The Tanooki » Joey Levin

Ubisoft hosts Call of Juarez bar nights at US colleges

Joey Levin — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:36:33 +0000

As a part of their campus representative program, Ubisoft Entertainment is hosting bar nights at college campuses around the nation promoting their upcoming Call of Juarez: The Cartel title. The game is slated for a release this June for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I attended one of these events held at the University of Illinois. Guests were treated to free cowboy boot drink koozies, fitting the western theme of the title. Cowboy hats were also provided to attended that pre-ordered the game online that evening.

Tied into these promotions, Ubisoft has teamed up with GameStop and has launched an interactive roadmap on Facebook tracking the total number of pre-orders on the game. Fans can follow along online and when the total number reaches certain milestones everyone who has reserved the game is treated to exclusive in-game content. A link to this interactive road map and more pictures from the Illinois event are provided below:

Call of Juarez Facebook Road Map

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Ubisoft and Virgin Gaming team up for free Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood Tournament

Joey Levin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:04:26 +0000

Throughout the month of March and beyond, Ubisoft has teamed up with Virgin Gaming to offer a free online ladder and tournament for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood on both the XBox 360 and Playstation 3. Participants will compete to win their share of a $25,000 prize pool, with a grand prize of $5,000 going to the best player on each console. The tournament is structured with a preliminary ladder round open to all players who own a copy of the game and an active online account for their perspective consoles. Following the open ladder round, the top 128 ranked players on each console will move onto a final tournament to compete for the cash prizes. The qualifying round began on March 3rd for the XBox 360, and will end on March 28th. The Playstation 3 ladder has not opened yet, but should be available soon.

What is particularly interesting about the mechanics of this tournament is that Virgin Gaming has developed a system where the results of each match are pulled automatically from the game servers after the match has ended. This process occurs all on its own and the tournament does not require players to report results or present proof of a win. Having spent some time playing in the tournament myself, I must say that the system works quite well and offers a unique type of online gaming competition.

For those of you wondering the more technical details about the tournament, the game type played is Wanted. Opponents pair up in matches on the Virgin Gaming site, meet up in a player match lobby within Brotherhood, and compete in a standard Wanted game against other random online opponents. For the ladder and tournament, the system only looks at the scores of the two competitors regardless of their final places within a given game. In other words, to earn a win in the tournament you only need to beat your opponent’s score. Match winners are awarded 2 points, and the losers are awarded 1. The top 128 players with the most points on each console at the end of the preliminary rounds will move onto the final round of the tournament.

For more information and to join in on the competition, visit Virgin Gaming’s Website.

Pokemon Black and White launch breaks US sales records

Joey Levin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:08:45 +0000

After more than a decade, the Pokemon franchise remains as popular as ever. This morning Nintendo announced that the newly-released Pokemon Black and White Versions have broken sales records in the United States and have sold more than 1.08 million units within the first 24 hours. The franchise’s previous top-selling titles at launch were Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Versions, of which 780,000 were sold on day one in April of 2007. Black and White have received universally positive reviews from game critics, and are on track to be one of the best selling titles on the Nintendo DS platform. The full press release from Nintendo is after the break.

New Pokémon Video Games Shatter U.S. Sales Records

Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version Combine to Sell More Than 1 Million in a Single Day

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Two new Pokémon^™ video games went on sale on March 6 and promptly shattered all previous U.S. Pokémon sales records. The Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version games for the Nintendo DS^™ family of systems became the fastest-selling Pokémon video games of all time, selling more than 1.08 million units after just one day of availability. That surpasses the previous one-day sales record of more than 780,000 set by the Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version games in April 2007.

“Longtime Pokémon fans are attracted to the new Pokémon, new battle systems and a new region to explore, while newcomers enjoy the ability to jump in and have fun right away,” said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America’s senior director of Corporate Communications. “These sales numbers illustrate the continued strength of the Nintendo DS family of systems. Already established as the nation’s best-selling video game platform of all time, the installed base of more than 47 million makes it the ideal hand-held for developers to reach a huge gaming-focused target audience.”

Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version feature more than 150 new Pokémon for players to catch, train and battle. The never-before-seen Unova region gives players a whole new world to explore. For the first time in the series, in-game environments change with the four seasons. The games also introduce Triple Battles and Rotation Battles, which give players even more choices when battling.

For more information about Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version, visit http://www.pokemonblackwhite.com.

Ubisoft sponsors Dance Marathons to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network

Joey Levin — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:30:54 +0000

Ubisoft, the developer of popular franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance has teamed up with Dance Marathon organizations at universities around the nation to raise money for hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network. For those of you unfamiliar with Dance Marathons (as I was before this event), they are fundraisers where participants are sponsored to stay awake and on their feet for an entire night. All of the proceeds are donated to hospitals that treat children with terminal illnesses or life-threatening injuries. Attendees participate in numerous dance-related events throughout the night, including rounds of Just Dance 2 on the Nintendo Wii courtesy of Ubisoft. I recently attended one of these events held at the University of Illinois, and was truly inspired by the experience.

Throughout the night, participants are visited by children who were patients at the very hospitals the marathons raise money for. These kids and their families share inspiring personal stories, and cheer attendees on in their mission to remain awake and standing throughout the entire night. As a corporate sponsor of these events, Ubisoft has donated funds to each Dance Marathon and provided copies of Just Dance 2 to entertain participants as they stay awake for charity.

On top of the contributions to each Dance Marathon, Ubisoft is hosting a contest on their Just Dance 2 Facebook page open to all schools that held one of these events. During each Dance Marathon, participants danced as a group to one of the songs featured in Just Dance 2 and made a video of their performances. These videos will all be posed on the Facebook page over the next few weeks. The school whose video earns the most views and votes will win a $3,000 donation from Ubisoft to the hospital they sponsor. The video posted above is the submission from the University of Illinois. (A shameless plug, but it’s for the kids!)

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The Da Vinci Disappearance: DLC coming in March for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood

Joey Levin — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:31:45 +0000

Good news, fellow Assassins! This March Ubisoft will release some new content for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood on both the XBox 360 and Playstation 3. The Da Vinci Disappearance will include both new missions for the single-player campaign, as well as content for the popular multi-player mode including new characters and new maps. Set following the events of the main story for Brotherhood, campaign missions for The Da Vinci Disappearance require players to save Leonardo Da Vinci after he is abducted by the cult of the Hermeticists.

In addition, the DLC contains four new multi-player characters including the Dama Rossa, the Knight, the Marquis and the Pariah. Photos of these four new Templar agents can be found below. The new map included in The Da Vinci Disappearance is Alhambra, a lush Spanish city with a multi-level layout allowing for players to make tactical strikes on their prey. Two new multi-player game-types will also be included: Escort, where two teams of four players must find and kill the opposing team’s VIP while protecting their own; and Assassinate, a straight-forward death match. So stay vigilant, and sharpen those blades! The Da Vinci Disappearance promises to greatly expand on an already outstanding game early this March!

Kotaku

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New Halo: Reach map pack DLC coming in March

Joey Levin — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 03:50:31 +0000

Good news, Halo fans: Today Microsoft released the first details about the “Defiant” multiplayer map expansion pack coming soon for Halo: Reach. What sets this DLC apart from all of its predecessors is that it is the first content for Halo: Reach that was not developed by Bungie. With the studio moving on to new projects, Microsoft has passed the reigns for this expansion onto Austin-based Certain Affinity.

The Defiant expansion will include three new maps, all of which are based later on in the Reach story line to bring players into environments that have been ravaged by the Covenant invasion. The DLC will be available on XBox Live this March, will cost 800 Microsoft points, and will offer 150 new Achievement points. Hit the break for the names and descriptions of each map, courtesy of Bungie.

“Spartans, ready your assault rifles and prepare to take the fight to new fronts! The Covenant crushed human defenses on Reach, but the fight for humanity’s survival still rages on in three brand new battlefields set on the doomed planet. With maps set on a giant orbital station high above the burning surface of the planet, hidden inside the forest of a military wilderness training facility, and wrapped in the remnants of a civilian mining site, the Defiant Map Pack brings awesome new environments for Firefight matches and all competitive multiplayer modes.

Condemned: Condemned takes place aboard Orbital Station Gamma, a massive space station high in orbit above the planet Reach. Prior to the Covenant’s overwhelming invasion, Orbital Station Gamma provided long range communications for UNSC fleets and a vital lifeline between Reach and Earth. During the Battle of Reach, the station suffered terrible punishment at the hands of the Covenant but a few fortified sections remain intact, fully pressurized, and ready for combat. Condemned supports 6 – 12 players in a variety of action-packed game types, including Team Slayer, Team Objective and Free for All.

Highlands: Highlands takes place on the top-secret Military Wilderness Training Preserve on Reach. The Preserve is a large, wooded area where Spartan super-soldiers trained long before the war with the Covenant began. During the Battle of Reach, the Preserve was the site of key battles between the alien invaders and a group of Spartans who used their familiarity with these UNSC training grounds to significant tactical advantage…but not everyone who enters these woods makes it out alive. Highlands expands the fight with massive-scale engagements for 8 – 16 players in Big Team Battle, Team Slayer and Team Objective.

Unearthed: Unearthed takes the battle for Reach to a large Titanium mine and refinery located in the Viery civilian sector of the planet. This particular mine was built to take advantage of the exposed titanium inside a massive meteor crater. The titanium produced here is used in much of the UNSC hardware, from the chassis of the Warthog to the meters-thick armor plating of capital ships like the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. While this facility was quickly abandoned when the Covenant arrived on Reach, it still has significant tactical (and economic) value and it won’t be long before both humans and Covenant return to battle for control. Unearthed allows up to 4 players to launch a counterassault against the Covenant in Firefight and Firefight modes such as Generator Defense.

Bungie.Net

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Professor Layton and the Unwound Future screenshots

Joey Levin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:46:08 +0000

Layton fans, rejoice! Nintendo’s famous top-hatted professor is returning for his third DS title, and it’s coming out very soon. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is scheduled to launch for the Nintendo DS on September 20th, 2010. The game’s premise will follow the Professor and his apprentice Luke as they attempt to solve the mystery surrounding a letter the duo receive from Luke ten years in the future. The letter warns that the London is in peril, and it is up to them to set things right before that dark future becomes a reality. The game will feature over 165 new puzzles, and appears to have the same charm and wit that Layton fans have frown to love. Screenshots are posted below, and stay tuned for any news as this game’s release date approaches.

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Karaoke Revolution: Glee hands on impressions – Update: Screenshots added

Joey Levin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 07:31:40 +0000

I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I am a big fan of Fox’s hit television show Glee. I’ve watched all the episodes and have purchased a song or two from iTunes, so I’m pretty much a hardcore ”gleek,” if you will. (Okay… when I said “songs”, I meant albums. Yeah, the music’s that good.) I was therefore pleasantly surprised to stumble upon Karaoke Revolution: Glee in Konami’s booth on the E3 show floor this year. Given the enormous success of both the Glee and Karaoke Revolution franchises, pairing the two together seems like a match made in heaven. I’ve tried out the game, and as both a hardcore gamer and fan of the show I was pleased with the way that Konami has brought Glee‘s charm, wit, and outstanding music into this new title that will release on the Wii later this year.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Glee tells the story of a high school show choir and has become well known for producing catchy covers of popular songs performed by its talented cast. The show recently ended its first season, and its music has so far sold very well both in stores and online. With Karaoke Revolution: Glee, about 35 of the show’s hit songs will be playable when the final product is released. For the E3 demo, five songs were available including “Endless Love,” “You Keep Me Hanging On,” and “Somebody to Love.” While each song is performed, scenes from the show are displayed in the background, and lyrics scroll across the bottom of the screen. Like other Karaoke Revolution games players are scored on their ability to sing along with proper pitch.

While the game’s concept is simple, fans of the show and its music will find a lot to love here. The game is loaded with fan service, including an animation of Jane Lynch as cheerios coach Sue Sylvester shouting into a loudspeaker during the loading screen. Even the multiplier bonus awarded for receiving a perfect score on segments of a song is displayed as letters of the word “Glee” that light up with each additional multiplier. Karaoke Revolution: Glee will also feature a story mode that will allow players to relive iconic moments from the show while singing along to the songs they love. While this title won’t appeal to everyone, Glee fans should definitely keep an eye out for this Wii-exclusive title set to launch this holiday season.

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Rock Band 3 demo impressions

Joey Levin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:39:36 +0000

Ever since MTV Games and Harmonix first launched the Rock Band franchise, one of their key goals was to use the software as a way to inspire gamers to learn how to play actual musical instruments. With Rock Band 3, Harmonix has introduced new technology that makes this vision closer to reality. With the addition of the keyboard peripheral, Rock Band 3 offers a new gameplay experience and expands the selection of music that is feasibly possible to perform within the game. What’s more, the keyboard itself is not only an identical replication of about 2 measures on a keyboard, but the peripheral itself can be plugged into a speaker outside of the game and act as a functional instrument.

In an effort to appeal to both the causal and hardcore fanbases, the keyboard gameplay will include two different modes: regular keyboard and professional mode. In the regular mode, blocks of keys are assigned a traditional Rock Band note color, and sriking any one of the those keys with proper timing will register as a correct hit. For players looking for a bigger challenge or for musicians that can play the actual instrument, professional mode offers an experience that essentially mirrors playing a keyboard. Instead of showing the five note colors on a track, the note display is changed into an actual keyboard, and players are required to play the correct notes, sharps and flats included. If you aren’t so musically inclined it does take some getting used to, but what’s great about this learning curve is that it is applicable to the actual instrument. If the keyboard portion of the song is a C sharp, the game prompts you to play a C sharp. When you get up into the harder difficulties, it pretty much crosses the line between players simulating playing the instrument and actually doing it.

One other way that Rock Band 3 promotes learning how to play the actual instruments is the new professional guitar peripheral. Instead of being a plastic toy with buttons, this controller is a fully functional six-stringed electric guitar. Sensors on the guitar’s neck detect players’ finger placements and allows the software to read actual notes and chords that players are holding down. The interface is no longer the traditional colored notes, but in their place is a numerical system that displays the actual notes and chords that are being held down off to the side. The end result is a game that literally can teach you how to play the electric guitar. In our private showing Harmonix showed us the true potential that this peripheral has by plugging the guitar controler into an amp while simultaneously demoing it being used to play the game.

As proof that the professional mode requires players to play the actual notes, the Harmonix representative was actually playing the song through the amp along with the game on this functional electric guitar controller. It was a very impressive showing and demonstrates how this professional guitar feature is no longer just a rhythm-based game, but a tool that can teach players how to actually play this instrument. This description might seem a little overwhelming and demanding at first, but Harmonix assured us that the game has tutorials and multiple difficulty levels to help ease players of all skill levels into playing the guitar, only for real this time.

Finally, Harmonix discussed some of the changes they have made to the gameplay experience after listening to feedback from fans of the franchise. Being a hardcore fan myself, I was most impressed with the new library feature that allows players to easily navigate and sort their music. A variety of search parameters can be set (from song length, to difficulty, to the decade it was first released), and afterwards only songs that fit those conditions will appear in the music library. This feature is particularly useful considering the massive number of songs that are available through imports from past games, in the music store, and on the Rock Band Network. According to Harmonix, there are over 1500 songs available right now, and they expect a total over over 2000 songs by the time Rock Band 3 launches later this year. Current Rock Band 2 users will also be happy to know that the soundtrack from that game will also be available for import into Rock Band 3.

One other gameplay change is the ability for players to join or drop on the fly. No longer is it required to back all they way up to the menu screen to switch out one player. Now these changes can be made instantly and easily from the player hub that is displayed the entire time you play Rock Band 3. What’s more, it is now possible to switch difficulty levels during the middle of the song without having to restart from the very beginning.

There are many more new features that will be available for Rock Band 3, and it is exciting to see how Harmonix has responded to feedback from their fans. From what I have seen so far, the final product is shaping up to be a polished, entertaining experience that gamers of all skill levels will get a lot value out of. Rock Band fans rejoice, the next sensation in rhythm games is coming soon, and it is spectacular.

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New Animal Crossing 3DS screenshots released

Joey Levin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:23:26 +0000

Nintendo has confirmed the existence of yet another 3DS game and has released screenshots of Animal Crossing for the hardware. Just one look at these screens and it is obvious that there is a graphical upgrade in this title compared to the one found on the Nintendo DS (and this is before the images are rendered in full 3D). The game promises to feature some unique methods of utilizing the connectivity features for the 3DS that Nintendo discussed during their press conference this morning. Players might even be able to transfer data automatically even while their 3DS is turned off and they are out and about. You know the drill by now, the screens are found below and stay tuned to The Tanooki for more information on Animal Crossing for the 3DS!

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Paper Mario title coming to the Nintendo 3DS

Joey Levin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:11:56 +0000

At today’s press conference Nintendo promised that the 3DS would have a lot of high quality software released very early in its life cycle, and we have confirmation of yet another game coming out for the new hardware. Newly-released screenshots confirm that a new Paper Mario title is on its way to the Nintendo 3DS. Early impressions of these screens suggest that the gameplay will return to more traditional turn-based combat found on the N64 and Game Cube as opposed to the action-RPG-platformer style found in Super Paper Mario on the Wii. Check out the screens below and stay tuned to The Tanooki for more information on this game as it is revealed.

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Nintendogs +Cats screenshots for the 3DS

Joey Levin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:56:21 +0000

During Nintendo’s press conference this morning it was confirmed that Miyamoto was working on a new Nintendogs title for the Nintendo 3DS. Fans of the series should be pleased to hear that cats will also be available to play with when Nintendogs +Cats is released. The game also promises to use the 3DS hardware’s new connectivity capabilities and connect with other 3DS handhelds even when both systems are turned off. This means that the walk feature that was found in the first Nintendogs title has the potential to be revamped and made more accessible to all gamers regardless of how tech savvy they might be. Check out the new screens below including the very first image of a cat in a Nintendogs game.

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Mario Kart 3DS in development

Joey Levin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:31:10 +0000

Nintendo has just confirmed that Mario Kart is on its way for the Nintendo 3DS. While the only visuals we have at the moment appear somewhat similar to those seen on Mario Kart DS, they do show an impressive number of objects being rendered along the tracks. What’s more, if you look closely you will notice that one of the images depicts Mii avatars standing at the side of the course much like they do in Mario Kart Wii. Could this possibly mean that the DS will also have Mii integration? This seems like a natural choice for Nintendo to make given how popular Miis have become, but at this point it is all pure speculation. Check out all of the screens below including the last one containing the Miis.

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Star Fox 64 to be remastered for the Nintendo 3DS

Joey Levin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 08:08:43 +0000

New screens have surfaced for Star Fox 64, and it’s coming to the Nintendo 3DS! This title is a classic from the Nintendo 64 era not only due to its high quality visuals and gameplay, but it is also known as one of the very first console games to introduce the rumble feature that has since become a staple form of feedback for games. We’ve already told you how impressive the display is on the 3DS, and this title has the potential to deliver on some truly gorgeous eye candy. (The asteroid belt level in particular comes to mind here). Check the gallery below for all of the newly-released screens, and stay tuned to The Tanooki for more information on this title as it develops.

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E3 2010: Ivy the Kiwi? hands-on impressions

Joey Levin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:15:30 +0000

Ivy the Kiwi? from XSeed games is a non-traditional action platformer coming to the Nintendo DS and Wii. (And no, I’m not unsure of the title, there is a question mark in it.) The game’s objective is to guide the protagonist Ivy across a playing area to a podium at the end of the level. Players do this by using the Wii remote or DS stylus to draw lines on the screen that create vines which can be utilized in a variety of ways. Ivy, meanwhile, walks about on her own requiring players to act quickly to guide Ivy along a safe path while avoiding enemies and traps. The vines can be used as more than just simple platforms as players can push Ivy while they draw them, or drag down on the vines and release them like a spring board to launch Ivy into the air with a drill attack.

While I only had the chance to explore a few stages of the game, Ivy the Kiwi? has a charming art style that is reminicent of a children’s book. The game will offer simple, yet challenging experience for players, and will include over 100 different stages. Ivy will also include both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes. The game was developed by Yuji Naka who also created the iconic Sonic the Hedgehog. Check below for screenshots of the Wii version of the game coming later this summer from XSeed games.

RHODY’S THOUGHTS

I also got a chance to play Ivy the Kiwi?. I actually didn’t know it was one of the games XSeed was going to be showing us, but I’m certainly glad it was. I had been interested in it for a while, if only because it was by Sonic creator Yuji Naka.

XSeed product manager Jimmy Soga told me I played pretty much amazingly well for someone who had never played before. (Definitely better than Joey.) That’s because it plays like a mix of Kirby Canvas Curse and one of the trampoline minigames from New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 DS. You draw lines to guide Ivy across the level, like Kirby, but they have to be straight and can also act as trampolines, like the Mario minigame. He kind of looked at me a little weird when I said that, but I mean it in the best possible way. Follow this game closely. It’s bound to be a sleeper hit.

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The Tanooki » Joey Levin

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