Men Free Blog

We started to waste track of games featuring Capcom’s iconic purple bomber when properties initiated inserting arbitrary letters and expressions to every sequel — that is why we got overjoyed to hear who Capcom just recently registered Mega Man 9 investing in the Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia’s ESRB). That’s right, just now Mega Man 9 — not Mega Man Zero 9, Mega Man X9, Mega Man 9 ZX, or Mega Man 9 2: Electric Boogaloo.

The OFLC entry has the game slated for a multiplatform release, while the several insubstantial of popular credence clue the Rockman’s new adventure can take place on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network. We by and large scoff at unattributed gossip, but surrounded by vivid visions of online multi-man robot slaying dancing during our heads, our powerful scoffin’ muscles feel a tad bit atrophied.

While spending boatloads of money on ritzy garments and top-of-the-line gadgetry may appear want a likely behavior for an overseas man or woman of mystery, gamers were not expected to survive month’s announcement the present Sony Online Entertainment’s imminent MMO The Agency could be riddled investing in character-customizing microtransactions. Fortunately, in a the latest interview through Eurogamer, the game’s developers set the listing straight, ensuring too we will not be blowing all our real-world funds on digital Emporio Armanis.

The developers explained the current properties had not enlisted the aid of virtual trading home Live Gamer to confirm a microtransaction system, but pretty to initiate a real-world auction structure to improve the ability of players to trade and transaction in-game items (much as if the Everquest II Station Exchange). It appears your operatives should suffer to safe new attire the old fashioned way — by viciously bonking an appropriately dressed underling, pulling him behind a curtain, and performing a sartorial quick difference the is able to put that much Hannah Montana to shame.

No long period of time to talk, should sneak. Check out all of our impressions and reviews based on information from the Joystiq Network right now week:

New Zealand’s Office of Film and Literature had to reiterate this week that store clerks can’t sell Grand Theft Auto IV to parents purchasing it for their children. The New Zealand Herald reports the office had to repeat itself after receiving calls from clerks who didn’t know what to do when a parent “demanded” to buy GTA IV with their 14-year-old in tow.

GTA IV is rated R18 by the New Zealand government and it’s illegal to make it available to anyone under that age. In New Zealand, even if it’s their own kid, the adult could be jailed for 90 days or pay $10,000 fine; however, the law has never been enforced.

[Via GamePolitics]

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Someone’s knocking on Nintendo’s door, and he just drove through seven red lights in a hijacked car with a shotgun in tow to get there. Forbes has published a piece on how Grand Theft Auto IV’s success threatens the Nintendo Wii since the console, you know, doesn’t have the game. In fact, that’s all the article seems to be saying: the Wii is doing great, but because it doesn’t have GTA IV, that money-printing success might be at a halt.

While that’s how the article is framed, the direction seems to split off from there, with the author talking about GTA IV’s success juxtaposed with complaints about the Wii’s hardware, online and abundance of shovelware — he even bring up Chris Heck’s duct tape rant. Said the article, “The problem is, it could get tougher and tougher to go the other way. It’s hard to imagine how the sprawling world of Grand Theft Auto IV–which already taxes the multicore processors powering the XBox and Playstation–could be recreated on the Wii.”

We’re not saying Nintendo doesn’t have problems with shovelware or appealing to the more hardcore gamer crowd, but we also think the way the article presents its case makes the GTA IV issue feel a little taped on. If the UK Wii Fit launch is any indication, Nintendo’s money train is still right on track.

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Wideload’s Hail to the Chimp party game has been pushed back from a scheduled May 27 release date into “mid-June,” a Gamecock representative told us this morning. [Update: Gamecock has clarified that the new release date has been set for June 24.] The publisher attributed the short delay to a need for “polish” (working with animals can get dirty, after all), though we wonder if the extra weeks aren’t equally necessary to generate some excitement for a campaign, which to date, has received little coverage. Ape or not, a politician’s success relies on the strength of a savvy marketing team.

For further analysis of the issues at hand, check out our Hail to the Chimp impressions from GDC and EIEIO.

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Valve’s multiplayer survival-horror romp Left4Dead is due out later this year, but it won’t be coming to the PlayStation 3. Said Valve’s Doug Lombardi, “We’re not PS3 developers — we’re doing PC and 360 like with Orange Box” (Via CVG). He said that Valve would consider a PS3 port if L4D ends up a success and if another dev wanted “to take on that investment and risk” to port the game.

Lombardi explained that the PS3 port of Orange Box came about after Electronic Arts offered to do the port — and we’ve all heard the story of that one.

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Sierra and Radical confirmed today that Prototype will continue development until 2009. IGN noticed the game had been given a new date on GameStop.com and followed up with the company for a confirmation. The game was originally expected for late this year, but given our hands-on experience with the title, the delay may be for the best.Considering Prototype is a sandbox game set in Liberty City New York, it’s probably best to get as much breathing room between it and the hyper-praised GTA IV. A Sierra spokeperson says the company simply needs more time to “deliver the game the team initially set out to create.” Hopefully, Sierra’s new overlords at Activision will be understanding of the team’s desire.
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Between the comprehensive in-game map, the GPS-imbued minimap, and the TomTom-esque functionality of certain vehicles, we’ve yet to misplace ourselves within Liberty City’s digital boroughs. Still, if you find yourself lost whilst playing Grand Theft Auto IV, we guess this Liberty City map application (mapplication?) using the Google Maps interface would come in handy.

A number of user contributions have already been made to the map, showing the location of hidden items, easter eggs, pigeon locations, stunt jumps, and yes, even hookers, whom we assume were fitted with GPS locaters by trained prostitute handlers before being released back into the wild. It makes for a useful cartographical companion for those with a laptop near their console of choice — if you don’t mind ruining the fun of exploring the nooks and crannies of Rockstar’s intricately crafted metropolis for yourself, that is.

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