- WiiFreeloader has been released for our region-free gaming pleasure. So no matter the game's country of origin, this baby will take it for a spin, for $19.99 / £9.99. Just in time for Super Smash Bros. Brawl this March 9, which is still missing a European release date.

- There will be no GTA 4 demo. But don't worry, they're not hiding anything. Just a gangload of criminals and whores waiting to be sodomized with broken bottles of vodka. Something the whole family can look forward to this April 29. If you have 100 hours to finish it.

- And by the time the GTA fever cools out, Metal Gear Solid 4 will be coming this June 12 on the PS3, as eventually confirmed - and detailed - by Konami. European date same as US, by the way. But, alas, Blu-ray disc doesn't have enough space for MGS4! Oh well, Metal Gear Online beta begins April 21.

- Why EA rocks (and sucks) in 2008 - five reasons why Electronic Arts 'rocks', and five reasons why it 'sucks'. I could add plenty more to the latter.

- Eidos parent company SCi cancels 14 games and fires 25% of its employees, in a radical attempt to stop (or at least slow) their downfall. Tomb Raider, Deux Ex and Hitman still alive. So is Battlestations, considering last week's announcement of a sequel. Oh and Tomb Raider: Underworld "is now scheduled to launch during the 2008 Christmas season".

- THQ director blames piracy for Iron Lore closure. And hardware vendors. And reviewers. And stupid gamers. Anything but the real problem.

- 38% of gamers are female. That leaves about 60% males, and 2% emo kids?

- And finally, some new games releasing this week, including Army of Two and God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Oh, speaking of God of War... (cue sequel post).

It wasn't a secret anymore that the third game in Volition's literally ground-breaking action series would be titled Red Faction: Guerrilla, after last week's revelation, but pretty much everything else was still unknown. Until, that is, THQ made a proper announcement yesterday, clearing a few details regarding the shooter formerly known as Red Faction 3.

The most striking change is that Red Faction: Guerrilla will be a "third-person open-world action-shooter" (ok, those are actually two striking changes), and of course that it will be released for all three heavy-duty platforms - PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game will keep its signature destruction-based gameplay, and even "redefine its limits" as they say. The story will take us back to Mars, 50 years after the events of the original Red Faction (good thing there's no mention of Red Faction 2, since I couldn't be arsed to play it).

"Players will take the role of an insurgent fighter with the newly re-established Red Faction movement as they battle for liberation from the oppressive Earth Defense Force. Throughout their fight for freedom, players will carve their own path, wreaking havoc across the vast, open-world environment of Mars, from the desolate mining outpost of Parker to the gleaming EDF capital city of Eos. Utilizing improvised weapons, explosives and re-purposed mining equipment and vehicles, Red Faction: Guerrilla allows players to tear through fully destructible environments in an unforgiving Martian landscape swarming with EDF forces, Red Faction resistance fighters, and the downtrodden settlers caught in the cross-fire. Red Faction: Guerrilla will also feature a robust multiplayer component, including several modes focused on destruction-based gameplay."

For now, a tentative release date is set for fiscal 2009, meaning that it could come out anywhere between April 2008 and March 2009... at the earliest.

- The PSP version of Need for Speed ProStreet is finally shifting into retail gear this week, on February 22. Time for another NFS soon, eh?... *sigh*... What a drag racing.

- Also on February 22, the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament 3 will be released in Europe. Other releases this week include Dragon Quest Swords (Wii), The Club, Dynasty Warriors 6, and Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (DS).

- The Witcher Enhanced Edition was announced for May 2008, bringing changes in the game's mechanics, better graphics, a MOD editor, and two new adventures (comprising 8 new quests). In other words, they're trying to sell us a fucking patch.

- Second Life goes mobile, by "[reformatting] the online world to fit on mobile phone screens while mapping the keys on handsets to commands in-world". World of Warcraft should take a cue, instead of experimenting with shitty mobile chat features.

- JoWooD and World Forge (Sparta: Ancient Wars) announced a new strategy game called The Golden Horde, which "takes you back to a place in time where the heirs of Dschingis Khan were ready to fight for their honor and glory". Dschingis Khan?! What the fuck! Somebody fire that PR idiot who can't even spell Genghis Khan right. FAIL.

- THQ and Blue Fang Games (Zoo Tycoon) are banding for a new game, in development for the Wii, DS and PC. More zoophilia?

The idea of Deadly Creatures - that "creepy, cinematic thrill ride" announced by THQ a few days ago for the Wii - seemed interesting enough to earn it some further investigation. At the end of the lair, we found a few screenshots and the first trailer, which we're gladly sharing with you. Just be careful what you step on...

THQ and their internal team from Rainbow Studios are breeding a new action thriller game for the Wii, called Deadly Creatures, the publisher announced today. The game - described by Rainbow's Nick Wlodyka as a "creepy, cinematic thrill ride (...) with brutal motion-controlled combat, a dark, compelling story and some of the best visuals to date on the Wii" - is planned as an exclusive release on Nintendo's console in 2008. Here's a bit more about it.

"Deadly Creatures throws players into a venomous world of desert terror, where the greatest victory is survival. Players will follow the entwined adventures of an armored scorpion and a stealthy tarantula as they struggle against a variety of creatures including vicious Gila monsters, tarantula wasps, black widows, and the most dangerous predator of all - Man. Deadly Creatures takes full advantage of the Wii's unique motion-based control scheme and allows players to fully experience every pounce and tail sting."

In case you give a damn about Volition's non-Red-Faction projects, here are some screenshots from their Saints Row 2 sequel, coming this year on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

- Red Faction III was confirmed during THQ's latest investors call. Exactly one year after CEO Brian Farrell practically said the same thing. Only this time, we know with relative certainty that it's developed for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. By Volition, duh.

- Steam reaches 15 million accounts. For some odd reason, players keep making new accounts after getting their asses banned, or forget their password. Or username.

- Activision confirmed various sequels for their top franchises, from Call of Duty, to Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Spider-Man, Bond and other kiddie games. Or we could've just said "Activision confirms Call of Duty 5", since we don't give a crap about any of the others.

- The Club demo is out of for the PC. So is the full game, but only on the PS3 and Xbox 360 momentarily. Good luck clearing 2 GB for the demo!

- "We at EA blew it" (with Bullfrog, Origin and Westwood). No, you didn't blow it. You fucked it up. You fucked it up!

- Okami Wii is completely playable by now, but Capcom is still not giving a firm release date. March? Maybe. By the way, this game should've been made for the Wii from head start.

- StarCraft II and WoW: Wrath of the Lich King also playable, if you can hold your breath until the end of June, and find your way inside Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational event from Paris.