Who knew back in 1978 that the sci-fi TV series will be turned into a role-playing game book almost twenty years later? Taking into consideration the big number of Battlestar Galactica fans, this seems like a normal shift in direction, given the fact that every major TV and film franchise nowadays is being turned into a game. Reuters report that this RPG will be called Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game (how original) and will be set in space just like the show. The game book will be a full-color hardcover with still images from the show and some original artwork. It will provide you with rules of play, character creation and useful information about the ship and the Galactica crew. A Qucikstart Guide will be released in early 2007, but the core product will hit stores in spring. Also, some additional products will be released to fully support this RPG launch, more information will be revealed soon, as the Battlestar Galactica Role Playing Game official website will be launched.

(more…)

A popular colloquialism is “Loose lips sink ships,” but in the digital age it might be more apropos to say “Video blogs reveal a development team working on a 360 version of their game.” Or not. Regardless of what the expression should be, it’s quite possible that the most recent video blog from the Pandemic development team, currently working on Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, unveiled their dark little secret.

While it had been announced that “there is a possibility of it coming to the 360,” there was no substantive proof that this was really the case. However, in the holiday video blog, a few Xbox 360s are spotted, as well as a 360 debug unit. And these aren’t just collecting dust. A few of the developers are using 360 controllers in the video. (more…)

Someone at Nintendo thought a discus was a good idea?
The Wiimote is already pretty unconventional — but that kind of design doesn’t just happen overnight. A brief stroll down memory lane illustrates just how circuitous the Wii’s progression to its current design actually was. Turns out Nintendo cooked up all kinds of crazy ideas in the effort to spark their Revolution. (more…)

Leaving to form trade association in investment industry.

How do you work with video games for 12 years and then decide starting a trade association in the investment industry is a good career move? Sounds like there’s more money. It’s likely a contributing factor to Douglas Lowenstein’s departure from the Entertainment Software Association, a rumored move that became official this afternoon.

“I have been honored to represent the amazing companies of the ESA, to serve as their advocate and to be part of an industry which is having such a profound and positive effect on our culture and the world of entertainment,” said Lowenstein in the announcement release. “Like our industry, the ESA has grown and matured and is now stronger and more robust than ever before. The future of video games and its trade association is very bright indeed.”

Lowenstein will remain at the ESA until early 2007 while the organization searches for a replacement.
Source: gametab.com

God of War II will use the PS3 to the max

Looks like Sony execs are more than enthusiastic about their machine. You probably know the most lovable guy at Sony, Phil Harrison, but what you didn’t know is that he recently gave a interview to
MTV in which he revealed a couple of interesting things.

He talked about LocoRoco and he revealed that Sony plans to further evolve the franchise. Apparently, they want to bring this unconventional game back in a couple of new ways and LocoRoco will also get some new friends in the near future.
(more…)

Just wait until the 20th of December

I know that many of you were probably annoyed by the Halo 3 brutes, mainly because they got in the way of your main objective. From the looks of it, Master Chief will not be the only playable character in the upcoming Halo game.

This is only a rumor as xbox360fanboy.com admits, but apparently, brutes will be playable in Halo 3. They got this tip from YLA G-the creator of GooMGC, some sort of a Google application for the Xbox
360. Furthermore, YLA G reveals that a new video showing playable brutes will hit Xbox Live Marketplace on the 20th of December. (more…)

An Xbox 360 game sells tons in Japan.

We said it sold 70k units. We were wrong, the actual Media Create figures for Blue Dragon showed that the game sold 80k units in its first week in Japan. Like the headline says, it obliterated Zelda — which finished 17th for the week, but guess what? Zelda came out the week before and the Wii is impossible to find across the sea — Nintendo and Zelda are just fine. Seventeen of the top 30 games in Japan are Nintendo published titles, none of the games in the top 30 were PS3 or PSP titles.

For some perspective on the Japanese market, guess what last week’s number one selling game was? A Gundam game. ‘Nuff said.
Source: gametab.com

Portrait of Ruin is a great game not because of what it does differently, but because it stays true to the familiar Castlevania design and delivers a fun, lengthy adventure.
The Good: Team mechanic puts a new twist on the familiar Castlevania formula; tons of weapons, items, and secrets to find; a handful of fantastic boss battles; excellent music; great-looking environments, character designs, and animations.
The Bad: Level design is slightly dull compared to previous Castlevania games; there are only three short levels available for co-op play.
(more…)

Fight Night Round 3 features the same great gameplay the franchise is known for as well as a few minor, but appreciable, additions exclusive to the PlayStation 3.
The Good: Same great control mechanics found in previous Fight Night games; lots of great boxing legends to test your skills against; amazing-looking player models; gruesome sound effects make you cringe when you hear a guy get smacked in the face; get-in-the-ring mode offers a different, enjoyable way to play.
The Bad: Career mode lacks structure and feels like a series of loosely related matches rather than an ongoing fight to become a champion; long load times.
(more…)

Space Western brought to you by James Cameron’s ‘Multiverse.’

Those of us who like the “You got your Sci-Fi in my Western! / You got your Western in my Sci-Fi!” flavor of Joss Whedon’s Firefly like it a lot. It’s time for dancin’ then, to hear that the franchise is soon to be given new life as a Massively Multiplayer Online Game, courtesy of MMO Creators Multiverse and Fox.

The world of Firefly — like many classic Western heroes — burned too brightly and died too young. After only 11 episodes and one movie, the series fell on hard times, and out of production — though not for lack of fan support.
(more…)