We wanted to take this time to make an announcement about a serious hacking violation in World of Warcraft, one for which we have zero tolerance. Certain individuals have been identified as using speed hacks to accelerate their characters. This goes against the theme of fair play that we have instituted for the game, and is in clear violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use.

Those individuals who were caught using the speed hack have been banned from the game and have had their accounts closed. We must stress once again that we are opposed to hacking and cheating of any kind and are dedicated to maintaining a fair environment in our games. This will serve as a final warning to others who are considering using the speed hack. If you are caught using it, you will be banned without question from World of Warcraft and your account will be revoked.

Empire Earth II Interview 12:33 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: real-time strategy (0 comments)
PC Gamer interviewed Mad Doc Software about its forthcoming RTS - Empire Earth II:

PCG: What graphic engine is the game using, and what does it allow you to do that was not possible in the first game?

ID: In a game like this, of such epic size and scope, we knew the graphics would be extremely important. From the start, capturing a certain look for Empire Earth 2 was something we've been keen to do -- so we knew we wanted to develop our own graphics engine. We built a brand new graphics engine for the game: every part of the game is brand new, every single line of code. We chose Gamebryo's core graphics engine and on top of that built a brand new Mad Doc® proprietary RTS engine. So, we used Gamebryo's graphics base layer and made a brand new RTS engine using our years of strategy game experience -- it let us make the absolute best RTS experience possible.

Developing an all-new engine has given us the stability, and the flexibility, to make the things we wanted for the game come to fruition. From the high detail shadows - to water ripples and reflections - advanced special FX for explosions, the new Mad3D engine is at the very cutting edge of RTS engine technology. It's these kinds of things, combined with innovative gameplay elements, that add up to a rich gaming experience.

The Punisher Preview 12:30 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (0 comments)
PC.IGN put together a preview of THQ's cross-platform Punisher:

The Punisher is exceedingly violent, excessively profane, and highly disturbing. It's also hilarious, challenging, and exciting. So, if you are of legal age to watch a man get crushed in a trash compactor or listen to a few mobsters blurt out their last curses before getting stabbed in the face, you'll definitely want to watch the 25 exclusive videos we've taken the liberty of assembling in our media page. If you're not equipped or allowed to handle such adult themes, please do not seek out The Punisher early next year under the mistaken impression that Frank Castle is a pleasant man who delivers flowers to New York's vicious criminal element. Frank Castle kills people, lots of people. That's why they call him the punisher. Let there be no confusion about it.

Knights of the Old Republic 2 Preview 12:19 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: xbox (0 comments)
Choosing not to review the game right away is a preview of Obsidian's Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords at Gamespy:

Gamers that played the first game will feel immediately comfortable with KOTOR2. The control scheme is the same and the action is the lovely roll-based combat that made the original so interesting. Even in this short area (relatively speaking), it's clear that the voice acting is first rate. There's more dialogue in the five hours that I played than in the entirety of many games on the market. Peragus made use of several holo-journals that help flush out the story, show off the voice acting, and played a part in one of the quests. Instead of, "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope," over and over again you have dozens of minutes of dialogue from numerous characters. The music is also quite excellent; the compositions are pleasant and the context-sensitive portions serve the game well. I love the little Jedi riff that plays when I get a light side point. The bit of story I experienced was captivating too. In short, it's more of what I loved so much about the original.

Witchboy Interview 12:17 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: ps2 (0 comments)
Harvey "Witchboy" Smith is interviewed over at Gamespy about his new gig at Midway:

GameSpy: You agonized for some time over what your next move would be after leaving Ion Storm. Can you relate what some the things going through your mind were and what made the decision so difficult?

Harvey Smith: When I left Ion Storm eight months ago, I didn't know how all this would turn out. I had an idea of what I wanted, of course, but in part I spent the time soul searching. What do I love about games? Will I ever get to make some of the games I really want to make? What are my strengths, what are my weaknesses? How have I contributed and how have I screwed things up? What could I have done to improve Deus Ex: Invisible War? Am I ready for the next step? Am I trying to skip a couple of steps? How do I feel about my relationship with Warren? Most importantly, what do I really want? What are my core creative values?

Guild Wars Preview 12:13 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: mmog (0 comments)
Gamespy shared its Guild Wars impressions from GenCon:

The development team is using feedback from these open beta tests to tweak all of the player-vs-player and player-vs-enemy missions. Much of the game has already been tightened up since their last event, with more action and less walking from place to place within missions.

Mercenaries Diary 12:11 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action / strategy (0 comments)
Gamespy has a new developer's diary for LucasArts' upcoming Korean conflict flavored shooter, Mercenaries. Today's topic is music.

Give that a look here.

Game Reviews 12:06 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (1 comment)
The first Battle for Middle Earth and Knights of the Old Republic 2 reviews are in:

PC

• Half-Life 2 - Fragland - 93.5%
• Half-Life 2 - RPG Vault - n/a
• Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth - PC.IGN - 8.3/10
• Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth - Gamespy - 4/5
• Medieval Lords - Gamers Europe - 6.5/10
• Return to Mysterious Island - Gamespot - 7.3/10
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines - Gameconnect - 8/10
• World of Warcraft - Game Revolution - A-
• World of WarCraft - 1Up - 9/10

  Xbox
  

• Call of Duty: Finest Hour - Actiontrip - 71%
• Knights of the Old Republic II - Xbox.IGN - 9.3/10
• Need for Speed Underground 2 - Boomtown - 7/10
• World Championship Poker - Gamespot - 6.9/10

  PS2
  

• King Arthur - Gaming Age - C-
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Gamespy - 3/5

  Gamecube
  

• Army Men RTS - Gamespot - 6.9/10
• Mario Party 6 - GamePro - 4.5/5

  GBA
  

• Smashing Drive - Gamespot - 6.1/10

  DS
  

• Feel the Magic: XY/XX - Gaming Age - B

In Other News... 12:01 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (1 comment)
That Far Cry tech demo that ATI and Crytek released officially kicks major ass. It's a nice step above Doom 3 / Half-Life 2 level graphics and rivals the Unreal Engine 3. Granted, it is a tech /benchmarking demo, but damn! I have a feeling the graphics in Crytek's next game will knock my socks off.

Today's question is: What's your gaming bias? You can probably guess mine!

• 'Bet On Soldier' (PC) - Screens
• 'Enthusia Professional Racing' (PS2) - Screens
• 'House Of The Dead III' (PC) - Screens
• 'Hunter Dan Bowfishing Survival Gauntlet' (PC) - Screens
• 'LotR: Battle for Middle Earth' (PC) - Screens
• 'Mario Party 6' (NGC) - Screens
• 'Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition' (PS2/Xbox) - Screens
• 'Psychotoxic' (PC) - Screens
• 'Scratches' (PC) - Screens
• 'Stalingrad' (PC) - Screens
• 'Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 4' (PS2/Xbox/PC) - Screens

• 'Ground Control II: Operation Exodus' - Bonus Multiplayer Map
• This Crystalline bonus map needs to be installed in the standalone copy in the game's Custom_Maps folder.
• 'Hunter Dan Bowfishing Survival Gauntlet' - Demo Available NOW
• With over 50 species of swimming fish, slithering reptiles and stealthy predators to outsmart and arrow, you'll need every ounce of your archery shooting skills and outdoor survival savvy to come out the other end of this deadly gauntlet in one piece.
• Various Game Trailers Available NOW
• 'LotR: Battle for Middle Earth' (PC) - Trailers (3)
• 'Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition' (PS2/Xbox) - Trailer
• 'Stronghold 2' (PC) - Trailers (2)

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Preview 02:31 pm - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (2 comments)
ActionTrip took a new look at GSC Gameworld's S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. uses the X-Ray graphics engine that creates environments in up to 3 million polygons per frame. Many of the modern technology elements are used in the game, showing the fully dynamic lightning and soft shadows and utilizing the effects such as grain filters, color saturation, image distortion, and bump-mapping. Judging from what we've seen of the game so far, the game features some realistic and detailed character and weapon models, and the environment is rendered beautifully, with striking detail and color palette. I never thought I could apply the word "beautiful" to a grim-looking Chernobyl-based mutant-infested first-person shooter such as this, but this is a fact - I actually caught myself staring at the evening sky and scorched grass. The game should also feature day and night cycles, which should not only add to the realism but also create more varied graphics and a more interesting and intense game play.

DS Gets Off To Successful Start In Japan 01:45 pm - Andrew Burnes - consoles: nintendo ds (11 comments)
Although there was a lack of dawn queues in Japan for the launch of the Nintendo DS, it didn't stop the dual-screened handheld from being sold more than 230,000 times that day:

As expected, Super Mario 64 DS was the best-selling DS title on launch day, with a little more than 60,000 units sold. However, Sawaru! Made In Wario (coming stateside as Wario Ware Touched!) fell short of equaling Mario's sales by only a couple of hundred units.

Those two titles held a substantial lead over the rest of the pack -- Sega's Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru (Feel the Magic to American gamers) sold just over 20,000 units on launch day, while Dai Gassou! Band Brothers and Pokemon Dash filled out the top five with around 15,000 units sold apiece. No other DS launch title sold more than 10,000 units on launch day.

Ocean Software Founders Enter Into Hall Of Fame 12:13 pm - Andrew Burnes - games: general news (9 comments)
David Ward and Jon Woods - the founders of Ocean Software - were last night initiated into ELSPA's Hall of Fame, which celebrates those who helped put the UK game industry on the global map:

Founded in the early eighties, the partnership oversaw the rapid adoption of the personal computer and established the commercial, legal and technical framework to turn the development and publishing of games software from a hobby into a business.

The advent of dedicated games consoles in the late eighties saw Ocean Software go from strength to strength with titles such as Platoon and Top Gun, sport simulations Daley Thompsons Decathalon and Hypersports and classic arcade hits like Operation Wolf and Renegade.

As the financial stakes were raised in the 90's and games sales expanded rapidly with the advent of Sony as a hardware competitor, Ocean Software broke all records and agreed to the (then) largest ever guarantee for a single title "Jurassic Park", which subsequently exceeded all previous sales and set the formula for the remainder of the decade.

They were also responsible for countless generic movie license games such as Robocop and Navy Seals, the former being acceptable when hacked to hell with a cheat cartridge.

Champions: Return to Arms Preview 12:09 pm - Andrew Burnes - consoles: ps2 (0 comments)
Worthplaying checked out the sequel to the Playstation 2 role-playing game, Champions of Norrath:

The story behind Return to Arms picks up where the first CoN left off: you have defeated Innorruk and saved Norrath. Although really bad dudes never die and only change form, your triumph over Innorruk literally sent him to pieces. His shards were scattered all over the world, and Innorruk's minions are scrambling to find them. That's where you come in; you must collect the shards first or risk him returning to destroy us all. So far, so good, right? Well, this time around, you get to choose if you want to save Norrath or contribute to its destruction. Whether you are good or evil depends on which character you choose and which actions are taken within the game. As you progress, the game changes to accommodate the path you had selected.

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes Q&A; 12:04 pm - Andrew Burnes - consoles: gamecube (0 comments)
Computer & Video Games has posted a slightly out of date interview regarding the recently released Metroid Prime 2: Echoes:

C&VG;: We bet when you were making Echoes, you were damning the original creators for making the Spiderball. For the second one that must have been a nightmare because you can roll anywhere?

Bryan: The Screw Attack is actually more challenging from an engineering standpoint.

Michael: If you think about three dimensions, the Screw Attack has a potential to completely bounce out of the environment, so that was really challenging. I shouldn't really say this, but our engineers didn't want to do it from a technical standpoint.

There was a point when we just went and said we were going to go ahead with the idea and the engineers weren't too happy. We weren't popular. The game hadn't been tested, but it was a feature we really wanted. It's working well now, so we're glad we did it.

Club Football Development Suspended 11:53 am - Andrew Burnes - games: simulation (1 comment)
Following recent redundancies, as well as rumours regarding their financial stability, Codemasters has suspended all development of Club Football 2006, presumably because the last iteration was critically panned and subsequently sold poorly:

"While this decision does affect development personnel working in the company's football studio, Codemasters has strived to keep redundancies to a minimum. 18 people are affected from the company's 412 total, some from the studio along with support personnel, but the majority of the development team are being reallocated across other current projects.

"The football studio will continue to focus on further developing the LMA series of management games, a market leading franchise on console platforms."

Playstation 2 Shortages Not Sony's Fault? 06:17 am - Andrew Burnes - consoles: ps2 (11 comments)
SCEE boss David Reeves is staunchly claiming on MCV today that the Playstation 2 shortages being felt across the world, but especially in Europe, are not the fault of Sony:

"A number of factors have led to this situation. The Suez Canal was closed for two weeks, with 104 boats on it," Reeves revealed. "We were number 67 in the queue."

All European territories are seeing major shortages of PS2 hardware, with the UK and Ireland the worst hit ("The problem we have there is that there is a separate sku for those markets and legally we're not allowed to use other stock and alter the contents of those packs," explained Reeves).

SCEE is also air-freighting stock into Europe via Antanov Russian transport planes in order to speed up the supply of stock to the trade. "We're doing everything we possibly can to help the situation," added Reeves. "But I do apologise to any retailer who is suffering. I also have to thank the trade for being so supportive and understanding."

Other rumoured "factors" include an explosion at a production factory, and other factories switching to PSP production to give the handheld a strong start in Japan. Whatever the cause, Ebay traders love the shortages, with one trader selling a new slim PS2 for £400.

The MCV article goes on to suggest that stock of the Xbox and GameBoy Advance is also running low.

EA Addresses Internal Strife 06:04 am - Andrew Burnes - games: general news (14 comments)
A highly motivated and happy EA employee obviously forgot the definition of internal while forwarding a memo from Rusty Rueff, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, to Spong. The leaked memo talks about EA's plans to improve poor treatment of staff as revealed in recent blog posts from disgruntled employees and their families; while incredibly long, here's a clip:

The last few weeks of reading blogs and the media about EA culture and work practices have not been easy. I know personally how hard it is when so much of the news seems negative. We have purposefully not responded to web logs and the media because the best way to communicate is directly with you, our team members.

As much as I don't like what's been said about our company and our industry, I recognize that at the heart of the matter is a core truth: the work is getting harder, the tasks are more complex and the hours needed to accomplish them have become a burden. We haven't yet cracked the code on how to fully minimize the crunches in the development and production process. Net, there are things we just need to fix. And the solutions don't apply to just our studios -- the people who market, sell, distribute and support the great games that our Studios create, all share a demanding workload.

We have the best people in this industry and arguably in the entire entertainment industry. Globally, we are now over 5000 strong and we continue to win in the market place. Year after year, our games finish at the top of the charts with the best ratings. We like to compete and we like to win.

First CivIV Screens; New Details 05:58 am - Andrew Burnes - games: simulation (12 comments)
Civilization Fanatics' Center acquired a couple of scans (tsk tsk) from the January issue of PC Gamer that show the first Civilization IV screenshots, in addition to revealing previously unknown gameplay details:

• Development is being headed by creator Sid Meier himself.
• Civ IV has been written entirely from scratch.
• The 3D engine will allow you to zoom smoothly from a global view all the way down to a single city.
• Individual units will gain experience and acquire new upgrades such as bonuses against specific enemy types and the ability to use enemy roads.
• No more spearmen defeating tanks.

For more, head here.

PSVratings Q&A; 05:51 am - Andrew Burnes - games: general news (0 comments)
GameDaily spoke to a representative from the PSVratings board, which aims to better inform parents regarding the content to be found in games:

BIZ: You don't feel that the ESRB ratings do an adequate job of informing parents about games?

Kinney: As a businessman who has invested a substantial amount of money into creating a ratings system independent of the industry-based ratings system, I have 'put my money where my mouth is' in unequivocally stating that none of the industry-based ratings systems do an adequate job of informing parents about games or movies. Obviously the U.S. Congress does not believe the existing ratings systems do an adequate job either—otherwise I would not have been invited to testify on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Ratings Services (www.independentratings.org) before the U.S. Senate in its hearing on the Effectiveness of Media Ratings on September 28, 2004 and members of Congress would not have specifically said "voluntary, industry-based ratings systems are not doing enough to address parents' rising concerns about violent and sexually explicit content in movies, television, video games and other forms of media" as per the attached article the following day in the Congress Daily National Journal.

We created PSVratings because we saw a void in the marketplace for the information parents and consumers need to make informed entertainment purchase and rental decisions. If the industry-based systems were doing an adequate job, you wouldn't have an entire new Independent Ratings Services industry emerging. The video game and the movie industries are in business to make and sell entertainment. They should stick to that. Consumers are now going to be turning to independent ratings services because we are going to publicize the availability of such systems. We will maintain our leadership position because PSVratings is the most comprehensive, accurate and objective entertainment ratings system in existence.

At the conclusion of this interesting article, the ESRB responds.

Guild Wars Q&A; 05:45 am - Andrew Burnes - mmog: role-playing (0 comments)
Over on FileFront the second part of their Guild Wars interview is online...

Q: I want to talk a bit about the PvP in the game. What models did you base it on, or did you come up with something completely new?

A: There is a lot in Guild Wars that is inspired by Magic: The Gathering the card game. I'd say the flavor and the speed of combat is most influenced by action-rpgs like Diablo, but the underlying skill system is very heavily based on some of the principles of Magic: The Gathering. We have six professions in the game, and those professions map to "colors" in Magic, if you analyze those kinds of things. But most importantly, what inspired us about Magic was, here's a game that somehow stays balanced over time with some minor glitches from time to time. But fundamentally if I buy a lot of cards, if I buy 100 cards a week, and I've got 5,000 cards in my collection, it would kind of suck if that meant that I always won because you didn't buy as many cards.

Again I'm getting back to the whole "how much time you have" point. But that's not the case with Magic. If you've got a couple hundred cards and I've got 5,000 cards, I'll have more choices, I'll have more tactical diversity. But if you play the game better than I do, then you can win. It's not a mathematically derived outcome. And the reason is because, first of all, every card in Magic is designed so that it's balanced with the other cards. There's no one-card that is strictly more powerful than any other card. Combine that with the fact that when you and I sit down to play a game of Magic, we both build a hand out of our deck. And even though our decks may be different sizes, our hands are always the same size. So if you were to just come up with some scoring system and score the power of each hand, it should always be the same.

At that point it becomes—how do I play? How much strategy have I built into my hand? How can I respond to what my opponent is doing? How can I most effectively play the strategy that I tried to play in my hand? That's exactly the tactic we took with Guild Wars. There's an enormous number of skills in the game, like I said over 450, but you only choose 8 when you go into a mission, either cooperative or competitive mission. So in terms of raw power, everybody is on the same playing field.

Guild Wars December Beta Event Begins 03:02 am - Andrew Burnes - mmog: role-playing (0 comments)
Guild Wars Slovenija let us know that the Guild Wars December Beta Event has begun early, with previous beta testers eligible for entry into the latest weekend session.

You can find out more about Guild Wars on the official site.

Kids Want Xbox', Parents Give Oranges 02:46 am - Andrew Burnes - games: general news (7 comments)
One of those new-fangled survey thingies concludes that more and more children are asking for hi-tech Christmas presents, but less and less parents are meeting their wishes:

A spokeswoman for TNS said that although electronic gifts were becoming popular, traditional board games had showed the biggest rise.

Last year in the UK more than 4.5 million board games were bought as presents.

TNS said its research revealed that the average price of a Yuletide gift was now £26.47 and 40% of presents were bought in the two weeks before Christmas day.

Figures and facts can be found over on BBC Online.

CliffyB Q&A; 12:28 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: action (11 comments)
In HomeLan's latest year in 2004 review interview, they spoke with Epic's CliffyB:

HomeLAN - Overall, what do you feel was the most significant thing that happened in 2004 in the video and PC game industry?

Cliff Bleszinski - We started publicizing day 1 sales. It started with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and continued through Halo 2's "125 million day one" press blitz. Money talks and Hollywood has known this for years. Our sales are a great tool to promote our own success; this helps further legitimize gaming as the next generation of entertainment.

On KOTOR II Endings 12:23 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: xbox (4 comments)
Obsidian's Chris Avellone got chatty about the replayability of Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords:

In any event, one of the many cool things about Fallout (which may have been done in previous games that I am ignorant of) is that the choices you made with each city you visited in the game caused a different splash screen at the end of the game, describing what happened to the locale in the future as a result of your actions.

The same sort of effect is present in Kotor2, though it does not only apply to planets and their people, but it also extends to your companions as well, depending on how you treated them or how horribly you broke them to your will - if they survived at all.

Splash screens didn't mesh with the Star Wars aesthetic though, so we had to pick a different means of displaying the information within the genre aesthetics. In any event, I wanted to let you guys know so that aside from: Your character's gender, your character's light side/dark side leanings, the 4 different answers to your questions about what happened in K1, you ALSO get variations based on how you solved each planet and how you dealt with each of your companions, so the permutations can get extensive.

In any event, it's all done in the name of replayability - hopefully, each person who plays the game should have some key experiences that are different, and get a different perspective on the story (and beyond).

Mercenaries Preview 12:21 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - consoles: ps2 (0 comments)
The chaps at Gamesdomain took a look at North Korea's most wanted game, Mercenaries:

Set in a neo-futuristic North Korea, the story revolves around a potential military coup. Rather than see the territory unify with its southern counterpart once again, a rogue general seizes control of the country and threatens a nuclear strike. To prevent a potential holocaust, world leaders assemble a task force seeking a peaceful resolution. Efforts at diplomacy fail. Enter a $100 million bounty on the bad guy's head, as well as those of his chief advisors. Plus, naturally, catchy nicknames for all, based on a deck of playing cards (e.g. a chemical warfare specialist is known as the Queen of Hearts).

Hardware & Tech Nuggets 12:20 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - hardware: general news (0 comments)

Reviews

• A4Tech's Wireless Battery Free Mouse - TechTastica
• Matrix Orbital MX312 - OC Modshop
• Scythe Kamakaze 2 SCKM-2000 - ASE Labs
• Soltek EQ3901 - Legionhardware
• Steelpad QcK+ Mouse Pad - Techniz
• Steelpad QcK+ Mousepad - Teamhardware
• Thermaltake Shark Case - CoolTechZone
• Ultra Portable HDD Enclosure 2.5 - Viper Lair
• X-Micro WLAN 11g Router and PCMCIA Card - ATR
• Zalman CNPS-7700 Cu Heatsink & Fan - System Cooling

  Other Stuff
  

• Graphics processors, running hot and wild? - Hardware Analysis
• Mainstream PCI Express Shootout - Radeon X700PRO vs. GeForce 6600GT - Tweaktown
• Setting up and rendering illumination in Brazil r/s - Digit-Life

Game Reviews 12:19 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - games: general news (3 comments)

PC

• Alexander - PC.IGN - 7/10
• Armies of Exigo - GamePro - 4/5
• Blitzkrieg: Rolling Thunder - Gamespot - 7/10
• Conflict: Vietnam - X-Play - 2/5
• Evil Genius - X-Play - 3/5
• Half-Life 2 - AVault - 5/5
• Half-Life 2 - X-Play - 5/5
• Half-Life 2 - Ferrago - 95%
• Men of Valor - CGR - 75%
• NEXUS: The Jupiter Incident - Pro-G - 8/10
• Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell - WorthPlaying - 9.3/10
• Prince of Persia: Warrior Within - Gamespot - 8.6/10
• Sid Meier's Pirates! - Gamers Depot - 3.5/6
• World of WarCraft - 2404 - 9/10

  Xbox
  

• Call of Duty: Finest Hour - Eurogamer - 7/10
• Men of Valor - Pro-G - 6/10
• Mortal Kombat: Deception - X-Play - 4/5

  PS2
  

• BloodRayne 2 - X-Play - 3/5
• Godzilla: Save The Earth - X-Play - 2/5
• Godzilla: Save The Earth - 1Up - 7/10
• King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - X-Play - 2/5
• Mega Man X8 - PS2.IGN - 7.3/10
• NCAA March Madness 2005 - Gaming Age - B
• Robotech Invasion - X-Play - 2/5
• Spyro: A Hero's Tale - WorthPlaying - 6.9/10
• Star Ocean: Til the End of the TIme - Ferrago - 83%
• TOCA Race Driver 2 - Pro-G - 7/10
• World Championship Poker - PS2.IGN - 6.5/10
• World Championship Poker - Gamespot - 6.9/10

  GBA
  

• Duel Masters: Kaijudo Showdown - Gameboy.IGN - 7.5/10
• Medal Slug Advance - Gamespot - 8.3/10
• Medal Slug Advance - 1Up - 8/10
• Super Mario's Balls - Eurogamer - 5/10
• Tak 2: Staff of Dreams - Gaming Age - D
• TRON 2.0 Killer APP - Gamespot - 6.1/10

  GameCube
  

• Donkey Konga - Pro-G - 7/10

In Other News... 12:15 am - Robert 'Apache' Howarth - in-house: in other news... (48 comments)
TGIF! I can't wait to play more World of WarCraft this weekend. Even though I have almost 3 days /played (as in, real time) since it went live, I hadn't had much quality time to partake in the game this week. I did however play some Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs, and got lost in Kobold UnderCity. It's kind of sad when you can't even find your way out of the opening zone to check out the expansion dungeons. Color me a bright shade of noobish! And to think I have around 3 years /played in that game (sigh). From what I gather about Catacombs in general, the dungeons are a lot like Darkness Falls: you collect little token thingies, turn them in to buy stuff, salvage & trinket them, then use the cash made to buy overpriced artifact scrolls. Yay! Honestly, Mythic could make DAoC fun again (it still has the best pvp system going) with a few small changes: Merge some of the smaller servers, ditch the New Frontiers maps in favor for a modified original frontier style rvr experience and take a look at why people like WoW so much, and tweak accordingly. Apologies to the half-million people who have no idea what I just said. :)

In Game of the Year news, we're trying to get a poll put on the front page so you guys can vote on it. Today's question is: Should we include console games for game of the year consideration?