It’s hard to believe that this is now the 30th anniversary for the Intellivision. The console released nearly 125 games in it’s lifespan and went on to sell over 3 Million units. Virtual Play Games is now going to share the retro love with all of us as they are bringing us over 60 games packed into one cartridge for Intellivision Lives! for the Nintendo DS.
I still remember playing the console and losing hours into Burger Time alone. A few games set to be released in this truly epic compilation are Astrosmash, B-17 Bomber, Shark! Shark!, Motocross, Space Cadet, Thin Ice and many more. For the nostalgic players, they will recognize the 12 button key-pad displayed on the screen that made it so easy to play. The game also features games not released at the time of its original launch as well as Head-to-Head local wireless game play.
Virtual Play Had this to say about the new title:
“Virtual Play Games is very excited to bring Intellivision Lives! to a broader audience at a time when both adults and kids are enjoying casual games even more than ever”, said Virginie Grange, Business Development for Virtual Play Games.
“2010 being the 30th anniversary of the Intellivision console, I’m looking forward to seeing how many new fans will discover Intellivision thanks to this DS version. The Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for the classic Intellivision games”, said Keith Robinson, Owner of Intellivision Productions.
Collections have been released in the past, but now we are getting one for the Nintendo DS which is better for people who are on the go which in my opinion is perfect as the games have always been easy to pick up and play. Intellivision fans everywhere rejoice! We now have a brand new collection with a great set-up to look forward to. Intellivision Lives! will release this September. For more information, check out www.virtualplaygames.com.
Halo fans in the UK will be shooting for the chance to take their place in an Elite Celebrity Spartan Squad.
Launching in less than seven weeks, Halo: Reach, is set to be the BIGGEST entertainment launch of 2010, and will be available exclusively on Xbox 360. The award-winning ‘Halo’ franchise is a global phenomenon, with Halo 3 making entertainment history in 2007 setting launch sales records that beat all previous video games and blockbuster movies.
Created by acclaimed developer Bungie, Halo: Reach is the latest installment to the most successful gaming franchise ever, and is set to launch on 14 September. More than 2.7 million players participated in the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta earlier this year, making it the most popular console video game beta test on record.
To celebrate the upcoming launch of Halo: Reach, football legend Rio Ferdinand and Gadget Show presenter, Jason Bradbury teamed up today to announce the launch of a major nationwide competition and the Halo: Reach Elite Spartan Squad at a press conference in London. The competition, launching next Wednesday 4th August, gives Halo fans and gamers the chance to take part in a series of online mini Halo 3 tournaments in mid-August. Winners will then be selected to attend a mega-launch event taking place in London in mid-September. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be a part of the most exciting live Halo battle in gaming history – all with the special Celebrity Elite Spartan Squad!
As well as Rio and Jason the Halo: Reach Elite Spartan Squad includes a star studded line-up, including: Gorgeous model and T4 presenter, Jameela Jamil; and England Rugby star, Ben Cohen. The 5th Spartan member will be revealed next week and the 6th Spartan member will be chosen via the competition and will be the Team Captain ensuring the Elite Spartan Squad is charged and ready to battle at the launch event!
Information on ow to enter the competition will be made available HERE on Wednesday 4th August.
Hope you had enough time playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2, because some great news just got out of the oven:
EA announced today that if you’re one of those that buy the Limited Edition of Medal of Honor, you’ll get exclusive access to Battlefield 3’s multiplayer beta. We know, there are no details whatsoever about Battlefield 3 Multiplayer Beta, nor Battlefield 3 itself… so we’ll count this one as a surprise announcement.
The beta will be available on all major platforms (PC, Xbox360 & PS3) within 12 months of Medal of Honor’s release date. Stay tuned for more details.
Still didn’t get your attention? Well then, read on…Limbo was released 2 weeks ago and it quickly became one of the best XBLA titles on the market. Little Big Planet is one of the most original games for the PS3, but you probably already know that.
A talented Little Big Planet modder, Bra2008, created “Limbo, Son of the Forest”, a map which, obviously, is insipred by the world of Limbo. Sackboy doesn’t look like that cute lovable…thingy anymore…
This weekend you can buy one of the most fun open world games released this year, Just Cause 2, for a 50% off deal.
About the Game:
Dive into an adrenaline-fuelled free-roaming adventure. As agent Rico Rodriguez, your orders are to find and kill your friend and mentor who has disappeared on the island paradise of Panau. There, you must cause maximum chaos by land, sea and air to shift the balance of power. With the unique grapple and parachute combo, BASE jump, hijack and create your own high-speed stunts. With 400 square miles of rugged terrain and hundreds of weapons and vehicles, Just Cause 2 defies gravity and belief.
UNIQUE VERTICAL GAMEPLAY – Take to the air like no other game. Experience total aerial freedom with the unique parachute and dual grapple
UNBELIEVABLE ADRENALINE-FUELLED STUNTS – Free fall, base jump, vehicle surf, para sail, skydive, grapple, slingshot, leap between vehicles, hang from helicopters, scale buildings. The impossible is within your grasp.
UPGRADED DUAL GRAPPLE – Your best tool is now a weapon. Fire two shots with the grapple hook and attach unwilling enemies to high-speed vehicles, hang them upside down from buildings, tether objects in mid air. The possibilities are as vast as your imagination.
DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF PANAU – Explore the island paradise; from sprawling cities, secluded beaches and towering mountain peaks – more than 400 square miles of your own personal playground.
EXPERIENCE TRUE FREEDOM – Hundreds of objectives can be completed in any way or order that you choose. When it’s time for a break from Agency business, kick back and enjoy all the attractions that Panau has to offer.
MASSIVE SELECTION OF VEHICLES – Catch air on a high-speed dirt bike, race across the sea in a power boat, or fire a spread of rockets from an attack chopper – more than 100 land, sea and air vehicles are yours for the taking.
The publisher Destineer today announced a partnership with Digital Leisure to create a compilation based on the classic arcade series Dragon’s Lair.
Dragon’s Lair Trilogy will feature, for the first time in a console, the original Dragon’s Lair, Dragon’s Lair 2: Time Warp, and Space Ace, all in just one disc.
The compilation features include:
Completely arcade authentic
Original arcade gameplay modes
Remastered animation
Both standard and widescreen editions
All-new move guides for beginners
Watch Mode – View all of the stunning animation without playing!
Dragon’s Lair Trilogy will be available this fall in North America for a budget price of $29.99
I’m going to start by saying that Metro2033 is a great game. And I’m saying this because it was VERY underrated! It’s a great game with a great atmosphere and it has a really good story too.
For those of you that have already played this and actually liked it, you’ll be happy to find out that a new DLC Pack will be available next week, on August 3rd.
The Ranger Pack DLC will include two new modes: “Ranger Mode” and “Ranger Hardcore”. “Ranger Mode” will reduce the amount of ammo in-game,weapons will cause more damage but your enemies will be deadlier. And by activating the “Ranger Hardcore” mode, your HUD will be removed, thus “creating the most immersive Metro 2033 experience yet.” Also, there will be new weapons like the Heavy Automatic Shotgun and the Volt Driver. Playing through all of these will net you 250 Gamerscore.
The Ranger Pack DLC will be available on PC for free, and on Xbox Live for a measly 240 MSP (Microsoft rules and regulations).
The Canon XL H1a is no cheap, ordinary or hand-held camera – but a sturdy, durable camcorder which can be said to target the semi-professional videographer/film maker. It is priced around the $6000 mark and in this package you will get: a monster 108mm 20x optical zoom lens with a Vari-angle Prism Optical Image Stabiliser (VAP OIS), decent quality microphone, extra long life battery, high quality viewfinder, manuals and all the necessary cables. This review will discuss the Design, Footage, Hardware and Sound, then finish up with Pros and Cons followed by a Conclusion.
Design:
The Canon XL-H1a has a very sleek design. Just by holding it you can tell it is a very solid, well built camcorder made especially for filming documentaries and short films. The shoulder-mount attached to the XL-H1a makes a huge difference in terms of less fatigue when you compare it to an average semi-professional camcorder using wrist strength only. It has a handle which you can use to hold onto for low shots, but is quite unstable because of the front-heaviness of the XL-H1a. The camcorder also has a headphone jack and firewire port (used to transfer footage from a DV tape to your computer)
Footage:
With this camcorder, you can expect to see high quality video shot in full 1080i, 1440×1080 resolution and MPEG2 compression which fits up to 63 minutes of HD footage on an DV tape. The XL-H1a uses three 1.67-megapixel, 16:9-aspect, 1/3-inch CCDs with the Digic DVII image processor which are superb at making your film look good. A bad trait of this camera is that it can’t shoot in a true progressive form, leading to fast movements of the camera looking bad and the footage not quite film-like. To compensate for this, the XL-H1a has a feature which allows you to shoot in 30F or 25F mode. This is similar to a 30p and 24p cinema style look, and you could probably get away un-noticed by using it. As I exported the footage I had filmed onto my computer, it instantly hit me – The quality of the footage is phenomenal. Even after finishing up with the editing and rendering, the quality still stayed crisp and clear. There is some noise in the footage produced, but you can easily avoid it with adjusting the gain and a few other features. The auto white balance is OK, but as with other camcorders, you should manually white balance often. The XL-H1a also has a variety of modes which surprisingly include a night-shot mode. Although manual mode is highly recommended for all types of shooting, night-shot mode is acceptable at pulling a dark scene off.
Hardware:
The view finder is extremely effective at showing even the most minor details, but as a result of the size, it may interfere with how you focus the camcorder. The 20x optical zoom lens is about three-quarters the weight of the XL-H1 itself; a heavy duty, high quality lens. On this lens, you can easily control the focus, zoom and iris in smooth and controlled movements. The zoom feature, while it has a controllable zoom speed from 1-16, I sometimes find is still too slow at the maximum setting. The focus ring is very controlled and glides smoothly leading to great shots. The iris is adjustable to any of the following apertures: f/1.6, 2.0, 2.8, 4.0, 5.6, 8.0, 9.5 and with this camcorder is also 13 levels of shutter speed. Other than the minor sluggishness of the zoom (probably just my personal opinion), it performs extremely well and is reliable in most situations. The Vari-angle Prism Optical Image Stabiliser (VAP OIS), which comes on the lens works wonders. It is something that you absolutely must use since this camcorder is so front-heavy. Another great perk of this camcorder is that you can interchange your lenses, leading to more of a variety of shots you can take.
Sound:
Included with the camcorder is a decent quality internal microphone. I don’t recommend this microphone for professional film as a result of the sound quality being not up to par with professional microphones, but for home videos it should be suitable. The camcorder comes with 2 XLR female jacks used for your professional grade shotgun microphones and +48v phantom power is included. On the side of the XL-H1 is where you have all your CH-1 and CH-2 volume adjustable controls which is similar to most other semi-professional grade camcorders.
Pros:
Shoulder mount included to take stress off your wrist and distribute the weight to your shoulder
Excellent quality viewfinder
Fantastic 20x optical zoom lens
Superb image stabilisation
Long-lasting battery
Smooth rotation of zoom/focus/iris
Sound controls are easy to use
White balance is accurate
Image quality is immaculate
Cons:
Front heavy because of the massive lens
Can’t set timecode for multi-camera work, need to buy the XL-H1s which would run you a few thousand dollars more
No true progressive recording (eg. 720p or 1080p)
The viewfinder fitting is bulky and can become a bit loose, so you might find it sliding from time to time
Conclusion:
All in all, the Canon XL-H1 performs well in all the sections listed above. The long-lasting battery allows you to be filming for a few hours without replacing it and the 20x optical zoom lens is a great addition to the camcorder. The smoothness of the lenses zoom, focus and iris and the image quality of the footage make the XL-H1 a pleasure to work with. While it can’t shoot in progressive, it has different modes which are similar to progressive to make up for it. Unfortunately you can’t multi-cam well with the XL-H1, but single-cam use is superb.
One of the most addictive and fun games growing up has always been match-up. You know, where you have a deck of cards and lay them back side up and flip to reveal matches. The toad houses in Super Mario 3 is probably the best example of this. Developer Digital Leisure are creating a new game for the DSiWare using the classic formula with a more updated twist.
Here is a snippet of the Press Release from Digital Leisure:
Flip, match and…kaboom! – How fast can you find the right set in Match Up!? Whether you’re 4 or 40, Match Up! will have you captive for hours. Reveal shapes, colors and even hidden bonuses with a new take on a childhood favorite. Quick hands and a sharp mind are the only way to beat the clock and disarm the explosive cards riddled throughout. Not quite ready for the explosive action? Then start with the absolutely addictive classic concentration play, and see if you can level up. So come on – get matching!
For only 200 Nintendo Points, this should be a no-brainer for DSi owners looking for a fun casual game to pass the time. This Monday, August 2nd, Match-Up! will be available for download on the Nintendo DSi’s DSiWare download service. Until then, check out the screenshots below.
It has been years since the Beyblade series has had a video game release outside of Japan. If you remember back in the early 2000’s Beyblade has quite a bit of success in the U.S. launching toys, video games and even an animated series. Beyblade consists of the characters battling with special tops enchanted by magical spirits.
Hudson has now announced some of the first information for the new title “Beyblade: Metal Fusion-Battle Fortress” that they will be developing for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
“The original Beyblade television series and toy line were a worldwide phenomenon and the new versions are already immensely popular in Japan. We’re confident that the series and the video games will have similar success in North America,” said Mike Pepe, Director of Marketing for Hudson Entertainment. “Both the Nintendo DS and Wii versions of the game will follow the story in the show, and we’re looking forward to fans being able to battle as their favorite Beybladers whether they’re home or on the run!”
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Hudson Entertainment to bring the excitement of Beyblade to video games,” said Colin Bohm, Vice President and Managing Director, Nelvana Enterprises. “Hudson’s experience creating hit games for a younger audience makes them the perfect partner for a Beyblade video game.”
Platform Specific Features:
• Wii:
Completely game-specific story with the original characters from the animation
4 player competition against 3 other human or AI controlled enemies
Choose from up to 20 different characters
Carry the blades you create to your friends’ houses inside of your Wii Remote
• DS:
Voice commands using the DS microphone
2 player competition via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection™ or wirelessly using one cart!
Supported with Beyblade enhancement function based on experience
Wi-Fi competition/ranking supported
This news should make all fans of the Beyblade franchise excited and the fact that Hudson is behind the project is also spectacular news.
Check out the new screenshots below for the Wii Version. Both versions of Beyblade: Metal Fusion for the Nintendo Wii and DS should be hitting shelves of Fall 2010. For more information on Beyblade as well as other titles from Hudson Entertainment, please visit www.hudsonent.com.
