People say the third time's a charm, but what do they say about the fourth? Hopefully it's something good, because part four of our 25 bargain video game titles for your PlayStation Portable takes some interesting games from the East and West. Better yet, they're offered at a price point with as big a discount as the depth of your soon-to-be-floored jaw. But do these deserve some play time with you on Sony's portable console? Find out at the full story.

The Independent Game Developers Association (TIGA) has just announced the list of their finalists for the upcoming TIGA awards which is going to happen in London on January 30, 2008.

Two new categories were added to the roster list for this year's awards. Finalists that are included can only win through the peer votes of TIGA members.

Catch the finalists and the additional categories after the jump!

If last week's boatload of game releases knocked your socks off, this week's batch won't give you a chance to put them back on. We're approaching the big holiday rush as we enter November, and the quantity of game launches is continually picking up.

This week's sizable On Shelves cast features a diverse class of wallet-busters. Heading them is the anticipated debut of NC Soft's MMORPG Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa.

Other heavy hitters such as Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, NIS America's Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Sierra Entertainment's TimeShift are also in the house. There's plenty more in store, so dig right in and try not to go crazy deciding which ones to buy first!

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The long-awaited showdown between you and the brightest icons of rock history has finally arrived, and you better bring your A-game because Slash, Bret Michaels, John Frusciante are all looking to shred you to bits. Re-live classic tracks with your meanest riffs and bring the house down on the biggest venues.

• Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii- October 28
• US$ 99.99 (Xbox 360, PS3), US$ 89.99 (Wii)
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Activision

Manhunt 2. With revisions made, Rockstar Games finally releases their latest offering. An experiment at a secret facility has gone terribly wrong and you're the product of that demented effort. The Pickman Project's forces are now after you to cover up the truth and bury your secrets. Using a mix of stealth and brutality, you'll have to take back what science has robbed you of.

• Sony PlayStation Portable- October 29, Nintendo Wii- October 31
• US$ 29.99 (PSP), US$ 39.99 (Wii)
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Rockstar Games

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. NC Soft unleashes its latest high-profile massively-multiplayer online (MMO) RPG this week. Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa features a wide array of races and career paths to choose from, martial arts-inspired combat moves, customizable weapons, and a horde of diverse monsters to slaughter. Solo or team-based player versus player combat is available to accommodate those who want to fight as lone wolves or stick with the brood. Prepare to be lost for a long, long time in the world of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa.

• PC- October 30
• US$ 69.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• NC Soft

Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP)]
Buy: [Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa]

*Article originally posted Oct 29, 2007 at 01:14AM

The whole list behind the Full Article link below!

No need to break out the dice this time because Atari is releasing the newest D&D game for the PSP, Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics. Developed by Kuju Entertainment, it was amazing how they seem to have been able to cram so many elements of the D&D system which captivated so many of its pen-and-paper fans onto a handheld game.

The game will be using the current Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 rule-set, which include all core characters plus the inclusion of two Psionic classes, the Psion and the Psychic Warrior. You basically take control of a party of up to six adventurers through the single-player storyline in a turn-based style strategy game associated to other games which it shares to the title "tactics" with.

The different choices you make through the game affect your alignment and how the flow of the story turns out. A system not unlike the Neverwinter Nights series, another well-known D&D game released by Atari.

However, the major difference here is the wireless multi-player system that the developers have taken a lot of time creating for the game. Players can play cooperatively through the single-player campaign or take them on in a more antagonistic role. Also, downloadable content will be made available to extend gamers' experience.

Anyone who's a fan of the tabletop counter version will definitely enjoy themselves with this handheld package.

Now that Atari managed to make many a pen-and-paper RPG gamers' wish come true - a handheld Dungeons and Dragons title - they decided to share their own thoughts about creating one of the breakthrough games for the PSP, Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics.

Lawrence Liberty, D&D: Tactics game producer at Atari, confirmed that cramming in the vast Dungeons and Dragons mythos for the PSP was quite a challenge, both in design and technical perspectives. The small screen posed once such challenge, aside from making the multiplayer aspect of the video game Dungeons & Dungeons: Tactics work flawlessly. Tweaking the multiplayer option was one of the reasons that caused the delay of the game's release, and even occupied most of the game developers' past six months of development.

They did have some reservations about developing a PlayStation Portable game. Faster loading times as well as more RAM and access to the full clock speed would have helped. However, Atari's Liberty believed that they and the Kuju Entertainment development team succeeded in capturing the feel of the pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons video game. Don't expect any downloadable content to expand the D&D experience though, but he assured that they managed to fit every content they wanted to put in the game into the UMD disk.

 

If running around in a cold, dark, and damp dungeon wearing nothing but fur speedos is your idea of fun, well you've found your game. Atari and Kuju Entertainment's Dungeons and Dragons: Tactics is coming out pretty soon and everyone's favorite hobby (see first line) is back in vogue.

If you want to get more information on the game, well you're in luck because the official site is already open. The first thing you should notice after selecting the language in the opening screen is that you can select what weapon you will be using for your mouse pointer.

They've got videos, screenshots, forums, and art sections for fans of everything D&D. In addition to this, the initial screen gives some basic info on the game which "information grognards" will happily munch up.

Before I geek out more and start talking about the advantages of having a +3 vorpal sword, I'd like to direct you to the Dungeons and Dragons: Tactics homepage which can be found by clicking our Read link. Be sure to keep checking back here for more updates on the game.

More eye candy in RPG flavor coming your way in this latest batch of screenshots of the highly-anticipated Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics for the PlayStation Portable. While it's only about six pops worth, granted, you'd best sit down for some tasty dungeon-spelunking juiciness if you've been keeping tabs on this game - they're looking sharp!

With this latest batch, we see more of the actual gameplay, as well as the cutscenes utilizing that old-fashioned style of art befitting a legendary license such as D&D. The environments are clean and convincing, the characters detailed and colorful. The enemies are looking pretty gruesome, too, but in a good way.

Many good things are expected from this upcoming title for the PSP, and it looks like it's going to deliver. Check back for all updates regarding Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics.

More screenshots after  the jump!

Atari and Kuju Entertainment's Dungeons and Dragons: Tactics is looking really good. This game, unlike other console games based on the D&D franchise, is turn-based. It also offers a multiplayer mode for those who want to tackle this game as a group.

If you've been waiting for more information, you might be happy to know that Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics producer Lawrence Liberty was recently interviewed by Eurogamer. He gave the latest news on the game and what it will have when it comes out. 

One of the issues that were brought up is the fact that D&D games are predominantly on the PC for a simple reason: the interface. What difficulty did they experience in creating the game for the PSP?

As you would expect, there were many challenges in designing a user interface that works with the PSP controls and fits on the screen. In the end, it meant making the most of screen real estate and streamlining the play mechanics.

Another thing that D&D fans are wondering about is what the included character classes in the game are. Since the characters are an integral part of any RPG, Liberty shared some details on that as well.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics sports the common classes; barbarians, druids, et al. As well as the new psion and psychic warrior classes. Up to six characters can be in your party, both in single- and mutliplayer, and there is support for four players online.

Finally, he was asked about the possibility of the game being ported to any other system, including the DS. Fans of the said handheld may be a bit disappointed at Liberty's answer. He pretty much gave word that a lot of work has to be done to fit it onto the DS. So far, there are no plans for the game to be ported to any other system.

A variety of other topics were discussed in the interview, so feel free to click on the read link if you want to read more. Dungeons and Dragons: Tactics is slated to be released this July 17 in the U.S. Be sure to keep checking back here for more updates on the game.

Zoe Mode, previously known as Kuju Entertainment, and Sega have a bit of something up their sleeves to quench everyone's psychotic tendencies (yeah, everyone probably has them from time to time). Hence, Crush for the PSP. Not only do you get to play an insomniac named Dan who has the ability to distort and bend reality, but there's going to be a great deal of secrets and mysteries to unlock in the game as well.

In this trailer for Crush, we get to see even more gameplay footage and a couple of other cutscenes that narrate some certain plot elements. Still trying to guess how the whole story fits together in one neatly tied package? Click 'Play' below and get a clue:

It should be remembered that LucasArts sealed the fate of rhythm-based video game title Traxion earlier this year when it announced that it will no longer be publishing the title. It felt like the decision was not appreciated by Kuju Entertainment (who's now changed their name to Zoe Mode) as the developer severed its publishing agreement with LucasArts.

Today, Zoe Mode head Ed Daly mentioned that they are still considering pushing through with the project and that they may even market Traxion as a PSP and an iPod game. Daly commented,

The terms of the deal with LucasArts are still confidential, so I can't comment on the details - but we have retained the rights to the IP and we're now looking at what we can do with the IP and the technology and what it's potential is. There's a long history of games that have been canned and came back as great proposition.

However, Ed Daly also shared that their studio is busy at the moment with other projects such as SingStar and EyeToy titles for Sony as well as unannounced next-gen titles. He added that when they find the time and the manpower, Traxion might even go next-gen,

When the teams free up the idea might find place on next-gen formats, or mobile phones or even iPods - there's plenty of use for the tech, but we just need to figure out what that will be and then build the resource so we can take the next step with it.

On a related matter, Ed Daly also revealed that Zoe Mode will be coming up with another music-puzzle game that will be released on the PlayStation Network (PSN) and/or Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). The concept is different in such a way that the game will be controlling the music instead of the other way around. He shared then,

It's interesting as there is no longer that one straightforward route to market and we're able to think that maybe we are better off investing a bit more in the self-publishing route. There are only a finite number of companies or publishers willing to invest so certain games we aren't always going to chase a traditional publishing deal for them.