Tomb Raider: Anniversary is out now for download via the Xbox 360 Live Marketplace, butyou can only get it if you already own Tomb Raider: Legend on disc, since the downloads act as additional episodes; Although it’s the entire Tomb Raider: Anniversary game, just split up into four downloads (the initial level of which is downloadable for free, btw).
This makes Tomb Raider: Anniversary the first full-retail game to be available for download over Xbox Live (although the audience is limited obviously).
This is in addition to all the other ways you can get the game, which is available as a standalone Xbox 360 title that you can buy on store shelves (but hey, now you don’t even have to get up off your couch to play it!) as well as on the PC, Playstation 2, Playstation Portable, Nintendo Wii and you can download Tomb Raider: Anniversary via Valve’s Steam service (although Europe is excluded).
If you’ve never heard of the game, it is a remake of the original Tomb Raider but using the engine (which includes updated graphics, effect, physics and control) from the extremely successful Lara Croft revival, Tomb Raider Legend. And since it is a remake of a very, very old and archaic game, many changes were made to update it to a modern experience and to make-up for all of Lara’s new moves and abilities that weren’t available in the original game. But all the same worlds and the feel of the original game is largely intact. Making it a great place to get acquainted with the video game icon Lara Croft if you never played the original.
Here is a trailer for the Xbox Live version of the game (which oddly enough doesn’t say anything about you having to own Tomb Raider: Legend on disc in order to download it).
Mass Effect, exclusively for Xbox 360, is set to light up the North American sales charts in only two days!
In these voice talent spotlight videos we get to take a look behind-the-scenes as the talented voice work of Seth Green, Keith David, Lance Henriksen, and Marina Sirtis is put on display. We get to here some commentary from the actors on what it was like doing voice work for a video and for Mass Effect in particular as well as watch as they do some recording for their lines in the game. There’s also a compilation of Seth Green outtakes!
This game definitely has some great voice acting. Can’t wait to play it!
Do you play video games with your kids? A new study shows that 73% of parents (roughly) leave the video game playing to the kids and don’t get involved. This means that only four in ten parents will play games with their kids in any way, shape or form and that only 30% play games with their kids less than an hour a week . . . which is really sad when you think about it.
The survey found that 59 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds play games at least “sometimes,” compared to only half the number of people aged 50 to 64. Race and region do not seem to play a major part in the probability that someone will play games, although the survey did find that those earning average salaries were most likely to pick up their joysticks.
Other facts that the survey highlighted were that 44 percent of gamers play over the Internet and 26 percent had spent nothing on games in the past year. Price was seen to be the major factor in buying a new console, followed by the selection of games available.
It will be interesting to see how this evolves as time goes on. I know I definitely will be playing games with my kids. — Via GS
NPD has announced that they will offer hardware/console sales numbers for good.
This comes on the heels of a firestorm that headed their way last week when the industry-tracking group NPD stated that they would no longer provide hardware sales figures to the masses, they would only be available to subscribers of their service.
But after the big outcry from gamers and fanboys alike (who love to trump out sales numbers of their favorite system) NPD has now changed their tune and has stated that, with the console makers approval, they will now permanently add hardware sales figures to their monthly updated data.
“In retrospect, I guess I took certain things for granted and was surprised at the response,” said NPD representative David Riley.
Initially hardware sales were not tracked, and the NPD only started supplying them in November 2006, when the PS3 and Wii joined the Xbox 360 on retail shelves. But it wasn’t supposed to be permanent. “We began bending the rules because of the incredible media demand but the intent was never to provide these on a regular basis,” Riley said.
It’s definitely good to know that the NPD will continue to provide the media with sales numbers. I really do think it’s an important part of this industry and it’s good to get sales figures from an independent source that’s not the console maker, who like to spin numbers to their advantage. Just let the numbers speak for themselves.
Video game movies are still big business, and rightfully so considering the success of the Silent Hill and Resident Evil film franchises (among others). And despite the director of the first Silent Hill film, Christophe Gans (as well as that movie’s screenwriter Roger Avery) leaving the Silent Hill film franchise, Sony Pictures will still be making a Silent Hill 2 movie (This in addition to the Tekken movie).
Gans however will not be leaving the realm of video game movies entirely. It has just been announced that Gains will be adapting Capcom’s Onimusha game series into a new Onimusha flick, thanks to his successful work on the Silent Hill movie.
Production on Onimusha is reportedly scheduled to begin in April, and movie website ComingSoon.net has been fed the synopsis for the series’ big screen debut. Check it out:
In feudal Japan, 1582, the warlord Nobunaga is ambushed by ninjas, led by the brave samurai Samanosuke. Trapped, Nobunaga commits seppuku, but two sinister sorcerers reanimate Nobunaga’s corpse with a half-human insect larvae. The resurrected Nobunaga orders the capture of two very special women to fulfill his evil plans.
When Britta, the daughter of a Dutch merchant, is abducted on board a ship by seemingly invincible warriors, her tutor and confidant Jacob pursues her captors, vowing to rescue her at all costs. Meanwhile, the beautiful Princess Yuki is also kidnapped, this time by ninjas that reveal themselves, incredibly, to be part spider. In search of Yuki, Samanosuke joins forces with Jacob to vanquish their common foe. In the Cave of Elders, he receives a magical sword that will slay all within its reach-friend or foe-and learns of a sinister ceremony at Inabayama Castle intended to blot out the sun.
Performing a dangerous, stealthy invasion of the castle, Samanosuke and Jacob find the women they love dressed as Moon Princess and Daughter of the Sun, ready to be wed to and ravished by Nobunaga. Aided by their allies, the two warriors attack the insectoid hordes, but Samanosuke falls in battle, seemingly dead. In a mystical encounter, he is given the option to survive and fight-but it comes at a terrible cost . . .
Video game movies are still big business, and rightfully so considering the success of the Silent Hill and Resident Evil film franchises (among others). And despite the director of the first Silent Hill film, Christophe Gans (as well as that movie’s screenwriter Roger Avery) leaving the Silent Hill film franchise, Sony Pictures will still be making a Silent Hill 2 movie (This in addition to the Tekken movie).
Gans however will not be leaving the realm of video game movies entirely. It has just been announced that Gains will be adapting Capcom’s Onimusha game series into a new Onimusha flick, thanks to his successful work on the Silent Hill movie.
Production on Onimusha is reportedly scheduled to begin in April, and movie website ComingSoon.net has been fed the synopsis for the series’ big screen debut. Check it out:
In feudal Japan, 1582, the warlord Nobunaga is ambushed by ninjas, led by the brave samurai Samanosuke. Trapped, Nobunaga commits seppuku, but two sinister sorcerers reanimate Nobunaga’s corpse with a half-human insect larvae. The resurrected Nobunaga orders the capture of two very special women to fulfill his evil plans.
When Britta, the daughter of a Dutch merchant, is abducted on board a ship by seemingly invincible warriors, her tutor and confidant Jacob pursues her captors, vowing to rescue her at all costs. Meanwhile, the beautiful Princess Yuki is also kidnapped, this time by ninjas that reveal themselves, incredibly, to be part spider. In search of Yuki, Samanosuke joins forces with Jacob to vanquish their common foe. In the Cave of Elders, he receives a magical sword that will slay all within its reach-friend or foe-and learns of a sinister ceremony at Inabayama Castle intended to blot out the sun.
Performing a dangerous, stealthy invasion of the castle, Samanosuke and Jacob find the women they love dressed as Moon Princess and Daughter of the Sun, ready to be wed to and ravished by Nobunaga. Aided by their allies, the two warriors attack the insectoid hordes, but Samanosuke falls in battle, seemingly dead. In a mystical encounter, he is given the option to survive and fight-but it comes at a terrible cost . . .
Contra 4, release date November 13th (US), will be packed to the gills with extras and special features in celebration of Contra’s 20th anniversary announced Konami.
So what features will be in the latest game in the action-packed side-scrolling shooter series? Everything from unlockable characters to a Contra virtual museum with info on every game in the series to the complete NES versions of the original NES Contra and Super C! (We reported on Contra and Super C being in Contra 4 back in August actually).
Check it all out in the bulleted list below!
Bonus Features in Contra 4:
* 20th Anniversary Virtual Museum – This museum provides a virtual history of the Contra franchise since the early 80’s, including box art, screen shots and information on every version of Contra from the US, Japan and Europe. The museum also features an unlockable gallery of bonus art.
* Unlockable Games – The NES versions of the classic Contra and Super C are now unlockable.
* 5 unlockable characters, including the Probotector from the European version of the Contra games
* 2 unlockable digital comic books from longtime Contra artist, Atsushi Tsujimoto
* An interview with noted Contra Producer Nobuya Nakazato
Sounds awesome. I will DEFINITELY be getting this game as I am a huge fan of the series. Can’t wait!
If you haven’t seen footage of the new Contra 4, check it out in this gameplay video from E3 2007.
— Via AZNightBuzz
The game will be hitting in two different editions. The standard edition will cost $49.99 and the limited edition will run you $59.99. The Limited Edition, as per usual, will ship in a tin case and come with a bonus DVD.
As for the PS3 version of the game, there was no update on it and it may still be delayed till early 2008. Although now that the PC version is indeed coming, there is a chance it could still hit this year.
Fan of the fantastic superhero show Heroes? If you are, then you definitely will want to enter this Heroes Xbox 360 sweepstakes, where you can win an Xbox 360 game system that’s decorated with Heroes artwork by Heroes and popular comic book artist Tim Sale. In addition to the 360 itself (comes with a 20GB HDD and HDMI port) you also will get an HD DVD player along with a Heroes: Season One HD-DVD.
Amazon will be choosing 3 winners every day for 30 days, for a total of 90 winners! All you have to do is be registered when you fill out the registration form (in the link above). Good luck!
Brutal Legend has been revealed as the next project from famed game designer Tim Schafer and his Double Fine Productions (creator of the critically acclaimed Psychonauts and PC classics Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, and The Secret of Monkey Island and it’s sequel Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge).
The game is a rock-star epic starring Jack Black as roadie Eddie Riggs and will feature “a stable of heavy metal legends”. Not much more has been confirmed about the game other than the tag-line “a rock ‘n’ roll road show through the twisted mind of Tim Schafer” which comes from the next issue of Game Informer, which has the game as it’s cover-story. Check the cover in the pic and make sure to snag the issue for much more on what’s sure to be the next critically acclaimed (and hopefully best-selling this time, considering that Psychonauts didn’t sell well) adventure from this unique storytelling master.
Brutal Legend is being developed for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. — Via GS
Tomb Raider: Anniversary is out now for download via the Xbox 360 Live Marketplace, but you can only get it if you already own Tomb Raider: Legend on disc, since the downloads act as additional episodes; Although it’s the entire Tomb Raider: Anniversary game, just split up into four downloads (the initial level of which is downloadable for free, btw). 
If you’ve never heard of the game, it is a remake of the original Tomb Raider but using the engine (which includes updated graphics, effect, physics and control) from the extremely successful Lara Croft revival, Tomb Raider Legend. And since it is a remake of a very, very old and archaic game, many changes were made to update it to a modern experience and to make-up for all of Lara’s new moves and abilities that weren’t available in the original game. But all the same worlds and the feel of the original game is largely intact. Making it a great place to get acquainted with the video game icon Lara Croft if you never played the original.
Do you play video games with your kids? A new study shows that 73% of parents (roughly) leave the video game playing to the kids and don’t get involved. This means that only four in ten parents will play games with their kids in any way, shape or form and that only 30% play games with their kids less than an hour a week . . . which is really sad when you think about it. 
NPD has announced that they will offer hardware/console sales numbers for good. 
In feudal Japan, 1582, the warlord Nobunaga is ambushed by ninjas, led by the brave samurai Samanosuke. Trapped, Nobunaga commits seppuku, but two sinister sorcerers reanimate Nobunaga’s corpse with a half-human insect larvae. The resurrected Nobunaga orders the capture of two very special women to fulfill his evil plans.
— Via 
Fan of the fantastic superhero show Heroes? If you are, then you definitely will want to enter this 