Mario Kart Wii Hits US On April 27

Nintendo today announced that Mario Kart Wii will launch April 27, a few weeks after Europe’s April 11 release. The game ships with 16 new courses, 16 old ones and the ability to go online with eleven other players. Also included is the Wii Wheel shell, which holds the Wii Remote.

PRESSRELEASE: This year, the typical signs of spring will be accompanied by the sweet sound of revving engines and the sight of lightning-fast shells whizzing around every corner. Mario Kart(R) Wii is zooming toward its launch in the United States on April 27. The game comes with the intuitive Wii Wheel(TM), which makes it easy for novices to compete against veterans, so no one is left in the dust. And with a broadband hookup to Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection, players can compete with up to 11 other drivers from around the world for racing dominance.

“Mario Kart Wii transforms one of our most popular franchises into a race that every member of the family can join,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Driving with the Wii Wheel could not be more natural, and this is one place where speeding is encouraged.”

Mario Kart Wii will include 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from previous Mario Kart games. For the first time ever, players have the option of racing with either karts or motorbikes. Players can also hit the road as their personalized Mii(TM) caricatures in addition to the handful of classic Nintendo characters found in the game. True to the series, the game features tons of racing, plenty of power-ups and oodles of objects for players to use to slow down other drivers. And 10 battle arenas will keep players busy between trips around the circuit.

The easy-to-use Wii Wheel will also be sold as a separate accessory, giving every driver in the household a chance to get behind his or her own wheel. And if veteran Mario Kart fans are afraid of getting smoked by rookie drivers using the Wii Wheel, they can rest assured that Nintendo has them covered. Mario Kart Wii supports four different control options: Wii Remote(TM) with or without the Wii Wheel, Wii Remote and Nunchuk(TM) controller combo, Classic Controller and even the Nintendo GameCube(TM) controller. So there’s bound to be a configuration that fits everyone’s style.

Mario Kart Wii launches with a new channel added to the Wii Menu to enhance game play: The Mario Kart Wii Channel. This new channel builds on the huge online community of Wii owners and lets players compete in tournaments, check worldwide rankings, see when their friends are playing and download ghost data.

BioShock 2 Announced for 2009 Release

BioShock was the biggest sleeper hit of 2007. While those who follow games from developer Irrational (now 2K Boston and 2K Australia) knew that BioShock was going to be something special, the late-summer shooter of last year quickly became a media and critical darling. It is no surprise then, that parent company Take-Two Interactive has announced that BioShock 2, which could end up being a prequel, is currently in the works.

The game is expected to hit sometime between August and October 2009, two years after the first game. The team(s) that handled the first game won’t be on the next BioShock, as new development house 2K Marin will be taking over. But fear not, BioShock fans, as 2K Marin is composed of several individuals who worked on the first BioShock, and designer Ken Levine will still be contributing to the upcoming title.

RIP Mr. Dungeon Master - Gary Gygax, 1938-2008

Gary Gygax the first Dungeon Master, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and one of the fathers of tabletop role playing games, died Today on Tuesday 2008-03-04 at the age of 69. He had suffered from heart problems.

The news was first announced on the message board of Troll Lord Games, the publisher of Gygax’s most recent works. It has since been directly confirmed by the company, which will post an announcement on its web site later today.

Gygax was best known for helping create Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and pioneered tabletop role playing games. If not for his contributions, video games probably look much different than it does today.

Gone but now We are Back

What’s up All! I know we have been away since December but I just wanted to let you all know we will be going back to daily updates just as soon as we can. My real life has settled down some and it’s giving me a little more time to devote to the games I love. Keep checking back over the next few days I will have some announcements for you about some new staff and maybe a giveaway or two.

Incase Of Moose Attack Play Warcraft

I was going to do an intro for this story that I found on Wired, but I can not stop laughing to even come up with anything. Keep reading and you will know why.

Hans Jørgen Olsen, a 12-year-old Norwegian boy, recently survived a moose attack by feigning death, “just like you learn at level 30 in World of Warcraft.”

In WoW, “feign death” is a skill acquired by hunters at level 30 that allows them to take a page from the possum playbook, collapse to the ground, and convince their enemies — who lose all ingrained animosity in the process — that they’ve died.
According to Norwegian site Nettavisen , Hans and his sister apparently enraged one of the local moose (mooses? meese?) during a walk in the forest near their home. After shouting at the gigantic creature to ward it away from his sister, Olsen dropped to the ground, and presumably his lifebar plummeted to zero.

[Source Wired]

Microsoft And US Army To Sponsor Halo 3 Tournament

Microsoft announced plans to hold a Halo 3 Championship Tournament, co-sponsored by the US Army. The tournament will be preceded by three online “Training Schools” where players will learn new tips and tricks in “Sniper School”, “Heavy Weapons” and “Vehicles”. The registration for the actual tournament begins in February with prizes like Halo 3 artwork, Microsoft points and more.

Microsoft and U.S. Army Present First Ever “Halo 3” Championship Tournament on Xbox LIVE

Microsoft announces a winner-take-all “Halo 3” tournament March 2008; Gamers can prepare for battle with a series of Basic Combat Training exercises starting Christmas Day 

More than five million gamers have been glued to their Xbox 360s since the launch of “Halo 3” on Sept. 25., including scores of fans in the U.S. Army.  Microsoft Game Studios and the U.S. Army today announced that U.S. gamers will have a chance to prove their fragging skills in the first ever “Halo 3” Championship Tournament, hosted exclusively on Xbox LIVE.  The tournament kicks off this March, complete with prizes for winners and finalists, and registration will begin in February.

In preparation for any battle, a soldier must train and prepare for combat. As such, gamers will have the opportunity to participate in a series of Basic Combat Training exercises leading up to the tournament kick-off. Registration for these training sessions begins on Dec. 18, and the games begin on Dec. 25, exclusively on Xbox LIVE.

Designed specifically to prepare gamers for the Championship Tournament, these Basic Combat Training sessions will help gamers hone their skills with different weapons groups by setting up specific games where only one or two focus weapons will be available to play. Winners of these Basic Combat Training competitions will receive prizes, including Microsoft Points, exclusive “Halo 3” art, and more.

The Basic Combat Training schedule is as follows:

•  Registration begins: 12/18, Training begins: 12/25 – Sniper School
• Registration begins: 1/8, Training begins: 1/15 – Heavy Weapons
• Registration begins: 2/5, Training begins: 2/12– Vehicles
• Registration begins: TBA February, Tournament begins: TBA March – Championship Tournament

To further ensure that players are trained to the top of their games, the Army is also hosting a Destination Experience blade on Xbox LIVE. When the program begins, gamers will be able to access the blade via their Xbox LIVE dashboard, gaining access to multiple videos and a Tips and Tricks section dedicated to providing the best combat strategies and advice the Army experts have to offer.

Training registration opens Dec. 18. Gamers should watch Xbox LIVE and xbox.com for upcoming registration details, full contest rules and regulations.

Wii Virtual Console releases for December 10th, 2007

A new feature of the Wii Shop channel beginning this week is the ability to send a friend a Virtual Console title as a gift–just in time for the holidays. There is a catch, though; gift giving will require you to start learning and trading those 16-digit friend codes.

Pokémon Snap (Nintendo 64, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): As one of the most unique games in a renowned series, Pokémon Snap was the first truly 3-D Pokémon game and introduced the phenomenon to the Nintendo 64. Travel to Pokémon Island and meet Professor Oak to begin a safari, taking the best possible photographs of 63 different Pokémon as they exist in the wild, undisturbed by humans. This is not as easy as it sounds—the island has many types of climates and environments to explore, along with secret activities and hidden passages to discover. Plus, some of the Pokémon can be a little shy and won’t pose for the camera unless you tease them with special items. After you’re done, submit one picture of each Pokémon to Professor Oak, and he’ll judge it based on size, pose, technique and number of Pokémon captured.

Ghosts’n Goblins (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone—Mild Animated Violence, 500 Wii Points): Ghosts’n Goblins was a popular arcade game before it made the leap to the NES in 1986. Like later games in the series, Ghosts’n Goblins presents quite a challenge to players brave enough to take on the role of Arthur and delve into the realm of demons and monsters to rescue the kidnapped princess. Choose your weapons wisely and take advantage of their strengths to deal with the situation at hand. Pass through the six gates that stand between you and Astaroth, and teach him a lesson in chivalry he’ll never forget. Demonstrating a high level of technical prowess for a game of its era, Ghosts’n Goblins presents a unique and unforgettable universe. The stage for adventure is set. Are you up to the test?

BASEBALL STARS 2 (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 900 Wii Points): Lace up your cleats and step onto the diamond with the pros of BASEBALL STARS 2. You’ll find everything you’d expect in a classic game of baseball, but with an arcade feel and intense action that distinguish it from the pack. Pick one of six unique teams from cities around the world, then get ready for nine innings of excitement, whether you’re taking on the computer in a 15-game tournament or squaring off against a friend. There are two modes of game play, so even the most inexperienced player can compete at the major-league level (with a little computer-aided fielding). Watch as the game develops through split-screen views and close-up shots worthy of any highlight film, and see if you can catch the numerous over-the-top animations of the large and detailed player models. Think you have what it takes to win the pennant?

Too Many Beta Testers Hurt Tabula Rasa

Gamasutra offers some insight from Richard Garriott during the 2007 Independent Game Conference. Richard was asked about the marketing of Tabula Rasa. While he feels the marketing was “fine,” he points out the real problem was himself and the development team by saying what hurt the game was the invitation of too many beta testers before the game was fun enough to be worth playing.

“We burned out some quantity of our beta-testers when the game wasn’t yet fun,” he said, adding, “As we’ve begun to sell the game, the people who hadn’t participated in the beta became our fast early-adopters.”

He continued, “And the people who did participate in the beta, we’ve had to go back to and say ‘look, look, we promise: we know it wasn’t fun two months ago, but we fixed all that. Really, come try it again.’ We’ve had to go out and develop free programs to invite those people back for free before they go buy it. So the beta process, which we used to think of as a QA process, is really a marketing process.”

Microsoft Does It Again Screwing the Little Guy

The geniuses over at Microsoft have done it again. The new scam for Xbox Live is to make Silver members wait a full week before they can download any demos off of the service. Hay Dumb Ass the goal of a demo is to get consumers to buy the full game. Here’s the deal:

When people talk about features they’d like to see added to an Xbox Live Gold subscription, dedicated servers, expanded buddy lists or separate bandwidth pipes for popular downloads are first to mind. Instead of adding features to the Gold experience, however, they’re “enhancing” Gold subscriptions by continuing a practice started last summer of stripping Silver members of features and making them Gold-only.

The latest? Playable demos are no longer available right away for Silver members. Instead, they’ll have to wait a full week before they’re allowed access. Starting with the Fall update, Silver users will start seeing a red circle with a slash through content that’s currently inaccessible.

[Source 1Up]

Kane And Lynch Web Site Doctors Review Scores

CNet has officially said that the firing last week of GameSpot executive editor Jeff Gerstmann was not the result of editorial pressure from outside advertisers. It does look like the game could is fact be part of Gerstmann’s dismissal.

The Kane and Lynch: Dead Men web site may be doctoring review scores and placing the doctored scores on the official game web site. Kotaku  has pointed out that two of the review scores from Game Informer and GameSpy don’t match up. Both have five stars as the review score but GameSpy’s actual review only has three stars and GameInformer doesn’t use stars but a 10 based number system and it only gave the game 7 out of 10.

It looks to me that there is more to the story than Edios or CNet want to admit.