For the past week I have been dodging between ex-girlfriends, shed- loads of work and drink (oh, how I could die for a pint right now!) to fish out the best news pre-E3. You see, at this time of year rumour mills go into over-time and it can be difficult to avoid the bogus reports shoved around various web sites. The dreaded 'April fools joke' type-news should have been cleared up four weeks ago but it does seem that some want it to last.
Of course, you can rely on Thunderbolt to give you the genuine news that you really need.
2002's hit platform title Ratchet and Clank has been a sequel penciled in at a November release of this year, no doubt with intensions of gatecrashing the crimbo [slang for Christmas - Ed] rush.
Whilst little has been leaked from Sony about the second in the series (is this a new series that will soon be reaching its tenth sequel?) we at Thunderbolt can reveal that Ratchet will have a few new pieces and will now don some new armour threads (a note to those still to play GTA Vice City: Ratchet will have new weapons and have various types of armour to wear).
As with every sequel we can expect a 'much bigger, diverse experience with new and improved graphics and gameplay'. If only we could have a pound every time we hear a developer say that.
However, put those pounds away because Midway could be onto a hit title here (sorry, but how many times have we heard that before too?). New title 'The Suffering' takes a great story and combines them with the best bits from other top horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
The lead character is Torque. He is sentenced to 'death row' for the murder of his wife and kids. But when the prison is taken over by the ghosts of several criminals past, his sentence is interrupted. Apparently it is already looking at an 18 certificate (all the kids under 16 in the UK shout 'hooray!') as it will feature much adult content making The Getaway look like the first GTA. With 20-plus hours of solid gameplay, it also has three multiple endings, depending on which paths you take to complete the game.
Although too early for screenshots and details, our bet is this could well be one of the finest games of the year. You heard it first here.
For those who import games from The Land of The Rising Sun (or Japan as other know it) regularly the Hanjuku series may sounds familiar. For the rest of us, the latest title Hanjuku Hero VS 3D is rather different from the usually serious RPG's from Sony-Enix.
This is a humourous adventure but has some amazing effects, namely in the way the game mixes traditional 2D graphics with great 3D work. The game has various battles in which you summon eggs (yes- you read that right!) to fight each other. Think an oval version of Pokemon except you gotta crack em all (snigger).
The reason for the battles is the invasion of the 2D army by the polygonal fighters who 'suddenly' appear in the sky and challenge the 2D'ers to fights. Unfortuantely Hanjuku hasn't been released outside of Japan in its series, so a European release looks unlikely. However, should the moment arise we will be there to deliver the latest news.
In the run-up to E3 Atari have released first details of its next title 'Kya: Dark Lineage'. As Kya, you find yourself lost in a strange and eerie world. Before returning home she must find her lost brother (why won't developers give us the freedom to not look for her brother and just get the hell out of there?).
As you progress through the story Kya discovers two tribes at war. The Wolfens are a peaceful tribe being invaded by the Brazul, who are actually Wolfens under a spell, thus bringing out their evil side. So now we are side-tracked by curing the Brazul tribe and returning them to their peaceful past.
Various landscapes await the travelling Kya as she progresses up through her magic levels. These grant her special powers that enable her to ride wind currents, slide down waterfalls and scale mountains.
Aside from these side missions there are thirty four different quests to complete and Eden Studios reckon they are onto a winner here as their Chief Executive Stephane Baudet says: "From the start, Kya has been meticulously developed from the ground up both in terms of character and story development, right down to the proprietary game engine. Kya promises to be a game of epic magnitude and we are committed to delivering unprecedented gameplay to all fans of this genre.".
Latest news from E3 will be on Thunderbolt in the near future.
Away from E3 for a moment, then.
Microsoft have recently announced that their Xbox Live service has been a success with over 50,000 users signing up since Christmas. This proves their intentions to provide a good quality online service to rival that of a thousand-pound PC.
Many games have been lined up to tempt more gamers into the market, and the mass shifters such as Halo 2, Moto GP 2 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein promise to add to the 50,000 strong players.
After trying to convince the world that bigger is better, Microsoft has finally bowed down to demand and will now package TWO controller S-types with new Xbox consoles.
Whilst being no major surprise due to the improved gaming experience of an improved button layout and better D-pad, fans of the bigger controller (like me) might be horrified to find that it will be soon be taken out of production
Yet another Xbox exclusive due to make an appearance at E3 is the recently announced Microsoft title Voodoo Vince. The game is an adventure platformer with one quirky idea guaranteed to bring some originality to the tired genre. You play a voodoo doll (unsurprisingly called Vince!) whose main method of attack seems to involve sadomasochistic behavior on a massive scale. To destroy your enemies you have to damage yourself in all kinds of over the top ways. For example you might cut yourself in two with a large blade to cause similar damage to a visible enemy! This sounds like the kind of title that the Oddworld Inhabitants might produce but it's coming from a new company called Beep Industries. We get the feeling this is going to be a name to remember.
The popular Dungeons and Dragons-esque PC game, Arx Fatalis is set to be unveiled in Xbox form at the E3 games show in May. Taken on by Dreamcatcher games, also responsible for bringing the successful PC game Syberia to the Xbox later this year, the game is an engrossing RPG-style adventure set in an endless maze of underground Dwarf tunnels. The PC game featured over 60 hours of gameplay and over 40 different races to encounter. Bless the console with the hard drive; another popular PC game is on its way.
Developed by EAD, the original Pikmin was one of the most underrated of all of Nintendo's games. But given that the Pikmin is now one of the Players Choice range of discounted games, it cost only £20 and many more gamers are unearthing its charms.
Those already familiar with Captain Olimar and his tribes of self gestating creatures will be pleased learn there's a sequel in development. In fact here's some of the very first screenshots. As you can see if you're familiar with the game there's a two player co-op and challenge mode that's been added along with different breeds of Pikmin such as that fat purple fella in the screenshots.
As ever Pikmin 2 will be playable at E3 where we'll be updating you with our first impressions of this and much, much more.
In yet more teasers of their E3 showing Nintendo have just released some Kirby's Air Ride screenshots.
Whereas we'd normally give you a brief description of what a new game is likely to play like, we thought that this time we'd let Nintendo tell you themselves:
"By applying the simple controls that define all Kirby games, Kirby's Air Ride brings the racing genre to gamers of all abilities, making it so anyone can just pick up and play. Single-button game play controls all the action, brake and slide around corners with a press of the A Button or hold and charge up as you slide, then release for break-neck acceleration. Of course, Kirby wouldn't be Kirby if he weren't copying enemy abilities and using them to his advantage, so prepare for some wild and wacky transformations! Slide and glide in 3-D racing, or ready yourself for a race for power-ups as you enter multiplayer tournament battles. Kirby's never been so fast and so fun!"
Perhaps most interesting of all is that Kirby requires use of just one button. As soon as we get our hands on this game, we'll post our impressions.
Amid rumours that they're about to merge with Namco having already conjoined themselves to Sammy SEGA are continuing to ramp up their pre E3 hype.
Hot on the heels of their recent announcement of an all new platformer in the shape of Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, come these previously unseen screenshots of Sonic Adventure DX.
Sonic Adventure DX is a GameCube only update of SEGA's initial flagship title for the DreamCast, Sonic Adventure. Cruelly overlooked at the time this 3D platformer when it debuts on the GameCube will include not only an enhanced version of the game but also every single Sonic Game Gear title ever released!
Sonic Adventure DX is being developed by Yuji Naka the head of SEGA's illustrious development house Sonic Team, and is set to launch in Japan in July.
Interested in knowing how the follow up to the GameBoy Advance's highly successful strategy title is coming along? Well, Nintendo promise to reveal all at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Advance Wars: Black Hole Rising follows on from the original game and sees Sturm (the leader of the Black Hole army) finding a way to drain all the resources from Cosmo land.
Not willing to let him get away with such a nefarious deed, you'll find yourself taking part in hundreds of new battle maps in an attempt to defeat Sturm once and for all. Black Hole Rising will feature single and duel cartridge play, an improved map designer and brand new C.O. powers like Typhoon to obliterate your opponents with.
More information will be released at E3 but if Nintendo can make this game even half as good as the original, Advance Wars 2 will be very special indeed.
And so as E3 draws ever closer, the workload mounts up considerably. Fear not, however, because Nuts 'N' Bolts: Volume 6 will be here next week. As for Thunderbolt, expect new reviews and previews as well as the latest videogame news in the next seven days.
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