‘Gaelic Games: Football’ details, release date
A still from a TV advertisement for Gaelic Games: Football.
With the release date of the GAA licensed football game, ‘Gaelic Games: Football’, revealed by Games Toaster hours before the issuing of the press release, we now have further details:
Whether it’s a quick game or a complete GAA season, players will be
treated to 11 ‘photo realistic’ stadiums including Croke Park, O’Moore
Park, Semple Stadium, Casement Park, and Pearse Stadium. All of the
county teams are included, along with London and New York.
Commentary will be provided by Micheál
GAA computer game out November 11
A senior Sony source has confirmed to this publication that the
GAA football game will be on store shelves on Friday, November 11. The official
press release and screen shots are apparently due later today.
Believed to be named ‘Gaelic Football 2005′,
the title will be exclusive to the PlayStation 2. The game was at first scheduled
for release mid-2004.
Torc’s Dreadnought demo released
Torc Interactive, the
North West of Ireland games developer and middleware company, recently
released a demo of their first person shooter game, ‘Dreadnought’ .
It was made for AMD to highlight their latest processors, the AMD64
line.
The game is based on Torc’s ‘Instinct Engine’. According to
AMD, when in ‘64-bit enhanced mode’ Dreadnought will highlight
improvements with games running on 64-bit processors - such as,
improved graphics detail and quality, bullet holes staying on walls and
not fading over time, and other effects.
As previously revealed by Games Toaster,
the game is set on a nuclear warship in stormy waters. The demo starts
as you enter the ship. The ship, a nuclear missile cruiser named the
Admiral Ushakov, was last seen in the Barents Sea four years ago, and
was apparently believed lost at sea. When it reappeared near Iceland,
it is then thought to be in terrorist hands. The terrorist are using
the ship for some kind of ‘research’, and the player-character is
(you guessed it) a ‘US Special Forces operative’, sent in to
“steal or destroy”.
The demo and screen shots can be downloaded here.
[The demo was actually released in August - excuse us; we try to
keep on top of all Ireland's games-related news, but sometimes things
slip by. You can help - we're interested in any little or great
detail of Irish-related happenings, email us at editor@gamestoaster.com or see our 'contact' page]
Xbox 360: Higher price in Ireland - inconsistencies in Microsoft’s VAT reason
Ireland and Portugal were given a higher ERP, but not Belgium, which has the same VAT rate.
After lengthy questioning by Games Toaster, Microsoft
has maintained VAT is the reason for the extra charge on Irish
consumers. “Finland and Portugal both announced ERPs the same as
Ireland”, said Orla Sheridan, Home and Entertainment Division Manager
of Microsoft Ireland.
However, for some unknown reason, consumers in Belgium will only be
charged the general euro price, “Their messaging was
360 - 22/11 N. America, 2/12 Europe
Microsoft’s
Xbox 360 console will retail in Europe on December 2, in North America
ten days early on November 22, and in Japan on December 10, Microsoft
announced today at the Tokyo Game Show. Although, early in the year
Microsoft had stressed a “global launch”, questioning always led to the
addition of ‘within days’.
Yesterday, the company said credit cards would not be required for
360’s Xbox Live, which will provide multiplayer gaming and other online
services. The additional payment method is subscription cards that will
be available at selected retailers. Pricing will now be
New sites for two Irish games developers
Two Galway-based games companies have recently launched new websites, PC and console developer StarCave - starcave.com, and mobile games developer Nephin - nephingames.com (pictured above).
‘iGame’ pencilled in for RDS in October
The Dublin venue, the RDS, is now listing the planned iGame event on their website, from October 22 - 25.
iGame was originally advertised on iGame.ie for October of last
year, “Last year’s event never got off the ground due to
sponsorship issues” Conor Glennon, iGame Exhibition Director,
commented to Games Toaster early this year.
At the time of publication, the event’s website remains unchanged, and the organisers, Zinc Entertainment Ltd, have not replied to an email.
Recall of slim-line PS2 power adaptors
Sony Computer Entertainment has recalled certain AC power adaptors
of slim-line PlayStation 2 console, citing safety fears. The units are
said to be in danger of overheating, there have been reports to the extent of melting, Sony has put the blame on a subcontractor.
The company is offering free replacements adaptors vie the website ps2ac.com,
they have also advised consumers not to return the adaptors to the
place of purchase. SCE have set up a help line - 1800 246 063 for the
Republic of Ireland, or 0800 555 516 in the UK.
The recall only affects slim-line PS2 consoles with the code
‘HP-AT048H03′, and one of the following date codes ‘2004.08′,
‘2004.09′, ‘2004.10′, ‘2004.11′, or ‘2004.12′ (see image above).
Earlier in the year, Microsoft made a recall of Xbox power cords for similar safety reasons.
REVIEW: Conkers Live and Uncut
Developer: Rare | Publisher: Microsoft | Format: Xbox
Reviewer: Craig Gallagher Who
wants clean cut heroes? Not me for one, I like my heroes to be rough
and ready, foul mouthed and, cuddly? Yes, cuddly. Conkers Bad Fur Day
was one of the Nintendo 64 true triumphs. It was an original game for
older gamers, it was funny, smart, and above all fun.
And now we have Conkers Live and Uncut on Xbox. But this isn’t a
sequel; it’s a remake of the original, coupled with a number of
multiplayer games.
For those who missed Conkers First time round the story goes as
follows. After a hard night’s drinking Conker falls asleep in a field
somewhere. Once his hangover has cleared up the next morning you must
help him home, and along the way fight monsters, projectile vomit, and
become king.
Unlike a lot of remakes this isn’t a port. The developers have taken
the original game and using the superior power of the Xbox recreated
the entire game from scratch, with one or two changes.
The game is perfect in all regards, the single player is excellent. Put
simply Conkers live and uncut is a must own game, possible unless you
own the original and don’t have Xbox Live.
REVIEW: Bomberman Hardball
Developer: Hudson | Publisher: Ubisoft | Format: PS2
Reviewer: Craig Gallagher Original
ideas are few and far between in the games industry, which is why every
once in a while we see a glut of all most identical games released one
after another. The reason for this is that one developer actual has an
original idea which the ‘consumer’ embraces, so it has to be
quickly aped by rival developers.
Super Monkey Ball was once such game which was followed by a slew of
imitators, none of which successfully recaptured the insane fun of the
original. This Bomberman branded title is the latest clone. Unlike many
of the others it has a few original ideas up its sleeves. There are
four games, including original Bomberman and Bomberman golf.
The games at first seem clichéd and unoriginal but the sheer amount of
fun that can be garnered from each more than makes up for any
originality short comings. It is the perfect post alcohol consuming
night out game.
This is the kind of game that will appeal to all demo-graphs, from
stoned students to bored kids looking for a way to spend their few
remaining days off.