So, Activision IS Publishing A Battleship Video Game After All. Eeek.

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Wait, what? I was KIDDING when I said it was going to happen, geez. Well, here we go, courtesy of developers Double Helix and Magic Pockets: a licensed game based on the upcoming film based on the game that’s not like the original all that much (as in at all). Expect to see and play a hybrid that combines “tactical” naval battles with first-person shooting sections all against the evil space aliens that have invaded earth. Eeek. I must have been sleeping during all those Battleship games I played as a kid, as I clearly don’t recall ANY of that happening.

Except the “tactical” naval part. “A-1… MISS!”

Of course,, this could actually be pretty awesome (or at least halfway decent), so I’ll hold off a bit in my snark until May 15th when the game ships out. More on this one later – I need an aspirin.

Namco Bandai & Paramount Team Up To Publish Star Trek In 2013

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And of course, the first thing I thought of when I read this news was “OK, when do we see Kirk and Spock show up in Soulcalibur VI in an “Amok Time” themed stage?” Yes, I’m THAT old (but it would be pretty funny, especially if it had that combat theme that played during the Kirk/Spock battle). Anyway, Digital Extremes  (Bioshock 2, Unreal Tournament, Dark Sector, The Darkness II) is no stranger to making some pretty solid shooter and action games, so I’m sure they’ll have more than enough time to make this co-op focused game even more spectacular than it looks in these two not so new screenshots. Granted, we’ll need a LOT more images and some actual hands-on time in order to see how the game is turning out, so let’s keep those fingers crossed that the game warps into NYC on a press tour at some point. More to come as soon as we get new info and images…

Atlus Listens to Its Fans: Radiant Historia Is Coming Back!

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Radiant Historia was absolutely one of the best Nintendo DS role-playing games ever made, but it didn’t exactly get a huge production run back when it was release less than a year ago. Currently, legal copies can currently fetch up to $100 or so on eBay, which isn’t exactly an affordable sum these days (unless you’ve money to burn and want to show off a bit too much). Now, after doing the RIGHT thing and actually asking for input from their fan base, Atlus is giving gamers a second chance to grab the game online with pre-orders starting up NOW through Amazon or EB Games. Sure, I’d personally rather walk into a store and buy the game (I’m crazy like that, wanting to travel a few blocks and not being a total lazy ass who wants everything handed to him and all), but this is the next best thing to owning a time machine and going back to snap up a copy when you should have in the first place. Go, Atlus!

 

PlayStation Vita: What’s In The Box (Early Bird Version)

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Courtesy of the PlayStation Blog, here’s what those lucky folks who pre-ordered a Vita First Edition Bundle will be getting on February 15, a week before the official North American launch. For those smiling folks bouncing up and down in their seats that need a good game recommendation or two, right off the bat Gravity Rush and Uncharted: Golden Abyss should keep you busy along with the pack-in game you’re getting.

Double Fine Breaks Kickstarter Record, Gamers Get Even More Wild Ideas…

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Wow. I figured Tim Schafer and the team at Double Fine Studios would come out ahead in the end with their awesome Kickstarter project, but this is ridiculous (in the best possible way). With 32 still days left toward what was initially a $400,000 goal, they’ve broken $1 MILLION DOLLARS (actually, they’re getting close to 1.2 million as I write this) with no end in sight to the love (and money) being offered up by the gamers out there. Of course, this wild success has led to a ton of message board activity about getting game publishers large and small such as Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Capcom, Xseed, Akysys and many (many) others to start using Kickstarter to fund all sorts of canceled projects from Shenmue 3 to Starcraft: Ghost to collections of out of production RPGs to new IP that was never released anywhere but Japan.

Unfortunately, for those folks rubbing their hands together over the thought of playing that unreleased game of their dreams, all that wishful thinking isn’t going to do much good. The process of getting a game made, particularly something out of production or a new IP that involves a lot more than a small to  medium-sized dev team isn’t exactly as simple matter of setting up a Kickstarter page, getting the word out and raking in the cash.  Check out this really interesting post on Wired that goes into some nice detail on just what things need to be aligned in order for the process to happen. Hey, even I thought it would be a simple thing too, but a nice reality check helps in slapping the delusions away…

Hey, Kill Screen? Shouldn’t Your NYC-Themed Game Party Actually BE In NYC?

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I’m just sayin’…

OK, OK… I’m sure it’ll be a total blast at this year’s GDC, but really, now. Anyway, I’ll be nice and post the rest of the invite below the jump so people won’t think I’m being a jerk. Have a great event, but don’t have more fun that you would here in NYC. That would be rude.

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David Jaffe Wants YOU To Shoot Up Sweet Tooth. For Real.

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Now here’s a ridiculously awesome promo for Sony’s upcoming Twisted Metal, coming to the PS3 on Valentine’s Day (as well as a farewell of sorts to the franchise by series creator David Jaffe).  I was planning to write something funny about this, but the press release is oh so much more succinct and yes, amusing – here’s a snippet:

In honor of Twisted Metal’s launch on PS3, we’ve aimed an M249-SAW at a real-life version of Sweet Tooth’s ice cream truck. On 2/14 and 2/15, we’re letting you pull the trigger by hitting a button on your computer.

That’s right. Fire a military-grade machine gun just by pressing your space bar.

It’s a two-day, shoot-till-the-truck-goes-up-in-a-gigantic-ball-of-flames-style internet spectacular. And it’s all happening live at http://www.shootmytruck.com.

Now, you KNOW everyone with a passing interest in firearms (yeah, this is America) is going to be all over this one. Heck, I bet it only takes a few minutes to blast that truck into scrap, er, Twisted Metal (ba-dum-bum!). Boogie on over to the Shoot My Truck website, watch the unedited version of the video above and sign up for your chance. U.S. of A. residents only, sorry!

Sleeping Dogs Trailer: Square Enix’ Hot Time In The Old Town, Hong Kong Style

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When i first heard about Sleeping Dogs, I thought it was another IO Interactive project in the Kane & Lynch series (hey, I liked both games, warts and all). Then, I remembered that Square Enix had snapped up the rights to United Front’s True Crime: Hong Kong game from Activision last year and *ding!* – all we had to do was sit and wait to see what sort of introductory trailer would be popping up. Here you go, folks – a live action (and boy, does it have action) deal that has me thrilled to see what the actual game looks and plays like. If what’s here is any indication, Activision may be wishing they’d kept that IP.  Then again, I can see the skeptical message board crowd going on a rant about Square Enix maybe having a better movie than they do a game. In that case, I say just have an entire movie shot based around the game’s plot and stick it on the disc for the hell of it.  I think this one will be a hit based on the location and faxt that there are still a lot of True Crime fans out there who want to see this one on store shelves (which will be later this summer)…

As for what the game is about, a brief summary is below the jump.  Read on…

 

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Torchlight II Website Relaunched (Diablo III Feels A Slight Chill)…

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Nice new look? Check! Awesome new screens and wallpapers? Check! Updates about some pretty cool happenings in the busy community? Check! All I need now is a copy of the game and I’m all set to not be heard from for a while as I delve into those dungeons. Hopefully, we’ll see a console release at some point as well, as a ton of gamers got to play the first game when it appeared on consoles and got hooked in. I still go back to the first game from time to time, but I need to set an alarm so I can be jolted into getting away from those dungeons. After an hour or so, it’s impossible to stop playing!

It’s Going To Be A Mass Effect 3 Kind Of Year (Unless You’re An Android)…

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It was actually pretty funny (to me, at least) that EA had plenty of Android plushies to hand out at their Spotlight event on Tuesday, but one of the bigger games announced, Mass Effect: Infiltrator is currently ONLY going to be an iOS release. Yes, I know they’re going for the most successful platform in the world for this fantastic-looking third-person touchscreen action shooter, but I know some non-iOS device owners who are going to be (or already are) pretty irate about their devices NOT getting this game.

The rest of the Mass assault at the event was incredibly impressive, what with an amazing new CG trailer revealed (“Take Back Earth”) that’s going to blow fans away. All EA needs to do is get this into theaters and posted online (I think the latter will happen sometime next week) and I’d bet pre-orders for the game get a big bump.  As for the Datapad app that lets you receive messages from your squad mates and other info, well… it’s not really necessary to play the game, but like Infiltrator, I can see a ton of downloads from core ME fans who want every single bit of content about the upcoming finale.

As for the latest build of Mass Effect 3 on display? Magnificent. BioWare has done its best work to date here and unless you’ve got that oddball genetic disposition to dump all over the hard hard work the team has put into this, you’ll find that both the single player campaign and multiplayer modes are rock solid. So solid in fact, that I’d rather spend time beefing up interest in Syndicate and SSX, two other titles shown at the event that deserve just as much love. More on those two later – I’m going to sleep, as it was a long day. for me…