If you don't know what Your Sinclair is then head over here. The YS tribute issue #94 was originally given away with issue 9 of Retro Gamer in 2004 and hasn't been seen since. That fabulous Your Sinclair tribute website has pulled out all the stops to make this special issue available online. Not only have the special YS issue DTP archives been converted to PDF - available to download - but unreleased and bomus material are available as well. But that's enough chatter, you want to read YS #94 right now, so head over to YSRNRY.

http://www.retroactionmagazine.com/f...229&p=925#p925 ...

Our friends over at Dreamcast ES have posted another great game for the Dreamcast, heres the info from them




Download and Give Feedback Via Comments ...

via IGN


We now have a five-some! Final Fantasy XIII's playable cast has increased by one thanks to information in the latest Famitsu.

Joining Lightning, Snow, Sazh and Vanille is Hope Estheim, a young boy who lost his mom during a purge.

If you've played the Japan-only Final Fantasy XIII demo, you'll recognize Hope as the little boy who's too scared to join the ranks of Snow's resistance. His mom is the lady who fights alongside Snow, only to die at the demo's end.

The death of his mom left Hope just a bit on the angry side with Snow. With Hope now confirmed as a major character, we'll have to see how their relationship develops.

Screenshots in Famitsu show Vanille consoling Hope after his mother's death. It's unclear if the two knew each other prior to the purge incident, although in the demo they were shown in close proximity to one-another.

Hope, like the other four characters, is a l'Cie, or a human who's been chosen by the fal'Cie for a certain purpose. All l'Cie learn about their mission in the form of a vision.

Remember that scene from the early trailers showing the cast walking around in a frozen underground lake area? Famitsu says that this scene takes place after the party of five have descended to the lower levels of Cocoon. They begin to talk about their visions. It appears that Hope isn't quite certain about the meaning of his.

Another trait shared by the l'Cie is a marking of some form on their body. Famitsu provides a first look at Sazh's marking, as we can see it partially sticking out from his shirt on his upper chest.

Lightning, Snow and Sazh were all playable in the Japanese demo, so we were able to get a grasp of their basic fighting style. Famitsu at long last introduces us to Vanille's combat style, and gives a sneak peak at Hope's as well.

Vanille's weapon of choice looks like a multi-wired fishing rod. She does damage to distant enemies by swinging the wires, then pulling back on the rod once the wire needles have struck their target (you have to admit, this would probably hurt with a real fishing rod).

Like Vanille, Hope can take aim at enemies from a distance using his trusty boomerang. With the obvious possibility for multiple hits, could this weapon help to build up your chain gauge quickly?

Both characters look like they'll bring some unique options to combat. But what other surprises await?

Square Enix appears to be increasing the information flow on FFXIII as the Tokyo Game Show approaches (just two months!). Expect frequent updates on what could be the biggest JRPG of the generation. ...

Here's a study you don't often see linked to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series.

A new clinical article on the neurological injuries of car surfing discusses the media's negative role in portraying this unsafe act and the effect it has on today's youth. The largest perpetrators listed are: MTV's Jackass television series, website Youtube, and the Grand Theft Auto video game series.

The report states car surfing incidents that resulted in fatalities peaked each year around the time a new Grand Theft Auto video game was released (98-04). Additionally, there was also a drop when a game in the series wasn't released. "During the years in which no new edition of Grand Theft Auto was released and Jackass was not aired, there was a coincident drop in car-surfing fatalities."

Additionally, the report stated that location plays a role, saying major cities mirrored in the game have an effect on where car surfing will most likely occur.

"We noticed that the same cities depicted in the Grand Theft Auto video games are located in 2 of the 3 states with the highest national car-surfing fatality rates standardized to population: California and Florida. Unique features of these states, such as their longer summers and greater number of days of sunshine, could be reasons for children and adolescents to spend more time outdoors and car surf," the report stated.

It should be pointed out that Grand Theft Auto IV is not listed in the report. This is probably due to the fact that players can no longer "car surf" in the game, or the data was collected and analyzed before its release. We contacted the author for clarification.

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/100/1005889p1.html ...

Two weeks after we revealed that The Official Charts Company was negotiating to integrate games downloads into its UK music Top 40, the body has told MCV that the outcome is not necessarily a certainty.
The OCC today told MCV that it could not be sure that games download data would meet its ‘exacting standards’.
Official Charts Company MD Martin Talbot said:
“We’re hopeful of this change happening this year – but there is an issue around whether games downloads qualify. The idea will have to go through various [music] industry committees, who will examine the way in which this data is currently collected. The companies selling the data need to deliver it to us in a way that meets our exacting standards.
“We have very high standards in the quality of the data we receive. The music chart has to be flawless. We’re constantly on our guard to ensure there are no loopholes to enable people to ‘cheat’ it or get inappropriate material into it. It’s a hugely important marketing tool and has great history. We take its integrity very seriously.”

Provided a deal is thrashed out between publishers and format holders, music downloaded to play in the likes of Rock Band, Guitar Hero, SingStar and upcoming games like DJ Hero, will be combined with the current download charts.
Globally, some 40m tracks have been downloaded by Guitar Hero fans according to Activision; over 30m are thought to have been downloaded on Rock Band, and millions more have been downloaded for the PS3 version of SingStar.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35126/Game...or-music-chart ...

The reinstatement of the Call of Duty brand into Modern Warfare 2 has boosted consumer awareness and purchase interest for the game, new research from Nielsen has found.

While the game was originally introduced with the Call Of Duty moniker intact, it was then referred to as Modern Warfare 2, before bizarrely having the CoD name put back on the box.

Nielsen's videogame tracking service shows that the CoD-stamped game now "benefits substantially from association with its multi-platinum parent franchise Call Of Duty."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=219947 ...

New video I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight to premiere on Sony’s streaming video service
Sony’s VidZone, a new streaming music video service that CasualGaming.biz once dubbed as PS3’s answer to Spotify, has nabbed a major exclusive in the form of an early peek of U2’s brand new video.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/35125/PS3s...s-U2-exclusive ...

via Games Industry


Lower the price of the PlayStation 3 would have made a difficult year even worse for Sony, according to Epic Games' vice president Mark Rein. However, the platform holder "will get around to it in their own good time".

"

The Epic VP also expressed his view that gamers are nowhere near ready for a new generation of consoles.


Instead, Sony and Microsoft will rely on their new respective control systems, the motion controller and Natal, to deliver new experiences.

...

Newly released today



features
aka. Katamari Forever
Select from over 50 playable Cousins and equip them with a variety of accessories
Wood, comic, classic, and the new default graphic filters
16 In-Game movies
New action performed with the SIXAXIS controller
Under certain conditions, the Katamari will suck in nearby objects

description
GOD SAVE THE KING!
The crazy, zany, world of Katamari is back and better than ever before, complete with new stages, new visual effects, new strategies, and full 1080p HD resolution! The gameplay has generated millions of fans worldwide and the loveable characters are ready to roll again.

The King of All Cosmos has bumped his head and lost all his memory. The Prince and his cousins created RoboKing to replace the King, but it went out of control and destroyed all the stars in the Cosmos. To clean up the mess made by RoboKing and bring back the King’s memory, the Prince and his Cousins must roll their Katamaris and bring color back to the world. So get ready to roll that Katamari once more!

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...j-70-3dwt.html ...