Publisher Codemasters has announced Heatseeker, a new arcade style aerial combat game for the Wii in development by IRGurus Interactive (Heroes of the Pacific). According to Codemasters, Heatseeker will feature two different control methods using the Wii remote and nunchuck, offering “fine-tuned control” for mid-air heroics.
“It’s vital that your plane reacts instantly to your control inputs,” commented the game’s senior producer Andrew Wensley. “Even a hundredth of a second delay can prove fatal in air to air combat, and although we’ve provided the perfect control system, only the player can provide the nerves of steel necessary for victory.”
“Heatseeker for the Wii is a big step forward for action gamers,” states Ben Palmer, executive producer for Heatseeker developer IR Gurus. “We’ve taken the superior processing power of the Wii and have used it to raise the bar even higher for Heatseeker’s distinctive and already spectacular gameplay and visual style.”
Norwegian-headquartered developer Funcom has announced that the company has been awarded a grant from the Norwegian Film Fund, which officials note will “partially finance” Funcom’s research and initial development efforts towards Dreamfall Chapters, an episodic sequel to the Dreamfall adventure game series.
In addition, Funcom note that the money will also assist in pulling together a technology team for the project, the aim of which will be to research digital delivery methods for the game’s episodic content, as well as lay the foundation for a later pre-production phase of Dreamfall Chapters. Each new installment of Dreamfall Chapters will initially be delivered as online-only content, but there may be retail releases with combined chapters, both for console and PC, at a later stage. For now, the company is keeping a tight lid on the project.
The grant is part of the Norwegian government’s active endorsement of the Norwegian game development industry. Since the inception of the program in 2004 the government has supported a wide range of games, including Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.
Research is also planned to discover new ways to expand the brand value of The Longest Journey, while reducing the chance of piracy. Finally, the company also hints at a possible The Longest Journey MMO in the future, though it remains unclear how far off such a project would be.
“We will be researching an online-only continuation of the epic Longest Journey saga, and we very much look forward to develop new chapters to the Dreamfall gaming community,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “To see the Norwegian government take such an active role in nurturing the local game development industry is impressive. In return for their trust we aim to deliver a modern adventure game with unique qualities.”
Konami announced that it will launch Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 for Nintendo DS on March 20, offering users an opportunity to play the ever-popular trading card game against friends via the handheld’s wireless and Wi-Fi facilities.
The official game of the annual Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament, the DS title will let players make, organize, and duel using the stylus. The game will feature all 1600 of the latest cards, allowing for more attacking, spell-casting and defending possibilities. Also, owners of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Spirit Caller for DS will be able to trade entire decks between the two games and, after beginning the game, can access every card in GX Spirit Caller via the game’s card recipe.
Other options include Limited Duels wherein only certain cards are available, and Survival Duels where the aim is simply to beat a succession of duelists for as long as possible. The social element of the game is also enhanced via wireless and Wi-Fi modes, allowing players to compete with friends or against players from all over the world. Wireless games can be played between two players with copies of the game, while the Wi-Fi mode opens the challenge to players on Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection.
Cards can also be traded and swapped via these wireless options as players look to strengthen their packs, and Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007 also supports the Nintendo Wi-Fi’s voice chat feature, allowing players to chat to each other before each duel. Finally, in keeping with previous Konami titles, the game also comes with three limited edition Yu-Gi-Oh! cards for use in the card game.
Sony just dropped word that retail orders of their upcoming PlayStation 2 swan song God of War II have surpassed a million units requested. Of course, this doesn’t mean much, other than there going to be a lot of copies on retail shelves come March 13. I’m sure stores are stocking up for what is probably the most anticipated game in months. So, do you have yours preordered?
Too much of anything is a bad thing, but when excess compounds it can most certainly spell trouble. A [url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/35312.html]new report[/url] from China has indicated that a 26 year old man perished last weekend following a lengthy video game session.
The cause of death, according to doctors, was overwork and obesity, with the man’ parents reportedly stating that he had spent all seven days of the recent Spring Festival holiday playing online video games in lieu of sleeping or associating with relatives.
As said, games are great fun, but when you weigh nearly 330 pounds as this man apparently did, power leveling might not be the answer to life’s eternal meaning. Neither are fried wontons.
