via Computer and Video Games


Warner Brothers has released a bunch of screens for its movie tie-in Speed Racer. It's even thrown in a bunch of concept art, character renders and pretty pictures of cars.

The game, to be released for the PS2, Wii and DS, is based on the upcoming movie by The Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix Trilogy), scheduled for release on May 16 in the UK.

We're guessing from the title that Speed Racer moves more like F-zero than Double Dash, so it's unsurprising that the screenshots look a little blurry. Hopefully we'll be going that fast we won't notice.

Some of the tracks are without side barriers too, prompting us to speculate how the game reacts when cars careen into the sides. Is there an invisible barrier or will the car rocket off the edge and explode into a thousand pieces upon hitting the ground?

Either one doesn't sound like a great option. Speed Racer should be out some time over the summer.


Screenshots here ...

via Eurogamer


Good old Majesco is to follow up the inexplicable success of baking sim Cake Mania with a new DS title based around the thrilling experience of childcare.

Babysitting Mania will task players with handling "unruly kids, lists of chores and out-of-control houses", according to the press release. All "without losing their cool" - they probably mean without shouting rather without closing the windows and turning the gas on. There are 100 levels set in 20 houses to play through, and you'll have to care for all ages from babies and toddlers right up to teenagers.

"Players will use the touch-screen to manage every aspect of the household with speed and precision, rrom strategically employing 'Timeouts' to overseeing bonus birthday party levels that add neighbourhood party guests to the mania," apparently.

The game is the sequel to Nanny Mania, a PC game which has been downloaded more than 7 million times. You can play a free hour-long demo courtesy of BigFishGames.

Babysitting Mania is scheduled for a late 2008 release. ...

via Eurogamer


Good old Majesco is to follow up the inexplicable success of baking sim Cake Mania with a new DS title based around the thrilling experience of childcare.

Babysitting Mania will task players with handling "unruly kids, lists of chores and out-of-control houses", according to the press release. All "without losing their cool" - they probably mean without shouting rather without closing the windows and turning the gas on. There are 100 levels set in 20 houses to play through, and you'll have to care for all ages from babies and toddlers right up to teenagers.

"Players will use the touch-screen to manage every aspect of the household with speed and precision, rrom strategically employing 'Timeouts' to overseeing bonus birthday party levels that add neighbourhood party guests to the mania," apparently.

The game is the sequel to Nanny Mania, a PC game which has been downloaded more than 7 million times. You can play a free hour-long demo courtesy of BigFishGames.

Babysitting Mania is scheduled for a late 2008 release. ...

via Engadget




We've seen antiquated Macs given new life as fish tanks and living room decorations, but the iWipe takes repurposing to an entirely different level. As you can clearly see in the image above, one particular engineering soul figured a spare Macintosh SE case would look a whole lot better in his bathroom than in the trash, so he whipped out a screwdriver, removed some internal brackets and gave the unit a fresh coat of paint. $15 and a few hours later, out popped his new toilet paper dispenser.

Check out the read link for a bunch more pics -- oh, and stop second guessing yourself, you're totally building one of these next weekend.


More information and photographs at Tech Republic ...

via Eurogamer


American Wii owners will be able to download Puyo Puyo 2 and Powerball Megadrive games later this month, says SEGA of America. They should know.

Both will cost 800 Wii Points, which is approximately GBP 6 / EUR 8 in oddly-written real-life currency.

Puyo Puyo 2 is a puzzle game where you create lines or shapes out of little coloured blobs, which then disappear, and Puyo Puyo 2 is a two-player-focused version where success dumps extra pain on your opponent.

Powerball, meanwhile, is described as "a hybrid of games like rugby and [American] football". So perhaps also a bit like Aussie Rules? It's played on a 100-yard field and you score points by racing it to the endzone or booting it into a net.

Anyway, we never had a Megadrive because Mum wouldn't buy one, and SEGA Europe says it will get back to us about whether these two will be released here in March as well.

Odds on that they will, because VC game releases usually map pretty decently between US and European stores. Wasn't that an exciting news story then eh readers? Come on Monday! ...

via Games Industry


PC title The Sims 2: FreeTime went straight into the number one slot in the German chart, and Pro Evolution Soccer for the PlayStation Portable has hit the top of the Spanish chart, according to data from Media-Control GfK International for the sales week ending March 2.

The new entries broke Nintendo's usual dominance of the European charts which has seen various DS or Wii titles take the top slots and bulk out the majority of the two top ten lists for most of this calendar year.

In Germany Mario & Sonic for the DS was pushed into second, followed by Brain Training and another new entry, Frontlines: Fuel of War.

More Brain Training was fifth, followed by Maths Training and Call of Duty 4.

New Super Mario Bros, Wii Play and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade rounded out the top ten.

Meanwhile in Spain Wii Play followed Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, while Lost Odyssey was another new entry in third.

More Brain Training, Mario & Sonic for the DS and The Sims 2: FreeTime took fourth to sixth places respectively, while Mario & Sonic for the Wii was seventh.

Brain Training, Call of Duty 4 and FIFA 08 for the PlayStation 2 completed the top ten list.

The full charts are as follows:

Germany

1. The Sims 2: FreeTime (PC)
2. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (DS)
3. Brain Training (DS)
4. Frontlines: Fuel of War (PC)
5. More Brain Training (DS)
6. Maths Training (DS)
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)
8. New Super Mario Bros (DS)
9. Wii Play (Wii)
10. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (PC)

Spain

1. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PSP)
2. Wii Play (Wii)
3. Lost Odyssey (360)
4. More Brain Training (DS)
5. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (DS)
6. The Sims 2: FreeTime (PC)
7. Mario & Sonic at the Olympics (Wii)
8. Brain Training (DS)
9. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3)
10. FIFA 08 (PS2) ...

via Games Industry


Publisher Alten8 has disputed reports that Nintendo has blocked the release of its forthcoming DS game Imagination is the Only Escape.

The game, which deals with issues of the Holocaust, is only in the early stages of development, but some reports have suggested that neither Nintendo US nor Nintendo Europe is willing to release the game.

The game is being developed by Luc Bernard for Alten8, and is one of five titles in the hands of the 21 year-old British designer.

A report by the New York Times suggested that Nintendo US would not be releasing the game in North America.

Although the subject matter may be considered controversial, a spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League said it welcomed any attempts to educate people using new technology.

"We certainly believe that we have to find new ways of teaching lessons of the Holocaust as new technologies are being developed," said Myrna Shinbaum. ...

via Games Industry


Publisher Alten8 has disputed reports that Nintendo has blocked the release of its forthcoming DS game Imagination is the Only Escape.

The game, which deals with issues of the Holocaust, is only in the early stages of development, but some reports have suggested that neither Nintendo US nor Nintendo Europe is willing to release the game.

The game is being developed by Luc Bernard for Alten8, and is one of five titles in the hands of the 21 year-old British designer.

A report by the New York Times suggested that Nintendo US would not be releasing the game in North America.

Although the subject matter may be considered controversial, a spokesperson for the Anti-Defamation League said it welcomed any attempts to educate people using new technology.

"We certainly believe that we have to find new ways of teaching lessons of the Holocaust as new technologies are being developed," said Myrna Shinbaum. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Empire Interactive has dropped word that it'll be publishing Now Production's upcoming DS adventure, Unsolved Crimes.

Hot on the heels of Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk, Empire Interactive hopes the game will appeal to both those audiences and those who enjoy solving puzzles like PUT KEY IN KEYHOLE, UNLOCK DOOR, OPEN DOOR, NORTH.

Taking on the role of a young rookie detective in a Homicide division, you and your partner must solve the mysterious aspiring model Betsy Blake.

Empire Interactive says the game is set in a stylized 1970s New York, but to us the screenshots look less like The French Connection and more like a CSI series produced by CBBC.

The game contains a wealth of options and functions that all draw on the unique functionality of the DS, apparently. So expect to mark spots on maps with Xs, write notes in virtual books and scribble over a pad to reveal what the previous writer jotted down.

Unsolved Crimes is tapped for release sometime this year.


Screenshots ...