Trailers, Screenshots, and Artwork, oh my! Media blowout on PSN/XBLA title Moon Diver

Strider Hiryu, regrettably absent from Marvel vs. Capcom 3, starred in some of the best 2D sidescrolling action games of the 90’s, and now game designer Kouchi Yotsui is returning to redefine the genre with Moon Diver (which you may remember as Necomachina, the name it had when it was announced). Developed by Feelplus and published by Square Enix, the game centers around a group of specially trained ninjas as they attempt to take back the planet from a boy who has given life to inanimate objects, including bridges, trains, and entire cities, which now besiege the globe. Players engage in insane platforming and combat either solo or with up to four friends in co-op to vanquish their enemies. The game even incorporates elements of the Faust legend, (the boy’s name is Faust and he got his powers from Mephistopheles) which pleases my counter-Enlightenment sensibilities.

Hit the break for a full media blowout, including screenshots, artwork, and the visceral gameplay in action with a trailer. There’s no announced release date, but you can bet Moon Diver will be one to watch.

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Latest Rage trailer heads out to the Wasteland

Cory Barlog may never get his proposed Mad Max game off the ground, but it looks like we’ll get a reasonable facsimile when id Software releases Rage for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 13.

The new trailer above showcases The Wasteland, a desolate place populated by mutants, bandits, monsters and roving gangs of dune buggy riders. Yup, sure sounds like Mad Max to me. The game even appears to bhave its own version of Thunderdome, a place where two (or maybe more) men enter, but only one man leaves.

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Operation Flashpoint: Red River deploys on April 26

Codemasters gave the order today that Operation Flashpoint: Red River will be released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on April 26th in North America (April 21st in Europe). In honor of the new release date, Codemasters has released the new gameplay trailer you see above, “which introduces the game’s conflict in Tajikistan from the perspective of Corporal Ryan Balletto”:

With footage showing the epic landscapes players will experience and battle through in Operation Flashpoint: Red River, Marines are shown protecting convoys, attacking dug-in insurgents and setting up ambushes against the backdrop of Tajikistan’s beautiful countryside and spectacular mountain ranges.

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Daily Scoop: February 18, 2011 – Preparing for Killzone 3

It’s nearly the weekend, and also nearly time for the release of Killzone 3. Who else will be spending this weekend preparing for that by playing through the campaign again, or perhaps getting in some Warzone before life as you know it completely changes?

Today’s Amazon Deal of the Day in video games is Activision’s Rapala Pro Bass Fishing 2010 for the Wii. It’s $19.99 today down from $39.99, which is a pretty good deal – I mean, if you’re into fishing for bass from your living room. But my favorite part of Amazon today was checking out the bonus offer list – I’m especially excited that F.3.A.R. has a $20 credit and that Pokemon Black and White have $5 each. Amazon knows I need no help with my addiction, but helps me anyway.

Of note is today’s shirt.w00t, which is timely, as it’s right on the heels of the Walking Dead game announcement:

The sad little zombie just wants a sandwich! The description actually reminds me of David Wellington’s Monster book series, in which some zombies still have brain functionality and – well, they never explicitly say it, but I bet at some point they really wish they could just want a sandwich again.

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The Walking Dead, Fables games in production at Telltale

More Telltale Games news has emerged thanks to the Wall Street Journal’s technology blog, All Things Digital. The report focuses on the future of the download-focused developer and reveals two new episodic games that will be a part of that future: The Walking Dead and Fables.

The Walking Dead will be based on the zombie-infested comic book series, which was recently turned into an AMC television show of the same name. The series is heavily slanted towards the survival aspects of living in a post-apocalyptic world and focuses less on headshotting the undead. This concept will definitely play towards Telltale’s strengths as an adventure game developer.

Fables is a modern-day take on fairy tales from around the world and will be based on the DC Comics series. Telltale will be co-publishing the game with WB Games.

No other details about either game were revealed, but All Things Digital did say both titles would be released sometime in 2011.

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Telltale welcomes you to Jurassic Park in April

Telltale Games has revealed that the first episode in their series of games based on Jurassic Park will be released this April for the PC and Mac. Jurassic Park: The Game will take place concurrently with the events of the first film and involve Biosyn’s search for Dennis Nedry’s missing shaving cream can full of dinosaur embryos. Somehow, a little girl manages to get stuck on Isla Nublar as well.

You can check out the first trailer above or pre-order the entire episodic series at Telltale’s website for $29.99, a $5 discount over the regular price.

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F.3.A.R.’s Paxton Fettel playable in single player

There’s already so much awesome going on with F.3.A.R. that I’m groaning over the delay from March to May. Now there’s even more to look forward to, as Warner Bros. has announced that Paxton Fettel will be playable in the single player as well as through co-op. The original plan was that he would be playable only with his brother, Point Man, opening up new avenues for both characters with his supernatural abilities. But now, after finishing a chapter as Point Man, you can go back and play it solo as Fettel.

I’ve had the chance to play this game twice already, and it’s absolutely awesome. Playing as Fettel is a completely brand new experience, as you can inhabit the bodies of your enemies to mow down other foes and even wreak more havoc than ever before from mechs. It looks like they’ve made him a bit more formidable as well – previously he depended more on his brother for the more powerful attacks, but now he seems to be kicking ass all on his own. Hit the jump for a killer video.

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A look at Forza Motorsport 4’s development

After Forza 3‘s two year-plus performance at retail was outsold by Gran Turismo 5 in little over a month, Turn 10 Studios is hard at work to take the racing sim crown with Forza Motorsport 4. This hard work was recently exposed in an excellent article at MSN Autos, exploring how racing games like Gran Turismo, Forza, and the upcoming NASCAR The Game 2011 translate real world driving into interactive entertainment.

As you can imagine, developing these racing sims is getting really insane. For example, Turn 10 is incorporating proprietary performance data from tire manufacturers like Pirelli to emulate how tires grip and slip in the game. Additionally, the team spends two three days accumulating terabytes of video and pictures to render every track down to subcentimeter accuracy. Finally, the developers teased a little bit about “Kinect-only Mode,” where you’ll be able to lean inside of the car in cockpit view to peek around blind corners or your competitors’ vehicles. The article also features input from the developers of NASCAR The Game 2011.

It’s been a big day for racing game news, and any fan of the sim sub-genre in particular should check out the article. Racing games are just as guilty as FPS for over-saturating the market this generation, but with the games still breaking new ground in accuracy, bring ’em on I say.

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