Not much to say here other than that this latest Ego engine update is really getting a workout in Codemasters’ upcoming racer. Yes indeed, that’s a KTM Xbow zipping around on that Red Bull track. I got to drive it in the demo and it’s a lovely little rocket to ride around in. May 28 is how long away again? Hmmm…. off to dream of fast cars and perfect turns now. I have a press event to attend tomorrow…
There’s nothing like a good game to shut up the naysayers out there, so it’s fantastic to see Konami, Platinum Games and yes, Hideo Kojima get a lovely bit of sweet Revengeance on the usual internet troll posses and their stale bile. Kojima has even made an amazing trailer for the game that shows off Platinum’s hard work quite well, spoils a few things and is pretty much not for those squeamish types, as there’s a lot of fake blood and lots of objects getting a good slicing on display. Of course, the game is SO far out there that much of this is pretty funny (in a weird way like most of Kojima’s work when he goes for the quirky). Hmmm – looks like that’s another game I need to get around to buying at some point. Also, the Japanese TV spots are slightly similar in tone (people having not so hot days at work and such), but funnier (and stranger) than the one US ad I’ve seen – see above and below the jump…
UPDAAAAAATE! CONTEST OVER!!!
OK, OK – you’ve been asking me to give more stuff away, soooo here you go. Thanks to the fine folks at Tate Multimedia, I have three Urban Trial Freestyle PS3 and three Vita codes here (for the North American PSN store) burning a hole in my inbox. I think six DIFFERENT people out there could use a fun blast of slick visuals, challenging stunt and speed-based gameplay and a ton of replay value to keep them busy for a bit. I think that YOU just might be one of those people, right? So, HOW do you get one of these codes, you ask? Well, just head below the jump and find out. Don’t take too long to respond, though…
You’re almost there – a click away, in fact!
Sneaky, Capcom… so sneaky! Give away one game for FREE (the awesome side-scrolling action/platformer Black Tiger) to hook us in before making us pay up for the two others in this first trio of arcade classics. Well, five bucks for Avenger and 1943: Battle of Midway along with that freebie isn’t a bad deal at the end of the day considering it’s the first of a few cool oldies hitting PSN and XBLA this year. You can get in on your gratis Black Tiger plus set NOW on PSN for $4.99 and Xbox Live Arcade for 400 Microsoft Points, and get much more info on what else Capcom has up their sleeves in the future Bwith this super cool Arcade Cabinet collection HERE. Now, about getting these onto the Vita and Wii U… hopefully, that’s part of the plan at some point, as a little nostalgia is good for all gamers.
Oops. I should have guessed Sony would be trumpeting its first party studios and their assorted innovations in the game space in this “final” nostalgia trip before the new era they’re about to step out and be a part of begins. So silly of me to NOT think they’d have nothing to say about THAT part of their history, given it’s so important). Still, it’s too bad some offbeat titles are missing that didn’t get the love and sales they needed at the time (Omega Boost, for one). And it’s also too bad we never got to see certain other expensive to produce titles localized for the US such as Kowloon’s Gate (an amazing 4-disc game that might have done really well thanks to it being so fresh and visually stunning for an early PSOne release), Panekit and many others…
Oh well… it looks like tomorrow we’ll be seeing the future on a few fronts and like many of you Sony fans (and yes, the haters peering over the fence, tomatoes at the ready) good, bad or otherwise, I can’t wait…
Update! Here’s the Japanese version (of course, it goes up after I’m offline. Ah well…)
With Dreamworks’ new family friendly animated film The Croods heading for a March 22, 2013 release in theaters, D3Publisher of America is getting a fun little tie in game out exclusively to all four current Nintendo platforms. The Croods: Prehistoric Party isn’t at all the platformer you’d expect to drop into stores as a quickie cash in product, but a fun board game in the vein of the Mario Party franchise that packs in mini-games galore for one to four players. D3P rolled into NYC last week with a Wii U build and I got a nice bit of playtime with it as well as a look at the movie trailer (below the jump for your viewing pleasure if you’ve yet to see it). Torus Games has whipped up a cool-looking easy to hop into game that should get anyone who liked the film cracking up in front of the TV and bringing a few friends or family members along for the ride…
Customer: “See, I was right! Next time I’m sticking with the Cobb Salad!”
Waiter: Actually, I hear the game is going (or has gone) gold, which means no changing your order, sir.
Customer: (ah, the cranky waitstaff and the “no substitutions” rule!) “What? But I’m the customer and the customer is ALWAYS right! SO, get me that salad, make it a SMALL one… and a burger, really well done so it tastes like a hot shoe heel, and a Diet Kook!”
Waiter (rolls eyes and sighs, points at big red letters stating NO SUBSTITUTIONS on menu cover): This isn’t your local fast food place, sir… Chef Levine and his staff at Irrational Games have cooked up a dish they KNOW you’ll love and as everything on the menu is a Chef’s Choice, you’re getting what he gives you and it’s ALL good.
Customer: “Blaaaaaaah!, I’m not paying for something that’s not what I want!!!”
(and so forth and so on…kinda sorta based on a true incident I overheard a few years back)
Anyway, let those two have at it all day in your head if you wish. Me, I’m staring at that space in the library I’ve made for BioShock Infinite when it’s finally released on March 26, 2013.
Platform: PlayStation Vita (also on PS3) via PSN
Developer: Tate Interactive/Strangelands
Publisher: Tate Multimedia
# of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)
Price: $9.99 (Vita), $14.99 (PS3)
Score: A-
While it could use a level editor, some Excitebike-style multiplayer and a few more rider types to choose from (where’s the cool biker chick?), everything else is near flawless in Tate Interactive’s superb stunt-based moto romp. If you’re a PS3 and/or Vita-only owner, Urban Trial Freestyle is going to be your go-to brag about how cool it all is game in the vein of Red Lynx’s mega-hits Trials HD and Trials Evolution games on the Xbox 360. Fantastic visuals, excellent physics and a ton of replay value are all packed into this download-only release that’s well worth the price (and will be an even better value as the dev team adds more content over time).
Amusingly enough, I actually had to explain to a non-gaming friend that this wasn’t some sort of cheesy 90’s action flick/comedy game after he kept seeing this goofy ad over the past week or so. I didn’t catch it until about three or four days back and it made me laugh because of the choice of ZZ Top’s classic 80’s tune more than the silly macho posturing going on (I was expecting something more serious like Ubisoft’s Far Cry 3 TV ads), but it’s all in good fun. I got to play a bit of the PC version last week at EA’s spring press event and it’s absolutely gorgeous and definitely Crytek’s best work to date (at least as far as the visuals go). As for the rest of the game, I’ll need to play through it at some point and see what’s what. I liked the second one (and never played the original outside of a demo and about two hours of the final version), so I’m probably going to have fun with this sequel as well.
Hmmm… I wonder if the ad agency that cooked this up is going to hit up more of ZZ Top’s back catalog for the inevitable DLC? I can think of a few other tunes they did that might fit, but I don’t want Crytek to get the idea that they’re better comedians than they are a games developer…
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 