Now available on YouTube, HERE is some footage from the Superman Returns video game.  There are scenes of battle with giant enemies, fights with multiple hand-to-hand opponents, racing around using super-speed, and the obligatory rescue missions – specifically one where he’s using his super-breath on a … tornado.  Weird.

What really caught my attention though is the segment, about two-thirds of the way through, clearly demonstrating the player in control of Bizarro, using his heat vision on the city.  Based on the appearance of things, it looks like we’ll finally have a Superman video game that isn’t absolute hell to play through, at the very least.  And a best case scenario might have game this topping the movie in terms of enjoyment.  Hate to say it, but it already easily does so in terms of action, in this footage alone.

Shit Sandwich.

This game is terrible. I’ve played some dumbed down crap games, but never had an excellent, barnstormer game like Burnout been lost so completely.

The blame lies entirely in the DS hardware. It can’t support Criterions’s “RenderWare” engine. The game engine in its place is some kind of Ridge Racer knock off, very slow, with the added ability to explode on any crash. But with the limited DS capabilities, the crashes don’t entertain or amaze like the Xbox version or whatever.

I don’t even want to talk about it. Its been out for months, but I finally rented it. I really loved Burnout Revenge. I really hate this. I had to post this just in case someone out there might find it in a bargain bin and remember how well reviewed the console versions were.

The days of Pilotwings 64 and Wave Race: Blue Storm are a distant memory.

Nintendo appears to be getting huge support from 3rd parties, with Ubisoft promising 7 launch titles, including the previously announced Red Steel and Rayman. PC/Xbox island survivor shooter Far Cry will likely get the Wii off to a good start with a solid online multiplayer. Monster 4×4 World Circuit and GT Pro Series will add racing action, and Ubisoft is also planning an adaptation of the forthcoming animated movie Open Season. Finally, theres Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII, which is about squadrons of WWII or something. Prince of Persia has been mentioned but not yet confirmed.

Thats not all! Midway is in on the act too. The Chicago based publisher will bring Rampage: Total Destruction, Blitz: The League, and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! While all 3 of these are current gen titles, they have no presence on the PS3 or 360. Rampage is an update on a classic arcade game. Blitz is a football title stripped of the NFL license but beefed up with arcade play and a more true to life atmosphere. MK: Armageddon is the final installment in the legendary fighting franchise, featuring every character in the series thus far (see right).

EA’s been eerily silent on the Wii but plan on Madden NFL, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, SSX, Need for Speed, Harry Potter, and The Godfather to make it out sometime. Madden NFL and Need For Speed are the only titles from their camp likely to make it out in the launch window, but the rest won’t be far behind.

Sega’s Sonic Wildfire has slippsed to the beginning of 2007, but Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz is planned for launch.

Finally, Activision is going to port Marvel Ultimate Alliance to Wii as well, giving the Wii an awesome action RPG and comic books fan’s dream all in one.

Thats over a dozen third party games to hit on or near launch for the Wii! And don’t forget they’ve still got Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Galaxy, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Also, if you love reading tech specs, look at a breakdown of the Wii, and if you like rumors, check out the The Ultimate Wii Rumour Compilation . All that stuff is secondary to what we’re really excited about: a ton of good games.

I’ll try to compile some info on the PS3 launch too when I get more info. But honestly, just look at whats happening here. Nintendo in less than a year’s time has gone from the 3rd place purple box to the developer darling. Got to admit, its getting better. Getting better, all the time….

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Direct from our unsubstantiated rumor department, EGM’s notorious “Quarterman” column directly implies that EA will not sit on the Batman video game rights and wait for a new movie to come out.
The word is they’re working to adapt Frank Miller’s classic “Dark Knight Returns” story, where a 55 year old Bruce Wayne comes out of retirement to become Batman again, foiling plots by aging foes like Two Face and Joker, adopting a new Robin, and even confronting Superman.
Theres some precedent for this, as EA released “From Russia With Love” as a filler title before “Casino Royale” set to ressurect the James Bond franchise in movies. Similarly, Activision developed an “Ultimate Spider-Man” game last year to fill the gap between a Spider-Man 2 and 3 movie game adaption could be produced.
Here’s hoping EGM is on the money with this rumour and that the game can take the “Dark Knight” story to a new level.

During the early part of the PS2’s lifecycle, the original Timesplitters emerged as a FPS game which would quickly challenge the norms of the genre.  It was designed by Free Radical, a studio made up of programmers who had worked on Goldeneye and Perfect Dark for Nintendo 64, so there was already a lot going into it.  It featured some innovative weaponry, a plot spanning several time periods, numerous multiplayer modes, and most of all, a map maker.

A few years later, a sequel came out for all current generation systems.  The stages were bigger, there were even more crazy weapons and multiplayer modes, and the map maker’s functionality had been expanded to allow players to create story mode missions.  It was yet another class expierence,  but still something was missing: online play.

Last year, EA took control of the licence, and released TImesplitters Future perfect.  The series now has a cohesive plot, and the levels are much more multi-faceted.  You play as Cortez as he jumps through different time periods hoping to trace the origin of the timesplitters.  In each period he teams up with a different assistant character as he completes his objectives.  More importantly, the series was online for the first time, and players can create maps to upload and download to and from the internet (except the gamecube version).  This includes storymode missions as well.  In fact, I have a few uploaded to Xbox live under the gamertag “screwfacecapone”.  Even though this is a conclusion to the series, hopefully Free Radical can create more innovative FPS titles on the next generation systems.

Grab your gravity gun, Half Life 2 is making a second pass at consoles.
After a positive, but decidedly lukewarm, reception for the bare-bones Xbox release last year, the top rated PC game of 2004 will arrive on PS3 and Xbox360 at the same time the second episode for the PC is released.
Valve’s Gabe Newell spoke at an EA Press event today and said not only would the full Episode 1 and 2 be packed in with Half Life 2, but they’re also throwing in Team Fortress 2 and a new title called “Portal”
This could not come at a better time for me personally. I just finished Half Life 2 on Xbox tonight, and I’m itching to get my hands on Episode 1 (I’m in the Mac camp, so Valve’s games have been off-limits to me unless they get ported).
The Xbox release also lacked any multiplayer at all, which was a big difference from the PC version where you’d get Counter Strike Source and Half Life 2: Deathmatch. Still, the game by itself is glorious achievement to even get running a standard Xbox, I was happy to play, even with PS1 style load times and downgraded graphics (from the PC, compared to other Xbox titles, Half life looks fantastic)
For all its acclaim, this will be the first chance for many console players to try Half Life for the first time. And even though the game will be 2 years old by then, I anticipate a smashing success.
Wake up, Dr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the consoles!

Our friend Sparkstalker has been suspicious of the PS3 box since it was revealed a year ago, pointing out the lack of fans, and the power supply being housed in box. I’ll let his words take over:

Looking at this image again. I’ve got to wonder how “final” this really is. It still has a 120V input. Which means all power conversion would still have to happen inside the unit. Which would double the amount of heat that the PS3 will have to dissipate. And while they’ve increased the size and added vents, to me, it still doesn’t look like enough to dissipate the heat that will be generated by the system and power supply. We’ve seen the issues with the 360, and that’s with “loud fans” and a “monsterous” power brick…

It just doesn’t add up.

Also thanks to him for pointing out how many of those inputs disappeared in the last 12 months.

Incidentally, Sony pitchman Phil Harrison (who’s mere image frightens me, to be honest) is saying they’d been developing the tilt control since 1994. Nice try.  We all know where you ripped the Dual Shake off of.
File under “in case you missed this…”

DDR hits the TV screen and the Mobile phone.

Nokia NGage still kicking, despite all efforts to ignore it.

Frankie at Bungie deflects fanboy reactions to the Halo 3 trailer.

Superman Returns… please don’t let it be teh suck.

Close up look at Will Wright’s Spore.

Super Mario Galaxy Boss Battle.

And surprisingly, Hideo Kojima would like to ditch Metal Gear Solid 4 production to work on Wii. I mean, it doesn’t surprise me he wants to develop for Wii, just surprises me he’d consider ditching the PS3 only real killer-app to do it.
And now the doors to the biggest video game show of the year officially closed, its time to declare a winner. Tell us what looked best, what looked worst, what confused you, what was most unexpected, etc. Register and post your thoughts to our forums.