8-bit Ninja

If you've been gaming as long as we have, you know that Columns is one of Sega's great puzzle games. Like most puzzle games, the object is simply to line up four same-colored gems -- horizontally, vertically or diagonally -- and watch them explode. Whether you're familiar with the game or not, we've got some good news: Sega is giving away the iPhone version of Columns for free in celebration of USA's Independence Day. The app will be free starting midnight, Friday, July 3, all the way through Monday, July 6. Sega didn't specify a timezone, so we suggest you avoid downloading it if the price reads anything other than free.

Granted, Columns Deluxe -- which includes ports of Columns and Puyo Pop -- is only $1.99 normally. It hasn't received terrific reviews either. But hey, it's hard to argue with free.

Get iPhone Columns as a free 4th of July treat from Sega originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft released its Kodu Game Lab yesterday, giving gamers everywhere the opportunity to create their very own games. Just for you, we snapped up the tool and set to work creating the Next BIg Thing in video gaming. Well, either that or we created a dinky little 2D shooter. Still, it's hard not to feel some pride after creating a real, honest-to-goodness, functioning game. And we did it all without laying a finger on a standard keyboard.

Check out our video tour and see what created.

Add the trial version of Kodu Game Lab to your Xbox 360 download queue

Video Tour: Kodu, Microsoft's DIY game builder originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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That is to say: All forty characters in the game will be available from the first moment Tekken 6 graces your disc drive. Speaking to VideoGamer, Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada stated -- through a translator -- that unlockables in games are "outdated."

Harada says that unlockables were originally implemented in order to extend the life of arcade games. As characters are unlocked, players would have more reason to come back to the machine. We definitely wasted a few quarters just for the chance to play as Kuma, so we'd say the plan worked. Harada said that unlockable characters were added to the home version for the same reason, implying that it would discourage gamers from renting the game instead of buying it.

Fast-forward to Tekken 6, and Harada says that unlockables are "outdated now ... especially with online play." He notes that today's gamers would be irritated by competing online against characters that they have yet to unlock. Thus, you won't find any unlockable characters in Tekken 6.

Of course, history tells us we still might see some characters for sale.

No unlockable characters in Tekken 6 originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Let's face it, Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher has traveled a rocky road. For a while he completely disappeared from the console scene. Sure, we saw him every once in a while, lurking in magazines or in a few videos (complete with Emo makeover). Now Sam has reemerged from his beloved shadows, and the developers at Ubisoft are here to share everything about his new abilities and the new features in Splinter Cell Conviction.

Check out the video above for a look at the new "mark and execute" feature as well as the "last known position" silhouette. And, of course, you can just admire Sam being a badass. Get to the watching.

Video: Sam Fisher's rebirth in Splinter Cell Conviction originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: X3F TV

Another twofer this week, as XBLA adds a fighting game and a turn-based strategy game to its ever-growing ranks. From SNK's huge library of fighting games, we have King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match. The XBLA version includes online play and will set you back 800 ($10). Meanwhile, Team17 has dropped the sequel to the XBLA version of Worms, which is titled, appropriately enough, Worms 2: Armageddon. The game brings lots of new features to the table -- as well as some old favorites -- and also costs 800 ($10).

Watch the latest episode of XBLA in Brief and see which one is screaming for your hard-earned cash.

Download the trial version of King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match
Download the trial version of Worms 2: Armageddon

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XBLA in Brief: King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, Worms 2: Armageddon originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No, it's okay. You can read that again. According to a report released by Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter, the company was given a demo of streaming game service OnLive this past March. Pachter states that latency between the user and OnLive's servers is supposed to be no more than 80 milliseconds, while the games he demoed were running at 25 milliseconds. While Pachter isn't certain if OnLive will "dominate any time soon" he believes that the micro console's video conferencing feature "will likely attract widespread demand." (Wait, it plays Crysis like a gaming PC and it's video conferencing that will sell this thing?)

Pachter states that OnLive should appeal to families that have yet to buy into the current generation of consoles, especially if the service is priced right. The sweet spot, apparently, is right around $5 a month. A higher price could be met with "consumer resistance," says Pachter. Furthermore, Pachter is already predicting that OnLive may not last long as a standalone service, suggesting that it might be purchased by another company and offered as "part of an expanded service offering."

For example, Microsoft could purchase the company to further expand the Xbox as an entertainment hub -- Pachter notes Microsoft's previous acquisition of WebTV, which was co-founded by OnLive CEO Steve Perlman. That's assuming neither Apple nor Verizon beat Microsoft to the punch, of course.

It's too early for us to say if any of this will come to pass -- we're not analysts, after all -- but we were certainly impressed with our own OnLive experience. Still, until we can plug OnLive into our internet and play Crysis for ourselves, we're a bit skeptical. That's okay though, because we're supposed to be.

Pachter: Crysis via OnLive like 'playing on a fully-optimized gaming PC' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So, remember how NinjaBee teased us with fireball-tossing Avatars last week? It turns out that the developer isn't creating a brand new Avatar game after all. Instead, NinjaBee is adding Avatar support to its turn-based strategy game, Band of Bugs. Yeah, it's not as exciting as the Avatar fighting game of our dreams, but it might be enough to make us blow the digital dust off of the XBLA title. Players will be able to use their Avatars in both the single-player campaign and in Spider Hunter multiplayer mode. The Avatar support will be coming as a free update on July 8.

In addition to Avatar support, NinjaBee is also set release an entirely new campaign for Band of Bugs entitled Tales of Kaloki, though it's very different from traditional DLC. Instead of simply expanding Band of Bugs, Tales of Kaloki actually plays like an entirely new game set in a different universe with different characters. Rather than pitting bugs against one another, players will control spaceships -- which utilize new weapons and abilities -- and try to blast their enemies out of the sky. And, judging from the above image, you can also wreak urban havoc with your Avatar.

As the title implies, Tales of Kaloki is based on another NinjaBee XBLA game, Outpost Kaloki X. The DLC will be available July 8 for 240 ($3). NinjaBee will also be releasing a Band of Bugs dashboard theme on the same day for the same price.

Check out screens of Tales of Kaloki and Avatars in Band of Bugs in the galleries below.

Now, NinjaBee, seriously ... about that fighting game ....

NinjaBee adds Avatar support to Band of Bugs, new Tales of Kaloki campaign originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just shy of its official release on Xbox Live Arcade, Team17 has dropped plenty of details and a big ol' pile of screens for Worms 2 Armageddon, out tomorrow for 800 ($10). First up, there are lots of new weapons in Worms 2, some of them are brand new, while others are returning favorites from other installments in the series. Fans will be happy to know that the Concrete Donkey is back (as is his nemesis, the Buffalo of Lies[?]). The game also includes bunker buster bombs which, true to their name, are used to take out cowardly worms that have burrowed deep, deep out of harm's way.

As we've mentioned before, the game also brings persistent fire, which is utilized in weapons like napalm and the petrol bomb. The game includes a handful of new modes too, such as Fort Mode -- which sets each team's worms in opposing bases instead of placing them randomly -- and Rope Race Mode. Another addition that might not sound too sexy but, trust us, it's important: Host migration for network play. The game also introduces vertical levels, which are tall and narrow, as opposed to the traditional wide levels.

All in all, it sounds like Worms 2 Armageddon is packing plenty of punch. Check out new screens in the gallery below and two trailers after the break.

Continue reading Worms 2 details, new screens fresh out of the can

Worms 2 details, new screens fresh out of the can originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another possibly "frustrating" leak for Sony, word comes from our buddies at Joystiq Japan and Engadget Chinese that two Taiwanese manufacturing companies have been awarded contracts to build Sony's new streamlined PS3, affectionately known as the PS3 Slim. According to UDN.com, half of the orders have gone to Taiwanese group Foxconn, while the other half has gone to Pegatron. The units are expected to start shipping in early July "to cope with expected summer vacation demands."

The news has a ring of truth to it, given that the two firms have manufactured the original PS3. The timing also makes sense, as Japan actually buys most of its game consoles during the summer vacation period (as opposed to the winter holidays in the west). Still, all of this info comes from anonymous sources, so take it with a very hearty helping of salt.

Assuming the news is true, it would mesh well with the PS3 Slim rumors we've heard so far, most notably that Ars Technica expected the units to hit the market in August or September. Add this to the string of rumors and leaks -- even some purported images of the unit itself -- and the PS3 Slim looks like it could be hitting the ground sooner rather than later.

Rumor: Taiwanese firms awarded PS3 Slim manufacturing contracts originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And the mighty Xbox Live tug-of-war continues this week as Major Nelson reports that Halo 3 has once again wrangled the top spot from Call of Duty: World at War. We'd like to say there were some other -- more interesting -- changes this week, but the rest of the list remains almost completely unchanged. The only other difference is that Fallout 3 replaced Prototype at ninth place, knocking the latter to tenth.

Don't worry, though, we've got a new Halo game and a new Call of Duty game on the way in just a few months. Then we can at least see different iterations of the same series occupying the top two slots. That's something to look forward to, right?

[Image: Pwn or Die]

Xbox Live Top 10: The Chief is back originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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