via IGN


If you love your games not quite 2D and not quite 3D, Namco Bandai has your back. The company has announced via the latest Famitsu a a new entry in the Klonoa platforming series, and it's coming to the Japanese Wii later this year!

Fully titled Kaze no Klonoa Door to Phantomile, this Wii entry in the series is a remake of the original PlayStation Klonoa game. But the word "remake" should get a giant footnote here, as the visuals have evolved so far that you probably won't even recognize the game.

For its appearance on the Wii, Namco is also putting use the Wiimote to good use -- although not for any of that motion jive that you'll find in other Wii games. The Wiimote is held horizontally here, with the game making use of just the D-pad and 1 and 2 buttons. The 2 button is used to jump and fly through the stages. The 1 button is used to grab enemies and either throw them or use them to leap higher.

Outside of this, Namco is promising fine-tuned difficulty and possibly some other Wii-style elements.

Japanese Wii owners can look forward to Klonoa's revival on December 4. ...

via IGN


The success of the Wii has landed the platform yet another franchise. Valhalla Knights, now with two installments on the PSP, is making the move over to Nintendo's console through Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga. Famitsu has a first report.

Eldar Saga tells the story of a world in a panic with the revival of magic thought long dead. Many lives are lost until four races, human, elf, dwarf, and hobbit, form a commonwealth whose armies push the magic to the far western land of Eldar.

The game is split into two chapters. You're free to select which chapter you'd like to start off with, and once you've cleared this, you go on to the next chapter, carrying your data over to the new quest.

You play as a character of your own creation. The game lets you set hair style and color, job, and other parameters like strength, vitality, intelligence, luck, and dexterity. Your choice of weapons also affects your character, with visible changes to your appearance.

Strangely, you're not able to set your race or gender initially. The game defaults to a male human for the first chapter. Once you get to the second chapter, however, you can select to be a female and choose from four races.

Famitsu didn't manage to get details on the game's battle system, but did note that the action feel of the battles appears to be retained with this new installment, and perhaps even heightened. The game will now put players in battle with some giant beasts.

Also, as a big bonus for players who don't like to play alone, the game will support Wi-Fi Connection for cooperative play. Two players will be able to team up.

Developed by K2, and featuring music by Motoi Sakuraba, Valhalla Knights Eldar Saga will be released in Japan through Marvelous Entertainment some time in 2009. ...

via Joystiq


Lionhead CEO Peter Molyneux is saying that Fable 2's online co-op could be available on launch day. Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog announced over the weekend that the feature would not be available at launch, but should be auto-patched in later, hopefully within a week.

Speaking at a video game festival in Paris yesterday, Molyneux allegedly said that Fable 2 would include online co-op at launch, though clarified today that he could not confirm the timing, saying the team had an "ambition" for a day one patch. Having that wiggle room of a week would probably be best for Lionhead, but we're happy to take the online patch at launch too. ...

via Joystiq


We wish we had some insight for you that could put this image into some different perspective, but it's exactly what it looks like: A lightsaber attachment for your Wiimote. You pay $35, you put one of them on your controller and it makes your pretender work better. Seriously.

As we've said on the Joystiq Podcast, if you're unable to have Wii fun without an attachment like this, you're tantamount to a fetishist unable to climax without the introduction of leather-bound dominatrices or rubber replications of farm animals. So, feel free to pick up the two-pack, but just make sure the store's empty beforehand, OK? ...

via Computer and Video Games


Another magazine has backed up reports that the inevitable third instalment in constipated shooter series, Max Payne, is in development internally at Rockstar.

The latest Xbox World 360 echoes this US mag report, which claims that the shooter has been moved away from original Finnish developer Remedy (which is currently asleep on the job with Alan Wake) and handed to Rockstar Toronto, the studio responsible for The Warriors.

Some fans will take it as bad news that the original daddy isn't at the helm, but with the current Wake situation we reckon they should be glad it's coming at all.

"While Rockstar aren't patently going to be able to bang the game out in time to coincide with Marky Mark Wahlberg's forthcoming cinematic portrayal of New York's most tragic cop, we're guessing they're at least going to ride in on the back of it," says XBW.

The rumour's looking more and more likely to be true then - and with a film coming out, why wouldn't Rockstar pump out a new one? We would.

Take-Two previously confirmed the third game in a conference call back in 2004, stating that "there will be another Max Payne". Though obviously not much has happened since then... ...

via Edge Online


On message boards, naysayers have been claiming for years that PC gaming is "doomed."

But John Welch, CEO and co-founder of Diner Dash house PlayFirst says it's the other way around.

"...I think the console is going to be over as we knew it previously. They’re expensive to make, there is no real need for them," he told Venture Beat.

As the head of a business based on mass market online PC gaming, he's convinced that the hardcore console gamer is increasingly a niche audience.

Ironically, he pointed to the massive success of the Nintendo Wii as proof that console gaming is on its last leg.


He said that technology on par with the Wii's could be implemented in "your average set top box."

Welch continued, "How much would it cost to integrate Wii-like technology into a set top box, if anything even needs to be specialized? What we really need are more standards around the input devices."

Welch's comments are in line with those of fellow online exec Alex St. John, the head of WildTangent.

“The console era is fading rapidly because graphics are no longer the differentiator: people are looking for other things like community or new types of input," St. John recently told Edge. ...

via Kotaku


Prepare to qualify! Namco Networks, the mobile game development and publishing arm of good old Namco Bandai has futzed around with a classic racing title and dropped it on the iPhone for a whole new generation (read: market) of gamers to enjoy. Pole Position: Remix takes the primitive gameplay of the original Pole Position, tacks on some rather nifty new controls, and charges you $9.99 for the privilege of playing it.


In a fit of nostalgia I downloaded the game this morning. It's solid, and the controls are fun, both the tilt steering and the on-screen thumb-controlled steering wheel options. It's just the gameplay really hasn't aged all that well. I need some sort of nostalgia alarm that locks my wallet when the feeling hits. If you just can't resist, PP:Remix is now available at an Apple Apps Store near you. ...

via Eurogamer


Microsoft has finished maintenance work on Xbox Live.

The downtime lasted slightly longer than planned as foundations were laid for the upcoming dashboard revamp, which looks likely to happen in November.

This also hails the arrival of the Mii-style "Avatars" that will liven up Gamercards and soften the hardcore image of the console.

Part of this will be subtly-animated themes and Friends lists, which were explained in more detail yesterday. With pictures. ...

via Games Industry


Microsoft has said that sales of the Xbox 360 have doubled in the past two weeks, outselling Sony's PlayStation 3 by two-to-one.

According to Chart Track figures, sales were up 214 per cent in the past two weeks, in the wake of a price cut across the European region.

"This data shows that the Xbox 360 trajectory continues upwards, and not just in the UK," said Chris Lewis, VP of Xbox in Europe.

"We've seen uplift in all countries in Europe and are confident that even at this rate of growth we can keep retail satisfied with a steady supply of consoles throughout the Christmas season."

Although Microsoft's claims are backed by Chart Track's data, the company stopped short of detailing exact unit sales for the period.

"Our commitment to continuously improving and innovating new content, our new high-profile marketing campaign and the fact that we’re now the best-value next-gen console on the market with an entry-level ERP of GBP 129.99 combine to make Xbox 360 the right blend of gaming and wider experiences at the right price to offer unparalleled entertainment for everyone. And these figures prove it," added Lewis.

Microsoft is continuing its aggressive PR and marketing campaign in the run up to Christmas. Last week it began airing a new series ads in a bid to open the console up to a wider audience.

Two week's ago, Microsoft reduced the price of the Arcade Xbox 360 to GBP 129.99, the Premium unit to GBP 169.99 and the Xbox 360 Elite GBP 229.99.

The company has sold over six million units in Europe, and new figures today reveal that 2.3 million of those are in the UK alone. ...