Section: Gaming News, Features, Rumors, Handhelds, DS, Gear, Figures & Toys, Genres, 3D, Action, Strategy

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Hellbent Games and TT Games have announced the Summer 2009 release of the DS game Lego Battles

According to the press release, Lego Battles promises to be a strategy game (with no indication of how much real-time combat there will be) with the “trademark humor and endless customization of Lego.” It will include 90 levels, six stories and combine kits themes Space, Castle and Pirates. Gamers will be able to mix and match 55 different units from all three themes and use 30 vehicles and wirelessly (unfortunately through multicard) battle each other on land, sea and in air.

Looking at the cover there are pirates, little dudes in space outfits, knights, British soldiers and waitamoment.

Could it be?

A frickin’ Lego Ninja and a Lego Pirate on the same game cover?!

Pictures don’t lie (unless Photoshopped). Check out the closeup with the highlighted Ninja on the battlefield.

Are they friends or foes in that photo? Who the frack cares. You’ll be able to pit them against each other and see who has the last Lego peg standing.

The positioning does make me wonder whether Warner Bros. sides with Pirates or Ninjas since the Pirate gets big, main character play on the box and the ninja is in the lower corner, small and apparently looking over his (or her?) shoulder. I’m not exactly sure that the guy in the long beard and red outfit is a Ninja or Samurai or something else (anyone know for sure?).

Oh yeah, there’s that Lego Rock Band game coming, too. Sorry. The prospect of pitting Lego Pirates and Lego Ninjas against each other in a game is just too fun. Don’t miss the image gallery, too.

Now if Lego can just get permission to include the already licensed Batman, Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Spongebob Squarepants franchises, we’ll have a truly epic Lego battles on our thumbs.

Read [Gamertell] Also Read [Softpedia]? Photo Gallery [Gamertell]

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Section: Originals, Features, Nostalgia, Opinions, Consoles, PCs, Gear, Audio, Web-Sites

More proof that the collective of artists and music fans at OverClocked ReMix are amazing: the site is currently featuring interviews with David Wise, Christopher Tin & Steffan Andrews, all composers working in the game industry. Even if the names don’t sound familiar to you, their music probably does – David Wise put together the phenomenal Donkey Kong Country soundtracks, Tin’s credits include Civilization IV and Andrews wrote the music for FaceBreaker.

As a tremendous fan of the DKC soundtracks, I was blown away hearing Wise’s experiences creating the music. It’s interesting to note how much of a team effort (among artists and programmers) it was – and completely understandable, given how evocative and atmospheric the “feel” of the game turned out. From the article:?

From a personal point of view, the Donkey Kong Country SNES soundtracks were so involved, I just don’t think the quality would have been achievable without the support of the programmers who also helped to make those soundtracks possible. Whilst as musicians, we take a lot of the credit, what we achieved was, and still is, very much a team effort.

Since I was in middle school at the time, I never knew much about the game’s production, and I still, to this day, enjoy listening to the soundtrack. It’s unbelievably cool to hear about it’s genesis.

The newer pieces feature Tin and Andrews, the latter of whom actually started out as a remixer at the site and later went pro. Its fascinating stuff all around, and each are easy, fun reads. If you have even the slightest interest in game music, you owe it to yourself to give them a go.

Read [OC ReMix David Wise] Read [OC ReMix Christopher Tin] Read [OC ReMix Steffan Andrews]

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Section: Originals, Features, Opinions, Consoles, PCs, Handhelds, Ads & Media, Web-Sites

It seems as if games journalism is going through some growing pains these days. Some folks like the light, often goofy – and, lets be honest – frequently childish tone that accompanies so much of the coverage. Some folks want to see the content mature and evolve and others think that there’s no need to add pretentious dialogue and endless pontification to our hobby.

Of course, I’m playing both stereotypes here but I think it’s worth discussing. I was inspired by a post over at The Geekbox, where podcaster/writer extraordinaire Ryan Scott commented on the heated debate that recently sprung up over a column by N’Gai Croal on NeoGAF. It seems that plenty of folks dislike Croal’s writing (which, in my opinion, is consistently excellent, though I don’t always agree with his arguments) and think he’s too “pretentious”. Mr. Scott – and the quotes he pulled from forum poster Firestorm – argue that Croal is trying to help gaming journalism “grow up,” something that is sorely needed in a sea of yes-men, over-sensationalized, over-hyped releases and lame/rushed writing.

I have to say, I’m with Croal and Scott and Firestorm. As much as top five lists and wacky, fluffy features are fun, they’re no substitute for solid reasoning and enlightened writing. Keep on fighting the good fight, sirs!

While I’m at it, let me point you all in the direction of another talented, smart (and never pretentious!) journalist – Leigh Alexander, and her Sexy Videogameland blog. I could read it all day and it represents a perfect blend of logical discussion, humor, artsy-lite analysis and pure fun.

Read [The Geekbox] Site [Sexy Videogameland]

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FROM APPLETELL – Did you know you can use your iPhone to track the Space Shuttle? Yep. You can also run a Finger Marathon, play with Balloon Headed Boy, become a Mini Golf Ace, and read one of the oldest books ever written.
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FROM APPLETELL – This week, Appletell is giving away five copies of each of two photo related apps: Photo Spot by Nexx Studio, and Droste Effect by Gabe Jacobs Productions.
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Section: Gaming News, Features, Lists

Haven’t caught all of the Gamertell news this week?? Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles!

• GameStop’s Game Days sale begins, let’s see the bargains
  “It’s April 5, 2009, and that means that GameStop’s month long, Game Days ‘09 sale has begun. New games and accessories for all systems are discounted and ready to go home with you. As usual, the…” MORE ?
• Awesome Idea: Aeria’s Fun or Refund promotion
  “This is the way game companies should do business. Aeria Games & Entertainment, Inc., has launched a month-long promotion (April 2009) that guarantees gamers will enjoy their games or get a refund. The company’s press release goes a bit…” MORE ?
• Apple App Store gaming update for the week of March 30 – April 5, 2009
  “The Apple App Store gaming update is Gamertell’s weekly look at the previous week’s App Store game releases. We cover them all – good and not so good – in their respective categories with a breakdown of the great games and the free games right where you want ‘em, at…” MORE ?
• Deal of the Day: Get Star Ocean 4 for Xbox 360 for $40
  “Amazon’s deal of the day for April 8, 2009, is Square Enix’s latest RPG for the Xbox 360 Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Today, and only for today, you can…” MORE ?
• Gamertell Review: Heileen for PC
  ” Title: Heileen Price: $19.95 System(s): PC (also for Mac and Linux) Release Date: October 24, 2008 Publisher (Developer): Tycoon Games (Tycoon Games) ESRB Rating: N/A (Note: I’d suggest 13+) Pros: Good character…” MORE ?
• Nintendo Downloads for April 6, 2009
  “Sweeping changes are afoot for Nintendo’s downloadable game services, with today’s launch of DSiWare – downloadable games for Nintendo’s newest handheld. We’ve still got the good old Virtual Console and WiiWare on the Wii as well as the new arcade component – so…” MORE ?
• Ubisoft’s My Cooking Coach may be the first DSi cart (updated)
  “With all the promise and potential that the DSi brings, it is somewhat disheartening to hear that the first game created with the DSi in mind not only borders on shovelware but also isn’t an exclusive. Ubisoft has decided…” MORE ?
• Fan-made adventures are the way to go
  ”? I love adventure games – point-and-click, search-and-find, puzzles, whatever. I think that’s why my favorite part of role-playing games are when you visit towns and play mini games.? Since game developers essentially stopped making adventure…” MORE ?
• Gamertell Preview: Bob’s Game demo for DS
  “I wasn’t sure what to expect from Bob’s Game. When I first heard about the game that Robert Pelloni spent five years making, I was impressed and interested to see what the finished product would look like. Then, the viral campaign…” MORE ?
• Sony Home Update: New items at the mall, two new games and strangeness surrounding Xi
  “There are several events taking place in PlayStation Home this week. Players had been previously invited to to post ideas for future Home spaces (much like the new Backstage with…” MORE ?

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Section: Gaming News, Originals, Features, Columns, Consoles, Ads & Media, Movies, Web-Sites

Every advocate for games-as-art just got some pretty interesting (and potentially very bad) news – it appears that the ethereal, unconventional Shadow of the Colossus is going to be made into a movie. Ben Fritz of The Cut Scene reported that the Sony-owned property is set to receive the Hollywood treatment via Sony Pictures and producer Kevin Misher (known for The Interpeter).

The best/worst part? The screenwriter behind the universally panned recent Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, Justin Marks, will handle the writing duties, and the studio wants to turn the pure, solitary experience into ” a “Lord of the Rings”-style fantasy tentpole”. Ouch.

In other game movie news, the BioShock flick is still a go – at least, I think it is. According to a Big Download article, Gore Verbinski turned down Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (good lord, did we really need another?) in order to “fast track” BioShock and that “Verbinski is likely to direct the BioShock film next for Universal Pictures”. There’s no word on when production will begin, but I, for one, hope that this one goes through and ends up successful. I mean, it’s not like I’m the biggest BioShock fan I know or anything…

Read [The Cut Scene ] Read [Big Download]

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Section: Gaming News, PCs, PCs-Other, Genres, MMO, Online

This is the way game companies should do business. Aeria Games & Entertainment, Inc., has launched a month-long promotion (April 2009) that guarantees gamers will enjoy their games or get a refund.

The company’s press release goes a bit further than just guaranteeing “fun” and states a refund will be issued “if players do not have the most fun they possibly can.”

Yep, if you don’t have fun – a completely subjective state of being – while playing an Aeria game, you get your money back. The catch is that the refund will be of Aeria Points, the currency used to purchase in-game items at Item Malls including avatar outfits, pet and items that help leveling.

Aeria’s games is a relatively new company, founded in 2006, and offers a bunch of free PC-based MMOs including Stone Age 2, Shaiya, Last Chaos and Twelve Sky (and the upcoming Hello Kitty Online). Aeira Points are only necessary if you want to do more than the free portion of the game.

Here are the guidelines for the Fun or Refund promotion according to the Aeria web site:

• All AP purchases between April 1st and April 30th up to 5000AP will be eligible for a refund.
• The player must spend an equal or greater amount of AP between April 1st and April 30th to be eligible for a refund.
• If a player fails to have fun they will need to contact our billing department using the contact form.
• When filling out the contact form the subject must be “Fun Month Rebate” and the category must also be “Fun Month Rebate”.
• The rebate request must be made between May 1st and May 10th.
• The refund is only Aeria Points. Bonus/Rewards Aeria Points are not eligible to be refunded.
• Maximum refund amount is 5000AP per account.

It’s certainly a promotional sales tactic but the idea is still solid and will likely get people to try the company’s games.

Imagine if other companies followed suit, guaranteeing you will enjoy a game or you get your money back.

Oh, the money we’d save.

Read [Gamertell] Site [Aeria Games]

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