On Gear Live: Motorola Droid: Available November 6th for $200, Verizon exclusive

Summer of Arcade 2009 brings Turtles in Time, Marvel vs Capcom 2, more

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Action, CAPCOM, Fighting, Release Dates, Retro, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

Marvel vs Capcom 2 XBLA

The second annual Summer of Arcade kicks off on July 22nd, bringing with it one of the most hotly anticipated games to hit the Xbox Live Arcade: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled for 1200 Microsoft Points. Over the course of the following four weeks, the excitement continues. Here’s a look at the schedule for the 2009 Summer of Arcade:

July 22: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™: Turtles in Time Re-shelled 1200 Microsoft Points
(Ubisoft Singapore®/Ubisoft®): Cowabunga dude! Marking the franchise’s 25 anniversary, everyone’s favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game is back with a brand new look in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled.” The arcade classic has been revamped with all new 3D graphics, but the same classic beat ‘em up gameplay.

July 29: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 1200 Microsoft Points
(Backbone Entertainment/Capcom): One of the most popular fighting games of all time, “Marvel vs. Capcom 2,” arrives worldwide on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Choose from 56 legendary characters from Marvel Comics and Capcom history, including Ryu and Wolverine. With online multiplayer over Xbox LIVE and enhanced HD graphics, decide your own dream team in the ultimate tag-team fighting experience.

August 5: Splosion Man™  800 Microsoft Points
(Twisted Pixel Games/Microsoft): Fools they were, to tread where knowledge should stay forbidden.  For what emerged was not a man - it was a Splosion Man. “And all who saw him were sploded, for he was the fire and they were but meat.” Able to splode himself at will, the Splosion Man launches his way through levels as an uncontainable force.  From Twisted Pixel Games, developer of the award winning The Maw™, Splosion Man will keep you on your toes as you play through more than 50 single-player levels and 50 multiplayer levels. Nominated by GameSpy, Gamespot, IGN, and 411mania, this meat-riddled splosion-fest took several Best of E3 awards including Best Platformer and Best Downloadable Game.

August 12: Trials HD 1200 Microsoft Points
(RedLynx/Microsoft): Nominated for GameSpy’s Best Downloadable Game of E3 award, “Trials HD” is guaranteed to get our heart racing.” Put on your helmet, and rev your way through “Trials HD,” a full-featured, physics-based motorcycle racing platformer in stunning HD graphics. Tear up more than 50 tracks and test your metal in two unique game modes: Race and Skill. Create, share and download an unlimited number of free tracks with the level editor, and customize your rider to fit your personality.

August 19: Shadow Complex 1200 Microsoft Points
(Chair Entertainment and Epic Games/Microsoft): Winner of numerous Best of E3 awards including Best Downloadable Game from 1UP, IGN, GameTrailers and G4TV, “Shadow Complex” is the next evolution in downloadable games. “Shadow Complex” marries the quality and depth of a full retail title with the stunning visuals of Epic Games’ industry-leading Unreal Engine 3, and a classic side-scroller. Set in the world of Orson Scott Card’s best-selling novel, “Empire,” Shadow Complex provides more than 10 hours of in-depth gameplay and introduces a compelling universe.

Between Turtles in Time, Marvel vs. Capsom 2, and Shadow Complex, this is going to be one expensive summer.

Read More | Major Nelson

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Assassin’s Creed Goes Gold

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Adventure, Corporate News, PlayStation 3, Ubisoft, Xbox 360

Description

The game that nobody thought would actually come out this year is officially done and on its way to be pressed, boxed, and shipped out to game stores.  Yes, that’s right.  Assassin’s Creed, the long-in-development Crusades sandbox epic has gone gold for production. 

“We’ve been working very hard for nearly four years to make Assassin’s Creed a reality and now there is a confirmed date when players will get to experience the results of our efforts,” shared Jade Raymond, producer of Assassin’s Creed. “This is a huge event for the team. Our biggest reward will be everyone having a lot of good solid fun.”

Assassin’s Creed hits the Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 13th.

Read More | Ubisoft

New Assassin’s Creed Video

Posted by Steve Van Neil Categories: Action, Adventure, PC, PlayStation 3, Trailers, Ubisoft, Xbox 360

The developers of Assassin’s Creed have always boasted of their game’s high level of environmental interaction.  They claim that every wall, object, or person in their highly anticipated Xbox 360/PS3/PC action-adventure game can be scaled, moved, or shoved.  And now here’s the video to prove it.  Watch Altair (the game’s featured assassin) try to escape the city’s guards by running, climbing, and jumping all over this Middle Aged playground, and kindly ignore the futuristic glitches and flashes that hint at a more mysterious storyline that Ubisoft will not divulge.  Gape at the mind-boggling geometry that for once actually does permit the level of interaction promised by its enthusiastic creators.  Raise an eyebrow at the anachronistic Hans Zimmer-esque musical score.  Breathe a sigh of relief that this long in development game looks like it could conceivably hit that once nigh-unhittable November release date. 

Read More | IGN

Haze Goes PS3 Exclusive, Gets New Gameplay Video

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: First Person Shooters, PC, PlayStation 3, Sony, Ubisoft, Xbox 360

The video above, showing some of ‘s shooter , reveals some of the combat tactics in play later in the game once your character has joined against his former employer.

While the video looks nice and showcases some of the game’s more intriguing facets, even more intriguing is the announcement that the game is now slated to be a exclusive. Originally haze was to be a timed exclusive, hitting the PlayStation 3 first and then coming later to the and . Now it seems that developer is only working on the PS3 version, although Ubisoft isn’t conting those version out completely, saying only, “The official statement on PC and Xbox 360 is that these platforms are not confirmed.”

Read More | GameSpot

Far Cry 2 Coming, Sayeth Ubisoft

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Electronic Arts, First Person Shooters, PC, Ubisoft

Far Cry 2 logo

Ubisoft doesn’t think you should be getting too excited about Crysis. According to them, Far Cry 2 is going to be the new hawtness. In fact, they’re pretty confident that Far Cry 2 is going to be the game to raise the bar in the FPS arena:

“Far Cry marked the beginning of a new era for shooters. An era of gorgeous graphics and of advanced artificial intelligence,” declared John Parkes, EMEA marketing director at Ubisoft. “We are confident that Far Cry 2 will have the same impact again on the FPS genre landscape.”

Never mind the fact that Far Cry 2 isn’t being developed by Crytek, or that they don’t have shiny screenshots to show off. It’s just going to be awesome. Plus, you’ll be able to look forward to the ports! Far Cry 2: Instinctual Predation - Evolution of Vengeance coming soon to the the PS2, Wii, Gamecube, Xbox, GBA, and your cell phone.

Snarkiness aside, the game will be developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal Studios who also worked on Splinter Cell and the Prince of Persia series, so we can probably expect some pretty good things. From the look of the preview website, it looks like the game may take place in the African savannah, but we’ll have to wait for Ubi to give us any more tidbits of info (such as platforms, release dates, and all that other important stuff).

Read More | Far Cry 2 Teaser Site

The Min-E3 2007 Games Lineup

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Activision, CAPCOM, E3, Eidos, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Portable/Mobile, PSP, SEGA, Take2, THQ, Ubisoft, Wii, Xbox 360

E3 logoSure, the convention is much smaller this year and all, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a ton of games to be seen. Eurogamer has posted a list of the announced lineups and then some of what you’ll be seeing at E3. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have been quiet on what they’ll be showing, so it looks like we’ll need to wait until their respective showings to know for sure. The event is taking place next week, so expect it to be a busy week in news.

But please, please, please, Nintendo, show me Animal Crossing Wii. Something. Anything. Please?

Read More | Eurogamer

Assassin’s Creed Coming This November

Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: PC, PlayStation 3, Release Dates, Special Editions, Ubisoft, Xbox 360

Assassin's Creed

The highly anticipated Prince of Persia-like Assassin’s Creed has finally been given a timeframe for release; the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions will all be released in November. Naturally, a limited edition will be available for what is becoming the standard price of $69.99 (unless your name happens to be Grand Theft Auto or Halo), and includes the following:

  • Tin box
  • Penny Arcade comics
  • Altair figure
  • Mini strategy guide
  • Trailers, documentaries, other videos

Normally I’m ready to pounce on the fact that every single game nowadays has some sort of Limited Special Collector’s Edition, but Assassin’s Creed is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year; this one looks like it deserves an LE.


Ubisoft Milks Raving Rabbids, Steals Ad Ideas

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Nintendo DS, Party Games, Ubisoft, Wii

Raving Rabbids 2 Logo

So the real gaming news is that Ubisoft will be releasing Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2 for the Wii and DS. According to IGN.com, the game will focus much more on the Rabbids themselves, and much less on Rayman. Personally, this sounds to me like a great idea - the bunnies have enough charm to be a franchise all their own, so there’s no need to tie in a popular platformer character (especially when the game retains little of what the original Rayman series was all about). The game is expected to hit in Fall 2007, no exact date given yet.

OK, now with all that NEWS out of the way, isn’t it just a little odd how closely that graphic above resembles the advertisement for a certain other hyper-kinetic rabbity thing? I’m guessing Telltale Games will have a good sense of humor about Ubisoft using their idea, but maybe RRR2 should give Max a cameo as compensation…

Read More | GoNintendo.com

Original Prince of Persia Hitting XBLA

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Adventure, Ubisoft, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

Prepare to work hard to get these achievements… the original Prince of Persia, that’s right the 2D side-scroller with play-control of doom will be making its way to the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade. As a bonus, it’ll feature updated graphics (think 2.5D) and from the look of this trailer you can expect a few added surprises. As Joystiq is keen to point out, this game will tie in graphically with the Sands of Time game, featuring the emo-prince character model that we’ve all come to know and love (except in Warrior Within of course - there was nothing loveable about him there).

The original PoP and it’s 2D sequel are some of my fondest old-school gaming memories, so I’m hoping the folks developing this re-telling don’t screw it up. It’s all in the ridiculously hard play control, guys. We’re guessing around $10.00 for pricing (800 MS Points), and it’s slated to be released Q2 this year.

Read More | YouTube.com

Assassin’s Creed Dated, Pre-Orders Available for 360, PS3

Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Action, PlayStation 3, Rumors, Xbox 360

Assassins Kickin' it Old Skool

Looks like Assassin’s Creed may be taking a chunk of time out of your beginnig-of-quarter studying schedule, for all you gamer-students out there. If Amazon.com‘s listing is correct, the game will be launching on September 25th this year. Currently, you can pre-order the Ubisoft game for either Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3, from Amazon’s website, for $59.99. Interestingly, there’s also an Assassin’s Creed DS listing over at Amazon, but we’re not going to give that too much credibility.

Personally, I can’t wait to see if there’s any difference between the 360 and PS3 versions of the title. Given that the game was one of the most visually impressive demonstrations of the PS3 hardware, it’ll be interesting to see how the worst-kept non-exclusivity secret in gaming plays on supposedly inferior hardware.

Read More | Amazon.com

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