via gamesradar

Blacksite: Area 51 is the confirmed codename for developer Midway's second extraterrestrial actioner, due to crash-land on PS3 and Xbox 360 in the summer, complete with blinding visuals, superb squad controls and super-smart AI.

Taking its name from a covert military term, this fresh foray into the successful Area 51 universe is aiming for a political-flavoured twist to its alien-based plotline. A 'blacksite' is somewhere the military operates while denying the place actually exists, and also often refers to secret CIA prisons operating outside the law, used to interrogate suspected terrorists.

All this points towards classic B-movie themes like invasions, cover-ups and, of course, lots and lots of grotesque alien invaders. This time around you'll be fighting The Reborn, towering creatures that are the result of flawed human/alien experiments. Take a look at the screen below for a teasing glimpse of these gangly nasties.

With Area 51 destroyed, Blacksite takes place above ground in normal towns and cities surrounding the disaster zone left by the previous game. This mix of wild, unreal beings stalking you through dusty, small town Nevada only heightens the game's world-gone-weird atmosphere. And, while you soak up the mood, your squad of brainbox team-mates can watch your back.

Midway has gone all out in the pursuit of AI reliability. Squad mates have their own personalities, which should enhance your attachment to the poor lads, and convincing voice-work gives you a window into their morale - when things are good they'll be deadly effective but if the situation gets really sticky your buddies will lose combat effectiveness and accuracy. ...

We reported last week about The Godfather coming to Wii later this year, and now we've got a trailer explaining exactly how the motion controls will affect the game.

Judging from the footage up on the movies tab above, you'll be mimicking such moves as bat swinging, car driving and head-splattering. Up to this point, all the Wii motion activities have been wholesome and fun for everyone - now we've got to wrap our hands around disobedient thugs' necks and squeeze until the sweet release of death embraces their battered bodies. Could be fun but how do you act out 'extort'?

The dude playing Blackhand Edition in this video seems to be intentionally keeping a straight face, trying not to look too excited about acting out a head butt or throwing someone off the second floor balcony. Just let it loose, man - it's only a matter of time before someone finally notices that Wii games are having the kiddies act out violent moves.

Will these subtle changes be enough to play the game all over again? Maybe, but as far as new content goes it looks like the PS3 version (dubbed The Don's Edition) comes out ahead.

Video at Gamesradar ...

via gamesradar

A brand new Ghostbusters videogame appears to have been revealed in a series of movies, and include a CGI Peter Venkman uttering the immortal words "Who you gonna call?" The movies, which have been uploaded to video community site YouTube over the weekend, are attributed to a developer called Zootfly, who works primarily on Xbox 360 and PC games.

The clips include footage of Ecto 2, a sportier take on the wailing Ghostbusters car, hurtling down a city street; some proton gun, phantom blasting action; a closer peek at Ecto 2 in several colours; and the Peter Venkman news footage, crediting the Ghostbusters with saving the world for a third time.

Billed as "a Ghostbusters game prototype," it's obviously in the very early stages of development - Venkman looks super-rubbery, while the environments are a bit cardboard-looking. The action sequence, though, shows some exciting potential, reminding us of the relentless foot-pounding shootery in Gears of War. Cruel hoax or fan-pleasing reality? We'll find out soon.

Video links via link above ...

The avalanche of info on EA-developed SSX Blur for Wii has snowballed into such a flurry of images and video that it can only be described using cheap snow-based metaphors.

Best of all, this stuff concerns exactly how the controls work. We even get a glimpse of one uber trick that'll have you drawing hearts on the screen as if it were your old Kylie poster.

And because some of you idiots can't stop launching your Wii remotes through televisions and injuring loved ones trying to perform an actual tennis serve, we should probably mention that you don't actually stand on the controller.

Movies and Screens at Gamesradar ...

via gamesindustry

The Wii remote controller has much more potential than is currently being seen in the first crop of Wii games, according to the development team at Ignition Entertainment.

But while some have argued that a portion of games using the motion sensing device rely on timing rather than gesture recognition, Ignition's studio manager, Ed Bradley, points to the fact that if it's fun in the first place, players won't care what technology is behind the game.

"Personally I think the controller is capable of translating actions far more complex and energetic than most players are interested in performing even in the privacy of their own homes," said Bradley, in an exclusive interview with our sister site Eurogamer.net.

Bradley points out that developers should never lose site of the real goal - giving players a unique gaming experience - rather than create something technically impressive that adds nothing to the final gameplay experience.

"It can certainly spew out a lot of useful info. The tricky bit is making meaningful use of it all," said Bradley.

"At the end of the day developers want players to have fun rather than impose clever mathematics on them, so if it turns out to be fun only using a simple subset of the controller's gizmos then why worry about how "proper" it is?"

The developer has been working on Mercury Meltdown Revolution for the Wii since it first pitched the idea to Nintendo at E3 2006, giving the company plenty of time to get to grips with the various Wii control methods.

Even so, Bradley revealed that early versions of the game worked well with the Wii controller, an area the developer knew would be crucial to the games success.

"This was something we earmarked a lot of time for as it's vital that it's done properly," he said. "Then to our surprise it ended up being more straightforward than we anticipated."

"It's surprisingly natural and easy to make the transition to the new control method. We've spent a lot of time tweaking dead-zones and acceleration and stuff like that but I'd say the control method worked 90 per cent perfectly the first time we tried it," he revealed. ...

via gibiz

It may be best known for bringing its hit Japanese franchises such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry to the West, but Capcom is determined to stamp its mark in Europe ? by originating and creating new IP with local development teams.

"We're looking to expand our business by creating Western content above and beyond what's being created in Japan," revealed Mark Beaumont executive VP of North America and Europe, speaking exclusively to GamesIndustry.biz.

"We've begun an initiative of creating next-gen product for North America and Europe that will show up in the market place in 2008."

And although the company has just expanded Beaumont's remit to cover consumer software in Europe as well as North America, the firm insists the publisher's European division will remain autonomous.

"At the same time we are absolutely focused on the European business being a stand alone entity that can be successful in its own right. All of the efforts that are going on in Capcom are looking to allow us to grow in this territory specifically," he said.

Capcom has already toyed with a similar strategy in the past - resulting in the poorly received Without Warning from Circle Studios. However, the company believes a renewed push to create original content for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 will help expand into new genres not usually associated with the publisher.

"That is part of our initiative to grow product and broaden our portfolio. To work with the best available talent to create new experiences that people haven't seen before," revealed Beaumont.

"Our Western development initiative is not going to focus on horror products, because we already have them."

"As we look at new genres for Capcom and other products we want to create, we'll be looking to work with developers who have really strong skills and a track record in creating that kind of content," he added.

It's not all original products for 2008, with Beaumont promising familiar franchises will return, as Capcom looks to take a bigger portion of the videogame sector in all regions.

"In 2008 we'll have new versions of existing franchises and new titles that are original IP. We're really starting to ramps things up and become that much more significant in the marketplace," he said. ...

Via Gamesindustry

Nintendo has announced that according to Chart-Track figures, almost 200,000 Wii units were shifted in the UK over the Christmas period - while DS sales topped the half-million mark.

The Wii launched in Europe on December 8 and became the fastest-selling home console ever during its opening weekend. More than 700,000 units were purchased by European consumers, leading to empty shelves across the continent.

First-party title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess also proved popular, with more than 500,000 copies sold - meaning that over 70 per cent of Wii owners bought the game. Around 320,000 copies of Wii Play, which comes bundled with a remote controller, were also sold.

In the UK, the number of DS handhelds sold during December topped 500,000 units. According to Nintendo, again quoting Chart-Track figures, it was not only the best selling console over the Christmas period but throughout 2006.

The figure for December DS sales across Europe stood at 1.7 million units. It was the best-selling console across the continent in 2006, and accounted for more than half of all December hardware sales.

"We have enjoyed one of the most successful Christmas holidays ever, with both Nintendo DS and Wii selling at staggering rates," said Nintendo Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer.

"We are facing such high demand for both platforms that unfortunately we are facing stock shortages. However we are doing everything possible to combat this by attempting to deliver both consoles and games to retailers on a daily basis."

Nintendo also enjoyed a successful Christmas in the US - more than 1.1 million Wii units have now been sold since launch, and 1.6 million DS handhelds were sold during the month of December alone. ...

Via Gamesindustry

Nintendo has announced that according to Chart-Track figures, almost 200,000 Wii units were shifted in the UK over the Christmas period - while DS sales topped the half-million mark.

The Wii launched in Europe on December 8 and became the fastest-selling home console ever during its opening weekend. More than 700,000 units were purchased by European consumers, leading to empty shelves across the continent.

First-party title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess also proved popular, with more than 500,000 copies sold - meaning that over 70 per cent of Wii owners bought the game. Around 320,000 copies of Wii Play, which comes bundled with a remote controller, were also sold.

In the UK, the number of DS handhelds sold during December topped 500,000 units. According to Nintendo, again quoting Chart-Track figures, it was not only the best selling console over the Christmas period but throughout 2006.

The figure for December DS sales across Europe stood at 1.7 million units. It was the best-selling console across the continent in 2006, and accounted for more than half of all December hardware sales.

"We have enjoyed one of the most successful Christmas holidays ever, with both Nintendo DS and Wii selling at staggering rates," said Nintendo Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer.

"We are facing such high demand for both platforms that unfortunately we are facing stock shortages. However we are doing everything possible to combat this by attempting to deliver both consoles and games to retailers on a daily basis."

Nintendo also enjoyed a successful Christmas in the US - more than 1.1 million Wii units have now been sold since launch, and 1.6 million DS handhelds were sold during the month of December alone. ...

via eurogamer

Online is likely to be the only key change to MotorStorm prior to its European and American launches this year, although developer Evolution has said it may introduce new features via download.

"There will be enhancements, but many will be under the hood," product manager Matt Southern told Edge Online. "A lot of the changes for the US and Europe are legal or even cultural - things like the gestures are specific to each territory and their respective age rating guidelines." (In the Japanese version, released in December, the AI racers often wave 'colourfully' when you piss them off.)

Southern says that the main change, as previously stated, will be the addition of online - something the Japanese didn't miss especially. "It's a cultural thing, really, which we had to learn from Yasu-san [Japanese external producer Yasuhiro Iizuka]. The Japanese are used to new iterations of a game at a later stage, and are also less bothered by online multiplayer. The scores seem to have justified our decision."

And we can expect that multiplayer element to offer voice comms, incidentally, "either using USB headsets or Bluetooth wireless sets. "Currently we have 12-player; recently we had 15 but we've had to cull this. We're still hoping for 16 but we can’t commit to that right now," Southern added.

Some of the surprise at the Japanese release's slightness stemmed from the absence not only of online features, but also additional gameplay modes and even split-screen. What's more, split-screen won't be added to the Western release, although Southern's keen not to rule out the possibility further down the road - "the beauty of online consoles," he notes, "is that the game can change in the future and we can sit down with SCEE and say, 'Let's offer this for download - the fans want it'."

Ditto the idea of recording replays. "Not for the boxed launch," Southern says when asked about it, "but as ever we'll see what is being demanded by fans when we start to offer download packs. Remember, we were up against it with MotorStorm, even with the timescale we had. The ability to pause and rotate the camera was added really late - it was classic feature creep." ...