We recently got the chance to check out the new Konami game, ‘Zombie Apocalypse.’ First and foremost, I must warn you before you read this review that I personally love zombies. Yes, zombie movies, zombie art, zombie books, zombie poetry and last, zombie video games. So, with that being said, I could be a little biased. Deal with it.

A little about the game:
Zombie Apocalypse is an action-packed arcade style shooter for Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network. In Zombie Apocalypse, gamers must plot a course through seven different environments and battle through 55 days of combat without succumbing to the zombie forces. Armed with an arsenal of firepower, players can choose from up to 11 varied weapons, such as hunting rifles, flamethrowers and teddy bears packed with C4 explosives to test their dual analog stick shooting skills. For daring players, chainsaws and environmental hazards can also be employed to annihilate large masses of the brutal undead.

Read the full article »

So, you may remember that I mentioned the tumble that game sales took in May. Well, it should be no surprise that Microsoft is looking at the massive drop in Wii sales and seeing an opportunity there.

What would be surprising would be for them to attempt to capitalize on that opportunity by launching a new console. Well, according to Sam Kennedy at 1UP, that’s exactly Microsoft’s plan.

In their Listen Up podcast, Kennedy was chatting with David Ellis of Microsoft, where they were discussing the new motion-sensing Natal technology, Ellis apparently let it slip that there will be a new XBox console next fall. Yeah, you heard that right. They’re planning another console launch in 2010.

Gamers will also be able to purchase Natal as an add-on for existing 360’s, which begs the question: Why launch another console now?

Read the full article »

So, every week the slavishly obsessive video game public saunter over to the escapist website to line up in morbid fascination ready to hear the idiot savant ramblings of critic and “commentarian” Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw skewer and lambaste the most recent game releases. Big game or little, he usually has something particularly biting to say in his punctuation-less rants and only rarely does that amount to anything but sidways praise for a title. This week it looks like one of those rare occasions when the stars, moons and hormones align to see the personality spout true praise for a title sprinkled with minor niggling and an admission the game is worth playing.

The target of his slight admiration: Sony & Sucker Punch’s inFAMOUS. The review itself is worth watching not because I agree with him on almost every point (which I do) but because its a rare event when the Zero Punctuation master has to work to tear a game apart.

In a post on the official US PlayStation Blog, Justin Richmond, one of Uncharted 2’s Multiplayer Designers commented on the great success that the recent beta test of the upcoming games’ multiplayer mode has been. Bundled with retail copies of Sucker Punch’s inFAMOUS the competitive online game mode for the previously solo only series has benefited Naughty Dog’s team greatly and the team is preparing to implement some changes to the beta.

The Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Beta is about to enter its second week, and we’re already making some tweaks to improve your experience. We are preparing a patch for release in the next few days. Properly applying this patch requires some careful attention on your end: You must watch the screen closely while booting into the beta. As soon as you see the patch message come up in the XMB overlay, you should hit X to accept as quickly as possible.

Richmond describes the fixes included in the beta patch and goes on to announce the dates for “Play with the Developer” events during the ongoing testing cycles.

The patch  fixes include:

General

• Grenade explosions now apply damage properly

Matchmaking

• Players should no longer get hung up in matchmaking for long periods of time

Bug Fixes

• Ranks should no longer reset randomly
• Quitting the game will no longer reset the PS3
• Player collision – players should no longer get hung up on each other when moving through the environment
• Player will now be killed if stuck in falling animation for too long
• In Plunder mode, treasures will no longer disappear during matches

Namco Bandai has revealed the release date for the upcoming PSN title,  Noby Noby Boy. It will be out in Japan in Korea on January 29th, followed by a European release date later on.  Why should you care? Because this is the new game from Keita Takahashi, the man behind Katamari Damacy, so it’s practically guaranteed it will be a unique experience. Why shouldn’t you care? Because it’s not exactly a “game” so to speak. It’s more of a 3D program where you stretch a little boy-like thing around and have it interact with stuff. There aren’t really any objectives other than “see what you can make it do.” Luckily though, someone at Namco Bandai seems to recognize how that might turn off some consumers, so it’s priced at the affordable 800 yen (about $9).

Still, it might have been nice to have a few objectives. Maybe Noby Noby Boy could have been a secret government project to develop the ultimate assassin. So he’s really a crazed killing machine that uses his stretching powers to strangle people, and of course please the ladies. Just saying.

Taking a cue from the Metal Gear Solid folks, Capcom has decided to re-issue the first three Onimusha games together in one package. The “Onimusha Essentials” pack will bundle the three games together for the budget price of $30. All three were great games — though the first couple might be a little dated by today’s standards — but if you want to see essentially the precursor to God of War, then here it is. Now we just need publishers to make this even easier on us and start issuing them for the next-gen consoles, preferably as a download.

There have been some light rumblings in the past that a new game based on The Punisher was in development, so it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that Zen Studios has now officially announced that the game is in development. What is surprising though is that it’s apparently a multiplayer game that takes place from a first-person perspective. The game is being called “The Punisher: No Mercy,” and will feature some familiar characters from The Punisher comics in the Marvel Universe (though I wouldn’t expect to see Marvel’s A-listers making any appearances). It will be built using the Unreal Engine 3 and is set to be available exclusively through the Playstation Store on the PSN.

Hmm, so it’s an FPS that centers around the gritty world of a soldier-type character. How original. it is kind of cool that they’re bypassing retail distribution entirely though.

Via Playstation Blog

The PlayStation Blog has confirmed that MotorStorm: Pacific Rift will be arriving on store shelves October 28. Previously, it was slated for a November release, but the new release date should make gamers looking forward to the rampaging racing game pretty happy.

Like Shawn mentioned yesterday, the demo for MotorStorm: Pacific Rift should be landing on PSN sometime today (if it hasn’t already).

The anything-goes style of racing gamers have grown accustomed to in MotorStorm, is moving from the mountainous desert to a lush Pacific island, replete with thick swamps, dense jungle, towering peaks and steaming volcanoes. You’ll be rampaging through thick mud, tangled undergrowth, swift flowing rivers, and searing lava pools of this new location with all of the vehicles familiar to players of the first game. ATVs, rally cars, buggies, motorbikes, race trucks, mudpluggers and Big Rigs are once again included and joining the cast is the new monster truck class and for the first time, you and your friends will be able to race head-to-head in the new 4 player split-screen mode for some major racing mayhem. With trophy support, and 16 multi-route tracks (double the amount from the first MotorStorm) featuring  real-time terrain deformation will help ensure that no two laps are the same.

For more information, hit the links posted above.

Activision means business when it comes to Guitar Hero: World Tour – so much so that they are cranking it to 11 by featuring several of the most influential instrument and equipment brands in the music industry.

Now, gamers can score in-game sponsorships and gear from AMPEG, Audio-Technica, EMG Pickups, Ernie Ball, Evans Drumheads, Guitar Center, Krank Amplification, Mackie, Marshall, Orange County Drum & Percussion, Pork Pie Percussion, Regal Tip, Sabian cymbals, Vox and Zildjian drumsticks.

In addition to featuring products, the game lets virtual bands play on the same stage as many of their favorite musicians with digital re-creations of Amoeba Music and Live Nation’s House of Blues Sunset Strip for an even higher level of “realism”.

No specifics where given in the press release about how you can be sponsored by these labels, therefore I am assuming it flashes across the screen after you ace a particular gig, just like in the previous installments. Too bad most people who play these games will have no idea who their sponsors are, but hopefully that will be remedied later on down the road.

Via: Press Release

* WRITERS NOTE *: Before I get to the news that I plan to tell you about, I want to get something out of the way first: Activision should have named the forthcoming Guitar Hero game something other than “World Tour”. It sounds way too close to the DS title Guitar Hero: On Tour, and it annoys the hell out of me. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, here is the story.*

Recently, G4  got my hopes up, and the hopes of every other piano nerd who is also a gamer when they reported that a keyboard peripheral would be coming out with Activision’s newest Guitar Hero title.

Well, apparently G4 got it all wrong when they stated that a new peripheral would be included with Guitar Hero: World Tour - so wrong in fact that they have had to scratch through their original post. This bit of inaccurate information was posted after getting their wires crossed during an interview with Neversoft project director Brian Bright. They have however set the record straight – no new instruments will be included with GHWT – just the normal peripherals we have come to expect.

This has sucked the wind out of my sails to be quite honest with you, because G4 was speculating that it would have to be a keyboard – I mean what else would it be, bagpipes? Their reasoning for suspecting a keyboard was self explanatory because in studio mode, you can record keyboard parts. What will gamers use as a keyboard if one is not present? Why the guitar of course, because nothing produces a sonata quite like a faux guitar. Right. Even a keytar would make more sense, but then again, who would want to be seen rockin’ it out with a FAKE keytar let alone a real one? Talk about putting a damper on your social life.

Regardless of whether a new instrument is coming out for GHWT or not, it sounds like it will be a fun game indeed, especially now that the days of incompatibility with other game peripherals is becoming a thing of the past. I only wish that their set list was as good as the one for Rock Band 2. To be honest with you, I am still pissed off about Tool not being on the disc, yet the inclusion of The Steve Miller Band is suppose to be a good thing. Hardly.