via Joystiq


Mega-chain Best Buy is sending $50 gift cards to customers who bought HD DVD players or attachments from its US stores prior to Feb. 23 (coincidentally, for our readership, the date Microsoft declared the format dead to the company). CNN reports most customers won't have to do a thing to receive the card as they'll be identified through the Reward Zone program, service plans or online purchases. If you're a customer who won't be identified in this manner, just grab a receipt (you do keep those, right?) or provide your credit card info to the company for proof of purchase. Gift cards will be sent out by May 1.

Circuit City provided a similar deal earlier this month to recent HD DVD adopters by allowing them to return the product if it had been purchased within 90 days. Both Best Buy and Circuit City's online trade-in programs (run by the same company) will allow you to unload your player beginning March 21. Before anyone thinks they're being witty, only HD DVD players can be returned for store credit, you're not getting $50 per movie disc purchased. Although this format war was in no way these retailer's fault, it's very nice to see them taking care of customers left out in the cold. ...

via Eurogamer


Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has revealed there will be a total of three Xbox Live Arcade games that will let you earn money for use in Fable 2.

He unveiled the first of these, Keystone, at GDC in February, and uncovered plans for two more in the recent Major Nelson podcast.

"The idea is this: Carbonated Games, part of Microsoft, have made some great casual games, Arcade titles. They have got three titles, one called Keystone, one called Wizard's Tower and one called Mage Dice," said Molyneux.

These "semi-gambling" games will reward you with Fable gold if you win. When Fable 2 eventually comes out (sometime this autumn), you will be able to use your accrued funds in game.

"If you do a good job, you can be a millionaire before the game starts," promised Molyneux. You can then use your piles of gold to buy virtually anything in Fable 2 (on top of weapons and armour and traditional fare).

Anything from dungeons to castles to shops are up for grabs, and splashing out on them will unlock side-quests to explore. As for houses, well, take your pick.

"You can buy every house. There's the city of Bowstone; all the houses that you can get to you can buy," added Molyneux.

"If you buy all of those houses you're known as the Mayor of Bowstone. If you end up buying everything in the region you are known as the King of Bowstone. And if you buy everything in the land of Albion you are known as the Emperor of Albion."

Not all of you will get that far, suggested Molyneux, although he expects at least "a few" of you to make the effort.

But beware, spending too much time worrying about your bank balance will alter your appearance and have you looking a bit like Bill Gates, he joked. "Every choice has a consequence," he reminded us.

Molyneux went on to detail the three major ways Fable 2 will distinguish itself from the original: by adding a sense of emotional drama using mechanics such as the dog and family relationships; by adding a "much, much better" combat system that is both simple and deep; and by adding jump-in co-operative play.

One thing he didn't mention at GDC recently was the Breadcrumb Trail feature. This is a sort of personal GPS that leads you to your quest destination. Interestingly your dog will try to pull you off this straight and narrow and lead you to side-quests.

This is the same dog that will leap on floored opponents, love you without question, and act as a warning mechanism. "Dogs in films always know that aliens are aliens," added Molyneux, suggesting that this will be a feature put to use in the main story.

Another thing to note about co-op is that it will cast the person joining your world as a henchman, but it will be based on statistics from their saved game if it detects one. Then, when they leave your world, they will take all the gold and experience they have earned with them; you take your character around with you, effectively.

Peter Molyneux was also keen to point out that his team prints out and shares what the community has been saying fairly regularly. Hi Peter! Invisibility over laser-eyes, still?

And, in case you were wondering, Peter has an unnatural hatred of chickens because his mum used to leave him in a pram near a chicken ranch, so his first words were clucks.

"Chicken cruelty is always featured highly in my games," cackled Molyneux. ...

via Kotaku


The folks at CrispyGamer got a chance to corner NIS America's PR Manager Jack Niida to talk a bit about the much anticipated release of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on the DS. It's a short interview, but there is some interesting information in there including some talk of the game appearing on other consoles. Since the game will probably mostly be purchased by fans of the franchise, the obvious question would be, what's new?


Niida goes on to mention that this version of the game will include everything from the PSP version plus extra content. For Digaea fans this should prove to quite interesting news. ...

via Kotaku


The folks at CrispyGamer got a chance to corner NIS America's PR Manager Jack Niida to talk a bit about the much anticipated release of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness on the DS. It's a short interview, but there is some interesting information in there including some talk of the game appearing on other consoles. Since the game will probably mostly be purchased by fans of the franchise, the obvious question would be, what's new?


Niida goes on to mention that this version of the game will include everything from the PSP version plus extra content. For Digaea fans this should prove to quite interesting news. ...

via Computer and Video Games


A couple have become the first known parents to have an "Xbox Live baby," and the first we know of to actually get sex from Rainbow Six Lockdown.


And just look at the adorable photo we've attached to the right; we're going to harass girl voices on Xbox Live even more now.


Photograph here ...

via Eurogamer


Koei plans to bring Soul Nomad to Europe in June.

This PS2 tactical role-playing game has been out in the US since September and has been earning decent scores.

Soul Nomad will appeal to those of you with a penchant for titles like Disgaea and Makai Kingdom.

You sell your soul to an arch enemy in return for enough power to defeat an emerging enemy, and command an ever-growing army in grid-based tactical warfare.

However, the battles themselves will be faster paced and real-time. You can prepare by manipulating statistics and gathering hordes of intelligence beforehand.

Pop over to our Soul Nomad gallery for a blast of screenshots. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Capcom has released sixty-four screenshots from the Wii version of Okami, which is due to be released in the States on April 15.

The shots depict true 16:9 widescreen for the game and confirm the title will look much crisper that its PlayStation 2 predecessor.

There is still no word on a European release date for the title, though given the build we've seen it shouldn't be long before Wii owners over here will get a taste of what's sure to be a success story on the console.

At least, that's what we'd like. Successful port leads to sequel, perhaps? We can only hope.


Many screenshots here ...

via Eurogamer


Capcom has said there's no word yet on what Live Arcade and PlayStation Network title Bionic Commando: Rearmed will cost in Europe.

The US arm of the publisher has just announced it will set American gamers back USD 10 when it's released in May.

The lower price-point was picked after an online poll was conducted to ask gamers how much they'd like to pay for it. Unsurprisingly, 83 per cent of respondents picked the cheapest option.

"2D games are a bigger risk (no, they are not necessarily cheap to make. BCR has plenty of 3D models and uses much of the same tech and physics as the 3D version) because they are a harder sell," explained Ben Judd on the Bionic Commando community site. ""The poll says USD 10 so that's what it will be.

"Since the title will have to do quite well at that price point to break even (no, I'm not going to give you a specific number), I guess we have to roll the dice and see where they land."

Interestingly, Capcom has yet to decide on a price for the PC version because it "may have some downloadable content" in the future.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a remake of the NES platformer from the olden days.

Capcom has already exceeded the 150MB file size-limit on XBLA with it, and you can catch up with the title on our Bionic Commando: Rearmed gamepages below. ...

via Computer and Video Games


BioWare still has a number of vitally important questions to be answered in regards to Mass Effect 2, the developer's revealed to CVG.

"How do we make what you did in the first game affect what's happening in the second game?... Who is the main character? Who will re-appear in the game?" senior PR manager Matt Atwood said of the follow-up to its critically acclaimed sci-fi RPG during an interview last week.

These are key ideas currently being kicked around at the studio according to Atwood, who says that dramatically Mass Effect 2 will make us all go "wow" virtually right from the word go.

"Mass Effect really is all about dramatics and cinematics and choices and exploration", he added on the sequel, "and I think we'll expand in each of those areas".

BioWare's only speaking generally in regards to Mass Effect 2 at the moment, but Atwood continued, "There is a story arc already written for the whole thing... I do know that the level of impact from a wow factor, a dramatic factor, is going to be really quite compelling in the next game. I think people are going to be thrilled".

As reported last week, BioWare expects Mass Effect 2 to be exclusive to Xbox 360 "for a short period of time" before it releases for PC. But when is the developer actually planning to launch the sequel?

"I will tell you it won't be three and a half years or four years, which is what the first one took to create", Atwood said when asked about release timings.

"Beyond that we haven't disclosed anything. We'd like to see it soon, but as the old saying goes, we will sell no wine before it's time.

"The team's working hard already but they're going to make sure it's just right... hopefully [it will be] sooner than later... I don't know if it's sooner that you expect, or what you expect, so we'll just wait and see and once we're ready to divulge the date, we'll let you know."

We're waiting... ...