Gamertell

Bangai-O was originally a shoot’m up game by Treasure released in the 1990’s, and now it is finally getting the remake it deserves. Though Bangai-O Spirits is more an update than a remake, as it features 160 levels, a level editor, new power ups, multiplayer and Sound Load Technology.

The Sound Load Technology in Bangai-O Spirits is an interesting concept. Instead of swapping information files over local Wi-Fi, data is encoded into a sound file. That file can be interpreted by any DS with the Bangai-O Spirits game in it. So players will be able to share their levels, high scores and replays by recording that sound and uploading it online, or simply playing it for their friend nearby.

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I know I’m mentioned before that it’s a given kid’s movies get games, but somehow I didn’t expect to see a Coraline video game. Maybe this is because I’d see a Coraline video game as being dark and Silent Hill-ish. D3Publisher is working on a video game to coincide with the February 6, 2009 release of the animated movie adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. So far DS, PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game are planned, with Papaya Studios (Medal of Honor: Airborne, Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey, Larry Boy and the Bad Apple) working on the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions and ART (Disney Princess: Royal Adventure, Flushed Away, Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee) working on the DS and PSP ones. I’m hopefully optimistic, but Papaya Studios and ART’s former projects aren’t reassuring me.

If you haven’t read Coraline, you should. It’s a children’s book with a story anyone can enjoy. Coraline discovers a door in her family’s apartment which leads to another, alternate world, which is inhabited by Other Mother, Other Father and alternate versions of people in the real world. At first Other Mother and Other Father seem nice, as they give Coraline the attention her real parents seem to busy to provide, but things turn dark quickly, and Coraline has to save herself, her parents and three ghost children who were captured by Other Mother. If you’re interested, the first chapter of Coraline is available online at Harper Teen. The video game adaptation will likely follow the events of the book and movie.

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D3Publisher (Puzzle Quest, Earth Defense Force 2017) and Dimension films announced today (August 8, 2007) a sweepstakes to win a private screening of Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake previous to its release. The contest is “presented” by Dead Head Fred, an upcoming PSP title.

The game (which is a new PSP title, not a port) is an innovative action title built around the ability to collect, upgrade, and switch heads (which each have unique powers and strategic applications). Even the story sounds delightfully offbeat: you play as an (undead) 1940’s private eye searching for revenge and answers after his bizarre resurrection.

If you win the contest, you and 50 of your closest friends will be enjoying a private hometown screening of Halloween late this August, preferably right around Dead Head Fred’s release on August 28, 2007.

Cross marketing is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? In any event, horror fans should jump on this like the undead upon a brain buffet.

Site [Dead Head Fred] Read [Gaming Today]

• Impressed by Patapon 2: Donchaka demo impressions
• The mysterious death of the cursed monitor
• Final farewell to Halloween 2008