Sony Cancels Eight Days and The Getaway

Sony has announced that they are permanently shelving two games that were being developed at their Sony London Studio - Eight Days and The Getaway. Both games were slated for release on the Playstation 3. Sony says they will be redistributing the resources and budgets for both games to other projects.

These games were being developed under the umbrella of Sony Worldwide Studios which recently underwent a change of presidents with Shuhei Yoshida taking charge.

Eight Days was originally announced at 2006's E3 and looked to be a shooting/driving game that took place in the Arizona desert.

The Getaway was a continuation of The Getaway series. The series has been described as GTA's retarded cousin. It was originally shown at 2005's E3 and then again at 2006's. However, then it faded to the background. Apparently, it never really got too far in development.

Itagaki Quits and Sues Tecmo

Game Developer Tomonobu Itagaki has announced that his last day with Tecmo will be July 1st, and he is suing the company he has worked for since 1992. Itagaki is the creator of the Dead or Alive series and the Ninja Gaiden series.

Itagaki is suing Tecmo for about $1.4 million, claiming unpaid bonuses and mistreatment by the Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda.

Itagaki claims he was promised a bonus for the completion of Dead or Alive 4. When the time came, Tecmo refused to pay. At this time, Itagaki says Yasuda became defiant and told Itagaki to basically deal with or quit and sue the company.

Looks like Itagaki is taking his soon to be former boss's advice.

I'd imagine Itagaki will have no problem landing on his feet. Look for him possibly working for Microsoft since he has made no secret of his like of the Xbox 360 and dislike of the PS3. Of course, he also likes some things about the Wii...

Review: CSI: Hard Evidence

I rented CSI: Hard Evidence for the Xbox 360 last week from Gamefly. The only thing I knew about it before playing was that it had to do with the show CSI.

Game Score: 6 out of 10
Story: You’re a new CSI investigator, helping the team solve 5 different cases.
Graphics: Not really next gen. The environments are okay, but the character models are somewhat creepy, especially when they talk to you.
Sound: The sound is fine. The other CSI members are voiced by their respective actors.
Gameplay: Overall it works well. Sometimes you know what you want to happen, but getting it to happen in game can take trial and error. Luckily, these instances are few and far between.
Replay Value: Little to None
Recommendation: Possible rental

This game puts you in the role of a new CSI member. Each case will team you up with one of the investigators from CSI Vegas. While investigating, you’ll be able to gather and process evidence and question suspects.

It is a decent concept. I like the investigating and processing evidence. If you watch the show, you know that it is somewhat inaccurate with the CSI members constantly interrogating suspects and helping arrest people. The game is the same way.

One thing that I find very lame about the game is that you can’t falsely accuse suspects. You have to just keep processing the evidence until only one suspect remains and they confess. In this aspect, the game is very linear and it’s just like a somewhat interactive episode. I never really felt like *I* was solving the case. I was just pushing buttons, moving everything forward. If you ever do get stuck, you can ask your CSI partner for hints(although this counts against you in your evaluation(which means nothing)).

Another annoying thing is that they have little cutscenes of shots of Vegas when you change locations. You can easily skip them with the push of a button. So why is this annoying? Well, they happen *whenever* you travel. So if I travel from inside a house to the backyard, I see a cutscene of the Vegas strip. Am I taking the super long way to the backyard?

Overall, the game is an interesting attempt but fails as a blockbuster. It has 5 easy achievements for the 360, netting you all 1,000 points. But I would not pay retail for this game. Rent it if you’ve got some spare time or money. Or better yet borrow it from a friend.

Release Date: 9/27/07
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, PC, Xbox 360
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Telltale Games

June Game Releases

Summer is here. And the kids have free time. Will gaming developers be able to fill that void? Let’s find out…
 

DS Titles
June 3
• Kung Fu Panda
• LEGO Indiana Jones
• Summon Night: Twin Age
June 5
• Incredible Hulk
June 10
• 1 vs. 100
• My Fashion Studio
• Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor
• Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles
June 17
• Arkanoid
• Code Lyoko: Fall of XANA
• Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
• Imagine: Rock Star
• Pet Dogz Fashion
• Puzzler Collection
• Space Invaders Extreme
• Tamagotchi Connection Corner 3
• Wacky Races: Crash and Dash
June 22
• Guitar Hero: On Tour
June 23
• American Girl: Kit Mystery Challenge
• Top Spin 3
June 24
• Cake Mania 2
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2
• Gourmet Chef
• Mega Man Star Force 2 Zerker X Ninja
• Mega Man Star Force 2 Zerker X Saurian
• Midnight Play Pack
• My Weight Loss Coach
• Wall-E
June 30
• Garfield Gets Real
• Journey to the Center of the Earth

PC Titles
June 2
• Stronghold Crusader Extreme
June 3
• GRID
• Kung Fu Panda
• LEGO Indiana Jones
June 10
• Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm
June 16
• Political Machines 2008
June 17
• Incredible Hulk
• Spore Creature Creator
June 23
• Luxor 3 with 7 Wonders Ancient World
• The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff
• The Sim City Box
June 24
• Alone in the Dark
• Baseball Mogul 2009
• Elements
• Supreme Ruler 2020
• Wall-E
June 30
• The Immortals of Terra

PS2 Titles
June 3
• Kung Fu Panda
• LEGO Indiana Jones
June 5
• Incredible Hulk
June 10
• NASCAR 09
June 24
• Alone in the Dark
• Wall-E
June 29
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

PS3 Titles
June 3
• GRID
• Kung Fu Panda
• LEGO Indiana Jones
• Robert Ludlum’s: The Bourne Conspiracy
June 5
• Incredible Hulk
June 10
• Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
• NASCAR 09
June 12
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
June 23
• Battlefield: Bad Company
• Top Spin 3
June 24
• Hail to the Chimp
• Hellboy: Science of Evil
• Overlord Raising Hell
• Wall-E
June 29
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

PSP
June 3
• Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2
• LEGO Indiana Jones
June 17
• Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity
• Secret Agent Clank
• Space Invaders Extreme
June 24
• Hellboy: Science of Evil
• Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress
• Wall-E

Wii
June 3
• Cabela’s Trophy Bucks
• Kung Fu Panda
• LEGO Indiana Jones
June 5
• Incredible Hulk
June 10
• Backyard Baseball ‘09
• Blast Works: Build, Trade & Destroy
• Carnival Games
June 17
• Wacky Races: Crash and Dash
June 23
• Top Spin 3
June 24
• Alone in the Dark
• Big Beach Sports
• Purr Pals
• Wall-E
June 29
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith
June 30
• Garfield Gets Real

Xbox 360
June 3
• GRID
• Kung Fu Panda
• LEGO Indiana Jones
• Robert Ludlum’s: The Bourne Conspiracy
June 5
• Incredible Hulk
June 9
• Don King Presents Prize Fighter
June 10
• Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm
• Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
• NASCAR 09
June 23
• Battlefield: Bad Company
• Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath
• Supreme Commander
• Top Spin 3
June 24
• Alone in the Dark
• Gears of War Refresh
• Hail to the Chimp
• Hellboy: Science of Evil
• Operation Darkness
• Wall-E
June 29
• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith

New Red vs. Blue Released

The guys over at Rooster Teeth released the first episode of their new series: Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction this week. Their production has only gotten better through the years and this one definitely shows off their skill. A small spoiler after the jump.

Although the episode is mostly seriosu, at the end it appears that the series will be returning to Blood Gulch and the cast of the previous Red vs. Blue seasons. However, it has not been revealed how many of the original characters will return.

Beyond Good and Evil 2 Announced

A sequel to the cult classic Beyond Good and Evil was announced yesterday at Ubidays. This announcement was made simply by showing a trailer for Beyond Good and Evil 2 towards the end of the presentation.

Beyond Good and Evil was a game for the original Xbox in which gamers played the character of Jade, a girl who took pictures and fought monsters with the help of her "uncle"(a biped pig). It was regarded as many as an underappreciated gem of a game. I personally enjoyed it a lot and look forward to a sequel.

Saints Row 2 Delayed

THQ has confirmed that Saints Row 2 will be dealyed until October 14th. The original release date was August 24th.

THQ said "marketing and issues and product quality" are the reasons behind the decision.

Sounds good to me. I really enjoyed the way Saints Row took the good parts of GTA and made them better. I did have a lot of bug problems, so if they are fixing those then I'm glad it's delayed. Nothing pissed me off more than driving along and then getting stuck in a building because the Xbox didn't draw it there fast enough.

I imagine GTA IV's success is playing a small role in this as well. I hope SR2 really ups the game, like they did with their first release.

Amazon.com Says 03-10-2009 for RE5

According to Amazon.com, the release date for Resident Evil 5 will be March 10th, 2009. Not that these dates are accurate, but it's a pretty believable date for this caliber of game. Additional info may be revealed when the new trailer is released on the 31st.

Free Army of Two DLC Wednesday

EA's Army of Two will have more missions and more multiplayer starting tomorrow. EA announced a little while ago that it would be releasing some free downloadable content for the game. Today EA announced that it would be released May 29th.

The DLC will be for both PS3 and Xbox 360, available on their relative networks. The new content will include two new co-op campaign maps and one new multiplayer map.

The map pack is called The Veteran Map Pack and is sponsored by Pontiac. It will be released in the United States and Europe.

Personally, I'm looking forward to it. New content is always a plus, especially free content. And I liked Army of Two and look forward to playing it again.

YouTube and PS3 Team Up

YouTube started a service in March called YouTube APIs and Tools with the goal of making YouTube open to any website, application or device. Playstation 3 appears to be the first big name to take advantage of this service. At first, the only game to use this service will be Mainichi Issho, popular in Japan. With this game, gamers will be able to instantly upload video captures of their games to YouTube.

I think this is a pretty cool thing. YouTube is hoping more games and systems will take advantage of their new service. It would definitely be sweet if some of the games that already allow users to capture video took advantage of this. I'd love to be able to instantly upload some Halo 3 videos to my YouTube account.