The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) has just announced the list of their finalists for the upcoming TIGA awards which is going to happen in London on January 30, 2008.

Two new categories were added to the roster list for this year's awards. Finalists that are included can only win through the peer votes of TIGA members.

Catch the finalists and the additional categories after the jump!

If last week's boatload of game releases knocked your socks off, this week's batch won't give you a chance to put them back on. We're approaching the big holiday rush as we enter November, and the quantity of game launches is continually picking up.

This week's sizable On Shelves cast features a diverse class of wallet-busters. Heading them is the anticipated debut of NC Soft's MMORPG Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa.

Other heavy hitters such as Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, NIS America's Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Sierra Entertainment's TimeShift are also in the house. There's plenty more in store, so dig right in and try not to go crazy deciding which ones to buy first!

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The long-awaited showdown between you and the brightest icons of rock history has finally arrived, and you better bring your A-game because Slash, Bret Michaels, John Frusciante are all looking to shred you to bits. Re-live classic tracks with your meanest riffs and bring the house down on the biggest venues.

• Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii- October 28
• US$ 99.99 (Xbox 360, PS3), US$ 89.99 (Wii)
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Activision

Manhunt 2. With revisions made, Rockstar Games finally releases their latest offering. An experiment at a secret facility has gone terribly wrong and you're the product of that demented effort. The Pickman Project's forces are now after you to cover up the truth and bury your secrets. Using a mix of stealth and brutality, you'll have to take back what science has robbed you of.

• Sony PlayStation Portable- October 29, Nintendo Wii- October 31
• US$ 29.99 (PSP), US$ 39.99 (Wii)
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Rockstar Games

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. NC Soft unleashes its latest high-profile massively-multiplayer online (MMO) RPG this week. Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa features a wide array of races and career paths to choose from, martial arts-inspired combat moves, customizable weapons, and a horde of diverse monsters to slaughter. Solo or team-based player versus player combat is available to accommodate those who want to fight as lone wolves or stick with the brood. Prepare to be lost for a long, long time in the world of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa.

• PC- October 30
• US$ 69.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• NC Soft

Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP)]
Buy: [Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa]

*Article originally posted Oct 29, 2007 at 01:14AM

The whole list behind the Full Article link below!

"Doctor Stiles! The patient is reaching critical condition!" Yeah, well, I might not be a master at surgical procedures using a stylus or Wii remote, but maybe using a SIXAXIS perhaps? The game is called Bacterius in Japan, but in other shores, we know it quite well as none other than Nucleus. Or, if you wanna be smarty-pants about it, it's "the fl0w meets Blast Factor game" for the PSN (with a Trauma Center theme too).

We've got a couple of new screens for Nucleus today, all magnified to high-res love. The game is just about ready to roll out. But as to when specifically, we can't quite get a hold of a date yet.

   

Take your scalpel, more high-res pics behind the Full Article link.

 

The official website of Bacterius, a PlayStation Network game for Japanese folks with PS3s is now up and running. Based on a rough translation of the official webpage, the game is a shooting type game that will supposedly make use of the tilt sense of the SIXAXIS controller. The game's said to be for 1 to 4 players and is developed by the people from Kuju Entertainment.

Still no word on the selling price, how big the game will be, when the game will be available for download, or if it'll eventually be available in other regions. We'll update you as soon as more info is available.

From the screenshots revealed so far, one could speculate that the game looks like a cross between BlastFactor and flOw, a combination that's bound to get some folks curious.

To check out the Japanese language site, feel free to head to it via our Read link below.

It should be remembered that LucasArts sealed the fate of rhythm-based video game title Traxion earlier this year when it announced that it will no longer be publishing the title. It felt like the decision was not appreciated by Kuju Entertainment (who's now changed their name to Zoe Mode) as the developer severed its publishing agreement with LucasArts.

Today, Zoe Mode head Ed Daly mentioned that they are still considering pushing through with the project and that they may even market Traxion as a PSP and an iPod game. Daly commented,

The terms of the deal with LucasArts are still confidential, so I can't comment on the details - but we have retained the rights to the IP and we're now looking at what we can do with the IP and the technology and what it's potential is. There's a long history of games that have been canned and came back as great proposition.

However, Ed Daly also shared that their studio is busy at the moment with other projects such as SingStar and EyeToy titles for Sony as well as unannounced next-gen titles. He added that when they find the time and the manpower, Traxion might even go next-gen,

When the teams free up the idea might find place on next-gen formats, or mobile phones or even iPods - there's plenty of use for the tech, but we just need to figure out what that will be and then build the resource so we can take the next step with it.

On a related matter, Ed Daly also revealed that Zoe Mode will be coming up with another music-puzzle game that will be released on the PlayStation Network (PSN) and/or Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). The concept is different in such a way that the game will be controlling the music instead of the other way around. He shared then,

It's interesting as there is no longer that one straightforward route to market and we're able to think that maybe we are better off investing a bit more in the self-publishing route. There are only a finite number of companies or publishers willing to invest so certain games we aren't always going to chase a traditional publishing deal for them.

 

The same Engine that drives Marcus to the wall and Squeenix to the limit (break) will drive Kuju Entertainment as well. The guys behind a variety of games including the kiddie-strat shooter Battalion Wars 2 for the Wii have licensed Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 to power their to-be-published-by-Ghostlight shooter, according to MCV and Develop Mag.

And by its name, To End All Wars, you history buffs should know that it will be set in World War I.

It's set for release next year, but Develop Mag did not indicate on which platforms the game will be released, so this is going up on the UE3-capable platforms we've got: PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Three Speech has just dated three PlayStation Network games for Europe. While these are still subject to change, at least we get a picture of a possible time frame of when they could be released. As for releases in the United States, maybe this schedule could still apply (with a one to two weeks time allowance):

May 18: Calling All Cars
May 25: Nucleus
June 15: Super Stardust HD

While we've been pretty familiar with Calling All Cars for the past couple of weeks/months now (care of David Jaffe, of course), we've only been recently acquainted with the Blast Factor-ish PSN title Nucleus. This molecular biology shoot-'em-up game by Kuju Entertainment is worth looking out for in itself. However, what's this Super Stardust HD? Strangely so, it's yet another Blast Factor-themed title, but this time from Housemarque.

It's based on the space shoot-'em-up Stardust (Amiga) series from Bloodhouse, and 1Up (that's their screenshot of the game above) has compared it to, not just Blast Factor, but Geometry Wars as well. You'll be controlling a spaceship to blow up everything you see as you hover around a 3D planet. And screenshot-wise, it's a dead ringer for both mentioned games.

Unfortunately, Super Stardust HD doesn't seem to have any confirmation for a U.S. release, and even until now, it seems as if it's only going to become a Europe-only release. But if the popularity of Blast Factor and Geometry Wars is any indication... here's to hoping that it gets a worldwide release.

Do you remember the spaceship shooter game Blast Factor (available via PlayStation Network)? Well, replace the ships with cells, bacteria, and viruses and you could possibly get Kuju Entertainment's Nucleus.

Players will take control of a remote unit that can be used to shoot bacteria and viruses. Fire power comes in the form of protein bombs, but you have to collect enough protein ammo from cells. There's also a tractor beam that players can use to move the cells around and cluster them. The bigger the cell cluster, the more protein it will release.

Cells can also be used for protection, along with another type of cells called stiff cells. The stiff cells can be obtained from the enemy bacteria. There are three types of enemies: bacteria (the frontliners), viruses (faster and will break down into bacteria), and super viruses (fastest and baddest of them all). Different levels have different conditions. For example, players might be required to survive for four minutes and hold back barrages of enemies. Or have the player destroy all the enemies in four minutes.

Nucleus will be available for download on your PS3 by summer in Europe. There's no announcement as to a North American release but we'll keep you posted. In the meantime, check out the screenshots.

   

Kuju Entertainment is letting everybody know that their Brighton studio is no more. Henceforth, the studio formerly known as Kuju Brighton (but is still located in Brighton, UK) shall now be known as Zoe Mode.

"This studio has had great success over the last three years focusing on fresh gaming experiences for new audiences," said Zoe Mode studio head Ed Daly in light of Kuju Brighton's identity change.

"We've shipped several very successful, high quality titles and grown to 100 staff and now the time is right to rename the studio. We've created Zoe Mode; she is the personality that reflects our in-house philosophy of accessible, fun gaming for everyone."

Zoe Mode will still remain part of Kuju Entertainment, and it will continue its development of the upcoming CRUSH title due for the PSP due out this summer. Kuju Brighton will be best remembered for its previous works on the PS2, such as EyeToy: Play 3, EyeToy: Play Sports, SingStar: Rocks, SingStar: Anthems & SingStar: Legends.