Iexplorehere Games - Your Daily Dose of games reviews and news from Around the World

Raptr – A new punch for gamers

algore — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:28:04 GMT

A new online social gaming startup Raptr is the social platform for people who like to play and discover games. founded by Xfire co-founder and professional gamer Dennis Fong, Raptr is launching tonight and has received $12 million in its first round of funding. Fong started Raptr when Xfire was sol...

'Rock Band' & 'Guitar Hero' Rivalry Heats Up, Draws Third Competitor

Janelle — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:13:10 GMT

There's a new war brewing on the gaming battlefield. It's between three music games: Activision's "Guitar Hero: World Tour," MTV Games' "Rock Band" and newcomer "Rock Revolution" from Konami.

Just this week, a new "Rock Band" will be released for the Wii and a new "Guitar Hero" is out fo...

MGS 4 Kicks Ass in Sales Across Japan and Europe

gary — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:35:29 GMT

Four days after its launch in Japan, Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots sold 476,334 copies, which includes various editions; even those bundled with hardware. Japanese gaming mag Famitsu confirms that the release of MGS 4 gave the PlayStation 3 a major salels boost to 77,208 fo...

Gears of War Movie Gets Die Hard 4 Director

gary — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 07:34:07 GMT

Here's a quick update on the upcoming Gears of War flick. The latest scoop is that the GoW movie adaptation will be directed by Len Wiseman, as reported by a number of movie sites. Wiseman is known for directing films such as Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld and Underworld Evolution.

Pro...

FaceBreaker Enters Ring Sept. 5

RollingEyes — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:02:41 GMT

EA Canada's first entrant into arcade boxing will debut on 360, PS3, and Wii this fall.

Since making the transition to current-generation consoles in 2006, EA's Fight Night Round 3 has roundly been considered the undisputed heavyweight champion of the gaming circuit. While 2007 yielded no...

82% of Consumers Tolerate In-game Ads: Study

RollingEyes — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:58:00 GMT

Earlier this year, Sony chairman and CEO Howard Stringer expressed reserve over in-game ads, saying "young people don't like advertising very much." Those sentiments were echoed by Bobby Kotick, CEO of the world's largest third-party publisher, Activision. However, that hasn't stopped either company...

EA Delays Take-Two Deadline to July 18

RollingEyes — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:53:28 GMT

Electronic Arts has extended its offer for Grand Theft Auto and BioShock publisher Take-Two Interactive for a fifth time. EA made its first approach to Take-Two back in February, then extended its deadline in late March, mid-April, and mid-May. Besides the delays, the company also announced its inte...

Infogrames Halves Losses

RollingEyes — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:51:18 GMT

Atari parent company sees slight dip in full-year revenue to $450 million, but losses trimmed significantly to $79 million.

Infogrames released its own full-year and fourth-quarter earnings statement, and the French company saw trends similar to its subsidiary. For the year ended March 3...

Capcom Secretive About Two Projects

gary — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:14:33 GMT

Capcom is the next company to reveal its lineup for the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit (scheduled to take place at the LA Convention Center from July 15-17, 2008). Amongst several known games currently under way, the publisher didn't wish to name two projects. Not yet anyway, hence they're saving i...

NPD Charts: GTA IV and Wii Take the Lead

gary — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:12:40 GMT

NPD released the latest US hardware and software sales for May. The Wii emerges triumphant as the top-selling console last month. As can be seen in the report, MS, Nintendo & Sony all seem pleased NPD's data.

Here are the full numbers:

1. Wii - 675.1K
2. Nintendo D...

Age of Conan Major Update in Production

gary — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:58:11 GMT

Funcom just announced that major changes are on the way for the developer's recently launched MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. So far, they've revealed new dungeons, social updates, more adventures, etc.

Here's a tidbit from the press release:

PvP evolved – To the ...

See Your Face in Street Fighter IV

gary — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:57:00 GMT

Personally, I don't know how people would like seeing my face in a beat-em-up game - things could get real messy. Still, it sounds like a cool idea and that's what Capcom plans to introduce with the upcoming multiplaform fighting game Street Fighter IV (PC/360/PS3). Capcom’s Unity blog says they are...

Forza Motorsport 3 and More Surprises from MS

gary — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:53:13 GMT

Online survey site Intellisponse appears to have leaked Microsoft's entire E3 line-up and some of its surprise announcements. It is said that the company plans to introduce the third instalment in the praised Forza Motorsport series. Word is, the game is going to feature over 100 tracks and 400 cars...

Wii Fit be damned

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:54:12 GMT

In an article written to encourage readers to continue to jog and run during the summer months despite the heat, The Washington Post's Jim Hage takes a dig at Wii Fit, suggesting that any outdoor exercise is better than a session of Nintendo's exer-gaming software:

"If we run shorter dist...

Microsoft didn't get GTA IV's DLC delay memo

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:49:11 GMT

Before the weekend, Take-Two announced that the Xbox 360's exclusive Grand Theft Auto IV DLC would be delayed until next year, but it seems that Microsoft has other ideas. The company, which paid a David Bowie's ransom for the downloadable content, is still pretty sure we'll be seeing more from Libe...

1C launching console offensive

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:36:15 GMT

As the self-proclaimed No.1 Eastern European game publisher, 1C has made its reputation on the backs of PC games like IL-2 Sturmovik, Perimeter, and Space Rangers 2: Rise of the Dominators. Now the company is making a concentrated push into the console market.

This week, 1C confirmed that...

Bioshock 3 to Coincide With Movie Release

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:29:06 GMT

Take-Two Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick hinted the existence of a third chapter in the acclaimed sci-fi shooter franchise. According to this
report, when asked about the Gore Verbinski-helmed theatrical release of BioShock, Zelnick replied that the movie's release is likely to arrive in ...

Age of Conan Sells Over 1 Million

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:27:37 GMT

Funcom, developer of the MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian, claims the game sold over one million units in less than three weeks. Moreover,

Age of Conan has for the past few weeks been conquering sales charts in the US, Germany, France and the UK.

"Sales data shows that Age of Con...

Layoffs at LucasArts

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:25:07 GMT

LucasArts confirms that the company has let go around 75 - 100 employees. In addition to that, product development Vice President Peter

Hirschmann has resigned (well, actually they said this particular decision was mutual). Well-known publisher and developer LucasArts said that

Game Addicts Not Just Shy Nerds

gary — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:23:47 GMT

The idea that a majority of gamers are timid nerds is a misconception, as proven by the results of a recently carried out Australian study. The

study showed that video game addicts are just as outgoing as everyone else.

"We found that those who played MMORPGs such as World of ...

Guinness Recognizes Sid Meier as Most Awarded Game Developer

Aishwarya — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:57:27 GMT

Even if Civilization Revolution is being delayed for more polish, Sid Meier is still getting recognition. The man who designed such classics as Pirates! (get the original a spin sometime), Colonization, Railroad Tycoon, Gettysburg and, of course, the long running and critically acclaimed Civilizatio...

Sony to Add Online Bells and Whistles for PlayStation 3

Aishwarya — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:53:44 GMT

Moving to enhance its PlayStation 3 game console, Sony plans to announce new online capabilities for it, meant to draw gamers into Sony’s cyberspace community and allow them to share entertainment content they have created - à la YouTube.

The centerpiece, a new service called PlayStation ...

Next for Netflix: Xbox 360?

Mahua — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:51:50 GMT

It's been rumored before, but Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter is more and more confident that Microsoft will team with Netflix.

"The company is investing heavily in building its online streaming capability, to the point where it is a market leader, and a desirable partner for cons...

RealNetworks to Spin Off Game Division

Mahua — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:49:59 GMT

Flushed with the continued success of its gaming division, the Seattle-based company RealNetworks, announced the results for the first quarter of year 2008 and its intention to spin-off its casual game business into an independent company. The company recorded revenue of $147.6 million, a nearly 15 ...

EA Gets $1 billion in Debt Financing for Take-Two bid

Mahua — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:48:40 GMT

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. received debt financing commitments of up to $1 billion for its $2 billion tender offer for smaller rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. Take-Two Interactive’s latest title "Grand Theft Auto IV" has raked in more than $500 million in its first week in s...

EA Launches Boom Blox, Freestyle Label

RollingEyes — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:03:09 GMT

Game developer and publisher Electronic Arts (ELTRS) has launched Steven Spielberg's brainchild and designed Wii game Boom Blox, and decided to target more casual gamers with a sub-brand: EA Sports Freestyle.

Available for the Nintendo Wii console, the game is intended to be a fun and ac...

Take-Two's 'Grand Theft Auto IV' Tops $500-Million in First Week's Sales

RollingEyes — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:39:29 GMT

The highly anticipated title from Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. "Grand Theft Auto IV" has raked in more than $500 million in its first week in stores, selling more than 6 million units worldwide.

The title GTA IV, which has received stellar ratings along with criticism for its viole...

Sony Delays PlayStation Home Again

RollingEyes — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:31:35 GMT

Delayed again. After keeping gamers waiting for months, Sony has acknowledged that, for the second time, it will postpone the rollout of Home - the online, real-time social networking service for the PlayStation 3 video game console. Sony now plans to release a test version this summer to a limited ...

ONLINE S-C-R-A-B-B-L-E S-Q-U-A-B-B-L-E

RollingEyes — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:13:30 GMT

Game makers of the board game Scrabble are trying to fight a popular imposter Scrabulous at its own game. Scrabulous, the popular unauthorized online game, clearly a knockoff of the board game have left Hasbro, which owns Scrabble in the United States and Canada, and Mattel, which holds the rights f...

PC.IGN spells weave in Age of Conan

Whiner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:25:33 GMT

PC.IGN conjured up some details about spell weaving in Age of Conan. Long story short: this allows cloth casters to tweak around some spell's secondary effects for extra spice.

Do you ever get tired of tossing the same boring fireball over and over again in massively multiplayer onlin...

Gamasutra at it again

Whiner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:24:05 GMT

Gamasutra has knocked out another one of their patented postmortem articles, which look back at the development process on different games. Up today is Sins of Solar Empire, the popular real-time strategy title:

As successful as Sins of a Solar Empire is, not everything went perfectly...

Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade' new strategy

Whiner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:22:16 GMT

One of the dangers of building your house upon a soft foundation is the possibility that cracks will start developing down the line after everything has had a chance to settle down.

Such seems to be the case with Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade strategy and its now infamous file size cap. Wh...

Sierra Entertainment unveils new Crash Bandicoot game

Whiner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:20:00 GMT

Sierra Entertainment has unveiled the new Crash Bandicoot game and given it the subtitle 'Mind Over Mutant.'

The latest instalment in the franchise will see Crash going up against Neo Cortex and his plans to take over the world, which involves brain washing. You might have guessed that fr...

Deca Sports hits US shelves

Whiner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:18:03 GMT

The second trailer for Hudson Entertainment's Deca Sports has crept out of the locker room and features some 'great' lifestyle promotional goodness.

From the looks of it, there's every chance it could fill the market for the thousands of Wii owners eagerly waiting for Wii Sports 2.
<...

GTA IV's out tomorrow

Whiner — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:15:53 GMT

This all feels a bit 1996, when we only used the internet for tips and codes, but GTA IV's out tomorrow and we've got all the cheats right here!

If you don't fancy tackling the missions like a real man when you get your hands on it, or, like our mentalist tech menager, you quite lik...

Wild Arms XF's new installment

gary — Sat, 03 May 2008 05:16:57 GMT

Wild ARMs XF (pronounced "Crossfire") is the newest installment in the long-running role-playing series which marks a couple firsts for the

franchise; the first one containing tactical strategy gameplay, as well as the first Wild ARMs game to appear on a handheld system. Wild ARMs ...

God of War III with Online Play

gary — Sat, 03 May 2008 01:58:12 GMT

Successful platform-exclusive franchises like God of War may help Sony gain the advantage over MS and its Xbox 360. God of War III is on its way for sure and is going to be developed for the PlayStation 3 only, that’s a sure shot laugh in the face of other platforms. God of War II was good for sever...

GTA IV Storms UK, Over 600k Copies Sold

gary — Sat, 03 May 2008 01:47:58 GMT

UK market research company Chart-Track uncovers sales info, according to which Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV sold 609,000 in PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 variants during Tuesday, April 29, marking a new sales record and surpassing Bungie's Halo 3. The shooter Halo 3 was released in the United Kingdom...

Gears of War 2 Keynote at Leipzig GCDC

gary — Sat, 03 May 2008 01:42:58 GMT

We just found out that Epic Games' Prez Dr. Michael Capps is going to give a keynote during this year's GCDC in Leipzig, Germany (Aug. 18-20). The focus of the keynote will be the status of the upcoming shooter Gears of War 2.
"Epic set the technological bar for next-generation games with the o...

Wii and PS3 sales boost Game's profits

gary — Sat, 03 May 2008 01:33:48 GMT

Pre-tax profits at Game Group, the computer console and game retailer, soared by more than 150pc last year, on the back of a 41pc rise in like-for-like sales, in what chairman Peter Lewis labelled an "outstanding" year.

Sales for the current year started strongly and will have been furthe...