The ESRB has rated Zeit 2. While we already knew the shooter was coming to Xbox 360 and PC later this year, the rating has outed its publisher -- Ubisoft. Fans of shmups will probably take comfort in reading the description of the game: "This is a side-scrolling shooter game in which players control a bubble-covered spaceship as it shoots waves of enemies and collects power-up items. Stylized enemies disappear in explosions when defeated; one power-up causes all on-screen enemies to explode at once."

What the ESRB doesn't mention is the time-traveling gimmick that Zeit 2 employs. You'll be able to fast-forward time to get through sections of the game more quickly, and rewind time to deal even more damage to your enemies. Not quite making sense? Don't worry, we've embedded the trailer after the break.

Continue reading Zeit 2 time-traveling to PC and 360 via Ubisoft

Zeit 2 time-traveling to PC and 360 via Ubisoft originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy V may not have the most recognizable soundtrack from the series, but we trust that OCRemix's five-part ... remix of the fifth game's score should wedge itself quite nicely in our brainpan. Click here to download the first part of the FFV soundtrack compilation for free.

Continue reading OCRemix releases first part of five-part Final Fantasy V compilation

OCRemix releases first part of five-part Final Fantasy V compilation originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) not only voted against President Obama’s economic stimulus plan (the American Recovery Reinvestment Act), but he also rallied opposition to the bill within his caucus. As soon as the stimulus passed, Blunt went on a tour decrying the bill as an “absolute outrage.” Now as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Blunt is trying to smear his opponent, Democrat Robin Carnahan, for supporting the stimulus. A campaign ad released yesterday by Blunt accuses Carnahan of being a “rubber stamp on Obama’s job-killing agenda.” As the narrator reads the script, the text “CARNAHAN SUPPORTS $814 BILLION FAILED STIMULUS” flashes on the screen.

But like nearly every other member of the Republican caucus, Blunt is trying to have it both ways. Despite Blunt’s assertion that the the stimulus is a complete failure, he has attended multiple groundbreaking ceremonies for stimulus-funded projects. Local Missouri papers have praised Blunt’s role in securing the projects, without noting his efforts to kill their funding. In other cases, he has sent out press releases claiming credit for stimulus-funded programs:

– In July 2009, Blunt attended a groundbreaking for the Neosho National Fish Hatchery in Neosho, Missouri. Earlier that year, the project gained two stimulus grants, one totaling $1.04 million and another for $100,000. Some local media outlets have reported the hypocrisy, while others have not.

– Blunt attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Ozone Disinfection System in the City of Springfield made possible by a $16 million combination low-interest loan and direct grant from the stimulus. As local blogger Jim Lee notes, Blunt’s ceremony unveiling the funding coincided with the one year anniversary of the stimulus. When approached about his opposition to the stimulus, Blunt simply smiled and said “no comment.”

– As FiredUpMissouri reported, Blunt’s office announced $942,000 for homeless assistance programs in Springfield and Joplin in February of 2010. The funds were provided through the stimulus, but Blunt made no mention of the funding source in his release.

As ThinkProgress has documented, Republican lawmakers and even GOP leadership have staked their political fortunes on lying to the public, claiming the stimulus failed to create jobs, while trying to take credit in their home districts for stimulus programs.

Next week's Rock Band DLC represents quite the buffet of artists. Dio's "Holy Diver" and "Stand Up and Shout" are in there, but you'll have to wait until Rock Band 3 to play the band's classic "Rainbow in the Dark." There's also a double-dose of Morrissey with "Irish Blood, English Heart" from his later solo days and "This Charming Man" from The Smiths era. Finally, you'll find tracks from Juliana Hatfield, Silverchair and Underoath. Check out the details after the break.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: Dio, Morrissey and many more

Rock Band Weekly: Dio, Morrissey and many more originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fans of lighter shades of red will be pleased to hear that the typically no-nonsense black (or blue!) DualShock 3 controller will be getting a somewhat whimsical pink paint job later this month. According to a recent Gamestop listing, the wireless controller will retail for the standard $55 and is expected to hit store shelves on September 21.

The listing adds this model is "perfect for female gamers and households with kids," though that statement is rather narrow-minded -- don't you think? It's like, if we were to draw a Venn diagram including "ladies" and "people who would want to play games with a pink controller," there'd probably be a surprisingly small amount of overlap, and then, slightly adjacent to that overlap, there'd be an even smaller circle representing Steven Tyler.

[Thanks, Vallanthaz]

Pink DualShock 3 controller coming September 21 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In case you haven't been following along too much at home, we'll give you the quick recap: The Apple App Store submission and review process has been, historically, something of a total mess. There's been very little consistency in Apple's standards and plenty of app developers (including game developers!) have found themselves on the wrong side of Apple's approval process. But the Big A is looking to change all that. In a public statement, the company says it's looking to "relax some restrictions [it] put in place earlier this year."

What kind of restrictions? "In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code," the statement reads. "This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need." If you don't speak Giant Corporation, let us translate: Developers will be able to use third-party tools like Adobe's Flash CS5 to create iPhone apps. Adobe, surely having thought this was a battle it had already lost, was pleased with Apple's announcement, telling All Things Digital, "We are encouraged to see Apple lifting its restrictions on its licensing terms, giving developers the freedom to choose what tools they use to develop applications for Apple devices."

While Apple may be relaxing those restrictions, it's also going one step further and publishing its "App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps." This new found desire for transparency has already given us an amazing amount of insight into the app review process. For example, did you know Apple has a policy on fart apps? Did you know it was this direct? "We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps." If you insist, Apple!

Check out Engadget for some more great pulls from the Review Guidelines PDF (or snag a copy for your Kindle at the source link below). With the iOS platform becoming an increasingly important (not to mention vibrant!) marketplace for indie games, we're thrilled to see Apple make some difficult, though necessary, steps towards opening up its walled garden. Now we can see if there's a policy against us making a Tower Defense game called Apple's Walled Garden, where you strategically place reviewer-shaped turrets to keep unwelcome apps out.

Apple will 'relax' some iOS development restrictions, notably third-party tools like Flash CS5 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viewing the GOP as “the party of ideas,” Republican Senate candidate Bill Binnie entered the New Hampshire senate race to “add my voice to economic challenges” as a self-described fiscal conservative who believes in a woman’s right to choose. According to Binnie, his pro-choice stance invited “over 1,000 pieces of mail” and threatening phone calls to his home. “We don’t answer our phone anymore,” he said.

In defending his pro-choice stance, he said, “I believe that the individual has the final say, not the government, in terms of how we live our lives.” He added, “There is a fight in my party for individual rights and what it means to be a Republican.” But as the GOP shifts towards a more radical stance, he says “it is a challenge” to “stand in a Republican primary” when the party “has morphed into parts that I don’t recognize”:

“My view of the Republican Party is the party of ideas. It morphed into parts that I don’t recognize. I think it’s one of the debates of my candidacy.” [...]

“I started out in this race to add my voice to economic challenges and my background,” he said. “I didn’t realize, you’re talking about the polarization, I am a centric New Hampshire citizen. I’m fiscally conservative, I’m socially moderate. I’m not an extremist in any way. And yet, as I stand up in a Republican primary, it is a challenge. That’s what I’ve learned from this process in the last few months.

“I went to a debate in Portsmouth and I was the only one when asked are you a social conservative, I said no,” Binnie said. “I couldn’t believe that. Everyone is a fiscal conservative and we all have to be social conservatives? I don’t think we all have to stand on the same square to be a Republican. That’s what this fight in my view has turned into. You could put a piece of paper between the substance of most of our decisions. By any measure I’m a conservative. Just ask my kids.”

Binnie is not the only Republican falling victim to the “hostile takeover” and radicalization of the GOP. The so-called “reasonable Republican” Rep. Bob Inglis criticized Republican leaders for the “lowest form of political leadership” and Tea Party-driven “demagoguery” that is “dividing the country into partisan camps that really look a lot like Shia and Sunni.” Though he received “a 93 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union,” he lost in his primary run-off.

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT), who fell victim to a Tea Party backlash, slammed the GOP for letting tea parties and Fox News lead it by the nose. Echoing Binnie’s sentiments, Bennett noted, “I find plenty of slogans on the Republican side, but not very many ideas.”

TimeGate Studios has just announced a sequel to its multiplayer-focused 2009 multiplatform FPS, Section 8. Titled Section 8: Prejudice, the game -- destined for yet-unknown platforms, though the original hit PC, 360 and PS3 -- is targeted for an "early 2011" release.

Based on the first trailer (which you can find after the break), we're looking at new abilities, locations and weaponry. The title, as the clip's narrator so gruffly puts it, comes from the fact that in the game's universe, wars are being fought based on -- wait for it -- prejudice.

In this universe, we do our best to combat prejudice through tolerance, understanding and generally not pre-judging people. We don't need fancy power-armor, though it's admittedly pretty damn cool.

Continue reading TimeGate judges Section 8: Prejudice ready for debut, 'early 2011' release

TimeGate judges Section 8: Prejudice ready for debut, 'early 2011' release originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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During PAX, Rare unveiled another sport from its upcoming Kinect Sports: boxing. You can see a few snippets of it in the latest trailer, embedded after the break, as well as some new screens. Rare promises that more additional sports will be revealed at TGS next week. Our hope? Ribbon dancing.

Continue reading Kinect Sports trailer enters the boxing ring

Kinect Sports trailer enters the boxing ring originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Atlus has good news and bad news for players looking forward to Knights in the Nightmare, the upcoming strategy RPG-slash-bullet hell shooter getting ported to the PSP. We'll give you the bad news first, since that's usually the way to go: The game isn't coming out on October 19 as planned. Instead, you'll have to wait a few more weeks, as the release date has been moved back to November 9. We know, that probably ruins your pre-Halloween plans, but wait for the good news.

The good news is that Atlus is including a digital copy of Yggdra Union with the purchase of "each and every launch copy" of Knights in the Nightmare. You may not know all about the Dept. Heaven series, so keep in mind that these are the two episodes of the series continuing where Riviera: The Promised Land started out, all produced by Sting Entertainment. In essence, you'll get two obscure Japanese genre mashups for the price of just one. Aren't you glad we told you the bad news first?

Continue reading Knights in the Nightmare arriving on Nov. 9, bringing Yggdra Union along

Knights in the Nightmare arriving on Nov. 9, bringing Yggdra Union along originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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