If last week's boatload of game releases knocked your socks off, this week's batch won't give you a chance to put them back on. We're approaching the big holiday rush as we enter November, and the quantity of game launches is continually picking up.

This week's sizable On Shelves cast features a diverse class of wallet-busters. Heading them is the anticipated debut of NC Soft's MMORPG Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa.

Other heavy hitters such as Activision's Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, NIS America's Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness and Sierra Entertainment's TimeShift are also in the house. There's plenty more in store, so dig right in and try not to go crazy deciding which ones to buy first!

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The long-awaited showdown between you and the brightest icons of rock history has finally arrived, and you better bring your A-game because Slash, Bret Michaels, John Frusciante are all looking to shred you to bits. Re-live classic tracks with your meanest riffs and bring the house down on the biggest venues.

• Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii- October 28
• US$ 99.99 (Xbox 360, PS3), US$ 89.99 (Wii)
• ESRB T (Teen)
• Activision

Manhunt 2. With revisions made, Rockstar Games finally releases their latest offering. An experiment at a secret facility has gone terribly wrong and you're the product of that demented effort. The Pickman Project's forces are now after you to cover up the truth and bury your secrets. Using a mix of stealth and brutality, you'll have to take back what science has robbed you of.

• Sony PlayStation Portable- October 29, Nintendo Wii- October 31
• US$ 29.99 (PSP), US$ 39.99 (Wii)
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Rockstar Games

Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa. NC Soft unleashes its latest high-profile massively-multiplayer online (MMO) RPG this week. Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa features a wide array of races and career paths to choose from, martial arts-inspired combat moves, customizable weapons, and a horde of diverse monsters to slaughter. Solo or team-based player versus player combat is available to accommodate those who want to fight as lone wolves or stick with the brood. Prepare to be lost for a long, long time in the world of Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa.

• PC- October 30
• US$ 69.99
• ESRB T (Teen)
• NC Soft

Buy: [Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC)]
Buy: [Manhunt 2 (Wii, PSP)]
Buy: [Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa]

*Article originally posted Oct 29, 2007 at 01:14AM

The whole list behind the Full Article link below!

JoyStiq managed to score an interview with NCsoft boss Richard Garriot and Executive Producer Brian Clayton. The talk revolved mostly around the MMORPG industry and their (NCSoft) plans to support the PlayStation 3 with MMO-type titles. Their latest project - Tabula Rasa - was also touched; and surprisingly, they also signified plans to dabble on developing for the PlayStation Portable in the future.

According to Clayton, they're looking at a number of ways on how to beef up the PSP games frontline. A fully immersive and working MMO for the said handheld isn't that farfetched, with Clayton saying that they "see a number of opportunities with the PSP as a standalone MMO or as an extension to our full-blown MMOs on PC and PS3". Hmm... MMO game on PSP, sounds good 'ey? Their plans are best summed in this quote:

I would argue that developing a handheld MMO could be the largest challenge in game development. For example, the game needs to be developed from the onset to address limited communication tools, screen real estate and controls, which are all intrinsic to providing a quality MMO experience. We have a number ideas and solutions to address the above-mentioned concerns, but can't go into those details right now.

The full article awaits after the jump!

With Day 1 of the E3 Business and Media Summit over, there sure are lots of major announcements, demos, and preview videos and screens to get excited over. The Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots trailers were finally shown, along with some other teaser and demo videos like the Gears of War PC and Rock Band live demos, among many others. Initial screenshots of highly anticipated games were also released during Day 1.

Among those who've revealed much to the E3 audience in their July 11 press conferences are Nintendo Company Ltd., Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft Corp., Electronic Arts (EA), Konami Corporation, Activision, and Midway Games.

One of the biggest news during Sony's press conference was delivered by Kaz Hirai himself. He announced the new and re-designed PlayStation Portable (also being coined PSPSlim) which is said to be 19% slimmer and 33% lighter than the current version being sold. Microsoft also gave the audience a treat with a Gears of War PC live demo. Nintendo on the other hand, confirmed the release dates of some of its upcoming games, and also announced its Wii Fit video game and Wii Balancing Board.

We're certain you know most of what happened in Day 1 of the E3 Media and Business Summit 2007, but if you don't, we might as well have a recap of the day. Click on the links below and read up! The Full Article link contains the complete list of our E3 coverage, so make sure to also check it out.


Breaking News:

Blasting onto PCs: Gears of War, among other things
E3 Update: Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots to be the grand finale of the series, says Kojima
E3 Updates from Sony: News on PS3 exclusives
Confirmed: Unreal Tournament 3 to be timed PS3 exclusive


Previews and first glances:

E3 update: Soul Calibur Legends E3 2007 video
Killzone 2 E3 2007 trailer
Rock Band E3 videos: trailer and live demo from Peter Moore
E3 2007 Update: Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer
E3: Gears of War PC live demo during Microsoft
E3 2007: LittleBigPlanet screenshots
E3: Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 to be "even nuttier"
Konami releases first screenshots of Silent Hill 5 for E3


That's it from us for now, but rest assured we'll be giving you the latest on the E3 Media and Business Summit's Day 2. Stay tuned.

 

Okay, this may cause some alarmists to scream "Big Brother!" so before all the speculation, here are the known details - just so all you privacy advocates can relax a bit.

Google has filed a patent that reveals that they plan to compile psychological profiles of millions of gamers by covertly monitoring the way they play online games. Now you may think that this only concerns folks who play MMOs on their PCs, however, the patent apparently says that Google can also monitor people playing on any game console that hooks up to the internet, including the Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360.

What's even more hair-raising is that it says that information could be retrieved from previous game details saved on memory cards. To quote: "Such saved information may be thought of state information, and offers a valuable source of information to the advertisers." Yes, if you've played 350 hours of Oblivion, they'll know. Yep, the patent is that creepy; it even says:

In a car racing game, after a user crashes his Honda Civic, an announcer could be used to advertise by saying 'if he had a Hummer, he would have gotten the better of that altercation', etc... If the user has been playing for over two hours continuously, the system may display ads for Pizza Hut, Coke, coffee.

Now here's why we're asking all those privacy advocates to calm down and not cry foul. Google has said that they do not plan to roll out the technology in the near future. They say that it was just one of the patents that they wanted to file. The Guardian reports that a Google spokesman had this to say: "Google registers different patents irrespective of whether we actually intend to use them."

So no, Big Brother, er, I mean, Google isn't watching you. Not yet. *insert cheesy B-movie sci-fi music* It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you.