Hungry for more action from Irem's upcoming smash 'em up title, Ikuze Gensan? We might not be able to give Gensan, but we have his trusty little sidekick, Kana. She's bringing along her paper fan in this side-scrolling adventure game. Check out the screenshots in the full article. 

Here's a little something for the Gust fans out there. The Mana- Khemia: Gakuen no Renkinjutsu Shitachi Portable website has just been updated with a couple of new details added to the game. No news yet about a U.S. release, but check the full article for the details nonetheless.

Not a lot of game franchises can take two genres, meld them seamlessly and come up with something that isn't fertilizer. Even fewer can use the same core model repeatedly and come up with stellar success in terms of media and consumer reception. The Ratchet & Clank series combines elements from a platform game and a shooting title to form a respected brand that gamers just eat up each and every time a new installment comes out.

In February of 2007, the Sony PlayStation Portable received its first taste of the Ratchet & Clank series with High Impact Games' Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. High Impact is a group of expats from Insomniac that still has some of the key members responsible for the success of earlier iterations. The game was scrutinized with excitement and it passed all tests with flying colors.

No rest even if you're not wicked

The lovable tandem's new adventure starts off with Ratchet and Clank getting some time off the battlefield with some rest and relaxation. The heroic lombax and his trusty robot sidekick bask in the sun for a while until a strange girl named Luna approaches them and asks Ratchet for a small favor.

As it turns out, the odd-looking Luna is a huge fan of our robot-busting hero and wants him to pose in his trademark stances for an extemporaneous photo-op. Being the nice guy that he is, Ratchet gives in. A series of events unfold while Ratchet roughs up some robot hide for Luna which leads to the alien girl's abduction. Ratchet and Clank decide that vacation time is over and the two set off to save the girl.

That's not to say that this is a Mario-style plot where you simply have to go through multiple castles to eventually save the hostaged damsel. Fans of the Ratchet & Clank series will not have their expectations dampened as the game features an elaborate succession of plot twists that eventually leads to a huge unfolding that will have you chasing ancient artifacts and encountering a genius race known as the Technomites.

Old and new characters will be present to spice up the game's storytelling sequences. Favorites such as Captain Quark will do cameos with style as they supply excellent humor that nicely complements the script's pop-culture references. Notice that there's no single character who's badly voiced, allowing the comedy to be driven home as well as it should be. Making the dialogue even more immersive is the fact that character expressions are in perfect sync with what they're saying thanks to the dandy visuals that we'll be discussing next.

First off, I must say, this'll be quite a debut by High Impact Games. Imagine having a well-known title like Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters left entirely in your hands to be launched as the very first game developed in your labs? Talk about pressure!

So anyway, High Impact and SCEA have just released the updated fact sheet and logo (yep, that's the one above) to give us a glimpse of the adventures we'll get to take on when we finally get Ratchet and Clank to grace our handheld screens. As you guys probably know already, Size Matters will be reminiscent of the PS2 franchise, but with a few tweaks here and there. You have all new gameplay, weapons, gadgets, and tons more. Also, this time, Clank won't merely be Ratchet's robotic sidekick as he'll also get a share of the limelight in the game.

Key Game Features:

• Players will take on the roles of both Ratchet and Clank in a journey across the galaxy as they rediscover a forgotten race of genius inventors known as the Technomites.
• New and returning weapons and gadgets, including the Blitz Cannon, Agents of Doom and Shrink Ray.
• Customizable armor system themed for various gameplay to gain upgrades and advance through different areas.
• Gain access to different vehicles to compete in races and combat enemies in missions.
• Multiplayer support for up to four players via WiFi.

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is slated for release February 2007.

It seems that many people were having problems with xLoader, the newly-released eLoader's sidekick. Not to worry though, the Noobz crew has given instructions to address most problems which plagued those who didn't check the readme (bad!). Here's all the clarifications directly from the official page.

Step-by-step instructions:

• Install xLoader, using either the auto-installer, or by following the instructions in the readme.txt file in the ZIP package.
• Install some homebrew - perhaps by using the Installotron, which you can run from Fanjita's baybeh">eLoader (it doesn't work well in xLoader).
• Use the PatchSFO tool to ensure that your homebrew is ready for xLoader (see below for instructions).
• Now browse to your PSP's photo menu, and open the folder 'xLoader 280'. If everything has worked, you will see 2 file icons, one a round blue circle, the other a 'corrupt data' icon. So long as your PSP hasn't crashed at this point, then xLoader is now running.
• Alternatively, highlight the 'xLoader 280' folder and press START, to attempt a slideshow of the images in the folder. The PSP will complain that there are no pictures to show - this is OK, so long as the PSP hasn't crashed, then xLoader is now running.
• Browse to the homebrew you want to load, in the PSP's 'GAME - Memory Stick' folder, and press X or O (depending on your PSP region) to start it.
• The screen should go white, and then some text about eLoader appears briefly, followed by the homebrew starting. If your PSP crashes, then the homebrew you're trying to run is either not installed correctly, or it's not compatible with xLoader.

Some general info:

• There's plenty of useful and important information in the README file - click here to read it again (because of course you read it when you installed Kriek, right?).
• If you haven't downloaded it already, you should grab the PatchSFO utility (see below). You can also install it via Installotron. If you run PatchSFO, then you'll be able to at least attempt to run all your homebrew via xLoader. Without PatchSFO, the XMB won't even try to start most homebrew.
• Sometimes you'll find that the eLoader and xLoader TIFFs stop working. If that happens:
• Try running a disk checking tool on your memory stick. For Windows, you can use 'chkdsk', or the 'Properties - Tools - Error Checking' option that comes up if you right-click the memory-stick drive icon. On a Mac, you can try the 'First Aid' option of the Mac Disc Utility. This seems to fix about 95% of problems.
• Try reinstalling eLoader.
• Try starting with a different method - if you normally start with slideshow (using the START button, then try just opening the folder (with the X or O button) - and vice versa.
• eLoader will usually crash if you try to run it when xLoader is active. Just hold the power switch on your PSP for 5 seconds to reset it, then turn it back on again. This removes xLoader from memory.

Another thing to take notice in case you don't know, Installatron is only able to use the first access point configuration. So if you're not able to use Installatron properly, it would be wise to delete the rest of the access point configurations. We're hoping that Fanjita can fix that so that there's an access point selector, like in AFKIM or Links2. Until then though, you'll have to make do with the workaround.

Well folks, what began a week ago is officially drawing to a close, after all the entries were tallied (a huuuuge massive ton of entries, thanks to all who sent in answers) and counted, we finally have a winner. A big thanks to the folks at Neuros, they've been really kind sponsoring two wonderful contests in a row with sucessively better prizes. Anyway, I suppose it's time to get to the meat of the matter and let you guys know who the winner is eh?

Well, you'll have to find out just who won by clicking to check out the full article below. Also come on in and see pictures sent in by our previous contest winner!

There's nothing more attractive to your garden variety gamer than free stuff (or a bag of stale Dorito's) so we got together with the people over at Neuros (the guys who made possible our recently concluded NVR2 contest) and hammered out yet another contest offer, a sequel if you will. Like all sequels this one's bigger, badder, leaner, meaner and yes, even greener. The prizes (yup, plural) are even more attractive and you have to do even less work than last time to get to them, uh-huh, answering these questions requires absolutely no creativity or physical exertion whatsoever, as a matter of fact the contest actually relies on your ability to loaf around watching TV and playing videogames all day long. What's on offer this time around? Well, this is a PSP site so one lucky winner will walk away with these goodies:

• A brand spanking new Sony PlayStation Portable unit.
• A Neuros Video Recorder 2 device.
• A PSP backpack so you can take your game on the go!

Read the full article to see just how you can enter for a chance win!

[Buy the Neuros Video Recorder 2]

All of us, in one way or another, are always thinking of a way out of eating your veggies, going to the dentist or even taking a bath. And what better way to start your road on being an escapologist than to be a character named Mr. Esc in a game called Kangeru Exit. You'll be a regular Houdini in no time.

Kangaeru Exit or roughly "Thinking of an Exit" is a follow up to the highly popular action/puzzle game Exit by Taito. Part of your mission as Mr. Esc is to lead to lead helpless individuals, trapped by fire, earthquakes and other disasters, out of hospitals, underground facilities, offices and other buildings within a specified time limit. In this first ever gameplay footage for the game, you'll be treated to the new Egyptian level. Every respectable escapologist needs a sidekick in tow. You'll be able to see Dog and Macho in action as they try to help Mr. Esc.. err.. escape.

Kangaeru Exit will be available on September 7 of this year, with reportedly over 100 stages, for ¥5,040 or $43.64 USD.

Download: [Kangaeru Exit Gameplay Footage]