March 2010 Archives
Soldak Entertainment has released its role-playing game Din's Curse as a download for the PC and Mac. The game has players working to redeem themselves in the eyes of Din by striving to help others while questing through an extensive underground dungeon.
Christian publisher Digital Praise has released Guitar Praise: Stryper as an expansion for its game Guitar Praise (available for the PC and Mac). The expansion includes 25 tracks from Stryper and is available from "leading Christian retailers."
Funcom has launched the seventh major content update for its massively multiplayer online game Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Called "Shrines of Bori," the update adds player vs. player content and associated gear, allowing guilds to wage war over shrines around the village of Brandoc.
This week's downloadable game for Xbox Live Arcade is Mega Man 10 from Capcom, available for 800 points ($10). Previously released through the PlayStation Store, this is a platformer in the style of traditional 2D-style Mega Man games that has players combating malfunctioning robots that have fallen victim to a robot flu.
Aksys Games has shipped Mimana: Iyar Chronicle for the PSP to stores in North America. This side-scrolling role-playing game has players following a magical mercenary on a quest to recover seven jewels scattered around the world of Iyar.
Tecmo's title Dead or Alive: Paradise for the PSP has shipped to stores in North America. Dead or Alive: Paradise has players interacting with the bikini-clad women of the Dead or Alive franchise, playing mini-games and taking pictures, with aspects of a dating simulation, as well.
Suzhou Snail Electronic Co., a Chinese publisher of online games, has opened Snail Games USA, a subsidiary based in Los Angeles that will focus on bringing Suzhou Snail's games to the North American market. The regional office will be run by Scott Miller, and is primarily working on bringing browser-based persistent online games to the North American market.
Disney has shipped Disney Stitch Jam for the DS to stores in North America. The game has players engaging in rhythm-based mini-games featuring the famous alien Stitch.
Tecmo has shipped its game Again for the DS to stores in North America. This adventure game is an interactive crime novel that has players working as an FBI agent tracking down murderers in New Jersey.
Paradox Interactive has released Mount & Blade: Warband, sequel to Mount & Blade, to stores in North America. This PC game is also available as a download through major download portals. The sequel offers graphics that improve on those of the original game, additional adventures and multiplayer mounted battles with up to 64 players.
NIS America has shipped Sakura Wars: So Long My Love for the Wii to stores in North America. This role-playing game is the first Sakura Wars title to be released in North America has players helping an all-female Broadway revue protect New York through undercover Star Division operations.
Samurai Shodown Sen from Xseed Games is now in stores in North America. This game for the Xbox 360, released in partnership with SNK Playmore, is a re-imagining of the classic fighting series has armed warriors dueling to the death.
Activision Publishing, part of Activision Blizzard, has shipped its game Cabela's Monster Buck Hunter for the Wii to stores in North America. The game has Wii owners hunting for big game, small animals and birds in 12 locales, using gear from Cabela stores.
Nintendo has released new downloadable games for the Wii and DSi(including the newly released DSi XL:
Continue reading More Downloadable Games Are Available for the Wii and DSi.
Norb Software Development has released Scourge of War: Gettysburg as a download for the PC. This strategy game is a 3D simulation of the Civil War battle at Gettysburg that allows players to take on the role of any commander who participated in the battle.
Nintendo has shipped WarioWare D.I.Y. for the DS to stores in North America. This WarioWare compilation of microgames allows players to use building blocks to create their own microgames, and is compatible with the WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase that will be released tomorrow as a download for the Wii.
Nintendo has released America's Test Kitchen: Let's Get Cooking for the DS to stores in North America. The software teaches DS owners to cook 300 recipes from America's Test Kitchen with simple and age-adjustable instructions.
Beginning today, gamers can purchase Nintendo's DSi XL in North American stores. The DSi XL contains all the same functionality as the DSi, but has a screen that is 93% larger than the DS Lite (4.2 inches, diagonally). The unit comes pre-loaded with three DSiWare games (Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock) and costs $190.
Paradox Interactive has released Majesty 2: Kingmaker, a downloadable expansion for its game Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim. The expansion adds eight new missions that have players facing off against Lord Blackviper and his goblin army.
Sony has released more downloadable games through the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 and PSP:
Continue reading Many More Downloadable Games are Added to the PlayStation Store.
Matrix Games, together with developer CodeFore, has released Distant Worlds for the PC. This 4X-style strategy game is available as both a download and as a physical shipment. The real-time (but pausable) game has players exploring, conquering or colonizing up to 1,400 star systems complete with alien empires.
Publisher: 2K Games (Take-Two Interactive)Developer: 2K Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
Reviewed on Xbox 360
Nearly a decade after the events of BioShock, little girls are being snatched from the surface world and dragged down to the undersea city of Rapture. As one of the very first Big Daddies (the ultimate defenders and custodians of Rapture), you must cope with the remains of this fallen civilization and its devious denizens to rescue the thing that originally drove you to seek out Rapture.
Continue reading BioShock 2 Review.
Microsoft has released the "Game Room" application for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows platforms. The Game Room serves as a virtual location players can visit with their avatars to play classic coin-operated arcade games and titles from classic consoles such as the Intellivision. The application is simply a virtual space that contains games that are available for players to purchase. Players can pay for a single play, pay a larger amount to add the game permanently to their Game Room space, or pay even more to unlock the game across all platforms.
Ubisoft has shipped its game The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom for the PC to stores in North America. The game has players venturing forth to create and grow their own kingdom.
Ubisoft has shipped its game Red Steel 2 for the Wii to stores in North America. This action game featuring sword- and gunplay attempts to overcome the problems with the original Red Steel by relying on the Wii MotionPlus controller to more carefully track movements as players battle against the Jackal clan in a remote desert city.
Activision Publishing, part of Activision Blizzard, has shipped two Build-a-Bear Workshop games to stores:
Continue reading Two Build-a-Bear Workshop Games Reach Stores.
Hudson Entertainment has shipped its game Rooms: The Main Building for the DS and Wii to stores in North America. The game has players sliding tiles to unjumble pictures of rooms.
Natsume has shipped Cheer We Go! for the DS to stores in North America. The game has players using the DS touchscreen to mimic cheerleading motions in cheerleading competitions.
Natsume has shipped Squishy Tank for the DS to stores in North America. Despite the tank theme, this is a match-three puzzle game in which players strive to eliminate like-colored blocks before a time limit expires.
Atlus has shipped Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for the DS to stores in North America. The game represents a return to the early Shin Megami Tensei-style dungeon crawl role-playing game, but with a science-fiction flavor. In Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, players battle and befriend demons in an effort to deal with the black hole that threatens to engulf the planet.
Ubisoft has released its latest Imagine game aimed at girls, called Imagine: Gymnast. The game has players joining a team of gymnasts, guided by Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Miller.
Activision Publishing, part of Activision Blizzard, has shipped How to Train Your Dragon for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and DS to stores in North America. Based on the DreamWorks Animation film of the same name, the game has players customizing, training and battling their dragon as part of an epic quest.
Atari and Cryptic Studios have released the first major content update for their massively multiplayer online game Champions Online. Called "Revelation," the new content adds a new zone with high-level content set in a southern city that conceals a fallen angel.
Gameloft, a publisher of mobile and casual games, reported selected financial results for 2009:
Continue reading Gameloft Reports Strong Annual Results.
Capcom has shipped MotoGP 09/10 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to stores in North America. This motorcycle racing game takes players to the venues of the MotoGP season and MotoGP championship.
Activision Publishing, part of Activision Blizzard, has placed its game Bakugan: Battle Trainer for the DS in stores in North America. The game has players continuing to train and nurse Bakugan monsters to free other, imprisoned Bakugan.
Majesco has shipped Pizza Delivery Boy for the Wii to stores in North America. The game has players using their Wii Remote to make and deliver pizzas to hungry customers.
Sony Online Entertainment has released the major content update for its massively multiplayer online game Star Wars Galaxies called "Stronghold of the Lok Revenants." This 16th major content update expands on the Lok quest series, adding a space piracy system and new quest rewards.
Activision Publishing, part of Activision Blizzard, has released its game Zhu Zhu Pets for the DS to stores in North America. Based on the hamster-themed toy line of the same name, the game has players caring for hamsters and guiding them through a series of mini-games.
Square Enix has shipped its game Just Cause 2 to stores in North America under Square Enix's Eidos brand. The game should be in stores in Europe, the Middle East and Australia by Friday. This game, released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC has players striving to track down a former agent who has gone rogue on the open-world-style island of Panau.
THQ has appointed Benoit Boutte as its Vice President of Southern European publishing. Prior to joining THQ, Boutte worked with Vivendi Games and Italian distributor Halifax.
Nintendo has released more downloadable games for the Wii and DSi:
Continue reading Nintendo Releases More Downloadable Games.
Sony has released a new slate of downloadable games for the PlayStation 3 and PSP:
Continue reading More Games Reach the PlayStation Store.
I-play, part of Oberon Media, has released Dream Day Wedding: Bella Italia as a download for the PC. The game has players planning the perfect wedding in a variety of locations in the Italian countryside.
GameStop reported certain financial results pertaining to its fiscal fourth quarter and full financial year ended January 30, 2010:
Publisher: Mana Bomb Games StudioDeveloper: Mana Bomb Games Studio
Platforms: PC and Xbox 360
Reviewed on PC
Windows System Requirements: 1.5 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c compatible video card with 128 MB RAM, 300 MB HD space, Windows XP SP2 or more recent operating system
Defend an entire planet from the onslaught of an alien invasion in this tower-defense game set on a series of spherical planets.
Continue reading Colony Defense Review.
Square Enix, together with Gas Powered Games, has made its game Supreme Commander 2 available in stores for the Xbox 360. This real-time strategy game in which players participate in a three-sided galactic war previously shipped for the PC.
The classic shooter Perfect Dark is now available as a download through Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points ($10). 4J Studios has converted the game so that this shooter is presented in full 1080p HD when Joanna Dark faces galactic conspiracies in the year 2023.
Disney's game Sonny With a Chance for the DS is now in stores in North America. The game features mini-games inspired by the "So Random" cast on the Disney Channel.
Sega's game Infinite Space for the DS is now in stores in North America. This is an epic role-playing game that has players hunting pirates with a fleet of spaceships while investigating a galactic mystery.
Ignition Entertainment's game Spectral Force Genesis for the DS is now in stores in North America. This role-playing game introduces players to the Spectral Force role-playing game universe on the DS.
Sega's game Resonance of Fate for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is now available in stores in North America. This role-playing game has players working as private military contractors exploring an Earth that is a burned-out, nearly lifeless shell.
Electronic Arts' game Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight for the PC is now available in stores. This game is the final real-time strategy installment in the Tiberium Saga set in the Command & Conquer franchise, and (once again) has the Global Defense Initiative battling the Brotherhood of Nod for control over Tiberium.
Majesco reported the results of its first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2010:
Continue reading Majesco Reports Decent Holiday Quarter.
Sony Online Entertainment, together with LucasArts, has released the latest expansion for its online collectible card game, the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game, called "Threat of the Conqueror." The expansion adds around 200 playable cards and 30 loot cards to the game, the art on some of which comes from player-taken screenshots.
Electronic Arts has shipped Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening to stores for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. The content will also be released as a download on Thursday, March 19. The expansion adds the Amaranthine area of the world and has players investigating the secrets of the darkspawn following the defeat of the Archdemon and ending the blight in the original game. The expansion increases the game's level cap and adds five new party members.
Xseed Games has shipped Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon for the Wii to stores in North America. Developed by Namco Bandai and tri-Crescendo, this role-playing game has players exploring an abandoned world populated only by ghosts.
Konami's game GTI Club Supermini Festa! for the Wii is now in stores. This version of Konami's arcade racing game was previously released for the PSP.
Sony's game God of War III for the PlayStation 3 is now in stores. This latest God of War game has Kratos descending to Hades and climbing Mt. Olympus to take revenge upon the gods who have manipulated him in the previous games.
Majesco has shipped Let's Draw! for the DS to stores in North America. The software is based on the line of Japanese drawing books and teaches people to draw using a series of steps and mini-games.
THQ has shipped Metro 2033 for the Xbox 360 and PC to stores in North America. The game is based on a novel by Dmitry Glukhovsky set in the Moscow Metro after apocalyptic events and is a first-person shooter that has players venturing out of the subway into a devastated world.
Matrix Games, together with Slitherine Strategies, has released Field of Glory: Rise of Rome as a download for the PC. This is an expansion that requires the original Field of Glory, itself based on the tabletop wargaming system of the same name. Rise of Rome adds battles from Rome's expansion as well as the Persian wars and Punic wars.
Nintendo has released a new slate of downloadable games for the Wii and DS to celebrate the arrival of another Monday. The new games include:
Continue reading Monday Brings Another Round of Downloadable Games from Nintendo.
Nintendo's Pokemon HeartGold Version and Pokemon SoulSilver Version, both for the DS, are now in stores. These latest Pokemon games are set in the same Johto region introduced in Pokemon Gold Version and Pokemon Silver Version a decade ago. In addition to the usual Pokemon experience that has players training and battling monsters, these games come with the "Pokewalker" accessory that serves as a pedometer that grants experience to the walker's Pokemon.
Wargaming.net has released Order of War: Challenge! as a download for the PC. This is a stand-alone title related to the Order of War game published by Square Enix, but providing limited real-time strategy battles between players online, set during World War II.
Sony has released a new slate of downloadable games through the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 and PSP:
THQ's game Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising is now available in stores. This is a stand-alone expansion to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II from THQ's Relic Entertainment studio, and introduces the Chaos Space Marines to this real-time strategy game based on the classic Games Workshop tabletop game.
Atari, together with Telltale Games, has released Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space for the Wii and PC. This is the second season of Sam & Max's adventures, a compilation that takes the Freelance Police everywhere from the North Pole to the Underworld.
This week's downloadable game for Xbox Live Arcade comes from Slick Entertainment and is called Scrap Metal. Available for 1,200 points ($15), the game is a top-down combat racing game in which players blast enemies as they race.
Hudson Entertainment's game Calling for the Wii is now available in North America. This Japanese-style horror game has four characters simultaneously exploring the truth behind the "Black Page."
Sega's game Yakuza 3 for the PlayStation 3 has shipped to stores in North America. This latest Yakuza game once again has players exploring Japanese organized crime through an extensive story, plenty of combat and mini-games.
Ubisoft's game Racquet Sports for the Wii is now in stores in North America. The game includes casual racquet sports ranging from ping-pong to beach tennis.
Ubisoft has finally released the PC version of Assassin's Creed II. Now PC owners can relive the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze as he battles a corrupt conspiracy in Renaissance Italy. Console versions of the game shipped last year to this sequel to Assassin's Creed.
Capcom's Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is now in stores in North America. The Gold Edition includes the original Resident Evil 5, in which players work to halt a bioterrorism threat that transforms people into zombies, plus all the downloadable content released through today.
Konami has shipped Foto Showdown for the DSi to stores in North America. This role-playing game has players spawning monsters by taking pictures with the DSi camera and transforming the dominant colors in those pictures into monsters that can be trained and battled.
Majesco has shipped The Daring Game for Girls for the Wii and DS to stores in North America. Based on The Daring Book for Girls series, the game has girls exploring a schoolyard, campground and residential neighborhood, earning badges for a variety of activities.
Battlefront.com has released its game Theater of War 2: Kursk 1943. for the PC. This World War II strategy game centering on battles between Germany and Russia can either be purchased as a download or as a DVD by mail.
Paradox Interactive's recently acquired developer AGEOD has released Rise of Prussia as a download for the PC. The game covers Germany and its surroundings during the Seven Years' War, with a variety of scenarios available for would-be rulers.
Square Enix's game Final Fantasy XIII is now in stores in North America and is available for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game has a new set of characters saving the world of Cocoon from creatures emerging from its underworld, called "Pulse."
Icehole Games has released its strategy game Us & Them: Cold War as a download for the PC. This strategy game has players managing national resources and attempting to expand their territory without using overt military action.
Publisher: Easy Tiger MediaDeveloper: W!Games and Valcon Games
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
Reviewed on Xbox 360
It's an old saw that "resources are finite." Nowhere is that more true than in Greed Corp. To build your army and best your enemies, you'll need to harvest the land itself, thereby destroying the very territory you rule.
Continue reading Greed Corp Review.
Another Monday has arrived, and Nintendo has released a new group of downloadable games for the Wii and DSi:
Continue reading Nintendo Releases More Wii and DSi Downloadable Games.
Publisher: 2K Play (Take-Two Interactive)Developer: The Odd Gentlemen
Platform: Xbox 360
Reviewed on Xbox 360
P. B. Winterbottom is a dastardly fellow. He gives not a thought to the havoc he has brought to Bakersburg. Winterbottom's sole passion is pinching pies, and he is unconcerned by the destruction he causes as he pilfers. Not a single pie will escape his grasp (or his jaws), consequences be damned. To make matters worse, this pastry thief encountered a mysterious Chronoberry Pie, which grants him the ability to shift himself in time, creating temporal clones that aid Winterbottom in his felonious feats.
Continue reading The Misadventures of P. B. Winterbottom Review.
Battlefront.com has released its game Strategic Command: WWII Global Conflict for the PC as a download (or as a shippable DVD). This strategy game allows gamers to participate in World War II battles anywhere on the planet.
Sony has released more downloadable games for the PlayStation 3 and PSP:
Continue reading More Downloadable Games Reach the PlayStation Store.
On March 2, Majesco once again received a letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market that Majesco is at risk of being delisted. As per the Nasdaq rules, Majesco's stock closed below $1 for 30 consecutive days. That's a no-no.
Continue reading Majesco is Once Again at Risk of Nasdaq Delisting.
The persistent, online world There.com announced that it will close on March 9. Simply put, the announcement states that "...There is a business, and a business that can't support itself doesn't work." While There.com will make an effort to buy Therebucks (the world's currency) back from developers, and will refund purchases of Therebucks as far back as February 1, all players' holdings in There.com are now, effectively, worthless.
The Rock Band Network music store opened today, allowing musicians and labels to sell their own Rock Band tracks. The store's beta launched in January. Those posting the song need to use the XNA Creator's Club to do so, and can then receive 30% of the retail selling price (from a variety of available pricing tiers).
Take-Two Interactive Software reported its financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2010:
Continue reading Take-Two Reports Another Losing Quarter.
This week's downloadable release through Xbox Live Arcade is Toy Soldiers. Available for 1,200 points ($15), this is an action-oriented strategy game set in an antique toy box of World War I toy soldiers. Developed by Signal Studios, the game features 50 different toy units that do battle in their miniature world.
Three Donkeys has launched an "expansion" for its strategy game Spectromancer. The "League of Heroes" expansion adds three new mage types to the game's single-player campaign and online play, although (in truth), this is really a new, expanded, stand-alone version of the game that can now be purchased. Spectromancer: League of Heroes is co-designed by Richard Garfield, the man behind Magic: The Gathering.
Square Enix's game, developed by Gas Powered Games, Supreme Commander 2 is now in stores (and from certain download portals) for the PC. This real-time strategy game puts players in command of one of three fractions with the United Earth Federation, Order of the Illuminate and Cybran Nation involved in galactic war that can scale from a high-level strategic perspective to a close-up tactical view.
Disney Interactive Studios' game Alice in Wonderland is now in stores for the Wii, PC and DS. Based on the Tim Burton film (in turn based on the Lewis Carroll book), the game has players guiding Alice (and several other characters such as the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat) through adventures in Wonderland by solving puzzles and manipulating time. The Wii and PC versions are similar, although the DS version is a different take on the game, looking more like a side-scrolling platformer.
Hudson Entertainment's game Deca Sports is now available for the DS. Previously available from Konami for the Wii, one copy of Deca Sports lets up to six DS owners play ten sports, ranging from arm wrestling to rugby.
Ubisoft's game Battle of Giants: Mutant Insects for the DS has shipped to stores. This next game in the Battle of Giants series (Battle of Giants: Dragons shipped in September) has players creating giant mutant insects and battling other mutant insects.
Sega's Sonic Classic Collection for the DS is now in stores in North America. This compilation includes the first four Sonic the Hedgehog games: Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.
Ubisoft has shipped Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic to stores in North America. This World War II submarine simulation involves players in the undersea portion of the conflict's Atlantic theater.
Activision Publishing, part of Activision Blizzard, announced that it plans to form a dedicated business unit for the Call of Duty brand. The idea is that the company can pursue Call of Duty games "with the same focus seen in its Blizzard Entertainment business unit. This will include a focus on high-margin digital online content..." The unit will be led by Philip Earl who previously ran Activision Publishing's Asia-Pacific region.
Sony announced that it has acquired Media Molecule, the developer of Little Big Planet. Media Molecule will continue to develop games for Sony as part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios.
Xseed Games has shipped its title Lunar: Silver Star Harmony for the PSP to stores in North America. This is a reworked version of the classic role-playing game in which a young boy saves the world of Lunar on his quest to become a Dragonmaster.
Atari's game Project Runway, based on the reality television series of the same name, is now in stores for the Wii. The game should be available for the PC next week. The game has players coping with a series of challenges as a designer, competing against personalities from the show.
THQ has released SpongeBob's Boating Bash for the Wii and DS. This SpongeBob-themed family game has players constructing "boat-mobiles" and bashing them into one another as SpongeBob prepares to learn to drive for the 79th time.
Sony's game MLB 10: The Show for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and PSP is now in stores in North America. This latest game in Sony's premier baseball franchise includes the Home Run Derby mode and the ability to transform replays into a single movie to share with friends.
Electronic Arts' game Battlefield: Bad Company 2 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC is now in stores In North America. This latest Battlefield game from DICE offers another adventure with "B" Company on larger, open maps with a wider variety of vehicles.
2K Sports, the sports label of Take-Two Interactive, has placed its game Major League Baseball 2K10 in stores. Available for the Xbox360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, PSP and DS, the game should be available for the PC on March 9. This latest baseball game from Take-Two Interactive offers a $1 million prize for anyone who can document throwing a perfect game within MLB 2K10.
THQ is planning to open a usability lab on the campus of the Guildhall at Southern Methodist University. Led by Dr. Karl Steiner, the facility should open this summer and will be the primary usability test center for all of THQ's titles.
Electronic Arts has shipped the PSP version of Dante's Inferno to stores. Other versions of the game shipped last month. The game is a loose, action-heavy adaptation of a portion of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.
Turbine has launched the latest major update for its massively multiplayer online game Lord of the Rings Online. "Volume III: Allies of the King" begins with "Book 1: Oath of the Rangers," continuing the game's tale. The new plot elements begin in Rivendell, where Elrond must cope with a mysterious message from Galadriel. The update also brings back the Spring Festival (starting March 22) and adds more skirmish missions (including some for two players).
Nintendo has launched a new slate of downloadable games for the Wii and DSi now that another Monday has arrived:
Continue reading Nintendo Releases More Downloadable Games for the Wii and DSi.
