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Everything Playstation 2

Nov

 

Guitar Hero World Tour 'Bike Hero' clip
Take a gander at the video above, and you'll see what appears to be one fan's obsession with Guitar Hero personified in an impressive combination of chalk, a bicycle, The Living End's "Prisoner of Society," and astonishingly well-timed LEDs. The setup is so elaborate we doubted its legitimacy when it first appeared, suggesting, "It could be a viral video released by Activision or a marketing company that works for them" in our GameVideos description.

Now GameCyte is reporting that our suspicions were true. The video was, in fact, created by the ad agency Droga5 in conjunction with the production company Smuggler, according to the full credits listing at Creativity Online.

While I'll admit, this type of advertising can really get under my skin, I still find the video to be an impressive creative achievement. Next time, though, I'd like for Activision to be more up front about their association with a video, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

Nov

 

Whether your psyched or skeptical, a new Terminator film -- Terminator Salvation -- is coming in 2009, and now it sounds like we'll be getting a videogame spin-off as well. On Thursday, Warner Brothers announced that developer GRIN will be creating a Terminator Salvation game that will be released on May 22, 2009, the same day that the film hits theaters.

Though specific platforms and gameplay details are not yet offered, we know that the game will be a third-person action title that focuses on "concentrated armed combat against all of the Skynet enemies from the film," as well as new bad guys designed exclusively for the game. Warner Bros. executive vice president John Quinn promises "action packed gameplay and detailed environments," while Cos Lazouras, president of publisher Halcyon Games, offered the following:

"Terminator Salvation - The Videogame allows players to battle for survival against Skynet enemies utilizing an incredibly fluid and realistic control set. The player will be led through a visceral story with extremely polished production values to create a fully interactive Terminator experience."

GRIN is probably best known for their work on the Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series and is also currently working on the next-generation revival of Bionic Commando. While it's easy to be skeptical of movie-based games, with that track record (not to mention GRIN's also awesome-looking take on Wanted) we're hoping that maybe this will be the solid Terminator videogame we've always wanted. Stay tuned for more information as soon as it's available.

Nov

 

Little Big Planet Sack in the Box costume screen
Undoubtedly the highlight of this week's PlayStation Store update (which, once again, ignores PSP owners altogether) is the release of the long-awaited BioShock challenge rooms. For $10, you'll be able to work your way through three separate scenarios: Rescuing a Little Sister from a carnival, killing a Big Daddy without any weapons, and tackling a series of rooms containing wave after wave of enemies.

Also new this week is downloadable content for Dead Space (various skin packs and weapon packs, ranging from $1-$4) and new costumes for Little Big Planet (a free Sack in the Box costume and a $3 LocoRoco pack which has five different costumes). Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour square off, with GH adding three tracks from The Raconteurs ($2 each of $5.49 for a bundle of all three), while Rock Band 1 and Rock Band 2 get three songs from Mission of Burma and three from the Dead Kennedys (both artists' music costs $2 each or $5.49 for a bundle of all three songs). There are also four other songs from Crooked X ($1), Lacuna Coil ($2 each), and In This Moment ($2), which you can get in a bundle for $5.49. Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 also gets five new songs, each for just $1.49.

Aside from that, there's a demo of MotoGP '08 (which you can check out on PC at FileFront) as well as some videos, trailers, and themes of everything from NBA 2K9 to Hancock.

Sorry, PSP owners. I wasn't teasing you -- there really is nothing for you this week.

Nov

 

As someone who's closely followed the bizarre, often tragic trajectory that Sonic the Hedgehog's mascot career has taken, I approach each successive Sonic release with a heart full of dread. With his edgy, art-deco Sega Genesis glory days now long behind him, Sonic's recent platforming efforts have feebly attempted to recapture the well-crafted 3D prowess demonstrated by Dreamcast launch hit Sonic Adventure. Regrettably, every post-Adventure outing has garishly gilded the proverbial lily, screwing up the formula with the addition of extraneous playable characters (crocodiles, bees, robots -- you name it), misguided new gameplay styles (like Shadow the Hedgehog's guns-n-cars nonsense), and laughable narrative excess (I'm still trying to forget the sick cross-species romance that defiled Sonic's previous eponymous effort). Somehow, the kiddies have remained loyal throughout Sonic Team's decade of desperately grasping for relevance, but many of his more discerning fans have long since jumped ship. If Sega were to pull off something akin to Super Mario Galaxy -- a mainline franchise reboot that augments classic gameplay with clever new concepts -- he could once again be a contender. Sadly, Sonic Unleashed is not such a title.

Click the image above to check out all the Sonic Unleashed screens.

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