We have mixed feelings about utilizing the ESRB as a source for upcoming US releases. On the one hand, we’re thankful that their rating practically assures that Sega’s After Burner Climax will be coming to the US on Xbox Live and PSN (it was previously only announced for Japan). On the other, they always manage to make games sound so boring, and this is a game that includes both the words “Burner” and “Climax” in its title. Here, see it in action if you don’t believe us.
Listen to this: “Most of the jets-even the missiles/gunfire-appear somewhat fantastical.” And yes, those italics are theirs. The only cool word in the whole thing is “fantastical” and even that’s softened by a “somewhat.” But don’t worry, ESRB, we’ve taken the liberty of awesoming-up your listing.
Talk may be cheap, but so is murdering people in 15th century Italy — for now. Walmart is selling Assassin’s Creed 2 at a discounted price of $36, both online and in-store. For some reason, the PC version of the game is still full price, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
As for other titles on sale, it would appear this reduction in price is isolated only to Assassin’s Creed 2.
Presumably to entice virtual patrons into PlayStation Home, Sony’s offering up a free viewing of Criss Angel’s Mindfreak on August 6th. As if virtually watching a magic trickillusion show starring the often farcical Criss Angel weren’t enough, the company is enticing folks to watch with a free coffin couch (pictured above).
Even though we’re pretty sure that Glenn Danzig trademarked Mr. Angel’s style back in the early ’80s, Angel’s distinctive couch isn’t one we’ll be passing up. Now all we have to do is lure some unsuspecting Home patron back to our virtual place, show them the coffin couch, and immediately Quincy them. Good times!
Sega’s Sonic Unleashed has a new DLC pack available: “Chun-nan Adventure Pack.” Weighing in at 528mb, it features 4 new daytime levels, as well as 2 new Werehog locales within a “mountainous region best known for its dragon roads and majestic peaks.” The levels actually aren’t new to the game, as they were included in the Japanese PS3 release, but all the same will set you back 250 on the Xbox 360. The DLC will supposedly be available for PS3 owners sometime later today, if the self-abuse of already owning this game isn’t enough for you.
Who would have thought that Dissidia news could appear in a place like Final Fantasy XI’s “Vana Fes 2008 in Korakuen” from this past Saturday? Well, not us, that’s for sure. We were pretty content with the fact that only the first ten titles would have representatives, though this entry seems to have broken that rule. Shantotto, a Tarutaru black mage and NPC, is — thus far — the only character from the MMO-RPG to make an appearance.
Currently, it’s unknown whether Shantotto will be playable or just making a cameo in some non-fighting parts of the game. Could this also mean that FFXII and FFXIII could also still secretly make its way into the game? It’s a rather exciting thought, is it not?
Bethesda has announced that those Fallout 3 DLC packs that Xbox 360 owners have been enjoying for the last few months will be heading to the PS3 starting with Operation: Anchorage in late June. The other two DLC packs, The Pitt and Broken Steelwill be released four to six weeks apart. A patch will be released for the game in order to make these DLC packs work with the PS3 version of the game. All release dates are yet to be nailed down.
In addition, two new DLC packs have been announced and will be heading to both platforms. Point Lookout, as revealed by retailers earlier this month, will feature a massive swampland area to explore and in Mothership Zeta you’ll suffer through an alien abduction. These packs will be available on Xbox 360 and PC starting late June and on PS3 once the first three have been released.
If you don’t have an internet connection (huh?) these packs can still be obtained through two new disc-based packages for Xbox 360 and PC. The first — containing Anchorage and The Pitt– will be available in June in Europe and May 26 in the US, with the second containing the rest of the DLC in August worldwide. A GOTY version of Fallout 3 will be available in October for PS3, 360 and PC, which will include all five add-on packs.
Update 2: According to Major Nelson, Game Room users will have the ability to purchase games for their virtual arcade and play them on both their Xbox 360 and Windows PC. Additionally, new Game Room titles will be made available every week. Users will be able to invite Xbox Live friends into their respective (and customizable) rooms to show off their arcade collection. Stock up on Microsoft Points, kids.
Update 1: During its CES 2010 keynote, Microsoft’s Robbie Bach announced 30 arcade titles will be available in the Xbox Game Room when the service launches this spring for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows Live.
Hours following a leaked interview featuring Robbie Bach, Microsoft has confirmed the existence of a virtual arcade room for Xbox Avatars via this trailer unveiled at CES 2010. The Xbox Game Room is slated to hit the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows Live this spring, allowing players to visit a virtual room filled with classic arcade titles. According to the video, users will be able to customize their arcade rooms (presumably for Microsoft funny money) and challenge friends to a plethora of original arcade versions of games such as Centipede, Outlaw, and Star Raiders.
The news that Game Room will also launch for Games For Windows Live raises the question, will the service see Avatars added in the near future? As the upcoming arcade is centered around entertainment for your virtual identity, we’d hope the service would see an interface upgrade bringing it closer to the Xbox’s current NXE, rather than locking our poor Avatars up inside of an executable program.
It’s the end of the week, which calls for a new volume of Ask PSP Fanboy! Each week we’ll collect your questions, and each weekend a new volume of Ask PSP Fanboy will appear on the front page. If you’ve got a question, send an email to justin.eaton @ weblogsinc .com with the subject “Ask PSP Fanboy.”
Q. I’ve noticed that playing when PS1 games (on disc) over Remote Play, the game isn’t displayed full screen. Are there any settings on the PS3 or PSP to solve this issue? A. If you go into Settings, Game Settings, PS / PS2 Upscaler, you can change your settings to full screen. However, PSone games do not support full screen, and doing so will distort the image to fill the screen.
Q. What would you want in a PSP2, except an analog stick? A. Hmm. I’d say some serious internal flash memory (minimum 8GB), built-in GPS/camera, and perhaps some touch screen functionality. Some rumble support would be nice, if it didn’t sacrifice battery life. The rest would be software; I’m looking at a better web browser (e.g. YouTube support), more PSN support, and some sort of 3rd party marketplace would be nice too (think Apple’s App Store), for the homebrew community that Koller has repeatedly praised. And some ugraded graphics support. Oh, and two analog sticks.
Q. Are they ever going to release a GPS plug in device for the PSP? I’ve been thinking about getting a GPS forever and it would be really convenient if I could use my PSP as my GPS device. A. Will they ever? Yes. Is it going to happen in the next couple days? Probably not. Just be patient, Sony will get it out eventually.
At last, confirmation that doesn’t come from a nebulous internet entity or a gravelly voiced figure in a trench coat. Not that we have anything against those two fine and often charismatic sources of information, but we’re just a teensy bit more confident in Microsoft’s confirmation (and corroboration) to us that “exclusive episodes for ‘Grand Theft Auto IV‘ will be available on Xbox 360 starting fall 2008.” That’s quite a bit better than the rumored January, we think.
Details regarding the crime caper’s new episodes are still officially non-existent, but nebulous internet entities and gravelly voiced figures in trench coats all agree: it’ll likely involve car theft and other illegal shenanigans.
Though Visceral Games’ video game adaptation of the classic parable known as Dante’s Inferno (which, fun fact, was actually a book adaptation of Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey) won’t see the light of day until next February, we’ll be getting our dirty, sin-soaked hands on a demo for the game in December. In ‘The Gates of Hell,’ players will be able to traverse the entire first level of the game, taking them from the surface world to the titular portcullis, where they must battle (and presumably kill) Death himself.
We imagine the game gets much easier after, you know, there’s no more Death.
ESRB: After Burner Climax is a go for US and Europe originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
on the Xbox 360. The DLC will supposedly be available for PS3 owners sometime later today, if the self-abuse of already owning this game isn’t enough for you.
