Late Night Consoling
So the next Grand Theft Auto will be GTA: San Andreas, huh? When I first read that, I had hopes that the game would take place during either the 60s or 70s, but after taking a gander at the game's official logo, it seems pretty clear that this will take place during the present day, or at least in the 90s. I really liked how Vice City utilized its time period. Not just for nostalgic reasons mind you, but I think it really added an extra level to the whole game world. By setting it in the present day, I can't help but feel like the series is taking a step backwards. Of course this is all pure speculation based on a title and a logo, so the game could just as easily take place during the Civil War (GTA: New York 1863 would totally rock) or feudal Japan (GTA: Sengoku Musou would be totally huge in Japan!) or ancient Rome (GTA: I, Claudius anyone?). Hey waitaminute...some of those are actually good ideas...hmm...April Fool's is coming up, isn't it?
| Xbox2 SDKs Shipped to Developers? According to The Inquirer, the first Xbox2 SDKs have shipped to developers. These are said to be dual Apple PowerMac G5 systems running a custom Windows NT kernel and sporting an ATI RADEON 9800 video card. As The Inquirer points out, we still don't know what the real specs of Microsoft's next system will be, including whether or not it will contain a 64-bit CPU, and what ATI chip it will utilize. It is currently believed that the Xbox2 will sport a GPU based on ATI's upcoming R420 chip, although naturally getting a confirmation is nigh-impossible until Microsoft announces the specs for the system. |
| Play Famicom, NES Games on GBA Lik-Sang has posted an article looking at the GBA Time Machine, an add-on for the Game Boy Advance that lets you play any Famicom game, or with a converter, any NES title. Unfortunately this is a much better idea in theory then practice, as the unit completely dwarfs the GBA and those clunky cartridges just dominate the back of the thing. Add in the fact that you'll need to use a Family Converter just to plug in the even larger NES carts into the thing, and you can see how it's really not worth the effort. It's a nice idea, but those carts just aren't handheld friendly (and yes, I've seen the Game Axe). |
| EA to N-Gage: "Drop dead" Okay, not really, but here in New York that headline's a classic. Anyway, at the Reuters Technology, Media and Telecommunications Summit, John Riccitiello, the president and COO of Electronic Arts had some harsh words for Nokia's cell-phone/game system. Specifically he said, "When I picked that thing up I knew it was a dog -- it just feels stupid" and then proceeded to demonstrate, "how a person playing a game would have trouble answering a phone call with the bulky taco-shaped device." He also said that shipments of EA's N-Gage titles to date have been, "non-meaningful." Ouch. |
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| King of Fighters 2002 Heads to Xbox GameSpot is reporting that King of Fighters 2002 is headed to the Xbox this October. Whether or not this game will feature Xbox Live support is still unknown, but considering that the other two Xbox titles announced by SNK will include Xbox Live functionality, it would seem likely. |
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| Bomberman Heads to N-Gage Because Hudson clearly can't sit still while a platform exists that has a Puyo Puyo and Rayman but no Bomberman game, the company announced today that a new game in this series will be released for the N-Gage later this year. As with most every Bomberman game over the last few years, it will include separate single and multiplayer games, and the game will take advantage of the N-Gage's Bluetooth features for close-proximity multiplayer. |
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| New Metroid II, Metroid Prime Speed Records Slashdot Games has a story up reporting on two new Metroid-related records that have been set. The new pure-speed record for Metroid Prime is a mere 1:17 (that's one hour, seventeen minutes), while the new record for a 100% completion of Metroid II is just 1:12. Videos for both runs are available at the Speed Demos Archive. |
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| DS Wireless? GameSpot is reporting that Nintendo's Satoru Iwata has dropped hints in an interview with a Japanese news outlet that their upcoming DS system may include short-range wireless technology. As the GBA wireless adapter has shipped in Japan, this isn't too surprising. |
| Burnout 3 Interview Computer and Video Games has conducted an interview with Alex Ward, the director of design at Criterion Games on their upcoming racer Burnout 3. This is the first of two installments, and in this one the subject of online gameplay does come up, but Xbox Live is never mentioned (probably because with EA publishing it there's a very slim chance of it happening...but if there's even a chance I'm sure fans would like to know now). |
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| MechAssault 2 Interview GameInformer has posted an interview with TJ Wagner of Day 1 Studios, talking with him about MechAssault 2. Among other things, TJ talks about how this is a big step up from the first game, and even explains how this isn't quite like Battlefield 1942 with mechs. |
| Misc. Media/Previews | |
| A new hands-on look at Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life is up at Planet GameCube. |
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| GameSpot has posted new media from Resident Evil Outbreak, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 and Bujingai: The Forsaken City, Games Are Fun has new details and shots from Suikoden 4 and The Magic Box has new shots from Vib Ripple, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Dynasty Warriors 4 Empires. |
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| IGN has posted new movies from Tenchu: Return from Darkness. |
| New details and shots from Kirby's Star: The Great Mirror Maze (or at least, that's this week's translation of that game's title) are up at 1UP tonight. |
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| GameSpot has posted new shots from Alien Front, Operation Shadow, Ashen, Crash Nitro Kart and The Sims Bustin' Out. |
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| New media from Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy and NARC (both PS2, Xbox) can be found at GameSpot. |
