EA’s E3 Lineup Review

EA Logo

E3’s right around the corner now and in the big show, we’re going to be seeing a lot of awesome games filled with win. EA will be bringing in the biggest lot, from what I can tell. In this post, we check out which games are worth getting excited for. And there is, of course, the entire EA Line-Up right below:

• Dead Space
• FaceBreaker
• Hasbro Family Game Night
• Littlest Pet Shop
• Madden NFL 09
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
• Mirror’s Edge
• iPhone/iPod Touch Games from EA Mobile
• The Sims 2 Apartment Pets
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 for the PSP
• Zubo
• MySims (PC)
• MySims Kingdom (Wii, DS)
• Spore
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
• Command & Conquer Red Alert 3
• Crysis Warhead
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• The Lord of the Rings: Conquest
• SimCity Creator (Wii)
• NBA Live 09
• NCAA® Football 09
• Skate It
• Rock Band™ 2
• Left 4 Dead

Definitely a mouthful. Check out the slightly more detailed looks by hitting the jump!
Continue reading “EA’s E3 Lineup Review”

No Brütal Legend at E3 2008

Weird guy from Brütal Legend

Brütal Legend, the game prophesied for raw awesomeness, will not be appearing at this year’s E3, according to MTV Multiplayer.

They were sent a mail from Lord Awesome Tim Schafer himself, who informed them that the game will not be appearing at E3 and that there’s nothing to worry about: the game is in fine order. “We’re not going to be showing at E3, but soon after that we hope,” he said. As for when this “soon” comes, he says “As soon as the dust settles from this whole [Activision Blizzard] merger thing we should be able to talk about the game a lot more.”

For those not in the know, this is because the game was originally supposed to be published by Vivendi, which now becomes a subsidiary of Activision along with Blizzard, by the clauses of the Great Activision Blizzard merger.

Brütal Legend will see Jack Black playing the roadie protagonist as he travels across a surreal heavy metal-inspired landscape. The game will feature music and cameos from several Metal Gods, such as Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford, Black Sabbath, Wolfmother and many more. It is going to be one hell of a game! Check out our earlier coverage on it! You’ll love it!

Sony to launch even slimmer PS2 in India

PS2 Logo

Sony, abiding perfectly to the “believe in the sales” maxim has decided to release a fourth version of their immensely popular PlayStation 2 console in India by Diwali – the festival of Light, which occurs somewhere around late-October or early-November. While the Wii and Xbox 360 compete neck-to-neck in the International market and the PS3 slowly catches up, here we have Sony selling the PS2, the first version of which was released in *drum roll* 2000. That’s 8 years ago, people. 2 years shy of a decade.

AC adaptors will be integrated into the console itself now, but even then, the PS2 will be “slimer, sleeker and more suave” [sic]. It will be priced the same as before, at Rs. 6990 (approx. $165). The PS2 has become the best selling console in India very recently because of this cheap price, easy availability, combined with the fact that there are still games being made for it. The Xbox, on the other hand, was nowhere in sight until the 360 came along with its humongous price tag.

Another reason why the PS2 is big here is, that pirated games for the PS2 are pretty much everywhere. For the Xbox 360 though, you need to buy original titles, which cost somewhere around Rs. 2000, which no sensible Indian consumer will be willing to spend. The PS3 is too downright costly and the Wii isn’t available officially (I don’t remember the last Nintendo console available officially here…)

In addition, Sony will also be introducing the PlayStation Network for India by the end of this fiscal year, which should bring India into the realm of online PS2 gaming.

Sony Country Manager (awesome title there) Atindriya Bose said, when asked about whether it will affect the PS3 market:

“We do not market it as a PS-2 or PS-3. It is the experience of the PS that we market. PS-3 is for the next generation. People who are first timers in the gaming market want to pick up PS-2 and experience that, before upgrading to PS-3,”

Now that’s funny. “How do we make money off of casual gamers?” they asked. “I know, milk the PS2 until we’re totally out of stock, release the PS4 and then release PS3, because it’s the console for the better gamers which the Indian crowd has become! Perfect plan!”

Source: The Economic Times

NYKO Media Hub Announced for the PlayStation 3

Nyko Technologies, the premier gaming peripherals manufacturer, today revealed details for its upcoming Media Hub for the PlayStation 3. The Media Hub easily attaches to the console, adding three additional USB ports and a media card reader slot that supports SD cards and Memory Sticks. Compatible with all PS3 models, the Media Hub matches the color and contour of the system to expand its media capabilities while maintaining a clean form factor.

The all-new Media Hub from Nyko attaches to any available USB port and enables the connection of three additional USB devices including flash drives, PSP, MP3 players and additional controllers. Its unique design requires no tools or internal modifications, draws its power directly from the PS3, and easily installs in just seconds.

“We found that many of our customers who had purchased the popular 40 GB version of the PS3, which has less USB ports and no media card reader, were looking for an affordable solution to expand with these features,” said Chris Arbogast, Director of Marketing at Nyko Technologies. “With the Media Hub, an additional three USB ports and a media card reader are now possible for all PS3 models, allowing consumers to enjoy the full capabilities of their multimedia system no matter which model they choose.”

Nyko’s Media Hub for PS3 is expected to hit store shelves by August 2008 for the suggested retail price of $19.99. Please visit www.nyko.com for more information.

Rock Band 2 Announced!

Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company in the world, and MTV Games, a part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, along with marketing and distribution partner Electronic Arts Inc., are taking the groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games to the next level this September with the release of Rock Band 2. With the original providing millions of players a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 is the next evolution of the franchise that redefined the standard for music games.

Rock Band is the groundbreaking platform that allows music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before – challenging players to put together a band and tour for fame and fortune while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals.

Rock Band 2 builds upon its foundation as the first music game to introduce co-operative band gameplay, multiple instruments, a robust online multiplayer experience, an unrivaled offering of downloadable content and raises the bar by delivering an entirely new level of depth, connectivity, authenticity and features including:

* Backwards compatibility with Rock Band downloadable music content. All previously purchased tracks will immediately load into your Rock Band 2 song list. No need to re-purchase or re-download.
* The biggest and most diverse soundtrack ever featuring some of rock’s most prolific acts, comprised entirely of master recordings.
* Major new and dynamic online modes that will connect the entire Rock Band community in more ways than ever before both locally and globally.
* More variety of instrument choices than ever before with new and improved drum and guitar peripherals, enhanced functionality and innovative new designs – all fully compatible with the original Rock Band instruments.
* And much more.

“As successful as the original Rock Band continues to be, we’ve now had the benefit of the last eight months to listen to our fans’ requests and to build upon that foundation,” said Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. “Rock Band 2 is a second-generation band game that will elevate the music game experience to the next level.”

Rock Band 2 will make its debut on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft this September and have an exclusive launch window in North America. Rock Band 2 will be available for additional platforms later this year.

“We expect Rock Band 2 to continue to drive an amazing social music experience on Xbox 360, said David Hufford, senior director, Xbox Product Management for the Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft. “We look forward to supporting Rock Band 2 on Xbox 360 as gamers continue to download hundreds of new music tracks from Xbox LIVE so they and their friends can perform the rock music they love most.

More details regarding features and music for Rock Band 2 will be revealed at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit. Rock Band, the first installment in the franchise, garnered more than 40 awards including Game Critics Award: Best of Show E3 2007.

In addition, Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that The Rock Band online music store recently surpassed 15 million paid downloads since the game’s launch in late November 2007. With more than 200 tracks available to date via download purchase (complete list of tracks at http://www.rockband.com/dlc), the massive Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks, packs and albums from the vast selection of offerings available as they build their own custom Rock Band library.

Rock Band 2 is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockband.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.