Shark Boy coming to TNA iMPACT!
Take hold of your children and cover their eyes as Midway has confirmed Shark Boy will be a playable character in TNA iMPACT! for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Playstation 2.
To date Midway has announced a total of 19 wrestlers for the TNA iMPACT! roster. Six more are waiting the wings to debut which will likely be spread out over the next few weeks.
• Abyss
• AJ Styles
• Alex Shelley
• Booker T
• Chris Sabin
• Christian Cage
• Homicide
• Rhino
• Sting
• Shark Boy
• Eric Young
• Hernandez
• Jay Lethal
• Kurt Angle
• Christopher Daniels
• Samoa Joe
• Jeff Jarrett
• Scott Steiner
• Tomko
Look for TNA iMPACT! in stores this September.
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Sony’s Greatest Hits for PS3 released!!
Following in the same tradition of every generation of video games, Sony has released the first batch of “Greatest Hits” titles for the PlayStation 3. Originally announced at the company’s E3 press conference, the 10 select games will feature a retail price of $29.99 and come in a special red game case.
The first ten Greatest Hits titles are:
• Warhawk - A unique multiplayer-only shooter with a very healthy user base - you’ll have no problems finding a game.
• Motorstorm - It’s a brilliant (and brutally difficult) racer, but we suggest you wait until the sequel hits later this year.
• Resistance: Fall of Man - Graphically dated, but amazing shooter. Get up to date before the sequel hits so you’re not lost on the story.
• Call of Duty 3 - Avoid in preference of its far superior sequel, Call of Duty 4 .
• Fight Night Round 3 - An accessible (and very pretty) boxing simulation.
• Need for Speed: Carbon - Avoid this lackluster racer in preference of Race Driver GRID.
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas - A tactical shooter widely regarded as better than this year’s sequel.
• Assassin’s Creed - A short, repetitive game with moments of brilliance - far better value at the new price.
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - The best looking console version of the critically-acclaimed role-playing game.
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma - It’s the ultimate Ninja Gaiden experience, but avoid it like the plague if you always choose the easiest difficulty level presented to you - this game is hard.
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Ubi bringing Armored Core to PS3, 360
Today Ubisoft announced it will publish Armored Core for Answer, the newest addition to From Software’s mech-based combat franchise, Armored Core. The thirteenth installment in the series, Armored Core for Answer is scheduled for release on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in September 2008.
Confirming a September release date for the upcoming mech-building action sequel.
The game includes a handful of other features, such as an online co-op mode with 30 missions and eight-player online melees in 80 different arenas. From Software is also giving players the option of beginner and advanced control schemes to ease new pilots into the game.
Game features include:
• EPIC BOSS BATTLES – For the first time in the series, cut your way inside colossal mobile battle stations and destroy them from their very core. Identify and exploit the weaknesses of 10 uniquely designed GIANT mobile battle stations to defeat them.
• PLAY WITH A FRIEND IN SEAMLESS CO-OP MODE OR FACE SEVERAL FRIENDS IN MULTIPLAYER MODES - Cooperate online with a friend in more than 30 missions or face up to 7 other players online in more than 80 different battlefields.
• CUSTOMIZE YOUR MECH WITH HUNDREDS OF PARTS AND WEAPONS - Find the right combination of weapons and armor that will help you take down colossal enemies. With more than 130 new parts and 400 parts total, enhance your mech to take on increasingly deadlier mobile battle stations. Create the perfect mech design to defeat a powerful enemy and share it with your friends online.
• SWITCH FACTIONS AND MAKE DECISIONS THAT CHANGE BOTH THE STORYLINE AND YOUR COMBAT EXPERIENCE - Choose your side among different factions including The League, The ORCA and the independent city states, each one having their own sets of giant mobile battle stations, mechs and characteristics, allowing for unique battle experiences. The decisions you make during your adventures will result in one of 3 different possible endings to the war.
• FIGHT GIGANTIC MILITARY VEHICLES IN BEAUTIFUL, EXPANSIVE ENVIRONMENTS - Experience high-velocity daylight combat or low-visibility night battles as changing weather and time modify the atmosphere of more than 40 battlefields including snow field, desert, ocean, underground and city. Fully destructible environments will bring even more sensational realism to your epic battles.
• 2 DIFFERENT CONTROL SCHEMES FOR BEGINNERS AND VETERAN PLAYERS - New intuitive controls will allow beginners to skilfully operate your mech in no time. If you are a veteran player, enjoy the full range of controls available in previous Armored Core installments.
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PS3 Firmwire Update!!
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has announced today (via the official PlayStation blog) that the PlayStation 3 has been given another system software update, bringing it to version 2.42.
“This update improves the playback quality of some PlayStation 3 and PlayStation format software.”
You’ll be asked to download the update next time you log into PSN. It’s nothing more than that really. No real need to let others try first, we don’t think.
This follows a recent update that finally brought features such as in-game XMB access and a Trophy system for a number of PS3 titles.
It’s also being reported that one of the issues fixed is that trophies info will now load a lot faster.
For now that’s all we got on the update!
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PS3 Set to Become Most Appealing to Casual Gamers
This generation console war is taking a decidedly strange twist, where there are two polar opposite sets of gamers being fought over. On the one hand we have the Wii, dominating sales, and soaking up the majority of the casual gamers there are in the world. On the other hand we have the PS3 and Xbox 360, technically superior consoles which appeal to the more hardcore and committed element.
But the two worlds could soon collide.
There has obviously always been two schools of gamers - it’s not like Nintendo suddenly found millions of them living under a rock when it released the Wii. But the Wii has appealed to a greater amount of casuals, and from a wider demographic, than any console before.
Sony and Microsoft are no doubt jealous of the incredible sales that the Wii has managed, especially as its a relativity cheap and cheerful machine, and so we have already seen both attempting to move in to the Wii’s territory, and pick up some of those toe-dipping gamers.
Sony has more of a track record of appealing to the casual, mainstream market, as let’s not forget that the original Playstation and the PS2 were both consoles that straddled the line between hardcore and casual extremely well. But then came the PS3, which despite having some casual games available for it, is seen as the domain of the hardcore right now. With its high price, Blu-ray player, and sophisticated chip set, it’s just too damn clever to be accessible to all.
t’s clear then that the PS3 will be handed the casual gaming baton once the PS2 is retired from the market, which could be in as little as two years, or even sooner if sales continue to drop.
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Sony Earns Big $ for EA
Playstation 3 Games are the most profitable for Electronic Arts, according to fresh financial papers released just last night.
EA software sales earned the company USD 139 million during the quarter just from PS3 sales, followed by PC games with USD 86 million and Xbox 360 with USD 81 million. Oddly enough the PS2 was only marginally behind with USD 79 million, while Wii and PSP tied on USD 57 million.
Mobile games performed well to take USD 44 million, leaving DS in last position - for a change - with USD 21 million.
Sony systems combined to make a total of USD 275 million for EA during those three months. This indicates which Console EA will be investing most of its money in the future.
From my point of view the reason is Sony’s blue ray, and its enhanced security features which have helped reduce piracy. EA and other game producers are cashing in on the technology.
Wii and DS development is one of the areas grey-maned EA boss John Riccitiello has already ear-marked for extra focus, revealing he has 40 games in the works for both platforms.
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Microsoft re-invents Xbox 360 experience (Warning Spoilers inside, free access to the new dashboard)
If you’re a big Xbox Live fan and don’t feel like waiting until this fall for the big redesign of the service that Microsoft has promised, there’s apparently a way to play with a leaked version of it now.
The interface looks somewhat similar to Vista Media Centre in its basic structure, but with more emphasis on visuals. Also, a new “party” mode will allow an 8 person chat to be carried out regardless of where you are within the Xbox Live community. This party can also move as a group through different games in XBLA and their new Primetime feature, which has multiplayer-oriented party games. The update is expected to come in the fall.
For all you stealthgamers.com visitors, a video showing a method to access the new dashboard. (This hack may not work for all Xbox live users)
If you’re somewhat tech-savvy and don’t have problems messing around with code, various Xbox security checks, burning CDs, and things like that, XHavok87’s (name of blog that discovered it) hack might just work for you.
Instead than trying to re-create the instructions here, I’ll just say that the XHavok87 blog entry has them with a high degree of detail. I can’t vouch for the efficacy of the instructions, having not tried them myself.
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A Flash Game Contest by Mochi Medua
This week the world’s largest online games advertising network Mochi Media announced a new contest for online game developers: “MochiAds Super Flash Game Friday.” The contest will award 10 winners, with each winner receiving $1,000 and a Wacom writing tablet.
The contest is free to enter and runs from July 18th through August 31st. All games added to the MochiAds database and approved during the dates of July 18th through August 31st, and which are enabled for distribution, are eligible. The contest is based on Mochi Media’s weekly Flash Game Friday contest, where the MochiAds team selects a favorite game and gives the winning game developer $100. The week of the Super Flash Game Friday contest marks the 10th week of Flash Game Friday. In recognition of the high caliber of games that have been previously submitted, the prizes will be increased to ten times the normal cash amount and expanded to award ten winners.
Winners will be chosen by the contest judges, which include Erin Bell of Gamezebo.com, Maya Baratz of Mochi Media, and three past MochiAds contest winners.
“These contests are wonderful because they get down to the essence of what Mochi Media is about — giving online game developers a chance to showcase their talents and be rewarded for creating innovative games,” said Jameson Hsu, Mochi Media CEO. “It’s always exciting to reward our developers and see the best of what’s out there.”
“We have consistently seen highly entertaining and creative games win each of our weekly contests,” said Maya Baratz, head of developer relations at Mochi Media and contest judge. “We anticipate the submissions for this contest to be among some of the most engaging games that can be found on the Internet.”
Mochi Media is a casual gaming network that provides tools for game developers, publishers and advertisers. The company provides independent developers of online games with analytics, distribution, and monetization tools — while supplying publishers with a wide array of games they can select to publish to their sites and offering advertisers a way to reach the one-in-three Internet users who play online games.
A comprehensive overview of the contest and submission guidelines can be found at http://www.mochiads.com/contest.
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Rockstar give a Glimpse of the new MidNight Club!! (Trailer inside!)
Race at breakneck speeds through the streets of modern-day L.A. recreated in stunning detail. Drive the hottest range of real-world tuners, muscle cars, exotics and superbikes on the streets today. Customize your ride with the best after-market performance parts and custom kits. Illegal street racing with no track, no load times, no rules: Welcome back to the Midnight Club.
Rockstar Games has whipped up a brand new trailer for the latest entry in the Midnight Club series, Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
According to Rockstar Games trailer that provides just a glimpse of the fast rides, exciting races and even a taste of cop chases in a hyper-realistic version of Los Angeles that only Rockstar Games can create.
Casual gamers may be less inclined to explore the limits of vehicle customisation (although in my opinion, they ignore the performance enhancements at their own peril), but they’ll be pleased to know that the game-play isn’t slavishly devoted to realism. For example the moral tub-thumping brigade will also be pleased to know it’s impossible to run over any of the multitude of virtual pedestrians that populate the game’s pavements (or sidewalks, as it were). In the event of a crash (and there will be many of those), players no longer have to spend ages driving to the garage or the chop shop; they can either opt for a quick fix a full restoration - but one menu click and they’re there. Game controls are fluid and easy to get to grips with and players can drop out of races and restart most of them at any point.
A treat for all stealthgamers.com readers and visitors, the link below is a download link for a full 40.3 mb HD video trailer of the new Midnight club!
ENJOY!
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Get ready Star War Fans!
Confirmed with pictures and images, Darth Vader will show us the power of the dark side sometime soon on the Xbox 360. Though Namco had the footage and images taken down, it was confirmed on the site that Vader is in the works for DLC on the Xbox 360, so presumably the same is true for Yoda on the PS3.
One of GamersReports’ anonymous email sources has uncovered screenshots (now removed at Namco’s request) showing a dream-come-true battle between the two of Star Wars’ finest fighters, Yoda and Darth Vader. Such a battle is currently impossible to have in either version of the game, but a download somewhere down the road could certainly make it possible.
Namco has not officially confirmed Vader and hasn’t given a release date for him or other Soul Calibur IV DLC.
We’ll let you know if Namco Bandai makes any announcements concerning the rumor.
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