via Computer and Video Games


August 21-24 sees the Games Convention 2008 kick into life and here's the cards Atari will playing at the show.

Attendees will be treated to the likes of What's Cooking? with Jamie Oliver on DS and My Horse and Me 2 for Wii and DS (quiet at the back). The Witcher Enhanced Edition will also be there alongside an "enhanced Alone in the Dark for PlayStation 3".

Fixing the bugs of the already-released versions doesn't count as being enhanced but Atari goes one further to say "a number of gameplay enhancements" will make "the journey more unmissable than ever".

Other games on show include Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 (PS2), Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (PS3), Legendary (PC), GTR Evolution (PC) and Race Pro (Xbox 360). Look out for screens and info live from the show starting August 21. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Square Enix has confirmed that action puzzler Exit will be released in Europe this October.

In the game, players take control of Mr. ESC, a professional escapologist who rescues people from any situation.

Players must negotiate all manner of obstacles in order to rescue victims from dangerous situations.

John Yamamoto, president of Square said: "The combination of action with puzzle style gameplay and an innovative visual theme will keep regular gamers and casual gamers entertained for hours."


Screenshots ...

via Games Industry


It's certainly one of the more innovative titles in development, but Sony believes Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet will also prove a big driver in hardware sales this autumn as the battle for market share intensifies.

With heavyweight franchises like Gears Of War, FIFA and Guitar Hero expected to dominate Q4, releasing an original IP during the year's busiest period is a gamble, but Sony is placing great faith in the UK-developed title, which invites users to "play, create and share" content locally and over PlayStation Network.

"Our target audience is everyone," explained associate producer Eric Fong, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz last month at Comic-Con 2008 in San Diego, where the game was being demonstrated to the public.

"It's got enough complexity that people can play it and enjoy it for many hours; at the same time, if you're just a casual user you can run through and play the game and have fun with it. Everything you see in the developer levels, you can create as the player."

Talking up the game's sales potential, he added: "It's going to be a hardware seller. Not only do you have the platforming experience that a lot of other games will have, you have this creativity that really is exclusive to LittleBigPlanet."

But some believe Sony's real challenge is in communicating the game's unique features to consumers, a point which Fong conceded. "How do you explain the game...without getting your hands on it? It's a difficult thing to do."

Therefore events like Comic-Con and Germany's Games Convention, which takes place later this month, have become a crucial part of Sony's aggressive consumer awareness campaign.

"We've been able to get it into the hands of the consumer and they're loving it," Fong said of the San Diego showing, where the LittleBigPlanet booth was well attended throughout the show.

LittleBigPlanet is due for release on PlayStation 3 in PAL territories this October, with a Japanese release confirmed for October 30th. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Lexicon Entertainment has unveiled a new platform puzzle game for the DS called Monster Frenzy.

Set in the year 2020, the game follows the story of a mystery alien virus that's penetrated the Internet.

The game revolves around a number of mini-games in which players battle a variety of monsters. We're not sure how this is related to a virus being present in cyberspace.

It sounds a bit like WarioWare to us, except without the five second frantic race to complete each task.

Monster Frenzy is scheduled for release in Q4 of 2008. Take a look at the screenshots for a taster.


Screenshots here ...

via Eurogamer


Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack said hitting the level 50 limit in Too Human may take anywhere between 50 to 80 hours.


The ambitious Xbox 360 role-playing game, based on Norse Mythology and set in an ancient but technologically advanced civilisation, is finally finished. And Europeans will get the game on 29th August.

Dyack, surprisingly, then said work on the two following instalments in the trilogy was already quite far in advance.


The Silicon Knights boss was also optimistic of timely turnouts for the rest of the trilogy; it is "very possible" we will see them before Microsoft replaces the Xbox 360 hardware.

If not, Dyack revealed Too Human was built to be scalable, "So even if another platform does come out, we're not very worried about it." ...

via Eurogamer


Capcom has stuck a "TBC" note on the PlayStation 3 version of Bionic Commando Rearmed, which we had hoped to see on 14th August.

That's when the US version releases - a day after the global launch of the downloadable platform shooter on Xbox Live Arcade.

But it looks like Sony's insistence on broad localisation has caught another Capcom game in its net - after similar delays to the PSN launches of Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 and 1942: Joint Strike.

Capcom confirmed to Eurogamer this morning that the game's PSN release is TBC, but recent comments by Sony Europe boss David Reeves presumably hold the clue to the answer.


Capcom wouldn't be drawn on a current release estimate for BCR on PSN in Europe, but the best-case scenario is a simple one-week delay. When it does launch, you'll be asked to pay GBP 6.99 / EUR 9.99.

Meanwhile, the PC version - due out on Steam, Direct2Drive, Gamer's Gate and other digital distribution platforms - is due worldwide on 14th August for USD 14.99.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is a reimagined version of classic NES title Bionic Commando in which players navigate 2D platform levels using a grappling hook rather than a jump button.

As well as a significant single-player game Rearmed includes a range of Challenge Rooms to test your grapple skills, along with local co-operative and four-player competitive multiplayer options.

Look out for our review next week and in the meantime check out our recent Bionic Commando Rearmed hands-on preview. ...

via Eurogamer


Microsoft marketeer Albert Pennello has claimed Xbox 360 sales were the pivotal factor in bringing Final Fantasy XIII to the console - not any funny goings-on behind the scenes.

"I think the most obvious reason that [Square Enix] made the announcement is just looking at the success of our console. I mean, we're the leading console on a worldwide basis, we're more than double the install base on the US," Pennello told MundoRare (spotted by VG247) .


Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 during the Microsoft press conference at E3. Rumours suggest the platform holder had to pay for Square Enix to breach the exclusivity contract with Sony.

Final Fantasy XIII will remain a PS3 exclusive in Japan, and is yet to be dated for the West. Game director Motomu Toryiama said his team had not begun work on the Xbox 360 version yet, which could hold up the PS3 version in the West, as Square has committed to a simultaneous platform launch. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Five new Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts 'n Bolts screenshots have cropped up via CVG distant cousin Xbox 360: The Official Magazine.

These ones should please the few people who went mental when the game was first unveiled. Look; proper platforming, huge environments and more colours than a Crayola play set.

We're still waiting for pics of Banjo Xbox Live Arcade... (even though we've still got the textures burned into our retinas from 1999).

Check out the rest of the shots on OXM.


Screenshots at CVG
More screens at OXM ...

via Computer and Video Games


Microsoft has released ten last screenshots from the World Serpent area of Too Human, before the game's (finally) released next Friday.

The World Serpent is a mile long submersible battleship long forgotten beneath the waters. The twist is the ship is actually alive, filled with robots to hack and slash through.

The Xbox exclusive has been ten years in the making, but should be released next Friday. Just in case you didn't know, it's about a gritty Nordic future where machines battle guys with massive hammers.

You can check out the latest video here, and we'll have a verdict for you some time before release.


Screenshots ...