[GameRatty] tag: brain

Cursed Mountain reveals why monks know kung-fu

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:19:22 +0000

If the above trailer for Deep Silver’s new game Cursed Mountain doesn’t pique your curiosity then you should probably get the part of your brain that tells you when a game looks interesting checked out. I know a guy who can do it on the cheap. There’s interesting looking gameplay mechanics, buddhist monks and some down right creepy locales. Plus the graphics quality seems to have picked up a bit since we last saw the game. The dodgy Scottish accents still concern me though.

Seriously, it’s just nice to see more and more content like this coming out on the Wii. If Nintendo isn’t going to be bringing us what we want than I’m glad some other developers are stepping in. Deep Silver’s track record is a bit hit and miss, but it does appear that they’re going all out with this one so hopefully it pays off for both us and them. Remember if we don’t support the mature games on the Wii they won’t make them.

Box Art Reviews: Mushroom Men, Prince of Persia, Destroy All Humans!

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:00:07 +0000

During the holiday shopping season, it’s more important than ever for games to stand out… in a good way. Here are the covers of this week’s releases and how they fared in our weekly box art reviews…

“Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars” (Wii)
What the Box Tells Us: A pair of mouthless, weapon-wielding mushroom men make their way through the treacherous grass, giant snake in tow.
Cons: Are the mushroom men the bad guys or the good guys? Are they going to destroy humanity as we know it?
Pros: It reminds me of movie posters from ’50s sci-fi flicks, like “Them!” (though with less carnage). Still, a very cool aesthetic.
Love It or Leave It: Love it.

“Family Party: 30 Great Games” (Wii)
What the Box Tells Us: A slew of pale-faced avatars enjoy some of the 30 great games, like soccer, log-rolling, log-cutting, archery and rope-climbing.
Pros: There’s quite a variety of activities on the cover.
Cons: Of the 30, these are the best games to showcase? There’s also a baseball, an apple and a brain. Not too exciting. Or great.
Love It or Leave It: Leave it.

“My Fun Facts Coach” (DS)
What the Box Tells Us: This game will provide “facts for your daily life.”
Pros: It seems you can learn facts about everything from penguins to hot air balloons.
Cons: Some of the squares are cut off. What’s the point of showing half or one-third of a random stock image?
Love It or Leave It: Leave it.

“Prince of Persia” (Xbox 360, PS3)
What the Box Tells Us: A man is surrounded by the red and purple headwear he’s donning. One hand is holding a sword and the other looks like a scary claw.
Pros: The box art designers used his scarf as a frame for the cover, focusing your attention on the protagonist and the title.
Cons: The angle he’s leaning at looks like he’s about to fall off of a ledge or trip. I hope there’s someone else around to save him…
Love It or Leave It: Love it.

“Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon”
What the Box Tells Us: A menacing alien stands at the forefront, while a chaotic alien invasion takes place in Paris and Las Vegas.
Pros: Unlike the aforementioned “Mushroom Men,” it’s pretty clear that the aliens are going to destroy humankind. Humankind donning bell bottoms and shaggy hair.
Cons: If you put this box next to the other three “Destroy All Humans!” titles, I couldn’t tell them apart. Try straying from the formula.
Love It or Leave It: Leave it.

UK: Call of Duty still on top, Resistance 2 enters at number 10

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:53:11 +0000

The numbers are in from the UK and it looks like gamers are still too busy with Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS) to bother with Resistance 2, which entered the charts at 10th place.

That's way lower than expected for the highly anticipated (or not) game. According to Chart Track, the launch sales of Resistance 2 are only around two-thirds of the original game. Ouch.

Gears of War 2 falls lower in the charts to 17th place, while Fallout 3 made a huge leap from the 23rd spot the previous week to its current spot at 13th. Tomb Raider: Underworld is keeping steady sales, rising two spots to 7th place. Hopefully this gives SCi Entertainment some leverage in its (rumored) negotiations for a buyout.

Here are the top games in the UK for the week ending on November 29:

Call of Duty: World at War
Need for Speed: Undercover
FIFA 09
Mario Kart Wii
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Wii Play
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Resistance 2

Call of Duty: World at War also on top for the week of November 22

UK: Call of Duty still on top, Resistance 2 enters at number 10

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:53:11 +0000

Call of Duty: World at War
Need for Speed: Undercover
FIFA 09
Mario Kart Wii
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Wii Play
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Resistance 2

Call of Duty: World at War also on top for the week of November 22

UK: Call of Duty still on top, Resistance 2 enters at number 10

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:53:11 +0000

Call of Duty: World at War
Need for Speed: Undercover
FIFA 09
Mario Kart Wii
Dr Kawashima's Brain Training
Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Tomb Raider: Underworld
Wii Play
Guitar Hero: World Tour
Resistance 2

Call of Duty: World at War also on top for the week of November 22

UK charts: World at War can't be shaken, Resistance 2 not so successful

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:23:32 +0000

Another week, another round of UK chart positions, and yet another top slot for Activision's Call of Duty: World at War. It's hardly surprising that a World War II game does so well in the UK. After all, WWII was the last time Britain was ever good at something.

Resistance 2 seems to be following LittleBigPlanet's footsteps by having respectable sales, but failing to set the charts on fire like its rivals' exclusives have done. While Gears of War 2 and anything on the Wii have all enjoyed top positions, Insomniac's PS3-exclusive shooter debuts at number ten.

It is interesting to note that Lips, Microsoft's big "casual" title that was supposed to bring in all sorts of new consumers, failed to chart in the top twenty at all. Given the huge success of SingStar in the UK, this makes it doubly interesting. Not that I expect Microsoft to take the hint and focus on its own market. I'm sure MS will continue desperately aping the Wii.

Otherwise, it's the usual suspects of FIFA 09, Need for Speed and Brain Training. Hit the jump for the full chart listing.

My Tribe

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:00:00 +0000

56.53 MB

“Create a prosperous island paradise!”

Create a prosperous island paradise for your industrious, intelligent tribe with this real-time Brain Teaser! Your tribe will have a mind of its own, learning skills and starting families even when you`re not around, but check back often to keep your island idyllic. Uncover mysterious secrets; unlock exciting new technology; build wondrous structures, and even explore other exciting islands in My Tribe!

Features:

Billions of islands to explore
Create unique environments
Will your tribe prosper?

RuneScape is hotter than Jessica Alba, no really it is

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:47:32 +0000

So I was minding my own business at the gym, jamming out to some crazy techno music on my headphones while doing some bench press reps, mindlessly watching the flat screen TV’s hovering above me. A headline peaked my curiosity as I watched the muted (it’s much better this way) morning show. Yahoo’s Top 10 Searches of 2008. Alright, these are always interesting and mildly amusing to see. So they start revealing the list, we got the usual suspects like Angelina Jolie and Lindsay Lohan, but then they got to number 5 on the list — RuneScape. Yes, RuneScape.

I guess there is something to be said about it being the only game on this list, the only game searched for more than Jessica Alba, American Idol, Angelina Jolie, Naruto and Lindsay Lohan. Truthfully, it hurts my brain to think about it. I’m not sure if this is proof that RuneScape is to be respected as a force in the MMO genre, or if it’s simply a testament of Yahoo’s users base. I’m not trying to put down RuneScape, I think it has its place in the world. However, it does strike me as being slightly odd that it is searched for this much. Lets be honest, RuneScape isn’t exactly ground breaking on any front, nor is it even notable in any single aspect of the MMO genre. Maybe the hardcore gamer inside of me doesn’t understand how a game like this could be searched for more than say, Halo, Guitar Hero or World of Warcraft. Perhaps this is that magical casual market that sells millions of games to non-hardcore gamers. That demographic that the Wii seems to have enticed. Maybe, I’m more in the minority than I think I am. Whatever the reason, lets raise our glasses and toast. To RuneScape, for being hotter than Jessica Alba, and being the only game to make it to the top 10. Congrats!

What do game designers dream about?

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:55:48 +0000

“When you work on a video game you start having a lot of weird dreams, especially in crunch period, when you literally work all day. Sleep becomes the only moment you have for yourself, away from work. The problem is that when you work a lot, sleep sometimes loses its relaxing abilities, and you basically end up working even when you sleep, your brain just can’t stop working.

“That happened to me on ‘Alone in the Dark’ when I was working on the monsters of the game. I spent a lot of time working on all the monsters in the game, setting and tuning them, to make sure they would always behave correctly. Before placing them inside the game, I had a test scene in the shape of a big arena where I could place all the monsters to test them.

“While I was working on those monsters, many times [I was still working on them] even in my sleep. In my dreams I was making new settings in the monsters and then I was watching them in the test scene to see if they were behaving correctly.

“But one time, this dream got weirder, I found myself literally inside the test arena, just as if I was inside the game, only it all seemed very real! I was surrounded by all the monsters of the game, but they were all very nice to me, I was the mean one. I was like the mean coach of a sport team, always yelling at the monsters because they were not doing what I was asking them to do, ‘You guys don’t get it, this is not the way you should react when you hear a noise, that doesn’t work,’ or things like that. And the monsters were very nice, doing their best to try to please me, but every time they were just doing the exact opposite of what I was asking them to do.

“I don’t remember how this dream ended, but I can tell you that after a dream like that, when you come back to work, it just feels like you never left work and that you never went to sleep…” - Emile Morel, game designer at Eden Games for Atari’s “Alone In The Dark” - Emile Morel, game designer at Eden Games for Atari’s “Alone In The Dark”

I dream a lot about doing work on the site. I have nightmares over big news stories. For instance, I’ll dream about missing a really big piece of Nintendo news, and by the time I get back to report it, no one even cares. Man, am I a nerd!

More developer dreams here

UK, Ireland software sales - Week ending Nov. 29th

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:37:43 +0000

1 1 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR TREYARCH ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
4 2 NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER EA BLACK BOX EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
2 3 FIFA 09 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
3 4 MARIO KART WII NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
6 5 DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
8 6 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009 KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT KONAMI KONAMI
9 7 TOMB RAIDER: UNDERWORLD CRYSTAL DYNAMICS EIDOS EIDOS
10 8 WII PLAY NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
11 9 GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR VICARIOUS VISIONS REDOCTANE ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
- 10 RESISTANCE 2 INSOMNIAC SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.

Ireland

2 1 FIFA 09 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
4 2 NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER EA BLACK BOX EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
1 3 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR TREYARCH ACTIVISION ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
3 4 MARIO KART WII NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
5 5 DR KAWASHIMA’S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
7 6 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2009 YUKE’S THQ THQ
13 7 WII FIT NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
6 8 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009 KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT KONAMI KONAMI
- 9 RESISTANCE 2 INSOMNIAC SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
17 10 TOMB RAIDER: UNDERWORLD CRYSTAL DYNAMICS EIDOS EIDOS

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