Review - Undertow // Xbox 360 /// Eurogamer

Review - Undertow // Xbox 360 /// Eurogamer

Timeshift, Jericho and Screwjumper!

Due to not having too much time, I'm doing a round-up this time. I've got another review on Eurogamer which I'm very pleased about and my reviews for Jericho and Timeshift have been published by Boomtown and Strategyinformer respectively.

So, here they are!

Jericho

Timeshift

Screwjumper!

Things are really picking up at the moment so all's good in the hood. Let me know what you think.

Saga Interview

Yep, another day another interview with an ace development team! This time it was Wahoo Studios talking to me via email about their latest title Saga for the PC.

Interested? Read all about it here.

Eurogamer Switchball Review!!

Wow after so much begging, pleading, pestering and something-else-beginning-with-p Kristan Reed, Editor in Chief over at Eurogamer Towers gave me the opportunity to do a review and get it published. Without too much persuasion I said I'd get right on it.

You can see the results here.



Well, as you can see it got published and Krudster as he affectionately known as, has asked me to do another one, ScrewJumper which I'll hopefully have finished by tomorrow.

Fame at last!! :)

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel Interview

Well, well. I did this interview the other day for my pals over at SI and their stats went through the roof. I spent hours trying to convince myself that it was because of me that folk came in droves but after my tears and a healthy dose of self realisation I came to the conclusion that unfortunately the reason why they all appeared in a hurry is because they were excited about the game.



Oh well. One day...one day.

Ah, yes. THE INTERVIEW IS HERE!

(Sorry for shouting.)

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - First Impressions

My first impressions of the Uncharted demo have been lovingly posted on the digital walls in the network corridors of our favourite Danish/English gaming website Boomtown.


As I'm absolutely knackered this extremely cold Danish winter evening all I'll say is the direct link is right here.

Now go pre-order it or cheat the tax man and import it.

I said go.

Eternal Sonata - Review

What haven't I said about the game already? Seriously, send me a list.

Ho,ho, ho. Anyway, you can read my interview with none other than tri-Crescendo's creative lead, Hiroya Hatsushiba here.

If that doesn't whet your appetite then there a first impressions piece that I wrote and now to cap off the Eternal Sonata hat trick my review has gone up over at Boomtown and you can read it...

...

here.

Over and out.

Techland: Dead Island - Interview

[UPDATED: Those crazy cats at Strategy Informer have now added my name to the interview questions. Lovely, lovely people.]

Well that's got me all flustered. I explored the depths of my question asking repertoire, lovingly wrapped it in the shape of an email and caress the send button and wiped a tear as my beautiful flying monkeys soared toward the Strategy Informer inbox.

Two weeks or so went by without so much as tinker from Techland. I waited poised, like a dog waiting for a morsel to fall off a dinner plate.

Dance to the music

Finally today it arrived. You'd think I'd happy wouldn't you? But NO! NO! Those horrid people at Strategy Informer left my name off the questions!! Well you can be sure I emailed them instantly to tell them that I'll pull the bloody trigger if it doesn't get sorted.

I'm sure that when they see their error they'll fix it sharpish!

Anyway...READ.

The History Channel: Great Battles of the Middle Ages - Interview.

There I was, poised on my roof trying to re-enact the Crane move as seen in the the mega smash hit film, Karate Kid. I had a perfect picture of Mr. Mayagi in my mind, the air was still: I was ready.

Just as I was about to leap the laptop sent me a distress signal. Being the consummate professional I am, I lept off my house, into my living room before anyone could say, "Wax on, wax off."

Needless to say it was Jamie from Strategy Informer. Just before you ask who Jamie is I'll say this: he doesn't make the tea...capice!

Well, as it happens, Slitherine Software had just announced a new game and they wanted me to interview them so they can sell more copies. Being the mercenary S.O.B. I am I first negotiated price and then said yes.



After what felt like a year I managed to squeeze out a few questions. The answers to those questions appear here.

I went back up to the roof again btw, but it was raining. But I'll keep you updated as to how it goes with the whole crane thing.

Conan - PS3 Review

My bosom buddies over at Strategy Informer phoned me up to literally beg me to get off my fat arse and review Conan for the PS3. I was midway through eating my fourth double cheeseburger but being the trouper I am I agreed.

After hours of deliberating, gaming playing, sweating and inane midnight rambling I finally managed to squeeze out a few hundred words on the Conan subject. The results can be found here.

If you want a summary I think Nihilistic Software are a lazy bunch and have literally copied everything that's good about the stunning God of War and worsened it. If you want the long version you'll have to click the link above.

Anyway, here's a low res screenshot:

It does look better than this, honest.

Gran Turismo 5 (Prologue) - First Impressions

Polyphony Digital gave us a taste of things to come recently with their sneak peak at a very early build of the venerable of the next instalment of their smash hit series, Gran Turismo.

Like a fly to a windscreen I searched that magical wonderland we refer to only as the internet, found out how to set up a Japanese account, then shivered with excitement as it downloaded from the Playstation Store.



I immediately got on the Batphone to Boomtown who said I should send my impressions over to them top secret and they'll gladly publish them for me.

As ever, they kept their word and you can read the proof of that, here.

Voilà!

Eternal Sonata - First Impressions

Way back in September I was rather sneaky and crept behind Microsoft's back and used my top secret US Account on their XBL Marketplace to download the Eternal Sonata demo. Naughty, naughty.

Well, those extremely charitable people behind the totally insane Boomtown agreed back then to publish it for me.

Now as it's just been released last Friday here in Europe, and as you're all dying to know what I think of it, I thought I'd re-post my demo impressions from that time. You can read them here.



Also, in case you missed it. I also interviewed Hiroya Hatsushiba, Head Honcho over at tri-Ace for the utterly stupendous site, Strategy Informer. You can read, or re-read that interview right here.

If all that Eternal Sonata goodness wasn't enough, a copy is winging its way to me as we speak and hopefully the review will be up sometime next week.

Sleep easy people, I'm on the case.

Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction - Preview

If any game is likely to save the PS3 this year, then Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction looks to be it. The demo has been available to download from the Playstation Store for quite a while now and my friends over at Boomtown kindly offered to publish my first impressions of Insomniacs latest title.

You can read the full article here.


Hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Do you agree? Or did you find it disappointing?

Look out for my full review of the game when it's released next month in Europe.

LocoRoco Cocoreccho Review!

I loved this game. It had been sitting there staring me in the face for quite a while but the other day I took the plunge and my gaming life was all the better for it.

If you, like me a few days ago, still haven't bothered to spend £2 on probably the best use of motion control ever, yes EVER!! then hope fully this will help persuade you otherwise.

Lookout soon for my Ratchet and Clank preview which will hopefully be posted in a couple of days.

EDIT: Blogspot's having a few issues atm., so no picture provided. Sorry.

Assassins Creed Can't fit on a DVD9

According to Patrice Desilets, the creative lead on Ubi-Soft's up and coming title, Assassins Creed the team are working tooth and nail to try and squeeze the content onto a DVD9 disk.

Of course its rival, Blu Ray doesn't have this problem. However, speaking in an interview with Pro-G he remained upbeat that his team could fit all on in time for the projected 11th November release date.

Conversely, he says that the team are really struggling right now due to memory issues. Though he is at pains to ease the minds of both camps:

"He added that the developer, Ubisoft Montreal, had drafted in help from both Microsoft and Sony to make sure the game has "the same quality on both systems".

"The PS3 version is as good as the 360 version. We've been showing the PS3 version at E3 this year, but we've done a lot of events and it's just easier for us and for people from the press to have a 360. But the versions are the same, basically," he said.

He added: "Both have their own challenges. Right now we have a big challenge on the 360 to make it fit on a DVD, to put five languages, to put all the data on eight gigs. On the Blu-ray side we're really good, but then the memory is quite different. How we handle memory is really different between the two machines and we're struggling right now on the PS3. But we have people who are really dedicated and we're having help from Microsoft on one side and Sony on the other side to have the same quality on both systems. It really depends on the week basically as to who's best."

Source: Pro-g.co.uk

Ubisoft Arse in Cred

Bit of a downer this week. This doesn't really count as news, well it's news if you're interested in me, which you know, you probably aren't but it is gaming related and it's a Sunday so here you go.

The lovely, kind, caring Editor of Eurogamer, Kristan Reed, sent me a rather enticing PM. It read:

Hi Mike,
|
| I've just had Ubisoft alert me to this one-off trip. Interested?
|
|
| "I’ve got the chance to send a single community member from the Eurogamer
| forums to Montreal to see and play Assassin’s Creed next week, meet Jade
| Raymond, and generally have a hell of a trip. Can you think of someone on
| your forum who has got a high post count, is well respected/liked, and is
| likely to really enjoy playing AC that I can bring along? We’ll cover all
| costs and stuff. The visit is going to be next week so we need to move asap
| on this."

Wow. Meet JADE RAYMOND and play Assassins Creed early, write my first impressions for Eurogamer and MEET JADE RAYMOND!!

I informed Kristan Reed that I live in Denmark but I would fly to London, meet with Ubi and go and see JADE RAYMOND!!! (and maybe play a bit of Assassins Creed).

However, Ubisoft then withdrew their offer as I didn't live in the UK. Although I'm a British citizen with a British Passport and was willing to fork out for a flight to London, I couldn't go.

However, Ubi will make amends by sending me a 'goody bag' (not Jade I hope) so I'll let you know what swank I receive and as when it turns up.

That's it really.

:(

Eternal Sonata Developer Interview

During my time with Strategy Informer they asked me to do an interview with development team tri-Ace, those responsible for the JRPG Ethernal Sonata or Trusty Bell - Chopin's Dream if you prefer the original Japanese title, as I do.

Anyway, I wasn't able to meet him in person but I did write down a few choice questions and those crazy chaps at Strategy Informer sent them off to Hiroya Hatsushiba and you can read the very interesting results here.

I'll hopefully be doing more of these and as ever I'll link you to them from here.

The game has already been released in both the US and Japan but Europe can look forward to this title Friday 19th October on the XBox 360 and a PS3 version is not too far off! Hopefully I'll be able to grab a review copy and as soon as it's published I'll give you the heads up.

Here, have some box art:

Can wait to get my greasy mitts around this one!

NHL 08 Review - PS3

Again, a little bit late with this one but I got the chance to review EA's latest instalment of their long running ice hockey game, NHL 2008 on the PS3 a few weeks ago and as I now write reviews for other sites I thought I'd link them to you from here instead of breaking all manner of NDA's and losing my house and family to the site managers.

I wrote it for Strategy Informer on the 4th October and I gave it a total score of 8.2 out of 10 which isn't bad at all. In fact, I really enjoyed it.

If you want read the review in its entirety then you can find it here.

Any comments you have you're of course welcome to create an account over at SI or simply slag me off for not knowing what I'm talking about here in the blog.

Wiil Done!

What a start for Nintendo. You lot just love their shiny little white thing and can't get enough of it. You like to grab it and wave it around and show your friends and then they want to do it too! In fact, the Brits want to do it so much that it's been named the fastest selling console in UK history.

Chart Track have revealed from under their number covering boxers that the Nintendo Wii has sold over 1m units in just 38 weeks. Sony am cry as this edges their reigning champion the PS2 off its perch. This managed only 1 million sales in 50 weeks. Hah!

With profit made on every console sold, they're making lots of it!

It doesn't stop there however. Earlier this month that highly unreliable but much quoted number cruncher, VG Chartz (the 'z' makes it cool) has reported that the Wii is the bestest selling next-gen gaming console, media hub, internet friendly whatever back in August. So this is really just another medal on the military uniform for Nintendo as they do battle in these rather boring, bitchy console wars.

With news also in that the Wii yet again topes the US console chart Nintendo can afford to loosen their slacks, lean back in their chairs look under their their desks, smile and think of Monica.

Souce: RegHardware

Guess who's back?

Yep. I am.

Been rather busy and not had a great deal of time to bring you all up to date on the very latest and most exciting game stories of the day! Also, working now independently for two different websites reviewing games and bound and gagged by all kinds of disclosure agreements that if broken would result in the torturous castration of my mute peregrine, Dave, I won't be able to write too many reviews now either. Which is sad for you all.

However, any review I do write, I will link you to the site so all those thousands of fans that I've neglected over the last few weeks will still get to read my musings over the latest developments from our game developing overlords.

That's about it really.

Halo 3: 4 player co-op confirmed

Once upon a time, rumours were abound that Bungie's forthcoming title, Halo 3 was not going to include the facility to play with friends over XBox live. Well now sites across the intarweb, albeit foreign language ones are reporting that Halo 3 will not only have the feature included, it will support up to 4 players playing Co-Op simultaneously.

This is huge news for Bungie and Microsoft after the leaked interview with EGM linked in the article. Many were up in arms over the alleged exclusion of the feature which came shortly after that Free Radical had announced that their debut title for generation consoles, Haze would support such a feature.

Frankie did however underline that such a process has its problems and as to exactly how smooth 4 player co-op will be remains to be seen. Expect a Day 1 patch.

Have a brand spanking new screenshot!

The countdown is on!

...and here's another!!

FIFA 2008 gets demo date and release date

EA Sports have today announced both the release date and the demo date for their latest instalment, FIFA 2008 on the PC and XBox 360. The nature of the demo is unknown but if it follows suit with the previous offerings, then it will be 45 minutes of play with two top teams competing against each other - always Barcelona and someone else. You'll be able to compete against either the computer AI on the Easy setting or with a friend.

EA have said that FIFA 2008 has undergone a complete overhaul this time round with many new features added. Amongst those changes are the inclusion of 30 leagues, 620 teams and more than 15.000 life-like players: that a 20% increase over the 2007 edition.

Cuckoo for Kaka

In addition, Ronaldinho and his fellow faces of FIFA will be providing motion capture for the game, to ensure "body movements, individual moves and the playing style of each athlete is captured and digitised to become the life-like movement of the virtual players in future versions of EA's FIFA games", says Joe Booth, Senior Producer.

"We are proud to call some of the world's best football athletes our partners. The access, guidance and insight they give us means that FIFA 08 will create a next-gen experience that not only looks authentic, but that captures the emotion, finesse and beauty of the game." He concluded.

If all that doesn't whet your appetite you can try the game out for yourself on the 27th August and if you like it you can place your pre-order and expect it to arrive in the shops on the 28th September. Or if you can't wait for that then you can view some gameplay footage below:



As to when a PS3 demo will arrive isn't clear at this point in time but hopefully on the same day.

Six-axis compatibility with PSP?

Sony have filed an application with the US patent office for a device that seems to connect the Six-axis to the bottom of their handheld device, the PSP.

Sony have been badgered for a comment but as per usual SCEA declined to make any kind of statement.

What also isn't clear is the reason why. Does it mean that it will allow games that allow two analogue controllers to now be playable on the PSP or maybe it will allow for some in-game features of the PS3 to be transferred over to the PSP, like the rear-view mirror which was demonstrated at last year's E3?

As we already know, the PSP Lite will feature digital output which enables users to view UMD's on their televisions sets and also opens up more possibilities for PS3/PSP interaction.

Questions, questions.

Source: Gamesindustry.biz

Japanese Hardware sales, July 16th - July 22nd

Yes it's the weekly point and laugh at Microsoft time! That's right, kids. The Japanese hardware numbers are up. I wonder how many billion Wii's and DS' Nintendo have sold this week? Or maybe the PS3 has actually made some ground? Who knows?

Still, looking at Eastern sales that have no bearing on the Western gaming market is always fun, and laughing at the dire performance of the XBox 360 always brings apologists out of the woodwork from both sides of the console fence.

I know the suspense is killing you so here they are!

- DS Lite: 154,459 12,492 (8.80%)
- Wii: 86,786 23,068 (21.00%)
- PSP: 32,894 4,684 (12.46%)
- PS2: 14,059 1,718 (10.89%)
- PS3: 12,187 1,306 (9.68%)
- Xbox 360: 2,664 278 (9.45%)
- Game Boy Micro: 315 21 (7.14%)
- Gamecube: 131 25 (23.58%)
- GBA SP: 122 16 (11.59%)
- DS Phat: 45 30 (200.00%)
- GBA: 24 24 (N/A%)

What a surprise! No-one's buying anything over there apart from Nintendo products! Who'd've thunk it?

Tune in next week to marvel at more Nintendo sales figures!

Source: Media Create

Heavenly Sword – First Impressions

The demo weighed in at 996MB and I watched as every byte crawled its way from Sony’s Playstation network down to my PS3. This was a game I’d been looking forward to. I was one of the thousands who gawped in wonder at last year’s E3 at the gameplay trailer on show and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and try it out for myself. Over a year later and my wait is finally at an end.

Having played most of the launch titles and the immediate release list looking barren, I was hoping for a demo that would give my PS3 some life whilst I wait for the deluge of ‘Fall’ – that’s autumn in English – releases to turn up in my post box. How disappointed I was.

The opening cut scene is beautifully shot with colours and pastel-shades glistening in all their high definition glory. A press of an X-button later and I’m leaping from guy rope to guy rope performing somersaults and all manner of acrobatic feats before a quick tap of the square-button saw Nariko – our heroine – scissor kick the closest enemy in the face before landing in style with all the poise of a Nureyev.

I now found myself poised on a narrow precipice surrounded by at least 10 enemies. With a multitude of combos at my disposal I got stuck in. It is here that the game really begins to feel like God War. Not that that’s bad thing in itself but it doesn’t seem to have added anything new to the combat. One could argue that the array of moves Nariko can pull off and the amount of baddies on the screen at once is a step up from the last generation, but I would call it a step sideways. This sentiment was cemented by the fact that I dispensed of everyone on the cliff on the first time of asking in under 3 minutes by tapping triangle and circle at the same time.

Another cut scene ensued and before I know it I’m surrounded again. This time I’m in a market place and barrels and stalls smash into pieces as the enemies fly from my spinning sword attacks and deadly counter moves. Another 3 minutes later, Nariko surrounded by slain bodies barely has time to think as three more armed-to-the-teeth guards burst through an otherwise locked wooden gate. I hold down R1 to ready my powerstance, grip the controller tighter and...

...then it ends. That’s it.

So after a couple of play-throughs I managed to play through the whole demo in under 5 mins. I went into the options menu to add the six-axis camera tilt but that just seemed like another wasted use of motion control.

So after waiting so long Ninja Theory wave the chocolate cake under this starving man’s nose and pull it away again before I could get a proper mouthful. The morsel that I did taste however was delicious, although nothing about it set it apart from the other cakes out there. Anyway, before I get too hungry I’ll say this: The Heavenly Sword demo is a woefully short and an all too familiar single player experience. If Kratos could actually die he’d be turning in his grave. All that being said and done, I did have a ton of fun, which is what playing games is all about, isn’t it?

Sonic the Hedgehog Review

A Celebration

Sonic the Hedgehog was released on Wednesday the 11th to celebrate the opening of E3 and at just 400 points is was a very difficult offer to turn down. It puzzles me why they released it alongside the dire Golden Axe - available on the same day for the same money. It was almost as though Microsoft were testing us. Will we a) choose games Golden Axe and therefore indicate to the powers behind the selection process that we, the consumer, will simply buy anything for the price of a bacon sandwich or b) choose Sonic the Hedgehog and send the message loud and clear that this is the type of game we want to play on XBLA and this is the kind of money we want to pay for it? Because it is.

The difference between the two is astonishing. Not only in terms of graphics and pad response, but in overall design quality. Although both games were released by Sega within two years of each other, the jump in quality and ideas is marked. If Sega were cutting their teeth with Golden Axe, then Sonic was the step into manhood.
Sonic the Hedgehog went down in history for a reason and playing the game once more on XBLA it is made clear just why we still revere it today.

The Lord of the Rings

From the first moment on Green Hill you’re whizzing about the place getting bumped and buffeted around the place. The ingenious level-design anticipating where you might jump and placing an obstacle at just the right height to lull you into a false sense of security. Your eyes twitch as you try to navigate the jumps, springs and pitfalls that stand in your way progression. You reel as you think you’ve pulled off a lucky escape only to find your path blocked by a set of spikes and watch in horror and the 95 or so rings you’ve hoarded going after that extra life and Centurion Achievement are splayed flickering across the screen only to fade out of site as you hurriedly try to re-gather them all. Great stuff.

Sonic: Spikey

As for the Achievements they are nicely spread throughout the game whilst a few are trying to do their best to encourage replayability and thus actually serving a purpose. For example, the ‘Fast Green’ Achievement is awarded to the player who can complete Green Hill, Act 1 in under 35 seconds. No mean feat. However, Achievements such as ‘Perfect Win’, given to the player who completes the game without dying, is somewhat missing the point I feel. Sonic is all about risk management, going for it as fast as possible. Playing the game cautiously and learning every level by heart goes against the grain of the core mechanic of the game: speed. However, this is countered by the ‘Fast Win’ Achievement, which offers a handful of points to those who complete the game in under 40 minutes. So there’s plenty to aim for the die-hard fans out there.

A lesson to be learned

A classic like Sonic is hard to score. If you haven’t played it before, then it’s a 10, absolutely no doubt whatsoever. It is something that must be experienced and compared with platformers today, still hold it’s own in terms of ingenuity and invention. If however, you’ve played the game to death, both when it came out and in all various in carnations since I’d still score it 8, as it controls beautifully and the challenges offered up by the Achievements really give some added value to experience.

Microsoft’s XBLA continues to receive criticism for charging its subscribers for re-hashes of games that weren’t even considered that great the 100 or so years ago when they were released. Every now and then however, they get it right. Maybe it’s just a case of them finding some old treasure in the dark, as they stumble around blindly throwing out any old thing they come across, or maybe they really are trying to provide a service where all tastes are catered for? Who knows? What we do know however, is that many of the titles release are never really worth the price of admission. I’m looking at you, Yie Ar kung Fu. Still, when it’s good it’s good, as the countless hours spent on titles such as Geometry Wars, Doom and now Sonic the Hedgehog will testify.

I implore all to purchase this game, even if you only play it for a couple of hours. Send out the message to Microsoft that this is the kind of game we want to see reproduced. This is what we want to invest in.

9/10

FFXIII: No Playable Demo This Year

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but according to Playstation fan-site, Playstaion Universe (PSU) SQEnix have announced that we will not be sampling the playable delights that their up and coming sequel, Final Fantasy XIII will have to offer.

Back in April, C&VG reported on an article in EGM which implied that a demo was on its way to PS3 owners this year. However, PSU have transcribed an article in Famitsu where they cite Square Enix's Shinji Hasimoto as saying that we won't be seeing a anything on the sort. This not only includes FFXIII but the spin-off Versus, too.

What will happen however, is that in-game footage will be shown "later this year", most presumably at the up and coming Tokyo Games Show. So 2008 it is then. Sorry.

Here, have a consolatory screenshot:

Looking good.

Source: Kotaku

Crackdown Devs Want You To Help make Crackdown 2

There's gonna be another one!

Realtime Worlds, makers of the critically acclaimed, free roaming, third person shooter, Crackdown have sent out a plea to the Crackdown community at large to give them ideas for a sequel.

Although busy on their forthcoming title, APB, those lovely chaps down at Reatime want you to pitch in with your ideas as to what they could include in the next instalment of the game.

If this sounds like the thing for you then head over to Destructoid.com, post your idea in their comments section and they'll deliver the goods to Realtime "when the thread goes limp" as they themselves salaciously suggest.

If it was me, I'd want birds flying around that I could shoot down and of course helicopters, planes and /\/\070Rb1k3z!

Source: Digg

Capcom Defends Going Multi-platfrom with Devil May Cry 4

Kieiji Inafune, Capcom's Head of R&D has recently talked about with the company chose take their forthcoming title Devil May Cry 4 multi-platform instead of following tradition and maintaining its exclusivity to the Playstation brand.

In an interview with Spong.com, Inafune remarked, "Until now it’s been hard for us to develop multi-platform games, but recently we have developed this development engine that allows us to develop a game in the engine and then put it on to PS3 and 360." (He likes the word develop - or the translator does more like!)

“Developing Dead Rising and Lost Planet helped flush out everything in the development tool system – which is now pretty much complete, aside from the usual upgrades – so we decided to use that engine, make it for the 360 and the PS3 with Devil May Cry 4”, he added.

The series has been with Sony since 2001 and when Capcom first announced their were going multi', hardcore fans of the series went nuts polling Capcom saying say were planning to boycot the company amongst other really pathetic things.

As of yet DMC4 as it's commonly known, has no official release date but some sites have it down Q4. However, screenshots are available. Here, have one!

Serious.

Source: Playstation Universe

Slimline PSP out in the UK before Japan

As discussed on Monday, Sony's new slimline PSP, or the recently dubbed PSP Lite is expected to be on Japanese shelves on September the 20th. Sony however, have now announced that the UK will now get this new, improved handheld before Japan.

According to our old friend, David Reeves - Mr. Sony Europe - "“Once people get it into their hands they will feel the difference. It will come out at €169 (approximately £114) in all PAL territories at the beginning of September."

That's not my hand!

However, rumours on the internets are whispering that the new PSP could already be in stores as early as late August! I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

Exciting, huh?

Source: MCV

First Look at Bungie title, Marathon: Durundal on XBox 360

At last week's E3, Bungie announced that their classic shooter, Marathon was coming to Microsoft's XBox Live arcade service. Well now you can see footage of it, albeit blocky, low-res YouTube footage and I made the executive decision that this was certainly better than absolutely nothing. So watch:



As you can tell from the clip it will support up to 8 players over Xbox Live and will feature the now standard original and HD modes. A release date is yet unknown but the USK (German Ratings Board) have rated the game which is usually a sign of things not being too far off.

Is it just me or does it look like Doom?

Nintendo 64 Kid loses his crown?

Those who remember the borderline psychosis of a the wholesome all-American pre-teen opening his presents at Christmas to find a shiny new Nintendo 64 lurking under the wrapping paper will no doubt be somewhat less surprised than otherwise expected by this new offering from the children of America.

The video entails a boy sorting through his Pokémon cards and he comes across one that judging by his reaction he didn't expect he'd get. Take a look!



If anyone knows a cure for this kind of behaviour please keep it to yourself as I'm sure you'll join me in finding it rather funny, if a little bit warped.

For those of us who wondered what happened to our past-master, Kotaku have done some digging.

Video Source: Joystiq

Wii has now sold 3m units in Japan alone

According to a new report Nintendo are sitting on a huge pile of money. Having already announced that they are actually earning on every console sold, the report now states that they have sold over three million units in their home territory, Japan.

This new information has been extracted from reuters who cite Famitsu publisher Enterbrain which said that since the Wii's début on December 2nd the console has sold over 3.01 million units. Which is quite a lot in old money.

The Nintendo Wii: doing rather well it seems!

They go on to explain the in the same time-frame, although released a month earlier on November 11th, Sony's PS3 has sold only 1.01 million units. This was also compared to the 360 total sales of 420,705k consoles.

However, just to put thing into perspective it announces that the Nintendo DS has sold 18m units in Japan alone. Nintendo executives were too busy counting to comment.

Source: Next-Gen.biz

120GB PS3 for Europe?

During an interview with Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet, SCEEs President David Reeves reinforced his stance on how the 80GB PS3 simply wasn't worth bringing to Europe.

"[Unlike the US and S.Korea] going up 20GB is not worth it." He stated. Although this still leaves Playstation owners wondering why, David Reeves did leave a footnote to his sentence. "...if you double it, it's worth it. So maybe you'll see something a bit later."

So does this mean that Europe will get an exclusive machine that the US and S.Korea won't? Or does he simply mean that when Sony decide on a 120GB model for all regions, "the most important region in the world", Europe won't be left out of the loop this time.

The 80GB PS3 should be available in the aforementioned regions from around August, come bundled with the hugely successful first-party title Motorstorm and retail for around $599.

Here, have a picture!

Sony's New 80GB PS3 bundled with Motorstorm

Source: Engadget

No on-line Co-Op for Halo 3

Bungie's PR Superstar Frankie O'Conner has revealed that sadly on-line co-op will not be an initial feature of Halo 3. The game is due to be released in September and Bungie's media mogul said:

"'We're not dumb,' says Bungie's Frank O'Connor. 'We know that people want it and we're trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That's a significant challenge. And there's lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo any more. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won't.'"

So close yet so far

So, those of you who were planning on sitting down with a friend over XBox Live and enjoying Halo together on release day will either have to save up for that air fare, or simply play alone alongside the Arbiter, crying softly to yourselves.

Source: Snatched from the pages of EGM

Resident Evil 5 - First Details In

At last! Something to chew on. When Resident Evil 5 was announced way back when all this was all fields, the internet murmered with excitement at thought of a Next Gen outing. Since then, however, pickings have been slim to say the very least. Until very recently.

Back at last weeks E3, teaser footage was shown and we all shuffled about excitedly as we did back in the day. Capcom have now given us even more news: some setting details and more importantly who our protagonist will be.

Producer Jan Takeuchi revealed all to Japanese Gaming Magazine Famitsu and gaming website IGN had translated it for us.

The plot will unfold in what appears to be an African village where Resi-legend Chris Redfield is sent to unearth the ghastly goings-on. Apparently Takeuchi has promised as that there will be a new kind of enemy, one with a lot more brain power than you'd expect from your every day, common and garden living dead.

Does he look more intelligent to you?

Still no release date though. '2008' is the closest we can come.

Xbox 360 DVD Region Hacked

A member of the console modding community who goes by the name of SeventhSon, has devised a way to change the DVD Region of your XBox 360 console. This, in a nutshell, means that now an owner of a US console could effectively play UK PAL games and vice-versa.

For the technically minded of you, SeventhSon altered the DVD Region Code and the Game Key for the Hypervisor Exploiter Kernels 4532 and 4538.

If you know what that means please drop me line as although it is a wonderful piece of terminology, I have only been able to unearth that the hack itself means de-soldering your XBox 360 Flash Chip.

How Microsoft will get around this and indeed respond to this news remains to be seen.

Story Courtesy of Engadget

The Darkness - Devoured on the XBox 360

Beginning

It took me a while to complete The Darkness. There were just as many nights that were spent ripping NPC's hearts out of their chests as there were getting killed within seconds - not being able to get past a certain obstacle that the developers over at 2k Games had wedged in my path. My affection for Jackie Estacado had grown in tandem with the Darkness powers that gradually make themselves available to you throughout the game. His story became our story and we were both interested in reaching the final chapter.

Many FPSs rarely achieve this level of story telling. They attempt to tack on a plot in order to give the aftermath of the massacre you have just partaken in some kind of meaning. Gears of War is a good example of this: I never once felt like I was saving the world, or even trying to. I just took pleasure in annihilating everything in my path and gawped at the graphics along the way. Graphically, The Darkness is no Gears, but what it may lack in presentation, it certainly makes up for in atmosphere. Not that the Darkness' presentation is poor, but it pays more attention to physics and character animation than to whether the wallpaper actually looks as though it's peeling off when you lean up against a bullet-ridden wall in search of some cover. The rag-doll physics are well implemented and body parts splay and flail in a more than life-like fashion.

Without wanting to reveal too much of the storyline, which for me is the game, I'll say this: your journey through the subways of New York is punctuated by chance meetings with old mobsters whom all share your feelings of being sick to the back teeth of your old Uncle Paulie the Don and his relationship with Police Captain Shrote who is in cohorts with Paulie's drugs operation in this modern-day New City that you inhabit. The old-timers you bump into ask you for help along the way, do some odd jobs for them in return for some phone numbers that you can call to hear a quirky message and unlock a wide range of extras including The Darkness comics and golf outfits for your Darklings.

Darklings are your companions throughout the game. They can be summoned at any almost any juncture in a level but only when Jackie has his Darkness powers enabled. There are four types all possessing different abilities; from turning off lights - darkness gives you power so your abilities last longer - to smashing the bad-guys on the head with a golf club. The 4 Darklings can be a great help in tricky situations as they draw fire, enabling you to select from a whole arsenal of weapons that you've got stuffed under your long, black, leather trench coat.

Hmmm. I didn't mention this bit, did I...

Middle

Estecado's love for his girlfriend Jenny, is the driving force behind his actions and his thirst for revenge is unquenchable. We are constantly reminded of his undying and passionate love for her. The sympathy the game tries to evoke however, feels somewhat hollow. As we are not treated to any history of the couple, their life together, their shared experiences, I found it difficult to empathise. The drive behind the story, at least for me anyway, is the various missions handed out to you by the bearded 'Butcher' Joyce, an old friend of Jackie's and quite handy at 'disposing' of bodies. It is the various pieces of the puzzle that you collect along the way and how the dark and mysterious background of your possession unfolds that lights the way.

You are spoken to throughout the game by The Darkness itself, a black, slithering monster that inhabits you voiced by Mike Patton of Faith no More and Mr. Bungle fame. His twisted, coarse vocals add a sick and macabre tone to this thing living inside you. It hates you, you hate it. You need each other to complete your various quests although your motives could be no further apart. The hatred grows as you try and outwit one another, but the hatred you feel only brings you closer together. The power The Darkness covets, the more powerful you become and dispensing of Uncle Paulie's henchmen becomes both increasingly fun and varied. You can suck your enemies into a black-hole, stick your demon-arm through their chests and hurl them into the air. Or how about sending one of your tentacles around corners and through doorways to sneak attack enemies; ripping their larynxs out with sharpened, gnashing teeth? Or simply using your Darkness Guns to send shockwaves through your enemy? It's riveting stuff!

That Demon Arm is sure Handy!

End

For all the morbid pleasure The Darkness brings, it suffers from a few niggling issues that must be addressed. Sometimes your mission doesn't update as it should and it can leave you disorientated. There have also been complaints that some of the side missions simply haven't loaded for some users, making the Achievement hunters out there somewhat disappointed at not being able to up their gamerscore. Also, some of those quests mean that Jackie has to traverse great distances in order to reach his goal and the fact that he moves excruciatingly slowly can make your journey feel like a chore.

I also took issue with your Darkling helpers: for all their abilities I found I only used them as cover rather than them actually helping me. Maybe I didn't use them correctly, but half of the time my "Lightkiller" Darkling didn't kill the lights, so I shot them out with it standing next me look rather swish if not utterly useless in a flat, tartan cap and Pringle sweater. (seriously!) I like many others, also found that for the most part, your "Creeping Dark" ability is sufficient to further your progression - enabling you to stand around corners and virtually never engage in battle. The offering of Achievements for different types of kill does offer an incentive to be creative however. In fact their are plenty of Achievements to go after making the various side-quests a slightly more rewarding experience.

Every story however, must have its end and Jackie Estacado's is no different. Like all well told tales, the final chapter left me wanting more when I put down my pad at the end of the game . Was it really the end? Will we see Jackie again? What of The Darkness? Although Estacado hated him, I rather liked Mike Patton saying weird and scary stuff in my ear for 10 hours. Have 2K Games plans for a sequel? I hope so.


8/10

Peter Moore Resigns (A Peter Moore Day exclusive!)

Well, it's happened. Peter Moore has handed in his notice for quote-un-quote, "Personal Reasons." He is moving his family back to the Bay Area - wherever that is - and taking the EA job.

So the king is dead, long live the king, I suppose. And the XBox's 360's new royalty is Don Mattrick, a former President of EA. Wow. How long will the wife-swapping continue?

The King

So Tuesday, 17th July will forever be remembered as Peter Moore day. I ask all my 0 readers to take a moments silence as you read the Official Press Release from that huge company in Redmond:

Microsoft Corp. today announced that Don Mattrick, a former president at Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), will lead the Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB), which includes overseeing the Xbox® and Games for Windows® businesses. Peter Moore, who currently serves as corporate vice president of IEB, has decided to move his family back to the Bay Area for personal reasons and has secured another opportunity in the video games industry.

Mattrick will take over as the senior vice president of IEB at Microsoft, effective July 30. Mattrick was the founder of Distinctive Software Inc., which operated as a private company from 1982 until its merger with EA in 1991. Mattrick held various senior positions within EA, most recently as president of Worldwide Studios, until his resignation in February 2006. In February 2007, Mattrick began working with the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft as an external advisor.

"Peter has contributed enormously to the games business since joining Microsoft in 2003 and we are sad to see him go," said Robbie Bach, president of Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. "Since that time, he presided over the global launch of the Xbox 360™, spearheaded a revitalized and rebranded Games for Windows business, and helped steer the console's ascent."
Moore has decided to return with his family to Northern California, where they lived until he took the position at Microsoft. Moore will remain at Microsoft to assist in the transition through August and will then return to the San Francisco Bay area.

"While Peter will certainly be missed, we are delighted to have one of the industry's most talented and passionate veterans on board to lead the business," Bach said. "Don is well-known and respected throughout the industry for his deep knowledge, technical expertise and management savvy. Under Don's leadership, the games team is looking forward to embarking on our biggest holiday ever, with a wide-ranging roster of some of the most highly anticipated titles."

Mattrick brings 23 years of games industry and development experience to the strong Microsoft management team, having helped bring to life such celebrated game franchises as the "Need for Speed," "Harry Potter" and "The Sims" while at EA.

"Over the past two decades, and the past few months in particular, I've worked closely with many of Microsoft's top leaders and I've always been impressed by their talent, passion and commitment," said Mattrick. "I'm thrilled to join an already strong team that's delivering truly amazing gaming experiences to customers around the world. I've never been more excited about the future of the industry, and firmly believe Microsoft will lead the next great innovations in gaming."

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Tuesday is now Peter Moore day

After the recent article about how Peter Moore responded to Sony's onslaught yesterday, you would be forgiven into thinking that Peter Moore will have had enough of being in the Games Daily limelight this Tuesday. However you are sadly mistaken. Rumours are now abound that Microsoft's corporate vice president of interactive entertainment business, entertainment and devices division, basically Mr.XBox, is leaving the company to secure himself a position within the upper annals of EA Sports.


EA and MS have been very close over the years but the fact that Moore once ran the sports business with giant Reebok and is rather outspoken over his love about all things sporty, could add some weight to the rumours.

It's that man again!

The question of salary must be a stumbling block, however as is there a company out there that can match a Microsoft-exec pay cheque? Also, going from "Mr. XBox" 360 to "bloke at EA" could be quite rightfully construed as a backward step.


Who knows?

The Empire Strikes Back

As was reported yesterday, Sony made a rather timely and somewhat scathing attack on Microsoft's XBox 360 console, labelling it as console that wouldn't last.

As expected, Peter Moore bursts out of the stables at a gallop in order to trample over Peter Dillies' less than charitable remarks yesterday. "Sony is failing in Japan!" Peter Moore remarked in an interview with GameDaily (no relation).

"Sony’s getting outsold by what, 6-to-1?” he stated. “You can bet that Sony built a long-term business plan about being successful in Japan and that business plan is crumbling.

“I built a business plan for Japan but I don't think my expectations in Japan were anything close to what Sony's expectations are. They are failing.

"They're missing their plan by much more than I'm missing my plan."

Peter Moore, smug, as we like him!

Moore is also very confident that the XBox 360 will outstrip the achievements of its first Xbox outing - which let's face it, can not be the most difficult job in the world. Still, Moore uses this precarious position as a platform for rebuttal:

“I think the plan we have built, that calls for cost reductions in hardware, clearly gives us an advantage in price that actually allows us to get to lower price points much sooner than Sony will.

“They can have a 'ten-year plan' all they like, but it's executing that plan and getting to the mass market with price points that counts, and I feel a lot closer to being able to do that than they do right now.”

So my console is better than yours! Nerr!

Sony says the XBox 360 simply 'doesn't work'.

You can hear the knives sharpening across the Atlantic. Sony's Marketing Vice President, Peter Dillie hit out at the 360 at this years E3 saying the XBox 360 "doesn't even work."

This was not the only thing he said however:

"I don't want to be argumentative," said Dillie. "But I take issue with Microsoft either having a long tail, or being profitable, because they've never done either. They've never made a dime in this business.

"With the Xbox 360 you've got an inconsistent design, some have a hard drive, some don't, and none of them have Blu-Ray, and the HD DVD will be out of business in a matter of months. Is this a ten year product?" he said.

I'm sure Microsoft will reply in kind, and when they do, you'll be first (well, you know, as quick as I can!) to know.

Maddened mother blames games

The mother of the man man who stabbed nurse Cheryl Moss to death, Lorraine Harling, has blamed violent video games for her son, Stuart's actions. Speaking to the English Sunday newspaper The News Of The World she bemoaned gaming as the fundamental influence for her son's actions:

"I knew he was playing the video games but we didn't really know what went on in them, how brutal and graphic they were.

"Stuart was 11 or 12 when I bought him the PlayStation. For a long time I didn't even realise games had age limits on them. We'd just buy him the game that all the other kids had. I didn't really know what they were about. I think most parents are the same."

The judges recently gave Stuart Harling a life sentence after reportedly stabbing his victim 72 times and according to his mother, this was "exactly as he'd practised on the Playstation in his bedroom."

"Every night he would retreat into his darkened bedroom at home in Rainham, Essex, and enter a grisly virtual world that revelled in sadism, ritual blood-letting and death. Just like millions of other youngsters," she is quoted as saying. The News Of The World however, added it's own douse of petrol to the already out of control blaze:

"One of baby-faced Harling's favourite games was the notorious Manhunt, where players SLASH and SLICE their victims with meat CLEAVERS, cheese WIRE and CHAINSAWS, or suffocate them with plastic bags."

Harling's mother is quoted as saying, "I know these games are played by kids across the world, but some are truly horrific. And if they can cause a trigger to be pulled in someone's head they should be banned."

Just what this will mean for the future of video games remains to be seen. It will surely add to Jack Thompson's unrelenting campaign against the industry, that's for sure.

UT3 Mods may well be 360 bound after all

After Epic announced at last week's E3 that their up and coming title, Unreal Tournament 3 would be not only be release on Sony's Playstation 3 ahead of rival console, the Xbox 360, they also intimated that community mods for the title would only be released for Playstation3 also.

The very fact that they left out the 360 meant the gaming world at large automatically assumed that these mods would be Playstation 3 exclusive. However, Epic's Vice President Mark Rein explain why they were hesitant in including the 360.

"One of our big concerns was the ability to bring mods to the platform, and it's still a bit of an open issue, but we've had some pretty clear indications that we'll be able to do it, and we're pretty excited about that," he says. "That was kind of the one thing, we wanted to make sure we'd be able to bring user-created content to the platform before we made a firm commitment to it."

The reason for the initial doubts about the ability to mod the 360 version of the game were cast by Epic themselves. They gave an interview at last year's Tokyo Game Show where they remarked rather candidly:

"Unfortunately it's [Xbox Live] more of a closed platform," and says they've even been "quite negative toward user-created content."

So either MS have either loosened up or the very thought of the PS3 getting one up was too much to bare.

You can check out the Official Site Here

Super Stardust HD

I was very apprehensive whilst this game made its way down to my shiny black box from the PSN. I was apprehensive because of what Super Stardust HD was billed to be: As good if not better than the now legendary 'Geometry Wars' on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade.

I didn't like Geometry Wars. I found it too difficult and there was simply too much going on at once for me to get my head round.

There. I said it.

If you're still reading then now you understand my reservations about playing another game of a similar ilk. Still, other reviews were positive so I thought this title deserved a closer look. A decision I'm glad I made.

The control system is simple. Left TS: Move. Right TS: Fire in all different directions. LT: Boost. RT: Smart Bomb. Nothing too complicated at all.

As you're making your way around the various planets, meteorites, alien monsters and little red spiky ball thingies all hunt you down or simply just get in your way. The meteorites come in all shapes and sizes and split into teeny weeny, tinsy winsy smaller ones, all of them in need of a good old fashioned blasting.

As you progress, the sheer deluge of colour and splaying plasma fire lighting up your screen is a sight to behold. All without a shade of slow-down, running at a very smooth 60fps. Although stunning and chaotic at the same time, it didn't leave me with the feeling claustrophobia that Geometry Wars did. A timely boost with the left trigger and I had some breathing space and as you traverse around the length and breadth of a planet, your playing field feels a lot larger.

Shiny, swirly things!

There are 25 levels to get your head round, and considering it took me about an hour and a half to get through the first five that's a good few hours gameplay for around six of your English pounds. Of course if you're a dab hand at this kind of thing, your gaming-time could be considerably less. However, for the price of of a couple of Boots meal deals who's complaining?

Hopefully more games of this quality will be joining Super Stardust HD in the near future. The lean spell that almost all Playstation 3 owners have had to endure recently has been difficult, be we soldiered through it. And with games like Super Stardust HD being the light at the end of the tunnel, it seems we have certainly been rewarded for our patience.

Anyone who needs that kind of casual, 'dip in and out' entertainment that in my opinion the PS3 has sorely lacked since launch, then this is the game to get. Conversely, if you live and breathe for this sort of schmup action, and succumbed to the charms of its evil twin, Geometry Wars, it won't disappoint you either.

Seni Soccer XBLA Priced and dated

The much anticipated remake of the 1992 Amiga and Atari ST classic has finally passed certification and the countdown has begun. That's right, Codies have made a press release that lets us know when we can all get our grubby little hands on it.

Codemasters have remained tight-lipped for quite a while and the "ready when it's ready" tag line has deterred many an enquirer.

Well this week we were finally told that the release will be on August 29th and the game will cost 800 Points.

I'm informed that on-line play will be implemented with the usual 200 Achievements and on-line leaderboards to help boost that fragile ego when you compare yourself with some bloke you've never met off the internet.

There's also a HD version that I'm told is actually worth the price of admission this time round. So all in all, everything is looking pretty positive.

Check back around late August for our in-depth review of the game and for now, there's, well...nothing you can do but wait!

Soon my pretties. Soon!

Microsoft announce new backwards compatibility update

For those of you who still have old XBox games lying around and are still embittered about not being able to play them then this piece of news might just cheer you up.

Microsoft have revealed yet another backwards compatiblity update for the XBox 360 which include such notable entries as Morrowind and PGR 1 and 2.

I'm also told that some games will upscale to 720p, although a definitive list of exactly what games they are is as of writing unavailable.

Here's the list in full:

America's Army: Rise of a Soldier
Auto Modellista
Blinx 2 : Masters of Time & Space
BloodRayne 2
Burnout
Crash Bandicoot 4
Crash Bandicoot 5: Wrath of Cortex (FIXED)
Dai Senryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics
DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil
Drive to Survive
ESPN College Hoops
ESPN NHL 2K5
Evil Dead: Regeneration
FIFA Street 2
Full Spectrum Warrior™: Ten Hammers
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge
JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future (FIXED)
Justice League Heroes
King Arthur
Legends of Wrestling
Magic: The Gathering--Battleground
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
MechAssault® 2: Lone Wolf
MLB SlugFest 20-03
MotoGP 2
Myst III: Exile
NBA Live 2002
NCAA® Football 06
Outlaw Golf: 9 More Holes of X-mas
Outlaw Volleyball: Red Hot
Outlaw Volleyball: Red Hot
OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast
Pac-Man World™ 3
Project Gotham Racing®
Project Gotham Racing® 2
RoadKill
Rogue Ops (FIXED)
SEGA GT™ 2002 (FIXED)
SegaGT™ Online
Silent Hill® 2: Restless Dreams
Sponge Bob Square Pants: Lights, Camera, Pants!
The Da Vinci Code
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Sims™ 2
The Urbz™: Sims In The City
TMNT™ Mutant Melee
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Transworld Surf
Trivial Pursuit® Unhinged
Without Warning
World Soccer Winning Eleven 8 International
WWF™ Raw
Yu-Gi-Oh!™ The Dawn of Destiny

60GB PS3 Being Discontinued In The US

When is a price cut not a price cut? When it's to phase out and discontinue current stock to bring in a new SKU at the old price.

Make sense?

SCEE president David Reeves has announced that after they have sold off all the 60GB model PS3's, that particular model will no longer be made available. So the only model that our US friends will able to buy will be the 80GB model at the old price of $599.

The 60GB model is expected to be phased out by the end of July.

Reeves made the statement whilst being questioned about the potential European outcry over the fact that the price cut won't be applicable to them (us).

"Well, they're not really are they", he said, "because what the US are offering from the 1st of August is a USD 599 version with one game.

"All they're doing is taking their stock in trade that they've got at the moment of the 60GB model, marking the price down and it will all be gone by the end of July."

The new 80GB model will now come bundled with a copy of Motorstorm (see image below) and retail at the old 60GB price of $599.

So there you have it. Simple...

[Update]: Sony US now say that they're not discontinuing the 60GB model, although SCEE president David Reeves say they are. A Sony US spokesperson said,

""As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future."

Expect this to go on for a few more days.

Bomberman And Yie Ar Kung Fu On Their Way To XBLA

This Wednesday Microsoft are dishing up a double helping of old games for their Arcade service.

First up, there's the much loved Bomberman, an arcade-style mazed-based games developed by Hudson Soft way back when I was only eight tiny years old. (1983) In fact this could very well be the longest running franchise ever with a PSP incarnation of the game being released only last year.

If you're keen to play it again, or maybe for the very first time then you can for 800 Points. The game will feature eight player online multiplayer and four player local and wrapped up in shiny High Definition graphics.

Also, to further whet you appetite, your Bomberman will also be fully customisable, with over 10,000 possible combinations of Bomberman to choose from.

Next up it's Yie Ar Kung Fu. Released this time by Konami back when I was 10 years old.(no date this time, you should be able to work it out for yourselves!)

This fighting games sees you play as Oolong, someone who's trained his whole life to become the ultimate martial arts champion. You'll be up against around ten different enemies all with varying abilities and weapons

Choose to play the authentic arcade version or experienced the enhanced version, which features stunning hand painted models and backgrounds mimicking traditional Japanese art styles. says the blurb.

Yie Ar Kung Fu will cost 400 Microsoft Points. Both games will feature the usual on-line leaderboards and 200 Point Gamerscore.

THQ Announce De Blob for Nintendo Wii

Originally designed by some university design graduate students, THQ saw the potential and decided to make the game for the Nintendo Wii.

The idea of the game is that you have to paint the world with colour. The evil corporation, Ink Corp. has removed all the colour from the world and De Blob crash lands on earth in order to put the colour back where it belongs.

You can choose between four primary colours but you can combine these colours in order to make a whole array of nuances in order to complete the tasks set.

De Blob colours the world by bouncing into things. Everything you touch bursts back into colourful life. Although your progress in hindered by Inkies, who will try and attack you as you navigate throughout the world.

However if you can't actually wait that long, you can play the game on your PC. The official website is here.

A release date for the Nintendo Wii version is unknown, but what we do know is that we won't be seeing the game until 2008. Keep in touch and we'll let you know more as soon as we have it.