Gaming Mojo

Terrible news to report today. Capcom announced today that COO Mark Beaumont suddenly died yesterday morning. It is thought that he had a heart attack but Capcom is staying mum for now.

Mark was in his late 50’s and had been with Capcom since 2005. He was a 28-year veteran of video game publishing.

Here is a statement from Capcom:

Our COO and dear friend, Mark Beaumont, passed away this morning. This sudden loss has left us with deep sadness. Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will remember him for his humor, passion and commitment to Capcom and our industry. He was a great leader and visionary and his spirit will carry on in everything that we do. Please join us in memory of Mark.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his friends amd family.

Here are the details on Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame, from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment:
“Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame fully immerses fans into the vivid animated world of the successful TV series where kids can play as Batman or together with family and friends in two-player co-op mode. Players can choose from iconic characters ROBIN, GREEN LANTERN, BLUE BEETLE, along with drop-in heroes such as AQUAMAN to help solve puzzles and fight foes.

It’s interesting to know that the Wii and Ds get their own release and will have crossover connectivity whichwill enable an unlocking of a playable BAT-MITE for both game platforms.

Visit the official website of Batman: The Brave and the Bold the Videogame at www.BraveandtheBoldVideogame.com for more details on the game.

Bungie has said that it regrets leaving out matchmaking in Halo 3: ODST’s Firefight mode.

Community boss Brian Jarrard said that in the end, the studio didn’t have proper time to include it and admits that this may be one of the reasons ODST is not as popular as other Halo games.

I regret not being able to go back and make Firefight in ODST work and have match-making,” he told the site. “I think we would have loved to have done that.“We’ve heard it from the fans, we’ve heard it from the press. It’s definitely something we’d have loved to be able to do but we didn’t have the scope on the project. We didn’t have the time.

“We accomplished a tremendous amount, but that’s probably the reason ODST isn’t being played as much right now as we’d like. It has had a shorter lifecycle than any of the Halo titles before.

“But Reach is our big chance to make up for some of those things.

I really didn’t like the game to be honest, I thought it was going to be really good and instead it was really blah. I am counting on Reach to be the end all be all of the series.

Michael Pachter has called it: Natal will be $50 when it goes on sale in the US by the end of this year.

The Wedbush Morgan analyst, speaking in the latest edition of his Pach-Attack show on GT, said:

“My guess is, talking to my hardware specialist colleagues at Wedbush, it’s about $50 in cost,” he said.

“I’d be very surprised if the thing is more then $79, and I really think it’s going to be $50. Microsoft’s not trying to make money on the device, trying to get everybody to have the device so that they can sell us other things, eventually can sell us a lot more Xbox 360s.

“My call is $50, I think that’s where it’s going to be launched.”

This of course is just speculation on his part but what if he is right? I don’t know Microsoft is in the business to make money. I personally think it will be more that just a mere $50. But I have been wrong before.

An LA casting call for Call of Duty-related “voice over/motion capture” for an Activision “video game” has described character Frank Barnes as being part of an elite Vietnam unit, the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group.

SOG was responsible for covert operations in Vietnam, and was active from 1964-1972.

The call is for motion capture and VO work for what looks like four major characters from the game. The details come from a US casting site. Activision has yet to say anything about the Treyarch title other than it’s coming this year and it’s not expected to be bigger than Modern Warfare 2.

I have been dissapointed with the Modern series as we aren’t really fighting the real enemy in the game. Nothing “modern” about that. With this one and the series with the Nazi’s it’s a real enemy your taking on and that never gets old to me.

Nintendo DS gamers looking for a crime and forensics interactive mystery, search no more. SouthPeak Games, who collaborated with Nobilis, have just released Crime Scene for the Nintendo DS.

Aubrey Norris PR Manager at SouthPeak says:

“By combining a suspenseful storyline and forensics investigation controlled using the stylus and touch screen interface, Crime Scene literally puts the evidence right at your fingertips in a comprehensive and compelling way.

Crime scene investigation and forensic science is exceptionally popular right now and has a huge audience eager to test their skills in authentic forensic scenarios. Crime Scene the game offers users an engrossing adventure, and by taking advantage of the unique Nintendo DS interface, makes detective work a realistic, tactile and gratifying experience.”

Crime Scene is a Mature rated game and is available now for purchase. Visit www.crimescenegame.com for more information on the game.

Konami has announced that it is bringing the next Ninety-Nine Nights game to the Xbox 360. The original Ninety-Nine Nights was published by Microsoft Game Studios, but Konami picks up the Ninety-Nine Nights series with N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights. Expect more of  a two-player online mode.

Here are the details on N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights from Konami:
“Set on a ravaged world, N3II:Ninety-Nine Nights invites the player to take on all comers in a series of spectacular battles. Players can enjoy the story from five different perspectives – including humans, elves and goblins – and are pitted against wave after wave of adversaries in the ultimate ‘last man standing’ free-for-all. Each of the species is given a specific back story which unfolds as the game progresses, while the various races also bring unique skills and abilities to the battle field.

At its heart, N3II:Ninety-Nine Nights is a vast combat title, with hundreds of enemy creatures on screen simultaneously. As the camera picks over the action, the player can use a wealth of easily-effected combo attacks to carve a path through the enemy, and also use whatever weapons and items come to hand. At the end of each skirmish, players will then face a ‘Titanic Boss Battle’ against the champion of their current adversary, with players forced to move quickly and locate the well hidden weak spots of these seemingly unstoppable behemoths.

N3II:Ninety-Nine Nights also has a stunning two-player co-op online mode, wherein players team up against the oncoming hordes, working together to expand their combo range to take out more enemy assailants at once. This two-player mode features online ranking boards detailing the most effective pairings across the globe.”

You can check out more at Konami.com

Halo Legends is available on Blu-ray, DVD (single disc and two-disc edition).  Halo Legends features eight animated shorts, each running about 10-17 minutes in length. There is also a wealth of information on the Halo franchise, with additional material available in the Halo Legends Blu-ray Edition and Two-Disc Special Edition DVD.

Here is some of the extra content that you will find in the Halo Legends Blu-ray and Two-Disc Editions:

Halo Legends – Blu-ray Editio
Includes bonus materials found in the DVD Two-Disc Edition (see below), as well as “Halo: The Story so Far,” which is an overview of Halo through the end of Halo 3.

Halo Legends – Two-Disc Special Edition
Includes several hours of bonus features:
- The Making of Halo Legends: An introduction to Halo Legends followed by a making-of segment for each episode.

- Halo: Gaming Evolved – Explaining the Halo phenomenon from its inception as an Xbox video game to a present day entertainment franchise.

- Audio Commentary with directors Frank O’Connor and Joseph Chou.

- Widescreen format (1.78:1)

Activision and game developer Treyarch are giving iPhone and iPod touch gamers a free sampling of Call of Duty: World at War: ZOMBIES starting today.

Details from Activision and Treyarch:

“The Call of Duty: World at War: ZOMBIES Lite App allows iPhone and iPod touch players to experience three rounds of the “Nacht der Untoten” (Night of the Undead) map in single player, explore the map and access a multitude of weapons from the Mystery Box. Multiplayer fans will be able to play for two rounds via Wi-Fi, locally or across the Internet with four players or two players over Bluetooth.”

Think I will try it out tonight!

Ubisoft has announced the release date for their upcoming Assassin’s Creed II downloadable content, the “Battle of Forli.” From Ubisoft’s Twitter account.

Also anticipated in February 2010 is the “Bonfire of the Vanities” DLC. I have to say it’s nice to see them trying to keep this game in your inventory, unfortunately I traded mine in weeks ago.