In this edition of “Games to Watch” I’d like to profile NinjaBee’s upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game A World of Keflings.

A World of Keflings is NinjaBee’s sequel to their 2008 Xbox Live Arcade breakout A Kingdom for Keflings. In the original game you used a pre-created character or your Xbox Live avatar to act as a god, and construct a thriving town. You can use the keflings, or residents to gather or haul resources as you work towards building a massive city and castle. There was no real story or goals other than simply constructing a huge city.

The original was a nice change of pace from your typical game. The open ended world was a nice touch, and I loved the relaxing atmosphere that the game gave.

The sequel looks to do more of the same, only on a bigger scale. There will be new and unique characters that your avatar will be able to interact with, such as eskimos and a pirate. The world also looks to be much, much bigger, with exotic locales (the trailer and screenshots show off an ice world a lot). Furthermore the types and looks of buildings that you build will vary depending on what the climate of that region is.

NinjaBee President Steve Taylor said during the initial announcement:“A World of Keflings is much more than a sequel. It’s a new game with a ton of new features, including some innovative ideas that stand out from both Live Arcade and full retail games.  A World of Keflings also has a new story focus, with new exotic lands, characters, quests, buildings, customization options, and a lot more.”

If A World of Keflings can deliver on everything they have said so far, and fix the frame rate and a few other minor issues from the last game then NinjaBee could very well have another hit on their hands.

A World of Keflings is rated E10+. No official launch date has been set yet, but it is still supposed to be out Q4 2010.

Check out the official trailer and screenshots:

NinjaBee’s Page on AWoK

UPDATE: Major Nelson has just announced on his blog that it will be available for download December 22nd.

Tags: games to watch, kingdom for keflings, ninjabee, steve taylor, world of keflings, xbla

Sony has said in the past that they are in no hurry to kill the PS2, and that there is no official end to the system’s production or releases.

To further that IGN is reporting that a handful of games are still trickling out for the system. Most of the announced titles for 2011 involve hunting or soccer, but there are a few expansions for Final Fantasy XI coming out as well (although after a quick glance around the message boards the excitement for the PS2 version has waned as  FFXIV was announced a while back as the next Final Fantasy MMO).

It looks like after this holiday season the system will pretty much be dead. It’s already on it’s last legs after nearly a decade long run. The PS2 dominated the Gamecube and Xbox from last gen, stayed fairly strong into this gen, and has only recently in the past year or two been slowing down.

Still it was nice to see that a system could have such a long run and maintain it’s popularity over time. I think that if people don’t consider it a classic system and one of the best already then they soon will. After all it brought us Okami, Final Fantasy X and X-2, the Kingdom Hearts series, the bulk of the Silent Hill and Resident Evil series, Gran Turismo 3 and 4, Grand Theft  Auto 3 and Vice City, Bully, Katamari Damacy, Killzone, and many, many (I mean many) more.

PS2: Still not long in the tooth?

“There’s no set date for when the life cycle of PlayStation 2 will end. As long as people keep playing, and publishers keep putting out great new titles, the console’s life cycle will continue. The longevity of the PlayStation 2 can be directly attributed to its versatility. Because it’s not only a game console, but a home entertainment hub, it has found its place in one out of every three U.S. households. That huge install base has resulted in consistent developer support and a huge library of titles along with strong retail presence, all of which allows PlayStation 2 to remain the console of choice for years to come.”

-Abby Reyes

Sony’s Senior Public Relations Specialist

Tags: Final Fantasy, final fantasy XI, new releases, PS2, releases

Capcom has announced a Febuary 15, 2011 release date for Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

They also announced a special edition for only $10 more. For $69.99 you will get two downloadable bonus characters: Jill Valentine from the Resident Evil series and Shuma Gorath from Marvel. These will be available 4 weeks after the launch of the game.

Also included will be a steelbook case featuring art work, a 12 page prologue comic written by Marvel writer Frank Tieri, and a 1 month subscription to Marvel Digital Comics.

For only $10 more this looks to be a great value. I’m sure there will be plenty of people picking up the special edition on release day.

My thoughts:
I’m not normally into special editions of games, but for all that is included I think $10 more is justifiable. It’s certainly better than paying $80 or more for a game and some measly bonuses. Games are expensive enough, and as a gamer and a Christian I often have to examine my budget more closely than others might. It’s good to see that for $70 Capcom will be giving you plenty to take away in the special edition. The standard game looks to be shaping up nicely as well.

Check out the sweet box art below. Iron Man and Wolverine look really cool.

What do you guys think? Is this special edition of a game worth it?

Tags: 360, capcom, marvel vs. capcom, marvel vs. capcom 3, mvc, ps3, sony, xbox

Just announced on the official Playstation blog, Atlus has announced a special holiday sale. From November 16th until November 29th 11 of their games will be marked down 50%.

The games currently on sale are:

1. Class of Heroes, PSP
Was $39.99, now $19.99

2. Crimsom Gem Saga, PSP
Was $29.99, now $14.99

3. Droplitz, PS3
Was $9.99, now $4.99

4. Hammerin’ Hero, PSP
Was $19.99, now $9.99

5. Hexyz Force, PSP
Was $29.99, now $14.99

6. Kenka Bancho: Bad*** Rumble, PSP
Was $39.99, now $19.99

7. Riviera: The Promised Land, PSP
Was $14.99, now $7.49

8. R-Type Command, PSP
Was $14.99, now $7.49

9. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, PSP
Was $39.99, now $19.99

10. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable, PSP
Was $39.99, now $19.99

11. Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament, PSP
Was $14.99, now $7.49

If you’re looking for some cheap games on the Playstation store be sure to check out the Atlus sale. At 50% off you can easily pick up multiple games for the price of one normal full price game.

Tags: Atlus, holidays, Playstation store, ps3, psp, sony

I guess I’m out of the loop, because in between all the other PSP versions SEGA has been releasing and the still running Xbox 360 and PC games I missed their announcement on Phantasy Star Online 2.

We don’t know much about it, other than it will be released in 2011 for the pc. So far there is no word on whether or will get a console release on the 360 or Ps3. What little is known was shown in a trailer released at the Tokyo Game Show back in September. All we see is a logo and an announcement for a 2011 release date for pc.

I have fond memories of Phantasy Star Online Episodes I and II for Gamecube, and some fond memories of the DS game Phantasy Star Zero.  I’d love to see what a sequel to PSO could be. However the pc only announcement bothers me, as the Phantasy Star games have always sold well on consoles. I’m hoping for a port to the 360, as the ad says it is specifically for Windows pcs. If that’s the case then some cross platform gameplay would be nice. With the amount of pcs and 360s in the wild I’m sure it would be a success for SEGA. Even better if they can get the hacking and duping of items monitored more closely and fixed this time around, as that has always been a thorn in the series’ side.

I’m eager to see what else is revealed about the game and it’s gameplay. I’d love to get in on the game and make some new friends. If it’s anything like past games the social party system and tackling monsters and bosses together is where the game really shines. Throw in some good, simple, clean gameplay and you’ve got hours of enjoyment.

Is anyone else excited for this? What would you want to see in this new iteration of the series?

Tags: pc, Phantasy Star, PSO, SEGA, Sonic Team

Sony finally announced on November 12th that Gran Turismo 5 is set to launch November 24th.

They also revealed the track list, as reported by Wireninja.

While there are 71 courses in total, some of them are simply the same courses played later in reverse. Tracks include such places as London, Rome, Tsukuba Circuit, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with a heavy lean toward European and Japanese tracks.

It’s good to see the game finally get a release date. Hopefully the bugs have been worked out. I would hate to see this game be rushed just to make it in time for the holidays. It’s been so long since a new GT that I’m sure the die hard fans are eager for one. I just hope it doesn’t disappoint. GT has always been a big, high profile series for Sony, so I’m sure they want this to be a success.

Tags: gran turismo, gran turismo 5, ps3, sony

Call of Duty: Black Ops is getting positive reviews across the board. Most reviews are praising it for it’s multiplayer, varied story, and Nazi Zombie co-op. Complaints appear to be bugs and another short campaign.

Check out the review roundups below.

IGN complained that the enemy and friendly A.I. was poor in their review of the 360 version, but praised the multiplayer and it’s leveling system of CoD points to purchase unlockables, along with the zombie mode.

1UP gave the game an A-. They called it Treyarch’s best CoD effort yet, praising the licensed soundtrack and realistic gore. Multiplayer was considered more of the same by them however, with only a few tweaks here and there.

Gamespot have it a solid 9.0 in their PC review. They were disappointed in another short campaign mode, but praised it for taking you around the world to Cold War hot spots and the slowly revealing your main character’s story through flashbacks via missions. They praised the 4 player zombie horde mode as well.

Official Nintendo Magazine in the U.K. gave the Wii version a 90% rating. The globe trotting kept things fresh in the story mode, but was occasionally dogged by low frame rates. They also mentioned poor A.I., and the lack of WiiSpeak voice chat support (although voice chat for other headsets is apparently supported). However they said that it is one of the best multiplayer games on the Wii.

It appears that Treyarch’s newest CoD is getting higher praise all around than even Modern Warfare 2.

What do you guys think? Is the violence too much? The campaign too short? Will multiplayer keep you occupied? Sound off in the comments below.

Tags: 360, black ops, call of duty, COD, pc, ps3, reviews, sony, Wii, xbox

IGN has an interesting article on why the big Australian developer Krome Studios closed down recently.

In it they talk to five ex-Krome employees, all of whom remain anonymous. Krome was once the largest game developer down under, employing 400+ people, but as time went by they laid off more and more. In it ex-employees argue that short development cycles hurt the company immensely. One person claims the average development cycle was only 10 months.

Krome CEO Robert Walsh is also interviewed, in which he discusses an issue ex-employees also brought up: Krome simply had too many idle people at once on staff. Many people lamented having nothing to do for weeks, and one employee argues that is was particularly disappointing given some of the staff’s talent.

Cheaper labor elsewhere also hurt the company. One employee was quoted as saying, “It’s not an encapsulated trend – this isn’t just happening in Australia. Game development is a game played on a global stage. Places like China are building game development studios, and they’re charging a lot less than we would.”  How could such a large company possibly compete with cheaper labor, especially when their games were often being negatively received?

My favorite quote from the article sums up the downfall of Krome the best: “Krome had some of the best talent in this industry worldwide, and it’s a total shame that this talent was never fully realised. Low-end, licensed titles should not have been the culmination of so many years of experience and so much genuine talent. Krome was hundreds of wasted opportunities. “Hopefully other developers can learn [from Krome] how critical it is to always find time to invest in original IP. Chasing the quick buck is a short-sighted goal, regardless of the fluctuation of the Australian dollar. It was foolish to rely on cheap, licensed titles to build the local industry.”

Krome was best known for their work on the Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games, and for revamping the Spyro series. They also developed games for many movie or comic IPs.

Source:

IGN article on Krome

Tags: australian companies, game studios, krome, krome studios, robert walsh

The folks over at the Supermariobros.org have released a new Mario Bros. mod.

Or to be specific pretty much a brand new game. Super Mario Bros. X allows players to play as Mario, Luigi, the Princess, Link, and more in what amounts to a mash up of the early 2D Super Mario games. The game is free to download, and boasts 50+ levels, new enemies and bosses, a real time level editor, a vs. battle mode, 2 player co-op, an awesome soundtrack and more.

Check out the trailer below.

Tags: mario, mario bros mod, mod, super mario, super mario bros x