Slashdot Mirror

Jfarro writes "The vidcast Downstairs Theater has posted their coverage of the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) which just recently passed. Inside, the crew has several interviews with developers there on such games as Guitar Hero 2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Castle Crashers, Warhammer Online: Age of reckoning and Brooktown High. Also included are outtakes from the "Pitch your game idea" panel, cosplay interviews, and a few skits to round out their coverage of the event."

MagikSlinger asks: "A friend of mine gave me Silent Hill 3 for Christmas (yeah, I know it's old), and I finally got around to playing it. Within 2 minutes, I had to stop and step away from the computer: intense nausea and pressure right behind the eyeballs. I got really, really motion sick playing the game. Does anyone have home remedies, set-ups, video options to make it bearable?"

Thanks to Game Informer for its interview with Silicon Knights' founder Denis Dyack, following this week's release of fairly well-received GameCube Metal Gear Solid remake, MGS: The Twin Snakes. Dyack says of the game: "I think we've met the watermark and I think gamers are going to be happy and looking at the responses so far... we think people are fairly pleased", and looks forward to the next Silicon Knights project, suggesting wistfully: "We'd really love to make a hardcore dark Zelda, but at the end of the day, that's something that needs to be discussed with Mr. Miyamoto and his group and that's his baby."

Mechanik writes "A new CNN article details Konami's new PlayStation 2 game LifeLine, which has a very interesting twist on control schemes. The piece explains: 'Unlike some other games, voice commands in 'LifeLine' are not optional -- they're the only way to control the action. With the help of a USB headset... you talk to characters and they respond by following your commands and/or answering your questions.' Apparently, the developers know just how we gamer geeks think too... 'Of course, if you have a virtual hottie like Rio at the center of an action game, some players will try to command her to do more than just run and shoot. 'I love you,' 'Take your clothes off,' 'What's your sign?' We have responses for most of those,' [the developer] says'." This title has only had a couple of reviews thus far, although they seem to paint it as a flawed experiment.

Thanks to the Gaming-Age forum regulars for pointing to a French site showing new pictures of Sony's PlayStation 2 karaoke title, SingStar. Among the details for the USB-microphone bundled game is the fact "there'll be [multiple] versions of the game" with different songs released simultaneously, including SingStar Pop and SingStar Classics - there are detailed tracklistings on the same site. The game also "recognizes your pitch, tone and rhythm" much like Harmonix/Konami's Karaoke Revolution, and an earlier preview notes: "Plug in an [USB camera] EyeToy and you'll even be able to view your own pained facial expressions [in-game]." The game, developed by EyeToy creators Sony London Studio, is due for European release in March 2004, with its Stateside debut as yet unconfirmed.

Thanks to Crunk Games for their less-than-serious feature showcasing the fashionable world of the survival horror genre. As the introduction explains: "Every Resident Evil game thus far has awarded players at least one new costume for their chosen character on subsequent playthroughs, a practice that Konami has only recently added to its trademark Silent Hill series. We've decided to pit the cheesiest survival horror series against the scariest in a battle of pure fashion." This spoiler-including article then compares outfits that span the good (Jill Valentine's "classic blue S.T.A.R.S. uniform"), the weird (the "stunning heart-shaped belt buckle" of Silent Hill 3's Magical Girl Heather), and the plain hideous (Silent Hill's "68-year old Avril Lavigne", Dahlia Gillespie), before concluding: "Green herbs all around for those who stuck with it."

Thanks to the Gaming-Age forum regulars for pointing to a new official site for Konami's forthcoming PS2 title, Karaoke Revolution, including new screenshots, which says you can "Turn your PlayStation 2 into a high-end, interactive karaoke machine with Karaoke Revolution." This E3-announced title is interesting in a number of ways - it uses the PS2 USB headset for singing into, it seems to recognize voice pitch and timing, then judge you on it, and it's developed by beat-game junkies and Frequency and Amplitude creators, Harmonix, who have an excellent fansite devoted to their games at Freq.com.

Robert writes "Konami of America announced today that an enhanced version of Silent Hill 3, the highly anticipated third title in Konami's best-selling horror series, will be released in October 2003 for the PC, and earlier for consoles. More info can be found at 3DAvenue."

Robert writes "Konami of America announced today that an enhanced version of Silent Hill 3, the highly anticipated third title in Konami's best-selling horror series, will be released in October 2003 for the PC, and earlier for consoles. More info can be found at 3DAvenue."