Latest Articles (Page 2942)

Having a third-party developer make the expansion pack for another team's latest magnum opus is hardly an uncommon occurrence. It's an odd practice, but I can understand the thinking behind it - "we spent all this time making this game; can't we just sit back and enjoy the big pots of cash for a while? Hey you, here's a biscuit - go make me some levels." It's rare that such cases suffer the complete quality breakdown of the direct-to-DVD movie sequel, enthusiastically but cluelessly directed by the original's lead stunt guy or chief tealady, but it's really rare to call in another superstar developer to do the money mop-up the first guys can't be bothered with. To continue the movie analogy, Big Huge Games (Rise of Nations/Legends) stepping in to handle this latest expansion for Ensemble Studio's long run of Age of Empires games is like James Cameron directing the sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien. And like Aliens was to Alien, this is flashier and lighter - almost a different prospect entirely.

Capcom has said over one million copies of Resident Evil 4 have shipped for the Wii across the world, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

Given that The Simpsons has been on TV for longer than most of the TV channels that show it, you could forgive EA for pillaging the existing scripts and building another dull, 5-million-selling platform game to fit. Fortunately they haven't done that. Instead, they've come up with new scenarios, recorded tons of new dialogue and proper animated sequences, and, er, built another dull, 5-million-selling platform game to fit.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band creator Harmonix is hard at work designing a new game not based around matching pre-recorded music using plastic peripherals.

Lots of games do the trick of asking you to dodge things with one thumb while you shoot back with the other. Robotron and Geometry Wars, for example, or the first two Mutant Storm games for another. These are by no means isolated examples. And I'm not just talking about the way I grouped them in little pairs, either - two-stick shooters are so common these days that you could slap a few public footpaths on top and call them green-space.

Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb has urged 360 owners not to loan their accounts to friends and acquaintances for whatever reason and not to tamper with Gamerscore and Achievements - or else.

Konami Japan has delayed the release of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots by pushing it back to the second quarter of 2008 (April - June).

Viva Piñata: Party Animals will be trampling all over my memories from 16th November onwards, Microsoft said this week, as the game launched in the US to dire reviews. (Poor choice of w... actually, I'll leave it.)

Nintendo is planning to roll out a range of DS features that will transform everyone's favourite dual-screen handheld into more of a "tool", according to president Satoru Iwata.

Mass Effect developer BioWare has officially announced a partnership with publisher LucasArts for a new "interactive entertainment product", GamesIndustry.biz reports.

I'm not entirely sure what kind of feudal system encourages knights to mount gigantic birds and whizz around inside a volcano, but it's precisely the kind of bizarre tournament of which arcade dreams are made.

It's a common adage by both gamers and game journalists alike that graphics alone do not necessarily make a good game. Fair comment you might say, but Fairlight proved both camps unceremoniously wrong back in 1985 when its outstanding visuals blew everyone away. Gamers rushed to the shops in droves to purchase this title on its beauty alone.

The surge of titles appearing in the arcades continued through the 1980's with each new game intent on pushing the boundaries of technology; offering the player increasingly challenging and graphically rich games to play. The 8-bit computers could only look on with a glint of envy in their digital eye.

Frontier boss David Braben has urged publishers to remember that taking a chance on an unproven game can often lead to mountains of money.

Far longer, more intricate, more challenging and just simply more imaginative than most shooters cluttering up the shelves, Metroid Prime 3 is another master-class of design brilliance from Retro Studios and the perfect end to an almost perfect gaming trilogy.

As the race to release the next generation of video game consoles comes to a photo-finish extravaganza of cutting edge technology and universe-expanding games, the most prized possessions of the videogame enthusiast are not coming from the high street stores but from car boot sales and internet auctions. Once again, Sir Clive Sinclair is racing down the final stretch at the heels of newcomer giants Microsoft and Sony, with many other old campaigners like Atari, Commodore and Amstrad in hot pursuit.

There's something intrinsically likeable about Exit - so much so, in fact, that it's hard to approach the game without desperately wanting to like it. Whether it's the wonderfully eccentric art style, the sense of humour that suggests a mind somewhat askew, or simply the fact that it's a puzzle game that isn't another bloody variation on bloody Tetris, we're not sure. Perhaps it's a bit of all three.

Capcom has said it will be joining forces with Sony Pictures Japan to make a computer-animated Resident Evil film.

Developer Fireglow Games has said that Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory will be released in the UK and Ireland on 5th December.

Microsoft has issued a statement saying that IPTV functionality will not be included in the fall 360 firmware update.

EA and MTV have finally unravelled the track list for Rock Band.

EA has confirmed to Eurogamer that it will not be offering any downloadable content for SKATE in the future.

Microsoft has confirmed that Mutant Storm Empire will be released on Xbox Live Arcade tomorrow, priced 800 Microsoft points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.30), and has also highlighted some of the other XBLA titles due out in "the coming weeks".

If you've ever wondered what Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime makes of the competition, an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle has the answer: he likes the look of LittleBigPlanet, reckons the Halo trilogy is indispensable and thought BioShock was "tremendously well done".

Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 has topped the UK software charts, entering its first week at number one according to Chart-Track data, GamesIndustry.biz reports.

The success of EyeToy was undeniably one of the factors that kept the PS2 ticking long after its peers had slunk away to the hardware graveyard, so you can hardly blame Sony for introducing the next generation PlayStation camera package early in the PS3 life-cycle. Launching it with a collectible card game, however, seems like an odd option, such things not being famous for their cross-generational appeal, and the first two downloadable PlayStation Eye offerings don't exactly scream mainstream either.

Of the DS' major rhythm-action games, only Jam Sessions has made it to Europe with relatively little fuss - Ouendan took its sweet time, and the venerable Daigassou! Band Brothers never made it at all, despite rumours that it was in development for Western audiences as Jam With The Band. Shame, then, that Jam Sessions is ultimately the weakest of the DS' music games, although it's not without its uses. Where traditional rhythm-action games are essentially reflex tests, Jam Sessions is essentially a synthesiser instead, letting you make your own music instead of playing along to preset patterns like in Guitar Hero.

StreamMyGame has revealed fresh technology that will let you remotely play games installed on your home PC.

Rising Star has picked up the publishing rights to No More Heroes, and will be pumping it out across Europe in February.

The absolute best thing about being a gamer in the mid 80s was that you didn't have to wait very long for sequels. Like The Beatles releasing two albums a year, Epyx's blisteringly prolific output of genius multi-sport games made it impossible for die-hard Speccy fans like myself to ignore the fact that the C64 had an awful lot of games that simply couldn't be ported to other machines. Dammit.