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    First, and last, look at Red Faction: B.E.A.S.T.

    January 16, 2009 - 6:17pm

    Looking for another new "core" third-person shooter for the Wii? We suggest you look in an alternate universe where Locomotive Games was not shut down. The developer was working on a new entry in THQ's Red Faction series, called Red Faction: B.E.A.S.T., for the Wii. Their last project prior to this was the Wii version of Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed.It seems that after the cancellation and the studio closure, somebody released a bunch of character renders and video footage of the unannounced game and sent it to Unseen64. The video is a bit, uh, YouTube-quality, but it clearly shows some pretty nice lighting effects as well as the destructible environments that are Red Faction's trademark.

    Square Enix leading Major Minor's Majestic March in Japan

    January 16, 2009 - 5:21pm


    Square Enix has picked up Majesco's Major Minor's Majestic March for Japan, releasing the title on April 23rd. They've launched a site for the game to get some buzz going, but it's kind of bare bones at the moment. You'll find little there, save for some character descriptions and an explanation of how the game works. Look for more later, though, as there is space reserved for videos and the like. If you want some new screens to eyeball, check out Famitsu. They've just uploaded a few.

    Rock Band Wii sold more than any other version, RB2 not selling so well

    January 16, 2009 - 4:27pm


    As much as we all like to complain about how Harmonix gimped Rock Band, not everyone thought it was so bad. The first Rock Band game has served over a million customers in 2008, with the Wii version of the game outperforming all other consoles. Odd, considering the game had practically no features.As for Rock Band 2, it's been less of a success story. Since the game released in mid-December, it has managed to sell only 150,000 copies. Will it eventually catch up to the first game? Doesn't seem likely, but only time will tell.

    Samegame, different region

    January 16, 2009 - 3:33pm


    In a move that surprises approximately nobody, Hudson has announced a North American release for their WiiWare game Samegame Wii, under the title Pop 'Em Drop 'Em Samegame. Of course, being a downloadable Wii game, no release date is given.Samegame is a puzzle game in which players click on groupings of two or more same-colored blocks to clear them and move the remaining blocks into the new void. It features three multiplayer modes with cute names: Fame Game, Shame Game, and Blame Game. Thankfully, these rhyming names provide a clue about the English pronunciation of the game's title. You'd think it's obvious (and it is), but we've never heard it out loud and the Japanese title is actually pronounced "sah-may-gah-may". We're finding ourselves fairly optimistic about this game, because we adored the freeware Sega Swirl, another Samegame implementation. We also like the ability to customize the field with Bomberman stuff and various other block designs and backgrounds.

    New Conduit videos take us behind the scenes

    January 16, 2009 - 2:37pm

    Some really interesting videos for The Conduit have popped up over at IGN. Above, we have a developer commentary video, which talks about everything from enemy AI to the adaptive music system used in the game. As if that weren't enough, the other video, available past the break, shows how far the game has come in development. Amazing to see the game's roots and where it stands now as one of the prettiest titles we've ever laid eyes on. Head past the break and check it out.

    'Minna no Theater' streaming video service could come to the US this year

    January 16, 2009 - 1:41pm


    Fujisoft's Minna no Theater Wii was the first Wii-exclusive video content delivery service to be announced -- and it'll be the first to be released, if it makes its January 27 date. The service is set to provide animated content like Astro Boy and Transformers, on a rental basis in which Wii Points buy a certain title for a certain amount of time.Fujisoft was at CES (!) and told GameCyte that they are planning on bringing the WiiWare video service to the US. "We can't quite tell at the moment," he said, "But if the negotiations are a success, maybe within the year." Of course, they'll have to compete with Nintendo's video service here like they will in Japan -- and, as GameCyte points out, it's Nintendo of America they're negotiating with. They'll have to convince Nintendo that Minna no Theater isn't a threat to their own offerings. However, since Nintendo plans to produce original content, and Fujisoft's is based on licensed anime, it seems like there is plenty of room for both.GameCyte also got a demo of the service at CES -- read their impressions, and see video of the service in Ultra-action, here.

    Sonic, the Black Knight, and the Stereotypical Sonic Music

    January 16, 2009 - 12:45pm

    For some reason, somebody at Sega got the idea that Sonic games needed to have ridiculous cheese-rock soundtracks. Come to think of it, discussion of a lot of aspects of 3D Sonic games would start with "For some reason ... " They're fairly enjoyable in a hilarious sort of way, but they always catch us off guard when we first hear them. This new Japanese trailer for Sonic and the Black Knight contains one of the finest examples of outrageous Sonic music yet!Speaking of recent Sonic tropes, is that ... another human(ish) love interest? That ... could be a problem. We must say that, at this point, the game parts of the game look pretty cool -- if you're going to give Sonic a sword, that's exactly the way to do it! If you'd like to see more, check the link for a few new screens! We remain skeptical -- there are certain warning signs about this game, like the presence of Sonic the Hedgehog.

    Official House of the Dead: Overkill Hand Cannon: shoot like G does

    January 16, 2009 - 11:50am


    House of the Dead: Overkill players in the UK and Australia will have the option to play the game in a distinctly more badass, yet vaguely cosplayer-esque style, should they choose. Sega and peripheral company Venom will release a Wii gun shell modeled after the "Hand Cannons" the AMS agents in the game carry. Amazon.co.uk is taking preorders for the item, to be shipped on February 13 (two weeks before the February 28 date they claim for the game) at a price of £12.99 ($19).Australian zombie-haters have it even better: NeoGAFfer untoldhero (an accurate name if ever there was one) found a convincingly official-looking retail listing for a "Bang Bang Box" bundle containing the full Collector's Edition of the game, with the special sleeve and the comic book, as well as two Hand Cannons, for $89 AUD ($59 USD). That price has got to be a mistake. We've got a picture after the break of the heartbreakingly awesome package.Sadly, we've seen nothing about the Hand Cannon in the US. We fear that Sega's deal with Venom doesn't extend out of PAL territories.

    December NPD: Slowdown

    January 15, 2009 - 10:00pm

    It's not surprising to see that hardware sales rose significantly in December, but what is surprising is the comparatively small progress made by the Wii -- only a 5% increase from November, compared to some big gains for the competition. People who are paid a lot more than us predicted the Wii would smash the 3 million sales barrier, but nope. We're putting this down to a lack of holiday season supply, or November's figures simply being amazing.On the other hand, selling 2.15 million of anything in a single month isn't too shabby!- DS: 3.04m 1.47m (94%)- Wii: 2.15m 110K (5%)- Xbox 360: 1.44m 604K (72%)- PSP: 1.02m 599K (142%)- PS3: 726K 348K (92%)- PS2: 410K 204K (99%)December's best-selling games are past the fold, along with 2008's top sellers. Spoiler: Nintendo software kicked ass.Top 10 games of December 20081. Wii Play -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 1.46 million2. Call of Duty: World at War -- Xbox 360 -- Activision -- 1.33 million*3. Wii Fit -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 999K4. Mario Kart Wii -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 979K5. Guitar Hero: World Tour -- Wii -- Activision -- 850K*6. Gears of War 2 -- Xbox 360 -- Microsoft -- 745K*7. Left 4 Dead -- Xbox 360 -- Electronic Arts -- 629K8. Mario Kart -- DS -- Nintendo -- 540K9. Call of Duty: World at War -- PS3 -- Activision -- 533K10. Animal Crossing: City Folk -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 497K*Top 10 games of 20081. Wii Play -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 5.28 million2. Mario Kart Wii -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 5.00 million3. Wii Fit -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 4.53 million4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- Wii -- Nintendo -- 4.17 million5. Grand Theft Auto IV -- Xbox 360 -- Take--Two -- 3.29 million*6. Call of Duty: World at War -- Xbox 360 -- Activision -- 2.75 million*7. Gears of War 2 -- Xbox 360 -- Microsoft -- 2.31 million*8. Grand Theft Auto IV -- PS3 -- Take--Two -- 1.89 million*9. Madden NFL '09 -- Xbox 360 -- Electronic Arts -- 1.87 million*10. Mario Kart -- DS -- Nintendo -- 1.65 million* Includes collector's, limited, and bundled editions.

    NASCAR Kart Racing goes after GameStop superfans

    January 15, 2009 - 9:00pm

    Sure, we all had a laugh when EA announced NASCAR Kart Racing. We all knew intuitively what was wrong with this idea -- not enough GameStop logos, right? A cutesy kart racing game based on real people and real cars: ridiculous. But with added GameStop marketing, in the form of Joey Logano and (a karty version of) his GameStop-sponsored car: awesome. That's all we were waiting for, EA -- a game in which we could look at the GameStop logo all the time and be reminded of their large selection of pre-owned products. This is great news for both Joey Logano fans and GameStop fans!This car will be unlockable via a code obtained either a) by purchasing the game from GameStop or b) visiting GameFAQs fifteen minutes after the game comes out.