Buttonbasher

I recently got around to playing Viva Pinata on the 360 and came away impressed. Today the game was announced to be headed to DS!

Official words from Rare:

Yes, as announced by our boys at the San Diego Comic-Con yesterday, Viva Piñata on DS is a reality. That’s three VP announcements in as many weeks. Told you there was a resurgence happening.

As this one’s being developed in-house we’ll have a full section in the Games area when enough details and assets are available, but for now, here’s the first official screenshot (click the icon above) and a rundown of what you can expect…

This is a full-size Viva Piñata game in your pocket, featuring not only the entire range of paper beasts from the Xbox 360 title but also a few new ones thrown in to spice things up for those familiar with the established cast.

You’ll also be given free rein with an expanded selection of tools and tool actions, upgraded forms of the Journal and Encyclopedia, and brand new game modes such as Sandbox (for full and easy access to your favourite Piñatas) and Episodes (tying in more closely to the TV series and allowing fans of the show to spend quality time with familiar faces).

But one of the biggest changes is obviously the control method, with stylus input transforming the way in which you interact with your menagerie. Design, nurture, instruct, protect and care for your garden and animals through direct touch. The DS WiFi service also lets you send prime Piñata specimens to your friends, making the act of parading your Doenut around in a humiliating pirate outfit easier than ever.

And there you have it. More details as and when they arrive. When it comes to writing up the main game section we’ll probably recycle most of the text above, so I hope you enjoyed it. Viva Piñata on DS - roaming your way soon!

KLind

Good thing they caught him with those stanchions!

From GAME in London. I must have this in my room NOW.

KLind

As you can clearly see in this Wal-Mart Ad the 360 will be priced 350 dollars. It says ‘Rollback’ over top of it.

PS3 pricecut was leaked through a Circuit City ad so could this be true as well? Microsoft did just cut the price of the HD-DVD add on, so could console come next?

Expect to find out soon…

KLind

Gameplay, Chris Redfield, Girl at the end, Oh My!

Do Want.

KLind

No it’s not over weight Reggie, Peter Moore and his rocking pauses, or ‘Jack and Chewbacca’. These are much worse than those.

Activision: Someone thought it was a good idea to hire Jaime Kennedy to host their Press Conference. As you can see here, that person should be fired:

Disney: So many things wrong with this one:

Good thing all of E3 wasn’t this bad…

KLind

This is just too funny not to post. In an interview with Game Informer, Shane Kim Corporate VP of Microsoft Game Studios was under the assumption that the Resident Evil 5 trailer shown during the Press Briefing was an announcement of RE5 coming to 360, when in reality we’ve known since TGS 2 years ago.

Kim: Yeah, but here’s the thing: I think one of the most important, subtle announcements at the Xbox 360 briefing is that Resident Evil is coming to Xbox 360. Yes, it’s from Capcom, who’s been a great supporter of us.

GI: But we knew that two years ago.

Kim: What?

GI: Resident Evil. It was shown at TGS two years ago.

Kim: No, but coming to Xbox 360.

GI: Yeah. It was at the press event.

Kim: I don’t think so.

GI: I’m positive. I was there.

Kim: Really?

GI: It was shown at both press conferences.

Kim: That RE5 was coming to…?

GI: Yep.

Kim: I’m going to have to confirm that. That was supposed to be the big announcement. Anyway, my point there though is that every major Japanese publisher is supporting the Xbox 360. …

Heh. That’s funny.

KLind

The Bungie Weekly update tonight features some cool stuff about co-op and podcasts, but most importantly it features a real Warthog!

Click the image for Huge version

“Um. The dudes at WETA made a Warthog. I don’t mean that they made a big plastic thing that looks like a Warthog. I mean they built a fully-functioning, four-wheel steering, powerful, off-road vehicle with a machine gun on the back. At the correct scale. If you live near Wellington, New Zealand, you might even see some crazy machine-shop dude from WETA fishtailing around your base, ahem, I mean neighborhood.

What’s it for? Well, a couple of things – one of which will be one of the shorts coming from director Neill Blomkamp. We sort of blindsided you guys with the first short (Arms Race) – it had little to no context or explanation, but when you see it as it was originally intended – as part of an overall narrative, you might just pee your pants. And if you don’t, then the picture below( or above) will certainly cause some leakage.“

Halo Movie back on am confirmed.

The rest of the update

KLind

Wow.

KLind

There’s something stupidly cool about seeing all of these characters together.

KLind

Phoenix Wright is getting pretty popular in the US, so I’m glad to see that Capcom is releasing some of the cool swag for the US fans to get their hands on!

On a forum post on the Official Capcom Message Board, Rob Pereyda stated that Gyakuten Meets Orchestra/Jazz  will be heading to the US as Ace Attorney Meets Orchestra, and Ace Attorney Meets Jazz! I’ve had the chance to listen to a few of the songs, and I can’t wait to purchase these! Hopefully when Capcom brings out Apollo Justice in the US they will consider releasing the same Collectors edition that featured the Gyakuten Saiban Encyclopedia (All of the games assets) and some other cool goodies.

KLind