New version of SCummVM for the Microsoft XNA/360 platform

Heres whats new:

FS fixes (add a AbstractFilesystemNode into the fslist)

Fix for warpmouse (mouse not supported on xbox360 whoops!)

Root path for filesystem is now "." by default

Do not change drawArea in about dialog constructor!

Browser dialog implemented and it almost works!

handleScreenChanged is no longer virtual in GUIObject

fix for kLineHeight not being right for the current font

Message dialog implemented (untested)

Line count: 54,809/411,667(ScummVM 0.9.1) = 13.31% rewritten

Download Here ...

via engadget

Forget single-layer media, that dual-layer stuff that was all the rage last year, and even the triple-layered flavor that got announced just days ago. Heck, even an eight-layer disc would be forced to bow down to the sure-to-be-outdone-soon ten-layer rendition supposedly crafted by Ritek. No sooner than we all celebrated the idea of a 51GB HD DVD, Ritek has reportedly "designed HD media with a full ten layers," not to mention the supposed three- and four-layer coasters it has laying around while working its way up. As if that weren't impressive enough, it also claims that this multi-layer process can be applied to both HD DVD and Blu-ray, a feat that Toshiba's recent creation can't quite compete with. Of course, Ritek officials were quick to point out that the "real barrier to this advancement is the lack of reader / writer laser diodes to support the additional layers," but if there really are 250GB BD discs just waiting to get spun, those lasers aren't too far behind. ...

via gamespot

You could call Crazy Taxi a precursor to the wildly popular open-world style of gameplay that's currently prevalent in games from Grand Theft Auto to Saints Row. Rather than presenting you with discrete courses, Crazy Taxi gave you a wide-open city to burn rubber through, as you attempted to get one passenger after another to his or her destination within a set time limit. The series hasn't been seen for quite some time, but now Sega is revisiting Crazy Taxi on the PSP with the newly announced Fare Wars, and we hit up associate producer Stephen Frost to fill us in on the nitty-gritty.

GameSpot: Why did you decide to bring Crazy Taxi to the PSP?



Fare Wars will give you the same high-flying Crazy Taxi action you know and love.
Stephen Frost: There are a lot of reasons why we decided to bring the Crazy Taxi series to the PSP, but the main one is probably the fact that it is still one of the most popular and well-known Sega franchises. The series has a great history and fan base as it has appeared on quite a few game consoles and the PC, so resurrecting the series on the popular handheld will provide us an opportunity to offer up this game to an even larger audience who may not have had a chance to take Crazy Taxi for a spin. The simple pick-up-and-play design of the series lends itself well to handheld gaming, which is why the PSP made so much sense.

GS: Why did you choose to include both Crazy Taxi games instead of make an original one?

SF: That's a good question. We thought long and hard about it and decided that there were still a lot of gamers out there who either haven't had a chance to play the original two titles in the series or would enjoy playing these games on the handheld. Both of those titles are great in their own right and are especially suited to short playing sessions, which is obviously great for gaming on the go. They still hold up against the test of time, so we felt that an enhanced version of these classics would be the ideal way to not only introduce Crazy Taxi to a new generation of gamers but also bring back longtime fans of the series who have been asking for a portable version.

Full article at Link above ...

Via IGn

Both Capcom and SNK are well-known for their majestic forays into the world of 2D fighting and, like prize fighters, they've got plenty of hits under their belt. Therefore, when these two battling behemoths clash, a card-based tactical tournament game probably isn't what you'd expect from the results - but that's exactly what SNK Vs Capcom Card Fighters is.

Now, UK-based publisher Ignition has announced that its set to bring the DS game to these shores imminently. SNK Vs Capcom Card Fighters offers over 300 cards featuring all your favourite fighters from the likes of Street Fighter II to King of Fighters. Using your strategic wit and cunning, it's up to you to compile your deck then watch as the cards fly.

SNK Vs Capcom Card Fighters is primed and ready to let loose with those fireballs this spring. ...

Via IGN

The Test Drive series has banked and rolled over more ups and downs than a mountainside race course over the years. Most recently, the series peaked with Test Drive Unlimited - an epic, sprawling and open-ended racer that crammed the entire Hawaiian island of Oahu, mapped to within one metre of the actual geography.

However, under the hood lay the structure of a very cool and innovative massively-multiplayer racer, too, combining the depth of a semi-serious racer containing tuning and upgrades, with the social and competitive joys of an online RPG. The amazing detail of the massive driving area was handled ably on the Xbox 360 hardware. However, there were definitely teething problems with the online matchmaking and friend-finding, and after unlocking the wickedly fast motorcycles, it was easy to exploit the unbalanced vehicle line-up to kick all sorts of ass online.

How does the PSP version stack up? That's the burning question of the moment. Is it even possible to create an adequate adaptation of such a mammoth title on a handheld? And is the online infrastructure at all similar? Let's dive in and find out.

God knows how they've done it, but they've done it. Melbourne House, that sage studio of Australian game development, has crammed just about all of the features of the Xbox 360 version onto Sony's handheld. What's more, while the graphics engine lacks the sophistication of the full-sized version, it still captures the lush palm forests, beach fronts and rolling hills of Oahu. The roads, all 1000-plus kilometres of them, are populated by plenty of traffic and the draw distance is mind-boggling. Truly, this is a faithful representation of the Unlimited world. Insane.

Full Article at Link Above ...

Via IGN

I have one great memory of the Champions League. That's one more than most Americans.

Cramped into a smoky pub in Rome, jam-packed with soccer-crazed Italians, I was cheering AC Milan against Liverpool in the 2005 final staged in Istanbul. It was a wild scene and I broke three ribs in the first half as Milan took a 3-0 lead and the Italians celebrated, downing beers and chanting something I wish I understood.

Most of the fans in the pub were AS Roma supporters but club loyalty is out the window in the tournament final. Better AC Milan wins than Liverpool. And up 3-0, that's how it looked, and the beer was flowing. Then the comeback began.

Miraculously, Liverpool scored three unanswered goals in the second half to force extra time and an eventual shootout. In soccer, that's unheard of. While the Italians hung their heads in dismay, I had a little smile on my face. I knew I was watching an amazing match. As a sports fan not beholden to Milan or Liverpool, that's all I could ask for.

As the shootout began, a strange thing happened. Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek started to have a seizure in the box. Well, it wasn't a seizure, but it was a very clumsy attempt to distract Milan's shooters by dancing and shaking on the line. Not only was Dudek's little jig hilarious, but it inspired EA to include the moves in 2006 FIFA World Cup on the Xbox 360.

Maybe it worked or maybe it didn't, but Dudek stopped Andriy Shevchenko's penalty to win the Champions League trophy for Liverpool and cap one of the most amazing comebacks in sports history.

On March 20, the Champions League lives again.

Electronic Arts told IGN today that it will release UEFA Champions League 2006-2007, a new soccer game featuring almost all of the world's best club teams. The title will also appear on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.

We say "almost" all because licensing issues prevented EA from landing the rights to a handful of teams that made the tournament this season, although the company did not disclose which teams those were. We do know that there are a different number of teams on each platform. It's important to note that the PS2 version of FIFA 07 had more than 500 teams while the 360 version had only 117. In UEFA Champions League 2004-2005 published by EA, there were 239 teams, allowing you to build up a lesser-club team and eventually qualify for the 32-team Champions League.

Team chemistry is a huge feature on your club team, Sayler said. Sadly, there's no way to trade David Beckham to the Los Angeles Galaxy for $250 million if he hooks up with the nanny. (Beckham will be on Real Madrid's roster in the game, said lead producer Ken Sayler.)

As for game modes, we know that you can recreate the 32-team tournament from this season or take a team through qualification rounds. You'll also get a shot at several historical moments, of which the 2005 Liverpool championship surely will be included. I see it now: "Defeat AC Milan down 3-0 in the first half." That's worth plenty of playing cards.

While EA didn't say, we do expect some sort of connectivity with the PSP and the PS2. In the latest crops of sports titles like NHL 07, players were able to play franchise modes on the PS2 and then transfer the data to the PSP and take the show on the road.

The surprise announcement of Champions League comes hot on the heels of FIFA 07, which has enjoyed extraordinary sales numbers in Europe since its October release. We just hope this title shows the same improvement that FIFA 07 did this season on current-gen platforms.

UEFA, or the Union of European Football Associations, governs soccer in Europe and organizes Champions League and the UEFA EURO tournament of national teams on arguably the world's most soccer-crazed continent. Held every four years, UEFA EURO 2008 will be hosted jointly by Austria and Switzerland.

Check in next week for our hands-on impressions of UEFA Champions League 2006-2007. ...

Via IGN

Ever wonder if there was more to the world than you actually knew? What if there was a parallel dimension where humans and monsters co-existed peacefully? That's one of the premises behind Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure, a new action RPG from Nihon Falcom, makers of Ys and Legend of Heroes. We've spent a lot more time with Parin and her monster friends, and we have a much better sense of what the little girl with a legendary drill can do.

The last preview that we did on the game highlighted the story and some of the basic moves that Parin can do. As Parin continues exploring the monster world to help her newfound friends defeat the phantoms that threaten them, she'll acquire a number of new abilities. For one, using what's known as a guard dash will render her invincible to incoming attacks, which will come in handy when Parin is surrounded by enemies. While she can swing her drill and make contact with opponents, charging the drill is easily the most effective way of clearing foes from your path. By holding the X button, Parin can charge the drill, releasing it with varying levels of strength. Triggering a level 1 strike fires up the drill for a few seconds, while level 2 strike extends the duration of the attack a bit longer. A level 3 charge turns Parin into a drill torpedo, propelling her through her enemies.

Parin isn't restricted by taking enemies out on the ground either. She can juggle small opponents into the air and take them out with mid air attacks. In fact, the only way that she'll be able to traverse some crevasses or reach distant platforms is to use her ability to lock onto enemies in mid air and leap from one defeated creature to another. Parin will also gain new attacks with a combination of directional pad moves and button presses. For instance, by performing a counter clockwise circle on the D-pad and hitting X, she'll perform a wide arcing attack with the drill.

Successfully landing blows on opponents, particularly charged attacks, has a two fold benefit. For one, it strengthens the drill itself, and at later levels allows you to project beams of light. For another, it lets you knock off the various gear that some of the monsters carry, which you can capture and redeem in town for enhancements to Parin's equipment. There's a number of items that she'll acquire along the way, like goggles that help her move through water without taking damage or gas masks that protect her from noxious fumes. While some items have apparent uses, others have rather unique properties that are bestowed on Parin. For instance, putting a set of cat ears on her head allows her to determine the number of treasure chests in a dungeon.

Don't think that you'll be stuck dungeon crawling through the various levels of Gurumin, though. You'll wind up traveling through forests, caves, frigid wastelands and other areas looking to defeat the phantoms, help your friends, and bring peace to the land. Many of your friends will direct you to your next objective, and considering that Gurumin's cast is stocked with veteran voice actors like Amber Hood, Tara Strong and Dee Bradley Baker, there should be plenty of well done cutscenes that are fully voiced over. ...

RapidMind and Terra Soft announced today that they have teamed up to make application development for the PlayStation?3 easier than ever. As part of an agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated, Terra Soft Solutions announced last month the release of Yellow Dog Linux for the PlayStation 3. With the RapidMind Development Platform, developers can easily create applications that will run on the PlayStation 3, as well as other hardware solutions based on the Cell Broadband Engine? (Cell BE).

If you're in Colorado you might also be interested in the Terra Soft Solutions Cell processor "hack-a-thon". More information available at www.terrasoftsolutions.com and www.rapidmind.net ...

via ps3fanboy

Sadly, this "updated" version of the neat demo for Gran Turismo HD doesn't come with any special tracks or added options. It fixes a bug. Apparently, a 700MB bug. That's right, no patches, but you've got to re-download the entire thing. Not only that, but doing so erases all your track and drift records. It's... kind of a slap to the face, Polyphony. Why? I was in the top twenty for something... well, probably not anymore, but at some point I was.

Oh! We never told you the bug. Here's the big problem: the bug caused the time to stop before you got to the finish line. That's it. Download the new version at your own discretion, everyone! ...