×
Back left
Back right

Celebs, Madagascar, Rhianna, EA's NFS, the PSP 3000 and Skate 2

Oct 20, 2008

It's cold outside so it's the perfect time to stay inside and catch up on the latest gaming news! We have a pile this week, including exclusive videos for EA's Celebrity Sports Showdown and the Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa game. Check 'em out here, plus a new mode for EA's Need For Speed Undercover, the PSP 3000, Skate 2's wipeout options, a religious freakout over Sony's Little Big Planet and a double-dose of news about Rhianna Pratchett and her award-winning game stories. Check it out here, plus the list of all the new games that drop this week for every game system from Nintendo DS to Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PSP and even for your PC!

Sports + Celebrities + You!

EA's Celebrity Sports Showdown lets you team up with, or compete against, ten celebrity musicians and athletes in 12 wacky games. We have an exclusive video for you, plus more info, just hit the link!
  • Celebrity Sports Showdown :: Wii Game Preview
  • Get Outta Africa!

    The crazy animals from the Madagascar movie are back in a new adventure - Madagascar Escape 2 Africa. To celebrate, we grabbed an exclusive video for you to check out, here's a link for you.
  • Madagascar Escape 2 Africa: Exclusive Preview Video
  • Missing Planet

    It's not Pluto, it's EA's Little Big Planet - the game got yanked at the last minute when Sony found out that some of the in-game songs have lyrics from the Qu'ran in them. People were freaking because the lyrics can be translated to "Every soul shall have the taste of death" and "All that is on earth will perish." Sounds freaky right?

    Well it's baloney. Seriously people, calm down. Those are the translations, but it's like taking something your mom says like, oh... "Don't play in traffic, you'll get hit by a truck!" and leaving out the "Don't play in traffic" part so it comes across as "You'll get hit by a truck!" which, if that's all you says, does sounds kinda freaky.

    After some checking with a source here's a better idea of what the lyrics mean:
  • "Every soul shall have the taste of death" - It's part of a verse that says "Everybody is going to die eventually, so live a good life."
  • "All that is on earth will perish." - The full verse means more like "Divinity will last forever but the mortal world won't, so be good and spiritual in your life."

  • These aren't 100% precise translations, but they're much closer to the proper meaning. Not so freaky now are they? Oh, and the game is coming, it's just going to be a little late so they can replace the music.

    Free Running Video Game

    EA's upcoming Mirror's Edge is all about Faith, a courier in the future, running through the city in the middle of a giant pile of corporate villainy. It's written by the award-winning Rhianna Pratchett and was shown off to all the hardcore folks at the 2008 Free Running World Championships. Check out that video, plus the story of how Faith trained to be a runner, right here.
  • Mirror's Edge – Free Running Video - .mov file (165MB)
  • Mirror's Edge – Faith Training Video - .mov file (165MB)
  • This Gamer Girl's Got Minions!

    Mirror's Edge hasn't hit stores yet, but Rhianna's already back to work! She wrote the story for the first Overlord game and now she's back for the sequels. Overlord lets you play as an evil supervillain who comes back from... vacation? Visiting your mom? A really big poo? Well, whatever, you come back to find that heroes sacked your lair and smoked most of your minions. Grabbing the few that are left, you set out to rebuild your evil empire. Mwa-ha-ha!

    Big Action, Little Box

    Sony's new PSP-3000 is coming your way with a snazzier screen and a built-in microphone to make your multiplayer gaming and Skype calls that much cooler. Oh! And, you can get it with a copy of the fantastic Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters game for $200.

    Car Fight!

    EA's Need For Speed Undercover has some serious racing action on the way, including a new Highway Battle mode for settling things with the competition. Check it out!
  • Need For Speed Undercover – Highway Battle Video - .mov file (82MB)
  • Pain-Free Skateboard Wipeouts

    Major skateboard wipeouts are kinda cool, except for the part where you slam into the ground and end up in major agony. EA feels your pain and, with their new Hall of Meat video, show you how you can have all the awesome wipeouts you want without even breaking a nail. Check it out!
  • Skate 2 – Hall of Meat Video - .mov file (395MB)
  • What Video Games are Dropping This Week?

  • Oct 22 - Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Make the Grade! for Xbox 360.
  • Oct 21 - Backyard Football '09 for DS, PC, PS2 and Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp for DS, PS2 and Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Build-A-Bear Workshop: A Friend Fur All Seasons for Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia for DS.
  • Oct 21 - Circus Games for Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Crash: Mind Over Mutant for PSP.
  • Oct 21 - Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 for Xbox 360.
  • Oct 21 - Dancing With The Stars: Get Your Dance On for DS and Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Disney Sing It for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Ener-G: Dance Squad for DS.
  • Oct 21 - Ener-G: Gym Rockets for DS.
  • Oct 21 - Ener-G: Horse Riders for DS.
  • Oct 21 - Eternal Sonata for PS3.
  • Oct 21 - High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance for Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Master of the Monster Lair for DS.
  • Oct 21 - Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution for Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Pet Pals: Animal Doctor for Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Petz Rescue: Wildlife Vet for Wii.
  • Oct 22 - Portal: Still Alive for Xbox 360.
  • Oct 21 - Spider-Man: Web of Shadows for DS, PC, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Spider-Man: Web of Shadows - Amazing Allies Edition for PSP and PS2.
  • Oct 21 - Star Ocean: First Departure for PSP.
  • Oct 21 - The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon for PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
  • Oct 21 - Tornado for DS.
  • Oct 21 - Transformers: Animated - The Game for DS.
  • Related Stories:

  • Star Wars, Pokemon, Spider-Man, Tomb Raider, Sonic and Skate 2
  • Madagascar Escape 2 Africa: Exclusive Preview Video
  • Celebrity Sports Showdown :: Exclusive Wii Game Preview Videos
  • Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Developer Q&A
  • Related Articles