Gamernode: Latest Game and Console News

Super Mario RPG out on PAL Virtual Console

For once, we NTSC gamers have something to complain about. While we usually get games first (sometimes years ahead of other territories), this time PAL is getting a game which isn't even confirmed for NTSC release yet: Super Mario RPG for the SNES.

According to several PAL-territory readers, the game is available on PAL virtual console as part of the limited time "Hanabi Festival," which brings rare Japanese games to the UK and Australian virtual console for short periods of time. (Think of it like the Disney Vault of downloadable gaming.)

So this time, the US and Australia switch places when it comes to a big game release. Kudos, Australia.

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TF2 updates coming to 360 (but you'll have to pay)...

As fans of TF2 know, one of the reasons the game has stayed great is the constant updating. New guns, food groups, and more keep the game fun,f resh, and (depending on your sense of humor) hilarious.

But what about the 360 owners of The Orange Box? Unfortunately, right now they're missing out. Fortunately, they won't have to miss out forever, as Valve's Doug Lombardi has revealed that eventually the company is going to bring the Team Fortress 2 updates to the Xbox 360. (No word on PS3 yet, sorry guys.)

Due to Microsoft's pricing structure, Valve won't be allowed to release the update for free. To try and make the pain of paying for free updates easier, Valve's waiting to package a big group of them together for the lowest price they'll be allowed to get away with, which will hopefully be n...

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The Sims 3 and Fallout 3 official release dates re...

Today, two of the most anticipated "games with a 3 in their name" of all time had their release dates revealed: Fallout 3 and The Sims 3.

Developed and published by Bethesda, Fallout 3 is the third official game in the Fallout series (not counting spin-offs). Set more than 200 years following a nuclear war, gamers can create whatever type of character they want and explore the ruined nuclear wasteland that was once Washington D.C. Facing familiar and new enemies, both experienced Fallout veterans and new players should have a lot to look forward to. Launching on the PC as well as on Xbox 360 and PS3, Fallout 3 will be available October 28 in North America, and on October 31 in Europe. (No word yet on the release in Australia, but we'll keep you posted when Bethesda responds.)

Also announced ...

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Dyack: Too Human haters "just don't get it"

Silicon Knights' head honcho Denis Dyack never seems to be at a loss for words about any topic relating to the videogame industry. This is especially true of his team's latest game, Too Human, which is shaping up to be one big ball of controversy.

Already, the company is embroiled in a legal battle with Epic Games over the Too Human engine, and Dyack himself has started a small war with the NeoGAF message boards over the quality of the game.

His latest jab at select members of the gaming community came yesterday in an interview with The Official Xbox Magazine UK, when he explained that the people who don't like the game most likely just don't get its innovative gameplay and apparently complex themes. He said:

"I think we took for granted how innovative the game was. First of all, the demo got...

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Behind the scenes of Legendary, episode 3 of 6

Gamecock has released the third episode of their behind-the-scenes video series for the upcoming mythological first-person shooter, Legendary.

This time around, the team shows off the impressively massive, "skyline-altering," titan-class enemies that players will face in the game, from urban golems to sea-dwelling kraken.

Hit the jump to watch the video.

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Tom Clancy's EndWar Games Convention trailer

Games Convention 2008 kicks off tomorrow in Leipzig, Germany, and Ubisoft has gone ahead and released an official trailer for Tom Clancy's EndWar, the next in a long line of videogame franchises to be named after the militay novelist. This voice-controlled real-time strategy is due to hit the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 4th. Have a look:

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XDE DVD promises near HD at a nice price

Toshiba, the supporter (and loser) of the HD DVD format is coming back with another "hi-def" DVD system they hope will tickle the fancies of standard DVD player users. It's called XDE (extended detail enhancement.)

It won't be as hi-def as Blu-ray but it won't cost as much either. Toshiba says their new XD-E500 DVD player will be priced at only $150 and will offer resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. In comparison, a standard display for standard TV is 640 x 480.

Toshiba is banking on the fact that many people have not jumped onto the Blu-ray wagon due to its higher pricing buy may try a new technology that promises to upscale their existing standard DVD libraries to near HD quality.

Louis Masses, director of product planning at Toshiba said:

"Consumers have embraced the DVD format like no othe...

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Longest demo in history? FFXIII: Two hours long

For many RPG fans, Final Fantasy XIII is high on the list of "games I must buy." It certainly is on mine. We've seen the screenshots, what may or may not be in the game, and the rumor mill churning out juicy tidbits as the launch for FF XIII approaches.

The latest news on this highly anticipated game, originating from Japanese game magazine Famitsu, is that the demo for Final Fantasy XIII will be a two-hour long experience.

The demo will be included with the release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. The Blu-ray movie will be an extended-cut version of the original film and will also include deleted and unfinished scenes in the release. FFVII: ACC will be available in Japan in March 2009.

It's debatable, even for the hardcore FF fans, whether the lure of a two-hour FF XIII demo ...

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The 2008 Games Convention list

With E3 over with, we have two big game conventions left to look forward too, PAX and Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany.

Luckily we got our hands on the list of games that will be revealed at GC2008 and by the looks of it, this convention might just trump E3 '08.

Microsoft

Halo WarsBanjo-KazooieFable 2Lips LipsScene It? You're in the Movies

Sony

Resistance 2Killzone 2Motorstorm: Pacific RiftLittleBigPlanetHomeHeavy RaininFAMOUSFree RealmsThe AgencyDC Universe OnlineRatchet and Clank: Quest for Booty

EA

Need for Speed: Under CoverRed Alert 3Dead SpaceRock Band 2Dragon Age: OriginsLord of the Rings ConquestCrysis WarheadMercenaries 2MySims KingdomFIFA 09Mirror's EdgeLeft 4 DeadFacebreakerNHL 09Madden NFL 09Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09SimAnimalsThe Sims 3RageBattleForgeHarry Potter and the Half-Bloo...

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Warhammer Online Open Beta To Start Sept. 7

Mythic Entertainment, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio, today announced that the open beta for their highly anticipated MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR), will begin on September 7th, 2008. This means that hundreds of thousands of fans will be able to enter the gritty fantasy world of WAR to experience the thrill of Realm vs. Realm (RvR) combat before the game goes live on September 18th, 2008.

"For three years we have been saying that ‘WAR is coming' and the team has been working hard to deliver on this promise," said Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic Entertainment. "In just a few weeks, we are going to throw open our doors and invite more players into the game than ever before. They will have a chance to delve into the open beta and see for themselve...

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August 18th WiiWare/Virtual Console releases

Another Monday, another round of WiiWare and Virtual Console updates.

Whether Nintendo adds one game, ten games, or none at all, GamerNode will be here every Monday with the official details - titles, platforms, ratings, pricing, and even a taste of some corny marketing copy - keeping you up to date with everything from the online Wii scene.

Without further ado, the games:

WiiWare

Midnight Pool (Gameloft, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Suggestive Themes, Simulated Gambling, 800 Wii Points): Take a trip across America to make your dreams come true in a pool tournament worth millions. Visit the most colorful bars and meet seven of the coolest players on the circuit, from country music star Travis to Alison the biologist and John the sheriff. Learn the tricks of the trade through tutor...

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Star Wars: TFU demo coming this Thursday

If you are one of the many people who can't wait for the new Star Wars action game to come out and instead resorted to going to the theaters to watch the Clone Wars movie, then you are in luck.

The demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed will be available on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network this Thursday.

You are in control of Darth Vader's "secret apprentice" who is tasked to destroy a TIE fighter facility along with killing Jedi Rahm Kota.

Oh, and if anyone notices you wreaking havok, don't hesitate to take them out as well in a show of power and glory. There will be a tutorial bundled with the demo so players can learn how to wield the force correctly, and with ease.

The game is scheduled to come out on September 16, so stay tuned for a preview of what looks like a very promising St...

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OWR: Eternal Darkness

Welcome to One Word Review, GamerNode's unique take on videogame critique. Every Sunday, we will present a single game, reviewed with but a single word from each of a handful of reviewers.

You may not always find our words in your standard dictionary, but we have faith that you will catch our meaning, nonetheless. Videogames are so often rated, reviewed, and discussed to exhaustion, so while some may call OWR a creative way to be lazy, we call it succinct, sincere...and fun. We love reader input at GN, so be sure to throw your own OWRs in the comments section, too.

Too Human finally hits stores this week, arriving at the end of an all-too-long nine-year development cycle that has spanned three different gaming consoles. The agonizingly lengthy wait for this game almost makes it difficult to...

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Sony trying to resurrect UMD movie sales for PSP

When the PSP was launched, the games on it were made on an exclusive format invented by Sony; the Universal Media Disk otherwise known as the UMD.

While the format was good for games, the sales of movies on UMDs slowed to a halt and were finally dropped by many of the movie studios.

Two reasons were attributed to the failure of the UMD as a movie playback medium--cost and lack of content. UMD movies were retailing for up to $29 a piece and many PSP fans couldn't swallow the bitter price pill.

John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony said:

"The biggest issue with UMD was the lack of creating for a targeted [demographic]. When we first launched, it was a difficult sale. I don't think it's a big stretch to say that a 16-year-old doesn't have a lot of discretionary income. ... We were...

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Buy a DS and a PSP from a vending machine? Sure

In Japan, vending machines have been elevated to a state where practically anything can be purchased from them. People can literally do their grocery shopping, electronics shopping, and everything else in-between at these electronic kiosks.

The idea of selling items outside of just food and drink is catching on outside of Japan. Various airports around the US are displaying Best Buy and Sony vending machines

Inside the kiosk of "Best Buy Express" you'll find Nintendo DS consoles, video games, headphones, MP3 players, flash drives, computer accessories and even unlocked phones.

As for the "Sony Access" vending machine, it has a healthy assortment of headphones and lots of PSP slims with a good selection of games such as Patapon, Crisis Core, and God of War.

The idea of vending machines at airpo...

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Dad vs. Kids. Dad: 0, Kids: 0

A few months ago, a story was reported on GamerNode about a mom who had trouble with her son doing chores. Now, we have another situation with someone having a similar problem, but offering a decidedly different approach for the solution.

Ireport.com received a post from a mom that said she was having disciplinary problems with her three sons. Her husband had repeatedly warned his kids about unacceptable behavior while playing on the Xbox. We don't know how long this went on or what the kids were doing that was increasing dad's blood pressure, but he decided to take things into his own hands, literally.

Mom stated in the post:

"My husband had repeatedly warned our 3 boys about their behavior while playing the XBOX. Tuesday, after I arrived home from work, our oldest son told me to look in the...

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Sega's Simon Jeffery says Wii could be hardcore

Since its introduction, there has been much argument over the Wii's position in the videogame industry: Is it just for kids? Is it a family machine? Is it for all gamers?

Ask Sega of America's president Simon Jeffery, and you will hear that the under-utilized console is good for more than just "crap" shovelware, but is a great platform for the "hardcore" gamer, if publishers would only make use of it. In an interview with VentureBeat, he said:

"The Wii is a very cost effective platform to experiment with. There is a lot of crap coming out for the Wii in general. But if it’s not a good game, it doesn’t sell. That flood of crap will die down as publishers become more coherent. The Wii is a great opportunity for hitting hardcore gamers. No one is doing that. With “Mad World&r...

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Gears of War 2 bundle offers Lancer rifle too!

Now look, we're all adults here. Ok, well sort of. Let's admit it, who has pretended to hold the Gears of War Lancer rifle in their hands while making the chainsaw sound as you slice through your friends or imaginary enemies? I see those hands. You can put them down now.

To fulfill your dreams, you can get the Gears of War 2 bundle. But wait, there's more! If you go over to the Amazon.com site and look up the Gears of War 2 bundle, not only will you get your eager little hands on a pre-order for the game, you'll also get a life-sized Lancer rifle replica that works!

Well, it doesn't shoot bullets, but it does have sound effects and vibrates when you pull the trigger. It also has side handles that fold in and out and slides back and forth. The Lancer is 36" long and about 10" tall. The rifle ...

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Infinite Undiscovery gameplay video

At E3 I had the chance to play a new Square Enix game that looked beautiful, but being an rpg that was trimmed down to just a few minutes of show floor gameplay, failed to leave a lasting impression on me. The fact that no photos or video could be taken at that time didn't help, either. 

That game is called Infinite Undiscovery, and it is coming exclusively to the Xbox 360 on September 1st from tri-Ace. Those are the folks behind the Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean series, so least there is still hope that the game will be a little more impressive in the long run. Take a look at this gameplay clip:

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Blizzard apologizes for BlizzCon ticket fiasco

BlizzCon for the Blizzard faithful has been held yearly since 2005. The event sponsored by Blizzard offers hands-on opportunities to play old and new games, costume contests, songwriting, beta tests, and the all important goodie bag; all this and more for about 100 simoleans, or if you reside in the US, that's $100.

But this year's online ticket sales went quickly south as the server started to malfunction for unknown reasons. The website froze, people were stuck at the checkout page, and lots of choice words were uttered.

Only a few were actually able to buy the tickets when they were available on August 11. So the next day, when the server was working again, the remaining tickets were sold out in a matter of minutes, leaving many frustrated and upset that they couldn't buy a ticket.

But Bli...

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