I've pretty much wet my pants.

The music, the mood... it's perfect. Nobody does it better than Monolith. Really looking forward to this game.

Sony is going to launch a new version of its PSP handheld in 2009. However, the true successor this particular platform will be released later on, as reported by EG. There are no official announcements at this time regarding a possible PSP 2.

And yet EG claims they heard from sources that publishers are already gearing up for the platform and that games for the PSP 2 are in development.

Meanwhile, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe prez David Reeves made it clear recently that the industry giant Sony has "no plans for a PSP 2."

Okay, so it's not someone's pulling our leg here. Still, it would make sense that Sony doesn't want to take any chances and make the same mistake - like with the PS3, which had a poor choice of games upon the console's launch.

More and more publishers are forced to sack a lot of their staff. Midway is no different. In fact their slump is a well-known fact. The company laid off "about" 180 people, mostly in its Chicago studio. The once extremely successful publisher experienced major financial difficulties recently. Additional reports indicated that some of the staff that's being let go is from the publisher's Austin branch.

"The cost-reduction measures are vital for us to rationalize our operations and provide the resources necessary for our core properties to succeed," says Matt Booty, president and CEO of Midway.

Problems persist for Midway. Even so, word has it that this crisis won't have any influence on the team behind Mortal Kombat.

Source.

Last month's news that Monolith's soon-to-be-released shooter F.E.A.R. 2 will be banned Down Under wasn't all that encouraging. However, the violent horror themed multiplatform game received a MA +15 rating. In other words, the game can legally be sold throughout Australia.

You'd expect they'd alter the content, as they've done in the past with games like Fallout 3. It appears that's not the case with F.E.A.R. 2, seeing as the content will remain exactly the same.

Acting Classification Review Board Convenor, Trevor Griffin said: "After considering extensive submissions and demonstrations of game play across all levels, the Review Board concluded that the level of violence in the computer game, whilst strong, could be accommodated within the MA 15+ classification."

Alma, do your stuff.

Just updated two of our galleries. First up is Blizzard's highly anticipated real-time strategy StarCraft 2. Next, we have brand new in-game snaps from GPG's upcoming DotA-like strategy, Demigod. Both games are looking fine, I must say. Check it out:

Demigod

StarCraft 2

Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, a unique 14th century poetic interpretation of hell, found its way into the gaming industry it seems. Dante's Inferno is the name of the game. We don't know much about the project, aside from the fact that it will be handled by the creators of Dead Space, EA Redwood Shores.

They've released a teaser trailer for Dante's Inferno:

PlayStation Home launched a few days ago for Sony's PlayStation 3 console. The company proudly announced that the 3D social gaming community allows users to interact, communicate and share gaming experiences. Sadly, the service had been hacked multiple times over the weekend.

Players may use PlayStation Home to create and customize their unique avatars, while exploring the virtual community in real time. They may also communicate freely through text or voice chat.

Now according to TXB, "hackers found several vulnerabilities that allowed them to run some code to bypass advertisement, replace content originally placed by Sony with the user's own images. Another hack allows uploading files to hack the Home server or deleting any file from the Home server."

Naughty Dog's PS3-exclusive Uncharted is officially going to get its third installment. The first wave of media from Uncharted 2: Among Thieves shows the making of a promising action adventure. Check out the trailer below:

You may also have a peek a the recently released cool-looking screenshots:

click to view full gallery

It seems that the heavy competition on the PC market was a bit too much for the poorly optimized PC edition of Rockstar's action adventure Grand Theft Auto IV. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and Spore are still the top selling PC releases, as shown in NPD's sales chart cover best-selling PC games at US retailers between November 30 and December 6.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Blizzard
2. Spore - EA Maxis
3. The Sims 2 Deluxe - EA Maxis
4. Call Of Duty: World At War - Treyarch
5. Fallout 3 - Bethesda
6. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack - EA Maxis
7. Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar Games
8. Left 4 Dead - Valve
9. Far Cry 2 - Ubisoft Montreal
10. The Sims 2 Mansion & Garden Stuff Exp. - EA Maxis

Bethesda's Fallout 3 and Treyarch's CoD: World at War are doing pretty good, while EA continues to dominate charts with its The Sims franchise.

Seriously, is there any title in 2008 you've been truly waiting for and it didn't manage to disappoint you? Is there such a game, I wonder? While I gather that most PC gamers can't stop talking about Fallout 3 and Left 4 Dead as the only potential GotYs this year, it seems to me that 2008 wasn't half as exciting as 2007. For me, the only surprises was Mirror's Edge and possibly Dead Space (okay and L4D), but I guess in the end we didn't see anything truly out-of-the-ordinary this year.

Let's hope 2009 brings more gaming goodness for, at least remotely better than the shitness we've seen this year.

People seem less and less interested in buying Need for Speed, most notably after EA released the last two entries in the series. Things went downhill after Pro Street and the release of Undercover definitely didn't make things better for the franchise. Pretty soon rumors started circulating that the Need for Speed license is in trouble and that Electronic Arts EA might be canceling the racing series permanently.

For the time being, EA is refusing to make any official statements as to the company's future plans for Need for Speed. According to an anonymous source over at EA, NFS isn't closing, although the development studio EA Black Box might be going down that road. That's right, they're "most likely" closing the studio. Word has it that the NFS and Skate dev. teams will be relocated to EA's Burnaby studios.

Another interesting bit of info is that the next entry in the Need for Speed series could fall into the hands of EA's Criterion Games. Presumably, this next NFS title is going to utilizes the engine from the Burnout series.

Source.

So, far we've had nothing but teasers for the third installment in SCE's action adventure series God of War. This is actually the first time we got a chance to see a bit of actual gameplay. Emphasizing the word "bit" mind you, since there's only a few seconds of footage. Check it out:

Star Wars is a rich universe. Personally, I don't know how long the Gungans have been around (I'm going to have to brush up on my Star Wars history for that). In any case, the Gungans have always struck me as a weird race. Let's hope they weren't around during the times of The Old Republic.

AT COMIC: A Fitting Farewell, Sith Style

Rockstar's PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV hit the stores just in time for the Holiday shopping craziness. Much to the dismay of PC gamers everywhere, the game was crammed with major performance hiccups. NVIDIA provided a new set of graphics drivers to help resolve the situation, while Rockstar quickly released a patch.

Users are complaining that the first patch for GTA IV created a whole bunch of new problems. For the time being, Rockstar only commented on one:

With the latest Title Update, some users are experiencing a Look/Spin/Stuck Key issue that interferes with user input. The temporary fix, described below, will restore Keyboard/Mouse and XInput (360) controller functionality. Support for DirectInput devices is currently limited. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience.

To fix the issue:

A1) Unplug any DirectInput controllers (gamepads, joysticks etc..)
A2) Reboot your computer
A3) Launch GTA IV

If the issue persists, the following instructions are provided as a guide to assist you in deleting the conflicting DirectInput drivers:

B1) Exit game
B2) Go to Start->Control Panel->System->Hardware Tab->Device Manager->Human Interface Devices
B3) Locate drivers for devices
B4) Delete drivers for devices
B5) Launch GTA IV

Some users are able to reinstall the drivers for their DirectInput devices, with the device attached, and have found that it will work in game. If you do attempt to reinstall your device and the problem resurfaces, please follow steps B1-B5 again.

Source.

Well, some of you might be interested in this one. MadWorld is a Wii-only action developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega. The SinCity-inspired art direction is obviously going to attract some attention, but we'll see how it goes. Check out the latest trailer for the game:

Feel like shit. No, it's not a hangover or anything. Believe me I wish it was. My stomach's acting up and I've been paying a visit to Mr. Toilet seat way too often this mornin. Wonder what could've assaulted my digestive system so violently? Let's backtrack and examine what I've been eating for the past 24h: potatoes, roasted pork and fried onions, 5 oversized pickles, three glasses of apple juice, chocolate pudding for desert. Hmm... Oh and there was some fruit I think; right, I gulped down around 15 tangerines. Drank a cup of coffee later on.

It's mystery really.