Source: videogamesblogger.com

Dead Space has been given a new earlier release date of October 14th in America (October 20th for the PC version) and October 24th for the European version. Previously it was set for release on Halloween. It will be released for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Sadly though, a few fans will not be able to find the game in their local shops. Dead Space has been banned in China, Japan and Germany! No clear reason was given for the ban, and it’s quite puzzling (at least for Japan) given all the other violent product that hits store shelves.

Although this is nothing new in some foreign countries. China in particular has a history of monitoring what can or cannot be sold to their citizens regarding media. As far as Germany is concerned, Capcom ran into trouble with their Xbox 360 zombie-slayer Dead Rising when it was denied classification by Germany’s ratings board. However Capcom then altered the game, having to deal with some severe limitations on the way it could be sold and advertised. But it wasn’t outright banned.

Microsoft also ran into some trouble in Germany with their Gears of War and Crackdown titles, which were also denied classification.

As far as Japan is concerned, the country’s Computer Entertainment Suppliers’ Association (CESA) tops out with a Z-rating, which the board has found suitable for titles like Assassin’s Creed and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which were both released in the country.

Either way, it’s sad for fans who may have been anticipating the game.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Mirror’s Edge is an upcoming first-person adventure game which has you running along rooftops, sliding under objects and leaping between buildings (ala Prince of Persia or Assassin’s Creed) but all from a unique first-person perspective where you not only are seeing out of your characters eyes, but you realistically can see Faith’s arms and legs as she goes about her acrobatic feats.

So that may leave a lot of people wondering how the developers plans to combat motion sickness (or rather, “simulation sickness” since you aren’t actually moving) since the game looks so realistic. And EA has provided an answer…

They added a white dot in the middle of the screen. That dot turns blue when it’s charged for the slow motion action. So what is the purpose of said dot? EA said that DICE had interviewed ballerinas to see how they can perform spins without feeling sick. The trick they use is to focus on a certain object or spot on the floor while they spin, which inspired them to add the dot. That way players can focus on it as they run around. Although if you find it distracting or annoying, you do have the option to turn the dot off.

They also removed the head bobbing that you could see in footage from the Game Developer’s Conference, since they realized you are supposed to be seeing out of her eyes, not her head. They also made it so the sides of the screen provide a sense of peripheral vision in the game, although they haven’t decided whether or not to use letterbox widescreen for 4:3 resolution TV’s.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

I Am Alive has been announced for Wii, Xbox 360, PC and PS3 by Ubisoft at E3 2008 as an all-new IP from the company.

The game is being described as a “survival-adventure” and takes place in Chicago which has been left in ruins after a massive earthquake completely devastates the city.

Players will be challenged to think, react and take risks that will directly effect not only themselves but also those around them.

An all-new teaser trailer demonstrates the sense of scale that the team at Ubisoft, along with infamous Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond, help to achieve, along with an equally intense sense of fear and emotion that will naturally come along from living through a disaster of this magnitude. I imagine that 9/11 was a major inspiration for the game and that you will experience first-hand the death of loved ones who don’t make it out alive.

“Ubisoft continues to create new experiences for players and I Am Alive will appeal to anyone that enjoys a thrilling journey,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer, at Ubisoft. “The game will offer a rich palette of emotions while challenging players to make life-changing decisions.”

I Am Alive has a release date of spring 2009. Give the teaser trailer a look.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

I Am Alive has been announced for Wii, Xbox 360, PC and PS3 by Ubisoft at E3 2008 as an all-new IP from the company.

The game is being described as a “survival-adventure” and takes place in Chicago which has been left in ruins after a massive earthquake completely devastates the city.

Players will be challenged to think, react and take risks that will directly effect not only themselves but also those around them.

An all-new teaser trailer demonstrates the sense of scale that the team at Ubisoft, along with infamous Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond, help to achieve, along with an equally intense sense of fear and emotion that will naturally come along from living through a disaster of this magnitude. I imagine that 9/11 was a major inspiration for the game and that you will experience first-hand the death of loved ones who don’t make it out alive.

“Ubisoft continues to create new experiences for players and I Am Alive will appeal to anyone that enjoys a thrilling journey,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer, at Ubisoft. “The game will offer a rich palette of emotions while challenging players to make life-changing decisions.”

I Am Alive has a release date of spring 2009. Give the teaser trailer a look.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

What are the best-selling games in America, Japan, and Europe (UK) this week? Thanks to Amazon online sales data here are the games that are the most popular now.

Nintendo Wii
North America: 1. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 2. Wii Play (Nintendo), 3. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 4. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Tales of Symphonia: Ratatosk no Kishi (Namco), 2. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 4. Resident Evil Zero: Wii Edition (Capcom), 5. Family Trainer (Namco Bandai).

Europe: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 3. Big Beach Sports (THQ), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 4. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 5. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (2K Games).

Japan: 1. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai), 2. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare — Game of the year Edition (Activision), 5. Mobile Suit Gundam: Operation Troy (Bandai).

Europe: 1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 2. Battlefield: Bad Company (EA Games), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Rock Band: Band in a Box (EA Games), 5. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (2K Games).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. Assassin’s Creed (Ubisoft), 4. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (SCEA), 5. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution (2K Games).

Japan: 1. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Bandai), 2. Initial D Extreme Stage (Sega), 3. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots — Special Edition (Konami), 4. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare — Game of the year Edition (Activision), 5. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami).

Europe: 1. Buzz! Quiz TV with Buzzers (SCEE), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 4. Battlefield: Bad Company — Gold Edition (EA), 5. Lego: Indiana Jones (Activision).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection (Konami), 2. Rock Band Special Edition (EA Games), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Activision), 5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Wireless Bundle (Activision).

Japan: 1. Night Flower Romanesque: Love and Sadness are Your Aria (Marvelous Entertainment), 2. Harukanaru Jikuu no Kade 4 (Koei), 3. Hisshou Pachinko*Pachi-Slot Kouryaku Series DS Vol. 12: CR Shinseiki Evangelion - Shito, Futatabi (D3 Publisher), 4. The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match — NeoGeo Ultimate Collection (SNK Playmore), 5. Harukanaru Jikuu no Kade 4 — Treasure Box (Koei).

Europe: 1. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 2. FIFA 08 (EA Sports), 3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 4. The Golden Compass (Sega), 5. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami).

PC
North America: 1. Diablo Battle Chest (Blizzard), 2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector’s Edition (EA), 3. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 4. World of Warcraft Battle Chest (Blizzard), 5. The Orange Box (EA Games).

Japan: 1. Hellgate: London (EA Games), 2. Lineage: The Cross Rancor (E-Frontier), 3. Ragnarok Online Summer Package 2008 (E-Frontier), 4. Final Fantasy XI: Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 5. The Sims 2: Ikea Home Pack (EA Games).

Europe: 1. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Complete (Take 2), 2. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (EA Games), 3. Mass Effect (EA Games), 4. Football Manager 2008 (Sega), 5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (Activision).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Activision), 2. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Brain Age 2 (Nintendo), 5. Brain Age (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 2. Derby Stallion DS (Enterbrain), 3. The Game With No Name (Square Enix), 4. DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo), 5. Hiiro no Kakera DS — Special Edition (Idea Factory).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. My Health Coach (Ubisoft), 3. More Brain Training (Nintendo), 4. Scrabble 2007: New Edition (Ubisoft), 5. 42 All-Time Classics (Nintendo).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA), 3. Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 4. Tekken: Dark Resurrection (Namco), 5. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (SCEA).

Japan: 1. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 2. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Capcom), 3. World Neverland 2-in-1 Portable (Fonfun), 4. Sword to Magic to Campus Mono (Acquire), 5. Super Robot Taisen A (Banpresto).

Europe: 1. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 2. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEE), 4. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Take 2), 5. Final Fantasy I (Square Enix).

Mario Kart Wii keeps finishing first on the Wii chart. Assassin’s Creed returns on the top of the Xbox 360 chart after a discount to $24. PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4 remains at #1. Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection returns to the PS2 chart. The Diablo Battle Chest rises from hell to the PC top spot. Guitar Hero: On Tour rocks out on the DS chart again. And lastly Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII remains on the PSP chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, UK & JPN sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Rocco from Mega64 steps into the life of ancient assassin, Altair, of Assassin’s Creed fame. Will he be able to attempt assassinations without attracting attention in this bustling Jerusalem marketplace? … No, he will not.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Watch and be amazed as Altair does what Altair does best on the streets of Melbourne, Australia on a busy Sunday afternoon!

Ok so maybe if it was the REAL deal we’d see some actual assassinations . . . which, you know, wouldn’t really be cool if it was FOR REAL. So good job to the people who put this together! And don’t forget to give our Assassin’s Creed review a read!

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Assassin’s Creed is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players will assume the role of the main character, Altair, and will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos, to shape events during this pivotal moment in history, and truly experience the art of a master assassin.

System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Action-Adventure
Release dates: November 13th 2007 (USA), November 16th 2007 (EURO), November 21st 2007 (AUS) on Xbox 360 & PS3, with a PC version on March 28th, 2008
Players: 1
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Origin: Canada

The game starts in AD 1191 where Richard the Lionheart has just recaptured the port city of Acre from the Conquer of Muslims. With a base of operations established, the Crusaders prepare to march south. Their true target is Jerusalem, which they intend to recapture for Christianity. However the Muslim forces are massing in the ruins of Arsuf, intending to ambush the Crusaders and prevent them from reaching Jerusalem. These war maneuvers have left the rest of the Holy Land wide open. While Richard and Saladin battle one another, the men left to govern in their stead have begun taking advantage of their newfound positions of power. Exploitation, manipulation, and provocation rule the day. You’ll find many fantastic unexpected twists in the storyline from start to end.

Watch the Assassin’s Creed launch trailer.

The game’s goal is to complete nine assassinations given to Altair by his clan master Al Mualim. To accomplish this, you have to use stealth and a variety of intelligence gathering tactics to collect information on your target. These tactics include eavesdropping, forceful interrogation, pickpocketing, and completing tasks for informers (other assassins who will give you information in exchange for assassinating targets or collecting flags). You may take part in any number of side missions, including climbing tall towers to map out the city and saving citizens that are being threatened or harassed by the city guards. There are also various side quests unrelated to the story such as hunting down and killing Templars and flag collecting or simply free running in the different cities.

During gameplay “Low profile” commands allow Altair to blend into nearby crowds, gently pass by other citizens, or other non-threatening tasks that can be used to hide and reduce the alertness level. “High profile” commands are more noticeable, and including running, scaling the sides of buildings to climb to higher vantage points, and attacking foes. Performing these actions at certain times may raise the local area’s awareness level and thus amps up the difficulty level. Creative Director Patrice Desilets explains this and the gameplay mechanics of the fighting system in the following video.

Watch the Assassin’s Creed fight system video.

So what are the main features of Assassin’s Creed?

* Be an Assassin - Master the skills, tactics, and weapons of history’s deadliest and most secretive clan of warriors. Plan your attacks, strike without mercy, and fight your way to escape.

* Realistic and responsive environments - Experience a living, breathing world in which all your actions have consequences. Crowds react to your moves and will either help or hinder you on your quests.

* Action with a new dimension – total freedom - Eliminate your targets wherever, whenever, and however. Stalk your prey through richly detailed, historically accurate, open-ended environments. Scale buildings, mount horses, blend in with crowds. Do whatever it takes to achieve your objectives.

* Relive the epic times of the Crusades - Assassin’s Creed immerses you in the realistic and historical Holy Land of the 12th century, featuring life-like graphics, ambience, and the subtle, yet detailed nuances of a living world.

* Intense action rooted in reality - Experience heavy action blended with fluid and precise animations. Use a wide range of medieval weapons, and face your enemies in realistic swordfight duels.

* Next-gen gameplay - The proprietary engine developed from the ground up for the next-gen console allows organic game design featuring open gameplay, intuitive control scheme, realistic interaction with environment, and a fluid, yet sharp, combat mechanic.

Watch this Assassin’s Creed music video showing off the animation during gameplay.

As a conclusion I have to point out some minor flaws in the gameplay. It still boggles my mind why they would have inhabitants repeat the same lines over and over and over and over… it’s not that hard for such a big-budget game to record 10 extra different lines for each of the mini-mission characters and give the inhabitants a 100 extra one-liners to mix things up, it would’ve made the game much more genuine. Same for the mini-missions, if they had doubled or tripled the diversity in them, it wouldn’t have felt like I was doing a boring chore on some of them. Another such complaint I have to point out is the game’s wonky A.I. that has you save a (wo)man from bullying guards, but after (s)he thanks you and you move on, (s)he will then act surprised to see dead body’s lying around, this breaks the immersion of the game world from time to time.

Now let’s see how much fun Assassin’s Creed is on a scale from 1 to 10?

FUN FACTOR - 8.0
Assassin’s Creed aims to be a next-generation game that sets a new standard in the action-adventure genre beyond Ubisoft’s previous Prince of Persia games (it’s created by The Sands of Time team). But in the end only sets a new standard with its free running city exploration and animation aspects. While that’s no small feat, as mentioned in the conclusion above, it falls short by not being as realistic as it aims to be. Assassin’s Creed should definitely be explored by those of you looking for a fantastic free roaming world to travel and adventure in, as well as fans of great mature story telling, because those two points are where Assassin’s Creed shines like no other game before it and that’s what ultimately kept me playing through to the end. I suggest renting it first and playing it for an evening to find out if the unique controls to travel its world, and the missions in it, feel rewarding to you. They did feel great to me and since I never once got stuck in the game I can safely recommend it to adventure gamers, but for everyone else it might be a “hate it” or “love it” game.

Graphics - 9.0
The game’s graphics look very impressive. The historic cities are a work of art, they were built by the game’s designers from the building plans of the original cities and look as genuine as it can be. To be able to climb every rock and wooden panel that sticks out on every building or wall is truly fantastic. The real crown jewel is Altair himself, his movements are extremely lifelike and you can feel the power behind each rooftop jump or slash of his sword. It’s slick and fluid thanks to the amazing animations for every body part movement as he moves about the cities and combo that he unleashes on unsuspecting knights. I’ve only had the framerate stutter once in a chase scene, but the very next moment I was escaping as a huge open city passed by me without a hitch. Yes there are some pop-in item issues, but when you get such huge cities to explore, you can’t complain much about it. It’s a beautiful world to explore, especially if you turn the HUD elements off in the options menu.

Audio - 8.0
The soundtrack was composed by British Academy Award winner Jesper Kyd. It aims to immerse you into the mindset of Altair and the environments of the game through a thematic, context-sensitive, score. The combination of epic orchestral compositions with acoustic, percussion and vocal performances delivers a deeply spiritual aesthetic with Hollywood flair. The voice acting is also good for the main character Altair and the people around him, like Actress Kristen Bell who loaned the emotional range of her voice and appearance to the game. But as mentioned before, the city folk tend to repeat the same lines a lot, which damages the immersion created by the beautiful music, sound effects and good voice acting.

Ingenuity - 8.0
The game’s greatest asset is the freedom to go everywhere and the flow of moves and combos you can execute when you’re in combat. While the free running you can do instantly, the combat is deep and gets expanded as you progress through the story. It’s really too bad the missions get so repetitive that you’ll most likely find yourself getting bored halfway through (I’m looking at you, assassination investigation mini-missions). But that’s redeemed somewhat through the exploration of the different cities and the unique attack/defend combat mechanics that are mapped to Altair’s body parts through your controller’s buttons placement.

Replay Value - 7.5
It’s possible for the game to last you in between 20 to 50 hours, depending on whether you’re a “run from point A to B person” or a completist that wants to kill all the Templars and find all the flags. On average you can expect the game to last 30 hours as you journey The Kingdom while walking, running, sprinting, jumping, climbing, fighting, killing, free falling and blending. Especially if you like parkour (free running) it’ll be fun and addictive enough to keep you and (so far) 2.5 million other buyers entertained for a good while. Look forward to the upcoming release of Assassin’s Creed 2.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Dutch rapper Brainpower and rockband Intwine came together to create an official English Assassin’s Creed soundtrack titled “The Chosen” for Ubisoft in The Benelux*. This Hip-Hop/Rap music video was actually released on TV in November last year, but I didn’t see it until today when I was looking for Assassin’s Creed music, since I’m playing through the game right now.

Anyway, enjoy! You can also download The Chosen song via iTunes.

Here’s The Making of The Chosen music video:

* The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe that includes three neighboring monarchies, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Ubisoft has revealed the official specifications required to play the upcoming PC version of Assassin’s Creed. Let’s just say they are a little steep. I suppose it’s because of the huge cities being displayed at all times as Altair scales them building by building. Assassin’s Creed PC release date in Europe is March 1st, in Australia it’s March 13th, and in America it’s March 25th, 2008.

Assassin’s Creed minimum requirements:

Processor: Dual core processor 2.6 GHz Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM: 2 GB
Video Card: 256 MB DirectX 10.0-compliant video card or DirectX 9.0-compliant card with Shader Model 3.0 or higher
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0 or 10.0 compliant sound card
HDD Space: 12GB
DirectX Version: DirectX 10.0

Assassin’s Creed recommended requirements:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ or better
RAM: 3GB
Video Card: 512 MB Card
Sound Card: 5.1 Sound Card
HDD Space: 12GB
DirectX Version: DirectX 10.0

Not convinced how much of a power hog those specs are? Below are the requirements that Crysis has and they are not as high as Assassin’s Creed’s!

Crysis recommended requirements:

Processor: Core 2 Duo/Athlon X2 or better
RAM: 1.5GB
Video Card: NVIDIA 7800 Series, ATI Radeon 1800 Series or better
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible
HDD Space: 12GB
DirectX Version: DX9.0c or DX10

Crysis minimum requirements:

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz (3.2 GHz for Vista), Intel Core 2.0 GHz (2.2 GHz for Vista), AMD Athlon 2800+ (3200+ for Vista) or better
RAM: 1GB (1.5GB on Windows Vista)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or better
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible
HDD Space: 12GB
DirectX Version: DX9.0c or DX10

Via Kotaku