Late Night Consoling

July 1, 2003 8:00 PM

It's still pretty slow around here as we make our way into the Summer slowdown, and so this seems as good a time as any to ask for feedback. Is there anything you'd like to see in these nightly posts? Improvements to the Game of the Evening interface? (Links to comments is something I'm exploring, but it's going to be hard). I take a great deal of pride in the fact that every evolution to these LNC posts has come about from reader feedback, so if you've got something to say by all means let me know.

	PS3 Rumors The Magic Box has posted some uncredited rumors this evening regarding Sony's various upcoming systems. Specifically they claim that the PS3 will only support backwards compatibility with the PS2 and not the PSOne, the latter of which will cease production entirely in 2005. Regarding the PSP, they claim the handheld will launch in the 4th quarter of 2004, and feature 64 MB of on-board storage and limited PDA functionality. As there's no source here, take all of this with many grains of salt.
	Free Sphinx Demo Just like they did for the PS2 releases of both Red Faction games, THQ is offering gamers the chance to receive a free demo of Sphinx and the Shadow of Set. All you need to do is register for the demo at their official site, and you'll get it in the mail, no shipping costs or anything. Tell 'em Shacknews sent you. Note that this is only for the PS2 version of the game.
	Medal of Honor: Infiltrator Announced Electronic Arts has announced Metal of Honor: Infiltrator, a new GBA exclusive title. Unlike the previous GBA MoH (and every other game in the series, for that matter) this game isn't played exclusively from a first person view. Instead it's mostly played from a top-down perspective, and features first person sequences that are played like Operation Wolf or the NeoGeo Nam games, where you're stationary and move your crosshair around the screen to fire.
	The Sims Interview GameSpot has conducted an interview with Virginia McArthur, the producer of the Game Boy Advance and GameCube versions of The Sims. The interview talks about both games and how the two connect to each other. On a related note, Pocket.IGN has some new details and screenshots from the GBA version of the game.
	New Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward Details Some new details from Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward can be found at GamerFeed tonight. Among the various tidbits is the news that the game will feature a licensed soundtrack from Hollywood Records, and will contain songs by Forty Foot Echo and No One. While the original Hunter: The Reckoning was released for the GC and Xbox, it would appear that this game is a PS2 exclusive for the time being.
	Drakengard Q&A A new Q&A with Yasuhito Watanabe of SquareEnix is up at Computer and Video Games tonight, talking with him about their upcoming rail shooter/RPG Drakengard. The questions aren't particularly in-depth, but he does talk about their influences, the various gameplay modes and more.
	New Game from .hack Developers GamePro is reporting that Cyber Connect 2, the developers behind Bandai's .hack titles, has a brand new (unrelated) game in the works, and intends to announce it on July 19th. While nothing is known about the game, they have said that it is "packed with what we consider makes for fun gaming," and is "filled with what we consider to be new challenges and experiments."
	Surreal Beta Testers Needed An update at the official Surreal Software site has a request for beta testers in the Seattle area. If you're interested, send an e-mail to focustest@surreal dot com (only replacing that with an actual period of course) with the subject line "Sure, I'll play." Surreal is currently working on the horror title The Suffering for all three platforms.
	New Releases this Week Yep, it's another slow week here in North America...this week sees the release of SX Superstar for GameCube, Ape Escape 2 and Summer Heat Beach Volleyball for PS2, Pirates of the Caribbean for Xbox, and Pirates of the Caribbean, Simpsons Road Rage and Spy Kids 3D: Game Over for GBA. Next week's not particularly exciting either, but 7/15 marks the release of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which has gotten some great buzz from those who already have their hands on review copies.
	Misc. Media/Previews GameSpot has new screenshots from Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox), new gameplay footage from Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (PS2, Xbox), and a new preview of Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior (PS2). Over at IGN they have the first look at the GameCube version of Auto Modellista, new screenshots from Resident Evil: Outbreak (PS2), one new shot from Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (PS2), a hefty batch of shots from Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space (PS2) and some new shots from NFL Fever 2004 (Xbox). Elsewhere online, GamePro has shots from ESPN NHL Hockey 2004 (PS2, Xbox), while Games Are Fun has shots from R: Racing Evolution (GC, PS2, Xbox), links to a new Japanese commercial for F-Zero GX (GC) and the first shots from the shmup NAOMI arcade game Psyvariar 2: The Intention of Fabrication. And finally, CvG has some new shots and a gameplay movie from the delightfully wacky Viewtiful Joe (GC).

Console Game of the Evening: Bionic Commando for the NES. "No one thought bionic arms were cool till Capcom told them so! Bionic Commando added a lot of innovation to the side scroller, and it should be recognized as a classic." (submitted by SmArT1).