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[The oddly titled Dreamworks CG film is, of course, being adapted into a video game.]

4301

TalkBack / Flushed Away Game Announced

« on: January 31, 2006, 08:21:53 PM »

The oddly titled Dreamworks CG film is, of course, being adapted into a video game.

DreamWorks Animation SKG & D3Publisher of America Sign Worldwide Publishing   Agreement for Flushed Away    

First Games Based on the Animated Feature Film Scheduled for Q4 2006    

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- D3Publisher of America, Inc. (D3PA), a   publisher and developer of interactive entertainment software, today   announced a worldwide publishing agreement with DreamWorks Animation SKG   (NYSE:DWA) for video games based on the forthcoming computer animated   feature film "Flushed Away".  The first games are scheduled to be released   for console systems and handheld systems including Nintendo DS(TM), and Game   Boy(R) Advance in Q4 2006 to coincide with the release of the DreamWorks   computer animated feature film on November 3, 2006.    

"This agreement with DreamWorks Animation SKG is a significant milestone for   D3Publisher of America," stated Careen Yapp, vice president of licensing and   business development for D3PA.  "Our blueprint for success has always   included both original intellectual properties, as well as licensed titles   from top entertainment companies.  'Flushed Away' will be a key title for us   in 2006 and we are very pleased to be working with the DreamWorks and   Aardman Animation teams to deliver a fun gaming experience that expands on   the computer animated feature film."    

"Flushed Away" is a story driven, 3rd-person action-platform game that   captures the characters and humor of the film.  The games will also feature   new characters and environments that are unique to the game that will enrich   the world of "Flushed Away".  The console products will be developed by   Vicious Cycle, and the handheld products will be developed by Altron and   ART.    

About DreamWorks Animation's "Flushed Away"    

>From DreamWorks Animation and Aardman Features, the teams behind the   >worldwide hit "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit", comes the   >computer-animated comedy "Flushed Away".  Blending Aardman's trademark   >style and characterizations with DreamWorks' state-of-the-art computer   >animation, "Flushed Away" is a madcap comedy set on and beneath the streets   >of London.    

Roddy is a decidedly upper-crust "society rat" who makes his home in a posh   Kensington flat, complete with two hamster butlers named Gilbert and   Sullivan.  When a common sewer rate named Syd comes spewing out of the sink   and decides he's hit the jackpot, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest   by luring him into the "whirlpool."  Syd may be an ignorant slob, but he's   no fool, so it is Roddy who winds up being flushed away into the bustling   sewer world of Ratropolis.  There Roddy meets Rita, an enterprising   scavenger who works the sewers in her faithful boat the Jammy Dodger.    

Roddy immediately wants out, or rather, up; Rita wants to be paid for her   trouble; and, speaking of trouble, the villainous Toad -- who royally   despises all rodents -- wants them iced ... literally.  The Toad dispatches   his tow hapless hench-rats, Spike and Whitey, to get the job done.  When   they fail, the Toad has no choice but to send to France for his cousin --    that dreaded mercenary, Le Frog.

[Now you can have the best game of 2005 for only twenty bucks.]

4302

TalkBack / RE4 Goes Player's Choice

« on: January 31, 2006, 06:51:18 AM »

Now you can have the best game of 2005 for only twenty bucks.

CAPCOM ®’S RESIDENT EVIL ®  4 ACHIEVES PLAYER’S CHOICE STATUS AND EARNS NUMEROUS “GAME OF THE YEAR” ACCOLADES    

SUNNYVALE , Calif. ¾ January 31, 2006 — Capcom® , a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced its critically acclaimed survival horror masterpiece, Resident Evil® 4 , has been awarded inclusion into Nintendo’s Player’s Choice program for the Nintendo GameCube™.  The game will be relaunched with new packaging at a suggested retail price of $19.99.  In addition to this recent achievement, the rave reviews from press and overwhelmingly positive feedback from fans for both the GameCube and PlayStation â 2 computer entertainment system versions have resulted in multiple “Game of the Year” accolades.  Based on the popular Resident Evil series, which has sold more than 27 million units worldwide and is Capcom’s highest selling series, Resident Evil 4 is rated “M” for mature audiences from the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board).    

     

Just a few weeks into the year, a number of media have already announced their best of 2005 awards.  Highlights include prestigious “Game of the Year” honors from numerous esteemed outlets including Game Informer, GameSpot, GamePro, Spike TV Video Game Awards 2005, UGO.com, G4TV’s X-Play, Chicago Tribune, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Game Revolution, Lee Enterprises, GameZone.com, New Times Media, WorthPlaying.com, Real Detroit Weekly, GameSpot Readers’ Choice, Blender’s Readers’ Poll, IGN Readers’ Choice and Lawrence.com Gamer’s Voice Awards.  Moreover, the GameCube version of the title earned first place status among games for the platform from IGN Cube, GameSpot, GameSpy, GameZone.com, Advanced Media Network and Home Theater Magazine.  Resident Evil 4 was also included on lists of top games for 2005 from high profile media including PSM, Play, Associated Press, Cox News Service, Gannett News Service, Universal Press Syndicate, San Jose Mercury News, Maxim Online, Sound & Vision, Tacoma News Tribune, Hartford Courant, Global Gaming League, Punch Jump and The Oregonian.    

     

In Resident Evil 4 players are reacquainted with Leon S. Kennedy, Raccoon City Police Department’s idealistic rookie cop from Resident Evil 2.  It has been six years since the destruction of Raccoon City and in that time, the U.S. government has been able to destroy the nefarious Umbrella Corporation.  Fast forward to 2004 and players rejoin Leon, who is now a U.S. agent with a top-secret mission.  He has been tasked to look into the abduction of the President’s daughter and his investigation has led him to a mysterious location in Europe .  As Leon encounters unimaginable horrors, he must find out who or what is behind everything.

4303

TalkBack / RE: NOA Announces Brain Age for DS

« on: January 30, 2006, 09:14:47 AM »

Big Brain Academy is the second one.  It's sort of confusing with all the different names and translations.

[The already successful non-game launches in N. America in April; its sequel follows in May.]

4304

TalkBack / NOA Announces Brain Age for DS

« on: January 30, 2006, 03:48:48 AM »

The already successful non-game launches in N. America in April; its sequel follows in May.

Players Flex Their Mental Muscles With Brain Age for Nintendo DS    

Incredible 'Brain-Training' Craze in Japan Moves Across Ocean to the United States    

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- After decades of exercising players' thumbs, Nintendo is now moving to their minds. Brain Age(TM): Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day for Nintendo DS(TM) will help players flex their mental muscles.  Brain Age represents the first in a series of U.S. brain-training titles that already have taken Japan by storm.    

  (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060130/LAM055 )    (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050516/NINTENDODSLOGO )    

  Brain exercise has been a hot topic lately.  Baby Boomers and test-prepping school kids alike want to challenge themselves.  In fact, a recent Time magazine article cited Brain Age in its exploration of the trend of people looking for ways to exercise their brains.    

But Baby Boomers picking up a video game system?  It's not as far-fetched as you might think.  Three separate titles in the brain-training series are currently a huge craze in Japan.  Each of them has achieved sales of more than 1 million units, with the most recent title hitting that milestone in less than a month.  The craze has been fueled largely by older players, many of whom had never played a video game system before.    

Brain Age (known as Brain Training in Japan) was inspired by the work of Professor Ryuta Kawashima, a prominent Japanese neuroscientist.  His studies evaluated the effect of performing reading and mathematic exercises to help stimulate the brain.    

"Young or old, everyone looks for ways to get a mental edge," says Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing.  "Our brain-training series, led by Brain Age, builds on the popularity of word and number puzzles and acts as a treadmill for the mind."    

Brain Age presents players with a series of fun mental brain-training challenges that incorporate word memorization, counting and reading.  It even includes sudoku number puzzles, which have become extremely popular features in newspapers around the country.  The distinctive touch screen of Nintendo DS lets users write their responses, just as though they were using a PDA. Players even turn the Nintendo DS sideways to make it feel more familiar, like a book.  The more often users challenge themselves, the better they become at the tasks and the lower their estimated DS "brain age."    

Nintendo's brain-training series of games represent a cornerstone of Nintendo's aim to expand the world of video games to new audiences. The second title in the series, Big Brain Academy (known as Brain Flex in Japan) offers players 15 fun activities that test their brain powers in areas like logic, memory, math and analysis. Up to eight people can play with a single game card, and each activity takes less than a minute to complete.    

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day is rated E for Everyone and launches on April 17.  Big Brain Academy is Rated E for Everyone and launches May 30.

4305

NWR Forums Discord / RE: Naruto 4 match vid starring me

« on: January 28, 2006, 07:45:47 AM »

yes

[Tom Clancy's latest and greatest won't show up until later this year, but it's still coming to GameCube.]

4306

TalkBack / Splinter Cell Double Agent Delayed

« on: January 26, 2006, 09:19:19 AM »

Tom Clancy's latest and greatest won't show up until later this year, but it's still coming to GameCube.

Sam Fisher is returning to GameCube for at least one more mission, but you'll have to wait until the fall to play his newest game.  Double Agent was only recently unveiled in print magazines, but Ubisoft wasted little time in revising the game's ship date.  Although the official statement below is vague on the actual ship date, the publisher's financial statements, also released today, mention September 2006 as the magic month.    

Today Ubisoft announced that its highly anticipated title Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent will launch in the company’s second quarter of its fiscal year 2006/2007. Splinter Cell Double Agent will be available in September for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube™ system and Windows® PC.    

Ubisoft is extending the launch of Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent in order to deliver the highest quality gaming experience. The additional development time will allow for a simultaneous worldwide launch on all platforms and will allow Ubisoft’s development teams to push the technical boundaries on each platform.    

Ubisoft is confident that Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent will revolutionize and reinvent the spy action genre by introducing an unprecedented double agent concept and an entirely new breed of game play that adds an exciting new dimension to the gaming experience.

4307

TalkBack / RE: REVIEWS: Bleach GC: Tasogare ni Mamieru Shinigami

« on: January 25, 2006, 05:19:52 AM »

Ty and Dan both have Naruto 3 and love it for the same reasons, so I think you can trust that Dan knows his fighting games pretty well.  Not crazy well like Ty or Windy, but certainly a lot more than I know.  The only fighting game stat I have is that my buddies and I have spent well over 200 hours playing SSBM.

[You could win sweet Tony Hawk prizes just for playing the excellent DS version over Nintendo WiFi Connection!]

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TalkBack / Online Tony Hawk American Sk8Land Tournament

« on: January 24, 2006, 04:32:36 PM »

You could win sweet Tony Hawk prizes just for playing the excellent DS version over Nintendo WiFi Connection!

Update: See below for the new start time for the tournament!  It's noon on Feb. 4th, not midnight as previously reported.    

   

PGC is proud to help promote the first sanctioned online DS game tournament (that we know of, anyway).  User Moellenium in the Tony Hawk's American Sk8Land (THAS) forums has organized a single-elimination tournament, and Activision has been kind enough to donate some great prizes for the winners.    

Grand Prize: Custom Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (THAW) skate deck from E3 2005, plus one copy of THAW for GameCube.    

2nd-6th Prizes: One copy of THAW for GameCube.    

The action starts at noon EST on Saturday, Feb. 4th, but participants are advised to arrive in the tournament chat room at 11AM to get ready.  The tournament is open to players worldwide, but please note that the prize games are from North America and may not work on systems in other regions.    

Tournament participants must register to the list of names and friend codes in this thread at the official THAS game website.  (You'll also need to register for the website, if you haven't already.)  Complete rules and other details are also listed in that thread; please direct questions about the contest to Moellenium in the THAS forums.

4309

TalkBack / RE: PGC is Hiring!

« on: January 23, 2006, 12:38:04 PM »

It's a highly competitive volunteer job.  I'm probably going to get several dozen applications for this job, and I have to choose one out of those.  That's hiring.

[The evaluations are underway.]

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TalkBack / PGC is Hiring!

« on: January 23, 2006, 12:06:57 PM »

The evaluations are underway.

The deadline has passed, and we are now making our final selections from the top applicants.  Those selected for the job (probably two people) will be notified later this week.    

As always, I am humbled by the enthusiastic response to our volunteer positions.  With dozens of great applicants for a job with essentially no qualifications, it is very hard indeed to choose just one or two people.  If you are not selected, please accept my sincerest gratitude for the offer to help.  I wish we could hire everyone with an interest in contributing, but it's just not practical.    

PGC has never been about making money, but we are rich in more important ways.  Thanks again for reminding me of that fact.    

- Jonny

4311

TalkBack / RE: True Swing Golf Now Available

« on: January 17, 2006, 09:37:36 AM »

Nintendo issued a correction to this press release, saying that the release date is actually January 23rd, not today.  I have updated our news story accordingly.

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TalkBack / RE: Dragon Quest Creator Praises Revolution

« on: January 16, 2006, 08:50:01 AM »

Tangent: If any of you owns a PS2 and hasn't at least rented Dragon Quest VIII, get to it.  Amazing game, so addictive.  My game clock shows 105 hours and I'm not quite finished...that's the most I've played anything this generation except SSBM.

[Yuji Horii comments on the controller's interactive potential.]

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TalkBack / Dragon Quest Creator Praises Revolution

« on: January 13, 2006, 09:15:00 AM »

Yuji Horii comments on the controller's interactive potential.

At a London press event for the European release of Dragon Quest VIII on PS2, the creator of the RPG series mentioned his feelings about the Revolution controller.  From Eurogamer:    

I like the idea of interactivity with the hardware, so there, where you mention the Nintendo controller, it's a new interface, and it's exciting to have that reaction. You do something, and it reacts to you. It's human nature that to have some feedback from your actions it rewarding."    

The Dragon Quest series is massively popular in Japan, but has not appeared on a Nintendo console since the Super Famicom days.  It still makes occasional appearances on Nintendo's handhelds, including the recent release of Slime no Mori Mori 2 for the DS.    

Visit Eurogamer at the link above for Horii's full quote and some additional information.

[Capcom reveals the first original DS game for the Blue Bomber.]

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TalkBack / Rockman ZX Official Website Opens

« on: January 13, 2006, 08:24:03 AM »

Capcom reveals the first original DS game for the Blue Bomber.

Following its debut in a Japanese magazine this week, Rockman ZX now has its own official website (in Japanese).  Rockman is the Japanese name for the character known elsewhere as Mega Man, and this is his first original game for Nintendo DS.    

The website doesn't have much information yet, but it does show that ZX will be a completely new sub-franchise with updated characters and major new gameplay elements.  There are two playable characters, Z and X (which appear to be based on Zero and Mega Man X, respectively), but each one is available in both male and female versions, a first for the series.    

Rockman ZX is an action game, as opposed to the RPG sub-series, EXE or Battle Network.  The only new gameplay element announced so far is Live Metal, which seems to involve finding pieces of metal throughout the game and using them to transform the characters.  It is not yet clear how this feature would be different from the upgrade modules and acquired weapons found in other Rockman games.    

The game's website should have more information and screenshots soon, so we'll keep you informed as the game is more fully revealed.  No plans for release outside Japan have been announced, but historically, nearly all Rockman games are released worldwide.    

Josh Daugherty contributed to this report.

[Move along, nothing to see here.]

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TalkBack / Nintendo Comments on DS Redesign Rumors

« on: January 13, 2006, 08:03:50 AM »

Move along, nothing to see here.

You may have heard rumors this week that Nintendo is about to announce the widely expected redesign for its Nintendo DS system.  However, Nintendo of America has issued this statement:    

"Clearly, Nintendo DS continues to be one of the most popular and talked-about video game systems available. Through 2005, some 13 million units have sold worldwide. Nintendo is always looking for ways to improve its games and systems, but we have nothing to announce at this time."    

This vague statement is likely meant to calm potential buyers who may be considering a delayed purchase if they think a redesign is about to be announced.  The quote may also be intended to minimize disappointment among fans if an announcement is not made next week as rumored.    

The rumors began last year when NOA exec Reggie Fils-Aime mentioned in an interview that the company was always looking for ways to refine its products to look sleeker and more desirable.  A more fervent version of the rumor appeared on Internet message boards this week, claiming that the redesigned DS would be officially announced on Monday, January 16th.    

Nevertheless, NOA's statement is a weakened reflection of Reggie's own comment last year, making the question of a DS redesign seem more like "when" than "if".  Stay tuned to PGC for more information, as we'll be following this story closely.

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TalkBack / RE: Nintendo Announces Online-Enabled Tetris DS

« on: January 10, 2006, 04:47:24 AM »

Handheld Tetris
Franchise Nostalgia
Online Multiplayer

Insanely good decision by Nintendo, as long as one of the six modes is normal Tetris.

[This new version of Tetris includes six modes based on Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and other Nintendo series, as well as touch screen controls and Wi-Fi multiplayer.]

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TalkBack / Nintendo Announces Online-Enabled Tetris DS

« on: January 10, 2006, 04:17:03 AM »

This new version of Tetris includes six modes based on Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and other Nintendo series, as well as touch screen controls and Wi-Fi multiplayer.

Update: PGC has confirmed with Nintendo that Tetris DS is an internally developed title, though we don't have details of which internal studio is responsible for the game.    

Touch-Controlled, Wi-Fi-Ready Tetris DS Falls into Place on March 20    

The long blue bar. The yellow block. And those darn zigzag things whose   images stay on your brain.  These familiar Tetris shapes started a generation   of video game fans.  Now Nintendo is putting a new spin on the classic with   Tetris(R) DS, available March 20 exclusively for Nintendo DS(TM), which   incorporates the use of Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's wireless   gaming service.    

    Hard-core and casual gamers alike became obsessed with the original.   Tetris DS builds on that emotional attachment by combining the original game   with new types of game play that could only be possible on Nintendo DS.    

    Each of the six modes of play features a theme based on a classic   Nintendo game, such as Super Mario Bros.(R), The Legend of Zelda(R) or   Metroid(R).  The traditional Tetriminos (falling blocks) and line-clearing   strategy remain the staples of the game, but the touch screen adds a new   element of interactivity.    

    Some modes give players special Tetris puzzles to solve.  Others feature   head-to-head action between two players, or massive wireless battles between   10 DS users, even if only one player has a game card.  Players also can log   onto Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to compete in two- or four-player battles.    Tetris DS even includes a point-based rating system based on players' battle   results.  Opponents can see one another's ratings, which indicate their skill   levels.    

    Every gamer, whether competitive or casual, will find a way to reconnect   with one of the most popular puzzle games in history.

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NWR Feedback / RE: IntelliTXT in Forums

« on: January 03, 2006, 11:09:02 PM »

Regarding the forum search feature: I tried turning it on, and now I realize why we didn't already have it enabled.  It requires a patch directly into the main site database, which isn't structured for searches, as you all know.  We should be able to turn on forum searching once the main site has its own search feature, which may happen sooner than you think!

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NWR Forums Discord / RE: Five Worst Gaming Articles of 2005 ;_;

« on: January 01, 2006, 05:35:47 PM »

I'm in discussion with our techie guys to see if we can answer Zack's criticisms by enabling an additional screenshot to be displayed in our review, for a total of three.  That'll show him!!!!1

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Nintendo Gaming / RE: OFFICIAL TONY HAWK TOURNAMENT WITH PRIZES!

« on: January 01, 2006, 05:21:11 PM »

Let's quit with the bumping.

Nevertheless, he's dead serious about this tournament, and he's been contacting me for additional support.  I have also been in touch with the Mike guy mentioned above, and we've decided that he will acquire prizes (he has a more direct relationship with Activision than I do), and I will help promote the tournament with a posting on PGC.  It is, after all, rather significant as the first sanctioned online tournament on the DS.

I hope he will recuse himself from the tournament, though, seeing as how he is so heavily involved in its organization.

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NWR Feedback / RE: Planet me silly!

« on: January 01, 2006, 05:15:21 PM »

Our new site will definitely have more options to filter content by system, date, rating, etc.  Currently, you can sort the reviews page by system, but you might have to scroll through one system to find the list for another, and that sorting will list reviews in alphabetical order within each system grouping, which may not be convenient for your search.  Anyway, we're going to have something better very soon.

[ruby_onix]

4322

TalkBack / RE:FEATURES: The Planet GameCube Louie Awards 2005

« on: January 01, 2006, 01:38:00 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: ruby_onix
"Lunar: Dragon Song" was made by GameArts, not UbiSoft. UbiSoft signed up to publish it before development on the game even started. The fact that GameArts fell short, and Lunar DS wasn't as good as Lunar 1&2, was probably just as much of a dissapointment to UbiSoft as it was to everyone else.

Sprung also sucked, but I think the fact that UbiSoft is taking chances on oddball games that nobody in America would touch with a ten-foot-pole, which happen to be the entirety of the DS's intended lineup, makes UbiSoft extremely valuable as a DS publisher.

Sprung was released last year, so it wasn't really a factor.

As for Lunar, Ubisoft does indeed hold some of the blame in its mediocrity.  All publishers have some control of their games' quality; if you don't believe me, read some of the stories of developers complaining that their games could have been great if only the publisher hadn't rushed the development cycle, or look at how many developers have praised Nintendo for its involvement in the games it publishes from other studios.  The publisher's influence can even come down to how much funding it offers for the game's development, which translates into buying better tools and hiring better people to create the game.

Ubisoft had every opportunity to positively influence the development of Lunar: Dragon Song, and in fact, they even could have made a few simple tweaks to the Japanese version that would have helped the international version be a smoother experience.  Instead, they translated the text as quickly as possible and just shoved the game out the door.

Note that EA outsources development of many of its portable games as well.

4323

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Nintendo DS Clans

« on: December 15, 2005, 06:32:44 AM »

Don't post repeat topics.  It just clogs up the topic list.

4324

NWR Feedback / RE: IntelliTXT in Forums

« on: December 13, 2005, 07:22:08 AM »

The forums already have a search feature, we just don't have it turned on.  I'm not sure why that is.  I'll check with Rick, and unless he has a good reason for not wanting search turned on, I'll be happy to turn it on immediately.

Search for the main site is not so simple, because our current database is not designed for it.  Our new database, whose development is well underway, will definitely have a powerful search function.  It has been high on my wish list for a long time.

4325

TalkBack / RE: Castlevania Double Pack Announced

« on: December 09, 2005, 04:10:09 PM »

Circle of the Moon was a launch title and is therefore not rare at all.  If you really want it, hit up eBay or your favorite mall store and start looking.