Weekly News Roundup: 1/31/2010

Games

Marcus and Dom are probably just multiplayer characters or will be unlockable skins after completing the game, much like the guest characters in the first Lost Planet. Including them in the actual story wouldn't make any sense.

• First there was Wesker from Resident Evil and now Gear of War's Marcus and Dom will be playable characters in the Xbox 360 version of Lost Planet 2. So, just how did Marcus and Dom end up in LP2? It's actually quite simple. Capcom asked Epic and Epic said "heck yeah." Nice. Will the PS3 version be getting any exclusive characters?

• The cover for the North American version of Super Street Fighter IV was revealed... and it's awful. It's just the same art pieces we've all seen Photoshopped in a collage. Ugh. Japan and Europe get original art, but the US gets screwed again. Maybe Capcom will hear our pleas of anguish and give us a different cover, like they did with the original release of SFIV. Compare the Japan, Europe, and N.A. box art here.

• A couple books from Square-Enix reveal that Final Fantasy XIII was originally developed for the PlayStation 2 before they decided to scrap the project and move it the PS3.

• A bazillion Pokemon drawn in traditional Japanese art style is very cool.

• Sega wants to make Shenmue III, but think it will sell poorly. If they ever can find a way to make it, such as trading exclusivity for funding, they will.

• Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom is awesome, but there are some cool things that got cut from the game like Phoenix Wright and a Ghosts & Goblins stage.

• After Burner Climax will be barrel-rolling onto PSN and XBLA in the US and Europe later this year.

• The new game from Shinji Mikami, the creator of the Resident Evil series, is Vanquish. The debut trailer is live-action and looks pretty damn cool.

• Q Games wants to know if fans want Rez HD on the PS3, possibly for $15. More Rez is good, but why would it be $15 when the XBLA version was $10 years ago?

• Before BioShock 2 hits, read about some of the features cut from BioShock, such as a pressure system, biomechanical technology, an insect ecology, and a navigation robot.

• The Xbox 360 version of Record of Agarest War is getting The Really Naughty Limited Edition. It includes a soundtrack CD, pillowcase, and a boobie mouse pad in a suggestive box. Feel the shame.

• Microsoft's Game Room for the Xbox 360 seemed like a nice idea, except now you have to re-buy the Xbox Live Arcade Games you already have to play them in the Game Room. Count me out of this, I'm not re-buying XBLA games I already have.

• Namco-Bandai has "no plans" to bring the PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia to the US. However, "no plans" could mean just wait longer for an announcement.

- Shawn - 1/31/10

Weekly News Roundup: 1/24/2010

Games

The Mega Man 10 Achievements/Trophies are nothing compared to the hard life of Blade Man; he accidentally killed everyone he loved by hugging them.

• The Mega Man 10 Achievements are mega hard, just like the Mega Man 9 ones. Complete the game without getting damaged? Seriously?! The PS3 Trophies should be the same.

• The PS3 version of Resonance of Fate includes a Toro and Kuro T-Shirt that the character Leanne can wear in the game. The Xbox 360 version just has the "booth babe" shirt from Tokyo Game Show '09, which doesn't even turn Leanne into a booth babe. Nothing can beat Toro and Kuro.

• The Dark Void soundtrack will be available on February 9th. The game has been getting some mixed reviews, but Bear McCreary's awesome score should still be listened to on its own. Bear also composed the amazing Dark Void Zero score, which he talks about on his blog. You can really hear the Mega Man influence in the tunes. As for Dark Void Zero, it has its own interesting if mostly fake history. You can also download the Dark Void Flight Manual, which is kind of like a digital art book.

• On January 28th, other Sony characters will get to shoot one another in the face in Uncharted 2. The Uncharted 2 PlayStation Heroes pack includes skins for Nathan Hale, a Chimera, Sev, a Helghast soldier, Cole (in good and evil versions), and Zeke.

• In one of the best cross-promotions ever, Super Monkey Ball stickers will soon be on Chiquita bananas near you. Sega and Chiquita will be running the Super Banana Sweepstakes where you could win a gamming room.

• English screenshots for 3D Dot Game Heroes touch the retro sage inside of you.

• There will be a Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker PSP that will be in camo and includes a camo cloth, pouch, strap, and the game. There will also be a limited edition version that includes numbered dog tags, a stand, and is limited to 1,974 units.

• The Launch Trailer for Mass Effect 2 is massively epic. It's no surprise that some people in Hollywood are interested in making a Mass Effect movie.

• The busty evil woman Excella will be a playable character in Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition's Mercenaries Reunion mode.

- Shawn - 1/24/10

Weekly News Roundup: 1/17/2010

Figures

Finally, Optimus Prime can get some real work done instead of having to stare at your questionable anime figures all day.

• Transformers figures finally have their own Generation 1 Teletraan-1 / Ark  base playset. Made by fan company IGear, the set has been in development for a while, but is now finished and for sale at online retailers. The playset has a Teletraan-1, a medical bay, robotic arm, and a tiny Soundwave cassette doing sneaky Decepticon spy stuff. It's also modular, so you can change the layout for whatever battle situation you may need. This is seriously awesome, but that $120 price tag may hold off some fans.

• The Ravage and Tigertron Transformers USB drives will be released in the U.S. by Toshiba. Unlike the Takara versions, these will be 4 GB rather than 2 GB, but will be the same $40 price. They will also release the incredibly uncomfortable-looking Grimlock and Trypticon mice for $50. They aren't available yet, but they should be soon.

• The Sci-Fi Revoltech site went online this week. There isn't much there right now, but they do have a photo or two of the sweet Alien, Gamera, and Daijamin figures.

Games

• The Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom commercial has stop-motion animation that's all kinds of awesome.

• The new trailer for Transformers: War for Cybertron is full of hot transforming action and has Omega Supreme and Trypticon. Megatron's voice doesn't seem quite right, though.

• Europe is getting a special edition of Heavy Rain that includes a fancy case with textured rain drops, a code for DLC, a fold-out of notes and clues, and a slick Origami Killer origami sculpture. Man what an insult to North America. First we get crappier box art and now this.

• Capcom Japan announced a Mega Man Zero Collection containing all four Mega Man Zero games from the Game Boy Advance. This needs to be released in North America.

• After a little teasing on possibly including ton of playable Sonic characters, Sega revealed that Sonic will be the only playable character in Project Needlemouse. Speaking of Sonic, Sonic Adventure may be heading to Xbox Live Arcade.

• First Person Tetris is very cool and might make you feel sick.

• In the awesome DarkSiders you play as War, one of the four horsemen. While the other three aren't in the game, artist Joe Madureira did design Strife, Fury, and Death. Perhaps they'll appear in the inevitable sequel.

• PlayStation Home has added an Irem Square where you can get a virtual R-Type R9 ship to place in your virtual apartment. It's virtually awesome.

• A tech demo from what might have been Grin's Final Fantasy Fortress game has appeared, complete with Chocobo riding.

• The stuffing hit the fan this week with Naughty Bear's Debut Trailer, Play Nice Trailer, and screenshots.

• Hey, it's the box art for Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition.

• Batman: Arkham Asylum looks to be getting a Game of the Year Edition. However, since most of the DLC is already free, what else would it include?

- Shawn - 1/17/10

Weekly News Roundup: 1/10/2010

Figures

For the Zeon faithful and those that don't like having an extra $1000. Sieg Zeon!

• What's cooler than Gundam? Gundams made of wood. This wooden Zaku II is over 12-inches tall and only costs around $1000.

• Biff Bang Pow will be making Venture Bros. toys. Unfortunately, the first to come out will be bobble heads in Spring 2010. I despise bobble heads, but a line of figures will follow in Summer.

• Shawnimals Ninjatown Ninja of the Month is Baker Ninja. He'll kick your ass and bake you delicious cookies.

Games

• Here's a short preview of a sports stage in Mega Man 10. Just what is this robot master's name? Sports Man? Ball Man? Goooooooooooaaal! Man?

• Tomonobu Itagaki said that Dead or Alive 4 was the last DOA game, but with him no longer being with Tecmo, the DOA ladies can be pimped out however Tecmo wants. That said, it looks like Dead or Alive 5 might be in production for the PS3.

• Udon has drawn all new story endings for Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom, so they're sure to look amazing.

• The new trailer for Super Street Fighter IV reveal new costumes, new rival battles, and new ultra combos. The best part is easily a real mech-Zangief.

• Mega Man robots teach the alphabet in Once Upon a Pixel's Mega Man A-Z.

• A Hong Kong magazine has rated Final Fantasy XIII a low 4/10, calling it "the biggest swindle in videogame history." Those are some harsh words.

• Amazingly, Mark Hamill has never been asked to play Luke Skywalker in a videogame.

• The DLC characters for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 have gone missing from PSN and Xbox Live. Activision says it was a limited time offer (less than two months), yet they didn't tell anyone. Who's the moron that thought this was a good idea? I wanted to play as Psylocke and Carnage, but now I'm out of luck.

• George Costanza's fictional Frogger high score was actually beaten.

• Metal Slug XX arrives on the PSP on February 23rd. Like Atlus said, it's only one X from ESRB trouble.

• Blu-ray disc capacity will be expanded from 25 GB per layer to 33.4 GB per layer for more HD goodness. Meanwhile, some Sony TVs and Blu-ray players will soon have PlayStation Network access.

- Shawn - 1/10/10