Inside the development of Sega’s MadWorld

Out of the three games PlatinumGames announced I was most surprised by MadWorld. The noir style, the brutal controls and the extreme amount of gore aren’t common on the Wii. At E3 I watched a demonstration where I saw some of the gestures, but the presentation was terse so there wasn't much to report. To get find out more about MadWorld I spoke with Christopher Kaminski, Associate Producer at Sega.

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Onechanbara R - Bikini Zombie Slayer for North America

I saw Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers at E3, but it was just the Japanese version better known as Onechanbara R. We couldn’t play it either, but I know what to expect: slashing zombies with motion control. I don’t think many people are aware of that Onechanbara R is only a slice of the Onechanbara universe. Aya, the iconic protagonist in a bikini and cowboy hat, and Saki, the vicious looking girl in a school uniform, are the only two playable characters in the Japanese version. However, the Onechanbara series has many more playable characters like Anna who wields a pistol from Onechanbara VorteX and Reiko from The Onechanbara 2.



D3 Publisher is exploring options to see if they can add new characters in Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers which makes sense since Tamsoft has plenty of assets lying around. Nothing has been confirmed at this point, but D3 is also seeing if it’s possible to sneak in enemies and stages not found in the Japanese game. Let’s hope they pull something off.

Source: Siliconera

UK Government Proposes Guidelines For Rating Online Games

Settling the games-rating issues between the games industry and British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), UK government has proposed new set of guidelines to rate games.

The issue was sparked by Dr Tanya Byron’s report about the adverse effects of online content and games on kids, and thus, called for a better rating system for games.

Responding to Byron’s report, BBFC have put forth its own set of rules for rating games; as of now, games are being rated under the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) system.

UK’s culture minister, Margaret Hodge, has announced new set of guidelines for rating games, which include combination of rules from both PEGI and BBFC systems; the government is also planning to establish an independent self-regulating body for the purpose.

“The games market has simply outgrown the classification system, so today we are consulting on options that will make games classification useful and relevant”, Hodge said.

Bowser's Minions Revolt

Mario's enemies aren't happy with their lot in life, and they're going to do something about it.

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Next Call of Duty Penciled In For 2009

You wouldn't be surprised to learn that "an all-new Call of Duty" title will be released in 2009, would you? Good, because that's exactly what's going to happen, according to Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who talked up the next Call of Duty in a post earnings release con call.

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New Nintendo Handheld to Launch by Year's End

We don't know if this is going to be the Nintendo DS 2, but that's the most probable scenario, as Iwata is not very optimistic about new breakthroughs, and the DS touch concept works quite well. On the other side, it could be something that combines the DS with another device.

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Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii - OneClick Wi-Fi Relaunch

Commune, connect and compete as the premiere Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection community relaunches on August 1st with all new ways to play people online.

Registration on the site is easy and free: and once you've signed up, just put in your friend codes for each of your Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection supported games and you'll be able to take advantage of the new matchmaking features. On any page of the site, press the 'Play Now' button and the site will match you up with other gamers online, and open a room with them so you can discuss the game with your fellow players.



If you're looking for somebody to play later, OneClick Wi-Fi has you covered with the in-depth challenges system, ranking your status against other site members on our leaderboards - where getting to the top isn't just about winning against anyone, but who you win against. The Calendar has been improved allowing you to run bigger and better tournaments, so you can prove that you're the best player out there.

It's not all strong competition: as you can be a part of the large community by joining groups, chatting on the new and improved forums, customise your profile (with YouTube, Twitter and Flickr support) and write what you think in your own blog. You can also contribute to the all new Games section, where you can share tips, tricks, screenshots, videos and even write your own reviews about the 150+ Wi-Fi games supported on OneClick.

All of this, with lots of extra tools such as the Decal Designer and Wi-Fi Cards so you can take a slice of your OneClick profile and share it across the web, makes OneClick Wi-Fi a great place to join if you want to play online on your Nintendo DS or Wii, hook up with friends, or just have a bit of fun - just head over to www.oneclickwifi.net today!

OneClick Wi-Fi relaunches on August 1st at 6pm GMT.

TrackMania on the Nintendo DS

The most fun and exciting driving game over the past several years is now heading to the Nintendo DS. Far from a hardcore driving simulation, TrackMania is based on the fun and the spectacular aspects of racing. In TrackMania DS, you will drive at mind-blowing speeds in hi-octane racers on incredible tracks made of jumps, loops, turbo boost pads and many other crazy design elements.


TrackMania DS not only has a fantastic solo campaign with three great game modes and over one hundred original circuits - it also comes with an incredible 3D track editor that allows you to use the stylus to intuitively create your own tracks from hundreds of different design blocks. Players will be able to test and improve their unique creations in real-time and even to share them with one another, giving the game infinite interest and replay value.

All this is illustrated today with a video that shows all the potential of the game and the quality of the adaptation for the Nintendo handheld console.

Published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Firebrand (developers of “Create & Race” for the DS), TrackMania DS is due for release on Nintendo DS at the end of 2008.

The TrackMania Web site
http://www.trackmania.com

Introducing Baby Ninja to Nintendo DS

Introducing Baby Ninja......

"Goo, gah, dribble..."

Wrapped in swaddling ninja robes, this wee Wee Ninja isn't quite old enough to learn the ropes. So for now, this ninja nugget lays around, observing the daily goings on of Ninjatown, burping, gurgling and whatever other things ninja babies like to do when they're not sleeping.
Motto

"Goo, gah, dribble..."

Imperium Romanum Patch 1.03 available & Emperor Expansion Release Date

Kalypso Media today release the 1.03 Patch for the city builder game "Imperium Romanum".

The update includes the maps "Augusta Raurica" and "Secunda" which where included in the previous patches only seperatley and the patch fixes some game bugs.

The official AddOn "Imperium Romanum: Emperor Expansion" will be released on the 29th of August for a recommended retail price of £14,99. The expansion pack includes four new campaigns with four missions each, additional and bigger maps, new tablets with additional speech and newly designed buildings. Also religion and different deities will influence the gameplay.



To download the patch