AICN Games: Monki's Weekly Wrap-Up! Speedball and Ponies!!
Greetings humans, Monki here with your weekly dose of gaming news.
I'm currently resting my furry ass after a long week of fixing up the new treehouse and enjoying the Summer weather for the first time in a long time. Of course this now means my neck is as red as my ass and I'm in all kinds of pain. The Texas sun is hot as hell. Literally.
Have you submitted your Pair-Up entry yet? You've got until Friday to get your entry in and I haven't gotten a whole hell of a lot of entries yet, so the odds are in your favor!
We've got another new games writer making her first appearance today as well. Look for her piece on the new Harvest Moon a ways down.
This week I'll be putting up an interview I got with the writer of the new Transformers game as well, so look forward to that as well. Alright, enough stalling, into the column we go.
Press Releases of the Week!
So this first one isn't really a press release, but it's more like me pointing out something that just launched today that looks like it could be really cool. GameTap is launching a new animated show based on Tomb Raider called Re\Visioned. It is directed by Peter Chung, who is known for his work on Aeon Flux and the Animatrix.
Check it out over at GameTap's website. I'm working with them now to try to get some contests going soon, so check back for that in the upcoming weeks.
Last E3 the talk of the festival was the trailer for Assassin's Creed. (And the Halo 3 trailer...) I'm still not sure exactly what the game will be like...will it be like the Splinter Cell titles? Will it be like Thief, which was insanely hard? Tenchu? No idea whatsoever. I guess we'll find out more in November of this year though. Jesus...add this one to the list of titles I'll be spending my money on in November. GTA4, Halo 3, Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3.
SAN FRANCISCO - June 7, 2007 - Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced the worldwide launch for the highly anticipated and critically acclaimed Assassin's Creed will be November 2007.
The Assassin's Creed franchise will make its debut on the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC. Assassin's Creed is being developed by an all-star team from Ubisoft's world-class Montreal studio. As a testament to its pre-launch following and buzz, the latest Assassin's Creed gameplay trailer, released on May 23, exceeded more than 1.3 million downloads via GameTrailers.com in less than a week.
"Assassin's Creed is going to be a huge launch for Ubisoft this year along with the added prestige of being the start of this exciting new franchise that is bringing something completely new to the market," said Tony Key, vice president of marketing, Ubisoft. "We're confident that Assassin's Creed will exceed expectations as a 'must-have' title this holiday season and will achieve both critical and commercial success."
The game is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players will assume the role of the main character, Altair, and will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and truly experience the art of a master assassin.
In 2006, Assassin's Creed received the Game Critics Award: Best of E3 2006 for "Best Action-Adventure Game" and swept the "Best PS3 Game" category across numerous video game Web sites.
Assassin's Creed will be available in North America at the MSRP of $59.99 with the Limited Edition priced at $69.99 - ESRB rating is pending. For more information, please visit www.assassinscreed.com.
Pretty Images of the Week!
I'm at a loss for words on this one. The game is old, but I hadn't seen any video or heard anything about this one ever.
Ladies and gentlemen, (mostly gentlemen) I give you PONY FRIENDS.
When I think "PONY FRIENDS" and using the DS' stylus I think of an entirely different game. Ahem...
Up next either a football-like game in the future or a drug term. Speedball 2.
I think that is the sport that Cole Trane from Gears of War was a star in. Or it was the game that Johnny played in Starship Troopers. The future kicks ass!
Another week, another introduction. Kaffy is our new FEMALE gaming writer. That's right, a girl who likes video games. She's also into astrophysics...at least that is what she tells the guys at bars to pick them up.
She's been hounding me to write up a piece on the new Harvest Moon title, so I asked her to go ahead and do it. So here you go, a preview of the newest Harvest Moon title for the DS.
Greetings one and all, Kaffy here with a preview of Rune Factory: A Harvest Moon for DS. Hold onto your hats it's a new Harvest Moon, but it's not your sister's Harvest Moon! Slated for a July 2007 release Rune Factory isn't the next evolution of the Harvest Moon series. Instead it's an RPG that takes the most popular elements from Harvest Moon, (growing crops, tending livestock, making friends and finding a wife) and builds a new world in the Harvest Moon universe, according to Graham Markay of Natsume.
Let's face it. When you hear Harvest Moon you think chick game, and you aren't really wrong. At least that's the public face of Harvest Moon. I had a conversation at a Game Stop with two guys who talked shooters and made fun of Harvest Moon, and then separately came up to me to ask how I had gotten the Vacation Cottage in the game. Seems they just couldn't make enough money. You know you're out there, you know you buy these games for your "sister", "daughter" or "little cousin", but with Rune Factory you may be able to come out of the Harvest Moon closet.
Rune Factory is set in a mystic land filled with monsters, magic and epic battles that could bring Harvest Moon to a wider audience. The art style of Rune Factory has a similar feel to that of the Harvest Moon franchise, but all the characters in Rune Factory are new with their own unique personalities. No more Popuri? Sounds like it, but don't lose hope. You will have eleven heroines to choose from when it comes time to choose a wife, and have a child. (You will play as a male perhaps setting the scene for More Rune Factory?)
The monsters in Rune Factory have a similar function to the Harvest Sprites and livestock in the Harvest Moon series. Some monsters that you catch will help with your farm work, while others might provide wool, milk and eggs. In addition, some monsters will even join you in your dungeon exploring. But before any of the monsters will do any of those things, you must first capture them and then befriend them. Feeding them and taking care of them is the only way to raise their affection. The more affection the monsters have, the better job they will do.
Wifi gods be praised, you will be able to trade screen shots of your memorable moments in the game, trade items, and share messages. However, you will not be able to visit your friend's farms. In addition, using the Wifi also enables you to marry one of the girls in the game. Ten of the girls will marry you without using the Wifi, but one girl in particular requires you to use the Wifi before she will marry you. Damn my lack of twelve year old friends.
With the DS there is always the question of how much the touch screen will come into play. Rune Factory uses the stylus to pick up items on the screen, pick ripe crops and navigate the menus.
On paper, Rune Factory sounds playable and entertaining. I'll save my final analysis until I have a hands on experience, but for now I give a tentative stamp of approval.
Also, Kaffy is a HUUUUGE fan of Pony Friends, so we may get a full review of that one shortly.
The Final Minute with Monki of the Week!
So that does it for the week. The Shadowrun beta should be hitting pretty soon on XBox Live, that might make up for the loss of Halo 3. Rooster Teeth just launched a new machinima called 1-800-Magic. Go check that out.
I'm going to end on a warm fuzzy note. Everyone's favorite, Mr. Rogers, talking about Donkey Kong. Classic.
It sucks that Mr. Rogers has been replaced by Tinky Winky. What a sad state we live in.
Alright, so keep an eye open for my Transformers interview this week and don't forget to submit your entry for my Pair-Up contest! Until next time though, back up the tree I go!
