From Gamespot:

While Lego Batman is being released on a multitude of platforms, Traveller’s Tales claims that this is the first Lego game that they’ve built specifically for next-gen platforms such as Xbox 360 and PS3. The environments are more detailed than those of Lego Star Wars, and they feature nice incidental effects, such as rats running around, and smoke rising from the grates. The game can also be played in two-player co-op across Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, while both versions will support 720p and 1080p resolution output. It’s also still hitting PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable with all the same content, while they’re currently experimenting with motion-sensitive batarang controls for the Wii.

With Lego Batman, Traveller’s Tales look set to replicate the same sly humour and solid co-op play that they pioneered with the Lego Star Wars series. It’s clear that the game isn’t trying to break major new ground, but rather take the fundamentals of the previous games and transport them to an entirely different comic book universe. With this and Lego Indiana Jones in the pipeline, it will be a busy year for the British developer, but we hold hope that the game will still make its planned Q4 2008 release date. With plenty of time before now and then, expect to see more on Lego Batman in the coming months.

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1up made this list of the top 5 games to play when you’re drunk in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.

5. Breakout - Atari 2600

For some, the average Atari 2600 game loses its luster within the first 15 seconds. And while 2600 graphics are, to the sober mind, dated and blocky, to the sloshing brain the graphics are alive, immediate, and contemporary. I know for a fact that you can play Breakout boozily, because I’ve witnessed it. Once, I walked out of my living room just as a friend hit the reset switch on my 2600. When I walked back in, there he was, sitting on the floor with his eyes kind of misty, the paddle control in front of him. He’d beaten Breakout. “I’m a genius!” he told me. Breakout is a very twitchy game that requires fine, precise movements and astute snap decision-making. In that regard it’s practically a sobriety test. Of course alcohol hadn’t improved my friend’s hand-eye coordination (but don’t tell him that). However, he was in the Zone, in that Zen mindset where patterns and trajectories begin to make a strange cosmic sense. Also, a PBR had temporarily turned my friend into a struttin’ cock of the walk, which surely helped his game. If you don’t have Breakout at hand (and if you aren’t yet in your 30s, I can’t fault you), challenge your friends to Arkanoid. If you’re feeling really competitive, do Pong.

4. Rez HD - 360

Perhaps games like Breakout benefit from alcohol consumption because they do rely on visual abstraction. Modern shoot-em-ups like Rez also seem to benefit from beer buzz: The half-awake, primal brain focuses on nothing in particular, and yet, as if automagically, you manage to rack up a phenomenal score. “Have you ever experienced shooter Zen?” Scott Sharkey once asked. “It’s that trancelike state you slip into, where your mind merges with the game and no matter what it throws at you, you’re going to survive because you’re freaking Superman.” Mike Bracken of GameCritics elaborates: “To become a true shmup master, one must enter a Zen-like state wherein the gamer becomes one with the controller and his onscreen avatar.” Now they call trance music “trance” for a reason, and Rez is one of the few games that inexplicably combines lightning-fast action with vegetativeness (which is a real word; I checked). We’re not telling you to booze yourself into Buddha — but if you’re of age, gellin’ like Magellan can make Rez even more engaging and rhythmic. Just ask Mizuguchi. If you hate electronica music, we recommend Geometry Wars.

3. Guitar Hero - PS2, 360, Wii, Mac

With “beatmatching” rhythm games and alcohol, there’s a dramatic bell curve. You’re invincible after a beer, but after one too many, you’re so kicked out of the band. The reason you can play games after a whiskey is actually the same reason you don’t drive after a whiskey: Slightly impaired judgment means you’re more confident, more daring. Your score in Guitar Hero may markedly improve after a drink if only because, for instance, you wouldn’t ordinarily attempt that really difficult solo. There’s a fine line between taking risks and getting stupid, though, and it generally coincides with getting your toy guitar taken away. Waning, boozy attention spans might tire of Guitar Hero’s music catalog; in that case, we recommend Audiosurf as a viable alternative.

2. WarioWare: Smooth Moves - Wii

With alcohol, it’s easy to coerce your friends into doing things they would never ordinarily do. Turn that negative into a positive! Nothing feels quite so right as finding four of the burliest, manliest dudes you can, moving the Hummel figurines out of arm’s reach, and bringing out the Wii Remotes. In an event like this, many partygoers prefer WarioWare: Smooth Moves. Your friends will look silly playing any movement game, irrespective of whether it stars Wario, but WarioWare includes a lot more hopping, ducking, and flapping than tennis does. And if booze is good for anything it’s making you unafraid to look like an ass. Don’t forget the camcorder! In a pinch, you could make your friends play Wii Sports, but if coordination becomes a problem, why not bring out SingStar or Karaoke Revolution instead?

1. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - DS

So, you’re drinking alone. No, no, don’t explain. I am loath to admit I completed Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney with, literally, one eye open. And while you might not think booze and detective work go together (although, come to think of it, there is a certain Sam Spade appeal there), the truth is, point-and-click adventure puzzles seem to go down a little easier with a glass of wine. Especially when they’re mysterious. But why is that? Alcohol doesn’t necessarily improve your acuity or powers of deduction — not by any stretch! — but it does make you more brash, more determined. With point-and-click adventures, in which the only real adversary is your own sense of frustration, brash tenacity is a virtue worth rewarding. If courtroom battles aren’t your thing, settle into your easy chair with a pipe and a decanter and check out Professor Layton and the Curious Village to see how the juice affects your holmesian intellect.

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From developer Eden Games the following two tech demonstrations - the first shows the inventory system and how items and environmental objects can be manipulated, as well as how items may be used together. The second tech demo shows the realistic use of fire with various objects in the game. It also shows how objects are affected when shot.

Chris Faylor@ShackNews posted this nice list of upcoming video games set for release this week on most platforms.

PC

20 Questions, Dance! Online, First Battalion Gold Edition, Forgotten Riddles: The Mayan Princess, Medieval II Total War Gold Edition, Merv Griffin’s Crosswords, My Horse & Me, Sins of a Solar Empire, Spaceforce Captains, The Spiderwick Chronicles

PlayStation 2

Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore, Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore Microphone Bundle, Nobunaga’s Ambition: Rise to Power, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition

PlayStation 3

Devil May Cry 4, Devil May Cry 4 Collector’s Edition, Turok

Xbox 360

Culdcept Saga, Devil May Cry 4, Devil May Cry 4 Collector’s Edition, Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore Microphone Bundle, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Turok

Wii

Karaoke Revolution Presents American Idol Encore Microphone Bundle, My Horse & Me, The Spiderwick Chronicles

DS

Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles, My Horse & Me, Pets & Claws Pet Resort, Puppy Palace, Real Soccer 2008 (GameStop Exclusive), The Spiderwick Chronicles, Zoo Tycoon 2 DS

PSP

Downstream Panic!

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Watch this timeline on video games spanning 35 years, from Pong all the way to our current generation of titles - it’s quite apparent that we’ve come a long way. How many of the games featured have you had the opportunity to play?

This episode previews Aquaria, No More Heroes & Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, enjoy.

Check out this collection of GTA bike stunts.

Bungie’s Halo 3 was once again master chief of the sales charts, despite a 92% drop in sales from its 3.3 million seller debut in September. Activision and Red Octane’s Guitar Hero III also had a good month, pushing 1.4 million units across multiple platforms. While the lead platform goes to the Xbox 360 this month in individual SKU terms, with the Wii version far behind, over 500,000 copies of the PlayStation 2 version were sold last month, across the standalone and guitar bundled editions.

The top ten games sold in the U.S. for the month of October are below,

01. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 433,800
02. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (Xbox 360) - 383,200
03. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (Wii) - 286,300
04. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock w/ guitar (PS2) - 271,100
05. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) - 262,800
06. Wii Play (Wii) - 239,700
07. The Orange Box (Xbox 360) - 238,400
08. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -231,700
09. FIFA Soccer 08 (PS2) - 129,700
10. Brain Age 2: More Training In Minutes A Day (DS) - 116,900

Total video game software sales checked in at $513.9 million, up 39% from the previous October’s at $369.3 million. Of that $513.9 million, $412.5 million was spent on console software, with $101.5 million dedicated to portable game software. Both are also up from the previous October.

Anita Frazier, analyst at the NPD, commented on Guitar Hero III’s sales, saying “Very few games sell in excess of 1 million units in their first month in market, but Guitar Hero III did easily with combined sales of 1.4 million units in only 6 days. Since it has broad appeal, it’s also the type of game that should continue to do very well throughout the holidays.”

Guess that means a sequel is likely.

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This Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving (November 23rd), Target stores will be having some great deals on video games starting at 5:00am.

They are offering a free $60 gift card with purchase of a Halo 3 Xbox 360 and Halo 3, which ultimately breaks down to getting Halo 3 for the free. A $10 gift card with purchase of Nintendo DS Special Edition bundle with free Zelda or Nintendogs game. 5 free UMD movies with purchase of new PSP.

Cheap games you want? Okay, for $48 you can get Heavenly Sword, Call of Duty 4, The Orange Box, PGR4 or skate. Cheaper yet? Fine, $38 will get you Tony Hawk’s Proving Grounds, Spider-man: Friend or Foe, NCAA 08, Gears of War or Boogie for PS2 and Wii.

Even cheaper games … for $28 you can get NBA 2K8 or Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Naruto, Big Brain Academy and Smarty Pants for Wii. And for $17 you can pick up Lego Star Wars II, Saints Row or the Simpsons game for PSP.

Oh, and we forgot to mention the Xbox 360 wireless headset, $48 and PS2 wireless Psyclone Guitar for $38.

Click the picture to see the entire scan of the Target Black Friday game ad.