October 2005

Saturday, October 29, 2005

King of Fighters Kyo screens
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:46:52 CST
Not much is known about the Japanese-only game King of Fighters Kyo. Released only on the PS2 and only in Japan, the game appears to be some kind of interactive anime cartoon. Almost all of the KOF cast seem to feature in the game at some point. If you're interested in checking out some good quality screenshots of the game, Utils has taken a stack of them and made them available for viewing right here. Thanks to Utils for that news.
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Rare not so rare on the 360
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:22:04 CST
If you keep up with gaming news, you've probably wondered at some point whether Microsoft's decision to purchase Rare from Nintendo in 2002 was actually worth it. Since the aquisition only 2 games have been released for a Microsoft platform by the UK developer, and one of them was a remake of an N64 game. However, a recent interview on MTV with Xbox marketing and publishing vice president Peter Moore revealed that Rare is working on more titles for the Xbox 360 than just the two that have been announced so far (Kameo and Perfect Dark Zero). In fact, they are working on two other unannounced games for the 360 (which they have been working on for nearly 2 years already), to be announced in 2nd quarter next year. No specifics about the games were revealed, but they will almost certainly be of different genres and Moore said the games will "leverage Rare's incredible ability to broaden the demographic that are attracted to the consoles." Does this mean that we might finally see Killer Instinct 3 on the Xbox 360?

You can read the interview here.
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Soul Calibur III now available
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:09:35 CST
A week ago we reported that Soul Calibur III had gone gold. Now the game has finally hit store shelves and is available across the US right now. So what are you waiting for if you own a PS2? Go out and get it!

SCIII intro movie unleashed
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:08:44 CST
What a wonderful thing the intarweb is. Even before the game's official release, someone has got a hold of the complete intro movie to Namco's Soul Calibur III. It shows all the new and most of returning characters at some point during the CG sequence, and you gain a little understanding of their backstories (though not a whole lot). Game Informer has the video available to download at pretty good quality too, and you can get it by clicking here. Make sure you right-click and select "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" if you want a permanent copy instead of streaming it.

Kudos to forum member king kazuya for finding this!
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And the secret Halo character is...
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:11:22 CST
Remember when we reported a few weeks back that Bungie and Tecmo would be coming together and adding a character from the Halo universe to Dead or Alive 4? Well, the character has been revealed, and no Halo fans, it is not Master Chief. It is, in fact, a female Spartan warrior (who looks a lot like Master Chief we must say), who doesn't yet have an official name.

Xbox fansite Xboxyde were the first to unleash high-resolution screenshots of the new character in action, but we've got them for your viewing pleasure right here. Note that these are all high-resolution and may take a short while to load on slow connections.
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The Con now out
Posted by White_Pointer at 02:11:47 CST
The Con, the new 3D fighting game on the PSP that is all about making bets and throwing fights is now available. As we mentioned when we reported on this game a while back, the object of the game is to make money by allowing the onlookers to bet against you in illegal street fights. Taking a beating early in the fight will cause them to bet against you (that is, unless they believe you are deliberately doing it), causing a bigger payoff. Beyond the basic mode is a customisation feature where you can train your fighter in a variety of diciplines and change the way they look.

It's out now for the PSP for the RRP of $49.95.
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Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi ships
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:12:59 CST
Dragon Ball Z fans will have something else to talk about now, because the latest game in the Budokai fighting series, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi has shipped out for PS2. With plenty of story arcs and some actually good action, fans of the show should really appreciate what it there. Note this is the North American release, we'll bring you PAL information when it becomes available.
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October is Street Fighter month
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:53:54 CST
Yes, it's official. October can now be called StreetFighter-tober. Why has Capcom made this announcement, you may be wondering? It's because they've decided the world doesn't have enough Street Fighter goodness and they are bringing more of it into the world. Don't get your hopes up...there isn't any news of a possible SF4. What there is on it's way however is a whole stack of SF merchandise, including comic books, trading cards, anime DVD's, action figures, lego figures, statuettes, gamepads, T-shirts and even arcade machines.

“Street Fighter remains an 'evergreen' property for Capcom with the support of enthusiastic licensees and loyal fans, and right now is a great time to be a Street Fighter fan as the latest wave of licensed products may be some of the best Street Fighter items ever released," stated Shu Tanaka, Capcom licensing manager.

"Street Fighter is a property that really has such a passionate fan-base. Capcom has been very fortunate to have found licensees just as passionate who are willing and able to coordinate their product releases this October for a coordinated Street Fighter assault," stated Marc Mostman, president of Most Management, Capcom's licensing agency.

"This incredible promotion has only been made possible through the support of CAPCOM and the passion that all the SF licensees have for this classic franchise," adds UDON's Erik Ko.

Date the KOF girls
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:53:17 CST
The concept of "virtual dating", where the player plays a game where they go out on a date with a virtual female (or male) isn't exactly a new one, but the newest game like this is coming from somewhere you wouldn't expect. SNK are creating a mobile phone game in which the player gets to try and win over one of the King of Fighters girls. Called Days of Memories: The hot summer between me and her, the player enters the "Private Pure Summit Academy" where they try and convince one of the KOF girls to have a hot summer with them, as the title suggests. SNK promises plenty of bikinis and other such apparel as well.

There are no plans on releasing this game outside of Japan at the moment, but maybe that's a good thing as this is just plain weird.
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MK: Deception now a greatest hit
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:31:35 CST
Midway have announced that Mortal Kombat: Deception has achieved Platinum Hit status on the PS2 and Greatest hit status on the Xbox. If you want a refresher on what that means, it's any game that sells more than 400,000 copies in it's first nine months on the shelves. MK: Deception eclipsed this figure easily, selling more than 1.9 million units so far (one wonders why it didn't receive this platinum/greatest hits recognition earlier).

What the platinum/greatest hit status also means is that the game gets marked down significantly in price...it'll now retail for $19.95 (US dollars) and will be complete with new packaging. If you haven't had the chance to experience it yet, now's a good time to grab it. You might also want to check out our review.
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Rag Doll Kung Fu now available
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:19:26 CST
Last week we announced that Rag Doll Kung Fu, the totally whacked out PC fighting game had begun preloading through Valve's Steam service. Now the announcement has come through that the full game is finally finished and now available through Steam for $14.95, the first wholly independent game to be distributed through Valve's service. Designer Mark Healey describes it as "a kung fu fight with string puppets in which you don't have to worry about getting the strings tangled up or even having a kung fu fight at all if you don't feel like it".

We'll be bringing you a review of this very innovative game in the near future, so stay tuned!
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Soul Calibur III goes gold
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:02:14 CST
Namco have made the official announcement...Soul Calibur III has gone gold and is ready for mass production! The game is scheduled to hit stores across the US on the 25th of this month, though no solid PAL release date has been given yet.

"Fighting game fans should look no further than 'SOULCALIBUR III' for the most exciting fighting experience available on the PlayStation 2 in 2005," said Yoshi Niki, Business Unit Director with Namco Hometek Inc. "'SOULCALIBUR III' does justice to the legendary franchise with incredibly detailed graphics, a vast selection of playable characters and challenging new gameplay modes including real time strategy."

Dark Resurrection not coming to consoles?
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:06:49 CST
It's not really surprise news as it's what we all expected, but according to fansite Tekken Zaibatsu, the updated version of Tekken 5, named Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, is remaining an arcade exclusive and we will not see a console release for the game, not even on the PS3. The information is more than just a rumour as the information is coming from a credible source.

Maybe it's not true, and there's a small chance we might see it on the PS3. But chances are we won't be seeing a home version.

Thanks to D.K. for the heads up on this.
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Interview with SCIII lead designer
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:39:47 CST
Namco have today issued a press release in regards to their highly anticipated upcoming fighter Soul Calibur III, due out in just a few weeks time. This isn't an ordinary "try and impress the people reading it" press release though, this is actually a Q&A with the chief designer behind SCIII, Seido Ozawa. While it doesn't really reveal anything new, it's interesting to get a dev's take on it and find out what he thinks is the best element and who his favourite character is.

1UP has posted the press release up in its entirety if you want to read it.
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Schwarzenegger says no to violent games
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:31:07 CST
If you are a teenage gamer and live in California, come next year your lives are going to get a bit more complicated...at least when you want to buy new video games. Today, the governer of California Arnold Schwarzenegger signed California bill AB1179, which bans the sale or rental of "violent video games" to children. The law will come into effect in January next year. According to the legal summary of the bill, a "violent video game" is "a game in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being." That definition pretty much includes every fighting game out there, regardless of how realistic it might look.

Under the new law, games that fit this description need to be labelled with a big white number 18 outlined in black, 2 inches by 2 inches big, in addition to the ESRB rating. Anyone caught selling these games to minors will find themselves with a $1000 fine.

"This gets the parents involved in the decision-making process," Schwarzenegger said, "I believe as an actor in the ratings system. It is very important to protect children."

SC3 release date set, but no arcade release
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:45:33 CST
Namco have announced that their highly anticipated Soul Calibur III is set for a release on the PS2 ont he 25th of October, apparently before Japan gets it.

However...it isn't all good news. Prior to this it wasn't clear whether Namco were releasing an arcade version of the game as no announcement has been made abotu it. It's now been confirmed that the game will not be seeing an arcade release. This seems like a weird decision considering Tekken 5 was released on arcades only last year, but that's the story unfortunately. Hopefully Namco may change their minds in the near future.
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Rag Doll Kung Fu starts preloading
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:25:14 CST
You might remember quite some time ago that we reported on an interesting new fighting game coming to the PC called Rag Doll Kung Fu. Designed by Lionhead's Mark Healey, the game features characters that are controlled by a mouse where each limb moves independently of each other. Players need to move each limb in such as way (like a Rag Doll) by clicking and dragging their mouse over them, to move their character around and perform their "Kung Fu" moves such as punches and kicks.

Rag Doll Kung Fu has become the first totally independent game to become available online using Valve's Steam service. Preloads have started today as the game builds up to it's October 12th release. The full game will cost $12.95 (US dollars). If you're interested in it, visit the official Steam homepage.
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Bungie and Team Ninja join forces
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:57:33 CST
It's what seems like the weirdest partnership in the gaming industry to date...a Halo character being a secret unlockable in the next DOA game. However, what started off as what seemed like a stupid rumour a couple of days ago has now been confirmed by Bungie themselves...a secret hidden character in the Xbox 360 launch title Dead or Alive 4 has been confirmed to be coming from the world of Halo. Which character it is, they couldn't say, but they've left a hint at the above link with a silhouetted lineup of possible inclusions. It's certainly a very interesting announcement (if it is indeed true and Bungie isn't just spreading superfluous rumours). Guess we'll find out the full details in due time.

What next...DOA characters in Halo 3?
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DBZ: Budokai Tenkaichi goes Gold
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:25:32 CST
The fourth iteration in the DBZ: Budokai series, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi has gone gold and is set for a launch on the 18th of this month for the PS2.

"Atari continues to deliver new firsts for the Dragon Ball Z franchise," said Matt Collins, Director of Global Brand Management at Atari. "With DBZ Budokai: Tenkaichi, gamers can now battle in true 3D with more characters than ever before and experience the game in highly destructible, authentic environments."

Fighting Games up for Walk of Game honour
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:02:35 CST
The honour of being inducted into the Walk of Game is back again this year, and voting has opened up. As far as fighting games are concerned with regards to the nominations, the same two which were up for the honour are again nominated this year, Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II. They are up against some stiff competition though so if you want to see either of these games inducted into this prestigious group, you'll need to vote for them.

Visit www.walkofgame.com/index.html for more information about the Walk of Game, a full list of nominations and voting instructions.
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Midway releasing a triple of nostalgia
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:48:34 CST
It seems Midway can't get enough of their old-school arcade games. Recently released is Midway Arcade Treasures III, although this one doesn't feature any fighting games and consists of 8 nostalgic racing games.

However they haven't stopped there. In October, Midway will be releasing Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition for all three consoles, which combines the best games from MAT II and MAT III and includes Pit Fighter, MKII, MK3 and Primal Rage.

As if that wasn't enough, in November Midway will be releasing Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play for the PSP. This not only includes a handful of games found in the other MAT collections, but also some titles that aren't featured in them, including the original Mortal Kombat (as well as MKII and MK3).

It seems Midway has all bases covered, so if you ever get the urge to play old arcade games, you've got plenty to choose from.

Here's the full list of games for each collection:

Midway Arcade Treasures III

Badlands
Hydro Thunder
Off Road Thunder: Mud, Sweat ‘N Gears
Race Drivin
San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition
San Francisco Rush 2049
S.T.U.N. Runner
Super Off Road & Bonus Tracks Pack

Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition

Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat 3
Gauntlet II
Spy Hunter II
Xybots
NARC
APB
Cyberball 2072
Timber
Total Carnage
Pit Fighter
Wizard of Wor
Xenophobe
Primal Rage
Arch Rivals
Rampage World Tour
Kozmik Krooz’r
Championship Sprint
Hard Drivin’
Wacko
Badlands
Hydro Thunder
Off Road Thunder: Mud, Sweat ‘N Gears
Race Drivin’
San Francisco Rush the Rock: Alcatraz Edition
San Francisco Rush 2049
S.T.U.N. Runner
Super Off Road with bonus Track-Pak

Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play

Klax
Joust
Marble Madness
Toobin’
Rampage
Gauntlet
Rampart
Wizard of Wor
Championship Sprint
Arch Rivals
Zybots
Cyberball 2072
enophobe
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat 3
Spy Hunter
Sinistar
Defender
Paperboy
720°
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