ChartTrack have broken with standard practise and sent out actual figures for some game sales! And not just figures, but figures for the entire year! Once you've recovered from the shock with a lie down and a stiff drink, read on to see the ten top-selling games in the UK for 2007. Warning: BioShock, Mass Effect and Mario Galaxy do not feature.

1) FIFA 08 (1,391,435)
2) Dr Kawashima's Brain Training (1,016,558)
3) Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (935,044)
4) PES 2008 (787,382)
5) More Brain Training From Dr Kawashima (760,225)
6) Halo 3 (735,176)
7) The Simpsons Game (734,595)
8) Wii Play (688,002)
9) Assassin's Creed (670,286)
10) WWE Smackdown VS Raw 2008 (563,121)

Nice to see some real numbers for once! Pity they then went and rolled multi-format games into one, which tends to skew the data somewhat.

The top 10 UK games of 2007 [CVG]

Hey there PS3-owning Mac users! Come on in from the file-sharing cold and make yourself comfortable. Thanks to NullRiver, who have already got Macs and 360s talking, your Mac will soon be able to stream your music and movies to your PS3. And not just stream, but do nifty things like show your iTunes album art and stream an iPhoto slideshow to your shiny big HDTV. Download link's below if you're at all interested.
[Official Site]

Previously, we've brought word of criminals hunting Japanese otaku. This time it's the Japanese police who's hunting them. Apparently, police in Shinjuku have been stopping people who look like otaku, aka NERDS, and subjecting them to spot checks. What do Japanese otaku look like? They come in all shapes and sizes, but the above chap does a nice job of playing the stereotype. In these spot checks, the police ask what your occupation is, examine your ID and sometimes go through your stuff.

A supposed police list describes what types of individuals cops should do spot checks on. Those individuals are:
•People wearing camouflage trousers or jackets
•People with chains or keys (hanging off trousers)
•People who look weak
•People wearing a bandana
•People wearing leather

Read More »

MTV have put together what is, so far, the most useful game-related tool for 2008. It's called Track Finder, and it contains details on the licensed music libraries of (nearly) every single rhythm action game released over the past few years. What's the point? It means you'll never again have to waste precious, disc-swapping minutes because you couldn't remember whether Ziggy Stardust was on Guitar Hero 1 or Guitar Hero 2.
MTV Rhythm Game Track Finder [MTV]

Gundam meets Dynasty Warriors mash-up Gundam Musou did pretty good on the PS3 and so-so on the Xbox 360 as Gundam Musou International (or "Dynasty Warriors: Gundam in America). So why release it on the PS2! That's right, Bandai Namco Games is bringing the title to the PlayStation 2 late this February. Dubbed Gundam Musou Special, it'll have a new scenario and mobile suits. No word on a Western release, but something tells me they'll call it Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Special. Call it a hunch.
GM on PS2 [Famitsu]

We've seen a few "TV shows" about videogames pass across our desks over the years, from bad internet videos to worse internet videos, culminating in the shit-awful G4 series Code Monkeys. We've never seen one that looks this...proper, however. jPod is a new series that's airing on CBC in Canada, and while it looks as excruciatingly unfunny as its predecessors, at least it also looks like it's taking the whole idea of setting a show in the games industry (somewhat) seriously. Based on Douglas Coupland's book of the same name, it's about four nerd-like characters working for monolithic games company Electronic Neotronic Arts. Full run-down and bonus flash games at the link below.
[Official Site, thanks Adam!]

Back in late December, I visited Gearbox's Dallas headquarter. Nice digs. The company looks like it's doing well, growing — especially with a handful of big titles coming out this year. That doesn't mean Gearbox isn't giving back! Oh, no. The company is giving $US 50,000 to help establish the Fellows Scholars program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. This financial support will entail support for art creation, level design and software programming for graduate students. Gearbox will also mentor for students during their study. The dev even donated an audio lab to SMU. Says Gearbox honcho Randy Pitchford:

The only thing growing faster than our industry is the critical need for new and creative talent. I think it is clear that the videogame industry has the vast financial support and consumer demand it needs to continue its global growth. But what I and many industry leaders are very worried about is hiring and retaining world class talent.

These apartments, designed by architecture firm Ofis Arhitekti, were built last year in the Slovenian city of Ljubljana. Their goal? Design some stylish-yet-affordable public housing. Their obstacle? The building had to be only four stories tall, and they were given less than 54,000 square feet to build on. So they did what any right-minded person would do, and slotted the apartments together like they were playing a game of Tetris. Simple, effective, stylish.
Tetris-Style Slovenian Housing Projects [io9]

Yet another new challenger! Captain Olimar and five colors of Pikmin those their hats (flowers? pedals? what?) into the Super Smash Bros. Brawl ring. Oimar needs Pikmin to do a Smash Attack, and the Pikmin apparently tend to scatter. There ya go. Another new character. Thinking about two things: A). Who the game is missing? B). How will they top this for the sequel?

Game launches February 10th.
New Challenger [Smash Bros. DOJO!!]

The blood letting is coming. And it's going to be bad. Next Monday is, you guessed it, Ban Monday. It's our favorite Kotakuday! While we do welcome the new folks, we also want to warn them. We ban here at Kotaku. Ban like crazy. Ku-razy. So please do not confuse our comment section with your run-of-the-mill forum, boards, blah blah. It's different!

We are always open to ban submissions (oh yes), but next Monday the ban sensitivity on the Hammer will be turned up max. Keep a watchful eye and get those submissions ready to send out next Monday. We'll be back next Tuesday lighter, faster and better. Hope to see you on the other side.

It's not like Japan didn't have enough exclusive PSP colours as it was, but hey, nobody said they couldn't have more. On February 28, Sony will be releasing a new "Mint Green" PSP in the Japanese market. And...why mint green, exactly? It continues the PSP's recent trend of sticking with light, flowery colours, which Sony believes (and sales figures support) are starting to become a bit of a hit with the ladies. It'll retail for a suggested price of ¥19,800, and has a 99% probability of never being released in the West. Fresh-breathed press release follows.

Read More »

And the Xbox Live renaissance continues. Ikaruga and Rez was good enough news as it was, but Peggle? Appears so! An ESRB rating for a 360 version of the game's turned up, which while not guaranteeing any kind of timeframe does at least guarantee an eventual appearance. Which is super-great news. Peggle on a big TV while sitting on the couch has "good times" scrawled all over it. Also appearing are listings for XBLA/Xbox Originals versions of Bliss Island and Ultra Bust-A-Move, but after Peggle we don't have enough care left in us for them. Sorry.
Rumor: Peggle, Bliss Island and UBAM to XBLA [X3F]

Call of Duty 4 was a break in the series, something different. While previous entries were set in World War II, the latest one is not. CoD4 takes place in the Iraq war, and players kill Iraqis. Much more real and hard-hitting compared to the Nazi boogeyman. In games and movies, Nazis do make fantastic bad guys. In a black and white world, it's easy to point to them as pure evil. Over at the For Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, writer Ralph De La Cruz offers this:

I mean, our family is not into any sort of violence. But who could possibly begrudge a man and his boy from killing a few Nazis? ...And so we went through three Call of Duty titles. That's because it sends you, as British trooper Sgt. John "SOAP" MacTavish, into the teeth of the Iraqi war. Yep. The war that's going on right now. The one I don't believe we should be fighting. The one I vow my son will never take part in.

...And there he is playing it out on his Xbox 360. Offing Iraqis for entertainment's sake, as other Americans sacrifice their lives on real-world battlefield...

"Actually, they're not Iraqis, they're insurgents," consoled a friend with whom I shared my dilemma. "Most of them probably aren't from Iraq." Well, actually, they're not insurgents. They're computer code and graphic animation.

The problem isn't what they are, or are not, but what they represent. What they say about me and my son. What it says about our perception of this war vs. past wars.

...Somehow I found it morally easier to kill Nazis...

That red thing right there is AMD's latest attempt to wrest graphics card supremacy from the cold, vice-like grip of rivals NVIDIA. Dubbed the ATI R680, specs, pricing and performance boasts are all still top secret, though we do know it'll not only be based on two 55nm processor cores, but can also slice an apple into 17 pieces in less than a second. This being a premium card, you can expect it'll also be suitable for root vegetables and cheese (both sliced and grated).
ATI R680 Graphics Card Is 1000X Faster Than a Cray-1 Supercomputer [Gizmodo]

Our favorite Chinese copycat the Vii has another ripoff rival: the, are you ready, "Winner." It's not just a game machine, it's a super clone! The Winner features a photo player, karaoke functions and SDHC for media storage. It plays 2D and 3D games with online. There's even a Wii-mote knock-off (not a SIXAXIS!) with motion sensing capabilities. It will sell for somewhere between US$120-$150. The maker is promising million consoles for the North American and Japanese markets. The line starts here!
The Winner [Engadget]

After going on a bit of a holiday break, Media Create sales figures are back, showing that Wii Fit will mostly likely be a million seller by the time you read this. Incidentally, the next batch of MC sales data is expected tomorrow, so we'll most likely have confirmation supporting or disproving that soon. Dragon Quest IV for the Nintendo DS ticked over the million mark during the week of December 24 to 31 and a handful of new PSP games charted in the top ten. For the rest of the week's software sellers and a chance to see how Call of Duty 4 performed, hit the jump.

Oh yeah. Haruhi! I know you've been waiting...

Read More »

Ask what the teeming masses of PS3 owners want most from a firmware update, and their response will come in unison: In-game XMB support. Well, you want it, you got it, because according to The Game Reviews, SCEA's Paul Purdy told them it's definitely coming in 2008. Definitely. Nothing more concrete than that, so it could be anytime from tomorrow to December 31, but sometimes it's nice just to have a timeframe to settle yourself down in, make yourself comfy.
Sony Confirms In-Game XMB Sometime in '08 [The Game Reviews]

Bless you, Nyko. Rather than wait for Harmonix and Activision to sort out the whole Rock Band/Guitar Hero/PS3 guitar incompatability fiasco, they've gone ahead and released their own guitar, one that avoids the whole mess and gives PS3 owners a single peripheral that'll work on both games. Dubbed the Front Man, it'll come bundled with a dongle that lets you select which game you're playing, and the guitar will respond with the requisite compatibility. It's due in March, so Nyko had best hope Activision and Harmonix don't settle their differences by then.
CES 2008: Nyko Solves Rock Band's PS3 Woes [1UP]

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Do People Still Play With Analog Toys?

In short yes. Tristan and I love to play tag, though he totally cheats. And we spent the holidays playing way too much croquet and badminton, which by the way is the man's version of Table Tennis. Kite flying can be fun too, though I'm a bigger fan of the Frisbee.

I woke up early this morning with a painfully tight chest and shooting pain down my left arm. Oh and my right eye was throbbing. I lay there, in the dusk of consciousness, pondering whether I was having a heart attack, or a stroke or both. I thought about how the arm and chest pain were classic symptoms of a heart attack. About whether the blood in my body was pooling in my arms, deciding stubbornly to no longer circulate to my brain. I remembered reading about a neurologist, a woman who specialized in treating strokes, having a stroke while she was showering. How on some basic, fundamental level, she understood parts of her brain were dying, but that she couldn't seem to get her brain to take the whole thing seriously. Eventually I drifted back to sleep, gently rocked between the dueling worries of heart attack or stroke, heart attack or stroke. This morning I awoke delighted to find I wasn't dead.

Hmm, maybe I should get a physical.

What you missed:
Rumor: Live Issues Wiped Some Unlocked Achievements
Sid Meier To Get GDC Lifetime Achievement Award
'Slash' Shreds on the Air Guitar Rocker, I Give Impressions
LittleBigPlanet Team Talks DLC, Show New Levels At CES PS3 Preview
Samsung 3D TV Gaming Capabilities Underwhelm, Nauseate
PSP GPS Hands-On At CES

In his editorial column in the latest issue of EGM, editor Dan Hsu has named three companies that, thanks to negative reviews coverage, have stopped submitting products to the magazine. Those he names are Ubisoft, Sony's sports game division and Midway's Mortal Kombat team. While there's always been a healthy dose of scepticism surrounding advertiser and publisher pressure on gaming press (particularly in light of recent events), I can't remember the last time a major commercial publication came out and publicly named names like this. Bravo, Dan.
Publishers Get a Taste of "Shoe" [VGM Watch]

Incessant rambling! Recently, I appeared on Capcom's Bionic Commando podcast to discuss game journalism, gaming in Japan and why the hell Capcom should ditch the hot dog arms. The discussion got heated, and Capcom promised to fix hot dog arm in Bionic Commando if we fix the spelling mistakes. No sweat!
Listen Here [Official Site]

It may not look quite as Warthog-y as WETA's own fully-functioning recreation of the ubiquitous Halo ride, but Hummer's HX Concept certainly looks like it will appeal to those raised on the adventures of Master Chief. According to our brothers at Jalopnik, coming from their coverage of the Detroit Auto Show, the Warthog-esque concept vehicle features removable roof panels, fender flares and doors, but no mention is made of support for mounted turrets. A rich gallery full of pretty pictures and details reside at Jalopnik.

Detroit Auto Show: Hummer HX Concept Embargo Totally Fragged [Jalopnik]

Responding to news that Warner Bros. opted to put its eggs in the basket of Blu-ray exclusively last week, Microsoft execs told Reuters that the company would consider a Blu-ray player add-on for the Xbox 360, should consumers show interest in such a product. Group marketing manager Albert Penello said the decision would be up to "consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider." Penello said that he didn't consider that Warner's decision to drop support for HD-DVD would have a "significant impact" on the console war. He also confirmed, in a way, that it was a "bummer."

Microsoft's Xbox could consider Blu-ray support [Reuters]

Sony had a handful of PSPs in its CES booth this year, two dedicated to Skype and one to its GPS accessory, which it released in Japan in late 2006 and plans to ship in North America at some point this year. While the display on the CES show floor was nothing more than an interactive demo, showing the device's capabilities in video form only, reps confirmed a few facts about the final product. The GPS device will access map data from an included UMD that's region specific, but updated country maps and 3D landmarks can be purchased and downloaded to a Memory Stick for those planning on traveling abroad. Sony plans to add major countries in Europe and Asia as downloadable add-ons, meaning PSP GPS owners will be spared carrying multiple discs if overseas.

And while Skype is strictly limited to PSP-2000 users, those still sporting an original PlayStation Portable can use the GPS attachment without problems. Release dates for North America and Europe aren't finalised, but reps seemed confident that Westerners will be enjoying it this calendar year.

At one point, I didn't think there was a board game in existence that could match the supremacy of Settlers of Catan. That Klaus Teuber sure knows what he's doing.

Maybe after being subjected again and again to the monotony of Sorry! and Monopoly something primal and creative must have imploded in his brain. Compelled by what was left (which must have been heaps), he crafted the Catan.

Thank you Klaus. Will have your babies, if we ever meet.

Recently however, my love of Catan has been superseded by a new game - Arkham Horror.

Read More »

Starks over at Australian Gamer recently informed me that the winners of both the Melbourne and Sydney GAME1 tournaments, held in early November and December 2007 respectively, have yet to receive their justly-earned treasures.

The official GAME1 website states that the event is "the biggest and busiest electronic gaming expo and tournament in the country". The expo is run by events company Cabin Group/AutoSalon, who from my experience tends to run a tight ship. According to Starks, there were no issues with previous tournaments.

However, the latest event was a different story. The write-up by Starks on AutoSalon's shenanigans reports that representatives from the company and GAME1 itself have being unable to provide a satisfactory answer as to why the prizes have yet to be awarded. Of course, that's when Starks was actually able to talk to someone.

From the article:

I e-mailed Cameron [Ferris, one of the organisers] on Friday, but have not heard a reply. I called his mobile – I got his message bank. I called Cabin Group – Automated responses and no human contact.

If AutoSalon plans to run the event this year, I can't say I'll be an enthusiastic attendee. Indeed, this does little for its reputation and even if the prizes are delivered in the next few weeks, there's no way we're going to be able to take the tournament seriously.

Still no payment for GAME1 Winners / Runners up [Australian Gamer, thanks Starks]

At CES, Samsung is showing off the "World's First 3D Ready Plasma TV" complete with three-dimensional versions of Madden NFL 08 and Need For Speed ProStreet. After watching another CES attendee take the Samsung—and its required 3D goggles—for a spin, seemingly walking away unimpressed, I decided to take the wheel. After picking my Volkswagen GT and hitting the track, the goggle shutters kicked in, going into full 3D mode.

Unfortunately, the experience of driving in 3D on a plasma television with oversized glasses fails to impress. Samsung claims that with the tech, "you can feel you are in the game" the only feeling I got was one of nausea. The constant flicker and ghosting of your ride doesn't do much for the sensation of depth. It's hard to imagine the product being anything more than a novelty or lending itself to long gaming sessions.. but it's perfect for a five minute distraction at CES!

The diehard, almost fanatical fellows over at the post-apocalyptic fansite No Mutants Allowed have released an impressive and extensive mod for Interplay/Black Isle Studios' RPG classic, Fallout 2. NMA considers it an expansion of sorts, as it fleshes out a lot of incomplete areas in the game and even adds entirely new places, such as a residential area in The Den.

I didn't think it was possible for Fallout 2 to get any better. It's like improving on perfect, or near perfection. The only thing more awesome would be melding dinosaurs with Transformers.

Oh wait, that's a Dinobot, right?

Fallout 2 Restoration Project (Unofficial FO 2 Expansion)
[No Mutants Allowed, via Blue's News]

Media Molecule team members are currently on stage at CES, showing off the "play, create, share" title LittleBigPlanet to conventioneers and business types. The team just showed off a new pre-built level for the first time, one that introduces player death and respawn points to the DIY platformer. One of the new materials, under the "terribles" group, is a steaming hot magma rock, one that kills on contact. Sackboys who've been killed off can return later, courtesy of respawn portals. This adds a bit more of a competitive element to the game, as those still alive can secure unclaimed Fluff. At the end of the level, the LittleBigPlanet player with the most Fluff wins, naturally. Score results are shown on a TV with cute retro styling.

Hints of the first bits of downloadable content came in the form of new backgrounds, some of which have already debuted at CES. In addition to already shown desert and zen garden levels, the eastern Indian background featuring a pre-built Vishnu-like multi-armed god.

Sony and Media Molecule staffers also showed off another pre-built level with a heavy southwestern theme, a sombrero sporting Mexican mechanism that shuffled back and forth between structures. Players had to cooperate to pull the toy, which doubled as a platform necessary to progress, in order to complete the level.

The team also broke out briefly to show off the updated emote system further, with angry, sad, nervous, happy faces and postures, each with three degrees of intensity.

The game is looking very solid, but there wasn't too much on display that hadn't been seen at other events. The "share" portion of the game wasn't available, with Media Molecule recycling the same mock-up video shown previously.

Sony didn't follow up with any other titles, choosing to focus solely on LittleBigPlanet.

Fahey just wrote up the Guitar Hero Air Guitar Rocker, but I scored a little hand-on from the CES show floor.

The belt buckle senses your air rocking (via magic pick) and sends the signal to an accompanying belt pack that both acts 1.) as the speaker and 2.) allows you to switch between 5 preloaded songs. I tried Black Sabbath's Iron Man on for size—that's not me in the above video for good reason—because I found that while the song could be played back at variable speeds depending on strumming tempo, I often unintentionally double-strummed (aka, looked like an even bigger douchebag than had I been rocking out to more "traditional" air guitar on the CES floor).

Sid Meier, father of Civilization and all things turn-based, will be honored at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Last year's winner was Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto.

"Sid Meier has served as one of our industry's greatest role models for more than 25 years, creating fun and intelligent games for a diverse public long before it was popular," said Jamil Moledina, executive director of the Game Developers Conference. "Now that the rest of the industry is actively targeting the broader audience, it's fitting to honor him with our highest award and thank him for his continuing example of inspiration for the video game community."

Meier, who by some accounts is considered the father of PC gaming, started his career as one of the founding partners of MicroProse Softweare and went on to spawn such great games as F-19, Railroad Tycoon, Pirates! and, of course, Civilization. He can also be crediting with nearly torpedoing my college career, but I won't go into that now... friggin Civ.

Read More »

Rumour: Live Issues Wiped Some Unlocked Achievements
This morning's first rumour. Time to give those 360 achievements of yours an Xbox Live curfew.

BioShock Getting The Prequel Treatment?
And here's the second rumour. Early info suggests the prequel will be developed at Take 2's 2K Marin studio.

Lost Planet 360 And PS3 Head To Head
Surprisingly the Xbox 360 version trumps the PS3. Very unusual if you ask me.

Shiny New Age Of Conan Screens
Another fantasy MMO? Have we learnt nothing from Fury and Vanguard? The saving grace right now is the Howard factor.

"Iron Chef" Game Announced
I got all excited, thinking my life was complete, until I found out it's not actually Iron Chef.

Kids (or, more likely, parents) may have more educational games to choose from thanks to the recommendations of the D is for Digital report, unveiled during the Sandbox Summit at CES. The report was put together by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a recently established production and research group that looks into the educational potential of interactive media. The study isn't game specific, but it seems to hint heavily that video games do make up a large part of the range of interactive media that children come in contact with.

The report looked at how children were being shaped by interactive media, yet there remain limited efforts by the media industry to keep up with higher standards for education:

Of the 300+ products studied, the paper found that most do not take advantage of available research regarding children's educational needs particularly in a global economy where literacy and learning requirements are fast evolving.

Out of those 300 products, only two video games qualified as educational "based on explicit educational curriculum design available in the market."

It wasn't all fire and brimstone for games, however, as the report also recognised the gaming industry as one of tremendous potential for education. Recommendations included more emphasis on educational video game development, and more intergenerational interaction, meaning games should be set up so adults and children can (and want to) play them together. For a look at the report, visit the Joan Ganz Cooney Center publications page.

Joan Ganz Cooney Center Finds Cause for Both Concern and Optimism in Billion Dollar Digital Media Industry Targeting Kids [CES Press Office]

While most of the gaming world focuses on CES, Game Politics patrols the streets, keeping an eye open for video game related crime. Today they've uncovered not one but two different recent criminal outings blamed the influence of gaming violence.

First we have Gaston County North Carolina, where three 19 year-olds went on an arson spree, setting fire to eight cars and one vacant home before the police finally stopped the madness. The reason behind the suspects' burning ambitions? Postal 2. No really, Postal 2.

Police say three Gaston County teens--Sean Jones, David Ellington and Paul Jarrell charged with setting eight cars and one vacant home on fire--got the idea from a video game, "Postal 2".

Read More »

Recovery operations used to try and fix the stability issues Xbox Live has been sporadically may have resulted in unlocked achievements relocking, according to site Ripten.

Dan Landis wrote that he had unlocked some of the more difficult achievements in Guitar Hero II, and then noticed recently they had disappeared, so he called Xbox 360 support.

The support person told him, Landis says, that disappearing achievements was a known issue with Halo 3 and "all other games." The person then launched into an explanation about why it was happening:

Basically, while attempting to "fix" Xbox Live, they've systematically been rolling back and recovering portions of their servers to weed out the bugs. Again, this is not the "official" word from Microsoft, but the guy on 1-800-4my-xbox said that's what was going on. He seemed to know what I was talking about when I told him my issue, so that leads me to believe he's not just making stuff up.

Read More »

Besides suffering from a brutal paper towel shortage, the folks at Lionhead seem to be hard at work on Fable 2. Not these three new character renders from the game showing off the Hobbes of Fable. These cross between dwarf and goblins from the original game may have gotten their cuteness factor amped up, but they'll still blow you to bits if you get to close... and then apparently point and laugh.

Fable 2 Screenshots

Depending on where you live, NFL Tour is either in the store today or heading there tomorrow, and EA has decided to remind you that their game exists with a veritable cornucopia of screenshots of the arcade sports title previously known as NFL Street. It's kind of odd, really. I was a big fan of NFL Street despite the cheapness of the power moves, and was looking forward to the next game in the series. Change the name and alter the premise just a tad and suddenly I am so disinterested that the release completely sneaks up on me, despite having read this week's WIG. Still, I've always been a fan of arcade football, and I do have this GameStop gift card...*sigh* Back in a few.

With CES now in full swing, Microsoft has taken up the task of shuttling around lazy members of the press and community in style. This is the Community Mobile, a dual-branded stretch hummer with Games for Windows on one side and Xbox Live on the other. As a special bonus to the already far-too-extravagant conveyance, the Microsoft team are loading up the limo at the end of the day on Wednesday for a special trip to In 'N Out Burger, where their own Larry Hryb will be on hand to lend his credit card towards the eventual cholesterol-choking death of everyone involved. Hooray! Hit the link for more pictures of the colossal gas guzzler.

Riding Around in Style [Gamerscore Blog]

Ah rumours, how I love you so. Especially when they make as much sense as this one does. Tom Ivan over at Next Generation's blog reports on rumours surrounding the next BioShock. According to what I can only imagine is wildly unfounded speculation, the next game will be a prequel that focuses on the initial fall of Rapture itself, giving players a glimpse at what the utopia looked like before it all fell to pieces and little girls were transformed into walking moral choices. Rumours also indicate that the development of the game will take place at the new 2K Marin studios, and that BioShock creator Ken Levine will not be involved in the project. While of course we take any unconfirmed rumours with a heaping helping of salt, it does sound like the perfect way to explore the BioShock universe without trying to build on the first game's lame endings.

BioShock Prequel in the Works? [Next Generation Blog]