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Midnight Club: Los Angeles Delayed

Posted by Alex Lifschitz
Categories: Driving, PlayStation 3, PSP, Release Dates, Take2, Xbox 360

Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Unfortunately for those of you who were looking to take to the streets of Los Angeles in a bout of reckless glee, Take Two has revealed that Midnight Club: Los Angeles for the PS3, , and will be delayed to allow the game to be released during a more potentially lucrative time window, likely close to the post-Black Friday shopping blitz.The game was originally slated to be released on October 21st. No word has yet been given on the actual release date, but it’ll probably end up as one of the few hundred thousand games you’re going to want to buy during the Christmas season, if release trends are as predictable as they were in years past.

Read More | Destructoid

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Manhunt 2 Review: The Good, The Bad and The Grisly

Posted by Lolita Beckwith
Categories: Nintendo, Reviews, Survival Horror, Take2, Wii

Manhunt 2 for Nintendo WiiAlong with the release of “” and the unfortunate postponement of “GTA IV”, one of the biggest video game stories of the year is the saga of ’s “Manhunt 2”.  First, it was banned in England due to its graphic violence. Then it was given the kiss-of-death “Adults Only” rating here in the US by the ESRB. Sony and Nintendo do not release games with that rating—and they’re not carried by Blockbuster and Walmart. Undaunted, Rockstar made some revisions, and eventually the game received a “Mature” rating.

So now “Manhunt 2” is available in stores for Nintendo , Playstation 2 and PSP. Having followed the saga, and very curious about the game’s content (plus I’m a huge fan of previous Rockstar games), I made it my business to rent the Wii version and play it. Having never played the original “Manhunt”—and not being a fan of stealth games—I had little idea what to expect. After completing the tutorial of Wiimote and Nunchuk moves (which includes some very funny, if grisly, sound effects), I dove in.

Click to continue reading Manhunt 2 Review: The Good, The Bad and The Grisly


How Manhunt 2 Toned Down to an M Rating

Posted by Paul Hamilton
Categories: PlayStation 3, Politics, PSP, Survival Horror, Take2, Wii

Manhunt 2 Screenshot

Some questions were asked after Rockstar announced that it had adjusted the content of its violent horror title Manhunt 2 to warrant an M rating from the ESRB rather than the unsellable AO it had previously been given. California Senator Leland Yee was one person asking such questions.

Since much of the public’s information about the original content in Manhunt 2 came from IGN’s Matt Casamassina’s hands-on with the game prior to rating, it’s only fitting that he plays the modified version heading to retail and reports on what the differences are.

Primarily, Casamassina says, the game has taken the controversial murder animations and added some blur and darkening effects to obfuscate the actions, making the action less identifyable. Casamassina is disappointed with the changes:

[It’s] unfortunate because both everything else is unchanged and because these death strikes are what gamers will want to work toward; they’re the pay off for a job well done, but now the pay off is not nearly as rewarding.

It’s worth noting that one maneuver in which the player removes an enemy’s testicles with a pair of pliers has been completely excised from the game, but aside from these adjustments the game is still extremely dark and graphically violent according to Casamassina’s estimation.


Manhunt 2 Gets Green Light for Release in North America

Posted by Steve Van Neil
Categories: Action, Corporate News, PlayStation 2, PSP, Release Dates, Survival Horror, Take2, Wii

DescriptionRockstar Games found itself in a bit of a pickle earlier this year when the ESRB slapped Manhunt 2 with an Adults Only rating.  Most stores balk at selling AO-rated games, but more importantly, Nintendo and Sony refuse to publish them.  As a result, the game’s original release date of July 10th was scrapped, and much hand-wringing ensued on the part of Rockstar executives wondering just what the hell to do next.

Well, Rockstar’s long nightmare appears to be over, as company PR has revealed that Manhunt 2 has been modified, rated M by the ESRB, and will hit North American store shelves this October 31st on PS2, PSP, and Nintendo Wii.  “Manhunt 2 is important to us, and we’re glad it can finally be appreciated as a gaming experience. We love the horror genre. Manhunt 2 is a powerful piece of interactive story telling that is a unique video game experience. We think horror fans will love it,” said Sam Houser, founder and executive producer of Rockstar Games.

There has been no word yet on what content changes were made to the game in order to lock down a Mature rating.  And sadly, the game is still banned over in the UK.

Read More | GameDaily

Ken Levine on Hacking in BioShock: “It’s a Little Out There.”

Posted by Steve Van Neil
Categories: Action, Adventure, First Person Shooters, PC, Puzzle, Take2, Xbox 360

BioShock hacking screen

Everybody loves BioShock.  From the whale-like moans of the Big Daddy to the thrill of smashing a frozen Splicer into little bits, the game is quality.  However, one aspect of the game that isn’t thrilling everyone is its hacking mechanism; if you want to break into a safe or turn enemy turrets into your own mechanized defense force, you first must succeed at a hacking minigame that plays a lot like the Lucasfilm Games classic, Pipe Dream.  Well, as it turns out, BioShock’s own big daddy, Ken Levine, is also not in love with the mechanic.  Shacknews sat down with Levine for an interview and got his take on it.

It’s a little out there. That’s why it was important that you could bypass it in two ways; you can buy it out or you can use the hack tools--or you can just ignore it. There’s only one hack you have to do in the game.

But I think if we could go back and do it again, we would have maybe rethought that a little bit. I think it was more a function of our limitations at the beginning of the project when we had a very limited budget, and then we zoomed in so many other areas that we sort of forgot to go back to that area.

The purely non-spoiler interview, linked below, goes on to cover all things BioShock and is well worth reading.

Read More | Shacknews

Top Spin Tennis Coming to Wii

Posted by Steve Van Neil
Categories: Casual, Nintendo, Release Dates, Sports, Take2, Wii

2K Sports logo2K Sports has announced that it is bringing the popular Top Spin Tennis franchise to the Nintendo Wii.  Such a move seems like a no-brainer; Wii Sports is fun and all, but Wii owners have been clamoring for a tennis game with a little more depth for a long time now.

“We are excited to bring our popular Top Spin series to the Wii,” said Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. “Given the Wii’s unique controllers and the fun family-oriented gameplay, Top Spin Tennis effectively bridges the gap between a sports and a party game.”

Unfortunately, gamers eager to whack some balls around with their Wii remotes will have to wait a bit, as the game isn’t scheduled to ship until Spring ‘08.

Read More | Take2 Games

BioShock Art Book Available Online…for Free!

Posted by Steve Van Neil
Categories: Action, Adventure, First Person Shooters, Games for Windows, Microsoft, Take2, Xbox 360

Bioshock Art BookComing hot on the heels of a truly tremendous Xbox Live demo, 2K Boston/2K Australia (formerly Irrational Games) has posted a free PDF file which contains sixty-odd pages of concept art from the game to be printed out at your leisure.  How cool is that?  Word of warning, however: Ken Levine’s forward to the book contains spoilers, so tread carefully.

BioShock is poised to blow minds on Xbox 360 and Windows in just seven days.

Read More | 2K Games

Breaking: Grand Theft Auto IV Delayed Into 2008

Posted by Chris Pereira
Categories: Corporate News, PlayStation 3, Release Dates, Take2, Xbox 360

Grand Theft Auto IV logo

In some rather surprising (and extremely disappointing) news, Take-Two has announced that it is reducing its fiscal 2007 guidance due to Grand Theft Auto IV for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 being delayed until fiscal 2008. Currently, GTA IV is set for release in the second fiscal quarter of ’08. Take Two’s second fiscal quarter runs from February 1, 2008 to April 30, 2008. The delay is due to additional time required to finish developing the game.

Strauss Zelnick, Chairman of Take-Two, stated, “With Grand Theft Auto IV, Rockstar is setting a new standard for next generation video games. Certain elements of development proved to be more time-intensive than expected, especially given the commitment for a simultaneous release on two very different platforms. We all recognize that perfecting the game is vital and I can assure everyone it will be worth the wait. We owe it to the game’s millions of fans, to our dedicated development team, and to our shareholders to make sure that Grand Theft Auto IV is a groundbreaking gaming experience that takes maximum advantage of next generation technology.”

Sam Houser, Founder and Executive Producer of Rockstar Games, added, “The new consoles are allowing us to create the Grand Theft Auto game we always dreamed about. Every aspect of the game and its design has been completely transformed. The game is huge and is pushing the hardware platforms to their absolute limits. The top engineers from Sony and Microsoft are working closely with the team in Edinburgh right now, helping us to fully leverage the power of both platforms. As always, our goal is to surpass even the wildest expectations of the game’s fans, and to create the ultimate high definition video game experience.”


Rockstar Loves Nintendo, Brings Bully and Table Tennis Wii-ward

Posted by Michael Cardiff
Categories: Adventure, Take2, Wii

DescriptionWell, it seems as if the constant hubbub over Manhunt 2 won’t be keeping Rockstar away from the Wii. Just recently, Rockstar has announced that they will be bringing Bully (formerly PS2 exclusive) and Table Tennis (formerly 360 exclusive) to the Wii. It seems the company has been amping up support for the little white box. Here’s hoping that these won’t be quick-n-dirty money-printing ports from Rockstar - I’ve come to expect quality from these guys.

Bully will be hitting the Wii (and the 360, by the way!) in a new “Scholarship Edition” that features new bonus content, as yet unspecified. Look for it to drop this winter.

Read More | Take2games.com

E3 2007: All The Stuff You’ll See On Xbox 360 And Games for Windows In 2007

Posted by Chris Pereira
Categories: Activision, Bungie, CAPCOM, Driving, E3, Eidos, Electronic Arts, Fighting, Games for Windows, Games for Windows Live, LucasArts, Microsoft, Namco, PC, Puzzle, Release Dates, Retro, Role Playing Games, SEGA, Special Editions, Sports, Strategy, Take2, Third Person Shooters, THQ, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade

Xbox 360 E3 games release 2007

Over on Gamerscore Blog, a list has been posted with all of the games being shown at E3 that will be available this year. Xbox 360 games, Xbox Live Arcade games, Games for Windows-branded titles, and Games for Windows Live-enabled games. It’s a lot to digest, and with big name games like BioShock, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Guitar Hero III, Sonic the Hedgehog (the original, don’t worry), Puzzle Quest, Company of Heroes: Opposing Forces… let’s just say there’s something for nearly everyone. 

Click to continue reading E3 2007: All The Stuff You’ll See On Xbox 360 And Games for Windows In 2007

Read More | Gamerscore Blog

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