Beans, beans, they're good for your heart/The more you eat... Deadline Games' Soren Lund talks to Pro-G about the ingredients they packed into Chili Con Carnage, and why they believe this game will set your mouth PSP on fire. Or, as he puts it, "The end result is a full-blown action game that is perfect for the handheld platforms. What better platform than the action-starved PSP?" Indeed.

Chili Con Carnage can be considered as the "spiritual successor" to Total Overdose, rather than a direct sequel, he says. It is, essentially, what Eidos Interactive and Deadline wanted Total Overdose to really be - except with more explosions, more crazy combos, more gameplay, and more beans. Okay, maybe not the beans, though we do know that the US Air Force harnesses their potential energy to power their bunker-busters. And if you believed us on that one, maybe it's time to lay off the enchilada for a while.

Gameplay modes. This is where Deadline packs the meat, and here, we're quoting. Nineteen (19) story missions. Dozens of side missions. A second single-player mode. Two multiplayer modes, each with their own missions. Achievements to unlock by bettering your score. Gold, Silver, or Bronze, by nailing insane combos in each return trip, and so forth...

And the multiplayer: There's Hangman, a one-PSP hot-swap where players take turns trying to get the best score in a given level. Loser in each turn gets a stroke on the Hangman, and when it's all up for one player... quien es mas suxxor? Then there's Fiesta, a four-player ad-hoc simultaneous lovefest where taking down enemies in your arena sends them with your love to the other player's arena, complete with upgrade in difficulty.

(BTW: yeah, we know it's ad-hoc, but there's an advantage when your player is up close and personal instead of across the country. You can play a hallowed game of ad-hoc quien es mas macho wherein the biggest loser of a Chili multiplayer match must endure the blows to the shoulder - or the rear end - of his compadres. See? There is more fun in ad-hoc that way! BTW: for this purpose, we also sell paddles which were made to punish errant Wiimotes. And again: if you took us seriously, man, off the enchilada!)

Finally, expect a game with this much... moxie to shelve and display in "the first few months of 2007". Will it be worth it? First chance we get a copy of it (or a demo), we'll give you our impressions. Okay then. We know you've been holding your beans down long enough.

One of the best things to ever come out for a handheld are puzzle games. They're the easy pick-up-and-play type that's perfect for the on-the-go gamer. Check out most of the homebrew games we've posted. Lots of fun puzzle games there. And when you're talking about puzzle games, one of the more recent fads is that of Sudoku.

We've seen lots of variants of the Japanese logic game (no, it's not a numbers game!). Here's yet another one with its very own unique twist. Zenduko is coming out on Q2 2007 for the PSP and NDS, as published by Eidos Interactive and developed by Zoonami Ltd. If you notice some of the screens, one mode you get to play Sudoku in is, instead of working with numbers, you work with symbols and icons. Another mode? We'll give you a clue: it starts with the letter "M" and rhymes with "ultiplayer." What more do you need for some handheld entertainment?

More puzzle action behind the "Full Article" jump!

These screenshots are totally going to mess up my diet worse than a whole dish of beans wreaking havoc on my gastronomic gas-passing. They're so hot, so spicy, so... strange that it even has a bunch of big burly chicos in women's swimsuits - brings a whole new definition to "hot tamales."

Larger than life Mexican el hombre Ramiro "Ram" Cruz is back from the inner bowels of Los Toros in Total Overdose for the PS2 and now, Eidos Interactive and Deadline Games are bringing the sequel to the PSP. Chili Con Carnage has drug enforcement agent Ram returning in the action-packed spin-off of GTA.

We've got a meaty dose of screens for you today. We've got fat men clucking in a chicken suit, bull-dodging in an arena, helicopter sniping, and the whole craziness of it all. Yeah, it might be a Mexicanized GTA, but that doesn't stop us from being excited for this. The first game was fun as it was, if you're the camp-loving type, and now, it's all back with even more additional knock-offs!

Just check the screens below!

More hot stuff behind the "Full Article" link!

Whoever said that revenge is a dish best served cold obviously never ran across someone like Ramiro Cruz. Here's a guy who believes the opposite - revenge is best served hot and spicy.

Cruz - who first starred in a little game called Total Overdose - is back and out for blood in Chili con Carnage, the latest PSP action-fest from Eidos Interactive. In this sequel of sorts to Total Overdose, Cruz is gunning for drug kingpin Cesar Morales on the streets of Los Toros, Mexico, with the bloodbath taken to new heights via fast and furious combat, crazy over-the-top special moves and an impressive weapons catalog.

CVG recently had the chance to talk to Deadline Games' Soren Lund, Chili con Carnage's producer and game director. One of the things most gamers wanted to know about the game was if any of Total Overdose's key features would be making an appearance in Chili con Carnage. In response, Lund said that the style gameplay of Total Overdose is alive and kicking in Chili con Carnage.

According to Lund, the developers have made it "a much more integrated part of the gameplay, that the player uses the games' different moves and the combo-system to achieve higher and higher scores thus being rewarded with better weapons, dual weapon overdrive, more loco moves, more health, more combo-time etc. etc."

Of course, if Deadline Games is retaining features then they must have changed some things too, right? Here's Lund's response:

There are many things we have changed, omitted, added and refined. The game is a re-invention rather than a port and therefore no stone has been left unturned. The game has been refined to a much more tight and compact action game and all the design decisions have been targeted at achieving that goal. Free roaming between missions has been left out to provide a much more streamlined and focused gameplay experience, for instance. As a minor detail I can mention that it's a brand new story as well.

For more information on Chili con Carnage and what the future has in store for the game's crazy cast, click on the 'read' link below to check out the full interview.

A couple of years back, we were all swept away by the television hit game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Originally developed by British production company Celador, the program has been ported to various countries such as Australia, Russia, Switzerland and the Philippines.

Consistent with what happened to the television show, the videogame version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is set to invade  the PSP, PC and PS2.  Developer Eidos Interactive states today that they are resurrecting their license for the game. Aside from its time-tested format, the U.K.-based company promises to kick the game several notches higher by introducing a cast of crazy characters, new game modes and a fleshed-out multiplayer game.

Would-be players of the new game have the option to choose on-screen contestants, while up to four people can simultaneously compete in the multiplayer format. The multiplayer option offers new modes including Quick Fire Round, Millionaire Party and Play or Pass.

WWTBAM is set to be released this coming December on all platforms just in time for the holiday season.

   

Eidos Interactive has confirmed that Championship Manager 2007 will be released on the PS2, Xbox 360, and the PSP in the first quarter of 2007. This installation promises to be totally new in terms of the look and the intuitive control system, making it even more playable than before.

For the Xbox 360, there will be the Xbox Live in Online Battle Mode Matches where players can battle it out with each other head-to-head. You can also download season data, as well as new Challenges. You can even compare your Manager Profile and Achievement Points with your friends online. Same thing goes for the PSP version. There's the Battle Mode via wi-fi play where you can go one-on-one with friends in friendly competition.

For Championship Manager 2007, managers are now given the ability to design their own set piece drills on the tactics pitch and then use them in a match. Apart from this, they could now also interact with the teams by giving motivational talks both before and during matches.

Additional features are as follows:

• several Challenge Modes
• traditional 20-season play mode
• behind the scenes
• intense backroom staff of improvements:
• comprehensive new transfer system that allows intricate player negotiations
• innovative and dynamic news and media system
• comprehensive player and club data
• a refined match AI system
• 2 new English leagues: Conference North and South
  

   

You guys remember just the other day when we posted videos of Martian Manhunter and Diana strutting their stuff? We had a couple of commenters that spoke of extremes about the game:

• that looks gay says: "this game looks gay. it really does look retarded."
• Uzumaki-Kun explains: "That game looks like it has ALOT of potential.. music wasn't annoying, physics looked good, gameplay looked good..."

Mixed feelings about Justice League Heroes, eh? Well, maybe this will settle some squabbles among you guys. There are two vids. The first one is where the developers are talking about how they approached making the game and why they designed it so. The writer also talks about what makes the "Justice League" comic series a good video game. The second video features the voices behind the characters. The voice-actors all talk about how their characters. It's not the same as that of the cartoon series, but it seems as if they're just as good. We're impressed.

Download: [Justice League Heroes developers' interview]
Download: [Justice League Heroes voice-actors' interview]

Pre-order: [Justice League Heroes]

Eidos Interactive has teamed up with developer Zoonami Ltd. to bring us yet another title to add to our growing list of puzzle handheld games.

The upcoming game, entitled Zendoku, will offer both single-player and wireless multi-player modes, and will combine action with Sudoku Gridmaster gameplay. According to IGN, the colorful characters in this puzzle game will be set against a Far Eastern backdrop with a bit of a martial arts theme.

Players will be required to attack or defend against a challenger, or work under extreme time pressures while trying to complete one of the game's puzzle permutations. Other than that, not much details have been revealed by either of the two companies. But Matt Gorman, Director of Marketing for EI, says, "Zendoku brings a new and fresh perspective to the enormously popular Sudoku puzzle craze."

Zoonami's CEO Martin Hollis also boasts that what they've basically done is turn your good old paper-and-pencil game into an interactive "puzzling, battling, micro-gaming, fighting extravaganza." As we said, information on the game is still scarce and no official release date has been announced. We will keep you posted for more updates.

Ramirez Cruz is one angry Mexican. He lives in the somewhat disreputable town of Los Toros. Ramirez Cruz does not eat Chili con Carne for breakfast, lunch nor supper. He wants something more spicy and hotter. What Ramirez wants is Chili con Carnage.

Such is the title of the upcoming high action title from Eidos Interactive. The UK-based publisher-developer is well known for successful series such as Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain and Hitman among others. For their latest shooter game, Eidos ask the help of Deadline Games.

In case you are wondering just how Ramirez Cruz is angry, Deadline Games CEO Chris Mottes shares: "It's the biggest explosion frequency and the highest takedown rate you will ever experience on the PSP." All in all, the game offers 19 missions across 7 different locations plus four game modes. Also, characters include mustachioed mercenaries, megalomaniacal crime-lords and chemically mutated super-Mama’s.

Chili con Carnage is currently under development and we will be sure to update you as soon as new details about the game come out.