New screenshots from Wheelman - Vin Diesel video game...

Combining spectacular Hollywood-style stunts with a gripping storyline, Wheelman provides an adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride.

Vin Diesel stars as an undercover agent and highly skilled driver who must infiltrate the Barcelona underworld to gather intelligence surrounding a covert heist.

Posing as a driver-for-hire, he ends up caught in a crossfire of corruption and chaos while trying to stay one step ahead of local law enforcement and rival gangs. 

Are Blizzard working on a new Project?

Blizzard appears to be working on a fifth title according to two new job postings.

The fifth brand-new unannounced game surfaced last week following previous hints that Blizzard was interested in working on a completely new IP.

Currently Blizzard is working on Starcraft II, Diablo III, a new World of Warcraft expansion, a next-gen MMO, and a new unannounced game that may be a new IP. Blizzard hinted at developing a game based on a new IP back in 2006 when Blizzard COO Paul Sams commented: "I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new franchise from us at some time in the future; there’s certainly a desire to do so."

Blizzard is recruiting again and have been looking for programmers on programming job site forums where two new positions have been advertised by Blizzard's 'Slouken' who has been working on World of Warcraft, specifically with the UI and interface community.

The positions have been advertised stating:

"Blizzard Entertainment is seeking an experienced gameplay engineer to focus on game rules systems for an unannounced title. This is your chance to get in on the ground floor of a dynamic and focused team working on a brand new project. Blizzard Entertainment offers a fun, creative, and technically challenging environment with excellent compensation and a full range of benefits."

Based on these two new job postings for software engineers, we can assume that a new IP from Blizzard is in the works.

Source: IncGamers

Grand Theft Auto IV v1.0.3.0 PC Patch improves multi player races

Rockstar Games has issued a new patch for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV (thanks: Attila). Check full article for changelog.

Download here... (54.63mb)

GRAPHICS:

* Interior Lights for ATI 1900 series cards:
o All light sources appear for users with 1900 series ATI cards. (ie. Pool Mini Game)
o ALT-TAB fixed
* Graphics Settings:
o Added menu option " OFF " for Reflection quality
o Added menu option " OFF " for Shadow quality

PERFORMANCE:

* Physics optimizations to improve situations with heavy physics calculations (ie. 32 player races)
* Graphical Performance Optimizations

MULTIPLAYER:

* NAT Type detection
o Detect if user has a " strict " NAT and displays message for user
* Voice chat is received even if your microphone is turned off

CONTROLS:

* Keyboard / Mouse
o Remapping restrictions removed
o Allow Enter, Backspace, and Arrow keys to be remapped by user
o Allow multiple mouse buttons to be mapped
* Enable/Disable DirectInput in Menu
o Users can now activate/deactivate Direct Input devices from "Controls" menu.
o If commandline "-usedirectinput" is active, it will override pause menu setting.
* Use 2 direct input devices simultaneously (ie. Wheel and Gamepad)
o Users can now use 2 different controllers at once, including 1 XInput and 1 Direct Input device.
* Added more Direct Input / XInput device support
o Saitek P380/P480/P580/P990
o Saitek PS1000/PS2700/P3200/P3600
o Gravis Eliminator Shock gamepad

SECURITY:

* Detect modified files and prevent users from entering multiplayer if found
o Game will prompt with a message after blocking user with modified data files from entering multiplayer
o Should prevent multiplayer access from cell phone and GFWL join in progress

VIDEO EDITOR:

* Scroll Bar improved response
o Tweaked to respond better to keyboard inputs
* Sped up load times for users with many clips

TITLE UPDATE 2 FIXES:

* Return of Hot Dog Stands and other props
o Missing hot dog vendors, fences, gates, pylons should be present throughout the world.
* Scrolling signboards
o Activate missing scrolling signboard text (ie. highway signs, Star Junction, Clock Tower Sign)
* ALT-TAB pauses game during cutscenes
o Cutscenes should now pause and resume correctly after an ALT-TAB task switch. Audio remains in sync.


GENERAL ADDITIONS / FIXES:

* Mismatched MODO/Perseus Clothing
o Fixed a bug when Niko mixes clothing from Perseus and Modo
* 360 Controller Texture
o Controller image should be visible in Controller Configuration screen

Microsoft lose $25 million with FREE Xbox Live Gold cards giveaways for Red Ring of Death (RRoD) compensation...

Nometet have done the maths - there are roughly 9.5 million Xbox Live Gold members. One third of them will have got the RROD, so 9,500,000 x 1/3 = 3.167 million. Thats 3.167 million people who have been given a month free on Xbox Live.

Times that by the eight dollars it costs to buy a one month Xbox Live Gold card and it comes to 25,333,333.

What that means is Microsoft given away at least 25.3 million dollars worth of Xbox Live Gold membership cards since 2005. The figure could well be two, three or four times more. With no Official figures it is hard to say.

Source: MaxConsole

Warcraft 3 patches Reign of Chaos and The Frozen Throne to version 1.23a

New patches are now available for Warcraft III updating either the Reign of Chaos or The Frozen Throne to version 1.23a.

The patches surface on Friday, but still haven't appeared on the Warcraft III Website or other official sources.

But here's some links...

Downloads of the Reign of Chaos patch are available from ActionTrip, AtomicGamer, FileFront, and The Patches Scrolls. The Frozen Throne patch is located on ActionTrip, AtomicGamer, FileFront, and The Patches Scrolls.

From Sea of Dreams to Bioshock 2 what's in a name...

Bioshock 2 publisher 2K has confirmed a few key details about their upcoming sequel to the 2007 hit, first and foremost that the name has been shortened. Let's face it, Sea of Dreams is kinda underwhelming as far as titles go, sounding like something that would be better off adorning the entry to a Disney ride in some fancy script. Going forward, the game is just plain ol' Bioshock 2.

A few other details have also been made public about the upcoming title. There will be multiplayer this time around, although no co-op mode is planned. The game is set 10 years after the events depicted in the first game, so those geared up for a prequel depicting the fall of Rapture are gonna be disappointed. The undersea city has crumbled, flooding some sections from the first game, while opening up new areas for exploration.

Perhaps most interesting is the protaganist - this time around you'll be playing as one of the Big Daddies, the iconic diving-suited giants from the first game. Little else has been revealed, but I'm sure that a lot of punters are going to be joining Hellbored in following the latest developments on this game as it approaches release. No date has been given, but the title will be available on PS3, XBox 360 and PC sometime in 2009.

Source: Hellbored

Bioshock - Ken Lavine talks to Gamespot about new upcoming mystery project...

2K Boston frontman Ken Levine talks about how BioShock 2 ended up at 2K Marin, his upcoming mystery project, and how his studio literally went underwater.

The recently announced sequel, BioShock 2, is being developed at 2K Marin, which was founded by a number of original BioShock vets in late 2007.

Meanwhile, Levine and the remaining 2K Boston group are still in Massachusetts, recruiting new talent for an unnamed project that the studio claims will be its most ambitious to date.

Read full post here on Gamespot...

Vin Diesel, Jonathan Ross, World of Warcraft and the level 80 wife...

On Friday's Jonathan Ross show with guest Vin Diesel (Wheelman fame) they talked about Vins involvement in games from Dungeons and Dragons to World of Warcraft.

Ross admitted to playing WoW (a level 7 dwarf) but the revaluation that his wife is a level 80 in the game...

Watch the video and read the transcript....

Jonathan Ross: Do you play those games?
Vin Diesel: Oh, how could you not?
Jonathan Ross: What level are you in World of Warcraft?
Vin Diesel: Oh ... I'm deadly.
Jonathan Ross: What level are you? Bring it on Diesel. Because I'll tell you what you're looking at right here. You're looking at a level 7 dwarf. That's a very low level I should point out, but I haven't a lot of time. My wife is a level 80.
Jonathan Ross: You're right to look amazed.
Vin Diesel: Level 80 what?
Jonathan Ross: I don't know ... [Diesel looks like he's thinking this is BS]. But she's green and rides a spectral tiger.
Vin Diesel: Oh my God, you're not - He's not kidding. Seriously he's not kidding. No this is really, really serious.

CVG's top 20 Nintendo news items from Tetris to Zelda

There's something of a musical theme this month, with a nice spot of Mega Man remixing, some completely unexpected game-related songs and what we think is a professional Japanese Rhythm Tengoku concert.

Next time it'll be all food or cakes, if we can find enough of them. Or maybe shoes or scarves or papercraft or weapons. No promises, though.

Read full post here on CVG...

10 iPhone video games for Mother's Day

Ah, so that time of year has come around. Mother's Day is here again.

If you haven't got a prepared bunch of flowers already, you'd better either be praying or about to head out to search for some. I don't fancy your chances though.

If the worst comes to the worst though, why not give them some games instead. Of course, ideally we'd recommend flowers, chocolates and games as the trinity of elements that guarantee a happy mothering sunday, so don't use us as an excuse not head on down to the florist.

The iPhone has a whole host of mother-friendly games, whether she's already an avid game hoarder or if she turns her nose up at the idea of fingering a D-pad. We've rounded up ten of the best. Consider it a life line in case the florist runs out of flowers.
Read the full post here on Pocket Gamer...

Big Bang Mini - fireworks shoot'em up game on Nintendo DS

Big bang mini is a fast-paced shoot’em up that puts a new spin on classic arcade style gameplay, all wrapped around a fireworks theme.

Your objective is to navigate your ship through a brilliant array of lights, dodging intense streams of firework debris as it rains down on you.

Defeat waves of challenging enemies by deploying fireworks and performing combo attacks.

Use the stylus to create fireworks in order to deal with waves of enemies that loom overhead, miss and you’ll be forced to tackle another challenge, avoiding falling sparks created by your missed explosions.

Ship movement and shooting are independent of each other so you can launch shots from anywhere on the touch screen, regardless of where your ship is positioned.

As the game progresses your stylus skills are tested further as the shots you make which destroy enemies will explode in a colourful spectacle, but shots that miss explode when they hit the edge of the screen and rain down dangerous debris towards your ship.

Each level brings with it a new jazzy presentation, from the comic book style version of the New York to the watercoloured ghost village of Kamakura, where the darkness plays a role.

Another level played out over the night time Parisian rooftops has you slowing down for a few seconds to get a better shot at the enemies by slashing downward on the touch screen with the stylus.
The end of each level comes with a unique opportunity for would-be fireworks designers to make the Final Bouquet – a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that will proclaim your victory.


With over 90 levels to complete, Big Bang Mini offers players huge scope for its special brand of fireworks fun. In Versus mode you can challenge another DS owner to a shootout on one game card.

In Versus, you hold the DS sideways and shoot volleys of fireworks at your opponent on the other screen and the various power-ups and environmental hazards soon adds to the general chaos of the game.

Boasting bright and innovative visual games combined with the stellar music and quirky sound-effects Big Bang Mini is definitely one of the more desirable games currently available for the DS.

GAME: Big Bang Mini
FROM: SouthPeak
PLATFORM: Nintendo DS
PRICE: £19.99
RATING: E (everyone)

Nintendo release new Punch-Out!! video game info

The new video game shows some of the opponents you have to meet.

Your mission is to rise from the Bronx to become World Champion.

You may recognise some of your challengers.

• Glass Joe
• Von Kaiser
• Disco Kid
• King Hippo

Watch the trailer here and decide if you have what it takes to meet the challenge

Pokemon Creators talk to IGN - Which creator loves beauty contests? And who names their Pokemon after candy?

Last month we had the honor of speaking with Game Freak director Junichi Masuda and game designer Takeshi Kawachimaru, the creators for the upcoming Pokemon Platinum.

Earlier this week Nintendo gave us another opportunity to sit down with the creative force behind everyone's favorite pocket monster game. We got to ask them a few more questions about Platinum, and quite a few more questions about their personal experience with the Pokemon games.

Mr. Masuda has been with Pokemon since Day One on the original Game Boy providing much of the audio. He directed the original DS games Diamond and Pearl, and composed much of the music in the design. Mr. Kawachimaru has been designing Pokemon since Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, and in Pokemon Platinum he served as the game's director.

Read the full post here on IGN...

Bungie to release Halo Mythic Map Pack on April 9th?

Kotataku are speculating on their site here...

The Bungie post can be found here - a good read for Halo fans...

Inching ever closer to the release of the Mythic Map Pack, we've got plenty to spout off about this week, from office reshuffling to our official Facebook page. If you came for a feast of information, break out the bib, there's bound to be crumbs this week.

Halo 3: ODST

It's been quite some time since we've issued any kind of progress report on Halo 3: ODST. Our lips have been zipped for good reason. Heads are ducked down and new builds are being kicked out at a blistering pace. More on that in a moment.

The studio underwent some changes this week, with one of our more auspicious spaces once reserved exclusively for playtesting the new hawtness undergoing an abrupt and violent gutting. No worries, it's been born anew, the interior retrofitted for a new and paramount purpose.

What was a once a swank lounge boasting more monitors than most people could dream of is now the Official Halo 3: ODST War Room boasting slightly less monitors than most people could dream of. The Halo 3: ODST Project leads are locked inside with and won't return to the studio's fold until the All Clear has been sounded, signaling the completion of ODST's post-production.

Read the full post here...