konami posts

The controversial modern military shooter Six Days in Fallujah, once thought to be on ice, is actually still in play and according to one article is ready to be released. IGN reports though unnamed sources that the Atomic Games-developed title that the plan is to still release the game but no release date or publisher has been revealed. It's entirely possible that Atomic Games could release the title on its own via digital download.

Just a reminder on this game's history: Six Days in Fallujah is based on the real battle in the Iraq city during the early days of the current Iraq war. Atomic Games secured a publisher for the title in Konami but after the game was officially revealed last April it got hit with protests from veterans groups who felt the game was going to be exploitative. Konami quickly caved to the protests and severed their publishing contract with Atomic Games. In August rumors hit the internet that the vast majority of Atomic Games' development team was laid off.

This is the playable demo for Puzzle Chronicles, a puzzle role-playing game from Konami.

"Enter the dark and savage lands of the Ashurin Empire as you battle to avenge the atrocities the Empire brought upon your tribesmen. On your challenging quest you will fight fierce beasts and battle hardened warriors with a new puzzle combat mechanics that will test your skills. This new puzzle combat system is based on real time action so players will have to think fast and posses sound strategies to best their opponents."

Download Puzzle Chronicles Demo (387 MB)

This minor patch for PES 2010 (Pro Evolution Soccer) updates the game to v1.03 and makes a few improvements. Continue reading after the jump for a description of the changes. The PES 2010 demo can be downloaded here.

Download Pro Evolution Soccer v1.03 Patch (14 MB)
Download Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Demo (889 MB)

Just in time for the release of Saw VI in movie theaters today comes the long delayed release of the Saw survival horror game for the PC. The title from developer Zombie Studios and publisher Konami, is now available for download via Steam and Direct2Drive. As Big Download reported earlier this month, the PC version of Saw will be a digital download product only and won't be sold in stores in the US, although it now looks like Steam won't be the only digital download site the game will be made available, as we were originally told.

The Saw game, which features many of the types of traps and torture devices that the movies have, was first announced a couple of years ago by the now defunct Brash Entertainment. When that publishing company went belly up, Konami picked up the rights to the game. Now you can grab the game and see if the wait was worth it . . . kind of like that Droid phone that all the kids are talking about.

After a first look reveal on 1Up.com, Konami has now issued their official press release for Rocket Knight, the revival of their classic action game series. The game is set for a downloadable release for the PC and other platforms in 2010.

Konami also released new screenshots from the "2.5D" side-scroller that reunites old-time gamers with the action-pack possum Sparkster. Using his sword and rocket pack, Sparkster will have to battle "a hostile wolf army looming to take the lives of the Zephyrus people." Look for the game to have timed levels and leaderboards for gamers to compare themselves to others.

Download HD Rocket Knight Trailer (18 MB)

Earlier this month Konami released Saw, the horror-action game based on the long running movie series, for the PS3 and Xbox 360. However Konami also announced plans for a PC port of the game. Now the Steam web site is showing that the PC version will be coming to Valve's download service sometime later this month.

The game was developed by Zombie Studios and Big Download has learned that Steam will be the only place North American PC gamers will be able to purchase the Saw port as it will not be made available in retail stores. Konami did the same thing last year when it released the PC version of Silent Hill: Homecoming as a Steam download exclusive.

In the spirit of reviving old game franchises like Monkey Island and Bionic Commando, 1Up.com has the first word on a new version of Rocket Knight, a series from publisher Konami that hasn't had a new entry in 15 years. That will apparently change in early 2010 via a downloadable title from developer Climax for the PC and other platforms.

1Up.com's preview of the game reveals this won't be a graphical remake of a previous Rocket Knight game (a la Bionic Commando Rearmed) but a full fledged sequel set 15 years, natch, after the last game. The lead character Sparkster is back in action in this 2.5 D side-scroller game, complete with his rocket pack and his sword to defeat his many different foes.

This is the playable demo for Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. The full game is expected to release for the PC and console systems in October.

"In PES 2010 you'll find yourself on the largest stage in digital soccer: The Champions League. Imagine you're in a 1-1 tie in stoppage time against Manchester United. You've broken their defense and are sprinting full throttle into a man to man match of wits and reflexes with Edwin van der Sar... Do you have what it takes to punch it in for the win?"

Download Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Demo (889 MB)

It looks like we could be getting a sequel to the 2006 movie adaptation of Konami's Silent Hill game franchise. The Hollywood Reporter has word that Davis Films plans to start filming the sequel to the movie sometime in 2010. Scriptwriter Roger Avary and producer Samuel Hadida will return to their roles for the sequel but there's no word if the movie's original director Christophe Gans will return.

The original movie got mixed reactions from critics but did solid business in both theaters and later on DVD. Avary was also supposed to both write and direct a movie based on id Software's Wolfenstein franchise but there's been no movement on that project since it was announced in 2007. Avary has also been dealing with the repercussions of driving a car that was involved in a crash in 2008 that killed a passenger. Last month Avary pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

Earlier this week Atomic Games admitted that they had let go of an unknown number of their team members after not being able to find a new publisher for their true-to-life military shooter Six Days in Fallujah. Now IndustryGamers is reporting via unnamed sources that the situation may be more than just a few team members being layed off.

According to their source the team, which before the layoffs numbered 75 people at their Raleigh, North Carolina offices, now consists of less than a dozen people. Furthermore, the source claims, "The remaining team is basically a skeleton cleanup crew that will be gone soon too," adding that Atomic Games at this point is "pretty much dead". If all this is true it's a sad ending to both a developer and a proposed game that seemed like it was trying to do something different and got blasted (perhaps needlessly) for doing so.