Pandemic Studios were known for their excellent properties; most notability the the Star Wars: Battlefront series. However, sadly, it was revealed this morning that the studio would be closing its doors for good, something that comes as a huge surprise seeing Pandemic Studios were one of Electronic Arts’ major developers.

That said, EA has since confirmed that it did send out the order to terminate Pandemic. But, don’t worry, EA hasn’t complete gotten rid of the team. According to the publisher, the “core IP team” has been moved to their Los Angeles office, including Andrew Goldman, formerly the studio’s CEO; Josh Resnick, formerly the studios president; and Greg Borrud, vice president of product development.

“Today we informed employees at Pandemic that development on all the Pandemic franchises is being consolidated at EALA. As a result, we are eliminating roughly 200 positions at Pandemic,” said EA vice president of corporate communications, Jeff Brown. “That said, EA is very committed to the Pandemic brand, and a core team of Pandemic developers will be developing existing franchises and other projects at EALA.”

This holiday season is a huge one for video games; with games selling a number of millions within weeks or, even, a day. However, there are a good number of “underdogs” within this holiday season, who sadly have little public awareness – therefore, they’re producers of low sales. But, it seems that these two underdogs (Brutal Legend and DJ Hero) are, actually, doing very will for their first month on the market.

Released on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Brutal Legend sold over 215,000 units in the month of October, compared with DJ Hero’s 122,300 units on the 360, PS3, Wii, and PlayStation 2 within the same month. Which is, somewhat, a surprise seeing that, one, they’re both holiday underdogs and, two, DJ Hero’s prices range from $100-$200, $200 being the games “Renegade Edition” – the highest edition.

OCTOBER US SALES:

1. Brutal Legend (360) – 150,000 units
2. Brutal Legend (PS3) – 66,000 units
3. DJ Hero (360) – 62,000 units
4. DJ Hero (PS3) – 39,000 units
5. DJ Hero (Wii) – 19,000 units
6. DJ Hero (PS2) – 3,300 units

[Thanks to GameSpot]

No Doubt is suing Activision for un-permitted use of their avatars within Band Hero, and they’re seeking damages for their avatars being turned into “virtual karaoke players”.

The band argues that it “agreed to place avatars containing their name and likeness performing three No Doubt songs”. However, the band never allowed use of their avatars beyond their three songs within the game; Band Hero allows their use in more than 60 other songs – along with that, individual band members can be “isolated into solo performances of these cover songs and placed randomly in countless variations”.

“Activision has deceived and confused the public into believing that No Doubt authorized the use of its name and likeness for the Character Manipulation Feature of Band Hero and that No Doubt approves and endorses the appearance of its members individually performing songs that are wholly inappropriate and out of character for No Doubt,” reads the complaint. We’ve contacted Activision to get its side of the story.

The very first chapter of Dragon Age Journeys, a free to play browser based game set in the Dragon Age world, entitled “The Deep Roads” is now available for download, EA announced today. In “The Deep Roads“, players will uncover a “dastardly plot that threatens to unleash a great evil that won’t stop until it destroys all living things”.

You can play Journeys here:  www.dragonagejourneys.com (we’ve been informed that it will be up and running at noon PST [3:00PM EST], sorry).

“Dragon Age Journeys sets the stage for Dragon Age: Origins,” said Mark Darrah, Executive Producer, Dragon Age: Origins. “The team has shown the Dragon Age Franchise in a bold new light and the release of this game allows a broad audience of players to discover our dark fantasy universe for the first time.”

Dragon Age Journeys is produced by a new browser-based production team at EA and an all-star team of independent development talent, with the goal of creating premium quality browser games. Dragon Age Journeys will features intense tactical combat, a compelling story and deep customization.

Electronic Arts revealed today that the Need for Speed franchises has surpassed 100 Million units sold worldwide – making the Need for Speed franchise the best-selling racing brand in the gaming history. Along with that, the publisher also revealed that the franchise has generated a total of 2.7 billion in sales.

“Few video game franchises ever reach the 100M units mark, so this is a huge honor. We have millions of fans to thank for driving us to this milestone,” said Frank Gibeau, president, EA Games Label. “With the launch of Need for Speed Shift and the upcoming release of Need for Speed Nitro, we hope to continue to deliver the most entertaining, action-packed racing experiences.”

EA also noted that if Need for Speed boxes were laid out end-to-end, it would span 173,609 football fields. With that said, in all, the Need for Speed brand brought us 15 titles for over 14 platforms, which were released in 22 languages in more than 60 countries.

Let’s skip the small talk, shall we? Epic Mickey is a tale about the ‘forgotten’ Disney stars: the rides, the characters, the lesser-known cartoons, a source close to EuroGamer reveals. When no one no longer cares about them, they’re cast into a dark void; a forgotten world of broken machines and bitter personalities.

This void is run by Oswald the Rabbit – Walt Disney’s first creation – and Oswald’s jealousy of Mickey Mouse has tormented him for years. Now, Oswald is ready for revenge. To help him with this task, Oswald unleashes The Phantom Blot to wipe out Mickey and his cartoon world. The Blot pollutes the Disney universe with sticky black ink that makes colors run and fade, so it’s up to Mickey to restore peace and order.

This is where Mickey’s new tools – paintbrushes, erasers, thinner, pencils and other artist tools – come in. Mickey has to draw and scribble his way through levels, mending broken bridges by applying the right color paint or peering through walls after applying thinner. He can even clear rubble from his path by erasing parts of the world, which all can be down with the Wii Motion Control.

The source tells EuroGamer that Epic Mickey is a game about thinking and artwork – laterally considering your environment in order to overcome puzzles. Also that, Mickey will be getting “his first makeover in years”. “That’s why no one’s seen his face yet,” their source explains. “But he’s far more retro than you’ve seen him for years.”

During Microsoft’s E3 ‘09 keynote, they revealed the long awaited and rumored sequel, Crackdown 2. However, it isn’t until now – the Tokyo Game Show – that we’re getting to see the first pair of screenshots, and, well, they’re freaking amazing.

[Show as slideshow]

Today, Nintendo confirmed that the Nintendo Wii, “the world’s most popular home video game system”, will receive a price cut. The price cut will take effect on September 27 in the United States, and, as advertised, the console will drop down to $199.99 – which is exactly $50 less then the current price of $249.99.

“Wii has reached more video game players than any game system before because it attracts everyone—both men and women, and people of all ages,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. ”Our research shows there are 50 million Americans thinking about becoming gamers, and this more affordable price point and our vast array of new software mean many of them can now make the leap and find experiences that appeal to them, whatever their tastes or level of gaming experience.”

In an interview with 1UP, Jun Takeuchi, Resident Evil 5 producer, stated that other developers are happy about Sony’s wand motion controller technology because it’s now possible for Wii games to be ported onto the PlayStation 3.

“Speaking to other developers in Japan, I’ve heard a few of them say they were delighted by the Sony motion controller because they can just port over their Wii titles to the PS3,” Takeuchi told 1UP. However, this doesn’t confirmed that Capcom’s working on a Wii-to-PS3 port, but this opens the room for a No More Heroes port on PlayStation 3.

Looks like Joe Wilson isn’t the only one shouting “you lie!” In a response to Courtney Love’s allegations of suing the “S” out of Activision because of Kurt Cobain’s likeliness being used in Guitar Hero 5, Activision pushed out a statement, stating that Courtney Love is lying.

“Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero(r) 5,” states Activision to Joystiq. However, in the original report, it said that Activision played a “Bully['s] part”, and that she never gave her approval for Kurt Cobain to be used in Guitar Hero 5. Anyway, it looks like someone has some explaining to do.

Like if you needed more of a reason to watch all of the information that will be coming out of the Tokyo Game Show this year. According to the Examiner, Capcom, one of the biggest game publishers and developers to date, has been teasing on it Twitter of the new titles that it will be revealing at the Tokyo Game Show this year.

“Hard at work on Tokyo Game Show plans,” said the publisher via its twitter feed. “Several new games to be announced in Japan, lots of new content for [Lost Planet 2], [Tatsunoko vs. Capcom], [and Dead Rising 2]. Exciting!” Tokyo Game Show 2009 will be held from September 24 to the 27.

Talk about something not great for kids. Brutal Legend is all about the rock, the cars, hot chicks and demonic forces. Surprisingly, that sums up the 64 kilometer world that is Brutal Legend, a giant landscape filled with essentially rock album cover art, headbangers, giant guitar swords and, inevitably, the occasional cute animal that makes a funny sound when run over.

As Eddie Riggs, or Jack Black since that’s who we’re all really playing as, except with better hair and strangely large chest and broad shoulders, it’s the player’s job to bring order back to the world of rock. How you get there, what you’re doing, who the hot chicks are and where they roam…important, but not for your eyes now.

Brutal Legend is like Ratchet and Clank, except replace the sci-fi world for a down-and-dirty, and I might say awesome looking Earth-ish landscape, Ratchet’s little wrench for a giant axe and an electrifying guitar, and Clank for the occasional hot chick. Oh, and remove the platforming for an open-world feel, and get rid of the kiddy humor for something a little less tasteful, and a lot funnier.

It could be that Ozzie makes an appearance in the demo, helping players make the car Eddie puts together in ten seconds flat into something more respectable. Add on chainguns, art, an engine so big that it blocks the view from the steering wheel…you name it, it can probably be stacked on top of whatever’s on the car already.

So far, the first 15 minutes of the game were not as funny or exciting as I’d hoped. Then again, the insane standard I have, especially when I think a game will be great, doesn’t help in the slightest. Neither does the fact that it was only the first 15 minutes and I wasn’t impressed by the dialog or action incredibly. Then again, the developer commentaries I watched were more interesting, so perhaps it’s only a slow start to a much more exciting game, which I hope and expect. I mean, there’s a list of rock legends doing voice work, Jack Black to make me laugh, and eventually a completely open world to explore and, hopefully tarnish and destroy if it hasn’t been already.

Would I say I was disappointed by the demo? Eh, no. Demos can never be perfect, regardless of who makes them, and I appreciate that. It sucks I wasn’t on the floor, clutching my sides because the GAME WAS SO FUNNY HAHA, but hey, nobody’s perfect. It’s a good warmup, to the full game, so we’ll see if it leaves us hanging, or goes all the way, this Rocktober

Donating sales in Japan, Dragon Quest IX has yet to see the bread its success, but if you had yours eye fixated on when you’ll see the game in North America, I have some very important news for you. According to the president of Square Enix, Yoichi Wada, they’ll being looking into bringing Dragon Quest overseas sometime next year.

This news comes when talking about the company’s performance in the first period of the new financial year. However, Dragon Quest has never been an overly popular franchise in North America. It looks like with all its success in Japan, Square Enix may seems to spark interest in North America.

EA CEO John Riccitiello is known for his opinions, which are often controversial, and in his latest outburst, it’s no different. During EA’s Q1 conference call, Riccitiello stated that a price cut will move more hardware, and that they’ll like to see a cut later this year.

“We think pricing will move hardware,” he said. “We anticipate price cuts at some point and we’d like to see them later in the year.” However, so far, the Xbox 360 is the only system to see major price cuts. But, Nintendo hasn’t hinted at a price drop since the sales of its consoles have been going strong, and, recently, Sony has been in the spotlight about thier comments of a price drop for the PlayStation 3. We cant help, but think the comment may have been a clue to Sony to drop the price of its console soon.

Anyway, EA is a big player in the gaming industry and are convinicing enough to change minds of a console manufacturer like Sony. However, if you don’t remember. A few months back, Activision threatened Sony about the price of the PS3, and the lack of a price cut.

It goes without saying that movie games suck. They do. If you’ve ever purchased one, you know that nine out of ten times, you regret that purchase, and the ten remaining percent you can’t decide whether it was actually worthwhile, or not. While it’s bad enough the GI Joe movie looks like it could very well be crap nobody wants to see, the game has remained a bit more mysterious. Until now.

The GI Joe game is similar to the recently released Wolverine title; players pick a character from the GI Joe universe and fight off bad guys. It’s much more linear, so everything is literally pointing you where to go, like Advent Rising, except without the openness. It is, in fact, an extremely closed game, but playing it by yourself is the reason why it would feel ridiculous.

GI Joe is meant to be played cooperatively. Or, more specifically, competitively for points. Two players are supposed to, with different characters utilizing different strengths and weaknesses, gather as many points as possible by fighting off the enemy, finding secrets, and stealing kills. This is tremendous fun, especially when your adversary can hear your roar of victory.

In my play-test, I wielded a sword and a pathetic pistol, while my opponent had a giant gun. Because I learned everything mentioned earlier while playing, I ran around shooting everything, and slashing the occasional bad guy when they came near. Only then did I realize my opponent had double the points I did, because his bigger gun was just wrecking the playing field. No fair!

The rest of the game was I playing catch up, and I did. I slashed everyone and everything, shot last-second and guys who had no health and stole kills like a 10 year old playing Halo 2. At one point, the developer told us both to push the Y button, and suddenly both our guns got a massive boost for a cooperative strike. Giant tanks started rolling in and we were dodging equally giant rounds that would look unseemly in the tight clothes our characters wore.

After all this, GI Joe is fun. By yourself…I can only imagine how lonely one must be to play a cooperative game alone, not even competing against an AI. As someone who didn’t grow up with GI Joe because Transformers was better, I didn’t get all the references, which the developer pointed out each and every time, to which I insincerely nodded “oh yes, I remember that. Fond memories!” Like a rail shooter, it’s fun in a quick-action sort of way, and like Wolverine, you can sit back and relax while tearing the guts out of, well, just about anything. Plus it’s great for kids!

Speaking exclusively to Gamesindustry.biz, Ubisoft Game Designer Michael de Plater acknowledges that the festive holiday season is a “brutal” duration to release new IPs and that many good games could fall wayside as a result.

“It’s a bit tough to launch a new IP exactly at Christmas when you’re head-to-head with blockbuster sequels. It’s interesting to see a number of big titles, like Heavy Rain, being targeted at 2010 to avoid the Christmas rush,” he explained. “And Ubisoft’s got Ruse coming out in 2010. Even God of War 3’s in 2010, that’s how brutal it is. I mean, you’ve got Assassins Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2.”

“To me, it’s been a period of enormous change, and the last four years I would say has been the time when games have actually surpassed movies as the premium blockbuster entertainment,” he continues.

Speaking of, the summer is basically an empty season for video games. I don’t know why developers and publishers can’t just space things out because, like I said, the summer season is basically empty for video games.

Activision have unveiled the full song-list for Guitar Hero 5. The list is full of hits from artists such as Megadeth, Blink 182, and 3 Doors Down. Anyway, it’s not a terrible list for a GH game, but its contents came as no surprise. When Guitar Hero 5 ships this September, your inner rock star will be able to rock to its heart’s content with this explosive set-list, including the following tracks:

Newly Announced:

• 3 Doors Down – “Kryptonite”
• Arctic Monkeys – “Brianstorm”
• Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
• Dire Straits – “Sultans Of Swing”
• Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed American”
• Johnny Cash – “Ring Of Fire”
• Megadeth – “Sweating Bullets”
• Mötley Crüe – “Looks That Kill”
• Muse – “Plug In Baby”
• Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
• Queen & David Bowie – “Under Pressure”
• Stevie Wonder – “Superstition”
• The Killers – “All The Pretty Faces”
• The Raconteurs – “Steady As She Goes”
• TV On The Radio – “Wolf Like Me”

Previously Announced:

• A Perfect Circle – “Judith”
• AFI – “Medicate”
• Attack! Attack! UK – “You And Me”
• Band Of Horses – “Cigarettes, Wedding Bands”
• Beastie Boys – “Gratitude”
• Beck – “Gamma Ray”
• Billy Idol – “Dancing With Myself”
• Billy Squier – “Lonely Is The Night”
• Blur – “Song 2″
• Bob Dylan – “All Along The Watchtower”
• Bon Jovi – “You Give Love A Bad Name”
• Brand New – “Sowing Season (Yeah)”
• The Bronx – “Six Days A Week”
• Bush – “Comedown”
• Children Of Bodom – “Done With Everything, Die For Nothing”
• Coldplay – “In My Place”
• Darker My Love – “Blue Day”
• Darkest Hour – “Demon(s)”
• David Bowie – “Fame”
• Deep Purple – “Woman From Tokyo (’99 Remix)”
• The Derek Trucks Band – “Younk Funk”
• The Duke Spirit – “Send A Little Love Token”
• Duran Duran – “Hungry Like The Wolf”
• Eagles Of Death Metal – “Wannabe In L.A.”
• Elliott Smith – “L.A.”
• Elton John – “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)”
• Face To Face – “Disconnected”
• Garbage – “Only Happy When It Rains”
• Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
• Gov’t Mule – “Streamline Woman”
• Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re An American Band”
• Iggy Pop – “Lust For Life (Live)”
• Iron Maiden – “2 Minutes To Midnight”
• Jeff Beck – “Scatterbrain (Live)”
• John Mellencamp – “Hurts So Good”
• Kaiser Chiefs – “Never Miss A Beat”
• King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man”
• Kings Of Leon – “Sex On Fire”
• Kiss – “Shout It Out Loud”
• Love and Rockets – “Mirror People”
• My Morning Jacket – “One Big Holiday”
• Nirvana – “Lithium (Live)”
• No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend”
• Peter Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do? (Live)”
• The Police – “So Lonely”
• Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring the Noise 20XX”
• Queens Of The Stone Age – “Make It Wit Chu”
• Rammstein – “Du Hast”
• The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy For The Devil”
• Rose Hill Drive – “Sneak Out”
• Rush – “The Spirit Of Radio (Live)”
• Santana – “No One To Depend On (Live)”
• Scars On Broadway – “They Say”
• Screaming Trees – “Nearly Lost You”
• Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
• Sonic Youth – “Incinerate”
• Spacehog – “In The Meantime”
• Sublime – “What I Got”
• Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
• T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
• The Sword – “Maiden, Mother & Crone”
• Thin Lizzy – “Jailbreak”
• Thrice – “Deadbolt”
• Tom Petty – “Runnin’ Down A Dream”
• Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl”
• Vampire Weekend – “A-Punk”
• Weezer – “Why Bother?”
• The White Stripes – “Blue Orchid”
• Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”
• Wolfmother – “Back Round”

There is pretty much a good mix of everything featured throughout this list. I strongly suggest the game if you’re your 70’s and 80’s rocker because that seems to be what it’s most composed of. Once again, the game will ship on September 1st and it will offer downloadable tracks after its release.

As reported by so many sources stating that Gearbox maybe working on the next Halo project, which was unofficially titled Halo 4. It seems that you may scratch Gearbox off the list of developers that are making the next Halo title because on the official twitter account for Halo Waypoint, it confirmed that the developer is not involved in any upcoming Halo projects.

“For the record, Gearbox is NOT working on a Halo title for Microsoft,” the twitter feed read.

Microsoft was e-mail by IGN to confirmed this.

UbiSoft briefly mentioned in their financial report today that several of their major upcoming titles have been delayed. Yes, including Conviction.

Anyway, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Red Steel 2, both of which were slotted for holiday 09 releases, have now been pushed into early 2010. And, in other news, I Am Alive and Ghost Recon 4 were, unluckily, hit with even bigger delays, pushing them into UbiSoft’s 2010-11 fiscal year, which means a release in April of 2010 at the absolute earliest.

“We are disappointed that we have to postpone the release of several major games but we consider that this choice is the best one in the long-term interests of Ubisoft,” reads the publisher’s latest financial report.

Forever. Sadly, that’s how long THQ and Jakks Pacific have been fighting over the net rate sales associated their WWE video game series, more pacifically back in 2006 when the net rate increased. Today, that conflict has been settled, declaring THQ the winner.

“As we expected, we have prevailed in this matter,” said James M. Kennedy, THQ’s executive VP of business and legal affairs, in a statement. “We are gratified the arbitrator agreed the preferred return rate to Jakks Pacific on WWE video games will be significantly lower.”

With the net rate now set at 6 percent, THQ will pay Jakks Pacific $34 million for the period between July 1, 2006 and March 31, 2009, which is 23 million less than what it would have owed if it was settled in Jakks favor. Now, at least they can find means on something.

With the release of the sequel soon underway, there’s no doubt that there’s going to be a video game tie-in. However, with the first Iron Man video game, the story wasn’t well represented. This is what brings us to this announcement.

SEGA announced today that renowned comic book author, Matt Fraction will be creating the game’s all-new storyline, including familiar elements from both the movie and comic book universe, for Iron Man 2.

Iron Man 2, the video game, allows players to truly feel the power of Iron Man with new destructible environments, epic enemies, and innovative hand-to-hand combat moves, as well as other features from the film and comic book.

Iron Man 2 will exclusively offer fans a chance to play against enemies such as the unforgettable Crimson Dynamo, not found in the film.

“Iron Man 2 presented me with the challenge and opportunity to work with both SEGA and Marvel on creating something wholly unique- a story that exists at the cross-roads of the comic I write, the film universe which I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute to, and a wholly- immersive interactive experience like a game,” says Fraction.

“A game presents an entirely new challenge, where the audience/consumer/player engages with the world, with the big and small aspects of the place and characters. They’re a co-conspirator in the narrative. I hope it’s as exciting and challenging to play as it was to write.”

Activision are building a new studio in San Francisco. And, believe it or not, they need people to work there. So they have picked up two of Visceral Games’ senior staff member.

According to Kotaku, Activision got their hands on Glen Schofield, who was general manager at Visceral, and Michael Condrey, who was chief operating officer.

They both left today.  To go onto work at Activision’s new studio, whose name and purpose are a mystery. However, I bet we can rule out anything “family friendly”. Seeing that EA’s Visceral Games worked on such games as Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.

[Dead Space Devs Jump Ship To Activision via Kotaku]

Tim Schafer, once again, walks us through the realm that is Brütal Legend, but this time he’s joined by Lee Petty, Art Director on Brütal Legend, and Erik Robson, Lead Designer on Brütal Legend, to give us 22 minutes of Heavy Metal.

“Holy crap!” exclaimed Schafer when announcing the title, “I have been dreaming about this day for fifteen years. And now it is finally here. We’ve gathered small clues over the years about the Age of Metal, in songs, t-shirts, and album covers. But now we have uncovered the metal mother lode, the full legend of what actually happened in that loud and heavy era, and we are the lucky ones who get to tell the tale.”

It’s a good news/bad news situation, depending on how you view it: if you pre-ordered the game for as a Christmas gift, it’s bad. If it’s one of the many games on your Christmas shopping list, and you’re short on holiday money, it’s good – but not all that good.

Yesterday, Take-Two Interactive announced that BioShock 2 won’t be releasing within the company’s fourth quarter, as previously planned. BioShock 2 has instead been pushed up to the “first half” of 2010.

“The decision to shift a release date is never an easy one, especially with a product as highly anticipated as BioShock 2,” said Take-Two CEO Ben Feder. “We felt that it was essential to invest the additional time to ensure that this title will deliver what its fans expect and deserve.”

However, the move is worst for the company’s current fiscal year, which ends on October 31, but good news for its 2010 fiscal year, said Jesse Divnich, director of analyst services at Electronic Entertainment Design & Research in Carlsbad, Calif.

“I expect them to dominate fiscal 2010,” Divnich said. “BioShock 2, Max Payne 3, Red Dead Redemption, Mafia II, additional Grand Theft Auto Downloadable Content (DLC), and the possible launch of Agent should make fiscal 2010 the year of Take-Two. As far as I am concerned, Take-Two is just moving numbers from one financial year to another.”

[Bioshock 2 delayed; Take-Two's stock takes a hit via LA Times]

This holiday season we’re going to have to dig deep into our pockets to find the money for buying video games, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Brutal Legend, and Assassin’s Creed II. But, the developers behind Heavy Rain want their project to be really successful. And have push the game back beyond the holiday rush.

When speaking to GI.biz in a interview, Quantic Dream co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere stated that the Holiday ‘09 release date for Heavy Rain was “a very crowded place”. As an affect, they have pushed Heavy Rain into 2010.

“Purely from my perspective, most publishers today realise that it’s not ideal to release a new IP or a new genre just before Christmas,” he said in the interview. “It’s a very crowded place to be, and certain games need more space to live their life. Everybody at working on the project, both at Quantic and Sony, believe this is the right time.”

More info should be revealed during Gamescom in Cologne next month on its new release date.

During the latest episode of GameTrailers TV, Geoff Keighley and the team at Visceral Games revealed the first ever gameplay trailer for their upcoming title Dante’s Inferno. Now, enough talking about it, it’s time to show.

“The time is right for the world of interactive entertainment to adapt this literary masterpiece, and to re-introduce Dante to an audience that, until now, may have been unfamiliar with the remarkable details of this great work of art,” said Jonathan Knight, executive producer for Dante’s Inferno. “It’s the perfect opportunity to fuse great gameplay with great story.”

Namco Bandai has announced that its secured exclusive North American rights to publish all future Dragon Ball titles “across all major consoles and handhelds” for the next five years, beginning in January 2010.

Along with this, Namco Bandai has secured the right to initially publish three Dragon Ball titles in 2009, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo exclusively for Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans exclusively for Nintendo DS.

“We are very excited to have signed this long term agreement with Toei Animation Co., Ltd and FUNimation Entertainment, which grants Namco Bandai Games North American multi-platform rights to the testosterone-driven, action-packed world of Dragon Ball,”said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Namco Bandai Games America Inc..

“This move reunites Namco Bandai Games with the Dragon Ball series in North America which will considerably increase our ability to develop titles that perfectly capture every nuance of what makes the Dragon Ball world exciting to the consumer.”

Grease gets summer loving from 505 Games and Paramount Digital Entertainment with the announcement that 505 Games has secured the global publishing rights for a video game based on the original high school musical. The game will be will oversee and publish for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

The Grease video game will allow players to sing and dance alongside Danny, Sandy, The Pink Ladies and the T-Birds. The game will take full advantage of the Nintendo Wii’s motion-sensing controls and microphone, and the DS’s touch screen to create exciting gameplay for casual and family gamers eager to experience Grease in a new medium.

“We are really excited about working with Paramount Digital Entertainment to turn this world famous film into a video game for the very first time. Working with such a well known and much loved brand is a great opportunity and we believe the collaboration further strengthens 505 Games’ entertainment portfolio,” commented Ian Howe, Managing Director 505 Games.

“Paramount Digital Entertainment is pleased to be working with 505 Games to develop Grease,” said John Kavanagh, Senior Vice President of Video Games for Paramount Digital Entertainment. “Grease is the ideal opportunity to reach a broad gaming audience who love to sing, dance and have fun with a party-style game.”

Last year, EA release some very interesting new titles; raging from parkour to mutant space creatures. The key to success? Hardly, because EA seems to think that, that was its down fall in 2008.

“I think in the spirit of your question, I think we launched too many new IPs all at once in Q3,” said EA’s Frank Gibeau in an interview with Gamasutra.

“I would have spread them out and found better windows for them. I would have had longer marketing for them. The marketing cycles were fairly short. We didn’t have enough assets to really build the fanbase, build the community, and get that long lead demand built,” he continued.

“So I probably in hindsight would have picked a couple different windows for Dead Space and Mirror’s Edge.”

In the shadow of Gibeau’s statement, yes!!! If their titles had more time to develope a stronger fan base, the sales would have seen a increase, along with, stronger interest. Just look at Valkyria Chronicles.

Movie based games normally aren’t as good as they appear, but when a developer gets that movie and game combination just right, they can amaze everyone with their final product. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is just that kind of game, but instead of some hand-me-down PG-13 character, you get a Wolverine that stays true to Wolverine. Because of this, “the kiddies” can’t take on this role of Wolverine – thanks to some very brutal decapitations – but that just sucks for them.

Following events from the film, the game tosses you in into the tattered white tank top of Weapon X in a setting all too familiar from the movie. However, X-Men Origins adds a lot of back story into it. The game centers around the time when Logan was running with his commanding officer Stryker and Sabertooth doing animalistic missions within Africa. But that isn’t all, the title also follows Lugan’s turn from the group for a better life – but we all know how that turns out. So now, he’s on a one man mission of revenge. However, for some reason, the game finds away to pop in and out of these timelines, which sometimes can get a bit tedious.

Luckily, this game isn’t much about story; it’s mostly about hacking ‘n’ slashing your way though waves and waves of enemies. Thanks to some quick reaction, combat provides enough variety in its moves to keep things up to speed and interesting, while the ability to unlock special moves and upgrade them with points earned by experience offers an rewarding sense of progress. But without some of these controls such as the game’s lunges, blocks, rolls, and special moves – handled by shoulder buttons and triggers – the controls feel sufficiently different to most other hack ‘n’ slash titles. And once you get the hang of things, you’ll soon find yourself a pro.

Another thing that’s interesting about X-Men Origins is the new health system they have finally given to Wolverine. Like before there is a heath bar, but you won’t need it because Wolverine has the ability to heal in-game. When bullets fly into Wolverine, the holes appear in his chest and they begin to bleed out. Along this, you can also see the shirt being torn off of Logan back as enemy bullets and explosions hit him.

When playing thought this game, I found that there there hasn’t been much work on the characters within the design department. There are three character types that aren’t bosses, and depending on which mission you are on, there are different character skins you will be able to fight. Don’t get me wrong, there are many special moves and attacks that you can utilise, but you can only do something for so long before you get bored of it. This is want happens with X-Men Origins. Sure, adding new character skins in the mix is a nice aspect, but there’s aren’t that many of them to keep things fresh.

Closing Statement:

There’s only so much you can ask from a movie game, but lucky, X-Men Origins is able to capture them all well. When I was playing though this game I was surprised by all the things they’ve added to give the game replay valve. I played though this game twice: the first to beat it, and the second to find all the extra collectables and ablites. There have been very few movie games that people can consider good, however I’m happy to tell you that X-Men Origins: Wolverine happens to be one of these games.

Score: B+

Today, the attained parent company of Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax Media Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of id Software, creators of world-renowned games such as DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein, and the upcoming title, RAGE.

The acquisition by ZeniMax Media joins together two of the most respected videogame developers in the world, combining the FPS expertise of id with acclaimed RPG developer Bethesda Game Studios.

id Software will continue to operate under the direction of its founder, John Carmack. No changes will be made in the operations of id Software as development goes. However, all the principals at id have signed long-term employment contracts, assuring they will continue in their roles developing games.

“This was a unique opportunity to team with a smart, sophisticated publisher like Bethesda Softworks where the interests of the studio and the publisher will be fully aligned in the development and marketing of our titles,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO of id Software. “In addition, we will now have financial and business resources to support the future growth of id Software, a huge advantage which will result in more and even better games for our fans.”

“This puts id Software in a wonderful position going forward,” said John Carmack, who will continue to serve in his current role as Technical Director. “We will now be able to grow and extend all of our franchises under one roof, leveraging our capabilities across multiple teams while enabling forward looking research to be done in the service of all of them. We will be bigger and stronger, as we recruit the best talent to help us build the landmark games of the future. As trite as it may be for me to say that I am extremely pleased and excited about this deal, I am.”

As it was rumored, Rockstar Games has announced that one of the highest-rated handheld games of all time, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars will released for PSP this autumn.

“We’re proud to extend this truly unique handheld Grand Theft Auto experience to PSP and offer a downloadable version of Chinatown Wars for PSP GO,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “Rockstar Leeds has shown incredible talent in creating games that raise the bar in terms of depth and innovation on portables, and with Chinatown Wars we have a rich, fast-paced, and incredibly addictive entry into the series.”

“Rockstar’s work with the GTA series has been an enormous part of the success of PlayStation platforms,” added Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. “We’re excited to welcome the critically acclaimed Chinatown Wars to the outstanding line-up of great games headed to the PSP platform this fall.”

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father.

Meet with some mixed emotions from Modern Warfare fanboys alike, it seems that World at War is a huge success, ranking over 11 Million copies sold since its debut in November of last year.

Just to recap, during its pre-Christmas debut, it sold more than 1.88 million units in its first month on retail shelves. Sales then went on to be very solid with an average of about 1.2 million copies each month.

FreeStyleGames studio, the developers behind the upcoming DJ Hero title, have been hinting at the possibility all of E3, but the developers over at Neversoft, known for the Guitar Hero series, haven’t put their two cents into the equation, until now.

“We’ve worked with [DJ Hero creator FreeStyleGames], talked to them about the game for a couple of years now, looked at different builds and played it,” GH director Brian Bright told Eurogamer TV. “We would love to integrate in the future.”

However, Bright went on to say that the games release dates did not allow the team to include the option in the latest major Guitar Hero installment.

“Unfortunately for Guitar Hero 5, we ship a few months before they do. [But] we’d love to explore instrument compatibility in the future; we’ll see where it goes.”

Its competitor NBA 2K10 has Kobe Bryant has its cover athlete, now, to combat that EA Sports has announced that Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard will be scoring the cover spot for NBA Live 10.

“It’s an honor to be named as the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10,” said Howard. “This year has been a crazy ride and this is a cool way to cap it off. Of course – there is one more thing I’m on the hunt for that would complete it.”

Featuring several innovations to the core gameplay experience and online game modes, NBA LIVE 10 is bringing a renewed focus to the long-running EA Sports basketball franchise. The groundbreaking Dynamic DNA service, driven by Synergy Sports Technology, will make a return in NBA LIVE 10, with significant improvements that will allow players to connect their game to the NBA season like never before.

Even though we have to wait until next years E3 to see the next Zelda Wii project in action, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto showed a select group of people at E3 the concept art for the newest Zelda Wii game, which is currently in production. And thanks to the guys over at Kotaku, here it is:

[Show as slideshow]

It seems that Nintendo has teamed up with the developers over at Team Ninja to produce the upcoming Metroid title, Metroid: Other M – otherwise know as Project M.

With the game Nintendo plans to ”reveal a Metroid game unlike any you’ve experienced before.”

The title is a third person title, much like the original Metroid, and its said to release in 2010.

Nintendo really didn’t forget about us this time. During the finally minutes of the Nintendo Press Conference, Nintendo announced the sequel the the hit 3D Mario title, Super Mario Galaxy 2 coming exclusively to the Wii.

From the trailer, you can tell that Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the same deal as its predecessor. Also, it looks like the graphics have gone through some improvement. The game is said to release in 2010.

Note: Updated with press information via http://www.wiinintendo.net/.

Finally. During the Nintendo keynote, Nintendo announced that it’s busy working on a new Super Mario Bros. title, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, coming exclusive to the Wii.

In the game players can jump on each other, shoot each other with fireballs and other attacks. Item boxes generally produce one item per character. Killed players reappear in bubbles and players can free them, or leave them stuck for a while. One of the new powerups is the Propeller Suit, a jump suit that has a helmet with a propeller. Shaking the Wii-remote will let players fly in the air.

When a player goes into a warp pipe the game forces the other players to follow in, where they fight over the coins in the secret room.

At the end of the level, as soon as one player grabs the flag pole, the other players have about three seconds to grab it for bonus points. The points are tallied up and the players are ranked.

According to Cammie from Nintendo, the game will release Holiday 2009.

That’s right. According to a twitter post made by Tony Hawk himself, he’ll be showing of Tony Hawk Ride, the newest installment in to the Tony Hawk frachise, at the Microsoft E3 Keynote in LA tomorrow.

“Just practiced my part for Microsoft’s E3 keynote tomorrow (introducing #thride),” said Hawk. “First time I’ve ever had to wear make-up for a rehearsal.”

Well, it looks like someone on the Xbox Team is going to be humiliated during the MS keynote, much like what happened at the Nintendo Keynote last year – but not you Tony, we’ll be fine.

Tony Hawk: Ride features a wireless skateboard controller designed in conjunction with the game to offer a dynamic gaming experience built from the ground up. Using a combination of accelerometers and motion sensors, the intuitive controller allows players to physically control the action by performing various movements and gestures on the board that directly translate into amazing tricks in the game.

You know what’s amazing? A one hundred percent hand drawn proof video game (you know like alcohol?) such as King of Fighters XII and the way its online features work.

King of Fighters XII’s online play is run through a lobby system. Two players will fight it out while up to six other players wait in line for their turn. While they’re waiting, they can chat via voice or text. Depending on the lobby’s settings, the winner or loser of the match will continue playing. You can also randomize the match-ups if you wish.

Including: Winner Stays: Winner fights the next opponent in line; Loser Stays: Loser stays and gets to fight the next opponent in line; Sparring – The players that are to fight are randomized after each match.

The game also features a online ranking system and leaderboard system, which grades each player’s performances and keeps track of their best Time Attack times. Along with a public leaderboard. Due out this July for Xbox360 and PlayStation3, KOFXII offers exclusive online features for each system;

PS3: Exclusive Clan Mode that allows players to create clans, recruit clan members, blacklist players and compete against other clans. Xbox 360: Exclusive Truskill online ranking lets players record, replay and share matches.

Whatever you do, don’t get your hopes up. Yes, this the next Def Jam, but, sadly, it’s not fighting game. It’s a casual Hip Hop Karaoke game, go figure. Anyway, the game is being developed by new company called 4mm Games –  made up of former Rockstar execs/talent - via a partnership with Def Jam Interactive and it’s entitled Def Jam Rapstar.

4mm Games and Def Jam Interactive have a great story to share in terms of their unique partnership and more importantly their vision for Def Jam Rapstar to foster an interactive environment that speaks to the popular urban and hip hop communities which span a wide range of demographics. Wait, that’s casual talk!

The partnership and upcoming portfolio of titles, starting with Def Jam Rapstar, stems from both companies desire to create authentic, and culturally relevant urban-rooted entertainment across multiple genres/platforms. More info will be revealed at this years E3.

And you though YOU couldn’t wait unlit next week. Today, Electronic Arts revealed the games that it well be presenting at E3. Anyway, this year’s lineup features blockbuster franchises, new intellectual property as well as ten titles for the Wii. And thrust us when we say, “there’s more then you can shake a stick at.”

“This year at E3, we have an incredible slate of games for the Nintendo Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac and mobile devices,” said EA’s CEO John Riccitiello. “Our creative teams are developing some of the most innovative experiences on any platform. We couldn’t be more proud of the games we’re presenting this year.”

Featured at E3 will be:
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Battlefield 1943
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Brutal Legend
Dante’s Inferno
Dead Space Extraction
Dragon Age: Origins
EA Sports Active
EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis
FIFA 10
Fight Night Round 4
G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Madden NFL 10
Mass Effect 2
MySims Agents
NCAA Football 10
NHL 10
Need for Speed NITRO
Need for Speed SHIFT
Spore Hero
Spore Hero Arena
The Saboteur
The Sims 3
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Really? How come we haven’t heard anything on the game yet? Nintendo you sly dog you. According to an interview posted by 1UP with Suda51, the sequel to No More Heroes, No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle is towards “the very end of production”.

“It’s the very end. If I had to say one word, I’d say it’s at the very end of production,” stated Suda51 when asked about its progress. Also, when asked if it would be playable at E3, he said that, “No, [it's] not playable.”

In addition, when asked about the game reaching out and heading onto other platforms he said that if that were to happen they would fix it from that platform(s).

“Actually, a lot of the fans were dying to play the game on other consoles, so I think it’d be great if I could do it, but there’s no plan yet. [If so,] I would match the content to [fit] the other consoles. No More Heroes could be a big title, like a big IP, so it’d be good to have a chance to release the game on other consoles, and that would maybe maximize the market.”

Yeah. Wait should I really be yeah-ing about this? The developer behind hit games such as Fallout, Bethesda Softworks has revealed their plans to announce a Wii project later this year.

In an interview with industry site GamesIndustry, Bethesda Europe’s Sean Brennan questioned whether there’s a market for 18-year-old-and-up Wii titles.

“Is there space in the Wii market for that? I think there is, but again, it’ all about finding out how big that is,” said Brennan. “Is it 5 percent? If it’s five per cent of the market and you can own that space it’s worth doing because you can achieve volume.”

With that being said, it was revealed by the developer/publisher that they are planning a really big Wii game to this year. According to Brennan, “We are going to make an announcement on a really big Wii game this year, we’ve got a couple of other things in the pipeline, and it’s a format we’re really looking at with the right approach.”

“We’re not going to establish a new range and call if ‘My Girly Game Range’ or whatever these other companies are doing, it’s so me-too and boring,” Brennan added.

Update: Capcoms Chris Kramer has confirmed that this is no rumor and that Tatsunoko vs Capcom will be making it’s way to the U.S.

Original: It’s about time. According to a Nintendo Power article scan, it looks like Capcom is finally ready to bring its crossover fighter Tatsunoko vs. Capcom to United States. A paragraph in the top right corner of the article reads:

“They said it couldn’t happen, but it is! Fighting extravaganza Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is coming to North America.”

As you can see, the scan doesn’t reveal much information about the release, but Capcom has previously stated they wanted to bring the game across seas.  ”The rights holders for Tatsunoko in Japan are one company, but in the U.S. it’s…13 companies – and some are very attentive and some are not,” Capcom community manager Seth Killian recently said.

However, for now this is just a rumor, but with E3 coming up you can never know.

It looks like there’s going to be another important no-show, go to the show at this years E3. Despite already having five titles that we already know they are working on, the developers behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Rockstar Games, don’t have any plans on showing anything at this years E3 event, as reported by EuroGamer.

Although, Rockstar has revealed that its not going to rule out announcements during the show. However, when asked about rumors that they have plans to reveal the second downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV they stated that, “we don’t comment on rumour and speculation.”

A first look at Home Run Pinball and other mini-games featured within The Bigs 2. Get ready for some dimonds madness on July 7 on the Wii, DS, PSP, PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360.

“Fans have been clamoring for a follow-up to The Bigs since it launched two years ago, so we’re excited to now deliver The Bigs 2,” said Greg Thomas, senior vice president of development, 2K Sports. “In the spirit of celebrating the most epic moments in Major League Baseball, The Bigs 2 offers a refreshingly fun and unique experience of dramatic walk-off homeruns, miraculous wall catches, acrobatic diving grabs, and many more incredible plays you’d usually see only in a highlight reel.”

And the un-candid teasing from Kojima Productions continues, and you though you were mean. The developers behind the Metal Gear series still plan on announcing the game at E3 – revealed by a tip to 1UP sometime ago.

However, there’s an advertisement running in the latest issue of  popular Japanese gaming mag, Famitsu, which hints, and teases at an announcement on 2009.5.18 and its all written within the clouds. Anyway, right now, it’s only reported that Famitsu is running the advertisement. So, once again, hold until May the 18th for details.

In addition, it was spotted someone – we don’t know there names – some hidden clues, hidden within the advertisement.

[ Hey Look, Some Kojima Productions Ad Announcing An Announcement via Kotaku]

A little while ago, fans of the series found clues left by its developer hinting at its development. Now, it seems that Eidos Montreal have helped us finish the puzzle and it’s spelt LHI4F.

Today, it was announced by Eidos-Montreal that they are currently in the early stages of developing Thief 4.

“We’re in the early development stages for Thief 4, but this is an incredibly ambitious and exciting project for Eidos,” said Stéphane D’Astous, General Manager at Eidos-Montréal. “While it’s too early for us to offer any specific game details, right now we are focused on recruiting the very best talent to join the core team at the studio and help us make what we believe will be one of the most exciting games on the market.”

You probablely have  heard the rumors that LucasArts are hard at work developing another title based on the surprisingly good Star Wars television show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and you know what, they are correct.

The game is entitled Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes, or The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes for short, and it will take place between seasons 1 and 2 of the animated Clone Wars series. It will also feature a wide range of playable heroes, including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, and some of the clone trooper characters.

In addition, the game will have a cooperative mode were you can play can with a friend of your choice. Expect the game on September 15 for all this gen systems.

[EW Exclusive: First Look at the Next 'Star Wars' Game via Entertainment Weekly]

The first major trailer for Activision’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen literally transforms half way through to reveal both sides of the robotic conflict. Only slightly meta. Expect a blockbuster launch via the PS3, PSP, PS2, Wii, DS, Xbox 360 and PC alongside the Michael Bay film which hits June 23.

As it was revealed in last weeks episode of the Japanese Pokémon television show, it seems that Pokémon Gold and Silver will be remade for the Nintendo DS.

The tenth anniversary remakes will be called Pokémon Heart Gold and Poké Soul Silver – much like Fire Red and Leaf Green Gameboy Advance remakes of Pokémon Redand Pokémon Green.

Originally released on the Gameboy system in November of 1999, expect the DS remakes this autumn in Japan with new elements added.

So what’s Capcom planning for this years E3? Well, that’s a question you don’t need to ask anymore.

Capcom has announced which games they will be showcasing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on June 2-4. This list shows the two unnamed unannounced titles, which was reported going to surprise you, and the other we’ll see coming. The list also shows all of their high anticipated upcoming games. 

Here’s the list; Bionic Commando (PC); Dark Void (PC, PS3, X360); Dead Rising 2 (PC, PS3, X360); Fate/Unlimited Codes (PSP); Lost Planet 2 (PC, X360); Marvel vs Capcom 2 (PSN, XBL); Mega Man Star Force 3: Black Ace (DS); Mega Man Star Force 3: Red Joker (DS); Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (PSP); Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil (Wii); Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles (Wii); Spyborgs (Wii); Street Fighter IV (PC); Untitled Mystery Game #1; Untitled Mystery Game #2.

“Let’s get ready to rock!!!” Don’t you ever undermine this statement because in this Guitar Hero you’ll be rocking all night long – that’s only if you can keep you fingers from melting off.

According to Joystiq, Activision has confirmed to them that Guitar Hero: Van Halen is indeed in development and will release sometime during the second half of this year.

Activision could not confirm any songs, and only said the game will contain Van Halen’s “greatest hits,” as well as guest acts such as Queen, Weezer, Blink-182, The Offspring, Queens of the Stone Age, and more.

However, they were told by Activision’s Senior Vice President of Global Brand Management that, “… this is definitely Van Halen, not Van Hagar,” which is a plus since David Lee Roth is back with the band and they just finished a successful tour.

In addition, they revealed that there’s a very slim chance that the rockers might show up at E3 2009.

The award-winning developers at EA Redwood Shores have changed their names to something sightly more extreme.

Instead of being called EA Redwood Shores the studio has been renamed and rebranded to Visceral Games in order to better reflect the studio’s culture, identity and focus on creating intense action-oriented intellectual properties.

“Action, intensity, excellence. It isn’t just in our DNA, it’s in our blood,” said Glen Schofield, VP and GM of Visceral Games. “For the past two years, we have adopted a new culture that prizes excellence above all else. Primal action is the beating heart of the studio and now our new name reflects that.”

Visceral Games are currently working on highly anticipated titles like, Dante’s Inferno and Dead Space: Extraction, and two other unannounced titles. 

Terminal Reality used their self-made Infernal Engine to power the upcoming Ghostbusters title, but now it seems that the developers are planning on sharing their engine to profit other developers.

Earleir on today, it was announced that the developers at Piranha Games are planning on using the Infernal Engine on two of their upcoming titles: bass fishing title The Strike, and hunting simulation The Hunt.

“The world of videogames is a varied one. Everyone knows about Ghostbusters, but we at Terminal Reality believe in the extreme versatility of the Infernal Engine,” said Joe Kreiner, VP Sales and Marketing at Terminal Reality.”The inclusion of The Strike fishing pole and The Hunt rifle by Griffin International shows how well the Infernal Engine works with gaming peripherals.”

“We used the Infernal Engine to develop Bass Pro Shops The Strike. The engine was very versatile, allowing us the freedom to create immense environments with a high level of realistic detail,” said Russ Bullock, President of Piranha Games.

According to GameSpot, in a post-earnings conference call with investors, UbiSoft offered more detail as to how well Shaun White Snowboarding is performing in the market.

Anyway, in the call, CEO Yves Guillemot revealed that the title has achieved sales of 3 million units sold. Later on in the conference, it was revealed by Guillemot, which came as no surprise, that Ubisoft intends to release new installments in the franchise.

“You can expect more Shaun White in the future,” Guillemot plainly told investors. Unfortunately, he didn’t provide a time frame in which the next installment in the Shaun White franchise would release. Currently, the publisher does not have it penciled in for release during its current fiscal year -  runs through March 31, 2010. 

Yesterday, it was revealed that the sequel to UbiSoft’s gun-slingin’ sword-slashin’ Wii launch title, Red Steel 2 will be releasing this Holiday season. 

In addition, it was revealed by UbiSoft that the title would feature Wii MotionPlus, which adds 1:1 position sensing to the Wiimote.  This will mean that the game can “sense the strength of a swing”, reading the “power and precision” of a player’s sword strikes.

Red Steel 2 is in development at Ubisoft’s Paris studio, and will take place in a “desert-bound, high-tech metropolis.” The next issue of Nintendo Power magazine will feature more information the game – even more images are available on the magazine’s website.

[Red Steel 2 This Year, Built For Wii MotionPlus via Game/Life]

Besides Capcom recently revealing heavy hitter such as Dead Rising 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and Lost Planet 2, it seems that Capcom is planning two more power hitters to announce at this years E3. 

“You think we have great titles now? Wait ’til we announce two more at E3!,” Capcom revealed via its Twitter accout.

Two titles?!?!? Wow they really do have this generation down to the tea, but what titles do they plan to reveal?

However, GameZine.co.uk has been told that one of the titles will surprise you, and the other we’ll all see coming. Let the speculation begin. 

Rise your hand if your excited, I know I am. When UbiSoft released its full 2009-10 sales report today, it was revealed that they were working on another Ghost Recon title, Ghost Recon 4, which could mean that they’re working on another Advanced Warfighter title or whatever – but we all know it’s going to be good. 

Along with the reveal it was shown that they are also planning to release series games like Assassin’s Creed 2, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction, Rabbids Go Home, Red Steel 2, and Anno 1404  all before Apirl 10. 

After multiple weeks of speculation, we have finally learned that Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals will be sharing the cover of the Madden NFL 2010.

It’s the first time in 21 years that EA has decided on two athletes for the Madden cover. However, Grand Slam Tennis and Fight Night Round 4 -  which are both releasing this year - also feature multiple athletes on their respective covers.

Wait!?!? These are the same two players from the same two teams that were in this year’s Super Bowl. What are the chances?

It’s actually real. Almost a month after GDC, it seems that the long rumored title has finally been announced in what is a shocking turn of events.

Anyway, LEGO: Rock Band is being developed by TT Games in a partnership with Harmonix and published by Warner Bros. Entertainment. The title will combined he multiplayer music experience of Rock Band with the fun, customization and humour of the LEGO videogame franchise packed with brilliant chart-topping songs and classic favourites suitable for younger audiences.

Including hits such as Blur’s “Song 2″, Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting”, Europe’s “The Final Countdown”, Good Charlotte’s “Boys and Girls” and Pink’s “So What”.

“LEGO Rock Band combines two compelling properties and creates an experience that family members of all ages will enjoy playing together as a group,” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games. “Harmonix and MTV Games are the world experts in music gameplay, and we’re genuinely thrilled to bring the unique and humour-filled LEGO experience to their Rock Band universe.”

LEGO: Rock Band will release on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS and it is scheduled for 2009 release. It will be with Rock Band and “other music game” controllers.

It was a recipe for success: one of the biggest franchises in gaming, on the most popular platform available, leaving rest to positive reviews.

Well, that wasn’t the case with Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars because the other day reports started coming in that the title is under has sold 100,000 units in the U.S. – a total of about 89,000 units. That compares to 805,000 units of “Pokémon Platinum” sold on the DS by Nintendo from its March 22 launch through April 4.

But, however, GameStop says that the game is ‘exceeding [their] expectations’.

“‘GTA: Chinatown Wars’ is exceeding our expectations and illustrating the power of the franchise on a new platform,” GameStop spokesman Chris Olivera said in an e-mail to MTV News. “We’ve seen a solid lift in sales of ‘Chinatown Wars’ following the launch of the DSi and believe that the product will continue to enjoy a long life at our stores as the buzz around the new handheld gaming experience continues to grow.”

Electronic Arts revealed a June 30 ship date for EA Canada’s Fight Night Round 4 (PS3, X360) in this new trailer, which hypes the sequel by punching Round 3 in the face.

 ”What we’re really trying to deliver is the most realistic simulation of the sport of boxing ever in a video game….Fight Night Round 4, you see a much more fluid, natural game.”

“[In Fight Night Round 3], you often found that the gameplay degraded into two guys standing in front of each other and trading blows,” says producer Brian Hayes. “You saw a very scripted, very repetitive experience where people stood in front of each other.”

Fight Night Round 4 will feature over 40 licensed fighters. There will be several new modes – such as the Legacy Mode.  The game’s cover will feature Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

With games like Resistance Retribution having the capability to interact with its PlayStation 3 counter part, Resistance 2. It leaves one to wonder if the PSP version of Rock Band, Rock Band Unplugged, would gain such a talent.

However, despite the crazy idea 1UP had about the PS3 version of Rock Band, or Rock Band 2, sharing sharing content or unlocking features for Rock Band Unplugged on PSP. It seems that Harmonix and MTV Games weren’t on the same page about it.

When 1UP asked Harmonix about their crazy idea at a demo event last week, it was revealed to them that they have no such plans to ingrate that with  Rock Band Unplugged on the PlayStation Portable.

The GTA series has become a bit of a mixed bag throughout the years. Upon changing up formulas, catering to different audiences, and bringing change to a formula that wasn’t exactly broken, its popularity continues to surge. With the recent release of Grand Theft Auto IV and its very first DLC episode, the franchise has gained and lost a myriad of fans. However, one thing remains unchanging: the fact that Rockstar has never been, nor will be, afraid to go there.

When Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars was announced for the Nintendo DS, gamers collectively sighed with noticeable disgust. And why not? The DS has never particularly been seen as a platform for which more adult-oriented games could truly shine, that is, until now. A spectacular and intense throwback to the games that kickstarted the series’ success, Chinatown Wars is destined to become one of the DS’s must-play classics.

Fire up Chinatown Wars, and you’ll get acquainted with one Huang Lee. He’s making his way to the ubiquitous Liberty City in order to pass on a sword to his uncle. It’s no ordinary sword, as it’s symbolic in nature. After the slaying of Huang’s father, it’s his job to pass on the sword to the Triad head’s father. After some shady and unfortunate events unfold, Lee finds that the sword has been stolen and he’s tossed out into the sea, thought to be dead. With this, you’re thrust into the seedy underbelly that comprisees the single-player mode of Chinatown Wars.

Perhaps the very first thing you’ll notice is the long-awaited return of the top-down perspective from the heyday of Grand Theft Auto. What’s presented here is essentially a classic console installment downsized in every proper way imaginable to fit the DS like a glove. However, though it may look entirely alike, there are many ways in which it’s a bit different from its predecessors. Though everything is seen through a bird’s-eye view, the game is entirely 3D. Of course, that’s not exactly saying too much due to the DS’s graphical restrictions, but regardless of the bells and whistles expected these days from gaming youth, there is too much fun to be had here.  The best way to describe Chinatown Wars is a modern-day GTA title with a different camera angle.

Liberty City remains relatively unchanged from the days of the console releases, and if you feel the urge to explore right away, the entire city is unlocked at the onset. GTA wouldn’t be the mother of all sandbox titles if they didn’t cater to those of us with the burning desire to explore.  Exploring the city is one of the absolute biggest draws – if you see something that could possibly take you from point A to point B,it’s up for grabs. Commandeer a truck, a car, a bike, anything you want.  However, a good portion of your time will be spent exploring every nook and cranny on foot, because you can aim much better that way. You’ll be faced with many, many missions that require the sweet sound of shots ringing out -  a regular series staple.  There is a bevy of weaponry available via the ammunition dealer, ensuring that you always receive the proper tools to get any job done right. The implementation of a targeting system will ensure that you’re shooting to kill, but as the game wears on you may find that it makes certain areas of the game a bit easier than you’d like.

If you’ve ever wanted to live out the life of a drug dealer, Chinatown Wars delivers with its network of who’s buying low and who’s particularly needing a fix. It’s a living, breathing economy that works well, even incorporating real-life elements that could completely screw up even the best-laid of plans.  That’s right, a surprise sting could ruin your precious trade, leaving you with nothing if you hadn’t the presence of time to stockpile some goods. I found myself spending loads of time on this aspect of the game, forsaking storyline elements and productivity to make some quick cash and to forge some bonds with respected dealers around Liberty City. I can’t imagine this element going over well with whiny parents, but to be honest it really made the game for me. This level of interaction with the world was rather impressive, coming from a DS title Rather than relying on a cell phone to make plans, keep in touch, and all of those other important aspects, you’re given a PDA that works fantastically – allowing you to contact NPCs, and providing a great little GPS that you can use the stylus to navigate. It’s all about making the connections and networking.

Of particular interest is the new method in which you must lose the heat. Rather than simply evading cops, you must now take an offensive stance against those pigs, er, respected members of law enforcement. Driving away just won’t be enough anymore. Now you’ll find yourself going after the cop cars, effectively disabling them in order to lose your wanted level. This is an extremely satisfying addition to the series, and personally I hope to see it implemented in future, “big brother” console ports.

Chinatown Wars looks great, considering the hardware it’s got to work with. Music tracks as well as audio fit the mood perfectly, as well as score the action to a T. Rockstar has done a truly admirable job here in utilizing every bit of power the DS has to create a smashing new entry into the Grand Theft Auto series.

Closing Statement:

If you’re a veteran of the series, or if you’re just starting to get into the madness that is Grand Theft Auto, this is a  great first choice to start with, as it’s very accessible, reasonably priced, and you can take it with you. It’s a fantastic throwback to the original days of the series, if you remember the very first few iterations. This game is indeed a breath of fresh air for the franchise, and going back to basics is always a good thing. Check it out at your first convenience.

Score: A-

Yet another bits the dust at EA. In reports today, it was revealed that Will Wright, the creator of Spore, has left Electronic Arts to pursue new projects at Stupid Fun Club, a side project Wright actually started in 2001.

Stupid Fun Club is now evolved in a full fledged entertainment ‘think tank’ focused on developing new IP to deploy across not just video games, but also movies, television, the Internet and even toys. However, EA also invested in Stupid Fun Club and it owns an equal share of the company. The publisher will also have first refusal rights on all video game projects.

“The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change,” said Will Wright. “Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future.”

In what really is a shocking turn of events, it seems that UbiSoft has released the teaser for their upcoming, and soon to be announced game, Assassin’s Creed 2.

But, that isn’t all to this announcement, apparently the teaser is home to some many hints to the games setting and time-line. Here they are; the teaser site has some Da Vinci-esque imagery going on, which hopefully means that it’s taking place within the Da Vinci era in Italy; and there is also the mention of “Animus” within the teaser site.

Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? We’ll just have to wait for the next issue of Game Informer for more details.

In last weeks episode of Invisible Walls, they covered all the big announcements at the Game Developers Conference.

And in the episode, which is by the way was their 51 episode, they covered one of the biggest games at the show, Punch-Out!. Within their discussion it was revealed that there were only 13 characters within the title and somewhere within their discussion the word “DLC” poped up.

However, according to one of the cast members, when asking a rep from Nintendo about them bring in more character via Downloadable Content they were told that they weren’t going to do DLC for the title.

In some casses developers call the Nintendo Wii “a chance to do more” with a seires, or franchise, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with the ‘Star Fox’ developers.

In an interview with G4, Q Games President Dylan Cuthbert talked about there upcoming game PixelJunk Eden. Along with that, he also talked about the Star Fox franchise. And when being asked about the chance of them doing another Star Fox game on the Wii he replyed saying ” in another 10 years.”

When G4 asked why, he had this to say about the Wii.

“The problem with that is that it’d be a big project, like 100 people on the staff. It’s just not something we really want to do. I’m sure someone will make it. Maybe they’ll go back to Namco.”

A couple of months ago, it was rumored on GoNintendo that Brütal Legend – Double Fine’s 360/PS3 heavy metal action game – was also headed to Wii. But, at the time, there was no confirmation of the rumor and now it seems that it has returned.

When being interviewed, Tim Schafer, who is the lead behind the game, asked a PR person how to respond to a question about Brütal Legend coming to the Wii and he came up with this answer,  “We are making an Xbox 360 and a PS3 version of Brütal Legend.”

Which lead 1Up, who conducted the interview, to think that they were hinding something about there being a Wii version of the game.

A Wii version would make sense in the context of recent EA comments about the importance of Wii development, and we’ve seen a precedent set for EA PS3/360-to-Wii projects in Dead Space Extraction, but for now we’ll have to wait to find out what if any specific plans EA has for Brütal Legend on Nintendo’s system.

[Is Brütal Legend Coming to Wii? via 1UP]

With Guitar Hero: Metallica on the edge of releasing, Activision needs some way of advertising the game. So what’s a better way to advertising then having the same style as the Guitar Hero: World Tour commercials, but with a Metallica twist?

 That’s why they have revealed the newest sets of commercials for Guitar Hero: Metallica advertising in that matter. But, one of the commercials features legendary NCAA coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino and Bob Knight, along with Metallica.

It makes prefect sense that we’d be getting the sequel to one of the best DS games of last year, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, it was just about a matter of time until the announce it for our regain.

At the Game Developer Conference, Level 5 head of publishing Akihiro Hino told the audience, when being asked, he wants all six Layton games to eventually come out in the U.S. and Europe. If we do the math, this means that there are six Layton games in the works – one of them being the recently revealed Professor Layton and the Devil’s Flute.

Ending on that statement, he also revealed that the are currently working on on the localized version of Diabolical Box, and they hope to release it in the next six months.

Yeah, we know its not their newest Zelda Wii project, but it still awesome. Today, at Nintendo’s keynote at the Game Developers Conference, they revealed there newest Zelda project for the Nintendo DS entitled, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

The game looks to play alot like The Phantom Hourglass featuring dungeon maps on the top screen, gameplay on the bottom screen, and a fascination with trains.

In the trailer that was revealed at the keynote, Link seems to be a engineer for a train with a cannon mounted on it, which is viewable on the bottom. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks will be available this year for the Nintendo DS.

As we were told many times before, Batman: Arkham Asylum will feature many other characters from within the Batmen universe, and one of those characters within that universe is The Joker’s main sweetie, Harley Quinn.

A scan from a magazine has revealed has revealed, what looks like, a picture of Arkham Asylum’s version Harley Quinn, and man is she hot. But, design wise, they’ve been sticking closer to the dark and grittier comic styles for the Dark Knight and his foes.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum offers players the chance to battle Gotham’s worst villains with Batman’s physical and psychological strength in a graphically distinct and story-driven game,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

“We look forward to working with Eidos on expanding DC Comics’ world-renowned character Batman in the game space with a noticeably different feature set in an incredibly dark interactive environment.”

Chris Kramer has stated  that Resident Evil 5 signals a new direction for the survival horror series with it “waving goodbye” to many of the story lines and characters seen in previous installments.

When speaking to the Major Nelson, in his recent podcast, Kramer stated that, “It’s a really good time for new players to jump in, because what we’re doing is kind of waving goodbye to a lot of storyline elements from, essentially, act one of the Resident Evil franchise.”

“Resident evil 5 is really setting the franchise up for what’s going to happen now going forwards, so establishing new characters and storylines, and pretty much a new direction for the game.”

“If you’re late to the party and you haven’t been playing the games for the past 15 years, all you need to know is that the game’s a lot of fun and just filled with action, so you don’t have to worry about the plot, as we’re kind up picking up and starting afresh.”

While many of us are making our way through Resident Evil 5, Capcom has announced – at RE5 launch party – that the Nintendo Wii  will be getting two ’Resident Evil classics’.

The collaboration will be feature the first Resident Evil remake and series prequel Resident Evil Zero with added motion control, according to N-Europe. While it is still unknown whether the games will be released in one package,  similar to the Japanese versions that released early last year.

“Capcom’s new Resident Evil ‘Classics’ line will allow the new audience who has embraced the Wii to experience some of the greatest games in the Resident Evil franchise for the value price of $29.99. Both set to launch this year, the remake of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero have been refitted to support the Wii Remote, giving the Wii audience easy access to the rich characters and in-depth storylines of the series and the chance to experience both games on a new platform,” read the Press Release.

Last night at Capcom’s Resident Evil 5 launch party, Masachika Kawata, producer of the newly announced Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, shined some more light on the upcoming Umbrella Chronicles sequel.

“What we’re looking to do is go back to a ‘very dark’ style of Resident Evil,” Kawata said. “‘Dark’ is really a key word for this game. It will be shown in horror, in the storyline, in the emotions that the characters go through.” 

And according to Joystiq, they saw examples of this as Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield fought side-by-side through a zombie ravaged Racoon City. 

He also explained that the development team at Cavia are “putting a lot of care, a lot of attention into [improving] how the camera system works in a rail-based shooter.”

When you head over to your local GameStop, or the GameStop website, and pre-order the X-Men Origins: Wolverine video game you’ll recieve an exclusive DLC code for the game.

The downloadable content code will give you the ability to take your opponents out in the ‘The Dismemberment Room’ along with other ‘exclusive’ in-game rooms (listed below)- only at GameStop. And to access these rooms players will be loaded into a hallway which acts like a doorway to each room.

• The Dismemberment Room: “Using a control panel, this room lets players select various limbs and body parts on a holographic soldier. Once the selections are locked in, the soldier appears in a tiled room viewed through a glass wall. The selected limbs are severed with spectacular results.”
• The Environmental Kill Room: “This large room features small set-ups of each of the various environments found within the main game. All of these environments contain sharp objects on which Wolverine can impale his enemies. By pushing a red button, players can teleport in a group of soldiers and hurl them against the sharp objects to see them creatively skewered.”
• The Ladder Challenge Room: “Pushing a red button will cause a group of enemies to beam into the room. Each time the red button is pushed, the enemies get tougher and more numerous, laddering up the challenge for Wolverine.”
• The Custom Combat Arena: “This huge space lets players select any combination of enemies from within the game, beam them into the arena, and attempt to defeat them. Face ten hulking Leviathans or a blend of towering W.E.N.D.I.G.O. Prototypes, Machete Champions, and Machine gunners.”

Back when the DVD and Blu-ray versions of Wanted was released, Universal Studios implanted on to the discs 10 secret codes, which are hidden among the menu screen and/or bonus features, that unlock new portions of the game.

The codes will give you the ability to open up a new character, access enhanced weaponry and exclusive game modes, etc.. But, it also back into the DVD/Blu-ray movies. When an embedded code in the game is entered into the movie disc’s menu screen, a special featurette starring Wanted lead James McAvoy will be revealed.

Universal did not aggressively promote this game-movie cross-over when Wanted bowed on DVD and Blu-ray last year because the game, initially planned to release at the same time as the DVD, was delayed until March.

“Universal saw an exclusive opportunity to creatively intensify Wanted fans’ entertainment experience by crafting a code program that essentially is designed to drive film and game enthusiasts from the Blu-ray and DVD releases to the game and back,” said Hilary Hoffman, the studio’s senior VP of brand and digital marketing.“By bridging these two platforms, we effectively extend the marketing window for the film’s DVD and Blu-ray releases, substantially enhance game play and enable fans to unlock even more bonus content for one of their favorite films.”

[Wanted: Weapons of Fate in DVD, Blu-ray crossover via Video Business]

When an artist produces enough hit songs they combined them into a ‘Greatest Hits’ collection, or collaboration. Now, it seems that Activision, along with the guys at Beenox, have plans to produce a ‘Greatest Hits’ collaboration of Guitar Hero.

In an interview with IGN, Paul Gadbois, a producer at Beenox, revealed their plans for Guitar Hero: Greatest Hits. According to Gadbois, the game is scheduled to launch on all major consoles this June; it will also be for the ’super’ official price of $60 on all nex-gen consoles – expect for the Wii – and for the PS2 and Wii it will go for the price of $40.

And the game will also feature a 48 master tracks featuring songs like;

• “Barracuda” by Heart
• “I Love Rock N Roll” by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
• “I Wanna Rock” by Twisted Sister
• “Killer Queen” by Queen
• “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against The Machine
• “Nothin’ But A Good Time” by Poison
• “Them Bones” by Alice in Chains
• “Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce

I really don’t know why they’re doing this again, but it seems that the games director, Tetsu Katano, isn’t finished with the ‘Wherehog’ just yet because in an recent interview, when being asked about the things he’ll like to see return, he split his like-ables.

 Katano was quoted saying that ‘you will see the Werehog again.’ Along with the return of the ‘Wherehog’, the developer as would love to keep the Secret Rings, which will be making a return in Sonic and the Black Knight and were also in Sonic Unleashed.

Anyway, in the interview he said that these as just ideas for the ‘Sonic Unleashed sequel.’

Ending with that, I don’t know why they don’t do the some thing that they are doing for ‘Modern Warfare 2′? Atleast it will be what the fans like.

For some apparent reason Twitter is becoming very popular and mostly everyone on the internet is talking about it, and knows about it. However, Robert Bowling, as of lately, has really been growing the feelings towards it and, well, it seems that he’ll, along with the everyone at Infinity Ward, like to know your suggestions for ‘Modern Warfare 2′.

Thus was lunched a program that allows you to submit your suggestions for ‘Modern Warfare 2′ via Twitter, here’s how it works; Originally launched about a week ago the program will ask you questions – via Bowling – like “What are your top feature requests for the Modern Warfare 2 community site?” and “Name one thing you’d like to see in Modern Warfare 2?” With that, that’s when you are supposed to respond with ‘#MW2′ with your suggestions.

[ #MW2 via Twitter]

When releasing a new Tony Hawk title nine years in a row, Activision took 2008 off to institute calling it a part of their ‘innovation plan’ for there Tony Hawk series. But, ever since then they have been very ‘no talk’ on the title, but, boy, does time pass and now it seems that we finally get new – rumored – details on the next Tony Hawk title.

When speaking to Variety’s The Cut Scene blog, two anonymous sources, who have reportedly have seen the game first-hand, said that the next Tony Hawk title will abandon controllers altogether, but instead it will be using ‘board-like’ peripheral, which sounds alot like what the Wii’s Balance Board did in Skate it for the Wii.

These sources say that the game will not be so much about requiring precise balancing, but the focus will be more on “grabbing and manipulating the board” to perform tricks. They also say that the Wii version will be getting a Board also, instead of the the Wii’s Balance Board.

These sources also corroborated the rumor that Robomodo – a new development studio primarily formed by ex-members of EA Chicago – are developing both the game and making the new peripheral.

Well, Well, Well… What do we have here? I don’t know if you missed this when SEGA released there latest trailer for MadWorld, but when we re-watched the trailer, which was the ‘Black Baron Announcement Trailer’, we saw a little co-op multiplayer action going on, but if you didn’t notice it here’s the trailer, it should be in there some were.

At the DICE ‘09 conference, John Riccitiello told the attendees at the conference that the current recession has been ‘a blessing in disguise [so that] we can clear away junk’. Stating that the overall goal from this is that the developers can ’stop sending pointless product to retail stores’. ‘Junk is hard to compete with,’ said Riccitiello. He felt that developers should shift their focus on quality and away from quantity.

‘We did get fat in too many places. It seemed like anyone who could draw a guy with a gun with a crayon could get funded. At least for EA, we got a little too fat, and a little too reliant on where things were,’ he continues. ‘I’m not pro-recession but to quote Rahm Emanuel: never waste a crisis.’

This is a great wake up call for developers atleast they can wake up before it  became too late.

After John Riccitiello revealed the games extents, it looks like EA is finally ready to reveal the game. Today,  Electronic Arts have announced  Dead Space Extraction, an all-new chapter from the studio that delivered the award-winning action-horror Dead Space game.

Built from the ground up and developed exclusively for the Wii, Dead Space Extraction is a prequel that reveals the events leading up to Isaac Clarke’s mission on the USG Ishimura in the original Dead Space game released in 2008.  Dead Space Extraction will marry the innovative motion controls of the Wii Remote with a frenetic first person perspective to create a new action-packed horror experience.

The game tells the story of a handful of space colonists desperately struggling to escape from a horrific infection on the Aegis VII mining colony deep in the furthest regions of space. The game introduces a new heroine to the fiction and as the crew fall victim to a mysterious contagion aboard the ship, it becomes clear that protecting her may be their only hope for survival. Dead Space Extraction introduces all new characters, weapons, enemies, puzzles and co-operative multiplayer gameplay.

“We could not be more excited to extend Dead Space into an experience exclusive to the Wii. Nintendo has a wonderful history in the horror genre and we are thrilled to build on that tradition with Dead Space Extraction,” said Glen Schofield, VP and General Manager of EA Redwood Shores studio.“As we were developing Dead Space, we realized that there was so much of the story going untold. Dead Space Extraction tells that story with all of the intensity, blood and gore that fans would expect.”

The day that we’ve been waiting for is finally upon us. Today, Nintendo confirmed that the DSi will be in U.S. markets on April 5, 2009  and that it will be launching in black and BLUE - blue being a new color – for the price of $169.99.

The DSi, which has been on sale in Japan since November 2008, has only been available in black and white. And it features two 0.3 megapixel cameras, larger screens, a new SD card slot and better speakers, but, sadly, there isn’t a Game Boy Advance cartridge like the others.

“Ever since the arrival of the first Game Boy, consumers worldwide have turned to Nintendo for their portable gaming,” said NoA sales boss Cammie Dunaway. “Nintendo DSi builds on Nintendo’s commitment to bringing fun and creative entertainment to everyone, and will allow consumers to personalize and share their very own experiences.”

The details that were released last week where very vague as SEGA gears up to to release Alien vs. Predator across all platforms. But, somehow they are now able to reveal to us the release target on when we will be able to see Alien vs. Predator along without other upcoming titles.

The title is being developed by Rebellion Developments , who worked on a Alien vs. Predator game back in 1999. The press release also stated release plans for other SEGA titles coming in the future.

-Wii – Sonic and the Black Knight – 13th March 2009
-PS3/ X360 – Virtual Tennis 2009 – May 2009
-Wii – Let’s Tap – Summer 2009
-Wii/ DS – Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games – Late 2009
-DS – Phantasy Star Zero – Added to 2009
-Aliens Vs Predator – Added to Early 2010

Winners: Hi guys, just so that you know the winners have been picked and packages have been sent. 

Contest: Here’s the deal people, we are holding a contest in were you can win a Wii. So… all you have to do is just click – they have to be legitimate clicks - on the boxing glove at the end of this post and post a comment telling us you did. And yes, if you tell a friend about this contest, and they click on the boxing glove, your chances will go up, but you’ll have to leave a comment telling us you did. By the way, the contest ends on March 10 so act fast, we will announced the winner via e-mail and that persons name will appear on this website. Also, all pre-orders of R2R from Amazon and GameSpot are $10 off.

For a game that has so little hype, it seems that Ready 2 Rumble Revolution has the chance to be one of the greatest Wii titles of this year. I know, I know. It isn’t as good looking as MadWorld, but if they don’t mess it up it can, at least, be good. And just so that we have a solid back story here’s a list of reasons why.

The family element: Okay, we all know that people in your family don’t know alot about video games, or atleast not as much as you do, and knowing them they will buy the game for you.

Larger list of playable characters: Being the third game in the series you know there isn’t going to be a short list of characters.

Funny looking people: I don’t mean to be mean, but who doesn’t want to mess up the face’s of funny looking characters? Let’s face it, you all want to pick on these characters because they look funny, just look at the picture I used for this article, doesn’t it make you want to beat him up?

The BIG Las Vegas Showdown: Personally, I have never been to Las Vegas so I’m thinking that when this game comes out I can make a character and take him, or her, all the way to ‘the BIG Las Vegas showdown’.

Controls: Being, what is one of the key parts of the game, this game can really be very strong on the controls area mainly because it uses the Wii control system from it’s a boxing game.

I know this list isn’t going to win you over, but if it doesn’t do good in all these areas along with the family fun factor it can’t be the on of the best Wii titles this year. So please don’t suck Ready 2 Rumble Revolution.

After the long-struggle about trying to get the recently released Mortal Kombat title to sell well, its publisher has filed for bankruptcy this morning, calling it a ‘difficult but necessary decision.’

“We have been focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution, and this filing will relieve the immediate pressure from our creditors and provide us time for an orderly exploration of our strategic alternatives. This Chapter 11 filing is the next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure,” said Midway Chairman, President and CEO Matt Booty.

“Midway enters this process with strong underlying fundamentals, as evidenced by solid fourth quarter sales that exceeded expectations in spite of a challenging retail and general economic environment,” Booty added. “Overall, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe sales are approaching two million units shipped, TNA iMPACT! has shipped approximately one million units, and our Game Party franchise has sold close to three million units in total.”

Midway expects that Chapter 11 protection will enable the company to conduct its business operations as usual. To that end, Midway is seeking approval from the court for a variety of First Day Motions enabling the company to continue managing its operations in the ordinary course. These motions are typical of the restructuring process, and approval is regularly granted.

Many were wondering when the developers were going to release anything on the upcoming Call of Duty title, so have no fear because it seems that time is here.

As a part of Activision’s fourth quarter earnings call, an exec said that the second version of Modern Warfare will most likely be hitting fourth quarter ‘09. No details on the title was given, but we do know that the game is going to be awesome, I’m sorry but when it comes to Modern Warfare my fanboy releases itself.

Anyway, if you didn’t remember, a Twitter post by Robert Bowling, he, kinda, confirmed the there is going being a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but it wasn’t official. But, one can only stop and wonder what they plan for the official announcement.

In what wouldn’t be a shocking turn of events, on the official Metroid Japanese website it reveals what looks like an ad for another Metroid Prime title.

The ad showcases a space pirate, which is a recurring protagonist in the game, reading ‘another side story – coming soon’. When translated the text at the bottom of the ad reads, ‘Live the history Metroid Prime on the side of the Pirates.’ But, before you go off let the speculation.

The fate of the earth and the survival of the human race hang in the balance and it looks like you are, once again, called upon to take on the role of your favorite giant robots. Today in an untimely fashion, it seems that Activision has announced there role in the development of the upcoming move video game Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

The will be base off the upcoming move with the same name, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

“The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game will give fans the chance to experience their favorite Autobots and Decepticons  in an all-new, movie inspired adventure packed with the thrilling and explosive action that only the Transformers universe can deliver,” said Rob Kostich, vice president of global brand management, Activision, Inc.

“We are thrilled to announce that after experiencing the rush of commanding colossal robots on their own, players can challenge their friends for the first time ever in full-featured, blistering multiplayer action as their favorite characters.”

Despite an inglorious first episode, Marvel Studios was willing to move forward with development of the second Iron-Man movie video game, Iron Man 2: The Video Game, as it is know for now.

The filming of the movie hasn’t begun yet, but with a title like that SEGA wasn’t willing to turn it down. The game is being developed at the publishers San Francisco-based development studio, Secret Level.

The release is planned for something around the movies release in 2010, I can’t believe that I’m saying that, were does the time go?

“We are thrilled to build on the success of the Iron Man phenomenon and work with Marvel and Paramount on another epic project,” says Simon Jeffery, President of SEGA of America, Inc. “SEGA and Marvel are collaborating closely to ensure we deliver an authentic Iron Man experience.”

Jigsaw’s, the guy that we just love to hate, will finally be getting a release date after some, foolish, talk that the game would never see the light of day.

Konami today revealed that it has come to the table with a deal with, Lions Gate Entertainment is to continue the work of  Brash Entertainment, after the the studio closed it’s doors late last year. The deal would entail the movie game so that it will release around the the same time with Saw 6, which is Fall 09.

Here’s a quick question. Are you guys into the Saw franchise? If so, are you looking forward to the game? And we all know that ”The Sicko can’t be let down. Let’s play a game.”

After being rumored a thousand times, it seems that Rockstar games has finally announced this morning a sequel to 2004’s Red Dead Revolver.

The game Red Dead Redemption will tell the story of ex-outlaw John Marston at the turn of the 20th century when the “lawless and chaotic badlands began to give way to the expanding reach of government and the spread of the Industrial Age.” The uses the power of the RAGE engine, which we have seen the games like Grand Theft Auto IV.

“Along the way, players will experience the heat of gunfights and battles, meet a host of unique characters, struggle against the harshness of one of the world’s last remaining wildernesses, and ultimately pick their own precarious path through an epic story about the death of the Wild West and the gunslingers that inhabited it.”

“The team at San Diego have massively exceeded our expectations with the sheer depth of experiences in Red Dead Redemption,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “The seamless combination of breathtaking beauty and intense action, all woven together with strong plotlines in a massive vibrant, rural environment is mind-blowing. We think this game helps to push the limits of what an open-world gaming experience can be.”

Lets get Ready 2 Rumble!!! This was just one of the many lasting impressions that the game left on us from our last fight vs. Michel Jackson. But, that was a long time ago and it now seems that the title is ready for another championship battle.

Retaining much of the same elements that gave the original game its luster, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution will not be featuring Afro Thunder – sorry fans. But, the game will retain its RUMBLE feature, which is a round determining feature that turns the fight around.

On the Wii the game looses its original button controls and now it will take advantage of the motion-controlled realism of Wii in a Wii Remote and Nunchuk combination, so expect controls like the Wii-Boxing. And what kinda ‘new’ this game will be nothing  if it didn’t have new locations. Well, we should be happy it does.

The game runs at about 60 frames per second, and the game even has a more advanced Artificial Intelligence program. Speaking of, you will get the chance to test the Artificial Intelligence in the Championship Mode in were you create a player and go trough rankings on your way, once again, to the big Las Vegas showdown. With also have a wide variety of characters fitting for almost every player type.

And that’s it, but you can check out more information by clicking the boxing glove below.

I will have to admit that I did indeed stay up to see this video, but it wasn’t because I was bored and had nothing important to do, example sleeping, it’s because I really want this game to be good, an sometimes even great. Anyway, speaking on it, on the season premiere episode of Game Trailers TV they revealed the first trailer for the upcoming movie game, X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine amps up the action by bringing to life Wolverine’s wholly unique skills such as his brute strength, regenerative mutant abilities, and indestructible adamantium claws and skeleton in an immersive experience that is fitting to one of the most enduring and popular characters of all time,” said Rob Kostich, vice president, global brand management, Activision Publishing, Inc.