Welcome
back for another week of Video Game Bits. To all of our Canadian
readers, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. To all of our
American readers, we hope you enjoyed Columbus Day. We are happy to
finally be back to a normal, full week schedule (excluding
Thanksgiving). Here is today's Video Game Bits.
FIFA
Soccer 08 now available
Electronic
Arts announced the release of
FIFA Soccer 08 today. The game
is the latest iteration of the company's popular soccer franchise
and, like its predecessors, is available for many different
platforms. What makes the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of
FIFA
Soccer 08 so different from the
game's predecessors however, is the new Be A Pro feature, which EA
will be adding as a free downloadable feature next month. Be A Pro:
Online Team Play allows players to take on the role of a single,
fixed player for an entire online game. The feature allows up to ten
players to connect for online play, with each as a single, fixed
player, with up to five real players on each team (the remaining
players are computer controlled). For offline play, Be A Pro: Offline
Training allows players to get used to playing as a single, fixed
player for an entire game.
To
better understand Be A Pro, we have included this interview from X'07
with EA SPORTS Label's Steve Frost, explaining the new feature.
To
learn more about the FIFA Interactive World Cup, which Steve
mentioned in the video, go to www.fifa.com/fiwc.
FIFA
Soccer 08
also marks the debut of the franchise on the Wii and with it, the
addition of motion based controls. Players of the Wii version will be
able to pass, shoot and perform tricks with a simple flick of the
wrist thanks to the game's FreeMotion controls, while EA SPORTS
Family Play allows players that are not familiar with the advanced
controls, using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck, to just use the Wii
Remote to control the main actions, while the Wii does the rest. One
other extra feature that the Wii version has is the addition of cover
athlete, Ronaldihno, as the first professional soccer player to
appear as a customized and playable character. “Ronaldinho
will host a game mode called Footii Party with Ronaldinho. With this
mode, EA introduces unique party games - including Table Soccer, Keep
Up and Shoot Off – where you can play as your self-created Mii
character to unlock Ronaldinho and take on the champ”.
FIFA
Soccer 08
is now available in retail stores across North America for Xbox 360,
Playstation 2, Playstation 3, PSP, PC, Nintendo DS, Wii and the
mobile platform. Prices vary by version, but the ESRB rating stays
the same for each, E for Everyone.
Puzzle
Quest
now on XBLA
Microsoft
announced today that D3 Publisher of America's popular puzzle game,
Puzzle
Quest: Challenge of the Warlords,
will be available for download from Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow
morning at 9:00 am. The new version of the game comes optimized to
take advantage of a widescreen, HD display, plus Xbox Live features,
like camera support, achievements, leaderboards and Gamerscore. The
game also includes some minor tweaks to improve the gameplay
experience. Puzzle
Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
is available for 1200 Microsoft Points.
New
PSP Entertainment Pack now available
Sony
Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) released the new PSP
Entertainment Pack today. The new Star
Wars Battlefront
PSP Entertainment Pack features the newly enhanced PSP system, which
is slimmer, lighter and includes a
video-out port, in “Ceramic
White”, with a Darth Vader silkscreen on the back, as well as the
new Star
Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
game, which is exclusive to PSP. The new Star
Wars Battlefront
PSP Entertainment Pack is available across North America for $199.99
USD/$229.99 CAD. Sony will also be releasing the new PSP Core Pack,
which features the newly enhanced PSP system in “Piano Black”
(packaged alone), a little later this month.
Today's
game releases
Warner
Bros.' Looney
Tunes: ACME ARSENAL
for Wii, Playstation 2 and Xbox 360 – Price varies by system
Warner
Bros.' Looney
Tunes: DUCK AMUCK
for Nintendo DS - $29.99 USD/$39.99
