punchbutton

Xbox 360 announcement tomorrow? WiiWare starts today!

2008-05-12T19:05:34Z

Microsoft is set to announce something, or some things, tomorrow.

Joystiq points out that something called 'Lips' and 'Ninja Blade' are in the schedule lineup to be announced at Microsoft Gamer's Day '08.

'Ninja Blade' sounds like a new game. 'Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise' and a new 'Scene It' game are also on the list.

What could 'Lips' be?

ALSO, WiiWare starts today. This is Nintendo's version of the Xbox Live Arcade. Instead of ports of older console games (like the Virtual Console), these are original games for the Wii that (hopefully) take advantage of the Wii-moste.

Launching today: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, LostWinds (which looks awesome!), Defend Your Castle, Pop, VIP Casino Blackjack, TV Show King. The launch games are priced from 500 to 1500 points.

Random thoughts: 'GTA IV' irritations, 'Speed Racer' (the movie) and why Microsoft is making a huge mistake

2008-05-09T22:13:34Z

'GTA IV' irritations

I'm irritated a few little things in 'GTA IV' and I wanted to know if anyone else felt the same way.

• I'm frustrated with the pre-missions in some of the main mission segments. These are the simple busy-work parts where you have to drive to a location, follow someone, steal something or chase someone before the meat of the mission begins. It's usually right after these early, easy-parts, that I'm instantly killed because I'm so worn out by what precedes the action... and I'm not paying attention. The real beating comes when you have to start the entire mission over... including the boring easy part. I wish the game would start right where you died.

• I'm tired of the music that plays when the game auto-saves: "Do - do - dum - do." It haunts my dreams.

• What's up with invisible props? I drove across what I thought was an empty patch of grass... then BAM, my car comes to a complete stop with a crashing sound of metal. Slowly, phantom playground equipment appears in front of my car. Where did that come from?

• The Russian clothing store.

• Toll booths

• Jumping a car up to a balcony or other small location where the vehicle becomes permanently stuck.

• Motorcycles seem vanish from Liberty City only when I want/need them.

Quick review: 'Speed Racer' the movie. Too much talking, awesome racing scenes and colors that will burn your eyes. Lop off the first hour and it's great!

Microsoft is making a huge mistake.

This is all anecdotal, but I swear Microsoft is killing themselves by not offering a Blu-Ray player in the Xbox 360.

After the release of 'GTA IV' I have had several friends tell me they were planning on buying a PS3 within the next few days. When I asked them if they had considered an Xbox 360, all of them said they really wanted the Blu-Ray player to watch movies. Every single person said the same thing. And these are non-gamers who are dying to try 'GTA IV' and watch high-def movies.

Even after I explained the virtues of Achievement Points, downloadable content and Xbox Live, the number one selling point for my friends was the Blu-Ray compatibility.

I guess you can point out that the Wii is surviving without a High-Def video player, but it has a broader appeal than both Sony's and Microsoft's systems.

C'mon Microsoft, bite the bullet.

Preview: Metal Gear Online beta

2008-05-08T16:06:24Z

I think MGO has promise, but the complicated registration process (really, Konami, do we need to have two accounts before we can play?) is a big turnoff.

Konami promises they're working on streamlining the registration before the game is complete.

Also, I mention in the preview that I couldn't figure out how to play as Snake.

Konami was helpful enough to send me the solution to my quandary:

It is actually possible to play as Snake in MGO. It's a certain game mode where one person takes on the role of Snake (with all of Snake's cool tricks, such as OctoCamo and the Metal Gear Mk II), and everyone else tries to hunt him down. Snake gets points for killing people on the map, and everyone else gets points for killing Snake. So it's this back and forth of trying to hunt Snake while trying to help your team. Seems to be a very popular game type.

id Software hiring for Doom 4 (oh yeah, Doom 4 announced)

2008-05-07T17:02:47Z

id Software, based in Mesquite, Texas, just sent out a press release announcing that it is now hiring developers to work on Doom 4.

Of course, id hasn't even finished the last game it announced, so I'm guessing Doom 4 is a few years away, at least.

Still, kind of cool. And any of you who happen to be world-class game developers looking for work might want to freshen up your resumes.

Full press release after the jump.

]]> THE ULTIMATE BATTLE AGAINST EVIL CONTINUES IN DOOM 4

id Software Hiring for Internal Team to Develop Next Installment of DOOM

Mesquite, TX - May 7, 2008 - id Software announced today that production has begun on DOOM 4™, the next journey into the legendary DOOM universe. id Software is expanding its internal team and is currently hiring to work on this highly anticipated title.

"DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles."

The DOOM franchise is one of the most recognizable and important in gaming history, having been named "one of the ten most influential games of the decade" by PC Gamer and "the #1 game of all time" by GameSpy. DOOM 4 will join the award-winning series which has consistently topped sales charts throughout the world.

id Software is looking for talented, ambitious and passionate individuals eager to join its accomplished team of developers working on the industry's most innovative and anticipated games. For a complete listing of available positions, visit www.idsoftware.com. Resumes can be submitted via email to jobs@idsoftware.com. All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States.

Looks like Iron Man held its own against GTA IV

2008-05-05T21:23:35Z

As I said on Punchbutton last week and in my column on Saturday, there was some talk that GTA IV might siphon off moviegoers who would have otherwise gone out to see Iron Man.

With Iron Man raking in $100 million-plus in its opening weekend, I think we can put that theory to bed.

Like I mentioned in my column, though, I am curious to see the GTA IV sales numbers for the PS3 versus the Xbox 360. If the PS3 version of Grand Theft Auto outsold or even came close to the sales of the 360 version, that's a huge win for Sony.

Five worst video game sites of all time

2008-05-05T20:13:12Z

Old-Wizard.com (should even I know about this site? I don't!) listed their 5 worst video game related sites of all time.

Thank goodness we didn't make the list!

You can read their list here.

Xbox 360 Blu-Ray rumors refuse to die

2008-05-05T20:06:30Z

The tech blog on Yahoo points out that a manufacturer is claiming to have won the contract to make Blu-Ray compatible Xbox 360's.

Will this rumor ever die?

Will Microsoft finally come over to the Jedi side or are they happy on the dark side?

Will someone replace my HD-DVD's?

'GTA IV' is losing it's 10-point sheen?

2008-05-05T16:12:47Z

Besides the non-shop complaints about the in-game freezes, now the 'GTA IV' glitches are appearing on YouTube. I know there are problems with every game, but weren't similar problems the reason everyone bagged on 'Vice City?'

Here are some awesome glitches (there may be some language, so be warned before you click):

The sink hole of death:

Break dancing with the bus:

Here are some more... enjoy.

Thinking back on it, my PS3 HAS frozen a few times in the past

2008-05-02T16:59:02Z

I don't know why I didn't think about this before.

I've had some major PS3 freeze-ups in the fast, just like the 'GTA' bugs.

Once, when installing the 'Motor Storm' updates and DLC, I couldn't get past the menu screen in the game. I had to delete all downloaded content and re-install everything from scratch (I didn't lose my saved games, they are in a separate file). That worked.

While playing the 'Home' beta, I would constantly freeze every time I would reach a certain doorway in the game. I deleted those data files, re-downloaded, re-installed and it was fixed.

And finally, when adding DLC to 'Warhawk,' the game locked up my whole PS3. Deletion of the files and a fresh install, again, fixed the problems.

The 'GTA' problems seem awfully similar to what I was going through. I just think the sheer number of copies bought, brought the problem to a lot more people.

The 360 issues, I'm at a loss there.

Take-Two's suggested PS3 Grand Theft Auto IV fix

2008-05-02T16:22:29Z

The freezing issue on GTA IV doesn't seem to be going away.

I contacted Rockstar for an official comment, but they declined and suggested I get in touch with Sony.

From what I've seen on other game news sites, Sony doesn't have much to say, either.

But Gamespot did contact Take-Two's tech support team, and came away with an extensive list of suggested fixes for the PS3 version of GTA IV (no word on whether these fixes work on the Xbox 360 version).

While the checklist is probably worth a try if your copy is freezing on you, the length of the list suggests to me that the cause of the problem is still unknown and Take-Two is basically trying every gimmick it can think of to solve the issue.

I'm sure an official patch will be coming at some point.

For now, though, good luck with the list.

Now that 'GTA IV' is out, what's there to look forward to?

2008-05-01T23:46:46Z

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bored with 'Grand Theft Auto IV'... but I want to know what's next.

Seriously (or, um, SRSLY), what are you looking forward to, now?

For me:

• 'Iron Man'
• 'Lego Indiana Jones'
• 'Ninja Gaiden 2'
• 'GRID'
• 'Battlefield: Bad Company'

Will Grand Theft Auto IV derail Iron Man's sales?

2008-05-01T19:21:05Z

Some analysts have been saying that box office sales for Iron Man could suffer if gamers stay home to play GTA IV this weekend.

I really doubt it, because I can't think of a single gamer who isn't drooling over Iron Man.

I mean, just look at this preview and tell me you don't get a tingly feeling all over.

Workout with the Wii at Westin hotels

2008-05-01T16:19:01Z

Fellow DMN reporter Suzanne Marta has a post up at our Airline blog about how the Westin chain of hotels is beginning to install Wii consoles in its fitness rooms equipped with copies of Wii Fit.

Sounds more fun than the ancient Super Nintendo systems you still occasionally find in hotel rooms.

Storytelling and Stereotypes in the World of Video Games

2008-04-30T22:07:22Z

Tom Huang, a colleague of mine at The Dallas Morning News and an ethics and diversity fellow at the Poynter Institute (a think tank for journalists, basically), recently wrote a column about whether games can be used to discuss current news events and how games should tackle racial diversity.

I sent him some of my own thoughts on those topics (they'll be included in a follow-up piece at some point) but you should look at what Tom says in the essay that's already up.

You guys have any opinions on this?

Is your 'Grand Theft Auto IV' freezing?

2008-04-30T19:40:37Z

There are reports around the inter-necks that 'GTA IV' is freezing on Xbox 360's and PS3's, especially during the opening credits.

Microsoft has an old help page, here, detailing some possible freeze fixes. I haven't found anything from Sony.

This seems to happen with every high-profile game; so, I am not sure how blown-out-of-proportion this really is.

VICTOR UPDATE: I've posted a suggested list of fixes from Rockstar.