Archive for September 2nd, 2010

Check out what's new on Nintendo Week!

Barring a "Uniracers" franchise relaunch out of left field, your best bet at grabbing a "racing adventure, delivering a unique, side-scrolling platform racer" on the Nintendo Wii looks like it's going to be a new title from the developers at RedLynx who made a name for themselves with "Trials HD" for Xbox Live Arcade. Their upcoming WiiWare release "MotoHeroz"

"With this game, we are taking our expertise in downloadable content, addictive gameplay, and the racing genre, and adapting it to the strengths of the Wii," RedLynx creative director Antti Ilvessuo said in a press release. "The result is a unique, appealing game that combines racing game thrills with platformer charm."

RedLynx plans to feature a single-player story mode (with characters!), as well as a four-player party mode, ghost-racing for record times, and online competition featuring leader boards and a steady flow of new tracks and boards to keep things interesting.

The Finland-based company didn't commit to a release date in their announcement, but they did project that "MotoHeroz" would arrive by early 2011 or the end of 2010. I wish more game companies were so honest about their schedules. Then again, I also wish more downloadable games were as fun as "Trials HD." Their work's cut out for them making the transition over to WiiWare, but if "MotoHeroz" has its gameplay fundamentals down as well as "Trials" does, this could top some WiiWare pick lists in next year.

Are you going to be interested in checking out "MotoHeroz" on WiiWare? Do you think it will be as fun as "Trials HD"? Share your opinions in the comment section below.

Apple unveiled a new social application for iTunes called Ping in a press conference today, and Sony decided to do something similar by detailing Music Unlimited, a service they plan on launching for the PlayStation 3 powered by Qriocity.

"It is a cloud-based digital music streaming service that gives music lovers access to millions of tracks stored and synced with your devices," Sony Europe president Fujio Nishida said at a press event in Berlin, according to a CNET report.

The service will allow users to access millions of songs remotely and across various devices, another story at PC Magazine asserts. Music Unlimited will arrive first to Web-enabled Bravia HDTVs, Sony Blu-ray players and home-theater systems, PS3 consoles, and PCs in 2010, with roll-outs for PlayStation Portables and other Sony devices happening later on.

"Services 'powered by Qriocity' will revolutionize the way that users play, listen, watch, share, communicate, learn, discover and create their digital entertainment content," chairman and group chief executive officer of Sony Computer Entertainment Kaz Hirai said in a statement.

Those are bold words from a man with a big title, but Sony has a steep hill to climb if they're going to start seriously competing with iTunes, especially after today. They're going to try, though, and we'll all get to find out if their model has legs, as well as what other types of portable devices they plan on releasing to support it.

Do you think you'll use Music Unlimited? What do you think of Sony's approach to their new music distribution system? Share your responses in the comment section below.

If you don't like "Plants vs. Zombies," I'm afraid we can't be friends. Sorry, that's just the way things are.

With that out of the way, PopCap released the Limited Edition of "Plants vs. Zombies" for PC and Mac earlier this month, which comes packed with a few new features and a 3 inch tall zombie figure which is just gosh dang adorable. Apparently that wasn't enough cute, so the company hired Moose Studios Pottery to create clay versions of some of the more memorable plants in the game, which they then mailed over to MTV Multiplayer HQ. That's them up top, creating a solid defense against the Limited Edition zombie action figure.

As for the Limited Edition itself, if you already own the game on Mac or PC, there's not all that much new content to keep you occupied. For newcomers to the series, though, this is the definitive version, bringing with it all the modes and minigames that have come before, in addition to a zombie creator program.

But it's important to remember that the series is coming to consoles for the first time on September 8th with an XBLA version which promises even more modes and even some multiplayer, which is a first for "Plants vs. Zombies." It's like there's a version for every kind of zombie (but the MJ zombie, who no longer has a home).

How does the pottery rank against other "Plants vs. Zombies" handicrafts you've seen? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

The new Game Center features Apple announced for its iPods, iPads and iPhones today were accompanied from outside of the press event by a release announcement from Rockstar Games. "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars" already launched on Steve Jobs' devices earlier this year, but Rockstar will be giving the title an update and dubbing the new product "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD."

The fine-tuned graphics, modified controls and general big-screen-friendly features will appear on September 9 and cost $9.99 in the App Store, according to a report on Touch Arcade.

You've probably noticed some stretch marks if you've tried blowing up the equally-priced iPhone/iPod touch edition of "Chinatown Wars" on your tablet. Seeing an optimized iPad port will make for great side-by-side comparisons to see how much work Rockstar put into this launch, marketing-related and otherwise.

The gameplay is already there, and it's been through the ringer jumping from the DS to iPhone and PSP. Rockstar's developers must be seasoned veterans at converting the title by now. Really, they may want to do some homework and see how close they are to edging out "Plants vs. Zombies" for releases on the most mobile platforms in the last year. The numbers have to be close.

So anyone up for a "Plants vs. Zombies vs. Huang Lee" crossover in 2011? I have a feeling the demand is out there to support such a project.

Will you buy "Chinatown Wars HD" on the iPad? Do you think the world is ready for another edition of the game? Share your responses in the comment section below.

American Sign Language seems to be just one of the communication methods Kinect won't recognize when it launches. American English, British English, Japanese and Mexican Spanish will all be understood by the system's voice recognition software, but Canadian English speakers, as well as Spaniards other and continental Europeans won't be able to converse with their Xbox 360s until a later date.

Microsoft plans to bring voice commands to Europe and Canada in Spring 2011, according to a company representative speaking to Eurogamer.

The situation seems to be based mostly on numbers, and the function will be locked out according to region. I don't know if this means that North Dakota and upper Minnesota residents will have problems talking to their consoles, since near-Canadian accents can be found up there. And who knows about Alaska? It certainly makes one want to comb through vlogger accounts during launch week to see if Juno and Montgomery residents are able to tell Kinect what to do with the same ease.

Unfortunately, even Americans living in Canada will be unable to use voice functions due to the regional lock issue. And that could be problematic for those who were getting excited about telling their new ESPN programming when to start and stop on the new, pricier Xbox Live. In the meantime, Spring 2011 isn't all that far away, but it's significantly later than the 2010 holiday season.

Is Kinect going to be able to understand you when you speak to it? Are you surprised by Microsoft's voice-related choices? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

It's that time again! Apple is kicking off yet another press conference in mere moments. The difference this time is that you'll be able to watch it, live, as it happens, instead of having to read a frantic live blog of all the important events. We'll be recapping the events throughout, but if you're looking for the minute-to-minute details of Apple's press conference, you can check out the live stream at Apple's official site, presuming you have a Mac-based OS (iPhone, iPod Touch, Macbook, etc.). If you don't, we've still got you covered with the highlights:

10:01AM - Jobs takes the stage, starts discussing all the fancy in Apple stores. Talking about one-to-one classes that people can take to introduce them to Macs. Just a brief roundup of the Apple stores.

10:05 - Jobs moving on to iOS (that's the iPhone and iPod Touch operating system). 120 million iOS products have been shipped. Activating 230,000 new iOS devices per day. 6.5 billion apps downloaded from the App Store. 200 apps downloaded every second. 250K apps, 25K are iPad apps.

10:07 - iOS 4.1 being introduced.
Bugs:
Proximity sensor, Bluetooth, iPhone 3G performance

Adding:
High Dynamic Range Photos
Ability to upload HD video over WiFI
TV show rentals
Game Center launching to the world

10:09 - What are High Dynamic Range Photos?
The system takes three photos at once, one overblown and one underblown, and mixes the two to create a more balanced photo blend. It's optional. Jobs showing off examples of photos taken with HDR. Crisper details.

10:10 - Game Center
"All about multiplayer games." Allows you to challenge friends to games, can automatch with randoms, compare high scores.

Jobs showing off the matching system, invites pop up as a status update.

Epic Games has a new game coming out using Game Center.

Donald Mustard (of Shadow Complex fame) takes the stage
Project Sword, a fantasy action game with remarkable graphics, looks like Fable 2.
Donald accepts friend invite and the game shifts to a multiplayer battle.
Unlocks a Game Center achievement.
Available this holiday season on iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad

10:15 - Jobs is back. "It's on a phone!"

iOS 4.1 coming next week, free download via iPhone

Sneak peek at 4.2, coming a little later this year. "It's all about iPad." Bringing everything to iPad. All the features on iPhone. Adding wireless printing. Adding AirPlay.

Showing off wireless printing. Print Center organizes the different jobs currently in the works.

What is AirPlay? Stream audio, video and photos over WiFi to other devices.

10:19 - Jobs showing off Folders on iPad. Acts as it does on iPhone and iPod Touch.

iOS 4.2 is coming in November, free update for all models (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad).

10:20 - Moving on to iPods
Apple has sold 275M iPods
All new iPods for every single model coming this year

New iPod Shuffle
Stamp-sized, has buttons and VoiceOver playlists. Comes with the clip. Looks like the bottom of an iPod Nano (without the screen). Can hold 15 hours of music. Jobs on the packaging: "It's really cute." Selling for $49 for 2GB.

New iPod Nano
No more click wheel, the screen is Touch-based with Multi-touch. There's a clip, just like the shuffle. 46% smaller and 42% lighter as the last Nano. Hard volume buttons, FM radio, Nike+, pedometer, 24 hour battery life.

10:27 - Jobs giving a walkthrough of the new iPod Nano.

Scrolls through his list of artists, large letters pop up, plays Ella Fitzgerald "Let's Do It." Album art pops up. Press and hold to get back to the home screen. You can move shortcuts just like you can on an iPhone or iPod Touch.

You can rotate the screen to any orientation you want. Showing off photos.

Seven colors, including a Project (Red) version. $149 for 8GB, 179 for 16GB.

New iPod Touch
Has become the #1 portable game player in the world. "The iPod Touch outsells Nintendo and Sony portable game players, combined."

Thinner design. Retina Display. Apple A4 chip (same as the iPhone 4). 3-axis gyro, iOS 4.1 with Game center. Added FaceTime with a front camera. Rear camera added with HD video recording. 40 hours of music playback battery life. Less doing other stuff, natch.

3 models. 8GB for $229, 32GB for $299, 64GB for $399. All available next week, available for pre-order today.

10:36 - Showing off new Apple ads for the new iPod models.

10:38 - Jobs moving on to iTunes

Launching iTunes 10.

What's new?
New design elements, hybrid view which blends list view with cover art
Discovery: Adding social elements to iTunes called "Ping," a social network for music
"It's sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes." It's built right into iTunes.
Follow friends and discover what people are listening to or downloading. Custom top ten chart, customized based on who you're following
Artist page includes posts from artists, latest songs and concert information
Ping is for social media discovery.
"Get as private or as public as you want."

10:45 - Jobs showing a demo of "Ping" in iTunes 10
Ping will be available on iPhone or iPod Touch as well

iTunes 10 is available today, free download at Apple.com starting today

10:51 - One more "hobby..."
Apple TV, never been a big hit
Users want Hollywood movies and TV shows, everything in HD, lower prices
Don't want another computer, don't want to manage storage, don't want to sync to a computer
Something that's silent, cool and small

New Apple TV
75% smaller than the old Apple TV, black. You can hold it in the palm of your hand. Looks like a small cable modem. Power supply built in. One HDMI connector and Ethernet or WiFi. Comes with an aluminum remote. All rentals, no purchases. You rent everything. No storage management because it's all streaming.

You can stream content from your computer. No syncing required.

$4.99 for first run HD movies, the same day as DVD. Cheaper prices as time goes on.

99 cents to rent an HD TV show

ABC and FOX shows are signed on.

You can stream Netflix right on Apple TV. Watch anything on YouTube. Photos off of Flickr and MobileMe.

Mac or PC streaming off your computer.

Send iPad content to your TV.

Price: $99. Available in late September.

Show wrapping up with a performance from the lead singer of Coldplay.

When word drops that 20 screenshots of "Batman: Arkham City" are floating around on the net, I'll admit that my heart starts to jump a little bit. It seems an anonymous Flickr account was hosting high rez shots of the hugely anticipated sequel and someone at NeoGAF was quick to snap them up. And once it's on NeoGAF, it's not going anywhere.

The "Batman: Arkham City" screenshots confirm that Catwoman and Two-Face will be integral to the plot, as suspected, and that Harley Quinn is sporting a brand new black and red leather look which might actually make her look filthier than she looked in the first game.

Some other things to check out in the screenshots: Detective mode is definitely back, complete with X-Ray vision. Batman also appears to have the new ability to set up vertical tight rope wires, giving him more maneuverability in the air. With new abilities come new challenges, though, as it appears baddies can now equip riot shields.

Worth keeping in mind that these screenshots haven't been officially released by Warner Bros., so they may, theoretically, be a massively well-funded hoax. But they're not. They're really not.

Based on these screens, it looks like Rocksteady is staying pretty true to the style of the first game. I'm probably most curious about how much the gameplay will change and what sort of new elements/modes will be introduced. I was a huge fan of the Silent Predator and Arena challenges of "Arkham Asylum," so to see those come back would be super.

"Dead Rising 2: Case Zero" is a risky experiment for Capcom. It's a significant chunk of game being sold for a paltry $5 price, and yet I believe it will pay off big in the end. I realize there's a portion of the gaming community who thinks that this heralds a new age of for-pay demos, but "Case Zero" is much more than a demo and is likely to result it more people picking up "Dead Rising 2" when it comes out at the end of September. Other publishers take note, here's what Capcom did right:

Content That's Not In the Full Game

"Case Zero" features a location which won't appear in the full "Dead Rising 2." Still Creek may be a tiny rural town with only a handful of shops but it's completely unlike any of the environments of the full game. It's also a major shift from the location of the first game, giving the whole experience a very new feel.

If, for example, Capcom had set "Case Zero" in one of the casinos of Fortune City, people would've felt ripped off, asking why it wasn't just included in the full game. Still Creek might have appeared in a cutscene in the full game, but no one would expect Capcom to make it a full, playable region. As a separate, downloadable chapter, though, it makes total sense.

The Gameplay Isn't Watered Down

While there are a lot of features that aren't included in "Dead Rising 2: Case Zero," like co-op and the full list of "Dead Rising 2" combo weapons, most of the gameplay is present and accounted for. Saving survivors, picking up random weapons, changing into crazy costumes, building combo weapons, it's all there. It feels like a full experience, even if it's really just hinting at what the full game offers.

The Price Is Just Right

"Dead Rising 2: Case Zero" is worth more than five bucks. But Capcom's main goal wasn't to cash-in here, it was to get as many people playing the prologue as possible. The more people that play it, the more likely to head out and pick up the full game. For Capcom, the money they may lose from underpricing "Case Zero" is clearly worth the money they gain from people picking up the $60 full release.

Carrying Progress Over, Achievements

Capcom is allowing players to bring some of the progress they make in "Case Zero" over to the full version of "Dead Rising 2." You can earn up to 5 experience levels, a handful of cash and a half-dozen combo cards for use in the main game. Given that the first few levels of "Dead Rising," when you're a puny nobody running around at sloth-speed, is generally the least fun part of the game, the head start is much appreciated.

And, in addition, "Case Zero" has 12 unlockable achievements, totally separate from the main game. Because who doesn't like achievements?

Publishers: Do What Capcom Did

Capcom nailed for-pay, pre-release content right on the nose with "Dead Rising 2: Case Zero." It encourages new buyers of the full game while offering enough value, even if you're only going to play the downloadable prequel. That's bad news for publishers, who should realize that this is the sort of standard gamers will expect for pre-release content in the future. Time to step it up!

"Critical bugs" managed to delay the "Final Fantasy XIV" open beta PC test this week, but Square Enix believes they have everything together now, and a mere day after it was originally supposed to launch, the developers believe they're ready to open up for the masses.

"Along with the completion on investigation and correction of the critical issue, we have decided to begin 'Final Fantasy XIV' Open Beta Test on Sep. 1, 2010 at 19:00 (PDT)," an update on FFXIV.com revealed.

And despite an oddly worded message, it appears that new codes will be available for those looking to get in on the action. You made need to plug your info into their system and check with Square Enix to find out for sure though.

"Starting on Sep. 1, 2010 at 19:00 (PDT), acquisition of registration code required for 'Final Fantasy XIV' Open Beta Test will be available," the note stated.

All I know is that if they managed to put their heads together and get through this stumbling block, such ingenuity should go a long way toward overcoming memory issues and making sure PlayStation 3 users also get to play "FFXIV" next March.

So check in there when you get off of work tonight, and you may have a pleasant MMO-related surprise waiting to welcome you home from a tough day at the office — XP limitations and all.

Are you happy to hear that the "FFXIV" issues have been resolved? Do you plan on grabbing an account for the open beta test? Share your responses in the comment section below.