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The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is set to begin next month but even this early, interesting details are slowly popping up. Giant game developer and publisher Electronic Arts just announced the games it will be showing off at the said conference.And we`re telling you, it`s a well-selected list:CrysisHellgate: LondonMercenaries 2: World in Flames (360 and PS3)Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (360, PS3, PC)Portal (360, PS3, PC)Team Fortress 2 (360, PS3, PC)EA clarified that these games will not be displayed on the show floor. According to Eurogamer, they will be showcased in a reception running parallel to GDC. However, it is worth mentioning that EA will be a part of the main conference; EA is scheduled to discuss important topics such as creating believable AI athletes in sports games and EA Montreal`s plans for new IPs.The company is also a part of a Maxis session that will talk about how The Sims would be making its way to Wii.

GamesIndustry caught up with Steven Nix, director of business management at iD Software, and managed to ask a few questions. One of them was about episodic content. "We would have to see the model proven a little bit more," Nix said.From where we sit, Valve Corporation must have felt that episodic content was sound; they released Half-Life 2 in episodes, each advancing the story. iD didn`t share the sentiment, as Nix explained. "I don t think (story or narrative is) the key reason people buy a game." In iD`s opinion, game innovation is the factor that drives game sales: gameplay innovation, graphical innovation. "The problem with episodic is how do you make something really compelling gameplay-wise or technology-wise in that short of a window (between episodes)? I don`t know how you do it - it`s just really challenging."True enough, although we feel that one of the rationales behind episodic content is that the narrative, the story has enough of its own hook to draw in the gamers. Nix said that he believed narrative was important, but not that important.Probably means that we won`t be seeing any Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Episode (x). On the other hand, Nix revealed that iD software currently has a couple of "interesting things" being worked on, and particularly mentioned the Xbox 360 as a lead SKU.

Remember Epic Games` Integrated Partners Program (IPP)? It`s actually a formal business relationship where other companies integrate their own engines to Unreal Engine to produce cross-platform technologies. Early signatories include SpeedTreeRT, Kynogon and Digimask, and Fonix.Anyway, Epic was able to enlist another company that will bring light and joy to UE 3 in more ways than one. UK-based Geomerics is set to incorporate its engine Enlighten with that of Epic`s.According to the technology development maker, Enlighten will alter the way lighting is handled in games by allowing more dynamic lighting effects to be computed during run time.Epic Games VP Mark Rein is quite excited as he mentioned, "It is great to have Geomerics on board for the Integrated Partners Program. We look forward to seeing how their customers take advantage of the integration between their lighting technology and Unreal Engine 3."Members of IPP receive complete source code access as well as full technical support from Epic Games.

THQ announced today that they have shipped their real-time strategy game for PC, Supreme Commander. The game is now on retail stores all over North America.Developed by Gas Powered Games and long-time RTS designer Chris Taylor, Supreme Commander features a full Theatre Of War zoom function, making it easier for you to scan the expanse of battlefields and take control over land, sea, and air units. Chris Taylor says, "Supreme Commander is enormous in every sense of the word - from its unprecedented scope and scale to its superior command and control functions - this is RTS gaming on a whole new scale."Supreme Commander can now be bought in your nearest retail store. Or you can also have it digitally downloaded via www.direct2drive.com. It sells for the suggested price of US 49.99.

As the release of Command ` Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC and Xbox 360) nears this coming March, the race to find out as much information about the latest addition to the C`C series continues. Well, if you`re a die-hard C`C fan, this video is QJ`s blowout for today. In full HD glory, you can view a teaser to the story of Tiberium Wars and get a sneak peek at their new actors, including bug crushing Rasczak of "Starship Troopers" and Models 6 and 7 of the Cylons from "Battlestar: Galactica".If you can point them out (6 is kind of hard to see, she is shrouded in the dark), then you must be more than just a fan of C`C! The return of Kane, the arrival of the Scrinn, the endless war for control of Tiberium...it`s the C`C story in a whole new cinematic light. While we`re all waiting for the demo of C`C3 to come out, we guess we`d all have to settle for this for the time being.

Yikes! Way to douse the RTS gamers` spirits. File Planet and Worth Playing highlighted that the demo to Command ` Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (for the Xbox 360 and PC) should come out February 20. Where is it, you ask? Well, we were about to ask that, too. Someone just beat us to it.A contact with Electronic Arts was able to get some information out from a representative. He said, "A lot of confusion has been stirring about the release of our demo. For starters, it is not releasing today. We should have a public demo news alert going out very soon that will explain exactly when the demo is coming out. All I can tell you is that its looking good for sooner than later."There`s a lot of talk regarding EA`s reason why they are not releasing the demo today. The number one topic for today? Supreme Commander`s release in the U.S. ( braces for ranting ) The demo is expected to come out next week. File Planet`s Download Manager has put a new date on the demo`s availability: February 26, 2007. Here`s to hoping, folks! So all we have to look out for now is the new "Live Action" trailer released lately.

This year, RTS fans have two major games coming their way. The first is the successor to the original Command ` Conquer universe - Command ` Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars by Electronic Arts. And the second is the spiritual successor to the underdog sandbox RTS Total Annihilation, rechristened by THQ as Supreme Commander.The difference between the two games is huge. Their fan base is even more humongous. And their opinions? Well, lately, there`s been a flurry of RTS fan huffs and puffs, and not surprisingly, they revolve around these two particular games. There should be a third contender, but right now it`s just rumored. The ish? Which game takes the cake and which one kicks the bucket? Being a fan of both games, I don`t see why people have to choose between the two. Both games are RTS titans by right because of their rich history in the game industry and their RTS feature ensemble. Still believe you have to choose? Then dive into a multi-part, detailed look into the two games, from a fan`s point of view.Today, we take a look at both games and their history.Part 1 - Classic RTS or innovative RTS?If there`s something an RTS fan should be asking, it would sound something like that. C`C3 was promised to become a revival of the old C`C (yes, the very first). Combining the old classic story and the whole revved up, spruced-up engine, Electronic Arts Los Angeles hoped to sink C`C back into its roots, after getting lost somewhere in the lackluster Command ` Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun.The series all went sideways the first time the people over at Westwood Studios shipped out Command ` Conquer: Red Alert. The game brought the C`C universe in parallel with ours, historically, involving a twist introduced by the concept of time travel and altering the past. It was a huge success, mainly for its creative story twist and its ability to run smoothly on Windows 95 and Windows 98. It came with successful expansions, too - namely, Red Alert: Aftermath and Red Alert: Counterstrike.When succeeded by C`C2: Tiberian Sun and Tiberian Sun: Firestorm, the whole series just plunked straight down to the Netherworlds. The bland story, the marginally nice graphics, and the introduction of sneaky underground engineer raids brought about a mixed reaction about the game. But overall, the game was really, really, really bad. To some fans, it was totally "Ewww!" But to gamers like myself, it was just a disappointment.When Westwood shipped out Command ` Conquer: Red Alert 2, the series totally unrelated to the original C`C universe saved the C`C name by a long shot. The game`s story, even though similar to the first Red Alert, was a refreshing look at how fun the game could be, and it even sported a bald-headed antagonist, Yuri. The game was hella fun for RTS gamers, even though it sported slightly improved graphics than Tiberian Sun.Then after a weird Yuri`s Revenge sporting aliens (Hmmm, well whadda ya know? That`s probably where the idea for the Scrinn came from) and a completely out of this world storyline, EA decided that they could do something totally different (gee whiz, really?) and created Command ` Conquer Generals to model after the real world war that Bush was waging in the East.The game was addictive, but slow. I mean, dagnabbit! It was really chugging. Fast machines couldn`t push the game`s usual envelope unless they were bleeding edge, and the idea detracted some of the more casual gamers from playing. Thanks to computer gaming cafes, the game still became popular, and so did its expansion, Command ` Conquer Generals: Zero Hour.What did Generals sacrifice for the demonstration of supposed real-world technology in an RTS? Character. It lacked anything comparable to the sexy and equally lethal one-woman-army Tanya Adams or the evil comedian Nod leader Kane. While each side had its own side of the story, neither one was really catchy, unless you were a die-hard patriot.C`C3 itself sports new styles of gameplay, depending on the player`s playing style, of course. Taking off from the engine of Command ` Conquer: Generals, the new graphics engine now sports a more destructible environment with immense unit detail (like Company of Heroes), although it still seems limited in unit variations, just like Generals.To PC fans in America, the game may arrive on May 28 (they did say it was coming out alongside SC on February 20, but that doesn`t seem likely). Europe may be getting their versions by December 31, 2007. Now that`s quite a huge gap, but whatever the reason may be, it currently bears no weight for the game nor against it. SC on the other hand, was made to improve on Chris Taylor`s last known classic RTS, CaveDog Entertainment`s Total Annihilation. The game, featuring absolutely no actors other than disembodied voice actors (or at least, that`s how it felt), lacked a good story. No. Wait, scratch that. It lacked a story. There was one in-game, but it was pretty flat, despite the twist in the middle of the campaign.Then how did it get so popular? The game just encouraged your strategic creativity. There were also so many ways to win, because rushes weren`t the only sure path to victory. It was here the names of "bombard boy", "handsome base", "hardpoint whore", and "skipper" were born. They describe the types of commanders they were, not including the really crafty ones. They usually got the names-that-would-be-censored-here.After the flop the TA series had (brought about by the hairball known as Total Annihilation: Kingdoms), people clamored for Total Annihilation 2. Then CaveDog never recovered from the "play dead" trick and the hopes for a new installment to the series died with them.Soon enough, the desire for the game was so great that a few hardcore fans soon got together to recreate TA from scratch. Reborn as TASpring, the open-source, system-hogging game powered by the Spring RTS engine gave a short relief to fans of the game, regardless of the many glitches it still sports today. Multiplayer was the only way to experience the old game properly.Then when RTS-slash-comedian Chris Taylor jumped in to the fray, announcing that he was at work on a "rumored" TA 2 title, fans were quick to hound Gas Powered Games for more details. Like the comedian he was, he just brushed off his shoulder and jokingly bade his time. Developments into the title soon gave way to immense criticisms, both positive and negative.On February 20, the years of waiting should end and American TA fans will be able to relive the glory days in a whole improved, grand-scale package. European fans have already grabbed the game and have experienced it first-hand.Got something to add? Do it here. But hey, keep it clean guys. This ain`t no battleground. You can air out all your frustrations in SC`s demo or C`C3`s demo when it comes out. Stay tuned, for there`s a part two in the works.

Recently, we reported police findings on the case of Sulejman Talovic, an 18-year-old Bosnian refugee who walked into the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah and went shooting into the crowd, killing five and wounding four. The police never found any evidence that violent video games may have influenced Talovic. In fact, they never even found any computer game or video game system in Talovic`s home.But now, another lead surfaced: Talovic`s friend, Enes Kadic (left pic), claims that his friend Sulejman did play computer games. Kadic, who went to seventh grade with Talovic, said that "combat games, fighting games, Super Mario..." are the sort of games that Talovic liked to play. Talovic also liked to watch movies with violence, his friend said. "He liked watching fighting movies. He liked watching those fist-fighting movies and movies where they shoot each other. He liked watching those type of movies," he added.According to Kadic, Talovic was quiet and not very talkative. He kept mostly to himself and didn`t leave his house after school. At least once a week, though, Kadic would convince his shy friend to watch movies at his house or play video games at Talovic`s house. This new evidence leaves us all out in the open. Still, the fact that Talovic did play computer games is a poor indication that Talovic was convinced to shoot people because of gaming influence. His eight-grade math teacher at Hillside Intermediate School, Virginia Lee, said that Talovic was just a young man who wanted to be social, to belong.Talovic`s friend Kadic says that he still cannot believe it was his friend who did the shooting claiming that "it`s pretty crazy to me he did that. He`s the last person on Earth I thought would do that." Talovic may have been any one of us, and we do feel sorry for his victims.The gunman might have had his reasons for going postal that day, yet must we always point blame on the gaming industry? After all, we`ve never heard of anybody else going on a shooting rampage after a round of playing Super Mario...

It seems Left Behind games got left behind in the marketplace, as their financial results are showing less than stellar results. The developer revealed their third-quarter financial results, posting a loss of US 4.1 million, as opposed to the US 934,000 it lost the year previous.Sales of their game have been going steadily, despite reports to the contrary. The company`s saying it picked up US 2.2 million for the first six weeks since the release of their controversial flagship title, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, which is a spin off from the popular series of books of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. They still expect this to grow, however, as they expand their sales markets and release an expansion in the future. For now, Troy Lyndon, Left Behind Games` CEO, notes that they`re far from giving up, expecting to turn a profit in 12 months. Said Mr. Lyndon, We have spent nearly five years building a company and these results only represent the first six weeks of our sales... Now that we have distribution into more than 10,000 retail locations, we expect to have significantly more revenues and reach profitability in less than 12 months.

Green is "in" as the heroes in a half-shell let loose in their upcoming CGI movie and adventure game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, for the PC, X360, Wii, DS and PSP. Set in a New York City besieged by bizarre beasts and shadowy figures, the fearsome foursome embark on their toughest mission yet as they struggle to maintain the ties that bind them as a unit.The movie delves into the subject of adolescent angst as Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael do everything to maintain their focus emotionally while trying to deal with all the ruckus in their hometown. Now, more than ever, Leonardo must step up on that leadership plate with the assistance of the fatherly Master Splinter to get things back in line again.Meanwhile, Ubisoft promises a game that will appeal to everyone by delivering good graphics, explosive ninjitsu driven gameplay, tag-team moves and interesting enemies. The Montreal-based game maker draws the plot straight out of the movie with the addition of a few twists. Download: [TMNT Trailer]

A concert as a closer? Sounds good. That`s exactly what the Game Developers Conference (GDC) is planning, and it has recently announced that legendary Nintendo composer Koji Kondo will be one of the performers for the Video Games Live`s return to the GDC. Kondo is best known for his work on such beloved franchises as Mario and Zelda."There is clearly no game music more recognizable around the world than the themes that Mr. Kondo has created over the years." said Video Games Live executive producer and co-creator Tommy Tallarico. "What an incredible honor to have such a true legend in the gaming world join us on stage to celebrate video game music and the wonderful industry surrounding it."Apart from Kondo, Martin Leung, the Video Game Pianist, will also be performing a brand new classic video game arrangement. A rare special acoustic performance by the original LucasArts composers performing a medley of classics from games such as Monkey Island, Outlaws and Grim Fandango is also in the lineup. Voice-over legend Dee Baker will also be on stage, and guitarist and video game artist Chris Kline - aka "vertexguy" - will be debuting his live synchronized Contra "Jungle Theme" rock-n-roll presentation.After the performance, there will be a meet-and-greet where fans can interact with videogame composers and designers. A whopping 20 luminaries (names yet to be announced) are slated to be at the event.Video Games Live will be held at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium on Friday, March 9 at 8 P.M. Tickets are priced from US 38.50 to US 65 at LiveNation.com.

While the PSP and PS2 versions of SBK: Superbike World Championship are still on schedule for their end of April release, Eurogamer reports that the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game will only be available come October. Black Bean Games spokesperson Livio Cantagallo told Eurogamer, however, that the demo will be ready "near the end of the summer." At least fans will get something to pass the time with while they`re waiting for the official releases.There has also been no confirmation yet regarding the rumored PS3 version. According to Cantagallo, "We are going to think about a PS3 version, because we are just moving onto the next-generation consoles, starting with the Xbox 360 as it`s similar to the PC."

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that Vista sales are lower than expected, according to GamesIndustry.biz. Apparently, sales forecasts for Vista were "overly optimistic".What is Microsoft`s master plan to boost Vista sales? They plan to make Vista`s anti-piracy measures even tougher. If they can make Vista piracy-proof, then they will sell more copies in countries where piracy is rampant (Ballmer gave China, India, Brazil, and Russia as examples).But stricter anti-piracy measures may harm innocent customers.Vista`s security measures have already caused bugs that crashed games or made some games unplayable.GamesIndustry.biz said, "Some critics have claimed the anti-piracy features of Vista are excessive and can cause serious problems for users, but Ballmer said they could be extended even further if necessary."Fighting piracy is good, and making more money to be reinvested into better operating systems (and gaming technology) is laudable, but we sincerely hope that the Microsoft powers-that-be will not sacrifice customer satisfaction and our gameplay experience in their zeal to improve Vista sales.

"Best Selling Fantasy and Science Fiction Author Darren Reid is to release his debut fifty page graphic novel as a free download on March 9th," says the press release from NextGenBooks.com and DarrenReid.co.uk about "Xevicom Forever," a graphic novel (comic book) that was Darren Reid`s first writing project. "Xevicom Forever" predates all of Darren Reid`s currently in-print work."Xevicom Forever" follows the story of three new heroes in "the nightmarish future of Xevicom city." The press release describes the novel as "a dark and twisted tale of broken lives and shattered dreams" and "a glimpse into the lives of the three protagonists and a hint of what it takes for a man to become a hero."The graphics were made by Michael Bushnell, Alex Cowles, and George Williams - "three of Britain`s best up and coming artists."Wizard magazine (the world`s largest comic book magazine) liked "Xevicom Forever," and so do we. And hey, it`s free. So download it on March 9, 2007 - the offer is available for a limited time only for:PCWiiPS3PSPDSiPod (The press release made no mention of this, but we assume there will be one; his other projects have iPod versions.)Darren Reid is also known for his "Sword of Oz" interactive ebook project that we`ve written about in previous articles.

If the GamerDad online ad is any indication, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is taking more stringent measures to improve its ratings for any upcoming video game under its watch. In relation to this previous news, ESRB head Patricia Vance is announcing another major step by discussing plans for the board to hire full-time raters by this April. As she explained:Having full-time raters will allow for each [rater] to have greater experience actually reviewing content and recommending ratings, given the increased amount of time each one would spend doing it. This would provide each rater with a greater sense of historical parity for ratings, not to mention helping them to be more attuned to pertinent content and how it should be considered from a ratings standpoint.Vance further detailed that these full-time raters would be assigned to play-test final versions of the game from start to end. This in turn would allow the ESRB to play-test a larger amount of games with the rest of its part-time testers, most of whom would be the volunteers from sites like GamerDad.It will be remembered that game retailer GameStop is taking up similar cudgels with its "Respect the Ratings" campaign, which promotes heightened game rating awareness among parents. On the other hand, could the ESRB be simply jumping the gun on Senator Sam Brownback`s recently re-introduced "Truth in Video Game Ratings" Act? Then again, while the notion of such campaigns does leave some with a sour taste, it seems to be the better half of some of the heavier penalties being cooked up in congress...

"We get asked that a lot," admitted Pete Hines, Vice President-PR/Marketing for Bethesda, when Pro-G UK asked him if the company had any plans for an Elder Scrolls MMORPG. The interview is centered around the Shivering Isles expansion to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC, Xbox 360, PS3), and the MMO bit came towards the end, but because they "get asked that a lot," we`re going to clear that up first.The answer is no, not really, Pete explained his opinion that they couldn`t do an Elder Scrolls MMO "unless it was with some fresh idea that no one has ever tried before." This isn`t an unqualified "no," though. "Certainly, there`s a chance, it`s something we`ve talked about, but it`s not anywhere in our immediate future." The key is to come up with that "something new" that will work in an MMO environment, and as it stands with Oblivion on the one hand, and World of Warcraft on the other, it just won`t work.The problem is that they are very different experiences. If you play Oblivion then everything you do in the world is about permanence - the world literally revolves around you. I finished that quest, it stays finished and if I kill someone he stays dead. With MMOs anything you do in World of Warcraft can be done by someone else two minutes later. That guy is going to respawn two minutes later and that other guy still needs a trinket even though you just gave it to him.In Elder Scrolls stuff not related to MMOs, though, Hines said that Bethesda`s current aims are to wrap the Shivering Isles expansion and the PS3 Oblivion up, then move to Fallout 3. A future Elder Scrolls sequel isn`t being ruled out, not after Oblivion`s success, but it`s not in the cards as of now.

It`s called nostalgia, heritage, classic. Rockstar Games` top-down open-world shooters Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 set the stage for what would be the defining game of the series, Grand Theft Auto 3 on the PS2. We`re now at GTA (insert city here) Stories for the PSP, and the coming GTA IV for the PS3 and Xbox 360 - such a long way from those good old days. Rockstar Games and Rockstar North bring the good old days back - for free. They have made GTA and GTA2 free online downloadables, along with the 3D vehicle combat title Wild Metal. The link below takes you to the Rockstar Classics page, with instructions on and requirements for downloading each title. You will have to submit some name and contact info as a prerequisite in the process.

So who is your favorite turtle? You better get deciding on it now, cos Ubisoft`s turtle-powered game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, will soon be trudging along your Xbox 360, PS2, Wii, and PC come March 20th.Alright, for those of you not really acquainted with these guys from the sewers of Manhattan (hey, it ain`t much, but it is home for them), here`s a brief re-introduction. They are brothers, they love pizza, and they are all under the guardianship of their sensei, the bathrobe-donning rat, Master Splinter. Leonardo is deemed as the de facto leader of the four, and is very decisive. His preferred form of martial arts is Bushido, and he wears the blue mask. Raphael can be said to be the most aggressive one among the bunch. He won`t back down, and in fact will not hesitate to initiate the action. Oh, and he`s sarcastic and angsty. Typical teenager, eh? He`s got the red mask, and his weapon of choice is the sai.Meanwhile, Michelangelo is the laid back, orange-masked turtle, and is considered to be the comic relief of the group. But that doesn`t mean he can`t be depended on when it comes to fights. He`s got his trusty nunchaku with him all the time for good measure. And the last, but not the least, is the scientific, objective, tech-geek Donatello. Being motivated by all that is rational, he is the least violent of them all, and would rather deal with conflict through reason than action.Get to know them, and know them well. After all, the new TMNT game will feature mostly Single-Player campaigns for each turtle. Oh, and as you will see from the vid, you get to play your fave one. So, who`s it gonna be?