VideoGamer.com Rumour mill: April Fool’s Special

Welcome to this special April Fool’s Day Rumour mill round-up. Yes, we know the day of hi-jinks and hilarity was yesterday, but that doesn’t stop us rounding up the best to be found across the video game industry. So which fake stories were good enough to make us laugh and which actually had us believing the lie for a few seconds? Read on to find out.

World of Warcraft: The Molten Core

The Rumour: From the official Molten Core website (another very nice touch from Blizzard): Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announces its long-awaited return to console gaming with World of Warcraft: The Molten Core, a spinoff of the 40-person raid dungeon from its award-winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will allow players to experience the excitement of the hit raid dungeon in a completely new format, with new challenges and new rewards.”

Why it was great: Console gamers have been dying for news on World of Warcraft coming to consoles and for a second this was it. It’s the detail that went into this that really sets it apart though, with an official website, concept art (hilariously compared to the final in-game graphics) and a full trailer. Blizzard has created the most epic game ever and in Molten Core one of the most elaborate gaming pranks of all time.

Laughter Rating: 5/5

The Legend of Zelda Movie

The Rumour: A trailer for a new live action The Legend of Zelda movie, which is due for release April 1, 2009. The trailer depicts Link, Zelda and Gannon, and looks to be a story of epic proportions.

Why it was great: Spoof videos have been done before, as have fan-made productions, but this IGN-made Zelda video blew us away. Sure, we didn’t believe it for a second, but the production quality is far above anything you’re likely to see in other trailers made for fake movies. It’s got costumes, familiar characters and CGI. In many ways it looks better than some low-budget TV shows.

Laughter Rating: 4/5

Rare tells four Banjo porkies and one truth

The Rumour: Rare is known for its sense of humour (it’s a British company after all) so it was no surprise to see some April Fool’s Day fun on Rareware.com. The studio that gave us Banjo Kazooie and Conker had to add its own twist though: one of the five rumours is true!

Rumour One: Banjo and Grunty team up against a new threat, falling in love in the process.

Rumour Two: Kazooie is abducted by aliens and Banjo heads out to search the cosmos.

Rumour Three: Banjo and Kazooie travel back through time in pursuit of the witch’s giant T.I.T.

Rumour Four: Banjo comes out of retirement to stop his home being redeveloped into tower blocks and malls.

Rumour Five: War comes to Spiral Mountain, and Banjo becomes a reluctant leader.

Why it was great: Not only is it an April Fool, but also a chance to do some thinking. Which of the five is real? The best part though is imagining what each of the games would be like if true (read the site for detailed descriptions of each).

Laughter Rating: 5/5

New Xbox products

The Rumour: Microsoft is to release a range of new Xbox products, including the Xbox 360 Wireless Helmet, the Xbox LIVE Board Game, the Xbox 360 Vintage Edition and the Xbox 360 Recon Edition. The helmet is to include a display, 5.1 audio and rumble technology, while the Recon Edition 360 is the toughest console ever made.

Why it was great: We love it when big companies try to be funny and succeed, at least partially. Again, a lot of effort went into this April Fool’s Day joke and the ideas are pretty amusing. We’d have liked the details of the Recon Edition Xbox 360 to have said something along the lines of “RRoD proof” for an added laugh, but props to Microsoft all the same.

Laughter Rating: 4/5

What do you think of the April Fool’s Day rumours? Let us know in the comments section below.