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According to Reuters, a new study involving 33 surgeons at a New York hospital shows 'a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon's capabilities'. A statement by the senior author of the study even suggests the use of video games as a training tool for surgeons. Another of the study's authors cautions parents to curb excessive gaming, however: 'spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child's chances of getting into medical school' ...

Divineo USA have posted that they now have the D2B Compatible Cyclowiz version 2 at their shop



Cyclowiz is a Modchip for the Nintendo Wii. ...

via cvg

Capcom refugees from the recently-closed Okami developer Clover have been moved to work on Resident Evil 5 and Keiji Inafune's mysterious Wii project, Capcom has confirmed.

"Some of the team that worked on Clover titles are now helping Takeuchi-san on Resident Evil 5, helping Inafune-san on a new title for the Wii", Capcom's vice president of marketing Charles Bellfield reveals to Gamasutra.com.

"I think it's very much the skill set still stays in the company when those individuals stay and, unfortunately, three individuals chose to leave," he said, referring to Clover veterans Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya who left Capcom to form new studio Seeds.

"What actually happened is Mikami-san, Kamiya-san and Inaba-san chose to leave the company and do something else and the rest of the Clover team was just incorporated back into the rest of Capcom's development talent pool," he says.

Apparently the move wouldn't have a caused a big shake-up for the respective teams, because Capcom doesn't have dedicated strict boundaries between its development teams. "Everybody does work on a variety of content and games at Capcom," Bellfield notes.

With a good few years of development and an even bigger team pushing things along, we can't wait to see what sort of state the new Resi is in. But will it be able to live up to number 4 without Mikami's direction? Our fingers are crossed. ...

Sega's latest tennis sim is dominating lunchtimes here at CVG, with four-player doubles games kicking off the second the lunch bell rings.

And with the PSP one looking this sweet, we'll probably be hammering it one the trains to and from work as well.

Virtua Tennis 3 will feature ten new-mini games, a re-worked World Tour mode and will let you play as the latest superstars in the sport.

Let's hope it doesn't suffer from the dire load times that plagued Virtua Tennis 2 on the handheld.

VT3 is due out in Europe on PC, Xbox 360 and PSP early next month. The PS3 version will join the console at launch on March 23.

Screens Here ...

New press release:

Evolve Publishing is pleased to announce that from its next issue, on sale 21st February 2007, PURE will expand its coverage to include all Playstation formats to include Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and Playstation portable.

The announcement comes at an exciting time as the European arrival of the Playstation 3 is set to reignite the market and provide a new thirst for quality Playstation information amongst the gaming public.

The re-launch issue will feature UK exclusive reviews of SCEE’s big two Playstation 3 launch titles Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man, and will be accompanied with a Resistance: Fall of Man guidebook, featuring a complete walkthrough of the blockbuster title. PURE will also be sold with a regular DVD featuring trailers and gameplay footage of top Playstation games across all three formats.

PURE’s publisher, Pat Kelly, explains: “There is a strong relationship across the Playstation formats. Research from ABI forecasts that 60% of Playstation 2 owners will eventually become Playstation 3 owners and the backwards compatibility of Playstation 3 will ensure that the PS2 catalogue will be a major consideration to potential PS3 purchasers.

Our research revealed that many of our PSP readers are also avid Playstation 2 gamers and now independent research backs up a strong link between PS3 and PS2 ownership. With its expanded coverage, PURE is now on a level playing field with other magazines in the sector and its quality and experienced journalism will ensure that we make a huge impact in the market throughout 2007, as we did in 2006 in the PSP-only market.”

Marc Powell, PURE’s editor, adds: “It’s testament to the magazine’s success, its experienced team, and our editorial policy that SCEE has given PURE the exclusive UK reviews of its big two Playstation 3 launch titles. Since our launch, we have received fantastic publisher support that has enabled PURE to carry big exclusives in the PSP and PS3 market and we hope to build on that with fantastic PS2 coverage. PURE is like the small, but smart, kid who has grown up pretty fast and we’re all proud of its achievements thusfar and look forward to competing in the wider all-formats Playstation market.”

PURE is on sale from 21st February 2007 at leading newsagents including WHSmith and TESCO, priced at £3.99 with a free DVD and Walkthrough guidebook to Resistance: Fall of Man. ...

Unique to its genre, Crush flips traditional gameplay on its head and creates a valuable new gaming experience that is wholly suited to the PSP. Set within a complex, hypnotic 3D world, players can Crush it to form simple 2D platforms, unlock secrets and then back again, to solve otherwise impossible challenges.

Crush story and characters
Danny, the main character and hero of Crush, has been hospitalised for insomnia. A troubled hero and a nervous wreck, Danny’s subconscious swims in unresolved issues. Sleeping is all he can think about, but thinking does nothing to actually help him drift away. It is his restless troubles that lead him to seek out help and ultimately to Dr. Reubens.

Dr Reubens, considered by some as a maverick psychologist, but by others as simply a raving mad scientist. Pioneering a new field in medicine, he is convinced his miracle machine will get to the bottom of Danny's troubles and in turn win him the academic acclaim he’s due. The problem is Dr. Reubens solutions aren’t strictly above board, but his patients don’t need to know that do they…?

C.R.U.S.H. Dr Reubens' pride and joy, C.R.U.S.H. is the very latest in psychotherapy. The name stands for Cognitive Regression Utilizing pSychiatric Heuristics and according to Dr Reubens, the processing power is matched only by its beauty. What makes C.R.U.S.H. unique is the ability to re-frame a patient's problems. While under hypnosis, C.R.U.S.H. will allow Danny to move between 3D and 2D as he navigates his neuroses and comes to terms with the secrets of his past.

Crush is set for release on PSP and is currently scheduled for release in Summer 2007.

New Screenshots Via Comments ...

Attention, all planetary patrol officers. Disney Interactive Studios just released the first set of Spectrobes into the galaxy, so be on the lookout! You must unearth, awake and nurture these prehistoric creatures on the Nintendo DS to save the universe from the villainous Krawl.

Disney Interactive Studios will be releasing details and images for sets of four Spectrobes creatures leading up to the game’s availability on Tuesday, March 16.

Forms -- There are three forms for each Spectrobe based on their growth. Typically, Spectrobes are acquired by excavating them in fossil form and then awakening them into child form. From child, they are evolved into adult form and their final stage, which is called evolved.

Attributes -- Spectrobes are creatures of light, and light is often represented by red, green and Blue. Corona is red, Aurora is green and Flash is blue.
Each Spectrobe has only one of these attributes. The important thing is the power relationship between these:

Corona is strong against Aurora.
Aurora is strong against Flash.
Flash is strong against Corona.

Here are the profiles of these newly released Spectrobes:

Inkana is a guard type Spectrobe. He fuels himself with energy derived from magma. His hard fossil-like shell serves as excellent defence against attacks.
Form: Child
Attribute: Corona
Length (feet): 1.3
Weight (lbs): 39

Grilden may be a velocity type Spectrobe, but he has awesome attack power. His body blades can plow through groups of enemies and his Hurlicane attack is nasty.
Form: Adult
Attribute: Aurora
Length (feet): 6.8
Weight (lbs): 705

Gekikro has great speed in the sky and is also a master of magic. He's also a recovery Spectrobe. He's excellent at hand-to-hand combat and is a well-balanced, loyal ally.
Form: Evolved
Attribute: Corona
Length (feet): 7.5
Weight (lbs.): 970

Samurite is one of the most reliable Spectrobes. He has an imposing air and great determination. The crescent swords attached to his arms can mince most anything.
Form: Adult
Attribute: Flash
Length (feet): 5.2
Weight (lbs): 485

Charactar Art Via Comments ...

The Gamefactory have released a load of screenshots for their Bratz Ponyz game

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A load of new screenshots for the game SBK 07 - Superbike World Championship have been released.

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