You've seen Star Wars: The Force Unleashed in preview trailers for the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3, but how will the game hold up on other systems with less graphical and CPU power? See for yourself. LucasArts has released a new web documentary video showing the highlights and unique features of the Wii, PS2, PSP and DS version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
Krome Studios is developing the game on the Wii, PS2 and PSP. n-Space is the developer for the Nintendo DS release. On the Wii, the Wii Remote is used for the lightsaber and Wii Nunchuck is used for The Force. The Wii version is, after all, "the most connected to The Force." On the PS2, there is the additional Jedi Temple, featuring Jedi trials. The PSP gets "Historical Missions," where players can play 5 classic Star Wars movie moments. The DS gets a unique control scheme, thanks to the touch screen.
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Complete first season of episodic games to hit retail stores this fall
SAN RAFAEL, CA, April 4, 2008– As part of a continuing effort to extend episodic gaming to new audiences and platforms, Telltale is officially announcing that Sam&Max Season One will be coming to Wii™. This collection of the first six Sam&Max episodes will introduce a brand new audience to the popular and critically-acclaimed game series. Sam&Max for Wii is expected to ship to retail stores worldwide this fall, thanks to a partnership between Telltale and JoWooD/DreamCatcher.
Sam&Max's journey to the Wii console has been fueled by fan excitement. Just before the episodic series' PC debut, fans launched an email campaign clamoring for a Wii version of the series. Continuous rumors and rampant speculation online led to developer and publisher enthusiasm for the title. With Telltale now focusing on console development in addition to PC, the company can finally bring Sam&Max to Wii in response to this overwhelming demand.
The Sam&Max episodes let players guide the Freelance Police through a series of bizarre—and often sidesplitting—mysteries. Sam&Max Season One has already experienced enormous success, both as an episodic series available for download through Telltale's website and other services, and at retail. Honors include Adventure Game of the Year from GameSpy and IGN, and inclusion on Games for Windows' list of Top 10 Games in 2007.
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The age-old question of Alien Brains vs. Zombies will finally be answered!
The Earth is under attack by a horde of Alien Brain...uh...Thingys! Humans, succumbing to ray-guns, mind-control, and shiny flying saucers, have failed to defend their planet and let it fall easily into the clutches of the Big Brain and his army of Brain Thingys. The only hope left for mankind is three Teenage Zombies that have arisen from a graveyard disturbed in the invasion. The undead trio ignores their normal human victims in favour of the pulsing pink brains they see EVERYWHERE - all the while being lured to the ultimate lunch: THE BIG BRAIN! The Big Brain soon realizes he’s overlooked this “Super Race” as they inexplicably resist mind control, are unaffected by ray-gun wounds, and devour his Brain Thingy Armies like sweets! He refocuses his efforts and resources to battle the Earth’s greatest champions: The Teenage Zombies!
Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! Features:
# Unique Comic Mode which drives the story with an interactive comic book style presentation.
# Platforming gameplay that requires the player to swap between characters to solve levels.
# Each character has their own unique abilities to aid them through their adventure.
# Mini Games featuring the zombies (or their body parts) using all the Nintendo DS features.
# The Big Brain Challenge – a series of quick micro mini games that happen at anytime during gameplay to win or lose against the Big Brain.
# ZAPS! (Zombie Assembly Pop-up Screen) – a mini-game where you use collected body parts to quickly create a zombie to regain your “unhealth points”.
There have been a ton of zombie videogames over the years. From classic series Resident Evil to House of the Dead and plenty more besides, there’s never been a lack of the undead on consoles and arcades. But I can’t recall actually playing as them, which is what Teenage Zombies allows you to do. It’s a weird notion to play 3 undead characters, but it’s definitely fun and worthy of being on the DS. Essentially, it’s a platformer with a few combat elements and mini-games, all making a very impressive package.
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XIII might be remembered by most gamers as a dull cell-shaded game, but you also have to remember that it was originally a comic book. Now, five years after the game’s release, NBC will be airing a mini-series based on the comics - not the game - and it will be starring the finest actor in all of Hollywoodom, Stephen Dorff (please note sarcasm) along with Val Kilmer.
Gosh, silly me thought that “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” would give Val’s career a boost after that fun little flick, but apparently I was mistaken. I mean, who ever thought that Doc Holiday would fall so far from grace that the only acting gig he could get would be one starring in a damn TV mini-series?
According to the press release, the $20-million four-hour, two-part mini-series is being written by David Wolkove (La Femme Nikita, Relic Hunter - lmao) and Philippe Lyon (Alive) and directed by Duane Clark (CSI). The mini-series will also star Caterina Murino, Jessalyn Gilsig (Nip/Tuck, Heroes) and Stephen McHattie (300, A History of Violence).
Just in case you are unfamiliar with the plot line of the comic book series, this latest NBC fallacy will be based on the 1984 Franco-Belgian series that centers on a young man with amnesia who is found in the woods, bearing the tattoo of XIII as the only clue to his past. When he finds out that he is accused of assassinating the president, the pressure is on for him to discover his true identity and uncover the real conspirators.
Not sure when this is going to air, but NBC is putting it somewhere within their winter line-up. Like the game though, it is probably going to suck worse than most mini-series. Val, you need a new agent buddy.
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Comics, T-shirts, books and even their own convention -- about the only thing that the comic geniuses at Penny Arcade aren't selling to their army of gamer nerds is videogames.
Until today, that is. Penny Arcade and Hothead Games announced Wednesday that the two companies have teamed up to launch Greenhouse, an online hub for digitally distributed PC games. While the first game for sale on the site will be Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Greenhouse will soon become a hub for indie game developers looking to share their creations with the web comic's loyal audience.
"People trust us and even agree with us on a lot of occasions," says Penny Arcade's co-founder and artist Mike Krahulik. "So the opportunity is for us to go out and find some independent games that might not have seen the light of day otherwise, to help promote those. I think that people will like to see what we have found."
Penny Arcade brings a ready-made audience to the new site: The online comic gets around 55 million pageviews a month, and it brings about 40,000 people to Seattle every year for Penny Arcade Expo. (Read an exclusive interview with Penny Arcade creators Gabe and Tycho in which they lay out their grand plans for Greenhouse.)
While Greenhouse has not yet struck any deals with indie gamemakers to add their titles to the service, the company says it plans to offer a "careful" selection of titles, hand-picked by Penny Arcade's creators.
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This year's "Comic Con" to be held from April 18th to 20th at the Jacob K Javits Center in New York City will see an expanded focus on video games; there'll be a 'Gamer's Summit on the last day added to the presence of gaming biggies like Konami, Namco Bandai, Square-Enix, and Ubisoft.
According to reports, the summit will kick-start with a sneak peek at the much anticipated "Gears of War 2". Epic Games Prez Mike Capps and GoW 2 scriptwriter Joshua Ortega (Microsoft Game Studios) will be present to discuss the origins of the Gears saga, its unprecedented success, as well as offer a peek into the sequel.
Studios such as CCP, FunCom, Turbine, and 38 Studios will also be there showcasing games including Age of Conan, Eve Online, Iron Man, and Warhammer Online.
For attendees, there'll be panels and discussions on topics such as videogame journalism and starting a career in video games. As to how much of "GoW 2" will the audience get to see, we can only guess.
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Consumers are struggling to stretch their budgets, control their credit cards and make their mortgage payments. But one of the retail industry's big lures for shoppers this spring and summer will be a cascade of the most non-essential products possible, all spun from movies such as "Speed Racer" and the long-awaited fourth installment of "Indiana Jones."
The merchandise is coming in an array of forms, ranging from T-shirts and trading cards to glitzy electronic toys and artsy statuettes. The target audience is kids of all ages _ including grown-up kids _ as well as a variety of collectors, video game fans, film buffs and trend junkies. Basically, almost everybody.
Many of the products are about to arrive in shelf-stuffing batches because May features the release of four consecutive pop-culture flicks: The comic book-based "Iron Man" on May 2, the anime-rooted "Speed Racer" on May 9, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" on May 16 and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" on May 22.
Doesn't that suggest competitive suicide, especially when the economy resembles one of Indiana Jones' dreaded snake pits?
Not necessarily, according to a variety of observers.
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