Finally, some news about Rockstar's Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP) that's not about it being banned, or certain parental watchdog groups baying for its death. Yes, dear readers, here's a nugget of information that's actually related to the game this time, and it's about the different endings you get in Manhunt 2 - and what ending you get depends solely on your playstyle. The word "playstyle" referring to the question of whether you slashed, sawed, tore, and plastic-bagged every victim you could get a hold of in the game, or simply chose to do it Solid Snake style and killed only when necessary.

But it's not just the endings, however. Playing with a violent streak - that is, testing out every weapon you get or succumbing to every opportunity for an environmental kill - would get you not only a gloomier ending, but a darker, grittier final stage to precede that ending. Taking the stealthier, less bloody path would get you a lighter final level and a somewhat more positive endin...

Remember the days when Nintendo fans were secretly gnashing their teeth when the much-awaited Revolution console was renamed into a seemingly laughable name: the Wii? When Ninty supporters had to endure the taunts thrown in their direction by Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 supporters?

Yes, we still remember those days. It's good to reminisce the times when Nintendo stood by with their decisions, practiced good damage control, and weathered the generally initial hostile reception by the market.

Now, it seems that Nintendo has to endure those times again in the advent of E3. With such news as Super Smash Bros. Brawl E3 demo not being playable, and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption not having multiplayer online mode, the Big N may have ended up disappointing many of their eager followers.

It should be noted that Metroid's gameplay never emphasized multi-player gaming in the first place, and sacrificing the option to play Metroid online with friends may be a necessary thin...

Well, we promised you more details as soon as they arrive. Sega has released the latest trailer for The Golden Compass, featuring how the video game was created right alongside the movie. It provides an exciting look into the dynamics of the game from its atmosphere and background settings to gameplay and graphics. It also shows some of the steps the developers of the movie and the video game took to keep both mediums in tandem with each other.


The video game will be released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PC, and PlayStation 2, with the movie released about the same time.

The movie industry has had few and far between when dealing with issues of the game industry. It is the biggest and most mature sector in the entertainment front since music. While most bickering over the next-gen console wars happened in-house, the movie buffs were unmoved by the fans' enthusiasm for their favorite consoles and the companies backing them.


Unforgiving critics themselves, entertainment media mogul Entertainment Weekly took a step back to review their impressions of today's next-generation consoles: the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, and Sony PlayStation 3. And it appears that they were no more excited for any of the consoles than they were the first time around.

The Xbox 360 hasn't changed in grade at all, with their midterm impressions not changing from their first encounter with the console. They leave the grade at A- in anticipation of a price cut this year, although they do agree that the Wii may take the throne soon. They note that a stro...

Atari has confirmed that it's indeed working on a video game version of the block game Jenga for the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo DS. Using the innovative controls of the two platforms, players are expected to experience the same thrills and spills that the real game has to offer.

If you're not familiar with the game, Jenga has players building a tower of wooden blocks at the start. When the tower is standing firm and complete, the players take turns removing one block at a time.

As the tower loses blocks, players must be ever more careful not to allow the whole thing to fall. If it crashes, you lose. Pokonobe Associates' Paul Eveloff added:

We are very pleased that Atari is now bringing Jenga s universal entertainment appeal to video gamers worldwide. This new platform will extend the opportunity to play Jenga to video gamers and generate exceptional new play experiences. Atari s Jenga for the Nintendo DS and Wii takes the Edge-of-Your-Seat Fun and party...

Although average consumers might not have much of an excitement for next week's E3 Media & Business Summit, analysts, investors, and the media are milling in anticipation. Hot off the presses yesterday was the all-out ruckus over a PlayStation 3 price drop across the board, and analysts still believe - despite denials - that Sony may still drop the slash-bomb smack-dab in the middle of the event.

 
Some analysts also believe that it won't only be the PlayStation 3 camp scoring a victory in market price change, stating that Microsoft might also be readying itself to spend a little bit more to kick up the hardware base expanse of the Xbox 360. Although US 1 billion was a lot to shovel for the Redmond giant's extended warranty expenses, third-parties are sure that such a move would decisively blunt Sony's price shindig - making it all too inviting.

Nintendo is still a star in game industry investors' eyes, and industry analysts believe that in absence of an...

It is already given that Japan is Nintendo-land especially these days with Wii and DS dominating sales charts. PlayStation Portable fans, however, might be interested to know that the top-selling video game for the first half of 2007 comes from their platform, namely Monster Hunter Portable 2nd.

After showing love for the said title, Japanese gamers revert back to Wii Sports as it landed on the number two spot. Keep in mind that unlike in other markets, Wii Sports is not bundled with the Wii console in Japan.

Then comes Pokemon Diamond and Pearl on third place. Western-hit Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas landed on the 17th spot. For purposes of being fair and accurate, take note that PlayStation 3 titles Dynasty Warriors: Gundam and Virtua Fighter 5 appeared on the 29th and number 96th place respectively.

Furthermore, no Xbox 360 title made it to the top 100 during the first half of this year.

On a related matter, the top publisher in Japan during t...

Bleach fans in Europe have a couple of reasons to be happy as Sega just announced two new titles based from the animated series. The new video games are namely Bleach: Shattered Blade and Bleach: The Blade of Fate for the Wii and Nintendo DS respectively.

This time, the Bleach storyline follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki who has the power to see spirits from the afterlife, including warriors called Soul Reapers. Our main hero meets female dead warrior Rukia and received her powers. Kurosaki is then tasked to continue Rukia's mission of defeating the enemies known as Hollows.

"The content of the Bleach story lends itself perfectly to an action packed arcade fighting game with a heavy dose of mighty sword battles. Both the flexibility of the Wii and the portability of the DS have allowed us to bring the intense action of Bleach to a wide variety of gamers," commented Sega European Marketing Director Gary Knight.

The following are some of the feat...

Filed under: Friday Video


All new game announcements should come complete with video, just so you know what to expect. Since THQ has announced de Blob, we've uncovered this handy video that shows off the bouncing blobs. The best part? The game is apparently filled with praise. We always love it when a game tells us we're brilliant because we can manage to bounce off a wall. We just wish someone would do that in real life, considering that we often manage to bounce off walls there, too.



Vidéo 1 De Blob sur Wii
Uploaded by Actu_Wiiz

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Filed under: Virtual Console, Imports

This probably doesn't affect any readers here (although, if you're a Japan-local Wii Fanboy, let us know!) but we discovered something interesting while drooling at the Japanese Virtual Console page.

Proving their absolute and irrational devotion to historical accuracy, the version of Castlevania going up on the VC this month will not be the same cartridge version that's already been released in the US and Europe. Instead, Japan is getting the original version, which was released for the Famicom Disk System in 1986. The differences include a save state feature and a name entry screen with music unheard in the US version! Which, unfortunately, we can't find. The idea that there's Castlevania music out there that we haven't heard makes us kind of uncomfortable.Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments