GTA expansion now coming to PS3 and PC

PUTTING an end to the Xbox 360 exclusivity, Rockstar Games has announced that, for the first time, PS3 and PC players will have the opportunity to experience the last two thrilling chapters of the Grand Theft Auto IV saga.

The release of Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City on disc is coming this spring, on March 30.


The two action episodes will also be available in digital forms via Playstation Network and PC. Prices have only so far been released for the US, at $19.99 each.

"Each episode boasts the same detailed and immersive Liberty City we all know and love," says Rockstar on its official website.

Heavy Rain's first nine minutes revealed

HERE are the first nine minutes of gameplay revealed for the hopefully-fantastic Heavy Rain on the PS3.
Watch and learn....!

Pushing the Xbox 360 to its limits

THE Xbox 360 is definitely going to be pushed to its limits with the new Halo game.

The creative director of Halo: Reach has confirmed that the game will push the Xbox 360 to the limits of its current processing capabilities.

“We are taking every advantage of everything on the CPU and GPU, and every bit of memory in order to produce the look of Reach beyond anything of Halo 3,” Marcus Lehto told Edge.

“We’re pushing it as far as we can go. With every iteration we understand what more we can exploit with the hardware.”

Meanwhile, community director Brian Jarrard explained that Halo: Reach will feature an improved AI for additional replay value.

“The AI system is super robust, and is taken for granted as a rich simulation. Everything is simulated, nothing is bolted down,” said Jarrard.

“You can throw a grenade in a room and it’s all physically simulated. Even in our giant environments you see films in which someone will throw a grenade and it will send a Warthog flying through the air and it’ll kill someone on the other side of the map.”

Bonobo monkey playing Ms Pacman

THIS young bonobo monkey likes nothing better than a game of Ms Pacman - although I don't think he's that great at it!

Latest images of God Of War III

SOME new screenshots of the highly-anticipated God Of War III game on the PS3 have been released - and they are stunning!

And from the looks of it, the scale of the titans that Kratos will encounter on his adventure are colossal.

Having been one of the lucky few to have already played the demo, I cannot wait for this game to hit the shelves - it has been in development for a long time and I am sure it will not disappoint!

Here are some of those cracking images:

New Virtual Console games released

OUT now on the Virtual Console, WiiWare and DSiWare, there are seven new games.

This week's games are as follows:

On DSiWare is Dark Void Zero (Capcom, 1 player, 500 DSi Points), Starship Defense (Nintendo, 1 player, 500 DSi Points), Chronos Twins (EnjoyUp Games, 1 player, 500 DSi Points), and Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever (Gameloft, 1 player, 800 DSi Points).

Dark Void Zero takes Capcom's recent game and using the franchise turns in a side-scrolling NES adventure.

Starship Defense is the newest DSi download from Q-Games and is a tower defense-style game set in space. Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever is another puppy simulator for DSi owners.

On WiiWare, there is Muscle March (Namco Bandai, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) and The Amazing Brain Train (Wahoo Studios, 1 player, 600 Wii Points). Muscle March is the latest strange game to come from Namco Bandai, in which bodybuilders chase after a thief who stole their protein drink. They have to pose in the correct positions to navigate through walls and other obstacles. The Amazing Brain Train is an indie brain training game.

There is just one game on the Virtual Console this week and it's Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi for the Sega Genesis (Sega, 1 player, 800 Wii Points).

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi came out last week on the PAL Virtual Console and in December 2006 on the Japanese Virtual Console. It, along with Muscle March and The Amazing Brain Train, is available for download off the Wii Shop Channel, while Dark Void Zero, Starship Defense, Chronos Twins, and Me and My Dogs: Friends Forever are available for download off the DSi Shop Channel.

'3D gaming possible on the Xbox 360'

MICROSOFT has assured gamers that its Xbox 360 console is capable of offering 3D gaming in the future.

It has confirmed that its Xbox 360 console has the capability to offer 3D gaming - if the company decides to support the medium in the future.

Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's Xbox group product manager, told G4TV that the high-definition system is "fully 3D capable" in terms of technology.

Sony confirmed to investors in November 2009 that 3D functionality is to be a key part of PlayStation 3's future lineup alongside features like Blu-ray playback and motion control.

Conversely, Mr Greenberg stated that Microsoft is adopting a wait-and-see approach to whether or not the general gaming audience is ready for 3D technology in the home.

He suggested that a living room 3D experience would be different from being in a darkened cinema due to the fact that people are less able to concentrate fully on the screen.

However, the Microsoft man added: "If it becomes really important and people want to do more with it, we're absolutely happy to support it."

New PSP mini games launched

LEADING Indian game developer GameShastra has just released three new PlayStation Portable (PSP) Mini games onto the PlayStation Network (PSN), bringing its total number of games available through the PlayStation Network to five.

The new games draw from the developer's heritage, bringing two titles based on classic Indian Strategy games to a global audience, alongside a game which takes players on a trip along America's most famous highway.

With origins dating back to 4AD, Pachisi is Indian's national board game. GameShastra's version is steeped in heritage, offering a perfect recreation of this absorbing Strategy game equally playable on PSP and PlayStation 3. Simple to learn, yet difficult to master, the fact Pachisi remains one of India's most popular strategy board games over two thousand years since its introduction speaks volumes about its core mechanics - perfectly recreated here, with sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) offering a challenge to players of all abilities.

Tiger Trouble, also available for PSP and PlayStation 3, is another strategy board game recreation - though this time based on a Nepalese pastime. The game offers two perspectives: playing as tigers, the objective is to kill seven out of fifteen goats; when playing as goats, players must trap the three tigers. Offering unique strategies depending on the side being played, it's a game of limitless possibilities, and one which has been developed with obvious affection for the original board game.

Finally, Route 66 offers a change of pace. A hidden-object game set along America's "mother highway", it's a game best played casually, with ample time to admire the stunning artwork and historical facts whilst hunting for the items deviously-placed within each lavish scene.

Holiday joy for Sony

SONY has announced that the holiday season retail sales of PlayStation3 computer entertainment systems during the five weeks following the last week of November 2009 exceeded 3.8 million units worldwide.
The PS3 platform experienced a 76% increase in hardware sales compared to the same period in the previous year, marking the highest record sales for PS3 hardware for a holiday period. With the release of the new slimmer and lighter PS3 system combined with an exciting line-up of compelling software titles, as well as with the expansion of new content and services on PlayStation Network, with more than 38 million registered accounts worldwide, the PS3 platform continues to surpass its momentum every year and remains on track to further accelerate the growth of its worldwide installed base into 2010.
With continued strong support from game developers and publishers around the world, highly anticipated and exciting game titles on Blu-ray disc were released for the PS3 system during the holiday season. The software line-up includes platform-defining franchises that contributed significantly to PS3 hardware sales such as UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves from SCE, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed II, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Activision, and FINAL FANTASY XIII from SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. FINAL FANTASY XIII for North America and Europe/PAL territories will be available on March 9, 2010.
In addition to this extensive line-up of software titles, multimedia capabilities that PS3 offers, including Blu-ray disc player functionality, combined with various rich content and services available for download on PlayStationNetwork, continue to attract more and more users around the globe making PS3 the ultimate interactive entertainment system for the home.
In 2010, SCEI will continue to deploy various measures to further expand the PS3 software line-up, including highly anticipated titles such as God of War 3, Gran Turismo 5, MAG, Heavy Rain and ModNation Racers. The company will also vigorously enhance the network content and services, while tapping into a wider audience through the introduction of a new Motion Controller supported with a variety of software titles as well as delivering outstanding 3D experience in homes with 3D stereoscopic games and movies, that is possible only on the PS3 platform.

Dark Void demo is coming

WITH the launch of Capcom’s Science-Fiction third-person Shooter, Dark Void, coming soon, the firm is giving gamers a chance to experience the void for themselves this week with a downloadable demo coming to Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

Dark Void is a blend of aerial and ground combat which centres on Will, a pilot who crash lands in the Bermuda Triangle following a routine mission. Will wakes up to find himself in “The Void,” a parallel world resembling a primitive earth, upon which aliens with superior technology are planning to take over civilisation. Together with a faction of humans who have also travelled into the Void, Will takes on the alien race using their own advanced technology; including the famed high powered jet pack

The Dark Void demo will be available for download from Xbox Live on Wednesday January 6th and PlayStation Network on Thursday January 7^th. The demo will give gamers a chance to strap on their jet pack for the first time and explore the mysterious and miraculous world of Dark Void through a combination of thrilling aerial dog-fighting, unique vertical cover action and on-foot combat.

Dark Void is due to be released across Europe on Friday, January 22 and will be available for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

FIFA online world cup qualifiers

FIFA, the world’s governing body of football, Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the official kick-off of the second phase of the 2010 FIFA Interactive World Cup (FIWC) online competition.

This year’s FIWC season has been split into two phases to ensure that even more players have the opportunity to compete in the tournament. The first phase, which concluded on 18th December 2009, saw over 400,000 players from around the world compete online on EA SPORTS™ FIFA 10 on the PlayStation®3 (PS3™), via PlayStation®Network to secure the first 11 places at this year’s FIWC Grand Final, which will take place at Port Olympic in Barcelona on 1st May 2010.
The online leaderboard from the FIWC 2010 phase 1 has now been wiped clean, giving those players who weren’t able to participate or didn’t make it into the top ten another shot at claiming one of the remaining 11 online Grand Final spots*. To participate in the FIWC 2010 online, players can register directly inside the retail version of EA SPORTS™ FIFA 10 on PS3 from 5th January 2010 and start competing right away. Alternatively, live qualifier events for an additional nine Grand Final places will take place at:
Host Country
Host City
Date
Australia
Sydney
9th – 11th April
Brazil
Sao Paulo
27th March
France
Paris
12th-14th March
Italy
Milan
March
Japan
Tokyo
21st March
Denmark
Copenhagen
13th March
Poland
Warsaw
6th February
Russia
Moscow
6th-8th November
South Africa
Johannesburg
6th March
UK
London
March
Following the culmination of this year’s competition in Barcelona, the FIWC World Champion will be crowned officially at the FIFA World Player Gala 2010, a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the real life football stars in person. For photographs of FIWC World Player 2009 Bruce Grannec’s experience at the FIFA World Player Gala on 21 December 2009, go to
www.fifa.com/fiwc.
* For full FIWC 2010 tournament terms & conditions, please see www.fifa.com/fiwc

MAG beta out now - for everyone!

THE MAG Beta is open to the world today - but catch it now, as it only lasts a week!

Sony has announced the MAG beta which will be available worldwide to everyone starting from Monday. All you need is a PS3 and a internet connection. The MAG Beta will be available to everyone from today until the end of the testing phase on January 10 at 11.59pm.

The beta will come with two different game modes: 64-player sabotage and 256-player domination!

What you’ll need to do to get the Beta:

1. Log on to the PlayStation Store, Select “View All By Title -> M Titles -> MAG” and download the MAG Beta file like you would any other freely-available PSN video or demo (298 MB)

2. Launch the MAG Beta program from your XMB to download a special patch that will restart MAG once the update has been received (another 37 MB)

3. After the reboot, the Beta will reconnect and download the actual game data so that you can play (1.8 GB – 2.3 GB depending on your region)