Portugal probably doesn't spring to mind as a hotbed of video game development, but the strangely named GameInvest is based in beautiful Lisbon and its first title, Sarah's Emergency Room, "revives the time management genre with fun, challenging levels and a frenetic pace with simulation management skills."
The game is being developed for the Nintendo DS, Wii, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and PC platforms and allows you to assume the role of a graduate nursing student named Sarah as she moves from California to manage a busy emergency room in Arkansas. There "she discovers that managing an emergencyroom is a bit harder than she expected." Nothing like gender stereotyping with a female nurse who thinks life is hard. What's next, Sarah's Lunch Rush Hour where she runs coffee and waffles?
Ludwig's on vacation, but we're sure he'll check the site sooner or later and see that we have news to report on his most wanted game ever. Sony's lovely, yet elusive safari sim, Afrika, has surfaced again (albeit briefly) in a new behind-the-scenes clip of its soundtrack being recorded in Hollywood.
Afrika's score is the work of Wataru Hokoyama, who is new to games but not other media. In addition to film scores, Hokoyama has brought his talent to TV, including orchestrations for "Once More, With Feeling," the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also conducts his own works, as you can see in the above video. Now that we've seen and heard the game, here's hoping (if only for Ludwig's sake) that we finally get to play it next week at E3.
So, see if you can wrap your brain around this one. In the fall of 2007, EA released a boiled-down version of The Sims on Wii and DS called MySims, which went on to sell 1.5 hojillion copies. Now, perhaps looking to push it to the 2 hojillion mark, EA announced today that on October 27 of this year MySims will be coming to the PC ... so, does that make it a "boiled-up" version?
Yes, to be fair, the PC will be getting some new characters and new online features like the ability to play Tag and share your creations with friends. But you know what else the PC will be getting at some point? Sims 3. Just saying.
By design, Sporeis all-encompassing, with nigh infinite possibilities for gameplay, from crafting the very essence of life to managing entire galaxies. But sometimes, you have to go to the bathroom, it's a scientific fact. For those moments, there's the Spore Galactic Edition announced today by Gamestop, available for $79.99. In addition to the game, you'll get:
'Making of Spore' DVD video
'The Human Toolkit' DVD video, by National Geographic
'The Art of Spore' hardback mini-book
Fold-out Spore poster
Premium 100-page Galactic Handbook
So whether nature calls and you need reading material or your significant other wants to watch some TV, you'll have no problem keeping it Spore-centric. And yes, now that you mention it, that was a very depressing sentence.
According to Game|Life and Dengeki Online, Namco Bandai is bringing Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii's latest film, "The Sky Crawlers," to the Wii in the form of a flight combat sim. The genre (not to mention Namco's Ace Combatteam) makes for a perfect fit given the movie's focus on a group of fighter pilots, albeit in an alternate setting.
Though it won't be measured in Japan until fall, the success of Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces will likely hinge on how well the controls are implemented -- the Wiimote functions as the throttle and the nunchuck acts as the control stick -- and how popular the film ends up being. At least the game will let us skip all the existential chatter, right?
In our quest to familiarize ourselves with the laws of nature (and subsequently defy them), this week we're going to share at least five abominations, one each day, that we've concocted in Spore Creature Creator. You can keep track of this our progress via our various profile pages:
For the final day, we tried to commit ourselves to pulling out all the stops, but a very long day of blogging left us with some epic failures that will never see the light of day (e.g. Big Bird). We do feel, however, that we have a much better understanding of Spore's limitations. (You can read about them in our gallery.) You can see all the creatures from the week starting here. Each page contains a link to the creature's respective Sporepedia page where you can download and edit our work.
Gallery: One week with Spore Creatures
Put your skills to the test and win some gear. BigDownload is offering BigPrizes to see your Spore creations.
Today's daily recap is going video. If hearing "Crank Dat Souja Boy" one more time is going to cause you to drill a hole in your head, we'd advise you not to press play (thanks, Myke). Check out the highlights for today:
In our quest to familiarize ourselves with the laws of nature (and subsequently defy them), this week we're going to share at least five abominations, one each day, that we've concocted in Spore Creature Creator. You can keep track of this our progress via our various profile pages:
Today's highlights include a living guitar, a chocobo and a failed attempt at recreating the faun from Pan's Labyrinth. You can see all the creatures from the week starting here. Each page contains a link to the creature's respective Sporepedia page where you can download and edit our work.
Gallery: One week with Spore Creatures
Put your skills to the test and win some gear. BigDownload is offering BigPrizes to see your Spore creations.
In our quest to familiarize ourselves with the laws of nature (and subsequently defy them), this week we're going to share at least five abominations, one each day, that we've concocted in Spore Creature Creator. You can keep track of this our progress via our various profile pages:
For day two (new entries start here), we've got an elated peppermint, an attentive dinosaur, and a hiphopapotamous with flows that glow like phosphorous. You can see all the creatures from the week starting here. Each page contains a link to the creature's respective Sporepedia page where you can download and edit our work.
I am writing to you, with great difficulty I might add, about a matter very dear to my heart. I understand that not all members of the human race find us endearing, but I would greatly and truly appreciate it if you would be a dear and stop hunting my kind, the deer. Isn't that what your dearly beloved technology is for?
Why not purchase a copy of Atari's "most intense virtual hunting experience ever created," Deer Hunter Tournament? Set for release this Fall on Xbox 360 and PC, it promises "true-to-life animal behaviour," a variety of hunting modes, techniques and tools, and online multiplayer (though I'm sure you would prefer online mullet-player). And for only $19.99, or $39.99 for the Xbox 360 version, you'll get to hunt deer without forcing me to deal with all the painful repercussions.
Plus, you know, it'll help you with your dire aiming and embarrassing tracking abilities. I'm writing this with your stationery and making a complete mess of the study.
If you've been living under a rock lately and haven't heard about the Spore Creature Creator, we forgive you. However, if you actually just live under a rock and look like something spawned from the Creature Creator, and have been pouting because you have an Interl Mac Mini or an older MacBook with Intel's GMA 950 integrated graphics, then turn that frown upside down.
The Unofficial Apple Weblog will let you know how to fool the program into thinking you're sporting a different graphics chip, and you'll be able to play God on your precious piece of outdated, but still loved, hardware. Just don't blame us if your now hacked machine becomes sentient and starts spawning.
How intelligent is your design? Our friends at BigDownload want to see your best work using the Spore Creature Creator demo, and they're offering 10 copies of the full version, a Wacom tablet and two NVIDIA video cards to tempt you. Click here for details and contest rules.
In our quest to familiarize ourselves with the laws of nature (and subsequently defy them), this week we're going to share at least five abominations, one each day, that we've concocted in Spore Creature Creator. You can keep track of this writer's progress via this Spore profile page.
While we've got no Murlocs today, we did try our hand at making a Moogle. Check out all our creations via the gallery below. Each one contains a link to the creature's respective Sporepedia page where you can download and edit our work.
As you know, we sometimes like to cut the wires and take things Off the Grid, which can lead to bouts of surfing through websites like BoardGameGeek until 5 in the morning ... allegedly ...
However, all of that browsing paid off in spades when we stumbled across Quirks, a board game from the magical year of 1980. Looks a bit familiar, doesn't it? We wonder if Will Wright ever sat down with this back in the day. He would have been around 20 years old when it came out, and he's admittedly a huge fan of board and strategy games, so you do the math. Find out more about genetic manipulation in the 80s after the break (spoiler: it wasn't all big hair, bangle bracelets, and friendship pins).
Of the many things we look forward to when unwrapping a new game, box art ranks just above the new game smell and that little card that falls on the floor when the box is opened, quietly pleading for feedback. This is not the case, however, for Atlus creative designer Jeremy Cail, who makes it his job to judge books -- make that games -- by their cover, and in a recent blog post breaks down all of the effort that went into designing the cover for next month's Trauma Center sequel for the DS.
Besides the differences between North American and Japanese boxes, the designer expounds on the virtues of title placement (can't have it be covered by the shelf, can we?) and the importance of Derek's glowing hand (Uh oh, it's magic). He also discusses the title itself, noting that Under the Knife 2 was not the team's first choice, with subtitles such as "Surgeon's Oath" or "Under the Gun" also in the pot for consideration. And what of Nurse Angie's new maid cafe-inspired attire? Cail writes that "I hope that gives you cosplayers out there some extra inspiration this year at anime conventions." Man, it's like you read our minds. Creepy.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: Hands-on Impressions Unleashed
Come to our E3 afterparty, we've got over 200lbs. of swag to give you (and only you)
Podcast Rodeo is back, and now with thrice the fidelity!
Hands-on with Spore. All of it. With Will Wright feeding us commentary.
Highlights from Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2008!
Listen to the Joystiq Podcast (because your ears can't read)
Posts in category simulations
By design, Spore is all-encompassing, with nigh infinite possibilities for gameplay, from crafting the very essence of life to managing entire galaxies. But sometimes, you have to go to the bathroom, it's a scientific fact. For those moments, there's the Spore Galactic Edition announced today by Gamestop, available for $79.99. In addition to the game, you'll get:
Put your skills to the test and win some gear. BigDownload is offering BigPrizes to see your Spore creations.
