Wednesday, May 7, 2008

X-Play: Madden 09 All Access


A new All Access feature from X-Play gives us a look at Madden NFL 09. They talk about the Madden curse, and if it will ever come back. Enjoy!

Prince of Persia IV: Speed Art Trailer


Ben Mattes, producer for Prince of Persia IV gives us an exclusive first look on the game. The game has an all new look and story, and in the video we see the character art with a quick rush through, showing our Prince. The fact that they do it in about 20 minutes amazes me. They say more is to come in the coming months. Enjoy!

KILLZONE 2: More PlayStation Day Footage

Thanks to JeuxVideo, we have some more KILLZONE 2 gameplay footage for you from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's PlayStation Day 2008 held on Tuesday. Enjoy!

[KILLZONE 2 Footage]

Grand Theft Auto IV Load Times: So This Is What It Comes To


Here is yet another comparison for Grand Theft Auto IV, this time comparing load times. It seems, according to the video and some commenters of the video who have "confirmed" it, that the PlayStation 3 has two more loading images than the Xbox 360 does, which is bad. You'd think the mandatory 3.5GB install would of made it faster. Guess not, if the video is to be believed of course.

KILLZONE's Helghast in LittleBigPlanet


Wondering how diverse the character customization in LittleBigPlanet really is? Take a look at this video where we see the Helghast from KILLZONE as Sack Boys. They look awesome. Enjoy!

DOOM 4 Officially In Development

id Software have announced today that DOOM 4 will be enterting development, as they started accepting applications for jobs to work on the game. DOOM 4 will take place on our planet Earth. The game will presumably be shipping for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

In its now-hiring announcement, id Software CEO Todd Hollenshead said, "DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth. It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles."

If you want to check out the positions, visit their official website.

[DOOM 4 Now in Development, Takes Place on Earth]

EA Sports Announces Fight Night Round 4

Electronic arts have announced Fight Night Round 4 today for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game will ship in early 2009, however, meaning we have a bit of time before we get our hands on it.

“The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has always been synonymous with quality and innovation that raised the bar for the sports videogame genre”, said Kevin Wilkinson, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS. “EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 was a platform defining game as the industry transitioned to next generation consoles. EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will change how boxing games are played and measured in the future.” View the press release below.

THE CHAMP IS BACK! EA ANNOUNCES EA SPORTS FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 4

Mike Tyson Featured in First Boxing Videogame in Nearly a Decade

Guildford, UK – May 7, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERTS) announced today that EA SPORTS™Fight Night Round 4 is in development at EA Canada in Vancouver under the EA SPORTS brand. EA SPORTS Fight Night is back with the most realistic “in the ring” experience to date, featuring some of the greatest boxers in history fighting in their prime.

“The EA SPORTS Fight Night franchise has always been synonymous with quality and innovation that raised the bar for the sports videogame genre”, said Kevin Wilkinson, Executive Producer, EA SPORTS. “EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 3 was a platform defining game as the industry transitioned to next generation consoles. EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will change how boxing games are played and measured in the future.”

Featuring a re-written gameplay engine, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will add a variety of fighting styles and boxer differentiation to authentically emulate the greatest fighters of all time. Pressure your opponent with the brawling inside style of young Mike Tyson, bobbing and weaving to set up powerful hooks and uppercuts. Capitalize on Muhammad Ali’s reach, hand speed and fleetness of foot to bewilder your opponent with lightning fast jabs and straights from the outside. For the first time in history, EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 gives you the opportunity to pit these legendary heavyweights against one another and name a true champ.

No fight will be the same with an all-new physics-based animation system that recreates the full spectrum of true-to-life punch impacts, giving boxers a devastating arsenal of punches, blocks and ring movement. The new physics system allows for missed punches, glancing punches, knockout blows and for the first time ever, rough and tumble inside fighting. Fatigue, adrenaline, footwork and timing all come into play as you hammer away at your opponents.

EA SPORTS Fight Night Round 4 will be available for the Xbox 360™ system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and ships to retailers in 2009. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI.

EA SPORTS™ is the leading interactive sports software brand in the world, with top-selling titles and franchises including Madden NFL Football, FIFA football, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® and NASCAR® racing.

Grand Theft Auto IV Patched to v1.01

Hmm. Rockstar released a new Grand Theft Auto IV patch today titled v1.01. Sadly, it doesn't fix those freezing problems but only those multiplayer connectivity issues. Come on Rockstar, I want to actually play it with out worrying it will freeze in the middle of a mission.

[GTA IV gets 1.01 patch, freezing not fixed]

Update: Here is the official release from Rockstar that I just saw in my mailbox. They say it does fix the lock-ups, however.

Rockstar Games has released a GTA IV patch for Playstation 3 today that prevents Gamespy’s servers from being overloaded and therefore reduces the impact on those servers that were causing the game to stutter and lock up. We continue to monitor the performance of the game both on and offline and will provide further updates as necessary. We want to assure everyone that, together with our hardware partners, we continue to strive to give our fans the best possible interactive entertainment experiences possible. This update will ensure that everyone will experience Grand Theft Auto IV the way it was intended. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused.

HAZE Demo Coming to US PlayStation Network Tomorrow

Ubisoft today announced that just as Europe did, the US PlayStation Store will be receiving the HAZE demo as well tomorrow. The demo will contain 4 Player Cooperative and Campaign modes. Be sure to check back during tomorrow's weekly update. View the press release below.

HAZE – *4 Player Co-op / Campaign Demo Now Available Exclusively on the PLAYSTATION®Network*

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: 6th May, 2008 – Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today announced the release of a fully playable demo for Haze, the new first-person shooter set in a harsh future where war is never quite what it seems. Available exclusively on the PLAYSTATION®Network, this playable demo gives gamers a taste of not only the single-player campaign in Haze, but also allows for up to four-player, drop-in drop-out co-op play online, via LAN or even 2 player split-screen. The demo is now available across Europe, and will go live on the PLAYSTATION®Network on 8th May in the U.S. Developed by shooter experts Free Radical, creators of the critically acclaimed TimeSplitters® series, Haze is scheduled for release exclusively on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system on May 23rd 2008 in EMEA territories. Haze is rated “18+” by PEGI.

Haze 4 Player Co-op / Campaign Demo: *Salva Region*
It’s finally time to feed your addiction…the playable demo for Haze has arrived. Take a Nectar-induced romp solo style, or with 3 of your friends in fierce co-op action through the Salva Region, a bright and high-octane environment, where explosions are huge and delightful, and deaths are fleeting and meaningless. It’s the only place on earth where you can blow a stranger’s head off with a jolly smile on your face. The green-orange vegetation teams with primary-coloured, unthreatening wildlife for the marines to trample all over. The sunshine beats down in comforting waves as you merrily murder your fellow man. This world makes you feel confident. Artificially so and like a dream.

For more information on Haze, please visit www.hazegame.com.

© 2008 Ubisoft Entertainment and Free Radical Design Limited. All Rights Reserved. Haze is a trademark of Ubisoft Entertainment and Free Radical Design. Free Radical Design and its associated logo are trademarks of Free Radical Design Limited. Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are registered trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Developed by Free Radical Design Limited. “PlayStation”, “PLAYSTATION” and “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 24 countries and sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft forecasts generated sales of 920 million Euros. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

About Free Radical:
Founded in 1999, Free Radical Design is one of the UK’s leading independent video game developers and is now wholly focused on next-generation development. It recently achieved its first listing in the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100, being one of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies. To learn more, please visit www.frd.co.uk.

SCEE Boss: "You probably will see" PS3 Grand Theft Auto IV DLC

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves said yesterday at London's PlayStation Day 2008 that PlayStation 3 owners "probably will see" Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content.

As you know, the Xbox 360 will be receiving two exclusive episode packs as downloadable content promising "hours of additional play".

When asked if it was damagint to Sony that and the PlayStation 3 that no Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content is coming, Reevse responded: "Well I think you probably will see it, it's just that a deal obviously was struck between Microsoft and Take 2 to do that, and if that's what they want to do, I think that's the last shot they have."

When Reeves was asked if he had a message for PlayStation 3 fans who wanted downloadable content, he replied: "I would say to them then, you know, email Rockstar (laughs), and ask them what's coming. I think they already are, probably!"

Wait, so David Reeves, is something on it's way? "I'm honestly not going to make any comment on that because it's too big a thing to... we can make an announcement when we make an announcement." I hope I heard that right. It sounds like we will be getting some downloadable content.

[SCEE boss: "You probably will see" PS3 GTA 4 DLC]

Famitsu: Cross Edge Announced for PlayStation 3


The latest issue of Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, features a new game exclusively for the PlayStation 3, called Cross Edge.

The game, scheduled for a September 2008 release in Japan, is a collaboration between Idea Factory, Gust, Capcom, Namco Bandai, Nippon Ichi Software, and Compile Heart. Development is currently 70% done at the moment.

In Cross Edge, the main character wakes up in a messed up world with some other characters who don't belong there. The world they wake up in lives on feeding off people's souls from other worlds. If it is not stopped, the world which that soul comes from will cease to exist. Currently, only two of the worlds are known. One being The Underworld, which consists of soulds from Vampire/Darkstalker and Disgaea. The other being Dreamworld, consisting of souls from Ar Tonelico and Marie's Atelier. View the character list and battle details at the link.

[New PS3 JRPG X Edge (Cross Edge) for Sept '08]

Take-Two Chairman Says Grand Theft Auto IV Is Glitch Free

Take-Two Interactive Chairman, Strauss Zelnick, may not have any idea what he is talking about when it comes to Grand Theft Auto IV. With the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game constantly receiving lock-up by many players, Rockstar still hasn't released or said anything about a patch.

CNBC's Michelle Caruso Cabrera quizzed him about any post-releaseGrand Theft Auto IV glitches, and he responded by saying "No, you know, no, none whatsoever. I'd say the only issue is that someone came up to me yesterday in a restaurant and said my thumbs were hurting from the weekend!"

Yeah Mr. Strauss, we aren't so sure about that one.

[Take-Two Boss Claims GTA IV Is Glitch Free]