via Kotaku




Gizmodo dug up the FCC filings for the new PSP, PSP-2000. Isn't that the greatest model number ever? The manuals and such have a bit of new details buried in them which they, and I, were able to dig up. Most importantly though, are the specific size and weight details:

The current PSP is 170mm x 74 mm x 23 mm and weighs about 230 grams with the battery in, while the new PSP is 169.4 mm x 71 mm x 18.6 mm and weighs 189 grams.

• The new PSP (PSP-2000) doesn't come with a Remote Control and you can't use the original PSP's remote with it.
• You can charge the PSP with a USB cable. (It takes about two hours, 20 minutes to charge with AC and five with USB)
• Display button: Pressing it changes between three levels of brightness, holding it for more than one second turns off the backlight and holding for more than five switches to video output.
• Its TA-085 PCB motherboard is homebrew-conducive.
• The battery has been shrunk from 1800mAh to 1200mAh, but retains hour rating.
• WLAN switch has been relocated to top.
• TV-out cable is not included.
• USB cable is not included.

...

via Computer and Video Games


A pair of new Grand Theft Auto IV screenshots have emerged on the good ship internet, on a vague Japanese website via Gamefront.de.

They look suspiciously like scans to us - you can view them here and here.

For those with sight/internet problems, the first image shows our immigrant man Niko aiming his gun out of a car window, possibly at a hooker/cop, and the second is an image of a Liberty City street bustling with traffic and pedestrians.

In case you missed the awesome second trailer, plonk your eyes on that, and look out for more GTA IV goodness on CVG very, very soon. ...

via Eurogamer


EA has released more details for the recently confirmed DS version of Orcs & Elves, an action role-playing game originally conceived for mobile phones.

The extra grunt of Nintendo's handheld has let developer id Software bring in 3D graphics, as well as splash out on more levels, items and monsters from the new Dwarven kingdom area. And touch-screen input is said to be an area the team is keen to get to grips with.

"Orcs & Elves was a perfect fit for the DS," said John Carmack, founder and technical director at id Software. "We were able to take excellent advantage of the 3D hardware and unique user input capabilities, and expand the game to include a lot of wonderful features that we just couldn't fit on the cell phones."

A sequel for Orcs & Elves was also announced by EA, banishing fears that the first game was a one-off pet project for the Doom and Quake developer.

The story here starts as King Brahm is slain on Mount Zharrkarag, putting the fate of the land on your shoulders - a novice thief who has just stolen a legendary wand. You must deliver this magical relic to the town under siege before it's too late, encountering allies, enemies, and lots more new content from seven vast and interactive environments.

"Orcs & Elves II is a polished gem of a game for the mobile platforms, opening up new parts of the world to explore while carrying forward and improving all the elements that were loved about the original game," continued Carmack.

Orcs & Elves on DS and Orcs & Elves II for mobiles are due this Christmas. ...

via Eurogamer


Bomberman Live and Yie Ar Kung Fu will be this Wednesday, 18th July's Xbox Live Arcade releases, Microsoft said late on Friday while we were busy sneezing somewhere over the Atlantic, wondering how exactly we'd managed to catch a cold in Los sodding Angeles.

Oh well, at least we saw Rutger Hauer. And if Rutger asked us how much this week's XBLA releases costs, we'd be able to tell him that Bomberman is 800 points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.30) and Yie Ar is 400 (GBP 3.40 / EUR 4.65).

Bomberman is Hudson's baby, of course (in fact, Hudson is to Bomberman as Joe is to Jessica Simpson), where players navigate a maze trying to trap and kill each other with bombs, taking advantage of various power-ups (16 in this version) on the way. The Xbox Live version offers four-player offline and eight-player online modes, with eight arenas total, and customisable Bomberman costumes.

Yie Ar Kung Fu, meanwhile, sees Oolong questing to win a Martial Arts Championship by defeating masters of shuriken, nunchaku, bo and chain. It's a graduate of old-days formats like the NES, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, and dates back to 1985.

Each offers a demo version to help make your mind up, along with 12 unlockable Achievements for a total of 200 gamerpoints. ...

via Eurogamer


RedOctane's offering Guitar Hero II Xbox 360 owners another slice of the original game in the form of the fourth track pack on Xbox Live Marketplace.

As with the other three, it's 500 Microsoft points (GBP 4.25 / EUR 5.82) and consists of three songs - The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated", Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Coming". It's 44MB, in case you're wondering.

Past song packs have included the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, The Donnas and Bad Religion, but have yet to offer anything besides tracks borrowed from the PS2-only Guitar Hero original.

Plus, we don't know about you, but we're slightly less excited by paying near enough a fiver for three songs in light of EA's promise of album-length downloadable content packs for Rock Band later in the year. ...

via Eurogamer


Electronic Arts' chart-topping Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix videogame is now up on Xbox Live in downloadable demo form, so if you're into that, accio like a mother-f-.

At 510MB it'll eat approximately 2.55 percent of a 20GB hard disk, which is the sort of useless fact we like to offer you here at Eurogamer, and you can read much more about it in our Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Xbox 360 review.

Don't expect it to go anywhere in the charts soon, either - with the game having achieved its back to back success in the UK Charts before the film it's based on had even gone on general release. Magic! ...

via Eurogamer


THQ has announced it will be bringing de Blob to Wii and DS next February.

Originally created for the Internet by a group of Dutch students, the game challenges you with reviving a dull and monochrome city by rolling a big blob of colour into things. Stylistically it looks similar to the Katamari games, with vivid and cartoon-inspired graphics.

THQ's Australian studio Blue Tongue Entertainment will be creating the Wii version, and its Hexile studio will develop it for DS. Both will be built with each platform's strengths in mind.

"With de Blob's innovative control scheme, a swing of the Wii Remote or flick of the DS Stylus sends de Blob ricocheting and swinging through the city with splashes of colour in his wake," said Steve Dauterman, big cheese of product development.

"Gamers will be able to liberate the lifeless city of Chroma and create a collaboration of energy, music and colour that is a reflection of each player's gaming style."

Pop over to the original game's website to try it out. ...

via Eurogamer


Ubisoft and Left Field Productions announced Nitrobike for the Wii last week - a fast-paced motorbike (sorry, "/\/+0]231|{e") racer that aims to repeat the success of LF's own Excitebike 64.

Due out this Christmas, it features lots of rocket-propelled motorcycles darting around against the clock and against other players, with a "unique online mode" promised to back up its offline multiplayer and, of course, one-player offering.

Ubisoft served up some Nitrobike screenshots during E3 to help get you in the mood, but other than that, there's not much to say. Do you want to hear what Jay Cohen, Ubisoft's vice president of publishing, had to say about it?

"Ubisoft is thrilled to be introducing the first Motorcross game available for Wii," is how he began. Then: "Nitrobike's fun and fast-paced gameplay is sure to be a hit for Wii owners for the holiday season." So that was worth it.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


Guerrilla Games has revealed a few more details about Killzone 2 in light of the game's impressive unveiling at E3 last week.

Guerrilla, speaking to Newsweek's Level Up blog, revealed that what we saw was the third level of the campaign, as Vektan forces launched from cruisers orbiting Helghan descend to the planet's surface as part of an invasion. The player controls Sev, a veteran of the Legion (special forces), and fans of the first two Killzone games (on PS2 and PSP) will be interested to note that Rico Velsaquez returns for a major role, while Lugar and Evelyn also feature.

Control-wise, there was confirmation that the in-and-out shooting of our demo level was a specific cover system, similar in some senses to Gears of War's. When you approach a surface, you'll have the option of pressing L2 to lock up against it and then lean around using the left analogue stick to fire, while hitting R2 without accompanying analogue movement will blindfire.

Guerrilla also revealed that the key to the game's unique visual approach is an array of post-processing effects that calibrate the game's use of light, shadow and colour. We found it quite mesmerising, and Level Up's comparisons to Call of Duty 4's similar effect are well-founded. ...