For those of us itching for more musclebound protagonist action, Ubisoft's Beowulf for the Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Xbox 360, and PC is here to satisfy your primal urges. No, not that primal urge - more like the one that involves lots of grunting, slashing, tearing, ripping, and gouging (as well as the requisite arm snap or two), and we see it in action in this latest launch trailer of the game.

See the video at the full article.

Those who have been itching for more Beowulf (PS3, 360, PC, PSP) goodies, today's you lucky day. We've got a some eye candy and some audio sweetness for you. Composers Sascha Dikiciyan and Cris Velasco teamed up to create the soundtrack of the game - providing us with the proper background music for playing as the mythical hero, Beowulf. We also have a logo and a screenshot of the title character.

Better check out the Beowulf goodies while they're hot.

Ray Winstone will be lending his theatrical talents to the character of Beowulf, both for the upcoming Paramount film, and for his computer-generated form on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Windows PC, and Xbox 360. Voicing a video game character's a relatively new experience for him apparently, as he revealed in a video showing a routine recording session. You can view the video in the full article.

What we have here today are a couple of screenshots and gameplay videos for the upcoming video game Beowulf. Beowulf is being developed by Ubisoft for platforms PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Games for Windows, and PlayStation Portable. The game is expected to launch later this month to coincide with the release of the film.

Being an adaptation of the Beowulf movie by Robert Zemeckis, the video game revolves around the same set of characters, events, and locations. It was confirmed in an earlier report that the actors who will be appearing in the film, such as Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins, will be lending their voices for the game.

While the movie has been rated PG-13, the video game title will be carrying an M rating due to some disturbing images, violence, and sexual material. One such example of the last is the inclusion of the nude virtual image of Angelina Jolie. The designer explained that they could not removed such scenes because it is very much part of the story.

See the other screenshots and the videos after the jump!

Angelina Jolie's voice may not have made it into Ubisoft's movie tie-in Beowulf (to the utter disappointment of some fans, of course), but there's some good news to all testosterone-laden gamers: Jolie's naked virtual self has been added into the game version of Beowulf (for the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Windows PC).

Beowulf's narrative designer Gabrielle Shrager explained that there was no way that they can exclude the nudity from the game, since it was integral to the game's storyline. Said Shrager:

There is much sexual innuendo in the game, because the Faustian character who is Grendel's mother goes about getting you to sign the dirty deal with her by using her extremely tempting body. So you have that aspect of it and there's definitely no way around it. It's a very, very important part of it.

Shrager also said that Jolie was supposed to lend her voice into the game just like her co-actors Anthony Hopkins and Sebastian Roche, but the plan did not push through due to scheduling issues.

While Beowulf from Ubisoft is shaping up into its own brand of hack-'n-slash goodness for the Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Windows PC, and PSP, it's inevitable that it'll be compared to similar games in the genre, such as SCEA's God of War. This doesn't appear to worry Beowulf scriptwriter Gabrielle Shrager, who stated that the game would be darker, grittier, and more interactive then even the PS2's premier Greek adventure.

As Shrager elaborated during an interview:

Not to tout my own horn, but I think the writing is better and the narration is more profound in Beowulf than in God of War, which is a great story also, but more traditional. You have a level, you get to the end of the scene, there's a character that's standing there, gives the spiel and then you go to the next mission, and then you get to the end of that and then you get the spiel. We tried to make it a lot more dynamic. Our script is completely dynamic. You're getting minute by minute feedback according to what your status is, the state of your being as a player. You don't have that in God of War. So maybe it's more interactive in Beowulf.

Shrager further elaborated that compared to GoW, Beowulf would carry a tighter camera system. This is expected to give players a more up-close-and-personal encounter as they navigate both Beowulf (your character) and his fellow thanes through the fields of combat.

For the guys who'd like to see if Shrager's indeed on the mark with her statements, you'll want to wait for the game's scheduled launch this November. Make sure to see the movie too.

The game adaptation of the upcoming Beowulf movie will take the authenticity route like many other movie to game conversions. Ubisoft Entertainment has announced that Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins, Emmy Award winner Ray Winstone, Brendan Gleeson, and Sebastien Roche will be featured in voice and likeness in Ubisoft's Beowulf (Sony PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows PC, Microsoft Xbox 360).

To extend the story two dozen decades further than the movie's plot, Anthony Hopkins (Red Dragon, Amistad) will take on the role of King Hrothgar, while Ray Winstone (Cold Mountain, King Arthur) will embody the player as Beowulf. The role of Wiglaf will be taken up by Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, 28 Days Later), and the character of Wulfgar (Christian) shall be Sebastien Roche's undertaking.

The Beowulf video game is currently under development by Ubisoft's Tiwak Studios in cooperation with Shangri-La Entertainment and Paramount Pictures, and this news would appear to herald the near-completion of the game development process. Beowulf's release will coincide with the premiere of Academy Award winner Robert Zemeckis' render of the tales of a legendary Viking hero, soon to be released on November 2007.

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After an attempt to bring The Sandman to the screen, Neil Gaiman (of Stardust) and Roger Avary (of Silent Hill) set out to create an adaptation of Beowulf for the big screen. The movie inspired the game of the same name that will be released for the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360, and the PC (and just recently, also the PSP).

If the trailer is anything to judge by, the movie will be absolutely stunning (and that's not to mention Angelina Jolie wearing nothing but mud). Featuring a stellar cast in their full 3D glory, including Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover and (of course), Angelina Jolie, the movie is set to be released in the US this November 16, with Beowulf video games released during the same period.

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Ubisoft has just sent out a press wire providing for plenty of new details for their upcoming game, Beowulf. The first info snippet that gamers may want to know is that aside from its initially announced PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC release, Beowulf is now expected to land on the PSP as well. Moving on to the rest of the new game details:

• Delve even deeper into the adventure and play through 30 years of the Beowulf story not seen in the movie. Experience more of Beowulf’s life and mold your own legacy.
• Unlock an army of up to 12 thanes as you increase your heroic experience (by saving thanes, killing giant monsters, etc.).
• Carnal Power allows you to use stronger attacks and special weapons such as pillars.
• Giver orders, assign your army’s position, and tailor weapons to the situation or enemy.
• Use your army to trigger mechanisms (e.g., open doors) and row Drakar.
• Carnal upgrades include less daze after use and prolonged use of carnal fury.
• Combos, parries, and skills increase as you progress.
• Grab allows you to hold on to walls or climb, as well as fight in hand-to-hand combat with enemies and giant monsters.
• Use legacy experience points to gain thanes, replace weapons, and upgrade your carnal abilities.

Beowulf the game will be based on the the movie with the same title written by Roger Avary and award-winning author Neil Gaiman. The game is expected to ship into retail this November 2007. That's all the details we've got for the moment, aside from a batch of screenshots and concept art. Happy viewing!

Beowulf's concept art is available in the Full Article

Developing games is not harder for the PlayStation 3 compared to the Xbox 360 according to Yann Le Tensorer in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.

He has the credentials to back up his statement considering he is the co-founder of Ubisoft's Tiwak studio as well as the co-creator of the Yeti engine which was used for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and the up-and-coming Beowulf.

Le Tensorer justified the statements of other developers who said that it was harder to develop on the PS3 by saying that the console is still in the early phase of its life cycle. As more and more studios learn how to harness the power of the unit, we can assume that better and more high-quality game will be coming out.

Ubisoft International Brand Manager Adrian Lacey cited God of War as a prime example of fine development. He said, " If you take the PS2 for example, when God of War come out people saw it was tremendous. But it wasn't until the end of the PS2 cycle that we've seen the machine being pushed to its fullest."

The future looks bright for the PS3 as long as developers keep that mindset and persevere to learn the ins-and-outs of the next -gen consoles. Hopefully, we'll be seeing better games in the future.