via Computer and Video Games


THQ has been saving plenty of hoops of fire - and a disc-full of screenshots - for its E3 media bash this week, kicking off with the kerr-azy stunts in this fresh Stuntman Ignition media dump.

In the number department there are six films to perform in, 25 vehicles to mash up and 36 different stunts, but most promising of all is the option to go online and challenge other players to a stunt-off.

Thanks to an Xbox Live demo, you can try Ignition out for yourself right now by firing up your Xbox 360.

Look for the full game in the shops at the end of August.


Screenshots ...

via Computer and Video Games


We all know Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is one of the hottest PC shooters to make an appearance this year, but the game's also been lined up for a 360 debut too.

And yesterday's Activision conference didn't disappoint with Splash Damage's Paul Wedgewood joining comedian (and we use that word in its loosest sense) Jamie Kennedy to talk us through the very first footage of the game on 360. Plenty of meat to enjoy here in our patented wobbly cam footage, with Quake Wars looking every bit as fine on Microsoft's machine as in its PC incarnation.


Video clip here ...

via Computer and Video Games


Here's the latest batch of screens for THQ's upcoming Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights racing towards its September 21 release for DS, PC, PS2, PS3 and PSP.

According to THQ Juiced 2 "evolves the current street racing scene, letting players experience the culture of the real-life HIN tour, the nation's largest lifestyle custom car show in an intense racing experience."

And with Need for Speed now going the way of the simulator with Pro Street, the street-racing car-modding scene is open for Juiced 2: HIN to charge in and take the top podium spot.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


Top Spin 3 is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 in Spring 2008, 2K Sports has revealed.

The follow-up to the 2006 Xbox 360 title once again builds on the successful Tennis series, with the usual expansive offline career mode and online play.

New to this version will be dynamic weather changes - useful if you want to postpone play all day due to rain and get Cliff Richard singing in the stands - and a host of customisation options so you can sculpt the image of your player. There's a free form body slider to adjust your shape, and you can even plaster yourself in tattoos and make-up.

"This game transcends the boundaries of what has previously been achieved in the acclaimed Top Spin franchise by ensuring every detail is accurate, from the cloud cover to lighting, from sweat to dirt on clothing, to every drop shot, slice, lob and backhand," said Christoph Hartmann, big chief at 2K.


Screenshots ...

via Eurogamer


THQ has uncovered a new game called Darksiders, which will be coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime next year.

It's being created by internal studio Vigil Games and dreamt-up by comic-book author Joe Madureira - best known for his work on Uncanny X-Men.

Darksiders is a third-person action adventure based around the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse - a tale from that dusty old book The Bible. But taken with a hefty dose of salt.

You see Vigil's world began with a clever-clogs being creating the universe and the Nephilim to inhabit it. But they soon got too big for their boots, so Angels were introduced because they're easier to control. A massive war ensued. In the middle of this the Four Horsemen swapped sides and helped stamp out their own race, the Nephilim.

Clever-clogs being rewards the turncoats with the eternal duty of destroying worlds. Horsemen are chuffed. All goes well for a while until the quartet are tricked and locked away - leaving all the portals they opened, er, wide open, so demons can run riot in worlds unchecked.

It's a rather grand setting and we pick up the story as our main character War escapes his prison and seeks vengeance on those that put him there.

His abilities, especially in combat, instantly conjure up God of War comparisons; hacking and slashing like Charlie Dimmock in a bed of giant weeds. But there's also puzzles to solve and items to gather like in Zelda, and a set of 12 abilities to upgrade just like in Devil May Cry.

So you could say it is a medley of some of the best games around. Oh, and with a horse you can summon even if you're in the middle of bloodying someone's nose, or jumping through the air. Add all that to some corking graphics and a dramatic comic-book feel, and you've got us interested.


Trailer here ...

via Eurogamer


Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will be coming to the PlayStation Network later this year, Sony announced at its E3 conference yesterday evening.

It's another free taster of what we can expect from the full Polyphony Digital game due some point in the future. The demo will let players race online for the first time ever in the series, using a bunch of shiny cars.

We imagine you'll probably be gawking at the hugely impressive graphics we saw in the on-stage trailer, too. "Look at the reflections on that," said Ellie Gibson, who was commentating live from the event.

The decision to release another Gran Turismo 5 teaser stemmed from the success of HD Concept earlier in the year, which let you race a handful of cars around a single track - supposedly powered by a version of the GT5 engine.

It was so popular more than one million of you clamoured to download it, according to Sony Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison. And rightly so, reckoned Eurogamer hack Tom Bramwell, who went hands-on with it back in March.

So it all seems to be shaping up well for the iconic and immensely popular racing series. But will we see the full game before 2009, Sony?


Screenshots
Trailer ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo has admitted that shortages of the Wii console are likely to continue for the rest of the year, with retail facing the possibility of a second Christmas without enough stock to meet consumer demand.

Yesterday at the company's E3 conference, Nintendo revealed a host of new products including the Wii Zapper and the Wii Wheel peripherals, and new software in the form of Wii Fit.

But George Harrison, senior VP of marketing has told Reuters that the firm cannot guarantee it won't see the same problems it had last year with supply unable to meet demand.

"There is no guarantee that we are not going to have 'out-of-stocks' this holiday season," said Harrison.

"If you see one, buy it. Don't assume that you can come back later and find one."

Harrison said that Nintendo is trying to find the right production schedule, but the console sells out within days whatever the region.

"We're trying to figure out what's the reasonable monthly level, and as we've seen every time we ship product to the market, whether it's on Japan or here in the US or Europe, it sells out in a matter of days." ...

via Games Industry


Nintendo's DS title The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass has returned to number one in the Japanese charts, according to data from Media Create.

The latest Zelda title has sold 75,000 units in the week ended July 8, holding off competion from another DS title – Chibi Robo! Park Patrol which enters the charts at number two.

The only other new entry in the top ten is PlayStation 3 title My Summer Vacation, which sold 29,000 copies in its first week.

The top ten best-selling games in Japan follow:
1. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
2. Chibi Robo! Park Patrol (DS)
3. Super Robot Wars: Original Generations (PS2)
4. Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (DS)
5. Wii Sports (Wii)
6. Itadaki Street DS (DS)
7. My Summer Vacation (PS3)
8. Wii Play (Wii
9. More Brain Training (DS)
10. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) ...

via Games Industry


Harmonix and MTV will be offering entire albums worth of downloadable content for the forthcoming Rock Band, with new material promised every week following launch.

The first album on offer will be The Who's Who's Next, as the developer and publisher commit to offering entire levels of digital content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 title on a regular basis.

"Offering entire albums for play on the Rock Band platform is a monumental step forward in Harmonix's ever present quest to provide new ways for people to interact with music and creating the most authentic music experience possible," commented Alex Rigopulos, CEO of Harmonix

The company has also announced the formation of an advisory board fronted by musician Steven Van Zandt, which will help the development team in the selection of artists, albums and tracks to be featured in the game. ...