Last week's list offered a handful of gaming gems that are now being offered for mere change but definitely don't deserve to be thrown into the bargain bin. This time around, we're going to see similar games, most of them calling forth fond memories of old school arcade gaming. Here's a clue: Ultimate Ghosts n' Goblins. Capcom arcade games. Mega Man. Reminiscing now? Hit the full article for the list.

Aching to see a gameplay video for WipEout Pulse? Well, you just got lucky because here's one uploaded by user DirtyMrKurti. The clip originally appeared on Jeux France but the owner decided to upload it anyway at GameTrailers letting a wider audience get a glimpse of this futuristic racing title.

Anyway, Pulse is the successor to WipEout Pure and even though you missed all our previous coverages on this, just taking a look a the clip below will tell you in an instant that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) Studio Liverpool is really taking good care of this franchise.

Aside from obvious graphic enhancements, WipEout Pulse also features tougher AI, eight gameplay modes, wide array of customization options, a new soundtrack, and the ability for players to play their own MP3 files while having a good ol' racing game among others.

In an official announcement made not later than today, Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH revealed that the company's Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be featuring none other than Michael Owen, English striker and one of Newcastle United's pride and glory, on both the packaging (UK specific) and the promotional materials for the game.

Together with Cristiano Ronaldo, Owen will be combining image and skill on the UK packshots of Pro Evolution Soccer's latest installment. Barring any critical opinion of his choice for Newcastle over Liverpool, Owen still keeps a reputation level with his 178 league goals, 37 of which were for England.

"Securing Michael Owen is a real coup for Konami. Since he burst on to the scene, he has proven himself an incredible goal-scorer, netting at every level both domestic and international," said Jon Murphy, Team Leader for Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 at Konami.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 will be heading to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC over DVD, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS by fall of 2007, featuring Konami's new Teamvision artificial intelligence system for dynamic and real-time play.

You haven't grown tired of eye candy from SCE Studios Liverpool's WipEout Pulse, have you? Today, we have more screenshots from the upcoming PlayStation Portable video game, courtesy of JeuxFrance.

WipEout Pulse looks shiny and polished on the outside - and heck, we're all clamoring to take a sneak peek at what it has under its hood. Right now, everything looks smooth around the edges for the futuristic racer, though the rest (gameplay and multiplayer features) remain to be seen. The screenshots we have for you today showcases WipEout Pulse' futuristic feel, plus the enemy annihilation via blasters and such.

The ETA for WipEout Pulse is still a bit fuzzy right now (hopefully, September), so you might as well check out the screenshots for now. They might tide you over until release.

More screenshots right after the jump!

Tony Buckley is the game director for the WipEout franchise. He belongs to SCEE Studio Liverpool and having said that, Buckley is very much part of Sony itself. We pointed out the distinction because the game director has an interesting call for all other development studios creating games for the PlayStation Portable.

According to Buckley, the developers need to come up with creative IPs for the PSP to keep the community intact and alive. He commented that the developers have yet to utilize the full potential of the Sony handheld. He said:

It's our developers' job to create something that attracts people to PSP. I think that rather than focusing on the gameplay side of it, we should be focusing on how to fully utilize what I think is quite a sophisticated piece of kit. I'm not to sure whether there is a killer piece of software out there that would make people say "woah."

SCEE Studio Liverpool is currently developing WipEout Pulse and another yet-to-be-announced WipEout game for the PlayStation 3. There are a lot of expectations to Pulse due to its different features such as the Customization Mode that allows users to share in-game content.

Buckley reiterates that the developers should always be willing to give fans extra. One such example he gave was letting users play their own MP3 files while playing games. He commented that the functionality is there and he's curious why players are not given the privilege to use it,

You know, there's a lot in there that you can use. For example the whole idea of playing your own MP3s in a game - it's not rocket science so we've done it and it's a nice extra feature. The music is there on the machine - why should you not be able to use it.

In the end, the game director highlighted that the PSP in itself is a great machine. All the developers have to do is "focus on how the games can build on that functionality."

Sony Computer Entertainment's WipEout series has always been known for its awesome songs, and WipEout Pulse is no exception. A recent article on CVG let loose some details on the game, among which was the complete tracklist of the game.

The artists are pretty popular, with Kraftwerk, Dopamine and Loco Dice as well as other bands and DJs adding their tracks to the playlist.

It looks like the development team at SCE Liverpool really picked the artists well, as most of the musicians chosen play music that would really lend to the futuristic, fast-paced racing vibe that the game gives off. If you don't believe us, check out the list for yourself.

Complete Tracklist for WipEout Pulse:

• Flat Out by Dopamine
• Chemical by MoveYa! & Steve Lavers
• Tokyo by Stanton Warriors
• Break ya self - Wipeout mix by B Phreak & Groove Allegiance
• Slingshot - Wipeout mix by Rennie Pilgrem & BLIM
• X-Project (100% Pure mix) by DJ Fresh
• Frontline by EdRush, Optical & Matrix
• Seven Stitches by Noisia
• Smart Systems by MIST
• Exceeder - special mix by Mason
• Steady Rush by Booka Shade
• Fenix Funk 5 [wipeout edit] by Aphex Twin
• Aero Dynamik by Kraftwerk
• Suspicious Thoughts by Skream
• Sea of Sound - Wipeout mix by Guy Gerber & Shlomi Aber
• City Lights (Martin Buttich remix) PSP Cut by Loco Dice

The game is slated for a September release, so you might want to watch out for it. Be sure to keep checking back here for more updates on WipEout Pulse for the PSP.

In a recent interview with Kikizo, Tony Buckley, the game director for the WipEout franchise at SCEE Studio Liverpool, revealed a few more exciting details about their upcoming PSP title, WipEout Pulse. One of the main points of interest about the game is its revolutionary customization mode. Here's the gospel according to Buckley:

I've got a customised skin, downloaded it onto the Memory Stick, and these are ones that have been opened as part of the game, someone has done a tiger skin at work, a zebra skin, and these are obviously designs that stand out a bit... we expect people to be more creative than this though.

Once people have created their ship they can download it into the game. We don't want to be anal about the visuals but they are a massive part of the game. So why not share it, you know, with Photo Mode... at any point of the game I can hit start and pause it, you've got your usual options and photo mode is one of them.

You can fiddle around with the camera and turn the HUD on and off. You get a shot that you like and then hit X when you're done, and it saves it to the Memory Stick... all the shots in my presentation earlier were from Photo Mode. And it's also a bit of fun. It's that idea that once you've got it, you can throw it up onto the website or do a competition to design a ship, and you know, winner gets a date with me, or whatever!

The music in the game can also be customized to suit a player's tastes. Players can create custom playlists by simply putting MP3 files in their Memory Sticks. "Race to Walking on Sunshine if you like," says Buckley. "We'll allow you to do it."

And what about a WipEout title for the PS3? Buckley says that "it's obvious" they would be doing a WipEout title for Sony's next gen video game console, but declined to reveal more details aside from pointing towards "an announcement in August". WipEout Pulse is slated for a September release.

A lot of people remember WipEout Pure on the PSP very fondly. Some have even called it one of the highlights of the early PSP catalogue of games. If you've been looking for more, don't worry as WipEout Pulse is slated to be out this September.

So what can we expect from this latest iteration of the WipEout series? Game lead designer Colin Berry was recently interviewed by IGN and gave a few details fans might be interested in knowing.

First up, he discussed the difficulty of this game in relation to WipEout Pure. Like most games, SCE Studios Liverpool noted that some players found it either too easy or too hard. Well, they've been listening to their fans and addressed the issue,

We have introduced 3 difficulty settings in addition to the speed classes. The default setting is designed for the majority to provide an "achievable" challenge. We then have an easier setting which will allow players to play at the higher speed classes against less competitive AI, thus they can enjoy the speed of the game without always feeling they have no chance to compete.

Then we have the hard difficulty setting which means that even on the slower speed classes, the hardcore WipEout fans will face a challenge from the AI, and at the higher speed classes they have something to keep them coming back again and again.

Another issue he discussed was the presence of classic tracks in Pulse. You might be a bit disappointed to find out that they did not include any. However, Berry did say that they wanted to focus on getting out some new content for the game.

The lead designer then added that there might be a chance that the much-loved old tracks will be made available to players as downloadable content - if there is enough community support for it.

Finally, he talked about the music WipEout Pulse. Licensed music tracks are pretty much a tradition in this franchise, and it appears they won't be disappointing anyone with their selections. Berry let slip that the game will have 16 licensed songs from a range of "top artists." He also gave word that legendary German band Kraftwerk will be one of the artists, so you can expect a totally ripping soundtrack.

Will this game redefine high-speed futuristic racing on the PSP? We won't know until it comes out, but it' shaping up to be quite a title. If you want to read the entire interview, don't hesitate to click on our Read link. Be sure to keep checking back here for more updates on WipEout Pulse.

Spanish video gaming site MeriStation was able to get hold of new screenshots for upcoming PSP game WipEout Pulse. The latest installment to the anti-gravity racing franchise WipEout is being handled by SCE Studios Liverpool.

These new batch of screenshots, much like the others we've shared with you before, sports the different ships that will be available for players in the game. Speaking of which, it was reported that Pulse will feature eight new teams that will slug it out on 24 new tracks.

Aside from the already mentioned, the new game will also have different modes for both single and multiplayer games as well as  tons of future downloadable content. SCE Studios Liverpool mentioned before that WipEout Pulse will be available this September.

See the rest of the screenshots after the jump!

Develop has recently announced the list of finalists nominated to receive awards offered by the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Set for the region of UK and Europe, the awards will be held during the Develop Conference & Expo to be held this year at Brighton. Again.

 

Top of the nominees list is Realtime Worlds (Crackdown), bagging a whopping seven nominations. Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Piñata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition), and independent developer and publisher Introversion (DEFCON) get three nominations a-piece. Other nominees include GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) from Russia, EA DICE (Battlefield series) and Avalanche from Sweden, Opera from Norway, and Fishlabs from Germany.

Some of the big names nominated for the 2007 awards night include Eidos Hungary, Ubisoft France development studios, Eden Studios, and Kynogon. The fate of these nominees will be decided by a panel of almost 100 industry experts who choose only excellence over anything else. Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine, stated:

In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd.

Two other special awards, Development Legend and overall Grand Prix, will be given away in the awards night on July 25 to be honored to individuals, companies, or titles deserving in the eyes of the magazine's editorial staff.