Former 1UP and current Game Informer writer Phil Kollar has been teasing his big cover story for the magazine on twitter lately, and he just fessed up some details: “Yes, it’s a new Transformers game.”

Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of the game are on the way, tenatively titled “The War For Cybertron”
Artwork from the magazine (left) shows Optimus Prime, and theres a hearty influence of The War Within, as action will be set before our favorite transforming robots arrive on Earth.

TheAllspark broke the story earlier this evening, but Kollar says images and a trailer will be online later this week. Look for the issue of Game Informer at GameStop very soon.

Well, now that the turkey is digested and the Black Friday bargain hunting is done, it’s time to get a start on your holiday shopping. Of course, I’m here to help you get a head start. For the $20 GOTW, I’ve got one of those new-fangled rhythm games that the kids seem to love so much, and for the lost classic, I got one of those old-school style PC RPGs that a select few tend to love.
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While there are many highly anticipated games this holiday season, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is probably on the top of most people’s lists. It’s no surprise this time around; in 2007 Infinity Ward delivered Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare which blew everyone’s expectations out of the water.

It was a major change in the series as it was previously exclusive to World War 2 and many, including Activision themselves weren’t quite sold on the idea when it was first announced. Infinity Ward gave us a gritty and realistic depiction of modern-day warfare in gaming. It was a gripping shooter that was believable and most importantly delivered on story, emotion, a gave us a different perspective of war, yet also delivered tons of fun and replay. Last year, Treyarch took us back to World War 2 with warm reception, but fans have been eagerly waiting to return to Modern Warfare and more importantly hoping that Infinity Ward would deliver once again… [Read the rest of this entry…]

What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? Is that why the Japanese game industry has been slipping lately? Even prominent Japanese creators are seeing the writing on the wall, saying that they must innovate, “or die”. As if to prove their point, we talk about a mess of games we’ve been playing that were not made in the land of the rising sun.

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 20: Be an Earthling First

(Name your dream team comic merger! AT&T still doesn’t own a company. How about Dark Horse? Leave your comments below!)

Show notes after the jump!

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In possibly my final look at the gaming industry and culture in Wisconsin, I take on Raven Software’s new shooter and what it may mean for the studio.

Raven falls short with Wolfenstein , follows layoffs with high hopes for Singularity
Wolfenstein seems content to mimic rather than bust the genre it created, though there’s nothing wrong with that for a summer game. As an end-of-summer game with Halo and Call of Duty sequels on the horizon, though, it falls short. Then barely a week after releasing the game in late August, Raven laid off dozens of employees from its 180-person staff. This came at a time when the studio has been enjoying a higher profile thanks to its string of new releases.
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We just got off the plane from BotCon 2009 in LA, and now you have a new Powetcast! In the same room for the first time in years, our panel takes the opportunity to share Transformers news, delve into what they thought about this year’s convention and BotCons past, and how much everyone is looking forward to the Revenge of the Fallen.

Enjoy this special Powetcast for the week of June 1st, 2009! Tune in in two weeks for our regular news and features.

(Did you go to BotCon? Go to the Paramount Party? Leave a comment and tell us what you thought of this year’s convention!)

Audio Netcast Details
Subscribe to the Powetcast on iTunes
Direct Link: Powetcast Episode 10: War of the Prequels

Show notes after the jump!
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Activision and its developers are set to jump all over this Transformers bitch. How are they gonna do that? How about five unique games? One for Xbox 360 and PS3, one for Wii (taking advantage of its controls), one for the PS2 (thankfully NOT being ported to the Wii with waggle tacked on), and 2 for DS (much like last year). Each game was designed specifically to take advantage of the strengths of each console. But, of course, the most useful feature? You can Jump and Transform! Oh yes.

Activision spared no expense making these games epic; between all five, 500 people worked on development. Oh baby! Luxoflux is developer responsible for the “next-gen” systems (but not the other games), and was present for the panel, so most of the questions would seem to be largely be centered around this version of the game – although other aspects may apply to the rest.

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This past week saw the legendary mutant superhero Wolverine return to movie theaters by way of the film X-men origins: Wolverine. Of course, the logical tie-in game hit store shelves as well. Word on the street is that this new game isn’t half bad. That’s a good thing too, as Wolverine’s solo history in video gaming has been less than encouraging. This special maximum letdown takes a look at one of his previous solo endeavors. As an added bonus, this week’s lost classic , included in this article, takes a look at one of his many team up adventures.
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