So, it seems that not only are BottleRocket and Namco not working together on the newest Splatterhouse game set for release this year, but now the former bed-buddies are getting nasty with one another over the issue.
Last month, Namco cut ties with BottleRocket, the original developer of the new Splatterhouse game, abruptly and out of the blue. No reason was given for why Namco packed up and left so suddenly, though each side has their own story to tell. Now BottleRocket is shooting back at Namco.

“Splatterhouse had been in development for over eighteen months and up to having the title taken away from us we had not missed any contractually defined milestones. So either there were no performance issues during that timeframe or Namco’s management of the title was inept.”

BottleRocket doesn’t seem to be pushing the issue past mere words, though, as they admit to fearing the larger development corporation could easily crush their smaller one if slander starts affecting their image.

The new Splatterhouse game is due out April 28th.

Right on the heels of Resident Evil 5 being released overseas, and tomorrow here in the states (though some got it sooner), it seems the momentum of the Resident Evil franchise is still running strong and plans to for some time.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles has been announced for the Wii, and will follow up big brother Umbrella Chronicles as another rail-shooter in terms of gameplay. Darkside Chronicles will be filling in the gaps left by the previous title by exploring the Resident Evil 2 part of the story. As seen, Leon and Claire will make their candid appearances as primary character to control, while other characters and additional story will be shown and explained. Game producer Masachika Kawata also hinted to the inclusion of other game scenarios from the series being explored as well. Code Veronica, anybody?

No release date has been set, as the game’s development has been rumored to not even be halfway done yet, though we do at least have some nice eye candy to show for what has been completed.

RE: Darkside Chronicles

Many people know Capcom from their fighting games, most recently, Street Fighter IV. Many others like their classic action games such as Devil May Cry, Mega Man, Bionic Commando, or the soon to be released Resident Evil 5. Older gamers even recall their multitude of beat-em-ups, based on everything from Dungeons and Dragons to the Punisher. However, they aren’t too bad at making role playing games either, as these two Super Nintendo games show. While they stick to the genre’s conventions for the most part, these two games contain some innovative quirks that help the series establish its own identity alongside the Final Fantasies and the Dragon Quests.

Note: None of these guys are anywhere near as cock diesel in the game as they are depicted on the cover. Well, maybe the horse-armadillo guy.
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This past week was my birthday. To celebrate, I have a double dose of my usual columns this week. This first part is an appendix to last week’s Street Fighter special, featuring 3 Capcom fighting games while the second part, due later this week, will deal with some RPGs. Once again, it’s my [belated] birthday, yet you get the gift. Click onward!
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Welcome back to part 2 of our Street Fighter special. In the last part, we looked over some of the franchise’s more infamous parts. In this one, we look at Street Fighter EX, which was a highly controversial entry in the series, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, and as an added bonus, we’ll take a look at a little known Dreamcast/Arcade title featuring characters from the franchise.
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Last weekend was ToyFair 2009 in New York. It was a busy weekend and we were deluged with announcements of upcoming merchandise. Fellow Poweteer and avid Joe fan, Tigerpaw32, sent in a full write up of GI Joe news:

Yo Joe! It’s that time of year again. Time for toy companies to show off their upcoming products and for me to do a write up of the G.I. Joe offerings. This year, the G.I. Joe line’s main focus will be on toys to support the upcoming feature film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Figures will be released in 12 and 3 ¾” formats as well as a brand new format: The Sigma Six-esque Action Battlers. The cute miniature Combat Heroes line will be continuing under the movie banner. Brand new role play, Mr. Potato Head, and todder toys will also be available. Add to this a few more non-Movie 3 ¾” items coming out before the Movie as well as a ton of other movie-branded merchandise and one huge Duke figure and you have a year filled with G.I. Joe action.

Our first order of business is to wrap up the rest of the 3 ¾” releases that will be hitting before the Movie toys come out. The remaining releases prior to the movie can be divided up into two sections: The Hall of Heroes and Online Exclusive packs.

Thanks to Rich for all the good news!
Really looking forward to that Cobra 7-pack and the Night Raven.
More after the jump.
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2001 was an interesting year for pro wrestling to say the least. The once mighty WCW, who in its prime had dominated the WWF in TV ratings for over 80 weeks had clearly seen better days. Thanks in no small part to backstage politics, fallout from the AOL-Time Warner merger, god-awful angles, and even worse booking, the company that had been home to superstars such as Diamond Dallas Page, Lex Luger, Bill Goldberg, and Sting was on its last legs. With fans deserting the promotion on a weekly basis, the company losing millions of dollars a year, potential investors pulling out, and advertisers pulling ad space, WCW was clearly running on borrowed time. Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Paul Heyman’s ECW was undergoing a similar financial crisis. Since its inception in the early 90s, ECW’s bloody matches, homegrown superstars, and controversial storylines have gained the promotion a cult following, and was credited with supplying the blueprint for what made the WWF popular during its Attitude era. Even so, the fact remained that Heyman just didn’t have the money nor the muscle to compete with McMahon or Bischoff. The loss of their TV deal and the constant talent raids by WCW and the WWF did little to help matters. With worker’s paychecks bouncing on a regular basis, and wrestlers departing for the big time, ECW too would be shortly be becoming just a memory….

…until Vinnie Mac saved both brand names by buying out both companies for next to nothing and retaining some of their better workers. After that, Vince screwed up the whole thing by eschewing the dream matches fans wanted to see and instead presenting some of the worst inter-promotional booking ever seen, but that’s another story. Vinnie Mac had finally done what he had set out to do: monopolize mainstream North American pro-wrestling by either absorbing or eliminating his competitors. No one believed that anyone would ever step up to take on McMahon at his own game ever again. No one that is, expect for Jerry Jarret and his son Jeff Jarret.

Now Jeff was not new to the wrestling business. In fact he was a longtime performer for the WWF after gaining popularity as a local star. He was also part of WCW during its final days, where he even had a run as the world champion (before losing it to David Arquette. Yes, that David Arquette.). Instead of rejoining the WWE after the WCW buyout, the Jarretts began work on an all new promotion. Though it would begin life as an offshoot of the NWA, Jeff’s goal was to introduce an all new style of wrestling, one based around total nonstop action. Thus, TNA wrestling was born (not exactly my first choice for to name my newly created wrestling promotion, but I digress). The promotion would feature a six-sided ring, a revamped cruiserweight division (known as the X-Division), a more respectable women’s division, and a mix of new superstars and veterans. The promotion started out small, but then grew bigger, and gained a TV deal with Spike TV, as well as a video game deal with Midway, which brings up to this week’s $20 GOTW.
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You’ve got to hand it to Koei. What Capcom does with fighting and beat-em-ups, Rockstar does with crime and controversy, and what Blizzard does with strategy, they do with education, particularly China’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Japan’s Age of Warring States eras. Weather you’re hammering out the fine points of diplomacy and foreign policy in Romance of the Three Kingdoms or simply chopping up thousands of enemy soldiers in Samurai Warriors and Bladestorm, Koei makes educational games that are so fun that you forget that you are supposed to be learning something. The original Dynasty Warriors was especially unique. It was like any other weapon’s based fighting game, except that it’s based on an actual historical event, China’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms. After a rebellion brings about the end of China’s Han dynasty, China splits off into three kingdoms: Shu, Wu, and Wei. Each kingdom has its own selection of generals, and all three are vying for complete control of China.

Dynasty Warriors contains 17 characters, each with their own weapon and fighting style. Many familiar faces from the era are present, such as Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, Cao Cao, and Lu Bu. The combat system is fairly deep, with strikes, parries, and counters. The graphics are on par with Tekken 2, and the endings include nice CG cinematics. However, it was doomed to get lost in the shuffle amongst other 3d fighters of the period. Perhaps it was because of this reason that Koei decided to switch the game to the semi-strategic hack-n-slash fest that we know today. Still, it would be nice to see another historical one-on-one fighter from the company. At the very least we can count on the fact that one day this will show up at the Playstation Network store.