New Releases: Tales of Graces F, Silent Hill Downpour, Yakuza Dead Souls, More

Posted on March 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

It’s “The Wait is Over Week” in this week’s edition of the new release report as a trio of games that were announced a long time ago finally make it to store shelves:

Japan has always been a game or two ahead of the US when it comes to Namco Bandai’s Tales series. So fans of the RPG franchise will be pleased to know that the PS3-exclusive Tales of Graces F is ready for release.

The US releases in Sega’s Yakuza series are typically the victim of a similar situation. And so it goes with this week’s new entry in the series, Yakuza: Dead Souls (PS3), which was originally released in Japan in early 2011.

But when it comes to Silent Hill: Downpour (PS3, Xbox 360), gamers have had to wait a while for the game due to a good old-fashioned delay. Several of them, in fact. But it too will be in stores this week.

Finally, EA’s FIFA Street series has suffered any delays, territorial or otherwise. Instead, it just disappeared for a few years. But the franchise is back, in rebooted form, as FIFA Street on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Hit the jump for the complete list of this week’s new releases including a pair of plane games and the new Naruto game.

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Quantic Dream reveals “Kara” tech demo, but it’s NOT their next game

Posted on March 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

Quantic Dream (and it’s founder, David Cage) is known for thinking outside the box. With the development of their most recent game, Heavy Rain, they created a title that was unlike almost anything else on the market at the time. It won a ton of awards and is the driving force between the fundamental different between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 as platforms.

Since then, we haven’t heard much from the company. But now they’re back and they’ve created a brand new engine and performance-capture procedure to power their next title. The video above, Kara, is the result of a test of their new engine. But it is NOT Quantic Dream’s next title. Which is too bad, because Kara’s world sounds extremely interesting.

Kara may not be a game, but it is a fine piece of short filmmaking. Just be sure and have a box of tissues ready.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

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Splinter Cell 6 announcement coming “soon”

Posted on March 10, 2012 by John Scalzo

Ubisoft began building their Toronto studio over two years ago. In that time, the team, which is under the command of Jade Raymond (Assassin’s Creed), has been hard at work on a new entry in the Splinter Cell series.

Now, in a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Raymond revealed that an official announcement for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 6 will be happening in the very near future:

GI.biz: So what’s your next big milestone for Toronto?

Jade Raymond: Well we’re basically going to announce our first big project, Splinter Cell, soon, so that’s going to be a big push for us.

According to Raymond, the game has been in development for 18 months and she is “impressed by what the team has been able to create.” She goes on to say “I’d say it’s better than what we could have done in most established studios.”

Of course, she probably has to say nice things about the game as you never know when Sam Fisher will leap out of the shadows and take you down.

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“The Art of Video Games” opens in March at the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Melissa Niedringhaus

Starting March 16th, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will be showcasing the forty year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on visual effects and technology. It will feature some of the most influential artists and designers in the industry, and games for twenty gaming systems.

Chris Melissinos, the curator of the exhibition, worked with the public and an advisory group of people from varying fields within the video game industry to select the 80 games included in the exhibition.

Five games will be featured to show player interaction with virtual worlds, and highlight design innovations that set the standards for the games that came after them. These games are Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower.

The exhibition will start with “Game Fest”, a three-day festival which will feature panel discussions, movie screenings, and live bands.

“The Art of Video Games” will run from March 16th through September 30th, and will travel to ten cities in the US following it’s presentation in Washington DC. For more information, visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s web site.

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Modern Warfare 3 fends off Final Fantasy XIII-2 in February 2012 NPD ranking

Posted on March 9, 2012 by John Scalzo

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 sits atop the NPD’s monthly list of bestselling games for the fourth month in a row. The shooter sequel managed to fend off new releases Final Fantasy XIII-2, UFC Undisputed 3, and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which rounded out the top four. Two other new releases managed to make it into the top ten, Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur V (at #7) and Sony’s Twisted Metal reboot (at #9).

The NPD Group didn’t list any Vita games in the top ten during its first month of availability. No 3DS games cracked the top ten either, for that matter.

You can find the complete list of February 2012 bestsellers after the break.

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Skyrim takes home Game of the Year honors at 2012 GDC Awards

Posted on March 8, 2012 by John Scalzo

Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took home the coveted Game of the Year award at this year’s Game Developers Choice Awards, but Valve’s Portal 2 was the big winner of the night. The story of Chell, GLaDOS, and Wheatley won Best Audio, Best Game Design, and, of course, Best Narrative.

The other big winner of the night was Supergiant Games and Bastion. The title from the small seven-man team was awarded Best Downloadable Game as well as Best Debut.

A trio of special awards were also handhed out last night:

  • Epic Mickey and Deus Ex developer Warren Spector received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • Atari’s Dave Theurer received the Pioneer Award for his work on Tempest and Missile Command.
  • Lawyers Ken Doroshow and Paul M. Smith were presented with the Ambassador Award for their defense of the game industry in the Supreme Court case (Brown v. EMA/ESA) that established First Amendment protection for video games.

Hit the jump for a complete list of award winners including Best Technology, Best Visual Arts, Best Handheld/Mobile Game, and more.

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Independent Games Festival announces fourteenth annual awards winners

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Melissa Niedringhaus

The Independent Games Festival, hosted by the Game Developers Conference, today announced it’s award recipients for 2012.

Fez, the unique “perspective-shifting” platformer, was the big winner, taking home the Seumas McNally Award for Best Independent Game and the $30,000 grand prize. Phil Fish, the lead developer on the game, was the central focus of the documentary Indie Game: The Movie, which was shown at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and screened earlier in the week at GDC.

Daniel Benmergui, developer of the game Storyteller, earned the Nuovo award and a $5,000 prize. The Nuovo Award honors abstract, short form, and unconventional game development, and Storyteller’s unique comic strip narrative format fit the bill.

Other award recipients include Dear Ester, by thechineseroom, which won for Excellence in Visual Art, and rightfully so- the idyllic landscapes remind me of Myst when it first came out and blew everyone away. Technical Excellence went to Demruth’s Antichamber, a psychological Escher-esque puzzle game, Excellence in Design to Mossmouth’s Spelunky, which creates levels as you play, and Excellence in Audio to Amanita Design’s Botanicula, which features a soundtrack created by Czech alternative band DVA.

Best Mobile Game was snatched up by Simogo for Beat Sneak Bandit, a rhythmic stealth/puzzle game, Best Student Game went to CMU Entertainment Technology Center/Coco & Co for Way, an online cooperative game focused on cross-cultural communication, and finally, the Audience Award went to Mode 7’s Frozen Synapse, a simultaneous-turn-based tactical game.

Finally, Capy Games took home the first XBLA Prize, a contract with Microsoft to publish a game on the Xbox Live Arcade. The Sword & Sworcery developers subsequently announced Super T.I.M.E Force for Microsoft’s download service.

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Nintendo Download: Punch-Out!!, Zuma’s Revenge, more

Posted on March 8, 2012 by John Scalzo

This week’s Nintendo Download is going to knock you out! Between Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream on the 3DS eShop and The King of Fighters ’97 on the Wii Virtual Console, the brawling just doesn’t stop. Do you see three of them? Hit the one in the middle!

Also available this week is PopCap-tastic puzzle game Zuma’s Revenge (on the DSi Shop) and Fun! Fun! Minigolf Touch! (on the 3DS eShop).

More details on all of these games can be found right here:

Punch-Out!! Featuring Mr. Dream (3DS eShop) – Play as young boxer Little Mac and battle the big guys of the World Video Boxing Association. Take them on one by one, from Glass Joe all the way to the WVBA Champion himself.

The King of Fighters ’97 (Wii Virtual Console) – The King of Fighters ’97 is the fourth game in The King of Fighters series, once again allowing players to combat opponents with popular characters from games such as Fatal Fury, Ikari Warriors, Psycho Soldier and Art of Fighting.

Zuma’s Revenge (DSi Shop) – An irresistible force has taken our fearless frog to a newly evolved world of Zuma ruled by evil tiki bosses. Fire stone spheres to destroy the deadly stream of balls in this ball-blasting challenge.

Fun! Fun! Minigolf Touch! (3DS eShop) – Play minigolf with your Mii character and master new cups and trick-shot challenges in beautiful environments. The perfect touch-screen controls make for a fun and rewarding putting experience.

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