Archive for the ‘Microsoft’ Category

« Older Entries

Catch-up

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Well, let us begin the catch-ups so be can go to business as usual as soon as possible. First off, on a personal note, the Mario carving sold, but the Yoshi chainsaw carving sold is still up for grabs. In late November, I also got an Xbox 360, bundled with Kung Fu Panda and Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures. I also recent bought Call of Duty: World at War.

dsi.jpg

Nintendo announced the release of the DSi. The new system is 12 percent thinner than the DS lite and the GBA slot is now gone. The new system will have an external 3 megapixel camera, as well as a front-facing camera, an SD slot, internal storage, and a DSi Shop(like the Wii Shop channel for the DS). The system was released in Japan on November 1, 2008, and will be released in North America in Spring of 2009.

Rather than Wii points, the DS and Wii will now have Nintendo Points. Once you buy the new points, you will have to chose whether you will use all the points for the DS shop system of the Wii Shop system; you will not be able to split the points between the new systems. The DSi will be somewhat, if not completely region locked.

Now on to homebrew, many new updates to thwart home brewers where released, but the home brewers found work arounds. The Wii Homebrew Channel turned 1.0. The DSi render all the old hombrew cards useless, but it appears that one new card, called Acekard 2i, will work on it.

Some big games that where released during Game Influence down time include: Call of Duty: World at War, Animal Crossing: City Folk(with the Wii Speak peripheral), de Blob, Wario Land: Shake It!, Guitar Hero World Tour, Chrono Trigger, Spore, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, the re-franchised Prince of Persia, and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. A personal favorite, Wrath of the Lich King, was released in November, My girlfriend gave me this for my birthday, if you think about it, it’s quite ironic.

MegaMan9PromoArt.JPG

Not much in terms of digital releases, although Mega Man 9 was released for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3World of Goo was also released as a Wii Ware title.

Some big games that where announced or gained a greater popularity with a future release during Game Influence’s down time include: No More Heroes 2, Resident Evil 5, Sin & Punishment 2, Sega’s The Conduit, Killzone 2, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and games from the Wii remake program. The Wii remake program will release games from the Game Cube to the Wii, with updated controls. Games in the Wii remake program include Metroid Prime 1, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Pikmin, Mario Tennis, Chibi Robo, and Pikmin 2.

Club_Nintendo.bmp

Recently, Nintendo finally provided American with a service that Europe and Japan have had for quite some time, Club Nintendo. Club Nintendo launched December 15. Before the service’s launch, Nintendo confirmed that Club Nintendo allowed users to earn Coins for registering Nintendo products and completing surveys, redeem Coins for limited edition Rewards, earn a set amount of Coins each year to gain Gold and Platinum status, create a Family Account and invite members of your family to join, and register your newly purchased Wii console or Nintendo DS on Club Nintendo and extend your warranty.

Well, I’m sure I missed a lot of news, If I remember anything I missed, I’ll try to bring it up laiter.

Posted in 24 Connect, DS Homebrew, Handhelds, Import, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Nintendo WiFi, Online Gaming, PC, PS2, PS3, PSN, PSP, Playstation, Sony, Virtual Console, Wii, Wii Online, Wii Ware, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | No Comments »

Donkey Kong for the Wii?

Monday, June 23rd, 2008

dkwii.jpg

Donkey Kong, along with other Nintendo franchises (Kirby, and maybe Yoshi), hasn’t seen a “true” release in a long time. In recent years Donkey Kong’s home console games have been limited to drumming games. Portable games have been limited to simple games where the only thing that Donkey Kong can do is swing from 2d vine to another 2d vine or limited to merely being a victim of the Mini-Marios.

During the SNES era, Rare, the company now owned by Microsoft, made 3 Donkey Kong games, Donkey Kong County, Donkey Kong Country 2 – Diddy’s Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country – Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble. These three games were some of the best games made for the Super Nintendo.

During the N64 era, Rare’s Donkey Kong 64, was the first game to use the N64’s expansion. The game was the first game to show off what the expansion pack could do and it was the first game to truly bring Donkey Kong into the third dimension.

Kirby’s last big game for a console, Kirby’s Air Raid, was also a big diversion from the main franchise. Now Nintendo, you have to remember that if you bring a franchise away from the main series, you have to bring it back. Donkey Kong and Kirby haven’t seen a “true to the franchise” game for a home console since the Nintendo 64 era, although the Kirby experience has continued on Nintendo’s portable consoles.

Does Nintendo not release these games, because of the painful memory of their lost company, Rare, who made these games? I don’t think that’s the case, because Microsoft (the owner or Rare) has supported Nintendo’s portable console. If for some reason Nintendo doesn’t want to pursue a 3D Donkey Kong game for the Wii, I would still love to see a 3d Donkey Kong game, so I would love to see Rare do what they did for Diddy Kong Racing DS and release Donkey Kong 64 on the Nintendo DS.

So, I think it’s time to bring back a 3d Donkey Kong for Nintendo’s latest console, the Wii. Why, because there is no reason Nintendo shouldn’t make another 3d Game for the lovable Nintendo character. I’d say the game should be cell shaded, when I think of Donkey Kong, I think of him as a cartoon, even more so that Mario or Zelda. But, either way, Donkey Kong on the Wii would be an enjoyable graphical experience, because outside of Brawl we’ve never seen a highly defined Donkey Kong franchise character or DK environment. When Super Mario galaxy came out, and people saw Bowser’s hair waving in the air, they had one of those “WOW!” moments. I think having Donkey Kong on the Wii would offer something similar, because no one has seen a Donkey Kong that was using the Wii’s graphical abilities. I for one would love to see DK in a lush environment, with hair that looks like hair and not a series of monkey shaped polygons, with buildings that don’t pop up when come close to then and disappear when walking away from them and Icons where you can see the edges of the pixels.

What would be the story? Well they would just what they do with all Nintendo Franchises, by repeating themselves, like Mario saving the princess, Link saving Zelda, and Donkey Kong finding the Golden Banana’s for some reason.

Outside of bring the game back to its roots, I think DK fans would enjoy a Vine swinging game, similar to what NiGHTS 2 had to offer in its flying dynamic, but in a more flat environment, and with more vertical path’s. If that would stand as a game itself, I would love to see it added as a feature to a 3d Donkey Kong game for the Wii.

Either way, if Nintendo keeps releasing these gimmicky games feature these icons with out releasing titles true to their respective franchises these franchises will loose their identity.

Posted in Handhelds, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Retro, Virtual Console, Wii | No Comments »

Sonic Unleashed

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

First off, sorry about the lack of updates, I’ve been busy with working on Nintendo Destination and school. Well a while back some photo’s and a video was apparently leaked about a new Sonic game called Sonic Unleashed. We finally got confirmation that this game would indeed be heading to the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii.

Sonic and the Secret Rings was the first step towards bringing sonic back to it’s roots. Sonic Unleashed will offer classic Sonic the Hedgehog game play with new flashy 3D graphics.

The the “leaked” video has been removed from YouTube. Below is a few of the “leaked” and not “leaked” images of Sonic Unleashed, followed by the recently released press release.

6750620080325_180012_20_big.jpg    sns.jpg    6750620080325_180013_21_big.jpg

6750620080325_173209_26_big.jpg    6750620080325_173207_24_big.jpg    6750620080325_173222_32_big.jpg

6750620080325_180010_19_big.jpg    6750620080325_173145_9_big.jpg    6750620080325_173143_8_big.jpg

6750620080323_153505_5_big.jpg    6750620080325_173127_2_big.jpg    6750620080325_173129_3_big.jpg

6750620080325_173127_2_big.jpg    6750620080325_173129_3_big.jpg    6750620080325_173205_22_big.jpg

6750620080325_173136_5_big.jpg    6750620080325_173123_0_big.jpg    soniclast.jpg

2.jpg    1.jpg    4.jpg

5.jpg    7.jpg    6.jpg

SONIC IS UNLEASHED! SEGA’s newest Sonic title is set to combine amazing next gen capabilities with classic Sonic 2D gameplay!

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (April 3, 2008) – SEGA®of America and SEGA of Europe Ltd., today announced that everyone’s favourite hedgehog will be breaking new ground yet maintaining his roots, in the upcoming title, Sonic Unleashed™. Developed by renowned studio Sonic Team, the latest installment in the multi-million selling franchise, will take players on an unforgettable high-speed journey around the globe in a way never before experienced in the world of Sonic. The game is set for release later this year and will be available for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and PLAYSTATION®2.

Sonic Unleashed is built on a powerful new “Hedgehog Engine”, which introduces seamless 3D to classic 2D camera transitions, whilst delivering a rich and expansive world with multiple paths to choose from. Under development for three years, the Hedgehog Engine produces a visually rich next generation look and feel with elements of classic Sonic gameplay mechanics. The Hedgehog engine will help re-define the gameplay experience for Sonic fans and newcomers to the franchise alike.

“By combining rich and vibrant scenery with dynamic viewpoints Sonic Unleashedwill provide an immersive 3D experience whilst keeping alive the 2D gameplay elements and fantastic worlds that Sonic fans know and love” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for SEGA Europe. “In addition to this classic Sonic gaming experience, when darkness sets in Sonic Unleashed players will be able to experience a completely new way to play as Sonic… making this his most exciting adventure yet!”

Having been broken apart by the evil Dr Eggman, it’s down to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the chaos emeralds. In doing so, Sonic will find himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation that will challenge him in ways never before seen. By completing a wide variety of action-packed stages, spanning the seven broken continents of the world, gamers will need to unleash Sonic’s amazing abilities to save the world, and himself!

The opportunity to engage in Sonic in different ways during the day and night time levels brings a completely original way of playing to the Sonic franchise, in addition to running at high speeds in classic Sonic style, combat fighting will become possible. Super quick Sonic’s speed skills will be highlighted by four new modes, whilst the all new combat, movement and functional abilities will offer depth and variety to the game. As the sun sets in Sonic Unleashed, a different type of adventure will awaken in Sonic’s newest quest….

Sonic Unleashed is scheduled for release worldwide in late 2008.

Press Release

Posted in Microsoft, Nintendo, PS2, PS3, Playstation, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

What is the Best Video Game Company Ever? Let’s find out.

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

Chart

Not surprisingly, Nintendo made the top of that list. Nintendo has been in the industry for a long time, and it would make sense that today they make the most and the best games. Sony took second, and that also is not very surprising. What is surprising, though, is how EA managed to get fourth place. Since they recently bought out many fantastic video game companies, it should bump up quite a lot.

Kotaku

Posted in Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony | 3 Comments »

DLC Coming to Mass Effect

Wednesday, February 6th, 2008

Microsoft and Bioware have announced today that Mass Effect will now include downloadable content. It will cost you 400 Microsoft Points, which is like $5, and will be approx. 90 minutes and includes 50 achievement points. “Bring Down the Sky”, is what the new DLC is, and it is an all-new world to explore.

Aliens of the new world

Posted in Microsoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live | No Comments »

Video of the Day: Febuary 5, 2008

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Video of the day

Yahtzee Croshaw reviews Mass Effect for the Xbox 360..

.


Posted in Microsoft, Nintendo, Video of the Day, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Released this Week: February 4, 2008

Monday, February 4th, 2008

United States:

    Wii:
    • Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore
    • My Horse & Me
    • The Spiderwick Chronicles

    Xbox 360:

    • Culdcept Saga
    • Devil May Cry 4
    • Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore
    • The Spiderwick Chronicles
    • Turok

    PS3:

    • Devil May Cry 4
    • Turok

    PS2:

    • Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore
    • Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rise to Power
    • The Spiderwick Chronicles
    • Twisted Metal: Head On

    Nintendo DS:

    • Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles
    • My Horse & Me
    • Paws & Claws: Pet Resort
    • Puppy Palace
    • Real Soccer 2008
    • The Spiderwick Chronicles
    • Zoo Tycoon 2

    PSP:

    • Downstream Panic!

    PC:

    • 20 Questions
    • Medieval II Total War: Gold Pack
    • Merv Griffin’s Crosswords
    • Sins of a Solar Empire
    • Spaceforce: Captains
    • The Spiderwick Chronicles

Europe:

    Nintendo Wii:
    • Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None
    • Arctic Tale
    • Cars: Mater-National
    • Medal of Honor Heroes 2
    • Nitrobike
    • PDC World Championship Darts
    • Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
    • Showtime Championship Boxing

    Xbox 360:

    • The Club
    • Conflict: Denied Ops
    • Devil May Cry 4
    • Turok

    PS3:

    • The Club
    • Conflict: Denied Ops
    • Devil May Cry 4
    • NFL Tour
    • Turok

    PS2:

    • Art of Fighting Anthology

    Nintendo DS:

    • Arctic Tale
    • Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders
    • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
    • Pic Pic
    • Professor Kageyama’s Maths Training
    • Tangram Mania

    PSP:

    • Final Fantasy
    • Final Fantasy II

    PC:

    • The Command & Conquer Saga
    • Conflict: Denied Ops
    • Democracy
    • Medieval II Total War: Gold Pack
    • Speedball 2

Japan:

    Wii:
    • Major Wii Nagero! Gyroball
    • Oneechanbara Revolution

    Xbox 360:

    • Battlestations: Midway

    PS3:

    • Transformers: The Game

    PS2:

    • Dengeki SP: Shakugan no Shana
    • Princess Maker 5
    • Transformers: The Game

    Nintendo DS:

    • L: The Prologue to Death Note Rasen no Wana
    • Patto Tokueru: Indo Suugaku Drill

    PSP:

    • Coded Soul: Uke Keigareshi Idea
    • Kidou Senshi Gundam: Giren no Yabou Axis no Kyoui

    PC:

    • Sega Rally Revo

Posted in Handhelds, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Playstation, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

The Simpsons Game

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

230094b.jpg    180405b.jpg    200303b.jpg

The day that The Simpsons Game came out, I picked up the Wii version. The graphics for the Xbox 360 and PS3 are superb, both those versions use a really cool flattening technique that makes the game look truly like a cartoon. The Wii and PS2 version however, do not actually use this technique, but emulate it as best the systems can; as a result, the graphics do not impress the same.

The game is pretty sweet. the whole premise of The Simpsons Game is the Simpsons characters discover that they are in a game. The game comes packed with an uncountable number of parodies, particularly the games in the Nintendo universe.

The Wii version and I’m assuming the PS2 version is an only different in terms of graphics; At times the level layout is slightly different. The NeverQuest stage is noticeably altered for the Wii version. The method you use to get passed the dragon statue is different from the Wii Version to the PS3 and Xbox 360 Version, but more importantly there is no balloon fight parody in the Wii version. Which surprises me, because the Wii is Nintendo’s system, despite the fact that Nintendo created balloon Fight. The second to last level, which is, spoilers ignored, Matt Greening’s house; this level is completely different from the Wii version to the Xbox 360 and PS3 version. I don’t know why they did it they must have their reasons, but I wonder what those reasons were, I’m thinking maybe they were going for Scarface in the Wii version of the mansion, but I really don’t know. I didn’t see the robotic Bart Simpson upgrade and that we version, which is required to pass though the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.

The Nintendo DS version, it drops the 3-D elements of the game in favor of a 2-D platformer. All the elements of their original game, outside of elements that require 3-D environments, are preserved. The unique upgrades such as Ball Homer and Gummi Homer are still in the game. The game features a surprisingly large amount of cut scenes and audio recordings. The cut scenes appear exactly as they do in the games console equivalents. the game also features leapfrog and Pet Homer, two features that are not in the console Versions of The Simpson Game. the game is not a 100% 2-D platform. the game features other elements such as arcade style and overhead view modes. The Marge levels feature a view that reminds me of the old Simpsons arcade game.

In the Wii version, I did find a couple of glitches, one of which is in the video below.

I hope the water in the image below was intentional and not intended to actually look like Simpsons style water

IMG00010.jpg

The game itself, is a treat for any hard-core gamer. The game is jammed with a countless number of parodies. One drawback to the game is that it takes a very short time to beat the game, it can be beaten in probably six hours, butthose short six hours are packed with a lot content. Simpsons fans and hard-core gamers can look pass the games short duration, and see the millions of jokes and parities, and still enjoy the Game.

Posted in Handhelds, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Online Gaming, PSP, Playstation, Sony, Wii, Xbox Live | 2 Comments »

High Quality Halo DS was Indeed in Development

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007

mattbloghalods_1191348742.jpg

For those of you who were skeptical that DS version of hell was in development, and now prepare to open their mouth widely because their foot is about to be put in it. Casamassina has posted some videos and pictures on his personal blog that showed intricately developed Halo DS game. The game seems to be incredibly detailed and from what appears, is looks to be a pretty amazing game. Who ever pulled the pull the plug is, In my eyes, comparable to Satan himself. Below are three videos all of the actual game.

Blog.IGN.com

Posted in Handhelds, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Xbox, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Released Today: September 27, 2007

Thursday, September 27th, 2007

Nintendo DS

  • Kurupoto Cool Cool Stars
  • Crayola Treasure Adventures
  • Race Driver: Create & Race

PC

  • Chocolatier
  • Mystery of Shark Island
  • Dora the Explorer: Candyland
  • Go Diego Go: Safari Rescue
  • Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2008

Xbox 360

  • Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2008

Posted in Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PC, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Podcast Voice: #5

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

gicast.JPG

In addition to Robby, we will also be joined with one of his cronies, Eddie.

Voice # 5: Eddie of Albotas.

Posted in Microsoft, Nintendo, PS3, Playstation, Podcast, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

Podcast Voice: #4

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

gicast.JPG

Not a personal friend, but he seems pretty nice. Robby along with his crony post on albotas.com. The site features a gaming blog and t-shits. I don’t really get the whole t-shirt and blog combo thing, but either way they seem to be doing good with both aspects of the site.

Voice # 4: Robby of Albotas.

Posted in Microsoft, Nintendo, Podcast, Wii, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

Released Today: September 26, 2007

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

PC

  • Backyard Football 2008

Xbox 360

  • CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Hard Evidence
  • Hot Wheels: Beat That
  • World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets

Posted in Microsoft, PC, Xbox 360 | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries