'Course we love surfers. They have this cool accent, a smooth swagger when they walk, and those very attractive - uhh, beaks. And feathers. And real live webbed feet for padding through blue ocean waters - not the sort of flippers that humans attach to their gawky feet to help them swim.

We're talking about the surfers of Ubisoft's Surf's Up, an upcoming game on the PC, Playstation 3, PSP, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii. It's based on a movie to be released by Columbia Pictures, a comedy based on a teenager, Cody Maverick, leaving his home in Shiverpool, Antartica to travel to Pen Gu Island to fulfill his dreams of becoming a pro surfer.

Along the way he meets interesting characters such as Chicken Joe, Reggie Belafonte, Mikey Abromowitz, Lani Aliikai, and Geek. And did we ever tell you that the characters are penguins and a chicken? The game comes on May 22 for all of the above-mentioned platforms, as well as for the PS2, Gamecube and the GBA.

Look at these first screen shots from the upcoming game.

Activision has just released the official fact sheet for their line of Spider-Man 3 games. Based on Columbia Pictures' upcoming Spider-Man 3 movie, the games promise to give players a chance to experience both movie-based as well as original 3.

Among the features that they have cited in their fact sheet, Activision mentions that players will be able to not just take on the adventures of our favorite webslinger, but those of his evil alter-ego symbiote costume as well. By playing as Venom, our hero's strength increases dramatically. However, the catch is that the longer that you take on this dark persona, the harder it is to control its will, and there is a chance that it might even take over you completely.

Besides having Venom as an alternate persona, players will also be able to freely roam New York City and take on missions as they please. However, just remember that in such a vast city, villains are bound to be scattered all around, and you will have to choose which bombing, hostage crisis, robbery, or other incident you will attend to first if you want to be able to rescue all those who need rescuing.

Besides your familiar roster of supervillains, there are three city gangs and their followers which you will have to deal with. Considering that the new AI has been amped up, and a new combat system has been implemented, it can be assumed that controlling these hooligans won't be a cakewalk.

Bound for release this May, Spider-Man 3 will be making appearances on the Xbox 360, the PS3, the Wii, PSP, NDS, PS2, GBA, and the PC.

 

Just a couple of days ago, Yair Landau announced that Sony Pictures is working on the Metal Gear Solid movie. Now to support that is a report from Hollywood Reporter about Columbia Pictures is currently negotiating getting the rights to MGS.

Don't get confused. Columbia Pictures is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Anyway, Michael De Luca will be producing and Hideo Kojima himself will act as executive producer for the movie. The production team also includes Sony's Doug Belgrad and Sam Dickerman, Josh Bratman (who introduced the project to the company), and Rick Privman of JEA will also executive produce.

As the MGS series have spawned numerous merchandise (comic books, action figures, and guides), it's really no surprise that the movie would be most anticipated. The only thing we have to think about now is when will the movie be released.

And the bigger question... Who will play Solid Snake?

Electronic Arts announced today that actress Emmanuelle Vaugier will star in Need for Speed Carbon this autumn. Developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia, Need for Speed Carbon is EA's next game in the series that will combine Underground and Most Wanted gameplay. The game will be available for the 360, PS3, PS2, Xbox, GameCube, DS, PSP, GBA and PC.

Emmanuelle Vaugier has a recurring role on the CBS show Two and a Half Men. She has also recently starred in the films Saw 2 and 40 Days and 40 Nights, and was selected to Maxim’s annual top 100 females list in May. In Need for Speed Carbon, Emmanuelle stars as Nikki, the ex-girlfriend of the hero who has "returned to town to face his mysterious past." Five grand!

"Being able to work in a videogame for the first time and working with the Need For Speed Carbon team at EA has been a great experience for me. This is a game that evolves the racing genre, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it", Vaugier said. "Playing the role of Nikki allows me to take a completely fresh approach to acting and push the boundaries of the creative process."