"Best Selling Fantasy and Science Fiction Author Darren Reid is to release his debut fifty page graphic novel as a free download on March 9th," says the press release from NextGenBooks.com and DarrenReid.co.uk about "Xevicom Forever," a graphic novel (comic book) that was Darren Reid's first writing project. "Xevicom Forever" predates all of Darren Reid's currently in-print work.

"Xevicom Forever" follows the story of three new heroes in "the nightmarish future of Xevicom city." The press release describes the novel as "a dark and twisted tale of broken lives and shattered dreams" and "a glimpse into the lives of the three protagonists and a hint of what it takes for a man to become a hero."

The graphics were made by Michael Bushnell, Alex Cowles, and George Williams - "three of Britain's best up and coming artists."

Wizard magazine (the world's largest comic book magazine) liked "Xevicom Forever," and so do we. And hey, it's free. So download it...

While the rest of us plebes are stuck with our fat black PS3s, Sony invited a few of their celebrity friends out to the Palms Hotel this past weekend for a little PS3 pimpin'. At the "PlayStation Parlor" celebs like Kobe Bryant got to dip their newly minted PS3s in vats of glossy paint and later got the chance to laser etch them with their own designs. It sure beats having to customize your PS3 the old fashioned way. – Louis Ramirez
Stars Customize PS3s in Vegas [Complex]

So, would you like to read about another Phil Harrison interview? No? Well, the last proved to be informative and quite entertaining. We guess another one wouldn't hurt. And besides, he is sincerely touched by the warm appreciation people have been showing the PS3. As he said to online site GamePro in another interview,

It really brought home three years of work. I thought what actually matters is that people are standing out there with money in their pockets with a sense of excitement. Knowing that scene was being replicated in cities all across the country makes it very real.

Aside from being touched by the fans' money welcome, Phil Harrison also tipped his hat off to game developers who were not intimidated by Sony's new system. He added that these developers, especially Insomniac with Resistance: Fall of Man, should be given honorable mentions as well.

Any launch game deserves accolade because working on the bleeding edge of a new system takes guts and de...

When we talk Peter Hines, you know what that means, people. Yup - we will be going another round with Bethesda's spokesman on their upcoming PS3 release of Oblivion, with this interview session focusing on extra details for the Shivering Isles, other games in the works, and what else on the PS3 (aside from Oblivion) that Hines looks forward to seeing on the shelves.

First off, Hines mentioned that Shivering Isles, earlier mentioned to be hitting the PS3, may be getting released within the year. "I can't tell you how or when right now, but it is definitely in our plans." Hines added, "It's another one of those things - Shivering Isles isn't done yet, PS3 isn't even done yet [in Europe, so Shivering Isles for PS3 needs to have a few things happen first before we can move on that."

And for the people wondering what other plans Bethesda has cooking up for the PS3 outside RPGs, Hines reiterates on their upcoming FPS: Rogue Warrior. "Rogue Warrior is the only PS3 title we'v...

I actually watched the original TMNT live action movie about a week ago. And I loved the turtles as a kid and the games where fun too. Raphael was my favorite. The new TMNT PS3 game will be based on the upcoming CGI movie. And it will also be released on the PC, 360, Wii, [...]

A new world order, it seems, is the order of the day for a lot of console gamers lately. The PS3 has been subject to a lot of criticism and skepticism for being "underwhelming" - that is, it's a bit too pricey, it doesn't have a real answer for the Xbox Live network, the controller is a bit light and doesn't rumble, along with the lack of a real powerhouse title that can transcend genre boundaries and become a true household name. Most of these, of course, came from people who read articles dissing the PS3 but never actually getting empirical analysis.

The Xbox 360 and the Wii are truly impressive game machines in and all by themselves. The 360 is carrying a lot of momentum from American gamers due in part to its early release and strong titles driving the sales. The Wii is also picking up the pace as evidenced by good sales attributed to the game-enhancing functionality of the controller and an impressive showing by first-party games such as The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Pri...

Got nearly $9,000 to blow on a potentially doomed video format and flashy audio system combination? Good thing, because Sharp will release in Japan this June the BD-MPC70 BD 1-Bit Theater Aquos Audio System, a 7.1-channel speaker set with a built-in Blu-ray player. Fantastic name aside, this system could be hampered by its inclusion of the Blu-ray player since we're all still unsure of which format will "win" the "war." Add in the fact that it doesn't really do anything that other, far less expensive speakers don't already do, and you've got to wonder why anyone would want to take such a gamble.
Once again, Sharp wants you to buy their entire line of widgets in order to get the most out of this. The system is compatible with Fami-link, which lets users more easily integrate separate AV components. Or, more accurately, separate Sharp AV components. I don't know, to me, picking up a PS3 (if you insist upon Blu-ray) and a decent set of surround speakers should just about do the j...

While the PSP and PS2 versions of SBK: Superbike World Championship are still on schedule for their end of April release, Eurogamer reports that the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game will only be available come October.

Black Bean Games spokesperson Livio Cantagallo told Eurogamer, however, that the demo will be ready "near the end of the summer." At least fans will get something to pass the time with while they're waiting for the official releases.

There has also been no confirmation yet regarding the rumored PS3 version. According to Cantagallo, "We are going to think about a PS3 version, because we are just moving onto the next-generation consoles, starting with the Xbox 360 as it's similar to the PC."

It isn't out yet, but Amazon's certainly got its hands on an interesting deal. According to their website, they're offering pre-orders for the the upcoming PS3 version of Enchanted Arms on the cheap.

Amazon's offering pre-orders for From Software's golem filled RPG for US 39.99, which is a pretty good price. For those who haven't heard of this game, the story follows the trials of Atsuma, a man who has the power to control the aforementioned golems, in his quest to figure out what's driving these devil golems berserk and to stop it at all costs.

In any case, feel free to visit Amazon for more information.

According to the preliminary data of the NPD group, the Nintendo Wii leads the January hardware sales in the US. Apparently, it has sold 436,000 units throughout North America. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is in the middle with 294,000 units sold, while the PS3 isn't far behind with 244,000 units.

This preliminary data was allegedly released by Microsoft and has not been officially confirmed by NPD. Molly O'Donnell, group manager for MS' entertainment and devices division said that "Xbox 360 had a fantastic January, and we feel great about our position in the marketplace".

She also added that the X360 experienced an 18 rise in sales compared to the same period last year. We'll be sure to give you more updates about this in the coming days. For now, we all have to make do with this piece of "preliminary data".