Before we start, we advise that what you'll see might shock or disturb you. Seeing kids in commercials usually means it's a wholesome ad. They would show up with some toy and then go home happy and well. We were able to view a video that might just change that thought.

Sony's PSP has been getting a bad rap since posting the PSP White Billboard a couple of months ago and if the following advert's real, Sony might have to overhaul their advertising department. If not, the amateur filmer must've had a blast directing two kids to nearly kill off each other.

What's the lesson here? Instead of hand to hand fighting, play a PSP instead--you'll live longer.

Games that have people's name attached to the title seem to be doing well. Great  examples are Tony Hawk and Tiger Woods-themed games. However, there's also one more familiar name that needs to be mentioned: Tom Clancy.

Tom must be really happy right now. Besides being an author of various military-related books, his name is attached to two games that are bound to be as much of a best-seller as his paperbacks. Ka-ching!

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Double Agent (Xbox 360 and Wii): series has so far sold 14M units globally.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP): another of Tom's name on one of the better sellers: 14M again.
Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii, Nintendo DS): The Rayman is back to sell more than 17M units worldwide.
Far Cry Vengeance (Wii): FPS series that sold 2M worldwide.
Brothers In Arms D-Day (PSP): young but sold 3Mso far. Good start.
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII (Wii): planes and WWII--some of the things you'll need for a good game.
Prince of Persia Rival Swords (PSP): This old game has been selling over 8M globally.
Petz (Nintendo DS): Top Ten on GBA
Red Steel (Wii): The FPS created just for the Wii. Looks awesome.
GT Pro Series (Wii): takes the Wii controllers for a real ride.
Open Season (Xbox 360, PSP, Nintendo DS, Wii) the movie-tie-in game that's all over the gaming consoles and handhelds this year.
Star Wars Lethal Alliance (Nintendo DS, PSP): the first Star Wars built just for the next-gen handhelds.
Monster 4X4 World Circuit (Wii): Scary and big trucks come rolling down the Wii.

...to your Xbox 360 and PSP today.

In the Xbox 360, the ruling "party" never stops. Ever wanted to rule the streets of New York, but don't have enough manpower, guns, and guts to do so? Well, with The Godfather you can do that and more. In this game you'll be joining the family and carry out various tasks to earn respect and eventually rise through the ranks of the Corleon Family. The ultimate objective though is more than just being the Don of the Family, but rather to be 'Don of New York'. In order to do that you'll have to accomplish more missions, do some venue take overs, contract hits on the big heads of the other Families, and earn the respect of everyone involved.

Mobs and the PSP do mix! The Godfather Mob Wars for the PSP also comes to videstores today. In this game, players are expected to hone their mob skills and rise to be the Don of the Family. Expect to fight in turf wars to take over enemy territory. Take NYC apart piece by piece and then place it back together, The Godfather style.

Essentially, the most impressive statement in this game is the voice acting. Great Actors such as James Caan, Robert Duvall, Abe Vigoda, and the late great Marlon Brando lends their voices to the game. It was said that this was one of the final jobs Marlon Brando took before he died. However, noticeably absent was Al Pacino. Yet the game was able to stand on its own merits.

Two Godfather games out on the same date; Don Corleon would've been proud. Well, are you ready to take over New York?

Buy: [The Godfather (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [The Godfather Mob Wars (PSP)]

War is hell. No one wants it, but it happens. And when it does, everyone involved changes into something they never expected. They would have done things they would never have done in the past; such as killing other people. In this game, Jan Templar will have to relive everything all over again as he and the ISA, goes up against Gen. Armin Metrac and the Helghast.

Welcome to Killzone: Liberation. This time our hero is set to rescue the town and an important hostage from the enemy. How will he do it? You need to play the game to find out.

This is no port, but rather a game on its own. It has a third person, rather than a first person, view. It's got the same weapons and more from the first installment. Instead of a run and gun game it will involve some stealth and knowledge to pull off some situations. A shooting-thinking man's game. Besides a global arena and other downloadable content, we now offer you the intro movie of Killzone:Liberation.

Enjoy the carnage.

Download: [Killzone:Liberation Intro]

We got a lot of passionate homebrew developers here! After just four days, here comes a new update. Winnydows just released the XviD4PSP v.4.028. For the few who are new to this program, it basically allows you to rip a VCD/DVD in your PC, convert it into a format the PSP can read, upload the file to your handheld, and then watch the video on your PSP.

By the way, this program needs AviSynth 2.5.6a and Framework 2.0 to work. We'll be posting the links below. Here's what's new with the program directly from the man himself:

• Now codepage for AVS files get from Windows settings. Must fix program work on systems conteins non-english symbols.
• MP4Box updated to 0.4.3-DEV 28 august 2006.
• Fixed encoding to PMP AVC with VirtualDub + AviSynth engine. Require installation of x264vfw PMP build.
• Now .dts files removed after job finishing.
• Fixed work with .rm and .rmvb (mencoder do this job better than VirtualDub!).
• Fixed program hang if mencoder return framemax different with MediaInfo framemax (was in mencoder+avisynth engine only).

Download: [DivXPlay]
Download: [AviSynth 2.5.6a]
Download: [Framework 2.0]
Download: [XviD4PSP v.4.028]

We were wondering what other old game they can think of using the PSP. Then came lmtlmt's "psp, ps3, ps2">ps2 (scissors, paper, rock)." It's a two player game using only one PSP. So, if you have a friend who just busted his PSP, cheer him up and share this game with him.

All you have to do is hold the PSP from either the left or hand side of the handheld. Next thing to remember is that the PS3 beats the PS2, in turn crushing the PSP, but snipping the PS3. Imagine that the PS3 is paper, PS2 is rock, and the PSP is scissors. Read the README instructions for more info as to what buttons to push. If you have an extra friend, he or she can do the scoring for you.

Nice going lmtlmt! Screenshots and the download link below.

     

 

Download: [psp, ps3, ps2(scissors paper rock)]

Retro Rocks, an Asteroid clone, is a superb game on its own. MathFacts has done an excellent job in making us jump up from our seats while we play this game. Your main objective is to avoid rocks by either shooting or maneuvering through 'em. Rocks break into smaller pieces when shot; also watch out for the occasional popping UFO, they'll shoot you down!

What really made this game stand out was the "hyperspace" feature. It's where you randomly end up in a certain part of the screen to escape a marauding barrage of space rocks, only to die by getting hit with a small pebble.

We also liked the sound effects of the rockets and laser guns. Cute! The space background was a great add as well--it made the game a bit more colorful than usual. The instructions are very easy to understand and it's an addicting game with a great view of the stars.

Kudos to MathFacts and his beta testers (son and daughter)! We'll be expecting more fun games from you and your team.

   

Download: [Retro Rocks]

When do you know if it's too much? How do you know if you've gone too far? What if you found out that it might just be beyond you? Sometimes, it's better to let others continue your work.

This is what Yoyofr and Laxer3a have decided. Letting someone else's hands develop your creation takes a lot of willpower. They have layered down the integral foundations for other homebrew developers to build on.

According to Laxer3a, "I am not sure neither yoyo and I want to go that far in tuning. If any good coder is interested to join in... May be worth sending a bottle to the sea actually. As the source matches the latest binary."

So what does this mean for the SnesTYL9x? According to the developers, they have done all that they can regarding the speed of the emulator. A 10% increase in performance may be achieved if there was a near-complete overhaul of the code to incorporate a dynamic recompiler/JIT and if the graphics code was rewritten. It seems majorly difficult, but feasible. However, time is not on their side.

They have a life beyond game emulators, and decided that doing the modifications above would take a major chunk of health points out of them. Let's hope that others will carry on the torch these people have helped light.

Yoyofr and Laxer3a, thanks for the great SnesTYL9x. It will be one of the better emulators out there for a long time. For the next generation of developers, the ball is in your court.

Last time we mentioned something about Criterion and Unreal Engine 3 in the same EA boat. Since there's been quite a lot of news regarding Epic's baby, this article will be focusing on Criterion. Is there life after EA acquires UE3? So far, the latest we know about Criterion was that they were developing Burnout 5 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Alex Ward of Criterion was interviewed regarding the game and here's the gist.

Alex says that they will be starting the game from scratch with new hardware. What "new" hardware was he talking about? He wasn't clear whether they'll still be using the Renderware program, an upgraded version of Renderware, or the Unreal Engine 3. Regarding games being ported to other consoles, it's something they try to make special every time. They always add something new to each system. For instance, with Burnout Live Revenge, they spent a considerable amount of time working on visuals and content. Since Live Revenge was an online game, they see this as the future of gaming that the company would just love to get involved in.

Regarding the EA acquisition, life hasn't changed at all. Criterion is still Criterion. However, EA has been known to churn out sequels of old games. Are they willing to be identified with a company with that kind of reputation? Alex says that churning sequels of great games is something they're proud of. Games like Burnout, Black, Army of Two, Need for Speed, The Sims, and Medal of Honour are great games that deserve a sequel or two.

They are not picky when it comes to consoles. Whether they are from the ps2">PS2/Xbox gen or the next-gen, they will develop games for whatever console they are interested in. For example, they had the successful Burnout Legends in PSP, the somewhat, and the lukewarm-received DS Burnout game. However, mobile gaming is not yet in their plans, but that may change in the future. Is Criterion in the hot seat since EA acquired the license for the Unreal Engine 3? Pressure? Probably. But they're not showing it.

If you've been downloading quite a lot to your PSP, organizing all of it can really be a pain in the you know where. If there was only a portal where you can get all the flash stuff you need. Hmmm...is there one? pspsk8tr">pspsk8tr created a flash portal to serve all your needs - the XTEL portal. He's separated all the flash-related games, programs, apps, and links that you'll need.

You'll see that the screenshots say it all. Although, don't mind the ruler on top. He took the pictures while he was still developing them. They'll be gone by the time you download the app. Before you do so, remember that any app downloaded to the PSP is your responsibility. In short, if you're not willing to take a risk, don't.

This portal includes: 109 games, 7 apps, Notepad, Fileviewer, Links, FoxGlove, PSphone, Lemon Wireless, and many more.

  

 

Download Xtel version: [Xtel Version 2.7]