If you are into video games, you more than likely read Edge - the videogames magazine and website. They have just awarded Halo 3 the Edge Award for Innovation at this year’s Edinburg Interactive Festival. This was a surprising choice considering the game was going up against Grand Theft Auto IV, Portal, Rock Band, Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Fit. Although Halo 3 is my favorite game of the ones listed above, I feel like Portal and Rock Band were actually more innovative.
According to the reps at Edge, the game won due to it’s “integration and coherence of Halo 3’s online content”. While I certainly believe that the Halo series has one of the best online setups in console history, it wasn’t a huge improvement over Halo 2. Maybe I say this because I miss Halo 2’s maps…
Magazine circulation has been declining for several years, but it looks like this year has been the worst for the print industry. Below is a chart showing the first-half 2008 circulation figures from some of the most popular magazines. I have to wonder if online blogs have something to do with the decline. It’s quicker and easier to get your news and information from the internet these days. Another reason single copy sales are way down could have something to do with the recession as well. Check out the interesting article on the topic at WWD Media.
It looks like Brett Favre is officially a member of the New York Jets, but the Madden 09 cover will still have him in a Packers uniform. G4 spoke with EA to confirm that the cover will remain the same, despite the trade. Hopefully Favre will have a productive season with the Jets and avoid the Madden curse, but weird things already seem to be happening concerning this year’s release.
We just received ten screenshots from Namco Bandai’s cheerleading sim, coming to European Wiis next year. Considering the fact that the game will only be released for the Wii, I think they should have titled it ‘Wii Cheer’, but I guess Namco knows what they are doing. I thought one cheerleading game was enough, but apparently there’s some sort of desire for the genre out there…
There’s been some rumor-mongering on the interwebs (when isn’t there?) about the possible release date for Final Fantasy XIII. The article, which has since been pulled, pointed to the now non-PS3 exclusive releasing in Japan next summer and making it out to North American by the end of the year.
It seems likely that that’s the time table for the game as Square Enix recently announced that they’re packing in a demo of the game in the upcoming Bluray Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete next year. So…they have been working on something, it just takes time, patient gamers, it takes time.
There’s still time to vote for your favorite games on G-Phoria. The voting period ends today at 11:59 PM. You will need to register with the site and login to vote. It should be interesting to see what games wins ‘Game Of The Year’. My money is on Bioshock, but you never know. Winners will be announced this Thursday at 8PM ET.
Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, Insomniac Games’s bite-sized $14.99 adventure, will be hitting the PlayStation Network on August 21 in North America and Europe — Japanese gamers get the game a day later.
We’re big fans of the team’s first Ratchet outing on the PS3 and are excited to be getting our fix of mascot action along with Resistance 2 this year. While the game may be released in digestible form (it will likely be 3-4 hours long), it further cements Sony’s drive to create compelling DLC on its system.
The game starts right after the events of the PS3 game, do you guys plan on quest-in’ for booty?
Was Brett Favre’s decision to return influenced by his Madden 2009 Cover Photo?
As you may already heard, Brett Favre is trying to make a comeback. He currently has not reported to any camp yet, including his former team the Green bay Packers. The couple of teams that have shown interest are the New York Jets and the Tampa Bay Bucs. Since April 24th, when Brett was announced the new cover athlete for Madden 09, minor rumblings began about his return. Could the video game football franchise have possibly influenced his return? If he DOES play this upcoming year, I say it helped! We have new screens of Madden 2009, and boy do they look good. Here are some of the new features you can expect to see this year:
New Features
Madden IQ system: players train in a holographic environment, which grants them a “Madden IQ” based on their practice in 12 different drills. The game’s difficulty adjusts itself to the player’s Madden IQ.
EA Sports Backtrack: the game analyzes the player’s playing ability and points out mistakes during gameplay a la a television-styled telestrator
Improved online leagues: server-based leagues, supporting up to 32 players, with full schedules including the playoffs and the Super Bowl as well as draft and trade support. Schedules can be played in a round-robin style as well.
Revamped graphics: Improved stadium models, new weather particle system, new lighting models, new player models, field goal nets, improved sidelines, user-controlled celebrations, clear visors, new facemask designs, and Total Control animation system.
Improved gameplay: Offensive line slide protection, smart routes, realistic fatigue, improved gang tackles, true penalty based animations, formation substitutions, new fumble system (weather affects it), new player weapon types and the ability to return short field goals.
Revamped franchise mode: Simulated stats have been improved (e.g. fewer running backs gaining 2,000+ yards in one season), rivalry games have special value and played games have more crowd and television intensity.
On-demand picture-in-picture play-call window: Picture-in-picture style interface to allow the player to see key information and call plays and formations without leaving the current window.
New Dynamic Camera System: The new camera system moves with your receivers so they will never fall out of view during gameplay. The camera automatically pans out, zooms in, and adjusts angles to keep the receivers in screen. Once you complete that pass, if the ball carrier happens to break away from his defenders, the ActionCam will rock back and forth, zoom in and follow the ball carrier, giving you that intense feeling that you’re sprinting alongside him. And if a defender happens to really lay into the ball carrier, the Big Hit Camera will rattle the screen with the force of the crunch.
New Tackling Engine & Animations
New Running/Ball-Carrier Engine: total control system, new transition system, character grounding with foot-plant, new procedural animation system, realistic momentum, new locomotion system, improved visuals and animations, left and right stick moves, directional diving
For the entire year, it seems like I end up seeing the IO Digital Cable commercial at least 5 or 6 times per day while watching television. For some reason, it seems to appear more during The People’s Court. While I completely despise this commercial, it’s very effective. (877) 393-4448 is one telephone number I will never get out of my mind, regardless of how hard I try to forget it. The last time anyone forced a number into my head like this was Tommy Tutone and 867-5309. At least “Jenny” was a half-decent song. Will we ever see the end of the IO Digital Cable Commercial with the silly lobster and half-ass rapping? Maybe one day, but probably not a day that comes soon.
Well, when we first reported that Knights of the Old Republic 3 was coming, we were right. A report on Portfolio.com has confirmed that LucasArts and BioWare are working together to bring KOTOR 3 as an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online). In an interview at E3 this week, Electronic Arts chief executive John Riccitiello said that EA is working on the next version of Star Wars game Knights of the Old Republic, and it will most certainly have a massively multiplayer online component to it.
Recent Comments