Fans of Metal Gear Solid swarmed the Uniqlo store in New York’s Soho neighborhood yesterday to buy limited edition Metal Gear T-shirts and wait for the rare chance to get an autograph from Hideo Kojima, the game’s creator. The event celebrated the recent release of Metal Gear Solid 4. Kojima appeared at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square for the midnight release of the game.
Kojima is rumored to hate autograph sessions, but agreed to sign one item each for the first 300 people in line at Uniqlo. One creative fan had a bag of wasabi flavored Doritos for Kojima to sign, but game artwork cards were provided to those with nothing to sign.
Yumi Kikuchi, the voice of Raging Raven, was also on hand to sign autographs. A few fans flinched as Ms. Kikuchi signed their Metal Gear items which predated Raging Raven’s appearance in the series, but they didn’t stop her.
Although Uniqlo stocked 300 Metal Gear T-shirts, due to a miscommunication the large and extra-large shirts were put on display before the event and sold out early, leaving only extra-small and medium sizes for sale during the signing. Pictures of the shirts can be seen on Uniqlo’s Japanese site and on Kotaku.
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 Publisher: Sierra Developer: High Moon Studios
Darkwatch developer, High Moon Studios is putting the finishing touches on The Bourne Conspiracy. The goal of the project is to bring the source material of the books home to gamers with the same high octane action that the movies are known for. We’ve been playing through a build with quite a few levels here at PopCultureShock for awhile now and we think that so far the team is well on their way to making that happen.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the game, as in the movies, is the way in which the hand to hand combat is portrayed. High Moon has done a very good job so far of coordinating the camera angles and movements while cutting frames from the attack animations similarly to the way it was done in the movies.
The mechanic that really helps in this regard is the Takedown. When fighting, players gradually build up their adrenaline bar, which is separated into three parts. Each time one of those portions of the bar is filled, players will be able to press a button to perform a Takedown. Takedowns are different from the standard punches and kicks and are scripted, cinematic sequences that typically use the environment to great effect. Remember when Bourne took a book and did his own rendition of the Star Trek 3 piece combo (more like a 15 piece combo)? Or what about the time when he took a pen and hit every pressure point in someone’s arm? Those are the kinds of things Bourne does when he uses Takedowns. Although these sequences aren’t interactive, the way that you build up and earn them by mixing them in with your normal moves makes it a reward to execute and watch them.
The mode in the game that could use the most work right now would have to be the driving portions. While this is an action game with no aspirations of being a Forza or Gran Turismo (or even a Test Drive for that matter), the handling and feel for the cars is way too light. If High Moon could add a little bit of weight to the vehicles, it would go a long way towards improving the playability of those scenes. As it is now, it feels like you’re controlling bumper cars and it is nowhere near as memorable as the fighting scenes.
As gamers, we see our fair share of licensed properties, whether from movies, books or other media. Most of those games are instantly forgettable as well. If High Moon Studios can polish up a few rough edges, they could have a hit on their hands and lay the foundation for franchise that can stand on its own. The Bourne Conspiracy will release in June of this year.
Hot off the presses, Sega has just sent out the first screens for their upcoming Iron Man videogame. Under the multi-year agreement with Marvel, SEGA has been granted the exclusive interactive rights to develop and distribute games based on both Marvel‘s Iron Man feature films and the classic comic book iterations of the character.
The first Iron Man project produced under the license agreement will be based on Marvel Studios’ highly-anticipated Iron Man feature film starring Academy Award Nominees Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard, and directed by Jon Favreau. This project, the first feature film to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment, will blast into theaters May 2, 2008. The Iron Man game is set for release Spring 2008.
Of course, PopCultureShock will keep you informed with all the latest. All screenshots shown are from the Xbox 360 version of the title.
Platform: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Infinity Ward
Call of Duty 4 was hands down the gem of E3 snagging attention from everyone who laid eyes on it. The impressive gameplay videos plastered all over the web have garnered further attention from those who didn’t make it to the expo. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, Google the Call of Duty 4 sniper trailer and watch it without crapping your pants within the first 25 seconds. So when we say that the multiplayer is in no way, shape or form a let down, take our word for it.
The first thing to note for anyone who hasn’t seen any of the Call of Duty 4 media bombardment is that things are now set in the modern day military world. This is perfect timing because WWII era games are actually beginning to feel 60 years old. But the question remained: could the game change eras and still keep the feel of the previous titles and the pace that players came to love. Somehow Infinity Ward pulled it off because immediately after picking up a controller fans of Call of Duty games will feel right at home. There’s a lot of familiar-ness that arises with the new weapons that will instantly click with the weapons from the previous game. The odd sense of deja vu is almost instantaneous and doesn’t let up. To be completely honest if it weren’t for all the new features, we would call this Call of Duty 2 with new skin. Luckily enough for us all, there’s so many new features to like about Call of Duty 4 that this definitely is not the case.
Call of Duty 4 introduces a new create-a-class system that blows the multiplayer addictiveness door right off the hinges. By playing multiplayer matches you rack up points for things as simple as killing the opposition but also for a plethora of more obscure actions such as multiple kills without dying or even for assisted kills, which is nice for those moments where you take an opponent to within an inch of their life only to have someone else pick up the kill. These points progress you through a ranking system that as you gain levels allows you to unlock new weapons and abilities for your use. Starting at level four, you can pick and choose from these selections to compile a character class all your own to save and use at your discretion. This adds not only a rewards system for playing, but also adds the depth of creating combos that in the right players hands drastically increases their lethality. For instance, the ability ‘last stand’ allows you to remove a pistol after you’ve been killed for a few moments and seek bloody revenge. When coupled with an upgrade that allows more damaging bullets you can create a kamikaze class that will fit the run and gun players like a glove. The possibilities are endless. Well not endless but damn near close. Call of Duty 4 has taken things to the next level and any playtime with the title makes this apparent.
The visuals are some of the best next gen graphics we have seen to date and that holds true even in multiplayer. Many games suffer drastically in the presentation department when multiplayer is implemented but Call of Duty 4 seems to have no such shortcomings. The game still looks incredible and runs smooth this far out from release. We experienced 12 player matches but the team at Infinity Ward assured us that larger matches on consoles are a definite probability as long as bandwidth can hold out. Currently they’re shooting for having 16 player multiplayer action on consoles. As far as the PC version is concerned servers won’t be limited by developers on how large their populations are. Simply put if the connections are good, then play on. This will surely excite fans of larger, more chaotic battles.
After playing the Halo 3 Beta and getting hands on with Call of Duty 4 multiplayer, we have to say that the Call of Duty 4 multiplayer experience is a couple notches above Bungie’s Ace-in-the-Hole. Call of Duty 4 rewards you for playing and we fully understand now what Infinity Ward has been doing with their time since Call of Duty 2’s release. Watch out for this one.
System: Xbox 360, PS3
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Canada
Release: February 20, 2007
NBA Street makes its fourth season appearance in NBA Street Homecourt. Ever since we saw it being played early last August, we’ve been chomping at the bit to be able to tell you about it, but the Spin Doctors at EA are very strong in The Force indeed. We headed back up to EA Canada recently to sit down with the team once again to see how the game has progressed since then.
NBA Street Homecourt is different from it’s predecessors in a number of ways. The theme this time around is about where the great ballers come from. Although every street court isn’t as well known as Ruckers, every NBA great picked up his game from his local court. Likewise, your own character will be out to perfect his game and ultimately put his own hometown on the map.
Perhaps the biggest change to the series is that this title is a next gen exclusive. Meaning, if you want some of this, you’re gonna have to step your game up to the Xbox 360 or the PS3. This decision to pass up on the current generation of hardware is paying off big dividends on both the graphical and gameplay fronts.
The graphics and animations in NBA Street Homecourt are ace. The environments are expansive and highly detailed. If you imagine the amount of real world detail found in Project Gotham Racing 3 and applied it to a street hoops game, you’d begin to be able to understand the scope of it. If you’re playing in Venice Beach for example, you’ll see and be able to play on all four courts on the blacktop with each of the courts properly mimicking their real life counterparts in both size and detail. Not only are all the objects and buildings properly conveyed in game, but the devs even went back and changed details as small as the angles some of the trees were standing to make sure everything was as perfect as possible. All the hometown courts have this level of detail. For the first time, the backgrounds are rendered in a full 360 degrees instead of the simple sideline camera used in the previous titles.
The detail extends to the ballers themselves. Just look at Ben Wallace’s hair, or check out the Puerto Rican flag tat that Melo has by his thumb to see exactly what the team has been able to do with such high resolution textures.
The animation system is flawless to such an extent that you’ll ask yourself “Is this the same studio that made NBA Live 07?” What’s even more impressive is that the team only has four animators, but what they’ve accomplished here is more than commendable. Not only are the animations complex and perfectly blended with each other, but you can stop, transition or do anything with them at any time that you want. The reason is that NBA Street Homecourt gives you full control of each and every single move and trick that you pull off. You’re no longer relegated to pushing on the trick buttons and having them randomly cycle through moves. You now have the freedom to put together any sort of combination that you feel like making on the fly. This new system is called the Trick Remixer. The system is so refined, that some animations are as quick as a tenth of a second long. That’s how quick and responsive the control mechanic is. You’ll be able to pull off varied and extensive combination moves with the press of only one button.
The main thing that will dictate the different moves that you perform with the trick button is the timing at which you press the buttons. Tap the X button and you’ll change your dribbling hand. Nothing fancy here. Keep tapping it and you’ll switch the ball back and forth in perfect timing and rhythm to your button presses. If you tap the button really quickly, your baller will drop down to his knees so that he can dribble and change up hands just that fast. Pressing and releasing the button will make your baller bounce the ball up, hesitate for a moment, jump in the air while he bounces the ball under his feet and catch the ball with the other hand. This isn’t even taking into account the modifiers you can put on all those animations using the bumper buttons. Again, all these moves are just based on moving the ball from one hand to another and will form the basis of you making your own crossover moves when you have a defender checking you. You’ll be able to use this same mechanic with the Y button, which will have you doing various moves with putting the ball on the ground and doing different tricks that way.
The system is really easy to control and you’ll have a lot of fun just getting acclimated to being able to do exactly what moves you want to do when you want to do them. I was able to put together a 61 move combination string the first time I picked up the controller without even thinking about it. Trust me; people are going to be talking about this when the game comes out.
When people think of NBA Street Homecourt, they think of the Gamebreakers. This year, the Gamebreaker mode has undergone a makeover. When you fill up your Gamebreaker meter, you’ll be able to activate a mode that will give you all new abilities. The soundtrack changes to ‘Rockit’ by ‘The Son of the Cool’ (Herbie Hancock for the uninitiated) and your player is given a money ball. All the animations and moves at your disposal will be different in this mode and even more over the top. By over the top, we really mean over the top. As if the double dunks you can perform in the normal mode (yup, you read that right, DOUBLE dunks) weren’t enough, the Gamebreaker mode will allow the skilled players to be able to pull off an insane triple dunk. The mode will let you string together crazier combos and rack up even more points while it also introduces an element of danger. The longer you keep the ball and the higher your tally is, the more likely it is that your opponent will be able to strip the ball from you and sink a bucket taking it all for himself. This is going to be the ultimate punk out move on Xbox Live.
NBA Street Homecourt is shaping up to be a real winner. What we came away with was an extensive amount of hands on time with what could turn out to be one of the more enjoyable hoops experiences EA has put out in years. We’ll be back with more on NBA Street Homecourt as it approaches the February 20th release date.
PCSTV sat down with the producers at Activision to get the lowdown on customizable costumes, hidden characters, a next-gen graphics engine, and why you haven’t truly played Spidey until you’ve tossed him around on your Wii. And, what’s this about PITFALL?
The insane thing about Activision’s Marvel Ultimate Alliance game, is that comic book lovers get so MANY fan-favorite characters to choose from. From expected choices like Spider-Man and Thor, to the recently revealed Iron Man and The Thing, the joy doesn’t simply come from the fact that you’re controlling your favorite hero. With pitch-perfect voice actors, attention to detail in how the characters look and play, and a storyline that includes SHIELD, Dr. Doom, and a newfound Masters of Evil, clever Marvel fans might want to recreate their own little Civil War within the game’s arcade mode.
PopCultureShock.com had a chance to spend quality time with the game during Activision’s Press-Only day, and this is inarguably the biggest Marvel Comics-based video game ever. Hot on the heels of the award-winning X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, don’t let the developers hear you draw comparisons between the two titles. With Marvel Ultimate Alliance boasting over 20 playable characters (with at least 3 exclusive characters per console), and over 140 cameos from a huge cast of Marvel superstars, the developers at Raven Software (PS3, X360), and Vicarious Visions (Xbox, Wii, PSP) have crafted a game that’s actually more robust, more action-packed, and more, well, spectacular than Rise of Apocalypse dared hoped to be.
System: Xbox, PS2, PSP
Publisher: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment
Developer: Snowblind Studios
PopCultureShock.com recently revisited Warner Bros. Interactive for a final look at Snowblind Studios’ Justice League Heroes before the official release. Check out the video interview for all the latest.
Justice League Heroes is an action game with role playing customization featuring DC Comics’ most powerful and renowned team of super heroes. For the first time ever on current generation consoles, 1-2 players can play as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Zatanna and Martian Manhunter - plus other unlockable super heroes - together to save the world against a legion of notorious DC Comics’ villains.
Developed by Snowblind Studios, the game employs the fourth generation of their renowned current generation console technology previously seen in Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath, and Champions: Return to Arms. It also includes a detailed visual style, an intense cooperative combat system, customizable super powers unique to each character and an engaging storyline by Emmy Award-winning writer Dwayne McDuffie.
The rundown with the story this time is that Brainiac and his villain cronies have developed a master plan to conquer the world and eliminate the Justice League forever. Using the extraordinary super powers and expert fighting techniques of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman and other favorite DC Comics super heroes, players must join the Justice League to ultimately save humanity from Brainiac’s destruction and the even darker forces that are lurking in the universe.
Sticking to the action RPG roots of Snowblind Studios’ previous titles, Justice League Heroes encompasses a number of features including:
7 playable super heroes, plus other unlockable characters, each with unique super powers and combat styles based on the iconic characters.
Compelling gameplay featuring both hand-to-hand and air-to-ground cooperative, combat using a vast arsenal of character-specific super powers.
Rich and diverse visual style throughout multiple gameplay levels boasting high quality graphics and interactive, destructible environments.
Engaging storyline from award-winning comic and animation writer Dwayne McDuffie told through in-game banter and 3D cinematic cut scenes.
Unique upgradable system allows players to customize and enhance their favorite super powers resulting in specialized controls and fighting-styles.
The start of a new story arc, as “The Sparrow Net” begins! Hyakurin, disturbed by her recent encounter with Giichi, takes a break to drink and cry on a stranger’s shoulder. Döa and Isaku have two surprise reunions. One will reinforce deep-seated beliefs and long-term goals. The other will have them fighting for their lives in the streets of Edo! Deep in an underground cell, Manji is imprisoned and tortured–all in the name of “modern Japanese medicine.”
Hiroaki Samura’s hilarious “Biography” text piece continues, with exclusive pinups, and this issue features another color back cover by Stan Shaw that will link up with other covers to form an exciting, extended image!
• 2006 Eagle Award winner for Favourite Manga Title.
• Winner of Japan’s prestigious Media Arts Award and America’s own Will Eisner Award.
• FIFTEEN volumes of this modern classic available in the Dark Horse backlist!
Publication Date: Oct 11, 2006
Format: b & w, 32 pages
Price: $2.99
System: Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, PSP
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: EA Canada
Electronic Arts has finished preparing their second shot at Next Generation b-ball and they’ve got quite a bit to prove. While NBA LIVE 06 on Xbox 360 looked great, many gamers were wondering where the rest of the game was. Very few forgave EA Canada for leaving out major aspects such as Dynasty mode and other crucial gameplay factors found in the current generation version. To make things worse, EA said they were doing the next gen version of NBA LIVE 07 from scratch and were very light on details since E3. All of these things have had Live fans more eager than ever to find out what was happening with the franchise. To get the answers to all the questions, we headed up to Vancouver to find out from the NBA Live team themselves about what’s really going on.
One of the biggest complaints against EA Sports titles throughout the years is stagnation. Many criticize the company for introducing between one to three new features per year without really rocking the boat or providing a fresh experience. Interestingly enough, we found out that the lack of features and gameplay modes found in NBA LIVE 06 on 360 was actually due to EA finally giving us what we want. Let me explain.
EA decided that during the next generation, the sports titles were finally going to be remade from the ground up. The thing that some people may not realize is that NBA Live on current generation consoles is running off the same code base as the original NBA LIVE 95 title that came out in 1994 on Sega Genesis. Sure there have been many revisions since then, but there is still plenty of legacy code in there. This foundation has limited how much the team has been able to do with the title in the past. It’s like a house of cards. If you mess with or try to take out something major you run the extreme risk of making everything fall down. Thus, the only alternative was to finally press delete on the entire code base and start everything from scratch.
This brings us to the state of NBA LIVE 06. Pretty much what we had was the graphics engine as well as basic gameplay up and running. If you think about it, it’s impossible to program and code twelve years worth of features and elements from scratch in just one year. More features from the current generation version of the titles are being put into the next gen version every year until the title becomes feature complete. One such example of this can be seen with the inclusion of Dynasty mode in the next gen version.
Now that we know more about what’s happened in the past, let’s take a look at what’s in store for the future of the franchise. We were able to see and play a number of features that promise to take NBA LIVE 07 to the next level. Remember when we said everything was done from scratch? One of those things of course was the animation system.
EA could have stuck with only revamping the standard offensive and defensive animations but they went one step further. They’ve implemented what they call procedural animations. What this system does is it displays different animations that are determined by a player’s emotional state, intensity of the game and other factors. Having this contextually based animation system is part of what EA is doing to finally bring the players to life. Before you even ask, yes, facial animations have finally been brought over to the Live franchise. No more blank stares.
Another nice addition to the animations is the implementation of both weight and momentum. Players will no longer be able to stop and turn on a dime. You’ll see players plant their feet and shift their weight when they stop, change directions and perform a number of other movements. The other cool thing about the weight is how it affects other players. EA is adding an element of physicality to the game this year. If two players are moving and make contact, you won’t just see clipping or a simple animation of them sliding off each other. You’ll see realistic motions depicting what would happen if two players of their weight, skills and momentum were to collide with each other. All the animations are brand new as well.
The Superstar system has been tweaked this year also. First off is the two tiered system of the superstar abilities. The Superstar abilities remain at the disposal of the top tier performers in the game. The addition here are the Star abilities. These were included to give a greater disparity between the cream of the crop in the league and the players that are shining, but just not quite there yet.
EA is dubbing the play mechanic of these abilities Total Freestyle Control. Gamers will be able to play in various Superstar styles such as hi flyer, playmaker and others depending on who the player is they’re controlling. This time around, players that are really on their game will be versed in more than just one Superstar style that they will be able to toggle between on the fly. You could switch Lebron between shooter to hi flyer with just the flick of a button depending on the situation you’re in.
Executing various Superstar maneuvers and moves is done by doing various motions on the right analog stick. Within the Superstar styles are three different levels. As the level of the maneuver you’re trying to pull off increases, so does the complexity of the right analog motions you have to enter. It may sound a little weird inputting a Street Fighter-esque fireball motion to do a dunk, but it grows on you pretty quickly.
Perhaps the most interesting thing EA is doing this year with the title is the ESPN integration. Not satisfied with just putting a logo on the box or in a couple places in the game, they’re really going into overdrive with what they’re doing here. One of these features is ESPN radio. These are podcasts of ESPN audio programming that you can sit and listen to, or have playing in the background while you’re playing and doing other things within the game. You’ll be able to watch authentic ESPN broadcasts as well. These are clips from ESPN shows that can range from anything from live streaming video to top stories to highlights of NBA games and anything between. You’ll find an interesting mix between ESPN programming here as well as original programming. There are also a number of print articles you’ll be able to sit and read. This information will be refreshed every 5 minutes and we were told the information available won’t be more than two days old or so. Very nice.
That’s all you’re getting out of us from this last minute taste of NBA LIVE 07. If you want more, you’ll have to check out our final verdict in our in depth review shortly.
Capcom has officially announced Devil May Cry 4. Along with that announcement comes the first details to this Playstation 3 action-fest. Devil May Cry 4 will place gamers in the role of a new character named Nero. What is even more surprising is that Nero will be after everyone’s favorite devil hunter after witnessing him kill several innocents.
Long ago the Dark Knight Sparda awoke to justice and rebelled against the dark emperor, to wage a one-man war to save humanity. Thousands of years later, a religious organization worships this renowned savior and has taken it upon themselves to rid the world of all demons. Residing in Fortuna, a castle city on the coast, this “Order of the Sword” has an elite group of “Holy Knights” dedicated to carrying out this very creed. Rising among the ranks, a young cynical warrior named Nero witnesses Sparda’s legendary son Dante slaughter countless “knights”. Has the renowned devil hunter turned his back on mankind? What does this encounter mean for these two individuals and why has destiny brought them together?
In Devil May Cry 4, players control the formidable Nero who comes to grips with his newly found power as his beliefs and allegiance are tested. Continuing the legacy of fast paced action synonymous with the series, Devil May Cry 4 pushes the envelope of excellence even further with the inclusion of a new combat system that incorporates Nero’s “Devil Bringer”. This new feature has players delivering overwhelming damage to enemies with non-stop combos, while gaining new power for Nero’s right arm. With the PlayStation 3 system’s advanced graphical capabilities, high definition visuals and intricate detail come to life as players explore new and exotic locales. Amazing visual effects and dynamic action coupled with a complex storyline, provides the very cool, slick and stylish attitude that only a Devil May Cry game can deliver.
We’ll have more information as it breaks, but for now check out the first screens released for the title.
