What you see is what you get !

Apple release iPhone Firmware 2.2

2008-11-24T03:41:00.000-08:00

Improved Safari performance, podcast support, and more.

November 21, 2008 - The highly anticipated 2.2 update for iPhone and iPod Touch launched late Thursday night, bringing a wealth of major additions and bug fixes to users. The update is a meaty 250 MB and contains the following new features and updates.

Safari
With the 2.2 update, Apple set out to improve the "stability and performance" of the Safari web browser. In addition, the interface itself has seen a quick redesign so that the URL and search boxes appear on the same line, clearing up some of the clutter. The http:// preface of the current URL has also been hidden.

Podcast
One of the most sought after addition users have been eagerly waiting to be included in a update, the ability to download podcasts directly to their iPhone with connecting to a computer that was running iTunes, was finally included with last night's package. Functionally similar to purchasing music, except of course that all podcasts are free, the new podcast support sends all downloaded content to your podcast list in the iPod app on the iPhone, finally creating a streamlined method for obtaining some of the best free content the web has to offer.

Maps
Overall, the Maps app appears to have received the largest upgrade, such as support for Goggle Street View, the cool Google function that enables you to see real photos of various locations that also contain map data. An orange icon alerts users if a Map search location has the Street View option. Simply tap the orange icon and you are immediately taken to panoramic views of the area. Keep in mind though that Street View only works in landscape orientation with your phone.

Additional features added that were previously only available on the Goggle's map website include additional transportation directions. When in Directions mode you'll now find three options at the top of the screen to choose from: driving directions, transit directions, and walking directions. Tap any of the buttons to see all your available methods of getting to where you need to go.

Other New Stuff
On top of software improvements, 2.2 also brings changes to the iPhone's telephone functionality. Apple claims that the update should bring a dramatic decrease in "call set-up failures", which are the times when you attempted to call someone and get a "Call Failed" message, which personally I've experience way more than I would like, so this is definitely a welcomed addition.

Time saving in app navigation has seen a small boost, as now the home button will return you to your first page of apps regardless of what page your on. It's a very minor addition, but again adds to overall iPhone efficiency. Perfect typists can also now choose to turn off the auto-correct function so that you can be in full control of your sentences.

Wrapping up 2.2 are some very small Easter eggs, including being asked to rate a app upon deletion, the ability to view multiple screen shots for apps in the App Store, and also the opportunity to view previews of screen shots in iPhoto, which originally appeared as just blank images until they were imported.

Haven't grabbed the 2.2 update yet? Just plug in your iPhone/Touch into your iTunes preferred computer and click the "Check for Updates" button, and enjoy the new features.

Source : www.ign.com

PSP-3000 Entertainment Pack Cancelled

2008-10-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

October 27, 2008 - Way, way back in August, Sony announced plans to bring two PSP-3000 bundles to the United States. One was the Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Entertainment Pack that's on store shelves as you read this. The other was the 4GB Entertainment Pack that featured a voucher for Everyday Shooter, a Piano Black system, and -- you guessed it -- a 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo.

This evening, Sony Computer Entertainment America Director of Hardware Marketing John Koller announced on the PlayStation Blog that the 4GB bundle is no more.

"Based on ongoing discussions with our retail partners and the feedback they have received from their customers, SCEA has seen significant interest in the Ratchet & Clank Size Matters PSP Entertainment Pack in North America, which includes the updated PSP-3000," Koller wrote. "As a result, we will be streamlining our PSP hardware lineup and will no longer be offering the previously announced 4GB Memory PSP Entertainment Pack."

If you want the bigger stick, you can pick it up on its own from any number of fine retailers, and if you're in the market for a Piano Black PSP-3000, Koller wrote that the standalone unit should be available in December.

source : www.ign.com

NBA 2K9 Announced for PC

2008-10-08T01:54:00.001-07:00

NBA 2K9 is coming to the PC, publisher 2K Sports announced in an official statement. While NBA 2K9 is the tenth iteration in the series, it will mark the first NBA 2K installment for the PC.

"We are excited about the growing popularity of basketball and are eager to get NBA 2K9 in the hands of PC fans," said Greg Thomas, senior vice president of sports development at 2K. He added, "The PC version will please even the most dedicated basketball fans with the same level of quality simulation we've become known for in the console versions of the NBA 2K franchise."

The NBA 2K series is highly regarded for its realistic approach to basketball games. PC gamers can get their hands on NBA 2K9 when it release on October 21.

source : www.ign.com

Sony Brings New PS3 Bundles to Japan

2008-10-08T01:50:00.000-07:00

One of Sony's big Tokyo Game Show announcements has leaked out early through Famitsu. Sony will be releasing the 80 gigabyte PS3 model to Japan, the magazine reveals in its latest issue. Bundled with a Dual Shock 3, the new high capacity model will sell for 39,800 yen, the current price of the 40 gigabyte model. Sony will offer the system in black, white, and silver color varieties.

The deal gets better, though, as for a limted time, Sony will be including Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Spec III with the system, turning this into an effective 4,500 yen price drop for those who were interested in buying the racer anyway.

Spec III, which became available as an online update late last week for current Prologue owners, will also see its very own full release in Japan. GT5 Prologue Spec III will be released in Blu-ray disc and downloadable form on October 30, costing, respectively, 4,980 and 4,500 yen. These are the same prices as the current rev of Prologue.

In other PS3 bundle news, Sony will be bundling the 80 gigabyte model with two Dual Shocks and a copy of LittleBigPlanet as part of the "PlayStation 3 LittleBigPlanet Dream Box." This bundle, which comes in a special box featuring artwork of Sack Boy, will sell for 44,980 yen. Black, white, and silver models will also be on offer.

Sony is also planning on pushing LittleBigPlanet through a DualShock 3 bundle. A copy of the game will be bundled with a DualShock 3 at 7,980 yen, representing a savings of some 3,500 yen over buying the products separately. The controller bundles will also be available in black, white, and silver varieties.

Those who just want LittleBigPlanet on its own have a bonus item to look forward to as well. Sony will include a code with first print copies of the game that can be exchanged for a Piposaru costume for Sack Boy. Poposaru is the name of the brainwashed monkeys from the Ape Escape series.

All this bundle news applies only to Japan at the moment.

source : www.ign.com

Welcome Ronaldinho Gaucho

2008-07-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Ronaldinho in San Siro.

Ronaldinho agrees Milan deal

2008-07-18T05:11:00.000-07:00

Ronaldinho has agreed initial terms with AC Milan and the Serie A club will now speak to Barcelona about a deal, Milan and the player's agent have said.

The 28-year-old Brazilian has had a difficult few months at the Camp Nou because of injury and loss of form and a move has long been mooted. The forward is out for the rest of the campaign with a leg injury and a transfer can not officially go through until the end of the season.

"In general Ronaldinho and Milan are in agreement," his agent and brother Roberto de Assis was quoted as saying on the Gazzetta dello Sport website on Saturday. The Gazzetta said a deal up to 2012 worth eight million euros ($12.6 million) a year was in the pipeline with a few clauses to be agreed.

Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani said: "There is a general agreement with the player. Now a deal has to be reached with Barcelona. Give us time."

Former Barcelona coach Johan Cruyff, who remains an influential figure at the club, said Ronaldinho should leave at the end of the season.

"If things aren't working out and one person doesn't want to stay and the others don't want him then it is the best solution," the Dutchman told reporters on Saturday.

Spanish and Italian media reports have speculated about a transfer fee of between 20 and 30 million euros while some newspapers have talked about Ronaldinho buying up the rest of his contract at Barca. Milan are fifth in Serie A and in danger of missing next year's UEFA Champions League after a poor season. They were dumped out of this year's Champions League as holders by Arsenal in the first knockout round.

Carlo Ancelotti's men have struggled to score and create goals with Brazilian Ronaldo playing just a handful of games before being ruled out long term with a knee injury. Fellow striker Alberto Gilardino has been lacklustre and world player of the year Kaka has been far from his best.

Despite Milan's troubles, Ancelotti has been assured of his job next term.

source : www.fifa.com

Spain Clinch Semi Final Spot

2008-06-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Spain reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008 after a 4-2 penalty shoot-out victory over world champions Italy at the Ernst-Happel Stadium on Sunday.

Iker Casillas saved spot-kicks from Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale after a goalless 120 minutes before Cesc Fabregas slid the winning penalty past Gianluigi Buffon.

Casillas, who had kept his side on level terms with a fine save with his feet from Mauro Camoranesi, helped Spain end a string of three straight penalty shoot-out defeats on June 22 in major tournaments - in the 1986 World Cup, Euro 96 and the 2002 World Cup.

Luis Aragones' men now take on surprise package Russia on Thursday in Vienna.

Aragones praised Spain's attitude after the match.

"I would like to congratulate first of all my players for their remarkable behaviour and maintaining their morale during the match," said the 69-year-old.

"It was very difficult because the Italians closed down all the spaces, which made it difficult to play our natural game."

Arsenal midfielder Fabregas was delighted after the game and admitted the players owed it to themselves and their fans after so often falling at the quarter-final stages.

"This is wonderful, it is impossible to find the words to express such an emotion," said Fabregas.

"We are just simply delighted. This is an important victory for this young side. We have been waiting for this for a long time."

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni was understandably disappointed after seeing his side crash out of the tournament.

"Clearly losing on penalties after working so hard doesn't leave us happy," said Donadoni.

"We all spent a lot of energy. You've got to recall those who didn't play tonight. They've got to be the most disappointed, and I'm sorry for them."

Donadoni denied suggestions his side played negatively throughout the game saying he was happy with the contribution of his forwards.

"The forwards did their jobs," Donadoni added. "Even though they didn't score goals, they did some positive things."

source : www.sportinglife.com

MGS4, PS3 Tops in Japan

2008-06-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

A rare one-two punch for the PlayStation 3 in its home territory this week as Media Create reports that Metal Gear Solid 4 and the PlayStation 3 hardware topped their respective charts for the week covering June 9 to June 15.

According to the tracking firm, MGS4 sold 464,926 units in its first week. This figure mirrors numbers that were handed out earlier in the week by rival tracking firm Enterbrain.

Media Create also noted that MGS4 is now the number one selling PS3 title of all time in Japan. The previous record holder was Minna no Golf 5 (Hot Shots Golf) which has managed to sell 437,000 units over its lifetime.

Following MGS4, the software chart was a mix of old and new. Mario Kart Wii placed second this week with 38,430 units. Following it were Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii, 36,835 units), Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball Portable 3 (Konami, PSP, 27,260) and Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (Konami, PSP, 26,280). A new title came in at sixth place as D3 Publisher's Evangelion-themed DS pachinko game, Evangelion Shito Futatabi, sold 21,899 units in its first week. The top ten closed off with Dragon Ball Z (PS3, Bandai Namco, 18,262), DS Bimoji Training (Nintendo, DS, 17,274), DS Misa Yamamura Suspense (Tecmo, DS, 17,191) and Fuurai no Shiren 3 (Sega, Wii, 13,553).

With MGS4 selling so many copies, it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that the PS3 hardware got quite the boost. PS3 was the number one selling system this week with 75,311 units, besting even the mighty PSP's 64,675.

The remaining hardware stayed in order: Wii at 45,564, DS Lite at 39,201, PS2 at 7,297, and Xbox 360 at 2,163.

source : www.ign.com

Alone in the Dark PC Requirements

2008-06-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

Atari has stated its single-player adventure game Alone in the Dark will require an Internet connection for activation. Alone in the Dark will use SecuROM copy protection, making players download a one-time online component before they fully install the game. Afterwards, players will be able to play the game offline. An Internet connection isn't the only thing you will need to play the game; Atari has released minimum technical specifications for the PC version:

Operating System: Windows XP/Vista 32-bit & 64-bit
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz or Athlon X2 +3800 (Intel Pentium 4 3.4 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 +4000 recommended)
Memory: 1 GB RAM (2GB recommended)
Hard Disk Space: 9.5 GB free
DVD-ROM Drive: 4X speed or faster
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7600 or ATI Radeon X1950 or better (NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX or ATI Radeon X1950 XTX or better recommended)
Sound: DirectX version 9.0c-compatible sound card
DirectX: DirectX version 9.0c (included) or higher

source : www.ign.com

London Games Festival Announced

2008-05-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

Following two successful previous outings the London Games Festival is back, with this year's event promising to be the biggest yet and scheduled to take place the week commencing October 25.

"Last year's London Games Festival was a huge success," said Chairman of the London Games Festival Keith Ramsdale. "We've got plenty in store for 2008 and a whole host of major partners lined up with full support from the industry. We're really looking forward to bringing the gaming industry to life in the capital again."

Expect the return of large-scale events in both Leicester and Trafalgar Square, as well as the return of the Careers Fair for those keen to find their way into the industry. We'll have the full details of this year's festivities as soon as they're announced, so check back for the full run-down on the capital's biggest gaming event.

source : www.ign.com

Guitar Hero 4 Drums Shown

2008-05-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

The newest issue of Game Informer Magazine apparently has pictures of the drum kit destined to ship with the upcoming Guitar Hero IV. As previously rumored, the GH4 drums will add cymbal pads to the package to one-up (and make incompatible) the Rock Band drum kit.

From the looks of the scanned magazine page, the drums will in fact have just one more pad than the Rock Band drums, arrayed in three main drums and two cymbal pads in addition to a kick pedal. We'd call this something of a bummer, as we're not terribly keen on having two hard-to-store drum kits kicking around the house.

source : www.ign.com

Flamini Bids Farewell to Gunners

2008-05-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger must plan for life next season without Mathieu Flamini.

The 24-year-old midfielder completed his move to AC Milan on Monday, agreeing a four-year contract with the Italian club.

Flamini, out of contract at the Emirates Stadium in the summer, underwent a medical and has reached an agreement over personal terms.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani revealed the signing was imminent after his team's 2-1 triumph over Inter in Sunday's derby.

Wenger admitted on Sunday he was not "super-confident" Flamini would still be at Arsenal next season.

Despite the offer of a lucrative new five-year deal - understood to be worth around £55,000-a-week - from the north London club, his head was turned by Milan's interest.

Juventus were also reported to be tracking the France international, who formed a fine partnership with Cesc Fabregas at the heart of the Arsenal team this season having seemed to have been on his way out of the club at the end of the last campaign.

He put in a fine performance at the San Siro as Wenger's team knocked Milan out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage in March.

The former Marseille man will compete for a place in Milan's midfield alongside Brazil star Kaka and Italy trio Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini.

Milan climbed into the final qualifying place for the Champions League on Sunday, leapfrogging Fiorentina who lost 2-1 at Cagliari.

Flamini's last match as an Arsenal player will be Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip to Sunderland, before he officially joins the Milan ranks on July 1.

Milan sporting director Ariedo Braida said: "I have to say Flamini was a player that Ancelotti really wanted and Milan is like a family, where decisions are made jointly."

New Portal Map Pack Offers 40 Levels

2008-05-06T04:20:00.000-07:00

Portal: The Flash Version, released shortly after The Orange Box, was a fun quirky side-scroller based on Valve's game of the same name. Much like the original iteration, the flash version allowed players to solve puzzles by shooting orange and blue portals to traverse across seemingly impossible areas. Portal fans might be happy to hear that all 40 flash levels will be playable in the 3D version via a new map pack.

This map pack, created by flash game designer Hen Mazolski, puts players into the role of a different test subject and prefaces the events of the original game.

All 40 levels can be downloaded here. For more information on Portal, check out our review of the game.

source : www.ign.com

Kimi Leads Home Ferrari One-Two

2008-04-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen cruised to victory in a Spanish Grand Prix that was marred by an horrendous accident involving Heikki Kovalainen.

The McLaren driver miraculously suffered nothing more than concussion after ploughing into a tyre wall nose first at 150mph at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The McLaren driver was eventually airlifted to a nearby hospital with his neck in a brace to undergo a series of precautionary checks.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, led from pole to flag, the eighth successive occasion that has occurred at this track to strengthen his lead at the top of the drivers' standings.

The main concern, though, surrounded Kovalainen who was heading the race on lap 21, although he had yet to pit compared to the leading trio at that stage.

Suddenly, Kovalainen flew off the track at turn nine before burying the front half of his car in a tyre wall.

On-board camera footage showed what appeared to be a part of the car breaking off, which instantly led to the front-left tyre deflating, and with Kovalainen unable to turn out of the smash.

Not only was the safety car immediately deployed, but also the medical car such was the severity of the impact.

When Kovalainen's car was eventually hauled out of the tyres by a tractor, there was nothing left of the front of the McLaren.

Kovalainen at least gave a thumbs-up sign as he was taken away on a stretcher to the track medical centre before being moved to the hospital.

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren F1 CEO, remarked: "He banged his head and has concussion, so as a precaution will undergo tests.

"There are no other visible signs of injury, although he says he is aware he has hurt his elbow."

When asked as to what caused the accident, Whitmarsh added: "There was a sudden deflation of his tyre.

"Part of the rim was machined off, potentially by some debris or by something that got lodged inside the wheel.

"Until we get the data back then we don't really know at this stage."

Either side of Kovalainen's accident, it was a race of attrition such was the casualty rate as a spinning Adrian Sutil took the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel out of the race on lap one.

That led to the first introduction of the safety car as marshals cleared debris off the circuit.

The second Toro Rosso of Sebastien Bourdais was bundled off the track on lap six by the Renault of Nelson Piquet who had tried to dive down the inside at turn 10.

Piquet, who had dropped towards the rear of the field due to an earlier spin, retired immediately, and although Bourdais made it back to the pits, his race was also run.

Anthony Davidson then retired after a stone punctured the radiator of his Super Aguri, which was a sad way to exit in what may be his last race if the cash-strapped team are unable to saved from their financial crisis over the next few days.

Rubens Barrichello suffered a collision with the Force India of Giancarlo Fisichella as they exited the pit lane, dislodging the Honda's nose cone.

For an entire lap, and with the safety car on track in the wake of Kovalainen's smash, Barrichello was forced to trundle back to the pits again with the nose lodged under his front-right suspension.

Although the veteran Brazilian was given another new nose, it was clear his car had also suffered further damage as he too retired soon after.

The biggest disappointment for the majority of the 120,00 crowd was the sight of Fernando Alonso's Renault engine blowing on lap 35.

Alonso had started second on the grid, but off the line was unable to defend his position as Massa passed him.

Although he was also predictably running light on fuel, he was on course for a decent points finish as he was running in fifth when he pulled off the track, as did Nico Rosberg in his Williams that also sustained a blown engine.

At the head of affairs it at least proved a close run thing, but on a track where it is notoriously difficult to overtake there was never a chance for the top order to be reversed in any way.

Raikkonen now has a nine-point lead over Hamilton, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica a further point back in third after he came home fourth.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was fifth, with Jenson Button picking up Honda's first points of the season in sixth, while Kazuki Nakajima broke his duck for Williams in finishing seventh, followed by the Toyota of Jarno Trulli.

source : www.sportinglife.com

Guinness World Records Eyes Release of Grand Theft Auto IV as a Potential Record Breaking Giant

2008-04-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

As part of its continued interest in chronicling the world of video game achievements and accomplishments, Guinness World Records will be closely watching the release of Grand Theft Auto IV as a potential record-breaking phenomenon. Easily one of the most anticipated games of the year and biggest releases in the entertainment industry, the GTA franchise is no stranger to the famed pages of Guinness World Records. Ever since the franchise released its first third-person game with Grand Theft Auto III, the series has been racking up record after record.

First Full "Sandbox" Action-Adventure- GTA III
Biggest Selling Game of 2001- GTA III
Biggest Selling Game of 2002- GTA: Vice City
Best-selling Playstation 2 game of all time- GTA: Vice City
Best-selling PSP game of all time- GTA: Liberty City Stories
Largest in-game soundtrack- GTA: San Andreas
Largest Voice Cast in a video game- GTA: San Andreas
Most Guest Stars In A Video Game Series- Grand Theft Auto Franchise

With fans counting down the hours to GTA IV's debut, it will only be a matter of time until a new record is added to that impressive list.

For more information on these and other exciting video game records, pick up the inaugural, Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008, in stores now.

source : www.ign.com

Aussie GTA IV Bundle Coming

2008-04-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

The US and the UK just got their announcements - now it's Australia's turn. SCE Australia today annnounced that an official Grand Theft Auto IV bundle is on the way exclusively for the PS3. The bundle will be available on May 1, 2008 and will come with a 40GB PS3, a SIXAXIS wireless controller (where's the Dualshock, Sony?) and a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The package will retail for AU$749.95.

source : www.ign.com

World of Warcraft Patch Plans

2008-04-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Blizzard has revealed the latest 2.4.2 patch notes on its official WoW website. No word on when the patch will officially roll out, but here is what the patch sets out to accomplish:

Hunter
• Dire Ravens in Blade's Edge Mountains now tameable.
• Tamed Drywallow Snappers now will know Bite 5 (instead of Claw 5.)

Mages
• Talent: Improved Blink (Arcane) now reduces chance to be hit by 13/25% and the duration of Rank 1 has been increased to 4 seconds.
• Completing the quest "Arcane Refreshment" will now properly teach the spell Conjure Water (Rank 7).

PvP
• Arenas
- If a character's personal rating is more than 150 points below the team rating, they will earn points based on their personal rating instead of the team rating.
- If the average personal rating of the players queuing for a game is more than 150 points below the team's rating, the team will be queued against an opponent matching or similar to the average personal rating.

Professions
• All 23-hour profession cooldowns are now 20-hour cooldowns.
• All 4-day cooldowns are now 3 days, 20 hours.
• Enchanting
- Removed the cooldown from Void Shatter.
- Void Shatter recipe now correctly requires 375 enchanting.
• Engineering
- The Engineering supply item Delicate Copper Wire will now properly fit into engineering bags.
• Jewelcrafting
- Brilliant Glass no longer requires a forge.
- Brilliant Glass now has a small chance to make an epic gem.
- Quick Dawnstone, Reckless Noble Topaz, Forceful Talasite are now all available at the Quel'danas gem vendor.
• Leatherworking
- Completing the quest "The Journey Has Just Begun" will now properly teach how to make an Onyxia Scale Cloak.
- Greatly reduced the reagent cost for Glove Reinforcements. Also reduced the skill gain range slightly.

Quests
• The categories for the quests "Wanted: Sisters of Torment" and "Wanted: The Signet Ring of Prince Kael'thas" have been fixed to now properly read as Magister's Terrace.
• The Shadowy Disguise will no longer be applied to druids while they are in Moonkin or Tree of Life form for the quests "Who Are They?"
• Jailor Eston and Jailor Marlgen for the quest "The Rescue" should now respawn more frequently.

Dungeons and Raids
• Black Temple
- Illidan will no longer despawn if a raid group wipes during his death speech.
• Karazhan
- Nightbane's Charred Earth ability will now properly deal Fire damage.
• Magister's Terrace
- Vexallus is no longer immune to taunt on Normal difficulty.
- Kael'thas is no longer immune to taunt on Normal difficulty.
- Wretched Skulkers, Wretched Husks, and Wretched Bruisers will now reset properly.
- Sunblade Imps will now reset properly.
- The doors in Heroic Magister's Terrace will no longer respawn after a soft reset if a boss has already been killed.
• Sunwell Plateau
- Hellfire will no longer remove Dark Touched in the Eredar Twins encounter.
• Tempest Keep: The Eye
- Void Reaver's Arcane orbs now generate combat log entries.

Items
• Arcane Charges now deal arcane damage.
• Abilities and trinkets that trigger after killing an opponent that gives experience or honor will no longer activate after killing mobs during bombing quests.
• Battlecast's Garb should now properly grant pushback resistance in addition to interrupt resistance.
• Borderland Fortress Grips have had their stats updated.
• Botanist's Gloves of Growth have had their texture corrected.
• Bow of Searing Arrows and Red Whelp Gloves will no longer break crowd control effects.
• The Cloak of Swift Mending now has a level requirement (70).
• Goblin Jumper Cables are no longer a trinket item.
• Items that enchant other items no longer have tradeskill requirements (Mithril Spurs, Shield Spikes, Weapon Chains, etc.).
• The Helm of Fire has had its casting range reduced.
• The Magic Candle has had its casting range reduced.
• Many items sold by Consortium vendors are now bind on pick up: Formula: Enchant Weapon- Major Striking, Design: Delicate Blood Garnet, Design: Shifting Shadow Draenite, Design: Lustrous Azure Moonstone, Design: Thick Golden Draenite.
• Many items sold by Aldor reputation vendors are now bind on pick up: Design: Gleaming Golden Draenite, Design: Royal Shadow Draenite.
• Many items sold by the Shattered Sun quartermaster are now bind on pick up: Naaru Ration, Design: Ember Skyfire Diamond.
• The Lower City reputation item, Recipe: Flask of Chromatic Resistance, is now bind on pick up.
• Most Main-Hand weapons are now One-Hand weapons.
• Naturalist's Preserving Cinch have had their stats updated.
• Reins of the Black War Elekk spell and buff now correspond to the item name.
• Rocket Boots Xtreme and Rocket Boots Xtreme Lite now properly share the same cooldown.
• The Romantic Picnic Basket will now display the blanket properly.
• The socket bonus modifiers of some items will now properly display the bonus healing.
• The reduced cooldown of Shaman Nature's Swiftness provided by the 4 piece set bonus from the Seer's Ringmail Battlegear PvP armor will now apply properly.
• The Skyshatter Helmet's gem socket bonus will now properly reflect the plus damage in the tooltip.
• Shadowsong Panther will no longer prematurely despawn.
• Talasite Owl: This trinket will now properly restore full mana as described.
• Troll Male off-hand items are now the same size as the main hand item.
• Tauren weapons while sheathed have had their graphic readjusted to their pre-patch (2.4.0) state.
• The Winterfall Firewater buff is no longer dispellable.

User Interface
• Black Lotus will now show up under the Herb subcategory in the auction house.
• Primal Nethers will now show up under the Materials subcategory in the auction house.
• Mailboxes can now be tracked on the minimap.
• For additional notes on Lua and XML changes please visit the UI & Macros Forum.

World Environment
• Creature versions of the Polymorph spell no longer heal the affected target.
• The dragons in Blade's Edge Mountains will no longer instantly knock you off your mount.

Mac
• Fixed a bug causing ATI kernel panics; all spell effects should now be visible.
• Weather effects are again visible on systems with ATI 2x00 graphics such as aluminum iMac.
• Fixed a bug that precluded use of the FireWire iSight microphone with voice chat.
• Symlinks can be used again for Interface and WTF folders and subfolders.
• Cinematics playback is working again.

Bug Fixes
• Fixed an issue where secondary sound effects would not work with the Use Hardware option enabled in the Sound options of the User Interface.
• Fixed an issue where attempting to use some instant cast spells with Auto-Dismount in Flight checked in the interface would fail.
• Items that have multiple charges will now properly display the amount of charges.
• Fixed an issue where chain damage spells were chaining to critters.
• Female Draenei horns will now correctly protrude through certain plate helms.
• The Vengeful Gladiator's Rifle will now play the proper sound when used.
• The Cursed Vision of Sargeras now gives the buff, "Sense Demons" which can be canceled normally. Additionally hunters and druids are able to track two things at once while using the item.
• It is no longer possible for pets to get stuck in place after exiting the Spectral Realm in the Kalecgos encounter.
• Blood Elf Priest: Consume Magic will now require the buff to be active in order to work properly.
• Undead and Blood Elf Priest: Touch of Weakness will now properly reduce the melee damage of the attacker.
• Fixed an issue where some spells had extraneous Floating Combat Text messages when using the Auras option.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes debuff icons on a target did not scale properly to indicate the spells had been cast by you.
• The hunter pet ability Growl will no longer scale with pet Attack Power.
• Druid Talent- Primal Fury (Rank 2) will now be properly unlearned when it is untalented.
• Druid Talent (Restoration)- Natural Perfection will no longer proc by normal melee attacks.
• Mage Spell - Molten Armor will now do damage while a damage absorption shield is active.
• Mage Spell - Noxious Breath (Ysondre) will no longer cause Arcane Missiles to only damage on the first volley.
• Mage Spell- Fixed an issue that was causing a pink hue to appear when a mage would phase out via Invisibility.
• Paladin Talent: Crusader Strike (Retribution) will now properly receive a damage increase from Seal of The Crusader.
• Paladin healing spells used in castsequence macros are now properly completing the cast sequence when a rank is not specified.
• The Paladin talent Precision (Ranks 1-3) will no longer improperly display daggers and staves as a weapon class in the tooltip.
• Paladins that already have Apprentice Riding skill can now properly learn Summon Warhorse from the trainer.
• Priest Talent- Power Infusion will now consume the correct amount of mana when cast on yourself.
• The rogue talent Mutilate (Assassination) will no longer incorrectly appear multiple times in the combat log when used.
• Shaman Talent: Frostbrand (Enhancement) Rank 6 will now properly do more damage than Rank 5.
• Warlock Spell- Drain Soul will no longer continue to do damage to another player after they have died.
• Ritual of Souls (Warlock) and Ritual of Refreshment (Mage) will no longer be placed on cooldown without having completed the summon.
• Priest Spell: Power Word: Shield now has the correct sound associated with it and can no longer be heard from large distances.
• Priest Spell: Fear Ward will no longer be consumed while under the effects of cyclone.
• Looting a boss while a player is outside of the instance will no longer cause the corpse to despawn in 2 minutes if the player still has loot on the corpse.
• Whirlwind now has the correct sound associated with it.

source : www.ign.com

Soulcalibur IV Gets AU Release Date

2008-04-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ubisoft Australia, we now have a firm release date for the strangely non-canonical but highly anticipated brawler, Soulcalibur IV. According to the announcement, both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will be released simultaneously.

John Parkes, EMEA Marketing Director at Ubisoft, had this to say about the release:
"We are thrilled to be bringing Soulcalibur's successful heritage to PAL territories as it sets into motion a new echelon of dynamic gameplay and exceptional game graphics on next generation platforms.

"Offering players an ultimate fighting game experience, Soulcalibur IV will definitely be an owners 'must have' in building their game collection library."
The official date for Australian release is July 31, 2008. No local pricing has been announced at this stage.

source : www.ign.com

Resident Evil 0 Dated in Japan

2008-04-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

Capcom Japan announced today a final Japanese release date for Biohazard 0, also known as the GameCube to Wii port of Resident Evil 0 that may or may not see international release.

In Japan, the game will hit retail on July 10. Capcom is pricing it at 4,190 yen, making it 1/3 less than most new Wii titles.

From what's been made public so far, it looks like this is a pretty bare-bones port, so the pricing may be appropriate.

source : www.ign.com

Inter join race for Ronaldinho

2008-04-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

Internazionale are set to fight it out with city rivals AC Milan for the services of Barcelona's in-demand forward Ronaldinho after their president Massimo Moratti confirmed his side's interest.

Ronaldinho's brother and agent Roberto de Assis revealed on Saturday that talks with Milan are at an advanced stage, but that no deal has yet been reached between the player and the Serie A club.

And Moratti is not going to just sit back and watch one of the hottest talents in world football go to his arch rivals without a fight.

"If Ronaldinho goes to Milan, it will also depend on the willingness of Inter," he said to Italy's Sky television prior to Inter's 2-0 win over Fiorentina on Sunday night.

"We will evaluate our options next week.

"We have an exceptional relationship with Barcelona and Ronaldinho's management team so we will have to see.

"We will also have to see if we decide to pursue this to the end, but if the market is open to Milan it is open to us too."

Inter coach Roberto Mancini copied his Milan counterpart Carlo Ancelotti in singing Ronaldinho's praises after his side restored their four-point advantage at the top of Serie A on Sunday evening.

"He is a great player and a champion and I think such players are interesting to all clubs," he said.

"He is still relatively young and can still do a lot of good."

source : www.ign.com

GTA IV Multiplayer Modes

2008-04-14T05:33:00.000-07:00

Recently, IGN played four of the more than a dozen multiplayer modes: GTA Race, Cops N Crooks, Team Deathmatch, and Hangman's NOOSE. On the official GTA IV website, Rockstar has unveiled four more modes. There will be five total team modes, all of which allow up to 16 players to go at it online. There are only two racing modes. The number of cooperative modes and competitive free-for-all modes are still a mystery.

Here are Rockstar's descriptions of the newly revealed modes:

Team Mafiya Work (2-8 teams)
You're a member of a crew doing contract work for the mafiya -- including such plum gigs as escorting wanted men, picking up MacGuffins and stealing cars. Work as a team to complete contracts before the time period ends and get the rewards. You'll probably want to do your best to scupper the other crew's work as well. Each contract you complete gives your team cash, and the crew with the most cash at the end of the round wins.

Team Car Jack City (2-8 teams)
Cars spawn parked around the map and the teams must steal them and take them to a drop off point. The cash teams get for dropping off stolen vehicles depends on their condition -- teams get less cash the more damaged they are. The exception to this are special bonus cars, stuffed with drugs, which give a set amount of cash on delivery no matter how damaged they are. Your crew has to get hold of whatever vehicles the boss wants. Whichever crew makes the most money wins. Simple.

Turf War (2 teams)
A timed capture-the-base mode. There are a number of bases around the map that you have to take by standing on them for a short period of time. The more players that are on a base, the faster it can be captured. The more bases that your team owns, the faster your team's cash score increases. If the rival gang is on or near a base, you won't be able to take control of it -- so do what you can to try and... displace them. The team with the most cash at the end of the round wins.

Race (no teams)
Race to the finish through each checkpoint in order. If you take a wrong turn or mess up in some way, you can respawn your vehicle on the last checkpoint you passed. There is a large section of races for cars, boats, and helicopters -- you can choose laps and vehicle class/type. This mode has two sub-modes: Free Race and Cannonball Run.

Free Race are point-to-point races. First one to reach the end point wins. Cannonball Run are races where you have to traverse several checkpoints any way you can.

source : www.ign.com

Raikkonen Ready to Move Up Gear

2008-04-07T08:32:00.001-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen emerged from a weekend that was less than perfect with the lead in the world championship, and now he is ready to crank up the pressure.

Raikkonen was unable to match the pace of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa throughout the three days of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

But the reigning world champion still came home second behind the Brazilian to open up a three-point cushion in the drivers' title race.

That was primarily due to Lewis Hamilton finishing a miserable 13th after the Briton committed two mistakes in the opening two minutes to wreck his race.

With the season heading towards Europe, starting with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in three weeks' time, Raikkonen is looking to consolidate his lead at the top of the standings.

"It wasn't perfect all weekend," assessed Raikkonen.

"The problem was that one lap was good, but the next different and we never really found the perfect mid-way if you like.

"It's one of those things that we couldn't really get the car right.

"But out of a bad weekend I still finished second and I'm leading the championship, so I leave Bahrain reasonably satisfied.

"That is the main thing, and we know we have the speed once we get everything right, so although the race was difficult, I am happy with second.

"Out of the first three races it is really important to get as many points as possible.

"After that the season really starts, so heading into Europe I am very happy to be leading, and hopefully we can be really strong in the next races.

"If I continue to score second places I won't be too disappointed, although of course I would rather win than be second."

Raikkonen appreciates it was Hamilton's errors that enabled him to leapfrog to the top of the standings, while Ferrari are a point behind BMW Sauber in the constructors' championship.

The Finn, though, was always confident he would have the measure of Hamilton on the Sakhir circuit.

"Although he was leading the championship, we knew we should be able to beat him anyhow, and if he doesn't score points it's even better for us," mocked Raikkonen.

"I'm now leading and that's good for me, whilst we have caught up a lot in the constructors' championship.

"We are only one point behind now, which shows one race can make a big difference, so I think overall it's been a very good weekend for the team."

source : www.sportinglife.com

New Rockstar Studio Created

2008-04-07T08:27:00.001-07:00

Take-Two Interactive Software label Rockstar Games has purchased the Massachusetts-based game company Mad Doc Software, which worked with the developer on Bully: Scholarship Edition.

Mad Doc founder and former Activision technical director Dr. Ian Lane Davis will lead the new division, dubbed Rockstar New England.

Mad Doc is currently working on the Xbox 360 title Star Trek: Legacy for Bethesda and had developed or worked on a handful of other titles since its founding in 1999, including Empire Earth II, Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna and Spellweaver (still in development).

"The team at Mad Doc Software is extremely talented," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "Bringing them within the Rockstar Games family will enhance our core technology and further support our commitment to creating progressive and innovative gaming experiences."

A guest professor at M.I.T. with a doctorate in A.I. and robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, Davis is considered an expert in artificial intelligence and is currently writing a textbook on the subject.

"To be a part of Rockstar Games is an amazing opportunity for everyone here," Davis said. "We're eager to bring our expertise to bear in the character-driven, open-world stories that make Rockstar Games titles so uniquely compelling."

It's unclear what will become of Mad Doc titles currently in the works, and Rockstar did not release information about which of its upcoming games the new division will be working on.

source : www.ign.com

Designer 3D Glasses Coming Soon

2008-04-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

3D is supposed to be the next big revolution in movie theaters and consumer displays, though the fact that it has held that position for the past couple of decades without actually progressing hasn't done much to build anyone's confidence that a revolution is actually going to take place. Recently however, DreamWorks, Disney, and some high profile directors have all started hyping the medium again, and HDTV manufacturers like Samsung and Mitsubishi have released 3D-ready displays based on DLP technology.

3D technology these days relies upon more advanced glasses than the red and blue plastic lenses of yesteryear. Modern generations wirelessly sync with the display source and use LCDs to create a stereoscopic 3D effect. Most existing glasses, however, are large, clunky, uncomfortable, and certainly not stylish.

Variety reports that this may be about to change, however. Luxottica Group (owners of Ray-Ban) have recently partnered with technology company Kerner Optical to produce designer 3D eyewear that'll look quite stylish while owners watch programming in a darkened room. The first products of the joint undertaking are expected to hit the market late this year, mounted in Ray-Ban's signature Wayfarer frame, which is currently enjoying a renaissance in popularity in the indie scene.

Though many in the technology game have become jaded due to decades of 3D hype that has failed to really go anywhere, the medium's new groundswell of support in movies, PC applications, and video games give the backers of designer 3D glasses hope. Yuska Siuicki, a founder of Kerner Optical, enthuses: "You will be using these high-end Ray-Ban glasses at home, on your computer and TV, and then you'll stick them in your pocket and take them to the theater. They are much more comfortable than what is out there now, and the lenses will soon be available in prescription. This space is exploding."

source : www.ign.com

Gundam goes to Xbox360

2008-04-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Xbox 360 version of Mobile Ops: The One Year War ceased to be vaporware today as Bandai Namco did the unthinkable: it announced a Japanese release date for the title! Japan will get the game on June 26, under the name Gundam Operation Troy.

First announced back in mid 2005, this Xbox 360 exclusive entry in the Gundam series has made it through two playable Tokyo Game Show appearances with no mention of a final release date. This caused some speculation that Bandai Namco and developer DIMPS were having development problems.

With less than three months to go before the Japanese release, it looks like importers will at last get to see what the waiting was all about. Now let's hope they don't make us wait a similar amount of time for the international versions.

source : www.ign.com

Lineage II 4th Anniversary Edition Info

2008-04-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

NCsoft recently gave details of the Lineage II 4th Anniversary Edition, the popular fantasy MMORPG. The company revealed that a new area, Hellbound, will be included in the games' forthcoming update. Hellbound introduces Beleth, a fierce and brutal enemy that is said to have no equal.

This update increases the level cap from 80 to 85 and enhances the pet system with new wolves to ride. It also offers players the ability to upgrade pets and use them as companions. In addition, players will be able to conquer lands and be rewarded with special skills.

This updated edition gives owners 60 days of free access. Veteran players won't be left out as discounts to name changes, gender changes and more will be provided.

The 4th Anniversary Edition contains all of the expansions released to date. Look forward to the latest edition when it hits earthly shores later this month.

source : www.ign.com

Saints Row 2 Coming in August

2008-04-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

To kickoff their Gamers' Day event being held in downtown San Francisco, THQ today announced the official release date, pre-order campaign plans, and the launch of the official website for Saints Row 2. The game will ship on August 26, 2008 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and gamers can pre-order their copy starting tonight (April 3) at 6 PM PST. THQ also announced the launch of the official website for Saints Row 2 along with the release of a new video from someone they're calling "Uncle Gary." Check it out below.

Also, be on the lookout for our hands-on impressions from Saints Row 2's co-op gameplay at 6 PM PST tonight.

source : www.ign.com

Gears of War Movie Set

2008-03-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

UK, March 31, 2008 - Further details have emerged around the forthcoming Gears of War movie, with producer Wyck Godfrey recently stating that the film is on course for a summer 2010 release.

Speaking to ComingSoon.net, Godfrey said, "We've got our script on and a director we're about to attach. We'll hopefully make that early next year for the summer of 2010."

It's already been confirmed that Pirates of the Caribbean scribe Stuart Beattie will be behind the script, working with the game's lead designer Cliff Bleszinski on the adaptation of the bestselling Xbox 360 title that is to receive a sequel later this year

source : www.ign.com

New GT5 Prologue Details

2008-03-31T08:04:00.000-07:00

At a recent PSN event, we were able to talk to the producers of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue about their upcoming title and get a few more details on the anticipated racer. While we've known for a while that the Blu-ray version of the game would exclusively have the Beyond the Apex feature, we were told that the disc version of the game would also have a lot more cinematics included, such as video course guides of the real-life tracks, as well as the opening and ending movie. Many of these elements won't be included within the initial download of the game from the PSN, although we were told that some of these items would eventually find their way onto Gran Turismo TV, the racing specific channel that will be included within the game.

Much more than a simple news feed updating players on races that are online, GT TV will host lots of licensed television footage, such as episodes of Top Gear and Best Motoring (a popular Japanese drift series). It may also be a showcase for car manufacturers to highlight their upcoming product lines, highlighting a specific vehicle from its R&D phase to its release. GT TV could even potentially become a place for car fans to upload video of their own tuned and modified cars, highlighting their vehicles for other racing fans to see. Since much of it is still up for discussion, much of the online space for the game is still being decided by Polyphony Digital.

In fact, we were told that GT5 Prologue will initially launch with a rather basic online service that will allow up to 16 players to get on and play, but not much more than that. As time goes on, however, players will receive updates that could include new features, racetracks and even gameplay modes. While there is no specific schedule planned for the updates, Polyphony Digital is planning on making sure that all regions will receive practically all of the same content at the same time. There will be some minor elements that will be regionally exclusive (such as music tracks), but for the most part, Europe and Japan will receive an update to match the most recent version of the game that will be released in North America on April 15th.

We were also told that Polyphony is still looking at GT5 Prologue as an experimental testbed for features that will eventually make their way into Gran Turismo 5, which we were told would probably be released in Summer 2009. While they don't know exactly how they plan on using the game to experiment in this manner, they are definitely planning on transferring a player's progress and hard work in Prologue to GT5 when it's eventually released. However, at this time, they're not sure if it will be a save file, credit or car transfer to the final title. We'll have more on Gran Turismo 5 and GT5 Prologue as soon as it becomes available.

source : www.ign.com

PlayStation Networked Hacked

2008-03-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

On the official PlayStation site, Sony has warned PS3 owners with PlayStation Network accounts that there has been "a possibility of unauthorized access to personal information on the PLAYSTATION Store through PCs, a content download service of the PLAYSTATION Network." In other words, some folks hacked the PC PlayStation Store and may have had access to users' account information.

It's said that while they may have been able to use gamers' accounts to download software or change their password, they should not have ever had access to credit card information.

Sony claims to have taken immediate measures and patched the security hole as soon as it was discovered. If you can still sign into your PlayStation Network account, you appear to be in the clear.

source : www.ign.com

Xbox Live Downtime ?

2008-03-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

This morning at 8 AM the overlords of Xbox Live sent out a message to all members saying that the service will undergo a scheduled upgrade on Tuesday, April 1. The process will begin at 2 AM PST and will take approximately 3 hours to complete. Could this be a nasty April Fools' Day joke or is it the real thing? Our money's on the latter.

source : www.ign.com

STALKER Clear Sky

2008-03-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

Publishers Koch Media and GSC Game World have announced that FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky will be releasing worldwide August 29, 2008.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is the prequel to last years S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, which put players into the brooding future of yet another Chernobyl disaster. Clear Sky will be set in 2011, and players will be placed into the events prior to the third campaign of Strelok.

For more information on the game, visit our S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky page, here.

source : www.ign.com

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009

2008-03-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

It's been about four months since we had any substantial grappling news from THQ, but the Los Angeles County-based publisher put an end to that today: WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 is coming.

Although it won't be formally announced until tomorrow, THQ has confirmed with IGN that the latest installment in the storied wrestling franchise will be making its way to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, PlayStation 2 and mobile devices this fall while boasting a bevy of bells and whistles.

On the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP and PS2, the biggest change in the action will come with a strong focus on tag teams. For the first time ever, players will be able to team up for co-op storylines in the Road to WrestleMania mode and take advantage of an overhauled tag structure to earn attributes on their way to the top. Tag teams -- both in and out of Road to WrestleMania -- will utilize the same momentum meter, break opponents with double team finishers and make "hot tags" for the win. Also making its debut will be Create-A-Finisher, which allows fans to choose from more than 500 animations in their quest to build the ultimate move. Specifically on the 360 and PS3, fans can look for the debut of SVR downloadable content, although THQ is mum about what it might be.

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 marks the franchise's second title on the Wii, and THQ looks to be building on the motion controls and interactivity of the first outing. The game promises more match types, more weapons and the debut of online gameplay, which will feature matches and rankings. Although the title will pack Road to WrestleMania like the aforementioned versions, the Wii copy of SVR '09 will be the only place to find interactive entrances and victory celebrations that range from posing on the ramp to slapping the taste out of a beaten opponent. Successfully get the crowd hyped on your way to the ring and you'll get an in-match bonus.

Seasoned players who pick up SVR '09 on the Nintendo DS will probably be in for more than a few surprises. Gone are the stylus-heavy controls of last year and in their place is a more traditional d-pad/grapple system gamers that have grown up with, although the stylus will still play some part in the action. Being developed by Tose, the folks behind Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, the DS version of SVR '09 will pack a season mode with an RPG approach. Players will interact with Superstars, upgrade their abilities and complete missions to become the champion. Create-A-Superstar will make its Nintendo handheld debut, there will be a larger roster of Superstars, and the title will pack a wealth of new match types.

"The ambitious cross-platform launch of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 last year yielded tremendous growth for the franchise, as we delivered multiple gameplay experiences across seven platforms and greatly expanded our audience of WWE videogame fans," said Bob Aniello, senior vice president, worldwide marketing, THQ. "With dynamic new features and the extension of our gameplay experience through downloadable content, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 will bring more console, handheld and wireless gamers together to enjoy the virtual world of WWE."

source : www.ign.com

The Valve Store's New Gear

2008-03-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

Commemorating an enthusiasm for videogames or a particular franchise by collecting related memorabilia is a temptation few of us can resist. Back in the day we were pretty stoked to find anything game related, and were totally proud to rock rather overt t-shirts with nothing but company logos or pictures of recognizable game characters. Taste and sensibilities mature with age, and ours now favor the subtle side of gaming reverence.

Fortunately for us, the industry is beginning to cater to a broader and in some cases, older demographic. Valve Software has a number of rather beloved franchises in its stable, including the well established Half Life series and the new cult hit Portal. The studio's online store have recently been restocked and packed with some new products, some of which are really quite cool.

For many, the store's big draw is a new supply of plush Weighted Companion Cubes. The iconic inanimate companion from Portal was an interesting story device, and the plush cube is a cool mechanism for fostering some physical attachment of your own. The $29.95 plush is cool enough to get people's attention even if they don't know what it's from, but not so overtly campy as to look inappropriate on a desk or in the living room. We'd take care of it.

Another subtle Portal reference that caught our eye in the Valve store is the Aperture Laboratories Parking Permit. It's sold with a pair of bumper stickers that we aren't really big fans of for $9.95, which makes it kind of a rip. On the other hand, we'd give serious credit to anyone we saw rocking the parking permit on their windshield, and are kinda tempted to do so ourselves.

Valve is also pimping a variety of t-shirts, most of which we're not really crazy about. We do kinda dig The Cake long-sleeved shirt. Portal players know well that the cake is a lie, and the shirt plays on the lore pretty well. It's $24.95, and we're disappointed to see that the pictures in the store are just a drawing of the design, which makes it hard to decide if the shirt is really cool or not. This one might be worth the risk.

source : www.ign.com

Unlock Niko's Box Contest

2008-03-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

GameStop today announced that they'll be running a text-to-win contest from now until April 15 that will give participants the chance to be flown to Liberty City (aka New York City) on April 28 to participate in the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV the following day. National winners will meet regional winners at the launch event and will have the chance to compete for $30,000 in prizes. RockStar has posed the question, "Where did Niko Bellic hide his lock box?" and you'll need to text one of five answers in order to have a chance at winning.

A total of four (4) national winners will be selected at random from all correct mobile and online entries, and will each be awarded:

Roundtrip airfare and ground transportation to "Liberty City" for themselves and a guest
One hotel room for two nights
Two gift bags courtesy of GameStop and Grand Theft Auto IV
Two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) in spending money
One key to open a lock box at the April 28th launch event

On April 28 the lucky national and regional winners will get the chance to find out if their key is the one that will open Niko's lock box which contains 38 envelopes valued from $100 to $10,000. The event will take place at GameStop's flagship store at 1282 Broadway. Head on over to the official contest website for more details.

We'll have more coverage of the GTA IV launch as April 29 ever so slowly approaches.

source : www.ign.com

Hellgate London 1.2 Patch

2008-03-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we reported that Flagship Studios was intent on fixing bugs while making Hellgate: London a better overall game; today's released patch is evident of that. Taken from the official Hellgate: London website:

"This patch [1.2] has some major skill changes, a few vital balance tweaks, some pesky bug fixes, and a highly-requested new feature.

First and foremost is the introduction of our in-game mail system. This is something that we know is of vital interest to our community, and is the foundation for our consignment / auction house system. Players can not only send and receive messages with anyone in the game, but they can also attach Palladium and items to their mail. This makes getting items from one character to another – even your own – much simpler and more convenient. And while you need to be in a Station to attach or receive items and Palladium, you can read your messages anywhere, anytime.

We're also rolling out the second of our major character class balance passes. In this patch, we've done a comprehensive balance pass on the Marksman. We focused on addressing a number of issues that have made the class vastly over-powered in comparison to the rest of the classes and the desired difficulty of the game. There are also numerous areas where we have increased the effectiveness of, or altered skills to give Marksman players a wider variety of builds and tactics.

Chief amongst these changes is addressing the notorious skill/weapon combinations involving Ricochet, Reflecting Shot, Multishot, Rapid Fire, Heightened Senses, Beacon, Dead Eye, and Hollow Points, while using a high rate of fire weapon, such as an Arclight Rifle. While we realize that making choices on skill, item, and mod combinations which complement each other is a fundamental design element most emphasized with the Marksman in particular, there should never be one combination of skills which completely outshines the rest.

We didn't want to entirely remove the most overpowered Marksman skill combinations altogether, however, and we also didn't want to leave other Marksman skill issues unaddressed. This would have been largely unfair to the Marksman players. As a result, you'll see a large number of changes to the skills - such as synergies to the Ballistics, Grenade, and Precision Strike skill groups - that should promote an increased variety of specialized builds and create a more diversified play experience overall. We've been doing a lot of balance and tweaking over the past few weeks in Test Center with these changes, and we're excited to roll them out to all of our players. Big thanks to everyone for all the great feedback!

We're also introducing our first "pets with abilities" in this patch. These pets can be found out in the Wild and offer more for brave adventurers than mere companionship. Keep an eye out for those Mysterious Eggs!

Finally, there are a MASSIVE amount of other fixes and additions in this patch, including adjusting the difficulty of the Nightmare end-game, making the big Moloch battle more interesting and challenging, adding a slew of new Unique items and challenges in the Wild, and much, MUCH more."

The patch is now released to live servers, so we'll see you in Hell.

source : www.ign.com

Condemned 2 : Bloodshot

2008-03-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

SEGA of America, Inc. has announced that a playable demo for Condemned 2: Bloodshot, the next chapter in the terrifying series, is now available for download on the PlayStation Network.

The demo is taken from mid-way through the first level and gives players an opportunity to get to grips with Ethan Thomas, the former Serial Crimes Unit investigator, in his crusade to discover just what is going on in the sinister world around him.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot follows Ethan Thomas, and his inner demons, in a string of gruesome murders where players must use their deductive skills and brute force to track down sadistic serial killers. The game features all-new fighting mechanics and high-tech forensics tools, giving players the resources they need to unravel the mysteries and cope with every disturbing event. Developed by the renowned Monolith Productions, creators of the original Condemned game, Condemned 2: Bloodshot also introduces a variety of thrilling online multiplayer modes, delivering the most brutal hand-to-hand combat experience the first-person genre has ever seen.

Now available on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Condemned 2: Bloodshot carries a suggested retail price of $59.95 and is rated "M" for "Mature." For more information, please visit: www.condemnedgame.com.

source : www.ign.com

Flatout Comes To PSP (Demo Available)

2008-03-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

Gear up with today's release of the official PSP demo for FlatOut: Head On, published by Empire Interactive and distributed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Based on the best-selling FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, the official PSP demo of FlatOut: Head On (developed by Six by Nine) features three distinct game modes: 'Carnage Race,' 'Deathmatch Derby' and one of the classic Ragdoll stunts.

In 'Carnage Race' players fight against the clock to score points within the given time period by causing as much damage as possible to their environment and opponents. 'Deathmatch Derby' is an arena-based derby with one simple objective – destroy or be destroyed. And finally, Ragdoll stunts take center stage in 'High Jump,' where players must drive their car down the ramp as fast as possible to launch the driver through the windscreen high into the sky to slam into the metal net.

The FlatOut: Head On PSP demo is now available for download at the PlayStation Store from http://store.playstation.com/store/index.vm

FlatOut: Head On is now available and features some of the most destructive hi-octane motorized anarchy handheld racing has ever seen.

source : www.ign.com

Japanese MGS4 Package

2008-03-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Following up on our report on the Japanese Metal Gear Solid 4 packaging from earlier in the week, we now have images of the game's three packages, along with a first look at the "steel" PlayStation 3 system that will come bundled with the game's premium package.

As reported earlier, MGS4 will be released in Japan in three packages: a standard edition that includes a Metal Gear Online starter disc, a special edition that adds a bonus Blu-ray video disc, and a premium pack that includes all the goodies from the other versions, but adds a PlayStation 3 unit. These versions will be priced at, respectively, 8,800, 9,800, and 51,800 yen.

Since our original story, we've managed to get confirmation that the system included in the Japanese premium package is a 40 gigabyte model. Different from other Japanese 40 gigabyte packages, though, the Metal Gear Solid bundle will include a Dual Shock 3 controller rather than a standard SIXAXIS.

MGS4 hits Japan on 6/12, simultaneously with the rest of the world.

source : www.ign.com

Alonso optimistic for season

2008-03-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Fernando Alonso believes Renault have the potential to once again fight for victories this season, but admitted it will be difficult to replicate his fourth-place finish in Melbourne at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Spaniard rejoined his former team in December last year after an ill-fated spell with McLaren ended in acrimonious circumstances.

But whereas Alonso left Renault as a double world champion having led them to the constructors' title in both 2005 and 2006, the French outfit are now languishing amongst the midfield runners after only picking up 51 points last term.

The 26-year-old did secure an unexpected five points in the opening race of the season at Albert Park but that owed more to the fact only seven cars finished the 58-lap contest rather than a true measure of his car's pace.

But while conceding there is still some way to go for Renault before they can even think about challenging McLaren, Ferrari and even BMW Sauber, Alonso was cautiously upbeat they will become more competitive as the season wears on.

"Melbourne was good but obviously we were lucky with that situation," he said.

"I would like to have wheel-to-wheel racing with McLaren or Ferrari in a normal race so that's the target for the season and in Australia, we didn't have that. We were too far behind.

"But I'm optimistic, it's only the first race of a championship so at the start of the year you are always optimistic, there are a lot of races to come, a lot of time.

"I really think we will close that gap and improve the car quite a lot. In Formula One, nothing is 100% certain. We will improve but other people will improve as well. It's up to us to do a better job."

The situation in which Alonso now finds himself is similar to his first two seasons at Renault, where his unquestionable talent helped lay the foundations for subsequent success.

And the Spaniard insisted he is relishing the challenge of once again restoring the team to the pinnacle of Formula One.

"It is the same as in 2003 and 2004 - we need to fight and close the gap," he added.

"The races are a little bit more interesting for me because you are racing in the middle of the group and there are a lot of things to do, to fight for from lap one, and many things that are going on.

"For me, I guess the whole season will be like this. I'm enjoying this new challenge and feel good.

"Of course there is a lot of work to do as soon as possible, the team, me, we all need to improve and close the gap and I'm part of that team.

"So that's the first thing we have to do. We need to improve the car, we need to work better and we will be closer to the top three."

source : www.sportinglife.com

Cristiano Ronaldo

2008-03-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a tirade against rival players who insinuate Cristiano Ronaldo is a diver.

Ferguson claims the winger is one of the most fouled players in the top-flight - and that is backed up by official Premier League statistics - but that the 23-year-old will not allow himself to be kicked out of the game.

The United manager said: "(Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger recently complained that his team are on the receiving end of more fouls than any other.

"I'm not sure about that but what I do know is that Cristiano Ronaldo must be one of the most fouled players in the league.

"The fouls are frustrating, especially for Ronaldo, and I have nothing but admiration for the way he picks himself up and keeps running at people.

"Time after time he is tackled unfairly and often opponents try to indicate that he has dived.

"Of course, when Ronaldo is running at full speed sometimes it doesn't take much to knock him over but the truth is that too many opponents don't know how to tackle properly. And to disguise their shortcomings they accuse him of falling deliberately.

"I am pleased for him with the punishment he has taken lately. I have been making the point about his courage and the fact he is clearly determined that he is not to be kicked out of the game."

According to the Premier League's statistics, the Portuguese winger is in the top five most-fouled players with 61 offences against him so far this season.

But he has not won as many free-kicks as Everton's Mikel Arteta (78), Ashley Young of Aston Villa (77) or Blackburn's David Bentley (72).

Ferguson added: "I will continue to hammer away at the need for protection for football's most skilful players."

Ronaldo was once again United's match-winner with two goals against Bolton to take him to 33 goals for the season, 24 of them coming in the league.

Assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has described the win as "crucial" going into Sunday's match against Liverpool.

Queiroz said: "It was crucial to win and be in this position with eight games left.

"It gives us the right confidence and motivation. It is very positive that from now to the end our it is in our hands."

Ferguson rates Rio Ferdinand as doubtful for Liverpool's visit to Old Trafford with a back problem, but the central defender has been included in Fabio Capello's provisional England squad named today to face France next week.

source : www.sportinglife.com

Hamilton Braced for Ferrari Backlash

2008-03-20T09:41:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton insists he fully expects Ferrari to bounce back at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix after their disastrous start to the 2008 Formula One season in Melbourne.

Both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa retired from the Australian Grand Prix with engine failures, though the former did at least have the consolation of a world championship point after Rubens Barrichello's Honda was disqualified.

While the Italian team were left to reflect on their misfortune, Hamilton was cruising to victory at Albert Park to strike the first blow in this season's championship race.

But with Ferrari confident they have got to the root of their mechanical woes - a broken valve in the engine was apparently to blame - Hamilton is under no illusions he will be in for a much harder time in Sepang from the team expected to once again prove McLaren's main rivals as the season unfolds.

"I expect them to be as strong as they were last weekend but perhaps without the problems that they had," he said.

"They can't really have a much worse weekend than they did last weekend. I'm sure they'll recover and do a better job than last weekend but they were quite strong here last year as well, especially during the race.

"So we'll have to look out for them."

Hamilton finished second behind team-mate Fernando Alonso last year in only the Briton's second Formula One race, enticing pole-sitter Massa into a mistake along the way that effectively ruined the Brazilian's race.

It was the second of what turned out to be nine consecutive podium appearances for the 23-year-old as his debut season ended with him missing out on becoming the first rookie champion in the sport's history by a single point to Raikkonen.

But Hamilton believes last year's tumultuous campaign - that featured as much action off the track as on it - helped him mature as a driver regardless of the outcome.

"I think after a long season, it takes some time to come down and also then to rebuild," he said. "To start building on the foundations you've made, and there were a few of them last season.

"I had a very good season last year, perhaps with not the best ending, but I learnt so much that going into this season I start at a much higher point than I did last year.

"Confidence and training has been much better going into the first race than it was last year just because of the experience.

"We know what to do, so I think overall I'm in much better shape."

That claim was borne out by the manner of last Sunday's victory, when Hamilton insisted he was driving within himself even though he had to negotiate three safety car periods.

"Being in front you're able to pace yourself and to just stay on top of things," he added.

"I'm not going to say by how much I could have gone faster, you don't really know, but I was still pushing. It wasn't the case that I was short-shifting everywhere.

"There were a lot of variants last year. I came in, everything was new to me, so I was on the limit everywhere. I was on the limit on the pit lane, I was on the limit on the exit of the pits.

"I was on the limit from the first lap to the end of the race and perhaps I consumed more energy mentally and physically than I needed to.

"This year, I have it a lot more under control, I can control it a lot better."

Hamilton also reiterated he would not be joining the Grand Prix Drivers' Association despite being urged to sign up to the body that liaises with the FIA on safety issues.

"I'm quite comfortable with the way I am. I shouldn't be pressured into doing anything, at any time," he said.

source : www.sportinglife.com

Super Hamilton

2008-03-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

Lewis Hamilton believes his Australian Grand Prix triumph is the best of his five Formula One wins so far.

The McLaren driver cruised to victory at Albert Park on Sunday, claiming the opening race of the season by 5.4 seconds from BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld - with Nico Rosberg securing a maiden podium by finishing third in his Williams.

A frenetic season-opening contest saw only seven cars eventually cross the line after 58 laps of racing during another scorching Melbourne afternoon.

But Hamilton was coolness personified as he led from the front for the vast majority of the race, despite twice seeing his advantage reduced to nothing by the deployment of the safety car.

His performance was in stark contrast to that of 'Iceman' Kimi Raikkonen, who had begun the day aiming for points after a fuel pump problem had relegated the Finn to 15th on the grid.

That he managed to claim even one was the only piece of good fortune the current world champion experienced all weekend, after sixth-placed driver Rubens Barrichello was disqualified for exiting the pit lane with the red light on.

That came after his Ferrari had once again come to a halt in the pit lane, this time because of engine failure four laps from the end of the race, to bring an unhappy conclusion to an erratic afternoon.

The 28-year-old made up seven places at the start, was even running as high as third at one point but found himself at the back of the field when he ended up in the gravel, over-shooting on a bend passing Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren after the second safety car re-start.

A subsequent spin compounded Raikkonen's misery, but at least he was promoted from ninth to eight after Barrichello's blunder.

There were no such problems for Hamilton, the 23-year-old effortlessly easing away from the field three times after safety car periods - producing a faultless display, driving within himself.

After his maiden victory in Montreal last year, also highlighted by numerous interruptions, Hamilton went on to taste success three more times.

But he rates his Australian triumph even higher than the stunning victory in near-monsoon conditions at the Fuji Speedway in Japan last year.

"It's probably the best race I've had so far - in terms of managing tyres, controlling my pace and confidence, and being comfortable in the car." he said.

"It's quite different to my first win in Montreal, just because it was not really expected.

"Coming into your second season, this is a sort of target I set myself - and so I guess I've put more pressure on myself this year.

"This perhaps feels better than any, because I feel I've improved in so many areas. But I wouldn't say it's the perfect win. I would say there are a lot of areas I can improve."

With Heikki Kovalainen finishing fifth on his McLaren debut, it was a pleasing start for the Woking-based team as they opened up a 13-point gap over their Italian rivals - Felipe Massa also failing to finish because of engine failure, having already put David Coulthard out of the race.

After the trials and tribulations of last season, Hamilton was delighted to start the 2008 campaign on a positive note.

"I wouldn't say it draws a line under it [last season]," he added.

"But for sure, coming into a new season, turning over a new leaf, we really wanted to get off on the right foot.

"Ron's [Dennis] been through a lot - so have the team - but we pulled through, and it really shows in the results.

"I'm glad he's happy. It's an emotional feeling to win the first grand prix of the season - especially with all the winter testing, the whole build-up, not really knowing whether you had the pace of everyone else, whether you would be able to win, whether the cars could be reliable.

"But when you come out on top it's a real relief and great satisfaction."

Despite Ferrari's disastrous start, Hamilton is far too shrewd to start writing off the Italian marque just yet.

"I think a lot of hype was put on them," he said.

"They've obviously had a tough weekend. But we can't forget that they are a great team and they have a very good car and two great drivers as well.

"One bad weekend - I'm sure everyone could have a bad weekend at some point during the season. There are still 17 races to go."

source : www.sportinglife.com

Bad day for Raikkonen and Ferrari

2008-03-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen: "It's really disappointing not to finish the race, but at least the point is better than nothing. I had an engine problem, the reason for which now needs to be analysed. The car was good and I had a good pace when I found a free track ahead of me.

"I spun a couple of times trying to pass those ahead of me, but the first time, with Glock, I put a wheel on the grass and the second time, with Kovalainen, I was a bit too optimistic. This result is obviously not the best start to the season but it is a very long one and we are well aware that we are capable of recovering from far worse situations than this. We have to put everything in place and then we will be really competitive."

Felipe Massa: "A horrible start to the season. We had engine problems which is unusual for a team like ours. We have to understand what happened and react immediately. I was fighting my way up the order all race long. At the first corner I lost control of the car while battling with Kovalainen and ended up off the track. Then I moved up the order and could have finished in the points.

"The incident with Coulthard? I was on the inside and he closed the door on me, probably because he hadn't seen me. Our championship will have to start again in Malaysia. We know we have a good car we have to work to be able to use it as intended."

Toyota:
Timo Glock: That was a hard way to return to racing in F1. Given our starting position this was always going to be a difficult afternoon's work. I had contact with two other cars at the start but despite our heavy fuel load we were able to make up some ground in the early part of the race. Still, the car felt a bit strange in terms of understeer and that's what we have to work on to improve the car. After the pit stop it was hard work to drive and my race ended with the crash. I feel fine but I'm disappointed and we will hope for better fortunes next week."

Jarno Trulli: From early on in the race the battery was too hot. Then when I stopped in the pits it just gave up. That is a pity because the car felt good and I was doing pretty well. I was running comfortably in the points so it is unfortunate to lose out on a scoring start to the year. Still, the car is better than last year's and there is performance to come. Here we didn't look too strong because we didn't work the tyres perfectly but even so we could have had a good result. So I'm sure we can fight well this year and I hope to be stronger in Malaysia."

Super Aguri:
Takuma Sato: It was a difficult race for us. I did not get off the start well, but after that I fought back for position and gained a few places in the first lap, and that was an exciting moment battling in the first stint. After the first pitstop and a few laps we had a problem and I had to stop, which is a shame as everyone has done such a good job to get us here and make it happen. But I think that we collected very valuable information and data today, so I cannot wait to get started again in Malaysia."

Anthony Davidson: It is disappointing to have an early retirement from the Australian Grand Prix. I am really frustrated that I couldn't do the laps that I wanted to today and finish the race, as that was my main aim. We haven't had much time in the car this weekend or in testing and it was really important to get that done today, so it is gutting not to have done that. I feel that through no fault of my own I was sandwiched between two cars, trying to avoid the inevitable. I tried to brake to get away from it and the cars right and left just rode over my front wheels, so there was no where for me to go."

Gentlemen Start Your Engine !

2008-03-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

The time for talking and sandbagging is finally over.

On Sunday, the Formula One fraternity will discover who will be the major players, the wannabes and the tail-enders for 2008 as the red lights disappear to signal the start of what is certain to be another frenzied campaign.

As always, throughout the winter there are plenty of words of hope and optimism spoken by various drivers and team personnel that in turn are invariably devoured by a hungry press pack.

And as always, there are plenty of testing kilometres racked up - unless you happened to be at Super Aguri the past few months - in an effort to iron out any gremlins from the latest multi-million-pound machines.

But the words are often hollow and the testing times irrelevant because the wheat is only ever separated from the chaff once the chequered flag drops on the curtain-raising grand prix.

Invariably, once the result has been classified, there are few surprises that spring out over the remainder of the season.

The teams at the front come the conclusion of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne will likely continue to slug it out for both the drivers' and constructors' titles.

In this instance, expect Ferrari and McLaren to again go toe-to-toe, and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton to fight to the finish as they did last year.

The remaining points positions will involve those teams aiming to become the best of the rest, desperately searching for reliability and respectability.

BMW Sauber edged that duel in 2007, but Williams are the team on the rise, which could leave Fernando Alonso simply collecting the scraps on his return to Renault, unless he truly has been pulling the wool over people's eyes of late.

Then there are the remaining waifs and strays who have it within themselves to pose the odd shock result now and again, but who are primarily anxious to avoid the dreaded 'nul points' come the end of the year.

The previous text would lend itself to suggest Formula One is boring and predictable, but in truth, and as 2007 proved, that is far from the case.

When it comes to Formula One, expect the unexpected could not be more apt.

************

The organisers of the Australian Grand Prix are hoping to reach a compromise with Bernie Ecclestone relating to the start time of future races.

Ecclestone has long called for the season-opening event to be run at night to satisfy the demand of a hungry European audience, and the burgeoning Middle East market.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation, who run the Melbourne race, are unwilling to jump to Ecclestone's call as they claim it is not possible from a logistical and financial standpoint.

In a bid to appease Ecclestone, Sunday's grand prix will start at 3.30pm (4.30am GMT), 90 minutes later than in previous years.

If there is an increase in viewing figures, there is the prospect of next year's race commencing at the twilight time of 5pm (6am GMT).

AGPC chairman Ron Walker is hoping that will satisfy Ecclestone, and so safeguard the event's future beyond the expiry of their current contract in 2010.

But as Ecclestone this week asserted: "It needs to be a night race. It (Walker's plan) doesn't help a lot. That's not really what we're looking for."

As Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George found to his cost last year when it came to the United States Grand Prix, you either do as Bernie says, or you fall by the wayside.

The USGP ultimately had to bite the bullet, and so will Australia unless Walker agrees to Ecclestone's demands because when it comes to this kind of situation, there is only ever one winner.

************

Ron Dennis roused his troops this week with a Churchillian speech before defiantly departing for Melbourne.

Dennis had become the subject of feverish speculation relating to his future in recent weeks as the fall-out from the spy scandal continued.

The visit by Italian police to his home and those of other senior McLaren personnel had raised the question as to whether Dennis was the right man to continue leading the team.

At the age of 60, given the painful separation from his wife only recently and the fact he is a multi-millionaire, there were those who felt Dennis would opt to slip away quietly into the background.

The gossip was he would relinquish his roles as chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group, and team principal of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team, while the German manufacturers would buy the 15% stake he still owns in the company.

But not a bit of it.

As far as Dennis is concerned, he is not prepared to bow out on the back of the most ignominious of seasons in McLaren's history.

To that end, on Monday he gathered together the hundreds of staff who work at the team's Woking headquarters and informed them he is no quitter and he would be continuing.

Dennis is either brave or foolhardy. As always, time will tell on that one.

source : www.sportinglife.com

Lampard concerned over contract

2008-03-13T21:23:00.001-07:00

Frank Lampard has told Chelsea he wants his future sorted out as the club continue to stall over a new contract.

The England midfielder is running out of patience over his contract situation, which could remain in limbo until the summer.

Lampard, who scored four goals in Chelsea's 6-1 demolition of Derby last night, insists he wants to stay at Stamford Bridge but is perplexed by the fact no offer has been made.

"I've been approached a few times by the club saying they are going to come to me with something and they haven't," declared Lampard.

"That means they're saying they will have to wait until the summer and I don't really know what that means. I said at the beginning of the season I didn't want to talk about my contract because I wanted to concentrate on my football.

"They have made contact but it hasn't been with any news. They've been saying that something is going to happen but if we wait until the summer and nothing happens, then I've got a year left, which is not a position I want to be in.

"I've made it clear I want to stay here and I want to know what's going on. I love playing for this club, I'm enjoying the greatest days of my career.

"Every time I run out for the club I don't think about the contract but when I am at home I would like it to be sorted out.

"It's dragged on this season and that's not ideal for me."

Lampard's change of emphasis on his contract situation will throw the spotlight back on the club's plans.

Coach Avram Grant refuses to talk about his contract negotiations, saying it is not his area.

Grant believes Lampard will stay but Chelsea are in danger of losing one of their biggest assets if they do not open negotiations before the end of the season.

Lampard took his goal tally for the club to an amazing 107 in almost seven years with his four-goal haul as Chelsea's victory over Derby put them right back in the title race.

They are now just five points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.

Both Arsenal and second-placed Manchester United are still to visit Stamford Bridge and those games are likely to have a major bearing on the destination of the Premier League crown.

Lampard became the first Chelsea player to score four goals in a game since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink eight years ago.

The player's goal return from midfield has been phenomenal but he admits he found it hard to hit the net when he first arrived from West Ham as a replacement for crowd favourite Gus Poyet.

"It was a difficult first season when I arrived but there were a few goals that were important to me," said Lampard.

"Looking back it was a great building block to get me where I am now.

"When I signed I knew I needed to score goals for the club and it was a nice pressure to have as I think it spurred me on a little bit.

"My first couple of seasons were a bit quiet on the goal front but the last few have been very prolific.

"I was out in Wimbledon with some friends shortly after joining the club when some Chelsea supporters recognised me. They started asking me how many goals I was going to score for the club and if I thought I could do well at Stamford Bridge.

"Of course I was confident and told the fans they wouldn't be disappointed but I never expected to get 100 goals during my time here.

"I think it has been made easier because I have had the fans behind me from day one.

"They have always supported me and it's been excellent. We have a special relationship and it is something I appreciate.

"It's the first time I've scored four at the top level and it feels very nice to do it - especially from midfield."

Lampard has won back-to-back Premier League titles, two Carling Cups and an FA Cup during his time at the club but out of all his goals there are two that stand out - the double that earned Chelsea the title with a 2-0 win at Bolton in 2005.

"Other than the birth of my two children, that day was the best day of my life," said Lampard.

"Just hearing the commentary gives me goosebumps let alone watching them. It was just a special day all round, for the club, for the fans, everything was meant to be that day. It is something that will live with me forever, it was amazing."

source : www.sportinglife.com

Karim Benzema extends Lyon contract

2008-03-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Lyon striker Karim Benzema has signed a new contract at the club until 2013, with an option for a further one-year extension.

The France international has been attracting the attention of a host of leading European teams after a string of superb performances for Les Gones this campaign, but he has committed his future to the club he joined when he was eight years old.

An statement on the club's website said: "Karim Benzema and the Lyon president agree that this extension is an important moment both for the player and for the club."

The 20-year-old admitted last week he wanted to stay with the French champions, despite speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United.

"I want to be at Lyon next year," he told Spanish daily El Mundo deportivo. "There's still so much to do and I want to win titles with Lyon."

(reopens) At the official announcement on Thursday, the 20-year-old Benzema reiterated that he never had any other desire than to win trophies with Lyon.

He said: "In my head it was clear that I wanted to continue my progression here and not exile myself in Spain, England or Italy.

"I'm happy in Lyon, I was born here, I live here, I want to continue learning at Olympique Lyonnais.

"Everyone has faith in me, my team-mates are behind me. I really want to win lots of titles, starting with a cup-league double this season and I'd love to one day win the Champions League with Lyon. There's still so much to do."

Although the five-year contract is the maximum length that can be offered, Benzema did not say that he would stay in France for its duration.

"I can't say how long I'll be here, maybe another two or three years," he added.

"The moment will come, we'll decide it together with the president."

Club president Jean-Michel Aulas, meanwhile, admitted that the club had had to put its hands in its pockets to ensure that their star player was not attracted by lucrative offers from abroad.

"With sporting ambition comes financial ambition," he explained.

"We've done what we thought was necessary so Karim wouldn't be embarrassed to compare what he gets with what he would have got abroad.

"We've done the most possible, he completely deserves it. It was necessary that he not only felt good here but that he had the salary he deserves with his talent, which is immense. We're staking a lot on him."

source : www.sportinglife.com

Starcraft 2 Update Center

2008-03-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Just about 10 years have passed since Blizzard released StarCraft, a science-fiction themed real-time strategy game that even today manages to maintain a wild degree of popularity. Last year at the company's Worldwide Invitational (WWI) event in Seoul, South Korea, the long-awaited sequel was finally announced, and there was much rejoicing.

Blizzard has kept its thumb on the information hose so far, loosening its grip periodically to give its loyal fans and the gaming media an idea of how development is going. At WWI we saw bits and pieces of the Protoss race, then later on last year at Blizzcon 2007 the Terrans were displayed for all to see. What's remained a mystery so far are Blizzard's plans for the monstrous Zerg, something which we'll finally get a chance to check out tomorrow at Blizzard's headquarters.

source : www.ign.com

Microsoft cuts Xbox 360 Prices in UK

2008-03-10T08:01:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has slashed the price of Xbox 360, cutting the estimated retail price for the Arcade pack by £40, to £159.99 – officially making it the cheapest next-gen console on the market. The Premium pack, which includes a 20GB hard drive and a wireless controller, has had its price cut by £50 to £199, while the Xbox 360 Elite will retail for £259.99 - a saving of £40.

The prices are effective as of this Friday, March 14, and Microsoft is hoping the move will push Xbox 360 even further into the mainstream. "We continue to offer intense, immersive gaming experiences for gamers – but now we're priced in a way that will allow new consumers to find out for themselves why Xbox 360 is the ultimate in high-definition entertainment," said Chris Lewis, Vice President for Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Europe. "History shows that £159.99 is the price point where a console's audience begins to expand, and with these new ERPs in place we're ready to bring more consumers into the Xbox 360 world."

Will Sony follow suit and cut the price of PlayStation 3 anytime soon? We doubt it, but let us know what you think of the price cut in the comments below.

source : www.ign.com

Race Starts could be moved

2008-03-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

Australian Grand Prix organisers could move the start time of the 2009 race to late afternoon as they seek a compromise with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

It has been decided Sunday's event at Melbourne's Albert Park will start at 3.30pm, rather than 2pm, to attract a larger television audience across Europe and Asia.

If that proves a success, organisers may then start next year's grand prix at 5pm in the hope that will appease Ecclestone, who has long called for the race to become a night-time event, or run the risk of losing their contract beyond 2010.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said: "If starting the race later this year increases the television audience around the world, as we believe it will, we'll seek a 5pm start for the 2009 race.

"That will mean a 7am start time for the television coverage in Europe, finishing at about 8.40am; a 6am start time in the UK, finishing at about 7.40am; and an afternoon start and finish across the Asian continent where there are potentially hundreds of millions of extra viewers.

"All this can be achieved without any additional infrastructure costs."

source : www.sportinglife.com

Raikkonen ready to defend his Champ's Title

2008-03-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone once noted of Kimi Raikkonen that "he barely talks to anyone and has done little for the sport".

As promoter of the most expensive sports production in the world, Ecclestone expects the drivers to also be entertainers, to offer more to 'the show' than merely driving fast at the numerous circuits around the world.

Yet as far as Raikkonen is concerned, if Ferrari are willing to spend £25million per annum on his services, his job is simply to win grands prix and championships.

It is not, as he found to his unhappy cost during his five years with McLaren, to suck up to the corporate suits at fancy dinners and sponsorship soirees.

In many respects, when Raikkonen switched from McLaren to Ferrari last winter, there was a sense of relief he had left behind the all-too-businesslike efficiency demanded by Ron Dennis.

Of course, there was a certain trepidation too, as Raikkonen had been hired to fill the shoes of incomparable seven-times champion Michael Schumacher.

If ever two drivers embody the antithesis of one another then it is Raikkonen and Schumacher, although with one unerring natural ability in common - to drive brilliantly.

Raikkonen did that last year, and deservedly - although some may disagree - he finally won his first world title at the age of 28.

Yet although the Finn has now achieved his ambition, and there are many commentators who perhaps felt that would be enough to satisfy him, his thirst for success has been far from quenched.

Unfortunately for Ecclestone, Raikkonen seems set to remain in the sport for a while yet as he said: "Anyone who thinks I'm now happy and satisfied is mistaken.

"It has never been fun for me to drive for a fifth or sixth-place finish. I'm here to win."

And that will be with Ferrari and no other team, adding: "I can well imagine that Ferrari will be the last team in my career. Why should I consider leaving?

"I have a contract for two more years, and as I've said before, I am not in a hurry to sign any new contracts.

"If I wanted I could sign a new contract tomorrow, but I will see what it feels like.

"Before I finish this contract I will make a new plan, but so far I enjoy Formula One and I'm very happy with the team.

"I like working with the people, but we will see what happens in the future."

The fact Raikkonen won the title in his debut season with Ferrari when a year ago he was in unfamiliar surroundings with a new car, new team-mate and new engineers merely strengthens his hand for this year.

In testing these past couple of months he has shown blistering pace, invariably overshadowing his team-mate Felipe Massa, and it is no wonder he starts favourite to retain his crown.

Raikkonen certainly feels more at home with the Maranello marque, adding: "It's much nicer and easier now than a year ago when I didn't know the people and I didn't know the team.

"Coming into this new season, I just hope we have a slightly stronger start to the year and then we will go from there."

But as an ominous word of warning to his rivals, he remarked: "We want to improve everywhere.

"We know where we have a difficult time in certain areas in races and on certain circuits.

"But I improve my driving every time I go in the car, so as a team we are pushing forward and hopefully we can improve in those areas where we want."

That is Raikkonen in the car, but away from it, he insists winning the world title has not impacted on his life, which is not wholly unsurprising given the laid-back nature of his character.

"Sure, I have achieved what I wanted in my life, so it's a nice thing," reflected Raikkonen.

"But I wouldn't say that it has changed me as a person."

There are few, if any sportsmen in the world who would describe becoming world champion as "nice", but then that merely sums up Raikkonen.

source : www.sportinglife.com

GT 5 Prologue Features

2008-03-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

Racing fans have been looking forward to the upcoming release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, the latest installment in the franchise. Today, SCEA announced the full vehicle roster, track list and features for the upcoming game, which will be released on April 17th for $39.99 from the PlayStation Store and on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray version will include a behind the scenes video called "Beyond the Apex." More than sixty vehicles and 14 tuned cars will be included in the game, with the Ferrari 599, Nissan GT-R and Dodge Viper GTS as standouts amongst the large roster. These vehicles can be raced around the six tracks in the game, including Daytona International Speedway, Fuji Speedway, and Suzuka Circuit. Each track will have two different track layouts as well.

The North American release of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will also receive additional features, such as a Drift Mode that will evaluate a player's technique in specific zones around a course and car tuning adjustments to tweak a vehicle's performance. North American owners will also be able to race head to head with a two player split screen offline, and experience new race events offline and online.

The title supports up to 16 players online in races, which will add to the gameplay, and will be supplemented by Gran Turismo TV, a dedicated online channel from the PlayStation Network focused on racing programming and manufacturing content. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue will also include a new cockpit racing view, dynamic AI, as well as a new physics engine, user homepage and DualShock 3 support.

"This impressive vehicle lineup and the additional features that cater to North American racing fans are great compliments to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue's stunning 1080p graphics and revolutionary online features," said Scott A. Steinberg, the vice president of product marketing at SCEA. "Fans are sure to be pleased with the first Gran Turismo product for sale on PlayStation 3."

Here's the full list of cars and tracks that will be available in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue:
Acura NSX '91

Alfa Romeo 147 TI 2.0 TWIN SPARK '06

Alfa Romeo Brera Sky Window 3.2 JTS Q4 '06

Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo

Amuse/Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS

Art Morrison Corvette'60

Aston Martin DB9 Coupe '06

Audi R8 4.2 FSI R tronic '07

Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro '07

Blitz Dunlop ER34 '07

BMW 135i Coupe '07

BMW 135tii '08

BMW M3 Coupe '07

BMW Z4 '03

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C6) Tuned Car

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 '06

Citroen C4 Coupe 2.0VTS '06

Clio Renault Sport V6 24V Tuned Car

Daihatsu Copen Active Top '02

Daihatsu OFC-1 '07

Dodge Viper GTS

Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe

Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe Tuned Car

Ferrari 512BB '76

Ferrari 599 '06

Ferrari F40 '92

Ferrari F430 '06

Ford Focus ST '06

Ford GT '05

Ford GT Tuned Car

Ford Mustang V8 GT Coupe Premium '07

Honda Integra TYPE R '04

Honda NSX Type R '02

Jaguar XK Coupe '06

Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione '91

Lexus IS F '07

Lexus IS F Tuned Car

Lotus Elise 111R '04

Lotus Elise 111R Tuned Car

Lotus Elise '96

Lotus Elise Tuned Car

Mazda Atenza Sport (2007 Tokyo Motor Show reference exhibit)

Mazda RX-7 (FD) Special Tuned Car

Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) '02

Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) Tuned Car

Mazda RX-8 Type S '03

Mercedes-Benz SL 55 AMG '02

Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1 base '06

Mini Cooper-S '06

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR '05

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR Premium Package '07

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR Tuned Car

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR Tuned Car

Nissan Fairlady Z Version S '07

Nissan GT-R '07

Nissan GT-R Proto '05

Nissan Skyline Coupe (V36) Tuned Car

Nissan Skyline Coupe 370GT Type SP '07

Nissan Skyline Coupe Concept '07

Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nur '02

Nissan Skyline Sedan 350GT Type SP '06

Peugeot 207GTI '07

Peugeot 307cc Premium AVN '04

RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7

Renault Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00

Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STI spec C Type RA '05

Subaru Impreza WRX STI (18inch BBS Wheel Option) '07

Suzuki Cappuccino '95

Suzuki Cappuccino Tuned Car

Suzuki Cervo SR '07

Suzuki Swift Sport '07

Suzuki Swift Sport Tuned Car

TVR Tamora '02

TVR Tuscan Speed 6 '00

Volkswagen Golf GTI '01

Volkswagen Golf V GTI '05

Track List
Suzuka Circuit

Fuji Speedway

Daytona International Speedway

Eiger Nordwand

London City Track

High Speed Ring

We'll have more on Gran Turismo 5 Prologue soon.

source : www.ign.com

Prince of Persia Goes to Morroco

2008-03-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

Jerry Bruckheimer's live-action adaptation of the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time videogame is finally gearing up for production, with Variety announcing the film's start date and shooting locations.

Production was delayed due to the WGA strike but now director Mike Newell, who also lensed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is free to begin filming in Morocco in June, with things then switching to Britain's Pinewood Studios.

Disney and Bruckheimer have high hopes for the film, with the producer eager to turn this tale of magic, swashbuckling and baggy pants into a mega-franchise - like his Pirates of the Caribbean.

The movie is set for a June 16 2009 release. The only spanner in the works might be more industrial action, this time courtesy of the SAG, who are still considering a strike of their own.

At present, no cast has been announced, but with the movie now up-and-running, who would you like to see play the titular middle-eastern royal?

source : www.ign.com

Burnout Paradise Patch Fixes

2008-03-05T07:32:00.001-08:00

Criterion Games has released a trunk-load of information about the fixes included in its upcoming Burnout Paradise patch. No definitive date has been set for the update's release yet, possibly because Criterion seems to be fixing each and every part of the game.

The patch is planned for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and tweaks everything from audio performance to server communication. Here's a full list of everything Criterion plans to address with Burnout Paradise V 1.2, starting with the top 10 problems most mentioned by Burnout players:

- PS3 game can crash when a player is taken down and the player that has performed the Takedown leaves the game.
- The game indefinitely displays "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" if it's having problems pinging the rebroadcast server.
- Disconnecting the controller before a race begines can mean that race timings can be manipulated with players who didn't cross the line first being awarded the win
- Repeatedly joining and leaving a game with 8 players can cause the game to hang.
- Hammering the A (360) or X (PS3) after unlocking a car can cause the game to hang.
- East Crawford and Watt St achievements can not be achieved if the player goes online and sets road rules before attempting them.
- Audio distortion when using 5.1 / DTS and looking rearwards.
- Enhanced 360 streaming performance stops instances where the game seems to pause for a second or so.
- Total time driven in player stats would stick at 145 hours :)
- VoIP connection problems with 8 player games.

Game experience enhancements

- We're going to be running road rule timers in all events and online challenges.
- Tuning Online Takedown logic & physical behaviour to iron out instances where it doesn't feel fair.
- Increase online race timer timeout so players have a greater chance of finishing the race.
- Fix drifting bug when drifting and boosting there wasn't any real control on the brake so players would grind around the walls of the corners. Getting better control.
- Boost fix, stabbing the boost has too much of a jerky behaviour in the car handling.
- Surround sound fix - Centre speaker was 4dB louder, ruining the mix and the speech has now been positioned correctly.
- Tweak Marked Man gameplay AI, was easy to exploit by driving in reverse.
- Increase the # of search results returned for online games.
- Increase Picture Paradise timer so it doesn't kick in so quickly.

Other high priority issues being fixed

- Some online race start points face the players in the wrong direction
- Instances where Barrel rolls were not registering correctly in Stunt Run
- Instances in Stunt Run where players would crash but not wreck & score multipliers by driving away
- Fixed instances where the counting of Boost Chains would drop out
- Some instances where Revenge Rivalries desync & don't get fixed until players are updated online.
- Some instance where the Host couldn't change the game access if the game was created through an invite.
- Achievements, Awards and Challenges numbers sometimes not updated if the player didn't leave the game cleanly
- Online challenge issues where the challenge couldn't be completed if it was started at the exact time that a player left the game.
- Incorrect rivalry updates when European players played against English or Japanese players. Online connection issues
- Force timeout if the 360 gets stuck on "Connecting to Paradise City Servers" - NAT error
- Rich presence on 360 didn't change correctly when there is a change in the game parameters.
- Instances where Friends were not being displayed on the mini map.

source : www.ign.com

Insecticide the game

2008-03-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

Crackpot Entertainment is currently busy as a bee working on the company's new adventure title Insecticide. The game takes players into a world where insects are at the top of the food chain. It is a noir story of mystery, intrigue and adventure. Players will have to stop a wave of crime and corruption that is slowly devouring the entire city.

Gamers will play as Detective Chrys Liszt, and her partner Roachy Caruthers as they try to untangle a web of crimes. You will be armed with a wide assortment of insect abilities as well as your wits.

source : www.ign.com

Milan finally lose

2008-03-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

An air of disappointment hangs over AC Milan this morning after the holders were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League by two late Arsenal FC goals at San Siro last night.

'They dominated'
Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor struck in the final six minutes as Milan failed to build on a 0-0 draw in the first leg in London, and Brazilian star Kaká was left to concede that his side had been well beaten. "Arsenal deserved to qualify," said the 25-year-old. "They played very well and they were more dangerous than us. We only played well in the first 20 minutes then they took control of the match. They dominated us. It is the first time that I have been eliminated from the Champions League so early, but it happens - that's football."

'Glorious cycle'
Milan have been on a sensational run in the competition since Carlo Ancelotti took over as coach in November 2001. His predecessor Alberto Zaccheroni saw his side eliminated in the second group stage of the 2000/01 campaign and Milan did not compete in the 2001/02 edition, but since then Ancelotti has led his side to at least the last eight in the last five UEFA Champions League campaigns – a run which included European titles in both 2003 and 2007 and a losing final in 2005. Gazzetto dello Sport reflected on this run in a piece entitled 'The end of a glorious cycle.'

Maldini bows out
It was also the end of a glorious period for Paolo Maldini who played in what will be his final UEFA Champions League match last night. The 39-year-old defender has said that he will retire at the end of the season, and he will do so having been a European champion five times in the red and black of Milan. With Ancelotti's side having proved in recent years that they are more than capable of raising themselves to the challenge of European competition despite inconsistent results at home, many thought Maldini would win a sixth winners' medal before retiring.

Learning experience
Yet it was not to be, and the pain of defeat was beginning to dawn for Kaká, whose side are fifth in Serie A, four points adrift of ACF Fiorentina who occupy the fourth and final Italian berth for next season's UEFA Champions League. "Difficult days lie ahead," he said. "However, this team has great experience and we are sure to find the strength to get back on to our feet again and finish fourth in the league. These are important moments which help you to grow and I must also thank the fans who were behind us until the end."

New beginning
Massimo Oddo agreed. "After so many years of success inevitably you have to bow out of a competition, but we have a real will to get back [into the UEFA Champions League]," said the former S.S. Lazio right-back. "Now let's concentrate on the fourth place which we need to get back in." Gazzetta dello Sport concluded matter-of-factly of last night's match: "Ancelotti's side had no chance. The English team were too strong." The paper's front-page headline read 'Milan – The End'. Ancelotti and his team can only hope it was in fact another new beginning.

source : www.uefa.com

Blu ray too small for MGS4

2008-03-03T06:49:00.001-08:00

It seems that the tech companies will never be able to keep up with the demands of a Metal Gear Solid game, with Hideo Kojima stating in a Famitsu interview that Guns of the Patriots suffered cuts in order to fit onto to a Blu-ray disc.

At 50GB, the Blu-ray offers nearly six times the storage capacity of a DVD – but it's still not enough for the demands of Metal Gear Solid 4. Earlier last week the game's assistant producer Ryan Payton confessed that the American and European versions would not carry the Japanese voice track due to storage limitations. Hideo Kojima further elaborated on the issue and stated in a Famitsu interview, kindly translated by Kotaku, that, "There's not enough space. We always talked about where to cut and what to compress."

It's already known that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will be dialogue-heavy – to an extent that could well outstrip its quite comically verbose predecessors. But the possibility of the amount of chattering outstripping even a Blu-ray disc is quite terrifying. Brace yourself for an earful come June 12.

source : www.ign.com

Call of Duty 4 patch

2008-02-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

The next time you connect to Xbox Live and pop in Call of Duty 4 you'll be treated to an auto-update with the new patch. This patch, which has been a long time coming, makes several significant additions and modifications that will be quickly noticed when playing online.

Most important is the addition of host migration. When playing a game, if the host quits, the game pauses, a new host is assigned and the game resumes. This is a vast improvement over the original system, which simply kicked everyone out into individual lobbies.

Kill cams have been added to pretty much every tool of death. This includes air strikes and grenades. Now you can watch the bomb drop from a plane and land on your head.

An upgraded spectator cam allows you to switch between third- and first-person views. You can also rotate the camera in third-person view.

The most significant gameplay change affects those who like killing from long range. Infinity Ward had heard complaints that sniper shots were inaccurate. After doing some research, IW discovered that, indeed, sniper shots were not as precise as they should be. Expects snipers to be more deadly online. ACOG scopes also got a tweak.

A complete list of patch fixes is forthcoming. We'll update this story when it becomes available.

source : www.ign.com

God of War 3

2008-02-29T19:07:00.000-08:00

Retail copies of God of War: Chains of Olympus on the PSP popped up in the office this morning and brought with them the promise of blood on the PlayStation 3.

God of War III is coming soon.

Just like the Chains of Olympus ad that was on the back of the God of War II instruction manual, the back of the Chains booklet shows the traditional Omega symbol with PS3 written inside of it. The three is quite large, and below it, the ad says "Coming Soon" and "PlayStation 3."

Now, we did some research, and it turns out the Webster's New World College Dictionary Fourth Edition defines "soon" as "in a short time (after a time specified or understood); shortly; before long."

source : www.ign.com

New FPS game from Timegate Studios

2008-02-29T19:05:00.000-08:00

Details are so far sketchy on this title, but we know that Developer TimeGate Studios is busy working on a "new and innovative" futuristic FPS that features a growing insurrection amongst various colonies. Somehow Earth is involved and responds by sending in its heavily armored and equipped 8th Armored Infantry, an elite fighting division, referred to as "Section 8." Section 8 is supposedly composed of crazy volunteers, who are the only ones brave enough to deploy from the skies into the battlefield.

The game is said to feature heavy tactical game play as well as many strategic mechanics that allow you to modify the battlefield on the fly. TimeGate Studios is interested in making a universe that you will love, and its goals are to make it so immersive that you won't want to leave.

source : www.ign.com

Microsoft cuts windows vista price

2008-02-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

Despite Microsoft's repeated insistence that Vista is exceeding sales expectations (mostly via new PC sales where XP isn't an option), the technology press and hardcore gamers remain generally nonplussed with the new operating system. To lubricate the upgrade process Microsoft is making an unexpected and non-traditional move, significantly cutting the price of the Home Premium and Ultimate flavors of Vista relatively early in the OS's lifetime.

In the American market, Microsoft will drop the price of full-install Vista Ultimate from $399 to $319, and the upgrade version (for switching up to Vista from XP) from $299 to $219. Home Premium full-install will drop to $129 from its original price of $159. Considering that the Vista Ultimate extra features are still pretty lacking, we recommend Home Premium for those considering upgrading.

source : www.ign.com

MGS4 Bundle

2008-02-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

For months, Metal Gear Solid fans have eagerly been looking forward to a release date of the upcoming title from Kojima Productions, Metal Gear Solid 4. Since its delay last fall, the only thing fans have known is that the game is expected to be released later this year. Earlier today at Destination PlayStation, a retailers only conference for Sony products, Sony announced that a Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle pack will be released in Q2 2008.

The bundle will include MGS4, an 80GB PS3 and a Dual Shock 3 included for an MSRP of $499.99. It will also include an Metal Gear Online "Starter Pack. For players that pre-order Metal Gear Solid 4, there's an added bonus: they'll be guaranteed access in the multiplayer beta of Metal Gear Online in late April.

"Working closely with our retail and publishing partners and sharing our hardware and software roadmaps at Destination PlayStation gives us a great opportunity to outline some key milestones for the year. In response to incredible demand, we will be manufacturing more 80GB PS3s for North America and the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots 80GB PS3 bundle is an ideal way to offer that continued value to our consumers," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO of SCEA. "With Blu-ray having won the format war, our stellar software line-up and a broad product portfolio, we will continue to drive the incredible momentum we've been generating since last fall."

source : www.ign.com

360 death rate study

2008-02-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

Independent warranty company SquareTrade says the 16 percent Xbox 360 failure rate it reported earlier this month is just a starting point and that the actual figure could be higher.

SquareTrade warranty company announced the results of a report indicating that the Xbox 360 has a failure rate of 16.4 percent. Today, in a post on its buyer's blog, the company released more information about the study, including dates, sample sizes and failure patterns.

SquareTrade said it received 171 claims on a sample group of 1040 Xbox 360 warranties purchased between April 1 and July 31 2007. The company said all the claims were made by non-commercial users (read: not companies like IGN, whose editors are known to take their 360s into the bathtub with them) and did not include accidental damage.

Because of the date range studied, SquareTrade said it was unlikely that any modified 360s -- announced by MS in July to combat overheating problems -- were included in the sample.

Also, because the report only tracked the sample for between six and 10 months after warranty purchase, SquareTrade said the failure rate may be low. If tracking would have continued for 24 to 36 months, the company said "the fail rate is certain to go up."

"Our data shows that failures spike in the third month after warranty purchase but remain fairly steady after that, with only incremental drop-off until the eight month," the SquareTrade Analytics Team wrote on the blog. "This pattern is fairly consistent with all electronics failures."

SquareTrade also said its numbers don't take into account those Xbox 360 owners who bypass it altogether and take their claims directly to Microsoft, which could mean the failure rate is even higher still.

For its study, SquareTrade tracked 27 Xbox 360 Elites, 57 Cores and 956 Premiums. Out of the 171 claims reported (60 percent), 102 were general hardware failures (Red Ring of Death). Of the other 69 claims:

- 18% were disc read errors.
- 13% were video card failures.
- 13% were hard drive freezes.
- 10% were power issues.
- 7% were disc tray malfunctions.

SquareTrade said that, because the above issues are not covered under the extended Microsoft warranty, which only covers RROD, they are the more reliable figures.

source : www.ign.com

God of WarComes to PSP

2008-02-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

When IGN's God of War: Chains of Olympus review went live last week, a lot of readers commented around the Internet that this might be the game that makes them buy a PSP.

It would appear Sony heard them.

Fans will be able to pick up a red PSP and Chains of Olympus in one bundle this June. The system will feature Kratos branded on the back, and the pack will also include a UMD version of Superbad along with a voucher for Syphon Filter: Combat Ops.

SCEA Vice President of Product Marketing Scott Steinberg described the move as a response to consumer demand and as a way to display the many uses of the PSP.

"God of War is one of the biggest PlayStation franchises, and with its portable premiere on PSP just around the corner, we wanted to offer something special that would appeal to both loyal God of War fans and non-owners who want to enjoy PSP's multi-functionality," Steinberg said in a release. "This bundle delivers great value, starting with the 'Deep Red' PSP -- one of the most highly sought-after colors based on our consumer research -- and the Kratos silkscreen."

source : www.ign.com

Eduardo out for 11 months

2008-02-25T04:26:00.001-08:00

Arsenal FC striker Eduardo da Silva is recovering from surgery in a London hospital after suffering a severe break to his left leg and ankle during Saturday's Premier League draw at Birmingham City FC which will keep him out for the rest of the season and Croatia's UEFA EURO 2008™ challenge.

'Horrendous'
The match was stopped for nearly ten minutes as the Brazilian-born Eduardo was treated on the field before being carried off on a stretcher. Birmingham defender Martin Taylor was given a straight red card for his third-minute challenge on the forward. "The tackle was horrendous," said Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. "I've seen some bad ones before but you are not always punished with a broken leg. The minimum is that the season is over and we're scared it is much longer."

'Fantastic guy'
Eduardo was taken to hospital in Birmingham where he was diagnosed with compound fractures of the tibia and fibula, and medical staff at the ground were also reported to be shocked at the seriousness of the injury. "He is a fantastic guy and to see him in such pain and the shape of his leg was very difficult to take for our players," added Wenger, who said Eduardo had broken his leg and ankle.

Qualifying feat
Born in Rio de Janeiro on 25 February 1983, Eduardo moved to Croatia aged 15 to join NK Dinamo Zagreb as an apprentice. After obtaining Croatian citizenship, he made his international debut against the Republic of Ireland in 2004 and is one of a number of Brazilians playing for other national sides. Eduardo, who joined Arsenal last July, was looking forward to playing for Croatia at this summer's UEFA European Championship. With ten goals overall, he was the second top scorer in qualifying for the finals in Austria and Switzerland.

source : www.uefa.com

Roma closing the gap at the top of four

2008-02-25T04:22:00.000-08:00

FC Internazionale Milano's lead in Serie A was reduced to nine points on Sunday when the champions drew 1-1 at UC Sampdoria and second-placed AS Roma beat ACF Fiorentina 1-0.

Impressive Cassano
Hernán Crespo's 76th-minute diving header from Dejan Stanković's cross prevented a depleted Inter from suffering their first league defeat of the campaign after Antonio Cassano had enhanced his claims for an Italy recall by putting in-form Sampdoria ahead. Cassano was allowed to burst into the Inter box unchallenged before firing into the top corner on 65 minutes. Fresh from their midweek UEFA Champions League victory over Real Madrid CF – when Inter were losing at Liverpool FC – Roma triumphed again at the Olimpico against Fiorentina. The match was decided by a 54th-minute strike from Cicinho, who was sent off in added time.

European exertions
Roma coach Luciano Spalletti said: "It was a good game as both teams tried to attack and show their qualities. We could have scored a second goal at the end, but I have to admit that they could just as easily have equalised. I think the fans enjoyed the match and we're getting good results, but unfortunately for us Inter are almost flawless." Juventus are not, however, and sit four points behind Roma in third position after succumbing to a stoppage-time Nicola Amoruso penalty at second-from-bottom Reggina Calcio on Saturday.

source : www.uefa.com

Take two rejects EA's offer

2008-02-25T04:20:00.000-08:00

February 24, 2008 - Only hours after Electronic Arts proposed a $26/ share (approximately $2 billion in total) offer to acquire Take-Two Interactive, Take-Two officials have responded with an absolute "No."

According to Reuters, Take Two has said that the offer was at a significant discount to its peers and that it came at "absolutely the wrong time."

Additionally, Take-Two called the bid "highly opportunistic" on the heels of the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV on April 29.

Take-Two has offered to enter discussions with EA the day after GTA IV's release, on April 30.

source : www.ign.com

Microsoft to stops HD DVD Add-On

2008-02-25T04:17:00.000-08:00

February 24, 2008 - With the battlefield of the Format Wars still smoldering in the distance, Microsoft has announced that it will officially discontinue production of their Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on. No word yet on whether the company will ramp up production of an additional Blu-ray drive, though the possibility, given the company's stance on consumer flexibility, seems increasingly likely.

Microsoft's official statement reads:

"As a result of recent decisions made by Toshiba, Hollywood studios, and retailers, Microsoft plans to withdraw from HD DVD. Xbox will no longer manufacture new HD DVD players for the Xbox 360, but we will continue to provide standard product and warranty support for all Xbox 360 HD DVD Players in the market. As we stated earlier, we do not believe this decision will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace. HD DVD is one of the several ways we offer a high definition experience to consumers and we will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of the DVD movies they already own."

source : www.ign.com

Green Lantern is Back !

2008-02-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

You never know what might happen at a DC panel when Dan DiDio is moderating.

For those of you who have never been to a comic book publisher panel, it works something like this - typically an editor will take the podium, walking audience members through various slides of projects, and this is typically where they make their big announcements. A lengthy Q&A session follows where fans are able to check up on various projects. Many interesting bits of information come up here, but it's often release dates for various collections or confirmation of creative teams on smaller titles.

Typically these formats don't reveal a new James Robinson title. (To be clear, we didn't get precise confirmation of Robinson's second title, but we were nearly there.)

Rather than start with a typical presentation, Dan DiDio chose to keep the DC Nation panel focused on the fans and what they were enjoying about the direction of the DC Universe. With Robinson on stage with other editors and writers, inevitably his upcoming Superman work was brought up. It was then that DiDio mentioned that Robinson had a second project in the works that could not be revealed at this time.

DiDio is known for slipping bits of information to the audience, though we're never quite sure how intentional it is. Throughout the next hour, two characters were mentioned in association with this project: Green Arrow and Green Lantern.

VP of Sales Bob Wayne also tossed in an aside that "it sounds like [DC] should get Neal Adams to draw [the project]." Green Lantern. Green Arrow. Neal Adams. In our minds that instantly refers back to the classic road trip stories in Green Lantern/Green Arrow by Denny O'Neill and Adams.

Is this Robinson's secret project? It's hard to say. The make or break is how serious Wayne was being - and that can be hard to gauge with such a light-hearted panel and atmosphere.

The pieces seem to add up though. Green Lantern is more popular than ever and Green Arrow could use the exposure since he is currently without a solo series.

We'll pass on any information that we can gather! In the meantime, is that the conclusion you would draw? Is that a series you'd like to see return to the center stage?

source : www.ign.com

Final Fantasy XIII Updates

2008-02-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

Taku Murata, General Manager of Square Enix's Research & Development division, just gave a presentation at this year's GDC titled "The Technology of Final Fantasy." Most of the information given at the conference was more on the technical side of things, dealing with the company's various engines and experiences with actual development. However, towards the end of the show, we were treated to a few bits of information that should be interesting to Final Fantasy fans.

First, Square Enix's "White Engine," the companywide technology platform, has been renamed Crystal Tools (and is designed for use with the PS3, 360 and PC). Also, Murata mentioned that a scaled down version of Crystal Tools will be implemented for the Wii. Intriguing indeed. This technology is being implemented in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Soon after these details were given, an old trailer was promptly shown. It's been a while since we've seen a trailer from the upcoming Final Fantasy titles, but we'll break it down for you again.

The trailer was for Final Fantasy XIII, and began with the now recognizable shots of a cybernetic train snaking through highly science-fiction inspired environments. The following flashed quickly, but it looks like a monster, reminiscent of series favorite Ifrit, runs down a highway environment and attacks Lightning, the game's blonde-haired main character. Using a series of highly stylized acrobatics and martial arts techniques, Lightning dispatches the monster with her sword (that seems to double as a gun).

Another element that definitely intrigued us was a few scenes, both cinematically and in "real-time," that depict Lightning using some sort of time manipulation weapon. Casting her hand out to throw a grenade, a blue field exploded outwards and froze enemy soldiers in place, giving the agile warrior a few precise moments to take everyone down.

More scenes of the twin Shiva-looking creatures were shown, mixing an appearance of magic and technology in a very cool way. Also, there was a large ship swooping down from a clustered sky, releasing platoons of armored troops that jetted down to the ground below. They clearly outnumber Lightning, who eyes the group quietly with a look of satisfied aggression. Before the troops open fire, a blonde man with a bandana rides a motorcycle into the scene, screeches to a halt and looks over his shoulder calmly. End trailer.

After the old video, nothing overly important was noted, though we should mention that despite talk of cross-platform software, the trailer explicitly displays "For PlayStation 3" before cutting to black. This looks to continually insist the game's exclusivity for the Sony platform.

Lastly, Murata noted that Crystal Tools will be used in conjunction with the development of a new MMO that Square Enix is working on. Whether this is an entirely new project or the previously mentioned MMO is uncertain.

source : www.ign.com

Combat Mission Shock Force v1.07 Patch

2008-02-23T09:51:00.000-08:00

Today, Battlefront announced the availability of the new Combat Mission: Shock Force v1.07 all inclusive game patch.

This All Inclusive (cumulative) game patch is available in 3 flavors; for the Battlefront.com, Gamersgate and Paradox Interactive versions of game. Links to each patch are listed below. Depending on the version, the patch is between 174 to 241 megs in size. While its only been two weeks since the last patch was released, we were able to pack in a bunch of improvements in this version not to mention the addition of 32 brand new Quick Battle Maps. Other important tweaks have been made to unit pathfinding, combat behavior, area fire as well as fixes to a couple of pesky bugs which popped up recently.

As these are All Inclusive patches, they will work regardless of if, or to what level, the game has already been patched in the past.

Download Patch:
http://www.battlefront-store.com:8080/downloads.html

source : www.ign.com

GDC 2008 : Racing Simulator

2008-02-22T05:47:00.000-08:00

Though somewhat overshadowed during the console generation-shift, driving and flight sims have maintained a dedicated following that, on the high-end, is highly willing to invest serous money in apparatuses that heighten the experience. Such fans with an extra $15,000 to spend will be stoked to learn that VoodooPC / HP have partnered with D-Box to sell the Pro-200 RC racing chair.

Displayed prominently at this year's GDC, the Pro-200 RC racing chair is an impressive system that utilizes proprietary hydraulics technology and D-Box's Motion Code software to bring extremely tactile feedback to PC driving and flight-sim games. We got the chance to test it out, and were quite impressed with the ability of the system to heighten the pseudo-reality of intense racing games. While racing, accelerating hard shifted the chair hard to the rear. Turning hard and suddenly losing traction jolted the chair quite hard, and exactly in concert with the force-feedback racing wheel.

Though the Pro-200 RC racing chair carries serious sticker shock, dedicated racing fanatics should be pretty stocked to see such a product gaining higher profile distribution. D-Box products are now being sold via VoodooPC / HP. Somewhat lower-end options are also available.

source : www.ign.com

GDC 2008 : Let's Translate Games into Music

2008-02-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

At the Game Developers Conference today celebrated composer Masafumi Takada spoke about writing the music for No More Heroes, Killer 7, God Hand, and Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. He explained that his approach to writing music for games involves translating a game's visuals into the language of music. When composing a soundtrack he considers a game's colors, the speed of gameplay, and its context.

He was initially grabbed by videogame music when he heard the tunes of the arcade game Xevious. He now works at developer Grasshopper Manufacture, which created Killer 7 and No More Heroes.

When working on Umbrella Chronicles he was very aware of the legions of Resident Evil fans and didn't want to disappoint them. His job was to arrange existing RE music for the Wii shooter. But since Umbrella Chronicles has a different pacing and feel from previous RE games, Takada had to change things up a bit. He kept many recognizable tunes from the series but added more rhythmic instruments to give a feeling of motion and to help propel the game forward. And while electric guitar might not fit the usual RE premise of suspenseful exploration, he felt it would be very appropriate for Umbrella chronicles.

For God Hand, developer Shinji Mikami told Takada that it was a pretty hardcore game so he'd like the music to relax things a little bit. Takada also decided he wanted it to be catchy and nostalgic. If you've played God Hand you'll have noticed the music is very old-school videogame sounding. It's upbeat rock and techno with a lot of guitar solos. This could be the nostalgia Takada was aiming for.

He also used a lot of repetition of musical phrases and motifs. He says musical memory is much like smell memory in that a tune can trigger very intense memories for a person. In God Hand the bosses undergo transformations and appear more than once. Takada would repeat melodies for the boss fights but present them in different arrangements and orchestrations so the player will recall their last encounter.

His work on No More Heroes began when he was given one day to come up with some music for the game's E3 trailer. The audience was receptive to what he produced so it ended up being put in the final game.

Takada concluded his speech by declaring that writing music for games is his mission in life.

American game composer Tommy Tallarico (Earthworm Jim, Out of This World) was on hand to ask Takada a few questions. Tallarico said Western composers are frustrated with how sound is often the last thing considered in game development. Takada said he couldn't speak for other companies, but at Grasshopper the status of the sound department is held in high regard.

When asked if he prefers PCs or Macs, Takada said he is a bit of a Mac evangelist.

Finally, an audience member asked if Takada would be working with Suda 51 on the music for Fatal Frame 4, to which the composer politely replied, "No comment."

source : www.ign.com

Please welcome, Portal 2

2008-02-22T05:43:00.000-08:00

Legions of Portal fans may well get their appetite for more mind-bending puzzle action satiated, with the game's lead designer Kim Swift suggesting another slice is currently in the mix.

Valve's superlative first-person puzzler scooped the top prize at this year's Game Developer's Choice Awards and, in a post-acceptance interview, Swift spoke briefly about a follow-up, saying, "I believe [Valve Community Manager] Doug Lombardi has announced a sequel". Lombardi has indeed spoken about a second Portal game, saying last January that "There'll be more Portal, for sure. But the details of that, to be honest, we're still working out."

With a strong and highly vocal fan-base already present just months after the game's release, a sequel would surely incite the fervered drools of many a gamer - although, given Valve's usual protracted development periods, don't expect it for a while yet.

www.ign.com

HD-DVD finally lost in Format Wars !

2008-02-19T17:38:00.001-08:00

The rumors were true. Japanese news source NHK (english translation and Reuters validation) is reporting that Toshiba is planning to drop support of HD DVD, striking a final blow to the format and conceding victory to Blu-ray. The Sony-backed high-definition disc has been gaining strides for some time, most notably after Warner Bros switched to Blu-ray exclusively. Toshiba is expected to face hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

The so-called "format wars" seems to be at an end, and now we're left to ponder about the future, such as how big is the office party Sony is throwing in honor of its victory? More related to video games, might we see a future Blu-ray add-on (and subsequently rumors of a built-in drive) for the Xbox 360?

source : www.joystiq.com

Unreal Engine 3 Motion Capture by Mova

2008-02-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

Mova Contour Reality Capture in Unreal Engine 3 from Joy Stiq on Vimeo.

Traditional, point-based motion capture (the kind brought to you by guys in black suits with reflective balls) has been great for developers that want to capture basic skeletal motion for their in-game characters. But for realistic facial work, even setups with hundreds of reflective dots leave developers with rough, blocky data that requires a lot of post-production work to even start approaching the uncanny valley.

Enter motion capture company Mova, whose Contour Reality Capture system uses an array of cameras to create 100,000 polygon facial models that are accurate to within a tenth of a millimeter -- no special reflective balls required. At this year's GDC, the company is trying to attract the game industry's attention by unveiling examples of their facial modeling running in real-time on the popular Unreal Engine 3. Continue reading for exclusive, real-time video of the technology and excerpts from an interview with the Mova founder Steve Perlman.

"This pushes Unreal Engine 3 to its very limit ... it's about as photo-real as you can get in real time."

So says Steve Perlman, the man behind Apple's Quicktime, Microsoft's WebTV and the Mova Contour Reality Capture system that created the above real-time video, shown running on a dual NVIDIA 8800 GTXs with SLI. Frankly, we find it pretty hard to disagree with his assessment. From the little twitches of the eyelids to the extreme curl of the mouth to the weathered wrinkles in in the face, you'd be hard pressed to find a more realistic facial image running on any real-time system. Perlman says the company has been working privately with developers for some time to adapt the system for video game use.

"People have never had this kind of data available before in a game context ... their heads are spinning," he said. "What you're seeing right there is the result of, having time to wrap our heads around this thing and see how we're going to use it, and yes, we can in fact get a face that looks almost photo-real -- you know, not quite, but almost photo-real -- running in a game engine today."

Believe it or not, though, the Contour system can create even more detailed animation when processing time isn't an issue. Check out the below video, which shows how Reality Capture data can look when pre-rendered for a movie or cut scene.

"You can see the difference then between what's achievable in cinema and what's achievable right now in video games," Perlman says. "But next generation game machines, they'll be able to essentially show in real time what we can do currently in non-real-time using renderers. ... Next generation, you're going to have interactive sequences where people think there's a live person in the game."

Perlman says the cost of a Contour motion-capture session isn't appreciably higher than that for a traditional marker-based capture session: anywhere from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars, depending on the length and complexity of the shoot. The real savings, he says come in the post-production. "Unlike marker-based capture, which has a big manual clean-up process before you see results, with contour it's purely computational," Perlman said. "We've talked to people, and one of the reasons when they announce delays for complex games is because they're fighting to try and make the faces look good. With Contour, you send the guy in, he does a shoot, and we send you a face that looks nearly perfect. It's no longer one of the risk issues for your schedule."

The Contour system generates so much data, Perlman says, that the full value of the rendering won't be apparent until hardware speeds improve. "With markers, you kind of get the resolution of what those markers are and that's it," Perlman says. "When a next-generation game system comes out, or they decide they want to do something for a feature film, you can't really use the data. With Contour, it's actually capturing the data at much higher resolutions than any system in the world, even for feature films, can currently use. What we do is we store that data away ... and when a next generation video game machine comes out and they want the data at higher resolution, they can."

Perlman couldn't reveal which companies are currently using this technology, but said he expects the first games with Contour captures could come out in 2008, depending on developer schedules. The system should be in "wide use" around the game industry by 2009, he said.

NO FA ACTION AGAINST GALLAS

2008-02-18T14:18:00.002-08:00

Arsenal captain William Gallas has escaped disciplinary action over his clash with Manchester United's Nani.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson claimed the French defender should have been sent off at the weekend by referee Alan Wiley for kicking Nani from behind in response to the Portuguese midfielder indulging in some ball-juggling.

However the Football Association confirmed today that Wiley had looked at video footage of the incident.

An FA spokesman said: "Having viewed the footage, the referee was not satisfied that it showed evidence of violent conduct and therefore no further action will be taken."

For the FA to take action, Wiley would have had to have deemed the clash worthy of a red card for violent conduct.

The decision will be sure to infuriate Ferguson, who said after the 4-0 win by United: "I thought Gallas should have been sent off. The referee must have a look at that again.

"He kicked Nani from behind and the referee called both over because they sized each other up. He should have been red-carded."

Meanwhile, Gallas has warned his team-mates they will have to fight every inch of the way if they are to win the title or enjoy European glory.

Gallas says United will have taken huge confidence from their win over the Gunners in the FA Cup, and that Arsenal's players have to be ready for the conflict.

A visit by AC Milan on Wednesday night is the next challenge facing Arsenal, and Gallas said the team need to step up their approach for both that and the Premier League campaign.

He told Arsenal TV: "The title is a dream and to get that dream you have to fight.

"We have to take it game by game, and we have to be ready for the fight. We know it will not be easy for us, and Manchester United will have confidence and if we want that title we have to fight.

"The defeat was very tough for us. We did not play well. We know we were not good at all.

"Everyone was disappointed and now we have to work and work again to see what we can do in the Champions League and the Premier League.

"We have to put the game behind us. On Wednesday it will be different as we are at home and we can play our game, but away we have to fight and we didn't fight on Saturday."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

TYKES TO FACE HOLDERS CHELSEA

2008-02-18T14:18:00.001-08:00

Barnsley have been rewarded for their shock fifth-round victory over Liverpool with a home tie against Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The Tykes beat Liverpool 2-1 in a surprise result at Anfield and now take on Chelsea at Oakwell after Avram Grant's side knocked out Huddersfield in the last 16.

Manchester United were drawn at home to fellow Premier League side Portsmouth, while at least one side from outside the top flight will be in the semi-finals after Bristol Rovers were drawn at home to West Brom having knocked out Southampton in the fifth round.

Sheffield United or Middlesbrough will host Cardiff in the remaining match.

The ties will be played on the weekend of March 8 and 9.

Barnsley will hope there is no repeat of the sides' last meeting in South Yorkshire, which Chelsea won 6-0 in August 1997. Former Blues boss Gianluca Vialli scored four goals that day.

The last FA Cup meeting between the sides, in 1989, was much better for the Tykes, who won 4-0 in a third-round clash.

West Brom booked their ticket to the last eight with a 5-0 victory over Coventry, and now face a difficult trip to the west country to take on Bristol Rovers.

The sides last met in a League Cup tie in 1993, with the Baggies winning the first leg 4-0 in Bristol.

Manchester United have already beaten Portsmouth at Old Trafford this season, with Cristiano Ronaldo's brace on January 30 enough for a routine victory.

Should Boro progress past Sheffield United in their fifth-round replay, they will hope to avoid a repeat of their last meeting with Cardiff, which ended in a 2-1 home defeat in a third-round replay in 1994.

Full Draw

Sheffield United or Middlesbrough v Cardiff

Manchester United v Portsmouth

Bristol Rovers v West Brom

Barnsley v Chelsea

Ties to be played March 8/9

BENITEZ READY FOR INTER

2008-02-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Rafael Benitez has reaffirmed his commitment to Liverpool as the five-time European Cup winners bid to salvage their season against the best team in Italy.

The under-fire Anfield chief could hardly have a more difficult task following the wreckage of Saturday's FA Cup humiliation by Barnsley.

With their confidence and quality under the spotlight, Liverpool must confront Inter Milan in the Champions League last 16, a team who are unbeaten in their domestic league all season and 11 points clear at the top of Serie A.

Benitez must feel he has been battered black and blue these last few months as Liverpool have collapsed, and now he comes up against the Nerazzurri, Italy's own merciless black and blue giants.

Inter have lost just three of their last 45 away games in all competitions and are odds-on favourites to deepen the crisis that has enveloped Anfield this season.

But despite being told by critics that he must win the Champions League to save his job, Benitez still believes he will be Anfield manager for some time to come.

He said: "I do not see this as my most difficult time as a manager. I have worked for 21 years now in the job so I have good memories and bad moments.

"So I try to concentrate only on the next game. Obviously I was really disappointed at the weekend, but we must be positive and prepare for this game correctly.

"I feel the disappointment just like any fan. But I must underline that my commitment to this club is still 100%.

"I will try to change the situation. I will support the players and try to improve things."

He added: "The key is to analyse why some players are not performing at their best level, and to try to change that.

"If we want to win trophies, you must not say 'we cannot do this', we must fight to the end.

"As a manager you must support your players if they work really hard. If they do not do that you know what to do at the end of the season.

"But during the season you must support them, work hard with them, and they must compete for positions in the team."

Benitez has taken on board criticism of his squad from local hero Jamie Carragher after the disaster of being knocked out of the FA Cup by Barnsley on Saturday.

Carragher - who will play his 99th European game for the club against Inter - insisted the squad is not good enough, but Benitez revealed the defender was quick to explain his feelings face to face, and the damning headlines.

Benitez said: "I was surprised when Jamie came to me and asked if I had read the headlines in the papers. I hadn't, so he explained that he was trying to be positive. That is fine by me, I know his character and the team do likewise.

"I have talked to Jamie about what he said about us not being good enough, he came to me first thing this morning to explain what he had said and how it looked.

"All I said was that everyone knows we are disappointed, and that we must improve, and we certainly will do that."

And Benitez added: "We cannot change the situation in the other cup competitions, they are gone. But we still have the Champions League and a target of fourth in the Premier League, our aims are still clear and we will fight for them.

"We must think about winning the next game and not about other things around the club.

"Is this the most difficult period for me as a manager? I don't know, but if we win against Inter and move ahead this time will become the easiest.

"But we must win now, that is the only way we can change what is happening."

Benitez will have Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Jose Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Aurelio - all rested against Barnsley - back against the Italians.

"The atmosphere between the players is not as bad as people seem to think, they will try to win this game and I am sure they can do it. Then if we beat Middlesbrough next Saturday here, everything will look different."

Benitez also does not believe his future depends on winning the Champions League.

He said: "I do not know too many managers who are told they must win the Champions League. If you win it once it is normally good enough, nobody here is saying we must win the European trophy.

"We must be positive, improve and stop the mistakes. We know we are good team and if we win games the confidence will soar again.

"When I came here the club had gone 21 years since they won the European Cup.

"Everyone is disappointed by the cup result against Barnsley, the players, the staff, everyone in the club. But we cannot change anything now.

"We must keep going, thinking about the Champions League and fourth place in the league.

"We must progress as far as we can in Europe and make sure we are fourth, at least.

"We have more determination now to do well in what is left for us this season.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

ROONEY : BRING ON THE BLUES

2008-02-16T18:14:00.003-08:00

Wayne Rooney says he’ll be delighted if United draw Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter final.

The England international got the scoring underway at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon as the Reds romped to a 4-0 victory against top-of-the-league Arsenal.

Minnows Barnsley and Bristol City remain in the competition, but Rooney would prefer a tussle with Avram Grant’s Chelsea.

“I hope we get Chelsea,” Rooney told MUTV. “Personally, I’d like to play them at home and try to knock them out. After that we’ll be through to the semi final and I’m sure we can take things from there.”

Rooney has twice been on the losing side in an FA Cup final and is determined to add a winners medal to his collection this season.

“The FA Cup means a lot to me. I’ve been excited by the competition from a very young age and hopefully we can now go all the way.”

United swept Arsenal aside on Saturday afternoon even though the Reds began the match missing experienced players.

“Last season we had to play all the players in every game,” Rooney said. “Today we had Paul Scholes on the bench and Ryan Giggs got a rest all together. That keeps them fresh and could be key come the end of the season.

“We were very disappointed after last week’s performance against Manchester City. Training was difficult this week and we spent a lot of time talking about the tactics and how we were going to approach the game against Arsenal. I think we got it spon on.”

The FA Cup quarter final draw takes place on Monday 18 February at 13:30 GMT.

Source : www.manutd.com

TYKES STUN REDS AT ANFIELD

2008-02-16T18:14:00.002-08:00

Barnsley captain Brian Howard scored a dramatic late winner to give his side a shock 2-1 win over Liverpool in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Anfield.

Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt had put his side ahead after he smashed home Ryan Babel's cross in the 32nd minute before Steve Foster equalised with a header for the Coca-Cola Championship side in the 57th minute.

The home side dominated the remainder of the game and Tykes goalkeeper Luke Steele, who was signed on emergency loan from West Brom earlier in the week, produced a string of second-half saves.

The match seemed to be heading for a replay before Howard struck a spectacular winner from 25 yards in the third minute of added time out to put his side into the quarter-final draw.

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher scored twice to help his side complete a 4-0 rout of 10-man Arsenal in a surprisingly one-sided affair between the Premier League top two at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney put Sir Alex Ferguson's side in front in the 16th minute and Fletcher also headed home four minutes later to double the advantage.

Luis Nani (38) latched on to Michael Carrick's pass and drilled the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to make it 3-0 before the break.

Arsene Wenger's side were reduced to 10 men four minutes after the interval when Emmanuel Eboue was shown a straight red card for a foul on Patrice Evra.

Fletcher then rounded off the scoring in the 74th minute with a close-range header after good work by Nani down the left flank.

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard scored twice to help give his side a 3-1 win over League One Huddersfield at Stamford Bridge.

Lampard opened the scoring with his 100th Blues goal in the 18th minute after he latched on to a Scott Sinclair cross before he calmly placed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Huddersfield, though, equalised on the stroke of half-time through midfielder Michael Collins.

James Berrett's pass picked out Collins who drilled the ball home.

Lampard restored the home side's advantage in the 60th minute with a close-range finish after Terriers goalkeeper Matt Glennon had parried his initial shot.

Salomon Kalou was sent clear by Lampard 10 minutes later and added a third after he rounded Glennon to calmly slot the ball home.

Roman Bednar scored twice to help book West Brom's place in the quarter-finals they thrashed 10-man Coventry 5-0 win at the Ricoh Arena.

Chris Brunt had given the Baggies a 12th-minute lead and the home side lost Michael Doyle after he was sent off for a foul on Zoltan Gera.

Bednar scored in the 59th minute after a mistake by Sky Blues goalkeeper Andy Marshall before he converted a penalty 10 minutes later.

Substitute Ishmael Miller added another in the 76th minute and Gera added a fifth two minutes later.

Cardiff midfielder Peter Whittingham scored one goal and created another for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to help give his side a 2-0 win over Wolves at Ninian Park.

Bristol Rovers also caused an upset after they claimed a 1-0 win over Southampton at the Memorial Stadium in the day's early kick-off.

Paul Trollope's Coca-Cola League One team were the better side throughout the match against their Championship counterparts and Rickie Lambert eventually scored the decisive goal in the 84th minute to take his side into the quarter-finals.

The Rovers striker drilled a low free-kick from 22 yards which took a deflection off Saints midfielder Jermaine Wright and sailed past goalkeeper Kelvin Davis.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

RONALDINHO WILL SNUB ITALIAN MOVE

2008-02-16T18:14:00.001-08:00

Ronaldinho has told the Italian media that even if Italy's top clubs are interested in him, he has no interest in joining them.

For months there has been widespread speculation suggesting the Barcelona forward is set for a move away from the Nou Camp at the end of the season, following a year in which the former world player of the year has been dogged by poor form and below-par performances.

Italy - and Milan in particular - has long been touted as his most likely destination, but the Brazilian claims he only has an interest in playing for his current club.

"What would I say to any offer from Inter or AC Milan? No thanks," Ronalindho told Italian television show 'Studio Sport'.

"Knowing that a great club appreciates your work is highly motivating, but I'm trying to reach my best form to be able to give my best to Barcelona.

"It's normal that there is some criticism, if we were top of the league things would be different.

"When I go out into town [in Barcelona] I can feel the support of the people, and I hear them singing my name in the stadium so I know there is a lot of affection there."

On Saturday, Ronaldinho scored the winning goal in Barcelona's victory over Real Zaragoza, his first goal since December 12 for his club.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

RAMOS: CUP FINAL MUST WAIT

2008-02-15T03:34:00.003-08:00

Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos insists there will be no talk of Wembley until their UEFA Cup tie with Slavia Prague is over next Thursday.

Spurs should have had one foot in the last 16 after taking a two-goal lead at the Strahov Stadium on Thursday, only for Radek Cerny's blunder against his former club leaving the tie poised at 2-1.

In sub-zero temperatures in the Czech Republic capital Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring and Robbie Keane doubled the lead, with Spurs sensing an easy second leg until Cerny dropped a hanging cross and David Strihavka prodded in.

Now all of Ramos' focus will be on the second leg next Thursday rather than the Carling Cup final the following Sunday.

"Before the cup final we have the second leg of this tie and all our efforts are now concentrated on this match, and before we finish it we won't be thinking about Wembley," said Ramos.

Keane added on five: "In the first half we played brilliantly, they didn't get a sniff.

"We came out in the second half and I don't know what happened, we knew they would come out and make it difficult for us. The second half performance was not good enough.

"We've won the game, that's the most important thing. But we wanted to get the job finished.

"There's still a bit left in this game, we'll get them back to White Hart Lane and there's no reason why we can't go through."

Ramos refused to single out Cerny for criticism despite his error.

"The mistakes can always happen, that is the world of football," said Ramos. "This time it was the turn of Cerny.

"It's quite possible that he seemed really nervous after the goal, more than normal.

"It must be very difficult for him to be at his home ground to play against his former club."

Keane added: "Things happen. He made a mistake but he's big enough to accept that."

Berbatov opened the scoring in the fourth minute when he steered in a volley after Jermaine Jenas' run was halted on the edge of the area.

Keane added his second on the half-hour mark when Jenas split the home defence.

"I think we really controlled the play in the first hour but we became quite nervous and could have achieved a better result," said Ramos.

"We allowed Slavia to react and find a way back and now we have a tough second leg to play.

"The match lasts 90 minutes and we have to take it like that.

We have to accept it. We could have achieved a better result, a more definite win but we cant change it."

Slavia coach Karel Jarolim felt his side relaxed after falling two goals behind.

"We knew there was nothing to lose," he said. "Radek Cerny helped us because he did not catch the ball but it was a good from our player."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

NEVILLE: RONALDO IS ON ANOTHER PLANET

2008-02-15T03:34:00.002-08:00

Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes Cristiano Ronaldo is the equal of any of the legends who have graced the club's history.

The Portuguese star has been in scintillating form this season, scoring 27 goals and creating countless more as the Red Devils have maintained their challenges in the Barclays Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.

Despite failing to find the net in United's last two winless matches, Ronaldo is rapidly closing in on the 32-goal mark set by the late George Best in 1967-68.

Neville insists it would be fitting for the 23-year-old to beat Best's record given that he now believes Ronaldo deserves to take his place alongside the likes of the Northern Irishman, Sir Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards and Eric Cantona in the pantheon of Old Trafford greats.

"In terms of entertainment, performance and production, the player that we're watching now is every bit as good as anything I've ever seen," Neville told United Review.

"He's playing on another planet at the moment.

"His goals tally is exceptional, but the most impressive thing is the appreciation he has for playing in a team.

"His passing, dribbling and crossing are all carefully selected and completed at the right times."

United face Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday looking to strike an important psychological blow against their main title rivals.

Last Sunday's derby defeat at the hands of Manchester City, coupled with the Gunners' victory over Blackburn the following day, saw Sir Alex Ferguson's team slip five points behind the north Londoners in the race for the title.

Although there are no points available at Old Trafford this weekend, United could put a big dent in Arsenal's increasing self-confidence and make a massive statement of intent by sending them crashing out of the cup.

Neville will again miss out as he continues his recovery from the series of injuries which have wrecked his season thus far.

Having spent so much time in the stands this term he has gained a good appreciation of the current squad, and despite their recent struggles he remains unwavering in his belief that they are up there with the best United sides he has played in.

"I said at the start of the campaign that United fans should be as excited as they've ever been and that's been proved," he said.

"We've had the odd blip, but you experience that every year. We're getting to the business part of the season now, there's everything to play for."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

BENITEZ EYES CUP CHANCE

2008-02-15T03:34:00.001-08:00

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is intent on making up for his side's virtual elimination from the Barclays Premier League title race by taking a major step towards alternative silverware this week.

Benitez leads his side into Saturday's FA Cup fifth round clash with Barnsley before Inter Milan arrive at Anfield just three days later for a crucial Champions League showdown.

And while Benitez is expected to juggle his starting line-up in order to give himself the best chance of success on two fronts, he is not under-estimating the importance of the clash against the Tykes.

Benitez said: "Your aim is to win every trophy but sometimes you have to be realistic and sometimes you cannot. A lot of teams have the same problem. We have not won the league for 18 years and I have been here for three.

"We will try to win every game in the league to try to finish in the top four. But we know we also have a big chance in both of the cups and we will be taking them seriously."

Benitez was buoyed by last weekend's gutsy draw at Chelsea but will need to reshuffle his defence in search of another clean sheet as Martin Skrtel is ruled out with a calf injury.

Fernando Torres, Sami Hyypia, Fabio Aurelio and Alvaro Arbeloa are all available again but present varying degrees of risk and Benitez is likely to rest all four of them with an eye on the Inter clash.

"All of them will be fit, but the question for me is whether it is a risk I need to take, or do I have other players who can play in those positions?" added Benitez.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

FIFA BLASTS PREMIER LEAGUE PROPOSAL

2008-02-15T03:34:00.000-08:00

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has condemned the Premier League's proposal to play matches overseas as "unacceptable" and an "abuse of football".

The Premier League clubs have agreed in principle to look at each playing an extra match every January in a foreign city.

Blatter though has vowed to do all he can to block the League's plans and warned that if they push ahead with the proposals it could torpedo England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

The FIFA president's criticism follows strong opposition from UEFA counterpart Michel Platini and Asian federation chief Mohamed bin Hammam, and there is now a major doubt about whether the Premier League would even be able to find countries willing to hold the matches.

Blatter said: "To try to have additional exposure and revenue by expanding the league around the world, I think this is not acceptable.

"It will not be acceptable to the FIFA executive committee, I am sure. This will never happen - at least this will not happen as long as I am the president of FIFA.

"We have not been contacted before by the League to ask us what we think of this idea. You speak about rude but I think it is an anti-responsibility.

"If you are the most prosperous league in the world and if you accept that everyone in football has a responsibility to maintain it not only as a business, but as a game.

"Then, all of a sudden you come out with a project which only has business and money behind it."

Blatter said FIFA's statutes were clear that the matches would need the permission of the national associations of the countries where they would be staged - and that he would do all he could to block any attempt to grant that permission.

He added: "According to the statutes and regulations, it is said very clearly that if you want to play any match in a foreign territory outside the country where the teams are coming from you need the authorisation of that association.

"I will bring it to the attention of the executive committee but you can be sure that the executive committee will reject such an inapplication of the statutes.

"And I will ask the national associations in a decision taken by the executive committee not to accept such an initiative which is definitely an abuse of the game. This is definitely abuse of association football."

Blatter said he will take the controversy to FIFA's Congress if the Premier League insist on pushing ahead with their plans.

What will really worry the Football Association however Blatter's warning that the plans could affect England's bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Blatter added: "If you go against the authority of FIFA and the decision-making body which is the executive committee then you cannot expect them to be in your favour later on.

"England will not be the only World Cup bid. I cannot imagine that when you go against the deciding body for the decision on the World Cup in an initiative that will not be accepted by this body, that you will enhance your chances. It will not be diplomatic."

Blatter said he would give Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore the opportunity to state his case to FIFA but would state his views "perhaps even stronger".

He added: "Football cannot be like the Harlem globetrotters or a circus. You must keep the national identity of the clubs."

A Premier League spokesman said: "We look forward to the opportunity to meet with FIFA in order to discuss this matter in full.

"This was always the starting point in relation to this issue of sanction of our proposed international round and as such we will be making no further comment until after that time."

Meanwhile, former Football Association executive director David Davies blamed the Premier League for making their plans public before canvassing opinion throughout the game.

He said on BBC Radio Five Live: "These proposals, as they stand, are unlikely to be able to survive much more of a pounding, the sort of pounding they have had in recent days.

"The reason for that is that there wasn't a widespread consultation before these proposals came forward."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

ADEBAYOR HAILS 'AMAZING' RONALDO

2008-02-13T06:15:00.002-08:00

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has spoken of his admiration for Golden-Boot rival Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Saturday's FA Cup clash with Manchester United.

Adebayor and Ronaldo are neck-and-neck at the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts on 19 goals each, and the Gunners frontman admits it would be a great feat to eclipse the United sensation.

"He is a player I like to watch," Adebayor told the club's official website.

"He has a lot of quality and watching him is like watching something else, it is like playing on the PlayStation sometimes.

"He is an amazing footballer and I show him a lot of respect for what he has done this season. There are not a lot of players, especially midfielders who can achieve what he has achieved."

"The Golden Boot is something I want to do as a footballer but the most important thing is that I want to achieve something as a team.

"At the end of the day, if I win the Golden Boot and the team does not win anything, I cannot see me enjoying myself - it would be better to win the title."

The 23-year-old striker picked up the Arsenal fans' player of the month award for January, an accolade he was delighted with.

"The Arsenal fans voted me as player of the month and I'm very happy and pleased about that because it means a lot of people believe in you," he said.

"I'm pleased and I want to achieve a lot in my career. That is why I'm here and that is what I'm fighting for."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

ESSIEN TARGETS CLEAN SWEEP

2008-02-13T06:15:00.001-08:00

Michael Essien believes Chelsea can still win the quadruple this season.

Avram Grant's side are currently eight points adrift of Arsenal in the title race, but have a Carling Cup final to look forward to along with competing for the Champions League and FA Cup.

Then-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho targeted the quadruple last season and ended up with the FA Cup and Carling Cup, before surprisingly exiting Stamford Bridge earlier this season.

And Essien, who is back at Chelsea following the African Cup of Nations, believes the current squad has the character to go for glory on every front.

"We've got the character to win the quadruple," he told The Sun.

"This could still be a really big season for us. We're still in all four competitions and we will do everything to win as many of them as we can.

"Winning all four trophies is a possibility."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

HAMANN EXTENDS CITY CONTRACT

2008-02-13T06:15:00.000-08:00

Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann has signed a new one-year deal with the Eastlands club.

The former Liverpool and Germany star joined City in the summer of 2006 but struggled with injuries during his first season.

However, the 34-year-old has been in impressive form under Sven-Goran Eriksson and was the man of the match in the derby win over Manchester United on Sunday.

Meanwhile, City boss Eriksson is hopeful midfielder Hamann's fellow midfielder Michael Johnson will be fit for their next match against Everton on February 25.

The 19-year-old played a major part in City's flying start to the season but has been out of action since December with a niggling abdominal injury.

Johnson played in a reserve-team match on Monday, and Eriksson told the club's official website: "Michael did very well for 45 minutes, and the positive is that he had no discomfort afterwards.

"I hope he has no setbacks, and if things go as I think he would be ready for Everton."

However, Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov is not expected to feature against the Toffees despite a goal-scoring return in the reserves' draw with Newcastle.

The 21-year-old injured knee ligaments on his first start for City in August and Eriksson does not want to rush him back.

"Bojinov is not ready for the first team yet," he said. "It's like having a new signing but I doubt very much that he would be ready for Everton. But he's got a big smile on his face now, he's very happy."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

CITY SEAL STUNNING DERBY DOUBLE

2008-02-10T14:12:00.001-08:00

Manchester City completed a league double over Manchester United with a 2-1 win on the day the city remembered the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

The last time City achieved such a feat was back in 1970 and the last time they won at Old Trafford was four years later.

Darius Vassell put City ahead in the 24th minute and Benjani Mwaruwari, on his debut following a protracted move from Portsmouth, headed the second. United replied with an injury-time goal from Michael Carrick but City held on.

However Chelsea failed to capitalise as they were held to a dour 0-0 draw by Liverpool.

The draw means Chelsea are three points behind the second-placed Red Devils.

Liverpool have never scored at Stamford Bridge under Rafael Benitez, and with no Fernando Torres in their line-up that was unlikely to change.

The visitors actually had the better of the first half, with Peter Crouch heading wide (14), shooting wide of the upright (17) and steering a header straight at Petr Cech from Steven Gerrard's right-wing cross on 19.

The second half was largely uneventful until the last 10 minutes, with Michael Ballack volleying wide of the upright from Ashley Cole's clever cross on 81.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

EGYPT RETAIN AFRICAN TITLE

2008-02-10T14:09:00.001-08:00

Egypt retained the African Nations Cup on Sunday after Mohamed Aboutrika's goal secured a narrow final victory over Cameroon.

The Al-Ahly midfielder slotted home the winner 14 minutes from time after Mohamed Zidan capitalised on a Rigobert Song error to give the Pharaohs a record sixth continental title.

It is also a record third crown for captain Ahmed Hassan - the most by any player in the history of the competition.

The North Africans looked sharp from the outset, using their pace and skill to outwit Cameroon, who they beat 4-2 in the opening match of the tournament.

Geremi created the first opening for his side when the Newcastle midfielder played in Samuel Eto'o with a fine cross from the right that was headed over by the Barcelona forward.

Egypt hit back when Hosny Abd Rabou curled a 25-yard free-kick over the wall, but Carlos Kameni was on hand to save low to his left, before Sayed Moawad drew a similar save with his shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Geremi's cross again caused confusion in the Egyptian penalty area after 10 minutes, but goalkeeper Essam El Hadary managed to punch the ball away.

Aboutrika then forced Kameni to dive low and parry away his fizzing 20-yard shot for a corner as the Pharaohs looked sharp on the break.

Otto Pfister's side were dealt a major blow after 15 minutes, when Arsenal's Alexandre Song, who came into the game with an injury, had to be replaced by Gilles Binya.

But the change did not immediately seem to affect them as Geremi's 30-yard free-kick drew a sprawling save from El Hadary to his left.

Another good chance came for Egypt after 19 minutes when Amr Zaky played in Emad Moteab inside the area, but Kameni made another excellent block. The parry fell into the path of Aboutrika, but he blazed over.

The Al-Ahly midfielder again fired over midway through the half after Hany Said's commanding run and cross into the left side of the penalty area.

At the other end, Eto'o controlled the ball 20 yards out and turned well towards the right by-line, before firing across the face of goal.

But Egypt looked threatening on the break and Moteab had a fantastic chance to give them the lead in the 36th minute after being put through by Aboutrika, only for Kameni to pull off another stunning stop from the striker's close-range volley.

Zaky then fired narrowly over from a 30-yard free-kick on the left on the stroke of half-time.

After the restart, Kameni denied Zaky with an excellent save from an acute angle on the left, before somehow managing to keep out Hosny's shot from the edge of the penalty area as Hassan Shehata's team piled on the pressure.

Hosny came closest to breaking the deadlock shortly after the hour mark, when he headed against the upright after a brilliant floated cross from Aboutrika on the right.

After several half-chances and a little bit of play-acting from the Egyptians, they eventually managed to forge ahead after 76 minutes - making the most of Song's error.

Instead of clearing to safety, the Galatasary defender held on and was robbed of possession by Zidan, who slid the ball across to an unmarked Aboutrika to steer the ball home.

Cameroon upped the tempo, but struggled to create any openings until five minutes from time when a cross from the right took a nasty bounce forcing El Hadary to tip over, before Stephane Mbia drew a fine stop from the Egyptian custodian with his close-range shot from the right side of the box.

Song then missed a good chance late on when he headed Geremi's pin-point cross over as the North Africans claimed a hard-fought win.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

RAIKKONEN ROLLS ON IN BAHRAIN

2008-02-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

Kimi Raikkonen set the pace in Bahrain testing while the luckless Felipe Massa's was hampered by technical problems.

The World Champion completed 66 laps and set a benchmark time of 1:30.914.

His team-mate Massa managed 13 fewer laps as a result of a hydraulic problem.

The Brazilian's best time was two tenths off the pace set by Raikkonen.

Toyota focused on optimising the TF108's cooling system as temperatures soared into the mid-30s.

Jarno Trulli set the best time for the Japanese constructor. The Italian rounded the Sakhir circuit in 1:32.382 - about half a second clear of team-mate Timo Glock.

Bahrain Test Times

1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:30.914 66
2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:31.174 53
3. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:32.382 73
4. Glock Toyota (B) 1:32.762 75

Source : www.sportnglife.com

BENITEZ HOPES TO GET THE BLUES

2008-02-09T03:07:00.000-08:00

Rafael Benitez accepts Liverpool's hopes of catching Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League hinge on Sunday's trip to Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool are 11 points behind their third-placed opponents with a game in hand, but the Reds boss will not concede just yet that his injury-hit side cannot overhaul them.

He said: "This game will be the key to whether we can catch Chelsea. We will see afterwards. For us it is the test."

Benitez concedes the build-up for Sunday's clash is much more low-key than his previous sparring sessions with Chelsea's former boss Jose Mourinho.

He said: "Everyone does things differently, but the game will be no less difficult because they still have fine players."

This will be the 18th time Liverpool have met Chelsea in Benitez's three years at Anfield, and he said of the new regime at Stamford Bridge: "I am not surprised that Avram Grant has done well.

"Chelsea were a good team and they are still a good team that has spent a lot of money in the transfer window.

"If you do that, it is normal that you stay at the top of the table. The key always is the quality of players.

"I know we have not won at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons, but nobody is winning there so it is not just for us that it is difficult, it is difficult for everyone who goes there,"

He added: "When you play a team like Chelsea a lot of times like this, it means that you are playing for big trophies, for us two Champions League semi-finals, a Carling Cup final.

"So I am very pleased we have met them so many times, it shows we are playing for the best trophies and in the biggest games.

"This game will be different to the two we have already played against them this season.

"But we definitely deserved more from the league draw at Anfield and in the Carling Cup we had (Peter) Crouch sent off and it meant a different type of game, which we ultimately lost."

Liverpool will be without six key players on Sunday, with the loss of striker Fernando Torres the biggest blow.

The Spaniard has a hamstring injury and will be out for 10 days, also putting him out of the FA Cup fifth round home tie with Barnsley next weekend.

Andriy Voronin, Fabio Aurelio, Alvaro Arbeloa and Daniel Agger are all long-term injury victims, while Xabi Alonso is suspended. Ryan Babel picked up an ankle injury playing for Holland on Wednesday.

Source : www.sportinglife.com

TEVES TARGETS REVENGE

2008-02-09T03:06:00.002-08:00

Carlos Tevez admits he is out for revenge in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Manchester United meet rivals Manchester City on Sunday, in a game which can be seen live on Sky Sports 1, hoping to avenge their 1-0 away defeat to the Blues earlier in the season.

United striker Tevez has confessed he was 'hurt' by the defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium in August.

And the Argentinean insists the Red Devils cannot afford anymore slip ups, after scoring United's last-gasp equaliser against Tottenham last weekend, as they bid to retain their Premier League crown.

"I'm really excited about the derby," Tevez said in the Daily Star. "The defeat there hurt me and now is the moment for revenge.

"After the draw against Spurs we cannot fail again if we want to win the title. At Old Trafford it is obligatory to win every match.

"Arsenal are the leaders for now but I am convinced we will triumph."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

FRIEDEL UP WITH THE GREATS - HUGHES

2008-02-09T03:06:00.001-08:00

Blackburn manager Mark Hughes believes goalkeeper Brad Friedel deserves to be ranked among the greats to have played top-flight football in England.

The 36-year-old American this week signed an extension to his contract which will take his stay at Ewood Park up until 2010.

And Hughes said that was just reward for a sustained spell of excellence with Rovers.

"I had the pleasure of playing alongside him and I know the qualities that he has," said the former Wales boss.

"I'm delighted that I am able to call on him as a manager of Blackburn Rovers because over the years in my playing career I've had the fortune to play alongside the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Neville Southall and I very much view Brad in that same company.

"We are delighted (he has signed a new contract). He is a credit to himself and his profession in fairness.

"He has a great work ethic, is a great athlete and there is no reason why he can't keep on going."

Hughes had every confidence the former Liverpool and Columbus Crew keeper could stay at the top of his game until the end of his new contract - when he would be 39.

"I wouldn't bet against it. He's a fit young man - and I say that as somebody who is senior to him," he said.

"He works extremely hard every day he comes to training, he does extra work to enable him to maintain the level that he hits consistently season on season."

The former USA international has been at Ewood Park since moving from Anfield on a free transfer in November 2000.

And having become settled in the north-west there was no hesitation from him in signing a new deal.

"At this stage in my career, signing was a very easy decision to make," he said.

"It's been an enjoyable time in my life and in my career. I like working with the staff we have here and we've got a good group of players assembled.

"I just try to work hard and keep my mind and body as fit as possible so that I'm available for selection every week.

"As a professional, that should be what you aim to do and the best thing is to be playing in the game.

"I consider myself very fortunate. We've got good competition at the club and it keeps me focused."

Friedel, who will be looking to maintain his good form against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, believes Rovers have the potential to become regulars in the Barclays Premier League's top six.

"Hopefully the club will give Mark some money to spend in the summer and we can keep pushing onwards," he told the Lancashire Telegraph.

"I think we're in with an excellent chance (of qualifying for Europe). We've just got to keep our heads down and try to keep our unbeaten run going."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

SMITH WANTS FERGUSON AROUND

2008-02-09T03:06:00.000-08:00

Rangers manager Walter Smith has welcomed the idea of Barry Ferguson pledging the rest of his career to the Ibrox club.

Ferguson celebrated his 30th birthday last weekend and claimed he had at least another five years to offer at the highest level before hanging up his football boots.

Reports this week suggesting the skipper was already in talks with Rangers chiefs regarding a contract extension appear to be wide of the mark.

But Smith believes no-one at Ibrox would have a problem with Ferguson putting pen to paper on a new deal that would see him end his career with his boyhood heroes.

"I don't think Rangers have been approached by Barry's agents so far," said Smith.

"As far as I'm aware, he is contracted until around 2010.

"Maybe something will take place if Rangers are approached or Rangers will approach his agents.

"Since I have been here, we have been delighted with the way he has been playing and I don't see any reason why, if he wants to stay at Rangers for whatever length of time, that he can't do so.

"I don't think there is any problem with that club-wise. If it does happen shortly that's fine, if it's a bit later that's equally fine."

Ferguson's future at Rangers was thrown into doubt 12 months ago when he was stripped of the captaincy and dropped from the team after a falling out with then boss Paul Le Guen.

The Frenchman departed the club instead and Ferguson has blossomed since Smith was installed as Le Guen's successor.

The Rangers boss added: "He has played exceptionally well for us, not just this year, but in the period since we have come back.

"He has hit an exceptional level of form and he has hit that level consistently which has been a big thing for us overall."

Another player who has no plans to quit the game any time soon is Christian Dailly.

The 34-year-old quit West Ham to sign a four-month deal with Rangers last month and is determined to delay his retirement for as long as possible.

"I like playing, I like being involved," he said. "If you talk to any player they will tell you to go on as long as you can.

"After all, it's a game of football. If I'm physically capable of playing, then why not carry on.

"There are guys who play Sunday, pub or amateur football just for the fun of it. When it's your job, that's even better.

"I'm only 34. Because I was in the first-team at Dundee United when I was just 16, people think I'm older.

"I have always been an athlete. I was the fittest player at West Ham before I left. I'm proud of that.

"We worked that out with the fitness stats as regards running, matches, everything."

Meanwhile, Smith has dedicated his Clydesdale Bank Premier League manager of the month award for January to his players.

He said: "It's always nice to get an award. But, as a manager, it's always a reflection on how your team is doing.

"You don't get these awards if your team aren't doing very well. We have played to a good level recently.

"I said to everyone after the first quarter of the season that we had to show a bit of improvement in the second quarter. We have managed to do that results-wise; performance-wise we have had one or two hiccups but have managed to win the games.

"It has been a good effort by everyone to try to reach that level of consistency and it will need an increased level if we are going to continue that."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

BECKS 'HALF EXPECTED' OMISSION

2008-02-05T03:06:00.002-08:00

David Beckham has admitted it would have been "unfair" of Fabio Capello to select him in his first England squad.

The 32-year-old was not picked by the Italian in his party for Wednesday's friendly with Switzerland at Wembley, having not played for his club the Los Angeles Galaxy since the end of last year.

It is the second time the midfielder has been dropped by Capello after he was also sidelined during their time together at Real Madrid.

And Beckham has admitted he "half expected" to suffer the same fate he experienced at the Bernabeu a year ago.

"It's always disappointing when you're not included in an England squad," he said on Sky Sports News.

"The thing is I half expected it because I know what Fabio Capello is like as a manager and if he thinks you're not fit and ready to play then you won't be in the team.

"I totally respect that and totally understand that. There are a lot of Premiership players who have played 15 games in the last two months and I haven't played a game since December - so to be called into the squad was probably unfair."

Beckham has been criticised for interrupting his recent spell of training with Arsenal to jet off on personal trips to Africa and South America.

But the former Manchester United player denies that those were a mistake.

"I'd done everything I could to make myself available, I worked hard for a month with Arsenal," Beckham insisted.

"I did go to Sierra Leone and Brazil, but those trips were only four days long and for the rest of the month I was training very hard.

"It's simply down to not playing any games, the manager explained that, and I wish him and the rest of the players good luck for the first game.

"I think he's a great appointment and he's going to be good for the English game."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

DROGBA UNHAPPY AT AWARD SNUB

2008-02-05T03:06:00.001-08:00

Chelsea's Ivorian striker Didier Drogba has asked not to be considered for the African Player of the Year award in future years after claiming he was beaten to the 2007 trophy because he was unable to attend the ceremony.

Striker Drogba, who won the title in 2006, insists he was in line to retain the award until he made it clear he would not be leaving Ghana - where he is spearheading the Ivory Coast's bid to win the African Nations Cup - to collect the prize in Lome, Togo.

Mali's former West Ham and Tottenham forward Frederic Kanoute was eventually handed the accolade, but Drogba is unhappy about what he claims is a flawed process.

"I was told if I didn't appear the rules would change and the prize would go to the runner-up," he told BBC Sport.

"If I refused to go to Lome it was first for my team-mates, as you don't organise such an event just two days before a quarter-final (against Guinea).

"This attitude doesn't honour Africa so I've pulled out of future elections.

"We're all working for the African continent, there's a huge media presence in Ghana for a competition that was heavily criticised 10 years ago.

"So there comes a time when we all have to pull together."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

HAMILTON SADDENED BY RACIST ABUSE

2008-02-05T03:06:00.000-08:00

Lewis Hamilton insists racist taunts have not altered his opinion of Spain despite the abuse leaving him "sad".

The McLaren star was jeered and insulted when he moved between the McLaren motorhome and the team's garage at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Montmelo, near Barcelona, during pre-season tests on Saturday.

Pictures taken at the circuit show some spectators aiming abusive gestures and a group wearing wigs, dark make-up and t-shirts with the slogan 'Hamilton's Family' on the front.

The 23-year-old was targeted by some local fans following his public falling-out with former team-mate Fernando Alonso last season.

"The truth is that I feel somewhat sad, I am in love with this country, and especially the city of Barcelona and this circuit, which is one of my three favourites," said Hamilton, speaking to sportlifepress.com.

"The people in Spain have always been very warm with me, and even though I imagined what might happen it has not been pleasant.

"But maybe these types of things make you learn to appreciate more the warmth of the public, who although you always try to be there for them, you never know how important they are to you until these types of things happen."

Alonso has since joined Renault for the new season after a difficult 2007 partnering rookie Hamilton.

"I would like them (the Spanish fans) to understand my position," Hamilton said.

"The only thing that I have done is to try to give the best of myself and try to win the championship, at no point have I tried to deliberately prejudice Fernando, but the fight has been very tough and my image in Spain has been severely damaged."

McLaren have attempted to play down the problems but the sport's governing body, the FIA, have pledged to take a hard line on any future incidents.

A team statement read: "Vodafone McLaren Mercedes have raced and tested on Spanish circuits for many years, and everyone connected with the team regards Spain and the Spanish people with great affection, Lewis included."

The FIA, however, have warned that Spain could even be stripped of its grands prix as a result of such incidents. The country is due to host two races this year, at Barcelona and Valencia.

A spokesman said: "FIA are surprised and disappointed at the abuse directed at Lewis Hamilton.

"An act of this kind is a clear breach of the principles enshrined in the FIA statutes, and any repetition will result in sanctions."

The management at the circuit have also warned spectators about their behaviour.

Circuit director Ramon Pradera said: "We would like to make a plea to the fans to behave correctly. No type of offensive behaviour can be tolerated."

Hamilton fought hard with Alonso for the world title last year, with their rivalry growing more intense as the season wore on.

Ultimately, both drivers were to miss out as Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen nipped in to take the crown at the final race.

Former Sports Minister Richard Caborn has spoken of his disgust at the incidents in Spain.

Caborn said: "This is totally unacceptable. I spoke to the Spanish sports minister when England players were abused a few years ago.

"It is disgusting behaviour and has no place in sport."

Source : www.sportinglife.com

MASSA CONFIDENT OF BEATING KIMI

2008-02-03T22:59:00.003-08:00

Felipe Massa concedes being the reigning F1 champion may give Kimi Raikkonen a psychological edge this year but that doesn't mean he's not going to fight for the title himself.

Raikkonen clinched the 2007 Drivers' Championship by one point over McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton while Massa finished fourth in the standings after being hit by reliability problems throughout the season.

But while the Brazilian admits winning the title last year may give Raikkonen the upper hand, he is confident he can beat his team-mate to the Drivers' crown this season.

"There's always an advantage when you win something, as it happened to me when I won my first race," he said.

"But from a performance point of view we are equal: to become World Champion you need everything, luck too, and he had more than me.

"But this year I feel strong and motivated as ever because I know I have everything to fight on an equal footing."

Source : www.sportinglife.com