In the realm of webcomics there is no bigger name than Penny Arcade. So when they announced they were making a game, we cheered at seeing our favorite game critics become game characters… and then of course, feared that the game would be the type they’d normally criticize.

From this short preview, theres very little actual gameplay, but it looks promising. It appears to take place outside of the normal “Tycho & Gabe” world in one of their stranger made up worlds. Oh and theres the Fruit Fucker.

Something that is for sure is the game is being simultaneously released to Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. So anyone who can read the Penny Arcade comic can play the game! It’ll be episodic, but hopefully not episodic like S.I.N., which was cancelled after one installment or Half Life, which has its second release now over a year late.

Get all 59 seconds of the preview in quicktime, wmv. or HD. Oh and of course, if you didn’t know already you can read Penny Arcade the comic strip 3 times a week here.

Activision has formally announced some of the details of the forthcoming game based on the Transformers movie. IGN reports the Xbox 360, Wii, and DS will be joined by Sony’s systems as well: PS3, PS2 and PSP. Oh and theres a PC one too. So, just about anything you’ve got.

Better yet, the console developer has been revealed as Traveler’s Tales, who are responsible for LEGO Star Wars, arguably one of the best movie games in the past few years. They’ve confirmed seperate Autobot and Decepticon campaigns, along with massive destructable environments, and on-the-fly transformations. IGN has a short interview with producer Andy Burrows, who hints that they’ll mix in some non-movie bots inspired classic Generation One characters. Confirmed playable characters right now include Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Starscream.

Transformers on DS will be handeled by Vicarious Visions, who have a massive catalog of successful ports for Activison, including Doom 3 for Xbox, Tony Hawk and Marvel Ultimate Alliance for portables. Savage Entertainment(developer of Star Wars: Battlefront II) takes the PSP, and is promising a very different game with over 20 (!) playable Transformers spanning further into the movie’s extended universe.

A playable demo of the game will be available at Toy Fair in New York City this weekend. Since this is an industry/press affair, we’re hoping to see a video come along soon. We’ll keep an eye on the official site.

In the meantime, here is the first screenshot from the game. It’s a picture someone took of a catalog of Transformers merchandise that just happened to have a tiny page advertising the game. If you can’t make it out, it’s Bumblebee fighting the Decepticon Barricade in the first shot, and then a single shot of Barricade. Its not much, but we’re starving for info here, so give me a break.

UPDATE! IGN has added lengthy impressions of the demo, but still no screens. Read it all here.

Wired reports: Firefly Reborn as Online Universe.

I know fans are itching for more of this quickly cancelled TV cult fave. So I’ll put it up to you: is this a bad idea or a terrible idea?

From the “people will buy anything” file we bring you a video game about guys who ride lawnmowers.

Not to be confused with the mid-90’s video game “The Lawnmower Man” based on the movie of the same name, this is a simulation where you race lawnmowers. Not only that, but it’s officially sanctioned by the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association.

I can barely contain myself thinking about this game, so I’ll let this passage from the website describe it:

What happens when you turn a household chore into the wildest mowtorsport to hit the nation in years? Grab your helmet, bore out your cylinders and get ready for the ultimate MOWdown!

Lawnmower racing is sweeping the country in a grass-roots movement that brings all the excitement of open wheel racing to a dirt-in-your-face, spine-jarring new level.

* Race against legends like Bobby Cleveland, George Herrin, Mr. Mowjangles and Sodzilla.
* STA-BIL Circuit, Free Mowin’ and multiplayer modes.
* Unlockable upgrades including engines, chassis, jerseys and more!
* Learn more about real lawnmower racing in the “Mowpedia.”

It’ll be available this tuesday for XBOX and PC for only $19.99, making this an ideal future candidate for the $20 GOTW.

The biggest news: Microsoft Partners with Peter Jackson. Not only is PJ producing the forthcoming Halo movie, he’s also developing a brand new game with his new Wingnut Interactive development company. In addition to the brand new game, he’s scripting a new Halo game with Bungie. A Halo game that is not Halo 3, but a brand new entry in the series.
Further, theres the long rumoured, much anticipated HALO WARS. Its an Xbox 360 exclusive Real Time Strategy game set at the outset of the war with the Covenant, back when Master Chief was actually a Master Chief of a group of highly trained SPARTAN warriors and not just a clever name. Read more direct from Bungie here.

Also, DOOM available on XBLA. Right now. Seriously. Doom 1. Full game, multiplayer, everything. Download it, play tonight.

Guitar Hero 360 is coming next year. Downloads are promised, but that white Explorer guitar is only a prototype.

For reasons unknown, Microsoft is allowing Rare to make another Banjo game.

We’ve already shown you Marvel Universe Online, but may I say this game looks like it may just cure the blues for folk like me who are bummed only 24 playable characters are in Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Let’s just hope Cryptic tries to grab hold of the X-Men Legends audience with great gameplay.

Thanks to SparkStalker for links!

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!

Before Grand Theft Auto became their major cash cow, Rockstar gave players another action franchise early on in the current console generation. At the time it first came out, Max Payne stood out from other games of it’s type with 2 major innovations; Matrix-like bullet time and a film noir plotline. The former slowed everything to a crawl in order to give players a bit of strategy in planning out their next move while the latter used graphic novel-styled cinema sequences to move the story along.

2 years and dozens of copycats later, Rockstar released a sequel. It didn’t push the boundaries as the first game did, but it gave gamers more of what they loved about the original Max Payne. The bullet time was improved slightly, and the plot was just as riveting as the first. It’s only bad point is it’s short length. The game can be completed in a weekend. Luckily for PC gamers, tons of downloadable content extend this game’s replay value a lot. Hopefully Rockstar will give us a sequel that will be a bit bigger. Until then, action game fans looking for a good plotline can’t go wrong here.

Ambitious modders brought the original Half-Life conversion Counter-Strike to life, and it became the most played online multiplayer game of all time.
Now with tools for Half-Life 2’s Source Engine in hand, a new generation of modders is trying to recreate Mario Kart, Nintendo’s highly successful racer.

The Media Gallery has some highly polished models. And the Videos show off a little of Source’s physics engine applied to a kart.
Its a long way to go, and will hopefully end up better than GoldenEye: Source.