Remember the Good Old Games? Well, we do.  We recently sat down with representative Lukasz Kukawski to talk about some of the ideas behind the extremely promising web store — also, gaming in general.  The main idea behind the site being; make available classic hit titles at affordable prices.

I bet that you’ve been asked this questions multiple times, but what was the teams main inspiration behind Good Old Games?

That’s easy, the main inspiration was to offer gamers the classic PC games again. The idea behind GOG came to life after a discussion by CD Projekt’s (GOG Ltd. mother company) management guys about old games. They came to a conclusion they would really love to play such gems from the past like Fallout, Duke Nukem 3D, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter or System Shock, but it’s almost impossible to buy them in retail or on on-line auctions. Even if you have a stash of old games in your basement, still you can’t be sure if they run on your modern, lightning fast Windows 7 system. So they decided to offer gamers around the world a chance to legally buy games which ruled back in the day, optimized to run on modern operating systems and filled with extras like soundtracks, artworks, guides and more. And the best way to reach a worldwide community is by using the internet. By combining these two ideas, GOG has been born – a digital distribution platform with classic PC games.

For people who aren’t fortunate enough to own high-end PCs, how have you guys adapted to them and, if not, how do you plan too?

Well, actually we didn’t have to adapt to them as most of the games are 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years old. You don’t have to have a powerful PC to play the classics which millions of gamers enjoyed back in the days. Actually we’ve launched GOG in a very favorable circumstances as netbooks started to become very popular, which is still the case. Most of the games offered on GOG will run flawlessly on netbooks and thanks to the DRM-free nature of GOG, you can enjoy those titles without having access to internet like during a flight, on vacation etc.

Do you guys believe social interaction, such as Twitter, Facebook, as the stepping stone behind your recent success?

I believe the main factor is our offering which is unique for us, but I’m also sure social media like Twitter and Facebook sure helped us. We’re using word of mouth as one of the main strategies to promote the service and it works for us pretty well. Our approach to digital distribution – DRM-free games in reasonable prices with bonus materials – gained a huge group of fans and it’s still growing. These satisfied customers use Twitter, Facebook, forums, blogs, etc. to recommend GOG as the place to get classic PC games and as we know personal recommendations are the most effective. We’ve made a service which we’d like to use ourselves as gamers and the growing success of GOG shows that it was a good way to do it. We respect our users and they feel like recommending us to other gamers and that’s great!

Technically speaking. Have you guys compressed any of your titles, or have you guys left them as is for downloading.

The games are packed in a custom GOG installer, so the file you download from our server after purchasing is the installer. It helps us to provide users a hassle-free experience. You don’t have to know how to tweak a game to run under DOSBox or how to make a Win98 game run on your Windows Vista, you just download the file, instal the game and play it. Of course the game itself isn’t deprived of anything, it’s the exact same game that you have played when it was originally released.

With the recent release of StarCraft II, have you guys tried to obtain the rights to publish the original installment?

Blizzard has it’s own store where you can buy the original StarCraft in both digital and retail version, so they’re not actually very interested in selling it via GOG.

Do you guys believe that Steam is your most impactful competitor, seeing that they also home many good old school titles?

Steam is the biggest and most successful digital download platform out there, no discussion. But still they are focused on new games and that’s where they are the most popular. If you want to check for some classic PC games you’re going to check GOG or some abandonware sites.

At first, when we launched the biggest competitor wasn’t Steam, but actually the abandonware sites. But when we started to contact the owners of those sites and telling them about GOG they were happy that someone has finally took care of classic games. After all most of the guys behind abandonware are huge fans of old games and they offer the titles as abandonware downloads to save them from oblivion. We’ve managed to turn many abandonware sites into our affiliates and they turned from our biggest competition into our biggest partners.

So yeah, we’re not competing with Steam as we found our own niche and we’re trying to get as much as possible from it and I can tell that there’s still a lot of potential in old games and old brands. After all, we call those games classics.

How do you feels about HD remakes, like Deux Ex: Human Revolution?

As far as I know, Deus Ex: Human Revolution won’t be a classic HD remake, but a continuation of the renown series, but I understand what you mean. ;D I think it’s a good thing. Dusting off the old, great brands by making remakes or continuations or by making them available again (for example via GOG) is good as thanks to this older gamers can revive their memories and new audiences can get to know titles which they heard of but never had a chance to actually play. Music and movies industries cherish their past, save it from oblivion, while gaming industry seems to rush into the future and don’t care about the past, while there are lots of gems in the PC gaming history that are worth remembering.

Can you please describe Good Old Games to us?

Good Old Games, or GOG.com, is a digital distribution platform with cheap and DRM-free classic PC games. We’ve got such great classics like Fallout, Duke Nukem 3D, Freespace 2, Outcast, Arcanum, Heroes of Might and Magic, Beyond Good & Evil (and 200+ titles more) for either $5.99 or $9.99, no matter where you live. DRM-free means we don’t have any copy protection in our games – when you buy a game on GOG you can download it anytime you want as many times as you need, you can burn it on a CD, install on any PC you own and you don’t have to be online to play. What’s even better every game is guaranteed to work on modern operating systems and comes with additional materials like soundtracks, guides, artworks, wallpapers and more.

But GOG isn’t just an ordinary digital outlet. Our goal is to make it the ultimate destination for all classic games fans, that’s why every game has it’s own forum where you can meet people who share the same passion for old games as you. We publish retrospective articles and interviews with developers which bring you the idea how the game was made and what decisions developers had to make during the development.

But you don’t have to listen to me, just visit GOG.com, create a free account and download one (or all) of three free games to check the GOG experience. See you on the forums!

I recent had the chance to sit down with Pint Shot Riot’s Baby Dave to talk about their future within the gaming industry and what they think of it thus far.

GCO: I’ll like to start this interview with some general questions — if you don’t mind. How do you feel about video games this day in age?

Bady Dave, Band Member/ Band Representative: “I feel there has been such amazing developments in video games since I started playing them it’s unreal. I definitely enjoy a session in my spare time and the games are getting better and better.”

GCO: If you were on a isolated island, which console would you take with you — just for keeps, of course?

BD: “Definitely an Xbox 360, especially if it is hooked up to Xbox live!”

GCO: Do you believe that Dante’s Inferno should get a sequel?

BD: I’ve no idea I’ve not played it sorry

GCO: Now, with those question out of the way, how did you all get into the EA Games, and how has the experience been so far?

BD: “We were spotted by E.A, they approached us and it just went from there really. It has been an amazing experience so far, especially being on Fifa, which has been my favourite game series for years!”

GCO: What’s the story behind your band’s name?

BD: Rocket was texting his friend one day when he noticed that if you use predictive text, the words pint, shot and riot are typed in with the same numbers and it just seemed a perfect fit for us.

GCO: If you weren’t making music, what would do?

GD: Spend a lot more time playing Xbox for one! I’d probably teach music if I wasn’t making music full-time, I always enjoy passing on tips to people learning the bass guitar.

GCO: I know these aren’t a EA game, but are you guys planning on playing God of War III, or Final Fantasy XIII?

BD: Not for me actually, I’m not a massive RPG fan, I prefer sports or fighting games.

GCO: Are you please tell our reads how they could be more involved with your band?

BD: Sure, you can find us on www.pintshotriot.co.uk and you will find links to our Facebook and Myspace pages there too. We have some free downloads available there too so feel free to get amongst it!

GCO: That said, I’ll like to thank you for your time.

BD: No problem, thank you too! Baby Dave

[EA Music - Blog - Facebook]

Have you ever sucked at a game? And whatever you did, or do, you continued to suck? (Yeah, me too.) But, there’s a theory behind the madness. In a study published in The Journal of the Cerebral Cortex, it revealed that the size of your brain can actually have an affect on your gaming skills.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have studied specific parts of the Striatum, a collection of tissues deep inside your cerebral cortex, and it revealed that brain size can influence a gamers ability to “refine his or her motor skills, learn new procedures, develop useful strategies and adapt to a quickly changing environments,” or in other words, playing games.

“This is the first time that we’ve been able to take a real world task like a video game and show that the size of specific brain regions is predictive of performance and learning rates on this video game,” said Kirk Erickson, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and the author on the study.

“Playing a game which requires very fast deployment of visual attention and motor movement could prime a strategy of speed over accuracy,” explained Nelson, “while playing a game which emphasizes a slower, more thoughtful pace could prime the opposite pattern. The main point is that different kinds of video games engage different cognitive and perceptual skills, and there are measurable differences in their effects, even in the short term.”

However, it does not work in reverse; you can’t play a bunch of video games and grow those structures in your brain — you’re stuck with the equipment you’re given from birth.

Netflix plans to continue its domination of the video streaming market with its newest partnership, introducing its steaming service onto the Wii. According to Netflix, the program is scheduled to release onto Nintendo’s platform this spring, and it will require consumers to reserve a disc in-order to participate (they also must have an account, of course).

“Our research shows that 86 percent of all U.S. Wii consoles are located in the living room,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “The Wii console is the social hub around which friends and family members gather to play games and have fun. Soon both new and longtime Wii owners will enjoy the benefits of Netflix – and a variety of informational and entertainment options – by being Netflix members and connecting their consoles to the Internet.”

The partnership between the two companies will extend the reach of Netflix, thanks in-part to the mainstream popularity of the Wii. The Netflx program will be available on the platform this spring and, to enable the streaming, consumers will need an instant-streaming disc, which is currently available at no additional cost to subscribers via the Netflix’s website.

Alien vs. Predator has received an amazing amount of press, because of the overwhelming amount of violence throughout the game. However, Rebellion, it’s developer, have refused to edit AvP for any country, including Australia. In a recent interview, Rebellion Studios’ Martin Kennedy and Alex Moore openly spoke about Alien vs. Predator being banned.

“It’s just red-tape standing in the way. There’s no logical reason why Australia couldn’t have an 18 rating. People who want the game will get [it] imported, it’s not going to hurt us. If anything it’s been a bit of decent publicity,” Kennedy said. “We’re not going to water down the game for countries that can’t treat adults like adults,” added Moore.

Moore even to compared Australia’s government to the past situations within Germany, in where Germany went on a banning spree. “Germany’s always one of those places that we’ve known it was going to be difficult because the first one [game] got banned in Germany as well,” Moore continued. Alien vs. Predator is due out early this year.

Alan Wake is most likely one of the most anticipated titles of this year, with it nearing development completion, Microsoft revealed during the Consumer Electronics Show that Alan Wake will indeed have “downloadable episodes” after its release — something that was previously mentioned in an interview.

“We have talked about it, and with our episode-based structure, it would be very logical,” Alan Wake creator and writer Sam Lake told Kotaku. “But nothing has been decided on the matter, and right now, we are fully focused on polishing the game and shipping it. After that, let’s see.”

After an humiliating attempt with Bionic Commando, it seems that Capcom wants DONE with western developers altogether. In a Q&A session held earlier this week, the company’s president Haruhiro Tsujimoto revealed that he wasn’t happy with the collaborations they’ve done here in the west, and that, from now on, new IPs will be developed in-house, in Japan.

“Our experience with Bionic Commando has demonstrated the difficulty of outsourcing the development of new title to overseas companies”, he said. “Nevertheless, we cannot develop a sufficient number of titles without using the resources of these companies. This is why we plan to continue using these alliances.”

“We are considering ways to separate the roles of activities in Japan and overseas. We plan to develop new titles primarily in Japan. Overseas companies may be used mostly to develop titles for existing game series with well-established characters and universal themes. Overseas companies will also handle certain parts and/or lineups of such games.”

We can understand why he’s disappointed; Bionic Commando wasn’t a huge success. However, before his statement, he did mention that collaborating with western developers is hard work because of the lack of communication throughout the development process. But, as I was stating, I don’t think that Bionic Commando was a failure because of poor development. It was because of poor advertisement on Capcom’s part.

Within the past couple of years, Ubisoft has centered itself as a comparable developer/publisher. That said, wanting to expand its reach, the publisher revealed its ambitions to develop a Japanese role-playing game, much like the Final Fantasy series. When be interviewed Famitsu, Ubisoft’s Alain Corre spoke about the companies general ambitions within the role-playing genre.

“People often say that Japan is packed with hardcore gamers, and it’s important to understand what it is they’re looking for,” Corre said in the Famitsu interview. “Our mission is to create hit games on the same level as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. We’d like to see everyone in Japan root for us. Perhaps someday our efforts will result in a major hit on the level of a Dragon Quest.”

“We have never made any RPGs, a genre Japanese people love,” he continued. “We’ve made shooters, strategy, sports, action, and adventure games, but not any RPGs yet. Still, we’re open to all possibilities. If we can get a quality team of RPG-oriented developers, I’d love to release one. If we have a chance to work with Japanese creators, then I’m sure we can make a game that appeals to the Japanese audience.”

Corre also made it known that they’re “currently investing in Japanese development studios”, and that they’ll be revealing more about those projects “in a year’s time.” With that said, could this have to do anything with “Project Eden”, Ubisoft’s collaboration with Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Q Entertainment? Well… it’s anyone’s guest.

Nintendo fans left out of the Dark Void foray, rejoice! Because Capcom hasn’t forgotten about us. Capcom has revealed its plans for a downloadable prequel, that’s before the events of Dark Void, exclusively on DSiWare entitled Dark Void Zero. And, much like Mega Man 9, Dark Void Zero is being made with an 8-bit aesthetic in mind.

Feeding on the 8-bit nostalgia, Dark Void Zero will feature an original soundtrack, and evokes players to “blow” into the DSi microphone before playing the game – this will happen every time the player boots-up the game. Expected to release in January, Dark Void Zero will cost 500 DSi points and requires a DSi to play.

Japanese role-playing games don’t command the respect that they once had. But, why is that? BioWare, a leader in Western RPG development, believes that Japanese role-playing games don’t innovate, meaning that “lack of evolution” is the reason for the JRPG decline, in both sales and quality.

“The fall of the JRPG in large part is due to a lack of evolution, a lack of progression,” BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk told Destructoid last week. “They kept delivering the same thing over and over. They make the dressing better, they look prettier, but it’s still the same experience”.

“My favorite thing, it’s funny when you still see it, but the joke of some of the dialogue systems where it asks, ‘do you wanna do this or this,’ and you say no. ‘Do you wanna do this or this?’ No. ‘Do you wanna do this or this?’ No. Lemme think — you want me to say ‘yes.’ And that, unfortunately, really characterized the JRPG.”

“We have big debates on whether GTA is an RPG, for example”, he adds. “It’s got all the elements, it just doesn’t have the numbers. And what gamers here want is that higher depth, that higher integration of features…Mass Effect 2 is in some ways a continuation of that evolution.”

When in a convosation, Australia is a topic that every developer hates to talk about — mainly because their games, if violent, get banned within a split scond in Australia. But, not Rebellion. Because Australia’s Classification Review Board has reversed their decision to ban Aliens vs. Predator in Australia, with no content to be changed or removed.

Being developed by Rebellion Games, the game was original ruled as to violent due to “various types of violence, including explicit decapitation and dismemberment, as well as locational damage, such as stabbing through the chest, mouth, throat, or eyes.”

However, following the announcement of the ban, Rebellion made a statement claiming it would not release a “sanitized or cut-down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices.” Rebellion is developing Aliens vs. Predator for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

High Moon Studios have drawn inspiration from Epic’s Gears of War series in the development of Transformers: War of Cybertron, the newest Tranformers game — the developer stated this when announcing the game. However, when speaking to Transformers World 2005, High Moon’s Matt Tieger clearify what they really meant by Gears being a inspiration.

Pondering the reasons behind the Gears motifs, Tieger stated that it could be that they’re using the same exact engine as Gears of War, the Unreal Engine. Also, it could be that Transformers: War of Cybertron is a “third-person” action game. But, he did mention that there are some notable differences.

“One, we are not a cover-based shooter (you think Megatron would take cover?) Two, transform anywhere. Three, special abilities add an additional layer of strategic depth. Four, finally, Transformers has always been a team based property and each character has unique abilities so teamwork becomes pivotal,”he continued.

During the 2009 Video Game Awards, The Joker took the stage to announced the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham Asylum 2. Boasting itself as “the sequel [that we] didn’t see coming”, Arkham Asylum 2 is being development at Rocksteady Studios, who’s the developer of the first title.

Featuring crime-ridden city streets, the trailers depicts The Joker in a convoluted state – caused by the ending events of Arkham Asylum. The trailer didn’t go into much detail about the game, but it did quarry at the moving of the Asylum. But, other then that, the trailer didn’t reveal anything else.

A month after rumors pointed at its development, Ubisoft has made it official. The French publisher announced today that in May, the same exact month that the Prince of Persia movie will be hitting theaters, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands will be releasing on both consoles and handhelds.

Also, in the Press Release, the publisher revealed that The Forgotten Sands storyline will return to the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time storyline, which means it follows the original storyline. The Forgotten Sands will also feature “many of the fan-favorite elements from the original series as well as new gameplay innovations”.

That said, the release date wasn’t chosen at random. Like I stated before, the release time-frame is in directly conjunction with the upcoming movie, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time – based on the game with the same name. Can anyone smell a movie tie-in? Be that as it may, Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is expected to hit both consoles and handhelds in May 2010.

When I was growing up, never would I of though that the word billion would be used when talking about video game sales. But, nonetheless, here we are. That said, as much as I hate the management over at Activision, Activision’s Call of Duty series has ranked in a total of $3 Billion in retail sales worldwide, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack, GfK and internal Activision estimates.

“Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time. If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history,” said Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick.

It’s obvious that Activision and Kotick have struck gold; alot of it. However, knowing Activision, we can expect more from the Call of Duty series.

BioWare’s known for impressive and engaging RPGs. However, the genre been seemingly non-existent this console generation; there are only a few out in the market right now. One of the many unnoticed problems of this console generation, BioWare has set out to fill this void with its “dark heroic fantasy” Dragon Age: Origins, the spiritual successor to the highly praised Baldurs Gate franchise on the PC. That said, unsurprisingly, Dragon Age surpasses all expectations; pushing the breaking point and scale of any previous RPG. In fact, Dragon Age could even be considered as the greatest RPG ever conceived.

In Dragon Age, you play as a newly mended Grey Warden, warriors tasked with fighting off the advancing Darkspawn in the time of “The Blight”, a catastrophic event in which Darkspawn try and take over the world causing years of darkness and chaos. However, the Grey Wardens have seen better days; their influence, as well as their numbers, are weak. Then, in this time of great weakness within the Wardens, push comes to shovel. Now, your character finds themselves building up an army in time for the impending Blight; done by pulling in debts from the other races and other factions within Ferelden, the setting for this adventure.

But, that’s only apart of the story. Dragon Age’s story also branches of into multiple segments; thanks in part to NPC dialogue tree, made famous in BioWare’s Mass Effect series, and the character creation system. However, with the dialog system, it’s not as obvious as to how your discussions effect your progression towards good, or evil. You see, since you cannot physically see the see the outcomes of your discussions, you’ll have to read and layout your options before picking your answers. This adds interesting aspect but, the moments when there’s only one outcome, are where the dialogue system trends to drags on.

That said, you’ll have three races (human, elf, dwarf) and three classes (warrior, mage and rouge) to pick from when customizing your character. Pick carefully because this decides how the world views and treats your character. Along with, which one of the six origin stories you’ll be to explore as that character. This is the biggest problem with the origin story aspect. After playing though a portion of the game, your characters origin story starts feeling like an afterthought, ie. The people of Ferelden don’t favor elves but, after awhile, it’s like people don’t care about who, or what, you are. This isn’t a major problem; it’s just that it adds an unrealistic feeling to the Dragon Age experience.

Even though there are some substantial differences between the PC and console versions, BioWare has created a combat system that mirrors that of the PC. This system works in one of two ways; fighting in real-time, and micromanaging. However, micromanaging isn’t the preferred battle preference on consoles; the console versions are geared more towards action, which is opposite to the PCs more tactical approach. Meaning that, there’s really no need for micromanagement on consoles – you can play though all the game without micromanaging. However, when you’re facing 15+ enemies, micromanaging is the prefect way for you to insure a clean victory. Be that as it may, the most notable difference between the versions are there presentations.

But, don’t get me wrong, Dragon Age is a gorgeous game. It’s just that, on consoles, the graphics can’t hold a candle to that of the PCs; the colors look washed out and foggy. Also, in the time it told me to play through Dragon Age, I noticed that the game was plagued with many annoying little glitches that, while not breaking the game, put a damper on the overall experience, ie. there’s a glitch in which a character’s lips move while no words came out. However, it isn’t all bad with presentation. Character animations, while stiff at some points, are smooth and well done, and the art style is very eye catching.

Closing Statement:

Dragon Age is one of those titles that can easily take hours out of your life, which, surprisingly, isn’t a bad thing because you won’t want them back. That, along with the fact that BioWare has chosen to introduce downloadable content, proves that Dragon Age is something that you do not want to miss. But, even though I did have a lot of fun playing Dragon Age, there’s just to many glitches that took away from the overall experience. However, if you can get past them, this is the game for you. In addition, never has a game been fully worth the $60; Dragon Age’s quality surpasses that.

Final Score: 9.1

Ubisoft plans to ship James Cameron‘s Avatar on December 1st. But, undoubtedly, the publishers heaviest holiday hitter of this year is Assassin’s Creed II, which shipped last week. That said, according to the company’s internal estimate, Assassin’s Creed II sold over 1.6 million units worldwide during its first week; that’s 32 percent faster than the original in terms of sales timing.

“We’ve made improvements to every aspect of the game. We’ve plunged ourselves into the stunning history of the Italian Renaissance so that we can offer fans a unique, varied and innovative Assassin’s Creed experience,” said Patrice Desilets, creative director at Ubisoft, when announcing the game back in April. Assassin’s Creed II is now available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

If you’ve played the original, you’ll known that Kane & Lynch: Dead Men was an entertaining but rough-edged game (it was littered with controversy, most notable the firing of Jeff Gerstman). But, with all the hope in the world, maybe they can address these issues in the sequel, Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days.

Square-Enix Europe have announced today that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days will be releasing sometime next year on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. The sequel “is a raw and brutal crime shooter designed to take players on an even more intense story experience, following two of gaming’s most disturbed criminals, through the gritty Shanghai underworld.”

However, they aren’t calling Kane and Lynch 2 a sequel. They’re calling it “[a game] inspired by documentary filmmakers and the user-generated era,” meaning that it could be a game played documentary style, or something like that. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days will be released under the Eidos games label  in 2010.

During the latest episode of GamerTrailers TV, BioWare revealed The Illusive Man, the head of Cerberus. They’ve, also, released new information about Mass Effect 2, revealing a new squad member that goes by the name of Mordin, Garrus’ introduction phase into Mass Effect 2, and the Vanguard class, a new character class.

But, first, The Illusive Man. Commander Shepard is now working for Cerberus, meaning that The Illusive Man is Shepard’s new boss. However, him and Shepard have this “love/hate relationship” – Shepard is putting up with The Illusive Man because he needs information from Cerberus to piece together the mystery taking place within Mass Effect 2.

In addition, BioWare also revealed the Vanguard class, which is home to a new “Charge Ability”; the higher the level of your character, the more abilities can be added into the Charge Ability, like slow motion (please view the view from a more in-dept look at this new class).

They’ve also revealed Garrus’ introduction phase: you’ll meet up with Garrus during a gang war on Omega, one of the many planets in the Mass Effect universe. However, last, but not least, Mordin, a smart-mouth and witty new squad member (expect more details soon). With that said, you can view the GameTrailers TV episode for even more details about the game.

Final Fantasy XIII will be hitting North American stores on March 9th, announced its developer Square Enix today – just so that you guys know, that’s the same exact month that God of War III will be hitting stores, meaning that March is going to be an amazing month for gaming.

Along with this announcement, Square Enix have also released a new video for the game showcasing the new battle system, the Paradigm system; just for fans to get a better understanding for the new system. Final Fantasy XIII will release on both the Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 March of next year, the Japanese will be getting the game on December 17th.

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]

Activision’s Modern Warfare 2 has become the biggest launch title in entertainment history; something that comes as no surprise, seeing that Activision is the worlds biggest video game publisher because of the Call of Duty franchise.

In its first day, the game sold an estimated 4.7 million copies in North America and in the UK, reports internal Activision estimates, with estimated sell-through sales of $310 million in North America and the UK alone in the first 24 hours. Meaning that, this could mean that Modern Warfare 2 did sell the recent estimated 7 million copies worldwide on day one - this report only covers the UK and North America sales, not the entire planet’s day one sale of the game.

“The Call of Dutyfranchise has become a cultural phenomenon showing the power of video games as an entertainment medium,” said Mike Griffith, CEO, Activision. “The shattering of these entertainment records is a testament to the compelling, cinematic and uniquely engaging experience that the Call of Duty brand delivers. Modern Warfare 2 has taken interactive experience to unprecedented heights setting a new standard for entertainment.”

But, the question still remains. How much did Modern Warfare 2 sell worldwide on day one?

Modern Warfare 2 is estimated to sell a total of 12 million units within the remaining year; that’s between the months of October and December. That said, this morning, it was revealed that Modern Warfare 2 sold over 1.23 million units in the UK in 24 hours.

According to GameSpot, using the UK sales estimation, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter stated that the overall first day sales of Modern Warfare 2 could total 7 million units worldwide. “While the two-times week-one tally for GTA IV may seem aggressive, the bottom line is that we believe current consensus estimates of around 12 million for the December quarter may end up being conservative,” he told analyst.

I’ll explain this for those that need help understanding it how he got the total. Seeing that most UK sales portion that of those in the United States, he did a rough estimation coming to the total of 7 million units sold worldwide on its first day. However, if this estimation is true, this would mean that Modern Warfare 2 is the fastest selling video game, period. Along with that, VGChartz are reporting that the game sold 7 million units worldwide on its first day.

In the few past week, rumors have been speculating at a public beta for Bad Company 2, however, the rumors weren’t clarified. That is until now. Exclusively for the PlayStation 3, starting November 19, PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to experience the unprecedented action, destruction, vehicular warfare, squad play and open sandbox environments that only Bad Company 2 can deliver in the form of a private multiplayer beta.

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta will feature the “Arica Harbor” map, where up to 24 players can compete in one of the game’s four intense multiplayer modes called “Rush”. The new map displays a superb balance of vehicle and infantry combat, as the American assault unit attacks the Russian army base with full force, advancing further through a beautiful desert town and towards the industrial area in a desperate attempt to overtake the Arica Harbor.

“This is an outstanding opportunity for PlayStation gamers to get early access to one of the most action-packed and polished shooters in the marketplace with Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” says Rob Dyer, SVP, Publisher Relations, SCEA. “We’re happy to help DICE achieve their superior level of multiplayer excellence in the game.”

Along with that, early next year, players worldwide will be able experience Bad Company 2 when DICE releases a multiplayer demo on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

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.

With the recent speculation about a third Killzone, a dutch television shows’ commentator made it known that Guerrilla Games is indeed working on another Killzone on PlayStation 3; stating that a “the commentator said something remarkable”, reports dutch gaming site PSFocus.

Along with that, the VideoJug commentator also stated that fans could expect the sequel within the next two years – sometime within 2010-2011. “At this moment in the greatest secrecy worked on the sequel to Killzone 2. The release is expected in 2011, perhaps even in 2010,” said the commentator, translated by Google.

Personally, I would love to see another Killzone. Along with that, I would love to see a Killzone 3 with cooperative play. Sony has yet to comment on the rumors.

As rumors of another Prince of Persia game unspool, the official trailer for the movie adaption of “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” popped up on the internet. But, that’s not the only good news. The trailer is actually pretty good; it has a great mixture of humor and action, which makes for a great action movie experience.

The trailer, also, indicates that the film’s story will stick to that of the 2003 game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which centers on a magical dagger that can be used to speed up or slow downtime. The Sands of Time is due in theaters May 2010.

Heavy Rain is, undoubtedly, one of our most anticipated games of next year. However, like I stated so many times, fans need something for waiting so long, and for Heavy Rain being delayed so many times.

With that said, Quantic Dream head, David Cage, told G4 that “[they're] currently working on a demo” for Heavy Rain, and that “finding one scene that can convey what we are trying to achieve with Heavy Rain is something really difficult.”

“If we show an action scene, some players will think that this is what Heavy Rain is all about, and it is the same thing if we show an exploration scene,” he continued to tell G4. “The problem is that each scene of the game offers contextual game play, which is something very difficult to explain and convey in a single demo. Demos are often a double-edge thing: if you don’t release one, players may think that you have something to hide.”

As for a release date for the demo, it’s still unknown. But, here’s a question. Why don’t they just use the E3 demo? Heavy Rain is scheduled to launch early in 2010, exclusively for the PS3.

When the newly revamped Prince of Persia released, it easily began one of most impressive games this console generation. However, it left many of us wanting more. With that said, recent speculation has pointed to a sequel. And, with the trademarking for “Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands“, speculations has been raising, even more.

At the “The Sands of Time” trailer preview event at Bruckheimer Studios, the movie team left losses that Ubisoft is planning to announce a new Prince of Persia game spring of next year. However, as for details, they haven’t revealed anything about the new game; making it clear that it’s not their place to give out any details.

[Thanks to NeoSeeker]

This hasn’t been officially confirmed yet. After the recent speculation about Gran Turismo 5 featuring a track editor, Polyphony Digital has “confirmed” that the sequel will indeed feature a track editor; allowing players to edit and create tracks.

“Yes it will have a track editor. You will be able to rebuild a track from scratch or edit the tracks that are already put in Gran Turismo 5,” a Polyphony Digital spokesperson confirmed to Everything 4 Gamers. However, any other details about the track editor haven’t been revealed, but, hopefully, soon we’ll see some details.

They then when on to talk about the game receiving a “simultaneous release” worldwide. Responding: “Sorry, we can’t give out any of that information at the moment. You will just have to wait and see.”  We’ve contacted Sony to see if any of these details are true.

Spoiler Warning: Leaked footage of Modern Warfare 2 showcased a playable art of terrorism; in where the player would shoot innocent civilians in an airport. Activision has since explained the propose of the scene stating that it’s “designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism”.

However, those that aren’t sure they can handle the scene, they’ve revealed that the scene is completely skippable. “At the beginning of the game, players encounter a mandatory ‘checkpoint’ in which they are warned that an upcoming segment may contain disturbing elements and they can choose not to engage in the gameplay that involves this scene,” an Activision spokesperson told IGN.

This means that players can “opt-out” of the level entirely – we won’t know for sure until MW2 releases in November . However, Activision has made it clear that “[this] is not representative of the overall gameplay experience in [MW2]“, meaning that this will be the only time you’ll be killing citizens in the game.

Naughty Dog released the first episode of Uncharted: Eye of Indra, the motion comic series following the early adventures of Nathan Drake – the main protagonist for Uncharted series – before the events of Drake Fortune, on PlayStation Store.

“We actually started [Among Thieves] game with an idea for a prequel story that we eventually cut,” said Lead Designer Neil Druckmann, when announcing Eye of Indra. “However, you’ll get to see that story fleshed out in the upcoming Uncharted Motion Comic.” Eye of Indra is a four-part motion comic series that’s available exclusively on the PlayStation Store for the price of “free”.

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.

THQ today announced Metro 2033: The Last Refuge, a new first person shooter for Xbox 360 and PC, which is based on the best-selling Russian novel of the same name by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Developed by 4A Games, and built with the cutting edge, proprietary 4A Game Engine, Metro 2033 is set to deliver a gripping, atmospheric experience when it releases in 2010.

“Metro 2033 will plunge gamers into a terrifying vision of the future,” said Richard Williams, vice president of global brand management, THQ. “4A Games have worked closely with Dmitry Glukhovsky to deliver a unique game world, a compelling, cinematic story and an incredible, atmospheric experience to rival anything in the category.”

Metro 2033 is scheduled for release in early 2010 for the Xbox 360, and PC, which supports NVIDIA PhysX technology.

Update: The reports are incorrect. According to a picture taken of the magazine (click to view NSFW), Beyonetta didn’t actually get that “prefect score”. Instead, Beyonetta manage at total of 38 points out of 40 – 40 being the highest that any game can receive from the magazine.

Original: While we’re anticipating its release here in the United States, over in Japan, Famitsu has handed Bayonetta a “perfect score” – which isn’t a honor handed out freely by the magazine.

Until today, only eleven (well, now twelve) games have ever been given that honor by the magazine. So this kind of a big deal. However, within the last two years [2008-2009] three games have been given this honor, which leaves one to question the scoring by Famitsu.

[Famitsu Awards Bayonetta A Perfect Score via Kotaku]

Alpha Protocol is a contender, none the less. However, with such heavy holiday competition, it needs the cutting edge tools to impress potential buyers; seeing that it’s a freshman in the presents of senors. With that said, SEGA revealed that Alpha Protocol has stepped back into the shadows, and that it won’t release this year.

The reason behind its delay, is to fulfill its “AAA potential,” states SEGA of America’s President Masanao Maeda. “Since the inception of Alpha Protocol, Sega has recognized the potential for the game to establish itself as an AAA title,” said Maeda. “We’ve worked in conjunction with Obsidian Entertainment in making the decision to move Alpha Protocol’s ship date to spring 2010 to ensure that we have the best game possible at launch.”

We think that it’s great that their not rushing the Alpha Protocol out the door. However, this means that there’s one more game that we won’t be playing by Christmas. Alpha Protocol is, now, do out in “Spring 2010″, which is more then enough time for them to fulfill its “AAA potential”.

Mark your calenders, and set your lasers on stun. Because Electronic Arts announced today that their upcoming futuristic, alien-killing RPG, Mass Effect 2, will be hitting stores shelves on January the 26th of next year in North America and on the 29th in Europe.

And, as a plan to increase Mass Effect 2′s pre-orders, those how pre-order the game at their local Game Stop in North America will receive a code giving them legibility to receive the Terminus Gear armor and the M-490 Blackstorm(click to view) Heavy Weapon.

However, those that pre-order the game at “other retailers” will receive the Inferno Armor, which gives Shephard “an increase in run speed and augmented damage from combat powers.” 2010 can’t come soon enough.

“Our fans are in for a genuine thrill in the New Year with Mass Effect 2 – the second installment in the trilogy will be of amazingly high quality,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare co-founder. “BioWare’s fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting this epic sequel, and we couldn’t be more excited to reward them for pre-ordering by delivering some awesome bonus content!”

Borderlands has yet to hit store shelves. But, that hasn’t stopped its developer, Gearbox, from announcing its first episode of downloadable content, “Zombie Island of Dr. Ned” – which seems to have more of a Halloween “niche” then anything else.

As planned to be “the first in a series” of downloadable content for Borderlands, Zombie Island of Dr. Ned will set you back a total of $10 on all three platforms, including PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360. Here’s the description:

“Tasked with keeping the workers of Jakobs Cove alive, Dr. Ned (who is not related to Dr. Zed from Fyrestone) does his job a little too well, creating zombies and other abominations that now run rampant in this region. Players will have to work alongside Dr. Ned as they embark on a quest to cure the inhabitants of Jakobs Cove in this full-fledged expansion filled with new enemies, new quests and rare loot drops.”

Having not played Borderlands, this seems like a huge risk for the developers over at Gearbox because no one knows if the game is good, or bad. However, from the looks of things, it seems that Borderlands is more good then anything else. With that said, Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is do out “later this year”.

With a series of them releasing in the UK, Sony today revealed a 250GB PlayStation 3 Slim bundle for North America – basically, toping the PlayStation 3′s holiday competition in terms of hard dive space.

Going on sales on November 3rd, the 250GB model will feature the same “slim look” and feel as the recently released 120GB slim system, which is currently going on sale for $249.99. However, the new 250GB model will come packing at the total price of $349.99 - actually $100 more then the regular Slim.

With this new space, players can now store more of their favorite games, movies/TV shows, music, photos and PlayStation Network downloads.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony won’t only build on the game’s already prominent single player experience, it will also improve Grand Theft Auto IV’s prominent multiplayer experience, turning it into something more — adding such things such as Parachutes and Tanks into the mix, reveals Rockstar today.

“Tanks, attack choppers, new weapons, and, of course, parachutes make their multiplayer debut alongside new, tighter Deathmatch arenas, kill streaks, and assisted kills,” stated Rockstar via its official website. “It’s Grand Theft Auto multiplayer made more intense than ever.”

MAN! October 29th can’t come soon enough.

With Among Thieves not even out the door, Naughty Dog has already started talking about another Uncharted sequel. Well, it’s actually a prequel to the first Uncharted, Drake’s Fortune. However, it’s not the kind of prequel you play, it’s the type you “receive”.

During the live chat for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on the PlayStation.blog, the game’s Lead Designer Neil Druckmann revealed that Naught Dog is planning a prequel motion comic called Uncharted: Eye of Indra - featuring voice talent from the cast of the video games – that goes into Drake’s adventures before the first game.

“We actually started [Among Thieves] game with an idea for a prequel story that we eventually cut,” said Druckmann. “However, you’ll get to see that story fleshed out in the upcoming Uncharted Motion Comic.”

Also, when responding to a question about his favorite female character, Druckmann replied stating that, “I’m gonna go with Rika… You’ll meet her in Uncharted: Eye of Indra - the upcoming Motion Comic.” Sounds exotic. More information should be revealed soon.

While it’s still unsure when we’ll be getting Gran Turismo 5 in North America, Kazunori Yamauchi has stated that they could release Gran Turismo 5 right now. However, Polyphony Digital won’t be doing that. You see, the studio wants to make sure that it has “that classic GT feel”, the studio head explains Famitsu.

“We could release it any time we want,” he tells Famitsu. But, Polyphony Digital is more interested in making the overall experience prefect for everyone that’s going to be buying the game, translates 1UP. However, although “daily progress is slow,” the Japanese developer insures that “[the game's] still going forward at a steady clip.”

With that said, this is excellent news, even if we still have to wait for a solid release date.

[Thanks to Joystiq]

There’s no doubt in our minds that Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is going to blow our expectations, and the competition away when it releases next year. However, knowing Kojima, he has something surprising that we haven’t seen before to excite fans of Peace Walker.

When talking to Famitsu Magazine, Kojima took the time to tease at a “major” feature that will be unveiled in Peace Walker. “There is a system which haven’t been revealed yet, and it will be a surprise,” Kojima said to the magazine, reports PS3 Center.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is due out in 2010 exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. And with this news, we’re convinced that Peace Walker be worthy of a purchase when it releases, once again, in 2010.

In the credits for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Naughty Dog thanked so many developers, including rival system developer Bungie – which is probably one of the most surprising things about the game’s credits. However, what’s the key meaning behind Naughty Dog thanking all these developers?

Today, Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann took his time explain, during a live chat session with fans, why they decided include Bungie and other development studios in the game’s thank you credits. “We try to be quite open with our technology and our process,” he said. “We exchanged technology and ideas with other developers. We wanted to make sure we thanked everyone that helped us out in some way.”

We recently sat down with Martin Wahlund (CEO, Fatshark) to talk about their upcoming downloadable title, Lead & Gold: Gangs of the Wild West – a third person multiplayer-oriented shooter aiming to give players “a chance to relive the thrills of a gunfight in classic western settings.”. Enjoy.

GCO: What’s the general idea behind Lead & Gold?

Martin Wahlund: To deliver a fun and good looking multi-player game with strong game modes that suits the western setting well. This, at a very good price for the players.

GCO: People have called Lead & Gold “Team Fortress meets the old west”, what do you have to say about that?

MW: It is not that far off. Team Fortress is great and there are many common elements in the games but also many differences.

GCO: Lead & Gold is a team based multi-player experience. Please describe some key elements in the game.

MW: Team play. You win as a team or lose as a team. Another key element is the class that you chose to play, it dictates the way you play in each scenario.

The in-game leveling system is also something that stands out; you get experience from completing mission objectives or killing enemies. The character then, evolves by gaining improved synergies.

GCO: Does Lead & Gold have some kind of perk system, much like that in the Call of Duty games?

MW: Not directly. The closest thing is the synergies that the characters get when you level up your character in each scenario.

GCO: We’ve noticed that Lead & Gold uses the same engine as GRIN’s Bionic Commando. Were there any setbacks caused by GRIN’s closing during development?

MW: Well, we worked close with GRIN and it was a shame to see the studio close down but we are still alive and kicking.

GCO: Is there support for dynamic (explosive) environment in the game?

MW: In some sense, yes. You can destroy certain objects with a well placed powder keg. It could be a wind mill or a door.

GCO: Going back to perks. Is there a class system?

MW: Yes. There are 4 main classes in the game at release, the trapper, the blaster, the deputy and the gunslinger. All of them have a special ability for example the trapper can set traps. We hope to release more characters as downloadable content in a near future.

GCO: When can we expect Lead & Gold to release?

MW: Q1 2010.

GCO: Thanks for your time.

CCP Games, the people behind the popular EVE Online PC game, today released the first trailer for their massive multiplayer FPS, Dust 514.

DUST 514, featuring first-person shooter and RTS-style gameplay, will interact directly with EVE Online, CCP’s critically acclaimed flagship MMO. This interplay between the two games opens the EVE universe to console gamers and gives them a chance to become part of one of the most massive cooperative play and social experiences ever. Enjoy the trailer.

If you can’t wait for its release. Piranha Bytes today released the demo for the upcoming role-playing game, Risen in North America – offering players a chance to get a first impression on some of the adventures that are awaiting them on the island of Faranga before the game release.

The demo is available for download at http://risen.deepsilver.com/blog/pages/us/downloads/downloads.php

The complete retail version of Risen will be available on the market as of tomorrow.

Namco Banbai revealed today that it has completed the development of Tekken 6 and that it’s one step closer to its release on October 27th (in North America). Along with that, Namco Banbai also detailed the games online component for the very first time. Details are as followed:

Ranked Match and Player Match: Rank up or work to improve your fighting skills by battling opponents worldwide in online versus mode with voice chat functionality.

Data Upload and Download: Create and upload customised ghost characters which accurately replicate your fight style; Any player in the world can download your ghost to take on your virtual self in a one-on-one battle even when you’re not online; Upload replays of killer matches to share with friends and opponents around the world.

Scenario Online Co-op: New feature coming this winter as a free post-launch downloadable update; Jump into intense two player online co-op campaigns against AI controlled enemies and experience the dramatic large-scale action with friends around the globe.

Leaderboards: Battle Points - online only, split between World, Asia, America and Europe; Rank: overall on and offline ranking, from Beginner to Tekken God; Additional rankings include Ranked Match, Scenario Campaign, Time Attack and Survival.

There are also some exclusive PlayStation Network online features.

Tekken 6 Title Lounge: Host Versus and Co-op Sessions: Gather friends and start matches from the Lounge within PlayStation Home; Online Scenario co-op mode coming free this winter; Home Rewards: Players have the chance to win exclusive costume pieces and furniture at the Lounge for their personal space.

Hitman: Blood Money is a game that came out on PS3 and Xbox 360 around three years ago making it the forth installment of a series that I hold very close to my heart.

The Hitman series chronicles the life and works of professional killer clone Agent 47 – a largely silent protagonist who has never had any reason to regret his chosen line of work. In previous titles, Agent 47 laid waste to many unfortunate souls, including a number of his clone brothers, as well as his creator, before running away to Sicily in order to get away and become a gardener in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. The events of Blood Money come some time after the events of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and deal with what 47 does best; killing silently without leaving a trace. Outside of the character himself, the story of the Hitman series has always been a hit and miss. Blood Money’s over-arcing plot of a journalist with stupid haircut talking to an ex-FBI agent about cloning and super soldiers does little to inspire. However, as a means to revisit all 47’s high points of the previous years, it serves its purpose.

Surely the story shouldn’t matter as long as the gameplay remains solid. Unfortunately the gameplay is the most likely aspect the divide people who play the Hitman series. On the face of it, Blood Money appears as a fairly broken third person shooter with stealth mechanics. To play the game as a balls to the wall shooter is a largely unsatisfying affair. Then again to play it like a balls to the wall shooter is somewhat against its design philosophy. The best way to approach these games is as a macabre set of contextual puzzles. As has always been in the Hitman series, at the start of each mission you are given one or several targets; people who must be dead by the end of the mission, preferably without anyone noticing. The formula is largely unchanged in Blood Money, although this is the first title where 47 can platform somewhat. The levels are well thought out and provide plenty of creative ways to achieve your goal beyond shooting the place up. It is a lot like a point and click adventure game where you rub up against different objects in the hope chandeliers will fall, or a barman will give you an aphrodisiac. All of this without mentioning unbridled joy the garrote.

If there’s one aspect of the Hitman games that I can’t gripe about at all, it’s the way they present themselves. Without the thick layer of context and setting, the games would quickly fall victim to their list of shortcomings. Granted, there’s the odd character movement here and there and rag-doll physics could be viewed as a little grotesque, but it all pales into insignificance the moment Jesper Kyd’s soundtrack rumbles in, rising and falling with the action. The glacier engine that has powered the Hitman games before returns in Blood Money looking better than ever. Most importantly of all is that 47 is still the character we know and love; its been proven time and time again that accomplished voice acting is all it takes to transform a character into something so much more – see Captain Price for another perfect example.

Closing Statement:

In summation, I’d be the first person to admit there was a lot wrong with the Hitman games previous to Blood Money. What returns in Blood Money is the dark heart of the series which made the gameplay so very rewarding. Its’ more prevalent than ever; the sheer amount of replay value to be found in constantly re-exploring some of the levels is astounding, and silent assassin ranks don’t come easy, making them all the more satisfying. It’s a mixed bag and definitely not one that going to please all, but those who persevere will be rewarded.

Score: B

It’s time to get your hopes up. According to trademark site Superannuation, Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner filed trademark for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands for “gaming-related use”.

However, the question still remains. Is this a movie tie-in(god forbid!), or is it another Prince of Persia title? Sadly, UbiSoft wasn’t able to tell us anything, but this does look like it could be the sequel to last year’s Prince of Persia.

Prepare for the ultimate invasion! The most anticipated game of the year and the sequel to the best-selling first-person action game of all time, Infinity Ward‘s Modern Warfare 2 will strike worldwide on November 10, 2009. And, MAN!, November 10th can’t come soon enough.

Update: Microsoft has revealed much needed information about the second disc that will come encased with Forza Motorsport 3 saying that players will be able to play the whole career on disc one, and that the second disc is just extra content.

“The game comes on two discs, but you can play through the whole career on disc 1. Disc 2 is just additional content, ie extra cars and tracks,” a spokeperson told GamerCenterOnline. Or, in other words, Forza Motorsport 3 has alot of “extra content”.

Original: Because not all the cars and tracks could fit onto one disc, Turn 10 had to split Forza Motorsport 3 onto two discs. The first disc is most of the game, which features most of the tracks and about 300 cars, and the second you’ll need to install the onto the hard dive or memory card to get the remaining 104 cars and 29 tracks, reports IGN.

When you insert the first disc, the game will ask if you want to install the second disc, which takes up 1.9 GB of space. However, if you don’t have that much space on your hard dive, you can choose pieces of disc two to install – in which it’s broken up into four packs, much like downloadable content (IGN has a list).

After that, the game reads it and adds in the content seamlessly to the game. If you don’t have them stored onto your hard dive or memory card, you won’t see the content offline or online. We’ve contacted Microsoft to learn more about these packs, and if they’ll be fully available right at the games launch.

Polyphony Digital certainly won’t be winning any races for releasing Gran Turismo 5, that’s for sure. But, the developer has been kind enough to keep us updated with all the soils featured in Gran Turismo 5. With that said, during the Tokyo Game Show, Sony and Polyphony finally attached a release target for Gran Turismo 5.

Announcing that the racer will mostly launch in Japan come in March 2010. And that the game will mostly release in other regains “not that much later”, says series creator Kazunori Yamauchi.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that much later in the US and Europe,” Yamauchi said. “This is based on our production schedule. The reason why the dates for the US and [European] regions are not decided yet is because their marketing is still discussing their issues. It shouldn’t be too far off from [the Japanese] date for the other regions as well.”

[Gran Turismo 5 probably coming to US, EU in early 2010 - Polyphony via GameSpot]

Dead Space, hands down, has to be one of the best horror titles this console generation; with its cold atmosphere and intertwining storyline. It just seems right that EA would producer a sequel. However, EA did say that there’s going to be another Dead Space title – other then the one for the Wii – but they never said that it’s in development.

You see, with the Dead Space sequel in the pre-production stages, Visceral Games is looking for a Lead Combat and Controls Designer to help jump start the titles full development, reveals a job listing posted by EA. Along with that, its senior recruiter Jeff Ballard says that “the core team is in place”, and that it’s ready to start development.

With that said, it seems that Visceral is putting an emphasis on gameplay with the Dead Space sequel – because in the job listing it reveals that gameplay is one of the teams first values, which is very exciting news to hear. Anyway, we can’t wait to hear more about the sequel, and its development – which is said to start in the “next few months”.

Although its predecessor, Street Fighter IV, has a very successful arcade version, it seems that the newest expansion Super Street Fighter IV won’t be getting an arcade release, after all – its producer Yoshinoro Ono told GamesReactor in a reveal interview about Super Street Fighter IV.

“So, unfortunately, I’m sorry to say to arcade fans out there: there won’t be an arcade version of this. I think a lot of people were kind of requesting an arcade update .I know that, in some parts of the world, it doesn’t really matter if there’s an arcade version or not,” he told GamesReactor.

“But certainly in Japan and the rest of Asia and some parts of the Oceania, there’s still a lot of people playing in arcades. So, I’m sorry to disappoint them but this time its going to be Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 only affair.” Super Street Fighter IV is slated to ship in spring of 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

[Thanks to the Examiner]

Now that Street Fighter IV has done series justice, Capcom is looking to expand the series with a new title called Super Street Fighter IV, reports GameSpot. In which Capcom plans on improving everything about the original, meaning more playable characters, new ultra combos, improved online features, and rebalanced characters.

However, this isn’t a downloadable add-on for Street Fighter IV. You see, when Street Fighter IV was in development, certain aspects of code weren’t laid out in a way to support the features being added to Super Street Fighter IV. As a result, SSFIV will be released as a standalone disc that won’t be sold at full price.

But, don’t get rid your copy of Street Fighter IV just yet. According to its producer, Yoshinori Ono, SSFIV offers SFIV owners a bonus content that Capcom hasn’t revealed yet. As far as what to expect from the new game, Super Street Fighter IV will be a mix of feedback by Street Fighter IV fans, and a mixture of new content that the team had originally planned to add to Street Fighter IV.

As a result, the game’s original roster of 25 characters is being bumped up by roughly eight new playable characters, including T. Hawk and Juri, as Capcom is looking to add both new and retro characters to the mix. Super Street Fighter IV is slated to ship in spring of 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The Alternative Edition of Resident Evil 5 may have sparked a bit jealousy within 360 owners. However, during a Darkside Chronicles stage event at the Tokyo Game Show, producer Jun Takeuchi talked about new content that will be added to the 360 version of Resident Evil 5.

The new content that he mention was an added mission to the 360 version Resident Evil 5, which originally served a as flashback scene; with Chris and Jill duking it out with Wesker in the mansion. 360 owners may not have the availability of motion control yet. However, according to Dengeki, Capcom plans on offering the new content in “a different form” to 360 owners.

Released during the Tokyo Game Show, the newest The Last Guardian trailer is home to the a “hidden message” that Fumito Ueda, founder of Team ICO, would like to convey to the fans. In an interview with Dengeki, Ueda said that the hidden message that he wanted to convey to the fans was Toriko’s “natural movement”.

“This trailer’s all about the giant eagle Toriko, as you can see,” Ueda told Dengeki. “I wanted to show how it moves naturally. I don’t know whether you’ve noticed or not, but every body part is animated. Toriko’s whiskers move and after a while its ears move independently. I wanted fans to notice those movements.”

Reviewing the TGS trailer, he wasn’t lying about the characters natural movement. Even in the announcement trailer back at E3, the characters natural movement was very explicit. Obviously, Ueda’s art is sometimes hidden, but he’s a true artist none the less. We can’t wait to see more on The Last Guardian.

There’s no doubt in our mines that Heavy Rain is totally going to kick butt when it releases next year; its developers Quantic Dream are very primed on delivering an adult story with an adult narrative. And what wouldn’t be a better way of doing so; then to do so.

As you can tell by the title, this article is obviously about a “nude scene” that takes place during one of the levels in Heavy Rain – in where the player controls a female character who has a gun pointed at her by a mysterious character who is telling her to take off her undergarments (link is not available).

Just to note: Heavy Rain is a game made for the adult gamer. However, this is most likely to draw attention from many “active parents” who are likely going to try and get the games rating reinforced to an “A” – instead of “M” – or they’re going to try and halt the games release, altogether. Anyway, don’t let me ruin your day with this nonsense that’s mostly promoted by FOX, just kidding.

You ever wonder how Ezio looks like as a man? Well, in the latest Assassin’s Creed II trailer from the Tokyo Game Show it features Ezio as a man, not as a assassin.

In Assassin’s Creed II, Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a young Italian noble who will learn the ways of the assassins after his family was betrayed and he looks to seek vengeance. He is a lady’s man, a free soul with panache yet has a very human side to his personality. Through him, you become a master assassin.

Probably one of the most prominent features on the PSPgo is the ability to transfer UMD games onto the digital-only system. However, according a SCEA spokesperson, owners of PSPgo will NOT be able to transfer the UMD disc-based titles onto the system on its launch date – as previously thought.

“We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time,” the SCEA spokesman reported Kotaku. If you go back to this year’s E3 Expo, Sony did state that they were hoping to allow UMD games to be transferred over to the PSPgo by its launch. But, that didn’t turn out as we hoped.

Today, Rockstar revealed a new character that will be featured in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, Yusuf Amir – who is obviously a main character in the game – via a trailer.

The exclusive 360 episode, Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, will put players in the role of Luis Lopez, as his part-time hoodlum duties are supplemented by full-time work for nightclub impresario Tony “Gay Tony” Prince. The Ballad of Gay Tony will release on Xbox LIVE this October for $19.99 or 1600 MS points and requires players to have Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.

Sony has dropped a massive bombshell for PlayStation Portable owners today. During their TGS press conference, Sony announced a miniature version of PlayStation Home called Room – the two “o”s are actually an infinity symbol (“R∞M”).

“PlayStation Room” (shown above) features avatars, live blogs, photo albums and social networking. Along with, Chat, mini-games, and real-time communication. Room is being tested in Japan right now because Room is more inline to what Japanese gamers want, however, we’re fairly certain that it will come to North America, sometime in the future.

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.

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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.”

So what! Conviction didn’t actually make its 2009 release schedule, but those who are eagerly awaiting Sam Fisher’s return won’t have to wait much longer. According to IGN, UbiSoft officially “nailed” its release date, basically, setting it up for a February 23rd release in the United States.

For those in Europe, you’ll have to wait a couple of extra days – exactly how many “extra days” is still a mystery. Also, both the Xbox 360 and PC versions will hit store selves at the same time, which is more good news. “The added few months of development time is being used for final polishing and tweaking,” added Ubisoft. More news on the European release date should be revealed soon.

Today, 2K Games announced that BioShock 2, the highly anticipated sequel to 2007 Game of the Year, will be available worldwide on February 9, 2010. The good news being that BioShock 2 stayed within the first half of 2010 time frame – as stated when they delayed the game. The bad news, we’ll still have to wait a bit longer.

Currently in development for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, “BioShock 2 will deliver two unique, yet intertwined experiences that form the perfect blend of explosive first-person shooter combat, compelling storytelling and intense multiplayer action” – reads the press release. Once again, BioShock 2 will be available worldwide on February 9, 2010.

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.

In the shadow of the recent announcement of Star Ocean on PlayStation 3, Square Enix confirmed that its upcoming action-RPG NieR will release in two versions; NieR Gesthalt for the Xbox 360, and NieR Replicant for the PlayStation 3. However, during the past couple of weeks, the names recently made an appearance, but no clarifications were made, at that time.

Details are incredibly light at the moment on the two versions. But, what we do know is that both versions have their NieR character attempting to find a cure for a character who has a mysterious illness. Hopefully, all will be cleared up at next week’s Tokyo Game Show, where the Xbox 360 version will be playable.

The upcoming month of October is loaded with potentially excellent titles, one of those titles, absolutely, being Codemasters‘ Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. However, little is known about the games Multiplayer component, until know.

In a report posted by The Lost Gamer, it revealed that the entire campaign can be played cooperatively; you can enlist “up to three other online Marines and take on the opposition.” Each mission can be played with a different fire team so don’t worry about leading one team through the entire campaign, which is a plus – if there’s quitters.

Dragon Rising is home also to a PVP (Player Vs Player) system. In this mode, you can set yourself up with three AI controlled Marines and go head to head against a friend or foe. The game also features two other modes of play called Annihilation and Infiltration, which will see you and your merry band of soldiers engage in the ultimate wargame across Skira Island.

Annihilation will see both teams start at either end of the battlefield with the ultimate arsenal of weaponry at their disposal and then its a fight to the death with the winning team being the last man standing. Infiltration on the other hand will see one team holding a location on the map whilst the other team will take on the role of a covert Special Forces squad and its their job to take over the location. Dragon Rising releases on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on October 6th.

Screenwriter Roger Avary and producer Samuel Hadida have signed on for the sequel to their 2006 video game adaptation, Silent Hill reports TheHollywoodReporter. The original movie, based on the hit Konami title, centered on a woman who travels to a desolate town seeking help for her ailing daughter only find supernatural occurrences taking place in the town.

Roger Avery, best known for the script in Pulp Fiction, is also penning video game adaptation “Return to Castle Wolfenstein“. The Silent Hell movie deal is one of several projects under Samuel Hadida’s company. In which Hadida counts Resident Evil, “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “The Rules of Attraction” under his belt.

LucasArts has stated that it’s going back to what made them so famous in the first place, creativity. And there’s nothing more creative than their newest title, Lucidity – which was revealed in the latest episode of GameTrailers TV.

Lucidity is a puzzler/platformer that stars a young girl that goes by the name of Sophie, who lives with her grandmother, and is having these dreams. However, Sophie’s grandmother is getting old, and, in these dreams, they’re usually about her looking for her grandmother.

But, instead of controlling Sophie. In Lucidity, players command of the level, altering it as Sophie – who wanders around controlled by AI – goes around. Lucidity will be available later this month on Xbox Live Arcade.

Created & Written by: Jerry Bonner; Animation & Design by: Matt Garafalo; Technical Wizardry by: Joel Young; Narration by: George Filip; Music by: Blitz

This animated short was originally created back in March to be part of our “family” gaming show, GAME TIME! The basic idea behind the “‘Great Moments in Video Gaming” segment was to take a fun and/or historical glance back at the people, technology and ideas that shaped the interactive entertainment industry into what it is today. Important lessons are proffered during the course of these segment(s) but nothing is forced – everything is presented in an entertaining manner, much like “Sesame Street” or “The Electric Company,” so the viewers are learning without really knowing it…and (hopefully) having a good time doing it! The last thing we want to do is to be heavy handed or hit people over the head with what we are doing.

Initially, the Dreamcast wasn’t going to be the topic of our “pilot” piece. Since this was our debut show I, naturally, wanted to start at the beginning, so the 1961, MIT developed SPACEWAR! (considered by many to be the first, “true” video game) was my original choice of topic. But, after knocking it about for a bit, SPACEWAR! seemed somewhat obscure and not “sexy” enough of a subject for the pilot episode. So, after some additional thought on the matter, Sega’s Dreamcast was ultimately chosen as the topic for the big, GAME TIME! kickoff. And, with the help of my talented co-conspirators, I think the final result turned out to be a more than fitting “Swan Song” for Sega’s last hurrah in the console hardware market.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed since 9/9/99. So much has happened to us as a nation, and to me personally, since that day. I won’t get into a laundry list of everything here, as it isn’t really pertinent, but I do vividly recall all the hype and hubbub surrounding the DC’s numerically savvy launch date. I wasn’t silly (or brave…) enough to get my Dreamcast on that first day, as I’m not a huge fan of sleeping outside on cold concrete or waiting in deathly looooong lines. I did, however, manage to score one about month later at a KB Toy store of all places. And I fell in love with that little, white machine as soon as I unboxed it and fired up my first gridiron battles of NFL 2K, then handed out several, chop-sockey beatdowns in Soul Calibur and topped my evening off by collecting an overabundance of gold rings in Sonic Adventure. Good, good times.

Since I was the defacto gamer in my family AND just dropped a pretty substantial amount of cash on the system (plus the games), my initial opinion of the Dreamcast was somewhat biased. I mean, I HAD to love it, right? I couldn’t justify the purchase otherwise. So, I took my alabaster baby (with that adorable, red curly-Q) over to my brother’s house that weekend to gauge his reaction and (tried) to get an unprejudiced estimation of the system as a whole. It was at this moment when I fully understood the power of the Dreamcast and the true “generational leap” that this system was.

As the intro/demo of Soul Calibur played on my brother’s TV, his eyes widened to almost comical proportions and his jaw grew slack. The only awestruck words he could manage were, “Holy shit, this is better than the arcades…”

True dat, my brother. True dat.

Please enjoy the video. I can truthfully say that it was a labor of love and a blast to make. Hopefully, we’ll get to do more at some point…

VIVA LA DREAMCAST!

~ Jerry Bonner

Jerry Bonner is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in GQ, EGM, 1UP, What They Play, Yahoo!, Ars Technica, Game Focus Canada, Geeks of Doom and Game Stooge. He also worked for the ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) for a time as the Senior Game Content Rater. He currently lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife and four children.

Taking a momentary break from his “fast paced” third-dimensional action, SEGA revealed their plans to take Sonic back to his two-dimensional (2D) roots. In order to answer the fans demands for a new 2D Sonic game, SEGA stated that this is a Sonic game for “old-school Sonic fans”, and that it’s briefly named “Project Needlemouse“.

“Old-school Sonic fans have long asked to see Sonic return to a more 2D style of gameplay,” said Ken Ballough, associate brand manager at Sega America. “Many liked the daytime stages in “Unleashed,” but wanted to see a game that plays purely similar to the early games of the Genesis. “Project Needlemouse” is that critical first step that brings Sonic back to his 2D roots.”

Although the new Sonic game wasn’t explicitly named, the trailer features many signature sounds and effects from the original games, which showes that the game is really being made for ”old-school Sonic fans”. The new game will viewed in 2D and in HD, however, no platforms were announced. So we’re left wondering if “Needlemouse” will be a traditional $60 boxed game or a download-only title. I guess we’ll see when the game releases in 2010.

Increasing the presents of the game, Rockstar revealed a new character that will be featured in Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, Tony “Gay Tony” Prince – who is obviously a main character in the game – via a trailer.

The exclusive 360 episode, Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony, will put players in the role of Luis Lopez, as his part-time hoodlum duties are supplemented by full-time work for nightclub impresario Tony “Gay Tony” Prince. The Ballad of Gay Tony will release on Xbox LIVE this October for $19.99 or 1600 MS points and requires players to have Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.

Announced back at E3, you would think that Bungie would be willing to reveal some new information having to do with Halo: Reach, other then its genre. However, on Thursday, they gave an explanation as to why they haven’t been flashing any new information about Halo: Reach. Stating that they’re in no rush to start talking about the game with Halo 3: ODST yet to release.

“Obviously right now what we’re excited about is the impending launch of ODST, so we don’t want to totally start talking about next year’s model before this one’s even off the assembly line,” community lead Brian Jarrard explained in answer to a fan’s question about Reach gameplay footage during the Penny Arcade Expo ODST panel. “But there is a beta that’s coming next year, so all you’ve got to do is sit tight. If you want to be part of Reach from the very beginning then you want to make sure you keep an ODST disc handy.”

[Bungie not ready to talk about Reach via Eurogamer]

Sony’s Sixaxis motion controller technology hasn’t been gaining much limelight as of lately. But, Team Ninja has announced something that’s about to change that. And that’s, that Ninja Gaiden Σ (Sigma) 2 will feature the Sixaxis tech for boob jiggling.

Not only will players have the chance to refined neck breaking ninja combat, but Team Ninja has implanted (sorry, I could resist) a feature that allows you to control over the overflowings of the ladies of Ninja Gaiden Σ 2. ”We can, proudly announce that Ninja Gaiden Σ 2 will have Sixaxis compatibility,” a spokesperson told the TheSixthaxis. “You waggle the pad, the girl’s tits bounce.”

Announced in Japan last month, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced their newest installment to the growing list of “Entertainment Pack” bundles for the PSP, the Limited Edition Gran Turismo Entertainment Pack for North America.

The limited edition entertainment pack includes a “Mystic Silver” PSP-3000 system, Gran Turismo PSP on UMD, PlayStation Network downloadable movie voucher (title to be announced), a 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, and a music voucher good for 10 downloadable songs from Sony Music Pass. The Entertainment Pack will release on October 20 for $199.99 in North America.

“Gran Turismo is one of the most successful gaming franchises in history, so what better way to mark Gran Turismo’s premiere on the PSP system than by offering it with the only portable device that can deliver its rich, true-to-life graphics and unrivaled driving experience,” said John Koller, Director, Hardware Marketing, SCEA.

Prepare to take an explosive look at the NVIDIA PhysX technology behind Eidos Inc. and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s critically acclaimed action-adventure video game Batman: Arkham Asylum. Journey deep within the walls of Arkham Asylum and enjoy the hyper-realistic physical and environmental real-time gaming effects in the new “PhysX Trailer” as Batman battles against some of Gotham’s most notorious enemies.

With its anticipated release next month, fans have been waiting for a chance to finally see The Ballad of Gay Tony in action ever since it was announced back in May. That’s why Rockstar has announced today that they’ll doing exactly that, and have released the first ever trailer for The Ballad Of Gay Tony, “You’ll Always Be The King Of This Town”.

The Ballad of Gay Tony will release on Xbox LIVE this October for $19.99 or 1600 MS points and requires players to have Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE membership to download.

I’m really starting to wonder what “breaking an Xbox Live sales record” really means because, every week, this seems to be the issue. Anyway, adding to the list of many Xbox Live record breakers, Microsoft today dubbed Chair Entertainment‘s action-adventure game Shadow Complex “the most downloaded single-player title in Xbox Live Arcade history,” meaning that it has planted itself as an “XBLA sales record breaker”. So, from us here at GamerCenterOnline. Shadow Complex… we congratulate you. O yeah, by the way, Microsoft hasn’t revealed your sales numbers yet (that’s just there for all of you that were hoping they would).

Rockstar have been quite and it hasn’t said much about much about newest expansion to Grand Theft Auto IV, The Ballad of Gay Tony, ever since it was announced back in May. However, in recent weeks, they have been going all out, even releasing the first pair of screenshots and its release date. In this coming week, you’ll get to see more.

On Tuesday, September 1, they’ll finally release the first trailer for The Ballad of Gay Tony, which will be featured with the Episodes from Liberty City trailer.  The Episodes from Liberty City is a disc-based version featuring both The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony add-ons for Xbox 360. Once again, the trailer will release on Tuesday, September 1.

It’s no secret that Blizzard Entertainment has been working on a new MMO, even teasing at its development via a job listing. However, it wasn’t until BlizzCon that World of Warcraft director, Jeffrey Kaplan confirmed that Blizzard is “definitely involved” in a new MMO. “I think the great part about a new MMO from Blizzard is that it doesn’t have to be ‘WoW‘,” he said to MTV. “There are a lot of lessons we learned in making ‘World of Warcraft,’ and some of those you can take and do things better than you ever did before.”

When being asked about the possibility of their new MMO being cannibalizing to “WoW” subscribers, Kaplan stated that he wasn’t worried at all, and that the company was going to great lengths to make sure that, that doesn’t happen. But, with the recent success of high fantasy MMOs, one must wonder if there’s any more room for MMOs of WoW’s kind.

“Oh yeah,” Kaplan said. “I only think [non-high fantasy MMOs] have a harder time because of the past games that have tried and the game design decisions that they made, not because of the [intellectual property] or the setting that they chose.” Kaplan also added that the next-gen MMO is very early in development and, like all Blizzard titles, it’s “going to be a while” before we see it.

Gee willikers Batman! Today, the highly anticipated, Batman: Arkham Asylum, was awarded a Guinness World Record for the “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever”. Arkham Asylum broken Guinness World Record in this category by achieving the highest average score of 91.67 from reviews, and reviewers, around the world.

When awarding the development team over at Rocksteady Studios, Gaz Deaves from Guinness World Records states that, “[They] are so pleased to be awarding Batman: Arkham Asylum a Guinness World Record. It is a fantastic new game and due to the reaction of gaming experts we believe it has a well deserved place in the Guinness World Records book.”

With the Japanese release of Final Fantasy XIII slowly coming upon us, it’s time for Square to start revealing the heavy details on Final Fantasy XIII. In the latest issue of Famitsu, Square Enix did exactly that by revealing two new characters that will be featured in the game – reports the Examiner. The first, of course, is the lovely lady pictured, Jill Nabato.

When first shown, Jill was quickly dubbed as the female version of Sephiroth. But, officially, Jill is a lieutenant of the government who controls the PSICOM soldiers, and is said to be a cold-blooded, heartless woman. The second character revealed is Yaag. Like Jill, Yaag is also a lieutenant. He has a strong sense of justice and carries a very serious demeanor. One of his primary concerns is protecting the people of Cocoon. Since Cocoon is his primary concern, he views Lightning and her companions as pests that are trying to bring unrest to Cocoon.

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We were a bit disappointed when Sony confirmed that the PSP Go wouldn’t come bundled with Rock Band Unplugged like we previously heard. Now, we know as to why Sony didn’t bundle the game with the PSP Go. Anyway, instead of the full game, you’ll receive a “voucher” for an exclusive demo of the title. But, wait there’s more.

Sony has stated, on the PlayStation.Blog, that Rock Band Unplugged Lite – yes, that’s what the demo’s called – is basically a demo of the game that allows you to play five tracks from the complete game. However, it will accept downloads from the Rock Band Unplugged store, effectively allowing players to build a track list of their own, which is great news.

Presented by Timbaland and developed by the studio behind Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Rockstar Games has revealed that its music application, Beaterator, will release in North America on September 29 for the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation Network. But, that’s not all. They even released a video of Timbaland showing the game – shown below.

“I’ve worked closely with Rockstar Games to make something completely unique,” said Timbaland. “Beaterator is like taking my music studio and turning it into a suite of tools anyone can use. We can’t wait to hear the beats people make and share with the world.”

Initially created in 2005 as a Flash application on Rockstar’s website, Beaterator quickly took on a life of its own. Featuring thousands of loops and sounds made by both Timbaland and Rockstar, Beaterator puts the power to make professional-level music at your fingertips in a format that’s portable, accessible and fun.

Microsoft has confirmed that they’ll be getting rid of the Xbox 360 Pro by stopping production of the product all together, which we all ready knew. However, the main attraction here is that they have revealed that the Elite – originally sold at $399 – will get a price drop and will sell for $299.99, and what’s remaining of the Pros will be cut to $249.99. While the hard drive-less Arcade units will remain at $199.

Responding to the news, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg had this to say to CNET. “I’m sure some will think this is a response to competitor pricing,” he said. “But we had planned this reduction months in advance. Retail circular ads and store merchandising were all lined up. We wanted to be ready for the holiday season.” However, Microsoft’s decision to reduce the price of the Xbox 360 isn’t a surprise because numerous rumors have been swirling around the internet of a price drop. Expect to see the price drop in effect this Friday.

Command & Conquer 4 is just to directed, it’s time for some “title redirection”. Today, EA announced the official name for the upcoming iteration into the award-winning real-time strategy series, Command & Conquer 4. Scheduled for a 2010 release, Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight was chosen by the series’ dedicated fan base as their favorite name for the next installment of the best-selling game franchise.

“Our sophisticated fans are a tremendous community with a great love for the series. We really wanted to involve them in Command & Conquer 4 – what better way than to have them create the title?” said Mike Glosecki, Lead Producer on Command & Conquer 4 at EA Los Angeles. “We were blown away by all the creative names they came up with but the most popular selection, Tiberian Twilight, seemed the best fit, embodying that the saga is coming to a powerful and epic conclusion.”

I know that we’re a little slow on the outtake of this information, but it’s news none the less. Anyway, during Sony‘s GamesCom press conference, Sony announced the 3.0 firmware update for PlayStation 3.

The update will change the way you navigate the system such as adding animated themes, a redesigned friends list, premium avatars, new Trophy features, and a new status indicator at the top-right hand corner of the screen – that will now show how many friends you have online, and how unread many manages you have.

Firmware 3.0 will also include a “What’s New” section, and TV services such as BBC iPlayer. These features will release on September 1.

He is vengeance. He is the night. He is BATMAN! And now, he’s yours! Coinciding with the launch of the hotly-anticipated and highly-reviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum, retailers across the country will begin letting gamers into Arkham Asylum, and this trailer will definitely help to captivate your readers’ interest as they delve into the madhouse themselves!

It’s hard to get that “solid frame-rate”. However, BioWare seems to have found the prefect FPS to make all the little interruptions go away. When being interviewed by VG247, BioWare’s Jesse Houston confirmed that Mass Effect 2 will run at a solid 30FPS.

“If you look at most good shooters, they lock down frame-rate at 30FPS: we’ve done the same thing. Bam. Everything’s 30FPS, streaming is fixed up,” said the associate producer for the game. ”If you remember in Mass 1, if you took a step backwards and you hit a weird stream and it’d pause for a moment. We’ve done a away with that. What you’re seeing here is pulled straight from the game.”