Get your free Black and Bruised Demo Disc at BlackandBruised.com.

2002 Game Awards Update:

Current Leaders

Game of the Year: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Adventure Game of the Year: Grand theft Auto: Vice City
Action Game of The Year(TIE): Splinter Cell, Metroid Prime
Multiplayer/Online Game of the Year: SOCOM: US Navy Seals
Sports Game of the Year: Madden 2003
Racing Game of the Year: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
RPG Game of the Year: Kingdom Hearts
First/Third Person Shooter of the Year: Metroid Prime
Fighting Game of the Year: Virtua Fighter 4
Best Music/Sound: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Best Graphics: Splinter Cell
Game Developer of the Year(TIE): Squaresoft, Rockstar

Vote Today!

I now have a new email addred so send all questions and comments to: gameguru@usa.com. All questions will be posted and answered in Q&A section.

You may have already heard that a SOCOM add-on pack is in the works, but certain sources say the add-on most likely will contain keyboard compatibilty, more control choices, more customizable characters, and more weapons among other things.

Take a survey, enter for a chance at $100 Gamespot Gift Certificate, its that easy.

Click Here

For the hat trick of BMX XXX making the news, BMX XXX has gone gold and will be in stores soon, but from what I have played, early impressions lead me to believe it will probably be horrible.

Acclaim announced today that the PlayStation 2 version of BMX XXX will have the topless nudity removed. However, the Xbox and Gamecube versions will remain completely unedited. BMX XXX will ship to stores November 15th.

Using the tagline "Keep it Dirty," video game publisher Acclaim Entertainment Inc. is gearing up for the Nov. 19 launch of "BMX XXX," a game that also features copulating pink poodles and a variety of racing bike stunts.

But major retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Toys R Us Inc. and KB Toys all said they would not carry the game, a potential blow for the game's exposure.

"We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity -- we're just not going to do it," Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams told Reuters.

However, Best Buy Co. Inc. said it intended to sell a censored version of the game for Sony's PlayStation 2.

SCEA has officially approved Logitech to release wireless controllers for the PlayStation 2 and PS One today. Logitech's 2.4GHz Cordless Controller has a range of around 20 feet, lasts for 50 hours on one pair of batteries, and costs more than a new game, MSRP $59.95.

"With this product, Logitech delivers the best cordless gaming solution available for any platform. With a range of more than 20 feet, PlayStation gamers no longer need to be 'chained,'" said Ted Hoff, vice president and general manager of Logitech's Interactive Entertainment Division. "Now, the only thing that is chaining gamers to their PlayStation 2 will be the huge number of great games."

This is an article from Electronic Gaming Monthly Issue # 160 (November 2002) this is on page 78 in Quartermann - Game Gossip & Speculation and this is the article as it appears in the magazine:

...Kicking off the Square rumorpalooza this month is word that Final Fantasy XI, the online installment if the series that gamers are currently enjoying in Japan, may not get a stateside release at all. Why? With the servers to maintain and police, technical support to give, and games to monitor, the RPG maker's U.S. operation can't do it alone. Only someone the size of EA or Sony could lay the proper groundwork. Without that, the game may have to skip U.S. release entirely. What does that mean to you, the scrawny, lil' American gamer already in the midst of of posting this tasty rumor on message boards across the Internet? Three possibilities. One, Square secures a partner to do the dirty work and the game's released here next year no problem. Or, the next Final Fantasy to be released on PS2 in the U.S. could be XII, skipping over XI entirely. The final option is that one or all of the three Final Fantasy Gaidens based on FFX scheduled for release in the near future in Japan may be brought to Americans as XI...

Here is a list of serial numbers of PS2 systems that may not work with the Network Adapter:

3369556-3369651
3372352-3372651
3379084-3380151
3380260-3381867
3381976-3382083
3383152-3383691
3384652-3385191
3386152-3386907
3388192-3389271
3391084-3392055
3393868-3394407
3394516-3394731
3397192-3398055
3399868-3400947
3403192-3403839
3404692-3405339
3406192-3406515
3406624-3406839
3414661-3416388
3417661-3418740
3419173-3419280
3419821-3419928
3420661-3421308
3421417-3421524
3421633-3422064
3423661-3424848
3425161-3425268
3434377-3434592

To find the serial number, look onto the back of your console. If you have any of the numbers listed above, call SCEA technical support @ "1-800-345-SONY". Specials thanks goes out to Adam Smith and PS2 Pro for sending me this list so that I wouldn't have to type it out myself.

Everquest Online Adventures will not require the HDD. In a related story, Sony is considering not releasing the HDD in the US.

Earlier today, Eidos Interactive made a disappointing announcement regarding the online mode in the PlayStation 2 version of TimeSplitters 2. As of now, TimeSplitters 2 will not support any online features.

"We had always hoped to include an Internet online component in the PlayStation 2 version of TimeSplitters 2," said a representative from Eidos . "However the infrastructure is not yet in place that will enable us to incorporate an online element and still make the game's proposed release date. We certainly don't want to delay the release of one of the year's most anticipated games and as a result disappoint the many fans who are eagerly awaiting the game."

Sega of Japan has cancelled Skies of Arcadia on PS2 to concentrate on the Gamecube version. Oh well, at least we have Final Fantasy and Legaiaa nd lots of other great RPGs, Skies of Arcadia 2 will probably show up on PS2 anyway.

Look forward to more hands on previews, as Kemco has sent us our first preview copy of a game, a copy of Egg Mania.

Read the Preview Here.

Tony Hawk has officially signed with Activision until 2015, I would have to say we can be assured Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 will not be the last.

Sorry for the incorrect news before, there is no confirmation on a PS2 version of Prisoner of War, it should be out now, if it is not, then it has been postponed indefinitely. You'll just have to check your local video game store.

NBA Live will be online, confirmed. 2 modes available, 5 on 5 exhibition and roster updates. Preview available here.

RUMOR: The PlayStation 2 version of Prisoner of War has been canceled. The game's developer, Codemasters, has made POW an Xbox exclusive title. Codemasters has yet to make an official announcement for the sudden cancellation of Prisoner of War.

FACT: Although the rumors are flying and there WAS evidence, most of it seems to be gone. The codemasters site still has the PS2 version onb preorder, however, Codemasters has yet to confirm or deny this rumor, we shall see.

POSSIBLE EXPLANATION: I have a strong feeling Microsoft offered a large amount to make it Xbox exclusive and Codemasters considered it, but it appears they have probably decided against it.

Sorry for the lack of updates, recently I picked up Warcraft III, now one of my favorite games ever. Don't worry though, the daily updates will start again.

Midway announced that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been delayed from September 23rd to some time in December.

New Xbox controller from Japan: Click Here

According to a recent Red Herring article, it's been estimated that Microsoft will lose $750 million this fiscal year and around $1.1 billion in the next fiscal year due to costs associated with manufacturing and selling its Xbox console.

Find out about Nintendo's last system HERE

2002, will it be the year for video games, Read The Story.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, you've heard of it, but did you know it was online? Read the story.

Square Co., Ltd., (Square) and Disney Interactive today announced the all-star voice cast for KINGDOM HEARTS, the 3D action role-playing game for the PlayStation�2 computer entertainment system. The player will assume the role of the lead character, Sora, voiced by Haley Joel Osment ("The Sixth Sense," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"). Osment will lead an all-star voice cast, which includes David Gallagher ("Seventh Heaven") as Riku and Hayden Panettiere ("Ally McBeal," "Remember the Titans") as Kairi. KINGDOM HEARTS will also feature the voice talents of Sean Astin ("The Lord of the Rings," "Rudy"), Lance Bass (member of *NSYNC), David Boreanaz ("Angel," "Valentine"), Mandy Moore ("A Walk to Remember," "The Princess Diaries") and Christy Romano ("Even Stevens," "Kim Possible"). In addition, many of the original film star voice actors are reprising their role for this project.

Black Hawk Down is getting a release on cosole systems soon. It will feature the same events from the movie and more. Because I couldn't acquire any screens of my own I wanted to show you guys one so here it is, courtesy IGN.com.

Some lucky guys in Japan are getting their fix of FFXI, but not too many of them are. With very little shipments of this game, the second one ever has been shipped out to Japanes shops. Retailers are being very careful not to overstock for something a lot of people won't buy because they don't have the equipment. The game's regular price of 7,800 yen remains in effect, although PlayStation.com notes that the game will be unavailable for a period again after the current stock sells through. FFXI sold out of its small original press run very quickly. Until more users commit to the necessary Internet connection and supplies of the required peripheral hardware, then the demand will stay down.

Dirt Cheap Prices:

Airblade:$9.99 at EBGames.com
Dave Mirra BMX 2:$14.99 at Toys 'R Us
Crazy Taxi:$14.99 at Toys 'R Us

Sega has plans on publishing Virtua Cop Re-Birth on Playstation 2. It will release in Japan in August, US Release date Unknown.

While not much exciting news is happening, recent reports say, Sony's price cut has increased its sales immensely. Even Xbox and Gamecube has not sold as much despite equal and lower prices. Gamecube is the next most popular and Xbox is last. While ALL systems have had increase in sales,Sony has made the most profit compared to before the price cut, Nintendo has made a decent amount, but Xbox has had as much profit as they had when the system cost $299. However, this will increase all systems installed base. Only time will tell to see if these price cuts will make a permanent difference in console industry leaders.

Even while they are working on FFXI and the spin-offs of FFX, Square has given a surprising realease date for its next installment. FFXII is slated to hit Japan in 2003, possibly earlier than FFXI hits us in North America.

Squaresoft has announced this morning that they plan on developing two PS2 games based on Final Fantasy X. An official title for both games has not been revealed yet, but for now, the two upcoming games will be called Yuna version and Rikku version. Some of the members of the original FFX team are working on these titles together and are using the same game engine - which should help reduce the development time and cost. A North American release date is unknown, but both games should be out in Japan around March or May 2003. More info later.

Capcom has confirmed that the North American version of Auto Modellista will have an online mode when it is released this Fall. No details were given about this mode, but this is certainly good news considering how much hype the game is recieving. More info on this potiental racing game later.

The PlayStation 2 Network Adapter will be released on August 27, and it will retail for $39.99. The adapter will come bundled with a startup kit that will include game demos and a coupon for Twisted Metal: Black Online.

CONFIRMED: Gamecube will have a price drop to $149.99 will be effective as of Tuesday, May 21st. This is confirmed and official, NOT A RUMOR.

SEGA Announces Ten Online Titles for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox; And Delivers the First Online Titles for Nintendo GameCube and Xbox

Full Story

New Info on Simpsons' Skateboarding

Full Story

New PS3 Logo*:
Click Here

*Subject to Change

Madden 2003 will feature a full fledged online mode. Single players, dont worry there will still be the normals modes and others as well.

NC Soft has released their list of PC games for E3!

Check it Out

PS2 Price Cut!

Read the Story Here.

The Greatest Hits Lineup is now up to 7 games:
Dark Cloud, Twisted Metal:Black, ATV Off Road Fury, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec,
and these new additions: Onimusha, Midnight Club: Street Racing, and Smugglers' Run.

According to Kyodo News, a Japanese media company - Sony Computer Entertainment has started development on the PlayStation 3. Supposedly, the PS3 will feature a microprocessing unit that's 200 times faster than those currently used in video game consoles and PCs. In addition, Sony is planning on having the system in Japanese stores by 2005, with a U.S. release date most likely in 2006. More info later.

-Courtesy , PS2Pro

Two-Two Interactive has announced the release of Big Bass Fishing and The Italian Job for the PSX. Big Bass Fishing, developed by Coresoft, features more than 20 lures, 14 types of bass, and 12 North American lakes to choose from. The Italian Job is a portrayal based off of the 1969 Michael Caine movie of the same name. The game contains 16 missions and an additional challenge mode that provides 60 additional objectives. Players must avoid the mob, the police, and snarled traffic jams as they attempt to steal 4 million dollars in gold. �� Both games retail for $9.99.

In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, Square Co. Ltd. president Yoichi Wada clarified a few details concerning the company's business plan for Final Fantasy XI, its soon-to-debut PlayStation 2 online RPG. He explained that the company's plan is not necessarily to make money off the initial sales of the game, as is the usual plan for most game software, but to gradually establish a user base and continually profit from the game in the long term. To ensure FFXI's longevity, he stated that the company would offer periodic upgrades to the game world, including new map areas.
With regards to plans for FFXI's release outside Japan, he stated that the game would be released in North America first, and the rest of the world thereafter. He also indicated that Square will announce details on a "light-hearted" new online game next year.
Look forward to further updates on FFXI as its Japanese release approaches, and we will of course follow any of Square's other online gaming plans assiduously

-Courtesy IGN

According to Digital Studios, the cell phone will become the sixth platform of the next generation. They are in the process of translating several games to the small color screen of the cell phone.Click here to read the debriefing.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Shawn Ryan will re-create the Max Payne property onto the screen for Dimension Films.

"Max Payne is an incredible character with a rabid fan base," said Ryan. "As a writer and a gamer, I was ecstatic when (Dimension chief) Bob Weinstein offered me the opportunity to pen this potential franchise."

Wreckless is Coming to the PS2

Activision announced today that Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions is being ported over to the PlayStation 2 from the Xbox. The game is planned for a Fall 2002 releae date. No new features (levels/missions) from the Xbox version is known at this time.

Skies of Arcadia for PS2 delayed until 2003.

New greatest hits games released: Twisted Metal: Black, Dark Cloud, ATV Offroad Fury, and Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

Westka Interactive has released 6 new screen shots of their upcoming game, The Y Project. From the look of these screenshots, I believe this will be a First person Shooter. See for yourself.

See The Pix

The other sites have all confirmed a release of the network Adapter and HDD this August. Well while that is the rough release date for the games, you can get a hold of a special edition Linux HDD and Network Adapter come this March 22nd. Along with that you can load a Linux Operating System onto the HDD all for the price of $199.99.

Click Here To Get It

NEW ESRB Enforcement

A new type of rating enforcement has been done, while it still may be possible for the kids to get hold of it, it just got a little harder. Now, a new sticker will be placed on all M rated games started with State of Emergency. The sticker reads, "Warning, Check ID." We'll see what this does to the sales of these games.

That's right, a sequel to the mega-hit, Red faction is in production as we speak.

Both THQ and Volition have announced that a sequel for its popular first person shooter, Red Faction, is currently in development for the PlayStation 2. While no details have be revealed, it has been stated that the geo-mod feature will be getting a make-over. The game will feature better graphics, more detailed environments, harder AI, and a new feature dubbed "auto-save." Volition also announced plans for a new four-player split-screen option, bots, and new multiplayer modes.

Originally slated for 2/4/02, the long anticipated was pushed back

State of Emergency, the riot simulation game from Rockstar, was slated to appear in stores tommorow, Feb. 4. Unfortunately, Rockstar has pushed the released back to a mid February release. ETA: 2-17-02

Maximo will be released a month early for rent at Blockbuster.

That's right, Blockbuster will be getting their copies of Maximo which will be available for rent on January 18th, exactly 1 month before its release. Capcom has announced that many games in the future will receive an early rental release.

"We want Blockbuster to be the first place our customers think of as their source for games,'' says Brian Woodrick, director of Interactive Merchandising at Blockbuster. "And we want customers to rent their games before they buy, so we're going to be bringing our customers lots of special offers this year.''

Even after Activision bought out Wolfenstein developer Gray Matter Interactive Studios a few days ago, there was still little hope that a Wolfenstein game would ever make it to a console. According to Activision their original plan was to become a top PC developer.

"Gray Matter has a very talented team of programmers, designers, and artists and we are confident that the studio's development strengths will further establish Activision as a leader in the PC action genre.''

However, due to a recent annoucement, it has been confirmed that Return to Castle Wolfenstein will receive a port on both PS2 and XBox.

"Return to Castle Wolfenstein has quickly become the most critically acclaimed and widely played action shooter of 2001, and we're thrilled to bring the Wolfenstein experience to a new generation of gamers." Todd Hollenshead

Universal is bringing the Incredible Hulk to PS2.

Universal studios has announced today that it will produce games based in the Incredible Hulk universe.

Jim Wilson had this to say, "The Incredible Hulk is a classic entertainment franchise that provides innumerable creative possibilities to explore."

No release date or any info on the game has been announced.

The game is to be a direct sequel of the original in which characters get to play as the cousin of the hero from the original. Along with him will be a supporting character TBA. SCEJ had already released Ape Escape 2001 which was not a true sequel. The game has no announced release date as of today.

Encore has announced they will be bringing Dragon's Lair to Playstation 2 and the Nintendo Gamecube. While in its original format it was not really a "game" by our standards, now it will become a full game featuring over 200 new places to exlore and new characters and enemies to encounter. Also it will be sporting a new 3D game engine. All of this will be overseen by none other than the original Dragon's Lair creators, Rick Dyer and Don Bluth.

"Dragon's Lair is a legendary franchise, and we believe that this new version will appeal to both classic gaming fans worldwide and a brand new generation of gamers," said Michael Bell.

Look for the games in the 3rd Quarter of 2002.

New Spiderman: The Movie posted.

Spiderman: The Movie- by: Chris

Final Fantasy X Review Posted

Final Fantasy X Review

SplashDown Review Added

SplashDown Review

Posted 12-27-01

According to FFX's entry in the Internet Movie Database, the lead role of Tidus will be played by James Arnold Taylor, an actor who's played a few voice roles in TV and movies, including an appearance on Fox's Futurama

Posted 8-10-01