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    Licensed game from High Voltage inspired by Bionic Commando

    August 14, 2009 - 12:30pm

    In addition to the Wii Astro Boy game, High Voltage Software is making a Secret Saturdays game for D3 Publisher. Like Astro Boy, which is inspired by Treasure's Astro Boy: The Omega Factor, High Voltage took cues from an excellent game when designing this children's game: Bionic Commando. The good one, that is, not the new one."Yes, we were playing Bionic Commando Rearmed when we were initially pitching the concept for the game to D3Publisher," producer Josh VanVeld told Siliconera. The Claw allows Zak Saturday to grapple (amongst other things), so that kind of mechanic seemed like a perfect fit and gave us the opportunity to try out a new 2D/3D hybrid camera system in our engine."While Zak's grappling-based gameplay seems to be most prevalent, VanVeld said that there are "literally dozens of other characters, all of which have unique play styles." The mere mention of grappling was enough to get us to try a game based on a cartoon we've never watched.[Thanks, Ed!]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    European Nintendo downloads: Flipnote Phantasy

    August 14, 2009 - 11:40am

    If you're into RPGs and in Europe or Australia, today's Wii Shop update is killer -- the original Phantasy Star for Sega Master System is available! For a ridiculous 500 Wii Points, you can get one of the best role playing games ever made. We hope you have a high tolerance for first-person dungeons.WiiWare gets another of Arc System Works' Family titles, about which we've learned to be wary -- but we're intensely curious about the idea of a slot car racing game. Also, Tecmo's 3-2-1 Rattle Battle!, a game whose openness about being entirely about shaking the Wiimote frantically is impressive.On DSiWare, Europe gets a number puzzle game with online multplayer, based on a larger DS game that didn't come out there! And Flipnote Studio finally arrives! Go download it and make Flipnotes! Right now!

    • Phantasy Star (Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
    • Family Slot Car Racing (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
    • 3-2-1 Rattle Battle! (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
    • Sujin Taisen Number Battle (DSiWare, 1-4 players, 500 DSi Points)
    • Flipnote Studio (DSiWare, 1 player, free)

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    Video interview: Harmonix's John Drake

    August 14, 2009 - 10:01am

    09.09.09 is less than a month away, and Harmonix is ready to reveal all the secrets of its upcoming The Beatles game. We chatted with Harmonix's John Drake to go over the recently unveiled Story mode, and the exciting unlockables hidden away in The Beatles: Rock Band. Below is a small text excerpt of the entire video interview:Any chance we'll see any more archival videos and photos released as DLC?I don't think so just because of how downloadable content works on three different consoles, and to keep parity, how it would need to be engineered. I know our code team's pretty amazing, but that sort of stuff is not how we look to share that media. It's a pretty secure and safe media that we really want to keep close to the vest, just as Apple has kept it in their vaults. I don't see it being downloadable content. What you see on the disc is what we have for extras for the moment.Will we see any retail expansions for the game in the future?Unless we need to introduce a radical new feature, we're going to stick with that core disc and stick with that DLC mentality: add albums and songs on top of that. The Beatles have a finite catalog, but it's an infinitely amazing catalog with finite songs, so we're still hoping to get as much content from Apple as we can and give it to fans to customize their Beatles playlist.

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    Hands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode

    August 14, 2009 - 10:00am

    Click to see more colours.
    One thing is obvious after playing the closely-guarded story mode of The Beatles: Rock Band: this is no quick cash-in. The rewards system included in the game features some extraordinary (and oftentimes exclusive) extras that no Beatles fan will want to miss. Rare archival photos, audio and video chronicle the meteoric rise of the Beatles, providing an almost-encyclopedic document of the band's career.Unlike the previous Rock Band games, the entire setlist will be available from the get-go in The Beatles: Rock Band. Considering the mainstream appeal of the Beatles, Harmonix realized it was foolish to lock away the core content of the game from the masses. Instead, the story mode provides something sorely missing from the first two Rock Band games: context. The tour mode of the previous titles attempted to emulate the experience of being a band on the rise, but did so through a simple numeric representation of how many fans players have accumulated. The Beatles offers cutscenes, both rendered in the game's engine and through animation, that begin inside one of the band's earliest venues: The Cavern Club.Players will have to play through a number of pre-selected songs in order to progress onto the next part of the story, visiting venues such as the set of the Ed Sullivan Show, Budokan, Shea Stadium, and the rooftop of Apple Records. Those who manage to get 5-star ratings on all the songs will unlock a number of extras, such as photos that chronicle the history of the Beatles. These images include intimate details fact-checked by Paul McCartney himself.

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    Rabbids Go Home, bothering this poor guy on the way

    August 14, 2009 - 12:15am

    The latest trailer for Rabbids Go Home introduces a character we wouldn't have ever thought to care about: one of our own. This particular human appears to have a comically exaggerated obsession with cleanliness and order. We know that's supposed to be funny in contrast to the Rabbids, but, honestly, now we're just going to feel bad when we control a pair of screaming rabbit-monsters who wreck this guy's house and take his pants. We're still going to do it, we'll just feel bad.After the break, we've embedded some in-game footage of those jerky Rabbids disrupting our human lives. Plus, we've added new screens and concept art to our gallery below:

    Continue reading Rabbids Go Home, bothering this poor guy on the way

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    Here's a post about Nintendo stacking a lot of UK money

    August 13, 2009 - 9:50pm


    Here at Joystiq, we try to be as direct and honest as possible. So, with that in mind, we present this news post documenting just how many handhelds and Wiis Nintendo has sold in the UK so far this year. The figures come courtesy of GI.biz and, well, it's the usual Nintendo fare. In short: Nintendo makes bucktons of cash money.On the Wii side, the console has managed to move 800,000 units since January. It's also revealed that the Wii has invaded an impressive 5.5 million households in the region. Sure, the console has earned Nintendo pounds of pounds, but it's over in Nintendo's handheld business where the real money is being made.The DSi has had a most successful launch, selling 370,000 units since its release earlier this year. In fact, it had a better UK launch than the DS and DS Lite, much like in the US. And, speaking of the DS and DS Lite, recent figures show their install bases have reached an epic 1.6 million and 7.5 million owners, respectively; meaning there's no shortage of kids playing their handhelds at annoyingly loud levels on public buses. You guys call them buses over there, right?Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Activism: Moore 'delighted' to talk to female gamers

    August 13, 2009 - 9:40pm


    Speaking at the Edinburgh Interactive Conference this week, Peter Moore explained how EA Sports changed its business strategy in order to address a growing female demographic. According to Moore, the arrival of the Wii changed everything, thanks to its focus on gameplay over graphics. "We didn't even have arms any more, never mind superior graphics," says more, adding that games "became more about getting up off the couch." This led EA Sports to change its business model.Moore notes that EA pulled in $150 million "by talking to the female consumer and providing a solution to someone who perhaps can't get to a gym, or afford one, through EA Sports Active." He adds that it's "not only great business" for EA, but it's "changing people's lives through a game." He concludes that EA is "delighted" to be talking to girls and women.We'll bet the company is delighted. So delighted that it "indefinitely" delayed the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions Grand Slam Tennis in order to push out an expansion for EA Sports Active.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Rumor: Full setlist for The Beatles: Rock Band confirmed

    August 13, 2009 - 9:20pm


    The contents of the 45-song setlist for The Beatles: Rock Band have been pieced together from various sources (trailers, articles, interviews) over the past several months, but it now appears that the lineup is finalized (and the early, unofficial ones were spot-on). The latest issue of Game Informer contains a cover feature on the game, in which the mag lays out the full, official song listing, this according to a Joystiq tipster.We haven't seen the issue itself in the flesh paper stock, but the listing jibes with with the otherwise unconfirmed, piecemeal ones we've already seen online. We've placed the full list after the break for your perusal (and comments, since we're sure it's not going to please every Beatles fan). Be sure to check out the September 2009 issue of Game Informer (they've got two swell variant covers!) for more new info on the game.[Thanks, Juan]

    Continue reading Rumor: Full setlist for The Beatles: Rock Band confirmed

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    Sega: Giving up on hardcore Wii games would be 'arrogant'

    August 13, 2009 - 8:40pm

    Sega's Mike Hayes assured Wired that the company still plans to make "core" games for the Wii, despite the relative lack of success of MadWorld. For one thing, its other games are doing well, in his opinion. "We actually regard The Conduit as a success," he said. "We shipped 300,000 units, sold through half of those and now it's at the point where it's selling consistently at a time when Wii sales are generally depressed in the marketplace."Despite somewhat disappointing sales Stateside, Hayes also told Wired that The House of the Dead: Overkill "did really well in Europe." As for MadWorld, Hayes doesn't think one game's failure is enough to close up shop on the Wii. "The thing that we're saying is, Sega would be extremely arrogant to have a title that didn't do as well as we thought on a platform and then say, Those kind of games don't sell on that platform.'"Quite a change from the Blast Processing / "Genesis Does What Nintendon't" days when Sega was extremely, demonstrably, arrogant.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

    Guitar Hero: World Tour gets free Activision music

    August 13, 2009 - 8:20pm


    Guitar Hero: World Tour gets a fresh injection of DLC with the Activision Track Pack today, which features music from actual Activision employees' bands. Perhaps the most noteworthy quality of this newest track pack, however, is its low, low price of free. Here's what you'll get:

    • Awaken's "The Silence is Deafening"
    • H is Orange's "Nothing All the Time"
    • Hundred Reasons' "I'll Never Know"

    Oh, and Activision's press release also mentions Steve Ouimette's "Dueling Banjos" will release next week. It will be the last DLC release before the release of Guitar Hero 5 on September 1.Permalink | Email this | Comments