you're into that kind of thing.

What we're playing this weekend

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 12:21 PM - Comments (0)
Ben Berry
Seeing as my fiance already downloaded it, I am going to give Pirates of the Caribbean Online a try. A little Rock Band will probably be mixed in as i anxiously await the two NHL titles due on Tuesday.

Elliot Bonnie
Not much time for gaming this weekend, but what time I do have will be spent blowing up stuff in Mercenaries 2.

Dave Gamble
I'm reliving the Summer Olympics with Summer Athletics for the Wii.  Between events, I'm racing Dodge Vipers around famous European race tracks with Simbin's new racer, GTR Evolution.

Charles Husemann
It's going to be a quiet weekend of gaming for me as I get revved up for Spore and the NHL games next week.  I'm hoping to get in a little more Pixel Junk Eden this weekend and maybe a little Rock Band.

Randy Kalista
There are over 3.3 million creatures and vehicles uploaded into Spore's online Sporepedia.  I wish I was kidding.  I'm entirely too lazy to sift through all that player-created content to find just the right creations to import into my own world.  So I'll be spending a little more time with the Spore Creature Creator myself.  Plus, on Sunday, I'll try and help everyone crash the GOG.com server by rushing in for a download of Fallout 2.

Dan Keener
Looks like I can get my 360 back from Sean Cahill, so that means I can finally download Castle Crashers and the Rock Band Rush masters.  Toss in some more Oblivion, and time to do some serious testing with the Polk Audio iSonic.

Matt Mirkovich
I've gone back to Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow on the Nintendo DS. I've also picked up Infinite Undiscovery for the 360. It's RPG-mayhem at my place as I've also got Disgaea 3, and the Tales of Vesperia limited edition begging to be played. I've also got to get practiced up for my Forza Racing League, our final race is Monday and I'm looking to finish in solid 5th.

Nathan Murray
I have been playing Gutiar Hero III in preparation for the festivities this friday. I will be bringing my nifty new phone that has a 2 megapixel camera and an expandable memory card slot. What does that mean? That means recorded mayhem that will show up on my blog later this week mwah ha ha. Anyway I'll probably be playing more Call of Duty 4 this weekend. remember user name frophey is your ticket to a quick death.

Tyler Sager
I'll be waiting for the gathering gaming storm scheduled to arrive later this month, so I'll just be fiddling around with some old titles.  I've been playing a bit of Half-Life 2 and Portal lately, along with some strategy favorites. 

Eva Sines
After I get through canning crabapple jelly and crabapple butter, I hope to get in some solid time leveling my hunter on Silverlode in Lord of the Rings Online.  We'll also be playing D&D 4.0 Sunday evening.

GamingNexus writer appears on Game on! podcast (it's not Chuck)

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 9:16 AM - Comments (0)
Our own Eva Sines has graced the Game On! podcast with her presence this week to talk about MMO's and other gaming goodies.  Normally that's my role but Eva does have a special relationship with one of the hosts of the show.  Good stuff and well worth the listen.

Give me FUEL, give me fire, give me the screenshots I desire

by: Chuck - posted: 9/6/2008 9:08 AM - Comments (1)
Here are five pre-alpha screenshots from Codemaster's upcoming off-road racing game FUEL.  Codemasters has been on a bit of a tear with their racing games lately as last year's GRID was excellent.  I do wonder why they insist on capitalizing the name of the game though.
[READ MORE]

News Roundup: Skate Things On Wheels

by: Randy - posted: 9/6/2008 3:13 AM - Comments (0)
DEMOS, PATCHES
VIDEOS
SCREENSHOTS
ARTICLES Thanks to 3DXtreme, AtomicGamer, Cryptic Studios, TheTechLounge, Legit Reviews, Digit-Life, Techgage, and Tweaknews for today's News Roundup.

Several ESPN shows now taking a page from new EA Sports Virtual Playbook

by: Randy - posted: 9/6/2008 2:58 AM - Comments (0)
In a convergence of video game graphics and ESPN television, EA Sports Virtual Playbook launched today and will integrate into ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live shows, and will debut this Sunday, September 7th, on Sunday NFL Countdown.  "EA Sports Virtual Playbook is born out of our deep football heritage at EA Sports and our drive to expand the impact of our innovative sports technologies beyond gaming," said Peter "F*** You, Yuji Naka" Moore.  And, not to get lazy, but I'll let the EA press release try and explain what's going on, in typically-convoluted EA language:
EA Sports Virtual Playbook is created using feeds from in-studio real-world cameras as well as an in-game camera that captures EA Sports in-game graphics depicting real game scenarios.  The real-world studio and game images of virtual characters are combined to create the effect of "augmented reality" -- virtual players appearing in the studio alongside real life hosts and analysts.  Both real and virtual people are able to move realistically around the studio set to demonstrate plays and scenarios.  The system accommodates, and in fact is controlled by, the multiple real-world cameras that are typical in today's sports analysis television programs.
Essentially, the aforementioned programs will use the EA Sports Virtual Playbook to analyze game matchups, demonstrate offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight mismatches. [READ MORE]

Rock Band DLC for next Week is All that Remains

by: Dan - posted: 9/5/2008 9:05 PM - Comments (0)
Well, Harmonix announced in their forums today that we will be getting another week of speed metal crap at a discounted price. Hopefully Harmonix is just cleaning out the coffers prior to releasing Rock Band 2 later this month when some real songs will start to show up.  For those that care, the All that Remains 3-pack will be 80 pts each or 240 for the pack for the first month (What...no discount!?!)

ALL THAT REMAINS 3 PACK - $2.99 (240 Microsoft Points) 

THIS CALLING - $.99 (80 Microsoft Points)
CHIRON $.99 (80 Microsoft Points)
TWO WEEKS $.99 (80 Microsoft Points)

Origins '08 late but still great interview: D20 Pro

by: Nathan - posted: 9/5/2008 7:10 PM - Comments (0)
What is D20 Pro? It is one of the greatest examples I have ever seen of the evolution and blending of traditional table top game with the interactive software experience. D20 Pro is software that gives players the ability to play Dungeons and Dragons or similar D20 (a specific type of table top game) games on a virtual game board. The software doesn't just look good but this very functional and can be a very powerful tool for any Game Master. The greatest advantage though of using D20 Pro is the ability to play online with anyone over a secure line making table top gaming possible from across the country. Now that's what I call progression. Check out the software at D20Pro.com
Video thumbnail. Click to play.
Click to play

Chronicles of Spellborn Music Featured in Black Symphony DVD

by: Eva - posted: 9/5/2008 6:01 PM - Comments (0)
The Chronicles of Spellborn MMO features three songs written by gothic-rock band Within Temptation. Spellborn International has alerted gamers that live performances of "The Howling", "Hand of Sorrow" and "The Heart of Everything" are featured in the band's upcoming CD/DVD release Black Symphony performed by Within Temptation and the Metrople Symphony. The full story behind the landmark fusion of a videogame developer and band is retold on the Within Temptation site. Here's an excerpt from the page:
In the end of 2005 Within Temptation started a corporation with game developer ‘The Chronicles of Spellborn’. This is the first time in history a rock band and the developers of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game have announced such collaboration, marking a new era in the fusion of the arts of music and making games.

"The Chronicles of Spellborn" is a MMOR- Playing game, players from all over the world will be able to interact through the internet with each other in an original fantasy setting, experienced through a unique graphic style.

Robert Westerholt comments:”Since there are quite a few game fanatics in our band we didn't hesitate long when we were given the opportunity to work together with a game-developer on the music for a videogame. Especially since a game like 'The Chronicles of Spellborn' is graphically, as well as story-wise, very inspiring.”
The Black Symphony DVD will be available in Europe September 22 and September 23 in the US. You can get the latest information on The Chronicles of Spellborn at the official website which will be relaunching later this month.

Personally, I would like to see more collaborations of this type in the future. It just builds a more solid foundation for both the music and games industries as well as being a big win for gamers. I leave you with the trailer for Within Temptation's Black Symphony.

Warhammer Online Ushers in Age of Reckoning with Preview Weekend Plus

by: Eva - posted: 9/5/2008 5:55 PM - Comments (0)
Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is ringing in the Open Beta by extending its preview weekend event. Preview Weekend Plus starts today Friday, September 5th and runs until the September 7th kick off of the Age of Reckoning.
In order to make this world-wide event the best it can be we're welcoming all Preview Weekend attendees back for two more days to rev things up and get the party started. We invite all Preview Weekend players to join us for Preview Weekend+ this Friday, 9/5 and Saturday, 9/6 starting tomorrow morning.
As a reminder, this event is for Closed Beta participants, Collectors Edition Pre-Order customers, and the first lucky 50,000 Standard Edition Pre-Order customers to register their accounts in the new Mythic Account Center. All of you lucky qualifying gamers gird yourselves for battle to usher in the Age of Reckoning. The rest of us will join you Sunday.

Weekly PSN store update

by: Chuck - posted: 9/5/2008 12:41 PM - Comments (0)
It's not a bad week on PSN this week as you can purchase NFL Head Coach 09, download a demo for NHL 2K9, and check out the latest edition of Qore magazine (which includes access to the MotorStorm Pacific Rift demo) along with a host of other goodies.

Achilles wonders if you are entertained in new Rise of the Argonauts video

by: Chuck - posted: 9/5/2008 12:37 PM - Comments (0)
Rise of the Argonauts was one of the games that surprised me the most at E3 this year.  The re-working of classic mythology stood out and it doesn't  hurt that the game looks fantastic.  If you don't believe me check out this new footage from the game that shows of Achilles having a little gladiator fun.