EA's latest street racer demoed in fresh gameplay vid

Filling the ground with neon like a Sainsbury's car park on a Friday night, Need for Speed: Carbon has sped-in another wheel-spinning gameplay trailer, that shows off more fancy next-gen graphics and sweat-inducing canyon-racing.

EA's latest entry in its street racing series pits you against rival-gangs on rickety canyon roads, fighting for territory inside the more-traditional ghetto locals.

In the car customisation department, Carbon is using EA's new 'Auto-Sculpt' technology which lets you use sliders to alter bodywork, rims, paint tints and more, making for literally millions of potential car designs.

Need for Speed: Carbon is penned in for a November release on Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3 (US), Wii and virtually every other current gen console. Look for the review soon.

Trailer Here ...

Ubisoft's gorgeous medieval thief 'em-up, Assassin's Creed is heading for mouse-and-keyboard fans on PC, alongside its PS3 and Xbox 360 targets.

"If you do manage to get near enough to your intended target to kill at close quarters (sniping is cheating in the Assassin's Order), Altair can use his special concealed blade to deal the fatal blow. Suddenly, time slows down and the action is focused on the two individuals in a very personal and horrific moment. Killing is an honourable and serious profession for the Order - quite the opposite of other games such as Hitman, where you'll probably end up dropping someone off a balcony dressed in a clown suit." ...

Evil bunnies up to no good as Raving Rabbids says 'hop it' to Xbox

Rayman Raving Rabbids appears to have been quietly canned on Bill's original black box

'But', you cry ' the game's never been confirmed for Microsoft's old-gen console!' Well, officially, that's true, Ubisoft only setting in stone PC, PS2, Wii, GBA and DS versions for a late 2006 release in an announcement earlier this month. However, CVG knows that as recently as last month the publisher confirmed that an Xbox version of Rayman Raving Rabbids existed.

Speaking to Ubisoft earlier about the title on Xbox, it was simply sticking to the announcement made on September 5 that Raving Rabbids is 100-percent confirmed for PC, PS2, Wii, GBA and DS platforms. We can only assume that the publisher decided an Xbox version just wouldn't perform as the console gradually heading southward.

Well, either that or there's conspiracy been cooked up by evil bunnies to ensure Rayman Raving Rabbids doesn't appear on the MS platform. An Xbox 360 Raving Rabbids is expected, although Ubisoft remained coy when queried about this version. We reckon we won't see that until 2007, but we'll wait patiently for further news... ...

LEGO Star Wars II shifts 1.1 million copies in a week. Please can we have LEGO Indy next?

LucasArts - a company we'd like to think has staff toilets sculpted from emeralds and gold - has shifted over a million units of the game after only a week of it being on sale. With that much LEGO, we estimate that you could build over 2,000 LEGO Star Destroyers, and three LEGO Rick Wallers.

As we exclusively revealed a few weeks ago, the LEGO franchise with extend into new areas with a game based on DC Comics Dark Knight, Batman, which we're sure will sell more than a few copies as well.

"There's definitely something for everyone in LEGO Star Wars II, and the sales and reviews so far are proving it," said LucasArts boss, Jim Ward. "This is the type of fun, accessible game everyone in the family can enjoy. It appeals to so much more than just the traditional gaming audience." ...

Someone's having a very bad day at French publishing giant, Ubisoft this morning, as 2GB (yes, 2GB) worth of top-secret images somehow found its way onto the internet, detailing unannounced games like Splinter Cell 5 and Far Cry 2.

The images, which we obviously can't post if we want to hold on to our houses, include new looks at already-announced titles like the gorgeous Assassins Creed, as well as the first confirmation and looks at titles like Far Cry PSP, Rocky PSP and Shaun White snowboarding.

But by far the hottest images in the leaked batch are those showing art from the next Splinter Cell, called Splinter Cell Conviction, an all-new Prince of Persia and a sequel to Crytek's Far Cry.

There's a treasure trove of top-secret game details revealed in the images (which we erm, saw on a mate's PC) including Far Cry 2's multiple 'urban, desert and jungle' environments, and Splinter Cell Conviction's Washington DC locales. Far Cry 2 also appears to include a destructible weapon system, along with some distinctly 'next-gen' visuals - although it's pure speculation at this point what system the game is heading for.

When we contacted Ubisoft, we were expectedly given a very big "no comment." Perhaps, with X06 only seven days away, some of these images will become public domain within the week. Until then; sit tight and don't do anything naughty. ...

This Monday (September 25) at 6pm, Xbox Live members across Europe will get another chance to take down Alan Mealor and Chris Pickford of Bizarre Creations in what's being dubbed a 'Developer Showdown - gamers versus designers'.

The news comes hot on the heels of Microsoft's announcement of a new Premium pack bundle containing the game, and of course is part of Xbox Live free week which began yesterday.

If you want a slice of this developer smackdown, you need to be an Xbox Live member and send your name, age, location, email address and gamertag to [email protected]. If you're accepted you'll get an email with more details by Monday.

Now, you'd best get behind that PGR3 wheel and get practicing! ...

With TGS less than 24-hours away, a slew of assorted media is already beginning to shoot over from Japan, these new Lost Planet shots being among the first.

Originally announced for Xbox 360 last year, the snowy bug-blaster is finally approaching its Japanese December release, and you can tell Capcom has been doing some visual-polishing over the last 12 months.

Rather than strain our fingers telling you about the game, you can read our excellent preview by clicking here - or better still, head on to Xbox Live where you will find a fully-playable demo. Don't tell us we don't earn our wages.

Lost Planet is currently planned for European release in Q1 2007. We'll let you know how it turns out.

Screens Here ...

Metal Gear head honcho Hideo Kojima has revealed to Famitsu that new Metal Gear Solid 4 details will debut at TGS. No surprises there. However he also noted that a new trailer will feature our first look at the gameplay of the new stealth game. And one of the most interesting aspects is that you won't have to use stealth.

The Famitsu article, translated by IGN, quotes Kojima as saying that the game is no longer specifically about sneaking missions, with the gamer free to determine how they reach their set goal. So does this mean the end of our bandana-clad hero mincing about in a cardboard box?

Not necessarily, as Famitsu appears to have seen this new trailer, providing screenshots of Snake updating his stealth kit to include the new warzone chic of sneaking around in an oil drum. They also go into detail about his new Octocam, or 'Octopus Camoflage' which allows the aged soldier to change colour to blend into his environment. But combined with an improved CQC combat system and Snake's Metal Gear Mark II robot buddy capable of electrocuting enemies, it is clear that combat will indeed be opened up somewhat.

Those of you desperate to get your mitts on Snake's new game will have to be patient as Kojima also revealed in the article that the sneak-'em-up won't show its face until the latter part of 2007, as it still needs a solid year's development. ...

Ubisoft is "displeased" that a number of unannounced titles have been revealed on the internet, including new titles in the Far Cry and Splinter Cell series.

A 2 gigabyte file had been posted in a location accessible by the public, since removed, containing artwork, logos and screenshots for announced and unannounced titles, including a tech demo for Far Cry 2.

"We are clearly displeased that confidential information from Ubisoft has been distributed on the internet," said a representative for Ubisoft

"The publication of this type of information can only be harmful to the game development process and we will take all steps necessary to prevent this from happening in the future."

"We are still investigating the events that lead to this information leak and at this time have no further comment," said the representative.

This is the second high profile mistake to cause headaches at Ubisoft.

Back in March of this year, a release schedule appeared on a US consumer site revealing release dates for multiple titles, many of which hadn't been announced at the time, while also pointing towards a November release for Sony's PlayStation 3 console.

The full list of titles included in the archive are:

Assassins Creed

Far Cry 2

Far Cry PSP

Far Cry Wii

Lost

Naruto 360

Open Season

Prince of Persia 4

Rainbow 6: Vegas

Rocky PSP

Splinter Cell Conviction

Surf's Up

Star Wars PSP

Shaun White Snowboarding

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles GBA ...