The Game Developers Conference is right around the corner, and with it the industry’s awards ceremony. Unlike embarassing Spike and G4 Productions, the GDCA’s academy is made up only of developers and not 13 year olds with access to the internet.

With that in mind, a lot of the same names are still garnering praise, with Okami and Oblivion each earning 4 nominations, including best game. Gears Of War, Twilight Princess, and Wii Sports round out the list. Tim Schafer, the mad genius behind Psychonauts, will host the event along with performances from MC Chris and Mega 64. Why can’t they televise this show?

Visit the GDCA site for the full list of nominees. The awards will be presented on March 7th at the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco’s Moscone Convention Center.

First of all, pay no attention to the low scores given by other media outlets. This game is the best game to make use of the Spawn license (besides his appearance in the Xbox version of SoulCalibur 2). Surprisingly, it was a third-person shooter made by Capcom. The gameplay is a fusion of Quake 3: Arena and Powerstone. Players select from 37 characters (most of which are unlockable and 12 being available at the start), each with their own array of weapons and powers, and blast their way through several stages in either arcade or story modes. You can also play the standard multiplayer modes for up to 4 players in stages with variable environmental settings. The character selection included nearly everyone from the Spawn mythos, even Cagliostro, Sam, Twitch, and a few alternate versions of Spawn himself. It’s a shame that the game engine was used in only one other game, Heavy Metal Geomatrix. It would have interesting to see more shooters by Capcom done in this style.

This is not a new discovery. This has been a known piece of information since before I came upon the subject, but someone was nice enough to capture it on video for us, and that is new. For your trivial pleasure, we have Totaka’s Song and how to find it in “Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru.” Some English spellings of the title will differ, but it literally translates to “For the Frog the Bell Tolls.” Whatever you call it, the game was a Japan-exclusive release for the original Game Boy:

WHAT? That’s right. According to Sega’s Japanese website a new game titled “Karous” will be released in Japan on March 8th on the Sega Dreamcast. Yes the Sega Dreamcast. Sega announced over 6 years ago on January 31st 2001 that they would cease production of the Dreamcast.

The game is a top view spaceship shooter somewhat similar to another Dreamcast game, Ikaruga, which was released in September of 2002, long after the console’s end of life. In the long period of time since the system’s death there have still been a handfull of games released for it. Could this finally be the last?

Since this game will only be released in Japan it could only be played in North America through some sort of piracy and we all know that’s not possible on the Dreamcast…

Check out the game’s official site for more information about Karous.

Thanks to Sega nerds for the scoop.

Ever since the original Xbox was developed, one of the most anticipated games for the system was Project Ego, a game being developed by Peter Molyneux’s Lionhead studios. This game promised an evolving world and character development system. Your character (who you decided would be good or evil based upon your actions), would age over time, even retaining scars that he earned in battle years ago. You could even marry, settle down, and have a family. You would even compete with other heroes in the world for fame and recognition, and a multiplayer mode would allow other player’s heroes to travel about in your world.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

Konami is desiging a new Dance Dance Revolution game exclusively for the Wii. The game will use classic DDR pads which plug into the Gamecube’s controller ports in conjunction with hand movements using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck.

With support of up to 4 players it’s a good thing the Gamecube pads for Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix are also compatible. Since this is a more traditional Dance Dance Revolution game when compared to the Mario Mix variation this will be the first standard DDR game made available on a Nintendo system. Many of the more classic modes of play will also be available in this title.

This IGN articles gives us a very in depth look at the prelimenary game though as they note many aspects could be changed or polished before this title is actually released.

As any avid Castlevania fan can tell you, one of the true highlights of the series was Symphony of the Night. However, many fans believe that Dracula X for the Super Nintendo was Symphony’s prequel, without realizing that the Japanese-Only released title “Akumajou Dracula: Chi no Rondo” (Rondo of Blood) for the PC Engine Duo was the true beginning chapter for one of the most reknowned Castlevania titles to date. True enthusiasts have dreamt of the day when Rondo of Blood would finally make the transition to American shores. (as many believed Dracula X to be a bastardized version of Rondo to begin with)

After over 10 years, it seems as though we’re finally getting that wish.

Konami is releasing “Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, slated to hit the markets this coming fall. One of the extras about waiting as long as we all have for a port to make the transition is that, not only will we be able to play the original 2D version of Rondo, but the game will also be sporting a redone 2.5D version of the game as well.

[Read the rest of this entry…]

I’ve been a loyal GameFly subscriber for several years now. I love being able to try out something new without spending $50 or putting up with ill-tempered EBGameShlub employees. It’s made me a better gamer, and more open-minded.

So, it’s with sadness I mailed back the last game I’ll ever get from there today. You see, I have 15 Xbox 360 games in my queue. All of them have “Short Wait” or “Long Wait” next to them. I tried looking in at the full list of Xbox 360 games and of 127 titles listed, not a single one is available for rent right now. What the hell? I understand a lot of people got X-boxes for X-Mas but this is X-treme.

Then it hit me: Gamerscores. So many people are renting games to up their gamerscores that it’s rendered the service useless to a weekender like myself. I could probably leave those 15 games at the top of my queue for months and still get fed random DS games sitting at the bottom of the list. I was lucky to get Chromehounds one time, though unlucky when I fell asleep during the training level. If the best I can get is that slow moving snoozefest, my money is not being well spent.

So, I’m cancelling. Prices are still sky-high on even used 360 games; but by saving my $22 a month, I might be able to afford them. Or at least I can enter a brick-and-mortar shop and get a game in hand right away. GameFly does share the blame here though, when launch titles are still in high demand, they should be upping the stock to meet that demand, instead of letting me sit and wait for a good game.