via IGN


We're nearing the core of the holiday season, and what better time to delegate a sci-fi week for Virtual Console? Nintendo has updated the Wii VC again today with three new games, each focusing on aliens and monstrocities for blasting goodness. Hey, why not? 'Tis the season, right? Hitting the VC this week is Super NES's Cybernator, arcade alien blaster Alien Storm for SEGA Genesis, and Monster Lair on the TG-16 CD. Per tradition we've included Nintendo's newly-released game descriptions below for your pre-purchase perusal.

Cybernator (SNES, 1 player, rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Older - Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): It is the near future. Resources are dwindling, and the major powers of the world are in dispute over territory. Pilot the Cybernator G5-E for the 95th brigade of the mechanized marines and throw yourself into the war. Get briefed before each mission to confirm your targets, and then do your best to clear each of the seven stages, freely using the suit's equipped tools and four types of weaponry. By collecting the "power chips" left by defeated enemies, it is also possible to reinforce each weapon up to a maximum of three levels. It is left to your judgment as to whether to reinforce a specific weapon or to power up all weapons simultaneously, adding a bit of strategy to the nonstop action. The powerful background music, military-like atmosphere (look for bullet marks on the walls and the strained communication during combat) and intense story development combine to give the world of Cybernator a gritty, sci-fi feel that you won't soon forget.

Alien Storm (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, rated E 10+ for Everyone 10 and Older - Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Shape-shifting aliens have infiltrated the city, creating chaos and panic! Fortunately, a trio of heroes called the Alien Busters has agreed to wipe out the invading creatures. The members of the team wield their own special attacks, and they unload a world of hurt on the Martian menaces from the city streets to the mother ship. Gordon, a tough guy with a bazooka, has a special gunship attack, while Karla has a flamethrower for alien crisping, though she prefers to use her special ballistic-missile attack. Finally, Slammer the robot can self-destruct at will and attacks the intruders with an electric whip and other devices. Take the aliens by storm and save your city.

Monster Lair (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1-2 players, rated E for Everyone - Mild Cartoon Violence, 800 Wii Points): Join young Adam and Laura as they embark on a fantastic adventure in this comical action/shooting game. Featuring beautiful music brought to life by the power of the CD-ROM, the game consists of 14 rounds packed with cute monster enemies. Players can either play alone as Adam (or play with a friend controlling Laura) as they battle their way through round after round. The first half of each round is the action scene, where players must avoid obstacles and pits. Use your Power Boost weapons against enemies and restore your Life Force with food as you head for the gate at the end. The second half is the exhilarating shooting scene, where players must shoot down flying enemies. Take out the boss at the end to clear the round and move to the next one.

We'll have more on these games soon. ...

via IGN


Today Harmonix announced it has shipped the PlayStation 2 version of Rock Band to retail. The bundle will be available tomorrow, December 18.

The PS2 edition of Rock Band was developed in collaboration with Pi Studios, which previously helped out with the Call of Duty, Mercenaries, and Halo series. The Special Edition bundle includes the full 58-song track list of the current-gen versions, drum kit, microphone, and a wireless guitar controller.

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The news are from November, but I just want to tell it to you people, since it wasn't posted before. And it is sad, even I considered to buy this old handheld because it was cheap and it had online games.

via N-Gage official forum

Well guys. I think you all knew it was coming sooner or later, but I wanted to officially announce it here in the N-Gage community. As hinted on the past few weeks and as mentioned in the announcments, In order to prepare the new and improved backend servers and databases for the Next Generation launch, the old Arena game servers and arena features will be shutting down on Dec. 5th @10am PST. After this date, the Arena features of the old N-Gage games will no longer be available.

It's been a long run, and i'm sure you know if there was anyway we (and/or redrum) could have kept up the old arena servers we would have, but they are running on some old backend technology, and also with the way the new Next Generation architecure is built, there was no way for us to keep the old arena games and its functionality running without allowing for us to improve upon the next generation backend performance and make it the best and fastest it can be this time around.

When the next generation launches, not only will I be looking to you veterans of the N-Gage to help debug the launch, but as always we value your expertise, opinions, and comments, so please take some time to fill out this quick Next Generation N-Gage Survey. ...

via IGN


Square Enix has a tradition of dominating the annual Jump Festa event with first-ever playable peaks at its upcoming titles. Another tradition for the company is to announce a few of those world-debut playables just before the start of the show.

The second tradition continued today with the announcement that two titles will see their world playable debuts at the show, which will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the Makuhari Messe just outside Tokyo. Attendees will get a first shot at Dissidia Final Fantasy for the PSP and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the DS, and will walk away with some presents that are sure to fetch millions of yens on Ebay.

Those hoping to get their hands on the PSP and mobile entries in the Kingdom Hearts series will have to attend a future game event, as these two will be video only.

We'll have more from the Jump Festa later this week, so be sure and check back (even if you hear reports about IGN having closed down for the holidays). ...

via Computer and Video Games


Sega's Superstar Tennis is a tennis game truly starring a roster of the company's famous characters. Look, you can spot Sonic and pals in these new screenshots.

In fact, Superstar Tennis has over 15 playable iconic Sega characters, and each gets their own unique attributes and tennis skills.

In development at Sumo Digital, the game's due out on PS3, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii and DS in early 2008. Xbox 360 and PS3 versions feature online play.

We've even heard some whispers from the mags around us, that have been to see it, that this is a Sega fanboy's dream come true...


Screenshots ...

via Games Industry


Microsoft Research Cambridge, in collaboration with Microsoft XNA, Rare Ltd., and Lionhead Studios are organising an international contest named "Silicon Minds".

The contest challenges developers to invent and build a new game on the theme of artificial intelligence for Windows XP, Windows Vista or the Xbox 360 using XNA Games Studio 2.0.

The aim of the contest is to "encourage understanding of how gaming research, artificial intelligence and machine learning contribute to more innovative gameplay and more realistic and fun gaming experiences," according to organisers.

"Silicon Minds" is also a warm-up contest for the "Dream-Build-Play 2008" competition.

Five finalists teams will receive an interview for a three month internship at the Microsoft Research Cambridge lab and/or at Rare or Lionhead Studios during Summer 2008.

Finalists also receive a one-year subscription to the XNA Creators Club for each team member and a UDS 3000 stipend per team for projects / travel to the Game Developers Conference and an invitation to show the project entry at GDC 2008 in San Francisco.

The competition will be judged by representatives from Microsoft Research Cambridge, Rare Ltd., Lionhead Studios and a panel of leading international academic experts based upon three criteria: quality of artificial intelligence demonstrated, the level of entertainment the game provides, and the production quality of the game.

Registration is now open, and entries must be submitted between December 20 and January 27.

Winners will be announced at GDC 2008 in February 2008. ...

via Games Industry


Microsoft has released an Xbox 360 HD-DVD emulator for film studios and disc authoring companies, enabling content to be tested before committing to burning an expensive HD-DVD disc.

The emulator is amongst the first commercially available and eliminates the current trial-and-error process of testing HD-DVD titles.


Microsoft is charging a one-time licensing fee of USD 2,999 to download the emulation software.

As well as allowing users to test layout, menus and the behaviour of interactivity on a disc, the software also offers detailed reports to pinpoint any problems requiring debugging.

...

via Eurogamer


Are you still wondering what Ninja Gaiden 2 looks like? You mustn't be very good at the Internet then, because it seems to be everywhere at the moment. Never mind - watch our new and exclusive Ninja Gaiden 2 trailer on Eurogamer TV instead. And then look at our new and exclusive Ninja Gaiden 2 screenshots.

The trailer is comprised entirely of gameplay footage - nearly four minutes of it, in fact - and begins with lots of extremely gory footage of Ryu slicing people's legs and heads off in a friendly-looking port.

The action then switches to a room circled by a big snaky decoration, although your eyes will quickly give up trying to make that out in favour of the six-armed arachnid horror that Ryu's involved in a battle to slaughter. Which he does of course. Nastily. After that, more outdoor bits follow, and it's all quite violent. Don't spoil your tea.

For more on Ninja Gaiden 2, check out our Ninja Gaiden 2 gamepage, where you can see various other trailers and pick over Kristan's recent preview. The game's due out exclusively on Xbox 360 in 2008.


Trailer
Screenshots ...

via Computer and Video Games


As previously confirmed, Microsoft sends word that this week's XBLA is the long awaited Sensible World of Soccer, which is out just in time for Christmas.

The HD update lets you challenge friends over Xbox LIVE, go it alone in Career mode or flex your managerial muscles by leading a team to the Champions league. It's 800 points (about £6.50), but we know you want it.

Joining the Codies classic is acient shooter Tempest for 400 Microsoft points (Just over three quid). Apparently it includes both oldschool and "enhanced" modes, and makes Space Giraffe even less worth your money.

Look for both of them at 9am on Wednesday. ...