Talking About Games brings you the best in gaming news and independent podcasting http://talkingaboutgames.com 2008-05-16T10:20:11+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2008-05-16T03:54:29+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1106/56/ After Phil Harrison, former President (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/459/56/) of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, departed for Atari's parent company Infogrames (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/513/56/) in February, the house of the PlayStation 3 was left leaderless - more or less. A few months have went by, Phil has led the charge and scooped up (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/936/56/) Atari, and now SCEWWS have themselves a new President. Shuhei Yoshida, who was current Senior VP of the U.S. division at Sony Worldwide Studios and a 15-year SCEI veteran, has been officially confirmed (http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content task=view id=10520 Itemid=2) to be taking Phil Harrison's place as President starting today, May 16th. Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Kaz Hirai stated: SCE WWS has been developing global hit titles, sharing resources and know-how within SCE Group since its foundation, and we will reinforce our software business by further enhancing coordination among the studios under a new leader...Under the leadership of Yoshida, who has proven track record in managing creative talent, SCE WWS will accelerate the software development for the PlayStation 3 and PSP platforms and vigorously expand the gaming market. Best of luck to Yoshida in his new position, we look forward to your many E3 speeches to come. Now...Home, anyone (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/867/35/)? text/html 2008-05-15T22:45:42+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1105/35/ It's PlayStation Network update time, and this week's new batch of content is headlined by some Rocketmen heading to Uranus in an expansion pack, and two new Hot Shots Golf playable characters. Rock Band, of course, gets its usual weekly track offerings, with two songs being reduced in price for a short time. Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore continues to show it's not going anywhere by adding an additional 21 songs, now available for download. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit has a demo (also available on Xbox LIVE), as well as the previously announced demo for Overlord: Raising Hell. A few wallpapers for echochrome, Overlord and Haze; as well as the trailer for the amazing looking Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm and the demo for the PSP's Secret Agent Clank finish off the week's high profile offerings. Full list after the jump. text/html 2008-05-15T22:02:55+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1104/35/ Those sitting on the floor, quietly hiding underneath their Metal Gear Solid cosplay boxes waiting for pre-order details on the most bad-ass of PlayStation 3 models....it's time to come out. Sony and Konami previously confirmed (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/769/35/) that the super limited edition gunmetal grey Metal Gear Solid 4-emblazoned PS3 would be headed our way, but they have been scant on any purchasing details. Today it was revealed that the SKU, which is clearly aimed at the most hardcore, non-PS3 owning customer, will only be available for purchase through the Konami website (http://www.konami.com/Konami/ctl3810/cp20111/si3327390/cl1/metal_gear_solid_4_limited_edition_playstation3_bundle). The new bundle, which comes with the 40GB PS3, a DualShock 3 controller (both in the new color scheme), and the Limited Edition version (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/767/35/) of Metal Gear Solid 4 will retail for $599.99, and will ship 1-2 days after the game's release on June 12th. Pre-orders begin on May 19th...so make sure that you emerge from your hiding spot, or deactivate your Octocam before then. *Note: Contrary to some speculation, this bundle is unrelated to the already confirmed standard game/console bundle (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/481/35/) also arriving on MGS4's release day. text/html 2008-05-15T18:58:31+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1100/56/ Are you enjoying the various cornucopia of eclectic musical tunes, the ones that are blasting out of your vehicle of choice as your mow down crowds of pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto IV? Well then, this might just interest you, as you can now extend that enjoyment beyond the game. Rockstar Games today announced Liberty City Invasion: Music from and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV, an original album contaning a collection of sixteen new hip-hop, reggae and R B tracks produced by The Evil Genius Green Lantern. Eight songs being brand new and inspired by the game, and eight exclusively crafted for DJ Green Lantern's GTA IV in-game radio show on The Beat 102.7 . Artists onboard include Busta Rhymes, Wyclef, Fat Joe, Styles P, Fabolous, Mavado, Uncle Murder, Future Green Entertainment’s Johnny Polygon, Qadir and more. The DJ himself said: From making mixtapes, to being on the radio, to touring with the biggest artists on the planet, and then for the biggest video game title to solicit me to create exclusive music is something most people could only dream about, it’s like a graduation. Rockstar Games understood what I bring to the table as far as not just presenting music, but creating music. Liberty City Invasion: Music from and Inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV is scheduled to release through your favorite digital distribution retailer on May 20th, with a TBD date for an actual disc release. Full announcement and track list rundown after the jump text/html 2008-05-15T18:29:54+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1099/56/ Following yesterday's reveal (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1082/56/) of tons of new Resident Evil 5 images, GameTrailers has managed to secure another world-exclusive. On the May 31st edition of GameTrailers TV on SpikeTV, the new trailer for Resident Evil 5 which was confirmed by Famitsu will air, and promises to be nothing short of amazing. Capcom's Chris Kramer teases out the footage (http://blog.capcom.com/archives/1218) by saying: I’ve personally watched the trailer about a dozen times now, and I’m still seeing new stuff each time I look at it. It’s filled with evil — EEEEEEVILL! — and running and terror and shooting and exploding and horrible critters trying to suck poor Chris Redfield’s face off. More to come! The new and terrifying footage will showcase new gameplay, as well as rendered cutscene goodness. Most of it believed to be the in-motion equivalent of the recent magazine scans. All Resident Evil, all badass. Don't miss it, Friday May 31st at 1AM EST/PST. text/html 2008-05-15T18:10:43+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1098/35/ Codemasters just shot me an email letting me know that the recently announced PlayStation 3 port of Overlord, titled Raising Hell, has a demo available on the PlayStation Network today. The enhanced version of the game includes the online co-op play and split-screen multiplayer that was patched into the initial Xbox 360 version, right on the Blu-ray Disc. As well, the extended development time has yielded improved graphics, an added on-screen mini-map for navigation, and a 7.1 Surround Sound audio system. In the demo, players don the Overlord’s illustrious armour and embark on a session of serious destruction in the once tranquil area of the Mellow Hills. As the delightfully despotic Overlord, players are supported by the Minions, a raucous horde of impish creatures. The Minions are more than willing to act as instructed, no matter how unpleasant that may be for the unsuspecting populace and, most notably, the local wildlife. Overlord: Raising Hell is scheduled to ship on June 20th. Full announcement after the jump. text/html 2008-05-15T17:02:25+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1097/56/ Star Wars The Force Unleashed, LucasArts' first current-gen adventure in the post - Hayden Christensen saga, has been slowly lifting its curtain over the past few months as we've gotten word on a release date (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/717/56/) and more. The Wii version's Duel Mode has been getting its fair shar of press lately, and the PSP/DS's wi-fi play is sure to notice soon; but the multiplayer component for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions (which was confirmed nearly a year ago), has been on media blackout. If what a LucasArt's PR rep is saying is true, there's a reason why: it doesn't exist. Speaking to Total Video Games (http://www.totalvideogames.com/articles/Star_Wars_The_Force_Unleashed_QA_13222.htm), Adam Khan (great Jedi name, by the way), senior PR manager for LucasArts said that due to the fact that the Wii and handheld versions of The Force Unleashed have some sort of head-to-head offerings, the Euphoria-based Jedi experience on the HD consoles will be missing out. To be specific, there's no multiplayer in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, because there is on the Wii, PSP, and DS. As far as specific reasons are concerned, we don't really like to get into the reasons why we don't do things because I don't think there's really a satisfactory answer that people would really be happy with. So, there isn't multiplayer and that's kind of how it is... I'm sorry...WHAT? Does that make sense to anyone else? There's no multiplayer on PS3/360 because it exists on the other platforms? That might sound ridiculously stupid to some, and that's because it truly is. I can understand there not being an online component to the game if it's because of the technology (the game uses a combination of Euphoria, Digital Molecular Matter and Havok), but because it just simply wasn't developed out right...even though it's already been announced? Let's hope that this was some misunderstood statement, and clarification arrives soon, or I sense that quite a few sales for The Force Unleashed were just lost. Either that, or LucasArts is really hoping people will buy this game twice. text/html 2008-05-15T16:08:09+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1096/39/ My Pokémans, let me show you them (again). Finished with evolving your last critter from Diamond and Pearl yet? Yeah, I know how you feel, me neither. Good news then, as now you have some incentive to hurry up and get 'er done, as there's [unsurprisingly] more Japanese shenanigans on the way. Pokémon Platinum was officially announced (http://www.pokemon.co.jp/special/platinum/02.html) by Nintendo today, and unlike most of the series' installments, this is not a new game. Platinum is merely an expansion to last year's Diamond and Pearl, complete with an unknown amount of new creatures for you to enslave, and force to do manual labor and cockfights for colorful badges. Sounds fantastic. While I was hoping for a true new game, let's be honest..it's Pokémon. This would have printed money if it did nothing more than take the last game, exactly as it was, and add 5 new monsters with a new coat of paint. Pokémon Platinum hits the DS this Fall. And if you think you're the best trainer around, why not sign up for the Pokémon Video Game Showdown (http://showdown.pokemon.com/) ? Hit the jump for another initial screenshot. text/html 2008-05-15T15:35:16+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1095/56/ Well, this was extremely unexpected, and somewhat disheartening to hear. Just minutes ago, CBS Corporation announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire the C|NET network and of course, resignation (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1008/56/)-ridden (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/301/56/) outlet (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/118/56/), GameSpot. CBS has offered a total of $1.8 billion for the acquisition, which includes CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot.com, TV.com, mp3.com, CNET news.com, UrbanBaby, CHOW, Search.com, BNET, MySimon and TechRepublic. Once completed, all of the aforementioned websites will be inducted into CBS's online network - which they say has 54 million unique users per month, and roughly 200 million users worldwide. Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation says: There are very few opportunities to acquire a profitable, growing, well-managed Internet company like CNET Networks. CBS stands for premium content and unparalleled reach, and CNET Networks will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music and information content to a whole new global audience. Together, CBS and CNET Networks will have significant additional exposure to the fastest- growing advertising sector and can accelerate our growth through a number of new content, promotion and advertising initiatives. We could not be more pleased with the prospect of adding CNET Networks and its tremendous team of people to the CBS family. I look forward to working with Quincy Smith, Neil Ashe and the considerable combined talent at both companies, as we build upon our success. The only thing currently holding up the acquisition is C|NET's collection of stockholders. The company's Board of Directors have unanimously approved the move; so it's more of a when , rather than an if . It's expected that the acquisition will be completed in Q3 of 2008. Hearing the mention of even more advertising, I already cringe at the thought of what may happen to GameSpot...again. Hopefully, CBS can make this work without compromising the remainder of the outlet's integrity. Full anouncement after the jump. text/html 2008-05-15T15:17:27+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1094/56/ Michel Ancel, creator of the highly praised fan favorite Beyond Good Evil, recently opened up to French outlet JeuxVideo (http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/beyond-good-evil-preproduction-actu-139816.html) and said that yes, Beyond Good Evil 2 is real , and has been in pre-production stage for over a year. However, much to his dismay (and ours), good old publisher Ubisoft has yet to tell the 10-12 person development team to go on ahead and officially start full production. You know, make it a real game. Doh! You had me there for a second, Ubisoft. There's time for Horsez, Rainbow Six 19, a Wii balance board-using Rayman spin-off and a host of other sequels that won't likely sell half of what BG E 2 would. What's the deal? Get crackin'! text/html 2008-05-15T13:26:40+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1093/35/ Echochrome, Sony's trippy little puzzler title that's available for a surprisingly low price on the PlayStation Store, is getting its first content update today. The company is releasing the first of the user created level packs as part of today's Store update. The content pack includes 20 new levels, and are only playable until May 21st, when they'll be replaced with the next content pack. The levels appear randomly in the game's freeform mode, and you'll have to have the difficulty set to 2 or 3 for them to appear. And while we're pro-content, and pro-freebie, we're anti-time limit. We still don't get why these levels are only being offered for a limited time. Is network space at that much of a premium? Via PlayStation Blog (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/05/14/new-echochrome-user-created-levels-coming-soon/) text/html 2008-05-15T12:17:57+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1092/38/ Secret Agent Clank is hitting retails stores on June 17th, as we've mentioned before (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/972/38/), just in time for a certain Editor's birthday. So it's probably not going to surprise anyone that Sony has announced that the game has gone gold (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/05/15/grab-your-bolts%e2%80%a6secret-agent-clank-has-gone-gold/). Included in the announcement are notes about Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark being playable characters, improvements to the game's overall speed, and more detailed textures in the final version. But what's buried within the announcement towards the end has us most excited: Download the FREE demo on both the PLAYSTATION Network and PLAYSTATION Store for PC later today. This demo features the first level of the game. It’ll have you sneaking into a museum, dodging lasers, subduing guards three times your size, and even tossing out a tie-a-rang or two. ... demo with the PlayStation Store update today? Dangit. Is it 3pm yet? How about now? Or now? text/html 2008-05-15T11:58:17+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1091/56/ Talking About Games would like to congratulate AstYak and SKirkham1967A. They're the lucky winners in our Wits Wagers giveaway, and each of them is receiving a copy of the board game, absolutely free. We hope you enjoy the free schwag! We'll have another contest coming later this week, so be sure and check back soon for all the details. text/html 2008-05-15T05:02:53+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1090/34/ blackout (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/736/34/) since day one, exceptionally well. With one official trailer, and some very hard to find pieces of tech demo footage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_M6TiNfvwk feature=related), all we know is Alan Wake is pretty...and we want it. Microsoft recently spoke to Venture Beat (http://venturebeat.com/2008/05/14/qa-with-shane-kim-microsofts-xbox-360-top-game-exec-expects-long-tail/) at their Spring Showcase event, and said that in addition to them not showing the title there, it also [still] has no release date. We haven’t announced a firm date for Alan Wake or Halo Wars. The stock answer is that they will ship when they are ready. Will they ever be ready, though? Halo Wars, I don't think anyone is worried that that won't come out. Sure it's hidden away (yanked from being shown (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1077/1/) at Microsoft's event this week at last minute), but it's a Halo title. Come on, Remedy, one little trailer, please? Our fingers are crossed for E3. text/html 2008-05-15T04:07:08+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1089/35/ Sony dropped us all a line (http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/05/14/firmware-v235-coming-soon/) late last night saying that firmware v2.35 for the PlayStation 3 was intended to be released soon ....which, coincidentally, meant just a few minutes from now. The auto-update is now available for download - a relatively quick one at that - and is nothing more than a minor fix to improve stability of some PS3 titles. Sony responded to comments, saying that this update is in no way related to fixing the GTA IV problem that has plagued the PS3 version. As it stands, that's pretty much true. Oh, and before you ask...nope, no in-game XMB! text/html 2008-05-14T21:58:59+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1088/34/ Next Monday, Microsoft will be releasing two new games for the Xbox Originals lineup. Stubbs The Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse, and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows are being made available for your throwback, retro goodness, and are both priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). Anyone planning to bite for either of these? text/html 2008-05-14T20:45:55+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1086/34/ In case you missed the news (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1044/34/), this week's Xbox Live Arcade release is Assault Heroes 2, the follow up to the original XBLA hit. Sierra asked if we'd like to enter a few of our readers into a random drawing to compete against the development team for AH2, and it took us a whopping seven seconds to reply back with an emphatic YES. So to make this fair (and because Sierra told us we have to), we're going to have a contest to pick the three TAG readers that will be entered into that random drawing. You'll have to answer a few questions, but don't worry, we'll make them easy. Here's what you'll need to tell us: What is the name of the development studio that created both Assault Heroes and Assault Heroes 2? (Hint: it's not Sierra) Not counting the Assault Heroes games, name two other XBLA games that said developer has already released. What was the full release date for the original Assault Heroes on XBLA? (month, date, year) What are the names of the three basic weapons in the standard vehicle in Assault Heroes? You'll want to email your answers to me directly, through our About Us page. We're taking the first three entries that get all four answers correct., and those three people will have their names placed in a big hat at Sierra (or some other large, representative bin) for a chance to compete against the development team for Assault Heroes 2. The battle against the dev team takes place on May 28th. If you win, you'll have a chance to game against the people that made this little gem. Best of luck! Update: First spot is now claimed! Only two spots left! text/html 2008-05-14T07:00:00+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1087/40/ Fresh off a plane from New York and suffering from a little bit of jetlag, we talk about our pre-recording jitters and what its like getting behind the scenes of a videogame industry event. We admit to having trouble dealing with our friends list, we talk about Dance Dance Revolution, Pacman CE, Gears of War 2 and include listener mail. Tune in for a delicious audio treat! Listen to it now (http://cdn2.libsyn.com/achievementjunkie/AchievementJunkie_05142008.mp3?nvb=20080514220828 nva=20080515220828 t=0645adebfa5eac91a2b44) or grab the RSS feed (http://feeds.feedburner.com/planetxbox360podcast). Enjoy! text/html 2008-05-14T20:29:50+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1085/59/ Strong Bad's Cool Game 4 Attractive People (SBCG4AP) is coming soon, but Telltale was nice enough to send us over this initial gameplay video for the episodic comedy romp. It shows off some of the game's interface, and the interactions between Strong Bad and Homestar Runner. SBCG4AP's first episode is titled Homestar Ruiner, and is just a few short weeks from its Wiiware and PC/Mac/Linux release. text/html 2008-05-14T14:42:20+01:00 http://talkingaboutgames.com http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/1084/56/ Just a quick reminder here, folks... We're giving away two copies of Wits Wagers, the critically praised board game that led to the XBLA release last week. All you have to do is head over to our contest thread (http://talkingaboutgames.com/content/view/997/1/) and leave a quick comment telling us about your most memorable board game experience. That's it! One little comment is all it takes to enter your name into a drawing for the board game. The contest ends tonight at 5pm Pacific, so you've still got time to enter!