Ah, Sierra. So, so, so many fond memories. King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Quest For Glory, Half-Life 1, Homeworld, SWAT...so many good games, so many good times. So it's crushing to see that, as the label prepares to fade into oblivion following the Blactivision merger, its last game is...less than memorable. Hitting the printers as the ink dried on the Activision-Vivendi merger was Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, making it most likely the last game to be sold under the Sierra brand name (at least until someone digs it up, Atari style). An awful game based on an awful movie. Shame, that.

Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Sierra's sad swan song [Variety]

The above ad shows a father and Sony with a PS3 either buying or renting (can't tell) a bunch of Blu-ray discs. Haven't really seen the PS3 promoted solely as a Blu-ray player on TV here, but yeah, why not? It makes sense — the machine plays Blu-ray discs and help win the format war. I use my PS3 to watch tons of Blu-ray discs. You?

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Despite being one of the best damn games we've ever played, Okami bombed (at the register, relative to its quality) on the PS2. Bombed on the Wii, too. So maybe, uh, third time's a charm? Let's hope so (because this isn't official confirmation)! A listing for a Greatest Hits version of the game - on PS2 - has turned up on retailer Play-Asia, with a ship date of later this month. Who knows, maybe a cheap, cheap price will look great to the 3-4 people who somehow missed it first time around. And don't own a Wii.

Okami (Greatest Hits) [Play-Asia, via Siliconera]

Once again, the Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza in the West) series add real-life females to its cast of charaters. While Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 featured adult video actress Nana Natsume and Ryu Ga Gotoku KENZAN! featured the talents of pin-up model Yinling. The upcoming Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 will feature seven models from fashion mag Koakuma Ageha in-game as night club hostesses. Included in those seven is Osaka gal Rina Sakurai, whom I interviewed earlier this spring for the arcade book I wrote. Smart kid — we talked about sticker pictures.

"小悪魔ageha"のカリスマモデルたちが『龍が如く3』にキャバクラ嬢役で出演 [Famitsu]

Well would you get a load of this. A PAL PlayStation Store update with nothing in it? Incredible. Insulting. Disappointing. Predictable. Take your pick of any of those. There are five items available today, Europe. Five. And that's across both stores, PS3 and PSP. Surely this is the lowest moment yet for a weekly ritual that prides itself on low moments.

PS3 store

Guitar Hero III: Interscope Track Pack

Civilisation Revolution - Wonders & Artefact Pack #1: The Mythic

Dead Space - Loved Ones Trailer

PSP Store

Secret Agent Clank Demo

Secret Agent Clank Trailer

Don't download it all at once, Europe, or you'll have nothing left to do until...Saturday.

We already know a new Batman game is in development. IGN accidentally spilled the beans, Gary Oldman accidentally spilled the beans, that's too many spilled beans. But...if it's been in development for so long, where, uh, is it? There's been no official announcement from the rumoured publishers, EA or the rumoured developer, Pandemic. No screens, no vids, no press releases, nothing. Speaking under the condition of anonymity with the Associated Press, an "EA Manager" may have revealed why. Not only has this insider given further confirmation that the game's currently in development, but has seemingly given AP a laundry list of potential reasons for the delay, which they say range from Heath Ledger's death to "missed deadlines" to "questionable quality", amongst others. None of which sound particularly promising.

'Dark Knight' reigns not in video game [AP, via MCV]

Hello Uncanny Valley! Here is another face retargeting demo from mocap team AlterEgo, "the facial performance division of award-winning animation studio, Pendulum". The team has lent its tech expertise to Stuntman: Ignition and Silent Hill 5. You can read about it here. Amazing stuff, but it really does make it seem like that woman has a mannish voice.

Thanks Michael for the tip!

Simon Parkin's written a piece over on GameSetWatch about a little trip he took to to Amsterdam. Nothing saucy or inhaled, mind you, just a bunch of impressions of one of the city's more adult tourist attractions. That and the brief tale of a walk past a young girl, in one of said attraction's shop "windows", and her dalliances with a Nintendo DS. Nothing newsy there, no screenshots or video clips for you to pore over, nothing that you can feverishly pass on to 100 friends as the latest "internet thing" for the day. It's just a really nice piece, about a girl and a DS.

COLUMN: Chewing Pixels: 'Sex and Tetris' [GameSetWatch]

Not sure to laugh or feel really, really nervous. The odd thing is that this doesn't seem to be an isolated event. Ah, to be young and small enough to fit inside a crane game.

Video of kid climbing inside claw game [Boing Boing]

Don't know about you, but Bring Down the Sky was a little disappointing for this particular saviour of the universe. But never mind. BioWare will be bringing out more Mass Effect DLC, right? Right? Probably. Speaking with MTV, BioWare's Greg Zeschuk said "We're also looking at some other post-release content". When pushed a little further on the topic of DLC, he replied:

We're talking about that. You know how we are. We're always very circumspect until we can go "Aha! There it is!" With everything we build now, we want to have this long-term relationship with the customer and always have something for them to try. So we're definitely looking at that for "Mass Effect."

Wonderful!

BioWare 'Looking At' More 'Mass Effect' DLC [MTV]

EcoGamer's Anthony has once again sent us a great tip for those looking to pick up Soul Calibur IV on the cheap. We've previously posted prices for a bunch of popular stores, but if you're willing to do a bit of leg work, you can shave $50 off the RRP.

I could paraphrase Anthony's tip, but bless him, he's done an excellent job of summing up the details:

If anyone missed out or thought SCIV was too expensive, using a combination of deals you can pick it up for just $49.90. Even less with an EB Games EDGE card (10% discount).

EB Games started their 'Buy 2 preowned games' sale this week, and you can pick up Gears of War, Fight Night Round 3 and Bomberman: Act Zero which are currently not on JB Hi-Fi's trade in exclusion list. Then simply walk into JB Hi-Fi and trade in all three to get Soul Calibur 4. This is also a good opportunity to get Ninja Gaiden 2, DBZ Bust Limit and GRID amongst others for $50. These trade in deals end on the 10th and it is not known yet which ones will be carried into the next catalogue.

EB Games Preowned Sale - Cheap SCIV [EcoGamer, thanks Anthony]

Id Software's John Carmack spends his free time playing Nintendo games with his son. They're currently making their way through Super Paper Mario. And when not playing that, they have a go at Mario Kart DS. So does that mean Carmack is keen on, say, Wii development? According to Carmack:

The Wii is one of those markets where Nintendo owns both the hardware and the software, but part of that is because they make such damn good products. So it's the toughest platform for third party developers. We don't have a software or content base ideally suited for it. So it doesn't really play to our strengths and we're pretty busy with other stuff right now. I'm thrilled that Nintendo has had this kind of success because they took some risky bets, and it's always nice some bold thinking pay off for them. But I don't think we'll be on the platform.

At least he's honest!

Carmack on Doom, Rage, EA and More [Tom's Games via Go Nintendo]

What's better than playing Guitar Hero? Eating one of the game's controllers in cake form! The tasty treat above is the physical manifestation of this very idea, and it's a glorious one at that. The creator even went to the trouble of including a tutorial, and a bunch of images of the process.

FYI, the cake was actually made in November of last year, going by the dates on the photos. Thanks to reader Pete for letting everyone else know about it!

Bringing back the past - Cake Tutorial [I'm not charming, thanks Pete]
Guitar Hero II Cake [Flickr]

Well. This one well and truly slipped by us during E3. Seems that while everyone was busy devouring the gaming news coming out of LA, in China the wraps were being taken off Company of Heroes Online, THQ's attempt at pushing the RTS game onto the Asian online markets. While THQ have spoken briefly about the project before (which is being launched in conjunction with Shanda), this is the first time we've seen any real details on the game, which will take the core CoH experience (minus the Opposing Fronts content) and tailor it towards online gaming.

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There will be Nazis, but no Hilter. As previously announced, id Software is back at work on another Wolfenstein, which is due out "when it's done". And the game won't feature Adolf Hitler. Id's lead artist Kevin Cloud explains:

No, he's [Hitler's] not in our game. We've got to save something for future Wolfensteins. We can't do him in yet! ...That's one of the cool things again about the Wolfenstein universe: we go back and we pull some of these things from real history and spin this what-if story for some of it, and some of it just kind of blows out... So like the Kreisau Circle originally is more of a group of aristocrats working behind the scenes in hopes to overthrow Hitler. Here, they're gun-toting resistance forces fighting on the streets. But it's kind of nice to take those elements, have a framework of reality, and build it out.

Well, Hitler wasn't in the last Wolfenstein. He can't be in every game, you know.

No Hitler in new Wolfenstein [Eurogamer]

Amazon.com has announced an exclusive Gears of War 2 Lancer. Yours for a mere $US 139.99! Out November 7th, the life-sized replica of course doesn't work, but hey, don't let that stop Dude Huge from pretending it does. Look how much fun he's having! If that is not a blast, will someone please tell us what one is?

If you pre-order the Lancer, you even get the standard edition of Gears of War 2, free of charge. And that's not a bad deal at all.

Gears of War 2 Amazon.com Exclusive Lancer [Amazon]

Activision are intent on luring as many "big name" rock stars to the Guitar Hero brand as possible. Ozzy Osbourne, failing mind aside, is a big name rock star, and a Guitar Hero veteran to boot, providing perhaps the series' finest moment with Bark At The Moon. So it should be little surprise to hear that the ex-Sabbath frontman has been signed to appear in the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour, alongside long-time guitarist Zakk Wylde, where they'll be playing Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley in a recreation of an Ozzfest venue. Which is all well and good, but really, it's no Bark At The Moon.

Ozzy Osbourne dishes on 'Guitar Hero' and technology [USA Today]

LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule has announced it's launched a LittleBigPlanet.com News Site. Think of it as LBP Dojo!! According to the announcement:

With October right around the corner, we wanted to let you know we've launched the LittleBigPlanet News Site on LittleBigPlanet.com.

Bookmark us and get the latest word on LittleBigPlanet goodness direct from Media Molecule, Sony Computer Entertainment, or the fans. If you're in the mood to join the discussion, register and make yourself heard and be the first to hear what lies ahead with daily updates including announcements, developer interviews, video trailers, and artwork exclusive only on LittleBigPlanet.com.

Click over to the game's official site for more details.

LittleBigPlanet News [Official Site Thanks, Gene!]

Here are some new (and small) Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII screens from the latest issue of Shonen Jump. Not must new info here, save for the FFXIII demo will be in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete Blu-ray. But we already knew that.

Final Fantasy XIII / Versus XIII 스크린샷 [VideogamerX via PS3Hyper]

It's an ages-old argument levelled against Nintendo platforms: they're driven by the success of Nintendo titles, and third-party publishers have a rough time of it. An argument Nintendo are having none of! Nintendo of America's Vice President of Corporate Affairs Denise Kaigler has told GameDaily:

There is an assumption out there that just simply isn't true... We're setting the record straight. This is fact. We are selling third-party games and they are doing very well, and better than our competitors.

In between the "this is fact" and the "we are selling" bits, she points to a chart she was carrying (pictured), with data supplied by the NPD Group. Which...doesn't prove her point at all, showing only the Wii's total software sales in the first 19 months since launch, not a breakdown of first-party v third-party sales. And while the sales are very impressive, it's a bit of a stretch to somehow say that's "fact".

Nintendo: Third-Party Games Not Selling on Wii is a False Assumption [GameDaily]

As we already expected, the various international releases of The Last Guy will feature "appropriate" cities for each region. London for the UK, LA for the US, etc etc. We can add one more city to that list, as following a playthrough of the game, MTV found that the American release of the title will start in San Francisco. Specifically, in Fisherman's Wharf, which will be the game's first level. Never been there myself, but it really brings home how great an idea this is: saving people from some other city might be fun, but saving your own kin (should the game feature your hometown) is funner.
In America, 'The Last Guy' Starts In San Francisco [MTV] [Pic]

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Thought Dead Space sounded neat? The game sounds a whole lot neater. British author Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, Crooked Little Vein) has revealed in his mailing list that he's done some work on the space survival horror title. Writes Ellis:

Oh, I got released from an NDA the other day, so I can finally say that I wrote a bunch of the groundwork, backstory and structure on the forthcoming EA videogame DEAD SPACE, which recently got a comic prequel from the hands of Antony Johnston and Ben Templesmith. I believe there was at least one other writer on the project, but I'm sure there's some of me in there somewhere.

Very good! Dead Space just got that more interesting.

Thanks Austin for the tip!

Yeah, we knew when Bionic Commando Rearmed was coming on 360 and PS3 for Japan and the US (hint: August 13), but what about Europe? And PC owners? Well. The 360 launch is global, so that's August 13 again, but PS3 owners in Europe will be a combination of disappointed and totally unsurprised to hear that the PSN version has a release date of "TBC". On a brighter note, the PC release is also global and will also be on August 13 (through Steam, Direct 2 Drive, Gamer's Gate and "more"), though it's also a little pricier, at $US 15 (console versions are $US 10).

Bionic Commando Rearmed Release Date: Confirmed for Next Week! [Capcom]

Strong sales of Phantasy Star Portable may have given PSP sales a boost, helping to keep Sony's handheld in first place in the weekly hardware race. Nintendo was very close behind, with Nintendo DS sales creeping up — and looking to possibly overtake the PlayStation Portable soon, looking at new releases on Nintendo's side.

The Xbox 360 base creeps up ever further as the Wii holds steady and PlayStation console sales take a slight drop. The Tales of Vesperia Japanese release is sure to given Microsoft a bigger boost the following week. Next week should be interesting, as we expect a few shake ups.

PSP - 61,181
Nintendo DS - 57,398
Wii - 41,109
PlayStation 3 - 9,508
PlayStation 2 - 9,045
Xbox 360 - 5,359

According to reports from the latest Famitsu, the Cho Aniki series will be revived on the PSP in early 2009 with Zero Cho Aniki. Known for its ripped abs, bulging biceps and bethonged stars Adon and Samson, the Cho Aniki games take bizarre to 11, with zombie Elvis ships, fish with ripped arms and sexy giant snowmen. The two bodybuilders have enjoyed many side-scrolling shooting outings together, but Zero Cho Aniki appears to be a remake of one of the PC Engine — Turbografx-16 over here — CD-based titles.

PSP Hyper writes that it's a remake of the very first Cho Aniki, which would make sense given the "zero" in the title, in which the musclemen took a backseat to the more clothed Idaten and Benten. Expect this UMD full of beefcake to stay Japan only.

Classic Shooter Chou Aniki Revived for PSP [PSPHyper via Game|Life]

Blizzard Looking for New Diablo III Art Director
Hey, what's this? Will this change Diablo III's art direction...

Diablo III Art Director Quits, Game Remains The Same
Looks like that's a no. Anyone looking for a job in game art?

The BioShock PS3 Trailer
Do you think it looks better than the PC or Xbox 360 versions?

Frankenreview: PixelJunk Eden
There's nothing like getting a few pixels in your junk.

One of our friendly, GameStop-employed readers let us know that Nintendo will be bringing a new-old limited edition Nintendo DS to North America soon. When? I said "soon," dammit! The black DS features Pokémons Palkia and Dialga from the Pearl and Diamond version of the game and was previously only available at Pokémon Centre stores in Japan. Take that, Japan exclusivity!

According to marketing materials, the limited edition black DS comes with a few other goodies, including a matching carrying case, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon DVD, a poster featuring Grovyle, and a GameStop exclusive Pokémon shirt. You simply cannot lose.

The collection of things can be had for $US 129, which our GameStop tipster says may be "eligible for the 'Trade in GBASP or Old DS Get DS Lite for $US 90' deal". Call your store. They'll know.

Last stop on the Midway tour today is a look at Wheelman, the movie-licenced game based off the upcoming movie staring Vin Diesel. You know, the one that was delayed until next year? In any case, I got behind the wheel this morning and gave it a go. Look, I know it has Vin Diesel, but I'll make this as quick and painless as possible.

As the title implies, there's a lot of driving in this game. About 80% of it is you in a car holding down the right trigger button (or as I like to call it, the "go" button). The other 20%, you'll be on foot. I didn't get to see any 'on foot' gameplay, but I imagine you'll be doing the same thing when you're in the car. Shooting and fleeing. The overall graphics are good - the cars obviously look better than anything else in the game - but there were a few cases when the frame-rate did drop. Nothing horrible, mind you, but lets see if the delay helps the team polish that up.

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Warner doesn't feel like it's getting a fair financial shake from games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. said in an earnings call today that the money the industry is getting from games that "are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small". He painted a gloomy picture of being fiscally left behind while rhythm games profited from in-game tracks and downloads, pointing to MTV and Apple as having built successful business off of licensing.

He called for greater industry participation, threating "we will not licence to those games" if higher royalties don't fall in line with the "true value" of the game's music.

Since we're not privy to the insides of Warner's treasure chest, we're not sure what kind of cut that particular group of labels is getting, but who doesn't want more money? Our initial reaction to Bronfman's kvetching is that the music industry should be careful not to shoot itself in the foot, writing off licensing deals with two games that are a fantastic way to introduce a burgeoning market to your new and archival catalogue. And with such palatable DRM.

But hey, we just work here.

Warner Music (WMG): Rock Band, Guitar Hero Are Very Exciting. But We Want To Get Paid [SiliconAlley]

If you've ever wanted to pit Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi against country singer Keith Urban in an inner-tubing battle to the death, we have to ask — what the hell is the matter with you? We might ask the same question of the idea men at EA, who have announced, by way of MTV, Celebrity Sports Showdown, a collection of Wii Sports-like challenges for Nintendo's little white wonder. Featuring good natured events like skiing, dodgeball, badminton and even curling, big headed B and C-grade celebs will battle it out virtually on Wiis this holiday.

The cast includes semi-known faces from the pro sports and music world, with folks like Nelly Furtado and Reggie Bush, making for an odd mix.

MTV has first video of Celebrity Sports Showdown in action, should you ever want to see Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas wield a curling brush with Wii calibre graphics. It's sure to... impress? Stupify? It's sure to do something.

Fergie Takes On Nelly Furtado In Badminton, Dodgeball, Jet Racing In New Wii Sports Game [MTV]

Put down your pixel-hunting devices, Photoshop sceptics. Master Chief will indeed be appearing in Fable II. Or at least, his armour will be, as part of the included goodies bundled with the collector's edition. There have been a few changes made since we first saw him - namely around the face - all of them for the better, making this conspicuous marketing tie-in a little less conspicuous than it could have been. Embiggened version after the jump.

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Growing up in the mid-80's, I was such a big pro wrestling fan that I had everything, including my styrofoam Hacksaw Jim Duggan 2X4 and my Brett Hart sunglasses. I thought I was such a badass. I eventually grew out if it, but like most, came back during the renaissance in the late 90's. I was totally nWo 4 life brotha'. But I once more lost interest and haven't watched wrestling seriously in about 10 years, so I had no idea what TNA was when I went to check out TNA iMPACT! today.

I've played most of the wrestling games from the Playstation/N64 era, so I think I can tell the good wrestling games from the bad ones. Like with the rest of the Midway games from today, I didn't have a lot of time and go over every feature, so consider this some sort of lightning preview.

For me, what makes or breaks a wrestling game is the grapple system. It was great in the Nintendo 64 games, but not so much in, say, WCW/nWo Thunder for PSone (remember that game?). But luckily, the developers for TNA iMPACT! patterned their game after WWF No Mercy for N64, which is often considered one of the best wrestling game ever made, so that's good to hear.

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This week's PlayStation Store update brings with it one of the many ways to get access to the Resistance 2 beta program. If you're a Qore annual subscriber, you're in. If you're a non-committal single issue buyer type, you're in (later). If none of that interests you, there's still a whopping amount of stuff in this week's North American PSN update, with a trio of Talkman Travel downloads for the PSP, a bunch of extra things to buy for NASCAR 09, as well as some nice Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice wallpaper. The full list is after the jump.

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Jon Gibson dropped me a line to let us know that his annual I Am 8-Bit art show kicks off next week with an opening night extravaganza.

The free show will include free drinks and free posters as well as performances by Computer Jay & DJ R-Rated. Oh, you can also peruse some might damn fine art.

The whole thing kicks off on Aug 14 at 8 p.m. and runs until midnight at the World of Wonder Storefont Gallery, 6650 Hollywood Boulevard, at the corner of Cherokee.

If the art, the music, the posters don't attract your to the opening night, know this: One of the sponsors is Colt 45.

In case you missed out on the ballin' Midway party last night, here's a quick rundown. The Budlight was flowing, I found out Lawrence Taylor wears watches the size of a small child's head, and, oh yeah, there was some video games there, too. While I got to play Blitz: The League II at the party with everyone else, it wasn't exactly the best environment to sit down and really look at a game, especially with Justin Timberlake blasting in your ears. But is it as experimental as LT says it is?

You know, I'm not sure how I should approach Blitz 2. Yes, it's a football game, but that's just on the surface. Really, this game is about abusing the human body. It's over-the-top, funny, and should not be taken seriously. If you're buying this game for the simulated football experience, there will be little of it. But that's OK. Blitz has never been about that and certainly doesn't try to hide it.

I'm not sure where to start. I'll guess I can go over the football part first.

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Crackdown fans, all hope is not lost. You do have a reason to get out of bed, clear the room of Taco Bell wrappers, put on a smile and face the world. Crackdown 2? It could still happen, says Colin Macdonald of Realtime Worlds. Sure, the team is neck deep in APB development — which looks completely awesome — but, should the stars align, high jumping supercops may be in your future.

Calling the choice to not immediately begin work on a sequel "a horrible, horrible decision that we still dwell on", Macdonald tells VG247 that "I don't think the door's closed" on a sequel. Sounds like RTW is still willing, and able, to take another crack at Crackdown, should Microsoft call upon them. And they may, one day.

Crackdown 2: "The door's not closed," says Realtime Worlds [VG247]

I know I wasn't the only person shaking my head in disbelief after seeing the initial teaser trailer for Mortal Kombat vs. D.C. Universe a few months back. "What are they doing to this franchise? This must be a joke!" I said to myself. So I was surprised - and relieved - after all the positive impressions the game received coming out of E3. But how does it play? Midway dropped by to show off their upcoming titles this morning, and I got a chance to get a couple matches in.

It appears as if Midway is going back to the basics with MK vs. DC. No more stage fatalities, run buttons, weapons, and no babalities or friendships either. Nothing crazy we've seen from the past couple MK games, anyway.

The build I played was from this past Comic-Con, so while Joker and Green Lantern were announced recently, they still weren't playable. And still, the only available fatalities were Scorpion's flame engulf, and Superman's brutality pound. Catwoman and Shang Tsung were playable, though, so I picked Catwoman just for the hell of it.

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