GamesBloggo - Your source on game news! January 2009

Reuters has published important numbers concering the Call of Duty franchise, that has sold more than 35 million copies in all its versions, in the several countries in which it is distributed. GTA IV has reached the 11 million copies, while Gears of War 2 has sold 3 million copies on its first commercial month.

In the war amongst the “rhythm” games, the Guitar Hero series remains untouched with its 23 million copies sold for all its versions. For Nintendo, Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros. Brawl sold more than 4 million copies in the US, according to the updated data from November.

For Sony, of course, LittleBigPlanet has interesting numbers as well: it already features more than 100.000 levels created by users that have generated more than 20 million matches.

A new initiative from Eidos has made its appearance on the official Tomb Raider website. On the page dedicated to the serie’s soundtrack, it is now possible to download a good number of songs, extracted directly from the original soundtrack from many of the Tomb Raider chapters.

It’s possible to download mp3 file packs that are divided according to the chapter in which those appear, including the new Tomb Raider Underworld Deluxe Edition, that contains 71 mp3 tracks.

Everything is available for free too. Which is always a good thing.

One week left until the release of Rock Band 2 for Wii, Harmonix has announced that the downloadable contents for the game will arrive in the first months of 2009. Contrarily to what it was previously announced, since the company had stated that they would be available from the first week after the launch.

The pack features 20 free songs, plus 30 more from the first Rock Band. The new songs will not be the same as those available on PS3 and XBox 360 and no further details were released about the “old” ones.

Harmonix has also declared that the test period is at its last phase, and they’re working hard in completing it for the next year.

The first trailer for Terminator Salvation has been published on GameTrailers. The game is an adaptation of the next Terminator movies that will be on Theaters next June.

Here it is, enjoy!

The weekly update on the Wii’s digital delivery system brings four new titles. The first is Rotohex, from the “Art Style” series, and it’s a remake of Dialhex that was launched originally on the Game Boy Advanced, in the pararel “Bit Generations” series. Characterized by a psychedelic-minimalist style, Rotohex is a puzzle game that is based on shapes and colors, in which a series of panels fall inside an hexagon structure. It can be downloaded for 600 Wii Points.

The second title is the fourth chapter of the Strong Bad’s Cool Game For Attractive People series, this time with the Dangeresque 3 episode, this one also featuring enigmas and a particular sense of humor. 1000 Wii Points to download this episode.

There are two more puzzle games: Bang! (600 Wii Points) and Pit Crew Panic! (500 Wii Points).

It’s only a rumor for now, taken from the January issue of EGM, but it’s certainly interesting. The rumor in question talks about the possibility that Dragon Quest IX: Protectors of the Starry Sky, the new chapter on the famous RPG series from Square Enix that has recently been announced for Nintendo DS, will also be available on the Wii.

It remains the question on, should this version be confirmed, whether it will feature the same connectivity between the two consoles as in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, and how the multiplayer mode will be managed.

It seems, at least according to some articles online, especially one from IGN, that Deadly Creatures, a THQ title for Wii has been postponed to February 2009. The game is basically an adventure that has a very unusual environment as its main feature.

In fact, the main protagonists are spiders and scorpions, as lethal and dangerous as they can be found in Nature. We’ll be waiting on more confirmation on the matter.

As many players were hoping, the long odyssey lived by Ghostbusters has come to an end. The game has indeed been acquired by Atari, that will be distributing it on June 2009, according to what was referred by Phil Harrison during the press-conference held yesterday.

Ghostbutsers had made many fans dream about it when it first appeared as an internet rumor, preannouncing itself as a videogame adaptation of the movie, using the modern technologies of today’s gaming platforms. It’s been developed by Terminal Reality for a while now, but it had been blocked due to the fusion between Activision and Vivendi, which didn’t really find a place to the game in their roster. With Atari’s acquisition, the development can now be completed and the game will reach the markets next summer.

According to what was reported by Eurogamer.net, Square Enix would be preparing an official announcement, dedicated to the European market, about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, a new chapter on the famous RPG series’ spinoff. The game is being developed both for Wii and Nintendo DS, and it has already been announced to be launched at Spring 2009 for the American market.

The game develops itself inside the Crystal Chronicles universe, hence, focusing on the power of crystals and the four races present in that world: Clavats, Lilites, Selkies, Yukes. The story is focused on a young adventurer that starts the usual trip in order to save the world, together with some battle companions.

The main new feature on Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, anticipated a whilea go by Shonen Jump, is the particular interaction between the Wii and DS versions (although there are no details on how it works exactly), and the possibility of going from single player to the multiplayer mode in an easy way. It seems that there are also many customizable options for the fighters and a Mii support on the Wii version.

According to Eurogamer.net, “close sources to Square Enix” would have affirmed that Chrono Trigger DS is to be expected to be launched in Europe in February.

The remake of the famous Squaresoft RPG, originally launched for SuperNES on 1995, has already been launched in the Japanese and American markets, receiving good responses from critics and public, a clear demonstration on how the game is still loved by fans.

Chrono Trigger DS has remained the same game as ten years ago, but besides the new loading scenes signed by Akira Toriyama’s Bird Studio (introduced for the first time on the Playstation reedition), there is also a new dungeon, a new finale, the double screen visualization, touch screen control and the possibility of a multiplayer mode through the Wi-Fi connection.

We’ll be waiting on eventual confirmation on the launch month for the European market.