Hasbro has announced that they will be publishing a video game based on the upcoming film Battleship, based on the Milton Bradley game of the same name. The game is being published by Activision, and will be released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS; the Nintendo versions are being developed separately by Magic Pockets, while the 360 and PS3 games are being developed by Double Helix. The title combines traditional Battleship-esque tactical naval warfare with first-person shooter elements.

“We’re geared up for an outrageous sea and land conflict with the all new Battleship videogame,” said David Oxford, Activision Publishing.  “Inspired by the film’s exciting action and stunning backdrop, the game is next-gen naval warfare that thrusts players into the middle of humanity’s last stand against an unfamiliar menace.”

We’re now making a FPS video game based on an action film based on a strategy board game. It’s like Video Game Inception, where things just get crazier with each level.

The Game Audio Network Guild, or G.A.N.G., has announced the nominees for the 10th Annual G.A.N.G. Awards, which recognizes and celebrates excellent use of audio in video games. From the current nominees, the 2,000+ members of G.A.N.G. will cast their votes to decide who the winners will be in each of the 15 categories. Two Nintendo-exclusive games were nominated for the “Best Handheld Audio” award: Resident Evil: the Mercenaries 3D and Super Mario 3D Land.

“It’s hard to believe how far game audio has come in a mere decade since the organization was started,” said Tommy Tallarico, G.A.N.G. Founder, CEO and Chairman. “The talented audio folks in this industry have literally been rewriting the history books in terms of quality and historic significance.  2012 is going to once again be a great year for everyone as game audio continues to surpass expectations, just hearing the quality in all the nominees each year helps to confirm this.”

The full list of nominees is below:

AUDIO OF THE YEAR
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Dead Space 2
Gears of War 3
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

MUSIC OF THE YEAR
Batman: Arkham City
InFamous 2
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
L.A. Noire
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

SOUND DESIGN OF THE YEAR
Battlefield 3
Forza Motorsport 4
Gears of War 3
NCAA Football 12
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST SOUNDTRACK ALBUM
Batman: Arkham City
Dead Space 2
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST INTERACTIVE SCORE
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Dead Space 2
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST HANDHELD AUDIO
Death Rally HD
Infinity Blade II
Monster Hunter 3G
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D
Super Mario 3D Land

BEST AUDIO IN A CASUAL/INDIE/SOCIAL GAME
Bastion
Conspiracy
Monday Night Combat
Orcs Must Die
Star Wars: Clone War Adventures
WindUp Knight

BEST CINEMATIC/CUT-SCENE AUDIO
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Crysis 2
Gears of War 3
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST DIALOGUE
Battlefield 3
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
L.A. Noire
Portal 2
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL
“Lacrimosa” – Dead Space 2
“Main Theme” – Deus Ex: Human Revolution
“GameWrapper” – Kinect Disneyland Adventures
“Pirate Dance” – Kinectimals Gold
“Glory, The Galactic Republic” – Star Wars: The Old Republic
“Small Beginnings” – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL – CHORAL
“Main Theme” – Batman: Arkham City
“Storm Clouds Over Stalingrad” – Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad
“Guardians Theme” – RIFT
“Clash of Destiny” – Star Wars: The Old Republic
“Main Theme” – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

BEST ORIGINAL VOCAL – POP
“Rogue Heart”  – Dragon Age II
“Torched Song” – L.A. Noire
“Victoria’s Lab” – LittleBigPlanet 2
“Wabby Wabbo” – Plants Vs. Zombies (PS3/XBOX360)
“Want You Gone” – Portal 2
“Kayfoundo Naweea (Hungry Eyes)” – Star Wars: The Old Republic

BEST AUDIO MIX
Batman: Arkham City
Battlefield 3
Crysis 2
L.A. Noire
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

BEST USE OF LICENSED MUSIC
Kinect Disneyland Adventures
LittleBigPlanet 2
MLB 11: The Show
Rocksmith
Shift 2: Unleashed – Need for Speed
Stacking

BEST GAME AUDIO ARTICLE, PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST
Designing the Boot Sound for the Original XBOX
Game Developer Magazine – “Three Erroneous Conceits”
Mixing as Part of the Music Composing Process
Sound Effects Transformation: From This to That
The Use of Voice in Portal 2

I guess nobody was particularly impressed with the music of Skyward Sword. To be fair, I wasn’t either.

Game Boy: Maru’s Mission, $2.99

Maru’s girlfriend, Cori, has been kidnapped by the evil samurai named Muramasa; fortunately, Maru is a ninja. Travel across the six worlds, set in real-world locations like Egypt, defeating enemies and collecting more powerful weapons. Defeated enemies leave behind hints about where to go.

DSiWare: 40-in-1 Explosive Megamix, $7.99/800 Nintendo Points

Another megamix has hit the Nintendo DSi, with games like Match 3, Sudoku and Cooking. Among the features include local leaderboards and other unlockable games.

WiiWare: BurgerTime World Tour, 1,000 Nintendo Points

The classic BurgerTime gameplay has been given a 3D twist. Burger master Peter Pepper can now throw enemies he picks up, in order to be better crushed by falling burger parts. Play on over 20 levels in one of four locations on your world tour.

And with Resident Evil: Revelations released, we see Nintendo holding back a bit with the 3DS downloadables. I’m okay with this.

Nintendo has sent us a few facts about their upcoming PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond for Wii game:

- New Skill Games and Attractions: PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond offers single or multi-player fun for the whole family with new skill games, attractions and battles to explore on your quest with the beloved Pokémon characters.

- Trusted Franchise for Younger Kids: PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond offers a trusted franchise that’s easy to pick up & and play for younger kids.

- New Pokémon Characters: Fans of the Pokémon series can now enjoy even more of Pikachu and friends—and befriend new characters introduced in PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond

- Reunite with your favorite Pokémon characters: PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond also includes Pokémon from the hugely popular Pokémon Black Version & Pokémon White Version, and has nearly 200 fully animated Pokémon with voices and unique personalities bringing them to life.

- Bring the cartoon to life: If there’s fans of the Pokémon cartoon in your house, PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond is a great and easy introduction to the video game series

- Multi-player Fun: The whole family can have fun playing with their Wii and the new multi-player PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure

They also sent along six Valentine’s Day cards for all to print and share. Click below for better quality and large size cards.

PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond will be released on February 27, 2012 for $49.99.

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Two Tribes on their official blog today discussed their plans for Wii U and Toki Tori 2. The developer admits the plans for a release of the game are not set in stone as of yet, but do give a bit of insight into what they’re thinking for the game on the console:

- Transition from Steam to Wii U should be OK due to two analog sticks
- Looking to play without a TV and simply use the Wii U controller
- Motion controls necessary for the title and don’t make sense
- A possible level editor using a TV and the Wii U controller

With Rhythm Heaven Fever just around the corner, Nintendo has released tutorial videos of sorts that explain how to play the game. In the first two videos, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang walk viewers through the basics, while the third video has JC Rodrigo from Nintendo Treehouse showing a few more difficult challenges.  The videos are all approximately two minutes long each and can be seen below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rhythm Heaven Fever for Wii will be released on February 13, 2012 for $29.99.

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A Squared Entertainment (A2) along with Build-A-Bear Workshop have announced an agreement with 505 games to bring yet another Build-A-Bear Workshop game to the Nintendo DS. The game is scheduled to hit store shelves this holiday season.

Previously, The Game Factory published the last Build-A-Bear Workshop Nintendo DS game.

To help promote its Nintendo 3DS launch title nintendogs + cats, Nintendo has teamed up with a Jack Russell terrier named Uggie, who has starred in such movies as Water for Elephants and The Artist. As part of Responsible Pet Owners Month, Uggie will appear in a number of Nintendo advertisements with his owner, Omar Von Muller, to show how nintendogs + cats can teach people how to properly care for their pets.

“Uggie didn’t have to sit up and beg for his role as Nintendo’s spokesdog,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “It’s truly our pleasure to work with a star of Uggie’s magnitude, especially to help animal lovers and portable gaming fans discover the fun of nintendogs + cats.”

I wonder what kind of tricks Uggie is going to be doing for the advertisements, if he’ll be doing any at all. He was supposed to retire after the release of The Artist, so maybe he’ll be taking it easy.

This week’s update is a three-pack of songs from British rockers Bush, featuring three singles from their popular debut album Sixteen Stone. All tracks cost 200 Nintendo Points and are downloaded in-game, though the entire pack can be picked up for 550 Nintendo Points.

Bush – “Comedown”
Bush – “Everything Zen”
Bush – “Machinehead”*

*Pro guitar/bass upgrade available for an additional 100 Nintendo Points.

I’ve picked up the pack, since “Comedown” and “Machinehead” are pretty excellent. I’m excited to see what’s coming next week, though, as Harmonix said it includes the #1 requested song.

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Creator: Nintendo
Price: $19.99
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Score: 3.8 / 5

When I first tried the Circle Pad Pro, it was at Capcom Gamer’s Day last year. The accessory, upon brief handling, seemed to fit nicely in the palms of my hands. At the time, I wasn’t able to give it a thorough test to see how it truly performed through hours of gaming. Now, with the retail product in hand, it’s been given hours of playtime to gauge the full experience.

Upon opening the box of the Circle Pad Pro, you’re greeted with the unit itself, a brief operations manual in three languages, a single AAA battery, and a wrist strap. When the CPP is first taken out of the box, immediately the lack of weight strikes you. It’s made of light plastic, but also seems quite durable with a matte finish that doesn’t attract too many fingerprints. The backside has a hollow sound when tapped, which makes sense because the unit contains only a few circuit boards and wire, and is otherwise empty. On the front is the Circle Pad on the right side, which is the same size as the one on the Nintendo 3DS itself. Notably, while the pads themselves seem to be the same size, the groove underneath the CPP seems to be slightly larger and isn’t recessed as subtlety as on the 3DS. Around the area where the Nintendo 3DS will be seated are slick-feeling rubber feet that hold the system in place. The infrared transceiver is located on the top bar, facing down. In the middle section is the place where a single AAA battery is placed. To open it, you don’t even need a screwdriver; due to the width of the screw head, a coin will do the trick. Once the battery is in, the manual states it will last for approximately 480 hours or 20 days, varying with use. Since the unit hasn’t been in my possession for that period of time as of yet, I am unable to test the battery length at this time.

Before inserting the Nintendo 3DS into the Circle Pad Pro, the manual and even a sticker on the unit itself states that the wrist strap should be worn. The wrist strap itself seems of high quality, very similar to the ones for Wii Remotes. A thin braided cord hooks into the 3DS, which has holes on the bottom left and right for such a strap; with the CPP however, the right side must be used. Inserting the cord into the tiny hole on the 3DS is no simple task. After a bit of fussing and expletives, I managed to get the cord through and a loop was formed after. The front bottom of the CPP has a notch so that the wrist strap can sit without interfering with how the system is held in. Once the wrist strap is attached, it’s time to fit the 3DS into the CPP. The fit is snug and the system goes in without difficulty if the wrist strap cord is put through the slit before the 3DS is seated. Once in, it takes some pressure to remove the unit, so while playing, it holds quite nicely. To my annoyance however, when the wrist strap is used, it isn’t as easy to remove the 3DS as it is without.

With the Nintendo 3DS in the Circle Pad Pro, your access to certain features is limited. The wireless switch is not accessible, nor is the stylus holder or game slot. This means that remembering to take the stylus out before a game starts is a must. Volume can still be adjusted, though if it is all the way down, it can be a pain to move it up from that position. What have been left wide open are the charging port, headphone jack, and shoulder buttons to a certain degree. Along with these limitations to the 3DS itself, there is also the fact that this will not fit into the charging cradle, nor can it be used with extended battery packs or other accessories simultaneously. Obviously, the CPP adds a bit of bulk, so fitted carrying/protective cases will also not work with it. On the strange side of things, the Circle Pad Pro can function if the Nintendo 3DS is not sitting snugly inside. The range on this ability is extremely limited, approximately a few centimeters away from the infrared transceiver, but it still works.

While holding the unit, it’s quite comfortable and intuitive. The back is somewhat molded so that it fits in the hands better. Each Z shoulder button has a popping feel, but is not springy or squishy, and they also don’t make much noise when pressed. As for the Circle Pad itself, it is similar to the 3DS, though your thumb will be able to tell the difference, as there’s slightly less resistance when it’s moved around. During my time with Resident Evil: Revelations while using the CPP, I noticed that aiming with the accessory was slower and not as precise at first. In fact, it almost had a “chunky” quality, but this went away when I was able to better acclimate to the unit. Although it’s not built into the 3DS OS that I could find, there is a way to calibrate the right Circle Pad. With Revelations, there is a setting to calibrate which sends you to a few screens that will have you making circles and pointing in certain directions with the pad. This process is short, but seems to be effective if the pad is ever off kilter. The shoulder buttons on the right side also took a bit of getting used to because of the fact there are two instead of one. I found my right index finger hopping between the buttons for different purposes, when before it would simply stay on one button. Once I found my footing with the CPP however, the controls were extremely responsive. If there was any lag, it’s negligible, at least in the case of Revelations.

Overall, I’m personally glad I bought the unit. After hours of play when my hands would normally cramp, I found they were still good to game when using the CPP. It also made Raid Mode in Revelations even more fun for me to control with the extra pad. For future games, though, I can’t help but wonder if this would give games in multiplayer a leg up on the competition. Even more worrying than that, however, is the fact that Nintendo has a poor history of supporting their accessories with games. Still, for $20, it’s great as an alternative control scheme for games that will support it and it’s easy on the hands.

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