Month: May 2006

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know that the Oklahoma State Senate recently passed what amounts to an anti-gaming bill. Basically, the bill (HB 3004) makes it illegal to sell games that are “harmful to minors” to children. This bill, once signed by Governor Henry, will add any games under this loose defintion to the short list of government regulated media.

Here is the current list of government regulated media:

• Pornography

Like I said. It’s a short list. The point I’m getting at here is this: I live in Oklahoma. This law won’t affect me, but I personally believe it’s a bad idea. The heart of the idea is good, I just don’t think it’s a legal issue. All other media is internally regulated and that should be good enough for games—which are prohibitively expensive to most children anyway.

I sent Governor Henry a letter on the subject not long ago and was delightfully surprised that he actually responded—and quickly, too. I still think he’s going to sign the bill. He pretty much has to, as it passed through both the State House and Senate unanimously. Still, I wanted to take this time to thank Governor Henry—and specifically his Policy Specialist Leslie Tabor—for taking the time to respond at all.

—UPDATE: This is post is now linked to the resplendent Game Politics. Thanks, Dennis.

IGN has posted a short interview with Huxley developer Webzen. While it doesn’t divulge too much new information about the project, I am so thirsty for any info regarding this game that I will post anything. Anything. The juiciest bit in the interview is the statement that there will be massive 100 vs. 100 battles. That’s a lot of players in a single battle. Also, when asked about the cross-platform play between the PC and 360 versions, the developer failed to answer with a simple yes or no, saying that it goes “beyond mere connecton.” I don’t know what that means, but it’s good, I guess.

SEGA has released some new screens of Sonic for the next gen platforms. For some reason, however, this is not the subject of today’s Road to E3 ’06 press release, which is in fact about Charlotte’s Web. Go figure. Click here to check out the screens.

Update: I just noticed that Sonic isn’t wearing his SOAP shoes anymore. Does that mean no more grinding?

—via the ever vigilant Gamebrink

Nintendo announced today that the DS Lite will hit US shores on June 11th for “as low as” $129.99—hence the asterisk above. Start stockpiling those extra dollars now. If you don’t have a nice view of the world under that rock of yours, here is a list of features:

• It’s less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter.
• Its two bright screens can be adjusted to four levels to adapt to different lighting conditions and to extend battery power.
• The microphone sits in the center of the unit, and the LED lights are clearly visible whether the unit is open or closed.
• The stylus is 1 centimeter longer and 1 millimeter thicker than the stylus of the original, and slides into a side storage slot.
• The Start and Select buttons were repositioned for easier access.
• A removable cover keeps the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot clear from dust and debris when it’s not in use.
• It’s awesome.

Okay, that last one was mine, but it might as well be a feature. Reggie Fils-Aime also notes, “DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros. represent a double shot of gaming excellence.” Can’t wait.

SEGA has attached some screenshots to yesterday’s announcement off Full Auto 2 for the PS3. Why they weren’t there yesterday is anybody’s guess. Click the thumbnails below to see embiggened versions. I didn’t play Full Auto beyond the demo, but these shots don’t indicate a huge leap in visual fidelity. I fear any hopes of Full Auto 2 not being a port may be dashed. Click on the thumbnails below to see the embiggened versions.

There is a (somewhat lengthy) article over at Gamasutra about level design. The article focuses solely on the evolution of first person shooters, but is nevertheless a good read. It’s a pretty good chronicle of the progress that has been made in computer graphics over the years. Some of the key games mentioned include Doom, System Shock, Duke Nukiem 3D, and of course Half-Life. The article details how each successive game added new features and graphical/physical capabilities. Of all the great features that have been put into games over the last 15 years, it fails to mention the greatest feature of all: giving money to strippers in Duke Nukem 3D.

Be warned, this is an academic paper, citations and all. It has more than a few typos, too—do they not have editors at Gamasutra? You can find the article here:

Part 1
Part 2

SEGA keeps on rollin’ with the press releases. Today’s release announces Sonic Rivals for the PSP. 2D gameplay on 3D maps looks to bring Sonic back to his early days. Those who have picked up Sonic Rush on the DS know how refreshing that can be. Sonic Rivals offers both single player and multiplayer options. However, the press release doesn’t specify if the single player is based on racing or more traditional Sonic. Also not specified is whether the game offers online multiplayer or only ad hoc—the release merely refers to “wireless play”. It’s also interesting that Sonic Rivals is being developed by a studio called Backbone Entertainment. What, no Sonic Team?

Sometimes, I wish that I still had my PSP.

It looks like I left a rogue ad lurking inside my sidebar’s html. This was causing the page to look really weird if you were viewing single posts or leaving comments. It should be gone now and much prettier. And, I got my first spam comment today! I really must have hit the big time. So, hey, thank you and screw you spammer dude :)

I try not to pull too many stories from the Joystiq empire, but this one is a doozy. The headline says it all: the DS Lite is to be dated and priced on May 4th. Nintendo seems to be revealing a lot of E3-type info prior to E3. Kind of makes you wonder what they will say at E3.

As are most, I’m guessing a price right at $149.99 US. Maybe $10 cheaper. If it comes with a game, I’ll get it no questions asked. Without one, it becomes much harder to justify. It’s so hard to choose between games and paying for a wedding, you know?

In the latest Road to E3 press release, SEGA has announced Full Auto 2 exclusively for the PS3. Those of you with a 360 probably know that the first Full Auto was only okay, so PS3 exclusivity is interesting. After all, if it was successful on 360, why make it exclusive? Sounds like SEGA wants to start fresh with a new batch of PS3 owning gamers.

PR-speak to watch out for (emphasis mine):

•  fan favorite Unwreck(tm) feature
• sequel to the award winning Full Auto
• an extensive list of features entirely new to the franchise

Okay, it’s clear that SEGA wants this to be a hallmark series. Looking at the original website for Full Auto, the only actual award I can find is a silver from EGM and a Maxim game of the month. I don’t read Maxim, but if I did, it wouldn’t be for game reviews. Also telling is that the website says the Official Xbox Magazine gave Full Auto a 5 out of 5. That’s great, except OXM doesn’t grade on a scale of 5, opting instead for the 0-10 scale. All the rest of the “awards” were from last year’s E3, when we all still thought Full Auto was going to be Burnout with guns. Hmmm…

Anyway, the sequel will have new features and whatnot. You can read the release if you want details. Who knows, maybe they’ll get it right this time.

—image from Wrecked Exotics. Bonus points if you can name that car and its owner.