LUCID FORGE

Things are really heating on the video game shelves this month. As voters north and south of the border look to choose their next government, gamers will also have a difficult choice to make: Rock Band or Guitar Hero. But seriously, a busy, busy month, so let’s get into it.

In the News

300 Director getting into gaming

For all those that said Zack Snyder’s filmmaking on hits like 300 and Dawn of the Dead was video game-like, can rest being granted vindication this week. Snyder signed a deal with Electronic Arts to develop three new games to be made and published by the California-based company. The deal is similar to one reached between EA Games and directors Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson in 2005, like “Boom Blox” which is currently being developed for Nintendo’s Wii in collaboration with Spielberg. Snyder will lead the creative direction and advise the technical aspect of the game.

Silent Hill banned Down Under

The latest Silent Hill game, Homecoming, has been refused classification by the Australian body responsible for giving ratings to video games, effectively banning it in the county. Silent Hill: Homecoming is the fourth game to be refused classification in Australia this year after Dark Sector, Shellshock 2: Blood Trails and Fallout 3. The board's report talked about blood spray, decapitation, dismemberment and depictions of torture as the reasons why as the spokesman told GameSpot Australia. And because there’s no rating for video games appropriate for only those 18 years and over, any game that exceeds a rating of MA15+ must be refused classification, which effectively makes it illegal to sell in Australia. The debate over the lack of an adult rating for games has grown in the country considering that the average age of players is well above 18.



Game shop employees busted

Eight clerks at a GameStop stores in Memphis, TN, plead guilty to charges of theft under $500. The Shelby County District Attorney’s office has identified them as Carmen Meacham, 41, of Bartlett; Brandon Blackwell, 20, of Memphis; Andrew Cline, 23, of Cordova; Jeffrey Ford, 29, of Memphis; Patrick Hitt, 21, of Cordova; Corrie Morris, 24, of Memphis; Marcus Smith, 19, of Memphis; and Thomas Wells, 30, of Southaven, Mississippi. All were sentenced to one year of diversion; no jail time, but restitution and community service. The arrests came about because of an undercover investigation into the sale and purchase of stolen video games at Memphis area stores. The Sheriff’s Department’s ALERT Unit conducted the sting from April through June this year after hearing that the employees would buy stolen games.

Max Payne needed small cuts for PG-13

Like a lot of recent films, the makers of Max Payne are trying to avoid an R-rating in favour of a much more box office friendly PG-13. But no big deal, says director John Moore, who explained that it’s not as bad as you’re thinking right now. Speaking to GameDaily, Moore said, "That's what's a little bewildering about this, I didn't have to change much." He added, "We trimmed some frames more for the sake of trimming frames than anything, but we got the rating without any major changes at all." Moore also promised that there’ll be a more gamer friendly “un-rated” edition on DVD, but fans can see for themselves when the film comes out in theatres on October 17th.



Previews

Guitar Hero World Tour - Wii

For starters, we'll just state straight away that World Tour on Wii -- despite being a pain in the butt to pull off on the development side of things -- pulls off everything the 360/PS3 versions do, and more. You'll be able to purchase songs within the game, rather than heading to the Wii Shop Channel. You'll connect online instantly when booting up the game (should you set your options that way), so that you can always see which friends are online and playing even if you're just rocking out in local play, and yes, you can download tracks on the SD card and play them without any in-game transferring or internal memory drama that you'd normally deal with on Wii. Just download the songs to either the console or SD card, pick your tracks in career, quick play, or online, and go. The game takes care of the rest all in the background, and very fast. – IGN.com



For those willing to take the plunge into making their own music, GH Studio is the most accessible option. This is where up to four players can jump into the proverbial recording room and record live performances. Each instrument can be tweaked in a variety of ways. You can change the sound of your drum kit from standard rock to NES-style blips to even robot voice sounds. Guitar is broken down to lead and rhythm; lead can play either single-note riffs or multinote arpeggios, while the rhythm guitarists offer some depth with either full or power chords. Both guitarists can select from a variety of guitar and amp sounds from the virtual Line 6 pods available to them, and the key can be changed in all sorts of ways with all kinds of scales available to select. You can even record keyboard using a guitar controller, and the keyboard melody can later be sung by a vocalist when the song is performed in-game. (Vocal recording has been disabled for myriad legal reasons.) – Gamespot.com

Rock Band 2 – All platforms

The tour mode is much more flexible—allowing up to three other players to join you online or off and drop in or out at any time. Setting up the band is also a lot less painful since characters are no longer tied to a specific instrument, and you can finally play through the tour as a bassist. Other tweaks include challenges that will ask you to play sets of songs, shooting music videos, and hiring managers or promoters—all with the goal of gaining as many fans as possible. It’s like a band’s second album—the production is tightened up, but the overall sound remains the same. – Game Trailers.com



Rock Band 2 is compatible with Rock Band's guitar and drums, so shelling out a considerable amount of cash for the new peripherals is optional. Of course, everything is wireless now, and Harmonix finally seems to have gotten the guitars spot on, with a sleek design and large start/back buttons with a convenient guard built over "start" to prevent accidental and highly frowned upon mid-song pausing. Depending on how much your neighbours hate you, the quieter drum pads are a quality upgrade and the reinforced bass pedal seems prepared to take a beating. For the scores of people forced to return their Rock Band guitars for repair and worried about how the new ones hold up, head to a local retailer with a store display for Rock Band 2. If you had your friends over every night to play, there is no way you can wreak as much damage on the equipment as several hundred sticky fingered 5 year olds can over the course of a week at Best Buy. Somewhere, there is a mathematical equation that proves that. – G4TV.com

Reviews

Silent Hill: Homecoming – X-Box 360

But the good…no, great news is that Homecoming’s second half saves its bloodied bacon by more thoughtfully pacing out enemy encounters, giving you more than just one health drink and one box of pistol rounds to survive, and cranking up the foreboding atmosphere to breaking point. Once this happens, you’ll immediately know — and from that moment on, it’s a tense, bloodcurdling trip to tear the curtains off of Alex’s unhappy, plot-twisty ride into hell. Sure, your enjoyment relies heavily on whether you guess the story’s big end-reveal within its first 30 minutes (we didn’t), but Homecoming’s half-hidden, melancholy little heart is shown only to those who look past its incredibly M-rated gory kicks and often frustratingly lopsided, questionably balanced exterior. – Official X-Box Magazine While Homecoming's combat system has its growing pains, I wholeheartedly endorse the new camera and movement controls. You move with one analog stick and control the camera with the other, which enables you to manipulate the view with far more precision than ever before. Moreover, your character can now strafe, which really helps cement the more action-centric focus. I'm sure some Silent Hill fans will miss the cinematic angles when entering an unknown area, but this should pass -- the new camera and controls do little to detract from the atmosphere in the long run. – 1Up.com

Mega Man 9 – X-Box 360

As for presentation, Capcom reverts to its NES development roots with great results. The graphics resemble an 8-bit Mega Man game, right down to the recreation of on-screen flicker. The level design, as stated above, is outstanding, and the colors really brighten up the screen. It's also fun to watch old-school Mega Man back in action, opening his mouth every time he leaps into the air. The music is the best we've heard since Mega Man 2, even if it's strictly 8-bit tunes. In addition, the sound effects are typical Mega Man, complete with authentic blaster and collision noises. – Game Daily.com For the first hour or so of play, I couldn't get past the first two or three screens on any of the nine available stages. I would tear my hair out trying. Not only do you feel as if Mega Man 9 actually wants you to die, a lot, but you also get the impression that it jumps for delirious joy when it sends you falling to your doom. Damnable white bullets, frustrating floaty enemies, elephants that shoot giant balls across the screen from their snouts then suck them, and you, back in - I suffered from it all. I endured painful death after painful death from them all. – Video Gamer.com

New Releases

October 1st

War World (Action/Ubisoft) – X360
Petank Party (Action/UFO Games) - PC
Mega Man 9 (Action/Capcom) – X360
Valhalla Knights 2 (Role-Playing/Xseed Games) - PSP

October 4th

Luxor 4 (Puzzle/MumboJumbo) - PC

October 6th

CID The Dummy (Action/Oxygen Interactive) – Wii, PS2, PSP, PC
Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy (Adventure/Her Interactive) - PC
Game Party 2 (Puzzle/Midway) - Wii
Line Rider 2: Unbound (Action/Genius Products, Inc.) - Wii
Pipe Mania (Puzzle/Empire Interactive) - PC

October 7th

My Spanish Coach (Strategy/Ubisoft) - PSP
Imagine Fashion Designer New York (Simulation/Ubisoft) - DS
Prey the Stars (Action/Koei) - DS
Sam & Max: Season 1 (Adventure/The Adventure Company) - Wii
Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune (Action/DSI Games) - Wii
Imagine Babysitters    DS       Simulation       Oct 7, 2008                 Ubisoft
Disney Sing It (Puzzle/Disney Interactive) – X360, PC, PS3
Can You See What I See (Puzzle/MumboJumbo) - PC
Etch A Sketch (Puzzle/MumboJumbo) - PC
Ten Pin Alley 2 (Sports/Jack of All Games) - Wii
Six Flags Fun Park (Action/Brash Entertainment) – PS2, PC
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant (WII/Sierra Entertainment) – Wii, DS, PS2, X360
Everlight (Adventure/DreamCatcher Interactive) - PC
Exodus from the Earth (Action/Strategy First) - PC
Bleach: Dark Souls (Action/Sega) - DS
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals (Role-Playing/Disney Interactive Studios) - DS
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (Action/Ubisoft) - PC
NBA Live 09 (Sports/EA Sports) – X360, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii
Fracture (Action/LucasArts) – X360, PS3
NBA 2K9 (Sports/2K Sports) – PS2, PS3, X360
Guilty Gear 2: Overture (Action/Aksys Games) – X360
NBA 09 The Inside (Sports/SCEA) – PS2, PS3, PSP
The Guild 2: Venice (Strategy/DreamCatcher Interactive) - PC
Kage Densetsu: The Legend of Kage 2 (Action/Taito Corporation) - DS
Midnight Club: LA Remix (Driving/Rockstar Games) - PSP

October 8th

MLB Stickball (Sports/Microsoft) - X360

October 10th

Cake Mania: Baker's Challenge (Puzzle/Destineer) - PSP, PS2

October 13th

Blitz: The League II (Sports/Midway) – PS3
Tak Mojo Mistake (Action/THQ) – PS2, Wii, DS
Blitz: The League II (Sports/Midway) – X360
Avatar - The Last Airbender: Into the Inferno (Action/THQ) – Wii, PS2
Bratz Girlz Really Rock (Action/THQ) – PS2, Wii, DS
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Puzzle/Aspyr) - PC

October 14th

Boogie SuperStar (Action/Electronic Arts) - Wii
Golden Axe: Beast Rider (Action/Sega) – X360
Littlest Pet Shop (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - PC
Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune (Action/DSI Games) - DS
Deer Hunter Tournament (Sports/Atari) – PC, X360
Dokapon Kingdom (Role-Playing/Atlus Co) – PS2, Wii
Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (Puzzle/Atari) - DS
Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer (Simulation/Ubisoft) - DS
Twin Strike: Operation Thunder (Action/DSI Games) - Wii
Poker For Dummies (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - PC
Brain Training for Dummies (Puzzle/Electronic Arts) - PC
Smart Girl's: Party Games (Puzzle/Tommo) - DS
Battle of the Giants: Dinosaurs (Action/Ubisoft) - DS
Littlest Pet Shop: Jungle (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - DS
Littlest Pet Shop: Winter (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - DS
Littlest Pet Shop: Garden (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - DS
Goosebumps HorrorLand (Adventure/Scholastic, Inc) - PS2, Wii, DS
Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer            PC       Simulation       Oct 14, 2008               Ubisoft
Littlest Pet Shop (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - Wii
Golden Axe: Beast Rider       PS3      Action             Oct 14, 2008               Sega
DanceDanceRevolution Universe 3    X360   Puzzle Oct 14, 2008               Konami
FIFA Soccer 09 (Sports/EA Sports) – PS2, PS3, PSP, PC, X360, DS
Dead Space (Action/Electronic Arts) – PS3, X360
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Action/SCEA) – PS3
Saints Row 2 (Action/THQ) – PC, X360, PS3
Populous DS (Strategy/Xseed Games) - DS
Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 (Role-Playing/D3) - DS
Rock Revolution (Puzzle/Konami) – Wii, DS, PS3, X360
My Japanese Coach    DS       Puzzle Oct 14, 2008               Ubisoft

October 15th

Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band The Game (Puzzle/THQ) - PC
Hot Dish (Puzzle/ValuSoft) - PC
Enchanted Fairy Friends: Secret of the Fairy Queen (Adventure/ValuSoft) - PC
Let's Ride: Riding Star (Sports/ValuSoft) - PC
Paws & Claws: Pet Vet: Australian Adventure (Simulation/THQ) - PC
Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure (Adventure/Adventure Company) - Wii
Space Trader - Merchant Marine (Action/Hermitworks) – PC
Age of Booty (Strategy/Capcom) – X360
Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches (Adventure/Got Game Entertainment) - PC
The Game of Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition (Action/ValuSoft) - PC

October 16th

Age of Booty (Strategy/Capcom) – PS3
Shaun White Snowboarding (Sports/Ubisoft) - PC

October 17th

WWII Battle Tanks: T-34 vs. Tiger (Simulation/No Company) - PC
Ultimate Card Games             DS (Puzzle/Telegames, Inc.) - DS

October 19th

Rock Band 2 (Puzzle/MTV Games) – PS3

October 20th

Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band (Puzzle/THQ) – Wii, DS, PS2
Monopoly (Strategy/Electronic Arts) – Wii, X360, PS2, PS3
Pass the Pigs (Puzzle/THQ) - DS
Bully: Scholarship Edition (Action/Rockstar Games) - PC
Celebrity Sports Showdown (Sports/Electronic Arts) - Wii
NHL 09 (Sports/Electronic Arts) – PS2, PC
Wii Music (Simulation/Nintendo) - Wii
SpongeBob featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom (Action/THQ) – PS2, DS, Wii
Carnival Games: Mini-Golf (Sports/2K Play) – Wii
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader: Make the Grade (Puzzle/THQ) – Wii, DS
Back at the Barnyard: Slop Bucket Games (Action/THQ) - DS
Dead Space (Action/Electronic Arts) - PC
Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Driving/Rockstar Games) – X360, PS3

October 21st

Petz: Saddle Club (Simulation/Ubisoft) - PSP
Away: Shuffle Dungeon (Role-Playing/Majesco Games) - DS
Cooking Mama World Kitchen (Puzzle/Majesco Games) - Wii
Disney Sing It (Puzzle/No Company) – Wii, PS2
High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE! Puzzle/Disney Interactive) – Wii, DS
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell (Adventure/Disney Interactive) - DS
Transformers: Animated (Action/Activision) - DS
Theresia: Dear Emile (Adventure/Arc System Works) - DS
Dancing With the Stars: Get Your Dance On! (Action/Activision) –Wii, DS
Petz: Horsez 2008 (Strategy/Ubisoft) - PC
Petz Rescue Wildlife Vet (Adventure/Ubisoft) - Wii
North American Hunting Extravaganza (Sports/Destineer) - Wii
Pet Pals Animal Doctor (Adventure/Legacy Interactive) - Wii
Ener-G Horse Riders (Strategy/Ubisoft) - DS
Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp (Sports/Activision) – PS2, Wii, DS
Circus Games (Action/Ubisoft) - Wii
Candy Factory (Action/Destineer) - Wii
Ener-G Gym Rockets (Strategy/Ubisoft) - DS
Disney TH!NK Fast (Puzzle/Disney Interactive) – PS2, Wii
Ener-G Dance Squad (Strategy/Ubisoft) - DS
Backyard Football 2009 (Sports/Atari) – PS2, Wii, DS
Legendary (Action/Gamecock Media Group) – PS3, X360
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (Action/Tomy) - Wii
Master of the Monster Lair (Role-Playing/Atlus Co) - DS
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (Action/Konami) - DS
BioShock (Action/2K Games) – PS3
Star Ocean: First Departure (Role-Playing/Square Enix) - PSP
LittleBIGPlanet (Action/SCEA) – PS3
Far Cry 2 (Action/Ubisoft) – PS3, PC, X360
Europa Universalis III Complete (Strategy/Paradox Interactive) - PC
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon (Role-Playing/Natsume) - DS
War Leaders: Clash of Nations (Strategy/cdv Software) - PC
What's Cooking with Jamie Oliver (Simulation/Atari) - DS
Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant (Action/Radical Entertainment) - PSP
Fable II (Role-Playing/Microsoft Game Studios) – X360
The King of Fighters Collection: Orochi Saga (Action/SNK Playmore) – Wii, PS2, PSP
EverQuest: Seeds of Destruction (Role-Playing/Sony Online Ent.) - PC
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (Action/Activision) – PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, X360, PC
Ghostbusters The Video Game (Action/Sierra Ent.) – Wii, DS, PS2, PS3, X360, PC
Eternal Sonata (Role-Playing/Namco Bandai Games) – PS3
Tornado (Action/Fillpoint) - DS
The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of Dragon (Action/Sierra Ent.) – X360, PS2, PS3, Wii, DS

October 23rd

Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek (Adventure/Sega) - Wii
Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun (Adventure/The Adventure Company) - Wii

October 26th

Guitar Hero World Tour (Puzzle/Activision Blizzard) – PS2, PS3, Wii, PC, X360
Ikki Tousen: Shining Dragon (Role-Playing/Valcon Games) – PS2

October 27th

Go, Diego, Go!: Great Dinosaur Rescue (Action/Take-Two Interactive) – PS2, Wii, DS
Dora The Explorer: Dora Saves the Snow Princess (Action/Take-Two) – PS2, Wii
All Star Cheer Squad (Sports/THQ) – Wii, DS
Mechanic Master (Puzzle/Midway) - DS
The Wonder Pets!: Save the Animals! (Action/Take-Two Interactive) - DS

October 28th

Bella Sara (Puzzle/Codemasters) – PC, DS
Pro Bull Riders: Out of the Chute (Sports/Crave) – Wii, PS2
Bigfoot (Driving/DSI Games) – Wii, DS
Imagine Party Babyz (Simulation/Ubisoft) - Wii
Ultimate I Spy (Puzzle/Scholastic, Inc) - Wii
Six Flags Fun Park (Action/Brash Entertainment) - Wii
High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE! (Puzzle/Disney Interactive) – PC, PS2
Jagged Alliance (Strategy/Atari) - DS
SCORE International Baja 1000 (Sports/Activision) – Wii, PS2
Ski Doo: Snowmobile Challenge (Sports/No Company) – PS3
Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine (Action/Destineer) – Wii, DS
Shrek's Carnival Craze (Action/Activision) Wii, DS, PS2, PC
Petz Rescue Ocean Patrol (Adventure/Ubisoft) - DS
Monster Jam: Urban Assault (Driving/Activision) – Wii, DS, PS2, PSP
Smart Girl's: Winter Wonderland (Puzzle/No Company) - DS
Smart Boy's: Winter Wonderland (Puzzle/No Company) - DS
Petz Rescue Wildlife Vet (Adventure/Ubisoft) - DS
Skate City Heroes (Sports/Zoo Games) Wii
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Strategy/Electronic Arts) - PC
Petz: Horsez 2008 (Strategy/Ubisoft) - Wii
Pirate's Quest: Hunt for Blackbeard's Box (Action/Activision) - Wii
PopStar Guitar (Action/XS Games) – PS2, Wii
MySims Kingdom (Simulation/Electronic Arts) – Wii, DS
FIFA Soccer 09 (Sports/EA Sports) - Wii
Neverland Card Battles (Role-Playing/Yuke's Company of America) - PSP
SCORE International Baja 1000 (Sports/Activision) – X360, PS3
SingStar Legends (Puzzle/SCEA) – PS2
Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ (Action/Gammick Entertainment) - DS
MotoGP 08 (Driving/Capcom) – X360, PS2, PS3, PC
Fallout 3 (Role-Playing/Bethesda Softworks) – PC, PS3, X360
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift        PS3      Driving            Oct 28, 2008               SCEA
SPRay             (Action/Tecmo) - Wii
BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE The Game (Action/D3) – PS2, PSP, Wii, DS
OPERATION Mania (Action/Electronic Arts) - PC
SingStar: Vol. 2 (Puzzle/SCEA) – PS3
Ninjatown (Strategy/SouthPeak Interactive) - DS
SingStar Country (Puzzle/SCEA) – PS2
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2009 (Sports/Majesco Games) - Wii
Scene It? Box Office Smash (Puzzle/Microsoft Game Studios) – X360
MySims (Strategy/EA Games) - PC

October 30th

SBK-08 Superbike World Championship (Driving/Koch Media) - Wii
Meteos Wars (Action/Q Entertainment) – X360

October 31st

4x4 Hummer (Driving/1C) - PC
Story Hour: Fairy Tales (Adventure/Zoo Games) - Wii
Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune (Action/DSI Games) – PS2
Evil Days: Pound of Ground (Action/Akella) - PC
Cryostasis: The Sleep of Reason (Action/1C) - PC
Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy (Adventure/Focus Home Interactive) - DS
Pro Bull Riders: Out of the Chute (Sports/Crave) – PSP, PC, X360
Lost Secrets Bermuda Triangle (Adventure/GameMill Publishing) - PC
To End All Wars (Action/Ghostlight) – PS3, X360
Death Track: Resurrection (Driving/1C) - PC
A Witch's Tale (Role-Playing/NIS America) - DS
Backyard Football 2009 (Sports/Atari) - PC
Story Hour: Adventures (Adventure/Zoo Games) - Wii