Its Monday, July 25^th and here is what is making news today:  CoD used for combat training, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Bulletstorm, Hello Kitty meets Street Fighter, 3DS downloads video sleeping, PixelJunk Monsters, The Island of Dr. Momo.

CoD used for combat training

By the men accused in the Norway massacre

A 1,500 page manifesto recommending the use of Call of Duty to train combat skills for a war with Islam was linked to the accused shooters in the recent Norway massacre.

One of the accused also mentioned the game Modern Warfare 2 stating “I see MW2 more as a part of my training-simulation than anything else….You can more or less completely simulate actual operations.”

There hasn’t been official confirmation that the manifesto is from the accused, however, it does have several references to his name, height, weight, place of origin and other personal data.  He is in custody after the attacks outside of Oslo last Friday where seven were killed by a bomb and 85 were shot at a youth camp.  I’ve not used his name because I choose not to give him any notoriety, the act he perpetrated was horrific.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Sneak peek for PS3 owners

If you own a PS3 you will get a little sampling of the fighting game, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, this fall.  The upcoming Tekken Hybrid will include a prologue version of the arcade game, basically a demo version of the game.  You will also get the CG animated feature Tekken: Blood Vengeance with the Tekken Hybrid Blu-ray.  There still isn’t an official date on when Tekken Hybrid will be out for the PS3, however, it is expect by the end of the year.

Bulletstorm

Not a moneymaker

Bulletstorm had a massive advertising campaign, yet it ended up being a bit of a dud when it came to sales following its February release.  Even Mike Capps, the President for Epic Games stated it didn’t turn out to be a moneymaker as they had hoped.  The game was even packaged with Gears of War 3 beta access.  One thought is that the game lacked a competitive multiplayer mode, somewhat unheard of for a first person shooter.

Hello Kitty meets Street Fighter

A new merchandise team up

Somehow connecting Street Fighter with Hello Kitty just seems, well odd, yet Capcom has recently announced a merchandise partnership with Sanrio, the creator of Hello Kitty.  The merchandise is described as featuring Hello Kitty dressed in Street Fighter costumes.  Joshua Izzo, Capcom’s director of licensing, stated “Capcom has long admired Sanrio and their ability to create memorable and cherished lifestyle brands so it is a distinct pleasure to partner with them for this new cross-over line of merchandise,” he added that “The combination of Street Fighter and Hello Kitty will offer fans a whole new way to experience our characters.”

3DS downloads video while sleeping

Nintendo Video service

The 3D video service that Nintendo promised after it brought us Netfix streaming to the 3DS is finally here.  Nintendo Video, as its called, is an app now available on the eStore and will download 3D video content using SpotPass anytime the 3DS is connected to the internet, even while its in sleep mode.

Currently there are four videos available including a Captain America: The First Avenger trailer and a brief explination of what Nintendo Video is.  The bottom screen gives you access to pause, seek and go back to the menu while the top screen plays the video content.  Within the next few weeks more content will be added such as more 3D movie trailers, music videos, independent animations, extreme sports and much more.

PixelJunk Monsters

Soon free to play on your browser

Its been a while since we have heard anything from the tower defense PixelJunk Monsters series, and now, suddenly, we get an announcement that there will be a new free to play browser version.  The game will be for social networks and have a new world map, the art style will have a few changes but the basic tower defense aspect of the game will be the same.  Don’t expect the game to be any easier just because it is free to play however.  There will be a new co-op mode announced later in the year and if it does well, it may move to other platforms.  A release date has yet to be announced.

The Island of Dr. Momo

New game by Keiji Inafune, formerly of Capcom

After leaving Capcom, Keiji Inafune has been busy working a new game.  It will be a free to play game on mobile titled The Island of Dr. Momo.  You play the role of Dr. Momo, who has an affection for cute things and tried to create the cutest thing in the world.  That really is all we know so far about the game other then it will be available for iOS and Android devices in Japan this fall, no word yet on when it will be available to the rest of us.