EA Games have revealed their plans for Battlefield Heroes, a cartoon shooter with Battlefield style gameplay, which will be completely free to download and play later this year. >

The Team Fortress-esque cartoon style of the game will lend itself toward quick and easy access for a mass audience. A built in matchmaking system will ensure the fairest experience possible when dealing with such large numbers.

It’s one of those rarer occassions where we can congratulate EA Games on giving gamers what they want, at a reasonable price. We’ll pay good money for a game with a bit of depth, but if we’re after some quick fun, its still pretty unreasonable to fork over a few bucks. By revenue earned through advertising and microtransactions, EA are able to distribute this game to everyone, which is a win-win situation for all.

Battlefield Heroes will be hitting the web for PC downloads in summer 2008.

via GameInformer

Quarterly financial statements are not exactly the kind of place where you would drop big news like this, but that’s how Ubisoft chooses to roll. According to said statement, fiscal year 2008 - 2009 will see the arrival of a new Prince of Persia title.

But that’s pretty much the extent of the details. Ubisoft are unwilling to divulge any information as to which platforms will be getting it, or who they’ve got working on the project

via IGN

Got a dark sense of humor and a hate for the mockery that is made of “scientific research” by the Japanese whaling body – maybe it’s time you were introduced to Harpooned. Harpooned is a game where you take on the roll of a Japanese Whaling boat hell bent on researching the lovable creatures.

The games creator Conor O’Kane developed the game to make people more aware of the current situation. When questioned about the controversy the game is stirring up Conor says:

“If people [are] offended by the game they should be even more offended by real whaling. I hope people make the next logical step and realise that reality is much worse than a video game. The more people tell their friends about how disgusting it is, the better … it puts more pressures on the whalers.”

If you are keen to see how many cans of pet food and whale burgers you can rack up in the name of science you can download Harpooned here.

via NineMSN

The arcade smash Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and the neglected Xbox game Psychonauts are currently free to play at Gametap - although unfortunately for Mac heads, the latter won’t work in the OS X client.

It’s that time of the week again where our favorite reviewer rips into some poor developer’s sleepless nights with laced compliments and downright vitriol. However in this week’s review of Crysis, our beloved Yahtzee seems to bestow some degree of praise upon the game. Come again?

via The Escapist

THQ have signed up to distribute their games digitally with digital download company Gamer’s Gate. Currently the deal includes worldwide access to Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance as well as the original titles Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander. There are also plans to bring S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Full Spectrum Warrior, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights and the upcoming Frontlines: Fuels of War to the service.

However, “worldwide” does not seem to include Australia and New Zealand, which is pretty disappointing.

via Gamers Hell

What with Duke Nukem Forever getting a trailer release it seems like it’s the season for releasing trailers of games that we thought were dead. This time it’s Highlander, that was initially announced in 2004. Like the Duke Nukem trailer this one is void of any game play and is of pretty crappy quality. On the upside the voice acting seems pretty good and it looks like it had some pretty intricate and expansive backgrounds.

via Game Trailers

If Guitar Hero fuels the fantasy of being a guitar god, then Guitar Wizard will provide the tools to actually make that happen, on a real guitar. It’s the next logical step for novices who have never picked up a six-string before Guitar Hero, or those who have found traditional teaching methods unengaging and inefficient.

Guitar Wizard teaches you through method alone, making no reference to music theory - with each string designated a shape and each fret color coded. As songs play, the shapes and colors move across the screen in a manner akin to Guitar Hero. The resulting drawback is that instead of referring to E, B and G strings, you’ll forever know them as diamond, heart and square strings.

The set up isn’t too badly priced either. During a hands on interview at CES, Guitar Wizard’s makers have quoted a full package cost of US$300, and that includes a Washburn guitar, MIDI pickup and software. If you’ve got your own guitar, you’ll only need to purchase a MIDI pickup and software for US$150.

Hit the jump for a hands on demo and interview at CES
(more…)

Ever thought that regular football was a bit tame, and that it could do with a healthy dose of orcs? Well, someone in the late 80’s obviously did when they created the table top game Blood Bowl, which features an American League Football style game in the Warhammer universe. Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studios are bringing Blood Bowl into the 21st century with a video game adaptation that is quite unique, in that nerds and jocks will love the subject matter.

The game features two modes of play, a standard sports game mode like Madden , and a faithful-to-the-original table top mode. Blood Bowl should be out late 2008 for both PC and Xbox 360.

via BBPS

This new clip from Capcom explains Bionic Commando’s swinging action. If you were thinking it would simply be an automatic lock-on system like the Spider-Man games then think again – Bionic Commando is going to require some skill. I’m sure the game will get intuitive once you get the hang of it, but it’s possible the beginning difficulty will deter a few gamers.

via Game Trailers