Double Agent is the fourth entry in the Splinter Cell series and the first to hit the new generation consoles. Ubisoft Shanghai has taken some bold new steps with the formula, not the least of which is having series protagonist Sam Fisher juggle his loyalties to both Third Echelon and the terrorist organization which he is tasked to infiltrate. While there are some missteps in this new direction, Double Agent still manages to bring the series into the next generation with style.

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Over at that big ComiCon in San Diego, ABC and Ubisoft released this short teaser for the LOST video game. Don’t see much, but it looks like its all in-engine, not some pre-rendered tease video. Analysis for LOST freaks after the jump.
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Earlier this week, Ubisoft dropped some new maps on to Xbox Live community for Rainbox Six: Vegas in the form of the Player’s Pack: Black Edition , costing 800 points, not unlike the Red Edition they released back in April. Only one problem: This was supposed to be free.

Rainbow Six Vegas just came out on PS3 with all of the Red & Black content included, so fans obviously cried foul, and rightly so. Ubisoft pulled the download shortly after went up and apologized for the mistake. Its now available for all Xbox Live users completely for free, and the Red Pack will be converted to a free download on July 6. Those who made the ten dollar plunge into Black Edition will be refunded their points… in 8-10 weeks. Oh well, I guess it can’t all be perfect.

I personally just picked up this game a few weeks ago, and if you’re itching for more Gears Of War, R6V is a worthy successor. Intense difficulty, great use of cover for fire fights, and enough sneaky stuff to have fun with, but not so much as to ruin the experience for a run & gun player like myself. I guess I’ll have a lot to dig into with the game this week when I go online.

IESB reports that the Disney movie based on the very popular series The Prince Of Persia has a director and a release date: Michael Bay, Summer 2009.

Before the comments below are flooded with cracks about game movies, (or Michael Bay movies), consider this: Jerry Bruckheimer is producing the film, and after 3 gigantic Pirates Of The Carribean movies for Disney, they’re both looking for something that can be that kind of a hit. After all, theres a lot more to work with here for characters, plots, and concepts than Pirates, which was merely a ride. I’ve been on that ride. Its a slow boat passing animatronic pirates. Its nothing special. Sands Of Time is one of the most exciting action games of the last console generation. Loads of potential there.

Splinter taught them to be Ninja Teens, Ubisoft turned them into a Prince of Persia knock-off.
Nah, I’m not going to slam this completely, because the ninja action combined with some wall jumping looks totally natural for this franchise, especially given what we’ve seen from the two trailers. Ubisoft couldn’t do worse than Konami, who turned in from pretty forgettable PS2 games based on the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle animated series.

But if new games don’t float your boat, how about an olde one? 360 Style got a hold of some screen shots of the original 1989 TMNT game for Xbox Live Arcade thats floating around on Partnernet(a developer only version of Xbox Live). It looks legit, and if there is 4-player online co-op I’ll fork over whatever asking price they have. A fairly straight forward button masher, I have to wonder what will be used for achievements…

Finally, the ESRB has rated the original NES game for play on the Wii Virtual Console.

Update: InsideGamer.nl has video of the Xbox Live game in action!

Okay, so this is no Halo killer, or even Doom 3 killer.  However, it’s unique storyline, cel-shaded graphics, and comic book styled presentation make this game stand out from other FPS games.  You play as agent XIII, a man without his memories who may have killed the president.  It’s your job to get to the bottom of the conspiracy going on.  You rely on a small arsenal of weapons (including a crossbow) as you battle terrorists and corrupt government agents to unravel the cover-up.  The cool part of this game are the interactive flashbacks which give you insight into the man and his mission.  Rapper Eve, Adam West (from the 60s Batman TV show) and David Duchovny all provide voice work.  This won’t make you toss out your copy of Halo or Half Life 2, but this is good enough to get your FPS fix until the next big shooter comes along.

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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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will get another crack at the big screen next spring, when Warner Bros pictures releases a new 100% computer animated movie based on the foursome’s orignal comic outings.
Though Imagi Animation Studios is promising a gritty Hong Kong action movie, the film’s already headed for a PG rating and its unlikely 4Kids or WB will dish out the killer Ninja Turtles stories from the first volume of the Mirage comics. I mean if they wanna send the Turtles into space and chop off Shredder’s head, thats cool with me. I just don’t think its gonna happen.
Link: IMAGI INTERNATIONAL, which has no animation to speak of as an example. Kinda weird for an unknown studio, eh?

Oh yeah, Ubisoft has tied up rights for the video game, ending Mirage’s long standing deal with Konami. No details announced yet, but if past Ubisoft games are any indication: expect the game to have online support and find a way to use every single button the controller.