The parent company of game publisher Atlus, Index Holdings, announced today its intentions to merge their mobile developer Index with Atlus. The move is intended to increase efficiency and better utilize group resources. Index Holdings acquired Atlus in 2006 through a stock purchase. The merger is expected to take place on October 1st. After the merger, Atlus as a company will cease to exist but that hardly means the end of the brand....
I’ll say one thing for Rare: the studio can make some sensational promotional material. Following the awesomeBelieva Piñatamovies, here’s a video of Banjo taking a stroll through Paris to promoteBanjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, now available for the Xbox 360. “Banjo himself, the real-life personthat actually exists and about whom we’ve been making games, recently took a jaunt across the Channel Tunnel and we’ve recorded the excursion,” claims Rare. Absolutely ridiculous, but charming in every way....
I’d like to think that our usual audiences would be present and accounted for today, but let’s face it: most of you are watching the game, drunk and awash in nacho cheese. I could phone this one in and nobody’d be the wiser! This week’s Bargain Bin Laden features everyone’s favorite bargain bin purchase: ramen noodles! Forget it. I’ll behave, I swear. You might notice that our selection for this week,Gunvalkyrie, has something in common with both past and futureBBLfeatures; it was developed by Smilebit, just asJet Set Radio FutureandPanzer Dragoon Orta(coming soon!...
In today’s investor’s call, Activision announced that it will launch a multiplayer beta for Bizarre Creations’Blurthis March. No details on how to participate have been released, yet I’m told you may expect more details at a later date. Obviously. A nice place to start might be theBlurFacebookpage, which promises that you can “check back here for more details.” By “here,” I mean the Facebook page. So do that. Bluris Bizzare’s upcoming arcade-style action racer, complete withMario Kart-like power-ups....
BioShock 2tells the story of a private investigator named Jack Abbott, whose daughter is kidnapped by the “Big Sister” character as shown onGame Informer‘s cover. Abbott pursues the creature by boat and confronts her, but is knocked unconscious and awakes in a certain famous underwater city, which is in even worse shape than it was before, thanks to seven years of ruination between this game and the last. Things go from bad to worse when a Soviet submarine uncovers Rapture and gets introduced to ADAM — the precious genetic resource of the first game — and plan to use it against the Americans in the ensuing Cold War....
Jade Empirewas considered one of the few Xbox exclusives worth having the system for, but a sequel has never arrived for the martial arts action RPG. Despite the one-shot deal, BioWare has stated that it would love to revisitJade Empireand make another one some day. “We will certainly announce it if it’s going to be coming out,”says BioWare’s Mark Laidlaw, pulling a Captain Obvious. “At this point,JadeEmpireis a staff favorite and a lot of us love it, so we’d love to revisit it at some point....
We’re not even sure if it’s news, but we’ve written about far less in the past, so here I go. Blizzard’s OfficialWarcraftTwitter accountis teasing somethingfor this Thursday. What? We already said what — “something.” Pay attention. The tweet, posted today, reads “It’s Coming – 11/25,” and is accompanied by the above picture. No, I don’t know what that is. I think I see a piece of rope or a spine… or both....
In a generation that seems to be sounding the death-knell for third party exclusives, developer Capcom is stillflying their flag proudly, claiming that there is “still room” for such titles. Capcom marketing Vice President Nique Fajors claimed that third party exclusivity was not yet a dead concept, provided the right conditions can be met. “Exclusives are driven by gameplay functionality and cost,” Fajors toldNext-Gen. “If you get your gameplay functionality and costs right, exclusivity can work....
A few days ago,we reportedthatGears of War 2would utilize two socially acceptable filters. The first of which would censor out all of the dreadful language that Baird spits out of his colorful mouth. The second filter was the more intriguing “sparks instead of blood” switch. These options will be made available at launch for parents who have the slightest idea what the hell they just bought their kid. Today, Mark Epic Vice President Mark Rein spoke toSpongto reinforce the point thatGears of War 2is indeed noViva Pinata....
Looking forward toSplinter Cell: Conviction? Want a statue of Sam Fisher? Haven’t gotten completely sick and tired of pointless, arrogant special editions? You are in lucky lucksome lucktimes, my friend! The collector’s edition forConvictionhas been revealed, and it’s packed full of so much nonsense you’ll weep tears of blood! Here’s the full list of fun that will be included when the game ships on February 26: The game’s multiplayer mode is also set to reveal later this month, debuting on December 16 via Xbox Live....
Hey friends, Kauza here. One of the very, very best things about the Destructoid community is its propensity for creating amazing Destructoid-themed items. Whether it’s something like an entire album of music or aMr. Destructoid plushie, it’s hard not to be impressed by the talents our community has and how our members use those talents for good. Dtoider Johnny Luchador is the latest badass to create a pretty fantastic article: The Mr....
Codemasters has announcedOperation Flashpoint: Red River, the latest installment of its tactical shooter franchise.Red Riverputs players in the combat boots of a US Marine Corps infantryman in a campaign set in Tajikistan, along the Vakhsh River. The game is being built with four-player cooperative online play in mind, with drop-in and drop-out play, along with “additional co-operative game modes” on top of the game’s campaign.Red Riveralso promises to bring a number of improvements to the series, including refined enemy and squad AI, new closer-quarters combat, streamlined controls, and more....
Limiting your costume wearing to late-October is silly. Why not dress up in December? You’ll have your chance, because that’s when Double Fine will be releasing a new downloadable add-on, “Grubbins On Ice,” for its Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network title,Costume Quest. The game takes place in the chilly, snow-caked land of Repugnia for more child-on-Grubbin action. The DLC will bring with it new costumes and a whole new storyline, and a few game enhancements including a new save system and the ability to pause during cut-scenes....
