Game News: November 24, 2006

Xbox 360 Live Crippled by Slow Downloads (NewsFactor)
   NewsFactor - Microsoft gave its critics more ammunition this week as download problems struck its Xbox 360 Live service, grinding portions of the service to a halt yet still charging users for downloads they never received.

New trailer: Welcome to Hellgate
   It's payback time! Hell stirs in London town, but humankind ain't taking it lying down.
Just in case you've recently emerged from under a rock, Hellgate: London is Flagship Studios' action-RPG (on PC) that finds survivors of Hell's onslaught on London battling demon hordes for, ah, survival. As a major player in the fight against evil, you'll be wielding magic, melee weaponry and high-tech firepower. Environments feature well-known city locations, but the dev is additionally assigning a touch of dynamic generation to levels - think along the lines of Diablo.

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Two new racers speed to Wii
   Baja Mania and Baja Destruction now bound for Nintendo's console.
Developers Broadsword Interactive, makers of Dakar Racing, will release both of their new off-road racers, previously in development for PS2, on Wii as well.

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MGS4: Kojima wants the PS3 pad to rumble
   Metal Gear mastermind misses the rumble in the new PS3 pad.
In an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Hideo Kojima said, "The controls in MGS3 got a little complex, so you'll have a little more direct control in MGS4. That said, I miss the rumble and even now I hope it will come back."

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Gates Calls Sony's PS3 'Bricks?'
   The PlayStation 3 and the Wii have joined the Xbox 360 on the battlefield and the next-generation console wars are officially underway. But speaking with news.com, Bill Gates commented that he's not worried about the competition quite yet. Gates believes the war won't be in full effect until next ho...

Free Xmas LocoRoco download for all
   Sony serves up new songs, levels and characters this Christmas.
>From December 11, PSP owners will be able to download a free Christmas-themed level of the bizarre Japanese tilt-'em-up, LocoRoco from www.yourpsp.com.

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Mimco Makes R2D2 Jump Drive
   A few weeks ago we took a look at a cute new Chewbacca jump-drive from geek-couture designer Mimoco. Chewy was the second in the company's line of limited edition Star Wars jump-drive figurines. Today the fourth, and final, design was released. R2-D2 will round out the line of figures that includes ...

Xbox sale slows Amazon.com (AP)
   AP - Heavy traffic during a Thanksgiving Day sale disrupted Amazon.com's Web site for about 15 minutes, the company said.

Wii Dominates EBay
   While eBay auctions of the PlayStation 3 have reached record-breaking highs for a video game console, the real surprise for the online auction site was the unexpected success of the Nintendo Wii. Red Herring is reporting that by Tuesday afternoon, eBay users had already purchased more than 14,400 W...

Play Free Flash Games on Wii
   Now that the Wii is out, proud owners are patiently waiting for Nintendo to release the Opera Internet browser so they can surf the Web with their Wiimotes. Once the browser is available, users will be able to do a lot more than just surf. While online, the Wiimote acts as a mouse. In what may be a ...

'Lost Planet' Multiplayer Demo Up on Live
   For gamers not caught up in Emergence Day weekend craziness, from today you can download the anticipated 'Lost Planet' multiplayer demo. The multiplayer demo is a free download from Xbox Live Marketp...

Compete in Online Cricket
   To coincide with the start of the 'Ashes,' Codemasters has lifted the lid on its extensive online plans for the forthcoming ball whacker, 'Brian Lara International Cricket 2007.' Multiplayer tournaments, including the ICC World Cup and Champions Trophy, will feature on Xbox Live and PC, along with o...

'Rule of Rose' Taken Off UK Shelves
   Publisher 505 Games has announced that its controversial survival horror title 'Rule of Rose' - originally set for release today - will no longer be distributed in the UK. In an official statement, ...

Gnomon School Launches Online Training
   

The Gnomon School of Visual Effects has launched an online division, for courses focused on the development of the skills needed to do digital effects, animation, and game development taught by industry professionals from companies such as EA and Activision.

Q&A: Nurve's LaMothe On The Hydra Console
   

Nurve Networks has announced the Hydra Game Console, a multi-processor DIY 'edutainment platform' that plays classic game clones and is designed for budding console coders to program directly onto - we talk to Nurve's Andre LaMothe about this enterprising new educational console.

Microsoft Comments on Slow HD Downloads
   Some reports are coming in of ominously slow download rates for Microsoft's newly introduced HD movie and TV download service over Xbox Live. On the back of these complaints, a Microsoft official has issued the following statement, which should go a small way towards appeasing the masses: 'Due to t...

Free Xbox Live Gold 'Down Under'
   Just a reminder for all those Australian gamers hooked up to Microsoft's Xbox Live service - Freebie Silver members can access all the privileges of Gold Membership for free this weekend. All of this is thanks to

PSP Updates to 3.01
   Just a day after the release of the PSP v3.00 update, Sony Computer Entertainment has yet again brought an update out for the PlayStation Portable. If you count the hours between the last update's late-night release and the new one (which quietly hit late last night), it's just barely over 24 hours ...

Sims on Wii - first screens and movie
   The first screenshots of the new Sims game for Wii reveals a brand new art style for the series.
The small, square-headed Sims look like a cross between Lego men and characters from Harvest Moon.



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£1 million of Xbox 360s stolen in Midlands
   Staffordshire police appeal for info - trucks carrying Gears of War said to be on full alert.
A lorry containing £750,000 worth of Xbox 360 consoles has been hijacked by organised thieves, Staffordshire police has reported.

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Rule of Rose publisher wilts under pressure
   505 Games no longer to publish the horror PS2 title in the UK after wave of controversy.
The PS2 psychological horror game was due out today, but RoR publisher 505 Games has announced that it "has taken the decision not to publish Rule of Rose in the UK at this time" following "discussions with our retail and publishing partners".

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Epic talks Gears Of Four
   "Gears is a trilogy? Why would we have to stop at three?" says Epic's Mark Rein.
Last week the first hint landed that our dreams of more Gears goodness might become a reality, as Microsoft's Corporate VP of Global Marketing Jeff Bell referred to Epic's series as the "Gears of War trilogy", suggesting at least two more entries for the (ahem) epic series.

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Tecmo responds to Itagaki sexual harassment case
   Official statement released on the sexual harassment case brought against DOA creator Itagaki.
A few weeks ago details of a lawsuit accusing DOA mastermind Tomonobu Itagaki of sexual harassment in the workplace were reported in the Japanese press. Tecmo has now issued an official statement.

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Refunds promised for XBL video downloads
   "Technical issues have resulted in a very unpleasant experience for our members," says Microsoft.
Microsoft has promised refunds for American Xbox Live users who have lost money trying to download from its new Video Marketplace, which went online in the States on Wednesday.

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Metal Slug Wii control details - new screens
   Multiple control schemes for the classic arcade shooter compilation.
Although we suspected that Metal Slug Anthology on Wii would have to be played using either the Classic Controller or GameCube pad, it will actually allow gamers to choose from multiple control schemes using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.



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