BioWare and EA have collaborated to release Mass Effect Galaxy for the iPhone and iPod touch. It's available for purchase from the App Store for $5.

Based on BioWare's action role-playing game for the Xbox 360 and Windows, Mass Effect Galaxy is exclusive to the iPhone. It's a storytelling adventure with an animated graphic novel look and feel and very different gameplay from its forebear -- it uses tilt controls and is less "RPG-ish," better suited for the iPhone.

In Mass Effect Galaxy, you take the role of Jacob Taylor, trying to foil a plot to knock humanity off the galactic stage, hatched by alien terrorists who are preparing to stage a biological assault against the human race.

The game even features two man characters who will appear in Mass Effect 2, the upcoming sequel to the popular console and PC game.
Peter Cohen

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to analysts, the sequel to 2007's successful shooter Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will be the biggest entertainment release of all time, topping currently held records by Grand Theft Auto IV (which in turn topped previous champ Halo 3).

Analyst Mike Hickey of Janco Partners said of Modern Warfare 2's potential success "It's possible that the game could be one of the largest entertainment releases of all time. If you assume similar channel unit sales velocity as [Grand Theft Auto IV], the game could potentially sell through 7.8 million units globally with an estimated retail value of more than US$569 million in the first week... It's possible the game could sell through to consumers 4.6 million units globally with an estimated retail value of more than US$338 million in the first day." If Hickey's predictions hold true in the end, Modern Warfare 2 would topple Grand Theft Auto's first day sales record of US$310 million, which is currently the biggest entertainment release (video game or otherwise) in history.
Andy Burt (GamePro online)

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During Kevin and Bean's Breakfast radio show on Los Angeles station KROQ 106.7 FM, the band Green Day stopped by to perform some songs off of their latest album, 21st Century Breakdown.

After performing, a Q&A was held and a fan in the audience asked the band if they planned to release some songs for Rock Band. Billie Joe Armstrong, the lead singer of Green Day responded with:

"Yeah, we're doing a whole Rock Band, uh...(audience applause)" After the crowd died down at the news, the DJ asked when he expected it to come out. Armstrong replied, "I'm not sure, soon. Not this week soon, like this year soon, I think by the end of the year, something like that."

Whether it's going to be an exclusive Rock Band title like say, the upcoming Beatles Rock Band, or just some of their songs coming to the next Rock Band incarnation, remains to be seen.

What is clear however, is that although Green Day may know how to rock in the physical world, their Rock Band skills leaves much to be desired, as each member expressed how bad they were at the game.

"I've given it my best shot, but if you were born anytime before 1985 you're gonna suck."

While no full details on the game are yet certain, keep an eye out for Green Day showing up on Rock Band sometime later this year.

To check out the full performance and interview go to KROQ. You'll find the Rock Band question in Part 5 around minute seven.

Sean Mirkovich (GamePro Online)

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

IGN.com is passing along word that Sony will start to release all of its first-party titles in both UMD and downloadable format upon the release of the PSP Go on October 1. This is notable because the PSP Go's most notable change from its predecessors is that the device will forgo a UMD drive in lieu of 16GB of internal storage, along with expandable memory via a Memory Stick Duo slot.

Sony currently has 35 "UMD Legacy" titles available for download via PSN, ranging from US$5.99 to US$24.99. Many first party hits like Killzone: Liberation and LocoRoco are already available, while some past hits, like God of War: Chains of Olympus remain UMD only. Will the company open up its back catalogue for the PSP Go's launch?
Dave Rudden (GamePro Online)

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Once again, the internet proves to be a harsh mistress in keeping development secrets under wraps. The latest victim is Sony's new PSP Go, which was leaked in online images and video. Ironically, the leak comes from Sony's own monthly interactive video series Qore, which can be downloaded on the PlayStation Network. The new episode went live early and as the video below shows, someone captured it before it was taken down and it was then posted on Kotaku.com. The audio ain't so flash, so apologies for that.

The video shows that the new PSP Go will have 16 GB of flash memory, as well as Bluetooth support, and will have a monitor that is 43% lighter than the original PSP, but will be a little bit smaller at 3.8 inches. John Koller, the man from Sony featured in the video also relates that UMDs will be a thing of the past as everything will be downloadable, something he says, "a lot of consumers are going to like."

The video also notes that there is going to be a bigger emphasis on games for Sony, and such titles as Gran Turismo, Little Big Planet, Jak & Daxter and a new Metal Gear Solid are all supposedly to be announced at E3. Could this be Kojima's big secret behind their "Next" website? I suppose that's still up for discussion.
Sean Mirkovich (GamePro)

Posted by Ted Gibbons at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)