Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Preview

In all honesty, I haven't been over the moon about Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. This game has you switching between four different Spider-Men in their respective universes as you try to fight an overwhelming evil that threatens to destroy everything. That sounds cool and I'm a man who loves webswinging around levels, but all the universe hopping has me worried. Spider-Man is – and comics games in general are -- about a story, in my eyes. Are we going to get to know these characters? Will the story evolve beyond, "We have to save the world by punching Villain X in the face"?

I don't have the answers for you, but after seeing Activision's E3 demonstration, I do know that the third universe in this game is Spider-Man 2099 and it's pretty sweet looking.
If you missed the 1992 debut of Spider-Man 2099, this version of Spidey takes place in the far-flung future. There, geneticist Miguel O'Hara was studying the original Spider-Man and ends up getting spider-like abilities from messing with his own DNA while trying to cure himself after being poisoned. O'Hara notices the abilities, grabs a costume he had for the Day of the Dead celebrations, and – voila – we have a new Spider-Man.


When Beenox Studios got to the 2099 part of its demo – before that the developers showcased the Amazing universe and Noir universe, but you know all about those – it was hard not to get excited about the inclusion of this superhero. Amazing looks like the Spider-Man we all know and Noir is just a darker looking webhead, but 2099 looks unlike anything I've seen in a Spider-Man game before. Sure you could unlock this costume in other Spidey games, but the artistic vision surrounding this area is so different from what we know as gamers.

The demo began with Spider-Man freefalling in his slick-looking dark blue and dark red suit while flying cars whizzed by underneath him. The screen was saturated with neon colors, filled with holographic "Stark" and "Osborn" signs, and set among buildings that had the clean, futuristic look to them that fans will recognize from the comic book series. When Spidey landed, you really got to take in the detail on his suit, the talons coming off his arms, and what Beenox did with this universe's villain, the Hobgoblin.

In the past, Activision has said that this game will have a major villain designated to each level – Amazing has Kraven so far and Noir has the circus freak version of Norman Osborn known as the Goblin so far. Apparently, fans told the company that they loved boss battles, so that's the focus for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. In the first demos, this looked like it was simply an aesthetic choice. Spider-Man was going to fight Kraven the hunter, so the level was set in the jungle. However, in 2099, you kind of see what Beenox and Activision have been driving at with this boss/level relationship.

Here, we're in a world where the normal ride to work is through the air, so having a villain like Hobgoblin 2099 – a monster of a man clad in blue and orange – swoop in with his massive wings and engage Spider-Man from the sky makes sense. Hobby'll throw bombs that the player can web and hurl back at him, but Spider-Man's also going to be able to web the baddie, pulled himself close, and begin duking it out in the air.

With the neon lights of the future as your backdrop and cars speeding by underneath you, the scene is pretty damn cool. Eventually in the demo, Hobgoblin retreats to the top of a building and shoots down the center of it. Spider-Man follows, and the player needs to guide the freefalling superhero past obstructions and to the villain below.

Each Spider-Man in Shattered Dimensions is going to be voiced by someone who has played the character in the past. Remember the Spider-Man cartoon from the '90s? Well, Christopher Daniel Barnes played Spidey in that and is back to be Spider-Man Noir. When it comes to Spider-Man 2099, Dan Gilvezan, the voice of Spidey on the '80s cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, will be lending his pipes. No word on the voice for the Amazing universe, and Activision is mum on what the fourth universe will be.

As a comic nerd and someone who has been wronged by Spidey games in the past, I'm trying to keep my expectations in check while watching this game and wondering how it's all going to come together. However, after seeing the 2099 demo, I can say for the first time that I really want to play Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. The future looks cool, and I want to be a part of it.

Oh, Mr. Parker, please be good to me.

New star wars TFU2 pics

Hey stuffers,
some new SWTFU2 pics have been released:

Is it just me, or is his right eye blue? You probably can't tell from the smaller size image, to see the large version http://au.xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/55059/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-ii/images/star-wars-the-force-unleashed-ii-20100604022020722.html?page=mediaFull
Maybe it's just a mistake...what do you think? Sound off in the comments!

FX CONSOLE LIVES!

Hey guys. You know the site I mentioned a while back, FX console? Well, after 2 years in hibernation..ITS BACK!
I'm an admin on the forums and have been painfully forced (nr, but I did anyway) to check daily to make sure no spam popped up or whatever.
Now, the creator of the gadget series, FX console itself, and the mother of awesome, JUN, is back!
So you can expect to see the sight regularly updated again, so head over to http://fxconsole.blogspot.com/

woot!

Great Deviant Art work I found today.

Check this out.

This work is by gereksiztara on deviant art. Make sure you check out her page: http://gereksiztara.deviantart.com/
She has heaps of great Deviations, so make sure you check it out!
EDIT: right click, view image to see the whole thing..darn blogger cuts off the sides..

Harry Potter ATDH game ZOMG WTH?

For the last few Harry Potter videogames, the fun has been investigating Hogwarts, mixing up potions, and finding hundreds of collectables hidden in the halls. In fact, if there was one part that always seemed to be "so-so," it was the wand-based combat. It seemed like Harry would just plant his feet, hurl a few incantations, and you'd move on to doing something more fun. Knowing all of that, it was a bit shocking to play the latest Chosen One videogame recently.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1 is a third-person shooter where your wand is the stand-in for a gun. Believe it. Hogwarts is gone this time around and instead you step behind Harry's spectacles as he runs about England fighting Death Eaters and tracking He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Rather than eating chocolate frogs and figuring out how to ride a broom, the Deathly Hallows is all about life and death so EA decided to make the game follow the book and film's more serious direction.

This seems like a bizarre move move by EA, but from what I've seen from the trailer (below), it looks like this could truly be a great new angle on the Potter games.

More Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Info

EDIT: you might wanto go fullscreen with this video, otherwise the right side of the video is cut off..

New Natal Prototype design

One of the biggest mysteries in gaming currently surrounds Microsoft's upcoming motion camera, Project Natal. Not only has the company been secretive about the price of the device, but the final name and model design still haven't been confirmed.

In April, pictures of test kits surfaced on the internet showing the device colored black. The photos also confirmed Natal would use an independently motorized tilt mechanism. Since then, Natal has appeared with a new white color scheme at recent media and consumer events.

Now, Natal has showed up yet again at the 2010 D8 Conference in California this week. Tech blog Engadget posted photos of Natal's latest incarnation. This model has "No Manual Tilt" written on the front, and "Development Sample" on the back.

Blue Meh

So I've been playing Blue Dragon on the 360, and though it's an amazing game, I'm only two hours into it and already getting bored of the same old JRPG style I've been playing for years and years. Though I don't wanto do a big review for an old game, I will give it a score. (I know I haven't really played enough to score it, but anyway) Two hours in Blue Dragon is a 7/10.

A game I have been really really enjoying is SWTFU. I think this game is very underrated, and it's one of the most fun I've had with a game in a long time. I'm up to my third playthrough, and chucking stormtroopers all over the place still hasn't gotten old. At E3, we are going to get a much more expanded look at swtfu2, which I can't wait to play. The trailer they showed a few months ago was awesome. One question though, (SPOILERS AHEAD) in the game, if you choose the light side ending, you die. If you choose the Dark side, you turn into vader 2.0. In the trailer, Starkiller looks like he does at the beginning of the game...WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON????

DS price drop in Japan

Nintendo Japan announced today new pricing for its full lineup of DS systems. Starting June 19, DSi XL will go down in price from 20,000 yen to 18,000 yen. DSi will go down from 18,900 yen to 15,000 yen. DS Lite will be slashed from 16,800 yen to "open" pricing, meaning it's basically being cut from production.

Joining the new pricing, Nintendo will give DSi XL its first set of color variations. Currently, Japan-based buyers have access to Wine Red, Dark Brown and Natural White. Starting June 19, the lineup will include the more primary Yellow, Blue, and Green.