Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft recently got a hold of Randy Pitchford, Gearbox Software's head honcho, as he talked about the various games the company was planning to release across the various platforms. Pitchford looked back on the company's Brothers in Arms series, as well as their upcoming shooter Borderlands. Also, he talked about their unprecedented adaptation of the Wii port to Dreamcast's rhythm game Samba de Amigo.

Check out what else Randy Pitchford had to say 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!

(Editor's Note: We're cooking up something specially hot for you guys with our weekly QuickJump QuickPeek! Some of you may have already noticed that this current issue - the 13th issue, no less! - has rolled out early! Why? It's because we're gearing up for a QuickJump QuickPeek TGS 2007 Special Edition once the festivities are done! So while we wait for that, we're giving you this Early Edition that focuses on other news that have cropped up during the week!)

It's Tokyo Game Show week! And even though it's the 13th issue of QuickJump QuickPeek, it's anything but riddled with bad luck! This "Early Edition" will be focusing on the non-TGS updates that have surfaced through the week, because really, the TGS might be one heck of a show stopper on its own (that's why it's getting its own QuickPeek Edition all to itself), but the days building up to the trade show saw a couple of astounding news as well. Almost every gaming platform has had some rather leaky business to deal with, and we're not letting the taps run dry.

Grab your pirate accent and sing your favorite shanty; there are more reasons to celebrate than just Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yaaarrr!

Click the Full Article link below for to read this week's Issue!

*Article originally posted Sep 21, 2007 at 02:28PM

The European division of D3Publisher has polished up its titles for maximum exposure at the vast Leipzig Business and Convention Center, Germany. And in the Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) fast approaching in less than a month, gamers are assured that the presence of Dark Sector, Ben 10: Protector of Earth, Ed, Edd and Eddy: Scam of the Century, and Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire will be felt throughout the four-day European-centric event.

 

The Leipzig Convention will be the first event to feature playable, early versions of Dark Sector (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC), a third-person horror, action adventure combining bio-weapons and morphing to truly recreate a plague-ravaged Eastern Europe.

And right off from the Cartoon Network, Ben 10: Protector of Earth (Wii, DS, PSP, PS2) will have players wielding the Omnitrix as Ben Tennyson, fending off the evil Kevin 11 and arch-enemy Vilgax. The game is planned to extend the cartoon adventures straight to accessible consoles, including popular handhelds.

Ed, Edd and Eddy: Scam of the Century (DS) will pit the triple misbehaving E's against their own neighborhood, after Captain Melonhead gains possession of their book of schemes and distributes it to everyone. The adventure game will have gamers scouring for the book through puzzles and the trio's collection of skills, before each of their schemes can be used against them.

Dragon Blade: Wrath of Fire (Wii) will also be featured at Leipzig. This "massive" RPG was designed especially for the Nintendo Wii and its pair of trusty controllers, allowing players to control movement and attacks through the Wiimote and Nunchuk. The plot and storyline was penned by none other than "DragonLance" creator Richard A. Knack himself, and the game will be available for hands-on demonstration at the event.

Check out the D3Publisher Europe stand, labeled K37, at the first Hall of the Business Center starting August 22-28, 2007.

Ah. Right on time! Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End just docked its merry butt onto retail shelves today - that's all platforms of the game released: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, PSP, and NDS. Gawsh, what a mouthful. Aside from the fact that it's being released across all major consoles and handhelds, you won't have any problems finding a copy of the game. The press release from Disney Interactive states that they've shipped over 2.8 million copies worldwide. Sheeesh.

But maybe you're wondering what's the difference between the different versions. Let's take a walk down the plank, shall we? We'll keep it simple: the PS3 gets SIXAXIS support, Achievements abound in the 360 version, the Wii makes use of the Wiimote and Nunchuk, the PSP allows you to use a different set of moves and combos, and the DS makes the most out of touchpad and stylus interaction.

Now of course, this are just the bare minimal of differences - hell, you can transplant those to other multiplatform game releases. It's natural for a publisher to make the most use out of the different platforms, and make sure to add some exclusive content and features in their games various releases.

 

Buy: [PotC: At World's End (PS3)]
Buy: [PotC: At World's End (360)]
Buy: [PotC: At World's End (Wii)]

While news is still skinny for 2K Sport's upcoming The BIGS game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, that doesn't mean we can't learn to appreciate the game's lovely visuals. That's going to be the topic of this latest post, as 2K release five more screenshots of the game.

Set for a June 25 release this year (according to IGN), The BIGS will offer Wii players full use of the Wiimote/Nunchuk motion sensor controls, with its Xbox 360 port offering players soon-to-be-disclosed achievement points. We're not too sure what features the devs have planned for the PS3 (most probably SIXAXIS support), although we'll keep posted in case 2K releases more info. For the moment, enjoy the screenshots!

   

 

Activision has already launched Spiderman 3 in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance and Wii in North America. The launch was held in conjunction with Sony Entertainment and GameStop Corp at Studio 450 in New York last May 3. In addition to this, GameStop also held a midnight launch of the game on May 4 in about 300 of its outlets in conjunction with the movie release.

The different releases each offers its own spin on the much awaited film which shares the same name.The Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions of the game offers free-roaming with multiple movie- and comic-based storyline. City missions are said to be fully integrated into the games as well as stat upgrades which includes additional combat moves, increased agility, and improved speed.

The game is said to have a new combat system that includes suit-specific attacks and an expanded repertoire of air and ground attacks, finishing moves, and dynamic webbing. (We're not sure what dynamic webbing means but it sound cool.) You'll probably be needing all those new moves because there will be boss battles against villains from both the movie and comic versions.

The DS and Wii installments of the game includes free-roaming gameplay as well. Both versions of Spiderman 3 is said to have its own twist on the red and black suited Spiderman combat as well as two exclusive storylines with Shriek and Morbius.

The DS version incorporates the touchscreen in the gameplay for combat and maneuvering. Wireless multiplayer is also included in this version with multiple modes such as Target Practice,Brawler, Combat Challenge, and Hot Potato. The Wii game on the other hand utilizes the Wiimote and Nunchuk very well with both of them acting as webshooters in both travel and combat sequences.

Spiderman 3 for the Xbox 360 version is being sold for US$ 59.99, the Wii for US$ 49.99, the PlayStation 2 for US$ 39.99, and the Nintendo DS, Gameboy Advance, and PC versions for US$ 29.99 each. The console and PC platform versions have been given a T rating by the ESRB with the Nintendo DS and Gameboy Advance rated at E10+.

Buy: [Spider-Man 3 (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Spider-Man 3 (PS3)]
Buy: [Spider-Man 3 (Wii)]

In an interview with EuroGamer, Jeremy Stieglitz of Artificial Studios dropped a couple of on-the-horizon bombs of where their crazy top-down shoot-'em-up title is heading for. Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia is about to comfortably set down its bottom onto the Xbox 360 and PC this May, but have you ever wondered if its zombies will eat its other neighbors (i.e. the PS3 and Wii)?

Well, Stieglitz does show signs of interest for further expansion of the game. Firstly, those who have the 360 and PC versions of the game can expect some downloadable content:

Eurogamer: Do you have more Monster Madness planned for the future, and will we see downloadable extras for the game?

Jeremy Stieglitz: We've really grown attached to the cast and characters of Monster Madness and we would love to take them through other adventures, adding some new friends along the way. Let's just say that the game's multiple endings leave it pretty clear where the zany story will go. We are also planning on adding downloadable character costumes, multiplayer levels and other game enhancing content through Xbox Live.

Yes, we'd definitely want to see more of Carrie and Jennifer. Playing a zombie-fest game as a hot chick has always been our fantasy. Now as for a possible game on other consoles:

Eurogamer: Will we see Monster Madness on PS3 or Wii?

Jeremy Stieglitz: We would love to bring Monster Madness to other platforms. We're definitely looking into possible PS3 and Wii versions, but I can't say anything definite just yet.

Yes, the interest has been expressed for a cross-platform jump. What we do want to point out now is that the game runs on the Unreal Engine 3. Now, let's visualize: UE3 + PS3's Cell Processor, anyone? Hordes of zombies and rotting flesh on high-def, FTW! And hey, getting to play the crazy free-for-all with the prospect of using the Wiimote and Nunchuk ain't that shabby either.

More of the interview behind the Read link below.

Bargain hunters may very well have a field day with this new offer from EB Games, though we're not sure what to make of it. It seems that EB Games has access to some special freebies which you can only get by buying Spider-Man 3 from them.

According to their site, the freebies include a movie poster and exclusive access to the special portions of the game's site. There's the typo in their advert which makes it seem like a rush job, but it seems like quite a minor thing compared to the possible payoff of free swag and a cool game:

Purchase Spider-Man 3 and receive a Spider-Man 3 Movie Poster plus get exclusive access to www.SM3THEGAME.COM, including first look access to behind the scenes videos, bonus developer blogs and more! Supplies are limited. Offer also good in stores. Poster and access code to website will be sent with game.

Sure, it's a small thing, but spiders are small too. In the meantime, here are some little tweaks across the board for the PSP, DS, and Wii versions of the game. Enjoy!

• PSP: The PSP system game is a fully streaming, complete conversion of the PlayStation 2 system game, not a port.
• Wii: The Wii version delivers the sensation of swinging through the city via the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuk.Its like nothing you've ever experienced before on the Wii. Two bonus Marvel villains: Morbius and Shriek
• DS: Has a revolutionary battle system featuring full NDS Touch Screen combat. Huge, never-before-seen 3D world and large revolving storyline on the NDS platform.

Hydrapinion's Seamus Byrne decided to follow up the claim of Sony's SIXAXIS controller bagging an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts & Science (NATAS), and he's apparently found a rather large discrepancy.

The winner of the Emmy for Technology and Engineering isn't the SIXAXIS. It isn't even the Wiimote-Nunchuk combination.

It's the DUALSHOCK (or Dual Shock, if you prefer).

At first, Byrne was somewhat annoyed with the original announcement because the SIXAXIS didn't really have an original design, since it's an adaptation of Dual Shock controller and all, minus Immersion's rumble technology. Imagine his, and our, surprise when Christine Chin from NATAS sent a follow-up message. She writes,

I understand you had contacted Cheryl Daly, Director of Communications at NATAS to confirm if Sony won for their PS3 controller. This is incorrect, Sony won for their dual shock analog controller. The award is from the Video Game Technology Group. It was nominated by our internal group and considered along with the Nintendo D-Pad both of which were considered Emmy worthy for the development of the generation of controllers that followed the classic joysticks.

I would like to confirm that Sony did not win for their PS3 controller, they won for their Dual Shock Analog controller.

All we can say is, this really isn't the best way to start the year. Still, props to Sony for the Dual Shock win.