Busy Gamer News

If you have cinematic aspirations and think you can do better than those Red vs. Blue guys, EA and USC's film school have a deal for you. Make a movie using The Sims 2 engine and you could win $5,000 or a four-week internship with the game developers at Maxis. The contest closes May 31. Enter your final cut at thesims2.com...

The Xbox version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, due June 7, will have custom soundtrack support and the expected upgraded visuals: 480p widescreen with improved lighting, shading, textures and draw distance. An added bonus is the new 30-second instant replay. That's right, pull off a cool stunt and you can watch it again and again...

If Star Wars Episode III: The Video Game and Lego Star Wars aren't enough, LucasArts is about to launch Star Wars Galaxies: Episode III Rage of the Wookiees. The $25 downloadable expansion pack offers 100+ story-driven missions that are deeper than your average Galaxies' quest. There's also asteroid mining, cybernetic enhancements, new starships and, well, lots of Wookiees. Order it online at starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com...

The PlayStation Portable is a long way off from becoming the grab-and-go media hub Sony envisions - but there are some cool freebies you can enjoy now. Sony's own psp.connect.com has a music store and some free sample movies: mostly ABC News segments, some ads and an episode of Speed Racer. AtomFilms.com offers free shorts (including the classic "In God We Trust") and Gorillaz fans have a special version of a music video at fans.gorillaz.com. Even Playboy.com is getting in on the action with two free downloadable picture galleries in exchange for your e-mail address - but if you want to see skin, you'll need to subscribe...

If you love videogame music and subscribe to AOL, get yourself to keyword Radio and look in the Soundtracks/Themes category for the new Video Game Scores station. There's music from the Final Fantasy series, Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metroid Prime and more...

If you haven't played City of Heroes in awhile, now would be a good time to check back in. A massive update to the game includes a player vs. player colosseum where up to 130 players can duke it out in supergroup battles or more intimate one-on-one brawls if you prefer. You will have to adapt to changes in powers made specifically for arena fights. There are also new costume pieces, story arcs and bug fixes...

The Xbox 360's wireless controllers, optional hard drive and EyeToy-like camera have apparently been confirmed by a launch party attendee who snapped a picture. It also seems likely to launch Nov. 16, four years to the day after the original. We'll know more Thursday after the infomercial airs on MTV... New rumors about the Nintendo Revolution report pressure-sensitive controllers, voice control, wireless headsets and free online play. Yes, free. Hey, it's a rumor... Top Spin, formerly a Microsoft exclusive tennis title with better ratings than sales, is now being ported to the PS2 with bonus features. No details yet... Still can't fill your PlayStation Portable's overpriced memory stick? Download free PSP-optimized comics at pspcmx.com...

The latest rumors suggest that Xbox Live for Xbox360 will include a free Silver level of service offering multiplayer on weekends, downloads (including free and premium game content plus movies, music and TV), friends lists, avatars and stats, among other things. But you'll have to pay for a Gold membership to play multiplayer all the time and have access to advanced matchmaking options. It also appears the next Xbox will support external audio players (though probably not the iPod), downloadable CD track info (finally!), streaming media from Windows XP PCs and images direct from digital cameras. Leaked specs also suggest built in WiFi, support for up to four wireless controllers, a detachable 20GB hard drive and all games supporting widescreen and at least 720p anti-aliased...

There's a new Skill Update for Phantom Dust. Before you rush off to Xbox Live to get it, decide whether you really like the game the way it is. Gone are Calamity and Disintegrate, and other skills are tweaked in an effort to bring balance to the Force - but there are 36 new skills to explore...

Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, a PC sequel to the popular massively multiplayer console series, is now in open beta. Play for free until June 9; after that you'll pay $9 a month. Apart from graphical improvements, you'll store your game data on a server so you can play from any PC that meets the minimum requirements. Download the game client at psobb.com...

Let the hype begin! Microsoft officially announced Xbox 360 on MTV, spinning its next-gen console in between music videos and B-list celebrity howdies. Many of the ongoing rumors have been vaguely confirmed (wireless controllers, detachable hard drive, custom face plates, Perfect Dark Zero, a console that looks like a curvy cool-touch toaster); we'll get the rest next week at E3. The important thing is that Microsoft one-upped Sony, for now anyway... After weeks of inane riddles, tedious puzzles and half-hearted execution, OurColony.net paid off with a 5-minute Xbox 360 marketing video. Whoop de doo. The really sad thing is that it's better than the entire MTV special... Yearn for something more tangible? Microsoft just released six multiplayer maps and a new troop transport called the Goblin for MechAssault 2. They'll cost you $5, a taste of what's to come on Xbox 360 where micro-transactions are expected to be the next big revenue stream... OK, ready for some really good news? UbiSoft is working on new maps for Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. And get this, they'll be free. Expect a Versus map in late May, with two co-op maps in June...

On the eve of E3, the console rumors are flying. First, it appears Sony and Apple have joined forces on the PlayStation 3, suggesting both iPod integration (which, we predicted, will be sorely lacking in Xbox 360) and a new user-friendly interface (finally!)... In addition to built-in wireless networking, Nintendo Revolution (due in 2006) will play GameCube games. So you'll be able to enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (as the new realistic Link game has been named) on either system... Microsoft's big strategy for heading off the console war competition seems to be this: Release Halo 3 in spring 2006. This, of course, assumes that Sony isn't prepared to move up its launch...

The Nintendo Revolution will feature a slim design that stands vertically and offers not just GameCube compatibility but downloadable access to 20 years of Nintendo titles including NES and SNES games. As expected, there will be built-in Wi-Fi multiplayer over Nintendo's upcoming worldwide network, plus a long overdue optional attachment to play DVD movies... The other big Nintendo news is the GameBoy Advance Micro, an ultra-compact version of the GBA that weighs under 3 ounces and has removeable faceplates - but no new features... On the DS front, Nintendo confirmed its Wi-Fi Connection Service will launch by year's end to support Animal Crossing DS, Mario Kart DS and a new, yet-unnamed Tony Hawk game...

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP is due sometime after Sept. 1. It will have a brand new storyline. That's all Rockstar will say right now - the bastards!... A game based on TV's The Apprentice is being made for Xbox, PC and PSP. The game starts with the audition finals and will feature the Donald, George, Carolyn and several past contestants. Sounds cheesy, but you never know... New Metal Gear games are on the way. Metal Gear Solid 4 will be a PS3 title. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence for the PS2 has 8-player online multiplayer. And Metal Gear Ac!d 2 is a cel-shaded sequel to the PSP launch title... LucasArts is working up some new Indiana Jones action for the next-gen consoles. The bad news? It isn't due until 2007. On the Star Wars front, there's BattleFront II for the PSP with wireless cooperative and competitive multiplayer, plus PS2, Xbox and PC versions... The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess features a new twist on the usual Link action: at some point in the game you play as Link in wolf form. Were-Link? OK, we didn't see that coming...

Fire up your PSP over a Wi-Fi network (say, at the local coffeehouse) to get Gamma Pack 1 for Wipeout Pure, or download it to your PC from www.wipeoutpure.com and transfer it later. There's a new track, craft and skin for your trouble...

Microsoft has dispelled rumors that only some original Xbox games will play on the Xbox 360. Apparently, the 360 will support full backward compatibility via emulation. It seems that maybe a marketing reference to "top games" set speculation wild that only those games Microsoft deemed worthy would be available through some sort of recompiling of the original code. But there will be no need to re-buy any Xbox games; we're assured that all will work on the new hardware (even Kabuki Warriors and The Guy Game - good times!). What's not clear yet is whether you'll have to buy an optional hard drive to get backward compatibility; the belief is that the cost of emulation may be absorbed in the price of additional hardware...

If you found Doom 3 still a little shallow (even for a first-person shooter), you may be in luck. id Software's next big project (well, apart from Quake 4) is Doom RPG. The turn-based combat title incorporates the original '90s Doom monster animations - plus the ability to level-up with a shotgun! Due in October as a tie-in for the Doom movie release, the game will be playable on most modern cell phones that support J2ME...

The PSP, GBA and Nintendo DS will have some competition soon. Gizmondo is a new handheld that promises more than just the obligatory gaming, music, movies and messaging. It also sports a digital camera and even a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracker that can be used on its own or in games that support it. Already out in Europe, the device will have its U.S. launch Aug. 11 priced around $400 with games from leading developers EA, Sega and UbiSoft... For those already committed to PSP, there are now 86 UMD movie titles promised to date, with an early emphasis on animation and anime. Gamestay still predicts it's a doomed format but it's a little surprising how quickly Disney, Fox, Universal and now Paramount have sipped Sony's Kool-Aid...

Still playing Doom 3 on your PC? Be sure to download the v1.3 engine update. It adds support for PunkBuster to help block cheaters, improves sound card features, boosts networking functionality and fixes several bugs. Get it at fileshack.com/file.x?fid=5392. Be sure to read the release notes before installing to avoid a few gotchas...

A fresh update to Guild Wars offers some small improvements: increased variety in the Hall of Heroes chest (you could get a rare shield!) and adjustments to Sigil Trader pricing to better match supply and demand. Then there's the removal of the /roll command in towns and outposts to reduce the potential for organized gambling. ArenaNet developers promise to boot anyone who advertises or operates a gambling establishment, or proliferates cheats, hacks or exploits of any kind...

Disney has launched a sneak peek of its free Virtual Magic Kingdom. a Web-based multiplayer theme park simulator that seems to be designed to sucker your kids into asking for more trips to see the real thing. Aimed at tweens and teens, there are rides, games, quests, chats and the opportunity to furnish your own guest room, mix music, create fireworks displays and more. Like a real theme park, there are hours of operation: 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. EST. Visit at vmk.disney.go.com/vmk/en_US/index?name=VMKHomePage...

Well, that didn't take long. The folks pulling story strings at The Matrix Online killed off Morpheus, arguably the most mysterious and imposing character from the movie series. He was assassinated around 9 a.m. May 26, 2005 after several days of urban terrorism designed to help him reclaim Neo's body. Writer Paul Chadwick, in cooperation with the Wachowskis, promises the death is a permanent one - although Morpheus is expected to reappear during in-game flashbacks. Now it's up to players to determine who killed him and why...

If you're playing Psychonauts on the PC, the v1.02 patch improves camera responsiveness, among other things. Download it from fileshack.com/file.x?fid=6923... If Warcraft III is more your speed, get the new Everfrost map at www.battle.net. It's only a wafer-thin 217K...