Playstation 2 Game News

SPOnG

Start Select News

May 2004

Hilarious Movie Reviews
Crazy christian website CAP reviews movies with hilarious results.See our links page.

Far Cry
PC hit Far Cry, a first person shooter, is set to come to PS2. It is set in a huge world where you can drive fly and shoot your way through the missions as you like. The screenshots look nice but we can probably expect a few shortcuts to be taken compared to the PC version.

TimeSplitters 3
Called TimeSplitters Future Perfect, It is set to feature online play for up to 16 people with deathmatches and co-op play. You will apparently be able to drive weapon fitted vehicles and for the first time in the series you will be able to see your hands on the weapon!

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
First screenshots released! Looks like those of you who were asking for push bikes to be included got their wish. How good is this game going to be?


Ico 2 (possibly Nico)
A sequel to the brilliant Ico has been semi confirmed. The original game was and still is one of the most beautiful looking games ever. What's more it had the best story you are ever likely to see in a videogame, the ending is the only time (apart from Suikoden on the PSone and Beyond Good and Evil) I've ever felt a lump in my throat and a tickle behind my eyes while playing a game. it didn't do very well commercially though because you're all a bunch of hardened cynics who only want to shoot stuff or drive stuff in your video games. But heres hoping a sequel arrives soon and if you havent played the original go and buy it now!

Timesplitters 3
The official name and first screens have been leaked before E3, which were likely to remain secret until the first day of E3, which is still a week and a half away. So much for that idea Electronic Arts.
Now to be known as TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, the third in Free Radical's series is the first to be published by Electronic Arts. We have no real information about the title outside of the name. It is also rumored on several European sites, that the PS2 version will feature online play. That obviously couldn't be the case for the Xbox as EA isn't supporting Xbox Live, maybe, maybe not?

Rugby
Electronic Arts has said its next Rugby title will be developed using internal resources at EA Canada including the Fifa game engine. The NZ Maori team will be involved in motion capture during their upcoming North American tour.
Rugby 2005 is due for release next March. HB Studios, developer of previous versions, will remain involved in development and management of the project. Issues of IP ownership at EA prevented the use of existing technology for previous games, but HB Studios told said last year it was working toward an ownership status that would allow it access to EA's internal resources for future titles.

More Worms
Since history began, castles have provided the setting to some of the baddest battles of all time... and in Worms Forts Under Siege, now it's your turn to take part in your own epic struggle, pitting fort against fort, worm against worm, and Catapult against Trojan Donkey! Debbie Bestwick, Commercial Director, Team 17 Software Ltd, added, "Building on the strengths that have made the Worms games such a success, this latest instalment sees the series taken to a new level of gameplay. With massive weaponry and fortifications, there's a whole new strategic element that really adds to the engaging gameplay and addictiveness of the Worms experience." Worms Forts Under Siege is scheduled for release on all three formats in Europe in Q4 2004.

April 2004

LOTR: The Third Age
Electronic Arts officially unveiled the fourth and final game from that little New Zealand movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. Previously known as The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Third Age is possibly the most ambitious of the four as it has moved away from the typical hack and slash model and gone towards the RPG fantasy, a la Final Fantasy, instead.

Sharing technology and engines with both The Two Towers and Return of the King, The Third Age is turn-based, and according to the EA representatives should feel pretty familiar for fans of Final Fantasy in terms of its gameplay. Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen. While exact details concerning the battle engine in particular are still unknown, screenshots we have seen hint at an approach similar to that of Final Fantasy X. Gloriously good looking.


Need for Speed: Underground 2
Following on from the success of Need for Speed: Underground, Electronic Arts announced that they are hitting the streets again this year with Need For Speed: Underground 2.
In Need for Speed Underground 2 will allow gamers to become part of the tuner culture, exploring an expansive, free-roaming city divided into five distinct neighbourhoods. So they are going for more of a Midnight club look. Gamers will encounter rival racers who will initiate events, tip players off to the hottest racing spots, and show them where to buy the most sought-after licensed aftermarket upgrades. So again, kind of like Midnight Club? Can we see a pattern emerging here?


E3
PlayStation 2 E3 line-up exposed
Official website leaks line-up of over 100 PS2 titles for next month's huge games extravaganza. If you go through the whole site, in addition to the officially confirmed likes of Def Jam Vendetta II and ShellShock: Nam '67, it seems as if the following titles will be making an appearance at the industry expo:

The Getaway 2
Gran Turismo 4
Final Fantasy XII
Jak 3
Killzone
Metal Gear Solid 3
Ratchet and Clank 3
Arc the Lad
Athens Summer Olympics
Dark Cloud 3
ATV Offroad Fury 3
God of War
Formula 1 2004
Hot Shots Golf: Fore!
Rise of the Kisai
Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain
Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves
Siren
Area 51
Battlefield 1942
Burnout 3
Call of Duty: Their Finest Hour
Cold Fear
Cold Winter
Death By Degrees: Nina Williams
Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires
EA Sports line-up
Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
Hitman Contracts
Mercenaries
Monster Hunter
Onimusha 3
Phantom Brave
Robotech Invasion
NHL Hockey 2005
MLB 2005
World Tour Soccer 2005
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Spider-Man 2
The Warriors
Bujingai: The Forsaken City
Crimson Tears
Dead to Rights II
Driven to Destruction
Driv3r
Duel Masters
Forgotten Realms
Godzilla: Save the Earth
Mega Man Anniversary Collection
Mega Man X 8
Mega Man X Command Mission
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Shadow of Rome
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection
Terminator 3: The Redemption
Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament
Under the Skin
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe 2
Way of the Samurai 2
Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner
Guilty Gear Isuka
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Destroy All Humans!
Shark Tale
Shrek 2
State of Emergency 2
Transformers

How accurate this list is remains to be seen.

GTA San Andreas
Looks like the next Grand Theft Auto will miss E3 - but only buy a few weeks.
Take 2 - parent company of Grand Theft Auto publishers Rockstar - have revealed that GTA: San Andreas will be revealed for the first time to "key retailers and industry trade publications" in June, meaning that it will apparently not be on show at next month's E3 industry show.


Heroes of the Pacific
Encore announced today that it will publish Heroes of the Pacific, a detailed WWII flight combat title from Australian developer thatgame Studios. The game is expected to ship in winter of 2004.
Heroes gives players a take on the aerial combat of WWII's Pacific Theater. The game has about 30 historical missions, including dogfights over Midway Island, the Coral Sea, Wake Island, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. The mandatory variety of aircraft will be available, including Grumman F4F Hellcat and F6F Wildcat, the Douglas SBD Dauntless, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and the Chance-Vought F4U Corsair.
The game will support up to 300 planes on screen at once, and feature detailed, realistic plane, ship, and environmental models. Heroes of the Pacific will support online multiplayer gaming, but the single player campaign allows for control of up to 32 wingmen for team-based combat.
"The large scale aerial battles and dogfights were arguably the most important part of the U.S. victory in the Pacific Theater, and no game has really addressed it to date," said Ben Palmer, co-founder of thatgame Studios. "With Heroes of the Pacific, our goal is to put players in the cockpit of some of the greatest WWII fighter planes in some of the most decisive battles of the war, and deliver an experience that clearly establishes this title as the next marquee flight combat game."
The company will show Heroes at E3 next month, so heres hoping the PS2 gets a decent, fun world war 2 flight sim.

Driv3r
Ataris driv3er site has been added to and now features an "Under the Hood" section. What does that mean? You have access to production stories and other stuff from the creators, an inside look at what's going on with the mechanics of the latest Driver game.
Find everything right here.

Star Wars: Battlefront
Check out the LucasArts website for some rather cool movies of the latest additions to the
star wars: battlefront site here.
heres a taste...
Naboo:
"The canals and bridges of Theed are the pride and joy of the peaceful planet Naboo . However, as a result of the growing galactic conflict, Theed has seen its graceful gardens transformed into a battleground. The streets of Theed vary from open avenues and plazas to narrow back streets, alleys and cul-de-sacs. Any commander worth his salt will use the buildings as cover to set up ambushes, and escape down narrow streets to avoid direct fire from heavy combat vehicles. Control of the Royal Palace is key to claiming the city, but the large river that bisects the city is only passable in two areas, so control of these bridges will be essential to victory. Defenders will place many turrets and bunkers around these key intersections."

Ghost Recon 2
Ghost Recon 2 is coming to PS2 shortly, this is what the Ubisoft website had to say:
"Ghost Recon is now recognized as a top-selling franchise, and we've kept the values that made the first opus such a success," said Alain Corre, Ubisoft's Managing Director for Europe, Asia Pacific and South America "Now with Ghost Recon 2, we have brought up the intensity and adrenaline in order to throw the player right into the middle of modern war-chaos. Our teams have been working on bringing immersion to the next level - and the result is simply amazing. You will really feel like you are at the center of a true war machine when playing this game."

Brothers in Arms

Gearbox and Ubisoft are making Brothers in Arms. The game is set to be a new WWII shooter for both consoles and PC's released this winter. Ubisoft is entering the crowded WWII shooter genre with the game, which it already plans make several sequels to.
"Ubisoft today reinforces its strategy to dominate the wargames market by announcing a long-term deal with award-winning developer Gearbox Software to publish a new military franchise," said the publisher in a press release.

Silicon Knights and Nintendo Split
Silicon Knights and Nintendo have parted company. Developer of rather good Gamecube game Eternal Darkness have ended their exclusivity deal with Nintendo to create software for different consoles in the future including the PS2.

Hitman: Contracts
The new Hitman game has gone gold (disc are in production) in the US and it should be with us very soon prepare for more of assassin who made bald look cool!

PSX
Sony has ceased production of the PSX due to continuing poor sales, according to media reports this week. Here is what they say:

"We have a structure where we run our production lines according to the movement of demands [in the market]," a Sony spokesperson is reported as telling the Weekly Gendai magazine in Japan. "We are currently deciding on the timing of when to restart production, with consideration given to adjustments in our inventory."

An unnamed source has also been quoted as saying, "A lot of things have been said about the failure of the PSX inside the company, but it was probably due to the unrealistic way that its development was conducted. "The development [of the PSX] was being handled by the games division and the next-generation Blu-ray Disc development division. The [PSX's] controls were being developed by the games division, while the Blu-ray Disc division was doing the AV parts. But the divisions couldn't work too well together. As a result, the capabilities of the PSX became incoherent, and it ended up as a machine that's neither a game console nor a DVD recorder."

The PSX is due for international release at the end of the year. While the Japanese launch in December was marred by unannounced downgrading of major functions, two upgrade discs have since been released to restore lost features. It is expected the Western model will include full-spec functionality, though the machine's usefulness looks to remain restricted by Sony-format memory functionality, positioning of the controller ports at the rear of the machine and the inability to plug in a multitap. I think I'll stick with my PS2!

Killzone
To stoke the flames of fandom, the official Killzone website has gone live. A teaser trailer is available on the site that doesn't have any gameplay, but plenty of shots of the Helghast, the gasmasked army that forms the opposition in the game. Also on the site are wallpapers so you can show your support for Killzone before anyone else.

Alias: the game
Monaco Corporation has advised that Alias, the video game based on and developed alongside the television series of the same name, will be released with a slightly cheaper price tag than normal. Good news for all the Jennifer Garner fans as this game is looking pretty good. Unusual for a TV or movie related game.
The game is scheduled for release on 9th April.

April Fool's
April fool's d
ay makes no exceptions, the jokes, gags and hilarity descended on the gaming world as well. The best of the bunch was made by Blizzard (makers of the warcraft series and upcoming PS2 game Starcraft Ghost) who used April first to show the world the newest "playable" race in World of Warcraft game (an online multi player RPG:
the two-headed ogre.
These quotes are from the web page (go there from our links page).
"By selecting the two-headed ogre race, you are selflessly choosing to share your existence in World of Warcraft with another player. While you have full and absolute control of your head and its associated arm, both players will have simultaneous control of equipment and inventory management, both legs, and character locomotion. This can make it somewhat difficult to travel anywhere in particular if that particular destination at all differs in the mind of either player."
Also included were some brilliant screenshots of the two-headed ogre in action, with one head having a snooze while its respective player was logged off!

March 04

Good News for PS2 Owners:
Sony Computer Entertainment in the States has released details from the address by Andrew House, executive vice president, at the 2004 Game Developers Conference.

He highlighted the importance of sustaining platforms lifecycles, showing how the 10-year plan for PlayStation 2 has changed expectations for platform longevity, and outlined the company's plans to do a similar thing with PlayStation 2.

Sales of PlayStation 2 are already 38 percent ahead of the original PlayStation for the same time period. House said this provides positive implications for PlayStation 2 sales: the company anticipates more than 60 percent of PlayStation 2 sales are still to come. House also emphasised the company's commitment to investing in future technologies that expand the capabilities of PlayStation 2, pointing to the EyeToy USB camera and its motion-tracking technology.

With more than 10 percent of the North American PlayStation 2 installed base now network ready, House spoke about the company's plans to expand the audience for online console gaming even further. Defining online console gaming as the new frontier for future generations of gamers, House outlined Sony's plans including creating additional revenue opportunities for developers and publishers. Hopefully tis won't mean paying an additional fee for internet gaming like the Xbox live system, but time will tell. House stated that good games will help push sales of network adaptors and with more than 52 new online-enabled titles scheduled for release in 2004, the company is focused on getting the huge established base of PlayStation 2 owners online as soon as possible.

Goldeneye 2:
EA have confirmed they are producing a sequel to the "greatest Bond game ever", Goldeneye. It is rumoured to be a first person shooter played from the side of the bad guys. Apparently it will also feature Oddjob, how this is going to be worked into the plot I dont know but Im sure it'll be interesting.

Resident Evil: Outbreak:
Its now looking extremely unlikely the European version will feature online co-operative play. Bummer.

Second Sight:
Timesplitters developers Free Radical are working on a new non Timesplitters game called Second Sight. It is an adventure horror game with a hero who possess psychic powers. He can use these powers to move objects in the environment. Stealth plays a big part with lots of sneaking around research facilities by the looks of things. One to keep an eye on.

Driver 3:
Looks like more delays could be possible on Driver 3. Recent news is that there is a lot to be done before the June deadline, but we here at Start: Select would rather have a great game a bit late than a crap one on the release date!

Star Wars: Battlefront: Vehicles!!!
Some of the stuff you can drive in LucasArts upcoming online shooter includes Tauntauns (animal things from the Ice planet Hoth), AT-ST imperial walkers, X-Wings, speeder bikes, AT-AT imperial troop carriers and Droid Battle Tanks. The finished game will apparently feature 20 different vehicles, some with turrets for you to drive alone or with wingmen operating the guns. Sounds unbelievably cool.

21 Mar 2004

Red Dead Revolver
This from Rockstars newsletter:
"Rockstar's first offering for 2004 rides into town this spring...
The calm of the range was shattered and one boy's innocence was lost when he witnessed the brutal murder of his family. Years have passed but the forged memory and the need for reckoning have not. Now an outlaw gunfighter, you must journey to uncover the truth and to reap vengeance on those responsible.

Red Dead Revolver is a classic tale of vengeance on the untamed frontier. Inspired by the celebrated era of Spaghetti Western filmmaking, Red Dead brings the gunslinging genre to videogames like never before with heated third person arcade-style shooter action.

Visit www.rockstargames.com/reddeadrevolver for exclusive glimpses of the all-new Red Dead Revolver. Brand new screenshots and the premiere of the Red Dead teaser trailer. Watch this space for the full official site coming very soon."

17 Mar 2004

The Godfather:
EA making Godfather Game. Expect Brando and DeNiro to provide the voices (only joking).

Gran Turismo:Gran Turismo 4 on preorder at amazon

Everquest: Champions Of Norrath: Released on 26th of March

Mercenaries:
LucasArts announced recently they will be releasing Mercenaries, a third-person action game this fall. It is set in North Korea and centers on the aftermath of a takeover that has overthrown a regime. find out more at:
www.lucasarts.com

 

11 Mar 2004

Serious Sam:
Climax's Serious Sam: Next Encounter is coming soon for PlayStation 2. The all new alien-blasting adventure will feature online play for up to eight players and two-player split screen action and two-player cooperative mode. It will released some time this October.
Next Encounter finds Sam gearing up once again to defend the Earth from Mental and his limitless extra-terrestrial hordes. Sam is launched back in time to eradicate the alien scum from more than 40 levels spread throughout three beautifully rendered, massive new time periods - Ancient Rome, Feudal China and legendary Atlantis.
For the first time ever, Sam will have access to vehicles to help him mow down the enemies, and of course he'll be armed to the teeth with an arsenal that contains old favorites and some high-powered new additions. Throughout it all, Serious Sam: Next Encounter maintains the same hilarious and high speed shoot-'em-up action that fans have come to love, while introducing loads of new gameplay to keep old hands and newcomers alike coming back for more.

Transformers:
Atari has created a new site for its highly anticipated mech title based on the Tranformers universe, Transformers Armada: Prelude to Energon <http://www.atari.com/transformers>. The game is due out on PS2 in May. The site will be update regularly, and already contains videos, screenshots, character profiles and more.
This from the Atari website
"The year is 2010 and the war for supremacy between the Autobots and Decepticons continues. On Earth, a group of kids find a Transformer ship that crash landed long before the dawn of mankind. Accidentally, they activate the ship's long-dormant cargo of Mini-cons, not knowing that the Autobots and Decepticons once schemed to keep this ship and its payload from ever being found.
Mini-cons possess a unique ability to make ordinary Transformers extremely powerful - in fact, both Autobots and Decepticons tried to use them during the Great War. When the ferocity of the war grew out of control, a truce was called and a decision was made to rid the war of these dangerous devices: All Mini-cons were placed into a ship and sent drifting into space for millions of years. Now the Mini-cons have been awakened are on Earth and the Transformers want them back!
Game Features:
- Play as the Autobot of your choice on each mission
- Battle to collect Mini-cons to improve fighting abilities against Megatron and the evil Decepticlone army
- Take part in a classic Autobot vs. Decepticon, good vs. evil storyline
- Explore rich 3D environments on foot or transform into a vehicle for high-speed action
- Fight using an entire arsenal of weapons"

The Getaway 2:
This from Sonys own page:
" A new lead character, more of London's underworld and buckets more claret. SCEE London Studio's epic crime caper follow-up fires off its first shots.
The Getaway was one of the biggest and most ambitious games ever produced. Released in Christmas 2002, it racked up a million sales with impressive speed, and even briefly dislodged GTA: Vice City from what then seemed like its permanent home at the top of the charts. It's one of a small handful of games to be rated nine out of ten by PlayStation.com readers and continues to notch up healthy sales as part of the burgeoning Platinum range.
No surprise then that a sequel is underway. We've known about Getaway 2 since way back in May last year (see Related Stories below), but we've finally managed to get our mitts on the first work-in progress screenshots, which you can check out below. You'll notice that there's no sign of either cockney gang-banger Mark Hammond or no-nonsense copper DC Carter; the handsome mug in the screens belongs to amateur boxer, bouncer and occasional hired muscle for some of the capital's less savoury characters, Eddie O'Connor. Plot details are literally non-existent at the time of writing, but it's fairly safe to assume that the new protagonist is going to be forcibly plunged into the depths of the criminal underworld (with hilarious and / or very violent consequences). No word either on additional playable characters, but there's clearly going to be more of London to mission around, including new interiors and underground locations. . "

08 Mar 04:

Tomb Raider 7

Eidos reveal first Tomb Raider 7 details
Eidos have announced the first details of the first Crystal Dynamics developed Tomb Raider game. Here's what the Eidos suits say...

"We are doing a lot of market research, in terms of the direction of the content and of the character," said Eidos CEO Mike McGarvey of the next Tomb Raider. "But the fundamental technology is already complete and the character is up and running in the environment, with new moves and a new control system. We are not in a position right now to articulate the creative direction of the franchise. It's still a little early. But we're certainly very excited about what we've seen so far."

Crystal Dynamics will probably be looking to change the control scheme to something a little more modern, probably using both analogue sticks similar to SOCOM and other 3rd person titles, but time will tell.

The seventh Tomb Raider is due to be released during the financial year ending 30 June 2005


ShellShock 'Nam '67

This is from the Eidos website about their upcoming and rather tasty looking "ShellShock 'Nam '67"

"Shellshock: Nam '67 dares to go where no other war game has gone, depicting the true horrors of the Vietnam War for the first time in a video game.
Eidos, one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, announces ShellShock: Nam '67. ShellShock: Nam '67 depicts the true horrors of the Vietnam War for the first time in a video game. The game is being developed by Guerrilla and will be available for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC in June 2004.
ShellShock: Nam '67 focuses on one man's experience of the most controversial war of modern times. You take on the role of a rookie soldier on his first tour of duty as he experiences the fear, chaos and atrocities of the Vietnam War. From the napalm bombardments of civilian villages and the gruesome VC (Viet Cong) boobytraps, to the permanent threat of invisible foes and deadly ambushes, Shellshock: Nam '67 dares to go where no other war game has gone.
Powered by Guerrilla's ground-breaking technology, ShellShock: Nam '67 delivers a graphically harrowing depiction of the terror of combat. You must fight your way through a variety of missions ranging from large scale battlefield encounters with the North Vietnamese Army to stealth-based missions such as assassinating a VC General. As you progress from a 'grunt' to Special Forces carrying out classified missions, you will have to rely on the same skills and tactics employed in the battlefields of Vietnam in order to survive. Your tour will take you from the lush wetlands of the South to the mountain borders of the North featuring diverse locations including dense jungles, rural Vietnamese villages and claustrophobic tunnel systems.
Hermen Hulst, managing director of Guerrilla, says:
"With ShellShock: Nam '67, we are aiming to deliver a game that really provides as authentic a war experience as possible. Through extensive research on all topics, but also by not shying away from the more controversial aspects of war, we are looking to provide gamers with the closest thing to actually being there."
Mike McGarvey, ceo of Eidos, says:
"Guerrilla is an extremely talented developer with brilliant technology and a clear understanding of what makes a great game. We've got high expectations for ShellShock: Nam '67 as it offers a unique take on what is a very successful genre.
Visit www.shellshockgame.com


Eidos announces acquisition of IO interactive

Eidos, publisher of Tomb Raider, has announced it is buying developer Io, makers of the Hitman series and Freedom Fighters.

Mike McGarvey, CEO of Eidos, says:
“We welcome the IO team of outstanding, technically creative developers, who we know share our vision and values. The relationship and experience we have already shared over the past five years gives us great confidence in their ability not only to maintain the outstanding success of Hitman, but also to develop new titles of unique IP. In addition, their market leading technology will be a key element in the Group’s transition to next generation platforms.”

Janos Flösser, Managing Director of IO Interactive, says:
“Eidos is an ideal partner for IO with an inspired and successful management team who share a similar production and development ethos to our own. We are delighted to take our existing relationship to the next stage. We will look to continue producing successful franchises, such as Hitman, and help to define a winning technology platform which has the potential to be more widely used across the Eidos studios.”

Fear Effect movie

Eidos and Paramount are to make a movie version of the Fear Effect games on PS One. Expect plenty of sapphic snogging scenes to match those in Cruel Intentions. Seems that video game to movie productions are improving so don't write this one off yet. Resident Evil wasn't toooo bad!

06 Mar 04 :

Rockstar Games announces the latest game in the Grand Theft Auto series will be called GTA San Andreas and is due for release around October 2004.

Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm comes out next week in stores March 12.

SOCOM 2 released this week so go and get that broadband subscription!

Vietnam war games loom large on the release schedule with Shell Shock: Nam '67 and
Conflict: Vietnam coming soon.

Driver 3 delayed until June.

EA signs up to publish Timesplitters 3 and Burnout 3.

Star Wars: BattleFront to be first decent Star Wars game on PS2

   

TOP