A rather pretentious title, for what really looks more like a Half-Life 2 MOD. Nevertheless, the recently announced third-person shooter Salvation (anti-rhymes with Damnation, but not to be confused with Dark Salvation) is being developed as a full-fledged PC and Xbox 360 game powered by Valve's Source engine, by some novice Ukranian studio Black Wing Foundation, "in cooperation with N-Game Studios" - cause it's so damn hard to make a generic shooter all by yourself these days.

The world of Salvation is described as a near-future cybernetic dystopia, inspired by the likes of "1984", "Brand New World" and "Us", with a dramatic story spanning seven episodes (17 missions), from Tokyo to London, which goes something like this. (...)

 Continue reading 'Salvation, Cybernetic Dystopian Shooter'...

- The 360+ MB Crysis patch 1.2 is finally up for download. But it has issues. And also some dedicated (albeit beta) nVidia drivers.

- "We have no plans to have in-game advertising in StarCraft II", says Blizzard via Blizzplanet. Well, they have no plans for announcing the next Diablo game today, either. But that doesn't mean it's not there...

- Dark Sector has just gone Gold, and is now ready for releasing in North America this March 25 on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

- Capcom dismisses Resi 5 date rumours, the ones placing the release of Resident Evil 5 in October 2008 (just before Gears of War 2). So it might only come out in early 2009.

- Huxley, that MMOFPS nearly gone vaporware, was featured this week in an IGN preview saying that Webzen plans to release the PC version by the end of 2008, followed about six months later by the Xbox 360 version (which will take place 50 years later, but will still have "cross-platform interaction" with the PC version, oddly enough).

- Each game from the Orange Box package - Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Half-Life 2: Episode One + Two - will be available as separate PC titles at retail on April 9, as confirmed by Valve on Joystick. Too little too late.

- Europa Universalis III: In Nomine announced for this summer (or some time before it). It's like an expansion for another expansion, since it will require the Napoleon's Ambition add-on, and the idea for it was born on Paradox' forums. Sounds... promising...

- Various WiiWare games were announced lately, but the vast majority of them look like pure, double-distilled shit. One exception is LostWinds (which we covered last month), and another one will hopefully be Lit - a 3D horror action-puzzler coming from WayForward (Contra 4, Shantae), which I found out about on Gamasutra.

- The U.S. Air Force wants 300... Spartans? Moonkins? Nope, PlayStation 3 consoles. Awoo! Awoo! Awoo! They're supposedly "conducting a technology assessment of certain cell processors", and the PS3 is perfect for playing while on-duty their top-secret research.

- The Sims 3 website is now up, hinting at - you guessed - The Sims 3. More information is coming on March 19. I just love how everyone is making a full-blown "news" out of this.

- The Chronicles of Spellborn is being delayed again, according to a project update on the MMO's website. This time they expect to release it in Q2 2008. I beg to differ.

- Audiosurf was the top selling game on Steam in February, pwning the likes of Orange Box and Peggle Deluxe. I only found out about this cool little indie game last month, but too bad I was busy with a WoW raid at the time, to give it a try.

- Ziff Davis Media announced tonight it has filed a dreaded Chapter 11 (a.k.a. bankrupcy protection) petition, hoping to somehow pull out of the financial asshole they're stuck in, with hundreds of millions of dollars in debt... that's some heavy shit! If the name doesn't ring a bell, they publish the EGM and Games For Windows magazines, and the 1UP network of websites which also includes FileFront, GameVideos and GameTap. Mwhaha... here's our chance to take over the gaming world!

- Dragonball movie delayed... Wait, what the fuck is this doing on a gaming website!? Time to switch to Animekon for the full story.

This right here is what's wrong with today's "gamers". How can a casual title like Mario & Sonic at the Olympics sell 5 (five!) million copies in just over three months, while games like [insert personal hardcore favorite] are barely struggling to make up for the tens of million bucks invested in their years-long development? And yet, it's happening right under our noses, as proudly announced by SEGA today.

"With adored icons and fun game play, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has shot to the top of the sales charts and is clearly resonating with the growing audience of casual gamers that want an engaging and accessible gaming experience," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America.

Grats to SEGA and everything, but this is just way too fucked up (... says a guy who's nuts about Wii Sports and can barely wait for Super Smash Bros. Brawl).

Sure enough, Nintendo was among those who tried to leave their mark on this week's GDC 2008 event in San Francisco. That's not to say they actually succeeded, but at least they announced / confirmed a new round of release dates for some of their upcoming products - namely WiiWare, Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

First come, first served is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, set to kick into retail action on March 9. I don't think this Wii fighting game needs any more introduction, but just in case I'm wrong, these few trailers should enlighten you in no time.

Next, on May 12, comes WiiWare - the new game download service that got us (or at least myself) marginally excited. One of the early games developed for WiiWare we already mentioned in our previous news about LostWinds; another notable one will be Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King by Square Enix; and a new episodic game series from Telltale is also on its way.

Finally, Wii Fit will be released on May 19, complete with a "weight-and-motion-sensing Wii Balance Board" which may or may not prove useful for other kinds of games. Like... skiing? Just a thought.


Wii jokes just ain't what they used to be...

For every guitar that Fender throws on the market, there is an idiot thinking he’s the next Yngwie Malmsteen. And it seems that, from now on, for every fucking Guitar Hero game released, there will be a band that will take advantage of it. Rumor has it that there will be no less than four Guitar Hero titles emerging in 2008, the first being dedicated to all-time favorite (not mine, but hey, I don’t hate them or anything) rock band, Aerosmith.

The game will be released this summer, more exactly in June, and will give the fans a chance to follow in the footsteps of their beloved idols, from the time they were a bunch of kiddies dreaming of greater glory, right until they got showered in cash and began to afford about any hooker they could lay their eyes upon. It seems that only Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton will be “playable” characters here, with Stevie-boy and Kramer-kun deciding to pass this one out.

To start all things straight (not that we would ever question their sexual orientation in any way), the ladies at Activision will be providing Guitar Hero III owners with Aerosmith’s hit “Dream On”, starting today, with the possibility of download being available until February 18. That means you have just about two days to get your hands on it.

So, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith will be available in June for all the platforms, developed by Neversoft (PS3, X360), Vicarious Visions (Wii), and Budcat Creations (PS2). Rock on, or something.

1UP scoop.

- Super Smash Bros. Brawl sales top 1 million in Japan, making it the fastest selling Wii game to reach that sales figure over there. We should start stocking up on booze early, for when it launches over here (next month?). An insane Wii session is sure to ensue.

- Devil May Cry 4 demo hits 1 million downloads on Xbox Live, through some questionable math (25,000 downloads a day since January 24 isn't even remotely close to 1 million). No wonder Capcom's game owns the UK charts.

- Sam & Max Episode 203: Night of the Raving Dead launched on GameTap today. Tomorrow also on Telltale's website, along with a demo.

- Darkeden free vampiric MMORPG launched by Joymax, along with a new Daden Market (the item mall of Darkeden). From the communique, "players can log in today and slay vampires, fight humans, or crush oysters". Oysters?... Oh, I'm sorry, ousters.

- Need for Speed ProStreet has a new Porsche demo on the PC, featuring the Porsche GT2 and GT3RS cars, and Porsche's Leipzig test track. No use, there can be only one NFS: Porsche Unleashed!

- WorldShift beta up on FilePlanet for 5,000 gamers. "Subscribers only". F.U.

- Dynasty Warriors 6, now armed with the Gold status, will invade US retail on February 19.

- Battlefield, Halo veterans form Tyrant Studios in Seattle, setting out to "change the way games are made" with their combined tyranny experience. I don't suppose their motto is "Liberté, égalité, fraternité"?

- "More churches" in Resistance 2! I loled.