D3Publisher of America has announced that PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 should already be available on retail outlets for the suggested price of US$ 29.95.

The game, developed with the assistance of Kyoto University Professor Masuo Koyasu, is set to present a variety of puzzles and problems to players. Depending on the performance, and the speed that the players completed to puzzles, the player's "Practical Intelligence" quotient is calculated.

This sequel improves upon the original through a variety of ways, most notable is that this second installment allows players to create their own puzzles and share it with their friends.

For more previews of this title, screens can be viewed here, and a trailer video of the game can be watched here. If you're curious as to how the game's box will look like (assuming that you want to buy it already at the nearest store), here's the pack shot.

PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 is rated "E" by the ESRB, and if it wasn't, then something's very, very wrong in this world.

 

IGN has a report up on the many different environments you'll run around when playing Rockstar Toronto's anticipated Manhunt 2. The previewed stages include the Dixmore Asylum, the S&M Club, and The Honey Pot.

It was noted that the Dixmore Asylum serves as the tutorial/learning stage of the game. However, despite the stage's introductory nature, it was said that it is in no way a "trial run." You can still die in the worst of ways. As for the S&M club, it was said that in the later stages of designing the location, underground torture chambers were added to increase the sense of fear and mystery in the game. And as far as mystery goes, The Honey Pot location, although a red-light area at first glance is apparently a front for the sinister and elusive Pickman Project.

The screens of the stages are below. Click on each thumbnail to get a better look. A few in-game screens are also there, you may want to check them out. Manhunt 2 should be available on shelves and ready to dish out some insanity come the 10th of July 2007 in North America, and the 6th of July in the EU.

  

More screenshots after the jump!

 

Speaking to Kikizo, William Oertel, producer of Silent Hill Origins on the PSP, noted that Konami's Silent Hill franchise might be headed to the DS if there's a "really compelling" concept behind it. It was noted that the concept should be there in order for the developers to maintain consistency with the main series. Silent Hill on the DS? "I don't think anything is impossible," says the producer.

As for the PSP game, Oertel noted that while there's a lot of pressure for them to get this project right, they're really doing their best not to disappoint. He says that "A lot of people are working really hard to make sure we're setting a bar for survival horror on the PSP."

It was noted that since the PlayStation Portable is a different platform than the PS2, this meant that the developers needed to do different things to increase the intensity and the feeling of horror in the game. It was noted that one of the ways they accomplished this increase in intensity was adopting the over-the-shoulder camera when in combat. They say that this helps increase the action without turning the game into a shooter or an action game.

It was also noted that story-wise, Konami will try to answer some questions, but due to the nature of the game, and the setting it's required that they try to keep the players in the dark about some aspects. Oertel expounds:

We want to take advantage of that opportunity to explain some things - not everything. ...You're going to a town that has multiple shifts in reality with people that have their own kind of dementia. How do you put a realistic spin on that? By it's nature it needs to be somewhat vague.

Kikizo notes that multiple endings may help in that "keeping in the dark" part.

The gradual attempt at making Silent Hill a global franchise, and making the game more "western friendly" was also discussed. Oertel notes some of that shift in the previous installments of the game where some concepts were intended to be a bit more action oriented. Why this slow global shift? It was noted that Konami is thinking long term, and that this is "just the first step in many other things." What other ways will Silent Hill grow and expand? Time will tell.

Now that Eidos' Tomb Raider Anniversary is out on retail, this is probably the last trailer post on the game that you'll be seeing. Of course, last doesn't mean least, as these two videos do give you a decent preview/teaser of the best "remade" moments in the game. You'll see familiar stages, wolves, weird winged things, and that ever-so-memorable T-Rex.

Eidos Interactive's "Launch" trailer seems to be set on introducing the game to those who are new to the franchise, while the "Origins" video, as mentioned above, is set to give fans of the series good reason to, at the least, consider checking the remake out.

The embed's below, you know the drill.

Get the other video after the jump.

Okay, here's even more gameplay screenshots and concept art for Capcom's Fate/Tiger Colosseum for the PSP courtesy of Famitsu. What's nice about these cutesy screens and fun-looking concept artwork is that they really show off the fun that this game is seemingly set to deliver.

If you have a low tolerance for cuteness, then we suggest you just go to Wikipedia and look up the original Fate/Stay Night that this game is based on. However, if you're up for some fun cel-shaded chibi-styled fighting action for your PlayStation Portable, then the screens below should provide a decent preview. Some of the screenshots show the relatively simple battle system that the game has, and some show how the start of the single-player story mode looks like on the menu screen.

The first batch of thumbnails are gameplay screens; the second, is a whole lot of concept art. The concept art features some new characters like an "Assassin", a "Saber Lion", and "Iriya" (we're basing these names of the machine translation of the Famitsu report, feel free to correct us in the comments). Click on each thumbnail to magnify. Enjoy!

   

Get the rest of the images after the jump!

Still need a "Squeenix" fix? Well, here's more info on the latest Final Fantasy games on the RPG giant's table. Square Enix has recently published a Japanese language PDF file that has information, high-resolution images, and art work. The PDF is around 20 MB large and has information on the following games:

• Dissidia Final Fantasy
• Final Fantasy XIII and Versus XIII
• Final Fantasy I 20th Anniversary
• Final Fantasy II 20th Anniversary
• Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

It's almost like a huge advert for its games, and there's nothing particularly new. However, the clarity of some of the high-res images certainly beats most magazine scans floating around as of late. For example, there's a good preview of one stage in Dissidia Final Fantasy. Overall though, there's nothing groundbreaking here, but the PDF is still helpful if you're a fan eager to piece together information in advance.

There are a few blurbs on the system used in each of the featured titles, unfortunately though, they're in Japanese. Anyhow, check out the PDF file yourself if you wish do to some sleuthing. The download link's below.

Download: Square Enix Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary PDF

The latest developer diary for Eidos Interactive's Tomb Raider Anniversary reveals what the developers did to address the storytelling in Tomb Raider Anniversary. It was noted that with the new game the goal was to give the player the "whys" of the Tomb Raider Story.

Aside from the explanations from Toby Gard, Cinematics Director of the game, the Developer Diary also gives players a good preview of several cutscenes that are to be found in the game. An interesting note in there is when mister Gard noted that he wanted Lara to be a lot of madness trapped in the facade of an extremely proper British lass.

Enough of the talk from us though, we're pretty sure you're all eager to just click on the play button on the embed below. Enjoy!

Latinoreview.com is a site known to videogame movie fans because around a year and a half ago, they managed to acquire an early draft of the Halo movie script and gave it a review. The site's latest victim, er, script review? Prince of Persia.

Last month, we reported that a movie version of Ubisoft's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time managed to get a director despite it's being delayed 'til the Summer of 2009. However, you're all probably curious about how the movie will treat the beloved franchise of Jordan Mechner, right? Fortunately the scripts reviewer notes that it "reads and feels" like a 9th century Indiana Jones. That's a good thing, right?

What's revealed so far is that the concept of time manipulation, and the concept that a limited amount of sand consumed by a Dagger of Time, is included in the movie. The script review also gives out a few characters' names, but since we wouldn't want to spoil anything for you folks, we'll just hide all that behind our "read" link below.

Aside from odd names, the script for the movie seems like a step in the right direction. Unfortunately we'll have to wait a bit more to see if the movie will be worth our money.

 

The official site for Konami's Metal Gear 20th Anniversary is up. Although the flash content takes a bit to load, it's nice that the site not only gives the prices for the 20th Anniversary titles but it also gives a decent idea on what the packaging for the titles will look like.

It also reveals that the the Metal Gear Solid Collection also has a Special DVD entitled "Metal Gear Saga." It also reveals that a Metal Gear 20th Anniversary Music Collection will be available at Japanese Retail.

Still no word if the 20th anniversary editions will be released in other regions. The lack of an English language link in the official site isn't a good omen. A lot of western hardcore MGS fans sinking into depression? Probably. But given that they're hardcore fans, they'll probably import... or something like that.

To check out the official Metal Gear 20th Anniversary site, click the "read" link below.

Japanese gaming magazine Dengeki PlayStation, through PSPHyper, finds out why Final Fantasy Dissidia's nature is to be an action game. According to the report,  this was because it was thought that a 3D action game using the expertise of the team of Yousuke Shiokawa was "the best way to gather all the characters from the Final Fantasy series."

Who is Mr. Shiokawa? Square Enix's Yousuke Shiokawa was the lead programmer for boss battles in Kingdom Hearts II. He is now directing Final Fantasy Dissidia.

Anyhow, it was also revealed that the PlayStation Portable was the chosen one as the platform for the game because of the handheld's ad-hoc mode.

Nomura noted that if they went for aiming at a large user-base, they would have gone for the PS2 instead of the PSP. However, that route would mean that they would be forced to use split-screen for multiplayer, and they are of the belief that split-screen gaming would significantly diminish the fun factor.

It was also revealed that the game's battle system will take a lot of inspiration from the Kingdom Hearts franchise, but will introduce some new concepts. As mentioned in one of our previous reports, Shiokawa confirms that FF mainstays like levels, class, equipment, and weapon upgrades will all be in the game. What's more is that there are some character customization options available as well.

As for the game's setting, Shiokawa mentioned that the development team is concentrating on making each location as "natural" as possible. There may be plans for destructible environments, but the focus for now is more on making each location true to the original. From the images and scans we've seen so far, it was noted that some appear to be from Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy IX.

As mentioned before, this is a 20th Anniversary title, so even though there isn't an official date yet, most expect the game to hit retail this year.