EBGames (GameSpot) and Best Buy have started taking pre-orders for both Metroid Prime 3 and Mario Strikers Charged today. If you want to grab either of these games on their respective release dates, I’d suggest pre-ordering to ensure that you have a copy waiting for you.
There are three new update packs available for Crackdown (all of which I will be picking up today). You can download them off of Xbox Live, two are free (yay!) and one will set you back 800 Microsoft points.
Game Update (free) (will pop up when you start the game):
Reset Gangs: In place of the current option to reset the city?s crime (unlocked by defeating all 21 bosses), the gangs can now be completely reset in the main campaign.
Easier Orb Hunting: Imagine how great it would be if when searching for the last remaining hidden agility orbs the audio range on each of them got wider as fewer remained; well imagine no longer. Audio ?ping? range is now gradually increased when searching for the last 50 percent of hidden orbs, and 20 percent of agility orbs.
Ground Strike: Available to a four star strength agent only, it is now possible to slam downwards while airborne by holding the attack button. The resulting strike is deadly to anything it hits, with an additional shockwave stunning nearby enemies.
Improved firing over low walls: Agents can now fire downwards at a greater angle while taking partial cover behind a low wall.
Targeting enhancements: Improved target lock prioritization of enemies behind vehicles as well as live enemies over corpses.
Those damn fire hydrants!: The fire hydrants were near indestructible but were also hard to spot. Now, though still best avoided, they can be smashed over for a far less unreasonable penalty.
Stunt Ring Visibility: Stunt Rings are now much easier to locate.
No ?Lefty Flip? on vehicle control: Removal of the lefty flip on vehicle control so that left-handed players can aim with the left stick, but still steer with the right stick.
Persisting Charges & Mines: Limpet Charges (and the new Proximity Mines) will persist at all times within the game world and not just when within a certain range of the player.
Distant Explosions: No matter where the explosion(s), players will be able to see them provided they have a line of sight? it?s always a clear day in Pacific City!
Ramp Truck Issues: Some vehicles didn?t seem to get on well with the ramp truck, but we never intended this to be a SUV-only toy. Now none of them can get enough of it!
Camera Enhancements: Better camera for performing vehicle stunts or driving on near vertical surfaces (particularly with Top Level Agency SUV or new Peacekeeper Buggy). Also vertigo-inducing tweaks for those long leaps of faith.
Player to player precision shots: We?ve dropped the PvP lock-on but now another agent can be hit with a head or leg shot using normal targeting.
?Free-For-All Pack? Downloadable Content (Free) :
Keys to the City: The ultimate Cheat Mode!Enter this mirror of the main Campaign for a clean-slate game that can be fully exploited and customized for a single play session. (Note: Achievements and leaderboards will be disabled in this mode)
Vehicle Impounding: The Agency Garage has been given an overhaul; this was partly to accommodate the brand new Peacekeeper Vehicles, but also to allow Agents to impound their favorites so that they?re always available?in their preferred color.
Co-op Trophy sequences: A trophy emblazoned with my gamertag that is displayed for me and my opponent every time I win at the existing game types!?Yes please!
Psychotic Mission Trials
§A record is now kept of Time Trials completed at ?Psychotic? difficulty
§Scoring the maximum 21/21 isn?t just the ultimate challenge that every true Agent of Justice should have the stones to take on, but it?s also the only way to unlock the highly coveted ?Psych Out? Achievement
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Today’s news has been slower than a fat bunny, unless you’re excited about pony games (which I’m assuming you’re not). I have an engagement this evening, but when I get back (and watch the new Naruto Shippuuden episode), I’ll try to write a Naruto review for those of you sitting on the Naruto fence.
-Miyamoto
The popular on-rails arcade shooter has been announced by SEGA for the Wii. It will essentially be a port of the arcade game, but with 4-player multiplayer, new items/stages, and even online capabilities. For anyone who’s never played the game before, it’s essentially your basic on-rails shooter in which you shoot the badguys that pop onto the screen, try not to hit the incredibly annoying civilians, and take out the occasional helicopter or two.
Playtime: ~5 hours
Progress: beat entire level 3, as well as half of level 1 (started out on the wrong level…)
The Bust-A-Move series has essentially appeared on every console that has been made since it’s creation, from the 3DO to Arcade to mobile phones. For the first while, the versions were either exactly the same, and simply ported from console to console, or so extremely similar that they were essentially the same game anyway. In recent times, each Bust-A-Move game has made special use of the unique features of the system that it appears on. The PSP game featured single-console multiplayer, utilizing the huge screen as two smaller ones, the DS one had you shooting your coloured bubbles up with a slingshot, and the Wii one uses the tilt-sensitivity of the wiimote to control the arrow and shoot the bubbles, as well as the pointer functionality for a brand new “shooting mode”. The Wii game stays faithful to the Bust-A-Move series, and provides a very solid entry into their never-ending legacy of games.
Another great comic from 2P START! portraying the PS3 as a more powerful and corrupt Wii. Click the image to see the comic!
In celebration of the Simpsons’ 400th episode, EA has released some details regarding the upcoming Simpsons Wii game:
This game doesn’t sound bad at all. Let’s hope the Wii version isn’t messed up like Spider-Man 3.