Halo 3 Launch Gallery: Dallas

My brother was up in Dallas at the Microsoft launch party on Monday night and here are the pictures he snapped for us.

Sep 27, 2007 - 11:27 am | 3 comments

Ubisoft Launches New Tom Clancy Air Combat Franchise

Ubisoft announced another new Tom Clancy Franchise today in the form of a new air combat brand. The first game in this new IP is slated for a 2008 release and development will be handled by Ubisoft's Bucharest studio.

"Ubisoft has an unrivaled track record of creating and sustaining new brands,” said Serge Hascoet, chief creative officer at Ubisoft. "Our commitment to refreshing our catalog with regular introduction of new IPs is what keeps gamers coming back for more. With this new brand we're redefining the aerial combat genre and extending the Tom Clancy universe to deliver a compelling new action title to next-generation gamers.”

Not many details are available about the new IP, but Ubisoft did spill a little bit about the premise of the game. The setting of the game is sometime in the future where a powerful private military force attacks the United States. The game puts you in the cockpit of a high powered advanced jet fighter as you presumably defend the US.

Ubisoft is aiming to set the benchmark for flight combat with this new IP and aims to deliver an experience with all the action and excitement of modern air combat.

Sep 25, 2007 - 3:46 pm | 8 comments

Mimoco Announces Halo Edition Mimobots

Mimoco announced today a new line of their mimobot Designer USB Flash Drives based on the Halo universe. The Halo mimobots come in green as Master Chief as well as Red and Blue Spartans. The Master Chief units are limited to 5000 units and the Spartans are limited to 3000 units each.

The units come in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB versions for $49.95, $69.95, and $109.95 respectively.

I have plenty of flash drives laying around, but none that are as cool as this. Of course, the cool factor will set you back a premium for these devices. The Halo mimobots go on sale on Oct. 19th. You can preorder you own mimobots at the mimoco website.



Images are ©2007 mimoco LLC & TM. All rights reserved.

Sep 25, 2007 - 1:14 pm | 6 comments

See You All Tonight

With it being quittin' time down here in South Texas, the Snackbar Games Operatives are prepping to head out for this evening's Halo 3 launch events. We hope to see and meet as many of you as we can. For information on where you can find us, go here. When you get there, look for the peeps wearing the black shirts with the white SBG logo.

We'll see you all on Wednesday when you wake up from your gaming binge induced stupors.

Sep 24, 2007 - 6:06 pm | 9 comments

2K Sports Unveils NBA 2K8 Track List

2K Sports dropped us the track listing of the upcoming NBA 2K8. The soundtrack will feature original and exclusive work from the late legendary producer JDilla with tracks from Run-DMC, Common, Q-Tip and a whole slew of other artists that have thus far not made it anywhere near my radar of musical taste.

That aside, I'm sure the music will complement the game very well. Tim Rosa, the 2K Sports Director of Brand and Lifestyle Marketing had this to say about the soundtrack:

“For the NBA 2K8 soundtrack, we wanted to produce something diverse that bridges modern hip-hop with its rich heritage in funk and groove. In addition to showcasing some of J Dilla's finest and unreleased cuts with marquee artists like Common, Talib Kweli and Q-Tip, we've included a diverse group of artists whose music really captures the spirit of the game.”

NBA 2K8 is slated for release on October 2nd for the PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Sep 24, 2007 - 12:32 pm | 0 comments

More Temporary XBLA Price Cuts

Starting on this Wednesday, Microsoft is going to be running a few XBLA titles "on sale" for a week. The titles on sale this time around are Bankshot Billiards 2, Frogger, and Hardwood Spades.

Bankshot 2 is discounted from 1200 to 900 points, which both Frogger and Spades are set to drop from 400 to 300 points. If you've been waiting to grab any of these titles, it looks like you will want to wait until they drop in price.

Sep 24, 2007 - 12:05 pm | 7 comments

Virtual Console Monday - 09.24.2007

This year's Tokyo Game Show is now wrapping up and all eyes are turning to this evening's launch of Halo 3. That being said, you almost have to feel for the VC and XBLA titles that are launching this week as they will be overshadowed by one of the most anticipated releases of the past few years. Regardless, Nintendo is sending 3 new titles your way with one of Kirby's SNES adventures leading the charge in Kirby's Avalanche (SNES). Also making the leap are Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis) and Legend of Hero Tonma (TG16).

Hit the jump for full details and pricing on these new additions.

Kirby's Avalanche (Super NES®, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Everyone's favorite round, pink hero takes a break from swallowing his enemies to put your brain to work in this fast-paced puzzle game. Players take control of Kirby and match wits with well-known enemies from the Kirby series (including his archrival, King Dedede) in an effort to win the First Annual Dream Land Avalanche Competition. The simple-but-addictive game play revolves around brightly colored blobs and boulders. When the right amount of matching blobs are stacked, they explode and rain down on your opponent's field of play. Repeat this until your screen is clear to move on to the next round. But be careful—the farther you advance, the faster the blobs fall and the smarter the opponents get. Are you good enough to help Kirby become the avalanche king?

Streets of Rage 3 (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Older - Violence, 800 Wii Points): Just when you thought the world was safe from the Syndicate and its shady leader, Mr. X, they have returned to torment the city once again. Mr. X has developed lifelike robots to take the place of various city officials so he can be in complete control. Now it's up to our old heroes Axel, Skate and Blaze to stop the threat with their amazing fighting skills. With more weapons and combat moves, as well as secret characters and various endings, this return to the streets is one you won't want to miss.

LEGEND OF HERO TONMA (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone - Mild Cartoon Violence, 600 Wii Points): LEGEND OF HERO TONMA is an action game that puts players in control of the magic-user Tonma, whose role - as was typical for game heroes of the day - is to travel to another world and save the princess. Fight your way through seven stages using Tonma's jump ability and shot power. Collect power-ups and barriers to grow in strength and pummel your enemies. Bring that strength to the end of each stage to face off against and defeat the menacing bosses that aim to keep you from the princess. This well-detailed game's comic visuals and feel will have players wanting to come back for more frantic and exciting action.

Sep 24, 2007 - 11:02 am | 2 comments

TGS 07: No More Heroes Hands-On

Snide comments about the Nintendo Wii's technical capabilities aside, it's generally well-known that the Wii cannot output graphics that are anywhere near approaching those of its more advanced cousins. But that isn't it to say that Wii games must be ugly, as games like Metroid Prime: Corruption prove. The Wii desperately cries out for stylish, visually appealing games that, while not comparable to next-gen poster boys like Devil May Cry 4 and Bioshock, has a feel all its own. One such game is Marvelous's No More Heroes.

Picking it up for the first time, I couldn't but help but be impressed. Though a bit grainy, the graphics, particularly the character designs, are still very nice. They made me think a little of a comic book. Evidently, this game is supposed to be almost on par with Manhunt in terms of violence, but I didn't see much if any blood. Enemies just erupted into showers of coins after they were defeated. This, as I later learned, is because the Japanese censors are pretty unforgiving when it comes to blood. Breasts yes, gore no.

Perhaps more importantly than the graphics, the controls felt very solid. In no time at all, I was frantically waggling my Wii-mote at the baddies while my Japanese assistant tried to give my instructions in Japanese-English. I ran into slight difficulties when my lightsaber ran out of power and I wasn't sure what to do, but after a few moments I figured out how to recharge, and I was back in business. The attacks felt immensely satisfying, and the sound effects did a great job conveying the oomph associated with each strike. The special attacks, from what I could pull off, were equally satisfying to watch, but they were difficult to pull off without glancing down at the control chart every few moments. Still, I imagine that after an hour, the controls will feel like second nature.

The actual gameplay is relatively brief, but it gave a decent impression of the combat. The initial enemies are just a series of goons who will leap in to attack, but are easily dispatched by locking on and swiping them dead with the lightsaber sword. After a few rounds with the average uglies, a Matrix-like agent wearing a suit and sunglasess stirkes with his own lightsaber, even unleashing a special attack or two, but he is also easily dispatched with a few combo hits.

Finally, a blue-cape clad wearing boss attacks, and he is a bit harder than the minions. Between wave-like energy attacks, he periodically lashes out with what can be best described as high-powered laser vision. Getting out of the way isn't too difficult, but if you're impatient like I am, you might be in for some trouble. Nevertheless, most of the savvier players were able to dispatch him without too much trouble.

Finishing up the demo, I was struck by just how much fun No More Heroes really is. Although the demo didn't really convey it, the product will be more sandbox-style, and it's supposed to be heavy on social commentary. I don't know about the latter point, but I do think this is the kind of game that the Wii desperately needs if it wants to hold onto the console lead - a stylish, mature game with controls that are fun, unique and easy to understand. With games like these, the Wii can fill the niche that Nintendo envisioned for it. I just hope that the finished product lives up to the few, enjoyable minutes that I had with it today.

Sep 24, 2007 - 10:54 am | 0 comments

TGS 07: Devil May Cry 4 Hands-On

A lot has changed since TGS 2006, and the loss of the PS3's Devil May Cry 4 exclusivity is a big one. Both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 demos were on hand this year, though the PS3 version received a conspicuously larger booth, complete with nice headphones and huge displays.

Is Capcom feeling pangs of guilt, or do they just want to show off the better-looking version? My money is on the latter, though there didn't seem to be much difference between the two aside from the Xbox 360 version's colors being a bit more washed out. That, however, may be the fault of the screen.

In any case, Devil May Cry 4 is still one of the best looking games on either system, and it's never been more apparent as Nero smoothly passed through classical architecture, snow-covered fields and a large castle that is reminiscent of the fortress from the first DMC. It all looks fantastic, though special notice should be given to some of the enemies. The Sin Scissors enemies that you encounter aren't anything special, but the monsters in the snowfield leading up to the massive fire demon boss were impressive. The fire effects were particularly striking.

There are two modes in the demo, “executioner” and “exterminator.” The first pits Nero against a few simple demons on a snowfield before throwing them into battle against the aforementioned fire monster. It wasn't difficult to get around its massive bulk and combo it with my sword, but its life bar took quite a long time to drop while it slammed me to the ground and smacked me with its tail. Not sure if it's because I'm just really bad or because DMC4 is going to be as hard as DMC3. I wouldn't be shocked at the latter.

The exterminator mode drops Nero into a city infested with Sin Scissors enemies. They move slowly and are easily knocked around with Nero's sword, so there was no real problem there. This was a good chance for me to practice my aerials because the enemies in the other mode were too heavy to lift very easily from the ground.

I was pleased to see that the trademark gameplay is still extremely smooth. I had no problem sweeping the enemies into the air, juggling them with my revolvers and slamming them back to the ground. Nero also sports a sort of demonic arm that is also useful for slamming enemies around, but I found that I wasn't using it much in favor of the more traditional gun/sword combination. Whether this is my loss remains to be seen.

Devil May Cry is famous for its wonky camera, and though it got a bit of an upgrade in DMC3, it hasn't changed much here. For the most part, it did a very good job of giving me comfortable angles for the slicing and dicing of enemies, and it did feature the ability to make limited adjustments. Only once did it get stuck behind a pillar, but that was only a momentary problem. Regardless, I can't figure why DMC still hasn't given players complete freedom with the camera in the new generation. Surely the PS3 is powerful enough to handle such a feature? In any case, it's a fairly minor complaint this time around, and I didn't really feel any camera-related pain as I moved Nero around the stage.

Playing through Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3, I was pleased to see that the graphics have never looked sharper, and the controls have never felt smoother. There's no doubt that this is a AAA game and will be a required addition to any PS3 owner's library.

More Screenshots

Sep 24, 2007 - 10:39 am | 0 comments

TGS 07: Resident Evil: Umbrellas Chronicles Hands-On

A lot of people don't seem to know what to expect from Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles, the game expected to sell Nintendo's new Wii zapper. Reactions were mixed when it was announced several months ago, but anticipation has steadily climbed as details and screenshots have trickled out from Capcom. Having finally gotten my hands on it, I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but my initial feeling was disappointment.

The Wii Zapper itself generally feels good. The end tucks itself into the crook of one arm while the nunchuck is held in the other hand. It's comfortable, but it also makes the aiming feel a tad off because it doesn't naturally come to eye level like most zapper peripherals (or guns for that matter). Still it doesn't really detract all that much from the experience, and it shouldn't be a problem for players to bring it up for more precision aiming.

At first glance, the graphics are excellent, particularly the opening cinematics. Capcom knows how to do presentation, and its flagship games are always top-notch in that department. The details on the enemies are generally very crisp and clear, and the environment (a train), is quite detailed as well. However, once the shooting begins, the shiny coat of paint begins to wear off a little bit.

For one thing, the guns just don't feel very powerful, which is of course a big problem for a game that's trying to sell itself on a Zapper peripheral. The first weapon is the handgun, and the bullets don't seem to even phase the zombies as they approach. It seemed possible to take out their legs, but otherwise the bullets felt like they were bouncing away until they died. Perhaps this was Capcom's intention, handguns aren't very powerful after all, but it wouldn't have hurt to add a little extra oomph to the shooting.

The submachine gun and the shotgun definitely felt better, but both also felt a bit wild. It was easy to end up spraying bullets all over the place with the submachine gun. The shotgun, while definitely more powerful than the pitiful handgun, lacked ammo, so I didn't get much time with it. Regardless, perhaps it's an unfair comparison, but I tend to feel like House of the Dead III was the pinnacle of the arcade-style use of a shotgun , and I don't think Umbrella Chronicles even comes close in that regard. It's true that House of the Dead III was built from the ground up around that one weapon, but it just goes back to my original point that the guns really need to feel good for the shooting action to be effective.

The graphics, as mentioned before, were generally very good, but they seemed a little bit muddy at times. More than once I found myself squinting against the dark palette of browns and blacks in an effort to make out the little leech creatures that seemed to spend a lot of time attached to my character's face. They blend in a little bit too much with the background, and suddenly they attack. The zombies themselves are nicely animated and detailed, with all of the usual trappings in place like tattered clothing and hanging flesh. I generally think that the Los Ganados of RE4 are the current zombie gold standard for the series, and the Umbrella Chronicles zombies are at least as detailed as their parasitic cousins, if not more so.

The final battle is with a scorpion-like boss that keeps its claws tucked in front of its vulnerable face/mouth parts. Here, the games strengths and weaknesses seem to be the most apparent. The boss is very detailed, those nasty claws look real enough anyway, and comes off as fairly impressive as leaps in and out of combat with the player. However, like with the zombies, the bullets don't seem to even register, even when you are hitting the vulnerable head. It's hard to tell whether or not you're doing damage without glancing at the life bar every few minutes, even when you pull out one of the other weapons.

Unfortunately, my game ended prematurely as the boss presumably devoured my intestines, but I feel like I played enough to justify leaving with mixed feelings. It's not the definitive shooting experience by any stretch of the imagination, especially when compared with the forthcoming Time Crisis 4 on the PS3, but it played well enough to likely be the zapper's premier game. I only hope that Capcom uses the time left to it before release to tighten up the experience just a little more so that Umbrella Chronicles can jump from ‘alright' to great.'

More Screenshots

Sep 24, 2007 - 10:31 am | 0 comments