Oops. Someone let the cat out of the bag perhaps with this rating release in Germany. Because NBA Jam has only been officially announced for the Wii; but these two ratings above are strangely enough… for the Xbox 360 and the PS3.
This isn’t official of course as EA has yet to release any additional information on the subject yet, but why would the ratings board in Germany pass two games that are non-existent? Expect to hear either a confirmation or a denial of these additional versions of the game in the next few days because now that this has come out to the public, EA will definitely have to follow up with some sort of announcement
Microsoft Game Studios and developer Vector Unit announced that Hydro Thunder Hurricane will be released on July 28th as part of Xbox LIVE’s Summer of Arcade promotion!
The game is the sequel to the now oldie (but goldie’ 🙂 ) Hydro Thunder from Midway.
Rather than simply recreate the original game with updated graphics, Vector Unit promised an all-new game engine for the sequel, with gorgeous HD visuals and amazing dynamic water physics. The downloadable game features 8 all new interactive race tracks, new Single Player game modes, Xbox LIVE Leaderboard challenges, as well as robust multiplayer support for 8 players online, local split screen races with up to 4 players — and a combination of split screen and online play.
“Our goal with Hurricane was to deliver tons of new content with the kind of polish and depth you expect to find in a full retail game. It takes hours to unlock everything in the single player mode, and once you’ve done that you still have multiplayer, which I think is where the game really shines.”
Fans will recognize favorite speedboats from the original Hydro Thunder: Razorback, Damn the Torpedoes, Tidal Blade, Rad Hazard and others return with beautifully redesigned models, multiple unlockable skins, and articulated boost animations with massive rockets folding out from hidden compartments. Race tracks are all original, but packed with the kinds of shortcuts and spectacular surprises the series is known for.
“On top of everything else, Hydro ThunderHurricane is perfect for Summer of Arcade. What’s the first thing people think about when it’s summertime? Sun, fun, splashing around in the water, driving a speedboat at 200 mph, jumping off gigantic cliffs, and dodging dinosaurs. Right?”
Yes, it’s that time again, the 7th day of the 7th month, or as many avid Halo players know it, Bungie Day. Bungie really do love the number 7, and to celebrate, in previous years have done all kinds of things, for example give away commemorative themes and gamer pictures on the Xbox Live Marketplace for free. This year is a little different. Although there seems to be no free gamer pictures this year, there is an amusing video from Machinima group ‘Rooster Teeth’ better known for their highly acclaimed series ‘Red vs Blue’, along with a message from Bungie to their fans. Check out the video and message:
It’s the 7th day of the 7th month which means it’s time for everyone here at Bungie to rejoice and give thanks to you, our awesome fan community. As a small token of our gratitude and to reward your support in our quest for world domination, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Rooster Teeth to offer the gift of video. Not just any video mind you, no, this is the definitive Bungie Day machinima video from the people who created Bungie Day machinima videos.
The Xbox LIVE Marketplace version should be landing tomorrow. We’ll update this post when it becomes available.
On behalf of the entire Bungie team, thank YOU for being awesome. We wouldn’t be here without you. Sure, we’d be somewhere, just not here…probably more like the cold damp basement of an rundown school building in Chicago.
Stand strong 7th Column, everything is proceeding exactly as planned. World Domination is quickly coming into reach.
It’s a rare thing when a gaming event is held for portable consoles aside from the Pokemon series, which is why fans of the new “Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky” are in luck thanks to Gamestop & EB Games. On July 31st, from 1-4pm PST all owners of the new Dragon Quest title will be able to go in and participate in an exclusive Wi-Fi event by bringing in your copy of Dragon Quest, with your Nintendo DS (any version) to a participating Gamestop or EB Games and download the special event map. With this event is also the opportunity to participate assisted walk-through, guided multi-player modes and connect with other players who are at the event.
It seems as this event is a one day only thing, so write down the date and check the link below for locations and more information.
RPG fans on the Wii can now rejoice, Ignition Entertainment has gave the US street date for the newest JRPG coming exclusively for the Wii. On July 27th players will get to sink their teeth into “Arc Rise Fantasia”. The game is looking quite promising after making a huge splash at E3 2010 this year, and with the limited selection of traditional RPG’s on the Wii, the timing could not be more perfect. Ignition has posted this bit of information for those who are still looking for answers on this hot new title:
“ Arc Rise Fantasia delivers a traditional Japanese RPG (JRPG) experience unlikeanything currently available on the Nintendo Wii. The game features everything fans of the JRPG genre want out of a classic gaming experience. As the mercenary L’Arc, players must gather friends and allies to defend the peaceful Meridian Empire from a mysterious enemy. But what starts as a struggle to save an empire quickly unravels into a desperate fight to save the face of the planet. Filled with memorable characters, pulse-pounding combat and a sweeping storyline, Arc Rise Fantasia distills more than a decade of gaming tradition into one unforgettable journey.”
“Fantasia” is being developed by Imageepoch Inc., creators of the “Luminous Arc” series. The price at release is set to be at a cool $39.99. No PAL release date has been given, but we will keep you updated on this summer’s hottest RPG for the Wii.
Don’t feel like a Black 360 Slim? Well there is a site for you that pretty much lets you pick whatever colors you want and they will spray paint your xbox 360 for you. It’ll be expensive though.
You can order a custom painted 360 slim from the experts at ColorWare, any color you want for $500. If you are doing the math right, that is $200 for the paint job and $300 for the console.Luckily, if you already have the console you can send it to them and it will only cost you $175. Still pretty expensive in my opinion, but the custom color chooser thingy on their site is pretty fun to mess around with. Did you like my rainbow console?
So you know about the Summer of Arcade, which I literally just posted about 30 minutes ago. Well, Microsoft also announced a whole bunch of other stuff going down for the next few weeks including avatar clothes and games on demand and other stuff. Check out the press release below. My question is this: “How do you have Deadliest Warrior avatar clothes?” Did I mention the next season of “The Guild” is coming back as well?
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SUMMER OF ARCADE
“Limbo” (Microsoft Game Studios) on July 21
“Hydro Thunder Hurricane” (Microsoft Game Studios) on July 28
“Castlevania: Harmony of Despair” (Konami Entertainment) on August 4
“Monday Night Combat” (Microsoft Game Studios) on August 11
“Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light” (Square Enix) on August 18
“The Guild,” is back! Season four kicks off on July 13 – return to “The Knights of Good” for a fourth time with this award-winning web series. Episodes vary from 3-6 minutes in length, and follow the Guild members’ lives online and offline.
AVATAR MARKETPLACE
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge -Out today
Prince of Persia The Forgotten Sands – Out tomorrow
Deadliest Warrior The Game – July 14
Halo: Reach – July 15th
XBOX LIVE ARCADE
Blacklight: Tango Down (Ignition Entertainment) – July 7 | 1200 Microsoft Points
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge (LucasArts) – Out today | 800 Microsoft Points
Deadliest Warrior The Game (SPIKE GAMES) – July 14 | 800 Microsoft Points
DeathSpank™ (Electronic Arts) – July 14 | 1200 Microsoft Points
ACTION ARCADE DEAL OF THE WEEK
Mega Man™ 10 (Capcom) – Week of July 5 | 400 Microsoft Points
After Burner Climax™ (SEGA) – Week of July 5 | 400 Microsoft Points
Death By Cube™ (Square Enix) – Week of July 5 | 400 Microsoft Points
Scrap Metal™ (Xbox LIVE Arcade) – Week of July 5 | 800 Microsoft Points
SPECIAL SOUTH PARK DEAL OF THE WEEK
The following week, we’re giving you more reasons to figure out who killed Kenny by checking out the South Park game and music track from Rock Band. Help protect the mountain town of South Park and download “South Park LET’S GO TOWER DEFENSE PLAY!” (Microsoft Game Studios), and rock out with your bad self in a special South Park track from “Rock Band” (MTV Games). Also, if you’re in the US and an Xbox LIVE member, check out 50 percent discounts on South Park Video content July 12 – July 18. Tune in to the wise words of South Park Elementary’s youngest philosopher in “South Park: The Cult of Cartman” or choose to throw back with Matt and Trey’s favorite episodes from 2001-2005 in “South Park – The Hits, Vol. 1 – Matt and Trey’s Top Ten.”
South Park LET’S GO TOWER DEFENSE PLAY! (Microsoft Game Studios) – Week of July 12 | 800 Microsoft Points
Rock Band® Eric Cartman’s “Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ (South Park Edition)” Game Add-On (MTV Games) – Week of July 12 | 160 Microsoft Points
GAME ADD-ONS
Dragon Age: Origins: Leliana’s Song Game Add-On (Electronic Arts) – Out now | 560 Microsoft Points – Assume the role of Leliana, a young bard involved in a criminal ring that deals in political secrets. Accompanying her mentor Marjolaine on a high-risk mission, Leliana soon finds herself entangled in a game of intrigue that she cannot escape with just her beauty, charm, or stealth. The only way out of this game is to kill or be killed. “Dragon Age: Origins” is rated M for Mature and available worldwide (except Japan).
Worms™ 2: Armageddon Battle Pack Game Add-On (Team17 Software Ltd) Out today | 400 Microsoft Points – Say hello to the “Worms 2 Armageddon Battle Pack.” This Game Add-on package adds to “Worms 2 Armageddon” with the addition of six new weapons, thirty new single-player missions, and all-new game mode called “Survivor,” ten new Forts, new speechbanks, Player Titles, leaderboards, additional Achievements and much, much more!
Forza Motorsport® 3 Game Add-on (Microsoft Game Studios) – July 13 | 400 Microsoft Points – Nab ten new cars and with the “World Class Car Pack.”
NCAA® Football 11 Game Add-ons (Electronic Arts) – July 13 | Price Varies – With multiple Game Add-on packs, including the “Power Pack,”
Rock Band®: Credence Clearwater Revival (MTV Games) – Out now | 1600 Microsoft Points
Rock Band®: The Vines (MTV Games) – July 13 | 680 Microsoft Points
GAMES ON DEMAND
Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts) – Out now | Releasing worldwide (except Japan and Korea)
Frontlines™: Fuel of War™ (THQ Inc.) – Out now | Releasing worldwide (except Japan)
NBA STREET Homecourt (Electronic Arts) – July 13 | Releasing worldwide (except Asia)
Summer of Arcade is back, and this summer is going to be expensive. I hope everyone has saved up, because each one of these titles will cost 1200MSP. The good news is there are some promotions circulating these games. Buy 3 and you get 400MSP back, while if you buy all 5 you get 1200MSP back. Essentially, that is: Buy 2 get one discounted, or buy 4 get one free.
You might be wondering why a few titles aren’t on the list, and that is because those aren’t part of the Summer of Arcade and will be released after the 5 weeks or at the same time. These games are the Summer of Arcade and they are also the ones that have the promotion attached to them.
SEGA have just announced the release date for their upcoming sci-fi 3rd person shoother, Vanquish. The game is going to be launched on October 21st in Japan.
Unfortunately release dates for the rest of the world have not been given yet.
The game looks very promising and as you may know the person looking over the project is Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, so we definitely have a lot to look forward to. The title will be available for the X-Box as well as the PS3.
Baseball players who wants to practise their skills should look for 9 innings: Pro Baseball 2011 for the iPhone and iPod Touch this week.
From the game’s press release:
9 Innings 2011 features all the 2010 American League All-Stars, National League All-Stars, coaches, managers, and almost 800 Major Leaguers from all 30 Major League teams with actual photo profiles. On top of that, all of the Major Leaguers are updated with their latest stats.
In League Mode, you pick a team to play a full 162-game season, and if you’re good enough, you can make it through the postseason playoffs to the World Series. But unlike other mobile baseball games, you can really control what your players do.
On defense, you can select pitch type and drag your finger to choose pitch location. Your pitcher’s stamina, stats, and even mental status will affect the accuracy and speed of the throw. For the outfielders, you can choose to throw all the way to a base or to a cutoff man. Although the computer will automatically field every hit, you control every throw, including double plays.
The offensive game is just as realistic. Whether you’re facing Tim Lincecum or Stephen Strasburg, the pitchers will come at you with a variety of pitch styles. But say goodbye to unrealistic pitches like rising fastballs. This is the Big Leagues, and hitting line-drives depends on your batters’ stats and your ability to time pitches. Knowing which players to steal with and when to advance runners will also play a huge part in your team’s success.
But a baseball game is not just about reality. It’s about customizing your team and turning it into a championship squad. In the spirit of the MLB All-Star Game, Com2uS introduces a system for customizing your team: the Card Shop. At the Card Shop, you can obtain better players by drawing cards or combining your old ones. Baseball cards come in Normal, Rare, Special, Hero, and Platinum grades, and you can level them up with points you win in any of the three game modes (League, Homerun, Exhibition). So if you want to make your own All-Star Team, win some points and visit the Card Shop to draw your favorite players. Your team may be trailing in the Big Leagues but in 9 Innings 2011 you can make it into a winning squad.
9 Innings: Pro Baseball 2011 will be released on Thursday, July 8th.
