Square-Enix are under the impression that you still aren’t satisfied with their WiiWare hit, My Life as a King, releasing 800 points worth of DLC for the excellent management sim. With 5 packs of content that range from new dungeons to new outfits, fans of the game may have to hit the store today and pick these up.
The priciest of the packs is the Infinity Spire pack at 300 Wii Points. This features 2 new dungeons including the titular Infinity Spire. This is a dungeon that levels up with your characters, which means that it will give people who have finished the game something else to get stuck into.
It’s great that Square-Enix are pushing the DLC for this title, as it is one of the best on WiiWare, but the price that some will have paid at this point is well over 3000 Wii Points, double the price of the game itself. But there will be people who will lap this DLC up; let’s hope they don’t have to clear out their ‘fridge’ to do so.
Click through for two more screenshots, and the press release in full.
Posted by Mitchell Dyer on Jul 3rd, 2008 / 11:26PM. Filed under News.
Another month, another online issue of Qore, Sony’s digitally distributed prmotional video magazine. We weren’t too kind to the launch of the service last month — dinging it for being purely ads that you paid to watch — and while Qore will likely remain a purely product-pimping program, this month’s episode has taken a turn for the better and shows potential to expand beyond commercials you pay to watch.
First and foremost, Qore Episode One’s main problem was that hostess, Veronica Belmont, wasn’t really a hostess at all. Her limited screen time only left viewers wondering who this woman was, and why is she on my PlayStation? Episode Two features her more prominently, as Veronica promised us last month. Her interviews with developers and time spent behind the scenes is entertaining, even in its canned, scripted manner.
It’s a better Episode, for sure. But there is plenty to dislike as well, and even with some tantalizing content and exclusive game footage, it’s a tough sell. Read on to see what’s hot, and what’s not, in Qore Episode Two.
By now we’re a little too accustomed to hearing the infamous “three B’s” surrounding the hype of Epic Games’ much anticipated Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360. We’ve heard about GoW2’s latest weapon additions in the flamethrower, and the spiffy new execution and “meat shield” systems, but little has actually been seen in the way of visuals. Fear not, Nukodians, as we’ve just got our hands on a slew of screenshots for both the singleplayer and multiplayer portions of the title.
It just wouldn’t be Gears of War without the game’s signature chainsaw bayonet, and this update shows Epic Games “ain’t messin’ ’round” this time, displaying all flavors of chainsaw-induced brutality, showing off a few new ways to play out your human-fueled lumber jacking fantasies. One of the less publicized features that caught our eye is the ability to use two chainsaws at once, alongside another teammate — that, combined with duels and the ability to use the chainsaw from behind an enemy looks to produce a drastic change from GoW1’s single death animation.
They say the Devil’s in the details, and looking at the file name for several of the images, we learned of the existence of a few new characters to the Gears of War universe in the cowboy-hat wearing Dizzy, and the tribal-tattooed Tai, who appear alongside series favorite Cole, and the ever-cynical Baird from the last game. If you’re not down with C. O. G. (yeah, you know me) a few new locust character models were added as well, with the Cyclops, Grenadier, and Hammerhead classes.
With all of the flying body parts, blood, and mouth-watering action on display here, it’s inherently obvious that this is definitely still Gears of War. The visuals on the first game floored critics and fans alike, and it’s definitely noticeable that Epic has cleaned up the graphics quite a bit.
Several of the new features shown off today look like healthy additions, but we’re still most concerned with how well the singleplayer ends up turning out. Mythology was one of the first game’s biggest weaknesses, and with games such as Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 pushing storytelling in new ways, it’ll be interesting to see if Epic can spin themselves out of the plot-hole filled knot they put themselves in with Gears 1. Check out our full exhibit after the break!
Midnight Club: Los Angeles on the 360 and PS3 has been pushed back to an October release. The 4th game in the popular Rockstar racing franchise will obviously take place in the streets of Los Angeles, taking cues from the recent Burnout Paradise in its open world structure.
This type of racer worked for some people, while some found it too open, and missed set tracks to race on. But there’s no reason why we can’t have both types of racer, is there. With the even more recent Race Driver GRID becoming one of the best racers in recent memory, Midnight Club will have to try hard to top it.
News was also released regarding the PSP version of the game, which will a completely new title, dubbed Midnight Club: LA Remix. This bodes well for the handheld title, and hopefully by being a separate game, it will feel more at home on Sony’s smallest console.
Both games are set to be released in October, and you can check out the press release in full by clicking through.
How often do you wish that your RTS-commanded units would just shoot more accurately? They seem to go at it with an enemy squad for two or three minutes straight with slow deaths on either side - wouldn’t it just be better if you could pop in to the eyes of the squad leader and pop the enemy team in the face yourself, then hop back out to your Godly over-view?
Apparently, you’ll be able to do just that in SouthPeak Game’s upcoming RTS/FPS hybrid, which gives players the ability to reign from above giving the orders, as well as go behind the gun and do the dirty work themselves. Coming for the Xbox 360 and PC presumably this year, is Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger. While it’s title is questionably lame, its concept sounds like something that will completely change the pace of the RTS genre.
Whether or not its executed well will be the back-bone of the genre-fused game, but if it’s pulled off, it could easily spark an interest in developers across the board. Switching interchangeably between the birds-eye command view and first-person-shooting, likely on the fly, intrigues us greatly, and we’re as anxious as you are not just to see if it can be pulled off, but to actually give it a shot. Check out our image gallery of Raven Squad after the jump, and keep your eye out for more info soon!
Another week, another couple of podcasts for your guys to listen to! Visitors to Nukoda might not know this, but along with running a few gaming news sites I also Co-host the popular Nintendo themed podcasts The DS:Life Podcast and The WiiSpot Podcast. I just released two shows that were recorded on the weekend, and wanted to tell you all about them.
WiiSpot Podcast Episode #025 In this episode Edgar and I talk about the plethora of newly announced Wii games, chat about Wii Fit, and take some time to talk to our listeners who were listening in LIVE!
DS:Life Podcast Episode #030 In this Episode Edgar and I talk about Metal Slug 7, Guitar Hero DS: On Tour, Izuna and her poster, and take some time to talk to our listeners who were listening in LIVE!
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift marks series creator Square Enix’s third attempt at nailing turn based strategy gameplay in the world of Ivalice. Preceded by the original-PlayStation-ported Tactics to PSP last year-and Tactics Advance on GBA a few years ago, A2 retains everything that was great about the series, while trying to make the game more accessible for the DS’s market.
Is this a worthy trip back to the revered world it takes place in?
The story of the original Tactics was outstanding; one of the highlights of the whole experience, and while the same was apparent –albeit less so– in Tactics Advance, what little story A2 has has nothing on the epic wartime struggle of the original. Your character, Ruso, appears in Ivalice after writing in an ancient book he finds in his school library. Trying to find a way home, he discovers early on that he must fill the book with his experiences in order to get back safely.
As open ended as stories come these days, A2 does nothing to entice you into the world, leaving you with no sense of feeling towards the characters whatsoever.
Compared to the complex, twist filled intricacies of the other games; this is merely an excuse to go back to Ivalice once again. The only remorse comes when you eventually meet Vaan and Penelo from the outstanding PS2 RPG Final Fantasy XII (not a spoiler; they’re on the box!).
Topspin 3, the next in the long running tennis game series, was released last week on the Xbox360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PS3. If you were thinking of picking it up but still remain perched on the net you may want to take a peek at the Widget that 2K Games has released. Interestingly enough this widget seems to be pimping out the Wii version, does WiiSports have competition now?
I’ve been a tennis game fan since Pong, so I’m looking forward to giving this a go on the Wii as a replacement to the much played WiiSports. Which version of this title are you guys planning on picking up?
“I am alone and miserable; man will not associate with me; but one as deformed and horrible as myself would not deny herself to me.“
-Sony PlayStation 3, July 2008*
Remember waaaaaaaaay back in E3 2006 when the first details of Sony’s 40GB PlayStation 3 model were unveiled? The (then) inferior version of the console was revealed to be lacking several of the enhancements seen on the 60GB model — notably two USB ports and a media card reader. As usual, the internet imploded on itself in angst, settling with Sony’s promise to put out add-on peripherals to make up for lost functionality. Over two years later, and we still haven’t heard a single thing from Sony.
Instead, peripheral maker Nyko Technologies has took it upon themselves to announce their cleverly named “Media Hub,” igniting the Frankenstein-esque transformation of the PlayStation 3. Seen above, the peripheral looks to covertly attach to one of the PS3’s USB ports and expands upon the functionality of the console by adding three extra USB ports as well as a Memory Stick/SD card reader.
Fans of Rock Band who were tapped out of 3 or 4 player jam sessions because of USB port limitations may want to check out Nyko’s Media Hub when it hits retail for USD $19.99 in August. Fans of sleek-looking consoles may just want to look away.
Posted by Mitchell Dyer on Jul 1st, 2008 / 11:59PM. Filed under News.
With SoulCalibur IV coming so soon, it seems like a smart idea for Namco to dish out a classic version of its revered fighter, but despite how well the original SoulCalibur holds up almost a decade later, it feels like an awkward release.
With no online play or widescreen support, and everything unlocked “out-of-the-box”, it’s a wonder why anyone would purchase this version, despite being one of the most inspirational fighters ever, when the “big” version of what is essentially the same game is out less than a month later.
Still, there’s enough in the game to satisfy fighting fans- plenty, actually. The amount of content in the game is kind of mind blowing, considering how limited many current games are: the variety of fighting modes on top of the campaign and a dozen or so characters make it all feel worth the ten dollar price tag; even though SoulCalibur is hampered by 4:3 sidebars, the increased resolution and smooth-as-butter animation still impress; the deep combo system and still-brilliant fighting mechanics will tickle nostaligia bones while still somehow feeling fresh.
There’s a ton to enjoy, and even if the release comes at kind of a funky time, it’s worth checking out the roots - well, the roots that made the series popular - of the SoulCalibur series, and anyone who’s never played the original game owes it to themself to see where the upcoming sequel came from. They’ll have a great time in the process, too.
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Tags: DLC, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: MLAAK, WiiWare 
