Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest has been delayed once more. Publisher Warner Bros has revealed the release date is now projected to be fall 2010. Its not all bad news though. The PlayStation 3 version of the title will now support the recently announced PlayStation Move giving the Wii a little competition in the motion-control department. Both the Wiimote and Move will allow players to accurately control weapon strikes in the game as well as in co-op gameplay exclusive to the PS3 and Wii.
Sony is preparing new handheld products to compete with Apple’s iPhone and upcoming iPad, according to the Wall Street Journal. They are reporting that Sony is prepping a “smart phone capable of downloading and playing videogames,” in addition to “a portable device that shares characteristics of netbooks, electronic-book readers and handheld-game machines.”
No details on whether the smart phone would be a PSP-branded machine, but Big S certainly has an interest in defending its mobile device business. For Sony, as a manufacturer of both phones and portable gaming devices, Apple is becoming an increasingly formidable competitor.
Fans of music in gaming and game audio in general will appreciate the fact that The Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), the non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of game audio, recently announced the finalists for the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards that are designed to honor outstanding creative, technical and artistic audio achievement in the world of interactive entertainment.
Voted and judged upon by the game audio industry and members of G.A.N.G., the finalists represent an array of the best audio in games from 2009. The standouts for nominations this year include Assassin’s Creed II and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves which received 9 nominations each. Final voting has begun and the final winners are chosen by the entire membership of the G.A.N.G. organization. Over 2,000 people representing over 30 countries have signed up as members of G.A.N.G. since its inception in 2002. The winners will be announced at the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards ceremony being held on Friday, March 12th, 2010 in San Francisco, CA during the Game Developers Conference.
“The level of quality for game audio continues to get higher and higher each year,” said Tommy Tallarico, G.A.N.G. Founder, CEO and Chairman. “It’s so important to make sure that the talented game audio individuals from around the world get the recognition they deserve.” G.A.N.G. President Paul Lipson added, “This was one of our biggest submission years yet and over 70 game audio professionals on our global advisory boards helped in deciding the final nominees. With the level of talent these days, being voted as a final nominee is a remarkable accomplishment.”
Finalists for the 8th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards are listed below by category in alphabetical order after the jump.
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Yeah, so, as we all know Facebook is kind of a big deal these days and since we here at the ‘Axe are all about empowering the gaming masses to speak their mind, we thought we’d roll out our official Facebook fan page in an effort to showcase the Epicness of the ‘Axe throughout the net. Basically, we’re gonna tap into some FB action in order to spread the word about YOUR Member BattleCries, YOUR interaction in the forums, YOUR voting in the EBA Polls, and otherwise create this huge gathering of geeked out goodness within the Facebook community. We’ll be hosting FB-specific discussions, dropping props to users, and of course participating in all of the jack-assery that Facebook can handle (which is A LOT…trust me…)
Obviously, to do that, we’re gonna need you boys and girls to become fans of the ole’ EpicBattleAxe.com…Which is rather painless and one click away right here (assuming you have a FB account).
Also, we’re open to hear your suggestions about using Facebook. Have a great idea or wanna see EBA utilize a feature you’ve come to love? Let us know and we’ll be sure to give it a look!
Alright gang, tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell the world! EpicBattleAxe.com is getting ready to write a new chapter…and Facebook is only the beginning.
From the “here’s hoping they get it right this time” department, we bring you word that Iron Man 2: The Videogame will fly onto store shelves on May 4, 2010 – just a few days before the corresponding film hits the theaters. Additionally, fans who enjoy sinking their teeth into the face thrashing Lamb of God will be excited to learn that the band is contributing an exclusive tune, titled “Hit the Wall“, to the game’s soundtrack.
“The music of Lamb of God definitely evokes the intensity of Iron Man action, and we are very excited to have them working with us for the game,” said Sean Ratcliffe, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America. “This new track will add even more atmosphere to the cinematic gaming experience that Iron Man 2 brings to the table.”
Now, let’s just hope the game itself doesn’t hit the wall…
We’ll keep you updated on additional details about Iron Man 2 as they emerge.
Source
Kotaku reports this morning that The Sims 3 will be making its way to both consoles and handheld gaming systems sometime in Q3 2010. This according to EA’s financial results report, which listed the undoubtedly temporary title “The Sims 3 on Console Title” within its forecast.
The game is expected to hit pretty much every platform, but we’ll keep you posted on the details once things get all “official” like.
Hot off the (virtual) press folks, LucasArts has announced the next installment in the LEGO Star Wars franchise. Check out the full press release for the deets:
PRESS RELEASE
LucasArts and TT Games today announced the development of LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. The next chapter in the award-winning LEGO Star Wars videogame franchise, LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will combine the best elements of all previous LEGO games while adding brand new gameplay to make it the most action-packed LEGO videogame to date. Developed by the same team at Traveller’s Tales that created the critically acclaimed LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones series, the game will ship on the Wii, Nintendo DS, PS3, PSP , Xbox 360, and Windows in the Autumn of 2010.
“LucasArts continues to set the bar for next-generation family entertainment,” said Darrell Rodriguez, president of LucasArts. “The LEGO Star Wars franchise is a massive hit with fans, bringing in sales of over 20 million units worldwide. We’re thrilled to extend this experience to LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars, delivering the humour and fun players expect from this award winning franchise.”
“LucasArts is an amazing partner, and working with them on the next iteration of the LEGO Star Wars series continues to be a great experience,” said Tom Stone, director at TT Games. “The team at TT is working hard at making this simply the best LEGO game ever with all new gameplay and features never before seen in a LEGO game.”
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will include all the characters from both seasons of the hugely popular animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as some fan-favourite characters from the beloved theatrical Star Wars Saga. The game will feature brand new battle modes, giving players unique, head-to-head combat and an upgraded level builder, allowing the creation of customized bases and in-game battlefields. Play either as a Jedi or Separatist with all-new character abilities, such as Squad command, Lightsaber slicing, Lightsaber jumps, long distance Jedi attacks and Grapple Tie-Ups, all within a new, easy-to-navigate hub.
END
Of course, We’ll keep you posted on more details as they emerge.
Folks looking to get their SOCOM on with the latest installment of the popular franchise will soon have the chance to do so as a post on the Official PlayStation Blog brings word that a SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 demo will be available Thursday, February 11 for download on the PlayStation Store.
The demo will allow PSP owners to get a taste of the enhanced single-player gameplay or assemble their own four-player fireteam in the new co-op via Ad-Hoc with a playable campaign mission from the game. Nice! The multiplayer trailer is also included to give you a look at the full multiplayer and infrastructure co-op features for the game.
So, who plans on checking this sucka out?
You can find out more about SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 right here.
After a rather successful showing for Mass Effect 2 during the fourth quarter of the NFL’s NFC Championship Game, EA has announced that Dante’s Inferno will get superior treatment when a new ad for the game debuts during this weekend’s Super Bowl. The ad spot, entitled “Hell Awaits”, will premiere during the fourth quarter of the CBS broadcast happening Sunday, February 7…just two days before the game hits store shelves.
“Even within the spectrum of live sports events, the Super Bowl stands apart, almost as a national holiday,” said Frank Gibeau, president at EA. “The Super Bowl is a bull’s-eye in terms of cross-over to our core demographic and the reach is outstanding. Not only does it draw 100 million viewers, but most people watch the Super Bowl live, a rarity in the world of DVRs. While digital outreach to Facebook, Twitter, and online bloggers is a core part of our marketing strategy, we felt that advertising during the Super Bowl is an excellent way to introduce this new IP to a massive cross-section of people who are likely already familiar with the dark and twisted “Divine Comedy.”
So, how much will the ad serve to benefit the game? More importantly perhaps, how will a video game ad during the Super Bowl serve to benefit the medium of interactive entertainment? Let us know your thoughts below.
By now, most of you might have heard about Tecmo’s recent reveal of Dead or Alive: Paradise, the upcoming PSP-exclusive that looks to claim the title of “game most likely to make strangers think you’re creepy.” Well, just in case you missed it, we wanted to bring you the full description and debut trailer after the jump so that you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into should you decide to pick this baby up when it’s released this spring. And honestly, why wouldn’t you? After all, when considering the portable nature of the title, this is the closest many will come to having such buxom beauties in their pants…
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Kotaku
