The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is set to begin next month but even this early, interesting details are slowly popping up. Giant game developer and publisher Electronic Arts just announced the games it will be showing off at the said conference.

And we're telling you, it's a well-selected list:
CrysisHellgate: LondonMercenaries 2: World in Flames (360 and PS3)
Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Portal (360, PS3, PC)Team Fortress 2 (360, PS3, PC)EA clarified that these games will not be displayed on the show floor. According to Eurogamer, they will be showcased in a reception running parallel to GDC. However, it is worth mentioning that EA will be a part of the main conference; EA is scheduled to discuss important topics such as creating believable AI athletes in sports games and EA Montreal's plans for new IPs.

The company is also a part of a Maxis session that will talk about how The Sims would be making its way to Wii.

 
Lair will be released this May 2007. While Factor 5's creation is yet to grace the retailers, we can at least enjoy another batch of screenshots for this upcoming game. And as always, take your time enjoying the high-res images the game hopes to bring to your PS3, and the trailers which should showcase this title's gameplay with the SIXAXIS controller.

Nothing else to report at this point, save for waiting for any further details on the game's status, or on what it's going to sound like when it reaches our HDTVs.

  

First, there were videos. Then came the screenshots. This time we're bringing you some much-needed details regarding Time0, Zootfly's upcoming third-person actioner. PlayStation Universe recently had the chance to speak with Zootfly CEO Bostjan Troha about the game, so read on for a few snippets.


The tech demo for Time0 was shown running on Xbox 360, so of course there are still some questions regarding a PS3 or Wii release for the title. Troha said that while the ultimate decision "depends on the publisher to great extent," they would really like to "have Time0 on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360." Wii owners are pretty much out of the loop, though, as according to Troha, the game's engine is "just too complex to port to the Wii at this point."

The PS3 thing seems to be a lock, though, as Troha noted that they are currently in the process of porting the Xubl engine to the PS3. The Xubl engine is what allowed Zootfly to port the engine and the Time0 vertical slice t...

RPG fans will be glad to know that there's one company who won't be straying from the formula that's worked for them. In fact, this company's even made it known that they've no plans to go beyond making RPGs, at least for a little while.

According to Pete Hines, Bethesda's VP for Public Relations, the company has "no plans internally... to do anything other than role-playing." Of course, with the slew of titles they're planning to create for role-playing audiences, that's definitely a statement of fact.

In addition to finalizing the PS3 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda is also creating its expansion, known as The Shivering Isles. In addition, many are looking forward to the eventual release of Fallout 3, the third RPG installment in the post-apocalyptic RPG series.

Major League Baseball 2K7 by 2K Games will hit the shelves on March 5. Since that's just a couple of weeks away, we'll focus on another feature - the Franchise Mode. Many players were turned off by this feature on the previous games, as games from 2K seem to have the ever present cluttered menus. This has been improved to something easier, the menu interface now resembles windows. It is divided into four - covering nearly all the information a manager needs.

On the upper right hand corner sits the Buzz Box. This provides you with the league news including contract negotiations, MVP running, and team expectations. This window can be an indicator whether your team is doing well (or not) for that season. The windows on the bottom list team statistics and players can customize what info you want to be shown: team standings, hot and cold hitters or league stats leaders.

Budget can also be shown, as a basic economic system is a new feature. It's essential to have a successf...

In a move that is sure to please PlayStation fans in the UK, Evolve Publishing has announced that its magazine PURE will be expanding its coverage to include all PlayStation formats. That means readers will now be able to read up on PS2, PS3, and PSP news from one magazine.

PURE s publisher, Pat Kelly, explains the move like this: "There is a strong relationship across the Playstation formats. Research from ABI forecasts that 60 of Playstation 2 owners will eventually become Playstation 3 owners and the backwards compatibility of Playstation 3 will ensure that the PS2 catalogue will be a major consideration to potential PS3 purchasers."

This ties in neatly with the PS3's upcoming Euro release. The reformatted PURE will hit store shelves on February 21. It will feature UK exclusive reviews of Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man, and will be accompanied with a Resistance: Fall of Man guidebook.

In our previous reports, we mentioned that the 2K game Major League Baseball 2K7 (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP) is set to come out on March 5. Now, it seems that EB Games and GameStop knows something we don't. They recently changed the expected ship date of the game to February 26 - a week earlier if you don't wanna do the math.

Anyhow, if this is proven to be true, then this would now match up with the PS2 and PSP release of the SCEA game, MLB 07: The Show. And if this is the case, they are in for a serious competition. Maybe they're taking advantage of the fact that MLB 2K7 is the only baseball title hitting the Xbox 360. Too many baseball titles, so little time and money.

This is of course not the first time that the retailer confused us or gave us an idea about a game's release date. But then again, they were right about the whole Saint's Row coming to the PS3 issue. Anyway, feel free to check out the link below to see the release dates for yourself.

Now that the 360 version of Def Jam: Icon has been making rounds on Xbox Live Marketplace, most of you have pretty much seen how the music-integrated gameplay that the game boasts of plays out. But for those who don't own a 360, don't fret, it won't be that long 'til the game hits your beloved PS3's too (March 6th, to be exact).

So anyway, this post is for those who are in dire need of more sneak peeks to keep them temporarily satiated and restrained from going out into the street and beating the hell out of unsuspecting strangers. Kidding. Seriously though, if you wanna know more about how the whole rhythmic brawling thing, go watch the vid and take it from Ludacris himself. Enjoy!

Blu-ray and HD-DVD. AOL advised readers to not invest in Blu-ray and HD-DVD players, because like the early days of Betamax-versus-VHS, it's not yet clear which format will win. (If you haven't heard of Betamax, that's because you're too young; VHS ultimately won that format war.) If you wait for one format to be a clear winner, then you won't end up investing your money on the losing format (what are you going to do with obsolete technology?). An added bonus to waiting: prices will be lower.

PS3. AOL gave the same advice about the PS3, citing the lack of games and a steep price tag. Relax! AOL did not say that the PS3 is never going to be worth buying: all the author said was that you might want to wait for more games to be released and for the price to go down. Still, that didn't please the PlayStation 3 fanboys, and PS3 fan sentiments were further inflamed by this:

If you're simply looking for a fun game system, you can find a Nintendo Wii (try eBay) or Xbox for ...

Filed under: Features, Misc. Gadgets

Sure, Washington had his dentures, Lincoln his ironclads and Jefferson his swivel chair, but what kind of kit would they be messing around with in 2007? In search of answers based on broad and most likely mis-guided and / or offensive stereotypes, we bring you the following list. Feel free to rip it to shreds in the comments, just make sure to keep it patriotic -- Big Brother is watching. Happy Presidents Day!#vistachart { border: 2px solid #333; border-collapse: collapse; } #vistachart td { padding: 3px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; margin: 0; line-height: 1.3em; } #vistachart th { font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 4px; background: #eee; } #vistachart th.mainth { border-bottom: 1px solid #333; font-size: 1.2em; } #vistachart td.red { background-color: #f08c85; } #vistachart td.green { background-color: #b3e2c4;


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