gripshift coming to xbox live arcade

A new game has been announced for Xbox Live Arcade. GripShift by New Zealand's lead game developer, Sidhe Interactive.

Sidhe Interactive's press statement:

8 November 2007 - GRIPSHIFT(R)TO RACE ONTO XBOX LIVE(R) ARCADE

Wellington, New Zealand - November 28, 2007 - Sidhe Interactive, industry leading developer of cross platform titles, today announced that their award-winning driving platformer title, GripShift(R), is headed to Xbox LIVE(R) Arcade (XBLA), the premier destination for digitally distributed, high-definition original and classic games. Available this year, the Xbox LIVE Arcade-exclusive title features updated graphics, improved controls and additional single and multiplayer content, including new Challenge courses and a Deathmatch mode.

- Veteran players and newcomers to the game will both find something to love in this definitive version of GripShift, said Mario Wynands, Managing Director of Sidhe Interactive. We've added a substantial amount of new content, including new single player courses and a multiplayer Deathmatch mode for players bent on dominating their friends or climbing to the top of the leaderboards.

GripShift brings the action online to Xbox LIVE Arcade with an abundance of new content, including upgraded graphics, Deathmatch mode and new race courses. Additionally, unlockable achievements and TrueSkill Leaderboard functionality will keep Xbox 360 owners coming back to race their way to glory!

GripShift will be released in the couple of weeks leading up to the New Year along with Arkadian Warriors, Brain Challenge, N+, Omega Five, Poker Smash, Rez HD, and Sensible World of Soccer.

Check out the official site:
http://gripshiftgame.com/xbla/

And now since the game has been announced I think I can finally tell you about my experience testing this game. Yes, I did actually get to test GripShift for the Xbox 360! I replied to a sign inside The Gamesman, asking for usability testers. On August 17th I arrived at the Sidhe offices. I had no idea what game I would be testing, but I turned up all the same. I met Gareth in a small office and saw a bunch of guys from Sidhe testing the game. Moving into an even smaller office, sitting down by a desk, with a xbox 360, television, refreshments and a camera to video my reactions or something. Gareth told me the game was GripShift and that they were bringing it to the Xbox 360. I had played the first PSP version and I soon experienced the massive changes the game had gone through. So basically, I was instructed to complete specific levels and go for the 3 basic goals of GripShift; the medal (bronze, silver or gold), the GS symbol hidden somewhere in the level and collecting all the stars. All the while Gareth asked me questions or I told him things I liked or disliked about the game. After the single player levels I had to try some multi-player races, with the guys in the next room. It was surprisingly addicted, in the PSP version the races were kind of the weak point of the game I thought. But here, the multi-player aspect worked extremely well and you really wanted to win. And then I got to try something that completely surprised me, deathmatch mode. With all new deathmatch type levels, and powerups scattered everywhere. You have to avoid falling off which was my main downfall, all the while avoiding been destroyed by your opponents.


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gamespot's editorial director fired

Jeff Gerstmann, a fellow games journalist and chief editor at GameSpot was abruptly fired a couple of days ago. Gerstmann has been working at GameSpot for more than 10 years and was the Editorial Director for GameSpot before his termination.

The rumours that have been surrounding Jeff's sudden and unexpected departure revolve around a recent review of Kane and Lynch: Dead Men. Eidos had been investing heavily in advertising on GameSpot including skins for the site and a trailer making function. Now Jeff gave Kane and Lynch a 6.0 score and a negative review (so says Eidos, the game's publisher). Eidos' retracts all future advertising with GameSpot, only to change their minds a while later. CNET, the owner's of GameSpot have been speculated in firing Jeff Gerstmann in order to please Eidos. CNET report to say that Jeff was already in trouble for his tone and that "GameSpot [does] not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers". However, many are finding this hard to believe.

Now there has been a lot of things going on at the GameSpot website, although no one has commented on the what has really happened. Many of the staff at GameSpot have posted their reactions including popular past figures like Rich Gallup, Greg Kasavin, Bob Colayco and Carrie Gouskos: http://www.virtualfools.com/games/jeff-gerstmann/

Many of GameSpot's users have swamped message boards asking why this has happened, what will happen to GameSpot's credibility and proposing campaigns to have a GameSpot black out or to bring Jeff back.

The Kane and Lynch: Dead Men review itself has also been subject to many changes. The video review was pulled while the review and 6.0 rating remain. And a note was placed,

Editor's Note: This review has been updated to include differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and a clarification on the game's multiplayer mode.

The user's rating system has been disabled and stuck at 2.6.










The Kane and Lynch video review that was pulled by GameSpot:


Here is a source as the story updates...

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/30/rumor-gamespots-editorial-director-fired-over-kane-and-lynch-rev/


Now you may be wondering why this is important to the games industry. Well because of this, if the rumour is indeed true, the whole gaming world's reviews and scoring system will have lost massive credibility. Game media and reviews play a much larger role in this industry than people realize.


UPDATE: GameSpot have stated that Jeff Gerstmann's termination was due to internal processes, nothing at all to do with external advertising, so called Kane and Lynch. And that the false conspiracy was all due to an amount of bad luck and coincidence.

Q: Was Jeff fired?

A: Jeff was terminated on November 28, 2007, following an internal review process by the managerial team to which he reported.

Q: Why was Jeff fired?

A: Legally, the exact reasons behind his dismissal cannot be revealed. However, they stemmed from issues unrelated to any publisher or advertiser; his departure was due purely for internal reasons.

If you listen to the latest edition of The HotSpot, the GameSpot team are extremely sincere. I believe that GameSpot's readers (including myself) should give them a chance to get their site back together.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183666.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=multimodule&tag=multimodule;picks;title;2

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street fighter iv

Street Fighter IV has just been announced by Capcom and is currently in development. This is happening 10 years after Street Fighter 3 was released in 1997, of course there were all those spin-off titles. Unfortunately Capcom have also said that the game is more than a year away from release. Platforms have not been determined yet, but you can probably expect some Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 treatment.

Ken and Ryu duke it out!


I haven't really played much of the Street Fighter series, seeing as my first console was a PlayStation. I've been hearing a lot of controversy surrounding whether the game should be 2D or 3D. And will it top Street Fighter II, the almighty beast? And I know this was announced a couple of days ago, please bear with me though as I work towards more timely posts. Next time, you will find the best gaming news right here, game announcements, controversies, the lot!

bungie leaves microsoft

There has been recent speculation on a blog post (http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/digitaljoystick/archives/122799.asp) stating that Bungie was to leave Microsoft. Then a while later after many people ignored it as nothing more than a hoax, the unthinkable happened and Bungie and Microsoft put out an official press release (http://www.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=news&cid=12835). Bungie have said that Halo 3 was to be their last title in the series, and are now already working on their next game. However, Microsoft still has plans to milk the franchise with the RTS game 'Halo Wars' created by Ensemble Studios, and a hushed series of games from newly created studio, Wingnut Interactive in New Zealand, led by Lord of the Rings director (and Halo film producer) Peter Jackson.

Personally I think it's great that Bungie have gone independent. Just look at companies like Insomniac Games, they still make games for their respective console, but they are given more rights, and creative freedom to shape their games how they want them to be, without being pressured by companies like Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo. I bet Bungie were just getting a little tired of Microsoft pushing Halo down everybody's throats.