Insignificant news roundup

A collection of gaming tidbits. » Obviously biased but pretty much honest UK:R reveals that PS3 hardware sales are slumping after its first week in the UK. Which is pretty much to be expected after a big launch, but an 82% drop in sales is pretty significant and stock remains plentiful. Has everyone who wanted …

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Earth Defence Force 2017

The little known Monster Attack on PlayStation 2 is probably the biggest hidden gem for the system. Released just before Big Ben Interactive popped their cogs, only a limited number of copies were made and review copies never reached the press. The idea was simple – run around Tokyo destroying UFOs, giant ants, Godzilla clones …

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Giant crabs don’t sell

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars has managed to knock Resistance off the top spot, while the disappointingly bland Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has risen from #18 up to #6. The similarly average Medal of Honor: Vanguard is the only new entry in the top 10, marching in at last place. Theme Park – another …

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Ooh, controversial

Edge magazine has decided to pull Mr. Biffo’s column for the upcoming issue as they felt it was “too much of a personal attack on a certain individual”. Sony boss Phil Harrison, to be specific, after he appeared on stage at a Marillion gig and tried to auction off a PlayStation 3 without much luck. …

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Theme Park

And so Theme Park DS will forever be known as the first and last game to be developed by EA Japan – a studio that’s had a muddling existence since being set up almost three years ago. Anyway, developed is not quite the right word to use here: this is actually an enhancement of the …

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Jetpac Refuelled

It was Rare’s first game – way back when they were known as Ultimate – so it’s apt that it’s their first Xbox Live Arcade effort. Clocking in at 400 Microsoft points it’s good value for money too, offering the 1983 Spectrum original, a jazzed up remake and an online multiplayer mode. In 1983 you’d …

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In the NiGHTS, dream delight

Jeux France has posted scans from Portugese gaming magazine Maxi Consolas, confirming Sega’s NiGHTS exclusively for the Wii. UK:R posted a picture of NiGHTS on the cover of a Swedish games magazine a few days ago, but I didn’t know exactly what to make of that at the time. Maxi Consolas has showered us with …

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GTA IV: Back in Liberty City

Rockstar have unveiled the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer online tonight (despite their website initially falling apart under the load). You can view it at www.rockstargames.com/IV/ or alternatively just download the video here. As the words above suggest, it’s set in Liberty City, rather than the ’80s or Tokyo like many had speculated. You can …

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Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle

Apart from the so-so Nanostray, there haven’t been any other vertical shooters of note for the DS, which is odd given the screen orientation and the popularity of the genre in Japan. Danny Phantom just so happens to be an old fashioned shooter, which may surprise you, being based on a Nickelodeon license and all. …

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We’re going to war!

EA’s Medal of Honor games have been on a slippery slope for some time now, and Medal of Honor: Vanguard won’t be turning that slope into a ramp. Or whatever. Even the Official PlayStation 2 Magazine – who gave Rising Sun 9/10 – were unimpressed, chalking it up with an average score. Call of Duty: …

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TMNT

There are a few things that you might be surprised to learn about this well-timed movie tie-in. The first is that it isn’t two-player; quite astonishing given that co-op brawling was the main attraction of Konami’s Turtles titles. The second is that Shredder doesn’t feature – instead they’re out to stop an army of ancient …

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Formerly the stuff of dreams

Sonic and Mario were bound to star in a game together eventually. An appearance by the spiky one in either the next Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros Melee would have been a safe bet, but if you were a betting man then your money would have been lost – Mario & Sonic at the …

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Back in black

Non-gamers who stray into game shops are already confused when faced with the choice of an Xbox 360 Core or Xbox 360 Premium bundle, and it’s a situation that isn’t going to get any better – from 29th April the black Xbox 360 Elite will be available in the US. Priced at a reasonable $479.99 …

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Everybody Loves Gibbon

David Gibbon. That name strikes fear into the hearts of a certain tiny, former-Digitiser-reading section of society. He was responsible for Ceefax’s games coverage for a period, and became known for his… unique style of reporting. He’s now found on largely respectable site Digital Spy, and has kept up the standard. Digital Spy don’t cover …

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Gunpey DS

The first thing we noticed in this puzzle game remake is that there’s no tutorial. It doesn’t take long to realise why though: like all decent puzzlers, it’s so easy to pick up that it doesn’t need one. Another possible reason is that Namco Bandai assumed that everyone played the original Gunpey – although that …

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