Microsoft’s fall line-up starts a little early this year. Originally announced as a four-disc Playstation game, Too Human gets its time to shine just before the frantic holiday buying season. Has ten years of marination inside the mind of Silicon Knights’ Denis Dyack made Too Human too ambitious for its own good? Find out after the break.

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The PlayStation family got a little bigger today as Sony announced the PSP 3000 and a 160gig PS3 bundle.

The PSP 3000 features an improved screen and a built-in microphone for Skype and Go Messenger. The screen is said to reduce glare when outside and display colors more vibrantly. The PSP 3000 will be included in two different packages:

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Entertainment Pack
Updated Mystic Silver PSP 3000
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets UMD
Echochrome PSN download voucher
1GT Memory Stick PRO Duo
Available Oct 14 ($199.99)

PSP 4GB Memory Entertainment Pack
Updated Piano Black PSP 3000
4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo
Everyday Shooter PSN download voucher
Available November ($199.99)

Of course, the system will also be available in a core package which just includes a Piano Black system for $169.99

Also announced today was an Uncharted entertainment pack, which includes a 160gig PS3 system, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and a PSN voucher for Pain, all for the reasonable price of $499.99.

Now that that’s out of the way, let me take some time to have a little heart-to-heart with the developers. That multiplayer chatter? Never going to happen. What you gave us was a bunch of game-centric chatter coming from the mouths of level-headed, mature gamers having a great time just playing Killzone 2. The thing is, that never happens! Where are all of the squeaky-voiced pre-teens yelling into their headsets about my mom, their penis, and “a good time last night”, huh? There isn’t even a single random act of teabagging in that whole video! Guerilla, I can see that you’ve got what could be a fantastic game on your hands, but don’t tease us with some kind of FPS utopia that the rest of the internet won’t ever be able to find and destroy, one shred of decency at a time.

How ironic! Since demand has suddenly raced beyond supply, Microsoft Japan has been forced to put out an official statement:

お客様各位

平素より Xbox 360® をご愛顧いただきまして、誠にありがとうございます。

現在、Xbox 360 本体の品切れにより、多くのお取扱店で Xbox 360 本体をご購入いただけない状況が発生しております。これは、弊社の販売予測を超えた多くのお客様に Xbox 360 本体をお買い求めいただいた結果発生したもので、ご購入を検討いただいておりますお客様ならびに販売店の皆様、パートナーの皆様には多大なご迷惑をおかけしておりますことを深くお詫び申し上げます。

只今マイクロソフトでは、 Xbox 360 本体の生産を鋭意行っており、スタンダードモデルにつきましては次回 9 月の出荷を予定しております。なお、エリートおよびアーケードモデルにつきましては順次出荷を行ってまいります。商品の入荷まで、今しばらくお待ちいただきますようお願い申し上げます。
今後とも Xbox 360 製品およびサービスをご愛顧いただけますようよろしくお願い申し上げます。

マイクロソフト株式会社
ホーム&エンターテイメント事業本部

You heard it straight from the horse’s mouth, people: Microsoft rove you rong time, one dorrar.

Seriously, though. Apparently Bandai Namco’s Tales of Vesperia is to the 360 as Monster Hunter Freedom 2 is to the PSP. I have to admit, I did not see this one coming. What the statement really says is that MS Japan apologizes for not meeting demand and that they’ll be shipping out more as soon as they can.

Note to self: use above image as often as possible.

As a gamer, my mind often trails off into a dream world populated with my favorite video game characters. Sometimes I’m brushing blades against Ganondorf on the fields of Hyrule; sometimes I’m barreling through loop-the-loops in pursuit of Dr. Robotnik; sometimes I’m just spending some quality time with Sheena from Tales of Symphonia (and who could blame me?)

There are times, though, that my fantasies become more elaborate. Any time that I’m forced to spend several hours in a car, or when I have to mow the lawn, or if I had to perform open-heart surgery. It’s times like these that have made me speculate on many occasions, “if aliens were to attack my beloved Earth, what video game characters would I assemble to combat them?” These are the musings that bring you this article. Hit the jump to find out which characters made the cut and what weapons they’ll be issued in the battle against the extra-terrestrial menace!
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In 2004, Starbreeze Studios made a name for itself with the original Xbox hit, The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. After successfully launching into a sea of critical praise, Starbreeze shifted gears to the next generation of consoles. In 2005 they announced their next game, a first-person-shooter based on the comic book series, The Darkness. A FPS starring a mobster possessed by demons? It was a risky move, to say the least, but Starbreeze managed to pull it off. Continue reading to find out what makes The Darkness one of the first hidden gems of this generation.

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Yep, it’s that time again! As you can probably tell by my header image, the Blue Bomber is amongst those being slapped onto Nintendo’s download service today. Who’s joined him, though? Hit the jump to see!
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As many of you may be aware, the newly created Xbox LIVE Productions creation, Fable II Pub Games, was released to gamers everywhere via Gamestop & Amazon’s Fable II pre-order codes. (The game was also released on the Xbox Live Arcade, where it can be purchased in full for 800 Microsoft SpaceBux, or $10). However, the immediate response by hardcore Fable fans has been starkly polarized — some love the game while others seem to loathe it.

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Earlier today, Dan Paladin of the Castle Crashers development blog announced that the much anticipated upcoming Xbox Live Arcade behemoth would cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15 USD). This price is being met with cries of joy and admiration from many forum folk who had initially thought that the game would cost a staggering 1800 Microsoft Points ($22 USD).

Hit the jump for the full blog post!

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Alone in the Dark was easily the most difficult review I’ve ever had to write. Eden Games created some amazing sights that are best experienced to understand how amazing they are. Alone in the Dark also sports a few unique features such as DVD style controls and a complex item system. Unfortunately, the game, much like Central Park, holds a dark secret. (SPOILER: The controls suck!) So, does Alone in the Dark deliver? Hit the jump to find out.
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This past Wednesday, Braid was released on the Xbox Live Arcade. A platformer that uses the manipulation of time as a core gameplay mechanic, Braid attempts to push the boundaries of how games can be storytelling devices.

Does the game succeed? Hit the jump to- Oh screw it. Braid is f***ing brilliant. Buy it now.
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Have you ever noticed something new about a thing you’ve looked at a thousand times before? In my 20 years of gaming, I’ve encountered a few such items that I’d like to share with you, my adoring fans.
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1942: Joint Strike is a wonderful reiteration of the revolutionary top-down shoot ‘em up that originally graced the NES so many years ago. However, this time, instead of featuring mandated screen-flicker, Joint Strike delivers a monotone array of greys and browns and blues that define the war game atmosphere. Coupled with a vast enemy system with decent AI, the result is a dreary, sometimes confusing pandemonium that lasts until the final shot is fired.

Can 1942: Joint Strike stand up to the success of it’s predecessor? Hit the jump to find out!

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Before you get too excited, the Halo movie produced by Peter Jackson is still dead in the water. This concept art, however, is from a draft of a movie based on The Fall of Reach, a prequel novel written by Eric Neylund. The movie script was written by Stuart Beetle, whose credits include Collateral and two of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Everything is still very much in the preliminary stages, but at least some progress is being made.

So, what do you think? Could a Halo movie be a Star Wars style epic or would it be more of a Doom-style disappointment?

[Halo: Fall of Reach Concept Art - LationReview.com]

Mondays are always good days for Wii owners. That is, those of us that still have room on the measly half-gig of storage space. Anyway, today brings 3 new games available for download. Hit the jump to find out what they are.
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