A bit of bad news has arrived regarding the entity that's now known as Activision Blizzard. The company sent out a press wire announcing that only five of Vivendi's games are expected to be published, leaving the future of the company's other titles in question. Further details are available in the full article.

*Update* Ghostbusters is still in development.
*Update 2* Brutal Legend has also left limbo.

If you enjoyed the last Nordic Game conference and are looking forward to this year's event, we've got some news for you. Quite a number of big name speakers will be sharing their thoughts at the Business and Production part of the program. To find out who will at the event, head on over to the full article.

The industry-focused leg of the Games Convention at GCDC 2007 will take place">Leipzig is expected to break its previous record of 650 attendees, after Leipziger Messe GmbH announced through press wire that the registered attendee tally for the 2007 event has hit 850 attendees. The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) will take place on August 20-22, just before the consumer and retailer exhibition.

 

Hailing from 35 countries all over the globe - 60 percent from the North American and UK regions - participants have the opportunity to witness the delivery of more than 80 event keynotes from over 120 speakers. And representatives from their respective industry segments - namely handheld, mobile, console, PC, Mac, and online markets - will expound on visions, themes and issues relevant to the industry's times.

Although much of the planned discussions will be focused on the industry side, there will also be discussions on how society and political bodies can properly recognize the gaming industry, and the significance of associations representing the game industry to the outside world.

And in another note, Leipziger Messe has particularly named Tim Schafer of Double Fine Production (Grim Fandango, Psychonauts) to deliver his keynote speech entitled "Games and Creativity," adapted for the new age of game development. If memory serves us right, Schafer and his studio has been secretly at work on a game project under Vivendi's revived Sierra Entertainment label.

It was claimed to be titled "Brutal Legend", but that has been under question for some time since it was retracted. But if former Leipzig revelations are were groundbreaking, then you may count that fellow blogger Schafer will spill more details on his ambitious "labor of love."

The 2007 Games Convention Developers Conference opening remarks will be delivered by none other than the Chairman of the European Games Development Forum (EGDF), Fred Hasson. More GC and GCDC news coming your way, before the Leipzig-filled week begins next Monday.

If you're a fan of the Aliens versus Predator series, you'll undoubtedly remember the awesome PC game of the same name that was developed by Rebellion back in 1999. The same developers are reportedly working on a new Aliens versus Predator game for the PlayStation Portable which will be based on the upcoming movie sequel this Christmas.

Currently, very few details are known about the game aside from a few screenshots of the game which show that it will most likely be played from a third-person perspective, and that it will be published by Sierra. CVG got a chance to talk with Rebellion who says that "we're [Rebellion] happy to be working with Sierra, but can't comment just yet in any more detail."

We can't help but be excited at what playable characters will be in Aliens versus Predator for the PSP. It would be really cool if they included predator-alien hybrids as well as some powerloaders for Colonial Marines. Be sure to keep checking back here for more updates on this game.

Very intense and deliberate gameplay headed for you in this E3 video update of SWAT: Target Liberty for the PSP. We get you the skinny on what's new with the tactical squad-based game that's all about intimidation.

In the first video, Stronghold infiltration, we get to see the squad in action as they infiltrate deep into enemy territory - and from the looks of things, it seems that controls are quite intuitive, as we see all three squad members working in unison with no messy menus popping up. Graphics are smooth, detailed, and very sharp. We also get to hear the squad's colorful vocabulary in terms of persuading potential hostiles and civilians to surrender.

The second video shows more of the same gameplay, as well as a very well-animated breaching of a secured door by way of two shots from a shotgun rifle, and a well-aimed mule kick. It's to note that your squad members talk and chat with you throughout the mission when they're not shouting the usual profanity - it lends realism to the game, as well as a sense of tension.

Enough spoilers from us, enjoy the videos.

The other video after the jump!

Sierra Entertainment has circulated a new fact sheet for their upcoming PSP title SWAT: Target Liberty. The game is currently in development by 3G Studios and boasts of an all-new story penned by The Shield script writer Scott Rosenbaum. Here's a quick list of the game's primary features.

• Tactical/Squad-based gameplay – The only true PSP Tactical Squad-Based Shooter backed by an assortment of law enforcement experts.
• Randomized AI placement and level generation - Single Player includes random AI placement. Multiplayer contains random level generation, greatly increasing replayability. In addition there is a random killhouse generator for Multiplayer that creates new levels of varying sizes for a different experience every time.
• SWAT team development – SWAT: Target Liberty occupies a unique space in the shooter genre with its non-lethal means of completing mission without casualties and unnecessary kills to earn points and increase your team's stats and skills

The fact sheet also came with some new screenshots of the game. Check 'em out by clicking on the Full Article link below. SWAT Target Liberty is currently scheduled for release this fall.

Still remember the last trailer released for SWAT: Target Liberty? Well, with the E3 Media & Business Summit around the corner, Sierra Entertainment just released a rewound and remixed version of it just for the event. The new trailer practically features new sceneries and situations you can get into, with the same SWAT 4 antics on a top-down, squad-based tactical level.

3G Studios is probably planning a title showcasing of the game next week, although official announcements are scarce, and none have identified SWAT: Target Liberty as listed in Sierra's or Vivendi SA is a video game developer; formerly known as Vivendi Universal">Vivendi's feature lineup. The game is slowly edging its way to release this fall, probably by the start of Q4 2007.

The team of Joost, Thomas, and Paolo just made an announcement over their official site concerning the new version of emulator ScummVM. Basically, this program lets users run classic, graphical pint-and-click adventure games on different platforms.

Currently pegged at version 0.X.0 (and the homebrew coders lovingly refer to it as the Tic-Tac-Toe version), a lot have changed to ScummVM since the last release back in October last year. So that you won't get confused, here is the complete changelog for this version:

• Several new engines and thus new games supported:       
• Sierra AGI engine: Space Quest I & II, King's Quest I-III and many more, including a vast number of fan-made games
• Cinematique evo 1 engine: Future Wars
• GOB engine: Bargon Attack, Gobliins 2, Goblins 3, Ween: The Prophecy
• AGOS engine: Simon the Sorcerer's Puzzle Pack
• Parallaction engine: Nippon Safes Inc.
• Touche engine: The Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer
  
• DXA movies (higher quality than MPEG2) can be compressed better now and can be used for the Broken Sword cutscenes.
• Added "Mass Add" feature to the Launcher, which allows you to scan for all games in all subdirectories of a given directory (to use it, press shift then click on "Add Game").
• Many nice improvements to our ports.
• And as usual a gazillion small fixes, tweaks and improvements.

Download: ScummVM v0.10.0
Download: ScummVM v0.10.0 (source code)

Riviera: The Promised Land has come a long way from WonderSwan Color, to the Game Boy Advance, and now to the PlayStation Portable. The newest port boasts of new CG sequences, audio, and more. Today we've got some eye candy for the RPG lovers who've been waiting for the popular title.

For those who aren't familiar with the title, Atlus' Riviera: The Promised Land's story centers around five main characters: Ein, Fia, Lina, Serene, and Sierra. They are tasked to stop the demons from overrunning their world once again. The role-playing aspect of the game has a unique twist that makes it all the more fun: players can choose different actions or replies. In the screenshots, we see some of the interaction and then some.

Riviera: The Promised Land is set for a North American release on July, so here's to hoping the screenshots can tide you over until then. Enjoy!

More screenshots await after the jump!

Sierra released a few more screenshots from 3g Studios' upcoming third-person tactical shooter SWAT: Target Liberty today. You can check them out below all of the blocks of text immediately following this one.

SWAT: Target Liberty is a new title for the Sony PSP handheld system. Set in New York City and boasting of a story written by The Shield's Scott Rosenbaum, the game saddles players with the task of taking control of a special weapons and tactics team to thwart an ever-increasing number of international terrorist threats.

Each officer in the unit has a specialty and through the use of a unique skill system, player can upgrade their individual combat expertise to increase their chances of success. The game also has an ad-hoc multiplayer system and a variety of multiplayer game modes.

Sierra Entertainment has SWAT: Target Liberty slated for a Fall release.