Source: videogamesblogger.com

Wanted: Weapons of Fate is an upcoming sequel to the hit movie Wanted, which stars James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. The game promises to deliver all the fantastic action and edge-of-your-seat action as the movie with the same kind of fantastic-style that you would come to expect from a game based on the movie.

Wanted: Weapons of Fate continues the story of hero Wesley Gibson, picking up the action where the film left off to create an entirely new chapter by exploring both Wesley’s journey to becoming an unmatched überassassin and the epic fiction of “The Fraternity” in the Wanted mythology.

Players will take on the role of Wesley or his father Cross and confront all new enemies, including the French chapter of the Fraternity, a group that is fanatical about upholding the code of the Loom of Fate. The French chapter is headed by The Immortal, a severe Fraternity leader with a grudge against Wesley and his family, and also employs Araña, a beautiful but deadly Spanish assassin, and Brummel, the businessman assassin who is as street smart as he is sophisticated.

Featuring intense third-person action, Wanted: Weapons of Fate will take combat to the next level with iconic moves such as “Curving Bullets” and “Assassin Time” drawn directly from the film, as well as an innovative, multi-layered cover mechanic.

Here is the debut trailer from the game.

And here are two additional gameplay videos followed by an interview with the games developer.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

The Legend of Zelda series remains one of the most popular franchises of all time, with the N64 installment, Ocarina of Time, the series’ crowning achievement. We reviewed Zelda: Ocarina of Time a few weeks back so check that out if you haven’t read it yet.

And although Twilight Princess was great, the game’s director, Eiji Aonuma says he won’t quit making Zelda games until he tops Ocarina of Time.

“I’m happy that a title I worked on some time ago remains highly praised to this day,” said Aonuma in an interview with Nintendo Power, who followed that up with, “But that also shows how none of the subsequent games in the series have surpassed it. As someone who is still working on the series, I have mixed feelings about that. Because I haven’t yet surpassed it, I can’t quit. Surprisingly, that motivation may be the reason I continue to work on the Zelda series.”

Games Eiji Aonuma worked on include The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64), The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GCN), The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN, Wii) and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) and Link’s Crossbow Training (Wii).

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Square Enix’s latest epic, The Last Remnant, is out now for Xbox 360. It is scheduled for release for PS3 on April 1, 2009.

The game is Square Enix’s attempt at creating an RPG that was focused and built from the ground up to appeal to Western audiences, which would mark a pretty big departure for the Japanese role-playing experts, who in the past would create their games with their homeland people in mind. Even though development for a lot of companies has shifted to the West in recent years as the Japanese game industry’s influence has begun to wain.

So it’ll be interesting to see how their latest game does. If it sells well, then they will likely shift even more of their games and series to appeal to Western audiences.

About the Game:
In ancient times, mysterious artifacts referred to as Remnants were discovered all over the world. People used these objects for their awesome powers — a choice that eventually began to cause a rift in the world’s balance. Equality was replaced by those who ruled and those who were ruled over. War was inevitable. A thousand years later is when this story begins…

Rush lives with his sister Irina on secluded Eulam Island, far from the power struggles for Remnants that are occurring back on the mainland. However, this peaceful life is shattered when his sister is suddenly kidnapped by a mysterious group of soldiers right before his eyes. He immediately sets off after them, unaware of the evils of the outside world but determined to find his sister at any cost.

* Experience groundbreaking graphics, only possible on next-generation platforms, that bring the intensity of gameplay to an entirely new level.
* A dramatic storyline about war and mysterious powers called Remnants are brought to life by the creators of FINAL FANTASY and the SAGA franchise.
* Uncover the mystery of the Remnants, powerful artifacts from an ancient civilization that are scattered around the world and stand as they were a millennia ago.
* The game’s art is developed by Yusuke Naora, the art director of FINAL FANTASY VII, FINAL FANTASY VIII, and FINAL FANTASY X.
* With more than 15 warriors under your command and a unique morale-based battle system, THE LAST REMNANT increases the player’s ability to strategize battle more than its RPG predecessors
* Navigate a massive battlefield while surrounded by countless foes and friends
* Immerse in exhilarating, large-scale battles through a never-before-seen battle command system
* The gameplay features a dynamic turn-based system that creates a sense of continuity of action

Interview with the game’s director.

Mysterious Remnants Interview


Gameplay Videos

Source: videogamesblogger.com

John DiMaggio is one lucky guy. Voicing Marcus Fenix in Gears of War 2 he gave a radio interview in which he simply comes off as . . . one heck of a cool, laid-back, nice, fun, kick-ass dude. A dude who got to take part in one of the best video games of 2008.

In addition to voicing Marcus in Gears of War (oh and be sure to check out our Gears of War 2 cheats guide for help with the game), he also does the voice of Bender in Futurama! What’s insane is how he can make his voice so deep for the part of Fenix, and yet do Bender and other voices as well. He is definitely one heck of a talented guy.

And if you haven’t heard him before, be prepared to love him. In this interview he talks about guy stuff: from football to beer to video games to cartoons and everything in between. Very interesting!

John DiMaggio Marcus Fenix Radio Interview Part 1

John DiMaggio Marcus Fenix Radio Interview Part 2

Thanks to Mataleone for the artwork.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Lots of PC Expansion Packs just hit store shelves, including Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir, which just released yesterday, November 18th, for the PC.

There have been several interesting blogs posted by the developers of the game, particularly this one about Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir’s orchestral musical score. So be sure to check those out.

About the game:
In the aftermath of the defeat of the King of Shadows, the Sword Coast is in the midst of an uneasy economic recovery. Trade syndicates have sprung up to exploit the post-war confusion for their own ends and the players’ party will wade into this uncertain environment. In order to increase their own fortunes, they can either ally with a syndicate to create a trade empire, or cut their own path through Faerun by preying upon caravans and selling the goods on the black market. As they attempt to extend their influence, players will become aware of a new faction working behind the scenes: the evil, shape-shifting, serpentine Yuan-Ti.

In addition to trading and economic manipulation, the Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Overland Map allows players to explore the Chultan Peninsula and Sword Coast in a non-linear manner never before seen in any of the Neverwinter Nights games. Exploration will take players from well-known locations, like Neverwinter and Crossroad Keep, to more exotic areas, such as the xenophobic jungle nation of Samarach. Groups of highwaymen and monsters populate the Overland Map and the farther from civilization the player roams, the more difficult the encounters become. The 15-hour campaign in Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir is also packed with new classes, spells, creatures, and playable races.

Key Features of Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir include:
* Travel the Sword Coast and Samarach using the open-ended exploration of the new Overland Map. Use skills like Spot and Survival while on the Overland Map to avoid ambushes and even find hidden locales and lost artifacts
* Create your own full party of adventurers. Devastate your foes with a squad of fireball-flinging Sorcerers, form a solid wall of steel with a party of Fighters, or strike the perfect balance in your party by spreading out the classes you choose for your characters
* Improved party gameplay including streamlined party conversations, a new Teamwork Benefit System, and powerful party feats
* The world’s economy reacts to your adventures and choices. And, through trading and quests, you can expand your merchant company into a massive trading empire

Last but not least, here is a developer interview from E3 2008.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

The first Animal Crossing game for the Wii, Animal Crossing: City Folk, is now available. The game allows you to live out your life within a town where you can do fun activities like fishing, collection furniture, catching bugs, shop and communication with the residents of your town. Naturally, the Wii version allows you to play the game with up to three other friends online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and even do voice chat with the Wii Speak microphone.

In this interview with Satoru Iwata, the President of Nintendo, he and the designers of Animal Crossing: City Folk discuss the game at length. The interview is pretty long but it’s still a fun read.

Iwata: Exactly three years have passed since Animal Crossing: Wild World was released for Nintendo DS. I’m sure there are many fans that have been waiting expectantly for this title. Firstly, could I ask each of you to explain what your role in the game’s development was?

* Animal Crossing: Wild World was released in Japan in November 2005 and in the US in December 2005. It was the fourth title in the Animal Crossing series (only second in terms of U.S. releases), and the first to be released on a handheld console.

Nogami: My name is Hisashi Nogami and I work in the Production Department of the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division (EAD). As the director of this title, my role was to oversee its development from the original concept, as well as working on other aspects of the game such as the development of its communication-related features.

Moro: I’m Isao Moro, and I’m also from the Production Department of EAD. I worked as sub-director on Animal Crossing. My role was to oversee the development and implementation of system features and to work on debugging.

Kobayashi: My name is Ryuji Kobayashi, also from the Production Department of EAD. On this title, I worked as the design director and was in charge of directing and editing the game’s graphics.

Kyogoku: My name is Aya Kyogoku and I am also working in EAD, in the Production Department. As the Sequence Director, I was responsible for all elements relating to the animal’s behaviour and dialogue, such as writing the script.

Iwata: Thank you. Now, Nogami-san, could you tell us how the planning for this project began?

Nogami: Certainly. As soon as the DS version of Animal Crossing was completed, I was involved for some time in software development for Wii, including Wii Sports. I then went on to oversee development of the Mii Channel for Wii.

Iwata: As things turned out, you ended up getting sucked into working on the Mii Channel.

Nogami: And I was told to knock it into shape within two months! (laughs) Then, after things had settled down a bit on the Mii Channel, I was assisting with the general development of the Wii system. It was at that point that I started to think about Animal Crossing, and I was thinking: “Isn’t it about time we started planning the next title?” But I really didn’t have any time, so I was at a loss as to what to do.

Iwata: At that time, I was frequently joining meetings about the Wii system development so I had a lot of opportunities for discussion with Nogami-san. But it didn’t seem as if the work on the Mii Channel was going to end any time soon, so I was concerned as to when he might be able to work on Animal Crossing.

Nogami: It was in December 2006, when my involvement with the work on the Wii system functions had drawn to a conclusion, that we began work on the Animal Crossing. I did have some work still to do on the Mii Channel following its launch, but I did this at the same time as starting work on Animal Crossing.

Iwata: So that means that this title has taken about two years to develop. Can you tell us what you were most conscious of when you first looked at the new Wii console while thinking about how to develop an Animal Crossing title for it?

Nogami: As you would expect, the thing that I was most conscious of was WiiConnect24.2 Fortunately for me, working on the Mii Channel had taught me a great deal about what kinds of things you might be able to do using WiiConnect24.

*2 WiiConnect24 is a Nintendo network connection for Wii which is always online and can automatically download new information and other data.

Iwata: So asking you to work on that project turned out to be useful. I’d love to be able to tell you that when I first asked you to work on the Mii Channel, I had Animal Crossing in mind. But in fact, the development of the Wii system functions sucked many people into working on it and no one had any time. I certainly didn’t have time to consider anything like that! (laughs)

All: (laughter)

Nogami: At that point, I had researched the functions of the Wii system thoroughly and knew exactly what was possible. So my starting point was to think about how these functions could come to life in Animal Crossing.

Iwata: I will come back to the way you decided to use the Wii system functions in Animal Crossing a little later in the discussion. Before we go to that, could you tell us how you ended up becoming involved, Moro-san?

Moro: I was the System Director for the Nintendo DS version.

Iwata: So it was natural that you should work on the Wii version.

Moro: Yes, it was. As with Nogami-san, when work calmed down a little on the Wii system functions, I became involved in Animal Crossing quite naturally.

Iwata: And how about you, Kobayashi-san?

Kobayashi: I was also involved in the DS version, but as soon as it was completed, I worked on assisting development of New Super Mario Bros. along with Wii Sports and Wii Play. At the same time, I was overseeing the graphics on the Mii Channel. Then once that was over…

Iwata: We really know how to put people to work at this company, don’t we? Well, I’m not really the one who should be saying that! (laughs)

Kobayashi: When those projects were over, I became involved in the Animal Crossing project. So it’s really the same kind of timing as the other people here.

Iwata: So you were able to shift from one job to another without it being a waste. As Miyamoto-san always says, “life should be lived without waste”. Kyogoku-san, I spoke to you before, during the interview about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

Kyogoku: That’s right. The Zelda project ended in the late autumn of 2006, and I was able to take a break over the winter holiday. But then, I was just told something like, “And now, take care of the next ‘Animal Crossing’, please.” So I got sucked into it too! (laughs)

Iwata: Your main job was to prepare the script, meaning you had to think about the character’s dialogue. Wasn’t there a huge difference between working on Animal Crossing and Zelda?

Kyogoku: Absolutely. It has a completely different feel to it. But in terms of the amount of dialogue, as far as I was concerned, there wasn’t much difference. They were both very demanding.

Iwata: And on top of that, there was the localization. With the translation work to prepare the versions for worldwide release, there were a lot of elements that needed to be adapted for each different language and culture. I’m sure in that sense it was even tougher than Zelda.

Kyogoku: That was the case with this title in particular, because it’s scheduled for release at around the same time worldwide. Our colleagues from NOA (Nintendo of America) would keep asking us when Animal Crossing would be ready.

Iwata: I think that’s because NOA (Nintendo of America) were well aware that the sheer volume of text in Animal Crossing meant it was going to be no ordinary title. (laughs) So they needed to make sure they were prepared by getting the localization structures established well ahead of time. Okay, let’s go back to the start of the project. With the team decided and work set to start on the Wii version, did you find there were aspects of the DS version which you felt obliged to carry over, or which somehow acted as obstacles?

Nogami: Naturally, there were issues like that. But we decided to put the previous title out of our minds for the time being, and start work on the next one afresh. After all, Animal Crossing was originally a title that you could enjoy fully even when playing the game on your own.

Iwata: It’s a game where players are able to decide what their own goals are and enjoy the game in their own way: “I’m going to complete this task!” or “I’m going to design a beautiful room!”

Nogami: But ever since the DS version, some people have come to think that if you can’t connect to other players then Animal Crossing isn’t going to be any fun.

Iwata: But it’s not just about that, is it?

Nogami: Right. There’s no doubt that connecting to other players makes the game more enjoyable. But it’s not as if everyone can play the game like that. That’s why it’s fine for players to play the game alone. But even when you’re playing alone, if you think “at some point I might try connecting with another player”, it totally changes your motivation while playing. By connecting to and interacting with other players, the enjoyment of the game really increases. By connecting with other players via the internet I think you’ll get double or triple the amount of enjoyment.

Iwata: The core element of this game which doubles or triples the enjoyment the player gets is the one you mentioned a little earlier: the use of WiiConnect24.

Nogami: That’s right. For this title, we’ve come up with four new core elements, one of which is the use of WiiConnect24.

You can read the rest of the interview (there are four more parts) at Wii.com

Source: videogamesblogger.com

To the dismay of American Wii owners everywhere, the Commodore 64 is one game system that is lacking from the Virtual Console’s repertoire in North America. The system and it’s games are simply absent.

So why is that? How come Europe has been getting Commodore 64 games, but it hasn’t even been announced for North America? And are there any plans for release Amiga games for the Virtual Console?

vc-reviews got some answers in their interview with one of people who was instrumental in bringing the computer system to the Wii Virtual Console.

VC Reviews: How did the decision to re-release Commodore 64 games on the Virtual Console come about?

Nico Kaartinen: At the beginning it was all a crazy idea which came up with Commodore Gaming and some other friends from the gaming industry. We have all our interest in retro gaming as it all brings back the memories of how it all started and how much we time we spent playing or coding in front of the C64. At some point we involved Eidos and Alten8 into the idea and we had all pieces together to get this project started.

We decided to move forward and talk with Nintendo and present them our thoughts. The great thing was that Nintendo of Europe (NOE) was open to our idea from the beginning even though a C64 has never played a big role in Japan. It was not necessarily easy all the time but at the end we established a great relationship with the guys at NOE and are happy that we have so many titles on the Wii C64 VC.

VCR: Do you intend to make C64 games available to the Virtual Console service in Australia and North America soon? What have been the difficulties in doing this so far?

NK: I do understand that this is one of “THE” questions in regards to the Wii C64 VC as I am reading the feedback from your users and other web pages. I can not say if it comes to the regions you refer to.

VCR: Have you got any plans to bring out games from the C64’s big brother, the Amiga eventually?

NK: Did the C64 have a big brother? Seriously speaking, we are currently concentrating our efforts on the C64 releases.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Dragon Age Origins will be coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 after it’s early 2009 PC release, says the lead designer of the game, Brent Knowles, in a new interview where he discusses BioWare’s latest epic (which is the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate). Knowles couldn’t give a timeframe though for the release of the console versions.

Game Informer magazine will also have an exclusive look at the console versions in their November issue.

Dragon Age Origins is the next highly anticipated RPG from the developers who brought the world Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and, most recently, Mass Effect. The game is being called a ‘dark heroic fantasy’ and is billed as the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate as mentioned above.

Features of Dragon Age Origins include:

* Epic Party-Based Combat – Dragon Age: Origins introduces an innovative, scalable combat system, as players face large-scale battles and use their party’s special abilities to destroy hoardes of enemies and massive creatures
* Powerful Magic – Raining down awesome destruction on enemies is even more compelling as players apply spell combos, a way of combining together different spells to create emergent unique effects
* Deep Customization – Players will develop their characters and gain powerful special abilities (spells, talents and skills) and discover ever-increasing weapons of destruction
* Your Story, Your Way – With its emotionally compelling story, players choose with whom they wish to forge alliances or crush under their mighty fist, redefining the world with the choices they make and how they wield their power
* Origin Stories – Players will select and play a unique prelude that provides the lens through which the player sees the world and how the world sees the player. The player’s choice of Origin will determine who they are and where they begin the adventure, as they play through a customized story opening that profoundly impacts the course of every adventure

Here is a story trailer for Dragon Age Origins.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Could a Nintendo Virtual Boy 2 or Wii HD (AKA Nintendo Wii 2) ever be a reality? Shigeru Miyamoto gave a recent interview with a German Technology TV show in which they were able to interview him in London.

Because Nintendo is a company that likes to push the envelope of technology in unique, if unexpected, directions, the interviewer thinks that Nintendo may be the first company to bring actual 3D technology to the gaming world and into the mainstream, like they unsuccessfully tried to do with Gunpei Yokoi’s Virtual Boy. The Virtual Boy was a “portable” video game system which presented 3D graphics in red and black via a hefty goggle-like console which you set up on a sort of tripod and looked through the goggles to play. Unlike previous systems, the Virtual Boy presented “true 3D” graphics by using parallax to create an illusion of depth thanks to the eyeglass-style projector that created the screen the players saw when looking through the eye-piece. The Virtual Boy was created by the maker of the Game Boy, but ended up being a huge commercial failure, and Nintendo only released 22 total games for the system (14 in the U.S.) before they pulled it.

When asked about Nintendo bringing 3D technology to market, Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo’s legendary game designer and the creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, Wii Music, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Nintendogs and more) said this:

“Nintendo is always trying to construct the framework in which we can provide… we can be as creative as possible in order to create as new entertainment as possible. And that’s what Nintendo has been striving at and that’s what Nintendo will be challenging itself once again in order to make unique entertainment opportunity.

But if I can just add my personal opinion: if the new environment requires the player to wear some goggle-style, I really don’t have a good impression of that.”

Miyamoto was also asked about the rumored Wii HD. And this is how he replied:

“We are working in terms of the changes of technology all the time.”

So no concrete answers either way, but it’s still interesting to hear directly from Miyamoto himself.

Read the full interview at Neogaf, images via Virtual-Boy.org

Source: videogamesblogger.com

A new interview with Cliff Bleszinski, the creator of Gears of War 2 (known by many as “Cliffy B.) has him discussing some very interesting things, primarily the likelihood of a Gears of War 3 releasing for the current-gen Xbox 360 platform, and a discussion about the upcoming Gears of War movie that is currently in development.

Don’t forget to enter our Gears of War 2 VS Resistance 2 competition to win one of the two games.

Here are a few choice quotes from the interview:

REGARDING GEARS OF WAR 3:

Question from Chris Stead: Does the Xbox 360 have enough left in it for a Gears of War 3, or will you be hoping that the next-generation of consoles rocks up in time for its release?
Answer by Cliff Bleszinski: Well we’ve never said anything about any sort of sequels, so it is all guess work and hearsay now about what anybody will come up with. But in terms of what the Xbox 360 is capable of… anytime you are doing console development you cannot count on anybody popping in a new video card or adding new memory or anything like that – we are working with that box. But I have a feeling that if we were to do a future product, which might be a possibility, our programmers will have a way to work their mojo and make something that really feels like a leap.

REGARDING THE GEARS OF WAR MOVIE:

Question from Chris Stead: The Gears of War movie will certainly help that exposure: you’re involved we believe. How are you going to buck the videogame-to-movie trend and not suck?

Answer by Cliff Bleszinski: I’m involved as the executive producer. It’s all about getting the right people attached. We take the material very seriously. People tend to have a short memory in general, I find, and people forget just how many bad superhero movies there were before Hollywood started consistently nailing the formula. They sunk Batman for a long time thanks to Schumacher and everything.

Read the rest, including more on the Gears of War movie, in gameplayer’s interview.

Gears of War 2 will be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 on November 7th, 2008.