CID THE DUMMY FACT SHEET

Format: PSP/PS2/Wii/PC/DS
Launch Date: Q2, 2008
ESRB: TBD
PEGI: TBD
Game Type: Action Platformer
Publisher: Oxygen Int. (Wii,PSP,PS2,PC,DS) - Playten (Russian Territories PC version only)
Developer: Twelve Interactive
Technology: Vicious Engine (Wii,PSP,Ps2,PC) Xproton (DS)

KEY INFORMATION/FEATURES

A star is born and he's made to last. CID THE DUMMY makes his debut in Twelve Interactive's first multi-platform production. It's an all-new action platformer that is sure to grab you with its enjoyable, fun gameplay, featuring a totally original character with charisma and moves, different fighting styles with which to battle enemies from unarmed combat to weapons like the Bazooka that can freeze, hit and burn.

• Interact as only a crash dummy can. Climb walls, swing on ropes, burn obstacles, destroy exploding barrels, use lifters, bounce on springs and with a neat head butt destroy walls all in stunningly realized environments. Game environment interaction is the most important part of the gameplay.
• CID's world is swarming with a host of fearfully fun enemies like the Dumper, Cursed Dummy and the bizarre Failed Experiment.
• Apart from fighting enemies, the player will enjoy solving puzzles, avoiding traps and using acrobatic skills to get out of dangerous situations!

Game Storyline

The game is set in a near-future version of our planet where litigiousness and refusal to accept responsibility have grown to such an extent that the lowly Crash Impact Dummy has risen to a position of unrivalled importance, employed in an almost endless barrage of safety tests. Professor B.M. Werken and D-Troit saw the gap in the market and opened their own hugely successful Crash Impact Dummy manufacturing plant.

When Professor B.M. Werken tries vainly to regain his lost daughter through the creation of M.I.A. (a state of the art Crash Impact Dummy imbued with his daughter's essence) and D-Troit turns Evil life gets more complicated.

Fast forward to the present day. The Evil D-Troit has kidnapped M.I.A. and the Professor is desperate to get her back. In his hour of need he turns to one of his trusty Crash Impact Dummies, CID is chosen at random to go on the against-all-odds mission to save M.I.A. He's heard rumours that she’s the most beautiful girl in the world and ... given the chance to rescue her? That’d show something, right? It’d show that a mere Crash Impact Dummy, a nobody, a guy stuck in a job that he hates through no choice of his own - it’d show that he really can be something, right? Wrong. Just doesn’t have the kahonas to take a chance. Until, that is, the Professor fits CID with his latest development in Crash Impact Cyberemotics: the ESS. The ESS gives CID basic emotions - it gives him hopes, dreams, self-confidence. You name it, CID’s got it. And, thus armed, he goes forth to rescue M.I.A.

Special powers,weapons,moves and features

The game mechanics of CID THE DUMMY are largely based on classic action gameplay. CID can jump, fight, climb ladders, bounce on springs and bumpers, use stealth mode to creep, flip-jump walls and swim underwater. He'll need to in a world where there are obstacles like, dangerous prickles, swinging trunks or blades, exploding barrels, acid spits and flames, robot fish and exploding mines. But he wouldn't be the hero he is without his Bazooka. Depending on the enemy he can choose the ammo: Freeze, Flame or Rubber Bullet them out of his way to a sticky but never gory end.

Finally in panic situations when the going gets tough he can use the SPECIAL BLOW which creates a Shockwave explosion that destroys everything around him.

Variety in the action and gameplay guarantees hours of fun for players of all ages. Gameplay features have been introduced to help make CID THE DUMMY a more recognizable and unique character and to better implement the crash test dummy theme, we have introduced simple but fun to use devices that underline the ‘crash test dummy’ essence of our hero. And finally what self-respecting crash dummy would be complete without the ... ... CRASH TESTS!

There are three Crash Test levels (one in PS2, plus 2 Extra levels on PSP) in which the player drives a super-modded vintage Italian car, trying to reach maximum speed in order to destroy all the five walls during the crash test! These are bonus levels that are great fun and give the player the chance to earn bonuses and special gifts.

NEW TRAILER FOR NARUTO: NINJA DESTINY UNLEASHED

TOMY Corporation and D3Publisher of America, Inc. have released a kickin' new trailer for NARUTO: Ninja Destiny for the Nintendo DSTM handheld system. Available to download and view now, this trailer showcases Rock Lee and Gaara squaring off in a one-on-one fight, while demonstrating the intuitive touch-screen gameplay unique to the DS. NARUTO: Ninja Destiny is expected ship to retail stores nationwide on February 26, 2008.

Players can soon take their ninja battles on the road with NARUTO: Ninja Destiny, the first 3D head-to-head NARUTO fighter for the Nintendo DS. Any aspiring ninja can unleash powerful jutsu and take advantage of items to brawl his way to victory against 16 different characters. Dual-screen combat will allow fierce battles to unfold on the top screen while special power ups can be strategically unleashed on the touch screen for fast, frenetic action. Core fighting game fans and casual gamers alike will find plenty to enjoy, thanks to a combo move system that is both intuitive to pick-up and challenging to master. With new characters, stages, and a much-improved frame rate, NARUTO: Ninja Destiny offers new content over the original Japanese version while offering a slew of popular gameplay options like the intense single-player story mode, versus, and wireless two-player battles.

Download the new trailer by visiting www.kohnkecomm.com/dl/d3/ninjadestiny-exclusive.zip

Deep Silver publishes X³: Terran Conflict

Computer games developer Egosoft and Koch Media, a leading distributor of games and application software, today announced the conclusion of an exclusive publishing and distribution agreement for the title X³: Terran Conflict. The contract covers the worldwide rights (excl. USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean). X³: Terran Conflict will be released under the Deep Silver label.

"The X series has always been one of our top quality brands, and an integral part of the Deep Silver portfolio," states Craig McNicol, Managing Director of Koch Media. "So we are very happy to be presenting the gripping next installment of the X universe's story in X³: Terran Conflict."

"We look forward to adding another successful chapter to the X story, together with Koch Media," says Bernd Lehahn, Managing Director of Egosoft.

X³: Terran Conflict is a brand new, stand-alone game set in the universe of X³. It is the culmination of the X trilogy, with a grand finale that takes us all the way back to Earth's own solar system. Gamers can take on the roles of different characters in the X universe, or of a Terran military pilot, and experience a multitude of stories in the largest X universe ever featured – for X³: Terran Conflict will offer more missions than any other X game before. Meanwhile, X³: Terran Conflict will pose questions such as: How has Earth changed in all these years? And how will relations between Earth and its counterparts in the X universe develop?

X³: Terran Conflict is scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2008.

EMPIRE INTERACTIVE ANNOUNCES FLATOUT ULTIMATE CARNAGE FOR PC

Empire Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of Silverstar holdings announces that the PC-DVD ROM version of the best selling arcade racer FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is currently in development and is due for release in June 2008.

The FlatOut series has enjoyed global success on multiple formats, selling over 2 million copies and winning numerous awards in the process, with FlatOut 2 being named Xbox ‘Best Racing Game of 2006’. FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for Xbox 360™ was released to critical acclaim in June 2007 and now award-winning Finnish studio and creators of FlatOut, Bugbear Entertainment, are currently developing FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for PC.

While simulation racers have traditionally found their home on PCs, FlatOut Ultimate Carnage blurs the line between arcade and simulation, offering PC gamers a “Deathproof” experience with carnage gameplay modes and enhanced graphics to rival the Xbox 360™ version. Multiplayer online provides wheel-to-wheel action as opponents try to fishtail other cars and get across the finish line in a ‘no holds barred’ extreme driving smash fest.

Ian Higgins, CEO of Empire Interactive commented, “We are very excited about bringing FlatOut Ultimate Carnage to PC gamers. Research suggests that arcade racers are becoming ever more popular on the PC, with the Xbox 360 controller providing the perfect way to enjoy the genre. Ultimate Carnage is an entirely new prospect for PC and we’re excited to be bringing FlatOut’s unique gameplay experience to PC gamers everywhere.”

Clive Kabatznik, CEO of Silverstar Holdings added, “The FlatOut series has been a global success story for Empire and we are delighted that Ultimate Carnage will now be made available to PC gamers. With over 2 million sales globally the FlatOut franchise is an important part of the Empire portfolio and we are sure that the FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for PC will only add to the ongoing success and bring new fans to the title.”

Jussi Laakkonen, Business Development Director of Bugbear Entertainment noted, “We’ve witnessed fanatical anticipation and demand for FlatOut Ultimate Carnage to be released on PC ever since we announced the Xbox 360 release. It gives us great pleasure to be finally providing what FlatOut fans have long been clamouring for!”

FlatOut Ultimate Carnage for PC launches globally in June 2008.
The next instalment in the franchise, FlatOut Head On for the Sony PSP, is due for release on 14th March 2008.

Dekaron

Great news for you, merciless PvP players: GameTribe will launch the European Closed Beta of the famous MMO DEKARON on Feb. 22nd!

Limited access is available, so run to GameTribe and register: do not miss the opportunity to fight for the DEKARON resistance army. We’ll send an email to all the lucky players that will be extracted!

Dekaron is a fusion-fantasy 3D MMORPG set in a Middle Ages based scenery. Its realistic environment and explosive adventure make this extraordinary game much like watching a fast-paced action movie. You must journey into this magical world with hundreds of other adventurers and explore perilous dungeons and fantastical cities in the world of Trieste.

No mercy for the weak: Dekaron is pure survival!

The game already has localized versions for the Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese and Chinese markets. The English version dedicated to the North American market by Acclaim is under the “Two Moons” title.

Register to Gametribe.com and get a change to be selected for the Dekaron European beta test !

www.gametribe.com
Time to Play!

About Dekaron

• Genre: 3D MMORPG
• Developers: GAMEHI
• Plus:
– Mix between a RPG and Action Adventure game styles
• Features:
– Realistic Combat System
– Dynamic Battle Included in Combo System
– Advanced Artificial intelligence
– Realistic 3D graphics

TwelveJ Acting Up for Developers

TwelveJ, the games industry leader in bespoke learning programmes for development studios today announces a workshop entitled 'Acting for Animators' hosted by world renowned expert Ed Hooks.

In 'Acting for Animators', Ed explains seven essential acting principles, focusing on the connections between thinking, emotion and physical movement. He discusses the importance of empathy in acting and tells how to achieve it in animation.

Kumar Jacob, founder and managing director of TwelveJ said, "In addition to the two exclusive workshops that Ed is hosting for SCEE, we've added this extra date for progressive developers who recognize the value of continual training of their staff. There's no room for complacency in today's competitive development environment. The workshop will be informative and inspirational."

TwelveJ's 'Acting for Animators' workshop will take place on February 13th in London with delegates from Media Molecule, Relentless and Black Rock Studio already booked to attend.

About the Workshop:

Acting For Animators involves group improvisations, lecture on acting theory and deconstruction of scenes from live-action and animated films. The basic thrust of Acting For Animators is an examination of the correlation between thinking, emotion and physical action. Content will include:

• The psychology of physical movement. (Movement is a result of thought, emotion.)
• Negotiations within a scene, value of conflict.
• Playing Actions, Pursuing Objectives.
• Character Analysis
• Status Transactions
• Empathy - what it is, why it's important, how to get it
• Psychological gestures
• Clips from Charlie Chaplin

GDAA To Host Australian Games Industry Business Networking Session At GDC 08 (San Francisco)

GDAA will be hosting a private invitation only Australian Games Industry Business Networking Event in conjunction with Austrade on 21st February during the GDC conference and expo in San Francisco. This will be a major marketing event for the export focused game developers in Australia.

“We are limiting the invitation to around 50 – 60 key CEOs and decision-makers (publishers, investors, game developers etc) to the event at which real business can be conducted in relaxed and corporate environment” said Greg Bondar, CEO of the GDAA.

Australian Game Developers will be showcasing their capabilities at the business session.

“GDC is a world class event and an important event on the Australian game developers’ calendar and GDAA will be making the point to all international investors, publishers and game developers that making games is a serious business in Australia” added Greg Bondar.

Australian game developers offer the following benefits to potential business partners:
Over 40 world class game developers
Developing games for over 25 years
More than 300 titles
Fresh creative talent
Huge skills base
State of the art infrastructure
Critical mass of complementary industries
A base for global companies
Open for business 24/7
The Business Networking Session is by Invitation Only and anyone interested in further details and/or in attending should contact the GDAA.

The event will also see key Australian Government Officials in attendance including the Australian Consul General

Hell-tech signs Overclocked...

hell-tech, the leading Greek Adventure-Publisher, has announced that it has secured the publishing rights to critically acclaimed PC-based, Adventure “Overclocked” developed by House of Tales Entertainment GmbH. The agreement has been signed with the leading German Adventure-Publisher dtp Entertainment AG.

Find out more about Overclocked on www.overclocked-game.com

ABOUT Overclocked:
The psychiatrist David McNamara, who has been afflicted by inexplicable choleric attacks since performing duties as a US Army combat psychiatrist, and is continually racked by crises in his marriage, is called to New York as a specialist for forensic psychiatry.

At Staten Island Hospital for Forensic Psychiatric Services, he is entrusted with investigating the cases of five teenagers. Each has been found wandering scared, screaming, disoriented and alone through the city. All of them are suffering from amnesia. Dave begins to delve into the past memories of each of them and makes horrendous discoveries at the same time. His discoveries do not just concern the fate of the five, but his own as well…

FEATURES:

- Several Player controlled characters allow the player to experience the story from
different viewpoints
- Innovative storytelling techniques create a unique gameplay experience
- Fluid character movements and an advanced facial animation system bring the
characters to life
- Achieves cinematic presentation by use of camera techniques pioneered by feature
films
- Icon based dialogue system
- Complex yet intuitive interface
- Dynamic realtime shadows
- Atmospheric real-time particle effects (rain, snow, lightning)

hell-tech will release “Overclocked” in 2008 in Greece and South Africa.

Qube Software unveils 'Q'

Servan Keondjian and Doug Rabson, the software pioneers who created Reality Lab and Direct3D, are to launch their 'future generation' middleware, 'Q', at GDC this month (Feb 18-22). http://www.gdconf.com/

Until now Q has only been available to close partners of Qube, the company Keondjian and Rabson set up after leaving Microsoft. The pair believes that the technology will give the sector a badly needed shake up.

"Everything we learnt from building Direct3D and Reality Lab has been put into Q," said Qube's CEO, Keondjian.

Qube has designed and built Q to provide a consistent software framework for development studios, across multiple titles and target hardware ranging from previous generation consoles to top of the range DX10 PCs.

"We've designed and built Q to be fast and compact enough for last generation devices, at the same time it rocks on ALL the current generation of platforms and on hi spec gaming PCs, and it positions us well for next generation mobile devices," Keondjian said. "It's a solution that works for every genre; RPG, MMO, FPS, racing, sports, action and even the latest stars like rhythm action games."

"Q is purpose built for developers to give them a full range of tools combined with maximum freedom, maximum flexibility and maximum control," said Keondjian. "Q isn't a by-product of a game in the way that engines have been spun off from games like Unreal or Crysis are, nor is it just a low-level renderer where you have to build everything else for yourself from scratch."

Qube's CTO, Doug Rabson, says that one of Q's key goals was to tackle one of middleware's big problems; that all too often, middleware gets in the way of a developer getting the hardware to do what they want.

"We don't see any reason why middleware shouldn't provide low-level and high-level components, while still allowing complete control over the hardware," Rabson said.

"We believe we have solved this problem with Q through our plug-in framework architecture. What seems to have really impressed our partner developers during beta testing is that they can use it for multiple projects sharing framework code across all in-house games."

Q provides genre-independent core technology plug-ins for game development, whilst allowing developers full freedom to extend and specialize wherever necessary. The core plug-in set includes cutting edge features such as:

• support for arbitrary scene rendering algorithms
• support for programmable shaders
• background data streaming
• texture manager capable of handling scenes with many gigabytes of texture visible on screen
• cross-platform data format
• n-dimensional animation blending
• background work queue
• 3D editor which allows both core and custom plug-ins to run live inside the editing environment.
Keondjian set himself the goal of creating middleware that puts the developer in charge and to that end Qube actively encourages studios to both build plug-ins and licence those they create. Keondjian and Rabson anticipate the significant growth of a market in third party plug-ins for Q.

"Above all, the most important lesson we learnt was about freeing the developer to add their own features. Traditional middleware can often cause more problems for studios than it solves. In particular, the problems associated with adding custom features to a large external codebase can be crippling when new releases of the middleware arrive." Keondjian warns. "Q has solved that problem," he said.

"What some of our competitors are offering is a Betty Crocker cake mix solution," said Jamie Fowlston, Q's Program Manager.

"You buy the box, you mix it together and you get a cake just like the one Betty Crocker made earlier. Other middleware providers meanwhile are just selling a plain bag of flour. You've got to do absolutely everything else yourself."

"But in our experience developers aren't the tech equivalents of mum and dad turning out predictable goodies for a kids' party," Fowlston said. "They're more like master chefs. They know how to put ingredients together to make something new, completely different and, as often as not, something quite wonderful."

"But what Q offers is a range of the finest middleware ingredients known to mankind. Qube wants studios to pick and choose from our ingredients, to add their own, and to make the whole uniquely theirs by using the professional skills that most other middleware solutions don't allow them to bring to bear," Fowlston added.

"Q unlocks the genius of independent studios. It doesn't box them in."

The Qube team will be in the Strategy Room on the 3rd Floor of the W Hotel adjacent to the GDC venue on Feb 20 and 22 and on the ATI stand throughout the show.

YoYoGames.com launches $1750 indie development competition

Hot on the heels of their inaugural developers’ contest YoYo Games has announced its next major community competition:

The challenge is to create a "casual" game at least loosely employing "ancient civilization" as a central theme. The winning titles stand to win $1,750 between them and, naturally, community kudos. The developers have been given until the 27th of April, 2008, to submit their projects.

“We’re very excited about the next competition" said Sandy Duncan, CEO, YoYo Games, "The originality and depth of gameplay achieved by the developers for the winter competition games demonstrates the power of GML as a language for online casual gaming, and suggests our community formula is already starting to pay off. We see this next competition as an opportunity for the community to flex their programming muscles”

At the beginning of January YoYo announced their 10,000th game, that figure has now climbed to over 12,000, a significant community achievement by any standard. Moreover, as well as a large and rapidly growing games library, YoYo have the world’s largest developer community with 75,000 registered indie developers from all over the world, ranging in age from 8 to 80. What they all have in common is a passion for the “Game Maker” software, owned by YoYo games and developed originally by YoYo co-founder Professor Mark Overmars.

YoYo Games is providing young independent developers with the necessary tools and platform to create the games they want to play, and perhaps more importantly with an audience to play them.
This service can be provided free of charge because the relationship between YoYo and its developers is symbiotic. The developers gain much needed publicity and the site benefits from a wealth of user-generated content which differentiates it from other casual gaming sites out there. Such a model is bound to encourage innovation without the traditional constraints of an “owned” title. The bumper crop of winter competition games supports this idea.

About YoYoGames.com

YoYo Games Ltd is a UK Based Game Start up founded by Game industry veterans, Sandy Duncan and Michel Cassius. YoYo Games launched its beta site in May 2007 and has grown to be the world’s largest user generated game site. Employing a web 2.0 community model YoYo Games allows users to “Play, Make and Share games” for free.

You can visit YYG at www.YoYoGames.com

Super Smash Bros. shortages

Less than a quarter of software delivered says retailer

Two popular import retailers have warned consumers that Nintendo Japan is struggling to fulfil day-one pre-orders for the highly anticipated Wii title Super Smash Bros. Brawl, due for release in the region tomorrow (Jan 31).

The game is likely to be one of the biggest first-party Nintendo titles released this year – excitement is high from Nintendo's loyal fanbase following a perfect 10 score from respected Japanese magazine Famitsu.

"Please note that Nintendo has badly cut pre-orders placed by all distributors and is only shipping very limited quantities into the market this week," states Play Asia on its website.

"Our first shipment of Super Smash Bros. Brawl has reached us today, only covering about 15 per cent of all pre-orders that we have received," added the importer.

National Console Support says the troubles are more likely a delay than a shortage, and initial supplies should be topped up over the coming week.

"Our initial shipments of Smash Bros. are scheduled to arrive on Thursday of this week. We were able to obtain more copies than we originally expected after receiving the bad news from suppliers on Sunday night," reports the company.

"Some of our suppliers in Hong Kong won't be getting any copies until this weekend which makes it more of a delay than an actual shortage," it continued. "We also note that most of our Japanese vendors will receive the bulk of their supplies on February 2 and February 4 which is a few days later than the official street date."

The title has already been delayed in the US, where it is due for release on March 9, and a European release is currently pencilled in for the second quarter.

EA extends online portion of Burnout Paradise demo

Servers will remain functional until February 15

Electronic Arts has decided to extend the online mutiplayer portion of the Burnout Paradise demo.

Earlier this week, EA indicated that it would be switching multiplayer off as of February 1 "in order to enable the best possible experience for gamers who have purchased Burnout Paradise." The company then urged players to buy the full game.

An EA spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz that they have extended the deadline by two weeks, and will now be switching off the servers on February 15 instead.

"As you may know, Burnout Paradise is built to provide the ultimate in freedom and discovery online and offline. The demo did a terrific job of providing players a taste of that.

"Seeing how the social online multiplayer gameplay is such a huge part of Burnout Paradise, we've decided to keep the multiplayer demo functionality on for a bit longer," the spokesperson said.

Wii Fit No 1 in Japan for week number four

Over 1.2 million units sold since release

Nintendo's Wii Fit is the best-selling console game in Japan for the fourth week running.

The game has sold an estimated 1,283,000 units since it was released on December 1, 2007.

According to data from Media Create, the highest new entry in the Japanese charts for the week ended Jan 27 is Konami's World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 for the PSP, at number two.

The full top ten for Japan follows:

1. Wii Fit (Nintendo) – Wii

2. World Soccer Winning Eleven: Ubiquitous Evolution 2008 (Konami) – PSP

3. Lucky Star: Misasagi Sakura Gakuen Sakura Fuji Festival (Kadakawa Shoten) – PS2

4. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo) – Wii

5. Wii Sports (Nintendo) – Wii

6. Mario Party DS (Nintendo) – DS

7. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd (Capcom) – PSP

8. Doraemon Baseball: Dramatic Stadium (Bandai Namco) – DS

9. Yggdra Union (Sting) – PSP

10. Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (Level 5) – DS

4cr First Impressions: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

First of all I want to state that this post is not meant to rub it in that this game was delayed in the rest of the world. I am not talking about it to brag or gloat, but to tell you that when it does come out in your area of the world, your patience will be rewarded. It is worth the wait. And shockingly it lives up to the amazing amounts of hype people have been giving it. Read on for more first impressions (spoiler free).

Call me a pessimist if you want, but I came into this game expecting to be disappointed. It’s not that I didn’t think Brawl would be a great game, I mean if all it was, was a roster update of Melee it would still be a wonderful game. It’s just that the amount of hype and anticipation this game received was (I thought) building up for a massive letdown.

It wouldn’t be the first time. Look at titles like Halo 3, Final Fantasy VIII, Twilight Princess, and any other heavily anticipated games. They usually turn out to be wonderful, classic titles, but compared to the months/years of speculation and hype, they can never fully climb to the top of the pedestal their fans placed them on pre-release.

So I was prepared to have a good time, but not to actually encounter a game that is as good (or better) as I hoped it would be. Masahiro Sakurai is an evil genius. A genius in the fact that he delivers a game with beautiful graphics and, as far as I can tell, extremely balanced gameplay. He is evil because for the first time in years I stayed up until 5:00am on a work night playing his amazing game. Now I sit here exhausted and probably getting a bit sick, but I know that rather than take a nap, as soon as I have a free moment I will be back to the game.

I put a good 6 hours into the game yesterday (I started late) and I believe that I haven’t even scratched the surface of Smash Bros. Brawl. I haven’t tried out most of the play modes, didn’t try the level editor, didn’t go online and only got to about the 10% point on the “Subspace Emissary” adventure mode. It hasn’t been my goal to unlock characters or collect trophies (though I definitely will do that later for my full review). Right now I am just enjoying the game. I chose characters and stages randomly and I loved all the surprises I found.

The battles are very much like those found in Melee so veteran players will be right at home. The inclusion of the smash ball leads to some new strategy though. Trying to activate a Final Smash and avoid being hit by another players Final Smash. The backgrounds are exciting and the stages have amazing variety. Pro players will once again have to both master their choice of characters and learn the ins and outs of the games stages.

As for the graphics the game is one of the best-looking Wii titles right now. The characters and backgrounds are colorful and detailed. The animations are smooth and the special effects are wonderfully flashy. It’s not as big of a leap in graphics as Smash Bros. 64 to Smash Bros. Melee, but it is definitely a good-looking title.

I have tried controlling the game with the Wii remote alone, the Wii remote/nunchuck combo and the GameCube controller. Of these, so far I like the GameCube controller the best, but that might be because that is what I am used to using for Melee. This weekend I am going to pick up a Classic Controller and give that a try. I’m inviting some friends over so I am also looking forward to experiencing the multiplayer in full.

The music in this game is fantastic and there are so many songs! I really can’t believe the amount of music in this game. 36 composers worked on the games soundtrack and I have heard it reported that there are literally hundreds of songs to be heard. The developers went totally overboard with the music, but actually they went overboard with everything.

The amount of game content is almost overwhelming. There are so many things, to unlock, collect, play with, customize that I think it will take me weeks just to play with everything much less master the game. And with the added bonus of online play this game could keep a gamer entertained for hundreds of hours. It is probably the best value for your money of any Wii title.

Just the added-on adventure mode really could have been a stand alone game by itself. It has a great (though slightly simple) story, beautiful cut-scenes and fun “beat ‘em up” gameplay. It felt like a classic 2D game and I wish more games of this type were being made for consoles. The only negative I found was that the Smash Bros. characters don’t jump the same way most platform game characters do. I found my jumps landing places I didn’t want them to (like bottomless pits). However, the more I played the more I got used to it. By the end of the game I am sure it will become second nature. For someone who loves side-scrollers this mode alone is with the price of the game.

I realize that saying all of this is not going to make your wait any easier. But I want to assure you that when you finally do get this game into your hands you will realize that as much as we would have loved to have it last year, the amount of extra effort put into this title has paid off. I hope you can take comfort in the fact that the game you eventually buy will be worth the agony some of you are going through. Miyamoto once said, “A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever”. In this case, the repeatedly delayed Smash Brothers Brawl could be the next Nintendo Masterpiece.
______________________________________________

Thanks to Vinnk on 4CR for the article.

Indie Games - Barkley, Shutup and Jam: Gaiden

While you and I and the rest of the western world dredge through the next painful month waiting for Brawl to finally make its way across the ocean, may I be fortunate enough to present to you this shining beacon of hope during these dark times. Barkley, Shutup and Jam: Gaiden (Episode 1 of the Hoopz Barkley Saga) is a superb example of good ole’ 2D RPG gaming. No, I’m really not kidding, and after playing it I bet you’ll feel the same way.

I can’t begin to describe the awesomeness that is this game. It plays like a mix of Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and a little Earthbound. The story, though focused largely on B-Ball, is accessible and hilarious to even those who know nothing about the sport (me). Add a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world, some fun side quests, and an all around enjoyable experience, and you have the groundwork for what could be one of the most epic sagas in indie gaming history.

Oh, and the theme for Space Jam is the title menu music. As if you needed another reason to play this game.

Barkley, Shutup and Jam: Gaiden

Source: 4CR

Wii will race to the End of Resident Evil for charity

The gaming marathon mad folks over at cameronbanga.com (aka Four48) have issued a challenge in their latest charity driven attempt.

They will be competing with seven other teams from around the world to see who can reach the end of Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition first. Currently, two teams have dropped out leaving six left to slaughter their way through the zombie hordes.

You can make your donations (which will go to Child's Play) on their website as well as follow the multiple teams' progress via live streaming video.

Source: Kotaku

$500,000 for Video Game Voice-Overs

For a time, indescribably horrific voice acting was a hallmark of video games. However, with the game industry now pulling in nearly $18 billion a year in the US alone, publishers and developers have learned that it takes some solid investment in talented people to make the voice acting in video games not only professional but enjoyable from a gamer’s point of view.
Renowned actors as Sir Ian McKellen, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Ron Perlman, Keith David, Samuel L. Jackson, Chow Yun-Fat, and others deliver top-notch vocal performances for audiobooks, film narration and video games, a trend that sees no stop to celebrity voice acting any time soon.

So how much are these actors being paid to lend their real-world pipes to virtual heroes? According to Screen Actors Guild rules, union voice actors can expect to be paid $760 for one four-hour recording session.
That’s just the fee for a professional voice actor with union status.

Now, if you were to talk celebrity voice talent, that figure increases exponentially. Speaking to Reuters, Blindlight production company general manager Lev Chapelsky said that some stars have demanded $750,000 for an hour’s worth of work, and one voice actor actually received $500,000 for a single session. Chapelsky told Reuters that top talent commonly receives “in the high five figures for a single session.”
Videogames have helped resuscitate the careers of many film and television actors, whose distinctive voices can make them a hot commodity in the game world even as their status in Hollywood fades.
Many once-familiar actors have carved out second careers as video-game characters.

Videogamers, will more likely recognize Keith David for his role as the Arbiter, the deep-voiced alien “co-star” in Microsoft’s best-selling “Halo” videogames.

Marty O’Donnell, audio director at Bungie Studios, which created “Halo”, said he stumbled across David’s distinctive voice when listening to a documentary the actor was narrating, and knew he was perfect for the Arbiter.
O’Donnell sees celebrities are a boon for the gaming industry, because there are a lot of great actors out there not currently working on the latest triple-A film.”

Roughly 1,200 to 1,500 lines of dialogue per character are recorded for story-driven games. “Halo 3″ had more than 35,000 total lines of dialogue, according to O’Donnell.

With blockbusters like Halo 3, it’s clear that residuals in games will be a major bargaining issue in upcoming SAG negotiations.
Residuals are payments to actors for subsequent showings of their work, such as when a movie is shown on TV.
Currently, voice actors don’t get residuals for games, and it’s an issue that echoes the complaints of Hollywood’s striking writers that they should be paid more for digital distribution of their works.

Source: Reuters

StarCraft Online rumoured for Chinese operator

Report suggests NetEase working with Blizzard on new MMO

Chinese online games operator NetEase is said to be breaking into the overseas market backed with a huge MMO licence – StarCraft Online.

According to a report on Tradingmarkets.com, NetEase will be operating StarCraft Online, a title developed by World of Warcraft team Blizzard.

Blizzard has not confirmed the existence of any such game, although it has advertised for staff for a new MMO title, currently under wraps at the US developer.

Last May Blizzard revealed a sequel to the popular PC real-time strategy title StarCraft, saying it had been working on the game since 2003.

NetEase operates Fantasy Westward Journey in China, an internally developed MMORPG, which recorded 25 million registered users in April 2005.

According to Tradingmarkets.com NetEase CEO Ding Li has said the company has not signed any contracts, but the company is seeking foreign partners for licensing and co-development deals.

Source: Games Industry

Halo energy Sword sells for $525 on EBay

Link to listing here

"Initally thought to be purely cerimonial. Few has been seen in combat, but they are invariably carried by high ranking elites. We don't understand how if functions, but it cuts through any armor with ease."

Energy Sword Specs:

Overall Length: 36" (3 feet)

Width : 14"

Custom handle fit for any elite

Solid Stainless Steel Blade with mirrored finish

An Energy Sword Collector's Card that will feature Master Chief, Arbiter, Grunt, White Elite, Red Spartan or White Spartan. You may choose any character or I can send you one at random.

A Solid Wood Walnut Wall Plaque to display your Energy Sword anywhere.

Certificate of Originality. This will certify that you are receiving a high quality original sword from Lionheartsrealm, not some cheap knockoff.

World of Warcraft WoW Mana Energy Potion now available

Taking into account that WoW has over 100.4 gizillion subscribers at last count, we surmise that a drink based on mana potions in the game should sell incredibly well. It's hard to tell how this thing will taste without actually drinking and subsequently puking it up, but it's supposed to give you 5-8 hours of uninterrupted "jitter-free energy".

This translates into 5-8 hours of grinding for gold in Warcraft, something you could pay an Asian kid $2 to do for you. Combine this with the Final Fantasy Potion, and you'll get both your HP and MP back—plus a free trip to the hospital.

Source: Gizmodo