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UK intelligence organisation places ads on Xbox Live
By Adam Englebright | November 20, 2009
And I thought that the average Xbox Live gamer and intelligence were diametrically opposed. UK intelligence agency GCHQ (it doesn’t appear to stand for anything, but I welcome your guesses) has been putting adverts, like the one pictured, on the Xbox Live dashboard (the Guardian reports). GCHQ answers to David Milliband (the UK’s foreign secretary) and deals with MI5 and MI6 (the British security and secret intelligence services. But it’s easier to say spys.) So, spys (or to be more precise, the advertising agency TMP) are using Xbox live to recruit new members because they “reflected in game-play experiences on Xbox, such as quick thinking, problem solving and team work”. (Insert obvious joke about spys pwning n00bs and teabagging corpses). Apparently, as well as conventional threats, they’re looking for 18-35 year olds (the Xbox’s target demographic) because “GCHQ’s work is also about helping government departments, such as the Ministry of Defence, to protect their information and communication systems.” So, protecting the systems against 1337 h@XX0rz then. I’m not quite sure what to make of this story. My experiences with Xbox live would suggest that the sort of people who congregate there are not the sort you’d want national security to depend on. On the other hand, it might get them out of their mother’s basements.
Pokemon Rumble has spawned a card game
By Joe Fourhman | November 20, 2009
Just in case you thought the Pokemon Trading Card Game’s complexity was prohibitive to younger players, there’s a new easy-play edition on the way that ties directly to recent WiiWare release Pokemon Rumble.
The Pokemon Rumble TCG ($10, coming early December) comes with sixteen cards and plenty of dice and token accessories, bent on simulating Rumble’s Battle Royale mode. The cards are fully compatible with the “regular” Pokemon TCG, but feature artwork done in the cute low-poly style of the Rumble WiiWare game. The thumbnail description (I haven’t seen an actual rulebook yet) makes it sound like a controlled guessing game where you wager which pokemon will survive based on how you roll the dice and what attacks are currently available.
The official Pokemon Rumble website has launched, and it currently offers a fourth code for owners of the WiiWare game. Unbelievably, the code unlocks the ultimate Gen 1 fanbait critter, Mew. The site promises more codes to come soon, including some that must be discovered by playing a matching game.
PS3 Firmware Update 3.10 Up and Live
By Joe Haygood | November 19, 2009
It is always a nice surprise to log into your PS3 and see that there is a new update for your machine. I was unaware that a new firmware update was coming to the PS3, but it seems that the 3.10 update has been in the works for a little while now. So far, I do not see much change in the interface, save that I can change the background of my display card that others will see in their friends list. Also, it now tiles up pictures, according to the notes, but I had no pictures on the system to see if this was true.
Another item that I cannot verify is Facebook integration. I have read on several other sites that there is some basic Facebook integration, but I could not find it anywhere.
If you want the latest firmware, just head to the System Update selection under the Settings section of the XMB. It is a small update, and took about 15 minutes max to download and install.
The Final Installment of Tales of Monkey Island Coming Dec. 8th
By Joe Haygood | November 19, 2009
Telltale Games announced today, that the final chapter in the Tales of Monkey Island series will release next month on December 8th. The episode will be entitled “Rise of the Pirate God” and will follow up on the events that were presented in the previous episode.
It seems that there are reports everywhere that the heralded pirate, Guybrush Threepwood is dead, and more innuendo followed that speculated on the reformed pirate, LeChuck having a hand in the evil-doing. Confused. Well, if so, head over to Telltale Games, where you can pick up each individually wrapped episoded for $8.95.
Check the jump for the highly amusing press release.
Spend 2010 playing the WiiWare versions of the entire Phoenix Wright library
By Joe Fourhman | November 18, 2009
Although once an only-in-Japan punchline (WTF LAWYER GAME?!?!?), Phoenix Wright has become fairly ubiquitous here in the West. Even as the Ace Attorney DS series passed the lawyering torch off to Apollo Justice, Phoenix still seems to hold the giant OBJECTION finger of our hearts.
Today Capcom announced that the three Phoenix Wright DS games will arrive on WiiWare next year. January will see the four-chapter “Ace Attorney” for 1000 points, plus you have the option of getting the fifth AA chapter for another 100. “Justice for All” appears in March, and “Trials and Tribulations” is scheduled for May.
We’ve talked about this on the podcast once of twice, about Phoenix Wright being an odd little beast. A tad too trial-and-errory for me; a little too nonsensical for Haygood. But at $10, you could do a whole lot worse. Given that this series is much-loved on DS (and remember that the DS releases were ports of popular Japanese GBA originals), I’d say we’re getting a pretty ripe plum for WiiWare.
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii, WiiWare | Comments
Enjoy this article? You may also like:Kane and Lynch 2 Confirmed
By Adam Englebright | November 18, 2009
I/O Interactive, part of Square Enix Europe (or Eidos, as it used to be called) has formally announced what some had suspected – there will be a Kane and Lynch 2. Subtitled Dog Days, the game will apparently “take players on an even more intense story experience, following two of gaming’s most disturbed criminals, through the gritty Shanghai underworld.” We don’t have a great deal of information, but apparently the game was “inspired by documentary filmmakers and the user-generated era,” they say. “Every aspect of the game has been designed to deliver a fresh perspective to the words ‘intensity’ and ‘realism’ in video games.” However, I suspect the question on everyone’s lips is: Will this game get Jeff Gerstmann fired from Giant Bomb? Hit the break for the spin!
Latest Comment
ShaneW @ 2009-11-20 06:23:46Yeah great idea, poorly executed, I agree. It looked great when I first saw the videos and read about it, then came the gameplay... More..
Topics: Uncategorized | Comments
Enjoy this article? You may also like:Pandemic Studios to Close Today
By Joe Haygood | November 17, 2009
The folks over at Kotaku are reporting that Pandemic Studios will be shut down as of today at 11AM Pacific Standard Time.
This is not the first that we have heard about this, as the recent EA layoffs had the rumor that Pandemic Studios and other divisions would either be shutdown or reduced in staff. However, it was surprising at the timing of this closure, as Pandemic was readying their newest title, The Saboteur. Why you would shut down a developer less than 20 days away from the release of their new title, seems questionable at best.
More importantly, what does this tell the community about The Saboteur. Will Electronic Arts look to support this title beyond its release? I would look at it as a vote of no confidence in the title from EA, and that those that buy it will never see much beyond its release to retail. That is the thing that really upsets me, as Pandemic was trying to do something different with the World War II era, by having you as a covert operative, and with the coloring of the city, all of it was looking amazing. Now we as gamers, are faced with a title that looks to never expand beyond its current state of development.
Latest Comment
mclazyj @ 2009-11-19 11:41:07I loved Saints Row 2, to the point where I enjoyed it more than GTA IV. The customizations were great, and the missions were a lot more interesting.
I liked that The Saboteur was trying to do something different in the World War II space, and it sucks, because now I figure it must be a throwaway title from EA. More..
Ready to Skate in Your Living Room – Tony Hawk: Ride Hopes So
By Joe Haygood | November 17, 2009Well, in case you have been living under a rock, you may have heard of a new game called Tony Hawk: Ride. Not content with just having you controller a skater via a controller, Activision has upped the ante with a new skateboard peripheral. Full of sensors and gyroscopes, the new Skateboard controller allows you to interact with Tony Hawk: Ride in all new ways.
I think that all the analysts and game companies are going to be watching this release to see how it does, kind of as a barometer for the future of plastic peripheral based games. So far, we have watched as DJ Hero has debuted to less than stellar sales, and Tony Hawk: Ride could be the nail in the proverbial coffin if it does not sell extremely well. Word of advice to Tony Hawk – find out how to buy out your contract and hit up the guys working on the skate. franchise at EA. It is what your games use to be oh so long ago.
Latest Comment
mclazyj @ 2009-11-17 08:29:53What store wants to take on the insurance risk of having someone breaking a leg on this thing. More..
Topics: Nintendo Wii, PS3, XBOX 360 | Comments
Enjoy this article? You may also like:New Xbox Live Dashboard is Ready For Download
By Joe Haygood | November 17, 2009After a long preview period, the Xbox Live Dashoard Update is posted up for everyone to download. When you sign into your profile, you will be asked to perform an update to the console.
The update brings the social interaction features that were ballyhooed at this year’s Microsoft E3 press event. You will now be able to twitter from your console, check out your Facebook friends, listen to some music via Last.fm and of course, stream movies instantly at 1080p via the Zone HD marketplace.
If you are curious about what is in this new Dashboard update, take a look at our preview of all of the new features. And sorry folks, no Mafia Wars, Vampire Wars or Farmville are available via the new dashboard update.
Latest Comment
ShaneW @ 2009-11-20 06:26:50Not for us Canadians, we don't get it because of the absolutely retarded laws CRTC puts out. That's the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission. We do get the Facebook and Twitter update, but those are available as a separate download within Live, like you're downloading a demo or something. More..
Pokemon Rumble already making with the free code giveaways
By Joe Fourhman | November 17, 2009
It was a little buried by all the excitement over WiiWare demos yesterday, but Pokemon Rumble has some surprises of its own. The new WiiWare game allows unlockable pokemon via code, and two releases are already available.
One was mentioned in the weekly Nintendo Download press release. If you buy the game and have synced your Club Nintendo account, you will get an email in about a week with a secret code. Nintendo has the details here. They don’t say exactly what the code unlocks, but there’s a picture of a Charizard. So I’m thinking Charizard. This offer expires next April.
Note that Nintendo’s info page at this writing still thinks Pokemon Rumble is only 1000 Wii Points. It’s actually 1500. I smell a last-minute price hike.
The second code can be found by watching this week’s edition of Nintendo Week via the Wii’s Nintendo Channel. Host Alison has a Rumble interview and the guest reveals the eight digit code that will net you a Blastoise. Following the trend here of Final Evolutions of Gen 1 Starters, I’m going to guess that a Venusaur will be made available through Nintendo Power or wherever.
Pokemon Rumble features the entire original cast of 150 Pokemon, but it seems plain that the hooks are there to add in the remaining 330+. It just remains to be seen how Nintendo will add those guys in and what it will cost.
Incidentally, the game is pretty much Li’l Diablo.
Latest Comment
Joe Fourhman @ 2009-11-18 18:38:59And the Holiday 2009 issue of Nintendo Power does indeed have a code in it to unlock a free Venusaur. KABOOM. I AM THE POKEMANS MASTA. More..
Topics: Nintendo, Nintendo Wii, WiiWare | Comments
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