Welcome to the most splendiforous video game column on the
net!
Is Sony thinking about opening up trophies? The rumors
abound!
What we do know is that there won’t be anymore Wi-Fi with your Happy Meal, PC gamers are taking a load off with Call Of Duty 4, and you can feel Don King’s larger-than-life presence
as Prizefighter’s release date nears.
We also have some thoughts on Mario Kart Double Dash, and a solid Pre-order suggestion with everyone’s
favorite controller throwing series, Ninja
Gaiden.
Let’s get into the news!
Big News
Sony’s Achievement
Unlocked?
There is a rumor going on that the next firmware update will
finally feature the ingame XMB that every PlayStation 3 owner has been waiting
for. Not just that – there is word that trophy support will finally come with
this as well, giving a few more reasons to play your games through.
The trophies will be coming with new games and won’t be
retrofitted, so don’t worry about beating Call
of Duty
on Veteran. This looks to be released in June, in tune with Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots.
Solid 4
, Sony is now gearing up to place the highlyanticipated title in along with the finally imported Dual Shock 3 in the new 80 GB bundle. The older bundle which featured
Motorstorm and the SIXAXIS controller is being discontinued
to retailers. The street date for the
new packs is June 12.
McWi-Fi off the Menu
Sorry Nintendo DS owners, the best reason to be in a
McDonald’s since the Dollar Menu is being discontinued. The free Wi-Fi that used
to be offered by the fast food giant has not had its contract picked up. The
Saturdays with you and your homies wrecking wheels in Mario Kart DS is now over, at least for now.
He Who Laughs Last… PC
Map Packs Are Here!
Warfare’s PC players finally are getting their hands on the Map Pack that
was released for consoles almost two months ago. The kick with this is the fact
that PC players will get the map pack free, thanks to Nvidia sponsoring the
content. PC players should be prepared to boot up their Call of Duty 4 for a new tour of duty June 5.
Only In America!
Prizefighter has been picking up steam to give Fight Night a run for its money in terms of popularity. Don King
has already captured America’s
attention with his ability to hype fights and grab all of our money on PPV, and
now he gives that ability of his spectaculosity to you.
Enter HypeKingdom.com, which allows you to generate a
nickname, have some hype delivered by the King himself, get your swag dictionary
on with a guide to “King’s English” and visit the Hype Boards.
Prizefighter will be released June 10 for Xbox 360.
Final Fantasy XI in the Matrix
Final Fantasy XI is
finally joining most of its peers in the MMO world be finally being available
via Digital Distribution. Direct2Drive is handling the distribution, having Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy XI: Rise of
the Zilart , Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia, and Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan available
for $19.95 each.
Readers fear not, the Instruction Manuals will be available
along with them. For those who like to have the hard copy, they are still being
sold.
Graphically Enhanced Soul Calibur IV
seems to be getting better and better. The latest trailer
(below) shows players armor being ripped when they are damaged. This leaves the
question of more damage being given to specific areas if they are worked on
enough? It could bring a new level of strategy to the fighter. The current
release date for Soul Calibur IV is July
29.
Played
Mario Kart Double Dash
It’s rather interesting to see just how things age. When you
put in Mario Kart Double Dash again,
do it around a group of people who don’t know much about Mario Kart. It’s almost guaranteed that by the end of the hour, you
will find a group of new addicts. For old players, it had the extra layer of
two drivers and driver specific specials that gives a bit of a thought process
behind it.
For new players, it masks its complexity behind a simple
control scheme that welcomes anyone into the fold. Some bad memories for more
advance players may lie in the cheapness of slide boosting, as whoever mastered
that found themselves and unfair advantage. Either way however, most people
will simply find fun around this title. Throw this in the Wii or Gamecube and
take it back.
Preorder
Fair warning: only perfectionists need apply. This game is
not for the weak hearted, as all reports on this one are it may just be harder
that the first. For those who find themselves enjoying a challenge get the full
feeling of success that is hard to match by anyone.
Those who still wish to try to conquer the demons of the
world with Ryu Hayabusa can find Ninja Gaiden II on the shelf June 3.
Trailer:
Gameplay
Whenever he isn’t contemplating a world takeover, you can find Adam
Thomas building the Gamer Studio. For now, join the support and catch
some cool screen shots at Myspace.com/thegamerstudio
