News
Cuboid set for PSN release
Exclusive puzzle game confirmed
The PlayStation Network will be getting a new puzzle offering in the not too distant future, according to word in today from developers Creat and TikGames, who confirm that Cuboid will be an exclusive downloadable on the PSN.
The block-based brain-twister features 3D visuals and is set in exotic locales; it can be yours for 9.99 USD.
We're promised mystic landscapes and engrossing puzzle action, complete with relaxing music. A PS3 exclusive it be, as we mentioned.
Nothing else to say, really... ah, four paragraphs...
Lionhead close in on Fable 2 DLC launch
RPG tops 300,000 sales in the UK
Speaking to UK blog VG247 today, a spokesperson for UK developer Lionhead has revealed that the company is closing in on a downloadable content launch for hit RPG Fable 2.
We've known the new DLC is in development for some time, with a new patch for the Xbox 360 title set for release at the same time. Knothole Island, is the name of the fresh content.
The pack was set to arrive in December, but was delayed to this month as Lionhead struggled with technical issues.
Finally, the developer also lets slip that their opus was the fifth fastest-selling game in UK history, sales having now topped 300,000.
DSi rules latest Japanese charts
Nintendo's handheld runs away with Christmas
It isn't Friday, but the new year disruption meant that this data didn't arrive last Friday as per usual (it was a national holiday in Japan), so we can today reveal to you Japan's best-selling gaming hardware - between December 22nd and the 28th.
The latest figures, as usual, come courtesy of Japanese publisher Media Create, who reveal that the DSi was Japan's Christmas number one - selling over 245,00 units over the week in question.
Second on the chart is the Wii, selling nearly 135,000, while the PSP isn't far behind with nearly 119,000.
After that there's a big jump down to the PS3, which sold 46,000, followed by the distant Xbox 360, which managed 13,000 over the week.
The PS2 is last with less that 11,000. More from Japan later this week, we'd imagine.
Vegetarians back Fable II
RPG promotes veggie diet, says PETA
Animal welfare group PETA has voted Fable II the most "animal-friendly videogame", at their annual Proggy Awards ceremony.
Apparently, the Xbox 360 exclusive RPG is a "vegetarian's dream come true". Why? You might ask. The game purportedly puts vegetarians on a level playing field with their meat munching cousins.
"In this virtual fight between good and evil, characters powered by tofu are just as powerful as their meat-eating counterparts-and are more fit and attractive to boot," offer PETA on Lionhead's creation.
"Featuring a strong pro-vegetarian theme, eating a plant-based diet helps you rack up 'purity' points, whereas eating meat makes your character fat and evil. A fun and innovative game, it's also an effective tool that teaches gamers the real-life benefits of a vegetarian diet."
In other news: Peter Molyneux has chained himself to a railing outside Burger King in Guildford High Street...
Tetris mental health benefits revealed
Puzzle game aids trauma treatment progress
A new BBC report today reveals that, despite being infuriatingly addictive, playing Tetris can actually help reduce the impact of traumatic stress - that's the word from new UK research.
Participants in the new survey were shown 'distressing' images, then given the classic puzzle game to play for 30 minutes afterwards. Apparently, those playing the game experienced less frequent flashbacks, the game potentially disrupting 'the laying down of memories'.
The study was quick to point out that research could not match the intensity of real-life traumas, but researchers hope this discovery might help develop a viable approach to treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
"We wanted to find a way to dampen down flashbacks - the raw sensory images of trauma that are over-represented in the memories of those with PTSD. Tetris may work by competing for the brain's resources for sensory information," said Dr. Emily Holmes.
"We suggest it specifically interferes with the way sensory memories are laid down in the period after trauma and thus reduces the number of flashbacks that are experienced afterwards."
New Clancy-brand shooters this year
Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon set to return
Word on the interweb this afternoon suggests that - perhaps unsurprisingly - Ubisoft are planning to confirm new Tom Clancy-themed shooters, with the next iterations in the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series' set to step into the light.
CVG were apparently told of the forthcoming revelations by Ubisoft insiders. The games in question will be unveiled later this year, and could be available in time for Christmas.
We're not sure whether the new titles will continue in the Advanced Warfighter or Las Vegas furrows previously ploughed by the French publisher, although it seems unlikely we'll be heading back to the city of sin, given past hints that the next Rainbow Six will take the action elsewhere.
More on this idle gossip as we get it.
White Knight Chronicles goes West
From Software eye North America
Level-5's White Knight Chronicles is heading for release in North America, CEO Akihiro Hino confirming that the Japanese RPG, a PS3 exclusive, is being readied for Western markets.
No European debut is mentioned, but Hino's affirmation that the game will reach North America makes a continental launch much more likely.
The role-player hit Japan on Christmas eve and has been going down well with local gamers so far.
White Knight Chronicles is a fairly high-profile release, which has been heavily backed by Sony, so its no surprise that releases elsewhere have been reiterated.
Ninja Blade heading to Europe
Out... soonish?
Xbox 360 action game Ninja Blade, developed by Veterans From Software, is on the way to Europe, Microsoft confirming the Japanese-developed title will arrive in Q1 2009.
The new stealth-action title will hit Japan on January 29th, and rumours had suggested From's offering could arrive as soon as next month; however 'Q1' is rather more vague.
An English language version of the game has been in the works for some time, we hear, and we'll bring you more more on this stylish new adventure soon.
I Am Alive enters limelight
Will be played in the first-person
Fresh details on Ubisoft's new action game, first sighted last year, sweep onto the internet today, gamesTM magazine delivering a preview on the title - which we learn will be a first-person shooter.
DarkWorks' new offering sees you stepping into the shoes of Adam Collins, a survivor of a Chicago earthquake.
Producer Alex Goddard has been talking about the FPS, which promises to "change the rules", making players think differently, and play differently.
Huge, interactive city environments are the order of day, Collins battling his way through this natural disaster; the world itself one of the game's biggest challenges as the city crumbles around you.
Tactics are also key, Goddard explaining: "You’ve found a police shotgun, which is out of bullets - rightfully so, since Chicago has long been a proponent of a ban on guns. How about some intimidation? After all, who knows the gun is empty but you? Just point it at looters and they’ll remain at a distance as you progress toward your objective. However, you can only aim it at one person, so you have to watch for being flanked."
More on I Am Alive soon, we hope (thanks VG247).
Killzone 2 could outsell Metal Gear Solid
Sony harbour major hopes for new FPS
Speaking with V for Videogames, one Sony executive has said that the platform holder are expecting Killzone 2 to match the performance of Metal Gear Sold 4, and that the new first-person shooter could even do better than Konami's stealthy opus.
"It would be a lie to say Sony has not invested heavily in Killzone 2 and each individual at Guerilla games has worked even harder to satisfy any expectations kept by the company and their loyal community," Sony's man tells the website.
"I do see the game breaking a barrier with a huge variety of groups and expect it to see sales as good as Metal Gear Solid 4 if not beyond it."
Killzone 2 will be released in February.
