New vehicles, new guns, a new multiplayer mode, a new main character... What else does Crysis Warhead have going for it? The current issue of PC Gamer has revealed a lot of details about the upcoming Crytek title, and you can check them out over in the full article.

There's still a majority of us who are still messing around with EA's recently released Spore Creature Creator demo, but we've never been able to go so far as to reel in Electronic Art's strict attention. That's what one Spore user (and PC Gamer staffer) managed to do, and now EA has unsheathed it's modstick for some warning swings against nudity or representations of nudity in Spore creatures. More at the full story.

Who said what? We heard that Rob Taylor, NVIDIA's vice president in charge of content relations, let loose some brash words that would cleave a PC gamer's heart in two. Well, at least we think it would have, if we already didn't consider the idea that game developers need to make money, too. We know that NVIDIA is one of the major players of the PC Gaming Alliance, so why drive the knife to the hilt? Read more to find out what point the rather outspoken VP is trying to drive at.

If you're familiar with videogame piracy, then you'd know about the harmful effects it can do to the industry, and in this update we hear about NVIDIA game boss Roy Taylor speaking about how it's unfair that piracy is still rampant, even though he believes we're at a point where it shouldn't even exist. All his opinions and statements about this matter after the jump, so read on and find out just what this means to you.

Remember that feature of Electronic Arts' The Sims 3 on Games for Windows that we mentioned? We went deeper into what were in the pages of the mag, and fortunately found more about what new features were revealed. If the promise of open world didn't get you off your feet, you might dig The Sims 3's droplets of RPG elements. Head over to the full article to learn more.

If you've already seen hints of EA's long awaited Red Alert sequel on the cover of PC Gamer magazine, then you'll be glad to know that we were able to scrounge up more details of what's to come in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. A lot of interesting new features were revealed, as well as a new time travelling hi-jinx plot in the upcoming game. If you're a staunch believer of Mother Russia, you won't pass up the chance to read more about it in the full article.

It is said that two of the most creative words in the English language are "what if." That seems to be behind Electronic Arts' thinking, as it seems the company is not quite letting go of the alternate history lineup of the Command and Conquer series of games with the recent announcement of Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. We guarantee you'll be seeing red after the jump.

The results are in: chosen as this year's Ultimate Game of the Year in the Annual Golden Joystick Awards is (dun dun dun) Gears of War! Gears of War also won the All-Nighter Award, Editor's Choice Award and is the Xbox Game of the Year.

Other winners of the 25th Annual Golden Joystick Awards are the Nintendo Wii, which won Innovation of the Year, World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade as the Online Game of the Year, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as the Nintendo Game of the Year, and God of War II as the PlayStation Game of the Year.

Here are the other winners of the Golden Joystick Awards:

• Girls' Choice Game of the Year 2007: Guitar Hero II
• Family Game of the Year 2007: Wii Sports
• Handheld Game of the Year 2007: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
• Mobile Game of the Year 2007: Final Fantasy
• Soundtrack of the Year 2007: Guitar Hero II
• Developer of the Year 2007: Codemasters
• The Total Film One to Watch 2007: Assassin's Creed
• Retailer of the Year 2007: Game
• Publisher of the Year 2007: Nintendo
• PC Game of the Year 2007: The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar

Here's to another year of great games!

Back in the day, abundant bloom was the coolest thing in the block. Now that developers have access to more powerful hardware, some gamers will call them lazy if a next-gen title doesn't have parallax mapping, high resolution rendering, and all that. Free Radical co-founder Dave Doak, however, would rather be creative than make generic eye-candy.

"A typical next-gen look has often got all the next-gen stuff like specular highlights and normal mapping turned up to the max... But if it's not turned up to 11, people think it's not next-gen enough," he said in a recent interview with PC Gamer in its issue # 180. Yet, the TimeSplitters series took a more cartoony approach over super-realistic graphics, and Doak seems to favor that style.

Even with powerful tools around, it looks like TimeSplitters will stay true to its roots. After giving Valve's Team Fortress 2 props for standing out, noting how developers are starting to ponder if they really have to do realistic rendering or go for a distinct look, he said:

TimeSplitters has always had that [distinct look] and it's something we want to go back and look at again, specifically taking that cartoon look and doing it with the interesting rendering you can do now [with next-gen].

We haven't heard much about TimeSplitters 4, but if Doak's words hold true, then we're getting more of the quirky first-person shooter that offered hours of fun. Who cares about complex physics engines and extremely detailed character models? Give us rocket launcher-wielding monkeys and we're sold.

 

While attention is fixed at grav-gun intensity towards the Orange Box's upcoming release this October 10, details are beginning to emerge for Half-Life 2's (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) probable finale, Episode Three. Keep in mind that this is a possible plot spoiler - move along if you think it might ruin your game.

According to the info snippet posted for PC Gamer's November article, Episode Two's ending will have Gordon and Alyx receiving a video recording from a Dr. Mossman regarding the discovery of the mystery cargo ship, Borealis. The ship supposedly contains technology developed by Aperture Science, a rival of Black Messa, which could prove dangerous if captured by the Combine. The magazine further hints that Episode Three may take place onboard the Borealis, where your job as Gordon is to ensure that the Combine never get their hands on this said technology.

We're not sure of the validity of this data at this point, though you guys may want to keep it in mind when you get your copy of the Orange Box come launch day. We'll let you know if we pick any further information backing up this possibility for Episode Three.