via I4U

With all the talk about new game consoles you might forget that the PS2 is still one of the most popular game consoles around. THQ hasn’t forgotten that fact and announced a new PS2 exclusive racing game today called Sprint Cars 2: Showdown at Eldora.

The game is a sequel to Sprint cars: Road to Knoxville and has shipped to retail outlets across America. The game puts players in the driver’s seat as they hit more than 170mph around sprint tracks. Gamers of all ages can enjoy the game thanks to an E rating from the ESRB.

The game has over 25 different racing arenas including some new real racing tracks. Additional vehicle classes have been added including Late Model, Pro Stock and Wingless Sprints. Some real racing teams are also available for players to play.

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via WorthPlaying (click link for screens)

SEGA Superstars Tennis is a game that brings together some of the most treasured and well known characters from the SEGA universe, in some of the most unusual courts and outrageous settings ever imagined.



Get the SEGA Superstars Tennis [ALL] Trailer off WP (10mb)

SEGA Superstars Tennis has over 15 playable SEGA idols including Sonic the Hedgehog, AiAi from Super Monkeyball fame, Ulala of Space Channel 5 and Amigo from Samba De Amigo. In addition to their own unique attributes, each character will also come equipped with their own superstar tennis skills, putting a whole new spin on each match played!

Exhibition mode offers the chance to challenge Sonic, or the character or your choice, to a match on one of many courts, including Sonic’s home court of Green Hill Zone, or Amigo’s Carnival Park court. Wherever you play there will be a host of SEGA celebrities cheering you on from courtside and by partaking in crazy doubles matches with your choice of partner, you could end up playing against some pretty unusual couples! Prove your SEGA hero is the shining star of SEGA Superstars Tennis by collecting silverware in the Tournament Mode. There will also be the opportunity to unlock a host of exciting extras which will be announced in the near future!

Complementing the Exhibition and Tournament modes, there will also be new and innovative ways of enjoying some of SEGA’s classic titles, plus platform exclusive ways to play the game, including online modes for X360 and PS3 versions!

“SEGA Superstars Tennis has the potential to be one of the most fun and accessible sports games ever.” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director. “The fantastic Sumo Digital team has had access to a wealth of SEGA IP and you’ll be surprised at the gaming icons that will be making an appearance!”

Available on the PS3, PS2, X360, NDS, and Wii, SEGA Superstars Tennis will release in early 2008. ...

New build of the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance emulator for Windows.

Info:

I just made VBA-M (MFC) build with Visual C++ 2008 again.

VBA-M SVN461 x86:
http://vba-m.ngemu.com/vbam/vbacompi...yAdvance461.7z

zlib & libpng DLLs:
http://vba-m.ngemu.com/vbam/vbacompiles/msvc2008/dll.7z

IF YOU GET ERROR MESSAGES ABOUT D3DX9_37.DLL:
DirectX Web Updater:
http://vba-m.ngemu.com/vbam/vbacompi...webupdater.zip
Or just the DLL:
http://spacy51.sp.funpic.de/D3DX9_37.7z

Some info about the build system:
- Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Pro
- NASM 2.02
- Windows SDK v6.0A
- DirectX SDK March 2008
- OpenAL SDK v1.1
- zlib v1.2.3
- libpng v1.2.25
- File Extractor v0.4.3

Requirements:
- Windows 2000 - Windows Vista
- CPU with MMX instruction set, no SSE necessary ...

via IGN

PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of "casual" video games, today announced the imminent arrival at retail of a new PopCap Hits compilation for PlayStation 2 featuring two of the company's best-selling puzzle and "arcade action" games. PopCap Hits Volume 2 features Heavy Weapon and Zuma, carries an SRP of US$19.95, and marks the first time that those two games have been made available for PlayStation consoles. PopCap Hits Volume 2 is expected to hit store shelves in June 2008.

"We're pleased to be bringing our second PlayStation2 'greatest hits' compilation to stores so quickly after the first volume, and expect the upcoming product to be even more popular with consumers," said Greg Canessa, VP of Video Game Platforms at PopCap. "Heavy Weapon and Zuma are two of our most successful games on the Xbox Live Arcade Service, and should prove equally well received by the PlayStation 2 audience."

Zuma is a fast-paced action puzzler requiring quick reflexes and pattern-solving strategy as players rotate the stone frog at the center of the screen to shoot colored balls into place. Make sets of three or more balls to succeed - and don't let the chain of balls reach the golden skull! Zuma is also available for Xbox 360, PC, Mac, online and select mobile devices. Zuma is also the highest-rated game for iPod, based on iTunes' customer reviews.

Heavy Weapon is a light-hearted side-scrolling action game in which players strive to defeat hordes of enemy armies in the form of tanks, jeeps, fighter jets, helicopters and other land and air vehicles. Power-ups and secret weapons that provide additional speed, shields, firepower and more help the player overcome increasingly nasty enemy forces and bosses while progressing through levels representing the oppressed (fictitious) countries over which the war is being waged. Multiplayer modes available for the PlayStation 2 version of the game enable players to join a friend for furious shoot-'em-up fighting in multiplayer Arms Race and War Party modes. In addition, PopCap Hits Volume 2 provides exclusive behind-the-scenes access in "The Making of a Classic." Explore early game concepts, high-res game art, and video clips featuring development history and tips from the games' creators. ...

via GE

SEGA of America, Inc. announced that BLEACH: Dark Souls will be available on Nintendo DS. BLEACH: Dark Souls delivers an authentic anime experience with non-stop action and swordplay. The game features an expanded cast of characters voiced by the actors from VIZ Media’s award-winning BLEACH animation, rated T for Teens. The second season of BLEACH the television series began airing in the U.S. on Adult Swim on March 1.

Developed by famed Japanese developer Treasure and localized for North America, BLEACH: Dark Souls will feature a multitude of enhancements to last year’s critically acclaimed BLEACH: The Blade of Fate. These enhancements include multiplayer games with expanded personalization features, brand new special Bankai moves, 30 new Spirit Cards, power-enhancing crystals, as well as seven new gameplay modes. The BLEACH: Dark Souls storyline takes place in between seasons one and two of the animated series and was created exclusively for the game.

The BLEACH: Dark Souls game for Nintendo DS will mark the expansion of a dynamic cast of over 40 playable characters including Rukia, Kon and hero Ichigo. Gamers can spend hours furiously fighting while unlocking individual character stories, all based on an exclusive story arc created for BLEACH: Dark Souls.

“With an exclusive storyline, an expanded playable character roster and spectacular new Bankai moves, BLEACH: Dark Souls is set to build upon the critical success of BLEACH: Blade of Fate,” said Don Mesa, Director of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. “The BLEACH franchise continues to gain momentum with anime fans and gamers alike in North America and SEGA is there to create a robust and exciting gaming experience that stays true to its anime roots.”

“We are thrilled to once again partner with SEGA for the development of BLEACH: Dark Souls on Nintendo DS,” states Linda Espinosa, Vice President, Content Management, VIZ Media. “SEGA games have enjoyed immense success in North America, BLEACH is a top seller in both Japan and the US, and we are expecting great fan response when BLEACH: Dark Souls releases with a multitude of new and exclusive features.”

BLEACH: Dark Souls offers enhancements to the impressive 2D action and brilliant visuals that have become the hallmark of Treasure, the game’s legendary development team. Players will face a variety of opponents as one of 44 highly-stylized characters in intense action-packed battles based on the animated series. For the first time ever, players will be able to assume the role of Evil Hollows, adding a new twist for gamers to explore. BLEACH: Dark Souls utilizes a traditional 2D fighting game format with enhanced visuals that push the graphical prowess of Nintendo DS to new heights.

BLEACH: Dark Souls continues to allow gamers to build customized Spirit Card Decks, this time with the addition of power-enhancing Reiju Crystals to boost their character’s heath, attack strength and defense power cards. BLEACH: Dark Souls features four player multiplayer battles via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and DS Download Play. Players can battle each other at the same time or form tag teams for team play. Finally, BLEACH fans will enjoy using the newly included encyclopedia that offers detailed explanations of the BLEACH world, character info, descriptions of their attacks and a full glossary of BLEACH terms.

BLEACH: Dark Souls on Nintendo DS is slated for release in summer 2008. ...

via GE

SEGA of America, Inc. announced that BLEACH: Dark Souls will be available on Nintendo DS. BLEACH: Dark Souls delivers an authentic anime experience with non-stop action and swordplay. The game features an expanded cast of characters voiced by the actors from VIZ Media’s award-winning BLEACH animation, rated T for Teens. The second season of BLEACH the television series began airing in the U.S. on Adult Swim on March 1.

Developed by famed Japanese developer Treasure and localized for North America, BLEACH: Dark Souls will feature a multitude of enhancements to last year’s critically acclaimed BLEACH: The Blade of Fate. These enhancements include multiplayer games with expanded personalization features, brand new special Bankai moves, 30 new Spirit Cards, power-enhancing crystals, as well as seven new gameplay modes. The BLEACH: Dark Souls storyline takes place in between seasons one and two of the animated series and was created exclusively for the game.

The BLEACH: Dark Souls game for Nintendo DS will mark the expansion of a dynamic cast of over 40 playable characters including Rukia, Kon and hero Ichigo. Gamers can spend hours furiously fighting while unlocking individual character stories, all based on an exclusive story arc created for BLEACH: Dark Souls.

“With an exclusive storyline, an expanded playable character roster and spectacular new Bankai moves, BLEACH: Dark Souls is set to build upon the critical success of BLEACH: Blade of Fate,” said Don Mesa, Director of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. “The BLEACH franchise continues to gain momentum with anime fans and gamers alike in North America and SEGA is there to create a robust and exciting gaming experience that stays true to its anime roots.”

“We are thrilled to once again partner with SEGA for the development of BLEACH: Dark Souls on Nintendo DS,” states Linda Espinosa, Vice President, Content Management, VIZ Media. “SEGA games have enjoyed immense success in North America, BLEACH is a top seller in both Japan and the US, and we are expecting great fan response when BLEACH: Dark Souls releases with a multitude of new and exclusive features.”

BLEACH: Dark Souls offers enhancements to the impressive 2D action and brilliant visuals that have become the hallmark of Treasure, the game’s legendary development team. Players will face a variety of opponents as one of 44 highly-stylized characters in intense action-packed battles based on the animated series. For the first time ever, players will be able to assume the role of Evil Hollows, adding a new twist for gamers to explore. BLEACH: Dark Souls utilizes a traditional 2D fighting game format with enhanced visuals that push the graphical prowess of Nintendo DS to new heights.

BLEACH: Dark Souls continues to allow gamers to build customized Spirit Card Decks, this time with the addition of power-enhancing Reiju Crystals to boost their character’s heath, attack strength and defense power cards. BLEACH: Dark Souls features four player multiplayer battles via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and DS Download Play. Players can battle each other at the same time or form tag teams for team play. Finally, BLEACH fans will enjoy using the newly included encyclopedia that offers detailed explanations of the BLEACH world, character info, descriptions of their attacks and a full glossary of BLEACH terms.

BLEACH: Dark Souls on Nintendo DS is slated for release in summer 2008. ...

via The Escapist

Interview: Cryptic Allusion on Keeping the Dream(cast) Alive
by Howard Wen, 4 Mar 2008 3:11 pm


The Dreamcast was the best and last console Sega ever made. Its short life of less than three years on the market (originally released in November 1998) was marked by good reviews for the console itself and many of its games. None of this was enough to make a difference, especially against the onslaught of the PlayStation 2.

In the aftermath, a cult following for the Dreamcast grew, and rapidly alongside it came a homebrew development scene determined to give this still technically powerful console a second life.

Cryptic Allusion helped pioneer and foster the Dreamcast homebrew scene. The founder of this firm, Dan Potter, was influential in creating KallistiOS, an unofficial toolkit that helps programmers write code for the game console. (Today, KallistiOS is maintained as an open-source, free software project by a team of volunteers.)

In 2001, months after Sega officially stopped selling the Dreamcast, Cryptic Allusion put together a disc of Dreamcast games and demos created by themselves and other homebrew developers. This disc, titled DC Tonic, was given away at that year's E3 to critical acclaim.

In 2003, Cryptic Allusion released the game for which they became best known: Feet of Fury, a Dance Dance Revolution clone developed with KallistiOS. Its professional-level production values helped to extend interest in the Dreamcast's afterlife among the homebrew community.
image

But from that point on, Cryptic Allusion gradually shifted away from the Dreamcast. Activity within the entire Dreamcast homebrew scene was declining, as well. Though Cryptic Allusion is still presently working on a new Dreamcast title, a remake of an Amiga platformer featuring a Samurai duck called Donk!, they have been focusing more on making games for the Mac and Windows. Apparently, developing for dead game consoles isn't that profitable.

Potter runs Cryptic Allusion from Austin, Texas, with his business partner, Roddy Toomim, as an independent game development company that comprises of just the two of them.

The Escapist: What are your technical backgrounds? What do you guys do for a living?

Roddy Toomim: I'm a techie by nature, but I couldn't code my way out of a wet paper bag in a Gulf Coast rainstorm. Dan's the man behind the code, but we've taken on a couple of coder interns in recent months to help us complete Donk!, as well as a couple of art interns.

In real life, I'm a software tester for a company that creates and markets slot machines. I suppose that puts me in the "gaming" business, but not exactly where I want to be just yet.

Dan Potter: I began working with computers when I was about 6, when my dad brought home the "first pieces" from the TI employee store. I haven't really stopped since then; I've been working in the industry professionally for about 14 years now.

My current job is in the transport and analysis of flight data for commercial carriers - think "black boxes" - for accident prevention and procedural improvements [like] more comfortable flights, less fuel usage, etc.

TE: What's the appeal of the Dreamcast for you guys? Basically, why have you even bothered with making games for this dead system that wasn't all too popular to begin with?

RT: [It's] the last Sega-made console. Ever. It's got too much appeal as a piece of gaming history to just let it die, you know?

Dan was mostly responsible for the reverse engineering of the machine. He likes to tell people that he had minimal involvement in the project to figure out the guts of the Dreamcast, but he's a smart guy. Smarter than me by far. At least as far as math/code goes. Don't let him tell you different!

DP: Let's not distort the record here. I actually had very little to do with the reverse engineering part of it. I tried really hard on a few areas and just didn't really get anywhere. There are some even smarter guys, mostly in Sweden, who did most of that. I helped nudge it along in a few places - by friendly competition, if nothing else. But they did the bulk of the work. My main contribution was to put it all together in one place and make a friendly package to let people get in there and use the knowledge. After awhile, I was really only stewarding that effort.

The most modern version of KallistiOS includes a lot of code from my hands, but I'd bet about half of it was contributed by [others in] the community. If you include all the add-on libraries, my contribution shrinks even further.

RT: I may have to butt heads with you here about the popularity of the system. I believe it was successfully marketed to a burgeoning demographic of core gamers. In that ...

via IGN

Leading video games developer and publisher Namco Bandai Games America Inc., announced today that Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 has gone gold for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Based on the popular Naruto animated series, from VIZ Media, this fighter steps it up a notch and delivers new innovative features, enhancements and customizations. Battle through 20 stages with over 40 popular Naruto characters in the fiercest battles the series has ever seen when it is released on March 25.

The most feature-rich game in the Ultimate Ninja franchise to date, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 will not disappoint as it offers up a host of firsts for the series. Diligent fans can re-live all their favorite battles that made up Story Arc 1 in Hero's History mode. Ninja-in-training can upgrade their strength, agility, defense, chakra and other special abilities to customize their characters to their liking. Turn characters into giant ninjas of unprecedented size, or summon large beasts to help turn the tide in Summoning Mode. Also for the first time, North American fans can listen to both English and Japanese voiceovers.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 will also include a brand new original story, which will have players exploring the Hidden Leaf Village and participating in battle royale matches in over 55 scenarios. The fun doesn't stop there, as tons of unlockable items such as movies, music and cards are hidden away offering loads of replay value to the game.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 is rated "T" for teen by the ESRB and carries an MSRP of $39.99. For more information please visit: http://www.namcobandaigames.com or www.naruto.com.

...

via Kotaku

With the PlayStation 2 port of High Impact's excellent PSP take on the Ratchet & Clank series just a week away, the official PlayStation Blog posts some details about the game's multiplayer. PS2 Size Matters takes the same amusing multiplayer functionality from the PSP version and splits it in two for split-screen goodness between you and a friend. You get four maps - Island Escape, Danger Valley, Mega Cannons, and Moon Cow Disease - complete with the Iron Lombax special challenges for each map. Personally I miss my R&C online multiplayer, but how much can you really expect from a $29.99 port of a PSP game?

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