To celebrate the 500th episode of “The Simpsons,” which airs Feb. 19, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., in partnership with Gracie Films and Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products, is making the “Simpsons” Arcade Game available for home consoles.

The game is now available for Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The game will also be available on the PlayStation®Network for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system beginning Feb. 7.

“Of all The Simpsons video games, this demented classic is my favorite,” said Matt Groening, The Simpsons Creator and Executive Producer, in a news release.

In The Simpsons Arcade Game, players take on the role of a Simpsons character to chase Smithers and Mr. Burns on an epic quest to save Maggie.

The game features four-player online and offline cooperative play as well as eight Springfield locations.

As an added bonus, fans can view classic posters made for the game back in 1991.

- Matt Price
From Monday’s The Oklahoman

SPIDER-MAN GETS ‘AMAZING’

Sony has revealed official title of the new Spider-Man film: “The Amazing Spider-Man.”  The costume of Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man movie reboot was also recently revealed, and you can check it out at the site: http://www.theamazingspiderman-movie.com/.

GREEN LANTERN GAME TRAILER RELEASED

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is an action-adventure title that is scheduled for release in conjunction with the Green Lantern movie releasing this summer.

The game will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Nintendo DS.

Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters is inspired by the feature film, which stars Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan.  In the game, players will be able to wield the Green Lantern ring to restore intergalactic order.

THOR, CAP TOYS

Chris Hemsworth, who plays “Thor” in the upcoming film, and Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, recently visited Hasbro’s showroom at Toy Fair in New York.   The “Thor” line is set to debut March 1, and the Captain America toys hit the shelves on May 16.   The “Thor” movie releases May 6, and Captain America: First Avenger hits on July 22.

REVIEWS

Matt and Kyle review Amazing Spider-Man 654.1, Jennifer Blood #1, Silver Surfer #1 and more.

Concept art from "Batman: Arkham City."

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE), Rocksteady Studios and DC Entertainment have released a teaser trailer for Batman: Arkham City.  The game is set for fall 2011 release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC.

Batman: Arkham City screenshot

Here’s the description from WBIE:

Developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players soaring into Arkham City, the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Set inside the heavily fortified walls of a sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City, this highly anticipated sequel introduces a brand-new story that draws together a new all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as a vast range of new and enhanced gameplay features to deliver the ultimate experience as the Dark Knight.

Click past the cut for the teaser trailer for “Batman: Arkham City.”

Screenshot from the upcoming Captain America video game.

Captain America will return to video game consoles in an original adventure set during World War II.

The title is set for release in 2011 on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system, Wii™ and Nintendo DS™.

“Videogame players the world over can now become Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Captain America,” said Gary Knight, Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEGA Europe and SEGA America, in a news release. “Captain America: Super Soldier puts players in the boots of the ultimate Super-Soldier, wielding Captain America’s legendary shield. Working closely with Marvel ensures we’re delivering the calibre product that gamers and comic fans deserve and it’s a partnership we’re proud of here at SEGA.”

The third-person adventure was written by Christos Gage (Avengers: The Initiative) and features Captain America versus the Red Skull and his armies, as well as the forces of Hydra.

The game will be set in the world of the upcoming film, though it looks like the costume will, at least in places, resemble the comic-book Captain America uniform.

- Matt Price

“UFC Undisputed 2010″ comes to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this week, and Neven Dravinski, UFC Project Manager, answered some questions for Nerdage about the hard-hitting sequel.

Nerdage: Can you tell me about the development of moves for the UFC Undisputed game?

Neven Dravinski: The Moves in the Undisputed series of games has always been about conveying the realism of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.  Our team watches a TON of footage, we have guys training in MMA, and we work with actual MMA coaches to really help convey the realism of the sport in the game.  Marc Laimon (who also appears as the player’s Career Mode Coach) is one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coaches in the business but also a huge gamer.  We worked with Marc on the 2009 and now 2010 game and it’s really great to have someone that understands the dynamic of video games helping you convey the nuance of the sport of MMA.  Creating moves for a fighting game, especially one so complex as a fighting game that represents Mixed Martial Arts is extremely difficult and requires a lot of conversations between the Art, Animation, Programming and Design departments.  Something that may happen in the blink of an eye for a player might be the result of weeks of discussions and agreements between all parties.

For example let’s look at a simple transition animation from say Open Guard to Half Guard.  The designer indicates how many frames of animation the move should last from start to finish.  The animator creates the move to that specification and make sure it is visually pleasing.  Then there are points within the animation where the animation itself can be interrupted or branched.  Then animator, programmer and designer have to work together to make sure all the nuances and permutations of the move and the moves that can come out of that move look and feel correct.  A programmer has to take into account the physics and collision system, mapping the animation to the controller input etc. etc.   When you look at the process from a 10,000 ft. view it’s incredibly complex.

UFC Undisputed 2010 plays a lot faster than the 2009 product.  We didn’t just globally speed up all the animations but rather analyzed the game from a system level.  In the 2009 game we had a lot of animated reactions (animations that play when the player gets hit).  With a purely animated reaction control is taken away from the player receiving the damage.  Even though it may be a second it still causes a feeling of unresponsiveness.  In the 2010 game we moved a lot of those reactions to the physics system; which makes for a much smoother gameplay experience as the player is in control of their character for longer and you get great sequences of players hitting while being hit, all while running at 60 frames a second.

Nerdage:  Tell me about the concept behind the virtual submissions.

Neven Dravinski: Our concept for the submission system in UFC Undisputed 2010 was to create something a little more elegant and analog that would effectively communicate struggle.  In 2009 the game had very static states for the submissions.  There would be an initiation animation, a mid-struggle and animation and then either a success or failure.  The problem this creates is that there is no way to effectively communicate struggle.  Visually the Undisputed series doesn’t use any graphical elements on screen (with the exception of the optional Stamina/Energy bar) as we try and mimic the broadcast look and feel.

In the 2010 game we created what we feel is a more analog system for submission.  Once the submission is initiated (via clicking in on the right stick) you will see a more “educational” display of the submission.  In an Armbar for example, you will see the arm bending back into the submission position as a player inputs more and more concentric circles on the rights stick (or the “shine” as we call it).  As the other character fights against the submission you will see the arm try to curl back to safety.  We use the camera as well to zoom in when a submission is closer to happening and zoom out on failure.  This ends up being a much more descriptive way to convey struggle and really allows players to see who’s winning or losing a submission at an instant.

Nerdage:  What is it that makes the UFC have so much appeal, both as a video game and as a sport?

Neven Dravinski: I think the thing that makes the UFC the brand and UFC the video game so popular is the realism.  Fighting is something that is universal; there’s no cultural lines, it’s truly a global sport.  The UFC’s mantra has always been “As Real As It Gets” and that certainly carries over into the development of the game.  The strength of the UFC isn’t just one man but rather its arsenal of the best athletes in the world fighting against each other at the highest level of competition.  The UFC puts on fights people want to see, they don’t put on cupcake fights to pad records, or protect their champions; I think they really put on very compelling matchups to give the fans what they want.

Giving the fans what they want is something that we’re very focused on with the video game as well.  I think the success of the game is directly related to the fact that we made a very real interpretation of such a complex sport; but rather than passively watching on TV you’re actively participating in it.  The game conveys impact in a very gratifying and realistic way.  We really give you the opportunity to fight like a true Mixed Martial Artist.  Most people initially gravitate towards the standup because that is more familiar than say the ground or clinch game.  But if you want to win and win consistently, much like fighters in the real Octagon, you’re going to have to learn all aspects of the game; the clinch, the ground, the submissions as well as the striking.  The game really allows you to fight how you want to fight.  Are you a takedown, ground and pound guy?  Do you set up your submissions with effective striking?  There’s so many ways to play the game but that is the nature of a game that emulates such a dynamic sport.

Mixed Martial Arts is growing in popularity on an exponential scale around the world. Little kids don’t want to take Karate anymore, but rather Muy Thai and Jiu Jitsu.  The UFC is the number one fighting franchise in the world, and they recognize how much impact the video game itself is able to have on global scale as we’re able to promote the brand and the fighters to territories that may not even have UFC programming yet.  I certainly believe that having the UFC license is obviously related to the our success, but I’d like to believe we made and will continue to make good games as well.

Nerdage: What are some of the innovative elements in UFC Undisputed 2010?

Neven Dravinski: UFC Undisputed 2010 has a host of new improvements that make it an even better representation of the brand of the UFC and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts.  The Aforementioned submission system allows for a much more realistic educational view of submissions themselves.  This year we introduced southpaw stances, cage positions, and sways and leans.  These three things I think really dramatically improve gameplay and just add to the realism of the game.  Statistically, from 2009, we quadrupled the number of strike animations, tripled the number of ground animations and doubled the number of submissions.  As mentioned the game plays faster, it plays smoother, but that’s just the cusp of the game improvements.

In 2010 we offer a more exciting Create-A-Fighter system which allows you to literally place moves per controller input per position essentially allowing you to create the exact Mixed Martial Artist you want!  We have a Tournament mode, a Title (arcade style ladder mode) and Title Defense mode (survival mode).  We have an improved Career mode where the player will have more emotion investment in their created fighter via picking fighter voices and participating in interactive cut scenes.  A new system called “The Game Is Watching You” tracks your behavior, your fighting style and the choices you make, creating consequences down the line in your career.  Undisputed 2010 also has an event mode where players will be given the opportunity to create their own Pay Per View broadcast, and they’ll be treated to a lot more presentation and interview segments from Octagon announcers Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg.   Players will also be able to download event cards of real upcoming UFC matches which we’ll be able to track the results of.  Speaking of Online we’ve upgraded our system and in addition to the online exhibition matches we also allow players to create Fight Camps which are essentially guilds or clans and you can train with Camp Members online and fight against other camps.

While sequel titles in the sports genre tend to have a stigma associated with them of “how much can they really do” I think people will be incredibly impressed with what we’ve been able to accomplish in only a year’s time.  UFC Undisputed 2010 is a better game than its 2009 predecessor and we hope to enjoy the continued success the Undisputed franchise has achieved.

- Matt Price

Drive Shaft’s “You All, Everybody” is available on Rock Band 2.  The guys who uploaded this video played the song with “Lost” characters as the performers.  You can get the track here.  This is totally fantastic.

From Dogmatic2120, who uploaded the vid:

Haha, so this song is from the show LOST, for those who don’t know or are just unaware. It’s by the fictional band Drive Shaft whose bass player, Charlie (a major character for 3 seasons) ended up on the plane that crashed on the island. It reminds me a lot of Oasis and I thought the chart was alright. Really cool to see it show up in Rock Band.

- Matt Price

How do you bring a hit movie to video-game screens? Brian Wiklem, senior producer of the “Up” video game for THQ, said it’s about telling the story in between the moments of the film.

Brian Wiklem

“You try not to replicate everything you see on film, otherwise you’re playing something that you just watched, and we want to offer an expanded experience,” Wiklem said.

In “Up,” retired balloon salesman Carl Fredericksen is joined by a stowaway in his house, which is held aloft by balloons and en route to South America. Carl discovers young Wilderness Explorer Russell is along for the ride.

“In the film, there’s a big bonding and relationship aspect between Carl and Russell that gets evolved over the film, so we try to play up on that,” Wiklem said. “When you play the game, there’s constant bantering back and forth. And it’s not just gameplay-related; we’re also trying to develop the story a little bit further.”

Wiklem said the development team is concerned about movie spoilers but also figures 90 percent of the game’s audience will have seen the film.

“That’s always a concern, especially with how we opened the ‘Up’ video game by starting off with a major event that actually happens at the end of the film,” Wiklem said. “We were a little bit concerned about that, but we wanted to open the game with a very big moment to get the player sucked in.”

Wiklem said while it might seem easier to develop a video game based on animated visuals, he thinks expectations add another level of difficulty.

“People expect the games to look almost identical to a Pixar film or a DreamWorks film or any other film, for that matter,” he said. “It’s really hard to do that. I think it’s probably a little bit easier to do photo-realistic textures than it is trying to match how Disney-Pixar does their graphics and the details.”

The way they worked around that for the Nintendo Wii version of “Up” was to create an art design based on the style guide for the film, which was a stylized representation.

“It was a different way of dealing with the tremendous graphic differences between not just the consoles but also the film,” Wiklem said.

By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

It’s space-based survivalist horror in EA’s “Dead Space.”

The gamer takes on the role of engineer Isaac Clarke. He’s en route to the USG Ishimura, a “planet cracker” ship that harvests energy. He’s been dispatched with his team to repair their communications array; he’s also received an unclear message from a friend, Nicole Brennan, a medical officer on the Ishimura.

Once the team arrives, they find the ship has been overrun by Necromorphs (more or less zombies), and Isaac is separated from his team. He has to use the tools on-hand (like saws and welding guns) to take out the zombies. “Dead Space” is somewhat different from many zombie-type games in its “strategic dismemberment” theory – the only way to take out a Necromorph is to remove its limbs.

“Dead Space” will inspire some comparisons to “Resident Evil.” Of course, calling a game “Resident Evil” in space is more of a selling point than a detriment.

“Dead Space” has also worked much of the information you need to play the game into the experience. Rather than calling up a heads-up display, health, ammunition, and even objectives are displayed as part of the in-game experience. This means, of course, that while you’re checking on your ammo, you can be ambushed from behind by a Necromorph.

Overall, “Dead Space” is an atmospheric thriller that’s among the best the genre has to offer, with great visuals and sound joined to a gripping story.

The game is rated M for mature and is available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and personal computer.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman
THE NEXT LEVEL
By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

Pick up an assault rifle and pad out your bank account as a dangerous individual working for the highest bidder in “Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.”

In “Mercenaries 2,” the gamer takes his choice from a group of shifty-looking mercenaries, and takes on assignments based not on altruism, patriotism or political beliefs, but cold, hard cash. The gamer can choose from Mattias Nilsson, Jennifer Mui, or Chris Jacobs; which mercenary the gamer chooses has a slight affect on the game, but it isn’t a huge difference either in gameplay or storyline.

After completing a mission for Ramon Solano, he turns on the mercenary; thus, the mercenary is out for revenge, playing various factions in Venezuela against one another in an attempt to take Solano down. There are lots of items to blow up in “Mercenaries 2” and a lot of weapons to do the damage. In addition to rifles, grenade launchers and other handheld weapons, the mercenary can also call in air strikes from above to take out large targets.

There are some bugs and gameplay quirks, involving horrible AI. Additionally, the dialogue is pretty ham-fisted and repetitive.

But overall the fun of the game and the visual look overcomes these problems. There’s also online two-player co-op to blow stuff up with a friend. If you’re looking for a relatively quick shoot-’em-up, “Mercenaries 2” should fit the bill.

Electronic Arts created the sequel to “Mercenaries” for the PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This review was written based on the Xbox 360 version.

“Mercenaries 2: World in Flames” is rated T for teens and older, and has a suggested retail price of $59.99.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price

Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

Rocket to other worlds with the primates of “Space Chimps.”

Ham III, grandson to the famous spacefaring Ham, is a circus chimp with great bloodlines. He’s recruited onto a team of highly trained space chimps by a senator eyeing re-election. Ham, however, isn’t sure he’s cut out to be an astro-chimp.

But Ham and his shipmates, Titan and Luna, are nonetheless sent on the spaceship Horizon to another world.

Once there, not only is their mission at stake, but also the freedom of the inhabitants of the planet.

The game doesn’t lay out all this backstory initially — you’ll have to see the movie. But it’s pretty easy to figure out your objectives once you get started.

“Space Chimps” features 11 levels, with puzzles, platforming and co-op play.

The graphics are adequate, and some of the level design is visually interesting.

The gameplay isn’t bad, as the wall-climbing, swinging from rope to rope, and swinging from pole to pole are all fun to execute.

The sound is pretty good, with Patrick Warburton and Cheryl Hines reprising their roles from the film.

“Space Chimps” for the Xbox 360, based on the recent film, ends up being more fun than it has to be, as a game based on a kids’ movie.

It’s still not breaking a lot of new ground, but it’s an acceptable platformer for the younger set.

The game, developed by Brash Entertainment, is rated E10 for players over 10 years old.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman 

By Matthew Price
THE NEXT LEVEL

Get back on the college football gridiron with “NCAA Football 09,” from EA Sports.

Always one of the year’s best-selling games, “NCAA Football 09” for the Xbox 360 nonetheless hasn’t rested on its laurels.

The major improvement is the addition of an online Dynasty mode. This allows gamers playing through multiple years on the game to face off against friends playing as other teams. Recruiting, coaching and more now comes into play as gamers face others online. Changes have been made to the offline dynasty mode, as well. Additionally, gamers can convert their online dynasties to offline, and vice versa.

Improvements have been made to the way players juke and spin, allowing for the gamer to attempt more cutbacks and evasive maneuvers. These aren’t without fault — sometimes, the player will spin out of bounds, or backwards. But when executed correctly, these combinations of moves can be very fun, and impressive to watch.

The right analog stick now allows the quarterback to pump fake, buying himself more time in the pocket. Another new feature for quarterbacks is a mini-game played after interceptions. If the gamer can correctly identify the defense that caused an interception, the quarterback’s composure and ratings won’t go down. Choose the wrong defense, and your quarterback remains rattled from his INT.

Just like the real coaches do, gamers can now call time outs to “ice the kicker” in tight situations. Calling a time out before a game-changing kick will cause the kicking meter to show an “iced over” look. Additionally, the controller will rumble, and the camera angle will change. This can make burning a time out to freeze the kicker worth considering.

There are also visual improvements throughout the game, making “NCAA 09” for the Xbox 360 a great-looking affair.

Overall, the upgrades to the game keep “NCAA Football 09” ranked among the top contenders in sports games.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman:

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

Relive the first three “Indiana Jones” films in LEGO format with “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures” from Lucas Arts.

After the success of the “LEGO Star Wars” games, it seemed a good idea to bring Indiana Jones to life in the same format, and it works again.

The yellow LEGO figures stand in for Harrison Ford and crew in a LEGO reimaging of the three films. While some story bits have been changed for gameplay purposes, it’s close to the plotlines of the original films. Recasting the stars with LEGO figures makes for some additional tongue-in-cheek humor, and the cut scenes range from snicker-inducing to laugh out loud funny.

The game features more than 60 playable characters, including villains and supporting characters in different costumes, many of which must be unlocked. As a bonus, the LEGO body parts of playable characters can be rearranged, to make a character who’s a mix of Rene Belloq and Marcus Brody, for example.

The sound features the score from the films, and no voice acting per se.

While Indy has the use of his trademark whip, “LEGO Indiana” features much more hand-to-hand combat than the lightsaber-fueled “LEGO Star Wars” games.

“Indiana” also appropriately features more puzzles and problem-solving than the “LEGO Star Wars” games, fitting with the archaeological theme. The game is relatively short but has plenty of treasure to go back and unlock in the “Free Play” mode.

The game has improved the use of vehicles, as they’re more easily controlled than in the “Star Wars” games, but the camera issues that plague the “Star Wars” episodes, particularly in multiplayer, still exist here.

Still, it’s a minor annoyance and doesn’t stand in the way of “LEGO Indiana Jones” being a whip-cracking good time.

The game is rated E10+, for everyone 10 and up. “LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures” is available for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and in portable form on Nintendo DS.

From Friday’s The Oklahoman: 

By Matthew Price
Assistant Features Editor

THE NEXT LEVEL

It’s spurred record sales and congressional inquiries. The bad boy of video games is back on Tuesday, as “Grand Theft Auto IV” is released. It may “launch a million PTA meetings,” says Game Daily editor in chief Libe Goad. But “Grand Theft Auto IV” brings more realistic physics and mature storytelling to next-generation consoles, she said.

This time around, the mature-rated game allows gamers to take the role of Niko Bellic, an eastern European lured to Liberty City by the promises of his cousin.

“He’s coming over to America to live the American dream,” said Goad, whose Web site is found at www.gamedaily.com.

“(Bellic’s) cousin moved over and was apparently having a very Scarface lifestyle — yachts, hot ladies etc.,” Goad said. “(Bellic) came over and discovered that’s not the case — his cousin was actually in trouble and needed some help.”

Goad, who played the game prior to release, said it will be recognizable to fans who have played previous games, but with improvements.

“There’s a lot that’s new in the game,” she said. “When you play the game it’ll be very familiar … but in a lot of ways it’ll be very advanced. There’s amazing graphics; there’s more realistic physics with driving the car. There’s a totally new main character and a new storyline. There’s a new environment.”

That new environment has a familiar name — Liberty City — but it’s been redesigned for “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

“Basically you’re going back to Liberty City again, but it looks a lot more like the real-life Liberty City aka New York City,” she said. The game offers multiplayer for the first time. And, while it still keeps the “sandbox” style of gameplay, “IV” looks to be even more action-packed than the earlier installments.

“If you look at all the series together, it probably won’t be as open-ended as say, ‘San Andreas,’” Goad said. “That had some parts where you could go roam in the desert and things like that. Those kind of elements where you’re just roaming around in areas where there’s not much to do, that’s kind of been taken out of the game. You can definitely roam, but it will be action-packed wherever you go.”

The game has its mature-rated moments, and Goad urges parents not to buy the game for their younger teens.

“(Something) important for all parents is to definitely be aware of the ratings on the boxes of the video games,” Goad said. “The mature rating is for age 17 and older. Familiarize yourself with these ratings, which you can find at ESRB.org.”

Even limiting sales to gamers 17 and over, “Grand Theft Auto IV” is expected to be a financial home run.

“I think people are expecting the ‘Halo’-killer,” Goad said.

Some analysts attributed a decline at the box office to the release of “Halo 3” in September. Is a similar box office slump likely to result from “Grand Theft Auto IV?”

“I did hear some stories where analysts predicting that it will affect (the movie) ‘Iron Man,’” Goad said. “The funny thing about ‘Iron Man’ is, ‘Grand Theft Auto’ and ‘Iron Man’ appeal to very similar audiences, so maybe they’ll buy ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ play that, take a break to go see ‘Iron Man,’ then go back and play ‘Grand Theft Auto.’”

The vastly misinformed FOX report claimed that “Mass Effect” contains full digital nudity (it doesn’t) and graphic sex (it doesn’t) and that it’s for the Xbox (it’s the Xbox 360).   On top of all this, the game is rated M for mature… can you imagine anyone complaining about an R-rated movie containing about 30 seconds of the side of a breast out of a 30-plus hour game?

– Matt Price

Create an all-new theme park empire with “Thrillville: Off the Rails.”

The LucasArts video game sequel is similar to the original “Thrillville,” in which the gamer reinvigorates Uncle Mortimer’s amusement parks by training staff, adding attractions, setting prices, schmoozing guests and building roller coasters.

 “Off the Rails” stands strong on its own, offering all new parks with fresh, entertaining themes. Old rides are back, along with some new ones.

As always, gamers can indulge in the arcade. Ride a stunt bike without tipping over, fight as a chinchilla, operate a tank or try to knock out a giant robot in a variety of minigames. The minigames can be difficult but are not complex.

Also new to “Off the Rails” is a vendor puzzle game that helps you increase sales. The sideshow features “Alley Ball” and “Test Your Strength” awards stuffed animals as prizes that can be later passed on to impress park guests.

The biggest addition to “Off the Rails” is the “Whoa” options in the Coaster Builder menu. The “Whoa” features are wild additions to custom coasters, many of which literally take the cars off the rails. “Big Guns” allows the car to shoot off the track like a cannonball, and land on another portion of the track. “Candy Drop” catapults the car across segments of track. “Nosedive” uses a lever to tilt the track while cars are in motion. “Pendulizer” catches the car in a pendulum swing. Other options place cars on an elevator to reach extreme heights in limited space, or place exhilarating hazards on the track, such as a ring of fire or a breakaway wall. 

“Off the Rails” is mostly more of the same for fans of “Thrillville,” but it does have enough interesting twists and turns and loops and spirals to lure gamers back for another visit. “Off the Rails” is available for personal computer, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS.

– Matt Price

Yoda and Darth Vader are among the “Star Wars” characters recently announced to  appear in Soulcalibur IV for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Vader will appear as a guest character on the PS3 version; Yoda makes his mark on the 360.  The game is slated for a summer release.

“In the entertainment industry, LucasArts possesses some of the most recognizable characters and franchises in the world. We’re thrilled to integrate their historic characters into one of our most treasured brands.” said Makoto Iwai, executive vice president and COO at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc, in a release.

From the release:

In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.

Shown in true high-definition graphics, Soulcalibur IV offers an entirely new battle system that promises to revolutionize the fighting game genre. Featuring an expanded customization mode, Soulcalibur IV allows players to personalize a character to look and perform as they desire. Also, for the first time in the franchise, customized characters or original favorites can be taken online to challenge others for the top spot of this timeless series. Developed by Project Soul, the legendary team behind Soul Blade(R) and Soulcalibur(R) I-III, Soulcalibur IV is set to reinvent the brand and reintroduce the fighting genre to new and existing fans alike.

– Matt Price