Free GRAW2 72 Hour Weekend Picture Pack

Well I don’t have to get to in depth with this one as the title just about sums it up. Basically Ubisoft has released a picture pack for free in an effort to get the hype up for the 72 hour GRAW weekend. But it is only available this weekend, so go turn your Xbox on download it then tell us what you think.

Wii Browser Update

Opera and Nintendo are planning the release for the final version of
the browser for late March/early April. The browser is said to have the
ability to do software updates, and there are rumors of keyboard
support.



For more information and the full interview, go to play-nintendo.com

Halo 3 launching in September

Most of us in the gaming industry have grown accustom to

thinking November when we hear a game is coming out in the fall. On that note we may be wrong about Halo 3! Now 1UP has released speculation that Microsoft may drop the Halo 3 bomb as early as September, but that is all speculation... However now IGN is reportedly saying that a "BIG publisher" that is "close to Bungie" has said that we will see Halo 3 in September to avoid the "holiday madness". now take this for what you will, but in my mind it has moved from speculation and onto he said she said...one step

above speculation.







What do you think. Is IGN just pulling for readers or is there some fact behind their claims.

Still Here

For all of you who have subscribed to my RSS feed, I’m sorry

I have let you down the last few months. I have been very busy with work and just day to day life. I will start publish articles again immediately! Also if any of you out there have a passion for gaming and want some of your words to be read by the world then by all means let me know! any help is welcome. So anyhow, I will be back a better than ever bringing you all the gaming news you

could ever ask for!!!







Long live Gamerz Corner!

This Week in HD-DVD

First off, news on the HD-DVD front. Last week Universal officially announced they'd be shipping over 100 new HD-DVD titles in 2007. Can you say sweetness? But this week we can look forward to a few pot smoking, alcohol drinking, comedy HD-DVDs. Sorry, that's what you are getting this week, because both Beerfest and Half Baked will be out on Tuesday. Speaking of Half Baked, whatever happened to Dave Chappelle? Last time I checked he ran off to Africa and was complaining that he made too much money ... sounds rough.

HD-DVD Movie Releases: January 30th
• Beerfest
• Discovery Atlas Series
• Half Baked
• The Wicker Man

COD3 Valor Map Pack returns to the Marketplace

The problems people were having with the new CoD3 Valor Map Pack have now been fixed and some bugs
regarding Ranked Lobbies and Ranked Matches have been addressed as well
in an Auto-Update. It's good to see developers taking actions and
keeping the community well informed on issues like this. How do you think the developers handled the situation, and after all is
said and done, are the maps really worth all the trouble?

New Wii Colors - Fact or Fiction

In the usual form of internet rumor starts, an anonymous Nintendo rep
informed someone over at GameDrift that consumers should expect new Wii
console colors this year. Further details had headed for the hills,
leaving this lone report at GameDrift all on its own to fend for
itself. They do say, however, that red and black are a done deal, with
more to be available, alongside those two, later this year.



So what say you all? Bogus or are you willing to put your faith in this anonymous Nintendo rep?

Oblivion Expansion for 360 Confirmed

UPDATE: 1UP contacted Bethesda to clear up confusion over the PS3 version, and they confirmed they have Shivering Isles in mind for PS3, but aren't talking about it right now because Oblivion itself has yet to ship. No worries, Sony gamer; the expansion is headed your way, too -- eventually.



ORIGINAL STORY: Exclusivity contracts kept Bethesda Softworks from making news of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Shivering Isles official (sometimes PR tactics are incredibly frustrating), but this morning the studio pulled away the red tape and said the expansion pack is coming to Xbox 360 and PC gamers sometime in the spring -- there was no mention of a PlayStation 3 version, but we're looking into it.



This ain't no fancied up downloadable content, either, as Bethesda promises more than 30 hours of new gameplay in the realm of Sheogorath, where the Daedric Prince of Madness rules a land torn between dementia and mania. Battling through the new dungeons will have you facing more than 12 new monsters, encounter the obligatory new items, ingredients and spells and new forgeable armor and weapons.



"The enthusiastic response we've received to our downloadable content has been overwhelming, and we're excited to bring Oblivion fans a full expansion," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks, in the announcement. "The world we've created for Shivering Isles is unlike anything you've seen or played in Oblivion and we can't wait for folks to play it."



The press release also notes that Oblivion has sold more than three million copies to date, and the game's yet to be released on PS3, so there's plenty of time for the userbase to expand.

Xbox Live for a Year + Vision Camera $66

Are you in need of a Xbox Live gold subscription renewal pretty soon? You know, that will set you back roughly $50 for 12 months. But for only $16 more you can get the Xbox 360 Live Camera Bundle instead. We stumbled upon this great Amazon.com deal over the weekend and we must say, it's a good option for those who need to renew their subscription. The bundle includes 12 months of Xbox Live gold access, Vision camera, headset, 200 Microsoft Points, UNO, Robotron and free shipping for $65.95. You just can't beat a $15 savings!

Battle Stations Midway Demo is Here

The Battlestations: Midway demo that we were promised yesterday is now available (as is a new F.E.A.R. trailer). The demo comes in at just under half a gig and promises to provide players with some WWII multiplayer action in the air and sea around the Island of Solomon. With multiple vehicles like planes, submarines, and boats, Battlestations: Midway looks to give WWII buffs a nice change of pace after the recent spate of WWII FPS games. We're going to give the demo a try and we'll post our impressions later today.



In the meantime, if you've had time to play the demo, tell us what you think. Does it live up to your expectations? Does it fill the void of the missing Crackdown demo?

Heavy Weapon Co-op Is Awesome

Okay, we just finished a Live co-op survival session on Heavy Weapon. In short, Heavy Weapon co-op is fluid, fast, and a hell of a lot of fun. This is great news considering the recent co-op woes of Assault Heroes. Like any survival game, it starts off slow enough, but soon it escalates to the point of sheer insanity. There are so many things happening on screen that it's impossible to keep track of them all. The air is filled with a solid cloud of bullets, missiles, lasers, aircraft, and general mayhem. And it's 'effing awesome. Some will no doubt deride Heavy Weapon for its simplicity, but we praise it for the same reason (and we dig its retro sensibilities). Oh, and if you like earning achievements, survival co-op offers plenty of them. You could easily earn six in one session. Surviving for twelve minutes is tough, but it's made much easier with three buddies (though to be fair we only made it just past thirteen on our first try). For those of you who have Heavy Weapon, give online co-op a try. It's sure to bring back plenty of arcade memories (hopefully memories without the creepy guy who played way too much Galaga).

Valor Map Pack for COD3

Good news and bad news...I'll give you the good first...

Hot on the heels of the free bonus map, Champs, comes the Valor map pack for Call of Duty 3. The pack cost 800 points and contains 5 brand new maps. Stalag 13 is an abandoned prison camp, La Bourgade has you fight in a French village, Ironclad sets you in a naval shipyard, the Crossing puts players at a strategic choke point, and Wildwood gives you a chance to fight it out inside a forest setting. Call of Duty fans, be sure to come back here and tell us what you think.



Now for the letdown...THE MAPS DON'T WORK!!!. Devd are aware of this issue and should have the bug fixed by tonight but as of right now the maps are not playable...



Is it worth 800 points?

Best buy will have Wii's this sunday

One of our favorite anonymous Best Buy tipsters lets us know that the
big blue retailer will have a minimum of fifteen Wiis in stock at each
brick and mortar location this Sunday, January 21st.

Another Flash Game

I know how much you guys love the flash games i've been posting for you...sooo...here is another one it is a MMO flash game it is not the fanciest game but it is strangely adictive...check it out Fantasy

Make Money Playing CS?!?!

I'm sure there are quite a few readers out there who actively play Half life 2...well this post is for you. I was browsing around today and found a site that lets you pwn people and make some money doing it. It is called tournament.com, it is not online gambling but a skill based platform giving you the chance to win some $$$. I'm not sure on the specifics but i do know it is in it's beta stage they will be hosting CS:S and HL:2 right out of the gate and expanding onto more tittles as time goes. Neat site and it is definitely worth a look for all you competitive gamers out there.

THQ locks up UFC license

HQ has long been a purveyor of sweaty, half-naked men grappling with one another, having published numerous wrestling games based on the WWE in the past decade, as well as several WCW titles before that. Today the company announced that it would add to that heritage with an exclusive worldwide licensing deal to publish games based on the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand through 2011.

Unlike THQ's other aforementioned licenses, the UFC is an unscripted competition in which combatants from around the world enter an eight-sided cage known as The Octagon and fight each other with few ground rules. Part of the UFC's attraction is the mixing and matching of different martial arts used by its fighters, including kickboxing, karate, judo, wrestling, boxing, and more.

Under the agreement, THQ is able to create games for all current and next-gen platforms, handhelds, and PCs. The publisher also gets "certain wireless rights" under the deal.

The UFC has been running Pay-Per-View events since 1993, but in recent years has found growing prominence on cable, with the reality TV series "The Ultimate Fighter" entering its fifth season on Spike TV. The UFC is also one of Microsoft's content partners for downloadable shows over Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

Several game companies have taken a swing at the license before, starting with Crave's Ultimate Fighting Championship on the Dreamcast, which was developed by Anchor. While it was critically well received, subsequent UFC games did not fare as well, and the license has been dormant since 2004's UFC: Sudden Impact.

THQ has not yet announced a developer or a release window for the first game.

Crackdown demo pushed back

Cash-conscious next-gen gamers had January 18 marked off on their
calendars as the day that the Crackdown demo was set for release.
Unfortunately, news out of Microsoft Game Studios today will disappoint
those who were looking for a free go at the game.

Crackdown's demo has been pushed back "by several days" because it is
going through the final steps of Microsoft's certification process. The
trial is still expected to be released this month, but no new date has
been announced.

Halo 3 Legendary Edition Pictures

Still trying to decide on whitch edition of Halo 3 you'll be purchasing this fall? There's the boring old regular edition, the spiffy collector's edition, or the fanboy's dream $99 legendary edition. To help make your decision easier Walmart.com posted additional pictures of the legendary edition packaging as well as the approximate dimensions. We must say that helmet is down right sexy and the quality looks amazing. It even states that the helmet is "Made from High Impact Polystyrene - similar to a motorcycle helmet". Sweetness! We're thinking the $99 legendary edition is totally worth it, because everyone knows the females love Master Chief's helmet. They can't resist the helmet...

I love Armor Games

Last week we gave you Warcraft TD now this week we give you Starcraft TD...what more could you ask for.

New Starcraft? by 2008?

"As a Starcraft player I can tell you that I hope it wouldn't go a decade - we launched Starcraft in '98 - I hope it wouldn't go a decade before we stand here and celebrate the next Starcraft together," Itzik Ben Bassat told crowds gathered at World of Warcraft expansion The Burning Crusade's official launch event in London last night.

"Don't forget that we have two more franchises that we love - Diablo and Starcraft," Bassat had declared.

"We haven't forgotten that we have these two franchises, and what I can tell you is that I look forward to stand here in a few years, or whenever it's going to be, and celebrate with you the launch of the next Starcraft or the next Diablo."

According to our people on the ground, the Blizzard PRs "looked a bit uncomfortable" around this point. So that's welcome to the Internet the hard way, really.

Whether all that means Bassat knows something that we don't though, or whether he's just teasing or speculating, is impossible to say - but Blizzard is notoriously secret and perfectionist about its work, and it wouldn't be a massive surprise to discover a sequel lurking in development somewhere.

Lose weight playing the Wii

Six weeks ago, the big cheese over at WiiNintendo.net decided to embark on an experiment in becoming a smaller cheese via the playing of Wii Sports. No other changes -- no altering his (holiday) diet, no sneaky extra exercise, just his trusty Wiimote and nunchuk, a dream, and a lot of heart. Oh, and sometimes his lady.

Dramatics aside (the Rocky-inspired picture brings it out), the results of the experiment are in and things are looking good for gamers who like to get in the game with the pack-in. Tennis and boxing are big calorie burners, and playing 30 minutes of Wii Sports per day resulted in a loss of nine pounds, 2% body fat, and a visible reduction in body size.

We would have liked to see a food log along with the experiment; after all, one might subconsciously eat less during such a test, or better yet, begin to eat less as normal day-to-day activity increases. But this is unlikely to be the last such experiment we'll see, so maybe next time. In the meantime, shouldn't you be rocking out with some tennis?

Crysis coming to 360; 2 other new games too

You’ve all read the heading, so now you have to calm down and read. Crysis has been announced to be coming to the 360 on the 1UP show. A developer talking to the 1UP guys when they were at CES revealed several details about the 360 version. Two other games also announced are Warhound and CrimeCraft.

The big news first is the PC game Crysis is coming to the 360. However, that PC game won’t be the same game as what we will see on the home console. Because Crysis will be running at DirectX10, the game would look inferior since the 360 can only do DirectX9 (as mentioned before). So, the developers are using the same universe that the PC game is set in, with some similar story elements, but the gameplay will be entirely different. The developers told the 1UP guys that they weren’t even going to try and replicate Crysis. This would be because the PC version will be running so much more stuff that the 360 couldn’t handle, and would be disappointing. They stated that the game needs to run deeper, with the physics and world needing to be constructed differently. They admitted that the 360 version may not be as “wow” as the PC version in terms of graphics. It’s not a port in any way, so if you bought both versions, you would still get two different experiences with the game. The developers Crytek are the same developers responsible for FarCry, so we could see a game similar (but hopefully better) to that.
There will be a big debate no doubt between the PC fanboys and the 360 fanboys about this one. Everyone knows that the Crysis on the PC will look stunning on a top end PC. But can the console version be just as good, even if it doesn’t look anywhere near as pretty? Only time will tell, but graphics don’t make everything. This confirms earlier rumblings last year of a possible port, although as already mentioned, it’ll be a different game.

Introducing XBList 3.0 -- XBL on your desktop

Good news for all the desk bound 360 fanboys out there, the newest version of XBList has just been released. For those unfamiliar with the program, XBList 3.0 puts your Xbox Live friends list right on your desktop in the style of an IM buddy list. It lets you check out what your friends are playing (with their gamer pictures intact), access your incoming messages, see incoming friend requests and game invites, and it will even take you directly to your messages or Live profile page. So, you may be stuck behind a desk all day, but at least you'll know what your buddies are up to. And with game invites
intact, you'll never miss a match because you were checking your porn
email. As if all that wasn't enough, the program also supports quick
links to Achievement comparisons, Friends' Live profiles, and Halo 2 stats.



It really is a spiffy little application. We recommend you check it out. Also, the app is supposedly Vista compliant. Anyone with Vista let us know if it works.

Paul Thurrott "confirms" new Xbox 360

We were a little apprehensive to post this "confirmation" of a new Xbox 360 coming out in late 2007. But we're here to serve up the goods no matter if it is rumor, spec, or official news. On This Week in Tech's (TWiT) weekly Windows podcast they had Windows SuperSite god Paul Thurrott come visit for a little post CES/Macworld chat. And around minute 28 of the podcast he starts to talk about the Xbox 360. Supposedly, he heard through the Microsoft grapevine that there indeed will be a newer Xbox 360 coming out later this fall with enhanced features. IPTV support built in, a bigger hard drive, and all being run by the new 65nm CPU. But Mr. Thurrott is not an official Microsoft spokesman.

Our biggest gripe with all the info released in the podcast is that the knowledgeable Paul Thurrott gets his hardware basics messed up. He says that the crazy loud Xbox 360 will be a lot quieter when the new 65nm chips roll out ... twah? The main reason the Xbox 360 is crazy loud is because the DVD drive is running at full RPM to pull a massive amount of data off the disc quickly. The fans are loud, but not crazy loud. All a 65nm chip is going to do is possibly reduce the number of fans or fan speed, because the CPU die isn't getting as hot. So, smaller CPU isn't going to fix the loud DVD drive.

Now you can take this as "official confirmation" if you wish, as it may be true, but don't bet your life savings on it. Mr. Thurrott does have contacts, but things can (and often do) change in a year. Heck, we may even see the inclusion of the rumored HDMI input this fall ... something Paul didn't even talk about.

Halo not so fiction

Jumping from svelte science fiction to much clunkier science reality, Halo's famous Mjolnir armor has come to fruition. Troy James Hurtubise, the man behind Project Grizzly (the guy made a bear proof suit, someone call Stephen Colbert), has created a full body protective exoskeleton in the hopes of selling them to the Canadian and American military. Despite the obvious visual similarities, the technical similarities are downright uncanny. The suit is made of a ceramic lined plastic over ballistic foam. Included in the suit: emergency morphine and salt, flashlight, pepper spray gun, recording device, transponder, and clock. In the helmet: solar powered air system, water hose attached to back mounted canteen, laser pointer, and LEDs around the face. The damned thing even has magnetic holsters. Not only that, but Hurtubise even calls it "The Trojan." Come on, man!

The entire suit weights 18 kilograms, and reportedly costs $2000. Okay, we've seen some nice Halo costumes before, but this one wins. Sorry everyone, the contest is over. See a full body pic after the jump.

Woman Dies for a Wii

A California woman's death is being linked to her participation in a radio contest, the grand prize for which was a Nintendo Wii. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that 28 year old Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication. The contest? "Hold your Wee for a Wii." Contestants were given water at regular intervals in a no-pee-allowed endurance contest, and all to get their hands on a hard-to-find console.

It seems fairly obvious what happened -- though we're not sticking out any pointy fingers of blame -- and the preliminary autopsy report is consistent with what seems as clear as the proverbial bell. Ms. Strange drank too much water too quickly, and she died. Not from "holding it," either. Water poisoning is a very real thing. Ingesting too much water can cause an imbalance in the body's electrolytes; in fact, this is one of the motivating factors behind the existence of the sports drink market.

The death of Ms. Strange is horribly tragic, and it's unfortunate that she will be linked with the Wii by doomsayers to whom no topic is sacred. But there is a real question regarding what measures the radio station took in this case to prevent any problems, and it's been reported that Jennifer Strange spoke of not feeling well before leaving the contest. We have yet to see any comment from Sacremento's KDND 107.9 on the matter.

Konami PS3 games aren't canceled

You might remember a few days ago our report about Konami cutting more of their PS3 titles. Well this rumor has now been crushed as the Japanese magazine Famitsu admitted it had a printing error.

Gradius, a new title planned for the PS3, and Powerful Pro Baseball, a title set to be released exclusively in Japan are the two titles which where allegedly reported to have been canceled by Konami.

The news should come as a relief for Sony and for PS3 gamers, who have had to suffer an ever decreasing number of PS3-exclusive titles.

Rumour Mill: Microsoft purchase CapCom?

Several reports across the internet suggest that Microsoft has now completed its purchase of Capcom. This topic has been in discussion for sometime now and many rumors have been started because of it. We’ve yet to hear any official confirmation.

There are many titles which CapCom have announced for the PS3 which leads me to believe that they wouldn’t be looking to be purchased, although we have to look at this from both points of view.

Resident Evil 5 and many other titles would likely become exclusives to the Xbox 360 which would be a disaster for those of you that are dedicated fans of CapCom as they’ve been one of the top publishers/developers for Sony’s PlayStation for many years. Microsoft knows this and in an effort to gain more support for their Xbox 360 it is likely to be a dream for them to take over the company. But will this become a reality?

We can’t give you anything official yet, but we’ll be trying to contact both companies to see if we can get some sort of confirmation on this rumor and put it to an end once and for all. If it becomes reality then look out for a press release on PSU soon but let’s keep our fingers crossed for it being just a rumor.

-James

Rainbow Six Vegas Wii?

t all started a few days ago when Dutch game and toy retailer, Bart Smit (equivalent to a Toys R Us or KB Toys here in N.America - so fairly reputable), put up a listing for Rainbow Six Las Vegas preorders.



Months back, the game was "mistakenly" listed on one of Ubi's foreign sites as being in development for Wii, only to be taken down shortly after. Here's a shot of the listing:



Since then, everyone seems to have forgotten the mixup, but this recent listing sparked more interest in our community... leading us to search out more Wii RSV preorder pages (even if they aren't the biggest name sites): test.factotus.it, www.1a-dvdshop.ch, www.2xgames.com, www.games.ine.ch, www.toppreise.ch, www.bestelspel.nl, www.dvd.it



The last of those is an Italian site with probably the best credibility, but more than that, it lists "Available: from 30-03-2007". Following this, a few of our members have contacted Bart Smit, garnering two responses to the situation... in Dutch (sorry for the poor babbelfish translations):

Dear lord/Ms,

We have received your e-mail and thank you for this.

The wii have been announced by our supplier, one expects the product January.



Kind regards,

Department customer service

and

Dear lord/Ms,



We have received your e-mail and thank you for this. The release date of the game has been postponed to March. You can reserve these by means of the web hops.



Kind regards,

Department customer service



P.S: Our ' many have already seen asked questions '? There you find the answers on much of your questions

So, if Bart Smit and the rest of these foreign retailers have anything to say on the matter, not to mention a potential slip up from Ubisoft themselves, Rainbow Six Vegas has a good shot of making it to the Wii by the end of this quarter. You can hold off on setting the money aside until the official announcement, but after looking into the matter, it's hard to not be at least a little curious as to why there are so many listings for a Wii version of the game.

Left 4 Dead - Coop Zombie killing

Let's talk about great game conventions. Let's see, there's guns. Everyone likes those. Zombies, gotta love zombies. What else? Ooh, co-op. There's nothing like good co-op. Turtle Rock Studios, the team behind Counter-Strike, looks to combine all of these things in one glorious package with their latest offering, Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead puts players in the middle of a contemporary setting in which an incredibly virulent strain of rabies has overtaken the general populace. So, we're not dealing with zombies per se, but definitely crazed people with a penchant for biting their neighbors. Players will create a group of four different survivors, each with different personalities and backgrounds, and fight for survival. Players will cooperate in a survival horror setting, blasting their way through several different "campaigns" which are essentially a series of connected maps that end in a final standoff as players wait for rescue.

But here's the twist: the enemies (the "infected") are playable as well. Whereas the human survivors have the same basic weapons and skills, the infected are divided into classes. Some enemies can vomit blood to attract other infected, others can reel in survivors with a long tongue, and the "tank" class can even power through concrete walls. Finally, Turtle Rock claims that their next gen AI technology will allow human players to drop in and out of the game without affecting the overall experience or restarting the scenario.

The idea of playing an online enabled, co-op survival horror game with playable enemies is positively dreamy (though not exactly original). If all that wasn't enough, the game is expected to hit the 360 by the end of 2007. Looks like we might have one more to put up on the big board.

51GB HD-DVD...1 more GB than Blu-Ray

Toshiba has announced a new 51GB HD-DVD Rom disc at this year's CES.



Beating Blu-ray by 1GB, Toshiba today said that they had successfully created a triple layer HD-DVD disc that could contain 51GB worth of data with 17GB on each layer.



"Continued improvement in disc mastering technology has achieved further minimization in the recording pit, supporting a further boost in capacity to 17GB in single layer and a full 51GB on a single-sided triple-layer disc. Toshiba has confirmed the disc structure and its successful operation." said the press release. "This time-tested physical structure offers proven volume manufacturing at little cost increment."



Toshiba has now closed the storage gab with Blu-ray, which can store 50GB on a dual-layered disc. It will be exciting to see if this has any effect on the raging format war. Stay tuned.

Ubisoft announces Enchanted Arms for the PS3

Ubisoft announced today that Enchanted Arms is being developed for the PlayStation 3 and will be available in stores this March. Enchanted Arms is being created by development studio FromSoftware in Japan and is one of the first next-generation Japanese RPG to be appearing on the PS3.

In Enchanted Arms, players will embark on an epic RPG adventure and escape to a fantasy world filled with unique and bizarre creatures. Taking the role of Atsuma, enchanter-in-training, players will transform from a naïve student into the most powerful savior in a war 1,000 years in the making. In an immersive, deep storyline filled with increasingly difficult challenges, players will meet new allies and master Atsuma’s special fighting and magic abilities.

Key Features Include:

· SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller Integration Provides an Immersive Experience: Use the motion-sensitive controller to harness weapons, recover your EX power meter, unlock more powerful attacks and solve puzzles.

· Master the SpeedTactics Battle System: Easy-to-navigate interface, the ability to move characters in-battle and distance-dependent attacks combine to create fast-paced, hands-on gameplay.

· More Than 500 Characters, Including 130 Unlockable Creatures You Control: Find and unlock 130 controllable creatures to use in battle as part of your team. Customize your party and learn to harness their unique abilities. Includes 30 all new creatures exclusive to the PLAYSTATION 3 system.

· Includes Both the Original Japanese and an All-New English Language Track: Choose to play the game with either Japanese or English dialogue.

· More Than 50 Hours of Epic Gameplay: Delve deeper as you meet new characters and explore over 75 environments with multiple objectives and branching missions.

· Includes More Than an Hour of Anime Cinematics and Video: Including ten minutes of all-new exclusive video.

It's great to see another Xbox 360 title making it's way to the PS3.

Heavenly Sword release date revealed

The official US PlayStation 3 site has revealed the release date for one of the most anticipated games of the year.

Heavenly Sword will be exclusively available for PlayStation 3 on March 6th 2007.

The third person action title has amazed gamers ever since E3 with its slick gameplay and fantastic visuals.

Along with games such as MotorStorm and Lair, Heavenly Sword is tipped to be one of the top titles of the year for Sony's PS3.

It's developed by Ninja Theory and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

A release date for Japan is unannounced, but we hope the game will be available when the PS3 is launched in Europe this March.

The Godfather coming to PS3

The Godfather was released on the PC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and other platforms last year. Many people hoped it would be released for the PS3 but EA didn’t make an official announcement, until now.


The Godfather The Don's Edition, offer brand new ways to go from Soldier to Don as you gain control of the streets of New York. Follow the path of an Enforcer or Operator; each with its own unique perks and abilities to earn. Now you can chat up specific characters to get the skinny on dirty cops, take down two additional revised compounds of rival Families, execute five new contract hits, and call in larger Corleone Hit Squads when the going gets tough. With The Godfather The Don's Edition also having the new Shipyard and Rail yard transportation hubs to explore and exploit; your path to the head of La Cosa Nostra is wrought with all new perils and excitement.

The Godfather The Don's Edition takes full advantage of the SIXAXIS controller for PS3; manhandle your controller to manhandle your opponent.

We’ll be looking forwarding to finding out more about The Godfather The Don's Edition in the near future.

-James

Gran Turismo HD updated to version 1.1

It appears Sony has released an update for Gran Turismo HD Concept which brings the game to version 1.1. Details are very scarce on what this update does but it comes at a size of 700MB.

The only information that PSU could find within the patch was a fix for the bug that would sometimes cause time to stop before the race was completed. We’ll continue to test it out until we’ve got more details for you.

Downloaders should be warned that this patch will remove your old lap times so proceed with caution.

-James

Two Worlds: The Temptation coming to the PS3?

South Peak Interactive is currently working on Two Worlds, an upcoming RPG game for the PC and Xbox 360. Gamestop has a product page which reveals that Two Worlds could be coming for the PS3, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Two Worlds combines the extremely dynamic and sophisticated combat system with the meaning and freedom of exploration exceeding the accomplishments of other games of the genre. A top quality Role Playing experience - the ultimate goal of the Two Worlds project is to deliver a superior Role Playing Game to the PC and Xbox 360 market where players have a real chance to shape the game world with their actions - to an extent that has yet to be seen in other productions. This premise will be supported with a strong, non-linear storyline, mind blowing graphics, and stunning combat sequences. To attract the mass audience, the complexity of the game will be achieved mainly through a variety of meaningful choices while the User Interface will be simplified.

If this information is correct, it’ll be nice to see the PS3 gaining some of the Xbox 360’s titles since the console has been capturing a lot of the PS3’s exclusives as of late. In the mean time, we’ll try to contact South Peak Interactive and get a confirmation about this story.

-James

Warcraft TD...Flash Game

I just had to throw this up. Most of us with computers fell victom to the warcraft 3 and the drug like addiction that comes with it. It's such a simple...almost stupid concept but you just can't stop playing. Well here is a little something to feed the addiction. I would venture to say the best flash game I have ever played by far! Props to David Scott!

http://novelconcepts.co.uk/FlashElementTD/

New Final Fantasy XIII details!

New details about Final Fantasy XIII have emerged from Jump magazine, via fansite Final-Fantasy-13.com.

According to the magazine the following details were confirmed:

- "Lightning" will be the official codename for the female heroine.
- The name of the ship in which you travel in will be called "Cocoon."
- Shiva has been confirmed as a summon.

Hopefully Square Enix will release the "behind closed doors" trailers seen only at Jump Festa and we can all catch a glimpse at what’s cooking for the PS3.

-James

Gundam Musou coming March 1 2007

The KOEI/Namco Bandai Group recently announced a new third person shooter for the PS3 called Gundam Musou, a title which features Gundams and has a Dynasty Warriors feel to it.

The release date for this title has now been announced: March 1st 2007 is when you should expect to see it in stores.

There is a shortage of details on Gundam Musou but we do know it’ll feature online modes and large-scale battles that will take place in both land and space. More details will be revealed to you once we’ve learned more about this title.


-James

Blu-ray Decent only watchable on PS3

There have been reports spreading around the internet that suggest the Blu-ray copy of The Descent is only working on the PS3’s Blu-ray player due to Java based technology.

Viewers are shown a blank screen when trying to run the film on a non-PS3 Blu-ray player.

Lions Gate Entertainment used BD-Java technology for some of the Extras, technology that is currently incompatible with BDP-S1 or Pioneer Elite Sony Blu-ray players. Sony knows about the problems and hopes to offer a fix to consumers early this year.

-James

I'm speachless...

In perhaps the strangest promotion ever, Roto Rooter is running a contest to win the ultimate toilet. Yeah, you read that right. Like something Tim Taylor would build on Home Improvement, the toilet includes an Xbox 360, flat screen HDTV, iPod with dock, TiVo, DVD player (no HD-DVD?), laptop, bull horn, bike pedals (?), beer tap, and a fridge. As Roto Rooter calls it, it really is a "seat of power." As an added bonus, the crapper comes with a Roto Rooter emergency button, which is kind of like OnStar for plumbing, apparently. Oh, and the toilet itself is a Kohler with a 1.4 gallon flush which is "not weak" according to Roto Rooter.

The promotion is an attempt to bring the Roto Rooter brand to a new generation. Well, it's working guys, because Roto Rooter was the last thing we ever thought we'd mention on the pages of Xbox 360 Fanboy. Congratulations.

The contest begins January 24th on the Roto Rooter website.

New CoD3 Map

Gears of War is generally the drug of choice for us at Gamerz Corner (well, that and snorting mustard), but for those of you who prefer war games about real wars, a new map is available* for Call of Duty 3. The map is called "Champs" and takes place in Port Royal de Champs, France. The map is well suited for small to medium sized games. The map is free and available now. Go grab it while it's hot.

Sony & Midway Announce PS Store Collaboration

Sony Online Entertainment announced today that it has licensed the rights from Miday to develop and release six classic Midway games for the PS3. These games will be made available for download from the PlayStation Network.

The six titles which you will be able to download are: Gauntlet II, Mortal Kombat II, Joust, Rampage World Tour, Rampart and Championship Sprint. All of these titles where chosen by Sony because of their multiplayer capability, allowing players to experience each of these classics with their friends in the comfort of their own living room, or anywhere else through an internet connection.

“We knew these titles would be a perfect fit for the PLAYSTATION Network, and based on Sony Online Entertainment’s legacy in the online space as well as their intimate knowledge of the PLAYSTATION Network, it was an obvious decision they would be a top company to work with to bring this project to fruition,” said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway.

In addition to its work on the development of the PLAYSTATION Network, SOE released a PLAYSTATION 3 launch title, Untold Legends™ Dark Kingdom™, in November of 2006.

The first of these titles will be released in early 2007. We’ll let you know which one that is and when it’s made available for download on the PS3 network at a later date.

-James

Sony ships one Million PS3 in US

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007 held in Las Vegas, Sony Computer Entertainment America [SCEA] announced today that they have shipped one million PS3 units across North America since launch – breaking the release record previously held by the PS2.

“The fact that we were able to reach the one-million mark faster than our top-selling platform, PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming.” said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, SCEA.

Due to high consumer demand, the PS3 reached the one-million mark even faster than its predecessors the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the original PlayStation game console, which together have shipped more than 200 million hardware units and over two billion software units worldwide.

“SCEA went to great lengths to help meet demand for PS3, including airlifting systems into North America on a weekly basis to ensure a steady stream of units were available to consumers throughout the holiday season,” said Tretton.

“With three PlayStation platforms now available to users, 2007 will be about software and delivering innovative, new experiences and award-winning franchises to consumers, both through retail and through our online PLAYSTATION®Network.”

Sony have announced the following games to be on show at the Sony booth at CES 2007:



FORMULA ONE™ CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION – PS3
Gran Turismo™ HD Concept – PS3 Downloadable
Heavenly Sword™ – PS3
Killzone™: Liberation – PSP
Lair – PS3
MLB 07 The Show™ – PS3, PSP
MotorStorm™ – PS3
Ratchet & Clank®: Size Matters – PSP
SOCOM: U.S Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 – PSP
Other features on display will include “Remote Play” for PS3, which allows the consumer to utilize their PSP to access content on their PS3 hard drive, including movies, television shows, videos and music.

-James

Sony: European launch still on track

In a recent statement Sony Computer Entertainment Chief Executive, Jack Tretton, has again reiterated Sony's commitment to sticking to the European release date of March 2007.

Recent speculation around the possibility of Sony missing the proposed date has caused concern amongst many gamers. Tretton’s comments should allow European gamers to breathe a sigh of relief; however, it is worth reminding readers that similar statements were made prior to the North American delay being announced.

Despite concern, PlayStation 3 unit production is in full swing and PSU expects Sony to meet its European launch commitments.

-James

Konami to scrap two more titles

Konami to cut more PS3 titles

Konami is to scrap two more titles for the PlayStation 3 according to Japanese magazine Famitsu

Gradius, a new title planned for the PS3, and Powerful Pro Baseball, a title set to be release exclusively in the Japan are the two titles allegedly being dropped from the game developers PS3 line up.

PlayStation enthusiasts can take some comfort in knowing they are not the only ones to miss out – two unannounced titles for the Nintendo Wii are also being dropped.

We have contacted Konami to get official confirmation but haven’t heard back as of yet. We will keep you posted with further developments.

-James

Were Back

I hope all of our readers had a great holiday and an awesome new years! I know you missed us over here a Gamerz Corner, well some of you anyways. Without any further delay we are back from our holiday events a ready to bring you tons of news!