Microsoft at E3: The future is downloadable

E3 is go – just a day after I left the US – with Microsoft the first company to announce their plans for the future. If the press conference is anything to go by then the only Halo game planned at the moment is Halo Wars, so it would appear that the talk of a …

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Everyone’s a WALL-E

Super Smash Bros. Brawl has been knocked off the top of the chart, but it’s doubtful that Nintendo will care – it’s Wii Fit that’s replaced it. Top Spin 3 has moved up from #6 to #4 while Kung Fu Panda – which is apparently not that bad – rises from #16 to #9. WALL-E …

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Metal Gear Madness

The release of Metal Gear Solid 4 may not have done much for PlayStation 3 console sales, but has for some reason sent the value of older Metal Gear Solids sky-rocketing. Going by the current prices on Amazon Marketplace and eBay, the GameCube-exclusive Twin Snakes has been exchanging hands for in excess of £50, the …

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David Hasselhoff: The Game

Well, maybe. The Hoff has been talking to BBC Radio 1, and at the end of the resulting Newsbeat story, we learn that he “remained tight-lipped about his latest project, which involves a game.” What could it be? Probably something less interesting than I hope. Because I hope it’s a new SpongeBob SquarePants game from …

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Race Driver: GRID

So it’s another racing game. How original. Another racing game from Codemasters. How original. Another racing game from Codemasters in the Race Driver series. HOW ORIGINAL.

Ah, but Race Driver: GRID is original. Sort of. A bit. Let’s put it like this: it’s original like Halo was original. That is to say, little tweaks to a very familiar game which make things manifestly better.

Like early on, when you can choose how you are referred to by the voiceover lady. ‘Jake’ was a choice, and for that Codemasters receive bonus points. Anyway, there are loads of them, so if you can’t find one you like, then you’re an idiot.

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Use the stylus, Luke!

Now these are cool: officially licensed Nintendo DS Star Wars lightsaber stylus. The three pack is set to retail at $8 (about £4 in real money), whereas the two pack costs $17 (£8) and actually light up. Give one to a pal and have a mini lightsaber battle!

Too Human – 8 years to make, 10 hours to complete

Wired’s Chris Kohler was given the chance to play through Too Human – a game which started out as an RPG for the PSone before moving over to GameCube then finally Xbox 360. The gaming press have recently been billing it as Diablo for the Xbox 360 generation, but it would seem that calling it …

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Life’s a beach

Out with the old, in with the new. That is, the four new entries into the top 10: Super Smash Bros. Brawl takes the top of the chart, Battlefield: Bad Company at #2, Big Beach Sports at an absurdly high #5, and Beijing 2008 at #9. Then at #14 there’s Guitar Hero Aerosmith and The …

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SOS – Summer of Sonic

Summer of Sonic, in the nuttiest of shells, is a Sonic the Hedgehog fan convention that’s being backed by Sega Europe. It’s being held 9th August at the Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust in Central London and is free to attend. Blue hair dye is optional. As well as some poor sap dressed up as …

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Nintendo Supernova

If you’ve got Stars in your Club Nintendo account, go and log in to the Nintendo website and have a check, because any older than 24 months are going to expire today, like some sort of loyalty scheme supernova. Your best bet is to exchange them for Wii Points, on a different Nintendo website. But …

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For mash get smash

Five years after its US release, European Wii owners finally get to play Super Smash Bros. Brawl. A word of warning, though – people have been experiencing the same problem that occurred with the US version. It’s all to do with fact that it’s the first game to come on a dual-layered Wii disk – …

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The name game

Shirley Shirley bo-birley Banana-fana fo-firley Fe-fi mo-mirley Shirley! That’s The Name Game by Shirley Ellis, and this week I have been nothing short of enraptured by the names of games in the gaming news. There have been those that have made me want to rip my own face off. Activision’s Dancing with the Stars: Get …

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There is no Peter, only Zuul

Wondering why Rick Moranis won’t be supplying his high-pitched vocal talent for the upcoming Ghostbusters game? Sierra’s Ben Borth has the answer: “He made so much money off of Honey I Shrunk The Kids that he retired. He just doesn’t want to work anymore.” Just so you know, like.

Butt Ox

Spore Creature Creator is the first PC game to pique my interest in a long time, even though it isn’t actually a game per se. The legend Jeff Minter – of Tempest 2000 and Space Giraffe fame – has been having fun with his copy recently, posting his bovine beauties on his blog. It looks …

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Sega’s Hulk sulks

Plenty of goings on in the chart this week, with one very big surprise in particular – Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on PSP going in at #10. Seeing that even God of War: Chains of Olympus failed to make a decent impact, it’s really quite unexpected. Alone in the Dark arrives at #3, while …

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