Posted by Merlin on Tuesday, January 25, 2005 (20:56:04) (662 reads)

A superb collection of Street Fighter games plus online play. Old school just got better again. By Douglass C. Perry January 25, 2005 - Street Fighter. The words ring a distinct bell of genuine game goodness. Depending on how long you've been playing games, they may also bring back some of your most favorite videogame moments. Or nothing at all. New gamers might not feel the need to play a single Street Fighter games, which might suit the hardcore fan base that continues playing it, but Capcom's unique new combination pack, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection is a perfect way to get into it -- or relive the adrenaline-charged action of the past. (Still, I'd find it hard to believe anyone over the age of 16 hasn't played this game at least once.) For those who live in Japan, import Japanese games, or who own a PlayStation 2, you're surely familiar with Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, which shipped in Japan last year and hit retail stores in North America in August 2004. For those who do none of the above, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection might very well be right up your alley, as it's almost exactly like the PS2 version, except the Xbox version sports Xbox Live play with region free competition.

Posted by Merlin on Sunday, January 23, 2005 (11:34:56) (188 reads)

Burnout 4 and a "secret Marvel project"? Say it's so!
By David Adams

January 21, 2005 - Netherlands-based fan site Xboxworld reports on an Electronic Arts press event held in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands recently, in which the publishing giant revealed tantalizing next-generation console plans.

While EA confirmed Batman Begins and Medal of Honor: Dogs of War for fiscal 2005, the bigger news is a line-up of titles reportedly scheduled for Xbox and Xbox Next:

* Battlefield: Modern Combat
* The Godfather
* "Secret Marvel Project"
* Black
* FIFA Soccer 2006
* Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2006
* Need for Speed: Most Wanted
* SSX 4
* Urbz 2
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
* Burnout 4
* James Bond: From Russia with Love
* FIFA Street 2

While we cannot consider this an official announcement from EA, given that it comes to us from secondary sources, we can say that the list above is in line with our own understanding of EA's next-generation plans. In fact, we're even willing to predict that the "Secret Marvel project" is in fact the long-anticipated Marvel vs. EA fighter. As for another SSX or Need for Speed, well, we're not quite spasming with surprise.

Posted by Merlin on Thursday, January 13, 2005 (17:22:40) (196 reads)

The bust gets a date, and a tasty-low price.
By David Adams

January 13, 2005 - Ready for some drug-busting action? Ready to revisit a classic videogame brand? Midway announced today that NARC, edgy narcotics team action reinvented for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, will ship out on March 22, 2005. Even better, the game will sell for a cool suggested $19.95.

NARC is a third-person actioner with a stylized modern backdrop that's based on the War on Drugs. Playing as dual characters, Jack Forzenski and Marcus Hill, gamers must rid the world of the powerful international drug cartel known as K.R.A.K. But to do so, users will have to use their deadly firepower and police authority to make the choice of either playing it straight or stumble down the road of narcotics. Pursue illegal deals with drug dealers or be the law-abiding NARC cop. It's up to you.

We'll keep you posted with NARC news in the time leading up to release. Meantime, check out all the goods we got on this one so far.

Posted by Merlin on Tuesday, January 04, 2005 (05:36:21) (377 reads)

Not only is it slated for March 1, there's a surprise collector's edition.
By Douglass C. Perry

January 3, 2005 - Although Activision has yet to announce the official release date for Doom 3 on Xbox, two retail channels list the basic game and a new Collector's Edition as shipping on March 1, 2005. Both EB Games and GameStop posted the dates and an image of the box art for the unannounced Collector's Edition.

The release date for Doom 3 has become somewhat of a joke in the last four months, as it's frequently shifted to a later date, with Activision not really acknowledging any official release date at all. However, thanks to Id's Todd Hollingshead, who officially spoke at QuakeCon in the fall, we learned that Id and Vicarious Visions were going to take some time to work on balancing issues, and that the game would likely come out in 2005. Well, it's 2005, and now two release dates have popped up.

What's interesting is that Activision previously never mentioned any Collector's Edition. Both retailer sites reveal that the Exclusive Doom 3 Collector's Editions include full versions of the original Ultimate Doom and Doom II, each of which include single player or deathmatch and co-op in 2-4 player split-screen modes; a G4: Videogame TV "Icons" feature ("Behind the scenes of DOOM 3"); interviews with the id Software team; and concept art, storyboards and sketch galleries.

IGN was unable to reach anyone from Activision prior to deadline, but Activision has yet to officially comment on any retailer's release dates to date, so it may not have made a difference.

Posted by Merlin on Sunday, January 02, 2005 (13:27:10) (175 reads)

Review by: Manny LaMancha If the original MechAssault was a fantastic trip to a massive Mech war, then Lone Wolf is an all-expenses-paid trip to a Club Mech resort. Developer Day 1 crafted a game thats fun to play and great to look at∧ to change it up a bit, Lone Wolf takes a slightly different approach by reminding you that youre just a six-foot-high human piloting one of these lumbering 40-foot-high behemoths. Sometimes youre on foot for a missionan extremely vulnerable soldier in a world of giant metal menacesand in others youll abandon your Mech to jump inside another one. Mech You Go Crazy To further the excitement of changing Mechs, Lone Wolf also has enabled you to steal a Mech in certain circumstances. Latching onto an enemy Mech and matching a button sequence (in Simon-like fashion) neurohacks the machine into your control. This Mech-jacking not only takes away an immediate threat to your survival, but also gives you a different weapon set to use as you proceed. The rewarding single-player experience is heavily supplemented by deep multiplayer action. Up to 12 players can get together on the same playfield on Xbox Live and system link for frantic sorties in a variety of gameplay modes (including the standard Capture the Flag and Last Man Standing formats). Conquest modewhich almost becomes a separate gameoffers a persistent universe of 40 planets to fight over, with players needing to choose on behalf of which of the five houses theyll want to compete. Ro, Ro, Ro Your Bot Lone Wolf pushes the Xbox graphics envelope. While theres occasional pop-up and clipping, those glitches are trumped by smooth animation and incredible explosions. When an enemy Mech is trashed, the bright blast lights up the screen and ripples the surrounding terrain in the most satisfyingly way. And nearly everything can be destroyed, from rock formations to light towers to big buildings. While Halo 2 was the defining Xbox title in 2004, Lone Wolf is surely a strong second in Microsofts one-two combination. Youd be nuts not to bolt to the store and get in on the Mech mania.

Posted by Merlin on Tuesday, December 07, 2004 (23:00:00) (209 reads)

Why play the game when you can read a book? December 06, 2004 - By now you've likely played and beaten Halo 2. Though you can spend your holidays trying to beat the campaign on Legendary or spend countless hours playing on Xbox Live, a few of you want more than just gameplay to continue the Halo experience. For those who want to know more about the Halo 2 development process or who just want pretty imagery, Del Ray Books recently published The Art of Halo: Creating a Virtual World. Written by Eric S. Trautmann, this 176-page trade is packed with concept art, hi-res screenshots, and stunning wallpapers. Now, I'm always a little skeptical of "The Art of..." books, because they often contain either too little art or too little information. Having spent some time reading and admiring The Art of Halo, I must say that it has a nice balance of both.

Posted by Merlin on Monday, December 06, 2004 (23:00:00) (170 reads)

December 06, 2004 - CSI has been a hit from the first episode. The most popular show on TV, the investigative drama is a smart fit for the video game realm. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation comes to Xbox next week. A compilation of two previously released PC games (the original CSI and CSI: Dark Motives), CSI doesn't add anything new or special for Xbox, but is being released at a bargain price of $19.99. In CSI, you play a rookie crime scene investigator from a first-person perspective. Interacting with the cast of the show (all voiced by the real deals), you must solve ten different cases, ranging from the obvious to more perplexing mysteries. As with the show, there's no shootouts or high-speed chases in CSI. Instead, the intensity comes from the science, using evidence to solve crimes and getting perps to confess their sins.

Posted by Merlin on Friday, December 03, 2004 (23:00:00) (221 reads)

December 02, 2004 - Ubisoft is taking the guns and shooting thing in a completely different direction than the Tom Clancy juggernaut. With their Cold Fear that's coming out in March of 2005 the company is entering into the genre of "action horror" and puts the trusty weapons to use against zombies and other monsters instead of the plain old terrorists. To see just what they meant by this action horror stuff we went to a nightclub that was gearing up for a special bondage party and got some hands-on time with the upcoming title. We'll save the review of the party for later.

Our first impression of Cold Fear was that being on a boat in the middle of a huge storm sucks big time. The main character is Tom Hansen who's a Coast Guardsman that goes out to a large Russian whaling ship to check out a distress call. The seas are getting rough and the waves are getting to be some 20 feet tall with the huge boat bobbing side to side, but the man has conviction and gets on the boat to do his job.

This boat is a pretty dramatic setpiece with rain coming down and waves crashing over the side, flooding the deck. As the boat goes to each side Tom slides along with it unless he grabs onto a rail. Ropes dangle around with the boat as well. Some of these are just for effect, but with others having hooks or big bells on the end they can smash into Tom's noggin and send him flying as well.

Posted by Merlin on Sunday, November 21, 2004 (19:48:37) (189 reads)

November 03, 2004 - Ghost Recon is one of the most successful franchises on Xbox, but if you asked me why, I honestly couldn't tell you. Let's face it, the first two Ghost Recon offerings on Xbox are ugly and lack some of the polish of the PC versions. So when I was tasked to start playing some Ghost Recon 2 my eyes rolled into the back of my head and I made a gargling sound as I attempted to swallow my own tongue. Guess what? I'm glad my suicide attempt failed, because Ghost Recon 2 is a far superior game to the original. If you loved the first, you'll likely be floored by the sequel and if you hated the first Ghost Recon, you may be in for a nice surprise. Click Image for more images

Posted by Merlin on Saturday, November 20, 2004 (23:00:00) (158 reads)

November 19, 2004 - Ridley Scott, the man behind such highly respected genre fare as Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, may direct a movie based the hit gaming franchise Halo. The Ain't It Cool News website broke the news last night and gaming fans around the globe have already begun wetting themselves with excitement.