November 2002

Saturday, November 30, 2002

New Affiliated Online Store
Posted by White_Pointer @ 12:36:07 AEST
We've entered into a partnership with another online store, this time it's Simso, a leading online games store! If you are looking to buy all the latest games, just visit our affiliated sponsers page here and go from there!
Post/View Comments (0)

Friday, November 29, 2002

New Blood-Sports.net section!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:22:21 AEST
Yes, I've done it again and added a new section to the site, although this isn't your usual adding a game type of section. We have now teamed up with a few online stores, where you can buy merchandise related to the games and systems we cover here at Blood-Sports.net! No longer do you need to search around to find that perfect game or game accessory, now you can buy it all through our Affiliated Online Stores!
Just follow the new link in the menu to check out our first affiliated online store, X-Gaming, and what they have to offer, and remember to keep checking back for updates!
Post/View Comments (0)

Thursday, November 28, 2002

UBS Warburg Weekly Video Game Sales
Posted by White_Pointer @ 20:19:16 AEST
Time for another dose of the weekly sales figures kindly provided to us by UBS Warburg, this one for the week just gone from November 19th to November 26th:

Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform

1 / Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / Take-Two / PS2
2 / Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance / Midway / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA
3 / Metroid Prime / Nintendo / GC
4 / Splinter Cell / Ubi Soft / Xbox
5 / WWE Smackdown! / THQ / PS2
6 / James Bond 007: NightFire / Electronic Arts / PS2, Xbox, GC, PC
7 / Lord of the Rings: Two Towers / Electronic Arts / PS2
8 / Metroid Fusion / Nintendo / GBA
9 / Madden NFL 2003 / Electronic Arts / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, GBC, PSX, PC
10 / Harry Potter / Electronic Arts / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, GBC, PSX, PC

Look at that! Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, after only four days on the market, has jumped right in there into 2nd position, only a shade behind Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and ahead of Metroid Prime and Splinter Cell! See, I told you it would be interesting to see these sales figures this week! Very interesting indeed. Can MK: DA rise up to number 1 in the coming week? Make sure you give it a helping hand in reaching this goal by going out and buying it if you haven't already done so!
Post/View Comments (0)

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

Enix merges with Squaresoft
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:01:53 AEST
Enix, the developers of the acclaimed Robot Alchemic Drive, have teamed up with Squaresoft into a new company called Enix Square. While it's unlikely we'll see any fighting games coming out of this (although you never know), it is still an interesting move by these two companies, and one wonders what the result will be.
Post/View Comments (0)

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Nintendo to drop price of Gamecube
Posted by White_Pointer @ 20:25:21 AEST
There is a rumour floating around the Internet that Nintendo are planning on dropping the price of the Gamecube in one week's time, right in time for the start of the holiday season, to US $99. Although this figure is probably exaggerating a little, it's not unlikely that Nintendo will apply a Gamecube price drop of some kind. What it will be is uncertain, but I'll be very surprised if they cut the price down that low. Still, whatever the price drop may be, it wouldn't be a bad move for Nintendo to achieve more sales this holiday period.
Post/View Comments (0)

Monday, November 25, 2002

Another Deathrow review
Posted by White_Pointer @ 13:02:10 AEST
Yep, the reviews for Deathrow are still coming in, this one from one of our affiliates, XBoxSolution, giving the game a very nice 9/10. You can read the review here. Thanks to Jason Rybka for the heads up.
Post/View Comments (0)

Sunday, November 24, 2002

Gamespot reviews Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:43:10 AEST
The Game's only been out three days and already Gamespot have two reviews of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, one written review you can read here (where they give it a very impressive 8.1/10) and a video review you can access from this page, however, forget about watching the video review unless you are a Gamespot complete member.

Early impressions are certainly looking good, and we'll be posting more reviews as more of the major sites review the game.

On a side note, I've updated MK: DA Gallery 3 with more images from the game, some new ones including some shots of Scorpion without his mask, some shots of some of the newer characters engaged in battle and some of the hidden goodies that can be unlocked from the Krypt. Check them out when you have the chance.
Post/View Comments (0)

UBS Warburg Weekly Video Game Sales
Posted by White_Pointer @ 17:49:47 AEST
It's a good thing UBS Warburg keep making these statistics public. Here are the top selling games from the week November 12 - November 18:

Rank / Title / Publisher / Platforms

1 / Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / Take-Two / PS2
2 / Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 / Activision / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, PS
3 / WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth / THQ / PS2
4 / Resident Evil 0 / Capcom / GC
5 / The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers / Electronic Arts / PS2
6 / Kingdom Hearts / EA / PS2
7 / MechAssault / Microsoft / Xbox
8 / Madden NFL 2003 / EA / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, GBC, PS
9 / Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets / EA / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, GBC, PS
10 / Hitman 2 / Eidos / PS2, Xbox

Well, still no Fighting Games on the top 10 list, unless you classify the WWE Smackdown game as a fighter. However, it will be interesting to see these results in the next week or two after the release of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance last Friday.
Post/View Comments (0)

Saturday, November 23, 2002

X-Box Live breaks records
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:58:15 AEST
Well, Microsoft's X-Box Live launched last week, and in it's first week of sales, has absolutely blitzed the market selling an amazing 150,000 X-Box Live starter kits and virtually selling out at major retailers. J Allard, general manager of X-Box at Microsoft said this:

"Wow, what a first week! More people played Xbox Live in its first week than attended the last two Super Bowls, and have played more games in one week than in the entire history of the National Football League, National Basketball Associations, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball combined. Game players have loudly demonstrated they can't find enough hours in the day to compete in the online arena. It's been amazing to talk to and play with and against so many players all over the United States and Canada, and this is just the beginning of the online revolution that will fundamentally change video games and digital entertainment forever."

In just one week on Xbox Live, 200,000 online game players and their friends did the following:

• Completed more than 5 million games, approximately 500 games per minute
  
• Played more than 1 million hours of gameplay. That's more than 114 years worth of straight gameplay in just one week.
  
• Played more games than have been played in the history of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB combined
  

Midway publishes MK: DA press release
Posted by White_Pointer @ 13:14:56 AEST
Yep, more information from Midway themselves about Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, this time in the form of a Press release. Here's a snippet:

The famed franchise that shocked the world and revolutionized the fighting game category now debuts Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, delivering the highly acclaimed series to the next-generation consoles. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance offers a lethal dose of unparalleled brutality, supernatural mystique and a reinvented fighting system. Beginning the next chapter in the battle of good versus evil, two powerful sorcerers – Shang Tsung™ and Quan Chi™ – join forces to deliver unrivaled fighting action in their quest for supreme mortality.

“Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has taken the series to a new level with an incredible new fighting system, brutal fatalities and intense sound,” said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. “In addition, the game is more than living up to its reputation with gaming press as ‘the most surprising, accomplished, and addictive game of the year.’” --Game Informer, November, 2002.

Friday, November 22, 2002

Gamecube and Gameboy Advance versions of MK:DA not compatible
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:42:09 AEST
Well, at one point it looked as though the GBA and GCN versions of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance would be compatible is some way, like Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime. However, it looks like this idea has been scrapped, as nowhere on the boxart for the Gamecube version does it mention anything to do with the Gameboy Advance.
I guess Midway wanted to keep the versions across all the platforms consistent with each other.
Remember, if you want to chat about MK:DA or any of the other games we cover here at Blood-Sports.net, sign up to our free forums and begin discussing it with other fans!
Post/View Comments (0)

Midway releases MK: DA and extra information
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:20:03 AEST
As you would expect, with the release of such a hyped game there is a lot of news floating around, some of it true, some of it not so true (Of course, all the news you see here on Blood-Sports.net is true!). The best news comes straight from the horses mouth, and Midway have opened up a new part of their site to go with the game's release. Just visit Midway's site and find Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance under their featured games section, click the console you want and away you go!

Post/View Comments (0)

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance ships!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 7:49:56 AEST
Well, it's still November 21st in most of America, but it's November 22nd here, and that means it's Fatality Friday! One of the most anticipated games of the year is finally being shipped, so you better make sure you grab yourself a copy before they all sell out!
As for our poll, the question still stands, now that it is released, are you going to buy it?
Post/View Comments (0)

Thursday, November 21, 2002

Rocky ships for the PS2
Posted by White_Pointer @ 9:11:59 AEST
Ubisoft announced that Rocky has shipped for the Playstation 2 across the US today and is now available on retail shelves across the nation. So, if you live in the US, run down to your local games store and pick yourself up a copy.
No word yet on when Ubisoft will ship the game to the rest of the world.
Post/View Comments (0)

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

New MK:DA screenshots added
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:07:50 AEST
As Fatality Friday approaches (it's now only 2 days away!) our Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance section is getting more and more stuff added to it. I've added in some new screenshots of the game, namely some Gamecube and PS2 screens, and there's so many it's now spilled over into a 3rd MK:DA image gallery! So, check out the new additions to Gallery 2, and then check out Gallery 3 for some nice new screenshots!
Post/View Comments (0)

Sega teams up with Real Networks
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:13:58 AEST
This is indeed an interesting move by Sega. They have teamed up with Real Networks to bring classic SEGA Genesis games to the RealOne Arcade games service. For the first time gamers may now download the official versions of four classic titles to their PC with the debut of the SEGA Channel on RealOne Arcade. After these four, a lot more are scheduled to follow, with a few of Sega's Genesis fighting titles such as Virtua Fighter 2 on the list of games that will become available. Seems like a good idea, time will tell how successful it is.
Post/View Comments (0)

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

Nintendo to launch Gamecube Gameboy Player
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:55:33 AEST
Yet another innovation by Nintendo to connect your Gameboy Advance to your Gamecube. As if using your GBA as a Gamecube controller wasn't enough, Nintendo have done it again. This time it's the Gamecube Gameboy Player, and it works in a similiar way to the Super Gameboy Adapter that was available for the SNES, if anyone can remember back that far. It allows you to play a tonne of your Gameboy Games, both old and new, in full colour on your TV through your Gamecube, and the best part is you can choose to control it with the Gameboy Advance itself or your Gamecube Control Pad. When it launches in Europe early next year, there will be more than 1000 compatible Gameboy Titles, from Tetris to the brand new Metroid Fusion. No release dates have been set outside Europe yet though, but I'm sure it won't take Nintendo long to ship it worldwide as it should no doubt be very popular.
Just on a side note, the Gameboy Advance is now the fastest selling console in the US EVER, and there have been more than half a billion Gameboy Games sold since the original handheld system's release in 1989.
Post/View Comments (0)

Microsoft launches X-Box Live with Special Event
Posted by White_Pointer @ 20:52:11 AEST
Well, looks like Microsoft put together a big shindig for the X-Box Live's Official release, with a big party and some game tournaments being played over at Hollywood studios, with some reported TV, Sport and Movie Stars attending. Looks like they really rolled out the red carpet for this.

You can read heaps of stories and view heaps of images at the Official X-Box site.
Post/View Comments (0)

Saturday, November 16, 2002

New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:26:33 AEST
Well, with Fatality Friday set for November 22nd, Mortal Kombat fans are eagerly anticipating the next installment of the series. It's now only 5 days until Deadly Alliance ships! Can you feel the blood racing in your veins? I sure can!
The new poll asks the question, are you going to buy Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance? Of course, for someone like myself, that's a no brainer, I've been a fan since day 1, but what about everyone else? Go and vote now!
Post/View Comments (0)

Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:20:33 AEST
Let's take a look at the results of our poll, shall we?

What do you think is the most important facet of a fighting game?

25% More than just button mashing
25% Combos!
18.7% Lots of moves
15.6% Blood!
9.3% Graphics
3.1% I don't care, as long as I can beat the crud out of them!
3.1% Lots of Characters
0% Button Mashing
0% Realistic Sounds

Interesting. The concept of the game requiring more than just button mashing has drawn level with Combos as the most important aspect of a fighting game. I never realised that people put such a high priority on combos! You learn something new every day.
Post/View Comments (0)

Friday, November 15, 2002

UBS Warburg Weekly Video Game Sales
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:01:33 AEST
Another week, and another set of Video Game Sales from UBS Warburg. Let's take a look at the top selling games from November 4-11:

Rank / Title / Publisher / Platforms

1 / Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / Take-Two / PS2
2 / Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 / Activision / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, PS
3 / The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers / Electronic Arts / PS2
4 / Metal Gear Solid: Substance / Konami / Xbox
5 / Medal of Honor: Frontline / EA / Xbox, GC, PS2
6 / Kingdom Hearts / EA / PS2
7 / Madden NFL 2003 / EA / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, GBC, PS
8 / Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets / EA / PS2, Xbox, GC, GBA, GBC, PS
9 / Mario Party 4 / Nintendo / GC
10 / Hitman 2 / Eidos / PS2, Xbox

I'm sad to report that no fighting game have made it onto this weeks top selling games, with Tekken 4 being knocked off the previous list. I'm sure these figures will drastically change though when Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance hits the shelves!
Post/View Comments (0)

Site Updates!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 17:30:43 AEST
Yep, I've gone and done it again and added more content.
First up, we have some new Rocky Gameplay movies. These 10 movies we have are all from the Gamecube version of the game, and ready to download right here!
Next, we have gone Deathrow Crazy. Not only do we now have 8 new Deathrow Gameplay movies, we now have a new Deathrow image gallery full of some great looking screen shots.
Check out our new additions by following the navigation links on the left!
Post/View Comments (0)

Capcom's 5 games.
Posted by BobXFett @ 2:08:42 AEST
Some more info on a bit of news that Pointer posted before about CAPCOM having 5 upcoming games for the Nofriendo Gamecube.

For those of you hoping for the next in a series of VS. games, or another Street Fighter, you're going to have to keep waiting, unfortunately.

As Pointer guessed, one of them is Resident Evil 4.

So that leaves all you fighting fans out there with hopes about those other 4 games, right?

... Not so much.

There isn't a single Street Fighter or VS. related game in the bunch.

The list of games includes: Resident Evil 4, which we all know to be horror survival (I am totally in love with the Resident Evil series, so I'm excited about this);
Viewtiful Joe, which appears to be a fighting game similar to the old Final Fight games, it is a side-scrolling game which apparently intends to be very 'cinematic' in how you fight (making moves look fancy and having bullet-time camera effects like in Max Payne) [EDIT]Upon seeing a screenshot, this game actually has a very 'hand drawn comic' look to it, strange indeed.[/EDIT];
Project Number 03 (P.N.03 for short), which from the short description on the site must be either a First Person Shooter, or a Third Person game very similar to Blizzard Entertainment's Starcraft: Ghost [EDIT]I've seen two screenshots of this game now, and it is indeed a Third Person game, starring a chick in a tight suit, no less. *Coughripoffcough*[/EDIT];
Dead Phoenix, which I'm actually kind of excited about, is described as being a very 'free' game, where your character can fly around at will, like a bird. It also says that things will change day by day in the reality of the game, so perhaps it's a semi-progressive reality, which would be something pretty impressive on a console. It will be an adventure game, probably similar to Zelda games;
Killer 7, in which you play as 'a mysterious old man in a wheelchair - an assassin with 7 different personalities'... Okay o_O

Anyway, that's it. Only one fighting game in the bunch (and it's not a traditional 1on1 fighter, either), so I suppose it's kind of a letdown for those of us who have been hoping for a Gamecube version of Marvel VS. Capcom 2.

Oh well, at least the games sound unique. Hopefully they'll be worth looking at when they come out (whenever that is). I personally am hyped about RE4.

If you want to view the site with (a terrible lack of) information on these titles, go to CAPCOM's site and check it out. They say they will be updating with screenshots of these games in the future, but CAPCOM are notorious for their lack of updating websites, so don't hold your breath.

Post/View Comments (0)

Thursday, November 14, 2002

Deathrow Reviews
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:42:03 AEST
Yep, now that the game has been released for a few weeks, it's time to see what people's opinions have been:

41/50 - XBoxRules
9.4/10 - Chicago XBox
9/10 - xboxhardcore
9.2/10 - XBoxGameZone
8.2/10 - Gamer Shell
4/5 - gamesdomain
9.3/10 - IGN
8.7/10 - Gamespot

Wow, we have quite a selection of reviews there, and not one of them have given it a bad review, with the worst overall score being 4/5 (or 8/10)! This game looks like it's really going to take off, especially now that it's X-Box Live compatible with the XBConnect software. It looks like the X-Box has a real gem of a game here!
Post/View Comments (0)

Interview with Daniel Jeppsson, lead programmer of Deathrow
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:06:30 AEST
One of our affiliates, Chicago X-Box, got themselves an Interview with Daniel Jeppsson, who is the lead programmer responsible for Deathrow's creation and also one of the founders of SouthEnd Interactive. He talks about working in a small team environment, the prospects of a sequel, what they might work on next and answers questions some reviewers have had about the game like why there is no in-game cutscenes. All in all, a very informative interview, and you can read it for yourself here
Post/View Comments (0)

New PS2 Memory Booster
Posted by White_Pointer @ 17:58:16 AEST
This is a clever little piece of technology that has been developed by Logic3 for your Playstation 2, which boosts the storage capacity of your 8MB memory card to a very nice 25MB. It works with any exisiting PS2 memory cards so there is no need to buy any additional hardware. They started shipping a few days ago, so you should be able to find them on the shelves of your local games store, and who doesn't want more space to save their high scores?
Post/View Comments (0)

Wednesday, November 13, 2002

Pre-Order Rocky and Receive a Free 12" Punching Bag!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:06:37 AEST
Well, those game developers are continuing to come up with more and more ways to get people to buy their products. Not that anyone ever needs any coaxing to buy a great game though!
If you Pre-Order Rocky now from Ubisoft, you'll net yourself a 12" punching bad for free. This will come in handy as you have something else to unleash your frustration on besides your little brother, and it won't run and complain to your parents either!
Place your order for your copy at Ubisoft's Online Shop
Post/View Comments (0)

Tuesday, November 12, 2002

Moloch Information!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 15:41:43 AEST
Moloch, who is the new boss monster who appears in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been somewhat of a mystery during the game's development, with the only thing Midway providing is a piece of concept art that we have in our image gallery. However, we've now been given a bit more info:

Moloch continues in the styles of the past sub-bosses to where he is very big, takes little damage and delivers lots of damage. He attacks mostly with his ball in his hand, but at times will do a move where he sucks air into his mouth which will pull you at him, which he follows up with a quick smash with the ball. He also has a few charge moves where all three eyes glow red. He is also immune to some special moves, like Scorpion's Raise Hell Fire and Bo' Rai Cho's puke move. Scorpion's spear does damage him, but Scorpion can't pull in.

Monday, November 11, 2002

A new host for Blood-Sports.net!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 17:48:24 AEST
Yep, that's right folks, I've searched long and hard to find a good host that doesn't have such bad restrictions on bandwidth as our current host but still provides everything else our current host does, and I finally found one. The new host will give us plenty of bandwidth so there should be no reason for the site to become congested with traffic.

It'll take some time to move over to the new host though, as there is a lot of data to move over, so the process will be a few days at least. Don't worry though, the site will remain up on our current host until everything is moved over, and the only time the site should be down is when I am configuring our backend scripts to work on the new server. Until then, hang tight, as Blood-Sports.net enters a new chapter in it's short history.
Post/View Comments (0)

Sunday, November 10, 2002

New Images Added
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:51:17 AEST
Well as I said yesterday, Rocky, the new game being released across all the next-gen platforms based on the Rocky movies is becoming a new section here at Blood-Sports.net. I've now started this section with some great screenshots from the game, split into four different galleries, one gallery for each system, so check out the new Rocky Images today!
Some multimedia will probably come later, after we work out how we are going to get around these "Server busy" error messages that are occuring and rendering the site unaccessible for periods of the day. Trust me, we are working as hard as we can to get these issues resolved.
Post/View Comments (0)

Saturday, November 9, 2002

Rocky receives widespread acclaim
Posted by White_Pointer @ 13:55:34 AEST
The new Rocky game that BobXFett reported on about a week ago, which is set to be released on all three next-gen consoles and the GBA this month is already recieving widespread acclaim. Some of the comments have been:

"The best movie-licensed game since GoldenEye" by the Official Xbox Magazine;
"The best boxing title on the market" by Edge Magazine;
"The most faithful and effective treatment of a film license ever" by Maxim Magazine;
"Brutal, sweaty, bloody and full of character" by the Daily Mirror and
"Perfect arcade boxing - fast, fun and seriously violent" by Stuff Magazine.

Indeed, the game does look very good, right down to facial similarities and great gameplay.
This game will become the newest Blood-Sports.net section, so stay tuned as we gather appropriate materials!

Post/View Comments (0)

Friday, November 8, 2002

5 new Gamecube games coming from Capcom
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:09:56 AEST
Capcom has five new games for the Gamecube under works, according to Japanese sources, which they are expected to announce within the next two weeks. There is a good chance one of these is Resident Evil 4, but as for the rest, it's anyone's guess what they are going to be. We could quite possibly see some Gamecube exclusive Street Fighter titles, or maybe a new Vs Game of some kind. We can only speculate at this stage, but when Capcom make the announcements you can be sure you'll be able to read them here at Blood-Sports.net.
Post/View Comments (0)

Nintendo Definately NOT stopping Internet Adapters
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:47:32 AEST
Recently there have been rumours flying around the Internet (and everywhere else, it seems) that Nintendo have stopped production of their Broadband Adapter and Modem for the Gamecube because the stores sold out so quickly and had not received new stock. Well, let me tell you that those rumours are exactly that, just rumours.
R.M. Rickets, a Nintendo PR, had this to say:

"The Broadband Adapter and Modem have not been discontinued. While initial shipments have sold out in many places, including here at Nintendo, new ones are on the way. You can also check out Toys R Us, WalMart, and Best Buy to see if they have any in stock."

Unlockable Robots in RAD
Posted by White_Pointer @ 17:53:00 AEST
Enix have just revealed that Robot Alchemic Drive actually features some hidden robots to unlock. Apparently if you complete all the missions, you'll unlock enemy Volgara as playable robots in the split-screen vs Battle. Seems like a very cool idea, you get to use the bad guys as well as the good guys!
Don't forget the game is out on the shelves right now in the US, so don't forget to head down to your favourite games store and check it out.
Post/View Comments (0)

Emulators Updated!
Posted by Pube @ 12:08:56 AEST
I've added a new Genesis emulator to Blood-Sports, its called Genesis plus, and here are the specs:
"Genesis Plus"... is a brand new Sega Megadrive/Genesis emulator, written by Charles MacDonald and ported to Macintosh. Genesis Plus has been under development for several years under the name Mekadrive, but this is the first version to be released to the public for any platform. Genesis Plus is somewhat faster than Generator in Accurate Mode, and runs many titles that Generator does not. (Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X supported).
I have also updated The Visual Boy Advance emulators to version 1.0a and a new Linux version as well.

Enjoy.

Thursday, November 7, 2002

Video Interview with Ed Boon
Posted by White_Pointer @ 13:00:42 AEST
Gamespot currently have a video interview with Ed Boon available to watch. While he's talking, they show you gameplay movies of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, including the test your might section and demonstrations of how you can impale your opponent with your weapon.
Of course, you can't download it unless you are a Gamespot Complete member, (and for some astonishing reason the movie is 215 megs to download) but you can view the streaming video here. It runs for 20 minutes though, so make sure you set yourself aside the time to watch it, but it is very informative and is a must to watch for any MK fan.
On a side note, we have also added in a new MK:DA gallery with some cool new in-game screenshots, so check out our Mortal Kombat Images section when you get the chance.
Post/View Comments (0)

Wednesday, November 6, 2002

Pre-Order Dead or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball and receive a free poster
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:15:33 AEST
Well, I posted about a week ago that DOA: XBV is now available for pre-order, however now Tecmo have added in another little incentive to put your name down for a copy. You now get yourself a sexy poster to go along with the game if you pre-order it now, so if you want it, go to Tecmo's site and secure yourself a copy.
Post/View Comments (0)

Street Fighter Alpha 3 for Gameboy Advance due 3rd of December
Posted by White_Pointer @ 19:06:14 AEST
Capcom have recently announced an exact release date for their newest fighter for the GBA, Street Fighter Alpha 3. The game is scheduled to be released on the 3rd of December, which makes it bang on time to put on your Christmas list (isn't that convenient?) Finally the wait is nearly over for you GBA players that are hungry for some Street Fighter action, only about a month to wait!
Post/View Comments (0)

Capcom vs SNK 2 EO to Launch with X-Box Live
Posted by White_Pointer @ 9:41:44 AEST
That's right Street Fighter fans, it's pretty much been confirmed that Capcom vs SNK 2 EO will be one of X-Box Live's launch titles. Todd Thorson, director of marketing at Capcom Entertainment, gave this statement yesterday:

"The launch of Xbox Live would not be complete without a Capcom fighting game,"

So there you go, once the X-Box Live launches, you should be ready to start laying the smack down against people on the other side of the world!
Post/View Comments (0)

Tuesday, November 5, 2002

Robot Alchemic Drive ships for Playstation 2
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:54:09 AEST
Today's November 5th, and that means today is the day that Enix ships out it's new Robot Combat game, Robot Alchemic Drive! If you own a PS2, be sure to keep a lookout for it on the shelves of your local games store and pick yourself up a copy.
Post/View Comments (0)

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance spoilers ahoy!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 10:49:30 AEST
As we draw nearer to Fatality Friday on November 22nd, we are slowly getting more of the game revealed to us. MK5.org has put together this list of spoilers (read at your own risk)

• The characters that must be unlocked in the Krypt are Kitana, Cyrax, Raiden, Frost, Jax, Hsu Hao, Nitara , Reptile, and Drahmin. As shown in recent pictures there are 21 available spots on the main menu and the menu has changed to a 3x7 grid as opposed to the 10x2 grid shown in our E3 coverage.
  
• Each character has one alternate costume that you can unlock. Scorpion shows off his flaming skull. Johnny Cage sports his tuxedo. Sonya's wears a military dress uniform. Jax's is something out of the hood, and wears a backwards baseball cap with a MK medallion around his neck. Kitana's outfit is a purple bodysuit with stockings and boots up to her thighs. Kano's is an updated version of his original white Mortal Kombat uniform.
  
• Reptile bleeds green; Cyrax bleeds black.
  
• During a match you can embed weapons into your opponent which will make you lose the weapon for the rest of the round (but not the entire match). When a player gets stabbed, they slowly lose health. Sub-Zero's Kori Blade and Kitana's Steel Fans can both be embedded. This embedding is blockable, however the fighter loses those weapons for the remainder of the round as well.
  
• The Krypt is comprised of 676 Koffins, each marked with a two-letter code, AA through ZZ, in a 26x26 grid. Some of the things you can unlock are alternate costumes, new characters, and photos and bios of the MK team. Some of the less exciting Koffins contain pictures of the MK2 board, the MK Gold logo, and worst of all, there are empty Koffins.
  
• For the most part, the team members' initials are their photos and a short bio of what they did--EB is Ed Boon, JV is John Vogel, CP is Carlos Pesina. Koffins FX through HL are panels of the original Mortal Kombat comic book written by John Tobias, that was offered for sale in the attract modes of MK and MKII.
  
• Konquest mode teaches you each character's moves as well as their story. You can earn Ruby, Sapphire, Jade, and Gold koins. Onyx and Platinum are won in Test Your Might and Test Your Sight. Konquest mode will also let you fight against secret/unlocked characters before you have unlocked them and will show your alternate costume during each character's last battle. (Difference in arcade mode, it's just a palette swap)
  
• There are some in-jokes to keep an eye out for. For example: While speaking in an Australian accent (shades of Trevor Goddard from the first movie?), Kano encourages you to "hit him in the goskies" and "in the pesina" as well as to "vogel him good" during the Konquest mode. (Note that this is actually text, not voice acting)
• There are combos called Smash TV and Total Karnage, games that were developed by Midway.
  
• Kitana has a kiss of death Fatality.
  
• Also to note, when you fight against yourself in arcade mode, your opponent wears the same outfit you have on but with different colors (For instance, Scorpion wears orange if you're wearing the standard yellow). The only way to get the alternate outfits after you've unlocked them is to select them with the Start button at the main menu.
  
• The final match in each player's Konquest mode is a mirror match. The final three matches of arcade mode are Moloch (sub-boss), then Shang Tsung and Quan Chi (and they often flip positions as to who is the "last" boss).
  
• There are other players who can embed a weapon into their opponent including: Cyrax, Reptile, Shang Tsung, Frost, Li Mei.
  
• Some more alternative costumes are:
  Frost - blue bodysuit with her face revealed
  Nitara - A skimpier metal bikini
  Li Mei - A pink bikini
  
• Also for those of you wanting a plotline spoiler - Unless Liu Kang shows up as a hidden character he is dead, so dead that in Kitana's arcade ending you see his funeral. And sorry Goro fans - he's dead too.
  

Monday, November 4, 2002

Weekly Video Game sales
Posted by White_Pointer @ 22:21:01 AEST
Well, UBS Warburg (That is, the Union Bank of Switzerland) have started up doing a weekly publication of the top selling games for that week. This is also a surprise to myself, I used to work for UBS Warburg here in Australia in their IT department, and now they've started doing this after I leave! Bummer.
Anyway, the top selling games for the week October 23 - October 30:

Rank / Title / Publisher
1 / Grand Theft Auto: Vice City / Take-Two
2 / Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 / Activision
3 / The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers / Electronic Arts
4 / NBA Live 2003 / Electronic Arts
5 / Hitman 2 / Eidos
6 / Kingdom Hearts / Square
7 / Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 / Electronic Arts
8 / TimeSplitters 2 / Eidos
9 / Tekken 4 / Namco
10 / Mario Party 4 / Nintendo

There we have it, Tekken 4 is up there in 9th place, a good achievement considering the game has only been out about a month. It will be very interesting to see these sales charts once Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and Soul Calibur II are released, let's hope Warburg continue giving the public access to these stats.
Post/View Comments (0)

Gamecube 2 on the way?
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:47:11 AEST
There's word going around that Nintendo's Peter MacDougall has spoken out - silencing the critics who thought the Gamecube was Nintendo's last machine. At a recent conference, GKM, he made it very clear that there would be a successor to both the GBA and the Gamecube. He said:

“Nintendo is in the software business - to stay, Nintendo is in the handheld business - to stay. And Nintendo is most certainly in the home console business - to stay. Work is well underway on the successor technology to both Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube.”

Interesting Indeed. Although don't hold your breath, it'll be a long long time before we see it on the shelves! But it's just something to keep in the back of your head as you enjoy your Gamecube (and Gameboy Advance), that there is bigger and better things on the way!
Post/View Comments (1)

Midways publishes new MK:DA Press Release
Posted by White_Pointer @ 11:12:33 AEST
Wow, today has been a really good day for MK:DA news!

Midway have published a press release in regards to MK:DA. While it does repeat some information, such as the game's release date, it does have some other interesting information in it. Here's a little snippet:

"'Fatality Friday' is the official street date of the much-anticipated next-generation version of Mortal Kombat," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is poised to shock the world and awaken the fighting game genre, with an all-new fighting system and gory fatalities."

In the game, players engage in hand-to-hand and special-weapon combat, executing secret moves and combinations with new fatalities and deadly body blows. Lethal new warriors are added to the mix along with the return of Mortal Kombat classics -- Scorpion™, Raiden™, Sub-Zero™ and Sonya Blade™. Hyper-realistic, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance features progressive physical damage that allows players to view the inevitable demise of their opponents while utilizing three unique fighting styles for each warrior, creating nearly unlimited fighting possibilities.

New MK:DA Videos!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 10:53:29 AEST
Yep, I've added some new Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance videos to the Mortal Kombat Multimedia section for you to enjoy! We now have our first real MK:DA gameplay videos, five of them in fact, and two others - One is a television advertisment for the game, and the other is a full video showing Sub-Zero's Spine Rip fatality! Yeah Baby! Check out our New Movies Now!!!
Post/View Comments (0)

Interview with Ed Boon
Posted by White_Pointer @ 8:57:28 AEST
Computer and Video Games have scored themselves an Interview with Mortal Kombat co-creator, Ed Boon. He talks about the hype surrounding the release of Mortal Kombat : Deadly Alliance, how the game has evolved and reveals a little more about the new fighting system, and even reveals in gory detail some of the fatalities that will feature in the game! Ooh yeah!

It's worth the read for any MK fan, so check it out here
Post/View Comments (0)

Sunday, November 3, 2002

New Featured Game! Robot Alchemic Drive!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 18:53:13 AEST
Well, we've done it again and expanded the site to cover yet another game, this time It's Robot Alchemic Drive, or RAD for short, Enix's new Robot combat game for the Playstation 2. The game itself has been inspiried by anime, and features a very original combat and control system. You actually control your robot remotely, and the gameplay consists of using your robot to defeat your opponent, and moving your human player around so they don't get crushed! The battlegrounds are also fully interactive, and with missions to complete by battling your opponents, it's sure to be a hit.

We open our newest section with two very nice image galleries plus a gameplay trailer movie to download, so check it out today!
Post/View Comments (0)

New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer @ 7:24:08 AEST
With the closure of the last poll, it's time for our new poll.

Fighting games have always been an integral part of the gaming industry since 1991 and 1992 when Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat were first released respectively, both of them laying a solid foundation for future games to build on. However it seems both of them were quite simplistic compared to the fighting games being released today. So, this poll asks you, what in your opinion, is the best facet of a fighting game? Is it the Combos, the Blood, the Graphics, The Button Mashing, or lack thereof? Go and vote!
Post/View Comments (0)

Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer @ 7:14:52 AEST
Well, it's time for a new poll, but first, let's see what the results of the previous poll were:

Are you going to buy Godzilla:Destroy All Monsters Melee?

17.9% I want to see what it's like first
17.9% Godzilla What?
15.3% I'll hire it first and then decide
15.3% I don't own a Gamecube
12.8% No!
12.8% Maybe
7.6% Yes!

Well, interesting indeed, only about 20% of people had actually made a decision as to whether they were buying it, most it seems want a test drive before they invest their money, which is a good idea if you don't buy many games.

Saturday, November 2, 2002

Site problems resolved
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:54:41 AEST
Our host reported network problems as the cause of the erratic behaviour of Blood-Sports.net as of late, meaning the site was either running slower than a snail going backwards or not responding at all over the last few days. However, they have assured us that the problem is now resolved and the server is back to running at peak efficiency. They said that they'll be keeping a close eye on it.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused, it was out of our hands.

A few updates.
Posted by BobXFett @ 10:19:23 AEST
Hey folks.

I know I don't post on here often, scary stuff when I actually do, huh? ;)
Well I mostly just cover Gamecube news, and that's been kind of slow for fighting games, so most of what I'm posting here isn't completely focused on games.

First up, there is one fighting game on the horizon for all three consoles, but it's not what you would call your traditional fighter.

(Press Release excerpt)
"Undisputed Boxing Champion of the World! Officially licensed by MGM Interactive, Rocky the videogame is the closest fans can get to the real thing. The hard-hitting, adrenaline-pumping, sports game holds true to the look and feel of the Academy Award® winning movies with everything from accurate boxing styles to gritty arenas. Rocky lets players take on the role of the 'Italian Stallion' who must fight against the most infamous opponents in movie history - Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago and Tommy Gunn. Rocky features more than 20 individual fighters pulled straight from the movies, plus special hidden characters including Rocky's trainer 'Mickey.' Rocky also features realistic damage including bruises, facial swellings, blood, sweat and tears as the action heats up."

Release dates are:
Xbox: Tuesday, November 12th
GameCube and GBA: Tuesday, November 14th
PS2: Tuesday, November 19th

To read the whole press release, head over to Planet Gamecube.

Also, as a followup to Pointer's post about the Nintendo Gamecube modem (and broadband) adapter being out, I figured I should just point out that the first game that takes advantage of it (Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II) is out as well. So you can actually USE that neat modem you just bought ;)

Since Phantasy Star is not a Nintendo developed/published game, there is a charge (I think it's around 6-8 dollars a month [EDIT]Upon checking, the price is $8.95 US per month to play online, with the first month free[/EDIT]) to play it online. Check out Sega to get some more info. If you're not into pay to play, the game also supports single player and 2-4 player split screen mode (but since it's an RPG and not a fighting game, we won't go into any reviews here ;).

Also, Nintendo has stated multiple times that when they develop games that are going to support online multiplay modes (here's hoping for Mario Kart!), they intend for them to be 100% free to play online! So any first-party in house games made by Nintendo will be instantly accessible online to those with the modem/broadband adapter. (The way the modem works is by using your current ISP, in case you were wondering. Just hook it to your phoneline/cable and you're pretty much ready, no charge to use it unless the specific game has a charge.)

Here's a quick excerpt from a speech by Nintendo of America leader, Peter MacDougall, speaking briefly about the online view they hold.

"Serious money is required to maintain the technology of a networked game, not to mention the regular infusion of new content to refresh player interest. Our master game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, says that if he truly applied himself to an online project, it would significantly reduce the number of games he develops – because its design would never end. Beyond creative and maintenance resources, we also have to find out just where online gamers will come from.

If online play grows our market in real numbers, that’s wonderful. If, however, it merely cannibalizes existing hardcore players, the payoff may disappoint. Now, we at Nintendo don’t want to be seen as naysayers. After all, Nintendo GameCube is fully adaptable to handle both broadband and modem-enabled network games. In fact, our first such product, Sega’s excellent Phantasy Star Online just went on sale. But bottom line, if you look at online games today … promise? Yes. Life preserver? Not yet."

So while Nintendo is supporting online play, chances are they are going to be the least 'online' of the three major consoles out there for quite some time. Decide for yourself if that's a good or bad thing!

If you would like to read (a lot) more of Nintendo's views on online gaming and more, head over to Planet Gamecube, where they have the entire thing typed up for your perusal, or go to The highlights if you want just a summary of that massive read.
Post/View Comments (0)

New Godzilla:Destroy All Monsters Melee Movies
Posted by White_Pointer @ 8:15:28 AEST
Well, it's a new month, and our content is expanding. I've now uploaded some more Godzilla:Destroy All Monsters Melee movies. These new movies are simply lower resolution versions to the movies we already had, to allow you 56k'ers to download them easier. Most of the file sizes are half the size of the originals, so now downloading them on slower connections wont be such a chore. You can download them by following the links in the side menu or simply clicking here
Post/View Comments (0)

Friday, November 1, 2002

New MK:DA renders and boxart!
Posted by White_Pointer @ 21:10:50 AEST
We've extended our image database for MK:DA to show some more character renders, and also for the first time the box art for the GBA, GCN and X-Box versions of the game. Check out the new images now! Just click the "Mortal Kombat" link under the images heading in the side menu.
Post/View Comments (0)