Last week we had a slew of Blu-ray releases that catered to most family members. This week we have another diverse batch of movies: Nicolas Cage action and adventure flicks, comedy films the likes of Blades of Glory and Anger Management, documentaries from Questar about nature and wildlife, and the critically-acclaimed Hugo Weaving-Natalie Portman starrer, V for Vendetta. For a complete list of Blu-ray releases for this week, head on over to the full article.

Sony has announced that the PlayStation Network will be offline on April 14, 2008, starting from 8 AM PST until 11 PM PST of the same day. During this scheduled maintenance, the PlayStation Store will also be getting upgraded with new content, features, and changes to its UI. More details in the full article.

Certain Affinity reveals in the latest Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) magazine that the company is working on a game to be released over Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The ex-Bungie developers are making a pirates-themed game with tile-based RTS elements and many influences from a famous 1995 board game. Find out more about the game in the full article.

This week's Blu-ray releases will certainly get you interested if you're into different film genres, or if you just want to sit back, relax, and admire the beauty of the country's landscape. Topics Entertainment provides us with two visual essays, while Warner Bros., Disney, Buena Vista, and other major film companies give us great movies with great storylines to enjoy. Check out the full article to see titles on Blu-ray this week.

One of the most anticipated games for the Sony PS3, Sony PS2, and Microsoft Xbox 360 is MTV Games and Harmonix' Rock Band, and since we know you're all waiting for its release, we've got good news for you. Harmonix has announced that the game has gone gold and is currently in final production. From the looks of it, Rock Band's Special Edition Bundle for the Xbox 360 and the Sony PS3 will meet its announced November 20 release date, while the PS2 version's Special Edition Bundle is still slated for a December 18 release.

The latest videos of Electronic Arts and Criterion Games' Burnout Paradise (formerly Burnout 5) for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 are showing more burnt tires and more racing action - but we aren't complaining. The new gameplay videos show off the power of the Carson Annihilator, coined "the four-wheeled embodiment of the American Dream," and the speed of the Watson R-Turbo Roadster, a machine to watch out for even in busy streets.

Check out the full article to see the two Burnout Paradise videos.


Buy: [ Burnout Paradise (PS3) ]
Buy: [ Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360) ]

Avid fans of horror-themed video games should scream in delight this time: demos of Clive Barker's Jericho for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and the PC will be arriving this week. The PC version will come in Wednesday, while the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 versions will go live on Thursday on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, respectively.

The demos of Clive Barker's Jericho will have gamers attempting to survive the Crusades period after their strike force has been weakened by forces controlling the Al-Khali. Players will be able to use the bodies and abilities of telekinetic sniper Lt. Abigail Black, heavy-weapons expert Sgt. Frank Delgado, and enchantress and martial weapons specialist Sgt. Billie Church. Gamers will also get a chance to look at the other creatures Clive Barker has created for Jericho.

Mercury Steam and Codemasters' Clive Barker's Jericho games are scheduled for a late October 2007 release.



Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (PS3)]
Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Clive Barker's Jericho (PC)]

 

Good news for those looking for a more diverse selection of Blu-ray releases this week. Movies aren't the only ones being made available to Blu-ray entertainment system owners. The popular TV series Nip/Tuck: The Complete Fourth Season and the live performance of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds at Radio City will also be coming out.

Here's a list of what we'll be seeing this week on Blu-ray:

• Nip/Tuck: The Complete Fourth Season (Warner Bros.)
• Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City (Sony Music)
• Delta Farce (Lionsgate Films)
• Remember the Titans (Disney/Buena Vista)

Lionsgate Films' Delta Farce is a story of three beer-loving buddies mistakenly drafted into the military and accidentally sent somewhere in Mexico. These clueless soldiers end up going against a warlord in their attempt to save a rural village and become heroes... Eh, what are we saying. This comedy flick's better viewed than read about. Disney and Buena Vista's Remember the Titans, on the other hand, is tad more serious than Delta Farce. The movie is based on a true story and follows the struggles of an African-American football coach and his team as they try to win in spite of and live through a racially polarized town in Virginia during the 1970s.

All four will be released on September 4.

As if the presence of a lot of game companies like Capcom, THQ, Foundation 9, and Codemasters isn't enough, we've received news that Sony will also be attending the Comic-Con International 2007 with a stellar line-up of games and activities. The Comic-Con 2007 will be held at the San Diego Convention Center from July 26 to 29.

Occupying Booth # 4401, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) will get to brandish a couple of games like SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike, the trading card game The Eye of Judgement, Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow, God Of War: Chains of Olympus, and Parappa the Rapper, to name a few. These games will be showing off the prowess of the Sony PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Portable, and the PlayStation Eye.

To have an idea of what Sony has up its sleeve, take a look at the company's itinerary for the Comic-Con in San Diego:

July 26, Thursday

• Booth, all day - Jeanne d'Arc voice actress Kari Wahlgren will be at the booth to sign autographs, while Parappa the Rapper will also be hanging out all day for photo ops.
• Location upon request, 2 PM to 3 PM - Hands-on tutorial of the PS3 game The Eye of Judgement. (Media-only event)

July 27, Friday

• Booth, 12 PM to 6 PM - Photo op with real weapons and pose suggestion from real-life U.S. Navy SEALs for the game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike. Parappa the Rapper still hanging out for more photo ops.
• Location upon request, 4 PM to 6 PM - Sony PlayStation cocktail reception outside of the San Diego Convention Center. Sony will be showing off new video games for the PSP such as Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike, God Of War: Chains of Olympus, Jeanne d’Arc, and Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice. (Media-only event)

July 28, Saturday

• Booth, 12 PM to 6 PM - Photo op with real weapons and pose suggestion from real-life U.S. Navy SEALs for the game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike. Parappa the Rapper will still be at the booth.
• Booth, 3 PM to 5 PM - Meet and greet and autograph signing of Limited Edition Comic Book Covers with Greg Rucka Syphon, graphic novelist and co-writer for Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow, and John Garvin, Creative Director of SCE's Bend Studio.

July 29, Sunday

• Booth, all day – PaRappa the Rapper will still be there for more photo op.
• Panel Room #3, 10:30 AM to 11:30 PM - Tech and Trading Cards: THE EYE OF JUDGEMENT for PlayStation 3 Panel, attended by the creators and advisers from Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast, and SCEA.

With Day 1 of the E3 Business and Media Summit over, there sure are lots of major announcements, demos, and preview videos and screens to get excited over. The Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailers were finally shown, along with some other teaser and demo videos like the Gears of War PC and Rock Band live demos, among many others. Initial screenshots of highly anticipated games were also released during Day 1.

Among those who've revealed much to the E3 audience in their July 11 press conferences are Nintendo Company Ltd., Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft Corp., Electronic Arts (EA), Konami Corporation, Activision, and Midway Games.

One of the biggest news during Sony's press conference was delivered by Kaz Hirai himself. He announced the new and re-designed PlayStation Portable (also being coined PSPSlim) which is said to be 19% slimmer and 33% lighter than the current version being sold. Microsoft also gave the audience a treat with a Gears of War PC live demo. Nintendo on the other hand, confirmed the release dates of some of its upcoming games, and also announced its Wii Fit video game and Wii Balancing Board.

We're certain you know most of what happened in Day 1 of the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007, but if you don't, we might as well have a recap of the day. Click on the links below and read up! The Full Article link contains the complete list of our E3 coverage, so make sure to also check it out.


Breaking News:

Blasting onto PCs: Gears of War, among other things
E3 Update: Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots to be the grand finale of the series, says Kojima
E3 Updates from Sony: News on PS3 exclusives
Confirmed: Unreal Tournament 3 to be timed PS3 exclusive


Previews and first glances:

E3 update: Soul Calibur Legends E3 2007 video
Killzone 2 E3 2007 trailer
Rock Band E3 videos: trailer and live demo from Peter Moore
E3 2007 Update: Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer
E3: Gears of War PC live demo during Microsoft
E3 2007: LittleBigPlanet screenshots
E3: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 to be "even nuttier"
Konami releases first screenshots of Silent Hill 5 for E3


That's it from us for now, but rest assured we'll be giving you the latest on the E3 Media and Business Summit's Day 2. Stay tuned.