If you plan on traveling to either Tokyo, Paris, or Rome any time soon, don't forget to bring along your PlayStation Portable. Tsubasa Inaba on the PlayStation Blog recently announced an interesting new download which will be hitting PSN this Thursday which can serve as your interactive travel guide to any of these places. Find out more about it in our full article.

Take-Two Interactive and Jack Thompson have certainly had a storied past. While we all know about the uneasy settlement between Take-Two and Jack Thompson involving a particularly heated lawsuit last April, we've also caught wind of the many moves Jack has made against Take-Two, the most recent one being his lodging of a complaint against the televised ads of Bioshock.

The shaky relationship between the two is still not looking good. What started as an e-mail from Jack Thompson to Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick, CEO Ben Feder, the Federal Trade Commission, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the legal counsel of Blank Rome and GamePolitics turned into an exchange between the Florida-based lawyer and Gena Feist, Take-Two's VP and Associate General Counsel.

Below is Jack Thompson's opening e-mail, unedited and presented as is:

From: Jack Thompson

Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 4:55 PM

Subject: Letter to Take-Two’s Strauss Zelnick, Ben Feder Re Manhunt 2

Dear Mr. Zelnick and Mr. Feder:

Congratulations on receiving a “Mature” rating for Manhunt 2. You’ll live to regret it (trust me), so enjoy it while you can. I want to bring to your attention the fact that at www.rockstargames.com anyone of any age can order Manhunt 2 and receive it, with no age verification whatsoever.

Asking a 14-year-old if he’s 17 is not age verification, now is it? You also know that the use of a bank card as an age verifier is a violation of all bank card agreements, right? Govern yourselves accordingly, if you can.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Strong words indeed, and it's to note that things go downhill from there on in. See Feist's reply by clicking on the Full Article link below.

More behind the Full Article link!


Buy: [Manhunt 2 (PSP)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii)]

For history buffs who own a PSP, PS2, or a PC, The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome is like manna from heaven. Developed by Slitherine Software, this title should appeal to an audience that has far too often gone unnoticed by other developers.

Gamespot was lucky enough to score an interview with the development director of the game Iain McNeil. In the interview, he discussed quite a few points that should catch the attention of those who haven't picked this game up. One of the more important details that McNeil discussed is the game's focus. He maintains that this is a "real blend of action and strategy."

Before a battle starts, you have the chance to create a battle plan, which is where the strategy comes in, and your men will carry out this plan in battle.

Some players may choose to wing it and skip this section and jump straight into the battles. Once in the battles, it's fast-paced action all the way. In the larger battles, there are thousands of men giving the game a truly epic feel, which has not been seen on consoles before.

In addition to that, this game was also built to be historically accurate considering they did secure a History Channel License for the game. McNeil gave two major reasons why they decided to obtain the license and how it benefits the game overall.

Firstly, they have thousands of hours of high-quality footage, which we were able to search through and use to create the movies you see in the game. These really add to the atmosphere when combined with the superb music and voice-over, allowing the player to become fully immersed in the period.

Secondly, having a well-known license like the History Channel brings the game to the attention of people who might otherwise have missed it. It has also allowed us to do a lot of TV advertising, which has not been possible in the past. The History Channel has been really supportive and it has been great to work with them.

So there you have it. This is a history game for the most discerning war gamers out there. If you want to read the full interview, feel free to click on our read link. The game has already been released so there's no reason not to check it out to see if it's for you. More updates on The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome as it happens.

If you're the type of player who's into playing strategy video game titles, then you might want to know that the PSP version of The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome is available now in retail stores. The game is a joint project of companies Slitherine Software, Black Bean Games, Koch Media, and cable station The History Channel.

Basically, the Great Battles of Rome takes players to the humble beginnings of the Roman Empire, specifically when it was nothing more but a small village. Controlling vast armies and defeating countless enemies, the objective of the game is to fulfill that small village's destiny and establishe the Empire.

Furthermore, players will be able to customize the said armies using an incredible array of soldiers, legionaries, archers, cavalry, and war elephants. There's an option to play as the strategist and give orders or if you want, you can leave all that to the AI and focus on battling it out with the enemies.

The PSP version of The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome has a multiplayer mode where fans can go head-to-head against their friends in an epic war to remember.

Thanks to German gaming news site GameFront, we got hold of a new list of release dates for PAL titles. The list has quite a few PSP titles in it, along with one each for the Nintendo DS and Microsoft's Xbox 360. No PS3 titles, though.

A couple of notable titles are The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome and Earth Defence Force 2017. Puzzle fans also get their own dose of gaming goodness courtesy of the PSP titles Cube and PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient. Check the list below for the titles and dates.

May 25

• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (DS)

June 1

• The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome (PSP, PS2)

June 8

• Earth Defence Force 2017 (Xbox 360)
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient (PSP)
• SBK-07 Superbike World Championship (PSP)

June 29

• Cube (PSP)

We imagine that this year holds a special place for car fans, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the Italian-based car manufacturer, Ferrari. As part of this occasion, the car-manufacturer is currently holding a special "Ferrari 60 Relay" world tour, with vehicles spanning Ferrari's history being paraded around a few days ago at London.

On the gaming side of the news, we're also announcing that this event was sponsored by System 3 - the group that's currently publishing the Ferrari Challenge racing game headed for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS. In line with the tour and future game release, Ferrari GB Managing Director Massimo Fedeli had this to say:

Since the launch of the next-generation consoles, the video game industry finally has, at its disposal, a machine with enough power to truly and loyally represent the Ferrari driving experience. The British public's incredible reaction to the "Ferrari 60-Relay" coming to these shores has demonstrated the strength of the Ferrari brand here and we're very excited to be working with System 3 to produce a cutting-edge racing experience for those fans.

The "Ferrari 60 Relay" celebration tour began this January at Abu Dhabi, and is expected to travel through 50 countries before before concluding on June 23 at the home of Ferrari in Maranello, Italy. The tour will also feature a special commemorative baton, 60 badges symbolising the memorable events in the Company's 60-year history, from the Rome Grand Prix in 1947 - the Ferrari FXX Programme of 2006. System 3 hints that Ferrari Challenge will be launching this Christmas - just stay posted for more details as the tour goes through its paces.

Koch Media has announced that it has signed a distribution deal with Black Bean games for the upcoming strategy title The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome for the PC, PS2, and PSP. "I am delighted that Black Bean have once again chosen to work with us," commented Craig McNicol, Managing Director to Koch Media UK, "This is an excellent license and truly underpins the quality of the game."

"This game has given us the opportunity to bring a great television brand to life in the interactive entertainment arena. The blending of dramatic video footage from The History Channel with fast paced gameplay delivers a unique and authentic experience that will have mass appeal," added Chris Mehers, Managing Director of Black Bean Games UK.

Combining compelling gameplay, dramatic video footage and battle simulation, The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome allows players to fully immerse themselves into the battles and campaigns that created the world's greatest Empire. Too bad we still don't have any concrete info as to how the gameplay goes. You can check out this trailer for a bit of a look at the game, though.

We also have a few comparison shots from each of the game's three platform versions below as well as the packshots for the PSP and PC versions above. From left to right, the screenshots below are, from left to right, from the PSP, PC, and for comparison's sake, the PS2.

The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome will hit the PC, PS2, and PSP in May 2007.

OK, so history can be a bit boring sometimes. It's a good thing that companies like the History Channel are looking at other avenues of education to spread the knowledge among the younger generation. Case in point: Great Battles of Rome.

Developed by Slitherine Software and published by Black Bean, The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome lets players take control of Rome's vast armies in a series of campaigns to expand the Roman Empire. There are reportedly over 100 playable battles. There are also seven PSP-exclusive campaigns that feature the gods.

So far, there hasn't been any video that show us the gameplay details (the official website does mention that this strategy-based title can let players control up to 20 units at a time), but we do have a trailer for you guys today. Check it out below. The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome hits Europe on May 7 and is available for PC, PS2, and PSP.

German airline Germanwings and Sony are cooperating to offer something unique to customers of the Airline. Flights to Amsterdam, London, Barcelona, Prague, Rome or Paris have PSPs on board.

Yep, customers (sorry online translation is a bit weird, you can check out the source link we've got below for yourself) get access to a white PSPs with "Sony's Passport to" UMD on it. From what we understand, the user can get access to points of interest about their destination, maps, videos, etc.

It makes sense when you think about it; a white PSP is definitely better than a normal boring travel guide. Especially now that Sony is so popular in Europe (we jest, we jest with the link, all in good fun really).

Thanks to Simon for the heads up on this one.