Video Games Blog

Zen Studios’ Managing Director Zsolt Kigyossy introduced the upcoming Playstation Network exclusive The Punisher: No Mercy. Zen Studios has revealed the game's first screenshots on the official PlayStation Blog.

Zsolt Kigyossy told the PlayStation Blog that the game will check in at 30fps, and leverages the Unreal Engine, licensed from Epic Games. The graphical style will combine modern visuals with a comic book style found in the series. He also revealed the existence of a single-player campaign.

Kigyossy also announced that the recently implemented Trophy System will be supported, and a trailer for the download title will be available within a few weeks.

The approximately 1GB download will also feature weapons, which should be a surprise to no one.

"Creating an impressive arsenal in The Punisher: No Mercy has been one of our top priorities," Kigyossy said. "We've included different categories of weapons that players can choose from (close quarters, long range, and special weapon). As players collect more and more frags or weapon power-ups, the arsenal becomes more and more lethal."

Zen Studios. Ltd is a multimedia and game technology company based in Budapest, Hungary. Zen was founded by a number of experienced game developers in 2000 with the aim of developing innovative new arcade, strategic and action games for the console market.

References:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/09/24/the-punisher-no-mercy-%e2%80%93-your
-questions-answered/

A new videogame allows players to conjure up their own design ideas and create playable content that can be uploaded and shared. And gamers can do it from the privacy of their own home with Sony Computer Entertainment America's LittleBigPlanet.

With LittleBigPlanet, if you think it, you can make it. The game is a collection of intuitive tools that allow players to customize everything from their characters to the levels of game play they'll be challenged with.

LittleBigPlanet will have a huge online component, including team-based multiplayer options for designing levels together, as well as an active community with user feedback on created levels. Media Molecule will continue to support LittleBigPlanet with additional downloadable content moving forward.

Reference:
http://www.littlebigplanet.com/

NHL 2K9 is the first and only hockey games available for Nintendo's Wii console, and EA Sports celebrated the launch of NHL 09, its 18th NHL game by asking six hockey stars to suit up to capture new moves for next year's NHL 10 game. Josh Harding, of the Minnesota Wild, Corey Perry, of the Anaheim Ducks, Jeremy Roenick, of the San Jose Sharks, Patrick O'Sullivan, of the Los Angeles Kings, and Drew Doughty, of the Los Angeles Kings, joined NHL 09 cover athlete Dion Phaneuf from the Calgary Flames on the ice, adorned with reflective balls and Lycra suits that captured every move for their virtual counterparts.

Sean Ramjagsingh, gameplay producer for NHL 09, said this is the first time EA Sports has been able to assemble this many NHL players on the ice at once for a videogame.

The Xbox and Playstation 3 NHL 2K9 allows gamers to use the remote like a hockey stick to send slap shots at the goalie. When fighting on the virtual ice, players can grab both the Nunchuk and Remote controllers and get a workout while pummeling the opposition.

The game offers enhanced visuals, including facial hair that grows throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There's also the new Reel Maker 2K9, which jumps on the user-generated content bandwagon by allowing virtual puckheads to create, edit, share and rate in-game highlight reels online. One of the new features in NHL 09 is the EA Sports Hockey League, which allows a team of six players to choose a position, including goalie, and then compete against other teams online in league and tournament play.

Hockey has struggled to compete with the other sports but the NHL videogames have sold well enough to sustain two competing franchises. "Videogames are good for hockey, especially for kids in the states who get exposed to the sport through the game," - said O'Sullivan, who is from North Carolina. "A lot of times that's how kids get interested in sports - through something other than watching it on TV."

References:
http://2ksports.com/games/nhl2k9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHL_2K9

Cutting prices on the Xbox 360, in Japan, had a great influence on the number of its sales. According to the latest data from Famitsu, the Xbox 360 sold the most units in Japan in the sales week from September 8 to September 14.

LucasArts, the gaming division of Lucasfilm Limited, released Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, an installment of the Star Wars saga that falls roughly in between the two film trilogies.

The game begins with players in the role of the iconic Darth Vader, but partway through the focus shifts to a secret Vader apprentice named Starkiller. So far, initial reviews for the game have been mixed, with many arguing that the entire game should be played from Vader's perspective. Some have also expressed disappointment that the game does not allow the Nintendo Wii controller to be used like a lightsaber.

Consumers will have ample options for playing the new game, as LucasArts has released it for every available platform, including Microsoft's Xbox 360; Nintendo's Wii and DS; Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PSP; and even Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. There are also numerous commercial tie-ins for the game, including a novel, a comic book, action figures, and other merchandise.

According to LucasArts, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is the company's first internally developed game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It also marks the first game collaboration between LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic, the source of many of the special effects for the more recent Star Wars films.

The release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed marks the first time a major game franchise has been ported to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch. The tremendous popularity of the devices presents game manufacturers with exciting new opportunities. The iPhone/iPod touch version of The Force Unleashed does offer some game-play experiences specifically tailored to the device's capabilities, particularly with respect to the use of gestures on the touchscreen.

Reference:
http://www.lucasarts.com/company/release/news20080918.html

It's a common scenario, according to a new national survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project that illustrates just how ingrained games have become in youth culture. The survey found that while young Americans don't necessarily play the same thing, nearly all of them - girls included - play video games of one kind or another. And they don't just play by themselves. Nearly two-thirds play video games to socialize face-to-face with friends and family, while just over a quarter said they play with Internet friends.

In partnership with Handicap International, http://www.ubi.com/US/ Ubisoft announced that all their video games developed in future will include subtitles.

Sales of video game software and hardware in the U.S. rose 9 percent in August to $1.08 billion, the smallest monthly increase in more than two years, according to data released Thursday by market researcher NPD Group.

Harry Potter’s fans and enthusiasts must be upset but still Electronic Arts Inc has delayed its latest Harry Potter video game until next summer, a title it expected to reap $120 million in revenue and 13 cents a share in profit, the video game publisher said on Monday. EA expects to sell the game "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" in the summer of 2009, coinciding with the release of the film of the same name, whose debut was pushed back by Warner Bros Pictures.

Microsoft cut Xbox 360 prices on all three of its console versions. The prices cut from $279 to $199, which means that Microsoft will have the cheapest new console on the market in the form of the Xbox 360 Arcade, which will now cost $199 compared to the $249 Nintendo Wii.

Monsters and other virtual creations that entertain us now are available in Electronic Arts Inc's creature-building game "Spore" that offers players a chance to develop new worlds. The new game, which lets players guide the evolution of their creatures, is from Will Wright, the man behind the Sims series of games. The Sims let players guide virtual people and cities, spawning spin-offs, sequels and expansion packs to the tune of more than 100 million units sold worldwide.

A video game depicting mercenaries storming Venezuela, which has been criticized in the oil-rich South American country as a blueprint for an invasion, was released by a U.S. company this weekend. The release is likely to anger allies of President Hugo Chavez, a Washington foe, who has in the past threatened to cut off oil exports to the United States.