PS2
Ghostbusters (literally) half-baked
Jun 18th
Think the EU Sony-exclusive cluster fuck that is Ghostbusters: The Game couldn't get any worse?
It just did...
Sony poach (PAL) Ghostbusters – Bad Times
May 6th
Mere weeks from release, Sony has decided that the imminent Blu-Ray release of the original Ghostbusters films didn't have enough of a marketing push, therefore they have thrown a hefty chunk of cash towards the as ever terminally-strapped-for-cash Atari.
The result = Platform exclusivity for the PS3 & PS2 (with the PSP coming along later) for the foreseeable future.
What this means for the Xbox 360, PC, Wii or DS releases at the moment is unknown, although rumours state that Atari will be publishing them later (presumably using the bung from Sony as finance, assuming they haven't died off by then).
*sigh* Games industry, I do love you really...
*Update*
It seems that, so far, this only extends to the PAL release (possibly because Atari hates the EU, as evidenced by its spotty history with Steam in the EU).
Source - GI.biz
Underworld Underperforms – **UPDATED**
Jan 10th
You know there's something not quite right with an industry when a product can sell (not just ship, mind you) 1.5 million individual copies across 6 major platforms and it's performance is deemed 'unsatisfactory'...
Unfortunately, such a fate has befallen the latest Tomb Raider game, Underworld.
Despite receiving above average reviews (in spite of some bugs, camera & control issues, poor combat, inconsistent story-telling & a short length) the game simply hasn't sold as well as EIDOS believes it should have.
Terminator Salivation – Salvation game trailer released
Dec 16th
Those Spike VGAs just keep on giving!
Terminator Salvation is (essentially) the fourth Terminator film, but it holds the awkward distinction of being a pseudo-reboot too... boot! The focus seems to have shifted squarely from the steely-eyed evil-robot-goes-good to the squishy humans of the piece and their survival of the enevitable Judgement Day & the ensuing war that Sarah Conner so didn't want to happen.
The game, developed by GRIN (Ballistics, Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter & Bionic Commando) & the license holder Halcyon's game division (cleverly titled Halcyon Games), seems to be a perculiar mix of Gears of War & Ghost Recon.
Fingers crossed that they don't cop out on the difficulty/bullet-soaking gameplay by making your character yet another reprogrammed machine with a recognisable celebrity face and decide to focus on the squishy but numerous & feisty Tech-Com rebel force.
Trailer after this machined columbite-tantalite break...
Kikizo interviews Terminal Reality on Ghostbusters
Dec 16th
As the title suggests, Kikizo have interviewed Terminal Reality (unsurprisingly) about their Ghostbusters game that was recently saved from the chasm of oblivion by (of all people) Atari.
They touch upon (amongst other things) the multi-player mode, the boss fights, the original premise of the game being an official 'Ghostbusters 3' and anticipation about being picked up by someone when Activision bought into the MMO cash cow that was WoW merged with Vivendi, coupled with damning indication that their reason for being dropped was because Activision couldn't make a yearly franchise out of the license...
Kikizo: There's a story going round that Activision didn't pick it up because they couldn't make a sequel...
Douglas: Yeah, even [Activision boss] Bobby Kotick came out with that... They can't really serialise and annualise a game like this where there's not a movie released every year, and we kind of understand their position on that. We used to have a good relationship with those guys. It's unfortunate, and we were still shocked that they weren't going to carry on with Ghostbusters - it seemed like such a no-brainer to us - but we understand the position, that's just their business problem.
*sigh*
Read the full article here.
CNS 2008 Round-up mega-fun list-o-tron-o-matic
Dec 15th
Everyone loves lists (how else can we explain the continued existence of Digg?).
Join me, fellow list-o-fans, as Computers N Stuff rounds up all the gaming-related pointless lists, countdowns and round-ups that tend to pollute the net around this time of year like a chemical factory foreman with a severely broken moral compass (well, it sounded good in my mind).
ZOMG! Atari News
Dec 2nd
In what i'm hoping will become a fairly irregular occurance (because supporting them is just not cricket), we've got some Atari news and it's good news too!.
Firstly, MCV are reporting that Ghostbusters, the recently-saved highly-anticipated stream crossing simulator which was dropped in the messy amalgamation of Activision & Vivendi, will hit retail around the middle of next year for all the formats under the sun (apart from Sony's red-headed stepchild, the PSP).
Secondly, Eurogamer are reporting that Atari are planning to excavate a bunch of their old D&D properties (among others), but won't be doing this until late 2009/early 2010 at the earliest (assuming the company even exists then).
LEGO Batman Review
Nov 4th
Andrew Bryant packs his LEGO Bat Shark Repellent and joins the (plastic) dynamic duo in their fight against crime.
