Gamernode: Latest PlayStation 2 News

God of War III Coming?

There were eight God of War II kiosks at the E3 convention that offered attendees the opportunity to take a look at the newest installment of the hit God of War franchise. If the five-deep crowd at each of the game machines is any indication of how GoW 2 will do, it should be another crushing conquest for Kratos in game sales.The lead animator for the first GoW, Cory Barlog, gave a veiled hint that a third title in the series was being seriously considered. He made his comments to CVG and said, "I would love to see a trilogy happen. Dave [Jaffe] and I have a pretty similar view as to where the story of Kratos should go and it does play itself out in a trilogy."But as if to put on the brakes before anyone could run outside and say "God of War 3," Barlog reigned in his statement and offered,...

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Court Rules That the PS2 Is Not a Computer

Sony has for several weeks now been lauding the PS3 as a computer in order to emphasize its superiority over the competition. While this is a promising strategy, Sony has actually used this approach before in the UK, but instead with the PS2. This week, the UK High Court has presented a verdict which states that the PS2 is not a computer, as Sony has maintained, but a game console.The reason for the official ruling has to do with a statute in 2000 which placed a tax upon all game consoles that were imported into Europe. The tariffs amounted to 1.7 percent for each unit entering the UK and other European countries from the years 2000-2003. Sony, in an effort to avoid the fee, tried to sneak under the radar by claiming the PS2 was a computer. Now, six years later, the UK has deemed that the ...

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Hollywood Talent Lends Their Voices to Yakuza

The idea of video game companies hiring major Hollywood actors to appear in their games isn't as uncommon as it used to be, but only time will tell if people can accept Mark Hamill in the role of a killer yakuza. Sega, however, isn't worried at all. While the role of Kazuma, who stars as the game's protagonist, has yet to be decided, the casting of such actors as Michael Madsen (Kill Bill, Sin City, Reservoir Dogs), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville, Sorority Boys), Rachel Leigh Cook (She's All That, 11:14), and Eliza Dushku (Wrong Turn, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) at least means that they are taking the game very seriously. Hamill himself has actually spent that last several years building up quite a reputation as a capable voice actor, perhaps most famously as The Joker in Batman: The Animated...

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Sales Report Reveals PS2 Outsells 360

Although Sony has been beleaguered with criticism of its PS3 machine from the press and game community, the execs at Sony Corp may still have something to smile about. According to NPD Group, a game industry watchdog, the PS2 actually outsold the Xbox 360 in six out of the seven months since the 360,s release.The figures indicate that the PS2 has been averaging sales of approximately 474,000 units a month compared to the 360, which has been tallying sales of 246,000 consoles per month. The one period in which the 360 realized more sales than the PS2 was in the month of April, which was most likely connected to Microsoft finally ramping up their efforts in producing more 360 game consoles to meet demand. Since the initial launch of the Xbox 360, the Big M has been mired by its inability to ...

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Wannabe Rockstars Find Their 15 Minutes of Fame

After spending hours practicing Red Octane,s Guitar Hero on your PlayStation 2, there is no better way to showcase your moves than by rocking out in front of thousands of people. This weekend at the Download Festival in Donington, England, over 40 members of the public did exactly that.Transformed from members of the public into actual Rock Gods, performers rocked out on the Gibson stage to renditions of metal classics such as Ace of Spades, Symphony of Destruction and Bark At The Moon. The festival, which boasted such acts as Guns and Roses and Metallica, featured equally stunning performances from the Guitar Heroes.It was an absolutely incredible few days," says Dave Noble, Business Development Manager for RedOctane. "To see these Guitar Hero players up on stage, strutting their stuff in...

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State of Emergency Developer Never to Riot Again

The "State of Emergency" franchise, which very well could have been subtitled, "The Joy of Rioting," is in a real-life state of emergency as the Sunday Herald has reported that the developer of the games, DC Studios, has closed its Edinburgh studios. The staff of 29 became dispensable after the poor sales of State of Emergency 2.The original State of Emergency was published by RockStar and received fairly good reviews from the gaming community. The sequel to the first game generated sales that "were substantially lower than we expected," remarked Mark Greenshields, CEO of DC studios. The rights to the game were acquired from the failed game developer, Vis Entertainment last year. State of Emergency 2 received a dismal average rating of 47%.DC Studios has a larger operation stationed in Can...

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Chocobo Daycare: FFXI goes Tamacochi

Square Enix announced a new feature for their massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Final Fantasy XI, in which players will be able to raise their very own Chocobo mounts. The new update, coming to the Xbox 360, PS2, and PC, will finally implement the feature that so many players have been wishing for.Players will spend one to three months raising their creatures from an egg. "Each egg," says the Japanese publisher, "will be genetically unique. Hatchlings will require supervision 24 hours a day and can die if not fed and cared for properly. Once players, Chocobos are grown, they can be mated with other players, Chocobos."

No word yet on player-crafted Chocobo birth control.

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Guitar Hero Controller Stands Alone

Guitar Hero fans aching for some companionship with their game can now rip some chords with a friend, thanks to the game's custom controller now being sold as a stand-alone product, rather than solely with purchase of the Guitar Hero software.The Guitar Hero SG controllers are modelled after the Gibson SG and are identical to the controllers shipped with the full version of Guitar Hero, so the "I have a different type of controller" excuse won't cut it when you're doing poorly while playing with a friend."Guitar Hero is a staggering single-player game made even better in multi-player mode," says Kelly Sumner, CEO, RedOctane. "We're delighted to now be able to offer a limited number of standalone guitars in-store for those keen to settle musical scores."In the game's multiplayer mode, playe...

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PS2 Price Drop in Australia

Australians have a lot to cheer about as Sony has announced a Playstation 2 price drop in the land down under. Beginning June 1st, the second generation Playstation console will retail for roughly 200 AUD, a fifty dollar price drop from the previous 250 AUD. There were no details announced for a price drop in other regions. Keep your fingers crossed, as we will report anything straight to you if an announcement should emerge.

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Square Enix Wants More Than RPGs

Ask any gamer what Square Enix is all about and you will hear: RPGs, Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest virtually 100% of the time.While brand-name recognition is seen as a positive factor in the business industry, it also has a downside to it as well. In the case of Square Enix, it has become a problem because they have been somewhat unable to successfully expand their product line outside of the RPG genre of games.Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix, summed up the company,s problem by saying to Nikkei Net, "We haven't come up with hit software to follow in the footsteps of Final Fantasy and other major titles, so we will have to alter our strategy. It's getting hard to maintain a flow of new game titles. We need a more comprehensive software business to develop synergies."While Square Enix ...

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Guitar Hero Developer to Deliver Lecture at Cybers...

Josh Randall, creative director of Guitar Hero developer Harmonix Music, Inc., will be making a rare trip across the Atlantic later this month to deliver a keynote lecture at the Cybersonica Festival, which takes place at the Science Museum's Dana Centre, 19th and 20th May 2006. In a UK first, he will also show a brief demonstration of Guitar Hero 2 and discuss the limitless possibilities for the series. Guitar Hero, developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane, has redefined interactive music entertainment technology, proving a smash hit in the US and throughout Europe. Coming complete with a replica Gibson SG controller, Guitar Hero marks a landmark in interactive entertainment, conveying the thrill and feeling of playing a real guitar within the context of a game. Now in its fifth y...

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Da Vinci Score Announcement (Press Release);

Winifred Phillips, a multiple award winning composer for video games, radio, television and film, has created the theatrical score for The Da Vinci Code™ video game, developed by The Collective for 2K Games. The video game is based on the highly-anticipated The Da Vinci Code film by Oscar™ winning director Ron Howard, which is based on Dan Brown,s critically acclaimed, best-selling novel. The video game(s) are timed to coincide with the film's world-wide release date of May 19th.Selected by the development team at Collective Studios for her imaginative and innovative approach to choral composition, Winifred was given extensive creative control to produce an original sound for the game inspired by Dan Brown,s novel. Embracing the developer,s ambition, Winifred wrote more than on...

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E3 - THQ's Lineup

THQ also hosted a magnificent display for the sequel to the sleeper hit Destroy All Humans, Destroy All Humans II – Make War, Not Love. The one-level demo featured graphics and gameplay nearly identical to its predecessor – good news for those who liked the first game, but something that could spell critical disaster, come release.The displays at E3 inferred gameplay would take place in San Francisco and London. Another title showcased by THQ was Monster House. Monster House is a 3rd person shooter based around the paranormal occupancy of a certain house, and the title is based on the upcoming movie of the same name. There are a multiple playable characters. A large variety of different and unique weapons are available. The game features a slick animated style, but the controls...

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E3 - HackGU Impressions

GamerNode was invited to a conference call, in the first week of May, to participate in a Q&A session with the developers of .hack//G.U., the fifth installment in the .hack franchise for the PS2. During the meeting, the developers informed us that several new features would be included in the new title such as new styled graphics, more action oriented gameplay, a cast of new characters and other new attributes.This week, GamerNode had the opportunity to play a working version of .hack//G.U. at the E3 convention. The .hack franchise games have been closely connected to one another as each game takes its storyline cue from previous events and situations in the series. But according to the game rep at E3, the strong dependency on previous plots has changed with the arrival of .hack//G.U.This ...

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E3 - Cartoon Network Racing First Impressions

Game Factory revealed a new PS2 title today at the E3 convention. This new game features all of your favorite Cartoon Network stars in a combat racing game. Cartoon Network Racing features a very smooth cell shading style and the characters look very similar to their Cartoon counterparts.The game will feature twenty-four characters from Cartoon Network including favorites such as Johnny Bravo, Dexter, and the Powerpuff girls. You can race these characters across twenty-six different circuits in eighteen unique environments. Gameplay is very simple and is obviously steered towards the younger audience. Instead of an actual speedometer, there is a meter which displays fast and slow.The game will also feature a number of different modes such as Kart Kurling, Cartoon Eliminator, and the Toon I...

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Final Fantasy XII Finally Featured

Square Enix’s long-awaited addition to its Final Fantasy franchise, Final Fantasy XII, has finally been released in Japan. As was expected, the FF faithful were forming lines before stores were even open. To kick off the launch, Akitoshi Kawatsu, the director of Final Fantasy XII and Square Enix president, Yoichi Wada, made an appearance at a retail shopping center where the title was being released. Among this collection of heavy-weight personalities at the launch was Taro Kakase, the music composer of the game, via video link, and the game’s main title singer, Angela Aki. Kawatsu said, "When we originally announced FF XII's development back in 2000, we said it was going to be an online game…[but] it changed into an offline title during its development, and now it's fin...

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Liberty City Stories Rapidly Approaching PS2 Launc...

When news was released last year about Rockstar’s intention to release a new Grand Theft Auto game for the PlayStation, PS2 owners were overjoyed. But the “bad” news was that the new title would be released for Sony’s PSP, and not for the PS2. Some PS2 owners, who didn’t have a PSP, started to seriously consider the purchase of the handheld, just to play Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. No doubt, there were extra sales of PSPs because of this. But those who waited and hoped for a PS2 version will be happy to hear that Rockstar has ported the game over to the full fledged game console. Rockstar CEO Paul Eibeler announced that the PS2 version of Liberty City Stories will cost less than its little handheld cousin. He said, “…we're looking at l...

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Konami Accused of Racist Ads

The Advertising Standards Authority of the UK is in action again. Last month, it was reported here on GamerNode that the ASA shot down the television ads shown for the Call of Duty games. The complaints charged that the ads falsely advertised the games by using misleading graphics, which were not in the games themselves. After investigation, the charges proved to be true and the ads were pulled. This week, ads for Konami’s UK released game, Crime Life: Gang Wars, was given the boot by the ASA. The complaints are about ads which appeared in the Metro, London edition. The ads depict five black men standing and holding guns, a baseball bat and a hammer. The caption for the image says, “Rule the streets or fall by the wayside.” According the the ASA, “The complainant ob...

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God of War Goes to Sony Greatest Hits

Sometimes, procrastination pays off in its own strange way. Take for instance, the smash hit for the PS2, God of War. This game has won numerous awards and acclaim for its superb graphics, great action and terrific story. What has this have to do with procrastination? Not for the game, but for the gamer. Those of us who waited, or never got around to buying this fantastic game will be rewarded. God of War will be entering Sony’s Greatest Hits List. For the frugal Sony fan, this can only mean one thing—the game is selling at a cheaper price! Titles which enter this high stratosphere of elitism are immediately discounted in price to make the titles more accessible in price point. In the past, games that attained Greatest Hits status had to sell at least 1 million copies. Later th...

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God of War 2 Rumors Untrue or Not?

There was some excitement in the air recently as reports and rumors were broadcast about Sony’s intention on releasing the sequel to their monster hit God of War for the PS2. Websites were repeating this story across the internet as gamers were enthralled at the prospects of entering the mythological world of Kratos once more. But the reported news leak, supposedly taken from documents obtained via Sony’s own marketing department, and posted by a European game website, were immediately taken down after Sony threatened legal action against the site. Apparently, the information was either very sensitive in nature and was not yet meant for public distribution, or the information was incorrect. Regardless, the website in question later replaced the news story by saying, “The ...

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