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    Hands-on: Cop: The Recruit (DS)

    June 10, 2009 - 2:30pm

    As a service to our busy readers, here's an extremely brief description of Ubisoft's C.O.P.: The Recruit: It's Grand Theft Auto, on the DS. Even more than the actual Grand Theft Auto game on the DS, Recruit recreates the 3D GTAs to a surprising degree of accuracy. It looks like one of the PS2 Grand Theft Auto games -- scaled down, of course, but not as much as we would think. Like in GTA games, you can steal any car, go anywhere in the city, and take part in both narrative and side missions of various kinds. In fact, you can do pretty much anything you can do in GTA (aside from the pointlessly extreme stuff), despite the fact that you're not actually a criminal, but a police officer ... who used to be a criminal.

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    Moore says Metacritic not so relevant to Wii sales

    June 10, 2009 - 2:00pm


    We've heard stories of PR reps and devs obsessing over Metacritic scores, but EA Sports' Peter Moore's not sweating them, at least when it comes to Wii games. Noting that some titles in the low 70s can still move millions upon millions of units, Moore says that the people buying casual games and health titles like EA Sports Active aren't getting their info from Metacritic.Moore's bigger concern? User reviews on Amazon. We'd like to snicker, but that's how we buy vacuums, so what do we know?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Taito trademarks suggest more Lost Magic, Virtual Console shmups

    June 10, 2009 - 2:00pm

    A set of recently-filed Japanese trademarks found by Siliconera reveal potential plans for new games by Taito. Most notably, the company trademarked the name Lost Magic: Shouryu no Kyousoukyoku, which Siliconera translated as Concerto for the Fallen. The original DS game was just Lost Magic, and the recent Wii sequel/spinoff was called Takt of Magic, so this is likely to be intended for a new game.In addition, the company re-registered titles Darius Twin and Metal Black, which lead Siliconera to predict Virtual Console releases for the two arcade shooters. The company also registered Samurai Ninja, which is a bit of a mystery. Taito had a game called Samurai Nihon-Ichi, and a game called The Ninja Warriors, but nothing that we could find called Samurai Ninja. How could you be both a samurai and a ninja? The two occupations seem at odds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Iwata: Nintendo passed on camera technology

    June 10, 2009 - 12:00pm

    For all the talk about Microsoft's Project Natal, one man isn't impressed -- in fact, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told the Financial Times that he's quite literally seen it before. Or, at least, he's seen motion-sensing cameras before. Iwata told FT that Nintendo had previously experimented with camera-based motion sensing, but found better results with the accelerometers that became the basis of the Wii Remote. "Until they say when they're releasing it, how much it costs and what software it comes with," Iwata said, "we won't know whether that is the route we should have taken. However . . . I think they couldn't choose to release exactly the same thing." Of course, it must be noted that pretty much everyone has seen motion-sensing cameras in games before, because Sony sold a lot of them starting in 2003. The idea isn't new, and thus it's not at all surprising that Nintendo has tried it. It's even less surprising that Iwata is psyching out Microsoft by downplaying the technology.[Via Seattle PI]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Hands-On: Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection

    June 10, 2009 - 9:00am


    Sadly, we don't have a hands-on for Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, and that's a real travesty. It was one of the best games released for the Wii last year, and if you're a Wii owner and a fan of pinball (admittedly, that's probably a niche market), then you need to go out and pick it up somewhere. It's a great pinball simulator, features faithful recreations of some of the best pinball tables ever manufactured, and even includes tilt via the Wii Remote.The Gottlieb Collection, which brings eleven new tables to the Wii, will finally appear in North America this year. This set includes the history for each table, along with a scanned copy of the flyers that manufacturers used to send out to get arcades interested in new machines, a feature lacking in The Williams Collection. They've tossed in two arcade staple bonus games as well, and the only thing missing is a slot for your quarters and the soda-sticky floors. Read on for more info, including a list of the tables in the game.

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    As Seen on TV: Murder, She Wrote and House M.D. games announced

    June 10, 2009 - 7:00am

    Just thirteen years after the conclusion of the television show, Legacy Interactive has snapped up the hot Murder, She Wrote license for a PC game. The hidden-object game will feature five all-new mysteries, and will include both the classic Cabot Cave locale and "well-loved characters from the show" including Dr. Seth Hazlitt, Sheriff Mort Metzger, and, of course, crime-solving novelist and potential distant relative Jessica Fletcher.Slightly more timely is Legacy's announcement of PC and DS games based on the House M.D. license. In this game, players will control the members of Dr. House's diagnostic team, including House himself, in five different cases. According to Legacy, the game will involve diagnosing and treating patients with rare diseases. It is unknown whether this process will involve breaking into their houses, as it always does on the show.[Via Big Download]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    GameStop offers exclusive tracks, other goodies for The Beatles: Rock Band pre-orders

    June 9, 2009 - 8:20pm


    Should you mosey on down to your local GameStop and drop a sawbuck on any version of The Beatles: Rock Band, you're going to get more than just the usual slip of paper. GameStop is giving everyone that pre-orders the game three exclusive tracks, as well as a code for an in-game photo album.We already know that the Xbox 360 version of the game is getting the exclusive 'All You Need is Love,' and that Abbey Road will be DLC down the line, so these tracks likely won't come from that album. Also, it should be mentioned that Wii fans won't be left out in the cold, as they'll also get these three free tracks, as well as one additional item: a 2gb SD card. [Via VG247]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Hands-on: Red Steel 2

    June 9, 2009 - 6:40pm

    After the awkward and misguided mess that was Ubisoft's Red Steel, it must sound like damning praise to say, "Well, the sequel's much better." After all, Nintendo's newfangled MotionPlus attachment has come to save the day, introducing one-to-one movement and finally delivering the sword fighting extravaganza that all those energetic Wii players have been enjoying in the commercials. Unfortunately, MotionPlus' binding to Red Steel 2 doesn't feel particularly effective in combating the original game's flaws. It's a miss, like sticking a band-aid on someone's knee after they've been poisoned. If the MotionPlus makes a fundamental difference to the gameplay, it's not immediately apparent within the framework of a pretty insipid combat system.

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    EB Games hosting huge Guitar Hero and Rock Band sale

    June 9, 2009 - 5:50pm


    If you're one of the few people left on this planet whose living room, den and foyer aren't littered with fake plastic instruments, it's time for your induction. EB Games is doing a huge online sale right now for slightly "worn" copies of nearly every peripheral-centric rhythm title to come out of Activision and Harmonix. Act quickly, and you can pick up the PS3 or 360 version of the Rock Band 2 SE Bundle or the PS3 or PS2 version of the Guitar Hero World Tour Band Kit plus free 3-day shipping for just $94.99.You could also pick up the other discounted items -- the original Rock Band bundle, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero Aerosmith -- but the resulting necessary architectural extension of your gaming den might strip the deal of its cost efficiency.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    See Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits ... and not some guy playing it

    June 9, 2009 - 5:35pm

    dfdIn the trailer for the first Guitar Hero On Tour demonstrated how the game's portability made it easy for people to "perform" anywhere, in essence adding portability to the social Guitar Hero experience, something that is helped by the song sharing. However, there's one major problem with advertising the game in this way: it shows customers what they look like playing Guitar Hero on the DS.This trailer for Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits doesn't feature any of that. In fact, the camera's so tightly focused on the screen that you can barely see the player embarrassing himself.
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