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Activision has announced a new Pitfall game for the Wii is set to hit store shelves sometime in the Fall. “Pitfall: The Big Adventure,” as it is being called, will of course feature the series’ protagonist, Pitfall Harry, as he goes in search of more lost treasure. Once again, he’ll be making his way through all types of exotic locales while dodging enemies and swinging over caverns. And as can be expected, the whole game will take advantage of the Wii’s motion-sensitive controls:

“Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote™ to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!”

See, this is what I would call an example of nostalgia being a bad thing. Yes, Pitfall was a great game…back in the Atari 2600 days. Since then, just about every other Pitfall game has been a poor update trying to capitalize on gamers’ nostalgia. By now, the whole “jungle adventure” game has been taken to a much higher level with the likes of Uncharted and even Tomb Raider. Yeah, my “shovelware” meter is going pretty wild right about now.

Via Press Release

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The beginning of the trailer you see above certainly looks like it’s for Killzone, but if you wait it out you’ll see the super-cool outfits that have been designed for the little sack guys to make them look like they came straight out of Killzone. Presumably they were only able to do it since it’s a first party game, but imagine the possibilities — Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, or any of the other PS3 exclusives that could have a sack version made for LBP.

Aside from that, I didn’t find anything else particularly interesting. That’s not to say it doesn’t look good; it looks phenomenal, but I already came to that conclusion the first time I saw the game.

If you could have any character made into a sack boy or girl, who would you most like to see?

The SCEE blog Three Speech, had its readers send in some questions for Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells about Uncharted or anything else they felt would pass the site’s censors. Most questions ran the usual gambit of gaming related queries, but one in particular stood out a bit from the rest only because of the answer Wells gave.

Question: There are beautifully animated fish in the water, but I can’t shoot them?

Answer: We had hit reactions and even some death animations for the wildlife in the game but we chose to remove it. It was flagged as a potential issue by the ESRB and it seemed like a small concession to make in order to maintain our “Teen” rating. It may have also affected the rating in Europe.

Basically what the ESRB would have implied if these abilities were added to the game, is that it is okay to kill your fellow man any which way you can, but you can’t kill the fishies.

While some of us may argue about this strange sense of morality, I for one can kind of see the ESRB’s point on the matter. Granted, there are many games in which you have to kill an animal be it a dog, bear, wolf, or crazed hart, but usually these animals are attacking you. If you were allowed to kill an animal in the game just for the sake of killing it, what kind of message is being sent? I myself, have a hard time when playing RPGs, killing a wolf, bear, or boar for its meat or fur to complete a quest. This is mainly because I hate the “crying” sounds they make when you are slashing them with your sword or shooting them with your bow. I especially hate it when I have to kill a wolf because not only are they one of my favorite animals, but they are basically a dog, and being the huge dog lover that I am, it makes me feel dirty.

Maybe I feel this way because I am what you would call a softhearted female. Maybe it is because I rescue animals in real life, or maybe it is just because I don’t usually kill gratuitously in games anyway. Sure, it is hilarious in the GTA games when you accidentally run over a pedestrian - but I try to avoid it and if it was not so comical of a death for them, it may even make me feel bad in some sense. Sure, I love to slaughter demons, bad guys, orcs, and rats in games, but I like to kill BAD GUYS. Usually animals in games are there for the scenery, and unless one is attacking me I usually just ignore it.

I do not know the reasons why the ESRB would have given Uncharted an “M” rating for being able to kill fish, but I have a theory of my own which may give us a clue to their way of thinking on the subject. First of all, animals - like the elderly and children - are considered innocent beings. I am sure we all know an old fart who is as mean as the day is long, but that particular person non-withstanding, capping old ladies just isn’t nice. Neither is a hurting child. While it may be acceptable to kill humans in games, usually there is a good reason we are doing it. They are evil and out to conquer the world or put your head on a spike. Therefore, it is okay to slaughter them endlessly. Most people who play games, know that it is not socially acceptable to go around running people down with their cars, shooting them, or shoving a broad sword to their chest cavity, but there are plenty of sickos out there who think it is “okay” to kill animals for their own sick perversions.

It is a commonly known fact that most serial killers started out torturing animals. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein and many others from Wisconsin (kidding people) all started out hurting little furry creatures before moving on to human territory. Maybe this is another reason why the ESRB would have found fault with a “T” rating for a game where you kill innocent fish. They are afraid that we will all start wearing suits made from cadavers someday, or cannibalizing our neighbors. Not really sure, but no one likes to see innocence being murdered, no matter if it is in a game or real life.

Whatever their reasons, I am sure it has to do with the mental stability of our future generations - and while it may seem strange to give the green light to shooting dozens of people and not giving a thumbs up to shooting cats off the sofa, it is not such a bad thing really.

A “source” has stated that a movie adaptation of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is currently being written. Being such a well received game it is not too surprising that Hollyweird might want to try and cash in on the popularity of it - but with the track record of videogame/movie tie-ins and movies based on popular video games usually being a pile of steamy horse manure - it makes me wonder how they are going to screw this one up -providing that this information is actually true and not just some silly rumor.

Supposedly though, this “well-placed source” has confirmed that the film rights to Naughty Dog’s game has been snatched up by Atlas Entertainment (Fallen, Three Kings), and when asked about the possibility of a movie starring Nathan Drake, Sony had no comment. Usually when “no comment” is given as an answer you can usually bet your auntie’s great big panties that what they really meant was “yes” but that they do not want to ruin the horrible surprise.

If this is indeed true, who do you think should play Nathan Drake? 1Up thinks it should be Hal Sparks, and if you do not agree with them then you are a monster. Well, call me a monster all you like, but I think that Josh Holloway (Sawyer) from Lost would make a great Nathan Drake. Yeah, sure he is blond, and sometimes resembles Kid Rock, but he could pull it off. He is smarmy enough, handsome enough, and could easily get away with the half-tuck any day of the week. Of course, I am sure I am in the minority on that suggestion.

We will be sure to let you know either way when more information becomes available. In the meantime, feel free to post your suggestions on who you think should star in it.

Thanks: 1UP

Everybody who has ever played a video game can attest to the fact that the majority of the female characters in them are usually not horrid beasts whose appearance is so revolting that you want to gouge your eyes out. Usually, if a female character is insulting to our senses it is because they are either a zombie, some sort of enemy we are suppose to detest or they are the overly plump mother figure. The heroines, or the damsels in distress are usually pretty easy on the eyes – for a pixilated figure – and the fandom that surrounds Lara Croft, for example, can attest to this.For years on end, men have had their Dead or Alive chicks, Lara, the Final Fantasy babes, any female in Soul Calibur, and pretty much the whole gambit of scantily clad women in the RPG genre. This has always been okay with me, because I am not a prude and I understand that developers and the demographic that they cater too are mostly male. Men like to look at voluptuous women oozing with sexuality that can handle a broadsword with as much tender loving care as they would a helpless kitten. It is a scientific fact that men are stimulated visually when it comes to the opposite sex – therefore, if a game developer wants to include a female character in a game that wears nothing more than a thong, pasties, thigh-high boots and fishnet stockings – go for it! It does not offend me in the slightest.

I do however, have one request from developers: Why not make your main protagonists just as easy on the eyes as the women? I am not asking you to put them in a codpiece or have them in costumes that make them look like nothing more than a reject from a Village People casting call. I am not even asking for you to make them “really, really, ridiculously good-looking”. I just think it would be wonderful to have nice looking men who are just as easy on the eyes as their pixilated female counterparts. Handsome heroes in video games are few and far between and while Duke Nukem may be a bad ass, his resemblance to Howie Long only disgusts us to be quite honest. Solid Snake may be one of the most awesome heroes of his genre, but he is no Sam Elliot.

Because of the lack of hunky men in video games, I set out to find some that I personally though might fit the “handsome” mold. I shared my findings with some female friends who are also gamers, and they agreed with me on my selections. With more and more women taking up gaming as a hobby, if you are going to include a hot chick, make her counterpart just as hot. I have picked some of the hunkiest gaming heroes that have so far graced our TV screens, and while there are not that many, the ones I have chosen – to me anyway – are the ones who are easiest on the eyes.

Read the full article

We always hear a lot about attach rates or tie-in ratios, which are basically the average number of games sold per system. So, if you’ve got an attach rate of 1, that means you would have sold, say, 10 million systems and 10 million games. Microsoft constantly boasts its large attach rate, but how do the rest of the current generation of systems hold up by comparison? You might be surprised to find out.

After Nintendo announced its global attach rate, Joystiq inquired with the NPD Group to find out their attach rate for the five major platforms. Xbox 360 of course leads the way with 7.5 games, followed by the Wii at 5.3, DS at 4.7, PS3 at 4.6, and PSP at 4.2. Honestly, I’m not sure if I should be more surprised by the Wii’s being as large as it is, or the PSP being so close to the rest of the pack. It’s rare to see a PSP game crack into the top ten best selling games each month, while games like Call of Duty 4 and particularly Wii Play have taken up permanent residence on the list.

The last time we got these figures, the PS3 was in the threes, so you can see that PS3 owners are slowly expanding their game library. (Well, either that or Blu-ray owners can’t help but pick up a copy of Uncharted.) With Grand Theft Auto IV, Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii all releasing very soon, you can expect to see the consoles’ attach rates jump. The only thing guaranteed aside from that is the next Microsoft press release touting their historic attach rate.

I posted recently about a so called “Co-Op Bill of Rights,” which was a concept inspired by Penny-Arcade and then run with by Microsoft employee Ozymandias on his blog. He threw together a list of features that co-op games must have, and then ones that would be ideal but aren’t necessary due to the time/effort/technical requirements they require. It’s nothing official of course, and it’s likely never going to be something that impacts how developers spend their time. More recently, he posted up a more finalized version with the help of various comments from around the ‘net that his initial article called for.

This got me thinking about features that all games simply must have. It irritates me to no end to go pick up a new game, assume something about the game and then come to find out that a blatantly obvious feature or option is nowhere to be seen. I asked for feedback from readers and friends, and I’ve come up with my own Bill of Rights. It’s not necessarily focused on features that have to be included, but more often functionality and design choices in games. Some of it will overlap with Ozymandias’ list, but that’s only because these are things games absolutely must do.

I’m looking for feedback, so if you think I omitted something or something made the list that shouldn’t have, share in the comments. This is by no means intended to be a finished piece, but more of a building block. And, as long as I’m admitting my faults, this doesn’t apply only to games, but game-related things, as well.

And just to make sure things are clear, I’ll give out examples of games that did it either well – guised as a Dick Vitale “That’s awesome, baby!” – or poorly – a Charles Barley “That’s turrible.”

Read the full article

For the fourth month in a row, Call of Duty 4 on Xbox 360 has reigned supreme atop the sales charts once again. A mere thousand units sold separated it from the number two game, Devil May Cry 4 (also on 360). Wii Play has been a mainstay since it was released, it would seem, and it comes in at number three. The Wii and PS2 versions of Guitar Hero III also managed to stay in the top ten, leading Rock Band on 360 which came in at number ten.

Despite another month of strong sales for the PlayStation 3 (superior to the 360 for the second month in a row) only a single game, Devil May Cry 4, was in the top ten. Are people still not buying Ratchet and Uncharted, or are people simply buying the PS3 to use as a Blu-ray player?

Seeing lost Odyssey make the list was a pleasant surprise, and I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by Turok making the list. I didn’t find it to be anything particularly special (and Yahtzee seemed to agree) but whether it was nostalgia or the promise of being able to shoot dinosaurs, it sold just under 200,000 copies.

So, will Call of Duty 4 finally be unseated in March? We’ll find out in under a month, but something tells me that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will certainly play a role in the matter.

February 2008 Software Sales

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) — 296,200
2. Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360) — 295,200
3. Wii Play (Wii) — 289,700
4. Devil May Cry 4 (PlayStation 3) — 233,500
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) — 222,900
6. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo DS) — 205,600
7. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) — 203,600
8. Turok (Xbox 360) — 197,700
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PlayStation 2) — 183,800
10. Rock Band (Xbox 360) — 161,800

As we inch closer to the launch of WiiWare, Nintendo seeks to keep our Virtual Consoles busy (and their wallets filled with Wii Points) with the release of two new classic games this week: Super R-Type and Spelunker.

Super R-Type is, if you don’t know and have somehow managed to escape this classic series, a side-scrolling shooter which means it’s adding to what has become the most bloated genre in gaming. This SNES game costs 800 Wii Points.

Spelunker will cost you just over half that at 500 Wii Points. It’s a fairly typical old school NES platformer from what I’ve seen. You can see the game in action above, as YouTube’s Frankomatic narrates a section of gameplay.

Hit the break for descriptions of both games.

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Details have been released on Obsidian’s new action RPG in development, Alpha Protocol. Game Informer featured the new title on the cover of the April issue. Here are some of the highlights of the story courtesy of NeoGaf.

“A modern day espionage focused action/RPG that takes you on a suspenseful ride in the vein of James Bond, Jack Bauer, and Jason Bourne. Take a wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn agent up through the ranks to become a bona-fide super spy.”

• Main character is Michael Thorton, a fully trained but inexperienced young operative who has the world turned upside down when a mission goes wrong.
• Title “Alpha Protocol” is a phrase that is used when operatives go underground to work off the grid. Usually reserved for senior agents.
• Battle system is similar to Mass Effect but have more in common with Uncharted. It revolves around real time combat with an emphasis on gun play and high tech gadgets.
• Third person perspective, action orientated gameplay
• Close quarters combat can be a last resort or primary method of fighting depending on how you spend skill points you have earned.
• Skill system is based most closely on Fallout. It’s classless, you have 10 skills and 10 ranks in each skill. Skills don’t simply improve things like accuracy, they improve the way your character will perceive situations.
• The game will suit all play styles from the run and gunner to the stealth assassin.
• Extremely in depth dialog system that is a mix of Mass Effect and Indigo Prophecy. Once conversations happen, that’s it, no revisiting the NPC to try to talk again and again. System is named the Dialog Stance System. You dictate your characters tone in a conversation by pressing a corresponding face button. Options can be cool and suave others can be brash/impatient.
• You can have multiple active missions in different countries and travel freely between them.
• Lots of girls and romance subplots. You’ll meet tons of different girls on missions and yes you can bag them all.
• Current control scheme for selecting powers and weapons is similar to Bioshock.

Sega has signed on as the publisher for Alpha Protocol. The title will be available for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 and is scheduled for release Spring 2009.
via NeoGaf

More from the land of Home: Kotaku is reporting that a source has revealed to them that three first-party games – Warhawk, Uncharted, and Resistance – will see themed areas within the social networking hub, completely with mini-games and other extra content.

Resistance’s area would let gamers visit areas of the game they never were able to previously, as well as access bonus content like radio communications from the game that will flesh out the game’s backstory.

Uncharted would take things a step further by having its area be home (no pun intended) to a 2D side-scrolling arcade game.

Saving the best for last, Warhawk’s area will purportedly contain a “war room” where you’ll be able to plot out a strategy for upcoming games with other players. Using a 3D replica of a game level, you’ll be able to really create more sophisticated strategies than you could possibly hope to with voice chat.

I was already excited about Home, as you’ll have no doubt noticed over the past many months, but if games turn out to have these sorts of areas within Home that can expand upon the game’s experience, that would truly be sweet. Imagine an MMO where you could access the auction house from Home…

Exciting, isn’t it?

Wednesday is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week aside from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Partly it’s because of the usual XBLA updates, which can provide a distraction for at least ten minutes (unless it’s another Tron game). But mostly it’s because a new Zero Punctuation review comes out…which provides only a five minute distraction, but it’s certainly a high-quality one. This week, Yahtzee Croshaw tackles the PS3 action adventure game, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. As usual, he spares few punches in his review, though he does have some kind words for the game’s noteworthy water effects.

Via The Escapist

News out of the ongoing Destination PlayStation – a Sony event for the company to meet with retailers and third party teams – brings word that the long awaited DualShock 3 will finally be available in North America this April. According to PlayStation.Blog, the controller’s rumble feature will be compatible with more than 100 games, including Uncharted, Ratchet & Clank Future, and Metal Gear Solid 4.

They didn’t peg a specific date, or if they did they’re simply not sharing it with us. This puts me in a bit of a conundrum since I don’t know if I should hold off on playing through my remaining PS3 “to play” list so that I can experience it with rumble. What am I to do?

The one thing I do know for sure, though, is that with a $54.99 price tag I’ll be telling a GameStop employee, “One please.”

Another week, another PlayStation Store update. There’s new content across the board – a new downloadable game, PS one Classic, add-on content, demo, trailers, and wallpapers.

Go! Sports Skydiving ($4.99) is the newest downloadable game on PSN. It uses the Sixaxis to pull off different moves as you skydive and features online multiplayer. Also on PSN with online multiplayer is the multiplayer demo of Lost Planet, Capcom’s buried-in-snow third-person shooter that was released on PC and Xbox 360 earlier last year.

Hit the break for the full list of new content.

Read the full article

I’m happy to bring word that the first downloadable content for Mass Effect has been revealed today and will be released on March 10. I’m not so happy to tell you that it’ll come attached to a price of 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

As BioWare’s Chris Preistly puts it, this DLC pack, known as Bring Down the Sky, is the first in a series of DLC that will expand the game’s universe and continue your escapades as Commander Shepard.

Bring Down the Sky includes a new uncharted world that introduces the notorious and feared alien race of the Batarians. A Batarian extremist group has hijacked a mobile asteroid station in the Asgard system, setting it on a collision course with the nearby colony world of Terra Nova. Only Commander Shepard can save the millions of innocent civilians before the asteroid completes its deadly descent.

Bring Down the Sky contains approximately 90 minutes of heart-pounding action and a new Achievement worth 50 Gamerscore points.

Having read the Mass Effect prequel novel, I’ve been dying to know what the Batarians look like, as they play a significant role in the book – and my imagination sucks. While I’m a bit concerned that a “series” of DLC could add up to big bucks for gamers, I can’t help but want more Mass Effect. I sank 29 hours into the game in my first trip through, and I will helplessly fork over the 400 points for this DLC pack.

According to Naughty Dog’s Amy Hennig, the Director for Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, there will be no DLC for the game in the future. I realize that fans of the game will be quite disappointed upon hearing this, but this should come as no surprise really considering that a sequel is currently in the works.

We don’t currently have any plans for downloadable content - instead, we included all our bonus content as unlockables right on the game disc. We’re excited about future integration with Home, though, and are looking forward to supporting Home with additional content when we’re able to.

It all boils down to this: would you rather have new content or a whole new game? Personally, I prefer a new adventure as opposed to DLC but if the game is a long ways off, why not give gamers something to sink their teeth into while waiting for the latest installment? Not only does it keep their level of interest up in the game, it would help assure better sales as gamers will be itching at that point to delve back into Drake’s shoes. Regardless though, as popular as Uncharted is it would not matter whether DLC was available or not - gamers just want more of this title no matter how long of a wait it may be.

Source: Kotaku

Ever wonder what games are selling in the Netherlands? You don’t need to wonder anymore. Apparently our friendly Dutch gamers are still buying Wii games more than anything else. Surprisingly, only one Xbox 360 game is even on their top 10 list. Here’s the top 10 sales list from 1/18 - 1/24 in the Netherlands:

1 MARIO & SONIC OLYMPIC GAMES (Wii) SEGA
2 SUPER MARIO GALAXY (Wii) NINTENDO
3 CALL OF DUTY 4/MODERN WARFARE (PS3) ACTIVISION
4 CALL OF DUTY 4/MODERN WARFARE (PC) ACTIVISION
5 CALL OF DUTY 4/MODERN WARFARE (XBOX 360) ACTIVISION
6 LINKS CROSSBOW (WII) NINTENDO
7 ASSASSIN’S CREED (PS3) UBISOFT
8 ZACK & WIKI (WII) NINTENDO
9 MARIO PARTY 8 (WII) NINTENDO
10 UNCHARTED/DRAKE’S FORTUNE (PS3) SONY

Via Dutch Charts

Fashion is by no means something I’m interested in by any stretch, but Seinfeld-level comments on certain trends is something I’m not above. At the very least, the same could be said about Double Fine’s Tim Schafer, the creator of Psychonauts. Having just played through Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Schafer had something to say about the game – although it’s definitely not the usual commentary you see when discussing a game.

It was all super next-gen, but the most next-gen thing about it to me was Drake’s shirt. Check it out: Somehow it’s tucked in, and yet not tucked in, at the very same time. Of all the technical marvels contained in Uncharted, this was the one that really mystified me.

So, on his left side, he tucked the shirt in, to show his trim figure and stylish belt buckle. “What a handsome young man,” you might say, “If he gets that shirt washed, he may date my daughter.” But his right side is untucked, like the shirt of a wild man, a renegade, a scoundrel. “What is that guy up to? Why is his shirt untucked? Does he not give a damn about me and my rules?”

Then I realized what a clever invention the half-tuck is. How better to show off your rock-hard abs, but still create an air of nonchalance? Much like how a mullet shows the world your business side in the front, and your party side in the back, the half-tuck tells one story on the right side, but a completely different story on the left. In encapsulates the contradiction that you are: The shy extrovert, the organized slob, the guy who likes to shop at Banana Republic but also likes to fall into the Gap when he’s feeling a little crazy. The half-tuck reassures the ladies that you’re a man who cares about personal grooming, but who, at the same time, couldn’t give a f##k. Who doesn’t like that?

If that doesn’t get a chuckle out of you, I feel bad for you.

For those of you who want more, head over to Double Fine and read the entirety of Schafer’s half tuck deconstruction.

Last month, we found out that Unreal Tournament 3 (on PC, along with Crysis) was selling quite poorly in the early going. And by poorly, I mean it barely made it over the 30,000 units sold mark – whether that’s due to a bloated market, piracy or something else altogether, we can’t know for sure. Mark Rein takes offense to the claim that UT3 isn’t doing well, stating:

It is amazing how people can look at two weeks of sales (in our case) in one single territory in the busiest Xmas sales season the industry has ever seen and come to the conclusion these titles are doing “badly”. I don’t think either title is doing so badly … This isn’t the fastest selling UT title ever but it’s doing pretty well and we’re going to support it with some pretty cool things to help it keep selling over time.

I don’t think anyone could make a similar claim about UT3 on PlayStation 3, which – despite being released on December 11 with very little notice – sold 113,000 copies, which is just under the mark hit by Uncharted in November (117,000) and quite a lot more than Ratchet sold in October (74,500).

It’ll be interesting to see how Epic proceeds from here in regards to how they treat the PS3 version versus the PC version. If sales are clearly better on PS3, who’s to say that Epic wouldn’t suddenly pay more attention to the console versions?

via 1UP

First it was the news that Japan would be getting DMC4 PS3 bundles this month that made me envious, now comes word that Europe will be getting their very own cool bundles as well during January. These new bundles include the 40GB PS3 with a ‘Pick N Mix’ option of two games and the choices range from stellar to mediocre. Folklore, Formula One, Genji: Days of the Blade, L.A.I.R, Motorstorm, Ratchet and Clank: Tools Of Destruction, Resistance: Fall Of Man, Singstar PS3 with microphones, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and Warhawk with headset are the games available to mix and match.

The bundles will only cost the consumer and extra £50, so if you were planning on purchasing that 40GB PS3 for £299, you can now get two games included, which will save you an extra 50 quid. If the a deal like this were to hit the States, maybe I could finally persuade my domestic partner to let me drop around 700 American dollars on a PS3 bundle- MAYBE. The likelihood of that occurring though, would the be equivalent of my waking up one morning looking like Sophie Marceau.

European gamers can look forward to the ‘Pick N Mix’ launch on January 18, and this deal is expected to run until further notice.

Thanks: MCV