Late Night Consoling

The May edition of Game Informer, which is just beginning to reach subscribers' mailboxes, has what appears to be the first in-depth hands on preview with a Nintendo Revolution launch title. The game is being developed by Ubisoft's Paris team, which has worked on franchises such as Far Cry Instincts and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. It's called Red Steel, and it is the Ubisoft project codenamed Katana that was rumored last week.

Red Steel is a first person shooter themed around the Japanese yakuza. The player has both pistols and swords at his disposal, which are of course aimed with the Revolution's motion-sensing freehand controller. The attached "nunchuk" analog controller is used for movement. Since the controller senses movement in all directions as well as rotation along an axis, the player can, for example, rotate his wrist to actually rotate the gun at an angle within the game, or bring the sword up at an angle to block an enemy's sword stroke. Grenades can be thrown by imitating a lobbing motion with the controller. There will also be benefits in sparing the lives of key enemies after a fight in order to convince them to join your side, rather than killing them outright. Ubisoft's Damien Moret explained that before even beginning work with a development kit, the team spent a great deal of time playing around with regular television remotes to determine what physical actions are the most fun to perform and which would best suit a first person shooter. The game will have multiplayer via split-screen or online, but since Nintendo has not yet announced its online service plans for Revolution no further details were revealed. Ubisoft has stated that more about the game will be revealed soon, but for now either pick up this month's Game Informer or wait until E3.

In more general Revolution news, Nintendo's George Harrison mentioned in a Game Informer interview that the console will likely have about twenty launch titles, with a third coming from Nintendo.

Publisher Square Enix and electronics manufacturer Matsushita have announced that the two companies will collaborate on technology allowing users to "seamlessly enjoy digital content on various digital consumer electronic devices," such as phones, in-car video systems, and televisions. The technology will be made available to various electronics manufacturers and content providers. Square Enix's SEAD (Square Enix Application on Demand) Engine will be used as the basis for the tech. Matsushita will participate by way of its well known Panasonic brand.

Content would most likely include images, video, music, games, or more; the technology is not built around a specific type of content. It is probably safe to assume Square Enix will be leveraging its powerful brands, such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. The two companies hope to have the solution integrated into consumer technology by March 2007.

Some job postings in the last few days have shed light on the development activities of two studios. Nihilistic, developer of Vampire: The Masquerade (PC) and Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (PS2, Xbox, GCN) as well as the original developer of StarCraft: Ghost, is currently looking for a senior technology programmer for an unnamed PS3 title. The game is expected to ship next summer.

Radical Entertainment, the company behind The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and Crash Tag Team Racing (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PSP) as well as the upcoming Scarface: The World is Yours (PS2, Xbox, PS3, X360,PC), is looking for a programmer for a third person action game on Revolution.

It is unknown whether either title is exclusive to the platform in question, but at least in the case of Radical's game it seems unlikely. One of the responsibilities of the Revolution programmer is handling the game's Revolution-oriented gameplay mechanics, suggesting there are other versions of the game which will not be making use of those particular elements.

Airtight Games is also looking for a senior game designer on a "major unannounced title" from a leading publisher for next-generation platforms. Last year, the company worked with physics hardware and middleware manufacturer Ageia on a physics demo, which may suggest that the studio will be using Ageia tech in its upcoming game.

With Capcom's Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for PSP already on shelves for a few weeks, the publisher has announced another retro collection for the portable system: Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded. The game features 15 titles, such as Street Fighter II, Ghouls'n Ghosts, Commando, and Eco Fighters. Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded will support local multiplayer and single-UMD play. It is expected to ship in Q4 2006.

Rockstar has launched the official site for Rockstar San Diego's Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis (X360).

Midway announced that it has launched a web site for its upcoming Rampage: Total Destruction (PS2, GCN).

Advanced Media Network's Yvonna Lynn tells her story of how she got into E3 by being a booth babe.