What do you get when you cross Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and a company that wants to prove they originated music rhythm games? You get Rock Revolution, the latest musical brain child from Konami, that’s what. The game was showed off at Konami’s Gamer’s Night 2008 and promises to be “the most innovative and realistic rock game to hit the market, that will provide a quality drum peripheral and music that players will appreciate,” according to Anthony Crouts, Konami’s Vice President of Marketing. Continue reading this story..

Online communities are all the rage these days. They allow people to share or boast about their accomplishments, personal lives, or topics they feel others will be into. This movement has successfully spilled into the world of videogames, and Disney wants a piece of the action.

Disney previously announced that their DGamer service is now available on the Nintendo DS. Though only available through The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian DS title, this online community allows players to create their own avatars, show off high scores, and even earn honors that translate into in-game achievements. The entire process will work either through the DS Wi-Fi Connection, or through DGamers website. Disney will make this service available for all their upcoming DS titles, as well as branching out internationally sometime next year. Continue reading this story..

Since its release in September of 2007, MySims for the Wii, in typical Sims fashion, has sold more than 2.8 million copies worldwide. Now Sims is set to deliver two times the cuteness with MySims Kingdom, which EA is bringing exclusively to the Wii and the DS.

With MySims now being its own franchise in the Sims label, the creators have pushed the envelope further with a story of “adventure, discovery and exploration.” Not only do you get customize everything you build to put your own spin on the world, now you are charged with helping revitalizing an entire kingdom.

The Kingdom experience starts in the Castle of The Capital where you meet up with your first set of friends — King Roland, Princess Butter, and the Wizard Marlon. As the game progresses you will meet new friends and gain access to new challenges like raising pigs or finding treasure. New building options allow you to progress like fixing a broken bridge to move to a new area. Eventually players will set sail in their own ship to explore even more lands beyond The Capital. Continue reading this story..

Some might argue that what separates videogames from other forms of electronic entertainment is the fact that games challenge and test us. While a healthy challange keeps us coming back and gives us a sense of accomplishment at the end of it all, there are some things that can just tip us over the edge and put us on the warpath; green skin and ripped purple pants included.

Seen as just about everything has been organized into lists of ten since Moses came wandering back down the mountain, here’s our Top 10 videogame annoyances.

10. Getting up to change discs

You know how convenient it is to load Arcade games in the Xbox 360 or PSN games in the PS3? Imagine if all games were like that… As somebody who actually owned the ill-fated HDLoader for the PS2, which allowed you to upload your games to the PS2’s HDD, going back to swapping discs for the current generation consoles has become quite a drag. With Microsoft edging all its bets on the death of the physical medium and the fact Sony offers gamers the chance to download some of PS3’s games, it’s only a matter of time before having to get up to change games is nothing but a painful memory. Continue reading this story..

Last year’s Skate from EA was a game that breathed new life into the genre by offering players some of the deepest immersion that had ever been applied to a skateboarding game. EA’s title dethroned Activision’s Tony Hawk franchise and became a runaway success, spawning a legion of fans in the process. But while a hit on the PS3 and 360, the Wii and DS, despite being the leading consoles on the market, didn’t get a piece of the action.

EA looks to change that now, as they’ve announced that Skate It, a spin-off of Skate, is coming to both the Wii and the DS. IGN recently sat down with EA’s Scott Blackwood to get the scoop on the game, here’s some of the finer points of what was discussed:

• Skate It isn’t a quick port to cash-in on the success the franchise has had, the game went into development right after the original version was released for the other systems
• Black Box, who designed the original title, are co-developing the title with EA Montreal
• Skate It will retain the core Skate game engine but utilizes “all-new technology specific to Wii”
• You’ll be able to use the Wii Balance board to play, or the standard Wii remote controls
• No online

There’s no definite release date yet, but look for Skate It to arrive sometime in 2008.

The press release announcing Skate It also officially confirmed the existence of Skate 2, which is being developed for the 360 and PS3.

[See also: Skate It gallery]

Another day, another Pokemon game, or so it seems. The latest issue of the popular Japanese manga magazine Coro Coro is reporting that the next Pokemon game for the Nintendo DS is in the works and that it’s name will be Pokemon Platinum.

The new game will presumably be to Diamond and Pearl what Yellow was to Red and Blue (or green, depending on where you’re from). The game is rumored for a September release in Japan with the rest of the world presumably seeing it in 2009.

As of yet, no official word has come out of Nintendo. Whether Coro Coro has let something slip early, got it lost in translation or are just plain telling porkies is unknown. However, Game Freak makes no secret of the fact it has its formula for this franchise set in stone, there’s no real reason why they would want to deviate from that method of factory pressing games now.

Looking to cash in on all things Guitar Hero related, Activision has announced plans to bring a Guitar Hero: On Tour bundle to the Nintendo DS. During a recent conference call (that also brought some Call of Duty 5 related news), Activision CEO Mike Griffith released the news, “Nintendo has been impressed with this innovation and part of our launch will include selling the game bundled with Nintendo DS hardware.”

The big announcements didn’t stop there though as he also announced a new Tony Hawk game which will be exclusive to the DS and utilizes “new technology not yet seen on the DS.” Naturally, he failed to elaborate on those words.

One thing’s for sure - all Activision needs to do now is release Guitar Hero: Money in the Bank for the PSP and they’ll have the franchise covered on all consoles, handhelds, and mobile phones.

Guitar Hero: On Tour launches in June for the Nintendo DS, no word yet on Tony Hawk.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may have taken a backseat to GTA4 for a moment as far as online play is concerned, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t continue to bleed awesomeness. Since its release in November of 2007, CoD4 has sold well over seven million copies worldwide and the well told story, which resonated with most people in the world these days, was a welcome change from the oversaturated WWII shooter genre.

Even though a dedicated person could get through the single player campaign in a single day, it’s CoD4’s multiplayer that boosted the game to stardom. And with the success the franchise has had, it’s no surprise that a follow-up will be coming out in due time. There are very few details out there about CoD5 at the moment, but in a recent chat with analysts and investors, Activision’s CEO Mike Griffith gave a few more. Continue reading this story..

Who doesn’t love super-deformed, happy versions of Marvel’s most famous superheroes? The very popular line of action figures by Hasbro known as the Super Hero Squad is now going to try its hand in the gaming universe — a deal between THQ and Marvel gives the developer/publisher exclusive rights to publish games for all “current and next generation systems” as well as PC and handheld platforms. It’s a pretty good way to not only get younger audiences into the Marvel universe, but it also gives more mature gamers a more casual look into the drama filled world of Marvel comics.

It’s not too bad for expanding knowledge of the brand’s name either, at least according to Simon Phillips, president of Marvel International and head of worldwide animation and videogames, “The platform is an incredibly powerful medium that enables kids to experience the excitement of our franchises, as well as extend our characters and story lines. With THQ, we are confident we have a partner with a best in class pedigree of building and extending licensed kid-friendly brands in the interactive space.” Continue reading this story..

Movie goers around the world will be blessed this summer with the third installment of The Mummy (fourth only if you count that Rock/Scorpion King thing), and with Jet Li as the bad guy, who could possibly want to miss this? And as it’s become tradition with every big movie release these days, gamers will also be able to dive into the series with The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor releasing alongside the movie.

This new the Mummy game puts players in the shoes of both Rick O’Connell and his son Alex. Sierra worked together with Universal Pictures to make sure the game followed closely with the movie, meaning players can expect to traverse the many exotic locations featured in the film, from ancient Chinese catacombs to the snow covered Himalayan peaks.

“Developed in collaboration with the film’s creative talent, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor videogame will add another opportunity for players to experience the thrill and excitement of this adventure favorite,” said Al Simone, senior vice president, Global Marketing, Sierra Entertainment. Continue reading this story..

2008 game releases just keep getting better and better. Pandemic — now a division of EA and the same studio that made the best-selling Star Wars: Battlefront games — has gone Middle Earth, announcing the development of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC and Nintendo DS.

Conquest is being developed as part of a partnership with New Line Cinema, so this Lord of the Rings universe will be the one you saw in the Peter Jackson films; rabid fans and gamers will be able to experience all of the trilogy’s epic movie battles. In addition to the crusading heroes, for the first time players can also experience an action title as the legions of Mordor including Cave-trolls, Oliphaunts, the Balrog and even Sauron himself. Continue reading this story..

I loved all three of Ubisoft’s recent Prince of Persia games, not to mention the retro classics too, but there was always an inkling in my mind that the prince himself just wasn’t as bad ass as he should of been art direction wise. In the first game he was a bit too much of a whimp and when the whole rock n’ roll thing happened in the second game, I could do nothing but roll my eyes. When the third came around and the long hair was still in vogue, I just sort of gave up on the prince ever really being truly awesome looking. This is why the first video for the new Prince of Persia game has me so excited despite lacking any footage from the game. Watch and see.

It’s just a time lapse sketch and an awkward developer introducing it, but their new prince looks amazing and since the game is going to be in an animated style he will hopefully be looking that good while moving too. I’m very excited for the revamped art style and gameplay and if it comes out looking anything like Okami then I’ll buy it just to watch the prince stand around. The video really isn’t very much to go on, but with the promise of more videos coming out over the next few months I can’t help but get excited over it.

I am a total sucker for the Wii’s calming, blue disc drive light. Every time that thing flashes, signaling that I have a new message, the little kid inside me starts jumping for joy and I rush over and turn my Wii on. Usually it’s a stupid message from a friend but every once in a while it is something awesome. Like today for instance. I roll out of bed, walk into my living room, see the blinking light, turn on my Wii and what do I see? The Nintendo Channel is ready for me to download! Sweeeeet.

So about four minutes later I’ve got the brand spanking new (unless you live in Japan, then it is a couple months old) Nintendo Channel downloaded to my Wii. The Nintendo Channel, at it’s most basic, is a way for Nintendo and other third party companies to advertise to you. Sign in and you can watch videos of upcoming Wii and DS games, get info on all of them and even purchase them with the click of a few buttons. Nintendo will also track what games you play, if you wish, and recommend others you might like. Most excitingly though is the ability to download DS game demos straight from your Wii. Sounds like some pretty great stuff, especially for Nintendo, but how does it all work? I spent the morning messing around with the new Channel and I have to say other than a few odd choices I’m pretty impressed. Continue reading this story..

Get ready for game time sports fans, Tecmo Bowl is back! After more than a decade (not counting a mobile remake of the original in 2004 and the Virtual Console release in 2007), Tecmo has announced the newest edition to their popular American football series with Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff, coming exclusively to the Nintendo DS this fall.

Those familiar with the series will see the return of non-NFL licensed goodness with over-the-top, fast-paced arcade-style action. Players will be able to choose from 32 different teams and customize their colors, emblems, player names, cities and abilities. This time around players will also have super abilities, enabling them to pull off power plays to really take over a game. Kickoff will also sport cut scenes showing off the dramatic presentation of various plays.

“We are extremely excited to bring back everyone’s favorite football game to the Nintendo DS,” said Ryan Gilbo, executive producer, Tecmo. “KICKOFF is packed with everything that fans wanted to see in this revival.” Continue reading this story..