Jack Thompson is at it again, and this time he has his eye on the recent shoot out that occurred at North Illinois University earlier today. In an interview with Fox News, he presented the same arguments as with previous campus massacres and other violent incidents, pinning the blame once again on violent video games. You can read more about what Jack Thompson had to say, as well as the video interview in the full article after the jump.

We all know that Samus Aran, the goddess in armor, is slowly being corrupted by Phazon cells in her third and final outing in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. What we didn't know is that she not only knows that it's becoming a part of her and changing her with every step she takes - she actually likes what it's doing to her.

We find that out and more in this video update, featuring Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's third trailer, as well as a gameplay video. In the trailer, we see Samus in all her glory, charging into what's touted as her final mission in the Prime series. Along with a few other hunters to help her fight off the Zebesian Space Pirates.

We also see Dark Samus making her own appearance - no doubt we'll have more time to get intimate with the doppelganger as soon as the game blasts is way into store shelves. The second video, Bridge Battle gameplay, features a frenetic shootout between Samus and some of the game's baddies.

We see a very ingenious use of the grappler beam here - pulling the enemy's weapons and shields out of their hands before riddling them full of holes. Nasty, and nice - just the way Samus likes it. Video embeds are below, you know what to do.

The other video after the jump!

 

With the news of Take-Two's biggest gun in the games race, Grand Theft Auto 4 (360 and PS3) being shoved back into its holster until 2008, it's no surprise that analysts are predicting good tidings for those who were supposed to go up against the controversial company in the pre-holiday shootout.

The analyst being none other than Todd Greenwald of Nollenberger Capital Partners, and the rival companies being Electronic Arts and Activision. So why is the delay of Grand Theft Auto 4 a good thing for Electronic Arts and Activision?

Todd Greenwald believes that it frees up budgets that had been set aside for the fourth iteration of the legendary series, and thus giving room for other blockbuster titles currently out or will be out this season. Good ol' Todd puts it like so:

We believe the lack of GTA IV this holiday season is a clear positive for Take-Two's competitors, namely EA and Activision. We estimate that roughly US$ 400 to US$ 500 million in consumers wallets will be freed up to spend on other hardcore games.

While it's certainly a bit disappointing that Grand Theft Auto 4 has been pushed back well into next year, it certainly does give us gamers (especially those of us in a tight budget) a chance to splurge on other great-looking releases, with Call of Duty 4, Halo 3 and Assassin's Creed to only name a few. Let's just hope that Take-Two won't be pushing the title's release date any farther.

  

If Max Payne gave gamers a quick fix of the stylized slow-motion ballet of bullets trademarked as Bullet Time, then John Woo's Stranglehold for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 is the fatal overdose. Yours truly is not going to beat around the bush, this game is looking like the most awesome third-person shooter to date.

These gameplay videos are actually Part 1 and Part 2 of what could be the obligatory Skyscraper level of Stranglehold, with Inspector Tequila gunning down each and every nameless henchman standing in his way. There's also an awesome bit in the second part where you dodge gunshots with a simple turn of the head, before sending a round or two of your own back. Enough spoilers from us, enjoy the video!

The second video after the jump!

Good news, Aussie racing fans. Atari has finally announced the release date for the PSP version of their PS2 racer V8 Supercars 3: Shootout Challenge (which was released as ToCA Race Driver 2006 in the US and Europe). According to IGN, this racing title will be released on February 16.

V8 Supercars 3: Shootout features the world's most powerful cars in tightly fought pack racing action. The challenges are fast and furious, delivering intense but short bursts of play to make this title perfect for PSP gaming on the go. It also features wireless multiplayer racing for up to 12 players simultaneously while Game Share enables up to four players to enjoy wireless multiplayer racing from just one UMD.

Some of the cars featured include the Holden Commodore VX and VY V8 Super, Ford Falcon AU and BA, Nissan 350Z Nismo, Subaru Impreza 22 Track, Audi A4 DTM, AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse DTM, WilliamsF1 Team FW 27, Gemballa GTR 750 EVO, Koening GT-D and 360 GT, and N10 Track, TVR T400 R and the coolest motors from the British GT championship.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops was on display for multiplayer hands-on at both Sony and Konami's booths during the TGS, and according to IGN, the demo was short, allowing players to look at only one map from the game. However, it was enough to get a feel of the game's controls and gameplay, and how it will look and run on the handheld.

Map environment: The sole map available for preview is based around a large winding trench, outside of which are buildings that you can climb onto or use as a sniper tower. The map is somewhat small, but nonetheless still has plenty of areas to use as cover and block off shootout opportunities.

The map can be a bit deceiving as it is small, but still has a lot of areas that can be used, giving the feeling of being both confined and open at the same time. For example, it's easy to corner someone in one area (if you know what you're doing, that is), but it's also easy to escape and hide if you're the one who gets cornered. At certain points of the game, you can also see from one side of the map to the other.

Controls: Left analog stick directs your movement, while the left shoulder button acts as the camera "reset" so you can place it directly behind you. Left and right D-Pad buttons controls the angle rotations of the camera, while the up and down buttons are used to zoom in and out at camera spots. Holding the L button allows you to look down the barrel or zoom in through a scope while the R button brings up your gun.

You use Square to fire, but you won't be able to move at all while firing. Sadly, it won't be a run-and-gun shooter as most of us expected. When you're not firing, the Triangle button basically acts as your action button, you use it to climb ladders or pull yourself up over a ledge, etc. while X will be used to roll. The control setup is similar to a standard MGS one, albeit with the apt PSP modifications in place.

The verdict? Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops runs extremely well, and looks stunning considering it's a handheld game. Currently still in development at the Kojima Productions headquarters, the game will hit the shelves on December 5th of this year for US residents while Japan would have to wait a bit more before they can grab a copy on December 31st.

Pre:Order: [Metal Gear Portable Ops]

Adam McMahon, Lead Character Artist of Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, shares in his blog his experience with character creation for the game. Going through several nitty-gritty details and processes, he reveals "Character creation begins in the most basic form of sketches and concepts". The concept stage, according to him, can be considered as the most important part of character design and is the primordial element in the development of the look and feel of the game.

After establishing the look of the game comes the modeling phase. As for making the games look "next-gen", normal maps are the main ingredient. Using several methods, like the conversion of grayscale height maps from a few years back, to software such as Zbrush, artists are then able to create phenomenal models in half the time that would normally take.

Finally bringing the characters to life are the animators, who take the hollow shells of the artists' creations. And with a little cloth technology, you now have stunning visuals.

Adam MacMahon started his venture in the gaming industry with Sony, working on NCAA Gamebreaker. Some of his projects include NFL Gameday '97, Shootout '98 and MLB '98-'02.

Fusion Frenzy for the Xbox was a great, but overlooked party game, so it's cool that despite the lukewarm reception it received back in the day, Hudson is gearing up for the release of a follow-up. In a press release issued today the said company confirmed the development of Fusion Frenzy 2.

Like it's predecessor, Fusion Frenzy 2 will be a high-octane partygame taking place on seven different planets, filled with futuristic arcade action, superior minigames, tournament modes, and custom-tailored games with online features such as multiplayer and customizable tournaments.

Fusion Frenzy 2 is strongly focused on Xbox Live. Players can create and share their own tournaments and play them with their friends. Using tournament cards, defeat their opponents in rank, select the next mini-game to be played, or choose their next destination planet. A total of 40 minigames will keep everyone occupied. Some of those are Collision Collusion, Turbine Jumper, and Super Slam Dunk which is a advanced slam dunk shootout played in low gravity where players try to steal the ball from their challengers to score a slam dunk.

The game will be released this holiday.

Mexicansnake and the PSPMex development team are proud to announce the release of PSPshootouts v0.3 today. PSPShootouts is a football (or soccer) penalty shootout game coded in LUA and is currently available for both PSP firmware versions 1.5 and 1.0/eloader.

This game has been enjoyed by many, mainly because it came around during the build up to the World Cup, and has that X Factor to make it a game you can play over and over again. It's always fun to beat your mates at if you're not so good at the real game! Here's the list of new features since PSPshootouts v0.2b:

• New graphics
• More Animations
• Shoot power bar
• More extras

I think Mexicansnake is teasing us with the feature list. The only way to find out the other extras is to download the game and play it yourself! Think this is it for PSPshootouts? Think again - The PSPMex development team have much more planned for this game, including:

• Analog pad support
• More players
• Secret modes
• More animation
• Better sounds and maybe multiplayer

WiFi multiplayer would be amazing on this game, via Ad-Hoc or Infrastructure mode like Sonic Battle Arena. The downloads come packaged in a standalone eboot form, so Lua Player is not required.

Download: [PSPshootouts v0.3 for 1.5]
Download: [PSPshootouts v0.3 for 1.0/eloader]
Discuss: [Forum release thread]

It's amazing what Harry1 can do on his spare time - create a fun shooter game called Shootout v0.1 (not the soccer game). The object of the game is to blow the bad guys into smithereens using either a Halo-inspired gun or grenade. This should be a big hit for the trigger-happy lot.

The game, which is made in Lua, is a 2D game with a 3D background. If you didn't know this bit of info, you'd think it was a 3D game all the way (or is it just me?). As this is the first version, the enemies are quite predictable, but I'm not complaining. I like my homebrew games simple and fun. Also, fans of Slasher will be glad to know that the PSP GBA guru had a hand in the creation of this game.

Controls:

• analog to aim
• X to shoot
• R to use grenade (when the power bar is full)

Download: [Shootout v0.1]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]