via Playstatic

In celebration the 2007 Rugby World Cup EA are going to cash in with the release of EA SPORTS Rugby 08, the event’s only officially licensed video game featuring reigning Player of the Year Richie McCaw, captain of the New Zealand All Blacks, as its cover star. The game will ship on July 17th, just in time for the kick-off of the real world tournament.

Coming out on the PS2, this title looks to encapsulate all the drama and magic of the Rugby World Cup. The 2007 tournament, taking place in France, is one of the highlights of the sporting calender this year and EA are naturally looking to piggy-back on the hype surrounding the tournament. Tristan Jackson, lead producer of the game, had this to say:

“The 2007 Rugby World Cup unites rugby fans from around the world and our game, EA SPORTS Rugby 08, celebrates this passion by capturing all of the national rivalries in-game, enabling fans to play as their favorite teams from qualification right through to the championship final,”

The 2006 Player of the Year by both the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the International Rugby Players Association (IRPA), McCaw is considered the world’s best openside flanker. EA are going to plaster his lovely face all over the advertising for the game and of course on the games box. The 26-year-old McCaw was first called up to the All Blacks three years ago when he debuted against Ireland and was named Man of the Match.

Joining McCaw on the front packs of EA SPORTS Rugby 08 in selected territories around the world are 11 additional athletes who EA call ‘excellent’. Joining McCaw on the cover of EA SPORTS Rugby 08 in the United Kingdom is England’s Mark Cueto, and in France is Frenchman Yannick Nyanga. Bryan Haban, Schalk Burger and Andre Pretorius will be showcased on the cover in South Africa, brothers Mauro and Mirko Bergamasco in Italy and Australia’s Stirling Mortlock will be the featured athlete in Australia and Asia.

The game will see you to take control of your favourite team, allowing you to manage them and emulate their style and play on both offence and defence. Using new defensive formations you can adjust your defense on-the-fly to keep momentum on your side or counter your opponent’s attacking style by changing your defensive strategy based on score, field position and more.

This year EA SPORTS Rugby 08 introduces a layered pick-up-and-play control system for set pieces and drop kicks. Now you take full command over every scrum and maul with enhanced push and rotation controls. Make lineout throw-ins look easy with a simplified control scheme for the novice player and advanced mechanics for the pro. Master the new kicking meter to score those key penalties and conversions, while new truck and zoom camera angles zero in on all the breakdown and set piece action during the game’s biggest moments.

In addition to enabling gamers to participate in the 2007 Rugby World Cup by taking control of one of 20 national teams, the game features a new, compelling mode of play named World Cup Challenge. Testing even the most hardcore rugby fan, it re-creates the biggest moments in World Cup history and challenges you to re-write the results with today’s teams to unlock exclusive World Cup highlight videos.

We would show you some screens, but EA haven’t released any yet. ...

via Nintendic

SEGA Europe have announced release dates for some of their key titles on the Wii and DS over the coming months. Titles include NiGHTS, Ghost Squad and of course Mario & Sonic Olympic Games. We’ve got all the details for you inside.

According to a post on GameFront.de, we can bring you full listings of when you can get your hands on SEGA titles this year. The titles and dates are as follows:

Nintendo Wii
Alien Syndrome (07.09.2007)
The Golden Compass (30.11.2007)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (30.11.2007)
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Christmas 2007)
Ghost Squad (Winter 07/08)

Nintendo DS
Sonic Rush Adventure (September 2007)
The Golden Compass (30.11.2007)
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (30.11.2007)

Some big games in there, especially for the Wii. All in all a very strong Q4 showing from SEGA for Nintendo formats, further highlighting their support for both the Wii and the DS. Anyone who isn’t looking forward to NiGHTS and of course the first ever collaboration of ‘arch-rivals’ (at least in the corporate sense) Mario and Sonic with a special Olympic Games sports titles. We’ll have more on these games as and when details become available. ...

via Spong

SEGA's just hit us up with a barrage of new screens, artwork and info for its upcoming shooter, The Club. Because SPOnG doesn't feel there are enough sports in the world that involve ragtag mercenaries and homeless people hurting each other, we thought we'd share.

First up is a spot of detail on NYPD hard-ass Renwick. SEGA tells us:

“A tough, no nonsense, NYPD Detective of more than 30 years standing and one of the most decorated cops on the force. Renwick first picked up rumours of The Club – some kind of freak-circuit, under ground snuff show entertainment – from his contacts in the New York underworld. Intrigued and sickened by what he was hearing, he tried to investigate further, but found all his official lines of inquiry blocked by NYPD bureaucratic intransigence. The harder he pushed the more resistance he encountered. The Club must have powerful allies within the Mayor’s office or the NYPD, because not only was Renwick taken off the case, but, when he tried to go to the press with his suspicions, convincing but trumped-up allegations of bribe-taking were suddenly brought against him.

“Forced to resign to avoid a scandal and possible criminal charges, Renwick continued his investigation unofficially, using his own time and money to try and break the veil of secrecy surrounding The Club. He must have got closer than he knew, or finally irritated The Club enough to make them do something about him, because what he thought was a new lead turned out to be an ambush, with The Club enforcers waiting for him. The Club’s money men were obviously unimpressed with Renwick’s persistence.”

Next up is the Siberian Dragov, affectionately known as 'The Beast':

”Heavily-tattooed, mountainously-built, a Siberian hunter, a trapper and a bandit, Dragov is unarguably the most wanted criminal in Russian history. Originally, it took three platoons of Spetsnaz Special Forces to capture him, but they couldn’t keep him captive for long and he broke free, slaughtering his way out of Russia’s most secretive and brutal gulag prison, fleeing on foot across hundreds of miles of frozen tundra wilderness.

“Military helicopters were sent in hot pursuit, snipers aboard given strict orders to shoot to kill. But someone somewhere had heard of Dragov's brutal and daring escape and decided he would be worth a lot more alive than dead. A swift phone call was made directly to the powers that be at the Kremlin and almost immediately the helicopter snipers were ordered not to kill Dragov, but to bring him in alive. Swapping their bullets for tranquiliser darts, they tracked Dragov down and fired shot after shot into the fugitive figure. Finally, with a terrifying bellow of rage, Dragov collapsed and spiralled into unconsciousness. Upon awaking he would discover that he had become the newest recruit to The Club, with freedom promised for surviving the deadly contest.”

Also dished up was some information on a couple of the locations you'll get to 'club out' pain in. You can find out more about the Prison Cells here, and the Steel Mill (which SPOnG had a bit of a poke around when we previewed The Club) here.

Now, without further ado, cast your eyes over the screens and artwork of the Steel Mill and Dragov below. ...

via GameZone

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe, Ltd. announced today that the highly-anticipated arcade fighting game, Virtua Fighter 5 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, will feature an online versus mode at launch in fall 2007. The Microsoft Xbox 360 version of Virtua Fighter 5 is based on the latest arcade version update and features both analog stick and D-pad control, as well as vibration support. The game also includes an improved Quest mode featuring more CPU rivals, items, and emblems for character customization. The DOJO mode has added features including leaderboards, training move settings, improved throw escape training, and the option to change your opponent’s position and recovery type. These all work to create a more refined DOJO mode where players can improve their fighting strategy.

Now featuring an online two-player versus mode via Xbox Live, Virtua Fighter 5 will allow Virtua Fighter players to compete online. Players will also be able to select one of the 17 characters or customize a character in Quest mode. Customization features allow players to modify their characters by decorating a selection from four base costumes by attaching a wide range of unlockable and earnable items. Players will not only achieve victory by defeating highly-skilled opponents, but also by competing for prizes and earning in-game money which allow them to buy many items at an in-game shop.

“Virtua Fighter™ 5 is the most intense fighting experience available on next-generation consoles,” said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America. “The addition of online multiplayer support opens up the competition to a global scale enabling players to compete and challenge anyone, anywhere, anytime, using Xbox Live.”

Created by the renowned development team AM R&D Department #2 out of Japan, Virtua Fighter 5 will be rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and will have an MSRP of $59.95. For more information, please visit the official Web site at www.sega.com/VF5. ...

via Wired Blogs


The popular anime and manga series Bleach will hit the Wii and Nintendo DS as two popular import games come to America and Europe, Sega announced today.

Bleach: The Blade of Fate for Nintendo DS is an online 2D fighting game that is considered to be one of the best Japan-only titles on the platform.

On Wii, Bleach: Shattered Blade will let you use the Wiimote motion controls to control its 3D, cel-shaded fighting game action.

The anime on which the games are based is produced by Viz and currently runs on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block. The games are slated for a fall 2007 release, alongside the premiere of the show's second season.

...

via PS3 Center

Lead designer for Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice and Sony developer has come out and stated that the life of the PS2 has some years left.

He stated that the original PlayStation, the PSOne had some amazing games even after the PS2 launched and he also stated that he believes that the PS3 will have a great life once PS2 owners begin to move on.

He stated that he does not believe that the PS2 has been superseeded at all. "I’m not expert on this but it’s the same in many cases. If you look at the car industry you see way more mark-four cars than you do mark-fives but as time goes on, you see more mark-fives and then the mark-six comes out." ...

via Gaming Bits

SEGA released several new screenshots of Condemned 2: Bloodshot. The original Condemned: Criminal Origins was visually impressive when it was released alongside the Xbox 360 in the end of 2005. The new screenshots show more of the detailed, gritty environment along with a couple of grisly images, keeping the visual bar rising. Condemned 2 will undoubtedly continue to race our hearts.

About Condemned 2: "Players will assume the identity of Ethan Thomas, former Serial Crimes Unit investigator, who has been called back to duty to track down his missing partner. The disturbing events from Ethan’s past have left him a broken man – a desperate burnout drifting aimlessly through society in an inexplicable decline. Fighting inner demons throughout his one-man investigation into a sinister conspiracy, Ethan will need to use anything and everything in the environment to survive as he unravels the mysteries shrouding the city in darkness."







...

via Gaming Bits

SEGA released several new screenshots of Condemned 2: Bloodshot. The original Condemned: Criminal Origins was visually impressive when it was released alongside the Xbox 360 in the end of 2005. The new screenshots show more of the detailed, gritty environment along with a couple of grisly images, keeping the visual bar rising. Condemned 2 will undoubtedly continue to race our hearts.

About Condemned 2: "Players will assume the identity of Ethan Thomas, former Serial Crimes Unit investigator, who has been called back to duty to track down his missing partner. The disturbing events from Ethan’s past have left him a broken man – a desperate burnout drifting aimlessly through society in an inexplicable decline. Fighting inner demons throughout his one-man investigation into a sinister conspiracy, Ethan will need to use anything and everything in the environment to survive as he unravels the mysteries shrouding the city in darkness."







...

via Wired Blogs

Capcom, a publisher that once ruled the video arcade on the strength of its fighting games, hasn't produced a traditional 2-D fighter in over three years, much to the chagrin of its fan base. Today, their Japanese arm decided to rile up said fan base by posting a teaser trailer for a new 2-D fighting game, to be unveiled soon.

No details were given as to what that game might be. The site says the game is a "Capcom original," which could mean that it's a new franchise, but could also simply mean that it is not based on an outside license.

Fan speculation has already run the gamut: Street Fighter IV? Marvel vs. Capcom 3? Rumormonger "neo2046" at GAF says that it's based on their Devil Kings (Sengoku Basara) franchise, and developed by Guilty Gear makers Arc System Works.

I doubt it'll be a Street Fighter game, as I believe the rumors that control of the storied martial arts franchise has been handed to Capcom's US division and the artists at Udon Comics. But apart from that, your guess is as good as mine, at this point. ...