Archive for News
Activision announced more information on the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II due out later this year. Not only is the same basic game intact from the PS2 version, but there will be lots of downloadable content through the Xbox Live Marketplace. There will also be achievements to go after, a leaderboard to show off your skills, downloadable themes and picture packs, and new songs.
There will also be ten additional songs added to the game specially for this version. Some of the songs to be added are:
- Billion Dollar Babies (as made famous by Alice Cooper)
- Hush (as made famous by Deep Purple)
- Dead! (by My Chemical Romance)
- Life Wasted (as made famous by Pearl Jam)
- Rock N Roll Hoochie Koo (as made famous by Rick Derringer)
Dusty Welch, head of publishing at RedOctane, states, “Guitar Hero is all about feeling like a rock star, and we’re adding to the experience by offering our fans an exciting pipeline of new songs, fun and exclusive downloadable content, and the opportunity to see who rocks hardest with an online leaderboard. The expansive capabilities of the Xbox 360 will allow us to provide a consistent stream of fresh new content to our fans, and we plan on fully supporting these efforts.”
With over 70 songs, Guitar Hero II will be hitting stores Spring 2007.
With the expansion only days away, Blizzard has started the Burning Crusade world event that pits the citizens of Azeroth against the foul demonic legion pouring through the Dark Portal. The battle rages on in a number of areas including Stranglethorn Vale, Hinterlands, Winterspring, and Eastern Plaguelands. The patch to the Live servers of World of Warcraft weighs in at a hefty 159MB.
HieroGraphix Game Journal will have more reports about the event later this week.
Microsoft announced at the CES Show yesterday that the company hit its projected milestone of 10.4 million Xbox 360s shipped worldwide. This figure includes retailers in 37 countries and shows the Xbox 360 has some momentum going into 2007. With the help of Gears of War, the Xbox 360 was able to enjoy a productive holiday season with the game selling over 2 million units since its release.
With the console race heating up, it is too early to tell who the clear winner of the console wars is at this point. As gamers, good and healthy competition only means more great games in the long run.
Mark Rein of Epic Games posted today on the Gears Of War forums that an update will be going out tomorrow. This update will correct some key issues with the game. Details are listed below:
- Fixed aspect ratio distortion when using VGA cable with 4:3 displays at resolutions higher than 640×480
- Fixed voice issue with new players joining Player Match games in progress
- Players can now get the Achievement for “Dish Best Served Cold” when using Troika turret to kill RAAM
- Fixed rare situation where host could loop countdown and never start match
- Fixed rare situation where players could get stuck after chainsawing in multiplayer
- Reduced Grenade Tag melee distance
- Enabled “Strict” NAT check on host to prevent possible connection issues
- Optimized server browser queries to return results more quickly and prevent scroll bars from hiding quality of service icons
- Reduced number of possible revives in Execution to match Warzone
- Removed host name from Ranked match server browser
- Disabled security cameras in Ranked matches
- Ranked matches now require balanced teams (3v3 or 4v4)
- Increased penalty for quitting a Ranked match to -50 points
- Added additional cheat detection code
- Additional housekeeping updates
He also mentioned that there will be two new multiplayer maps released on January 10, 2007. These fixes and updates will keep Gears Of War players content for quite a while longer.
Source
Sega announced new games to be added to the Nintendo Virtual Console service in the first quarter of 2007. For those who are into retro gaming and own a Wii, these games give you something to look forward to.
Descriptions below from the official press release:
- Streets of Rage – This city was once a happy, peaceful, place…until one day, a powerful secret criminal organization took over. This vicious syndicate soon had control of the government and even the police force. The city has become a center of violence and crime where no one is safe. Amid this turmoil, a group of determined young police officers has sworn to clean up the city. Among them are Adam Hunter, Axel Stone, and Blaze Fielding. They decided to put their lives on the line and take back their city through their special hand-to-hand combat abilities. They are willing to risk anything, even their lives, on the Streets of Rage. (1991/© SEGA)
- Bio-Hazard Battle – An army of biogenetic mutants has gone haywire, terrorizing the world and putting the future of the planet in jeopardy. It’s up to you to take on the mutant menace and restore order and harmony to the planet Avaron, before it’s too late! Through eight levels of intense action, you’ll be up against some of the nastiest, most vile creatures you’ve ever seen, things like mega amoebas, nuclear crabs, electroworms, and gut-grabbing insects. You have four different Bioship fightercraft to choose from, each with unique handling capabilities and weapons systems. Your mission will take you through cavernous mineshafts, the ocean floor, and the Biowar Lab, each populated by heinous creatures that only man could have created. Hop into your fightercraft and save Avaron from certain doom. (1992/© SEGA)
- Gain Ground – It’s the 31st Century, and science and technology have progressed to the point that the human race is approaching perfection: no war, no poverty, and no conflict. With nothing to worry about, the human race seems destined to live forever in harmony; but what if Earth came under attack? By this point in time, people did not know how to cope with problems or conflicts, and had completely lost their survival instincts. In response to this, the United Earth Government created the Gain Ground system, a war simulator that would help humans rediscover their lost instincts. After several terrible malfunctions, the creators became prisoners in their own creation. Now it’s up to you and two courageous comrades to go into the Gain Ground system, rescue your fellow humans, and destroy the system. You’ll battle through different periods in history as you revive your survival instincts, while trying to stay alive! (1991/© SEGA)
- Comix Zone – Sketch Turner is an artist in New York City. One day while Sketch is drawing, there is a huge thunderstorm and a bolt of lightning hits Sketch’s image, bringing it to life. That image is Mortus, a megalomaniac mutant who wants to become real and rule the earth. Mortus magically transports Sketch into the pages of his comic book so that he can end his creator’s life and become real. Inside the comic book, Sketch meets General Alissa Cyan, who believes he is a superhero that came to save their post-apocalyptic world from the evil brought by Mortus’ hand. Now that he’s a comic book superhero, Sketch can fight like a one-man mercenary platoon! (1995/© SEGA)
- Bonanza Bros. – Mobo and Robo Bonanza are enjoying their favorite television show when the picture crackles and the shadowy figure of a mysterious stranger appears on screen. This figure asks them to collect certain items that he has placed inside various buildings to test his security force. If they return the items successfully, Mobo and Robo will be rewarded. The two of them agree to get the job done in just three minutes, however, they don’t know yet that each building is packed with security guards who will raise the alarm if they are caught red-handed and a huge reward will be given out if Mobo and Robo are apprehended. Fortunately both Mobo and Robo are equipped with bullets that can knock the guards unconscious for a few seconds. Help the infamous Bonanza Bros. infiltrate a number of different locations ranging from banks to mansions to casinos and don’t get caught! (1991/© SEGA)
Today Nintendo announces three new games to be added to the growing list of Virtual Console games for the Wii. The games should be added to the store at 9am PST. Below is a description of the games taken from the Nintendo press release:
- Gradius® (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Across the galaxy, there exists a distant planet known as Gradius. Gradius’ peaceful existence has been brought to an end by an intense space invasion by a race known as the Bacterion. To save the planet, the hyperspace fighter Vic Viper has been deployed to fight the Bacterion invasion. Players pilot the Vic Viper through seven stages, shooting and dodging through deadly obstacles, while using various power-ups, including missiles, lasers, options and shields. The Vic Viper’s target is the enemy fortress, Xaerous. The only way to end the war is to plunge deep through the enemy forces and destroy its very core.
- Soldier Blade® (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): A new shooter in the “Star Soldier” tradition. Players play as an SIA (Special Interception Airforce) pilot flying the heavy assault fighter “Soldier Blade.” Players face the Zeograd invasion force with weapon attacks that change each time they grab a power-up item. Players can unleash three different kinds of attack depending on the color of the power-up item. New features, such as the “Gunbody” option for avoiding enemy attacks and the “Burst Out” system (which has a different effect depending on the power-up level), add a strategic element that requires players to make snap decisions about which items to grab and when to use special attacks. Awesome boss battles await players at the end of each operation. Playing in “CHALLENGE” mode requires players to try to get as many points as they can in a limited amount of time.
- Dungeon Explorer™ (TurboGrafx16, 1-5 players, 600 Wii Points): Dungeon Explorer is a multiplayer action/role-playing game where up to five players can play at the same time. The story takes place in underground dungeons. Players can choose from eight different character types: Fighter, Thief, Warlock, Witch, Bishop, Elf, Bard or Knome. Depending on the character, the types of magic, attack strength and movement will all vary. To survive, players most know all about their enemies’ weaknesses. Players also must know about the special attributes of each magic spell and use them to their greatest advantage. In team-play games, working together is the key to victory. Any combination of Wii Remotes and Nintendo GameCube™ controllers can be used in multiplayer games.
At today’s CES show, Sony announced that it shipped 1 million PS3 units to retailers in North America. By March 2007, Sony expects to have shipped 6 million PS3 units worldwide, revealing that their manufacturing woes are behind them. Currently, the PS3 is estimated to have over 1 million units sold worldwide. With the PS3 launch expected to hit Europe in March, Sony is hoping that the demand will allow them to reach their goal. More on the situation as it develops.
It has been a long time since I have updated the HieroGraphix Game Journal site. Many things have changed in the last couple of years. In the days and years that have passed since I last updated HieroGraphix, there have been quite a few ups and downs. In some way, it was a period of discovery. A time to find myself again. I’ll save you guys the long story, and just simply state that HieroGraphix is back and with a new type of site that will help me handle the news better.
For those who have never visited HieroGraphix Game Journal, we cover everything game related. This includes all game systems, handhelds, conventions, etc. Much like some of the big name sites. We also have editorials and various news bits from around the globe. The goal has always been to provide quality coverage without the hardcore slant. We also cover all games whether they’re new or old. HieroGraphix started off as a printed publication back in 1993. Times have changed since then and with the cost of printed magazines going up, we decided to move everything online. Some of the formats have changed over the years, but the basic idea is still the same. Even though we are all getting older, at our core we are still gamers.
The new HieroGraphix is setup as a Blog. I know Blogs are all the rage these days, but I only went with this format because it is easier for me to do updates anywhere and without all of the HTML editing. Not only that, but it does allow those working on the site to post news without having to contact me directly. Most articles will have the comments turned off, as to keep the basic integrity of the news. The forums are still active so comments and discussion can take place there if needed.
As you can see, the site is still in a bit of disarray and will get cleaned up in the next few days. Don’t mind the mess. For now, relax, enjoy, and have a happy new year!