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All Articles: DS
Kirby returns to the Wii, DS in 2011
Kirby’s Epic Yarn was one of 2010’s biggest surprises. Gamers everywhere loved the patchwork look of the game which had many of them in stitches (pun intended!).
But after a Nitendo investor’s briefing, it appears the company is wasting no time bringing the little puffball back. HAL Laboratory is developing a currently untitled Kirby Adventure game for the Wii that gives Kirby a variety of different hats. A trailer showcasing the side-scrolling gameplay is available at Nintendo Japan’s website, but it’s also available in a larger format on YouTube, which you can watch right here:
As you can see from the trailer, each of the hats gives Kirby a new power including Link’s Cap (which allows Kirby to swing a sword), a flame cap (that calls a dragon) and a cowboy hat (that gives him a lasso).
The trailer is very similar to one that Nintendo released years ago for an untitled Kirby title for the GameCube. Perhaps this game is that game reincarnated?
And on a final Kirby-related note, Nintendo included a new Kirby game for the DS in their quarterly list of upcoming titles, but no other details were revealed.
Posted in News
Tagged DS, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Wii
The Smurfs smurf their way onto the Wii, DS this Summer
A film adaptation of The Smurfs will be released in theaters on August 3, and Ubisoft has announced that the blue creatures will smurf their way onto the Wii and DS around the same time as well.
Nothing else was announced about the game, but executives at Ubisoft are absolutely thrilled to be working on a Smurfs game (the game’s unnamed developers didn’t mention what they thought of the deal):
“We’re thrilled to be working with Lafig Belgium and Sony Pictures on the Smurfs license. Our ongoing partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products allows us to create fun and entertaining video games based on some of the most popular family films,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. “Ubisoft’s creative team is working hard on crafting the perfect video game experience that will appeal to new and old fans of The Smurfs.”
Red Dead Redemption, Enslaved, God of War III lead 2011 AIAS nominees
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) has announced the nominees for the 14th annual Interactive Achievement Awards (IAAs). As expected, Red Dead Redemption lead the way with nine nominations including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming, Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and Game of the Year.
God of War III and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (a title that is already being considered one of the best games you’ve never played) shared the second-most nominations with six apiece. Other games up for multiple awards include Call of Duty: Black Ops, Heavy Rain, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Mass Effect 2 (five nominations apiece) along with Dance Central, Limbo and Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty (four apiece).
The awards will be handed out by Jay Mohr at the 2011 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit on Thursday, February 10. The hour-long show will be broadcast on G4 two days later, February 12, at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) with a webcast scheduled for 7:30 PM (Eastern Time) at G4tv.com/DICE.
A complete list of nominees can be on the AIAS website, but the “Game of the Year” will come from this list of five: Angry Birds HD, Call of Duty: Black Ops, God of War III, Mass Effect 2 and Red Dead Redemption.
New Releases: Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, DC Universe Online, Ghost Trick, More
Do you love RPGs? If you said yes, then you’ll definitely want to head to your favorite retailer this week.
On the DS, Square Enix plans to release the latest entry in the Kingdom Hearts series, Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. And over on the PS3, Sony’s MMORPG DC Universe Online will cross over into stores (its coming to the PC as well).
Also available this week is Venetica (PS3, Xbox 360), an RPG where the Grim Reaper’s daughter hunts down a necromancer. And finally, there’s Prinny 2, the latest Disgaea spin-off from Atlus.
If RPGs aren’t your thing, Capcom will be releasing the latest game from the Phoenix Wright team, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on the DS
The full list of the rest of this week’s new releases can be found below. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged DC Universe Online, DS, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, Xbox 360
Capcom releases details on upcoming titles
Ah, CES. We love you because you always bring us new information. Capcom has joined the legion of companies making major announcements about some of their most anticipated titles of 2011 – Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Mega Man Legends 3 Project, MotoGP 10/11, and my personal favorite: Okamiden.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2 is coming to the North American PSN on February 1st for 14.99 and the XBLA on the 2nd for 1200 MS points. We also got some box art as well as some screen shots, which can all be found here.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective will be released in North America for the DS on January 11th. Players take on the role of Sissel’s ghost to try to solve his murder. You can solve puzzles by possessing and manipulating items in the real world from the spirit world. Did I mention Sissel has amnesia? Part detective story, part soap opera.
Mega Man Legends 3 Project’s new female heroine, Aero, was created in the Dev Room by fans, who can contribute to multiple aspects of the game through its development. To get involved in this unique project and to read the latest news, click here.
MotoGP 10/11 has just introduced a new customizable player assist feature. This allows both simulation and arcade racing fans to play the game in the style they’re used to. Also announced was a new splitscreen co-op gameplay. Fans of the genre should be sure to check it out this coming March, when it releases for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. More details can be found here.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: information about Okamiden! Capcom announced a brand new Wind mini-game in which Chibiterasu can team up with a friend named Kurow. Together they will use the Galestorm brush technique to get to Thundercloud, where they can later learn another brush technique called Thunderstorm. Chibiterasu will need all the help he can get to bring color back into the world. March 15th is when Okamiden lands for the DS, so get your painting hand ready. More information on this story can be found here, and you can become a fan of Okami on Facebook here.
Posted in News
Tagged 3DS, Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2, DS, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, Mega Man Legends 3, MotoGP 10/11, Okamiden, PS3, Xbox 360
Michael Jackson: The Experience moonwalks onto PS3, Xbox 360 on April 12
Michael Jackson: The Experience was a big hit for Ubisoft this holiday season. How big? The game sold two million copies across the Wii, DS and PSP in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But Ubisoft was quick to point out that those numbers don’t include Japan, “which has one of the largest and most passionate concentrations of Michael Jackson fans anywhere.”
The publisher also revealed that the King of Pop will be moonwalking his way onto the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this April. The Kinect and Move-enabled Michael Jackson game will be released on April 12 in the US and April 14 in Europe. It will include several bonus tracks not found on the Wii version including “Blood on the Dance Floor” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You.”
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot is very excited about the upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 version of Michael Jackson: “As the leader in the dance game genre, our teams have worked enthusiastically to build an experience that recreates the magic worlds of Michael Jackson’s videos and performances. We’re looking forward to bringing Michael Jackson The Experience to Kinect for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Move so an even bigger audience can enjoy playing the game with their friends and family too.”
GameFly reports 2010’s best, raises questions on 2011
Early Wednesday morning, GameFly released several Top Ten lists, documenting the rental service’s most popular titles of 2010. As expected, GameFly’s most-rented games closely match up with the most purchased games of 2010, logging titles like Take Two’s Red Dead Redemption and the latest game in Activision’s ever-popular Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Black Ops. GameFly’s co-founder Sean Spector states: “The GameFly community is comprised of active and dedicated gamers and we view their preferences, requests and favorites as a great barometer for what’s hot in gaming.”
Though the aforementioned shooters dominated consoles in 2010, GameFly’s handheld rental numbers seemed to thrive with RPG titles such as Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. Could this predict an emergence of the RPG genre exclusively among handheld systems, leaving consoles solely for action games?
The cross-platform list and all of the platform-specific lists can be found below. (more…)
Posted in News
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops, DS, PS3, PSP, Red Dead Redemption, Wii, Xbox 360
THQ has the power (to make games based on Mattel toys)
Like two action figures that come together to form an even bigger action figure, THQ will raid Mattel’s toy chest in a multi-year deal to create games based on many of the company’s biggest properties.
THQ currently has multiple Mattel-inspired games in the works, with the first scheduled for release this Fall. The deal will ultimately result in new THQ-published games based on many of Mattel’s biggest toy lines, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Monster High, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Polly Pocket and He-Man: Masters of the Universe.
THQ wasn’t ready to talk about specific games on specific platforms, but they did confirm that the agreement allows them to create games for consoles (both disc-based and downloadable games), handhelds, PCs, mobile devices and social networking platforms. However, THQ did reveal that at least one game will support the publisher’s uDraw GameTablet on the Wii.