The Weird Pixel

Populous and Road Rash to Return?

Blog, Industry, News, PS3, Rumour, Wii, Xbox 360 - by Newton13 - August 12, 2009 - 10:19 UTC - 1 Comment

EA files trademarks and expresses interest in old IP.
by Martin Robinson, IGN UK
UK, August 12, 2009 – Classic gaming franchises such as Populous and Road Rash could be returning to the current generation of consoles, with EA filing new trademarks for the games as well as expressing an interest in reviving old franchises.

Superannuation has picked up new trademark registrations for Populous, Theme Park, Wing Commander and Road Rash.

The discovery comes shortly after EA Bright Light Studio boss Harvey Elliot, a veteran of Theme Park and Populous developer Bullfrog, didn’t rule out the possibility of the classic games returning in some form.

“I think there’s an opportunity to bring those back in the future,” he told Kikizo, “but only if it’s right for the time and not just a ‘remake’ or something. We’d need to do it in a way that’s true to the original values, but would still make a great game today.”

It won’t be the only Bullfrog game to be put through the remake machine – talented developer Starbreeze is currently lined up to revive the revered Syndicate brand in the near future.

My Take: This doesn’t come as a huge surprise, as both Populous and Road Rash have been reverred as great IPs, and it would be nice to see them return but there is a dark side to this story…

Here’s what I want… Critertion to helm a new Road Rash project, can you imagine Road Rash from the makers of Burnout?!

Here’s what will probably happen: Okay, we got Theme Park, Road Rash, and Syndicate…. Let’s make them XBLA arcade ports and call it a day.. *sigh*…

What do you think? Should these games come back or are we just desperate to see old titles again?
(God help us if it’s Road Rash: Jailbreak)

Sound off in the forums!

Newton13

                      

Guitar Hero Van Halen Set List And Release Date Revealed

Industry, News, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 - by Sean - August 6, 2009 - 00:57 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Activision yesterday gave details regarding forthcoming Van Halen centric music rhythm title Guitar Hero: Van Halen.

They revealed that the title would hit stores on December 22 and will feature approximatley only 47 songs.

The game will be multi-platform and feature on the PS3, Xbox 360, PS2 and Wii.

Below is the full track list:

Van Halen Songs
“Ain’t Talkin Bout Love”
“And The Cradle Will Rock”
“Atomic Punk”
“Beautiful Girls”
“Cathedral” (solo)
“Dance The Night Away”
“Eruption” (solo)
“Everybody Wants Some”
“Feel Your Love Tonight”
“Hang ‘Em High”
“Hear About It Later”
“Hot For Teacher”
“Ice Cream Man”
“I’m The One”
“Jamie’s Cryin”
“Jump”
“Little Guitars”
“Loss Of Control”
“Mean Street”
“Panama”
“Pretty Woman”
“Romeo Delight”
“Running With The Devil”
“So This Is Love”
“Somebody Get Me A Doctor”
“Spanish Fly” (solo)
“Unchained”
“You Really Got Me”

Similar Tracks Also In The Game
Alter Bridge – “Come To Life”
Billy Idol – “White Wedding”
blink-182 – “First Date”
Deep Purple – “Space Truckin”
Foo Fighters – “Best Of You”
Foreigner – “Double Vision”
Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom”
Jimmy Eat World – “Pain”
Judas Priest – “Painkiller”
Killswitch Engage – “The End Of Heartache”
Lenny Kravitz – “Rock And Roll Is Dead”
Queen – “I Want It All”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Sick, Sick, Sick”
Tenacious D – “Master Exploder”
The Clash – “Safe European Home”
The Offspring – “Pretty Fly For A White Guy”
Third Eye Blind – “Semi-Charmed Life”
Weezer – “Dope Nose”
Yellowcard – “The Takedown”

Looking at the track list I think I may give this a miss although I like Van Halen I feel that full RRP for 47 songs is steep considering the volume of tracks on Rock Band 1/2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour/5.

What do you think? Like the tracks? Comment below now!

                      

FIFA 10 Dated, and Box Art

News, PC, PS3, Portable Gaming, Wii, Xbox 360 - by Benj - August 5, 2009 - 08:36 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Ok everyone, it’s time to start booking holiday off work or working on your sick voice, as EA have revealed the release date for FIFA 10 to be Friday 2nd October. Being EA, the game is of course being released on every platform imaginable, you never know you might even be able to get a copy that will run on your microwave this year, who knows!

Stick around at The Weird Pixel for a full preview and review as soon as we get our hands on a playable version.

                      

Assassin’s Creed 2 going for cheaps (UK)

News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 - by Tom - August 5, 2009 - 04:21 UTC - Be first to Comment!

It appears as though online retailer TheHut is having a bit of a clearance sale, and Assassin’s Creed 2 is going for cheap!  Here are the prices for PS3, 360 and PC versions of the game for you to preorder:

PS3: £29.73

360: £36.73

PC: £27.73

How good is that!  Pretty awesome, right?   So get preordering your preferred version of the game before it’s totally gone.

                      

X-Wing vs Tie Fighter returning?

Blog, Industry, News, PS3, Rumour, Xbox 360 - by Newton13 - August 4, 2009 - 18:18 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Source: Jason Ocampo (IGN.com)

August 4, 2009 – If you ask veteran PC gamers to list their favorite games of all time, odds are X-Wing or TIE Fighter (or both) are somewhere on their lists. There’s a reason for that, as both were superb action flight simulators that immersed you in the epic Star Wars conflict between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. X-Wing was the first game in the series and TIE Fighter the sequel, so TIE Fighter is often more beloved because it was more refined. Plus, it was awesome to rise in the ranks of the Imperial Navy and become the Emperor’s most valued fighter pilot.

It’s been more than a decade since the last game in the series was released; hard to believe but X-Wing Alliance was released in February of 1999. The space sim genre that was established by the Star Wars games and Origin’s Wing Commander series then began to fade for various reasons. However, fans have longed for a sequel to TIE Fighter since then.

However, things may be changing. There’s a new president at LucasArts, Darrel Rodriguez, who seems intent on revisiting the company’s past glories. In the past few months, LucasArts has begun to release its library on Steam, and the company recently released The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition on PC and Xbox 360. The latter was a remake of the classic adventure game with improved graphics (but for those who want a nostalgic return, you could toggle the original graphics at any moment.)

Now here’s where it gets interesting. G4 recently asked Rodriguez about the possibility of X-Wing and TIE Fighter returning. His answer: “We don’t have any announcements now, but stay tuned. We will soon.”

It might be time to dust off that joystick.

My take: There’s only one word for this awesome! Wouldn’t it be cool if X-Wing vs Tie Fighter found it’s way onto XBLA or PSN? Or, possibly, even better, A new game in the series? This is merely a rumor based on a potential freudian slip but….. X-Wing vs Tie Fighter? What do you think?

Sound off In the forums!

                      

PS3 Slim Priced

Industry, News, PS3 - by Sean - August 4, 2009 - 14:55 UTC - Be first to Comment!

According to reports in The Telegraph today the PS3 slim is real and it has also being priced which brings a pleasant surprise.

The Telegraph claims that the PS3 slim will come in 40gb and 80gb models with prices starting from £260. A price cut of around £40 on the current £299.99 retail price.

Many suspect that Sony will formally announce the PS3 slim at this months GamesCon event (August 18th) where they are scheduled to make an appearance.

Interestingly the article mentions that Sony are ramping up production to meet increased demand later this year and “have ordered enough parts to make one million consoles in the third quarter of this year, twice as many as in the last three months.”

Nice to see Sony have faith in their product. Also with the introduction of the new slim does this mean that the remaining PS3 models will too get a price cut? I’m guessing GamesCon is where all will be revealed.

Comment below for free now!

                      

Wii HD/ 360 2/ PS3 Slim… Did somebody say pointless?

Features, Industry, PS3, Rumour, Wii, Xbox 360 - by Tom - August 4, 2009 - 09:21 UTC - Be first to Comment!

Hello there everyone.  You know, sometimes, in the world of video games, it’s pretty hard to be optimistic about the way in which the industry works in terms of its economy.

Today, I realized how retarded Industry leaders must think the public are, and I’ll tell you why.

My reason is simple and clear, and it goes back for generations.  Hardware Upgrades.

And before you say anything, no, I don’t mean generation to generation hardware upgrades, I mean stuff like Wii Motion Plus and the 360 Elite.  It’s those little iterations on hardware that we’ve put a bunch of money into which makes me think that hardware manufactorers take us for fools, and quite frankly, it’s a little bit bullshit.

Now, by no means am I some kind of anti-Capitalist who’s against buying and consuming, I’m all for it, in fact.  What I don’t like, is having my intelligence insulted by companies such as Sony, who are bringing out a slim version of the PS3 sometime probably in the next year, and what will the main differences be?  Well, that it’s a bit slimmer, of course.  So then why not introduce the slim modle at the beginning of the console lifespan?!

Don’t give the that “well, they’re different components inside the box” bull shit either, because I personally think that a company should work their asses off to produce the best possible console they can do in their allotted period of development time and then keep it at that.  Seriously guys, if the PS3 Slim launches at a price similar to the price of the original PS3 I am going to be pissed.

In a similar fashion, console upgrades such as the 360 Elite console make me want to /Rage_Quit life completely.  Adding a HDMI port and a larger hard drive and painting it black do not warrent a £320.00 price point.  If anything, the thing should have been sold at the price of the original 360 when it launched, which was £280.00, far more reasonable.  Granted, the introduction of a HDMI port does warrant a hardware upgrade; it’s not something that you can really just pack out in a separate box… it’s sort of integral to the machine’s  design.  However, price point needs to be kept under control in these kinds of circumstances.

The other infuriating situation which keeps plaguing me is this “Wii HD” thing.  Why, oh why Nintendo, do you persist to put out consoles half-finished?!  The whole Wii Motion Plus thing is bad enough.   Sure the add-on is brilliant in every single way possible, and it’s not too expensive and makes games feel great… but why wasn’t it packed in when the hardware first launched?  Why promise a person something that you know you can’t achieve right from the off?  So, erm, back to my original problem… Wii HD?!   Say what?  The idea is  insane.

The Wii should have been in High Definition anyway, and it’s the only fault that I have with that system.  Games look dumb on it… I’m sorry, but it’s true.  If Nintendo decide to release a new Wii (which they’ve not agreed to, yet) that’s exactly the same but with high definition… buy I will be angry.  Would I go out and buy the damn thing?  yes!  Of course I would, because I want my games in high definition, but I would feel completely insulted by Nintendo for making me spend another couple of hundred pounds on something that should have been there in the first place.

So there.  I buy consoles so that I can avoid upgrading… that’s what makes PC gaming suck. Please, tell me I’m not alone in these opinions…. there’s got to be more people than just me feeling angered by the decisions of greedy hardware manufactures!  Leave a comment and then head over to the forum to Vent!

                      

PS3 Price Cut Confirmed! (Sorta)

Blog, Industry, News, PS3, Rumour - by Newton13 - August 4, 2009 - 08:19 UTC - Be first to Comment!

by Martin Robinson, IGN UK
UK, August 4, 2009 – Amazon has cut 50 USD from the price of the 160 GB PlayStation 3, with the unit – bundled with a copy of the revered Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune – now weighing in at 449.99 USD.

The cut – picked up by gamesindustry.biz – comes ahead of Gamescom, where many believe Sony will reveal an official price cut, as well as possibly introduce the much touted slim model of the PlayStation 3. The price cut for the 160 GB model is only effective in the US.

A listing for the PlayStation 3 slim was spotted on Amazon Germany over the weekend, suggesting that any official news on the rumoured console will come sooner rather than later.

My Take: Well, a price cut on the 160 GB model was inevitable since it comes packed with Uncharted, (I.E. it’s being discontinued), I’d say the likelihood of them actually cutting the price of the other console models may come soon, as the rumors for the “slim” model are sparking up more and more. Can the 80GB model finally make the $299.99 mark?

Sound off in the forums!

Newton13

                      

Braid Confirmed For PSN

Industry, News, PS3 - by Sean - August 3, 2009 - 15:34 UTC - Be first to Comment!

IGN have recieved confirmation from Hothead Games that the rumoured port of hit arcade title Braid to the PS3 is indeed real.

The rumour emerged after Braid appeared on the German rating board which seemingly revealed a PS3 version but it is only now that the game is official.

The platform-puzzler is set to hit both North American and European PS3s. However, no other details — like release date or price — have been given.

Well best start waiting then.

                      

Wipeout HD Gets In Game Ads

Industry, News, PS3 - by Sean - August 3, 2009 - 15:27 UTC - Be first to Comment!

In-game advertiser Double Fusion announced today that it was bringing “dynamic video advertisements” to Wipeout HD.

Many gamers are already in a fury over the switch which has seen American users already effected by the change.

The video ads began to appear during Wipeout HD loading screens, where users are presented with a video spot which amongst other things sells ‘State Farm Insurance’.  Some gamers believe that the ads are slowing down Wipeouts loading screens and others feel that since they paid for the game it is unfair for it to be ad-supported too.

Double Fusion boasts that the ads “contextually match the game’s sleek futuristic design” and “complement the WipEout HD world seamlessly,” most players would disagree.

This YouTube video highlights the loading screen difference and is like to anger Wipeout HD players further.

Attempts have been made to contact Sony Computer Entertainment America but as of there has being no comment (surprise, surprise).

For now non-North American terriotries are safe so enjoy Wipeout HD ad-free whilst it lasts because it looks like it could soon becoming to an end.

Just to tag along, if you don’t own Wipeout HD then think how this could effect you and future gaming, it now seems inevitable that in-game ads are not too far away, now that’s a depressing thought …

What do you think of in-game ads? Are they slowing Wipeout HD’s loading screens down? Let us know by commenting below!