Category: Videogames

Harmonix and MTV Working on The Monkees: Rock Band

How do you follow up an excellent game like The Beatles: Rock Band? With The Monkees: Rock Band of course! In addition to bringing the musical stylings of Davey Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, and Peter Tork, the game has a few new twists that differentiate it from other music games. For example, maraca and tambourine accessories will be used in the game to accurately convey Jones’ contributions to the band.

In today’s press release, Harmonix CEO Alex Popodopoulous said:

You know, I never really liked The Beatles, but everyone at MTV wanted a game based on them. This is the game I wanted to make. Unlike that game with John, Paul, George, and Ringo, I’m interested in the music this time around. Working on a Monkees game is such an honor and such a personal project.

In terms of movies, it’s like when Matt Damon makes a Bourne movie to make the money. That’s The Beatles: Rock Band. Then he makes the fruity-guy-that-plays-golf-and-talks-to-horses movie that he loves. That’s The Monkees: Rock Band.

Here they come…walking down the street!

Update April 2: Yes, this was an April Fools’ Day post.

Final Fantasy VII Confirmed for Fall 2011 for Xbox 360 in Japan

Square Enix finally confirmed the highly anticipated remake for Final Fantasy VII. The game has been in development for about a year and will be released in Fall 2011 for Xbox 360 in Japan. European and North American release dates haven’t been announced. In a prepared statement, superlative producer Tetsuya Nomura said:

We’re tired of hearing about this god damn game. It’s not even that good. Hell, Final Fantasy XIII is way better and white people around the world have been panning it because they don’t know what they’re talking about. Honestly, I’m just working on VII so everyone will shut the hell up about the damn remake.

Pretty crazy, hey?

Update April 2: Yes, this was an April Fools’ Day post.

UFC Undispited 2010 Tutorial Video Featuring Marc Laimon

This excellent UFC Undisputed 2010 tutorial video has MMA coach Marc Laimon and THQ producer Neven Dravinski talking about some of the game’s new features. Topics covered include the new sway system, cage physics, the updated submission system, and more. Check it out!

Coffee Talk #117: What Was Your Favorite Game of Q1 2010?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Shawn Michaels’ awesome farewell speech, Jon Heder bailing on Will Ferrell over creative differences, or N8R’s silence on the Big Ben situation, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

There were so many outstanding games released in the first three months of 2010. It was extraordinary. Best of all, it had something for everyone. Whether you love shooters, action games, RPGs, or sports, there was an excellent game with your name on it in Q1. Today’s Coffee Talk is all about your favorite game of Q1 2010. So kindly take the poll and back up your opinion in the comments section (please)!

[poll id=”33″]

Coffee Talk #116: Don’t Believe the Hype!

No, today’s Coffee Talk is not about Public Enemy. It’s about videogame hype and disappointment. You see, over the weekend I played a lot of Final Fantasy XIII. Obviously, it was one of the most anticipated games in years. Surprisingly, the reactions to the game — from critics and gamers — have been all over the place. Some love it, while others find it incredibly disappointing. I don’t remember the last time a game this big received so many negative reactions.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, whether Shawn Michaels is really retiring, the idiocy of Arthur Abraham, or Big Ben not reporting to the Steelers’ voluntary conditioning camp, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

No, today’s Coffee Talk is not about Public Enemy. It’s about videogame hype and disappointment. You see, over the weekend I played a lot of Final Fantasy XIII. Obviously, it was one of the most anticipated games in years. Surprisingly, the reactions to the game — from critics and gamers — have been all over the place. Some love it, while others find it incredibly disappointing. I don’t remember the last time a game this big received so many negative reactions.

Personally, I don’t understand what all the uproar is about. I’m 13 hours in and I’ve really enjoyed the game. It’s not the best or my favorite Final Fantasy game, but to me FFXIII lives up to the hype. And Reona Rewis completely rules.

Today I wanted to see which “big” games have disappointed you. Do you recall any games with monstrous hype that left you wondering what the hell the big deal was? (In case you were wondering, my choice would be Fable, but this is way more about what you guys and gals think.) Use today’s column as your Monday therapy and rant about over-hyped games that left you flat…or worse.

Final Fantasy IX Coming to PlayStation Network Soon?

With Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII already available on Sony’s PlayStation Network, you’d think that the release of Final Fantasy IX for PSN would be automatic, no? For some reason, Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto had to pitch his bosses on the release. Here’s what he had to say on the Square Enix Members Twitter page as translated by Andriasang:

The presentation went well. The result will come on Friday. Everyone, please pray.

As Hammer said, “You’ve got to pray just to make it today.” Sorry, I don’t know where that came from.

Hopefully Hashimoto was just playing with Final Fantasy fans. I don’t understand why FFIX wouldn’t be released for PSN. Gamers will surely download it. I’m personally looking forward to this one since I never finished the game (for reasons that I don’t remember). While I didn’t care much for Zidane, I was totally fascinated by Vivi and Steiner cracked me up. I’d love to be able to beat the game on my PSP. Hopefully there will be some good news about FFIX on PSN this Friday.

How about you guys and gals? Any interest in downloading FFIX?

Source via Andriasang

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m going to finish up my second run of Dragon Age: Origins Awakening this weekend. After that, I’m going to put it away for a while. As much as I love the expansion pack and want to give it a third shot, I just can’t do it — not until it’s patched. There are too many bugs that bother me. Hopefully a fix will come soon because I really dig the story, characters, and gameplay.

The good news is that I can dive back into Final Fantasy XIII. I’m only six or so hours into the game and I’ve enjoyed it so far. It’s kind of crazy how polarizing FFXIII is — some people absolutely love it and others totally hate it. I’m pretty sure I’m going to end up in the former camp. I already know that it’s not going to be my favorite game in the series, but I’m certain that I’ll be satisfied when the dust settles. I’m also pretty sure I’ll like it better than FFVII (you see what I did there?!?).

As always, I want to know what’s on your weekend playlist.

Fat Princess Patch 1.05 Fixes Bugs and Adds Snowy Maps

Fat Princess players should keep an eye out for patch 1.05, which arrives today and adds a couple of new maps. To help kick off spring, the game is getting two snow-themed maps (what?): Candy Mountain and Frost Bite. Managing producer Deborah Mars listed the following fixes on Sony’s PlayStation Blog:

  • Warrior: Fixed to disallow shield activation when carrying objects, as well as attenuating damage against lava and drowning.
  • Ice Mage: Changed level 1 area attack to slow enemies, not freeze them.
  • Soccer map: Disabled online score saving for this level (sorry, all, but it was too easy to gain rank).

As most of you know, today is the first RPad.tv Uno invitational tournament. If it goes well — and it looks like it will — then Fat Princess will be the next game. I’d love to try out these snowy maps with a bunch of you. If you happen to download the patch today, please let everyone know what you think of Candy Mountain and Frost Bite.

Source

Coffee Talk #114: Your Dream Videogame Team-Up

In the spirit of the old Marvel Team-Up comics, I want to ask you about the videogame team-up of your dreams. There are so many wonderfully talented developers in Asia, Europe, and North America. Maybe you’d like them to collaborate? Or maybe there are characters from different publishers that you’d like to see in the same game? Whatever the case, I want to know what you’re thinking (pure energy).

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, American Idol getting it right last night, why the hell Roy Jones, Jr. is still boxing, or everyone swooning over the HTC Evo 4G even though it won’t be out until the end of the summer, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

In the spirit of the old Marvel Team-Up comics, I want to ask you about the videogame team-up of your dreams. There are so many wonderfully talented developers in Asia, Europe, and North America. Maybe you’d like them to collaborate? Or maybe there are characters from different publishers that you’d like to see in the same game? Whatever the case, I want to know what you’re thinking (pure energy).

As for me, I’d love to see BioWare and Square Enix get together. (It’s not going to happen, but it’s my silly dream so I’m just going to go with it.) I would love a game that combined the gameplay mechanics of Baldur’s Gate or Dragon Age with the art of Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts. A game like that would totally own me.

Now let me know about your videogame team-ups! Perhaps you want a cooperative game with Kratos and Mario? Or maybe Warren Spector designing a game with Tetsuya Nomura directing the art? Dream big people (please)!

GameCrush is Still Broken, Here’s a Video While You’re Waiting

The pimps at GameCrush still haven’t figured out their server situation, leaving their service dead in the water. As I mentioned on Tuesday, GameCrush is a social networking service that allows guys to pay money to play games with girls and girls to make money playing games with guys. It’s either going to be one of the most colossal failures in gaming…or so brilliant that it will take over the industry.

The fact that the company hasn’t obtained more server bandwidth in the last 24 hours is telling. Do you think these guys are for real? Or are they a chop shop running out of some basement? As you debate the merits of this social networking service, be sure to check out the awesome GameCrush promo video posted above.