Games Cheats and Reviews

Square Enix has announced Necromachina, a four player co-op action game for Xbox Live Arcade.

Starring an “elite unit of specially trained ninja known as Moondivers,” the game — which was previewed in this week’s Famitsu prior to its official announcement today — is being developed by Japanese studio Feelplus as an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive. It is being directed by Kouishi Yotsui, of Strider fame.

Looks like there’s truth in the rumors that Xbox Live Arcade would see a port of Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project. A listing for the 2002 side-scrolling action game has turned up on Microsoft’s official Xbox Live Arcade website.

There’s no pricing info or planned release date provided on the site, but you can likely expect Manhattan Project to fall in line with Duke Nukem 3D’s $10 (800 Microsoft points) price tag. And just like the original version, the XBLA release of Manhattan Project sports an M rating from the ESRB — thanks, no doubt, to Duke’s trademark chauvinistic banter and all that sweet, sweet violence.

Whenever this thing comes out, it should be a blast seeing how well Manhattan Project holds up against other side-scrolling XBLA fare like Shadow Complex and Bionic Commando: Rearmed.

The newest project from Toshihiro Nagoshi, Sega stalwart and director of the company’s Yakuza, has a real name now.

Nagoshi revealed in Japanese game magazines this week that his latest project, a PSP game unofficially titled “Project K” until now, is now named Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou, which we’ll loosely translate as “Black Leopard: A New Yakuza Chapter.” The game also has an official release date now — September 22 in Japan — and Sega’s announced that gamers who preorder the title over there will receive a copy of “Young Kamutai Magazine,” a fictional travel guide to the game’s equally fictional fictional setting of Kamurocho.

As discussed earlier, Kurohyou is a new action game that borrows Yakuza’s setting to tell a story about Japan’s modern underground street punks. Kengo Kora, a Japanese actor who’s appeared in lots of films over there, will provide the voice of hero Ryuya Ukyo.

Having played Car Jack Streets on the iPhone, I can say that having real buttons to press can only be a giant step forward. Virtual d-pads seem cool, until you’re barreling down the street, trying to escape the cops or catch another crook and beat him down. Then, they kinda suck. So this announcement about the release of the game for PSP, today, for $5, is SWEET! Also, since it’s a “mini,” it can be played on the big screen on your PS3. Super double plus good for console/portable integration!

Paul Farley, Managing Director of Tag Games, said, “We are delighted to launch Car Jack Streets as our first ever PSP and Playstation 3 title. The Mini’s platform is a perfect fit for Car Jack Streets and we know that the Sony fanbase are going to really enjoy the mix of retro and action game-play that Car Jack Streets provides. CJS is currently Tag’s most successful title and has been a hit across each of the platforms we have launched on to date. We fully expect the Mini’s launch to continue this trend and perhaps pave the way for a larger PSN release in future months.”

Check out these new release screenshots and stay tuned right here for any new details as they appear.

Sharing: It’s Win/Win

Splinter Cell: Conviction has gone through some big changes since it was originally slated to ship back in 2007, but that delay has been worth it. In its current form, Conviction takes some obvious cues from Ubisoft’s other, big stealth/action game, Assassin’s Creed 2, but it layers on enough distinct, cinematic style to ensure the Splinter Cell series keeps an identity all its own. The game looks great, and the well-paced story reaches a satisfying climax, but you might feel a little bit cheated if you pay full retail price for the game. Even with the multiplayer thrown in, you can expect to go through almost everything in the game once in well under ten hours.

The short playtime shouldn’t be a complete deal breaker though — Conviction is as riveting as any summer blockbuster film. Have you ever watched 24? If not check, out this clip. This is what Conviction is like; the game doesn’t have to explain that you’re an ex-military badass with the skills to take on a room full of armed mercenaries with just your bare hands. You just get it. The game’s lead, Sam Fisher, is Batman with a gun and no qualms about leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake.

VGArabia: In the latest issue of game informer, the magazine reviewed the highly anticipated stealth action game Splinter Cell: Conviction and gave the game a very impressive score.

Not only did Sony’s God of War III shoot straight to the top of the ELSPA GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40 this week, it also set a new sales standard for Sony’s violent action series.

The game bettered the week-one sales performance of its PS2 predecessor by 2.65-to-1, despite the fact that the PS3 install base is far smaller right now than the PS2’s was at the time GoWII was released.

The victory is also a notable one for Sony. In 2009 the platform holder managed just one first party number one, Killzone 2. Yet already in 2010 Sony is enjoying its second chart-topper, following the success of Heavy Rain three weeks ago.

The Hero is a great action game at an unbeatable $1.99 price. Had it been any longer, The Hero would have risked growing dull, but its breezily-paced 15 stages are just right. The Hero is loaded with humor, superb art and music (wear headphones to really appreciate the audio), and is buoyed by accessible controls that you’ll "get" within just a few minutes. This is a worthy download for iPhone gamers needing an action fix.

ResumePlay: Tomorrow, the world will change as we know it. Millions of gamers will buy God of War 3, in hopes of getting the ultimate action experience. And they will get it: just not the way they expected.

There is growing evidence that suggests Sony’s system-seller is triggering the REAL ApocalyPS3. At first, the rumors of cannibalism and excessive moaning were dismissed as minor outbreaks of swine flu. But there is no hiding it now, the situation is critical.

Hit the jump for the full scoop on how the year’s biggest action game may be its last. It’s ResumePlay’s newest Bull$hit Article of the Week!

Gameguru "God of War 3 is a good action game but since we have seen most of the mechanics work in its previous games they feel washed out. This does imply that it’s not satisfying to see Kratos drenched in the blood of his enemies but the problem is that it is not completely consistent throughout. It brings closure to the trilogy in a spectacular fashion but when looked upon as an action/slasher game in the sea, it falls weak. We believe it suffers from the Halo 3 syndrome where if you loved Halo 1 and 2 you would love all Halos created."