Basically, your Home City represents the European capital of your chosen nation. All of the game action takes place in the new world. But, experience you gain in the new world will allow you to "level up" your home city (with improvements in tech trees, units available, etc.) Furthermore, as you gain points on the main game map you gain the ability to have the Home City send shipments to you. These shipments can contain resources, civilians, or military units that'll appear on the main map a few seconds later.

It doesn't seem like the Home City would impact the game that much, but those precious shipments add whole new layers onto the strategy. Do you ship over colonists as soon as you can to build your economy faster? Or do you ship over army units to rush your opponents when they don't expect it? Do you save up several shipments so that you have an emergency resupply in case of an attack? Different players have different strategies.

Age of Empires III - Exclusive Hands-On

The expansion will offer you the chance to play as one of the Barbarian factions (including the Vandals, Saxons and Huns) and take revenge against the Roman Empire, or as the Western and Eastern Roman empires attempting to drive back the Barbarians.

Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion Unveiled

To accompany and complement the new silver model PlayStation 2, a range of Satin Silver accessories will also be available, including a Vertical Stand, Memory Card, DUALSHOCK 2 Controller and DVD Remote Control. Already available is the stunning new silver EyeToy® camera, commissioned specifically to complement the slimline console. With global shipments of the EyeToy family of products exceeding 6.5 million since EyeToy revolutionised the games market in 2003, the EyeToy camera has become one of PlayStation 2's most desirable and useful accessories. The silver model camera takes colour coordination and style to an altogether new level.

"Xfire is the perfect application and Website to download RYL: Path of the Emperor, which is the first fantasy MMORPG to be comprised of true Player vs. Player and Guild vs. Guild battles," said Kevin Donovan, President, Planetwide Games. "We are proud to be working with Xfire and its 1.3 million game players that have the ability to download our trial demo.”

Xfire and Planetwide Games Distribute Free 14-Day Trial of "RYL: Path of the Emperor"

Jade Empire, then, is a complicated game. It's a long story (I'm well over 30 hours into it and no where near done), well written, with impressive graphics and memorable characters. The only two real complaints I can lay at the game's feet are occasional slowdowns during combat, and (as with all Xbox Bioware games) sometimes abominably long load times between map areas. Neither of these minor technical hurdles was annoying enough for me to become frustrated by my play experience. Jade Empire is a new high water line for console RPG titles, and in my opinion is Bioware's best work to date.

Slashdot | Review: Jade Empire

"We're always looking for the right idea and we didn't have it [with 'Sovereign']," he said. "We will be in the strategy market. It's just a matter of timing. We'll get it eventually. ... Our goal is to be the dominant player in every major genre."

The plan, said Smedley, is if you enter one of those Hot Spots and decide to play for a bit, you'll be able to log on without having to configure your PSP with a username or password – and without having to pay the usual fee.

In return for the bandwidth, the wireless provider would likely get advertising in trade, perhaps on a game's loading screens, perhaps in game. Negotiations are continuing.

"I'd say we're about 70 percent of the way there," said Smedley.

CNN.com - Moving beyond "EverQuest" via Wonderland

The business is going to attempt to sustain growth and creativity by making game players buy newer and newer machines. Computer gaming has always been sustained by never-ending improvements in resolution and realism. But once we get to photorealism, what is going to sustain growth?

That time is drawing near. We are already getting pre-hype for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 2, as well as the new Nintendo. All this will do is make the visuals more lifelike and the blood and gore more realistic and nauseating. While the kids who are used to this "progress" may not be put off by it, newcomers may be repulsed and skip these new generations of machines altogether.

Doom 4: End of the Game Industry?

Bellevue, WA and Los Angeles, CA - April 29, 2005 -- Valve and Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) today announced the settlement of a pending federal court lawsuit filed by Valve in August 2002. The parties have resolved their differences, and the settlement provides for the dismissal of all claims and coaunterclaims. Under the settlement agreement, VU Games will cease distribution of retail packaged versions of Valve's games, including Half-Life®, Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike™, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source, effective August 31, 2005.

Additionally, VU Games has notified distributors and cyber cafés that were licensed by VU Games that only Valve is authorized to distribute Valve games to cyber cafés and grant cyber café licenses. Cyber café operators that were licensed by VU Games have also been notified that any license agreement from Sierra Entertainment, Vivendi Universal Games or any of their affiliates or distributors that may have granted rights to use Valve games in cyber cafés, whether written or oral, is terminated.
Read on

"Namco Museum 50th Anniversary brings countless hours of family-friendly entertainment to gamers everywhere," said Jeff Lujan, business director, Namco Hometek Inc. "With Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, and more, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection offers 14 landmark games in a single package."

The single largest compilation of Namco Arcade Classics ever, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection allows players to explore a virtual arcade hall where each of the game's classic titles will be standing in its original arcade form...except this time no quarters are required! Players will also be able to post high scores to the Xbox Live Leader boards (for the Xbox® version only).

While previous versions of Namco Museum contained up to 12 titles, Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Arcade Collection contains 14 of the best Namco original arcade titles ever!

Black and White 2 features new Epic Miracles, including the ground-ripping Earthquake and volcanoes, which cause rivers of lava; new forms of weaponry, from swords to bows to siege machines; multiple tools to help train and improve Creatures (old favorites as the Ape, Cow, and Lion, plus many others); weather systems such as rain, snow, mists, and fog; ten lands homing each of the five tribes.

This latest approach aims to understand how real life is effected by online play, a topic close to my heart as the motivation for returning to the hallowed halls of academia.

Previously, Project Massive has investigated player communication and organization in PC based, Massively Multiplayer games. While this work continues, the inquiry has been expanded to address the impact of online play on the players' real life activities, perceptions, and experiences.
Read on

Nintendo said it was "on track" to meet its target and ship 5-6 million DS consoles during its current fiscal year, which ends 31 March 2006.

By contrast, Sony is believed to have shipped over 2.5 million PlayStation Portables so far, 2.46 million in Q1 2005 alone. It shipped 4.4 million PSP titles in the quarter. The PSP is available in the US and Japan. It goes on sale in Europe on 1 September.

Nintendo will understandably feel chuffed with its lead. But it's up against some stiff competition. Despite its European release delay, and missing its previous end-of-year shipment target - 3 million by 31 March 2005 - Sony said it expects to ship 12 million PSPs in the year to 31 March 2006. It hopes to ship a similar number of PS2s during the same period
Read on

Based on this early look, From Russia With Love has the makings of a game that is more than capable of running with the considerable momentum that started with Everything or Nothing. The gameplay feels as though it's building on the right aspects of its predecessor and certainly brings some intriguing elements to the table.

From Russia With Love First Look - Screenshots

TA Spring is a project to create the best RTS ever (no joke). There are three principle goals which we hope to achieve.

. . . . . .A) Reach a stage where TA Spring can flawlessly execute most of Total Annihilation's original gameplay, with its original units in their original format.

. . . . . .B) Add new features as we see fit, fix bugs, and release new versions when we feel it is appropriate to do so.

. . . . . .C) Support the mod community as we see fit.

What is TA Spring? - Download TA Spring

A interesting bit of information has today emerged from Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2005, as Microsoft Senior Vice President Will Poole confirmed in a presentation that Xbox360 controllers will be fully compatible with the next version of the Windows OS, currently code-named Longhorn (although with the length of development, perhaps Longhaul would have been more appropriate.)

The news does pose the question of further integration between Longhorn and Xbox360 – perhaps this is where the fabled Xbox2/PC hybrid rumour started?
Read on

This is my recent project - the "Woodcube". It contains a Super NES, a Playstation and a Nintendo 64. I think the pictures speak for themselves. All of the consoles use standard Video as output, and they all use the same power cord. To power up the SNES, you push the leftmost putton down, and pull it up to turn it off. The N64 is controlled by the lever to the right, and it is pushed back/forward to turn and off the power. The PSX has a button in the middle, but it's not working, so I didn't bother to make it look good, because I will soon open it up to fix the PSX's power board. There are som stuff I have left to do, though: Fix the PSX, add LEDs, and fix up the PSXs Power Button
Check it out

Xbox Live is an online gaming service that works across both the current Xbox system and the future Xbox 2. You will be able to play online and compete against others across both consoles. If you are playing an Xbox game on Live you will be able to compete against people playing that same game on Xbox 2
Read on

As part of our continuing effort to keep World of Warcraft free from abuse, we have permanently banned more than 500 accounts during the last week which were involved in the use of cheats and/or hacks using third-party software. We will continue to take an aggressive stance to ensure that the gaming environment remains an enjoyable place for our customers by actively pursuing those who would seek to violate the principle of fair-play, as well as breach our terms of use and policies in this way. As stated previously, we have a zero-tolerance policy for cheating or hacking of any kind. Players caught using cheats or hacks will have their characters removed and their account banned. They will not receive a warning.

Hahahahaha.

Oh wait, are you serious?

Maybe you could have had an actual girlfriend help you out with your list, Shivam. I mean seriously. Centipede? Ms. Pac-Man? Bejeweled, for Chrissake? You're really reaching there, buddy.

We've learned through our experience with Toontown that the market for massively multiplayer online role-playing games can indeed reach beyond traditional gamers," stated Ken Goldstein, EVP and managing director, Disney Online. "Pirates of the Caribbean is the perfect franchise for our second commercial effort in this arena. Fans of the movies and theme park attraction will be able to live their own unfolding pirate adventure through the game, including searching for lost treasures and battling numerous enemies on land and at sea."

Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, added, "This is a great way for game enthusiasts to experience the fun and excitement of playing the role of a pirate while competing against a wide variety of opponents in a great adventure. This game captures the same swashbuckling sense of humor, spirit and action that moviegoers loved in the first `Pirates of the Caribbean' film, and which will continue with the next installment of the highly anticipated sequel in summer 2006. Disney Online has created a really entertaining and challenging game that will appeal to the adventurer in all of us
Read on

"The initial concept for Prey had been incubating for a while, waiting for the right opportunity to come along," said George Broussard, President of 3D Realms. "We jumped at the chance to create this game with a talented developer like Human Head Studios and next-generation technology like the Doom 3 engine."

Scott Miller, CEO of 3D Realms, added, "Prey is special for many reasons, including several new and original gameplay features and a tightly integrated story that packs an emotional punch, unlike other first person shooters."

"Our collaboration with 3D Realms has been enormously rewarding," added Timothy Gerritsen, CEO of Human Head Studios. "With their help, Prey is sure to breathe new life into the first person shooter genre with a compelling story, innovative gameplay mechanics and dazzling imagery, which is powered by our significantly enhanced version of id Software's original Doom 3 engine."

2K Games And 3D Realms Announce Prey - Human Head: PREY ANNOUNCED!!!!!!

"It was a rush," said Myers. "Playing in the air was pretty exciting. It was also incredibly difficult. Some of the problems were that when you were jumping, you needed to bring both hands together on the DS, and it seriously decreased your stability."

Yet, notwithstanding the risks, the four sky divers proved that an ad hoc network set up using the wireless functions of a Nintendo DS works perfectly at distances of nearly 400 feet while falling 120 miles an hour.

Sky-High Gamers Go to Extremes - BitTorrent video of the sky divers via boingboing.net

I have one simple question: has Mr Lowenstein ever actually been to E3?

At a conservative guess, I would suggest that, of those 1,000 products, perhaps 5-10% will exhibit anything that could be credibly described as innovation. I'm immediately discounting any subtle little gameplay additions, or fresh variations on last year's innovations - when Mr Lowenstein mentions innovations 'that will drive industry growth' he must surely be referring to really big and exciting new ideas, like a new genre, a new way of interacting with a game, or a new hardware platform that introduces radical concepts in console architecture.

He can't surely mean, say, a new way of passing the ball in the latest annual soccer sim, or a new set of weapons in the latest FPS sequel, or a fun new character starring in a fun new third person action adventure?

If you’re selected, you’ll get access to the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming conference where all of this year’s biggest news will be released. You’ll get to take a camera crew on the conference floor, talk to developers, play the newest games, and tell G4tv.com viewers at home what you think of the developments in the gaming industry.

G4 - G4tv.com - Go to E3 with G4 Contest via Video Games Ombudsman

The wait for new Halo 2 content is over. As promised, the first four (of nine) maps are available for download today via Xbox Live. When you sign in, select "Content Download" from the Live menu and you'll see two download options.

Maptastic Monday! Bungie Weekly What's Update

Topping that list is the long-awaited sequel to Perfect Dark, as well as a half-dozen or so racing titles, including Project Gotham, NFSU, Test Drive, a new Namco series, and the possibility of a Burnout installment—hey, at least Steve will be happy.
Read on

We are looking forward to launching the Battlefield brand on handheld platform too, and we have strong beliefs in the spread of Playstation Portables, said Patrick Söderlund, CEO at Digital Illusions.

To Digital Illusions licensing is an attractive solution since the Company doesn’t have enough resources personnel-wise to produce the PSP version at the moment. We also get a larger product portfolio without spending money on extra development costs, said Patrick Söderlund, CEO at Digital Illusions.
Read on

Before we learn more at the full LA unveiling, we can also report that the new Prince adventure will feature two playable characters, with unique styles of combat and powers. New abilities - including some related to time - will be there for the mastering, whilst the new Babylonian setting certainly sounds vivid. Finally, a better-than-ever blend of puzzles, combat and plot is promised. More on this soon.
Read on

Scott Glover, Movies for Me President, said in a release that "Some of our existing customers have bought a PSP, but haven't found any companies renting the UMD movies in Canada. That's where we can help. We'll carry large quantities of each movie, to make sure our subscribers get the titles they want right away.
Read on

The PlayStation Portable Value Pack contains an added-value package of accessories and entertainment content, including the PlayStation Portable system with a pouch, 32MB Memory Stick Duo™, Battery Pack, Headphones with Remote Control, AC Adaptor, Wrist Strap, cloth and a video/music/game sampler Universal Media Disc™ (UMD™) including several non-interactive game demos.

PSP Is Coming 01/09/2005

Star Wars Battlefront II improves upon the original game’s single-player experience with open-ended, mission-based objectives inspired from all six Star Wars films. The compelling storyline spans more than 12 new locations, many from Episode III, including volcanic Mustafar and the space battle above Coruscant. All-new classic movie moments complete the Star Wars Battlefront II experience, as players battle within the interior of the Death Star and visit Princess Leia’s blockade runner, the Tantive IV, as seen at the beginning of Episode IV A New Hope. In addition, at certain key moments within the battles, players can feel the Force as a Jedi.

For the first time ever, Star Wars Battlefront II players can engage in space combat and, during the same battle, board enemy ships to attack from within. Starting on foot inside a capital ship, players can enter the spacecraft of their choice and travel into space to dogfight with the rival faction. From there, they can dock within the enemy’s capital ship, overtake the ship’s command posts, man its turrets to disable its shields and destroy it from within! Or, they can simply stay inside their own capital ship and defend it from attacks and enemy fire. The choice is theirs.

[...]

the IGN boys posted this
regarding a patent for Nintendo’s upcoming display technology, which I
linked to a few days ago. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to glean
that this conceptually portrays a form of 3D image projection.

- at a major film conference called ShoWest just last month, a
panel featuring George Lucus, Robert Zemekis, James Cameron, Robert
Rodriguez, and a satellite feed from Peter Jackson has studio reps,
journalists, and theatre owners seriously jazzed about their plans to
integrate cheap digital stereoscopic 3D (like recent IMAX features or the oldschool Captain EO experience at Epcot) into ALL major chains by 2007. Lucas even showed several minutes of the original STAR WARS with remapped visuals that popped off the screen and hovered in front of audience members. When an agent friend of mine was chatting with Rodriguez (there to pump Sin City and discuss his experiences with Spy Kids 3D), he mentioned how they were aware of a game machine beating them to the mainstream 3D market.

-
the next day, I contacted another strangely influential industry
pal/pundit and shared my thesis purely for fun’s sake (and perhaps some extremely lame bragging rights). The final shiny block of tetrisy knowledge slid into place when he excitedly shared the following - that the Big N had shown a real-time 3D add-on for Gamecube behind closed doors…AT LAST YEAR’S E3. It has since gone MIA. This is the sound of four rows dropping.

Next Mario to be Stereo…Scopic?!?!

Frustratingly for SPOnG, we had been expecting to run images of the new Xbox 360 console as something of a scoop, with sources on the continent poised to release assets as soon as it was safe to do so. The main reason we wanted to do this was simple: the leak was always going to happen – the assets had gone out to too many people at too many publications.

Report: Microsoft Struggles to Regain Control After Leak Shock

"Rather than discouraging companies such as IGE [unofficial site for trading MMORPG items], I believe that by this decision, SOE will probably create dozens of small IGE and IGE-like companies who may view SOE's servers as the 'Virtual Gold Rush of 2005.' At the same time, this decision will reduce the costs of IGE who now can use SOE's own customer service, billing and bandwidth to complete these transactions quicker and easier than they can do under the present system."

Mythic Rips Into SOE Over Auction Site

"Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars" is a sequel of "Cossacks: European Wars," the hit of 2000-2001. Developed on a new 3D engine, the game combines 2D graphics and the latest achievements in 3D technologies. Significant rework on the engine as well as a number of gameplay innovations allow for presenting the game on a new level. "Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars" answers to the latest technology advances and provides a chance to even hardcore RTS gamers to experience a brand new gameplay of historical battles played on the true-to-life scale, with tactics and strategy particularities of warring sides taken into account.

Ourcolony.net has ramped up the action once again. The latest discovery is a pic of the MS console’s memory card. Exciting stuff, if little plastic thingies are your fetish. The curious thing about the image is that it seems to show a white card plugging into a white console. It may just be bad lighting, though. Ot it could mean that there will be different colors for the box. Dare we dream of the rumored skinnable boxes?
Read on

Enable Console
Go to your C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\Gearbox Software\Brothers In Arms\ folder
(*You may need to enable "view hidden files/folders" under tools in Explorer.)

Open Bia.ini in notepad

Search for
Consolekey=0

change to Consolekey=192

search for
bEnableDebugConsoleAndMenu=False

change to
bEnableDebugConsoleAndMenu=True

save and exit

load game using that profile

now you will have a console if you press the tilde key ~ Codes:

Code Effect - allweapons all starting guns for mission
fly fly - god godmode
loaded - lots of ammo
allammo - lots of ammo
unloaded - no ammo
oldmovie - oldmovie code
ghost - through walls
walk - walk
supersquad - your squad wont get hurt/killed/run out of bullets

It is a bit daunting to learn a new Counter-Strike map right as it's released, so we've gone through de_port and tried to give people an idea of what our design intentions were. Click here to get to a page that outlines six different strategies to try once the map is available. We're still shooting for release of de_port (along with a redone de_inferno) in a couple of weeks. Next week's Steam news will include some pictures showing off what de_inferno looked like as it was being built from scratch.

Link

Myst 5 is probably the most different from the original Myst, and the most the same as the original Myst.

We've done things that strayed enormously from the original Myst, real-time 3D, and with things that you carry with you, and with the way we portray the characters.

But the essence of it, the idea that at the beginning you meet characters and thoughout the game you're trying to judge them, you're trying to decide which way to go; the idea that there's a hub that I branch off from, so many of those gameplay elements we've stuck with, the things we didn't want to mess with were the things that I think people had, at least in a play environment, in that adventure environment, had come to love.

Myst V: End of Ages Impressions - First Look, New Characters, Puzzles, and Exploration

Set in the beautiful fantasy world of Equiada, home to magical creatures, mighty leaders, and powerful wizards, Rising Kingdoms, offers players the unique combination of both strategy and adventure modes.

In strategy mode the player is able to select 3 major races – treacherous Humans, vicious Foresters and merciless Darklings, and in addition to these three primary races, the player is able to capture, enslave and develop five independent nations – Shades, Nomads, Dragons, Trolls, and Elves. Combined with the player’s main race they provide a valuable asset when clashing with their opponents.

In adventure mode the player controls a group of heroes and a small squad of troops uncovering dark secrets and surprising twists as the adventure unfolds. The story spans over several generations portraying powerful ancient artifacts, the rise and fall of mighty leaders and glorious kingdoms, and the birth of new mystic creatures and races.

Apparently, some of the staff got 20 minutes with Duke Nukem Forever. Not playing it, but at least seeing it.

The walkthrough showed interaction between the Duke himself and his environment. The magazine goes on to say that the game will be at E3 in 2006. Of course, we’ve all heard that before.
kotaku

The survey of 1,100 Britons showed:

- Almost two out three people check their electronic messages out of office hours and when on holiday.
- Half of all workers respond to an e-mail within 60 minutes of receiving one.
- One in five will break off from a business or social engagement to respond to a message.
- Nine out of 10 people thought colleagues who answered messages during face-to-face meetings were rude, while three out of 10 believed it was not only acceptable, but a sign of diligence and efficiency. [...]

He found the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points -- the equivalent to missing a whole night's sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana.

High-res version available on xbox-scene.com

In what has to be seen as a complete European PR disaster, the MTV showing penned for mid next month has had its trump card flipped over for all to see.

The images hosted here show the final artwork and a single photograph showing what appears to be a removable 40GB hard disc drive, confirming speculation that mass storage will be an option as the 360 emerges.

All of which leaves us, and everyone else, wondering what the Xbox 360, well, what it does. SPOnG believes it a fair assumption that the unit will feature wireless controllers, given there’s no ports pictured. The small circle also looks like a wireless activity indicator light too. All good. Then we have what appears to be an IR port on the machine’s fascia, hinting at the unit’s multimedia future controlling the world’s music and movies.

Spong.com

You might wonder why is that power button so big? Well, because it will do much more than just indicate the console's power status...

TeamXBox.com

The worst has finally happened.

We are very displeased to announce that apparently MGM the huge company feels very threatened by a group of individuals spread throughout the world. We have received a letter to desist from the creation of the Stargate: Source mod. At this time we are still discussing the issue but it does appear that we are going to be shutting down. Sorry to all of our followers and those who were looking forward to this mod. Personally I will not buy a copy of their game out of protest. It is an unfortunate circumstance when the large, powerful and wealthy must attack the small and free but it happens and it is buisness.

Link, via boingboing.net

"Will the Revolution be shown at E3 ?"

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we can now safely say "Yes!" to that question. Our PR contact confirmed that the Revolution will not only be talked about but also be shown at E3. Whether it will be playable however has yet to be confirmed.

Confirmed: Nintendo Revolution at E3

This was never a revenue stream for us. However, unsanctioned auction sites tend to cause our customers grief and tax our customer service department. Currently, whether transactions occur through an unsanctioned auction site or through two players shaking hands on a street corner, they can be a losing proposition for either party. If the "buyer" pays first, he or she risks not getting what was paid for. If the "seller" delivers first, he or she risks not getting payment. Meanwhile, SOE bears all of the customer service costs involved in being asked to resolve these many disputes.

Everquest II Station Exchange Interview via Joystiq

Before today the only reason for attacking a player controlled enemy was the thrill of the hunt - now players will get ranking points. And as Brucie always said, points make prizes, which in this case include new armour, weapons and other goodies. But advance reports from the US suggests that the nicely balanced gameplay of before has been shattered, with groups of higher level characters ganging up on lower-level cannon fodder. Whether the European servers will be affected in the same way remains to be seen, but those who like to mind their own business and play alone could be in trouble.

Less than eight employees from the original pre-production team finished the project. With this high turnover rate we lost precious experience. We learned the hard way that in pre-production you must have a very small dedicated team and you should never start game production before the story, the design, artistic direction and technologies are ready and fully tested. A creative director and a production manager with strong power and vision at the beginning of the project would have helped clarify the focus of the game and the processes as well. - Nicolas Beaudette, Lead Programmer

Postmortem: Myst IV - Revelation

The MTV special, hosted by family friendly hobbit turned psychotic canibal, Elijah Wood is scheduled to air on May 12 and is said to feature the world's first glance at Microsoft's goods along with a performance by the Killers and a bag full of athletes and celebrities showing off some of the new features.

The Scarface video game immerses players in a “what if Tony survives” storyline that begins with the explosive shootout at the end of the film. Gamers will travel through the steamy, often violent streets of Miami, the irie islands of the various Caribbean locales and will interact with a world full of seedy and dangerous characters to procure information, negotiate business deals, smuggle contraband and avoid rivals and DEA on a mission to rebuild their fallen empire. Scarface The Game is currently in development by veteran video game developer Radical Games for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft and PC.

Millions of people around the world have played Namco's arcade classics, and now we're able to offer new versions of these timeless games to a whole new generation of gamers with Namco Museum Battle Collection," said Yoshi Niki, Business Unit Director at Namco. "Namco Museum Battle Collection is a must-have title for anyone that enjoys classic gameplay on an innovative new platform

Oblivion-Lost.com correspondent FlamingPumpkin was at the show to provide us with information and other material. We have a summary of his impressions noted down. To feast your eyes, make sure to also check out the photos he took and 17 exclusive (!) videos (101 MB) that were captured off a plasma monitor. All of it is a must-see, as there are some new things revealed, such as the game menu, anomalies in action, a new gun (Deser Eagle) and more.

Link, via Gameguru Mania

They are pics of the development kits sent out I believe last May or June to developers. Back then, the actual system was in such early stages that they shipped Mac G5 computers instead (free of charge I'd assume) to developers to start work on the next gen titles. The article claims that the kit is housed inside the case, when in fact this is not true. These are basically G5 systems (because they use PowerPC processors like the upcoming Xbox 360), but they are running a different kernal and operating system. These pics in fact must be pretty old since these are Alpha boxes and have no graphical optimizations for the specialized ATI card that will be in the upcoming Xbox 360. If I remember correctly, when they shipped, they had a Radeon 9800 Pro or XT card in there.

The second we saw the PSP's capabilities we knew we had to add the Playboy spin to it. Now you can download exclusive video and images of Cyber Girl of the year Amy Sue Cooper, photographed and formatted specifically for viewing on your PlayStation Portable.

"Gaming and the Internet go hand in hand, so shooting sexy, action-themed pictorials and video for the coolest piece of portable gaming technology out there was a no-brainer," said Playboy.com's managing photo editor Chad Doering. "We took advantage of the PSP's 16:9 widescreen ratio and developed our own video game action heroine the way only Playboy can do it. Our Cyber Girl of the Year proved that she not only looks great playing in the sand and surf but can kick ass and take phone numbers later."

PSP users to get free Playboy pics

It was only a matter of time before a graphics card featuring 512MB hit
the market," said Kelt Reeves, president of Falcon Northwest Computers.
"It is no surprise to us that the powerhouse combination of NVIDIA(r)
and BFG are first to market with this highly anticipated product, and we
are excited to offer our customers the choice of having such a
well-built, overclocked card powering the graphics inside our premium
gaming systems."

The BFG GeForce 6800 Ultra OC™ 512MB PCI Express graphics card
provides faster frame rates at higher resolutions and color depths, and
twice the memory for geometry data and texture processing than does its
256MB predecessor. This card is overclocked out-of-the-box (core clock
speed is 425MHz vs. 400MHz standard) for extra speed and performance,
and is fully supported by BFG Tech's Lifetime Warranty and 24/7 Free
Technical Support. This top-of-the-line card also features NVIDIA SLI
technology to deliver an ultimate gaming supercomputer for the extreme
gamer.
Read on

As the words took shape, Wikeley set about bonding them into sentences. Here he saw a rare opportunity. He could invent grammar and rules that had never been used before. That way Tho Fan wouldn't completely match the rhythm of existing languages, which, he said, is an easy way to spot a fake language. In a twist, Tho Fan would do without the verb "to be"; instead, articles--words like "a" and "the"--would be used to mark tense.

'Jade Empire' for Xbox speaks language all its own via kotaku

The top prize is to have your game idea made into a top new online game for Blast and Teens. You'll also get the chance to help us make it.

You don't have to be a techno wizard but you do need to be passionate about games. The competition deadline is Friday 15 July 2005.

GamePlan Competition - Tips from pro game-makers

Factoid: The entire US$50Million stage lighting system for the Vertigo Tour is controlled via a Playstation video game control.

"But it's great, a $50 million dollar production and it all runs off a Playstation handset." Willie Willams, U2 Production Manager

Five years ago Carl Johnson escaped from the pressures of life in Los Santos, San Andreas...a city tearing itself apart with gang trouble, drugs and corruption. On his return to the neighborhood, a couple of corrupt cops frame him for homicide. CJ is forced on a journey that takes him across the entire state of San Andreas, to save his family and to take control of the streets.

Fans of game music in California have a good few months lined up, in fact - May will also see the return to Los Angeles of Nobuo Uematsu's concert series featuring music from the Final Fantasy series, with the LA date due to feature the first live performance ever outside Japan for his rock group, The Black Mages.
Read on

WrestleMania can define a legacy, and yours is about to be written. The greatest spectacle in sports-entertainment comes to Xbox™ with WWE WrestleMania® 21. The WWE experience has never been more lifelike with Superstar voice-over and commentary, an all-new proreversal system and motion capture technology, making this the most realistic looking grappler to date. Create the ultimate Superstar and watch him evolve as you earn new move-sets, costumes and abilities in your quest for the WWE Heavyweight Championship. Build the perfect championship belt and defend it on Xbox Live while gaining prestige with each victory you claim, or take on four of your friends in head-to-head competition online. WrestleMania® 21 will immortalize your legacy forever. How will you become a Legend?

In 'Conan' the players will encounter a dark, lush, violent and sinful universe, presented in fantastic graphics and stunning 7.1 surround audio. In a world filled with cruel gods, mythical creatures, lost civilizations and a struggling human race, the mighty barbarian has finally seized the throne as king of Aquilonia. But Conan’s rule is on the brink of chaos, spiraling towards the doom of ancient evils. In this twisted fantasy world, dark magic and brutal combat lurks around every corner, and each man and woman must carve their own unique destiny under Conan’s reign. In the true vision of Robert E. Howard’s dark universe it’s now time for you to become a messenger of death.

The multiplayer game also allow the players to form guilds and lay siege to enemy castles, letting their catapults sing their merry song of death as the enemy is crushed to a pulp.

When the wipeout browser hack came out, I saw someone controlling XBMC from their PSP browser. It's great that you could control XBMC from your PSP, but what if your XBOX isn't on, and your TV isn't on, and your TV is not on the right input?? You still have to get up or find the remote and adjust all of that...

I've come up with my own solution...

Intsructions on LiquidIce's PSP Hacks

Players of the Civilization® series by Microprose® should feel at home, since one aim of Freeciv is to have modes with compatible rules.

Freeciv is maintained by an international team of coders and enthusiasts, and is easily one of the most fun and addictive network games out there!

It also means it has very extensive multilanguage support, something rare in games.

About Freeciv via Slashdot

“'Peanuts' is one of the most celebrated comic strips of all time, and Charlie Brown and his friends have firmly cemented their place as American icons of the highest order,” said Jeff Lujan, Business Director at Namco Hometek, Inc. “We relish this opportunity to continue these beloved characters’ storylines through the medium of games and are honored to introduce this cherished property to an all-new generation of gamers.”

Debuting in just seven newspapers in 1950, "Peanuts" has since been enjoyed by millions of readers and viewers worldwide. Today the popular strip can be read in over 2400 newspapers in 75 countries and 21 languages worldwide.

NAMCO: Legendary Comic Strip Coming To Multiple Video Game Platforms

Psychonauts' greatest achievement, perhaps unsurprisingly, is in the realm of its presentation. Graphically, this is one of the nicest-looking platformers on the Xbox or PC. The whole game has a remarkably polished look to it. The characters animate smoothly, the textures and set pieces all look excellent, and the game almost always performs well, with nearly no slowdown or other such problems to speak of. However, pure performance isn't where these visuals shine; artistry is really where they come together. The whole look of the game feels like the unholy love child of Tim Burton and a Pixar animation team, and it's just wonderful stuff. Everyone has the sort of kooky, misshapen look of The Nightmare Before Christmas characters, and each are hysterical in their own way. We've already raved about how all the different environments, both real and cerebral, look totally unique and amazing, so we'll spare you any further details on the subject. There just aren't any other games of this type that look like Psychonauts does and it seems near-impossible not to fall in love with its sense of style.

Psychonauts Review

After about a week, we will conduct an in-game poll that's going to ask whether you:

1) Want to play on an "Exchange enabled" server
2) Do not want to play on an "Exchange enabled" server
3) Don't really care

Based on the results of this poll, we will light up a certain amount of new servers that are specifically "Exchange enabled." If the percentage of players who want this service is high enough, we might consider converting some existing servers to "Exchange enabled." Players who want to play on those servers will have the opportunity to transfer over to the "Exchange enabled" servers for free on a one-time-only basis (but you can't ever move that character off these servers). We will, of course, let people who don't want to stay on an "Exchange enabled" server off with a free transfer.

I want to be clear here: We will be lighting up a few new servers that are specifically “Exchange enabled,” and the number of existing servers we convert to “Exchange enabled” will be based on how many people actually want to be on "Exchange enabled" servers.

John Smedley Discusses Station Exchange

You love the films, but now the Star Wars galaxy is about to invade the PC world. Prepare yourself for the first ever Star Wars PC -- the Alienware Aurora: Star Wars Edition. Loaded with exclusive Star Wars content such as movie soundtracks, wallpapers, desktop skins, fan club membership and game demos, Aurora: Star Wars Edition systems come in two awe-inspiring case designs: Light Side or Dark Side. Which side is your destiny?

Call of Duty 2 lets players experience four individual soldier stories as they overcome insurmountable odds in multiple campaigns. Players have the freedom to follow each of the four storylines through for the ultimate character-driven experience, or they can engage in the historic battles chronologically for quick hitting action.
Call of Duty 2’s new engine and A.I. technology set the stage for authentic squad combat and astonishing action. Concealment can be key as battlefield smoke or even deployed smoke grenades cloud visibility. Weather effects such as the dusty sandstorms of North Africa and whiteout blizzard conditions of Russia, for example, will keep soldiers glued to their bunkers. The team has also employed a state-of-the-art Battle Chatter System that brings the action to life as squad-mates bark out context-sensitive updates in real-time to players through an advanced A.I. system.

Maxis-EA is redefining this highly-acclaimed franchise and will deliver classic open-ended gameplay along with exclusive new features. Aspirational gameplay and fully customizable content will give players the most authentic Sims experience to date on console. This innovative gameplay will allow players to make their dreams come true while avoiding their innermost fears. And, for the first time, players will be able to take direct control of their Sim without having to use their cursor. All handheld versions will feature unique storylines and will ship simultaneously with the console games.

Aftermath:
* Aftermath will be presented at E3 next month
* The release date will be in Fall 2005
* The time to play it through will be about 1/3 of the time needed for HL2
* Aftermath will just be released via Steam, no retail-version is planned

The Lost Coast:

* The Lost Coast will be released in May
* The Lost Coast will take roughly 20 to 40 minutes to play through

HLFallout.net - Original German article w/ magazine cover

Spore populates the universe with creatures and cities created by players from all over. There's almost nothing in the world that wasn't at some point created by another player. Wright discovered someone else's civilization, a curious four-legged race who carried tridents and lived in cities with pointed walls and towers. What happened next was entirely up to Wright: he decided to try to communicate with the other species using a bizarre Close Encounters style mini-game. His UFO played music and waited for the aliens to respond.

They responded by shooting him with lasers. What followed was a crazy War of the Worlds space invasion shootout, with Wright's UFO blasting the city with ray guns while missiles and lasers bounced off his ship. It wasn't going well, so Wright flew up into space and then fired off the ultimate weapon. Suddenly, the alien planet exploded in a cataclysmic orgy of molten destruction, forming a new ring of asteroids around the sun.

Will Wright Presents Spore... and a New Way to Think About Games via Waxy.org/links

On 5/13, the Japanese press (this includes us, strangely) will be invited to the Virgin Cinemas in Roppongi Hills, one of Tokyo's most chic areas (Square Enix unveiled Final Fantasy XII at this theater a couple of years back). Microsoft will be holding an invite-only event called "Next Generation Xbox Preview" at the theater starting at 11:30AM. The event will continue until 1:50PM -- a full two hours and twenty minutes!
Read on

Third-person shooting and driving will apparently be the mainstay of the new title's action, and according to the Official PS2 magazine, the game will even bind its story together with classic Bond movie footage. The hilarious Jetpack from Thunderball is also said to have a cameo role. Bond 'customisation' will be possible in the new game, presumably in the form of gadgets and light-RPG experience features. Though maybe through choice and colour of Tuxedo, too? Shaken Martini or Dom Perignon - the choice may soon be yours...
Read on

Here are the basics: Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are all releasing next generation hardware. Outside of that, mum's the word, and it's taken some investigative work to find out what to expect when before each company's formal unveiling.

1UP has taken care of the hard part for you. We can't claim to know exactly what the three big guys actually have planned, but we have some pretty good ideas.

Sorting Fact From Fiction In The Next-Gen Race via Waxy.org/links

Oh, yes, special in-game events are going to be a regular feature of Guild Wars. In addition to our world tournament, which will be ongoing 24/7, we will be offering other special events on a frequent basis. The fan community has taken the website competitions to their hearts, with incredible participation in our battle report and guild emblem contests.

In-game events will offer another level of opportunity for players, and we’ve been talking about a lot of fun things coming up. I look fard to seasonal events, perhaps opportunities to get special in-game items at certain times of the year, or short-term competitions constructed with a holiday theme. The sky’s the limit, really, since with streaming technology, we can add elements of an event quite easily

gamona.de - Interview: Guild Wars

Microsoft's next-generation technology will enable a level of realism never before experienced by gamers," said Jack Sorensen, executive vice president of worldwide studios, THQ. "The teams at Relic and Volition have been working closely with the development team at Microsoft to ensure that our titles utilize the new system to its fullest potential.

As I wasn’t the only Boomtown writer/admin who had the pleasure of a BF2 test drive, Thursday 7 April, I chose to get hold of the 3 others and get their thoughts and opinions about the game. As I did with my own preview, I asked them to split up their opinions into the 5 groups: The Gameplay, The classes (Assault, medic, antitank etc.), The vehicles (including tanks) and planes/choppers, The sound, The graphics. And of course they all round off with a final conclusion on the game and its potential.
Read on

do some cool stuff you totally didn't expect

Yep, the Auto update will be available on Monday April 18, to fix cheats, bugs, glitches and gasp – tweak some important weapon balance issues. Next time you log in after it's available (it'll be spread out to mitigate server loads) you'll get a message alerting you to its presence. Don't worry if you don't see it first thing Monday morning, it'll show up in your neighbourhood eventually.

Earth is under siege by an alien race. The Strogg are cybernetic warriors--a mechanical frame and decaying body parts stabilized by flesh consumed in a systematic annihilation of other species and civilizations. In a desperate attempt to survive a Strogg attack on Earth, an armada of Earth's finest warriors is sent to take the battle to the Strogg home planet. Earth's initial assault force is nearly annihilated immediately, but one marine manages to infiltrate the base, bring down their planetary defence systems, and kill the Strogg's collective brain and leader--the Makron. Earth assumed the destruction of the Makron would end it all, but it didn't.

That's where Quake II leaves off and Quake 4 begins.

The project is a comic based off the game Half-Life 2 by Valve Software. This game is quite simply the most amazingly engrossing story that I have ever seen in a video game. Needless to say, it got me inspired, but I had no idea what I could really do.

Along came G4's television show, The Screen Savers with a segment about a "Mod" for Half-Life 2 called Garry's Mod. The Mod allows you to place and pose ragdoll models from the game. Well... and obviously the idea from there just kind of fell into place.

The comic will be called Apostasy, and it will follow 3 characters through a story that happens around the same time as the game... in fact the story will interweave with the game story.

BrashFink's WebWerx APOSTASY - Issue #1...

AND 1® Streetball [PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system]: Experience the jaw-dropping moves of genuine streetball legends or establish your reputation by creating your own unique moves and signature style.

Far Cry InstinctsTM [Xbox®]: The PC survival shooter and smash hit of 2004 re-imagined for console gamers.

Heroes of Might & Magic® V [PC]: The legendary heroic fantasy game returns, based on features and values of the original saga, but with a more mature fantasy universe and unrivaled innovation.

187 Ride or DieTM [PlayStation 2, Xbox]: Outrageous urban combat racing comes to life as you defend your turf.

Peter Jackson's King KongTM [PlayStation 2, Xbox, next-generation console]: Experience the must-have game based on Universal Pictures' King Kong film from Academy Award® winning director Peter Jackson.

Prince of Persia® 3 [PlayStation 2, Xbox]: Blending the winning elements from the first two masterpieces to bring a unique and unexpected twist to the award-winning franchise.

Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (working title) [Xbox]: Experience the most gripping and famous battles of World War II through the eyes of a squadron commander and ace fighter pilot.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon® 3 (working title) [next-generation console]: Next-generation console technology meets the soldier of the future to revolutionize the classic squad-based shooter.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six LockdownTM [PlayStation 2, Xbox]: The critically acclaimed multiplayer experience returns with the all new Rivalry Mode and Persistent Elite Creation Mode.

America's Army®: Rise of a SoldierTM [PlayStation 2, Xbox]: The most authentic military game to date incorporating true-to-life character progression with an all-new Career mode (displayed at the U.S. Army Booth, #1608 in the South Hall).

Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30TM: New Chapter (working title) [PC, Xbox]: Gearbox Software's stunning follow up to what is already considered the best World War II military action game.

Myst® V: End of Ages [PC]: Resolve unanswered questions in the breathtaking finale to the epic journey.

The current contract has no provision for any residuals, just a set of minimum pay rates.

Even that was a major concession for vidgame manufacturers, which are accustomed to having their creative talent -- developers -- work inhouse as employees.

An equally important stumbling block has been simple disorganization. There is no equivalent to the Assn. of Motion Picture & Television Producers in the vidgame industry. Instead, SAG has had to negotiate with a small group of publishers who came together on an ad hoc basis and don't represent the whole industry.

Variety.com - Gamers' SAG snag (Free trial subscription required)

"It's such a classic American rags-to-riches story. I really suck at the game, but the story of these two twentysomething guys is pretty incredible," Shankar said. "In the spate of a few years, their idea and technology launched an entire industry based around these first-person shooter games."

Showtime's 'Doom' day (Free trial subscription required)

In news that reads more like a press release than perhaps it should, Ms Croft will stick to doing what she does best: stealing the ancient artefacts of downtrodden third world civilisations, and avoiding various death traps. And sticking her bum in the air. A lot.

There, now we’re back on style. Looking at the screens - captured from the CPU-killing Flash official site - the game really does look to have promise, and is bound be to one of Eidos’ biggest-selling titles of 2005, offering true mass market appeal.

the system software will reserve six percent (32 MB) of the total memory for components, including visible features of the Xbox 360 HUD, and other non-visible system tasks
Read on

Because the PlayStation 2 does not have its own power source, playing it in the car requires an adapter for the auxiliary power socket. Pelican encloses a coupon with the Game Glass to get an adapter for $4.95, the cost of shipping and handling.
Read on

Four people were arrested after FBI agents posed as buyers, telling the defendants they planned to distribute the fake products throughout Manhattan and the Midwest
Read on

Our "killer feature" for this game is the Home City. It works like a persistent tech tree - an upgrade you choose in the Home City sticks with your civilization for many games (we also have a more traditional tech tree in the New World that you re-research every game). At low levels, a civilization has fewer buildings and units than an Age of Kings civilization has.

As you play, say every few games or so, you earn enough experience points to get a new level for your Home City. Every level gets you a new upgrade. Upgrades run the gamut from adding more hit points to your Musketeers, to allowing you to build a new type of warship, to improving your mining rates, to making your Explorer unit better. Some upgrades are prerequisites to other upgrades, and there is a lot of differences between say the Dutch and British Home City tech trees.

Games have tried the "build your own civilization" feature before. That's not really what the Home City is about. It's more like a MMO character where you start simple and weaker and over time become more powerful with lots of options. Unlike an MMO, skill still plays a critical role. I can beat a player who is maybe 10+ levels above me if I use the right units and attack at the right time.

AGE OF EMPIRES III EXPLORED, PART ONE, PART TWO

Set countless years in the future and told in the hyperkinetic, kamikaze style that made its gaming predecessor a global phenomenon, the science fiction adventure Doom takes the viewer to the far corners of the galaxy with a fully-realized vision of a dark and disturbing future.
Coming soon - Doom

In TT: Payback you will find 10 adrenaline-pumping missions featuring five different weapon platforms, improved replayability with a new high score system and a choice of difficulty levels.
You’ll really feel the heat in Terrorist Takedown: Payback! The terrorists are attacking – and it’s up to you to strike right back, and hit them where it hurts. Pilot a gunship, or take on the role of a helicopter, vehicle, and artillery gunner in a campaign full of fast-moving combat action. Great graphics and sound effects make punching the face of evil more rewarding than ever before!

Official website

Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest videogame publishers, announces new maps, missions and modes exclusively for the Xbox® version of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® 2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® 2 MultiMission (working title) will provide a wealth of new single and multiplayer missions that plunge Xbox players into the dangerous, heart-racing world of the Ghosts, an elite military team who is the first and last line of defense on the battlefield
Read on

The machine can stand upright and hollows in at the middle, like it's "sucking in its cheeks," our source told us today. Previous rumours had put the console as silver, although fresh information says the final design may be white. It's impossible to tell from the documents, the source went on to say.

According to the source, the rumoured slot for the hard drive - which was apparently at the top of the machine - is not obvious on the document, and the person was unable to clarify where the slot for discs actually appeared.
Read on

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fifth Harry Potter videogame we have created, and we are incredibly excited with the fresh innovations that the team has brought to the game," said Harvey Elliott, Executive Producer at EAUK. "With high anticipation for the film and our strong relationship with WBIE, we have been able to develop a game that complements the film in this exciting addition to the Harry Potter franchise

jason and I were thinking of this idea for awhile before we acted upon it. with his precise expertise in the field known as electronics, i was able to create a 5V circuit easily and cheap too. i chose an atari 2600 joystick because aside from housing everything well (especially the button for the on/off switch), it’s nostalgic which is awesome

Yes now you can play a small sliver of Psychonauts on your own PC at home. Majesco and Double Fine have put out a demo containing an early portion of the game - a game repeatedly assumed by many to be the second coming - making all things right in the world. Reports that the full version will also contain "flying cars and robot butlers for everyone" remain unsubstantiated.

Grab the demo from Fileshack, Gamespot DLX, Filerush , or 3DGamers

Need for Speed Most Wanted delivers a unique, fast-paced and gripping ride in the racing genre as players build up their Rap Sheet and street cred to move their way up the Black List to become the most wanted racer on the streets. Players will go head-to-head with the top drivers on the scene as well as strategically evade more than half dozen cops at any one time. Add in a dynamic open world, new gameplay and customization as well as tuners, supercars, muscles and sports cars and Need for Speed Most Wanted will be on every gamer's "must-have" list.

naturally the texture detail and resolutions will be of a lesser standard. Loading times will be the same as the PC, although given the wide range of wait times on different machines quite which PC that will be the same as remains to be seen.
Read on

2K Games
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Cube, GBA, PC, PS2, Xbox)
NBA 2K6 (PS2, Xbox)
NHL 2K6 (PS2, Xbox)
Top Spin (PS2)
World Poker Tour (Unspecified Consoles)

Activision
Call of Duty 2 (PC)
Call of Duty Console Sequel (PS2, Xbox)
Fantastic Four (GCN, PS2, Xbox)
The Movies (PC, PS2, Xbox)

Atari
Dragonshard (PC)
Dungeons & Dragons Online (PC)
Indigo Prophecy (PC, PS2, Xbox)
Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (PS2, Xbox)
The Matrix: Path of Neo (PC, PS2, Xbox)
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked! (PC)
Tycoon City: New York (PC)

Atlus Software
Samurai Western (PS2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 (PS2)
Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA)
Snowboard Kids DS (DS)
Trauma Center: Under the Knife (DS)
Untitled Console RPG (PS2)

Bandai
D.I.C.E. (PS2)
Digimon World 4 (Cube, PS2, Xbox)
InuYasha: Feudal Combat (PS2)
One Piece: Grand Battle! (GBA, Cube, DS, PS2)
Zatch Bell (Cube, PS2)

Bethesda Softworks
The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (Next-Gen, PC)

Blizzard Entertainment
StarCraft: Ghost (Cube, PS2, Xbox)

Buena Vista Games
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (Cube, DS, GBA, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox)
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (PS2, Xbox)

Capcom
Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance (PS2, Xbox)
Flipnic Ultimate Pinball (PS2)
Killer 7 (Cube, PS2)
Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel (GBA)
Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Protoman (GBA)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
Without Warning (PS2, Xbox)

Cenega
El Matador (PC)
The Roots (PC, Xbox)
UFO: Aftershock (PC)

Crave Entertainment
Sno-Cross 2 Featuring Blair Morgan (PS2, Xbox)
World Championship Poker 2 (PS2, Xbox)

Deep Silver
Untitled RTS (PC)

Digital Extremes
Dark Sector (Next-Gen)

DreamCatcher Interactive
Cold War (PC)
Haegemonia: The Solon Heritage (PC)
Painkiller (Xbox)

Eidos
25 to Life (PC, PS2, Xbox)
Commandos Strike Force (PC, PS2, Xbox)
Hitman: Blood Money (PC, PS2, Xbox)
Tomb Raider Legend (PC, PS2, Xbox)

Electronic Arts
Batman Begins (Cube, GBA, PS2, Xbox)
Battlefield 2 (PC)
Battlefield 2: Modern Combat (PS2, Xbox)
Black & White 2 (PC)
Burnout Revenge (PS2, Xbox)
The Godfather (PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox, Next-Gen)
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (DS)
James Bond 007: From Russia with Love (Cube, PS2, Xbox)
Madden NFL 2006 (Cube, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox)
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (Cube, PS2, PSP, Xbox)
Medal of Honor: European Assault (Cube, PS2, Xbox)
NASCAR: Chase for the Cup 2006 (Cube, PC, PS2, Xbox)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Cube, DS, GBA, PC, PS2, PSP, Xbox)
NCAA Football 2006 (Cube, PS2, Xbox)
The Sims 2: Nightlife (PC)

Funcom
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (PC)

High Moon Studios
Darkwatch (PS2, Xbox)

Imaginary Numbers
Tactica Online (PC)

KOEI
Colosseum: Road to Freedom (PS2)
Romance of the Three Kingdoms X (PS2)
Uncharted Waters Online (PC)

Konami
Castlevania DS (DS)
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2)
Coded Arms (PSP)
Death Jr. (PSP)
S.L.A.I. (PS2)

LucasArts
Star Wars: Empire at War (PC)
Star Wars Galaxies: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees (PC)

Majesco
Advent Rising (PC, Xbox)
Advent Shadow (PSP)
Aeon Flux (PS2, Xbox)
ATV: Quad Frenzy (DS)
Bloodrayne (PSP)
The Darkness (Next-Gen)
Infected (PSP)
Jaws Unleashed (PS2, Xbox)
Nanostray (DS)
Psychonauts (PS2)
Texas Hold 'Em Poker (DS)

Mastiff
Pump it Up: Exceed (PS2, Xbox)

Microsoft
Perfect Dark Zero (Next-Gen)

Midway
Blitz: The League (PS2, Xbox)
Fear & Respect (PS2, Xbox)
Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (PS2, Xbox)
L.A. Rush (PS2, Xbox)
Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PS2, Xbox)
Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War (PC)
The Suffering: Ties That Bind (PC, PS2, Xbox)

Mirinae Entertainment
Kahn the Absolute Power (PC)

Namco
Arc the Lad: End of Darkness (PS2)
Gumby vs. the Astrobots (GBA)
HUGO Bukkazoom! (GBA)
Shogun Warrior: Real-Time Conflict (DS)
Pac-Man World 3 (Cube, PS2, Xbox)
Soulcalibur III (PS2)
Tales of Legendia (PS2)

Natsume
Chulip (PS2)
Finny the Fish & the Seven Waters (PS2)
Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life (Cube)
Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town (GBA)

NCSoft
Auto Assault (PC)
City of Villains (PC)
Guild Wars (PC)
Tabula Rasa (PC)

Nintendo
Advance Wars DS (DS)
Animal Crossing DS (DS)
Dance Dance Revolution with Mario (Cube)
Donkey Konga 2 (Cube)
Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki (Cube)
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA)
Geist (Cube)
Kirby: Cursed Canvas (DS)
Mario Kart DS (DS)
Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS)
New Super Mario Bros. (DS)
Nintendogs (DS)
Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball (Cube)
Odama (Cube)
The Legend of Zelda (Cube)

NIS America
Atelier Iris ~Eternal Mana~ (PS2)
Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome (PS2)

SEGA
Condemned (Next-Gen)
Phantasy Star Universe (PC, PS2)
Shadow the Hedgehog (Cube, PS2, Xbox)
Shining Force Neo (PS2)
Spartan: Total Warrior (PS2, Xbox)

SNK Playmore
King of Fighters '94 Re-Bout (Xbox)
King of Fighters 02/03 (Xbox)
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - Maniax (Xbox)
Metal Slug 1 (GBA)
Metal Slug 4 & 5 (PS2, Xbox)
Samurai Shodown V (Xbox)

Sony Computer Entertainment
Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)
Ratchet: Deadlocked (PS2)
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (PS2)
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2)

Sony Online Entertainment
EverQuest II Expansion (PC)
Untitled Handheld Game #1 (PSP)
Untitled Handheld Game #2 (PSP)

Team Tarsier
Metronome (PC, Next-Gen)

THQ
Battlestations: Midway (PC, PS2, Xbox)
Big Mutha Truckers DS (DS)
Big Mutha Truckers 2 (PS2, Xbox)
Bratz (GBA, PC, PS2)
Danny Phantom (GBA)
Destroy All Humans (PS2, Xbox)
Fairly OddParents (DS)
The Incredibles 2 (Cube, DS, GBA, PS2, Xbox)
Juiced (PS2, Xbox)
Moto GP 3 (Xbox)
Nicktoons (DS)
Power Rangers (GBA)
Scooby-Doo! Unmasked (Cube, DS, GBA, PS2, Xbox)
SpongeBob SquarePants Party (Cube, DS, PC, PS2, Xbox)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (PC)
Tak 3 (Cube, DS, GBA, PS2, Xbox)
Untitled Console Game #1 (Next-Gen)
Untitled Console Game #2 (Next-Gen)
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault (PC)
WWE Day of Reckoning 2 (Cube)
Zoo Tycoon (DS)

Track7 Music
Thesis (PC, Next-Gen)

Ubisoft
America's Army: Rise of a Soldier (PS2, Xbox)
Peter Jackson's King Kong (Cube, DS, GBA, PC, PS2, PSP, Next-Gen)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown (PS2, Xbox)

Vivendi Universal
50 Cent: Bulletproof (PS2, Xbox)
Crash Tag Team Racing (Cube, DS, PS2, Xbox)
F.E.A.R. (PC)
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (Cube, PC, PS2, Xbox)
Scarface (PC, PS2, Xbox)

The Big E3 List: 2005 Edition via Joystiq

Japanese entertainment weekly Famitsu put the PSP through its paces in their 15 April issue and sure enough: pressing combinations of buttons on the PSP will make Aibo do different tricks -– no hacking necessary!

Sony PSP Can Even Play with Aibo! via Engadget

The Smart Adds themselves will feature anything from new trainers, to video clips of new albums, movie and game trailers, DVD previews, even advi-games direct to the device. Most importantly they’re non-interruptive, i.e. a movie or a game will not be interrupted by the
Smart Add, only when the user returns to the Home menu will be they be broadcasted to the
device. Squarely focused on the MTV generation with similar tones and relevance to that particular audience, owners of this model will not receive ads for washing up liquids, tax
return reminders, or stair lifts.

More

I got a chance to watch previews of Geist and Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball. I also got some time to play Killer 7, and Donkey Konga 2 on the GameCube.

The van was packed with some pretty cool DS titles as well. I played Nintendogs, Polarium, Pac-Pix, Castlevania DS and GoldenEye: Rogue Agent DS.

Sony is expected to debut the PS3 at E3, "although the product is not expected to be available in the U.S. until mid-2006 (perhaps a Japan launch in the fourth quarter of 2005 although more likely in the first quarter of 2006)," Goldman said.

I didn’t care if this failed or not. I didn’t care if this was a success. I didn’t care if this was the last game I ever worked on. At the age of 33, I just wanted to do something that really speaks to the stuff that I love. If it works, great. If it sort of works, great. If it doesn’t work, great. But I don’t just want to make product. I want to make something that really moves people and myself.
AintItCoolNews.com

Taking into account their close release dates, and the fact that we felt the third opus would be a much more satisfying and evolved gaming experience, we were forced to conclude that it was in the interest of gamers for us to cancel the PC version of Ghost Recon 2. But Ghost Recon 3 on PC will hit shelves the fourth quarter of 2005, so the wait won’t be long, and will definitely be worth it.

GhostRecon.com - Cancellation of Ghost Recon 2 PC

I just picked up my PSP, and I played with the damn thing all weekend. Great toy. I got a few games, but mostly just messed around with getting music videos and ripping movies onto it. I ended up mounting the little guy in the car with the Intec desktop stand. It works out pretty good, so I figured I'd share the idea and took some pics.
PSP Car Mount

We picked the most ambitious, most difficult area to create. It's a coastline with a lot of rocks, a village, and a church. We have a lot of wet surfaces, nature, architecture and exteriors. We wanted strong themes; very defined rocks, a lot of water, really detailed, almost organic looking architecture down to a brick and a shingle," notes Antonov in PC Gamer.

[...]Gordon is lead into the church (with a screenshot revealing incredibly detailed bump mapping techniques enabling Valve to truly go to town on creating photorealistic murals and gorgeously ornate gold incense burners hanging from the ceiling), with a chopper clearly heard in the distance. Before you know it, the chopper opens fire, blasts through the stained glass windows, sending bright light streaming into the hall. As if by way of demonstration, the light bleaches out your view, making it incredibly tough to even see what's attacking you. As Edwards notes "the light itself feels hostile".

Today, DreamCatcher Games announced the shipping of Painkiller: Gold Edition to retail outlets across North America for the PC platform. The compilation title includes the original Painkiller title, expansion pack Battle Out Of Hell, and bonus features such as a dozen Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) enhancements. The game also includes a “The Making Of Painkiller” video. Painkiller: Gold Edition carries the ESRB rating of “M” for mature.

The contest will use an under-the-cap registration method (much like Pepsi did before with those iTunes giveaways), and supposedly they’ll be giving away one console every ten minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine weeks straight.

In Far Cry Instincts, players will become the Ultimate Predator, as they are forced to outlast the wilderness hell and unleash every imaginable survival tactic and skill.

Gamers take out wave after wave of horrific zombies as they travel different routes and advance the storyline, uncovering new secrets and hidden areas along the way. And the all-new shotgun comes in handy when surrounded by an army of festering undead.

Players must use it wisely to take out multiple enemies in a single blast as they plough their way through the most exhilarating nightmare yet.

• Flying Daggers
• Final Fantasy VII
• Apocolypse
• Resident Evil
• Once upon a time in Mexico
• XXX

The platform holder plans to charge $28.95 or thereabouts for new films released on UMD at the same time as their respective DVDs, but will only charge $19.95 for films that have already been released.

The MTV special, hosted by family friendly hobbit turned psychotic canibal, Elijah Wood is scheduled to air on May 12 and is said to feature the world's first glance at Microsoft's goods along with a performance by the Killers and a bag full of athletes and celebrities showing off some of the new features.
RedAssedBaboon.com - Xbox 2 game set to launch on MTV

"It doesn't make sense to unveil the product behind a closed door, at a trade-only event. We wanted to talk directly to the consumer first," said Peter Moore, corporate vp-worldwide marketing and publishing for Microsoft Xbox.

Brandweek.com

In one popular action game called Splinter Cell, for example, boxes on cargo ships are stamped with the names of advertisers.

The technology makes it possible to track how often a player comes across those boxes inside the game and reports back to the company over the Internet.

"Measurement is the key part of the proposition," Mr. Davis said. "Advertisers are looking for accountability."

New Reality in Video Games: Advertisements

• James Bond 007
• NBA Live 2006
• PoPoLo Crois
• Most Wanted
• Need for Speed
• Batman Begins

Through the marvels of technology (and the fine folks at Quicktime) we're able to capture screenshots that actually allow you to pan and rotate the scene. In this shot, I'm on the receiving end of Shishka's grenade as I put a few needles into AGDTinMan.

Warlock is one of the first new maps coming for Halo 2 and will be released for free later this month. Inspired by Wizard from Halo 1, Warlock is a symmetrical arena-type map that offers intense fast paced action.

Bungie: Warlock 3D! - Screenshot, QuickTime required

"Microsoft is fully committed to this (current) generation and gamers can expect an amazing pipeline of titles into 2007."

A Microsoft spokeswoman told Reuters that 2007 is not a hard stop, but rather a guideline for the last releases of new games developed for the Xbox.
Microsoft Expects New Xbox Games Through 2007 via Evil Avatar

The folks behind the first two terrific Max Payne titles are hiring for their next project already, according to their web site and of course those folks who are picked to joing will work on Remedy's next generation game. However, a Remedy level designer has already stated on the Shacknews web site that it will not be Max Payne 3.

Black Ops Game Projects

Click to enlarge

Basically, below you will see a picture from an online quiz for Nintendo resellers where they threw in their first (of probably many) Revolution questions. The answer is "All of the above" are correct. Therefore, Nintendo is confirming (what they may have confirmed before) but now physically, not just from "word of mouth."
gamenews.botros.net: Nintendo Confirms some Revolution hardware

"They use the characters everyone knows, and then for the next hour they shoot and kill each other. I had absolutely nothing to do with the game, and I disapprove,"

Coppola Disapproves Godfather Game

Without an official announcement from Activision on the Xbox 360 titles, rumors have spread about on the net for awhile of their existence, particularly to them appearing on the Xbox 360. Id’s John Camack had confirmed Quake VI was in development for the PC at last summers Quake con, while Neversoft has been on schedule with a new Tony Hawk game since the first in 1999. Yet, none of the developers have officially announced the titles Xbox 360 games as of yet.
Read on

The distance between these two essential events, both to be held in the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles, is going to cause some headaches for the attending media, with the journey time between the two locations raising the possibility that Sony could drag their show out to disrupt the timing of Microsoft's party. Of course, Sony would never do such a thing intentionally. Even before the machines have been revealed, the next-gen console wars are off to a vicious start.

Little was revealed, but Valve suggests that the expansion may only be published via Steam in the Summer.

Aftermath will take place after the events in Half-Life 2, as the citadel you crippled will launch into space, and you and Alyx will escape from City 17. Without the barriers put up by the alien invaders, creatures previously unable to enter will be able to roam freely, making your escape that much more difficult.

The students, all children of PEIA-covered employees, are required to meet with researchers, play the game a prescribed amount of time, wear a pedometer and maintain a log. They get to keep the game software and pad.

So far, about a dozen kids have started playing the game. They will be re-evaluated after three months and again at the end of the study.
Dancing The Pounds Away

Last week P.J. McNealy estimated that Sony moved only 575,000 units in the PSP’s first week—though it’s entirely possibly that they sold 500,000 PSP Value Packs in those initial 48 hours and then only another 75,000 over the course of the next five days
Read on

The advertisements were blinking on various billboards, both in cities and in instanced missions. They randomly displayed ads for the upcoming tournament, the "Rubi-Ka rumble", or the above product placements. Obviously, one or the other of them could be existing through time, human cataclysms, and space travel to the furture planet of Rubi-ka, but seeing Motley Crue ads did cause me to wonder when I'd see them touring Omni Entertainment.

Mmmmm Marketing

the most realistic squad combat and explosive action in new historic campaigns

The game will expand on the series, letting players use squads for various mission objectives, feature battlefields with multiple paths, and revamped A.I. Lastly, Call Of Duty 2 will include a Battle Chatter System, one that lets squad-members make context-sensitive updates to players. Call Of Duty 2 is scheduled for a Fall 2005 release.
Press release

[...] Eidos is evolving the brand while building on the original values of compelling character and suspense-filled adventure gameplay. Crystal Dynamics has brought together the biggest and most diverse development team in Tomb Raider history and recruited Lara Croft’s original creator Toby Gard as the lead character designer. [...]

Tomb Raider: Legend revives the athletic, intelligent and entertaining adventurer who won the hearts and minds of gamers worldwide. Lara comes alive with intricately animated expressions, moves and abilities. An arsenal of modern equipment, such as a magnetic grappling device, binoculars, frag grenades, personal lighting device and communications equipment, allows gamers to experience tomb raiding as never before. [...]
Read on

At the Nintendo World Store, gamers can check out new and unreleased games for Nintendo DS, GCN and GBA at demo stations. Along with videogames, there will also be merchandise, accessories, and trading cards for sale. For more details, please visit

Sources claim that this initial roster will be further bolstered at this year’s E3 and while SPOnG keeps an open mind as to the validity of the list, it does make compelling reading nonetheless

IMAGINE movies and computer games in which you get to smell, taste and perhaps even feel things. That's the tantalising prospect raised by a patent on a device for transmitting sensory data directly into the human brain - granted to none other than the entertainment giant Sony.

The technique suggested in the patent is entirely non-invasive. It describes a device that fires pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify firing patterns in targeted parts of the brain, creating "sensory experiences" ranging from moving images to tastes and sounds. This could give blind or deaf people the chance to see or hear, the patent claims.
Sony patent takes first step towards real-life Matrix, via Threadwatch

3D Realms, makers of the popular "Duke Nukem" series, originally worked on "Prey," but word is they have handed development to a third party and are overseeing work on the game. Take Two Interactive Software is the likely publisher for the game, given its relationship with 3D Realms, but has not made any announcements.

The celebrated Scottish actor will record new dialogue for the game, and his likeness will be taken from the 1963 movie - as will the likeness of most of the other principal characters, with the actors all signed up to appear in the title.

If the current lineup [of games] in development for the next-generation Xbox was revealed," Okamoto said in the interview, "it would not only surprise users, but the entire industry. There probably wouldn't be anyone [in Japan] that would still be uninterested in buying the next-generation Xbox when they see the lineup." He called the still-under-wraps list "a powerful fleet of Japanese designers.

To play any multiplayer game on a Sony PSP with only one copy of a game, do the following:

· Place the game into the 1st PSP. Start the game. Start a Multiplayer Ad-Hoc game. (Set the time to unlimited because moving the game between the units takes a while.) Enter the game.

· Once you are in the game, remove the game from the unit. A message will appear asking whether you want to exit the game, say NO! The game should resume.

· Now take the game and place it into the 2nd PSP. Start the game. Now go to Ad-Hoc games and find the server that the other PSP has already started. Enter the game.

· And now you are playing each other on two PSPs with only one copy of the game. And if you want to, you can do this with up to as many units as you wish. As long as the game supports that many players.

PSP Multiplayer With One Game via Boingboing.net

Microsoft has the most riding on this year's show. Three days before it officially begins, the company will finally take the wraps off of its next generation Xbox (which will almost certainly be named Xbox 360). Microsoft hopes the new machine will help it unseat Sony from its long-held industry leader position, which won't be an easy feat.

I'd certainly recommend Doom to anyone who enjoys the video game, and to those board gamers who don't mind a lopsided contest or have the patience to seek out and adopt enough house rules to get the game to shine.
Link via Waxy.org

This Brothers in Arms patch updates the US & UK digital download editions of the game to v1.03, adding multiplayer lobby features, a screenshot capture function and stability and performance improvements among other things.

Listen up soldiers! Be ready for a double-dose of cinematic intensity and chaotic battles as Activision, Inc.’s Call of Duty™: Deluxe edition has shipped to retail outlets nationwide. The newest addition to the best-selling franchise includes the highly acclaimed Call of Duty™: Game of the Year edition – winner of more than 80 Game of the Year Awards, Call of Duty™: United Offensive™ – the popular expansion pack featuring additional maps, vehicle-based multiplayer and more, along with the original Call of Duty soundtrack and strategy guides. Call of Duty: Deluxe edition for the PC is rated “T” (Teen – Blood, Mild Language, Violence – content suitable for persons ages 13 and older) by the ESRB and carries a suggested retail price of $39.99.
Full press release

It appears the 54-year-old Kutaragi's outspoken nature, in a corporate culture that's oiled by consensus, may be to blame. Independent and shockingly frank by Japanese standards, Kutaragi hasn't held back from criticizing company decisions.
[...]
Asked what he would do if he were running Sony, Kutaragi said the company must revive its original innovative spirit, when it boasted engineering finesse with the transistor radio, Walkman and Trinitron TV.
Demoted Sony Electronics Guru Is Outspoken

Two years have passed since the events of FINAL FANTASY VII.

Though Midgar-city of Mako, city of prosperity-has been reduced to ruins, its people slowly but steadily walk the road to reconstruction.

However, a mysterious illness called geostigma torments them.

With no cure in sight, it brings death to the afflicted, one after another, robbing the people of their fledgling hope.

And so Cloud, who walked away from the life of a hero to live in solitude, must step forward yet again.

ctf_subway
ctf_canals
ctf_stinger
ctf_storm
Full changelog here

Xbox.com: What about existing franchises—will we see those on the next-generation Xbox?

Kim:[...]The short answer is yes. Without giving away all the surprises we have in store, gamers that love franchises like Halo, Fable, and Project Gotham Racing can safely assume we will continue to invest in them as we move into the next generation.
XBox.com - A Chat with the Man in Charge

"Microsoft didn't pay us anything to choose the Xbox. It's simply the only console currently available that can handle our game with the intended results."

he revealed that the next installment in the conference's titular franchise will indeed be on hand, a fact omitted from last month's official lineup announcement. "We'll have Quake IV multiplayer to play," he said "And because it's also the 10-year anniversary of QuakeCon, we'll have a few other surprises as well."
Hollenshead confirms Quake IV for QuakeCon X, talks next-gen

In Resurrection of Evil, the story takes place two years after the events from the original game and this time you play as a different marine sent to assist Dr. Elizabeth McNeal in investigating a strange beacon on the planet. When you discover a weapon known as the "Artifact", Betruger will send three demonic hunters after you

Nintendo says games sales have also been "outstanding". More than 250,000 copies of Super Mario 64 DS have been shifted, and the title currently stands at no. 9 in the all formats charts. Sales of WarioWare Touched! are also said to be "extremely strong".

This visual end gets a significant revamp, featuring bloom effects and enhanced animations courtesy of the Havoc physics engine. While the ultimate system specs are unknown, the game so far shows an unprecedented level of graphical detail for an RTS.
More

Created by the mag to show what PS3 'could be', the image was leaked on to the net and promptly front-paged over 20 websites and encouraged excited comment on forums worldwide, including our own.

The general consensus was that, while the unit's wireless joypads and PSP/UMD connectivity were welcome, the chunky look of PSM2's vision met with disapproval.
PlayStation 3 hoaxers exposed

Instead, it is carefully programmed to be always in just the right spot, automatically rotating and zooming to create a fluid, deliberately controlled visual experience.

This precise camera work, coupled with the high graphic quality, leaves you staring slack-jawed at the detail of each new room, the majesty of each new vista. The story is told sparingly but concisely, punctuated by what the game's fans have dubbed "'holy shit! moments" on gaming message boards. The orchestral score prominently features a full choir, further blurring the line between game and film.
Wired: God of War No False Idol

Players enter a platform with a 360-degree screen that shows scenarios such as freeing hostages, street gun fights, taking out suicide bombers and team attacks on enemy positions. And VirTra takes the simulations a step further by enabling the computer game to "shoot back".

If a player fails to kill an enemy in time and the enemy is able to shoot back, the simulator delivers a powerful electric shock through the player's hips. You definitely know you have been hit," Mr Haag said. "It has the same power as a stun gun. It knocks you down.

"You have to continue to work through the pain and keep on fighting, as that is what you need to do - to keep on fighting even when wounded.
Link

The events, which kicked off in London at the weekend, will also visit Birmingham on 16 April, Sheffield on 23 April, Manchester on 30 April, Newcastle on 7 May, Glasgow on 14 May, and London once again on 21 May.

It's now widely believed that June is the earliest possible date for the system to arrive - but comments from two senior sources close to the development of titles for the PSP have suggested that Sony may be considering slipping the system past summer entirely.

Our sources have suggested that Sony is planning to announce the European launch date for the console at E3, which takes place in late May - and would indeed leave the company on a tight schedule to get the console out in June.
European PSP launch may be delayed to September

The DRIVER series chronicles the exploits of Tanner, a ruthless undercover cop and a fearless driver; DRIV3R sees him immersed in a global car theft ring. A mysterious buyer has ordered 40 stolen high performance cars. Tanner wants to know who the buyer is, and he intends to stop the deal going through; but he is always one step away from his cover being blown, and time is running out.

First, here's the mission statement for Battlefield: Modern Combat: EA intends to "Make Battlefield Modern Combat a Top three console shooter title in CY05 in North America and Europe and to establish the successful Battlefield franchise on consoles." That's not a surprise, seeing as how EA is bold, ambitious and the series is already a hit.

Second, the Xbox 2/Xbox 360 version, due to ship at launch (November-ish), includes a host of sexy features. The offline stuff: The game includes a handful of new multi-screen spectator modes, offline cooperative and adversarial modes, plus HDTV 720p support and full screen anti aliasing. Sounds good to us! Not every one can access the Internet, so giving players the chance to play the game in co-op offline is sweet. Also, it's nice to see the 720p and anti-aliasing support taking affect.

Doubled player speed when jumping. The effect to cumulative, so the more you jump, the faster you go.
Cut price of AWP by 50%.
Added akimbo Riot Shield to buy menu.
Removed de_dust from mapcycle.

Video games are a huge part of the entertainment industry," argues George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Revenues from the video game industry routinely equal or top revenues from the film industry's U.S. box office. That's how big we are."

I spent my whole life chasing stars, and now my fans want to give me one? Woo-hoo!

The Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons piece is made with one pound of gold and 8ct yellow and black diamonds on the front and crock finishing on the back. Baby Phat and Phat Farm logos accented with Simmons Jewelry Co diamonds dangle from the bottom of the luxurious accessory. The $35,000 design easily fits over any PSP to add extra bling.
Link

Jonas Lindqvist, the chief executive officer of Meqon, said, "The response from development studios during the Game Developer conference and in the past couple of weeks, has been terrific. We had intended to pass this version of our software onto those people we met during the show, but requests have been coming in ever since the show ended. We're delighted that our technology has struck such a chord with the development community and we're very pleased to make the SDK available to studios worldwide."
Meqon Technology Free For A Month

We never analysed Nintendo products. There is, I believe, a difference in the technologies used but we never investigated those of Nintendo.

Immersion, backed by Microsoft will have the right to demand royalties from Sony on every single PlayStation product that makes use of DualShock, an astoundingly astute move resulting in a case that Sony simply must win.
[...]
The idea of paying Microsoft’s Xbox division a royalty on all PlayStation sales if perhaps only second in the list of Thing That Officially Must Never Happen to having all SCE products suspended from sale altogether, a catastrophe narrowly avoided earlier this week.

I cannot argue with the logic in what you say. Microsoft took full advantage of the opportunity offered to it and was fair in its dealings with us throughout.

Weapons Of Mass Destruction is a first-person shooter, one putting players in the role of ex-government secret service agent, Cole Justice, as he's called for a final assignment. Conspiracy: Weapons Of Mass Destruction has players trying to take down a rogue government agency called "Hydra," one developing weapons of mass destruction to sell to terrorist organizations worldwide.

Once in-game, you have the opportunity to explore the vast, sprawling City, in which you will be spending so many of your waking hours over the next few weeks and months. The developers have done a bang-up job on the game environments; the sky is a perpetual leaden gray, always threatening rain over the concrete-and-chrome, neon-glittering sprawl of the City. Cars pass by in an endless stream, and pedestrians shuffle past, their eyes downcast as they travel the waypoints of their meaningless existence. The visuals are so lush that you very well may spend your first few hours in the City simply roaming around, seeing just how much trouble you can get into simply by sightseeing (quite a bit, as it turns out).

First of all, I've got to talk about the graphics, as this is easily the best looking Gamecube game ever made, as well as generally one of the best all around looking console games. How they managed to get the Gamecube to display environments like this is beyond me, as I never thought this relatively crippled console capable of such visuals.

Sony told Reuters that it decided to cancel the PS3 meeting because it "would pressure game publishers" if held in March, but it left the door open for another pre-E3 event. The company also emphasized that the cancellation is not a sign that the PlayStation 3 development is falling behind, and it still intends to unveil the machine at E3 at the latest.