News Via Eurogamer

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It's play time for Rockstar's Canis Canem Edit as a new trailer surfaces and introduces us to school life in Bullworth Academy. Dr Crabblesnitch, school principal, informs us of the supposed virtues of Bullworth Academy in the trailer, but suffice to say the reality revealed is somewhat different. As in very, very bad. Yep, naughty kids and crazy teachers - it all takes us back to a time when all we had to worry about was whether our mums would discover our, ah, biology literature hidden under the mattress. It's sort of funny, so have a free chuckle on us.

Trailer at CVG ...

You'll know how much we like GTA here on CVG, we've always considered the series one of the flagships on the very cutting edge of gaming (well, since the move to 3D anyway). However, during a recent and rather attractive demo of the rather excellent GTA: Vice City Stories, representatives for the developer indicated - a little surprisingly - that the newest and hottest PSP GTA offering is unlikely to make the transition back onto PS2.

You'll remember that GTA: Liberty City Stores, as well as being the must-buy title for PSP when it was originally launched, proved so popular that it made a more than successful debut back onto PS2, so that home console gamers could enjoy its many delights without leaving the comfort of an armchair.

However, it seems that it's unlikely to be the case with Vice City Stories, with Rockstar saying this is mainly because it doesn't want to cause confusion with the launch of the all-consuming GTA IV which is set to make its next-gen debut in October 2007. There's also probably a bit of a resource issue, with Rockstar no-doubt going flat out to fill GTA IV with lashings of innovative gaming goodness - it might simply not be able to spare the time to make a Vice City Stories PS2 version happen.

A little bit of a shame really, as in our not so humble opinion VCS looks well capable of such a feat, but alas it seems Rockstar wants to concentrate on its next-gen efforts. Unless of course you can change its mind and petition the chaps to make it happen. A good start could be in our comments field below, where you can begin your campaign! ...

Nintendo fanboys can breathe again: The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess will, after all, be coming to the UK in time for this Christmas.

Nintendo UK has confirmed that the GameCube version of the game -- originally down for a release concurrent with the Wii launch but subsequently delayed, as we reported, will arrive after the Wii launch, but in "mid-December".

The company blamed the slight slippage on the effort which it will have to put into launching the Wii, which is entirely understandable. The game will provide considerable consolation for GameCube owners who can't afford to buy a Wii -- but come on it's less than £180, so surely the vast majority will be wanting to splash out on Nintendo's exciting new console. ...

If Nike has its way, we'll have to start working physically for our in-game rewards, today's issue of G2 from The Guardian reports. The sportswear giant has filed a patent for a "game-pod" that would sit in the shoes of gamers and, via a pedometer, pressure sensors and/or GPS, would measure the amount of exercise they undergo. Then, via a detachable chip, it would communicate that to your console or PC, bumping up character attributes or abilities, or unlocking bonus items as long as you haven't been slobbing around.

According to the patent, the game-pod could be configured to measure heart rate or even blood oxygen content, thereby foiling potential dodges such as driving your trainers around in a car.

At present, the system - whose appearance will be timely, given that "experts" have recently been all over the newspapers asserting that games are contributing to the obesity epidemic - exists only as a patent, and Nike is not yet commenting on any tie-ups with games companies. It did, however, hook up with Sony to create Eye Toy Kinetic. But then again, playing games like Tennis on the Nintendo Wii involves an awful lot more physical activity than anything you can play using a conventional joypad. ...

EA is preparing to take on Activision's venerable Tony Hawk's franchise, with a rival skateboarding effort entitled SKATE.

SKATE is under development at the company's Vancouver studio, and is slated for a 2007 release on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In the style of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, it will include the likenesses of 14 pro skaters.

Beyond that, little is currently known about the title, which will need all of EA's legendary marketing backing if it is to make an impression against Tony Hawk's Project 8 and Downhill Jam, the latest iterations of the (admittedly less popular than it once was) Activision franchise. It won't be EA's first skateboarding game, though -- that distinction falls to 1987's Skate or Die! ...

Bungie has rocked the foundations of the Halo community with news that its been testing out a "controversial" new control scheme designed for Halo 3. Well, actually, it's no so much rocked more caused a minor stir in the air with the wave of a cabbage leaf - metaphorically speaking.

"Basically it [the new control scheme] addresses some of the complaints 360 owners had about the button mapping - especially the black and white buttons no longer found on the 360 - and makes for a more logical use of the left and right bumpers. There are some other changes that are game-feature dependent that I can't talk about yet, but basically the new scheme is super solid," the developer's explained in a recent update on its website.

Allaying fears/conducting a pre-emptive strike, Bungie's gone on to say the new Halo 3 control scheme will be accompanied by "the classics" in the Halo control scheme world and "perhaps even some improved or new control variants. We might even take a look at the "backward" southpaw controls...".

Meanwhile, in the very same update, there's a few words on Halo 3's AI and the sequel's Warthog. In particular, the developer's spoken about the behaviour of the game's "AI buddies" in connection with the vehicle. Apparently, you can now do the likes of 'convince' an AI gunner on the Warthog to select more relevant targets and "target individual bad guys by steering the Hog".

Bungie's elaborated, "This has two effects on the gameplay - one is that it makes the Hog feel more like a weapon when you're driving, and the second is that it makes you want to cruise around bigger battle areas playing mop-up, whereas previously the temptation might have been to get the heck out of dodge."

Bigger battle areas sounds like major carnage to us, and with the dev also saying that current combat encounters in Halo 3 feature "more bad guys than ever before", we're already putting our triggers fingers through a fierce exercise regime in preparation for the action. ...

Activision's Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is flexing is superhero pecs this morning in three new movies. Like, they've ripped open their shirts and thrust their superhero logo-branded chests in our faces. Or something.

Anyway, the movies focus on superhero gods Spider-Man, The Thing and Thor, and they're viewable right here on this page.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action-RPG featuring a wealth of famous Marvel superheroes, players able to create their own super-powered team and then fight for justice and attempt to save the day. You'll be going up against super-villain Dr. Doom, who has reformed the Masters of Evil (lots of the baddest bad guys ever) and is attempting to take over the world.

The game should be out at the end of October on Xbox 360, PS2, PC, Xbox and GBA. Wii and PSP versions should arrive before the year is out and a PS3 version hits Europe next year.

Screens, Trailer and News at CVG ...

Microsoft will bring its announcements at this week's Tokyo Games Show and next week's X06 event in Barcelona direct to your living rooms, via Xbox Live Marketplace. Where you will be able to learn, among other things, about a mysterious "Never before announced major franchise making its way onto Xbox Live Arcade". Oooh....

Microsoft is repeating the format it pioneered at this year's E3, by giving Xbox Live aficionados the chance to access highlights from press briefings, daily updates and behind-the-scenes video from both shows. All of which will be available for free: Xbox Live's charges will be waived between September 20 and 29 (essentially, Xbox Live Silver membership will be upgraded to Gold for the period). The content, however, will be removed on September 30.

Microsoft adds that over 100 pieces of downloadable content will be made available over the period, including videos of Xbox 360 titles such as Call of Duty 3, Forza Motorsport 2, Kane & Lynch, Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom and Project Sylpheed. Both TGS and X06 should see some major announcements from Microsoft, with the company desperate to woo a completely uninterested Japanese market and eager to capitalise on the PlayStation 3's absence from Europe this Christmas. ...