Hands-on previews from Grand Theft Auto IV are trickling out now, and the feature list shows more incremental improvements over the last iteration of the game. Here goes:
- No more caring about getting fat or not
- You can take a cab to go anywhere on the map
- Dynamic weather effects
- Auto-saves (thank god!)
- Gears of War-inspired cover system
- Niko’s cellphone will have a vital importance in the game
- Advanced lighting
- Special physics system that makes characters behave naturally and often in distinct ways
From the preview time with the game, MTV Multiplayer’s Stephen Totilo can say that it looks has good has it looks on the trailers, that it has short loading times and a line of sight “that made buildings 10 blocks away viewable.”
Read: MTV Multiplayer, IGN or Joystiq
Carlos Alberto Simões de Tomaz, judge at the Minas Gerais’ District Court in Brazil, has decreed that both Counter-Strike 1.6 and EverQuest should be removed from the country.
Procon, a federal institution (ironically) created to defend consumers rights, has already started to remove all copies of both games from every store in the state of Góias, the first one to suffer the ban. This federal entity has also started investigating internet cafés that have to eliminate these games from all their computers. If any internet cafés don’t follow the court order, they will have to pay 3000 dollars and face being closed.
As of now, EA (responsible for the distribution of both games in Brazil) stated that it hasn’t been formally notified of the court order.
The custom CS1.6 map “cs_rio,” which is allegedly used as a test simulator for terrorists, is fingered as the reason for the game’s ban. As for banning EverQuest, Brazilian authorities claim that it leads the gamers “to total disorientation and psychological conflicts,” which is probably true. You’d have to be disoriented to keep playing EverQuest.
Update: Only distribution of these titles has been banned in Brazil.
Read: HLTV.org, arenAZero (Spanish)
After the news that Warner Bros. has gone Blu-ray only, it looks like Microsoft my be considering creating a Blu-Ray add-on to the Xbox360 if the public demands it.
Albert Penello, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware, told Reuters.com that while the “Xbox 360 video gaming unit still fully backs Toshiba Corp’s HD-DVD high-definition DVD format [Microsoft] could consider supporting Sony Corp’s rival Blu-ray technology should consumers want it”.
When asked if Microsoft would support a Blu-Ray add-on accessory in the event that HD-DVD failed, Penello answered:
“You can’t say it’s not a bummer, not a setback, but I’ve seen this battle declared over so many times. I want consumers to have a voice in this and I think there are a lot of consumers who bought HD-DVD who are going to have a say in how this shakes out.”
Many proclaimed the end of HD-DVD when Warner announced its support of Blu-Ray, and while the end of the format war may hurt the larger HD-DVD consortium, Microsoft should emerge unscathed. There’s a very good reason why the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive remains as an add-on. If Blu-Ray wins and the Redmond boys release an accompanying add-on drive, it just means more hardware sales for Microsoft.
Read: Reuters.com
Hudson recently revealed that the much anticipated XBLA-only Omega Five will be released Jan. 9th and will set you back 800 MS Points (about $10 USD).
Along with this announcement, Hudson also released details on the final playable character. Named R.A.D., her skintight suit lets her move very fast at the cost of her aiming speed.
Originally slated for a November release, Omega Five is a side scrolling shoot em up (like R-Type) featuring a multitude of characters, unlockable content, frantic action, online leaderboards, the best visuals so far on a XBLA game, local coop and many other features.
From: Kotaku
Nick “Tasteless” Plott, famed shoutcaster and pretty damned good StarCraft player, has made a statement on TeamLiquid.net that he’s going to Korea to work on Arirang TV as an RTS commentator. Check it:
For those of you who don’t know me I’m Nick Plott also known as “Tasteless.” I’ve been a competitive gamer on SC since the game has come out and have since then moved on to shoutcast many live tournaments such as WCG, Blizzcon and others. I do this because I love this game and e-sports in general and also have a long-term interest in helping its growth. A week ago I was informed that Arirang TV has been looking for an English RTS caster. I am very happy to tell you all I have been accepted for this position and will now be broadcasting on Korean national television.
Personally (and I think I speak for everyone) I wish him the best luck in the world to his new career in Korea. Tasteless is first in line when it comes to being a badass English StarCraft shoutcaster, but he’ll also need to learn Warcraft III to do his new job. Presumably, he will also be shoutcasting StarCraft II if it launches during his tenure there.
You can read the full statement at TeamLiquid.net.
After being told that children weren’t allowed in arcades, Chan Sing, a 31 old single father from Hong Kong, abandoned his 7 year old daughter to fend for herself while he played games. After 3 hours on a nearby restaurant waiting by herself, the restaurant employees called the police to track down the father.
The South China Morning Post reported that “[He] left the girl alone in the street for an hour after staff told him children were not allowed inside the arcade.” When arrested, Mr. Sing told to the police: “I have to play video games.”
Mr. Sing plead guilty to child abuse and was sentenced to 120 hours of community service.
From: Kotaku
While I was surfing the Achieve360Points, I noticed the that there were achievements for Metal Slug 3. The amount of points and gamerscores indicate that Metal Slug 3 is coming to the XBLA service soon. It’ been confirmed, but no one really has a time frame at this point.
Another game that was recently announced was Kart Attack, from the creators of the critically acclaimed racing sims GT Legends and the GTR series, which is enough reason to get the racing sims fans drooling over this game.
From the screenshots I’m really excited to see how Kart Attack turns out, but I’m not even considering buying Metal Slug 3. What do you think?
Read: XBLArcade and XBLArcade
Criterion Games website has new information about the upcoming Burnout Paradise demo. According to the website the playable demo will be available on the PlayStation Network, PlayStation Store and Xbox Live on Dec. 13.
The demo will allow you to:
* Explore Motor City, Big Surf Beach and Ocean View neighbourhoods of Paradise city.
* Enjoy 3 awesome events, including a first chance to play new mode Stunt Run!
* Discover Jumps, Stunts and Smashes all over the map, and if you’re online invite friends to join you for some challenges.
The website also reveals the demo map:
Burnout Paradise is scheduled for a January ‘08 release.
Last week it was confirmed that Wednesday (Dec. 12) the Xbox Live Arcade service would be receiving the dungeon crawler RPG Arkadian Warriors (which looks like a solid game so far).
Today GamerScore Blog posted a press release with the final list of games slated for release this wednesday:
· Arkadian Warriors
· Gripshift (which I previously talked about here on EG)
Both games will be worth 800 MS points (about USD$10). Right now, I’m on the fence whether to buy Arkadian Warriors or not (I’m saving my points for Ikaruga and Rez HD).
But, what about you? Will you be picking up either of these titles?
Read: GamerScore Blog
Capcom promised to clarify today questions today regarding Street Fighter IV, and they certainly did.
The most important question was if the game will be in 2D or 3D. According to 1Up.com (citing the January 2008 issue of EGM) Capcom’s answer is 2.5D. Let me explain: According to 1Up, Street Fighter IV will have polygonal graphics (as in 3D), but the gameplay is 2D.
Along with this confirmation EGM also has this info:
· Character roster - for now, the only confirmed characters are Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Dhalsim
· The game will keep the six button control scheme
· There will be new moves, locations and gameplay.
No word about what platforms the game will end up on, but the obvious guess is Xbox 360,PS3 and arcade.
From: 1Up.com
