Getting poll results. Please wait...
Weekends are for rest. They are also for recreation, or if you're the type of person who frequents this site, weekends are for gaming. You've already worked a long week, and provided The Boss doesn't call you in on Saturday (mine did
) you deserve a little time to let the mind be in a world other than the one that surrounds you. Now here is a question...
What happens when gaming becomes your second job? Has a game ever enslaved you. You put in time and fail to make any progress. You get stuck on that same level at that same spot. You've cleared everything but the final boss which requires nothing but grinding away to level up towards a distant victory. Maybe it got too hard, or boring. There is only so much you can do.
Quit. The loser's way out, but keeps you from wasting time. Time you could be using to be playing something better.
Keep playing. You're not made of weaksauce. Hard games
are hard. Deal with it.
Get help. An online tutorial might cover something you missed. Maybe there is a technique to help you reach your goal faster. Additionally, sidequests or performing special stunts might open up a new way of playing a previously completed title.
Gamesaving grace The #2 timesaving option. If it is only a matter of gold accumulation or leveling up why grind? Cheat codes might also give you what you need to get the job done faster and make it more exciting in the process. Don't overuse this one. The only person you're cheating is yourself.
Break it. The game had it coming. You made a purchase and you'll find your amusement somehow. If the game is lousy enough it will likely have no resale value, so you'll have to fuel your amusement with your imagination. Snapping a disc is simple and to the point, but inserting a cartridge into a toaster (highly NOT RECOMMENDED) will surely bring forth satisfaction and toxic fumes. Drink coasters and skeet shooting targets are other alternatives.
Developer MOSS has announced (again?) that the arcade hit,
Raiden IV , will be arriving on the Xbox 360 this fall. It is slated for a September 11 release and should be supercharged with two extra levels. DLC offerings will take the
Ace Combat 6 route where you can buy more ships with different weapon selections and capabilities. A much anticipated feature is the ability to save and share replays of successful runs. Additional bells and whistles include the ability to play in TATE mode (sideways), world rankings, and stunning 3D backgrounds made possible by this next-gen system. Also, a soundtrack CD will be bundled with the game for a limited time. The 360 soundtrack will include all the original arcade music plus extras and some remixes.
While there is no official announcement of a worldwide release, the developers have mentioned their intent to bring the title overseas.
[
Dengeki Online via
Kotaku ]
[
1UP.com ]
Bungie sure does have a fascination with the number "7". Their forum is named the "Seventh Column", and various exponents of 7 hold high, even religious significance in many of their games. Would it surprise you then that on this date last year, 07/07/07 would have some special meaning. Well, they held their first "Bungie Day", but also officially competed the #6 task in their 7-Step Plan for World Domination (stage bloody coup of new parent company). Yet, the world wouldn't know of this deed until October of 2007. Now having been enlightened by the knowledge of their independence, we can truly celebrate a future not bound exclusively to Microsoft and the billion dollar donut!
Are we, the fans, the only ones to cheer? Of course not! Bungie is returning the favor with a special download. A set of Bungie-styled Gamerpics and Theme will be available for download
one day only . An extra bonus for
Halo 3 players is the
free map "Cold Storage", a remake of the classic "Chill Out" from the original
Halo: Combat Evolved .
"Chill Out" plays more on the Forerunner theme, with a sprinkle of Flood contamination. Gameplay holds fairly true to the original with focus placed on controlling the sniper, rockets and invisibility power-up. Online matchmaking will also be updated to require the new maps for playlists currently requiring the Legendary Map Pack. Since the new map is free, this shouldn't be a problem. If that isn't enough incentive, the Legendary Map Pack is getting a new price of 600 MS points.
Video of the new map after the break...
Continue reading Happy Bungie Day!
Face it, Sonic has had some serious ups and downs. The originals from the Genesis (Mega Drive) days had us going GaGa over
Sega . They were fun and extremely fast, two gameplay elements that have eroded over the years. Despite the glory, a number of spinoffs and additional characters crowded out the franchise and a sad serious of spinoffs ensued. Sonic R, Sonic the Fighters, etc. The series got a jump start in 1998 with new freshness that was known as Sonic Adventure. It properly brought the core of the series into the 3D era, and tapped into the heart of the game. Sonic Adventure 2 was no letdown either, delivering the same standard of gameplay.
Of course, we all know what happened from there. A crowded and highly competitive hardware market forced Sega to give the Dreamcast an untimely end. Ports of Sonic Adventure and other classic compilations helped them assume their new role as a third-party developer, but once again the quality began to slide. The Sonic franchise took the blow in stride too. Sonic Heroes, meh; Shadow the Hedgehog, WTF!?; Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), fail, Sonic and the Secret Rings, meh. Hidden gems like Sonic Rush became overlooked as fans lost faith in the series.
Another year, another game.
Sonic Unleashed is slated for a 2008 release, and the
debut trailer shown earlier in February failed to impress. Recently a new trailer with more gameplay footage has been circulating, and its changing a lot of opinions.
The gameplay switches from 2D to 3D, and the camera transitions are unobtrusive. It's still too early to pass judgement, so we'll have to wait for more news. For now I'll say things aren't looking worse the blue blur.
Stay tuned.
Lead designer Tomonobu Itagaki
quit Tecmo and filed suit nearly two weeks ago in a dispute over unpaid bonuses. Now another suit has arisen due to a discrepancy in unpaid overtime for the rest of the employees. The suit has been filed by Hiroaki Ozawa and Tatsuo Kakuta, top leaders of the recently formed "Tecmo Labor Union", to represent all 300 remaining Tecmo employees. The plaintiffs assert that Tecmo placed them on an illegal "flexible hours" work schedule four years ago, and since then overtime hours have gone unpaid. A company petition claims over 100 hours a month for employees, and 8.3 million yen are in demand as compensation. Further claims include Tecmo having falsified documents and attempting to cover up documents relating to their shady accounting practices.
Things aren't looking good for Tecmo.
Source
[
Kotaku ]
[
GAME Watch ]
lame translation [
Jiji Press ]
lame translation Just today, Tomonobu Itagaki announced that he is leaving and suing Tecmo over unpaid bonuses. He claims a completion bonus for
Dead or Alive 4 has gone unpaid; further stating, "President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me 'if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.' " So far, Tecmo has yet to respond.
Tomonobu Itagaki (via his translator, Andrew Szymanski) has contacted a number of news outlets requesting prompt reporting of this story. This news arrives the same week as the release of the highly anticipated sequel,
Ninja Gaiden II . This severance of ties to Tecmo ensures he likely won't be able to work on any future
Dead or Alive or
Ninja Gaiden projects.
Itagaki is most known for his work with Team NINJA where he created the
Dead or Alive series and the modern reincarnation of the
Ninja Gaiden series. He derives his success from incorporating 'fun' into his projects to ensure satisfying gameplay. Itagaki's cognizence of Western gamers' interests also allows his hits to become international successes instead of Japan-only treasures.
Read the full statement after the jump.
Continue reading Itagaki quits, and sues Tecmo UPDATE
Another trailer has been released since the
Street Fighter IV '
debut trailer .' This 'epic trailer' shows more gameplay. Also announced this week are two fighters that will only be available on home versions of the game and not in arcades. These new fighters are Fei Long and Dan Hibiki.
Video courtesy of
GameVideos.com
Activision, while slow and quiet in their response, has stepped up and admitted they've
made mistakes with the Wii version of
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock by taking appropriate actions to
remedy the situation . As a thank you gift to those who have had to wait through the disc replacement process, they are sending a free guitar faceplate. Those who registered should recieve a note stating the faceplate will arrive a few weeks after the fixed edition of the game.
It seems a lot of things are shipped out only to break immediately in consumers' hands. Overheating 360s, breaking Rock Band guitars, and snapping Wiimote straps are just some of the things gamers have had to put up with in recent years, and the best one can expect is to have the shoddy product replaced after waiting for months. It is nice for a change that a company goes the extra mile to make up for the inconvenience. Things are looking better for RedOctane and Activision.
So... Guitar Hero III owners, does the freebie balance out the disappointment and hassle? Is RedOctane still cool? Who will gaff up next? Only time will tell.
Source: [
Wii Fanboy ]
The "bigger is better" corporate mentality has struck the video game industry recently. Activision is in the process of merging with the games division of Vivendi Universal, and just last month, and Electronic Arts made a less-than-stellar offer to purchase Take 2 Interactive. Simon Jeffrey, CEO of Sega of America, reassures us "That's not an area we want to play in right now. We have no interest in being acquired, we are very happy with our position right now."
Currently Sega is the sixth largest games publisher in the US. "There is plenty of room for smaller companies to be successful and profitable in this business. You don't have to be number one or number two. You can be number six very happily," Jeffrey said. Sega recently scored a hit on Nintendo's Wii and DS systems with
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games selling over 5 million copies in the first three months. Not many non-Nintendo published games have seen much success on the Wii. Compared to other "hardcore" games like
Halo 3 that gain a large burst early on, but soon fade in sales, Mario & Sonic have enjoyed a longer steadier sales period as perpetual word of mouth keeps consumers coming back for more.
Sega is offering a good mix of franchises this year including licenced games for "Iron Man" and "Hulk" movies, a Sonic RPG for the DS, and a remake of Sega classic "Golden Axe". "We really think this year we've hit our stride getting that portfolio mix just right," Jeffrey said.
Source: [
Reuters ]
While Americans get news that they have to wait until
May 12 , Nintendo of Japan is priming up their audience for upcoming Wii Ware releases later this month. Recently, Nintendo launched a page listing some of the titles announced along with some screenshots. A fair amount of second and third-party support is a welcome sight to continue Nintendo's diverse download offerings.
The current titles announced include:
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King StarSoldierR Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii Everyone's Pokémon Ranch Dr. Mario's Virus Buster Marubou Shikaku Magnetica (Puzzloop) Bomberman Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii Angel's Solitaire Joysound Wii There are a notable amount of previously announced titles missing from the current list, but it is expected that we'll see those as well as others on the Wii Ware service in the future. Judging by the screenshots we can expect to see a mix of single player and multiplayer games that appeal to a diverse audience.
Official web page: [
Wii Ware ]
Source: [
Wii Fanboy ]
Its official. The war is over. Toshiba recently announced that not only they aim to halt production of HD-DVD products, but they intend on doing it soon to allow for progression into the digital age (of Blu-Ray). Of course, this comes after weeks... even months of hard hits from retailers, rental businesses, and film studios announcing Blu-Ray exclusivity. The most recent was long-time HD-DVD supporter, Universal. How much longer can you plan on seeing those red tabs on store shelves? March 2008, according to the key manufacturer.
One reassuring vote of confidence remains for standard DVD, as Toshiba states that they stand committed to the format.
Read it for yourself. Check out the press release after the break.
Continue reading Sorry HD-DVD fans, but the end is near Sony Japan is geared to announce its first lineup of "The Best" titles for Playstation 3. SCEJ has yet to officially announce which titles, but an online retailer has already listed several titles with an expected arrival date of March 19. The discounted price should be 3,800 yen (compared to the regular price of 5,000 yen). For Playstation fans, this discount isn't as much as the Playstation 2 The Best games at 2800 yen.
The first games to achieve "Playstation The Best" status are:
Resistance FolksSoul Ninja Gaiden Sigma Gundam: Target in Sight Ridge Racer 7 Source:
IGN.com
This week we get to play another game, YAY! The surprise is that this game is so much more. You'll see and hear bright colors, and touch the music, as it pulses to your head. You too can experience synesthesia, and you won't need sex or drugs to get there.
Rez is a shooter like no other. Hold the fire button and aim at multiple targets to lock on, but releasing it will destroy them in sequence with the music. The background oscillates with to the music, and whatever haptic feedback device you're using will also pulse to the music; be it the controller in your hands, a secondary controller in your lap, or the trance vibrator in your pocket or resting under the sole of your foot. Level up and your wire-frame man will gain polygons, and guide him through the techno landscape of cyberspace to free 'eden' from the system.
The
Neo Geo Pocket Color catches our eye as this week's hardware feature. Sure, color portables have existed before this, but SNK's experience with arcade gaming ensures we can bring those bright, flashy, and intense hues with us anywhere we go.
The featured image this week comes from yet another colorful game.
N2O Nitrous Oxide is a tube shooter along the likes of Tempest or Gyruss. Where it deviates is its use of bright colors and hypnotizing soundtrack. Don't play it too long though, as you'll end up with tunnel vision for some time afterwards.
Finally, our featured collection belongs to
sharp , a member of the RFgen community who's been here from almost the beginning. This Nederlander has a lot of games for SNK systems, showing that gaming exists beyond Sega, Nintendo, and other modern parties.
Until next time, stay tuned to channel 3...
I don't know about the rest you, but I tend to be dragged down around this time of year. Being home from school, the cold, the snow, and being around family a little too much drains the life from me. Fortunately I always find the time to get a lot of gaming in, and that, my friends, is what shines this geeks soul. I've been playing a lot of
Ridge Racer 6 alone,
Halo 3 and
Gears of War when I'm with my brother, and some
Wii Sports bowling with my parents. Since I haven't gotten my dad to play a game with me since
NHL '96 was new, I consider this a breakthrough.
Since it is the holidays, I'll try and keep this short so y'all can get back to your lives.
Ridge Racer 6 is the featured game this week. Lots of drifting, and simple gameplay keep the disc spinning in my 360. It can be had for a bargain price now, and is worth a try if you're a fan of the series.
My brother was kind enough to give me an early present, NYKO's
Charge Station 360 . Rechageable batteries, and battery packs are a must in this new generation of wireless gaming. 3rd party? It doesn't seem to matter much. These batteries fit snugly and do the job.
Remember playing with remote control cars and airplanes when you were a kid. Well you can play with them again in
Toy Commander . There's even a Chrismas themed level if you are interested in that sort of thing.
Wrapping it up today is a real WINNER collection.
Tondog is a good friend of mine and a good member of the RF Generation family. He's a long-time Playstation fan, but isn't against showing the Dreamcast and Nintendo DS some lovin'. His true interests also include overlooked and underappreciated games.
I hope you get to play something fun this week. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from your own channel 3.
