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Arcana Heart: the fighting game for weirdos

A game like Arcana Heart, which features an all-female cast duking it out for no apparent reason, is a no-brainer Playstation 2 import for Atlus, publisher of all the most Japanese games on the U.S. market. Arcana Heart is apparently quite popular in Japanese arcades, but does this beauty also have the brains to back up her brawn?

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Ghostbusters to be on six platforms by two developers

Variety has revealed even more information about the game based on the unmade Ghostbusters sequel. Apparently, in addition to the talents of the original Ghostbusters, Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddmore, and Annie Potts, who played Janine Melnitz, will also be lending their talents. The article also says the game will be available on all the major platforms, with the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions being developed by Terminal Reality aimed at the “core gamer demographic,” and another version being developed by Red Fly Studio will develop a version for “families and casual gamers” for the PS2, Wii and DS.Terminal Reality, in case you aren’t familiar with the name, developed Terminal Velocity (a great DOS game), the Aeon Flux game, Blood Rayne and the Metal Slug Anthology. Red Fly Studio has started developing only one other game, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars (I shit you not), though their about page shows some pretty impressive credits, including Deus Ex, Anachronox and the aforementioned Blood Rayne.

More players from the movies does up the chance of Ghostbusters goodness, but with two developers working on games for a total of six platforms, the liklihood these games will be anything more than a “But you used to love Ghostbusters!” holiday bargain bin title plummets much farther than Winston or Janine could hope to reach. Still, gotta keep the faith. Mushroom Men looks just wacky enough to be actually interesting, so you never know. Just have to keep our fingers crossed and see what happens.

(Found via Kotaku).

Alone in the Dark Coming to Wii and PS2

Atari announces today some good news for Wii and PS2 users. Their upcoming version of the Alone in the Dark game will have Wii and PS2 versions. Developer Hydravision will port the game to those platforms while Eden Studios will continue work on the previously announced PS3, Xbox 360 and PC versions.

Developed by Hydravision, Alone in the Dark for Wii and PS2 follows the same story as the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC version, where over the course of one apocalyptic night, hero Edward Carnby must uncover the earth-shattering secret hidden in New York’s iconic Central Park.

“Realizing the enormous ambition of Alone in the Dark is a huge technological challenge,” said Hudson Piehl, Vice President of Production, Atari, Inc. “Hydravision has risen to the occasion to ensure Wii and PlayStation 2 owners will be impressed by the gripping gameplay experience.”

The game still does not have a release date.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth Xbox 360 Has Shipped

THQ Inc. today announced the release of the Avatar: The Last Airbender–The Burning Earth video game, based on the hit animated Nickelodeon television series.  Avatar: The Last Airbender–The Burning Earth is currently available for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo’s Wii home video game system, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance.  In addition, the game is scheduled to be released for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft next month, marking the debut of the first Nickelodeon title for this system. 

Based on the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series from Nickelodeon, players will follow the storyline of the second season as Aang puts up a courageous fight against the evil Fire Nation to restore balance in the war-torn Earth Kingdom city. Players will be able to experience an epic adventure playing as five new playable characters including Appa, Jet, Toph, Zuko and Uncle Iroh as they experience brand-new firebending moves and go head-to-head in the all new Arena Combat for intense fighting action. Dramatic air battles will also take place as players experience new flying levels while playing as Momo and Appa. 

“THQ has done a fantastic job translating the epic adventures of the Avatar: The Last Airbender television series into engaging interactive entertainment that brings an entirely new Avatar experience to fans,” said Shaul Olmert, vice president of digital products, Nickelodeon. “We’re excited to make our Xbox 360 debut with our new Avatar game.”

The First Shots For SBK-08 Superbike World Championship

Black Bean today announced that its highly anticipated videogame SBK-08 Superbike World Championship, will storm the market for all key formats next year.

SBK-08 Superbike World Championship, Milestone’s fast paced videogame, the officially licensed WSBK, lands on the next-gen console with brand new features and enhancements. Thanks to the X360 and PS3 hardware performances, gameplay experience will be enriched in order to let players experience the Worlds Super Bike universe in a compelling and immersive game. SBK-08 Superbike World Championship will be available from May 2008 for X360, PS3, PS2, PSP and PC.

NCAA Foootball 08 To Show Real Time Weater Updates In Game

Electronic Arts and The Weather Channel Interactive today announced that the recently released NCAA Football 08 features the ability to experience real-time weather conditions and updates through a service provided by The Weather Channel. The latest version of the top selling college football video game will use up-to-date information from The Weather Channel Interactive to reflect accurate, real-time weather conditions at NCAA stadiums.

If a winter storm threatens the Northeast, the Eagles of Boston College will play through the snow. Hurricane threatens Florida? See how the Gators field goal kicker deals with 50 mph winds. Through a deal with EA SPORTS, the sporting division of Electronic Arts, The Weather Channel will provide real-time weather to the game via the Internet.

“This is a long-awaited feature for gamers - it is the first sports game we know of where actual current weather conditions will affect weather conditions in the game,” said Derek Van Nostran, director of marketing for The Weather Channel Interactive. “The Weather Channel Interactive welcomes this opportunity to work with EA Sports to bring an extra dose of realism to the game.”

TWCI provides a custom weather data feed to EA SPORTS for each stadium location. Every time a player with a live Internet connection loads a new game, they have the option to choose real-time weather from TWCI. The video game will then use the current conditions at the selected location to create the weather experience for that game.

“We are always looking to add more realism to the game experience,” said Jeffrey Luhr, producer for NCAA Football 08. “Adding real-time weather conditions from The Weather Channel interactive truly helps gamers feel ‘in the game.’”

Developed by EA Tiburon, NCAA Football 08 is now available in retail stores on the PlayStation 2 and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment systems, and Xbox and Xbox 360 video game systems from Microsoft.

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe PreView Screenshots

Publisher: Activision, Inc.
Developer: Next Level Games (Xbox 360, Wii, PS2) Artificial Mind & Movement (NDS, PSP) Beenox (PC)
Release Date: Fall 2007
SRP: TBD (Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, NDS, PC)
ESRB Rating: “E10+” (Everyone 10 and older – Cartoon Violence) – Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, NDS, PC
“RP” (Rating Pending) – PSP

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
Inspired by the Spider-Man film trilogy and the classic Spider-Man comics, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe challenges players to defeat and then join forces with notorious movie nemeses including Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Venom and Sandman, and embark on an epic quest to overcome a worldwide evil threat. Throughout the game’s original story and thrilling battles, fans control Spider-Man and one of numerous Super Hero or Super Villain sidekicks and master unique fighting moves and styles while switching between characters to execute team combos and defeat foes. For the first time ever in a Spider-Man game, Spider-Man: Friend or Foe features a unique co-op mode in which a friend can join the game at any time and take control of Spider-Man’s sidekick as they battle through the game side-by-side and replay favorite levels.

KEY FEATURES:

Spider-Man: Friend or Foe allows players to choose a sidekick from Spider-Man’s allies – Pick from a long list of Spider-Man’s powerful allies, like Blade and Iron Fist, and swap between the web-slinger and the chosen sidekicks at any time during gameplay. Each sidekick, good or evil, features their own unique attributes and powers that will assist Spider-Man throughout the game’s challenges.

Fight against movie Super Villains and then alongside them in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe – Using an innovative combat system, face off against and defeat some of the Spider-Man movies’ most notorious Super Villains such as Doc Ock, Sandman and Green Goblin, and then convert them to join Spidey’s list of potential sidekicks.

In Spider-Man: Friend or Foe, gamers team up in two-player co-op – A unique co-op mode lets friends join the game at any time and take control of Spider-Man’s sidekick. Playing in two-player co-op mode allows gamers to discover new ways to overcome obstacles and enemies. As players progress through the game, battle arenas are unlocked where raw one-on-one brawling with any Super Hero or Villain can take place at any time.

Come back for more, again and again, with Spider-Man: Friend or Foe – Replay the game or experience Versus mode with a different sidekick and eventually play as Black-Suited Spider-Man (Spidey’s darker, more aggressive persona) featuring unique powers and abilities. Throughout the different worlds, a host of secret areas containing special tokens can be discovered in the first play through, which players can go back and explore at any time. Gamers can also uncover a variety of hidden items scattered throughout the game which unlock collectables, powers and mini-games.