Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Steven Spielberg is a gamer...


...just don't make any jokes about all those E.T. catridges in a landfill somewhere in New Mexico when he's around - In a press release today, EA announced its partnership with Steven Spielberg to make the game Boom Blox for the Wii. The family friendly game, scheduled to be released in May of this year, offers single, co-op and multi-player action with hundreds of levels, 30 characters, goofy themes and a game editor. The description of the game was kind of innocuous, but all you really need to know is that chickens and monkeys are involved. Said Mr. Spielberg about the game:
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“I am a gamer myself, and I really wanted to create a video game that I could play with my kids,” said Steven Spielberg. “BOOM BLOX features an enormous amount of fun challenges and cool scenarios for your kids to solve or for you to master together."
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Since Steve-O is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, I guess I'll give him a pass on the E.T. fiasco and not hold it against him when I try out this new game.
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New Xbox Originals, still no frickin' Achievement Points for them - On Monday three new Xbox Originals will be available for download - Ninja Gaiden Black, Sid Meier's Pirates and Black (what's the color theme here?) - each for 1200 MS points. I love the Xbox Originals idea and there are about 2-3 games out for it that I would buy right now, but because they don't offer Achievements I'm not even remotely interested. I'm an Achievement whore to be sure (try and tell me you wouldn't play through the first Halo and enjoy earning points for it), but if you offer Arcade games with points why the hell not do it for Originals. It makes no sense and is certainly costing them money. It sure is keeping my wallet closed. Here's a brief breakdown of the new releases available February 11.
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Ninja Gaiden Black (M) Not available in Australia or New Zealand...suckers
- Play Story mode or Mission mode, including boss battles, time challenges, and more
- Hurricane Pack content: Encounter new enemies, big bad bosses, and new costumes from Hurricane Packs 1 and 2.
- Difficulty levels: Choose from five levels of difficulty for all kinds of gamers, from "Ninja Dog" to "Very Difficult Master Ninja."
- Bonus extras: Play the original arcade versions of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Ryukenden.
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Sid Meier’s Pirates! (T) Not available in Korea, Japan, or Germany...sorry David Hasselhoff
- Engage in fierce naval battles: Fight single enemies or multiple ships.
- Build a fleet: Take the helm of 27 different ship types enhanced with assorted ammo, cannons, and other upgrades.
- Integrated melee: Parry and slash your dueling opponents into submission with lightning quick moves onboard ships, in seedy taverns, and even in the Governor's mansion.
- Take your crew ashore: Dig up buried treasure or plunder enemy ports in strategic land battles. Sneak in and out of towns, escape from prisons, and avoid guards, or surprise them and knock them out
- A pirate's life: Increase your riches and win the heart of the Governor's daughter to earn gifts and valuable information.
- Multiplayer combat: Grab a controller and jump into four-player ship battles in Versus mode.
- Make your own story: Challenge and pursue the most infamous pirates in history, including Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Henry Morgan. If you prevail, they’ll teach unique skills to you
- Online bonuses: download sail emblems, flags, and other content.
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BLACK (M) Not available in Korea or Japan...sorry Mr. Roboto
- Lots of guns: An explosive arsenal of weaponry is at your disposal.
- Every bullet counts: Everything in the environment is affected by gunfire.
- Death is an opportunity: Every enemy dies like a stuntman.
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Paradise found - I usually don't get into racing games but I've really been enjoying Burnout Paradise. One of the things that drives me nuts about racers is the high learning curve, Paradise has a very low one with cars that are easy to control and a heck of a lot of fun to crash. Its the anti-Gran Turismo. Even online play is fast and easy with a quick press on the d-pad. If you're even remotely into racing games, I highly recommend this arcade-style racer.
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Coming Friday - My interview with Adam Sessler.
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1 comment:

FrostyMelon said...

Burnout is where I am at with the game. Neat concept and all, but it gets to be a grind after awhile. And, time consuming.

The MP...it can be a chore overall - get in the room, then you need to drive across town to meet up with others, then drive over here to do 'whatever' event, and so on. So, it adds a lot of 'bloat' to getting a MP game going.

The inital 'glow' has gone away from this game, at least for me. I would put it as a 'good rental'.