Assault Heroes

We like Xbox Live Arcade at the moment, as the last few additions have all been shiny and new, rather than updates of crusty old arcade games. Last week we had the 3D platform / puzzler RoboBlitz, this week overhead shooter Assault Heroes from Wanako Games. It would probably be best not to say their …

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You can’t fool us, Sega

Sega are trying to confuse everybody. It’s the only explanation. Yesterday they announced that they’ve got the Alien license, and have at least an FPS and an RPG in development for release no earlier than 2009. Then today they’ve announced that an update of old Sega IP Alien Syndrome is in development, for the intriguing …

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F.E.A.R.

Fat Elephants Ate Rennies? Nope. Fire Everyone At Roofs? No. For Everything A Reason? Hmm, could be. Fold Envelopes At Reading? Now you’re being silly again. First Encounter Assault Recon? You got it in four – well done! Like Far Cry, Doom III, Half-Life 2 and Quake IV before it, F.E.A.R. is a first person …

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Wii: not as popular as FIFA

No surprises there. If Wii had been released at another time of year, then maybe Zelda would have taken the chart top spot. But as it is, #5 is what it gets, with FIFA 07 hanging on at #1. The best placed Xbox 360 title in launch week, almost exactly a year ago, was Perfect …

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Another bug hunt

Good news, everybody: D3 will be publishing the Xbox 360 big monster shooter Earth Defense Force X in the US next spring. Well, it’s good news if you live in the US. Keep an eye on Play-Asia to see if the Japanese version is region free. Looks like we’ll know by the end of the …

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The Nine O’Clock Not News

A lot of toss passes for game-related news. We throw stones in the glass house atop our ivory tower. » The games industry is absolutely desperate to find someone with a personality. David Jaffe is that person, apparently, because he got a bit drunk and rambled on in front of a camera. Quite a few …

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An hour of Wii Sports burns 330kcal

There’s a little bit of confusion over what games are being released with the Wii today. Obviously Zelda, Monkey Ball, Rayman and Red Steel, but it appears that Splinter Cell, Gottlieb Pinball Classics, Fruitfall and a few others aren’t due until next week. Various dates are also flying around for Far Cry Vengeance – Play …

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Starry eyed surprise

Nintendo’s European Stars Catalogue has always been a bit of a farce when compared to the regularly updated Japanese equivalent. There you’ll find proper gifts to cherish, such as Nintendo playing cards, whereas Nintendo of Europe seem to think that downloadable t-shirt transfers are what all the cool kids want. Things are about to change …

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Wii midnight launch madness

There must have been up to sixteen people loitering outside my local Gamestation just before midnight, all mildly anticipating the midnight launch of Wii in the UK. The atmosphere was literally cold. I’m justifying picking up my Wii at midnight on the grounds of practicality: it’s easier to get it then than during the day. …

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RoboBlitz

The latest edition to the growing Xbox Live Arcade is RoboBlitz. It’s also the first downloadable title to be powered by the much mooted Unreal 3 engine. Amazingly though, it isn’t a first person robot-based shooter – which is what we expected it to be – but rather a neat little physics-based platform/action/puzzle game starring …

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Gitaroo Man Lives!

Despite Parappa the Rapper and Um Jammer Lammy performing well in the UK, Gitaroo Man flopped when it debuted on PlayStation 2 back in 2002. Which is a shame, really, as it took the rhythm action genre to a whole new level, with nifty analogue control and bizarre but loveable characters. What we’re really trying …

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The Sims 2: Pets

You can’t blame EA for knocking out this spin-off in super quick time to rake in a bit of festive cash. There’s no Harry Potter movie this year, the next Medal of Honor isn’t due until 2007, and James Bond has leaped over to Activision, leaving only their annual sports updates and Need for Speed …

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Go to page 96

I’ve got fond memories of the Fighting Fantasy ‘make your own adventure’ books. But oddly, it’s fond memories of owning them, rather than playing with them. They were just good things. Apparently they’ve recently been re-launched, and now a game is on the way to Nintendo DS and PSP. Well, they’ve not got a developer …

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Elite Beat Agents

We were a bit surprised to find the Touch Generations logo on the front of Elite Beat Agents. There’s no mistaking that it’s a simplified title, but a slightly camp cheerleading game starring blokes in sharp suits is a far cry from the other Touch Generation games. Still, it takes all sorts. And the Elite …

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Game buying idiots

Idiots. There were two Xbox 360-exclusives released last week, and it’s Rainbow Six: Vegas which takes the highest new entry at #10. The charming, wonderful and joyous Viva Pinata hasn’t made it that high in the Xbox 360 chart – it’s at #11. Xbox 360 owners may be the worst people in the history of …

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