Busy Gamer News

Word's leaked that Xbox 2 won't be released before July 2005, the start of Microsoft's fiscal year 2006. Well, duh. Did anyone expect it before then? Some folks interpret this to mean it's slipped into 2006. It might yet, but that's not what this means...

Magic: The Gathering Battlegrounds joins the growing list of games to offer downloads on Xbox Live. You'll get 20 new cards with high-powered spells, creatures and sorcery divided among each of the game's five colors. Just when you thought you had it all figured out...

If you skipped the WWI fantasy RPG Shadow Hearts or need a cheap gift for a friend, simply pre-order its sequel, Shadow Hearts: Covenant and get a copy free. The deal appears to be good at EB, Gamestop and Gamecrazy while supplies last...

Originally expected in time for the holidays, Resident Evil 4 has slipped to January 11, 2005...

If you've managed to avoid getting a 'Cube, Nintendo has an offer you can't refuse: the $99 Metroid Prime GameCube bundle. You'll get the full Metroid Prime and a playable demo of Metroid Prime 2 Echoes...

More details have leaked out regarding the so-called Manhunt murder. First, the 14-year-old victim owned the game, not the 17-year-old killer (who may or may not have actually been obsessed with it). Second, police believe the motive was robbery to pay off a drug debt, not a thrill kill...

Is Doom 3 stuttering along on your PC? Apparently the game's default graphics cache setting is a bit low. Open DoomConfig.cfg, find the line seta image_cacheMegs "xx" and change the value xx to either 96 or 256 (depending on your overall memory size). Reports suggest settings above 256 don't make much difference...

The new trend in videogames seems to be limited editions for pre-order. A few standouts: Halo 2 comes in a "collectible tin" and has behind-the-scenes features, trailers and history. Fable includes a "bonus DVD" with making-of videos. Most impressive is Mortal Kombat Deception with exclusive box cover art (varies by platform and, on Xbox, where you buy), a collectible metal trading card (matches the box cover), the original arcade Mortal Kombat, plus history and bonus character videos. And Silent Hill 4: The Room simply offers a soundtrack CD...

Electronic Arts looks to be cashing in on online games, though you won't pay a penny -- at least for now. The new EA Sports Premium Pass offers console Madden 2005 players a higher reputation rating, their names highlighted from other "riffraff" players, exclusive message boards and Web pages, a real world sports news ticker, special medals, stats and leagues, and more. You will need to supply a credit card, used for "verification purposes," but Dodge is footing the bill. Speculation is that future EA Sports titles may charge you for similar features...

The Hurricane Pack for Ninja Gaiden is now available on Xbox Live. If, after playing the new Master Ninja Tournament mode you feel you're good enough to take on others online, register for the real deal at Xbox.com...

Nintendo's released a list of 120 DS projects in development, including Boktai, Bomberman, Castlevania, Dynasty Warriors, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, GoldenEye, Madden NFL, Mega Man Battle Network, Need For Speed Underground, Rayman, Sonic DS, Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf, The URBZ and Viewtiful Joe. These are not necessarily launch titles; in fact, expect only a handful (maybe two) by year's end...

Sony revealed its PSP game Gran Turismo Mobile will be based directly on code from Gran Turismo 4 for PS2. In fact, you can expect essentially the same content. That's one high-powered promise. The flip-side of this seemingly good news is that Sony may be betting on a lot of PS2 portable ports over original titles. Other potentially buzzworthy PSP titles (all due 2005 or later) include Bomberman, Devil May Cry, Dynasty Warriors, Harvest Moon, Hot Shots Golf, Metal Gear Ac!d, NBA Street, NFL Street, Need for Speed Underground, Ridge Racer, Spider-Man 2, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Twisted Metal: World Tour and Viewtiful Joe...

Already bored with Doom 3? Or maybe you're just scared of the dark. Many of the first wave mods deal with lighting up the game's creepy interiors. The now famous Duct Tape mod attaches a narrow-beam flashlight to your bulkier weapons. If you insist on having lights on all of your weapons, you have your pick but Duct Tape is designed to retain some of the early game's atmosphere. You can also add a flamethrower, punch up the gore, boost multiplayer to 32, and give the game a cel-shaded look. Go mod shopping at fileplanet.com/top50.aspx?s=31854...

If you've been dreaming of playing as Jack Skellington on your PS2 this holiday, you'll have to wait (at least) another year. Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogies Revenge has been delayed into 2005. For some, Christmas may be saved: The GBA title The Pumpkin King looks to be on target for December release...

Despite rumors of an October release, Doom 3 for Xbox will likely come out in 2005. There's a narrow chance for holiday delivery, but don't get your hopes up. The game is not only being optimized for console display, it's apparently being rebalanced for cooperative play...

id Software has confirmed new games are being built on the Doom 3 engine. Raven Software -- known for Heretic, Hexen and more recently Soldier of Fortune -- is already working on Quake 4. Yet-to-be-named developers will create Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2 and some Doom 3 expansion packs. And another high-profile deal for the Doom engine is close to being signed. If that's not enough, the long-anticipated Doom movie starts production in Prague this fall...

The BloodRayne movie is collecting a surprisingly promising cast, including Kristanna Loken (T3) in the title role and Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Sexy Beast) as the big bad. They're joined by Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil), Matt Davis (Pearl Harbor) and Michael "Stuck in the Middle" Madsen (Reservoir Dogs). Guin Turner (Go Fish, American Psycho) penned the script. Then again, Madsen did star in Driv3r and director Uwe Boll made that stinker House of the Dead movie...

Tired of watching all of the partisan mudslinging on TV? Maybe you're just itching to get in on the action. UbiSoft's The Political Machine is a strategy game that lets you play as Dubya, Kerry, Clinton and Reagan or even old-timers like Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln. The game features real demographics and statistics and offers an online multiplayer mode. Get it from politicalmachine.com with the bonus Political Operative Kit for $29.99 or pay $10 less at a game store. A v1.01 patch is coming soon...

There's an open beta for A Tale in the Desert 2, the follow-up to the massively multiplayer social experiment where all characters are player characters and there's a distinct lack of monsters, combat and ol' fashioned leveling up. Try it for free now. The new tale is slated to launch Sept. 4, assuming all bugs are fixed. You can take advantage of some pre-order offers with goodies like a T-shirt and bonus items. Get the client at atitd2.com...

Sony apparently quashed an online protest Aug. 19 by shutting down a server for Star Wars: Galaxies. Gamers staged an in-game protest at Theed Starport in Naboo over cheaters who exploited a bug to bag some unearned game currency and then started flashing it all over town. After many players were banned (including some who hadn't cheated), protesters gathered and were broken up by moderators who at first teleported them to far reaches of the game universe. At one point, a self-proclaimed reporter's character was tossed into hostile territory facing certain death before being rescued by a mod with an instinct for media relations. The mods, claiming the protest disrupted the server, eventually made good on a threat to pull the plug...

In an unusual bid to promote the upcoming BloodRayne 2 release, the Nazi-slaying vampiress will pop her top in the October issue of Playboy due to hit newsstands in early September. We should have known this would happen when she started hanging out with Joe Francis. What's next - BloodRayne and Princess Peach in Game Girls Gone Wild?...

If Vice City didn't give you enough of a Tony Montana fix, an actual Scarface game is due in 2005 for platforms undetermined (probably PS2 and Xbox). You'll have to suspend your disbelief that 300+ airholes in the 1983 De Palma movie didn't finish him. After rising from the fountain, Tony must rebuild his empire and take out his sworn enemies. You'll also have to buy that Tony's kicked the drug habit. To get an acceptable ESRB rating, he won't be able to do mountains of coke while shrieking about "cock-a-roaches". But dealing it, that's OK...

If you're itching to try the massively multiplayer World of Warcraft, you could apply for the upcoming stress test. Performance will suck due to the high server load and unoptimized code, plus you'll get tossed out at the end of a week. If you're a FilePlanet subscriber, you get guaranteed seating (assuming you remember to apply!). Non-members may still get in, or they can wait until the open beta expected closer to the game's November release. Sign up at fileplanet.com...

An announcement by Valve honcho Gabe Newell that Half-Life 2 will be finished today was false. Apparently, Gabe didn't learn from the whole source code hacking incident and used a guessable password (gaben, if you must know) for the company's message boards. The rumor was fueled by the fact that about a gigabyte of encrypted game assets (such as art and sounds) are downloadable now using the Steam service. By preloading, you'll be able to save a little time when it does go gold. And, hey, maybe you can guess that encryption key...