Source: videogamesblogger.com

Just Cause 2 has been delayed until sometime in 2009.

The game, which will be published by Eidos, is the sequel to developer Avalanche Studios’ previously game, Just Cause, that was released on last-gen consoles (and Xbox 360). It was an open-world action game and Just Cause 2 will continue in that vein while upping the ante considerably.

In Just Cause 2 Rico Rodriquez is back to wreak havoc once again, this time with a new destination, the huge playground of the South East Asian islands of Panau. The sequel features more stunts, vehicles and weapons than ever before and an incredible overhauled grappling hook system (the original let you grapple onto almost anything from anywhere). Panau itself is an incredibly detailed and vast 1000 sq km game world of different climates and ultra-realistic weather effects. Leap from your plane and skydive from 10,000 feet down into a tropical jungle, tear across an arid desert in a dune buggy or climb your way up a snowy mountain in a 4×4. The vast open-ended, unique gameplay is back, allowing you full freedom once again to free roam and explore the massive world of Panau and tackle your assignments however you want.

Additions and changes from the first game include: The removal of side missions (which have been replaced by “chaos activities” that reward destruction with increased influence in your associated factions), reworked artificial intelligence, a new lock-on system that allows you to target individual limbs on enemies, bigger and more devastating weapons and improved vehicle controls.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Here’s a list of this weeks U.S. game releases. The most popular games are Saints Row 2 on Xbox 360 & PS3, Dead Space on Xbox 360 & PS3, Rock Band 2 on PS3, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation on PS3, and FIFA Soccer 09 on multiple platforms. On the downloadable games front we’ve got today’s Wii Shop titles World of Goo, Art Style: Cubello, Secret of Mana, Street Fighter II’: Special Champion Edition, as well as Age of Booty on Xbox Live Arcade (updates Wednesday). No word yet on any games for PlayStation Network or GameTap Gold (both update on Thursday).

Monday:
Art Style: Cubello - $6 (Wii Shop)
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno (Wii, PS2)
Bratz: Girls Really Rock (Wii, PS2, DS)
Blitz: The League II (Xbox 360, PS3)
Secret of Mana - $8 (Wii Shop)
Street Fighter II’: Special Champion Edition - $8 (Wii Shop)
World of Goo - $15 (Wii Shop, PC)

Tuesday:
Battle of Giants: Dinosaurs (DS)
Boogie Superstar (Wii)
Brain Training for Dummies (PC)
Cesar Millan’s Dog Whisperer (DS, PC)
Combat Wings: Battle of Britain (PC)
Dead Space (Xbox 360, PS3)
Disney Sing It (PS3, PS2, Wii, Xbox 360)
Dokapon Kingdom (Wii, PS2)
FIFA Soccer 09 (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, DS, PC)
Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Xbox 360, PS3)
Littlest Pet Shop (Wii)
Littlest Pet Shop: Garden (DS)
Littlest Pet Shop: Jungle (DS)
Littlest Pet Shop: Winter (DS)
Lovely Lisa (DS)
My Dress Up (DS)
My Japanese Coach (DS)
My Secret Diary (DS)
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 (DS)
Penny Racers Party: Turbo-Q Speedway (Wii)
Poker for Dummies (PC)
Rock Band 2 (PS3)
Rock Revolution (Xbox 360, PS3, DS)
Saints Row 2 (Xbox 360, PS3)
Sam & Max: Season One (Wii)
Smart Boy’s Toy Club (DS)
Smart Girl’s Party Game (DS)
Smart Kid’s Party Fun Pack (DS)
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation (PS3)

Wednesday:
Age of Booty - $10 (Xbox Live Arcade)
SafeCracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure (Wii)
Space Trader: Merchant Marine (PC)
Tak: Guardians of Gross (Wii, PS2)
Tak: Mojo Mistake (DS)

Friday:
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (PC)

Source: videogamesblogger.com

In the bold and often-bloody Dead Space gamers step into a third-person sci-fi survival horror experience that delivers psychological thrills and gruesome action. Set in the cold blackness of deep space, the atmosphere is soaked with a feeling of tension, dread and sheer terror.

In Dead Space, players step into the role of engineer Isaac Clarke – an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship. It is not long before Isaac awakes to a living nightmare when he learns that the ship’s crew has been ravaged by a vicious alien infestation. He must fight through the dead silence and darkness of deep space to stay alive.

How scary can zombies in space really be? “Very” according to this Dead Space video review.


To quote the IGN video review: “Call it science fiction survival horror, but Dead Space does the genre proud with an engaging story; action that’s tense, fast-paced and extremely violent; as well as atmospheric qualities that will get under your skin and make you jump. It may be a newcomer, but the seeds of an incredible franchise have been sown, and EA’s in a great position to reap a phenomenal franchise full of scares. If you like survival horror, action or sci-fi, Dead Space needs to be on your radar.”

Presentation — 9.0
Graphics — 9.0
Sound — 9.5
Gameplay — 8.5
Lasting Appeal — 8.5
Overall — 8.7

Source: videogamesblogger.com

There’s a comic series based on the upcoming original survival horror Dead Space video game. These six animated comics are set in the Dead Space universe, and serve as a prequel story for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC game that will be released on October 14th in time for Halloween 2008.

The comic is written and illustrated by Ben Templesmith and written by Antony Johnston. This series tells the gut-wrenching tale of a deep space mining colony that unexpectedly pulls an ancient and vicious alien life force from the dark rock.

Sh*t hits the fan amidst colony-wide panic in the last part.

EA previously released the first part of an animated Dead Space comic, 2nd animated Dead Space comic, 3rd animated Dead Space comic online a while back. As well as the 4th Dead Space Animated Comic and 5th issue of the Dead Space Animated Comic recently.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

The game thrusts players into a shadowy world of chaos and terror with atmospheric graphics and an original storyline that sheds new light on the desolate, fog-shrouded town of Silent Hill. Silent Hill: Homecoming follows Alex Shepherd, a war veteran returning home from an overseas tour of duty to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother, Joshua. His travels lead him through the small, insular community of Shepherd’s Glen and eventually through the hauntingly empty streets of Silent Hill.

Building upon the series’ trademark foundations of atmosphere, adventure and storytelling, Silent Hill: Homecoming introduces players to a frightening new experience. When confronted by the perverse incarnations of evil that roam Silent Hill and Shepherd’s Glen, players are able to utilize an enhanced combat system and execute a number of offensive and defensive maneuvers as they experience every terrifying encounter with the game’s numerous nightmarish creatures. Players also have to solve a variety of puzzles as they progress through the highly atmospheric game world, using cues from the environment to unlock Silent Hill’s darkest secrets. Continuing the series’ tradition of standout music and sound design, Silent Hill: Homecoming features an original soundtrack by famed composer Akira Yamaoka.

Is this next-gen trip to Silent Hill as scary as its predecessors? Find out in this Silent Hill: Homecoming video review.


To quote the video review: “Silent Hill’s road to re-emergence is filled with its share of bumps, but Homecoming still delivers a solid follow-up worthy of its lineage. And that’s also the problem. The development team has played it safe, delivering a game that maintains the status quo. It will make fans giddy, but those without preconceived notions will find it to be a bit clunky and growing long in the tooth.”

Design — 7.7
Story — 6.9
Gameplay — 7.4
Presentation — 8.8
Overall — 7.7

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 Fit (Nintendo), 3. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo), 4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo), 5. Active Life Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco).

Japan: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo), 3. Wii Sports (Nintendo), 4. Disaster: Day of Crisis (Nintendo), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

Europe: 1. Wii Fit (Nintendo), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Family Trainer: Outdoor Challenge (Bandai Namco), 4. Wii Play (Nintendo), 5. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts).

Xbox 360
North America: 1. NBA 2K9 (2K Sports), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Rock Band 2 (MTV Games), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Halo 3 (Microsoft).

Japan: 1. Tales of Vesperia (Namco), 2. Dead Rising - Platinum Collection (Capcom), 3. Infinite Undiscovery (Square Enix), 4. Warriors Orochi 2 (Koei), 5. Earth Defense Forces 3 (D3 Publisher).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Halo 3 (Microsoft), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts).

PlayStation 3
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 3. NBA 2K9 (2K Sports), 4. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Konami), 5. Iron Man (Sega).

Japan: 1. Aquanaut’s Holiday (Sony), 2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Special Edition (Konami), 3. Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi - Limited Edition (Aqua Plus), 4. Afrika (Sony), 5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (Bethesda).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar), 5. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (Sony).

PlayStation 2
North America: 1. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 2. Madden NFL 09 (Electronic Arts), 3. God of War II (SCEA), 4. Shadow of the Colossus (Sony), 5. Rock Band Special Edition (MTV Games).

Japan: 1. Super Robot Taisen Z (Banpresto), 2. Dynasty Warriors 6 Special (Koei), 3. Hokuouki (Idea Factory), 4. Persona 4 (Atlus), 5. Hokuouki - Special Edition (Idea Factory).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (Electronic Arts), 2. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Activision), 3. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 4. SingStar Summer Party (Sony), 5. FIFA 08 (Electronic Arts).

PC
North America: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy (Her Interactive), 3. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts), 4. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 5. The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft (Dreamcatcher).

Japan: 1. Crysis: Warhead (Electronic Arts), 2. Final Fantasy XI: The Vana’diel Collection (Square Enix), 3. Zwei II - Special Edition (Nihon Falcom), 4. Monster Hunter Frontier Online Season 3.0 Premium (E-Frontier), 5. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Artss).

Europe: 1. Spore (Electronic Arts), 2. Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft), 3. The Sims 2: Apartment Life (Electronic Arts), 4. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization (2K Games), 5. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (Electronic Arts).

Nintendo DS
North America: 1. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga (LucasArts), 2. Kirby Super Star Ultra (Nintendo), 3. Disney Friends (Disney), 4. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo).

Japan: 1. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo), 3. KORG DS-10 (AQ Interactive), 4. Daigasso! Band Brothers DX (Nintendo), 5. DS Beautiful Letter Training (Nintendo).

Europe: 1. Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo), 2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega), 3. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo), 4. Mahjongg DS (Deep Silver), 5. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo).

PlayStation Portable
North America: 1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 2. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (Rockstar), 3. God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony), 4. Lego Batman (Warner Bros.), 5. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix).

Japan: 1. Macross Ace Frontier (Bandai), 2. Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Capcom), 3. Phantasy Star Portable (Sega), 4. To Love-Ru Trouble: Exciting Beach School Version - Special Edition (Marvelous), 5. Way of the Samurai Portable (Spike).

Europe: 1. FIFA 09 (EA Sports), 2. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts), 3. Lego Indiana Jones (LucasArts), 4. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix), 5. Football Manager Handheld 2008 (Sega).

Mario Kart Wii races to the first place on the Wii chart. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed holds on to the #1 spot on the PS3 & PSP charts. NBA 2K9 debuts at the top of the Xbox 360 chart. Lego Batman stays on the PS2 chart. Spore continues to explore the first place on the PC top 5. And lastly, after a discount to $19.99, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga returns on the DS chart. — For the full lists go to Amazon’s US, JPN (PC) & UK sites.

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Castlevania “next-gen” has finally been confirmed for Xbox 360 and PS3! Finally the game will hit next-gen consoles, instead of staying handheld as it has with the last few Castlevania games including the upcoming Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and the previous DS exclusives Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow.

And like those games, this new Castlevania will be a main game in the series and not a side-title like the retro PSP update Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (includes Demon Castle Dracula X Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) and the upcoming Wii fighter Castlevania Judgment.

Unfortunately there is absolutely no information yet released for the game, all we know is that it is coming. The real question is whether it will be a 2D title, or a 3D one like the last-gen 3D Castlevania games: Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. Although it’s unlikely that we’ll see a 2D console Castlevania, but we can always hope . . .

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Bayonetta has been talked about a lot since it’s announcement, as it’s the next game from Shinji Mikami, the producer of the Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe games and creator of the Resident Evil franchise.

Bayonetta is being developed by Platinum Games (his new home) and co-developed and published by Sega. In the game you play as a sexy female character who not only has guns on both her hands and feet, but whose magical hair covers her body, and uncovers her as you unleash magical hair-morphing attacks and special moves.

A new trailer from TGS 2008 reveals the first gameplay from the title, and as you might imagine, it looks a lot like Devil May Cry, but perhaps even more insane and crazy. If that’s possible.

I must say that I am so completely turned off by her attitude. It reminds me of BloodRayne . . . which is not a good thing. I can’t stand that kind of attitude. Regardless, the gameplay does look good although possibly too similar to Devil May Cry. Bayonetta is a long way off though with a tentative release date of September 1st, 2009!

Source: videogamesblogger.com

FIFA Soccer 09 has sold over 1.2 million copies in it’s first week on store shelves in Europe, making it the fastest selling FIFA title yet according to publisher Electronic Arts. And that’s no mean feat, as the highly regarded FIFA Soccer series started WAY back in 1993!

EA Sports President and beloved company figurehead Peter Moore had this to day about the sales breakthrough, “FIFA Soccer 09’s great kick-off is a testament to our loyal fans across Europe who simply can’t wait to get their hands on the game. This is our fastest selling FIFA game of all time and it’s rewarding to see the game so high on the list of must-have titles this holiday.”

The wait for North American fans is nearly upon us, as FIFA Soccer ‘09 is scheduled for release on these shores in four days, on October 14th. So be sure to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. Here’s a trailer for the game.

Via 1-Up

Source: videogamesblogger.com

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts takes place eight years after the events in Rare’s N64 platformer Banjo-Tooie: Wrath of Grunty. As the boxart shows, you’ll be seeing a lot of returning characters from the series.

The story sees Banjo and Gruntilda competing to determine the true owner of Spiral Mountain. Banjo wishes to preserve his home while Gruntilda hatches an urban development scheme to replace the vegetated area with towers and malls. A new character named Lord of Games (LOG) attempts to settle the conflict between the two by devising a series of worlds and challenges. LOG transports the other characters to Showdown Town, his headquarters, and starts the contest. The winner would be set to own Spiral Mountain; the loser must endure eternal hardship at LOG’s video game factory. While Banjo and Kazooie seek to win by completing the challenges, Grunty uses her powers and abilities to try and stop the duo.

The game has you do more than just the good old Banjo-Kazooie platforming, you’ll instead find yourself using vehicles you can create and edit to drive or fly Banjo & Kazooie around 80% of the time in-game.

Check out this colorful cast and vehicles galore at the seaside Showdown Town, which acts as the game’s hub world.

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts will be released exclusively on Xbox 360 in America on November 11th and in Europe on November 14th, 2008.

Storyline via Wikipedia