It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. Ubisoft's War World is landing on Xbox LIVE Arcade, and is bringing loads of shiny graphics, mech destruction and kitty killing with it. Ok, maybe not so much on the latter, but you get the point.

Travel to a far away planet for a pure adrenaline rush! “War World” is a fast-paced third person shooter that features a unique blend of action and tactical gameplay, which sets it apart from any other multiplayer shooter. The game features powerful armored mechanoids that battle head-to-head in an all-out savage single and multiplayer war.

War World includes a selection of sixteen varying robot designs for you to choose from (each having unique abilities, etc.) and a 100-level single-player mode called "Arcade." Multiplayer also comes to the War World in the form of CTF, Bomb Assault, Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch. War World will be available for 800 Microsoft Points this Wednesday at 2 a.m. PST. 

Going to E for All '08? Gears of War fanataic salavating at the very thought of snuggling up with Marcus Fenix again in two months? Fantastic!

Microsoft just announced that attendees of E for All will get the first ever public hands-on with Gears of War 2's new co-op mode, Horde.

For the first time, the public will be able to get their hands on the brand new cooperative multiplayer mode, Horde, which allows up to five players to work together to fight off waves of invading Locust and strive for the highest team score possible. 

The E for All Expo arrives for three days in Los Angeles beginning October 3rd. Full release after the jump.

Hollywood and and the videogame business aren't the best of friends. Neither tend to compliment each other's wares all that well. In the past, high level Hollywood directors such as Steven Spielberg and John Woo have attempted to lend their names ideas to software in order to break that wall down - the results being Stranglehold and Boom Blox, respectively. The next person in Tinseltown to take the plunge? Mr. "300" and "Watchmen" himself, Zack Snyder.

Variety's Cut Scene blog reports that Snyder has signed a new deal with none other than Electronic Arts' LA studio for "three original games." Unsurprisingly, there are no details yet. EA will be the sole owners of the new titles, whatever they are, and are even being reported to work with Snyder's company to convert said games into films in the future. Snyder says of the deal:

I think video games are cool because they offer an opportunity to tell a story in an entirely unique way. Being a long time fan of the games EA creates, I look forward to collaborating with them.

Snyder is also working with both Warner Bros. on an episodic Watchmen series, as well as Brash Entertainment on a "next-gen" 300 title.

Ka-boom!   WiiWare explodes today in fantastic form with the release of Bomberman Blast.  For 1,000 Wii Points, you'll get a pyrotechnic extravaganza that supports up to eight players via the WiFi service, Mii avatar support in-game, and some cool Wiimote functionality that lets you shake the controller to set of some of your items. 

Also on WiiWare today, you'll find Nintendo's Art Style: ORBIENT for 600 Wii Points.  The single player game puts you in control of a small star, trying to absorb other stars to grow larger.  Gravity, black holes, and other interstellar phenomenon will play a part in your success and failures, although the game has a bit of a casual feel to it.

For your blast to the past, Virtual Console is offering Super Turrican for 800 Wii Points.  This Super Nintendo game has a wide variety of special moves, power ups, and weapons for you to dabble with.  Sure, it only supports one player, but the game is held near and dear to the hearts of many retro gamers.

Somewhere out there, the people at Treyarch are probably not extremely happy as it appears the list of perks for the upcoming Call of Duty: World at War, has leaked onto the internet.   While there are some perks returning from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, there are quite a few new ones sure to lead to a much more insane online experience.  The game appears to be supporting a similar three-perk selection system as in the previous game, yet it also appears to include vehicle perks as well. 

Hit the jump for the full list of the rumored perks.

Sometimes there is a treasure trove of entertainment to be discovered laying underneath the cover of simplicity. This has been all but proven with the increased development and rising popularity of Flash games. The Internet is stuffed full of them. Sites like Newgrounds.com can thank them for a large percentage of their daily traffic. Who doesn't enjoy a quick distraction from work or school? That is what Flash games are all about - although most Flash games lack the depth of full retail games, some of them are crafted into works of brilliance that stack up right beside the best console hits. Thanks to online services like Xbox Live, some of the best Flash games can be easily translated to an experience intended for consoles. It turns out that one of the most recent Flash-based games released on Xbox Live Marketplace, Castle Crashers, is one of those brilliant works.

Castle Crashers is made by Behemoth Games, the same team of guys who originally made and then ported the cult-hit Flash game Alien Hominid to consoles. There are differences that separate Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid, but both of them are stylish side-scrolling action games that will hook anyone who gives them the time of day. Castle Crashers delivers on all of the most important aspects of a Flash game while also offering enough extra content to make it well worth the 1,200 Microsoft Points investment. There are dozens of levels,  26 game-affecting animals to collect, and an RPG-like character customization system. Did I mention that, with its four-player co-op and competitive (local and online) game modes, it is one of the best multiplayer offerings on the Marketplace? Suffice it to say, anyone interested in old-school action games, stylish graphics, and Xbox Live Marketplace should read on.

Read on past the jump, the princess gives you a smooch at the end!

Episode 34

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And by "major," I mean "almost a new handheld altogether." Reports from Monex and Nikkei Net indicate that Nintendo are currently preparing a major Nintendo DS redesign for release sometime by the end of this year. As it stands, this is apparently not the "DS 2," but an advanced version of the current model. DSUltra?

The new hardware is "expected to be priced below 20,000 yen," and is said to include larger screens on  both the top and bottom, improved "wireless functions," a built-in music player, SD card slot and built-in digital camera. No motion sensor technology is mentioned. What's more, it's reported that the camera will allow for "expanded" gaming experiences. Visions of Pokemon and the e-Reader just popped into my head.

The alleged device is reported to be announced in the near future for a limited release in Japan this Holiday (much like the PSX from back in the day). Why only Japan ... right now? Apparently, Nintendo are only going to launch the device with "several hundred thousand units" overseas in order to judge demand for them in other regions. Smart move, espeically since the original DS is STILL selling like hotcakes. The timing of these reports is interesting, considering that Nintendo is scheduled to hold a major press confernece on October 2nd in Japan where they will be "showing off new products." Hmm. No official confirmation or denials have been made.

[Update]: Nintendo have issued an official statement:

We are always developing new products. However, since nothing has been announced officially, we are unable to comment at this time. 

In short ... Nintendo are probably quite disappointed that their surprise announcement has been foiled. Y'know, probably.

[Update 2]: Looks like "someone" at Nintendo really screwed up by leaking this thing to Nikkei, or the newspaper decided to shoot their credibility down the tubes. Despite their choice to report the information as a truthful statement, Kotaku got a "better" statement on the rumor from Nintendo about the Nikkei story:

"The Nikkei newspaper wrote a recent story about a DS solely based upon their own research and speculation, without interviewing Nintendo. While Nintendo is always working on new hardware, we have not made any announcement about a DS and we cannot comment on the Nikkei story."

Once again, unless Nikkei had the sudden urge to create and publish a blatent rumor, this is looking to be a leak; and Nintendo is trying to figure out how to cope.

Fable II is complete. Golden, you might say. Or is it? The answer to that would, apparently, be "no."

Microsoft have confirmed that a huge marketing point gameplay element of the Xbox 360 RPG - the touted online co-op - isn't ready and thus won't be included in the game when you pick it up on October 21st.

We just got word that while we will be able to play the single player and local co-op on day one, they are still making tweaks to the online co-op. Don't worry, it is definitely still coming ... Lionhead and Microsoft Game Studios are looking to get the update out within the first week of launch in North America, so again, don't think this is going to be a decade long wait ... Having said that, as you are playing through the game, you will still be able to see your friends as glowing orbs as well as chat and trade with them.

Disappointing, yes. At least we won't have to wait too long. Hopefully. But really, how many people were going to dive right into co-op in a massive, single-player focused game like this on day one anyway?

Remember the Konami ID system? No? It was Konami's proprietary log-in system that they somehow thought would be a good idea to use for the PS3's biggest online title of early 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Metal Gear Online.

Sadly, it was a mess. No, really, a tragic mess. From issues logging into the game, to crippling the servers to even the hassle of simply registering for an account (which required a separate ID for the game itself), it was a nightmare. I guess just using the default PlayStation Network never crossed Konami's mind. But all that aside, after all the outcry from the fans, what does the big guy, Hideo Kojima think of the system used for his masterpiece?

Honestly, officially, I can't say anything on Konami ID and Game ID. It's a company policy. But frankly speaking, the idea wasn't a very good one. The fact is that Konami's direction was that we create a Game ID and Konami ID for the online components, and now we're seeing that it's not working so well, and we have to think about how to turn it around ... We aren't blind. At company meetings we know this is a problem, and we are working on it. Obviously, we have a lot of hardcore online gamers working for us, and we know what makes a good online game. So rest assured [that] we are working on this.

So he can't honestly, officially say anything about it ... but he thinks it kinda sucks. Fair enough. At least they are working on the problem, a problem that will hopefully be "fixed" in the near future.

Here we have yet another "rumor" from the Gamestop Managers Conference that has come true. Who would have thought?

Microsoft has revealed that the "Xbox LIVE Messenger Gold Pack" bundle including a copy of Project Gotham Racing 4, a 12-month subscrition to Xbox LIVE Gold, a wired headset and the 360 Chatpad is real ... and will retail for $69.99.

Yes, that's quite a steal.

Valve have announced that for a limited time this weekend (until Monday the 29th), the entire action-packed Rockstar Collection on Steam is being discounted from $59.99 to $29.99. In case you're not good with math, that's a savings of $30! As well, you can choose to pick up each game individually for a steal, too.

For that measly $29.99 price tag, you'll be getting digital versions of Wild Metal, Max Payne, Max Payne 2, Midnight Club 2, Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto 2, Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Nice!