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Independent game developers interested in showing off their quality creations will have their chance to do exactly that in Penny Arcade's upcoming Expo. Dubbed as The PAX 10, the independent games showcase will be featured in the Penny Arcade Expo dated on August 29 to 31.

Organized with DigiPen Institute of Technology, PAX 10 will accept submissions from game developers by May 7. Games submitted will be checked for approval by a panel consisting of 50 judges, and works that make it into the shortlist will be given a PAX floor kiosk with four exhibitor badges to be used specifically to exhibit the game.

Visitors to the Penny Arcade Expo will be able to vote for their favorite PAX 10 game, with the game garnering the most number of audience votes nabbing the "Audience Choice Award."

Sally B. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

For years the Patapon tribe has lived in the desolate frontier, driven from their home by the evil Zigoton army. Behind the Patapons' cute exterior, lies a fierce warrior spirit that can only be commanded by the beat of their God’s war drum. They wait for the day that the "Almighty" will return, to lead them against their enemies and bring them back to their homeland. Finally, their wait has come to an end as the drums of war are heard once again.

Key Features

• Rhythm and Action Collide – Master up to six different drumbeats to command the Patapon troops to march, attack, defend, power up, retreat, and use magic. Combine the various chains of drumbeats to address each unique level, leading the Patapons to victory over the Zigoton enemy forces.
• Strategic Gaming – Patapon delivers a strong element of strategy by requiring players to properly customize and build up the Patapon army, arm each soldier with particular weapons and armor, and position them correctly for battle.
• Mission Variety – Take part in more than 30 specific missions including hunting, escort, and boss battles, and explore numerous vivid environments along the way. Players will discover and access more than 100 items and weapons throughout the adventure.
• Unique Art Style – French graphic artist Rolito, noted for his abstract art style seen in collectible toys, animation, and websites, lends his skills to create a variety of unique characters and environments, bringing the Patapon world to life.
• Mini-Games – Five music-based mini-games allow players to earn bonuses and upgrades to further customize the Patapon warriors.
• Music – Captivating and dramatic original music builds dynamically as players march and encounter enemy battles throughout each level.

To read IGN's review of Patapon, click here.

PlayStation.com - New Game Releases on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

P-Day 2008-02-26: hordes of Patapon fans storm local shops in search of drumming musical goodness; Thousands (millions?) of people found across the globe hypnotically chanting “pata-pata-pata-pon”.

Ok, so that faux-news bit might be a bit of a hyperbole, but I’d like to personally thank everyone here on the blog (new comers and old timers) on the support, good vibes, happy thoughts and overall positive sentiments towards this little bit of land we call Patapolis… and welcome to the tribe.

Last post, we mentioned that we’ll be answering a few questions on gameplay and offer some tips as long as it doesn’t spoil the ending.

Crossing the Dessert
Many of you are getting fried trying to cross the desert, so here’s a little tip for you guys: hook it up with the Rain JuJu, Don drum and get a’ chantin’…

(more…)

Chris Hinojosa-Miranda on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Title Spotlight, patapon, psp | Comments Off -

 

Nope, this isn't Nariko's (from Heavenly Sword) younger and blonder sister. The girl featured in the image above is Ayumi, the tenacious heroine of the upcoming third-person action game X-Blades.

The game will feature anime-style cut scenes along with a special combination of cinematic animation and relentless high-speed gameplay. Enter Ayumi, with her pistol blades, acrobatic ability and magic spells as she takes on demonic hordes and spectacular landscapes in this latest hack and slash game developed by SouthPeak Games.

James Seaman, Managing Director at TopWare Interactive, explains that the character designs and the gameplay for X-Blades takes its roots from the anime genre. According to Seaman, it promises to be a "killer title that gamers and animation fans won't be able to put down".

X-Blades is scheduled for release late this year and will be available for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii. Keep yourselves posted to this space for more updates regarding this game. In the meantime, check out the rest of the screenshots we have of Ayumi in action below.

  

Charles D. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

 

A new build is out for developer SofiyaCat's PSPTube program. For those who haven't encountered the program before, PSPTube allows your unit to play FLV files without the need to convert them.

Unfortunately, like one of its previous releases back in January, this latest release doesn't come with a changelog or even a readme, so we don't know what changes were made. If you happen on the changes, you can give us the heads up by commenting below.

PSPTube is now on release 20080301. However, please be reminded that the application is still in its evaluation stage so be careful when you install the program. For more info, you can check out the previous releases of the program.

Download: PSPTube 20080301

Isaac C. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

It looks like Electronic Arts will have to rethink the offer it forwarded to Take-Two Interactive on a possible company buyout. Take-Two rejected the US 2 billion offer from EA and mentioned that there still are other companies interesting in buying it.

While there have been no formal offers so far, Take-Two mentioned that EA has undervalued its offer in buying out the company and they it did not factor in the recent turnaround efforts Take-Two has been pushing lately.

A filing Take-Two issued with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Thursday stated that it "has not engaged in any substantive discussions with any party (including EA) with respect to a business combination".

The company refused to comment to shareholders any more past this statement regarding any possible merger discussions unless it is legally required to do so. Take-Two explained that it is still willing to open discussions with EA, but not until April 30, when Grand Theft Auto IV (for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) finally hits store shelves.

Charles D. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

It looks like Electronic Arts will have to rethink the offer it forwarded to Take-Two Interactive on a possible company buyout. Take-Two rejected the US 2 billion offer from EA and mentioned that there still are other companies interesting in buying it.

While there have been no formal offers so far, Take-Two mentioned that EA has undervalued its offer in buying out the company and they it did not factor in the recent turnaround efforts Take-Two has been pushing lately.

A filing Take-Two issued with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Thursday stated that it "has not engaged in any substantive discussions with any party (including EA) with respect to a business combination".

The company refused to comment to shareholders any more past this statement regarding any possible merger discussions unless it is legally required to do so. Take-Two explained that it is still willing to open discussions with EA, but not until April 30, when Grand Theft Auto IV (for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) finally hits store shelves.

Charles D. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

It's been a year since we heard of new developments for Replay Studios' upcoming stealth action game, Sabotage. Now we find out it's got itself a more svelte name: Velvet Assassin.

The Velvet Assassin is inspired by the true story of British Agent Violette Szabo (although the character in the game is named Violette Summer, which sounds a little perky for an assassin).

The game is set during World War II. As Violette, you will infiltrate enemy lines to bring down the Third Reich. To top it off, Violette will have to do this without support from her government. Talk about a girl power game.

It seems that the game not only gained itself a new title, but also new platforms. Replay Studios has also announced that Velvet Assassin will be released on next-gen consoles, presumably on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The game is set to be released this fall. In the meantime, you can watch this new behind the scenes video of the game:

Isaac C. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

The Nintendo DS, which has more or less always been on top of the charts in Japan, seems to have lost some of its charm for February. Could it be that it's really slipping or is it just that the other platforms are taking some of the limelight?

For the first two weeks of February, the DS slipped down to third place, behind the Wii and the PSP. On the third week, it gained some of its momentum back, and reached second place. However, for the last week of February, it slipped back to third place.

As we draw farther away from the winter holidays, sales across all platforms are slipping. However, the DS's slip in sales in relation to the other platforms may be a point of concern in the future. Here are the numbers in Japan for the week ending on February 28th:

• Wii: 63,504
• PSP: 53,373
• DS Lite: 50,151
• PS3: 14,060
• PS2: 9,634
• Xbox 360: 2,001

Isaac C. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -

 

Veteran RPG makers Tri-Ace are dropping hints on things to come. A recent Famitsu post reveals that a pre-order of Star Ocean: Second Evolution in Japan will yield very interesting bonuses in the form of sweet trailers.

For one, a new game called Infinite Undiscovery for the Microsoft Xbox 360 will be shown off. Even more exciting will be a trailer of Star Ocean 4 for an undisclosed platform. Lastly, a mysterious secret title will also be revealed once the trailer disc is out.

If you're feeling nostalgic, you'll be glad to know that other titles from Tri-Ace's storied past will also be included in the bonus disc. The following is a list of the trailer disc's full contents:

• Star Ocean 1: First Departure (PSP)
• Star Ocean 2: Second Evolution (PSP)
• Star Ocean 3: Director s Cut (PlayStation 2)
  
• Star Ocean 4 (TBA)
• Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (PSP)
• Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PlayStation 2)
• Radiata Stories (PlayStation 2)
• Infinite Undiscovery (Xbox 360)
• New title (TBA)
  

Glen D. on February 29th, 2008 | File Under Uncategorized | Comments Off -