E3 2012: Hokra hands-on

One of the first games I had the chance to play at this year's E3 was a lovely little indie title called Hokra. The game, which was being shown off at the IndieCade booth, can best be described as a minimalist sports title. And as was very appropriately pointed out by GameZone's own Lance Liebl, Hokra almost has a very slight shooter element to it, as well. Hokra is a game for four players. Participants are divided into teams of two, and their goal is to take a ball — or pixel — and score it into their respective goals. Each team has two goals, and they are color-coded to match the players' sprites. Hokra's visual design is made up entirely of pixels, so it has a completely non-threatening and entirely calm aesthetic to it. The game really looks great, and the minimalist art style creates one big abstract sports game. The sound is also very simple, and composer Nathan Tompkins was quick to point out that he didn't want to create a chiptune-heavy soundtrack because the game wasn't really a traditional 8-bit title.

A match in Hokra is won by the team that manages to fill its goals' pixels. Running to the goal with the ball or "kicking" it into it helps fill in the large collection of pixels. Controls are simple, and given Hokra's design, I really wouldn't have it any other way. You move around the screen using the analog stick, and if you have the ball in your possession, you can pass it to your partner or attempt to score by pressing the A button on the Xbox 360 controller. If you're not in possession of the ball, you can sprint by tapping the A button. What this essentially means is that if you've got the ball, you'll move slower than your opponents. As defense, you have the opportunity to steal the ball from whoever has it. Successfully stealing the ball can be a lot deeper than you might initially think. Case in point: You can sprint toward the person with the ball by tapping A and succeed in taking it for yourself, but as soon as you do, you'll need to stop pressing A, because you'll end up kicking the ball away. Hokra poses a wonderful little system that takes some technique and finesse to master, but it's incredibly rewarding and just plain fun.

As much fun as the gameplay may be, the social aspect of Hokra is also a total blast. I was playing alongside fellow GameZone writer Vito Gesualdi, and together we were taking on another duo. These two guys were primed and ready, and they gave us a good fight. That said, my partner and I gave each other a better fight. Shouts of "You suck!" and "Don't steal the ball from me!" were uttered throughout, and they were a hell of a lot more prominent than the typical "Pass it over here!" and "Good shot!" crap you hear in traditional sports games. Hokra is a game where you team up to beat another pair, but you still can't help but point out your partner's stupid mistakes, and the game is awesome because of that.

I'm not going to lie; I had so much fun playing Hokra and talking to developer Ramiro Corbetta that I completely forgot to ask about the game's release info. That said, the fact that I played it using an Xbox 360 controller could indicate a possible PC or Xbox 360 launch down the road. I'll be sure to get the full scoop straight from Corbetta, but until I do, I would like to point out that I had a total blast playing Hokra. The gameplay was ridiculously fun, and the presentation was absolutely pleasant. Now that I'm away from it, I realize that I need more Hokra in my life. Here's hoping I get to play it again very soon.

Source : gamezone[dot]com

What's the Scoop on Adult Swim's Black Dynamite?

Following in the footsteps of its live-action feature source material, Adult Swim’s new animated series Black Dynamite centers on its title character (played by Michael Jai White), a funky government agent-turned-assassin who is hellbent on stopping “the man,” while also protecting his eclectic family of pimps, prostitutes and orphans. While most of the original film’s cast and creative team have returned for the new show, The Boondocks creator Carl Jones has also come aboard as executive producer.

IGN recently spoke to some of the cast and crew to talk about the new series and how they worked to adapt the movie into a half-hour animated series. Jones recalled that it all started after he saw the Black Dynamite film, which White had written and created.

“As soon as I saw [the movie], the first thing that came to my mind was that this would make an amazing animated series,” said Jones. “Coincidentally, a week later, my manager called me and told me that the production company that did the movie was trying to reach out to me about developing a cartoon. So we met with Mike, started kicking around some ideas and then we took it to Adult Swim.”

During production, the new series quickly took on a life of its own, deviating from the low-budget, B movie look of the 2009 blaxploitation film and focusing instead on a slick and stylized aesthetic. “There are advantages in cartoons,” Jones continued. “You can do things that you can’t do in live-action. It actually opened up a lot more doors for us to explore. Just like the movie, we do film parodies. But now we can do a film parody of King Kong and then actually have Black Dynamite fighting a giant albino gorilla on top of the Watts Towers.”

However, White noted that there are still many similarities to the movie, particularly with the characters. “The essence of the characters is still there. That strange family unit is still evident in the cartoon. It’s not all that different, character-wise.”

Byron Minns, who reprises his role as Bullhorn on the show, felt that the series opened up new doors, allowing the characters to really flesh out their storylines. “The thing that makes the animated series special is that we’re able to delve into the characters in full,” he said. “In the series we have ten movies, and each episode is about a different character. We get to really see who these people are in different situations, how they interact as a family. In that way, it takes the movie so much further.”

Not unlike The Boondocks, Black Dynamite explores its mature themes through the use of comedy, offering entertainment for older and younger viewers alike. “I love the adult cartoons,” said White. “When a kid and an adult can watch it and get different things out of it -- this is one of those things where I think a teenager and an older adult will get different layers out of it. This is the kind of stuff that I would watch.”

Added Jones, “The interesting thing is, we have a whore house in the show, but you never actually ever see them whoring. I made it a point; you won’t ever actually see Black Dynamite being a pimp, and you won’t ever see the whores actually whoring because that’s not what [the show] is about. It’s just a way to give the world a texture that actually existed in that era, but the stories actually have nothing to do with it.”

Although the series is set in the 1970s, Jones said that the show is very modern in the way its presented. “The music of that time period, the colors, the styles, the fashions -- these are things that I think younger people can get out of it because the point of view is very young and fresh, but it’s also set in a world very familiar to people that are 30, 40, 50 years old. To me, it plays on so many different platforms and levels. You have a whole audience of fans that love animated action and fighting, stuff like that. Then you’ll get the Dave Chappelle, Boondocks social commentary and that type of comedy. There are so many ingredients that I think make it palatable for just about everybody.”

Black Dynamite also aims for a unique vision that really utilizes the animated medium while also taking advantage of its distinct period setting. “These people come from a particular slice of life,” said Minns. “They all have different backgrounds. You have a lead character, an ex-CIA assassin who goes back to the neighborhood and takes care of these prostitutes and orphans -- and in his world, that’s noble.

“We have ten crazy episodes that will explore almost any ‘70s icon that we can come up with, and that’s the beauty of animation," he continued. "We can have these people as guest stars on our show. We can bring back Elvis, we can see little Michael Jackson.”

As Kym Whitley, the voice of Honeybee, concluded, “I believe it’s going to be a hit because when I watched it I enjoyed the animation, the story -- it moved. I liked the characters, and it was something I’d not seen before on Adult Swim.”

Black Dynamite premieres Sunday, July 15 on Adult Swim.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Catwoman Gets a New Writer

Judd Winick is leaving the ongoing Catwoman title at DC Comics to focus his efforts on writing and drawing a new all-ages graphic novel, but that doesn't mean Selina Kyle is being left in the lurch: DC Comics announced that writer Ann Nocenti will be taking control of the book as of September's Catwoman #0. Despite already being solicited for writing that issue, Winick will in fact be finished with the feline fatale as of issue #12, however he will still be writing Batwing for the foreseeable future. Nocenti is of course known for her fan-favorite run on Daredevil, and is currently writing Green Arrow for DC. There was no mention of an artist shake-up on the book.

Catwoman #13 Cover by Andy Clarke

Winick's Catwoman didn't start off so hot in our reviews, but has slowly been creeping up on us as it has progressed. Hopefully, Nocenti can give Selina Kyle her just due.

Joey is IGN's Comics Editor and a comic book creator himself. Follow Joey on Twitter, or find him on IGN. In case you didn't know, he loves Catwoman somethin' fierce.

Source : ign[dot]com

Tales of Xillia to be Released in the West

The 13th flagship title in the Tales franchise, Tales of Xillia, is to be released outside of Japan for the first time.

Namco Bandai has revealed the anime RPG will be released in both Europe and the States sometime in 2013.

Tales of Xillia differs from most of the other games in the franchise in that the camera is centred behind the back of the avatar rather than overhead, and by having two separate anime openings, depending on whether players opt to control Jude or Milla.

The game was originally released in Japan to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Tales franchise in September 2011.  Two weeks ahead of release, it became the most pre-ordered Tales game in the territory ever, and its sales numbers are the highest in the series, bar Tales of Destiny 2. A sequel to Tales of Xillia is already in the works for release in Japan later this year.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant.  You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Rambo Game Out This Year

The Rambo video game announced last year now has a title. It's called... Rambo: The Video Game. And it's due for release on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime later this year.

The game's being produced by UK-based publisher Reef Entertainment. Speaking last year, CEO of Reef Entertainment Peter Rezon said, "I am a big fan of Sylvester Stallone movies, and when we had the opportunity to secure the video game rights from StudioCanal for the Rambo franchise, we had to grab it with both hands."

So why it's been so long since we've heard anything on the project?

Reef's marketing boss Craig Lewis explained: “We have been quiet since we acquired the Rambo license last August. During this time we have been dedicated to creating a videogame for consoles and PC that will allow Rambo fans and gamers across the globe to really get under the skin of Rambo and wield his iconic weapon-set in battle.”

Rambo: The Video Game will be shown off for the first time at Gamescom next month. In the meantime, check out the game's new artwork. Helicopters and explosions!

Daniel is IGN's UK Games Writer. You can be part of the world's worst cult by following him on IGN and Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Joe Danger Touch Announced for iOS

Joe Danger will be coming iPhone and iPad later this year, says British developer Hello Games.

But the title isn't a lazy port: Joe Danger Touch is a brand new game built specifically with touchscreen controls in mind. To do a wheelie, for instance, players will swipe their finger across the touchscreen, while tapping will be used to make Joe jump.

The game boasts 50 new levels and some new playable characters as well.

First screenshot from Joe Danger Touch.

Joe Danger debuted on PlayStation back in 2010, with an special version of the game making it to XBLA last year. As well as Joe Danger Touch, Hello Games is also working on a full-blown console sequel titled Joe Danger: The Movie.



Source : ign[dot]com

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games Preview

I think most gamers were surprised that Mario and Sonic's first major interaction was destined to take place in an Olympic brand title, yet it seems the colorful take on the classic events was worthy of a sequel. So now we have Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, which should prove to be another thrill geared toward the younger crowd. We went to an exclusive event showing off the new title and saw how the game has evolved since its last inception. The main focus is on the new party mode, a four-player romp through a Mario Party series of events--rampaging through the gameboard streets of London and collecting stars stickers, for example. All of the characters from the original return; in other words, there are no new characters. Given the wealth of options from the first game, it will be hard for fans not to find a favorite in the roster. 

One exclusive event we got to see behind closed doors was the new Rhythmic Ribbon event. In it, Princess Peach took to the athletic mat for what resembled a simplified version of Elite Beat Agents, with the player performing various moves with the Wiimote as the shrinking target circles demanded. While it was entertaining to watch a middle-aged Japanese game developer show off his twirling skills, I was disturbed to see Princess Peach in such a high-cut leotard. More exciting were the dream events, designed to involve all four players without the use of split-screen. First was a break-neck obstacle course, with Mario and friends dodging buses and traffic signs. Another was a simple race through the streets of London, with characters gobbling up coins like Pac-Man. And then finally, we watched a giant scripted chase sequence, with all the players working to maneuver a cart around obstacles and away from enemies to keep a cache of Yoshi eggs intact. 

Again, this is obviously a game made for a younger audience, but there's a lot to like. All the familiar characters are perfectly rendered. With events like the Ribbon and Equestrian events, there's definitely a nod to bringing in some young female gamers, too. Overall, Mario & Sonic at the London 2013 Olympic Games looks like a great party game for the Wii crowd.

Source : gamezone[dot]com

E3 2012: Quantic Dream’s Beyond: Two Souls Revealed

As rumored this morning, Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream revealed its new title during Sony’s E3 press conference today.

The game is called Beyond: Two Souls and revolves around what happens after we die. The main character is named Jodie and is played by Ellen Page. Jodie has a ghostly presence around her, something "in between."

The game will tell Jodie's story over 15 years. A brief scene shown during the conference had Jodie talking to Lt. J. Sherman, a police officer. Jodie has a recent scar on the back of her head.

More details coming…

.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/05/e3-2012-quantic-dreams-beyond-two-souls-revealed

E3 2012: Wrecketeer Coming Xbox Live This Summer

Wrecketeer, a new title coming exclusively to Xbox Live, was shown off today during the Microsoft E3 2012 press conference. The game uses Kinect to let players laucnh canon balls and cause as much destruction as possible with a limited amount of ammunition.

Wrecketeer will be coming to XBLA this summer.

Audrey Drake is an Associate Editor of IGN and a proud member of the IGN Nintendo team. She is also a lifelong gamer, a frequent banisher of evil and a wielder of various legendary blades. You can follow her zany exploits on her IGN blog and Twitter. Game on!

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/04/e3-2012-wrecketeer-coming-xbox-live-this-summer

PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale preview

Last week in California, Sony hosted an event to showcase some of its bigger games for 2012.  Among them was a title that’s been rumored for a long time; one that’s been leaked in several places and somewhat confirmed with the securing of several domain names — PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale.  The company gave us the opportunity to go hands on with the game and the initial six fighters it will include.

Now, before you go off on any sort of “hey, this looks like Smash Bros.!” tangent, yes, it’s true.  PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale is essentially Sony’s equivalent of Nintendo’s multiplayer fighting game.  However, the newly formed development team at Superbot has done a good job making it feel like its own little party, adding certain things to the engine and making familiar characters from the PlayStation universe fit right in to the battle.

The first six characters are an interesting bunch.  You’ve got Fat Princess, a character who’s a better melee fighter than you might expect; Sly Cooper, who’s good on both speed and quick attacks; Twisted Metal’s Sweet Tooth, a guy that’s handy with a hatchet and mines; Kratos from God of War, a character who kicks ass on the ground and in the air; Parappa the Rapper, who has a few good moves along with several great super attacks; and Killzone’s General Radec, who’s nasty from a distance with an assault rifle.  All six bring something to the game, and over the next few months, several additions will be announced, including rumored favorites like Ratchet and Clank, Sackboy and Nathan Drake.

As for the gameplay, it’s got a lot in common with Smash.  You’ve got your various attacks that you can use on opponents, and they can change up depending on which direction you’re holding the D-pad or analog stick, so you can easily juggle someone in the air or lay them out with a vicious ground attack.  Once you hit an opponent enough times, you’ll be able to hit them with a super technique.  You can build this up three times — level one through level three — and the higher the super, the more enemies you can take out.

For instance, level one attacks consist of a quick strike, like what Sweet Tooth or Kratos can do with their weapons.  Level two offers a better range for taking out enemies, like with Parappa jumping on a skateboard and running people over.  Level three attacks go all out, from Parappa’s slamming stage attack to Radec jumping behind the camera and mounting a gun in a first-person perspective, shooting everything that moves.  Sweet Tooth’s robotic transformation is awesome as well.

An interesting fact about PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale is that you can’t knock anyone out of the ring.  They can’t fall off a platform to their death (like in Smash), nor can they be knocked into the stratosphere for instant kills.  Here, you have to fight in order to win the match.  It’s an interesting perk, along with the ability to pick up weapons throughout each battle, such as Resistance’s spiky grenades and a laser spear.

The backgrounds mix up quite a bit throughout the game.  So far, we know of four — a LittleBigPlanet level, a Hades stage, Ratchet and Clank’s Metropolis, and Jak and Daxter’s village.  Each one changes quite vastly, with serpents popping up in Metropolis to give Captain Qwark a hard time, and the LBP stage suddenly converting into a Buzz! TV show, complete with questions in-between rounds.  (You need to stand on the right answers to avoid taking damage.)  These are splendid additions to the game and keeps things unpredictable enough so you’ll continue to move around.  Our favorite of the bunch so far is Hades, as he tries to pound enemies in the foreground before becoming surrounded by Patapon.  Yes, Patapon.

So far, Sony has only confirmed local multiplayer (up to four people) for All Stars, but come on.  They’re going to announce online play soon enough, as that’s one of Smash Bros.’ more popular features on the Wii.  Look for that confirmation around E3, along with a few more surprises.

Source : http://gamezone.com

Supernatural: "Survival of the Fittest" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

The seventh season of Supernatural wrapped up with "Survival of the Fittest", an apt title when you look at who was left standing at the end of the episode.

"Carry On Wayward Son" launched us into the episode with a montage of what had happened earlier in the season. Using that song as the intro to each season finale is one of Supernatural's best traditions; the Leviathan storyline itself may have faltered this year, but the song managed to pick up some of the slack in raising the excitement level as the finale began. And for me the level of anticipation needed to be raised from about zero, so that was a very good thing. If the opening song wasn't enough old-school Supernatural for you, the return of the Impala was another great moment with "Born To Be Wild" blasting as Dean's car roared back into the action. It was a short-lived return since it was only used as a distraction, and Meg crashed it almost immediately, but they have fixed that car up from much worse accidents.

James Patrick Stuart as Dick Roman, head of the Leviathans, was the best element of the Leviathan storyline all season, and it was no different in the finale. The scenes of him hammering out the contract with Crowley (the excellent Mark Sheppard) were great; I loved the juxtaposition of modern businessman Roman working through old-school demon Crowley's contract that rolled out on the floor in a long scroll.

Although the Leviathans had been built up at the beginning of the season to be super-powerful villains, in the end, dispatching them wasn't all that difficult for the Winchesters and their allies, something that was a real flaw with the storyline. A simple distraction at the office and Sam and Dean were (apparently) easily into the building. Even chopping the Leviathan heads off didn't seem to be that difficult once the Winchesters discovered that a simple Borax solution would disable them. And although they had to gather a few supplies to make a weapon that would get rid of Roman, even that didn't turn out to be too difficult for them. As for the rest of Roman's plan, Crowley seemed to think that the rest of the Leviathans just needed to be rounded up and Kevin told Sam that they needed to blow up the lab. As unsatisfying as that was as a way to wrap things up, I will take it if it means that we don't need to do anything more with the Leviathans in the future.

All of that aside, where the Leviathans really missed the boat in being effective Supernatural baddies was that there was no sense of an emotional connection for the Winchesters, something that previous villains on the show have had in spades. Maybe the producers thought that having Castiel be the one to bring the Leviathans out of Purgatory would make it personal, but it didn't. The fact that Roman killed Bobby helped to give the Winchesters a direct connection, but even with that there was never the same sense of emotional high stakes that we have had in the past.

Supernatural: Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki Look Towards Season 8

Crowley, on the other hand, did not disappoint. His sarcastic comments were great as usual, a favorite this episode being "text me when Sparkles here retrieves his marbles" after seeing the state Castiel was in. More importantly, Crowley behaved as a "proper psychopath": he betrayed all sides to his own benefit. He worked with the Winchesters to get rid of Roman and also managed to screw over Sam and Dean in the process while getting his minions to collect Meg.

Where the emotion was missing in the fight against the Leviathans, it was present in the goodbye to Bobby. I had not been a fan of the decision to turn Bobby into a ghost, but at least they made the gutsy decision to take that storyline to its proper ending, with Bobby recognizing that he was doomed to turn into a vengeful spirit unless Sam and Dean burned the flask that kept him from crossing over. Jim Beaver was an integral part of the Winchester family and he will be missed, but I was glad they said goodbye rather than ruining the character by having him hang around longer as a helpful spirit sidekick. The scene itself was nicely done - a somber, but not overly emotional goodbye.

I also appreciated the focus that was put on Castiel and his relationship with Dean. Misha Collins and Jensen Ackles have always been great together and while Collins put a new spin on the character of Castiel with his stream-of-consciousness thought process and inability to engage in the battle, his connection to Dean remained strong. "Nobody cares that you're broken Cas, clean up your mess" was a great line.

With a change on showrunners next season (Sera Gamble is out and Jeremy Carver is in) hopefully Supernatural can get back to how good it was a few seasons ago. They left things at a good spot, the betrayal by Crowley may not have been that surprising, he is a demon after all, but what he did was a shock. The weapon that killed Roman also tossed Dean and Castiel into Purgatory, leaving Sam bewildered and alone. Jared Padalecki did a good job conveying Sam's confusion and fear at what had happened. Purgatory was effectively creepy and Dean's predicament was only made worse when Castiel poofed away. That ending was the biggest success of the episode: where they left both Sam and Dean made me want to see what happens next. That is a major accomplishment after the tedious nature of most of the season.

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/20/supernatural-survival-of-the-fittest-review

Tomb Raider delayed to 2013

The upcoming Tomb Raider title currently in development at Crystal Dynamics has been delayed from Q3 2012 to Q1 2013.

The announcement came today via a post on the official Eidos Games forums, in which Crystal Dynamics studio head Darrell Gallagher outlined the developer's reasons for delaying the title:

Lara is going to have to hang out just a little bit longer.

"Our priority now is to make sure we fully deliver the very highest-quality game," Gallagher said in the message. "In order to do this, we have decided to move the game’s release date by a few months, from fall 2012 [spring in Australia] to the first quarter of 2013.

"We're doing things that are completely new to Tomb Raider in this game, and the additional development time will allow us to put the finishing touches into the game and polish it to a level that you deserve. We believe this is the right choice, and I guarantee it will be worth the wait."

As a consolation prize, the studio also released a screenshot in preparation for more information about the game, which will be revealed during this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June.

Last year, it was revealed that Crystal Dynamics would be exploring Lara Croft's beginnings in the upcoming Tomb Raider title. Earlier this year, the studio also announced that it had no plans to release the game on the Wii U.

Set for release on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, Tomb Raider is the first instalment in the series since 2010's downloadable multiplayer-focused Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, and the first standalone game since 2008's Tomb Raider: Underworld.


Source : http://gamespot.com/news/tomb-raider-delayed-to-2013-6376549

LEGO Lord Of The Rings Game Outed By Toy Sets, Online Retailer Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes isn't even here yet, but we've already got what appears to be confirmation of the next franchise-pegged LEGO title from TT Games: LEGO The Lord of the Rings. The toy company has been sending out early looks at summer 2012's physical LEGO LotR sets, and the packaging includes logos for both Warner Bros. and TT Games, MCV reports.

There's additional evidence as well, in the form of a now-removed product listing -- here's the cached version -- on the UK retailer ShopTo's website for an Xbox 360 release of LEGO The Lord of the Rings (via Eurogamer). The page points to a late October 2012 release. That's hardly confirmation, but a release in that timeframe would make sense, what with Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unpexpected Journey hitting theaters on December 14.

We can't take any of this as fact, of course, but the evidence is nonetheless pretty compelling and hard to ignore. Don't forget: the last time new of a LEGO game leaked early, it was for LEGO Batman 2 and that leak came from early looks at physical playsets. Just saying.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723653/lego-lord-of-the-rings-game-outed-by-toy-sets-online-retailer/

Diablo III sets Blizzard preorder record

Diablo III can lay claim to the title of Blizzard's most anticipated game ever, as the PC action role-playing game was today confirmed as the developer's most preordered title of all-time. That news comes with a slight asterisk, as it includes copies of the game owed through the World of Warcraft Annual Pass promotion, which gives a free copy to anyone who signs up for a full year of the subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

A decade between games can help build anticipation.

The Diablo III news was announced as part of Activision Blizzard's earnings report for the quarter ended March 31, which also included some noteworthy stats for the Activision half of the company. The publisher confirmed the Call of Duty Elite service has 10 million registered users now, with more than 2 million of them paying for the premium tier membership. The game-and-toy synergy of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure also continued to sell for the company, with more than 30 million toys sold through March. It's been doing so well that Activision's internal estimates have Skylanders toys outselling even Star Wars for the first three months of the year.

As for the company's actual financial figures, revenues and net profit both surpassed projections set in February, but fell short of the company's performance for the same quarter last year. For the quarter, Activision posted sales of $1.17 billion, down year-over-year from $1.45 billion. It also chalked up $384 million in net income, down from $503 million for the same period last year.

The results beat expectations sufficiently for Activision Blizzard to up its full-year forecast. The company now expects the calendar year 2012 to see it ring up $4.2 billion in sales (up from $4.15 billion) and earnings per share of $0.65, up from $0.63.


Source : http://gamespot.com/news/diablo-iii-sets-blizzard-preorder-record-6375915

New Soul Sacrifice Teaser: Demon's Souls Vita?

For nearly a month, we've been speculating about Soul Sacrifice, a new PlayStation Vita game that popped up in Japanese magazine Famitsu. See, the title was revealed as an ad, but Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is holding an official announcement event on May 10th -- this isn't something you do for just any old game, and that thought and the title "Soul" led some to think that Demon's Souls developer From Software might behind the title.

Today, there's a new teaser from PlayStation Japan's YouTube page, and that font certainly looks familiar...

What do you think the game is all about? Let us know in the comments and make sure you check back later this week to see what the reveal as all about.



Source : http://vita.ign.com/articles/122/1224501p1.html

Hitman: Sniper Challenge Spin-Off Announced

A Hitman spin-off, Sniper Challenge, has been announced in a US magazine.

The latest issue of Game Informer contains an advert for the title, which features a replayable sniper mission and online scoreboards. There's also the lure of as-yet unnamed prizes for the top marksmen, along with an exclusive upgradeable rifle that may be used in the main game.

If you want to start looking down the scope, you need to pre-order Hitman: Absolution. This gets you a code that will allow you to play Sniper Challenge on the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360.

Hopefully we'll be able to bring you more news on Thursday: developers IO Interactive yesterday tweeted that they had a "major" Hitman: Absolution announcement to make then.



Source : http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/122/1224494p1.html

Beyond Good & Evil 2 Will Most Likely Be A Next Gen Title Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in the works, but according to Ubisoft's Michel Ancel, it will probably be a next-generation title. Ancel, the creator of Rayman, confirmed the game was still in development in an interview. He also mentioned Beyond Good & Evil 2 would require better tech than what the current generation of consoles can offer.

Based on translations, it sounds like yes, the game is very much in the works. Ubisoft wants to make sure this game is ambitious as possible, and they need the proper tech to support the camera angles, graphics, and combat they want. Since a next-gen console hasn't been announced yet, they can't announce which platforms it will be on, or even what year it will launch.

Below you'll see a concept trailer for Beyond Good & Evil 2. Ancel commented on the video's Mirror's Edge vibe, but Ancel denied that game was an inspiration. The concept for the video was created before Mirror's Edge was released. Ancel even added Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia were closer to the concept of BG&E2.

I can definitely see Ubisoft using Beyond Good & Evil 2 has a next gen launch title. I think that would be great for console sales. But next-gen consoles are a ways off still, so Beyond Good & Evil fans are going to have to wait a while, maybe even a few more years.

Do you think Beyond Good & Evil 2 will be worth the wait?

Source: NeoGaf


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723527/beyond-good-evil-2-will-most-likely-be-a-next-gen-title/

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse hitting this fall

Gamers yearning to take part in the wacky hijinks of the Family Guy series will have a new console title to play this fall. Activision and Twentieth Century Fox this morning announced Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse.

Somewhere, Peter Griffin is saying "freakin' sweet!"

Due out on unspecified "gaming consoles," the title is inspired by the 2009 Family Guy episode "Road to the Multiverse." In this episode, Stewie and Brian use a remote control to travel to parallel universes, including destinations inspired by Walt Disney, The Flintstones, and one where Christianity never existed.

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse will be the first console game set in series creator Seth MacFarlane's cartoon universe since the 2K Games-published Family Guy in 2006. That game was developed by High Voltage Software, and shipped for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and PSP. It featured the original voice cast of the TV series, including MacFarlane.

Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse follows Family Guy Online, which is a free-to-play PC title currently in beta. A new console Family Guy game was announced by Activision in February 2011, when Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg described the franchise as "strong," with "passionate niche audience that can achieve repeatable and profitable success."


Source : http://gamespot.com/news/family-guy-back-to-the-multiverse-hitting-this-fall-6375382

South Park: The Stick Of Truth Appears On Xbox.com Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

A now-removed listing on Xbox.com reveals that Obsidian's upcoming THQ-published South Park RPG has a title and some possibly final box art. It's called South Park: The Stick of Truth and you can see the box art in the captured image above, compliments of NeoGAF.

An assortment of in-game screenshots showed up with the listing, but they came from the same crop that we saw when the South Park game was first revealed in December 2011. The only new information we've got, other than the title and the seemingly official box art, is a note that the game will include offline co-op for 1-2 players.

These listings aren't always accurate, so don't take that co-op bit as the final word. The new title seems legit enough though, given the Xbox.com source and the apparent box art. Hopefully we'll hear more in the lead-up to June's E3 2012 trade show.


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723507/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-appears-on-xboxcom/