June 2005

Thursday, June 30, 2005

KOF: Maximum Impact - Maniax ships for Xbox
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:22:20 CST
SNK have announced today that the XBox port of KOF: MI, titled King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - Maniax has finally shipped, more than half a year after the PS2 version. The game is pretty much exactly the same as the PS2 version, except for slightly improved graphics and the addition of online play (which includes an all new 128-player tournament mode).

“ SNK will be rolling out a full library of our top fighting titles for Xbox this year.” said Ben Herman, SNK PLAYMORE USA CORPORATION President. “KOF: MAXIMUM IMPACT-MANIAX is just the tip of the iceberg for Xbox owners.”

New details on Soul Calibur III
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:03:17 CST
More details have emerged on Soul Calibur III...specifically on the character creation feature which disappointingly was not shown at this year's E3.

It appears that when you create a character, aside from choosing their gender and what kind of outfit they will wear, you'll be choosing what kind of fighting style they'll be using and this will determine their moveset. This makes sense from a gameplay balancing perspective, and there is quite a variety of "styles" to choose from (which, we assume, is what the regular characters fall under as well). There's eight different styles in all: Assassin, Barbarian, Dancer, Gladiator, Ninja, Pirate, Saint and Samurai.

When Namco said you could customise the character's looks from head to toe, they weren't kidding. Pretty much everything from their faces to the feet can be customised, and the character's clothing can actually be layered on top of each other, creating some interesting possibilities. You will not however, be able to give a male character a bikini. Depending on what you choose, the game's in-game "personality system" determines your character's win, lose and intro poses, amongst other things.

Stay tuned for more information on SCIII in the coming months!
Post or view comments

New fan art
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:14:25 CST
Randy Siplon has decided to send us a great piece of fan art to add to our archives. This is of Lien Neville from KOF: Maximum Impact. See it for yourself over in our fan art section in gallery 7. Don't forget, if you are an artist yourself and you have some fighting game fan art you'd like to display to the world, visit our fan art section for the submission instructions.
Post or view comments

New SSB game announced
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:05:13 CST
What was once a rumour is now true...Nintendo have confirmed that there is a new game in the SSB series on the way, codenamed Super Smash Bros: Revolution. As you can probably guess from the title, this is being aimed at a launch title for the Revolution which is due to hit the market mid next year. No real details on the game, such as it's character roster have been revealed yet, except for the the fact it will fully support the Revolution's WiFi capabilities and be playable online. Online SSB! One drools in anticipation at that prospect!

Stay tuned for more details, we'll have them as soon as we can get our hands on them!
Post or view comments

PS2 port of KOF Neowave released in Japan
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:06:04 CST
The first KOF game that ran on the Atomiswave; King of Fighters: Neowave, has been released on the PS2 in Japan today. By and large, the game is a direct port of the arcade original with all the bells and whistles intact. There's been no announcement of a release outside of Japan yet.
Post or view comments

Sega and Sammy reviewing internal affairs
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:33:18 CST
Two major things have happened recently to Sega and Sammy, and in turn prompted their parent company Sega-Sammy holdings to conduct internal investigations. Sammy is apparently in deep water after they were accused of tax evasion, but Sega's situation is much more serious. A handicapped man fell out of one of Sega's rides at their Tokyo amusement park Joypolis, resulting in the man's death.

This prompted Sega-Sammy holdings to start up a new advisory committee to not only look into these things but also try and prevent such things happening in the future, and will act independently of both companies. The committee will consist of four core members: Yoshio Ichiryu (CEO of consultant company Ichiryu Associates), Masaru Murai (consultant to General Atlantic Partners), Shinji Fukukawa (consultant to Dentsu Communications), and Junya Sato (lawyer).

"Since our merger on October 2004, we have recognized the strengthening of our corporate governance and compliance as our top priority. Our establishment of this advisory committee is one of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our governance. With the supervision and advice from experts outside of our company, we hope to further improve on the health of our group's businesses," commented representatives from Sega Sammy Holdings.

The stories behind the names
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:23:02 CST
It's a slow news day today in the world of fighting games, but this should keep you all going for a little while. 1up has posted a new article titled "What's in a name?", and it runs through some of the most famous company names in the video game industry and explains how they came up with their name. Most of the fighting game bigwigs are mentioned in the article...Capcom, Midway, Sega, Namco and SNK...amongst others. If you're interested in finding out just how these companies came up with their names (and some of them are quite intriguing to say the least)...head on over to 1up and have a read.
Post or view comments

More info on the DOA movie
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:05:19 CST
Some more information on the DOA movie has surfaced over the weekend, most notably what roles each actor will be playing. Although not all of the actors that we reported on friday to be in the film were mentioned, most of them were:

Kasumi - Devon Aoki
Ryu Hayabusa - Kane Kosugi
Ayane - Natassia Malthe
Tina - Jaime Pressly
Helena - Sarah Carter
Christie - Holly Valance
Bass - Kevin Nash
Zack - Brian J. White (who also happens to be in the upcoming Tekken movie)

We still don't know when the movie is due to be released, but it is currently filming in China at this very moment with a $30 million budget.

Thanks to D.K. for directing us to this news!
Post or view comments

More details on the DOA movie
Posted by White_Pointer at 22:05:16 CST
Apart from a few small snippets here and there over the past year or so, not much has been revealed about the Dead or Alive movie, based on Tecmo's popular fighting game series. Until now, that is.

We now know the the film is currently being shot in Hong Kong, with Cory Yuen, director of The Transporter and martial arts choreographer for Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die as the director. The movie will star Jaime Pressly (Not Another Teen Movie), pop star Holly Valance (National Lampoon's Pledge This), Devon Aoki (Sin City), Sarah Carter (Final Destination 2), Kane Kosugi (Godzilla: Final Wars), Natassia Malthe (Elektra), Matthew Marsden (Black Hawk Down) and Eric Roberts (National Security, Spun) - although the characters each actor is playing are still not known.

The movie is being produced by Jeremy Bolt and Paul W.S. Anderson (the same guy that did the Resident Evil and Mortal Kombat movies) and is decribed by Tecmo as being a cross between Enter the Dragon and Charlie's Angels.

"Our locations are epic, and the local crews and stunt teams are simply remarkable," said producer Jeremy Bolt. "We feel lucky to be here [in China], and Cory Yuen has done an astonishing job in training our cast. The action sequences are truly awesome."

KOF coming to mobile
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:32:27 CST
Wireless game developer Iplay has announced that they will be bringing SNK's KOF franchise to the mobile platform, with the title King of Fighters M2. Iplay promises that the control scheme will be simple enough for anyone who downloads it to be able to play it, but at the time time prevent it from being a button masher. It's also fully expected that a hefty cast of characters will also make it into the game. The only possible gripe we have with the game at the moment is that the game plays with a vertical screen, not horizontal, so it looks a bit odd and squashed up.

We've got a few screenshots for you in our King of Fighters Images section.
Post or view comments

Capcom releases CFE for Xbox
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:09:11 CST
About 6 months after the release of the PS2 version, Capcom have finally released the Xbox port of Capcom Fighting Evolution, with the addition of online play over Xbox Live.

"Capcom's fighting games have earned world wide respect and have elevated the industry standard to new heights over the years," said Todd Thorson, director of marketing, Capcom USA. "With an arsenal of established characters, time-honored control schemes and versatile options, Capcom Fighting Evolution is a must have for any fighter fan."

New Poll
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:18:46 CST
Recently, there's been some indication that the destiny of fighting games is to move online with the arcade scene by and large slowly dying off, and this opens up the possibility of having more than your traditional 1-on-1 fighting (or up to 4 players fighting as some recent games have). A couple of games in recent times have attempted to tap into a much larger playerbase, supporting up to 16 players or more, but flaws with these games ultimately cost them from really setting a foothold into the market.

Our new poll asks you if you think that given the right implementation, that fighting games supporting many players will work in the near future. Vote now!
Post or view comments

Poll Results
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:09:40 CST
Time to close off our poll, but before we post the new one, here's the results:

Do storylines matter in fighting games?

52.4% - Yes
33% - Somewhat, as long as they don't interfere with gameplay
8.3% - No
6.1% - I don't really care

Well, the result of this one is pretty conclusive...it seems the majority of site visitors do care if their fighting games have a good story.
Post or view comments

Sega launches Sega Link
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:17:01 CST
Sega has announced that they have launched Sega Link, an online community based game site. In addition to being a community site of blogs and photo albums, there's also downloadbale content in three categories: Simple Games, Sega Classic, and Link Collection. Simple games has what you might expect...board and card games, but Sega Classic contains Windows ports of classic Sega games including Golden Axe. 20 titles are available for this collection already with more to come. Link Collection is basically the same as Sega Classic, except it contains Windows ports of more recent games, complete with online play, including The Typing of the Dead 2004 and Virtua Fighter 2. Only 5 titles are available for this collection at the moment but more are scheduled.

Downloading and playing these games isn't free however...a small fee applies per game.

Currently Sega Link is only open to the Japanese community. No word at the moment about whether they will launch a similar service to other territories.
Post or view comments

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects details from E3
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:21:46 CST
Remember the Marvel vs EA game that we reported on quite a while ago? Well, this is it...and it's titled Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, and is currently in development for the Xbox, PS2, Gamecube and PSP.

Unlike most of the other Marvel-licensed fighting games, MN isn't being developed by Capcom, but EA and Nihilistic. At first glance, the game looks to be taking a very unique art style, which almost looks like a combination of cel-shading and conventional 3D graphics. The movement is completely 3D, and the game has pretty simple controls, which seems to indicate that EA are trying to target this at a more casual gamer rather than the hardcore fighting game crowd. Each character has their own set of attacks (including normals, specials and supers), and objects contained within the arena can also be used as weapons, much like the way games like SSBM work. In a new unique twist, building up your super meter also allows characters to perform other maneuvers such as flying or running faster.

Expect to see many Marvel characters within this game...Spider-Man, The Iron Man and and Wolverine were playable at E3. The Imperfects (which is the new super hero side, created by EA) was represented with two characters named Johnny Ohm and Brigade. By and large there wans't too much difference in the characters as a whole besides their size and movement speed but it's still early stages at the moment.

Check out screenshots of the game right here!. The game is due to be released later this year.

This one slipped past us through all the E3 hubbub so thanks to forum member NeoSwami08 for reminding us about it!
Post or view comments

SCIII wins Game Critic's Best Fighting Game E3 2005
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:03:36 CST
Every year, several weeks after E3 has closed it's doors, the Game Critics Awards winners are announced for the games at the show. The GCA awards are judged by a panel of 33 independent journalists from many well-known publications and websites.

This year, the award for best fighting game fell to Namco's Soul Calibur III. Despite the fact that there wasn't really anything new about the game shown, it still oozed quality even at this early development stage and in the opinions of the GCA judges, outdid all of the other fighting games at the show.

The full list of nominations for the award for best fighting game were as follows:

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (Nihilistic/EA - GC/PS2/Xbox/PSP)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Paradox/Midway Games - PlayStation 2/Xbox)
Soul Calibur III (Namco - PlayStation 2)
The Con (Think and Feel/Sony - PSP)

Unfortunately there was only four nominations for this award when most of the other categories received five - and it wasn't because of lack of material because if you've been keeping up to date with us over the past few weeks you'll know there were plenty of fighting games on show at E3. Still, it's hard to imagine that any of them could have taken the award away from SCIII.

If you're interested in seeing the full list of winners of all the awards, head on over to the GCA official website.
Post or view comments

Virtua Fighter confirmed for 360
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:43:13 CST
Sega have recently confirmed that their once Sony-console exclusive series Virtua Fighter is making it's way onto the Xbox 360. As part of a video Sega was showing at E3, this information was revealed. We now know that Akira and Sarah Bryant are both making returns in the as yet un-named VF game, and as expected the graphical quality (both the characters and the environments) has been given a big upgrade over the latest title, Virtua Fighter4: Evolution, which was released only on the PS2.

Unfortunately, that is all the video revealed before moving on to showcase other titles. But you can take this as solid confirmation that VF will indeed be coming to the 360. We'll bring you more information as it becomes available.
Post or view comments

Ex-Capcom producer working on a new DBZ game
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:42:50 CST
You might remember that some time ago we reported that Noritaka Funamizu, producer of many Street Fighter II titles and Ex-Capcom executive director, left the company to form his own development studio, Craft and Meister. Since then, nothing has realy been revealed about what he could be working on...until now. The latest issue of Shonen Jump reveals that Craft and Meister are actually working on a new DBZ fighting game for the arcade platform, titled Super Dragon Ball Z (or Chou Dragon Ball Z). It appears as if Funamizu has not only brought his experience, but also his game naming conventions along into the new company. Tongue-in-cheek aside, the early screenshots seem to reveal that the game will have 3D, cel-shaded graphics, similar to the Budokai series that appear on the PS2 and Gamecube. Nothing much else is known at this point about the new title, except that Craft and Meister are working with Banpresto to bring the title to the arcades, and it should be finished before the end of the year. We'll have more information on this as it becomes available.
Post or view comments

New Samurai Shodown Tenkaichi Kenkakuden details
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:41:26 CST
SNK didn't really have a strong showing at this year's E3, with the majority of their games being strictly ports of already released titles. However, they did have one trick up their sleeve, and we found out what that was over the weekend. Samurai Shodown Tenkaichi Kenkakuden (which translates roughly to "Legend of the World's Greatest Swordsman") - the 6th title in the Samurai Shodown series and the first title in the series to appear on the Atomiswave was put through its paces in a location test. Even though the game is still a ways from completion, we are going to give you all the details on it that we can.

The first thing regular players of the series will notice is that the control layout now adds an extra button to make it five in total. This extra button actually performs a different function depending on what mode you are playing in. Yes, you heard that right...not unlike the Grooves found in Capcom vs SNK 2, the new SS game will have "modes" (represented by a Japanese character) the player can choose from before the start of the match. Depending on which mode you choose, this extra button can perform functions such as parrys, cancels, guards and dashes. Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the differences in these new modes. Each mode has a different set of power gauge specials, and in one of the modes, the weapon-breakers from SSII make a triumphant return. Further information on the new modes is a little scarce at the moment though. As expected, the graphics have been given a nice overhaul too...although they are obviously still being worked on, expect it to look a lot clearer and sharper than the previous entries that appeared on the NeoGeo.

For you who are fans of the series, you'll totally flip out at this character roster. So far, the confirmed characters are:

Hattori Hanzo
Mizuki
Amakusa Shiro
Caffeine Gaira
Caffeine Nicotine
Charlotte
Rera
Hisame Shizumaru
Enja
Galford
Gao
Senryo Kiyoshiro
Gedo
Kazama Kazuki
Kibagami Genjuro
Kubikiri Basara
Kurokochi Yumeji
Mina
Rimururu
Sankuro
Sogetsu
Nakoruru
Rasetsumaru
Yagyu Jubei
Yunfei Liu
Yoshitora
Zankuro
Suija
Tachibana Ukyo
Tam Tam
Wan Fu
Gen-An
Haohmaru
Karakuri Ochamaro
Matsuribayashi Sugoroku
Andrew

This isn't even the final list either, as a few other slots were blank on the character select screen. Fans of the previous games will no doubt recognise some returning faces in that list, but the last three are probably not recognisable. That's because they are new characters being added for the 6th instalment.

No further information, such as a possible release date (in Japan or the rest of the world) has been released as of yet. Expect SNK to be doing more location tests of the game in the coming months though. Hopefully we'll have more information for you then!
Post or view comments

More DOA4 details, Code Cronus delayed
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:21:09 CST
More details have been revealed about Dead or Alive 4, thanks to an interview in Famitsu magazine with Tecmo producer Tomonobu Itagaki. We now know that the game will feature at least 20 characters...more than any DOA game to date. We know a bit more about some of the new characters appearing in the trailer and screenshots as well. The blonde Fabio guy's name is Elliot, and will apparently play a big role in the story. He'll fight using the Keiken style. The Asian female's name is Kokoro, who'll be fighting with the Hakkyokuken style. The last character...the dark-skinned female wrestler...wasn't revealed in the interview, but Itagaki did say she's a good friend of Tina, the other female wrestler in the game. She'll fight in the Mexican lucha libre style. The other big news coming out of the interview is that Helena, not Kasumi, will be the main female character in the new instalment.

On a related note, in the same interview it was also revealed that the spin-off game Dead or Alive: Code Cronus has been delayed (and since we hadn't really heard anything about it over the past year or so you might have assumed that). The reasoning for this is easy though. It's been moved onto the Xbox 360.
Post or view comments

Midway's E3 showing
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:39:40 CST
Midway had several things on show at this year's E3, and it will be easier just to package all these details up in one news post, as...like Namco, we didn't really find out anything we didn't already know before the show.

First on the agenda is the recently announced PSP port of Mortal Kombat: Deception. From what was seen at E3, it looks as though the game is well on track to being pretty much a replica of it's console big brother.

Next is something we were expecting...news that a version of Midway Arcade Treasures is coming to the PSP. This will feature over 20 Midway arcade games, including MK, MKII and MK3. At this point we don't know whether any other fighting games will be included as the list doesn't seem to be finalised yet. So more good news for MK fans who own a PSP. You can download a quick trailer to MAT PSP at Midway's website.

Lastly, news on the spinoff game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. There was a playable demo of this at the show. As we know, the game is set somewhere between MK and MKII, and you will be able to choose between either Liu Kang or Kung Lao, and the basic game mechanics don't stray too far from the mechanics of other beat 'em ups. Unlike other beat 'em ups though, you'll not only be able to upgrade your attacks and learn new ones, but make attacks more powerful by inputting the buttons in certain combinations. Added to this is the possibility of performing actual, real combos, and of course fatalities. You wll be able to combine attacks from both of the main characters to perform longer and more powerful combos, and expect all of the signature moves from both characters to be here and accounted for as well. Midway seem to be trying to be very old-school here, because you'll recognise many locales from the original two MK games, including the infamous Pit stage that you can actually uppercut your enemies into to finish them off. Like Konquest mode in MK: Deception, it seems many favourite MK characters will be making cameos in Shaolin Monks as well. You can download the official trailer for MK: Shaolin Monks at Midway's website.
Post or view comments

Soul Calibur III details from E3
Posted by White_Pointer at 04:04:02 CST
Namco's showing of Soul Calibur III at E3 was actually a little disappointing, because it didn't really show off any aspect of the game we didn't already know. Make no mistake though, the game certainly still looks and plays as brilliant as ever. The E3 playable demo had two characters to choose from: Mitsurugi and newcomer Tira. The good old SC formula is still present here, so at least Namco are looking at it from a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" perspective. The game still uses the same control layout, the action is still as smooth as ever, and it seems the returning characters will all be given extra moves into the arsenals, if that's even possible. The game will feature a new weapon master mode called "Tale of Souls" mode, which basically functions the same way. This time around though, you'll be given many branching paths options on the world map after each fight, which can drastically change the outcome of the single player game. Although they were not playable, Kilik, new guy Zasalamel and a Berserker clone all featured in the Tale of Souls mode as opponents (of which Zasalamel is surprisingly quick for a big guy...think of Spawn from SCII).

The other modes, such as the new character creation mode, were not available to check out from the show floor, so we'll need to wait before we can see these features in action unfortunately. Neither were any other characters shown off either apart from those mentioned above, so it looks like we aren't going to know the full roster for a while.

Even though the series isn't taking a huge step forward with this game (no online play, ps2 exclusive, no real change in the fighting system) it's hard to argue that it's not going to be another impressive game to add to Namco's portfolio. We have a new gallery of screenshots on our Soul Calibur images page as well, so check them out.
Post or view comments

The Con details from E3
Posted by White_Pointer at 03:50:01 CST
A fighting game from E3 this year that slipped under the radar somewhat is The Con, a game for the PSP currently in development at SCEA. The premise of The Con is illegal street fighting...certainly not an entirely original concept, but this appears to be doing things right at this point.

At this point, you may be wondering about the game's title. The game is called The Con because there is money involved in each of your fights, and you will be able to control the aspect of each fight to try and "con" the crowd into betting for you so you earn more moolah. The crowd don't bet on the match until 45 seconds into it, so if you want the crowd to bet against you, go in and beat your opponent silly. However, it's much more profitable for you if the crowd bets for you (that is, they bet on your chance of winning) so you'll need to cleverly allow yourself to be beaten up, without giving the crowd suspicions that you may be throwing the fight. After the 45 seconds mark, then you make your move and nail your opponent. If the odds are against you and you end up pulling off the win, you'll end up with a much larger paycheck. The finished game will allow you to spend this money on clothing, fighter accessories and valuable items, although this functionality wasn't available during E3. In addition to the roughly 20 characters that will be selectable in the finished game, the player can also create their own character and even put an image of their own face onto it. Other details are that it will boast 12 unique battle arenas, support wireless multiplayer and have some multiplayer portion of the game that only requires one copy of the game, although we don't know what this is yet.

This certainly seems like an interesting new take on the world of illegal street fighting and fighting games in particular. We've also got a handful of screenshots of the game for you to take a look at.
Post or view comments