Softpedia News - Games

A Gamer's Week: November 22

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:41:02 GMT

This Sunday, you can check out the Softpedia review for Modern Warfare 2, which is already selling like hotcakes, read the journal related to playing Dragon Age: Origins, read a Weekend Reading piece linked to videogames and movies or check out the EndWeekGame piece we've put together. But you can also take a look at the most important news stories of the week that passed.

On Monday, we talked about Final Fantasy XIII, which was confirmed as coming to the West on March 9, 2010, and we also heard that another game set for next year, Dead Space 2, could actually be getting multiplayer.

Tuesday was the day when Sony confirmed the existence of the 3.10 firmware update for the PlayStation 3 and showed off some of its features, while the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 seemed to have been hacked.

On Wednesday, Microsoft released a strongly worded statement insisting on players not buying any modded Xbox 360 consoles because of the void warranty and also put out a free downloadable content pack for Forza Motorsport 3.

On Thursday, we found out that No More Heroes was headed for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 with an estimated time of arrival of late 2010, while Dan Houser confirmed that Rockstar was searching for a new venue for Grand Theft Auto V.

On Friday, we talked about BioWare's announc... (read more)

Weekend Reading: On the Biggest Entertainment Launch Ever

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:21:01 GMT

Activision was right. Bringing in 550 million dollars in revenue in the first five days on sales, Modern Warfare 2, the sequel created by Infinity Ward, has become the biggest entertainment release in history, beating out videogames like Grand Theft Auto IV and movies like The Dark Knight and the various Harry Potter releases. The talk about the Citizen Kane of videogames should subside for a while as analysts discus about how videogaming is set to displace movies as the big medium for entertainment releases.

The question is whether videogaming really wants to take the place of movies in the entertainment area. The budgets are similar, especially for the biggest releases, and the development times are in the same general range. The gains are similarly impressive and the media attention is getting similar levels for the most important launches, like GTA IV, Modern Warfare 2 or New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Wii. And both the world of movies and that of videogames are now dominated by huge franchises, big explosions, macho main characters and the 18 to 45 male demographic.

One huge area where the two industries are still radically different is availability of product. Most indie movie releases, until they make it really big like Slumdog Millionaire or Juno, are only offered in a few theaters... (read more)

Dragon Age: Origins – Friends and Their Problems

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:01:03 GMT

A lot of people have focused on the overall story of Dragon Age: Origins and have pointed out how it managed to still adhere to the tropes of the computer role playing game and the BioWare way of creating it while making a world that feels vastly different from the one of Dungeons & Dragons. But one of the aspects of the game where developers seem to have poured a lot of love is the side quests that are connected to the companions you can have in your party.

All these people seem pretty one dimensional at first sight. Alistair is the goody two shoes who cannot take the lead in any situation and cannot counter the verbal assault coming from Morrigan, who is the evil witch that only stays with you to watch cruelty and destruction take over the world around her.

Zevran is the quintessential assassin, Leliana is the simple bard with ranged attacks, Oghren is a drunken dwarf, Shale a powerful human hating golem, Sten is a lackluster warrior who only cares about combat. But BioWare manages to introduce a specific quest for each of the companions that turn on their heads most of the above mentioned characterizations.

The most impressive for me has been the transformation and depth Leliana reveals as you talk to her and progress in her personal quest. The Andraste blessed bard reveals herself to be more o... (read more)

EndWeekGame: 20 November

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:31:02 GMT

Florian Totu: Just yesterday, I finished the single-player campaign of Modern Warfare 2 and, even if I think that it was a very short game, I have to admit I liked it. The title was intense, frantic, captivating and the airport massacre was right up my alley, as I really enjoyed acting like a sociopath. A lot of people complained about this portion of the game, and others, even if they decided to play it just so that they'd better understand the plot, did so passively, opting to not actually shoot any of the civilians. That's not me at all, so I lit them all up like the Christmas tree in a burning orphanage. The chances of going thorough the campaign again are slim, but I might do some more Spec Ops missions in solo play.

With the release of the demo for King's Bounty: Armored Princess, I got back into the mood for the game. I never really played The Legend that I should have when I first got my hands on it. I skimmed through the title, but didn't go very far. I think I tried it when I was in one of my dark days of WoW fanaticism relapse. I have those from time to time, disappearing for anything up to two weeks into even 18 hours of gameplay a day. As for Dragon Age, I haven't forgotten my Arcane Warrior, but it's not at all as cool as I hoped he'd be, at least at the beginning. I think I'll just play through all the origins to see the s... (read more)

Banned Xbox 360s and Modern Warfare 2 Affect Xbox Live

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:01:02 GMT

Modern Warfare 2 might have set yet another record when it came out as it determined no less than 2 million Xbox Live users to get on the service at the same time, probably in order to enter multiplayer matches as soon as the game is released.

But it seems that the huge launch, probably coupled with the decision by Microsoft to actually ban a big number, by some estimates as high as 600,000, modded Xbox 360 users from Live, might have had the effect of limiting sales on the service, which has grown in 2009 to actually represent a significant revenue stream for the company.

One of the most interesting titles offered on Xbox Live is Trials HD, which has the player controlling a motor bike in a quest to get through some very tough courses. The entries on the Leaderboards for the game were set at about 15,000 in one week before Modern Warfare 2 was released and before the modded console ban was enforced but they dropped to just 9,000 in the week after that one.

Similar drop offs were also noticed in releases like South Park, Zombie Apocalypse and Tower Bloxx Deluxe. The data is taken from an analysis performed by Ryan Langley, an editor of GamerBytes, who is a regular watcher of XBLA.

It will be interesting to see whether players who have gone out and bought Modern Warfare 2 will ... (read more)

What the New Mortal Kombat Should Have Been

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:31:01 GMT

The Mortal Kombat series is trying to bring itself back to life, and the first thing it needed was a fresh, new look on the character design. Former Midway employee, artist Vincent Proce is the one that took up pen and paper and started a design project of the new characters of MK. Unfortunately, his ideas got shot down in a fiery ball of brimstone, and it's a shame too, because the new characters looked really nice. Proce was involved with the last fighting game that Midway put together, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but it seems like Warner Bros wasn't very satisfied with the end result at all, so Proce ended up departing from the company.

The way Proce envisioned the new Mortal Kombat, the game should have incorporated a "mixing modern multi-player and dismemberment game design with the original fighting mechanic." That alone sounds good enough to keep him on the team, but what's next is even better. Compared with the MK vs. DC concept, these characters are a lot darker, with a more visceral touch to them. Less shiny colors, and even if the female cast sports the same general amount of skin exposure, the characters do seem to be a lot more combat-effective.

In his vision, the characters of this new MK game were closer to Todd McFarlane's superhero than the ones of the DC universe. Scorpion is "a wrait... (read more)

Wii Music Sequel Is in the Works

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:21:02 GMT

Wii Music, which was released last year, has not been one of the biggest hits for Nintendo. Titles like Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit are still selling well, while the music simulator for the Wii seems to have faded into obscurity and slid out of sales charts. But its creator might not yet be prepared to let go of the idea to simulate a variety of music instruments in a videogame that uses motion tracking.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the man who has created hits like Zelda and Wii Fit, has told the Official Nintendo Magazine that Wii Music “was a really unique game, and even today, we are receiving several different offers from people in the field of music education,” adding that “I think it still has great potential.”

Miyamoto repeated what he previously stated about Wii Fit Plus, saying any further iteration of Wii Music must be seen like a version 2.0 of a software rather than as a sequel, as the developer would add “some features to improve the overall experience,” creating an enhanced version that would rely on the same core mechanics.

Currently, the music simulation business is dominated by the Rock Band brand from Harmonix and MTV Games, and by the Guitar Hero franchise from Activision. The two are launching about one title a year and also put out a variety of downloadable conten... (read more)

Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming Unlockables IV (DS)

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:02:00 GMT

The once-tranquil Sunny Island has been thrown in disarray, as crops seem to have gotten a life of their own and they're growing completely out of control. Players will have to unravel the mystery of the wild plants and save the island before it's suffocated in food. Set in the same world as Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, Frantic Farming further spins the tale for its residents.

Gamers will be able to choose any of the 12 playable characters, each with an unique story. Each character will offer a unique development of it and interact in a different way with various others along the way.

The game features four play modes, each with a different twist and resulting experience: the Story Mode, the Mission Mode, in which you'll have to strain your wits to get through, the Score Attack, to quench your thirst for action-puzzle, and the Free Play Modes. The game supports a multiplayer, in which you can test your skills in farming against other players.

The title was published and developed by Natsume, it was released on August 25, 2009 and has an ESRB rating of E for Everyone.

UNLOCKABLES

Bonus characters

To unlock extra characters in Story mode, complete it for any individual character once. Repeat this for each original character to... (read more)

Modern Warfare Could Become a Movie Title

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:24:00 GMT

After what Modern Warfare managed to do in just five days, generate $550, that is, it's no wonder that Activision gathered all its people, put them in a room and told them to think of absolutely anything and then add “Modern Warfare” to its name. It seems like one of the things to expand the franchise will be a movie based on Infinity Ward's title, and the leak is brought to us once again by the public-friendly voice actors. After the man that gave life to Ghost in MW2 unveiled that a spin-off based on his character was just around the corner, the voice actor of Soap MacTavish announced the movie project.

"They were looking for a rough, Scottish actor in Hollywood, they probably couldn't get Gerard Butler, so they got the No. 2 Gerard Butler, me," Kevin McKidd said. "I had no idea [Modern Warfare] would be so huge, and now there are talks of a feature film." When asked if he would be willing to be part of the film, he jested and said that, "If the script is good, and Gerard isn't available, then absolutely." It seems that it really bothers him that he wasn't the first choice, with all this Gerard talk.

A game-inspired movie sounds like a pretty bad idea, especially considering our past experiences with the concept. Uwe Boll managed to cause emotional scarring and mental breakdowns with his monst... (read more)

Kirby Super Star Ultra Unlockables X (DS)

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:22:00 GMT

Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake of the original Kirby Super Star, released on the SNES back in 1996, and it features seven different main games. In addition to the previous one, Ultra includes five new titles and three new sub-games. Some of these are detailed below.

In The Arena, you'll be able to face all of the game's bosses one after the other, in a gauntlet-like fashion. The Meta Knightmare Ultra will allow you to run through the first five levels of the title as Meta Knight, having all his special abilities and powers.

The Kirby Card Swipe will have you look carefully at the top screen in order to pick the correct cards, until you manage to gather three in a row. Kirby on the Draw is the game's version of Whack-a-Mole, while Snack Tracks will have you run through the course, gorging on the food scattered through the levels while still being aware of the rocks, bugs and bombs.

Just like the original, the title will have a solid multiplayer mode. You can choose to play in co-op or in a direct competition, and the Spring Breeze game mod can be played from a single copy of the game. The title will take you through various environments, as you will journey through Dream Land, tame the ferocious Dynablade, ransack Meta Knight's ship and Halberd, just to name a few. Ki... (read more)

Resident Evil 5 Alternative Edition Will Come to America with a Lot of Things

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:37:00 GMT

Resident Evil 5 was one of the more innovative titles of the series, but that didn't prove to be something all that good. When the game designers decided to have the title take place during the daytime, they took a big risk and it was felt. Regardless of your enemies, their design, the sounds and the gameplay, things just aren't scary during the day. Survival-horrors and movies of the similar genre have but one goal, and that is to scare you. One of the primal fears of an individual is fearing that which they do not know. It's not death that's scary when you're hunted or chased by a pack of zombies, it's that you don't know which door they'll break through and feast on your brain.

Even Capcom saw that, and it is trying to liven up the game a little with some new content. The North American release of the Resident 5 Alternative Edition has received a lot of attention from its developers and they tried as much as possible to do a proper localization of the product. The first thing that Capcom did for its new release was to ask the fans in which format they would prefer the game. The fact that it decided to actually ask the players what they wanted to get from the game was a good-enough thing already, but its final decision was even better.

The developer, following the resul... (read more)

TOCA Race Driver 2 Cheats XIII (PS2)

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:23:00 GMT

TOCA Race Driver 2 is a videogame developed and published by the Codemasters Software Company Limited. It was released for the PlayStation 2 console from Sony, the original Xbox from Microsoft, the PlayStation Portable handheld and the PC platform on April 13, 2004. The title can be classed as a racing simulation featuring adventure elements and is played from a third person perspective.

TOCA Race Driver 2 is the second installment in the rally series created by Codemasters. This game has much more content than the first one, with super cars included alongside stock cars that are not rally prepared, all lumped together with some super trucks, classic rally cars and vehicles taken from Formula Ford.

The single player element of TOCA Race Driver 2 takes the gamer through a series of championships from around the world, among them the European classic TOCA championships and the Australian V8 Supercars competition. There are up to 20 cars on each of the tracks at the same time and the developers have implemented a variety of locations, from Laguna Beach to frozen wastes.

There is enough variety in the single player game to keep players occupied for hours at a time, especially if they are well versed in rally racing but for those who are looking for the challenge provided by another human player, they can log int... (read more)

Sony Releases the $450-Plus PlayStation 2

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:34:00 GMT

If you live in Australia and you feel that you're being cheated by the delayed release of games and the censorship of the Australian Board, and the consequent banning of some violent titles, you don't have the right to complain about it anymore. Also, if you live in some other part of the world and feel in some way wronged when it comes to video games, you too have officially been denied the right to whine about it. No matter what your wounds and emotional scars are, they're nothing but a wood splinter stuck in your finger compared to the brutal evisceration that Sony did to Brazil.

The console market has seen a lot of price cuts, and most current-gen platforms can now be found not much above the price range of $200. But that's not something that's going on in Brazil. Sony has finally released in this South American country its console for approximately $465, or R$799. If you think that the Brazilian gamers are being ripped off, you should hold your horses for just one more second. The $465 console released by Sony isn't the PlayStation 3, but the PS2. That's right, the nine-year-old console is being sold at more than twice the price that the PS3 is being sold at everywhere else.

The reason why Sony decided to give this outrageous price to its console is a bit of a mystery. While it's true that Brazil has h... (read more)

The Incredible Hulk Unlockables IV (DS)

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:56:00 GMT

The Incredible Hulk comes to the DS with a little bit less flavor than it does on the home consoles. The game still has plenty of puzzles and destruction, but it's far less complex and a lot uglier than its larger brothers. But it's also a lot more simplified, as the DS version will never give you an un-Hulkafied Bruce Banner to play with. You will never run out of power and you will never have to chase around for items to enable your abilities.

Most of the levels are a vertical or a horizontal maze, but they will all lead to one thing and there are a lot of things for Hulk to turn into rubble. Some of these, after they're destroyed, will leave behind satellites that can be used as a slingshot to propel Hulk through the environment at a faster pace.

The story is a bit absent, and it only serves to deliver Hulk near something he can destroy with as little moral consequences as possible. You will be traveling all over the globe, but there won't be as many differences as you expect. The game was published by SEGA and developed by Amaze Entertainment. It's an action side-scroller and it was released on June 5, 2008.

UNLOCKABLES

Costumes

Search the indicated level to find the corresponding skin.
Note: Some costumes cannot be used until the game is comp... (read more)

Capcom's Dark Void Game Will Have a Movie Adaptation

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:44:00 GMT

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li is one of the latest movie adaptions based on a Capcom title, and, even if the film barely escaped a near-death experience at the box office, the company isn't ready to give up on live-action movies just yet. The developer has announced that it will work with the movie-production company Plan B Entertainment to bring to the big screens its next game, Dark Void. The star of the film is rumored to be Brad Pitt, but all you ladies out there shouldn't get your hopes up just yet.

"As a game, Dark Void was developed with a wide-screen mentality – a world full of adventure presented in cinematic scope and scale," Capcom Senior Vice President of Licensing Germaine Gioia said. As opposed to all other Hollywood game-inspired movie disasters that are designed for a pocket-watch screen and intend to make the movie small and insignificant, we're sure that this film is going to be a world apart from them.

Gioia also added that, "Plan B recognized the potential of our newest property and are as excited about bringing Dark Void to life in cinemas as Capcom is to bring the interactive experience to home theaters." Plan B has worked on other films like The Departed, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, in whi... (read more)

Dragon Age: Origins Goes Back to Ostagar

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:43:00 GMT

Electronic Arts and BioWare have announced that they plan to release a new piece of downloadable content for Dragon Age: Origins, which was received in early November, in time for Christmas. The fresh content will be called Return to Ostagar and will allow players to go back to the area where the climactic battle near the beginning of the role playing experience took place and search for the armor and the weapons used by the fallen King Cailan.

BioWare is emphasizing this is not a mere fetch quest that will net the player a new set of equipment to use and give to their followers. Surveying the place where the armies of humans were smashed by the Darkspawn, players will be able to gather clues related to the overall political vision of the rather naïve King and will be able to explore a place, apparently set deep in the Korcari Wilds, which has been long lost to the world.

The studio is saying that Return to Ostagar will cost 400 BioWare Points on the PC and 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360, and will be released via digital distribution at some point before Christmas, as yet another step taken by the role playing developer in order to demonstrate its commitment to the new game universe.

Ray Muzyka, who is a co-founder of BioWare and the head of the role playing division at Electronic Arts, state... (read more)

Driver: Parallel Lines Hints and Glitches (PS2)

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:22:00 GMT

Driver: Parallel Lines is a videogame developed by Reflections Interactive Limited and published by Atari. Inc. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 home console from Sony, the original Xbox from Microsoft, the Nintendo Wii and the PC in March 2006. It is classed as a racing title played from a third person perspective, featuring action and shooter elements.

Driver: Parallel Lines is the fourth entry in the series and marks a return to the more classic gameplay features that were mostly abandoned in DRIV3R. Almost all of the action takes place from behind the wheel. The sections where you can go on foot and battle cops with the fist and other weapons are entirely optional. Basically, a skilled player can complete the whole game without getting out of their vehicle unless they need to jack up another car when their previous vehicle has received too much damage.

The game tells the story of a driver only known as TK. He was initially convicted in 1978, when he was just 18 years old, being blamed for a crime he had not taken part in. When he gets out of prison in 2006, bitter from the experience and now a grown man, his only thought is to take revenge on the police that imprisoned and did not bother to find out who was the real man behind the crime. There are sections of the game that take place in 1978 an... (read more)

Harvest Moon Hints XXI (DS)

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:57:00 GMT

As the first Harvest Moon title to come to the DS, the game will have players manage the well-being of a farm. They'll have to tend to the livestock and grow all manners of crops. Their farm can be upgraded to handle new tasks, like holding additional livestock or a more elaborate kitchen to cook their food. The local mine can be used to extract the needed material to upgrade their farming tools.

But things will only become more complicated, as the Harvest Goddess has been turned to stone and banished. Gamers will have to bring her back to "Forget-Me-Not-Valley" by finding all the 101 Harvest Sprites.

They'll be able to choose one of the 14 potential brides, including a mermaid and the ones from "A Wonderful Life Special Edition." Harvest Moon DS also features some casino mini-games.

Most of the gameplay takes place on the upper screen, while the lower one is mainly used for the inventory, status screens, and saving. The title was published by Natsume, Inc. and developed by Marvelous Interactive, Inc. It's a role-playing game-simulation and it was released on the DS on September 12, 2006.

HINTS

Recipes

Steamer

Bamboo Dumplings: Bamboo Shoots + Rice Cake;
Cheese Steamed Bun: Cheese + Flour + Oil;
Chinese Bun: shiitake + Flour +... (read more)

Firmware Update 6.20 Launched for the PlayStation Portable

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:41:00 GMT

Sony has released the 6.20 firmware update for the PlayStation Portable handheld, introducing quite a few new features to a platform that has been usually beaten in sales by the Nintendo made DS and DSi and could use some unique capabilities.

Users will be able to upgrade as soon as they turn on their consoles and Sony is probably hoping that the usual lock ups and bugs usually linked with firmware updates will only affect a small number of players.

The big new addition to firmware update 6.20 is the Playlists feature, which allows users to access the PC application Media Go 1.3 to build custom playlists using video and music that can then be imported on the PSP. Users have been long saying that the company needs to port Media Go to the Mac platform, but it seems that this move might take some time, with only the PC being used for now. The import feature can also work from the PlayStation 3, using the XMB.

Another addition is the Digital Comics Reader, which will enable fans to keep up with their favorite series without stepping in a physical store. The actual store will only be launched in early December in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and other countries will be getting it throughout 2010 at unspecified dates. The Digital C... (read more)

You Could Have Fought Zombies and Aliens in Modern Warfare 2

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:37:00 GMT

When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was still doing push-ups and washing latrines with its toothbrush back in boot camp, the COs of the game had some very different ideas for the first-class private. While the young soldier was beefing up to become the greatest entertainment release in history, the developers had a completely different adversary to peg the game against. Russians weren't the first choice as the opposing force of MW2, but zombies and aliens.

"In the beginning we talked about having things in Modern Warfare 2 like outbreaks, viruses, chemical warfare, and even outlandish things such as aliens and the living dead," writer Jesse Stern said during an interview with GamePro. "We worked our way through it before we finally ended up with a more grounded version of the real world as it's depicted in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. And as we were kicking around scenarios for conflict, we kept stumbling into things that were happening in real life, which was honestly unintentional."

And it's a good thing the developers did so. One of the big selling points of the game was the plot's controversial nature. The title would have lost a lot of hype and even more in terms of actual interest from the gaming community if, instead of Russian mercenaries, zombies or aliens would have been resp... (read more)

Silent Hill 2 Will Be More Accessible to the 'Movie-Going Public'

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:01:00 GMT

Three years have already passed since the Silent Hill movie came out, and the second one is well on its way. Still in a project phase and looking for most of the crew, the movie does have some of the concept laid down. The film's producer, Don Carmody, decided his movie could do with a little more coverage, so he was eager to release a few more details about the next installment in the game-based movie series.

The first thing he announced was that the writer of the first movie, Roger Avary, would most likely not be implicated in this sequel. "Well, we have had a bit of a hiccup with Roger," Carmody said in an exclusive Shock Till You Drop interview. "We're just debating whether we can wait for him. He's writing the script for sure." A hiccup is a huge understatement, considering that Avary was sentenced to prison for one year after being found guilty of vehicular manslaughter.

The one person that is guaranteed not to return to Silent Hill 2 is the director of the first movie, Christophe Gans. "I don't think he wants to come back," Carmody said. "He'll have some input for sure. In his mind, I think he wanted to do the first one and for this he's very happy to consult, but I think he wants to direct something new." Maybe the director just didn't approve with the producer's new take on t... (read more)

Bobby Kotick Again Sells Activision Shares

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:55:00 GMT

Activision has recently announced that Modern Warfare 2 managed to bring in 550 million dollars for the company in just five days, becoming the biggest entertainment release in history, beating not just Grand Theft Auto IV but also The Dark Knight. And Booby Kotick, the Chief Executive Officer of Activision, has taken advantage of the increase in share price for his company and sold about 1.7 million shares that he owned, netting an estimated 17 million dollars in one transaction.

Last week, Kotick took advantage of another stock price increase and sold another batch of shares that he owned for the price of 20 million dollars. The price he received was somewhere between 11.61 and 11.72 per unit. In August, another sale, at a higher price, resulted in 25 million dollars.

With the company seemingly being the only big publisher that is not having a tough time because of the economic crisis, it appears investors are eager to get a share, while its Chief Executive Officer is interested in receiving hard cash for the shares he has been awarded with for his performance at the helm of the company.

But something murkier could be lurking under the facade of good company governance. The release of Modern Warfare 2 is huge and will help Activision make a profit in 2009 but its other huge franchise, Guitar Hero, ... (read more)

The Dukes of Hazard: Return of the General Lee Unlockables (PS2)

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:30:00 GMT

The Dukes of Hazard: Return of the General Lee is a videogame developed by Ratbag Pty. Ltd. and published by Ubisoft. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 console from Sony and the original Xbox from Microsoft in September 2004. It is classed as an action adventure title featuring driving elements and is based on the popular classic television series that also made into a feature film.

The game allows players to step into the well worn Western boots of Bo and Luke Duke as they use the General Lee in order to save their uncle Jesse from the evil machinations of crime boss Boss Hogg, as he plans to take over the county of Hazard. The racing action is set to take place on back roads, some race circuits and a lot of dirt tracks. The General Lee is continuously upgraded as more parts are obtained through the various races. All of the major landmarks featured in the television series are also present in the videogame. Some of the original characters even provide voices for the in-game persons.

The Dukes of Hazard: Return of the General Lee is the third title that uses the franchise as a starting point and the only of them to be released on the sixth generation of gaming platforms. It received less than perfect reviews from most press outlets mainly because of the bland setting and the repeti... (read more)

DRIV3R Hints XXXII (PS2)

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:10:00 GMT

DRIV3R, also known as Driver 3, is a videogame created by Reflections Interactive and published by Atari. It was released for the PlayStation 2 console from Sony, the original Xbox from Microsoft, the Game Boy, the PC (a GameCube version was also in production but got canceled). The game was also later ported to mobile phones. It was initially released in June 2005 and classed as a racing title played from a first and a third person perspective. Driver 3 incorporates elements of a shooter, fighting and spy adventure game.

The third iteration in the series builds upon the legacy of Driver 2, allowing the gamer to again play the undercover cop who infiltrates an international band of thieves and is determined to get them to face justice. The main character is Tanner, the cop known from the previous releases, but one mission allows players to also control Tobias Jones.

Some of the cars that could be used in the game, although not named as such, are: 1969 Ford Mustang, 1975 Pontiac Firebird, Citroen CX, Aston Martin DB5, U-Haul Semi Truck, Ferrari Testarossa Convertible, Renault Alpine, Lamborghini Jalpa, BMW 507, Seat Ibiza, General Motors New Look Bus, Lamborghini Countach, Ford GT40, Shelby Cobra, a go-kart, Volkswagen Microbus, a hot rod, a forklift, a pre-war Auto Union race car and a Bugatti Royale.

DRIV3R was widely... (read more)

Dragon Age: Origins – A Few Niggling Problems

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:41:01 GMT

Dragon Age: Origins is a great single player role playing experience. I can see myself replaying the game a lot of times, trying out the various origins and exploring the choices I can make as a character. But mainly because I think the game has legs and because of the fact that BioWare will surely release further content for the universe, there are a few small issues that can annoy players and only become more apparent the more people play.

First off, Dragon Age needs to make sure a system is implemented that allows players to actually establish a frontline. I cannot accept Hurlocks moving between my two tanks to assault my mage even if they are positioned so close to each other there are no pixels left between their selection boxes.

The first system that springs to mind is the Attacks of Opportunity from Dungeons & Dragons, but that system is widely known for its complexity. In a game that throws a few very hard fights at the player even on Normal difficulty, I need to actually protect my precious spell casters in an efficient manner and the current threat system alone does not allow me to do that.

Also, the game needs, at least on the PC, a way to toggle TAB permanently on to see the various interactive objects strewn through the levels. Pushing W and TAB at the same time to get through the levels... (read more)

Torchlight MMO Coming in Two Years

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:31:02 GMT

Torchlight has been one of the surprise hits of 2009. The game offers an experience pretty similar to that delivered by the initial Diablo, but with a few very interesting twists, like allowing players to recruit pets that can cast spells and sell loot. It was created by a team of dedicated role playing game veterans, some of who also worked on Diablo, and their ultimate goal is to actually create a MMO based on the same technology, set to arrive at some point in 2011.

Max Schaefer, who is the leader of the development team at Runic Games, has told a German PC-oriented site that “We meant to design a tight, clean title that has polish and performance rather than build a sprawling, feature-laden RPG that would take years to develop. The MMO will have more classes, more customizable characters, and more total content, so there should be plenty for Torchlight gamers to look forward to.”

The team at Runic Games is now working on eliminating all the problems remaining with the single player Torchlight experience and will then move to begin creating the MMO full time. Schaefer says that amongst the big features they are preparing to introduce are “a lot of customization, an overworld, random and instanced dungeons, PVP and much more.” The team is also promising that the whole experience will be free t... (read more)

No More Heroes Should Arrive on the Xbox 360 and PS3 Before You Know It

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:21:02 GMT

Even though it is a bit of a detoured information, it seems like No More Heroes will be finally traveling to other consoles as well. Originally, the intel got leaked on the Wii@Everyday blog, which eventually ended up as part of Famitsu's news. Then, GameSpot translated the scans and was in the position of making an English unveiling of the scoop. The bottom line is that the game will most likely make its way to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 pretty soon.

No More Heroes: Hero's Playground won't be a simple port from the Wii, and it will allegedly contain quite a bit of additional content. The title will be an upgraded version from the Wii release, and will even include a “Very Sweet” mode. In spite of what you may think, it's not a cake-baking mode where Travis will use his neon-sword to cut delicious pastry, but it's still going to be pretty sweet. By performing certain tasks, players will be able to unlock certain features that weren't available in the Wii version. Very Sweet will allow players to unlock new outfits for the female cast of the title, in-game, but for the cutscenes as well.

Further details regarding this Xbox 360 and PS3 version will be announced at a later date, which will probably also include an explanation for the controls. After all, with the ... (read more)

Simultaneous Release Not Possible for Final Fantasy XIII

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:11:01 GMT

Recently, Square Enix confirmed the release date for Final Fantasy XIII, its upcoming Japanese role playing game blockbuster, for the markets in North America and Europe. The title is set to arrive on March 9, 2010 for those who live outside Japan, while the lucky gamers who live in the island nation will be able to pick up the PlayStation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIII on December 17, nearly three months ahead of the gamers from the West.

The delay is caused by the decision made by Square Enix to actually release the game, which was seen as an exclusive for the PlayStation 3, on the Microsoft made Xbox 360.

The need to port the content, coupled with that of offering fully voice translations, led to the three-month delay. But it seems that the time for releases separated by huge gaps is drawing to an end.

Yoichi Wada, who is the president of Square Enix, told Ars Technica that “For the last three years, we have worked very hard to close the gap between Japanese release timing and North American and European release timing. We tried to go for the global, simultaneous release but that was something that was inconceivable, in a sense. But we have been able to close that release window gap to three months. For us, it was a very big step forward.”

One of the reasons f... (read more)

Modern Warfare 2 on Top in the United Kingdom

Softpedia News (Andrei Dumitrescu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:31:02 GMT

As expected, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward and Activision has taken the top spot in the United Kingdom videogame chart and it will probably hang around for some time as players get to experience the content offered by the sequel and as millions of multiplayer matches are played. The biggest upcoming release is that of Assassin's Creed 2 from Ubisoft but it's not clear whether the Renaissance-based action adventure will dethrone the first person shooter from its position.

Wii Sports Resort from Nintendo is in second spot in the chart, going up one place from third place, with FIFA 10 from EA Sports showing some staying power by going down just one place to three.

Wii Fit Plus, the game which sat at number one during the previous week, is now at number four and is closely followed by Forza Motorsport 3 from Microsoft, the racing game that has captured the hearts of Xbox 360 gamers.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games from SEGA has gained one spot to reach sixth position, while LEGO Batman: The Videogame from Warner Bros. Interactive managed a pretty impressive bounce back going into seventh place coming from 14. Mario Kart Wii from Nintendo is still racing more than one year after launch at number eight, while Pure from Disney Interactive Studios is at number nine.

Gran... (read more)

Funcom Predicts That It Will Release the Age of Conan Expansion by Mid 2010

Softpedia News (Florian Totu) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:01:01 GMT

When it was launched last year, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures stirred things up quite a little, and, as a result, Funcom saw a nice income boost. It proved to be an interesting massively multiplayer online role-playing title, with quite a few new ideas and it featured some pretty impressive graphics as well that turned a lot of heads towards it. But it seems like the game didn't manage to become a long-time commitment with players and was more of a one-night stand. It did well at the beginning, but it just lacked that addictive sensation.

In its July-September earnings report released this week, Funcom revealed that it saw a revenue decline from the $18.1 million that it had in the same period last year down to $5.69 million. If the company managed a $3.8-million profit in 2008 for this quarter, this year, it lost $9.64 million. The company doesn't see any miraculous recovery for the rest of the fiscal year, and predicts that the fourth-quarter earnings will be roughly the same as the ones in the July-September period. Funcom doesn't expect to make more than four or five million dollars in revenues in the October-December time slot.

So, the company finds itself in need of good marketing ideas and good products to go with them. The first glimmer of hope for Funcom is the... (read more)