SUMODOWNLOAD

Well sometimes it happens.  Yesterday, we presented to you news that Metal Gear Solid will be ported to the PS2 in the upcoming Essential Collection.  Apparently, that information was not accurate due to a mistake from Konami’s rep. 

According to GameAlmighty:

So it looks like there was a miscommunication about the format for the games. I received this note from Konami’s Michael Shelling - ‘…to be clear, MGS1 is not a port; it’s the original game on 2 CD’s not a DVD.’ The original Metal Gear Solid will be appearing on PS1 discs. What this means for saving the game, etc, I am not sure.

My apology for the confusion.

With this new information at hand, we now know that the Essential Collection package will come with 4 discs.  You will probably need a PS1 memory card to play MGS 1 and you will need to swap discs while playing.  It’s a disappointment because it would have been great if they went the extra mile and published at least a PS2 version of it instead of shoving all those old discs into a single box.

Last month we confirmed the news that a sequel to Resistance: Fall of Man was on the works and now we found some great screen shots and concept art of the new game. 

The Chimera are still there, along with their advanced robotic technology.  So far it looks good.  Perhaps this game may live up to its predecessor.  You can see the images here.

ABC’s mega-hit television show Lost now has a video game.  Lost: Via Domus makes you play as an amnesiac survivor of Oceanic Flight 815 who is trying to get more information about his past. 

In the process of unlocking the mystery of your past, you get to interact with many of the show’s popular characters and get to visit some of the island’s iconic locations. 

This is basically an action-adventure game.  You will have to fight, run or hide your way and survive some of the many hazards found on the TV show from the weird black smoke thingy to the mysterious “others” that inhabit the island.  There are also numerous “easter eggs” that you can find throughout the game.

If you missed some shows or seasons and are afraid of spoilers, be warned that the game follows the first two seasons’ story.  If you’ve watched that much then there shouldn’t be any spoilers.  Some of the locations featured in the third season can be visited as well. 

I’m a fan of the show and the idea of being able to roam the island and explore it really sounds exciting.  I am curious on how they will pull this off.  The show has basically given more questions and almost no answers the past three seasons.  Will the game be like that as well?  I hope that it really is a good game.  Usually TV shows or movies turned into games don’t turn out well. 

The game is made by Ubisoft and Gameloft and is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the PC.  Chances are I’ll try out the PC version at least.

And honestly, I think they’re missing the point

Disney Interactive Studio’s Ultimate Band is a version of Guitar Hero and Rockband, with almost the same mechanics and stuff, and the only things missing are the musical instruments used in playing the game.  Yep, that’s right, you have to play a musical game using only either the Wiimote controllers or the DS stylus.

“Ultimate Band invites kids, tweens and teens to join in the jam session,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president, global marketing of Disney Interactive Studios. “And whether they choose guitar, drums, bass or front man, members don’t need to buy costly, single-function peripherals to play their way through Ultimate Band’s deep song list, dynamic venues, and customizable characters. The Wii Remote™ and DS stylus are the only tools they’ll need to reach rock stardom in Ultimate Band.”

Ultimate Band will be released in Q4 this 2008.

W-h J: The very reason why I enjoyed Guitar Hero and Rockband is because I get to play it with controllers imitating real music instruments.  Playing GH and RB on a controller is just so totally uncool, dude.  But then again, the company making this is Disney, so its probably safe to assume that they’re putting in enjoyable features to replace the experience given by the first two musical games.  Still, I deeply doubt it’s gonna be easy to find a way around that.

Via Gaming Today

Just like the original Sims game, The Sims 2 has a mighty lot of reasons why you should keep playing them.  In fact, I think The Sims is the only game that made a lot of expansions in a single installment and succeeded continuously because of their unique and enjoyable gameplay.  So for the Sims fans out there, enjoy their latest expansion, “The Sims 2: FreeTime.”

KEY FEATURES

* New Gameplay Elements Tied to Hobbies. Your Sims can discover the activities that they’re most passionate about! Addition of a wide range of new activities, including sports, music & dance, arts & crafts, science, film & literature and more, all add new storytelling options tied to your Sims discovery and pursuit of specific hobbies. Sims can now participate in contests to win prizes and Simoleons, or they can master interests, practice and improve their skills, and get in “the zone!” Your Sims can enrich their lives by creating items to use or sell, like pottery or cars. These new hobbies can strengthen friendships and uncover secret lots.

* New Lifetime Aspiration Meter. Your Sims can measure the progress of their aspirations over a lifetime and unlock special rewards and interactions!

* Five New Career Tracks and their Reward Objects. Oceanographers can earn a koi pond, entertainers can get their own star of fame, architects can use their own drafting table, dancers can receive a ballet barre and intelligence agents can use a listening devise.

* All New Objects and Outfits. The Sims 2 FreeTime introduces brand new items, including a basketball hoop, pottery wheel, toddler activity table, modular synthesizer, hobby train table and much more.

Via Gaming Today

Usually the story goes like this: Mario defeats Bowser, the player is happy. Mario falls over the ledge, the player is irritated.

However, the recent study of researchers from Helsinki, Finland proves this universal theory wrong by using 36 young adults as their controlled group in their study titled “The Psychophysiology of James Bond: Phasic Emotional Responses to Violent Video Game Events.”

The researchers used the game James Bond 007: Nightfire as their game to be used in recording the psychophysiological responses of the young adults. Results showed an unexpected surprise when the researchers concluded that “their results, which showed a negative response to the death of an enemy, lend little credence to the idea that video games desensitize players to violence.”

“From this perspective, the fact that wounding or killing the opponent elicited negative, not positive, emotional responses might be reassuring,” says the report.

What’s more is that sympathizing with a cyber enemy may be a little weird but having a blissful feeling when your character dies is weirder–A result the researchers discovered in their study.

Read the summary of the report here.

W-h J: This can only mean 3 things. It’s either the controlled group talked amongst theirselves and decided not to take the study seriously, The game they chose is not the best one to measure a person’s psychophysiology, or everyone took marijuana before playing the game and got high. It’s like drinking a cup of coffee and putting 15 lumps of sugar then not stirring it because you don’t want it sweet. It’s just plain…[insert adjective synonymous to bizarre here].

Via shacknews