Stone Temple Pilots plan to hit the road this fall for a handful of US shows and one wayward 2010 date.

The reunited rockers will get the tour started with an Oct. 2 performance at Mobile, AL's Bayfest, followed by stops in 11 cities throughout the nation. A single 2010 date also made it onto the STP itinerary: a New Year's Day (1/1) concert in Thackerville, OK. Details are shown below.
Stone Temple Pilots mounted a full-blown reunion tour last year, marking their first US trek in nearly eight years, followed by a sporadic summer schedule this year. The band, which has earned 15 Top 10 singles and a Grammy Award for 1994's "Plush," most recently released "Shangri-La Dee Da" in 2001, after which the group disbanded.

Frontman Scott Weiland--who last fall released his second solo album, "Happy in Galoshes"--has acknowledged plans for a new STP album.

"Those guys [DeLeo Brothers] have already been writing the instrumental music," Weiland said in an interview with Spin magazine earlier this year. "It's a different process than doing stuff solo ... STP will have a new record out in early 2010."

October 2009
2 - Mobile, AL - Bayfest
3 - Saint Augustine, FL - Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
4 - Orlando, FL - Universal Studios Park
6 - Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
7 - Greensboro, NC - Special Events Center
9 - Portsmouth, VA - Ntelos Harbor Center
11 - Columbus, OH - LC Amphitheatre
15 - Fresno, CA - Paul Paul Theater
18 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona State Fairgrounds
20 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre
22 - Highland, CA - San Manuel Indian Bingo Casino
23 - Primm, NV - Star of the Desert Arena

January 2010
1 - Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino

If you doubted the veracity of the recent story that Gran Turismo 5 will include 1,000 cars and YouTube replay support, series creator Kazunori Yamauchi confirmed it and revealed some other details in an interview with Italian site multiplayer.it (and translated by GTPlanet). Of particular interest is Yamauchi's claim that Gran Turismo 5 is still in development but that "its release is not too far, it will be after the PSP GT release and, very probably, it will be a simultaneous world release." That's good news, as gamers in North America and Europe have traditionally had to wait weeks and sometimes months for past Gran Turismo games to make it out of Japan.

Yamauchi explained that the structure of the single-player game is much different than in past Gran Turismo games, and that it's actually very similar to what you can expect to see in Gran Turismo PSP. He also talked about the fact that car damage will be more than a visual effect; it'll also impact your ability to drive. Wrapping up the interview, Yamauchi revealed news sure to make videophiles everywhere scream with glee: GT5 will run in 1080p at 60 FPS. If any racing fan needed a reason to upgrade to a 1080p TV, there's your excuse.

Gran Turismo PSP releases worldwide on October 1 alongside the new PSP Go, so don't expect GT5 before then. That does leave a two month window inside 2009 for GT5 to still be released, but with Yamauchi notoriously being a perfectionist, you probably shouldn't hold your breath.

Photo: Joyner/Getty

First Radiohead provided fans with two brand new songs, and now it appears frontman Thom Yorke is on the verge of doing the same: According to Canadian entertainment site Exclaim, Yorke will release a new 12′' single carrying two new tracks, "The Hollow Earth" and "Apart By Horses" on September 22nd. As Rock Daily previously reported, Yorke recorded a song for the upcoming Twilight sequel New Moon, and judging by the timing of the single's release, it's fair to assume that one or possibly both of the songs are Yorke's contribution to the film. The soundtrack's first single, Death Cab for Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox," will debut September 13th, and the film itself hits theaters October 20th.

Sources at pressing plant Sonic Unyon, who are reportedly preparing the single, told Exclaim that the single has "really awesome packaging and artwork," and that only a limited number of vinyl - probably less than 10,000 copies - will be made. The label handling the release is TBD Records, the company Radiohead created in a partnership with ATO for the physical release of In Rainbows. As Rock Daily previously reported, after a period of new material dormancy since the 2007 release of In Rainbows, the past month has seen Radiohead suddenly and secretly release a pair of new tracks, "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" and "These Are My Twisted Words."

While there's not much information regarding "The Hollow Earth" - though the title conjures up some of the lyrical imagery in Yorke's other recent new solo song reportedly titled "The Present Tense" - "Apart By Horses" does have some Radiohead history. Back before In Rainbows "Reckoner" was In Rainbows' "Reckoner," a song bearing that name with the parenthetical title "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses" was performed a few times at Radiohead concerts. As opposed to the melodic centerpiece that surprised fans when it appeared on In Rainbows, that original "Reckoner" was one of the more harder-edged, guitar-driven songs in Radiohead's recent output.

Radiohead have often resurrected fan favorite live songs for eventual release-In Rainbows' "Nude" and IR bonus track "Last Flowers" date back to the OK Computer days-so it's possible Yorke might be bringing back the original "Reckoner," which he last performed solo at a Trade Justice Movement rally in 2005. (Rock Daily covered the tale of the two "Reckoner" in the preview and live blog of In Rainbows.)

Fresh from Codemasters comes this new trailer for Colin McRae's DiRT 2, highlighting a few of the game's 100 events in nine countries across the globe. All of the footage is straight out of the game this time around, and I for one am happy to take the accompanying System of a Down over whatever that music was in the last trailer I posted.

If you haven't yet tried the demo that's available on XBLA and PSN, you're missing out. The presentation is brilliant, and like I've said before, if the final game looks and plays half as good as what we've been seeing thus far, we have a truly fantastic rally game on the way.

The game launches in the US on September 8th and in the UK on the 11th, for Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS and PSP, with a PC version following shortly thereafter. Click above for the car porn and hit the jump for the press release.

NEW COLIN McRAE^TMDiRT^TM2 VIDEO TAKES GAMERS ON A WORLD TOUR OF MUD, SWEAT AND GEARS

Experience an expedition of exhilaration in the Colin McRae: DiRT 2 'World Tour' video - see it now at www.dirt2game.com

Friday 28th August/... Previewing a world that's just waiting to be torn up with tyre-tracks, Codemasters® today released the Colin McRaeTM: DiRTTM2 'World Tour' video. Revealing the nine international locations that will play host to over 100 exhilarating events in the much anticipated racing game, the video is now available at www.dirt2game.com.

Colin McRae: DiRT 2 will take players on a World Tour of diverse and challenging real-world environments where they will compete in contemporary off-road events. Taking the very best of modern off-road racing as its inspiration, the World Tour delivers thrilling new race types, big event atmosphere and stunning locations.

The World Tour delivers over 100 aggressive multi-car and intense solo race events at nine stunning locations across the globe. From the inner city circuits of London, where spectacular day and night Rallycross races are held around Battersea Power Station, to Shibuya where racers compete in the mud-flooded streets of Tokyo's city centre, the World Tour will also take drivers to open countryside.

In China rallies run past paddy fields in the Yangshuo region before hitting roads that rise up the cone-shaped mountains. The mountainous coast of Croatia provides a test of control as stages traverse tight hillside hairpin sections.

The World Tour will also take travellers to the open roads of Morocco, where stages pass through the streets of Ait Benhaddou and out into the open surrounding desert. From the heat and dust of Morocco, world tourists will also take in the mud and dirt tracks of Malaysia's Rawang province where roads wind through muddy jungle tracks with plenty of standing water.

The World Tour also heads west taking competitors on a 3-stop expedition of the United States. From the Estadio del Ray stadium in Los Angeles to Baja, California, with its dirt circuit featuring jumps and sweeping turns, to a canyon run at Kane Creek, near Moab, Utah, where the track is surrounded by immense natural red rock cliffs.

Complete with full head-to-head competitive online play, get ready for the ultimate off-road competition when Colin McRae: DiRT 2 launches September 8th (US), 10th (EPAC), 11th (UK) for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, WiiTM, Nintendo DSTM and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. A Games For Windows® LIVE edition will follow with support for DirectX® 11.

The playable demo is now available from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and the PlayStation® Store in Europe. The PS3 system playable demo will be available in North America from Thursday 27th August. For the latest news and videos, floor it over to www.dirt2game.com or become a fan at www.facebook.com/dirt2game.

Musicians angry over the existence of Guitar Hero and Rock Band often feel better about themselves by claiming that fans of the games should "learn to play a real instrument." However, Harmonix has said that those musicians are missing the point of the games, and possess a narrow perspective.

"I think they're missing the point. I think that they don't understand why it's a phenomenon," explains John Drake. "From my perspective, anything that gets kids interested in music and gets kids playing music in their house that isn't an MP3 they stole off the Internet, is a good thing.

"Anything that's making money for music and making music relevant to kids again is a good thing. I think they think that we prefer people playing plastic guitars over real guitars, and that couldn't be farther from the truth. We would love nothing more than for every kid that buys Beatles: Rock Band in September to immediately ask for a real guitar for Christmas because they're inspired."

Personally, I feel that a guitarist telling someone to learn a real guitar instead of playing Rock Band is akin to a soldier telling someone to shoot real people instead of play an FPS. Some people just don't want to do the real thing, and that's why videogames are so popular.

It always amuses me when real musicians act threatened by a piece of plastic with squeaky buttons on it. Until people can take turns playing a real guitar when drunk and still have fun, music games have their definite place.

If you love Monster Hunter games and think cheating is brilliant, Capcom's here to make your life difficult. Unless you're immortal, that is. According to the above image, anybody caught cheating at Monster Hunter 3 will face a 7,000 year ban, able to play again in the last month of 9999.

Hilariously, however, that's just strike one of the ban. In 7,000 years, Capcom intends to make good on its promise to let you play again, promising a lifetime ban on the second strike, not the first. The best part about this is that Capcom warns players as if a lifetime ban is somehow worse than a 7,000 year ban. I mean, it technically is, but you'd have to be Thor himself for it to have any effect.

"Because you used modified data to connect online, you're now banned. The ban will be lifted at 22:49 on 12/12/9999," explains the message to cheaters. "In the future, if you violate the terms of service, it is possible that you will be banned for good."

Don't say you haven't been warned.

Just when you thought From Software's upcoming 3D Dot Game Heroes couldn't possibly get any cooler, this week's issue of Famitsu touts evidence to the contrary. Not only will the game have skeletons, but it will also feature items and weapons reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, including bombs, a bow and arrow, and a boomerang.

Much like Link, the game's heroes will use these weapons not just in combat, but also to help solve puzzles. The boomerang can be used to stun multiple enemies at once, and the bomb allows you to bust through walls, just as you'd expect. It's an obvious (and welcome) homage to Nintendo's classic, and should make for some satisfyingly familiar gameplay.

As you might have guessed, however, your main weapon will be a sword. This will start out small, but as you defeat enemeies and eat the apples they leave behind, both your life meter and your blade will increase in size. The two are directly related, so you'll essentially be weilding your own life bar. Cool concept. Famitsu says that at max health, your sword becomes "fat, long and hard." I'm not making that up, that's their exact wording.

The new issue also reveals a second playable main character, known as The Prince. You'll find a few shots of him, the aforementioned weapons, the sword and a print ad for the game in the gallery below. Oh, and there are apparently also BEES. This game had better come stateside.

In the grand pantheon of things gamers like to do I would say that we like comparing things almost as much as making top ten lists about things. Whenever the opportunity arises we like to compare two things together whether they be apples and apples or apples and oranges. The latest opportunity to compare has arisen and the two subjects are the PS3 (Phat) and the PS3 Slim. Size wise the Slim wins, but what about in speed? Is the Phat deceptively quick or does the Slim's lithe body give it the speedier loading times.

Ore-teki compared the two systems and found out that the Slim was slower than the Phat and also showing that the Slim is faster than the Phat. Through four tests that are in the videos above and below the Phat came out ahead in start up and DVD loading, but the Slim won out in starting and loading Batman: Arkham Asylum. What are the reasons? Who really knows. The videos are reportedly done on the same system so it isn't the hard drive. Maybe it has something to do with firmware, but who knows. It's a mystery!

So what has this comparison garnered us? We know which system will get us to Batman faster, and that is the system that wins. Winner = PS3 Slim.

"Vampire Killer" music comparison. I had an urge to listen to some Castlevania music today, and happened upon this video, featuring clips of Castlevania's iconic tune from Vampire Killer, Castlevanias I, III, and IV, X68000 Castlevania (super funky!), Dracula X, Bloodlines, SNES Dracula X, Saturn Symphony of the Night, Castlevania Chronicles (from the arranged version), Circle of the Moon, Dawn of Sorrow, Dracula X Chronicles, and the mobile Order of Shadows.

Judgment's version would have put the video over YouTube's 10-minute limit, so creator scigamerfan07 left it out. But I can embed a separate video!

I, uh, actually feel like playing Castlevania Judgment again.

It's called the GameGun and it's a gun for games. Nothing new there, right? Wrong. It's more than just a fancy light gun it's got motion tracking, meaning that your movements are what appear on screen. Turn left, you turn left. It doesn't use drivers, so it works with every game out there. The video above has what appears to be the inventor of the gun and owner of Blackhall, the "company" behind the the GameGun, showing the very cool looking tech off.

I'm a bit dubious about the "company" as their website looks like it was put together by, well, a guy in his garage and because the video is of a guy in his garage. Plus, you should never fully trust someone who sucks at videogames, and he seems to die a lot. However, since it is a guy in his garage the tech most likely works as well as advertised since faking it might be difficult, and he says its compatible with every gaming system out there now. In fact if you disregard the low budget of the GameGun's "sales pitch" I'd say its a definite DO WANT item or at least a DO WANT TO TRY IT OUT item. In the video below he also discusses how the GameGun will have a projector mounted into it in order to project the game onto a wall or screen for playing. No price point yet, but I can't imagine it being cheap when it drops some time before the holiday season.

(Update: Movement is handled by the keyboard built into the gun it seems.)

There are certain games and franchises that it's popular for gamers to despise. Final Fantasy VII, Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Madden, Dynasty Warriors, etc. On occasion someone will champion these games and a decent dialogue could open but there is one franchise that, no matter who attempts to champion it, continues to be shat on time after time. I speak, of course, Mortal Kombat. It's popular to hate it and hasn't been good since (insert last game this person actually PLAYED in the franchise) and it was always just about the fatalities anyway.

Yet despite this, Mortal Kombat was once shoulder to shoulder with other franchises and remains the ONLY western developed fighting game franchise to have actually become a franchise. How can something so popular be so bad? So I think it's time that I, like Sub-Zero's ending to MK vs DC, take up the mantle of justice. That's right, I'm going to take on both the criticisms as well as why Mortal Kombat is a franchise that deserves at least your begrudging respect in a two part C-blog. Why two parts? Because it's far too in depth of a topic to be limited to one blog.

While the criticisms are far too many to list here, I'll be taking on five of the most common complaints that I've noticed.

"It hasn't been good since ________"

This is, by far, the most common. This statement relies on a certain level of respect for previous iterations in the franchise as high watermarks. The deception within this statement is 100% reliant upon retro goggles. I'm the first to admit MKII is among my favorite of the MK games, but I didn't get there instantly. In fact, unlike other fighting games like Soul Edge, I had to let MK warm up to me. Anyone who says they were instantly hooked by MK is more often lying. Hell, with the arcade machines being balls hard, getting past the third match was a huge hurdle. Most only heard stories of valiance in the face of Goro and Shang Tsung, never experienced them until it hit the home machines. So what, then, made the older ones special?

Simple, you gave them a chance. Every character in MK 1-3 had the same kick and punch range, because they all had the same attacks. This system forced a reliance solely on the special moves to change up your attack pattern. A few characters had additional range with Back+HP (Baraka, Kitana) but all in all, every character only had their super moves to differentiate them. So how, then, were these the better ones? I mean Capcom constantly tries to force new variants into the Shoto characters and with MK 1-3, everyone was more identical than Shoto characters. So the arguement goes than the best MK games were the ones that were the most generic and special move dependant? Okay ... and yet this exact same arguement is lobbied AGAINST every Japanese fighting game that does the same.

"I hate Dial-A-Combo systems"

This one is tricky to react directly against. Why? Because despite being a buzzword used directly against MK and other games, fuck all if anyone has a clear idea of what it is. To some, it's the ability to attack again immediately after the first attack connects. To others it's when the game does additional hits as part of the move, ala Hurrican Kick or Ike's Super Smash. To others still, it's a preset combo sequence planned out in a certain way. So we're going to attack the third mentioned issue.

I could almost see this argument, if the people making these claims weren't familiar with move buffering or attack timing. Allow me to explain. Ever since Super Street Fighter II, it's been an eastern standard to allow players to start commands on the next attack while the animation of the first attack is going on. The largest offender is, of course, Killer Instinct but eastern examples like Soul Calibur II and Street Fighter IV exists as well. SUPPOSEDLY the difference is that these combos are not set out FOR you but rather happen naturally. Which is exactly why 10-hit combos are explained in detail in the Pause menu in Tekken, because they were natural and not planned in the game code at all ... idiots.

Hate to attack you there but quite honestly, I don't see a difference between Sub-Zero's Ice Sword juggle combo (2 hits) and Law's Rainbow Flip combo (2 hits). Yes, MK has predesigned combo sequences, but that's not all it has by a longshot. You can still get in with a weak attack and follow through with a special attack that can chain into a standard attack. Another example I've heard from a personal friend of mind is the "deception" attack in MK vs. DC like Joker or Lui Kang have. QCB+? did a variety of attacks meant to perplex and confuse your opponent. This move is an unforgivable sin for Mortal Kombat and yet he, favoring Soul Calibur, conveniently forgot this is the exact same command for the Angel Step "deception" attack for Cassandra. Basically the combo system of the 3D Mortal Kombats are rich and while they do have preset sequences, comboing other ways in MK games is fully supported.


"All it ever had was the gore."

This one annoys me the absolute most. It's like saying all Street Fighter has is the fireballs or all BlazBlue has is cat girl going for it. Yes, Mortal Kombat had gore and yes, that was a feature. Hell, it was so comically done, claiming that was the main reason it got popular is even funnier than watching three heads pop off your opponent. If Gore was all MK had going for it, where are the clones that tried the same route? Where is Way of the Warrior now? What about Kasumi Ninja? What of Eternal Champions (which, to be fair, is an awesome game ... especially on Sega CD)? Or how about the ultimate in Gore focused fighting games, Time Killers where players could chop off arms and legs and heads mid match. If gore was all MK needed to reach it's popularity, why didn't BioFreaks and Wargods, two much more violent franchises from Midway themselves, catch on at all? And why is the highest rated MK in a long time rated T?

Simple answer? Because MK was always more than the gore. The Fatalities were the treat for beating your opponent. Well done, here's a cookie ... on fire ... being thrown off a bridge and into a spiked pit. The blood splats and bones flying were, simply put, icing on a fairly in-depth fighting game system. That's why, of all the gorefighter clones, only Weaponlord (look it up) had any kind of depth. The clones, as well as gamers, mistook the gore as the secret ingredient instead of the icing. The evidence of this point is found even within the MK franchise itself. With MK II came Friendships and Babalities, which were more popular among my friends than the fatalities. Mainly because they were MUCH bigger accomplishments and as such, bigger bragging rights.


"All the Ninjas are the same and Palette Swaps suck."

Of the many, many complaints, this one has the most validity. I won't argue that using these palette swaps to boost a roster count seems lazy. So instead I'll pull a Republican tactic and divert attention away from the original target while calling Street Fighter a socialist. Let's turn back the clock to when MK first came out. Not only were fighting games fairly new, but beat'em ups were large and in charge. Even RPGs were coming into their own. But the hardware? Still a TON of storage limitations and creating all new characters were excessively labor intensive. So let's take a franchise like Street Fighter II, the Golden Child. Obviously Street Fighter would never do something as lame as a palette swap but a head swap is an entirely different thing. It wasn't even until Super Street Fighter II that Ken and Ryu finally started becoming different characters -- just in time to introduce yet another Shoto character. But this was happening in other genres as well.

Red Slime was obviously different from Blue Slime in Dragon Quest just as the Blue Octorock in Zelda was a tougher bastard than a Red Octorock could ever hope to be. But this was the 16-bit era, obviously we left this far behind. Not really. In brawlers like Final Fight, you KNEW Poison was a badass THING when she had pink hair. But later on? Green Hair made her tougher. Fact of the matter is hardware limitations forced the palette swap characters but it was the special moves that pushed MK characters away from each other. Sure, Sub-Zero and Scorpion looked the same, but only an idiot would argue that they played the same. While the franchises first foray into the 3D realm would be a disaster, once fighting styles were introduced into the franchise, none of the palette swap characters could ever be mistaken again.


"_________ mode sucks, thus MK _______ sucks."

Like Tekken and Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat is one of the few series to put so much effort into modes in addition to Versus and Arcade. Which is why it's really frustrating that people have begun mistaking the secondary mode for the main mode. Mortal Kombat, to be fair, only started toying with this idea in their fifth iteration. Before that, the experiments were side stories (MK Mythologies, Special Forces). One was OKAY, the other was an unplayable mess.

Despite this, MK was constantly trying to figure out ways to make the single-player important too. One of their first attempts was Konquest Mode. This elaborate RPG style quest was simplistic and yet somehow convoluted, taking you through an entire lifespan of a new character. At the end of this quest, it's revealed that you are responsible for setting the grand evil free. This character would then join the main roster as an old man for use in Arcade and Versus mode. This, at the time, simply wasn't done. Fighting games had a story, yes, but rarely ever explained why X fought Z. While Konquest was contrived, it also set a tone for licensed fighting games. Dragonball did their story mode similar to Konquest, then so did Naruto games, so on and so forth. Konquest wasn't the best MK had to offer, but aside from unlocking characters, it wasn't forced on you either. Arcade mode was ALWAYS there.

Which brings up to the other modes. Puzzle, Kart Racing, Chess ... suddenly fun little side things were being compared to fully fleshed out competitors. This is 100% unique to Mortal Kombat. Their gem puzzle game was compared directly to Puzzle Fighter, Panel De Pon, and Puyo Pop. Kart Racing was being compared to Mario Kart, Jak Extreme Racing, and Crash Nitro Kart. Chess's AI was being compared to the AI in Chessmaster. To let you know how absurd of a scenario this was, nobody EVER docked Rival Schools points in a review just because their Home Run Derby mode wasn't as good as MLB 97 from EA Sports. The reason? It's a fucking retarded thing to do. Of COURSE MK Kart wasn't as good as Mario Kart. You know why? Because MK was a fighting game first, a Kart Racer sometime way down the road. There was more attention paid to the bruising system in MK than the entire Kart Racing mode. It was MEANT as a "haha" thing, not an entire game. Of course Midway couldn't compete with Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Edition. But you know what? Midway didn't want $40 for that mode by itself. It was a bonus. It was something Midway threw in for fun while mocking the state of the game industry at the time. And if you were one of the people who said MK sucks because of these bonuses, just die in a fire.

Well, there it was, the top five complaints I've noticed and how all of them are beyond retarded. You may disagree. Go ahead, leave a comment. My next Blog post will be all about what MK has done to deserve it's place in the industry, and your hearts.

Remember the guy who said "The way you manufacture a Wii is you take two GameCubes and duct tape. It's not clear to me that Nintendo gives a sh*t about gaming as an art form". Yeah, that was Chris Hecker, and he just got laid off from Maxis. Ironic, as he worked on the original Spore, and Spore: Heroes is just about to make it's way to the Wii. Maybe Nintendo demanded his head on a stake, to be barbecued atop a pile of burning money, before they would allow Spore to take its place in the Wii's library? Yeah, probably not.

Even more ironic is the fact that he's now going indie with a game called SpyParty; a game that looks like it's running on two TurboGrafx-16s scotch-taped together!

HA HA HA! YES! BEST JOKE EVER BLOGGED! YOU'RE WELCOME!

All hilarious comedy aside, the game sounds interesting, and I have to give Hecker credit for going indie in this economy. Still, I'd bet dollars to donuts that he's looking everywhere for jobs as SpyParty comes together. I just hope Chris doesn't plan on going to Nintendo for work. I've got a feeling that their inabiliy to "know sh*t about gaming as an art form" just may keep them from appreciating Chris's body of work.

We get an early look at what will no doubt be one of the most popular classes.

BioWare has shown off the soldier and rogue class types, but today they unveiled what is sure to be one of the most popular classes in The Old Republic: the Sith Warrior. The page details some favorite Sith hobbies, such as channeling destructive feelings, wiping out the Jedi, and stamp collecting. One of those is a joke; see if you can spot which one. It also mentions a "Dark Council" that may serve as structure for the Sith missions, and of course most conflicts will be against the Republic. Obviously the Sith don't work particularly well with others, but the description does mention that they can ally with Sith, Bounty Hunters, "or others who embrace the darkness."

Photo: Mockford/FilmMagic

Oasis canceled an appearance at a French music festival Friday night after a fight between the Brothers Gallagher, and it seems that guitarist Noel Gallagher has quit the band he helped form in 1991 - again. Before the band's scheduled set time, one of the festival's organizers announced to the crowd that Liam and his sibling had "had a fight backstage," and, according to reports, that "the group no longer exists. They will not play tonight and they are canceling the rest of their European tour."

The BBC is reporting the split as official on their Website, and that it was Noel who indeed left. In a statement posted to the band's MySpace page, Noel says he could no longer work with his brother.

"It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight," the statement reads. "People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer. Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz, and Milan," he added, referring to the remaining stops on the band's trek.

According to reports, the crowd at first took the stage announcement as a joke, until screens at both sides of the stage showed the message "As a result of an altercation within the band, the Oasis gig has been canceled."

Ironically, Noel walked out of an Oasis gig in Paris nine years ago, temporarily derailing a world tour in 2000. Last year, before the band launched a tour with Ryan Adams, Noel Gallagher told RS, "I am fucking brilliant every night I go out there."

Photo: Shearer/WireImage.com

Radiohead formally released their new song "These Are My Twisted Words" as a free download today on their Dead Air Space Website. "We've been recording for a while, and this was one of the first we finished. We're pretty proud of it," guitarist Jonny Greenwood wrote, making no mention of the song's leak. "There's other stuff in various states of completion, but this is one we've been practicing, and which we'll probably play at this summer's concerts. Hope you like it." Radiohead have five concerts planned this month, starting with an August 21st performance at Austria's Frequency Festival.

As Rock Daily previously reported, "These Are My Twisted Words" came out of nowhere last week after appearing on a Torrent site. An ASCII file that accompanied the song stated that "Twisted Words" was supposed to be released on August 17th, leading fans to speculate whether it would part of an EP called Wall of Ice due to the artwork that also came with the file. In the end, there was no EP, and as Rock Daily had hypothesized last week, "Twisted Words" was a stand-alone track fated for Radiohead's Waste digital music store.

Contrary to reports on other Websites, the Wallofice.com site that popped up in the days following the leaked "These Are My Twisted Words" turned out to be a creation of someone not affiliated with the band. It's been an active past couple weeks for Radiohead, who have slowly begun revealing new music for the first time since 2007's In Rainbows. First, frontman Thom Yorke debuted a new song called "The Present Tense" at the Latitude Festival, then the band released a new track titled "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" as a charity download. Fans can expect as least one more new song by year's end when Yorke contributes a track to the soundtrack of the Twilight sequel New Moon.

Photograph by Matthew Drazin

Nine Inch Nails played their last ever New York concert last night at Terminal 5, ending a brief four-show run in the Big Apple. At both of their Terminal 5 shows, Trent Reznor and his soon-to-be-unemployed band welcomed Bauhaus' Peter Murphy to the stage to perform a handful of songs. The last shows also featured set lists packed with dozens of Nine Inch Nails' best songs and favorite covers as Reznor waved goodbye to his East Coast die-hards.

Rather than ending his venue-spanning NYC residence with hits like "Hurt" or "Head Like a Hole," Reznor, with Murphy onstage, capped off his stay with covers of Bauhaus' classic "Bela Lugosi's Dead" and, finally, Pere Ubu's "Final Solution." The August 25th show also featured Murphy guesting on Bauhaus' "Kick in the Eye" and NIN's fan-favorite cover of Joy Division's "Dead Souls." At last night's show, Murphy descended from T5's belfry vampire-style, hanging upside as a chain lowered him to the stage, all while singing "Reptile" (Brooklyn Vegan has video of Murphy's Dracula feat, which he memorably pulled off at Coachella several years ago, too).

As Reznor has mentioned several times in the weeks since announcing the retirement of the live Nine Inch Nails, he reiterated to the T5 crowd that NIN will continue to make music, but that his concert days were over. As Rock Daily previously reported, Reznor's NYC stand also featured a performance of the entire The Downward Spiral at Webster Hall.

Next up on Nine Inch Nails' Wave Goodbye tour is a pair of concerts at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom this Friday and Saturday before Reznor performs Sunday, August 30th at Toronto's Virgin Festival. Reznor will officially put his live performance days to rest with a four-day, four-venue stand in Los Angeles. Rock Daily will be at the final (ever?) Nine Inch Nails concert on September 6th at Los Angeles' Echoplex, so check back for our full report.

Kurt Cobain is about to make a posthumous return to music. Activision has announced that "one of the most recognizable frontmen in rock 'n' roll history" will be a playable character in Guitar Hero 5.

Cobain will be featured performing "Smells like Teen Spirit" and a previously unreleased live recording of "Lithium." He joins five other in-game artists in Guitar Hero 5.

"Kurt Cobain is one of the most recognizable frontmen in rock 'n' roll history and it's an honor to have two of Nirvana's masterpieces included in Guitar Hero 5," said Activision vice president of music affairs Tim Riley.

When the god Pan Gu created the first sentient beings, they were still flawed. Instead of peace and harmony, these beasts sought violence and quickly turned against each other. The god Pan Gu acknowledged His mistake, having created an Imperfect World, and wiped them out completely with a great flood.

It was then that He created three races from his own being - the Humans from his spirit, the Untamed from his body and the Winged Elves from his blood. After creating these three races, Pan Gu vowed never to interfere again. The three different races lived, not in perfect harmony, but in occasional conflict. Tensions built up and wars were fought for the lands of the world.

In one time of conflict, the original inhibitors of the world emerged and soon returned in full force. Being stuck between life and death, these beings were called Wraiths. To stand up against this powerful enemy and protect the Perfect World, the three races will have to unite over their differences. It's a violent and miserable time in history, but these wars need to be fought to protect our world from the wraiths.

A Perfect World International

A Perfect World International is a free MMORPG from a Beijing games developer. Many different versions have hit the public over time, but an international client - more specifically aimed at American gamers - has been released relatively recently.

The game, set in the Perfect World, mainly handles character leveling through quests. A lot of side quests are available, but there's also a main quest, which plays a role in further character development by unlocking new skills.

These skills are specific to class (a.k.a. profession) and can range from temporal upgrades of your abilities to new, permanent 'skills'. It's only with the skills that you can really begin to explore a character's possibilities.

Players can choose four different crafting skills, to make in-game items. Blacksmithing allows you to create weapons, tailoring to create armor, crafting to create jewelry and apothecary to create potions.

Special Features

Pet mounts can be acquired in the game, to move (run or fly) a lot quicker along the map. Mounts range from leopards, raptors, and even flying creatures. Having a mount in the game gives one a major advantage over other players. Mounts can be acquired during quests, or purchased in the in-game store.

One of the most unique features of the game are the territory wars, where opposing guilds fight in huge numbers to claim the right of the land. With up to eighty players on each side, this creates an insane PvP experience.

Character customization is incredibly extensive in A Perfect World. Players are permitted to tweak the tiniest detail of their character, as well as choose from a big collection of clothing. The game really gives all means to personalize your character, and no two characters will look entirely the same.

Have you played A Perfect World International yet? If you have, tell us what you think of the game in the comments section below!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

Photo: Metcalfe/Getty

The lead single from Twilight sequel New Moon's soundtrack (due in stores October 20th) will come from Death Cab for Cutie. The exclusive new tune called "Meet Me on the Equinox" will debut next month during the broadcast of the MTV Video Music Awards on September 13th, and the long-awaited follow-up to Twilight will be in theaters November 20th.

"We are very excited to be a part of this amazing series of novels set in our own backyard," says bassist Nick Harmer in a statement. "It just seemed a perfect synergy that a band from the Northwest would create a song for a series of novels set in the Northwest. We wrote 'Meet Me On the Equinox' to reflect the celestial themes and motifs that run throughout the Twilight series and we wanted to capture that desperate feeling of endings and beginnings that so strongly affect the main characters. This song marks the first attempt that Death Cab for Cutie has ever made at contributing new, unreleased material for a film and we are proud to be a part of the 'Twilight' legacy."

The Grammy-nominated band from Bellingham, Washington, won't be the only act on the soundtrack, of course. While no other artists have been confirmed, sources say submissions from Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Bon Iver, Grizzly Bear and Muse are all being considered for the disc.

The Twilight soundtrack, which boasted songs from Paramore, Mute Math, Linkin Park, and Collective Soul, debuted at Number One in late 2008 and has since sold more than 2 million copies.

Musicnotes.com has partnered with Alfred Music Publishing to offer music lovers everywhere a free Guitar Guru Session and guitar tab download of "Over the Rainbow" to honor Les Paul's memory.

Now through midnight on September 2, 2009, visitors to Musicnotes.com can download a free, interactive Guitar Lesson (including matching guitar tab) for "Over the Rainbow." This particular arrangement was arranged by Grammy award-winning artist Aaron Stang, from Alfred Music Publishing to match the performance recorded by Les Paul and Chet Atkins and featured on the album, 'Masters of the Guitar - Together.'

"Les Paul closed every show at the legendary jazz club Iridium in New York City with an instrumental version of this song," said Tim Reiland, Chairman of Musicnotes.com. "This song has a very emotional meaning for musicians everywhere."

In lieu of payment, Musicnotes and Alfred Music Publishing encourage users who choose to download the song to send donations to the Les Paul Foundation, 236 W. 30th St., Seventh Floor, New York, N.Y. 10001.

The free download is available online at http://www.musicnotes.com/free (now through midnight, September 2, 2009).

A handy chart comparing the two $300 game consoles from Microsoft and Sony, and it sure looks like the PS3 comes out on top. Unfortunately, none of this stuff actually sells consoles.

Yes, Blu-ray is a big aspect of what makes the PS3 appealing. But for gamers, is that a huge selling point? As for Wi-Fi, well, that depends on your setup. Most gamers who are serious about playing online probably would rather plug their console right into their router. And Bluetooth? Who gives a shit about Bluetooth?

To be fair, there are definite advantages to PS3 that make it appear to be a better value. Really want a Blu-ray player? Home theater setup too far away from your router to plug the console right in? Turned off by an annual charge for online services? The PS3 is right up your alley.

But for many people who are interested in serious gaming consoles, what matters most is software, not hardware. And the Xbox 360 arguably has the best games library and the best online service. And for me at least, that makes up for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi about 50 times over, which is why I would personally recommend the Xbox 360 to a friend over the PS3. But despite that fact, the decision as to what console to buy has never been harder. Aw, what the hell. Just buy both.

Aw, what the hell. Just buy both.

Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca [Domino; 2009] 9.2

- Paul Thompson, June 9, 2009

Radiohead Amnesiac: Special Collectors Edition [Capitol; 2009] 9.5

- Scott Plagenhoef, August 26, 2009

Radiohead Kid A: Special Collectors Edition [Capitol; 2009] 10.0

- Rob Mitchum, August 25, 2009

8.6

Radiohead
Hail to the Thief: Special Collectors Edition

- Joe Tangari, August 27, 2009

Back in June 2008, BioShock publisher Take-Two Interactive announced that the dystopian shooter was to undergo a big-screen adaptation, with Pirates of the Carribean director Gore Verbinski at the helm. Since then, the project has suffered several setbacks, with Universal Pictures placing the film on hold due to a ballooning ÂŁ160 million budget. Even director Gore Verbinski had second thoughts, though he turned down a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie to direct BioShock.

Now, Variety reports that Verbinski has stepped down from the director's chair altogether, with Universal in talks with 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo to replace him. The film trade notes that Fresnadillo's appointment hinges upon Take-Two's approval, which has final say over director approval.

According to Variety, Verbinski is said to have turned down the project after Universal made plans to move much of the filming abroad, conflicting with the director's schedule. The report notes that Verbinski will remain the film's producer through his production company, Blind Wink.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is best known for helming postapocalyptic horror film 28 Weeks Later, though this is the only major movie the director has on his CV.

Them Crooked Vultures continue to randomly pop up for performances in Europe, and video from the new supergroup's concerts continue to be Americans' only method of hearing the band's music (save for their post-Lollapalooza gig in Chicago that marked their live debut). Up top we have "Caligulove," another new track from Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. As opposed to the propulsive driving force that is "Nobody Loves Me and Neither Do I," "Caligulove" boasts a slower, grungier sound reminiscent of Facelift-era Alice in Chains, with Jones momentarily ditching his bass to step in behind the organ.

The Vultures continue to taunt fans with possible concert venues by using the Google Earth feature on their official Website, and the latest rumors have the band opening up for the Arctic Monkeys - Homme produced the Monkeys' new album Humbug - tonight at London's Brixton Academy.

Them Crooked Vultures are also rumored to be playing the Reading and Leeds Festivals this weekend - in perfect casting, Homme buddies Arctic Monkeys and Eagles of Death Metal are booked for the same day at both fests - but so far nothing has been confirmed.

Below, more footage of Them Crooked Vultures at work at the Lowlands with "New Fang":

Photo by: Williams + Hirakawa

The Smoking Section has the pleasure of telling the world that Julian Casablancas will release his debut solo album, Phrazes for the Young, this fall!

Photo: Brecheisen/WireImage

The Arctic Monkeys' third album Humbug leads this week's fleet of New Releases. Coming just three years after the U.K. band's breakthrough debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Humbug finds the Monkeys, and especially frontman Alex Turner, maturing both in years and musical prowess. The band's third album boasts a heavier sound thanks to producer Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and the darker edge fits the morose grown-up world that Turner paints.

"[Turner's] specialty is still thinking small, noting the everyday details of how people work hard to screw up their lives," Rob Sheffield writes in his four star review of the "ace" Humbug. "He gets into bars more easily now, but he spends too much time in them not having enough fun. The women who reject him only make him slightly less miserable than the ones who don't." Among the album's highlights are first single "Crying Lightning" and the Morrissey-esque ballad "Cornerstone."

However, Sheffield was significantly less enthusiastic about the newest release from Australia's Jet, who once again Xerox the AC/DC playbook with their new album Shaka Rock. There's one song on here, "She's a Genius," that is worthy of standing in the shadow of the band's 2003 iTunes commercial hit "Are You Gonna Be My Girl." The rest of the album only earned two stars from Sheffield, who was inspired by Shaka Rock to create a new reality show, Are You Smarter Than a Jet Groupie?

Hasidic reggae singer Matisyahu also returns this week with his third album Light. Three years after his "King Without a Crown" was a breakout single, the novelty of an Orthodox Jew emulating Bob Marley has worn off, so thankfully Matisyahu's newest album is backed by bright pleasures like the New Wave-y "We Will Walk" and the hippie-soul "Thunder." "He sounds thoroughly like a pro on his third album, which finds him employing island-flavored jams, skittery hip-hop and slick keyboard grooves," Christian Hoard writes in his three-and-a-half star review of Light.

The single largest roadblock that prevents most people from picking up a PlayStation 3 is the price. Sony's just taken that roadblock and shrunk it. You're now $100 more likely to buy a PlayStation 3.

The Difference

The PlayStation 3 Slim is actually more similar to the current PlayStation 3 fat than you'd think. Sony has been slowly phasing out features in the PS3 for a while, dumping USB ports, dumping card readers and dumping the PlayStation 2 backward compatibility. So the step to a Slim, now, isn't actually that steep, compared to what you'd get if you switched from a launch PS3.

What you do get with the Slim is a smaller size, a reduced power consumption rate and a lower price. The lower power usage partially comes from the 45nm manufacturing process, and provides a 34% decrease in power consumption. (It's also 32% smaller and 36% lighter). And, the Slim adds the ability to bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio, which only matters if you're an audiophile with a modern sound system. You also get a new matte finish, which makes the console look less "premium", but eliminates the crazy fingerprint and dust problem the original had. Overall, it's a net gain in goodness.

The Experience

Because it's basically the same console, the only differences you're going to notice are audible ones. The disc drive in the PS3 Slim is louder than in the original PlayStation 3. Think of it like a laptop optical disc drive vs. a desktop optical disc drive. When you're seeking around, it makes a louder grinding noise than its larger counterpart. This noise makes no difference in Blu-ray movie watching, since it's all sequential, and is only occasionally encountered in games, especially since many game install bits and pieces to the hard drive.

Other than that, yeah, it plays the same PS3 games, and it watches the same Blu-ray movies.

The Takeaway

Think about the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 3 Slim like this. You have two wives (I don't know, imagine you're Bill Paxton). Ninety-five percent of the time, they both do pretty much the same things. One is slightly chubbier, the other is slightly svelter. The skinnier one is quieter most of the time, but can get yappy when she can't find something. The thinner one also costs you a little less money, and...has a matted finish? This metaphor isn't going anywhere good, but you get the point. They're basically the same console, except now it's thinner and cheaper.

So the only question now is whether or not you should buy a PlayStation 3 now, or wait until September for the PS3 Slim. Both options are $300, but if you want the ability to install Linux, you'll have to get the PlayStation 3 fat. Then again, the three of you who want that probably already have a PS3.

By lowering the price and making a more economical console, Sony's finally more or less evened the hardware landscape with Microsoft, and continued to ensure that the PS3 is still the best-value-for-your-money Blu-ray player. Now all that's left is getting some more games on there. [Amazon]

Lighter, thinner, less power hungry

Way less fingerprinty

Matted finish and new "squarer" styling might appeal to some, repulse others

Needs a $24 stand to be stable in the vertical position

Continues the tradition of removing features (USB ports, backward compatibility, Linux support) in the PS3 to lower the price

There are many websites which will let you play a lot of free online games. As per your taste and mood, you can choose games of different genres like action, arcade, strategy, puzzles, sports and many more. Among them, the free online Tycoon games are quite popular.

There are many online tycoon games which will grab your attention and give you immense pleasure and satisfaction while playing them. All these games have business structures as their main theme. The storylines of these games are similar to the way real businesses are run. You need to buy things, make investments and sell your stuff.

If you are in a mood to play free online tycoon games, then you should consider these 10 best ones:

Youda Marina

In this game you play the role of the business owner which controls a bay. It all starts with choosing a terrain on which you wish to start your business. Then you are given all the powers of a harbor master. Your primary task is to develop a harbor which can do great business as well as make it an awesome tourist spot. You can build hotels, restaurants, take your tourists to fishing, and construct yachts.

To play this game, you need to be good with time management and should have the zeal to be a great harbor master. All you need to do is make a perfect and popular harbor.

Fish Tycoon Game

This game is very popular among the kids. You play a role of a fish breeder. Its whole layout is so colorful and this is the main reason why kids are highly attracted to it.

As a beginner, you start with a few adult and a few baby fishes. Then you breed them, feed them and sell them. You have an option to come up with new breeds. You can buy a few vitamin chemicals and interesting fish breeding supplies from the market.

Oiligarchy Game

This game takes you back to the time when World War II was over. You play the role of a CEO of an oil company of that time. The game is simply amazing when it comes to the tasks that the gamer needs to perform.

You start with some barren lands, where you need to search for oil wells. Once you find a few, you can drill to take out the oil which can be stored or sold. You are required to meet the yearly goals and if you fail to do so, then the shareholders will fire you. You also need to bribe politicians in the White House and clear some of the oil ordinances that would benefit your business.

Indecision 2008: Money

This is the ultimate free online tycoon game. You play the role of overlord in this game. You have to start with a piece of land with an oil well. You can build homes, oil refineries, hospitals, airports, shopping malls, apartments, movie theatres, parks, theme parks, and many more establishments.

The theme is simple, you need to earn money by building all the establishments. In between you will charged with some taxes, or your city might fall prey to natural disaster causing massive destruction to your properties.

Grand Prix Tycoon

Have you ever felt like placing yourself into the shoes of a F1 franchise owner? Then this is the best way to live your dream.

The best thing about this game is its detail. It starts with choosing a franchise and a driver for it. Then you can upgrade each and every part of your vehicle. Your choice exists even in the selection of grid girls. This doesn't end here; you can also have a close watch on your engineers and pit crew. If you want to keep yourself busy with a tycoon game, then this is the stand out option especially if you are a racing freak.

Youda Camper

Youda has always been into the tycoon games. Youda Camper is one of their best products. Like most of the other Youda games, this one is also based on entertaining tourists and earning money.

In this game, you are in charge of a camp site. You start with a barren terrain and some cash. You have to set up different types of tents to accommodate people. Then you also have to build good restaurants and bars, where people could chill out. You also need to take good care of the road system.

Your job does not end with this, as you also need to advertise your camp site. You have to make an attractive camp site where tourists would come in their summer break, which would fetch you a lot of money. It is a comprehensive tycoon game and while playing, you can unlock a number of interesting items.

Coffee Tycoon

Coffee shops are undoubtedly the best place to hang around. But what does it take to run a coffee shop? This game gives you a chance to build your own coffee empire.

In this game, you start as the owner of a coffee shop. You have a number of milestones to achieve along your journey to expand your business. You have to expand your menu in order to attract more customers. You can increase your income by establishing more coffee shops, advertising your services and by standardizing your brand by installing the latest coffee shop equipments.

You can build your own corporate houses to coffee plants. It also allows you to enter the stock market, where you can keep an eye on your market growth. This is an amazing game to play while enjoying your coffee.

Cinema Tycoon

Movie theaters are one the best places to have a fun time. But running a movie theater is equally difficult. What would you do if were given a chance to run a theatre? Jot down your plans; if you are looking forward to play this game.

Your career starts with an objective to make $1 million in one year. You can run the season's biggest hits on your screen to earn more. You have to invest some money to improve the standards of your theatre by buying the latest equipment, comfortable seats and setting a nominal ticket price. Try this game and see if you can become a cinema mogul.

Now Boarding

Maintaining an airline company and taking it to new heights is not an easy job. You have to keep your customers happy, as they form the fundamental part of your airline empire. You need to make sure that flights are on time. You have to add all the latest technologies to your airport. You also need to maintain the quality in terms of the facilities provided by your airlines. Buy more airplanes, send them to more places and earn more money.

Imperium

This game will make you feel like the king of a budding empire. You have to build an empire with workers and an army. You have to construct farms, carpenters and markets. You have to generate income by exporting the logs, food and iron. At the same time, you need to build a huge army in order to capture the nearby kingdoms. This is authentic tycoon cum strategy game, where your planning comes into play.

These are some of the best online tycoon games that I have come across and I am sure that you would love playing them. Playing these online tycoon games can be a great stress buster and the best part is that you do not even need any management degree to play them.

Do you know of any other tycoon game which we have forgotten? Let us know in the comments.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

The PS3 Slim is coming out in September. This is true! Unless, apparently, you live in Florida, where residents in two separate towns are reporting that the console is already the shelves floors in their local Best Buys.

A tipster shot this from a Daytona Beach Best Buy, where there are already a healthy-and as of yet untouched-stacks of the Slim, marked at the expected $300. Price. This could've been one regional managerial goof-up, but could equally be two unconnected incidents, and a sign that Sony might've been using the word "September" sort of loosely.

So, Floridians: It's probably time to check your local Best Buy. Non-Floridians: It couldn't hurt to have a look. Let us know what you find.

Microsoft wowed racing fans when they unveiled Forza 3 at E3 earlier this year, announcing the game would come with an astounding 400 cars and 100 tracks. But while Gran Turismo 5 failed to make an appearance at GamesCom, a slew of new details posted on Polyphony's Japanese site showed that they're taking this rivalry seriously -- and they have some even more staggering numbers to back them up.

According to a translation of the new details (which have since mysteriously disappeared from Polyphony's site) done by GTPlanet, Gran Turismo 5 will feature 1,000 cars. Yes, that is a one with three zeros -- a number that explodes out of the realm of the impressive, and skyrockets into near absurdity. Apparently 170 of the included cars will also be specially designed models that'll have more detailed interiors, which will also show damage after wrecks (as opposed to only exterior damage on the other 830 cars). GT5 will also introduce the addition of electric cars like the Prius, Insight, and other kinds of hybrids (including the latest Tesla model).

As for tracks, GT5 will feature 20 distinct raceways, but there will be up to 60 different layouts of them. The game will boast a brand new physics system, which will (as previously noted) definitely add vehicle damage, and may even include rollover crashes as well (a new feature in Forza 3 that Turn-10 made a point to show off).

The BioShock movie appears to be back on, with a new director at the helm. Variety reports that Gore Verbinski, previously attached to direct, has bowed out since the new budget called for an overseas shoot that Verbinski would be unable to make. He'll stay on as the movie's producer, but now 28 Weeks Later director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is in talks to direct the game adaptation.

The movie temporarily stalled due to the budget concerns that were resolved by an overseas shoot, but it also removed Verbinski from the project. Fresnadillo's only claim to fame in Hollywood is the zombie horror film, but he's written and directed various Spanish-language films including the thriller Intacto. His placement is contingent on getting the okay from Take-Two.

Looks like Pyro Studios is ready to have another crack at the Commandos series. Gamer.nl (via Kotaku) is reporting that the studio will be returning to the classic World War II strategy franchise after they finish work on Planet 51.

It seems that the as-yet untitled sequel will be closer to Commandos 2 than the more recent Strike Force, which was criticized by fans and critics alike. Pyro called that entry "a mistake."

Commandos is a real-time tactics series that follows a fictional group of British Commandos. The first entry was released in 1998, and the series was successful enough that it received several sequels.

Music plays a large role in our lives. Since the web now plays an even bigger part, combining the two together has become unavoidable. The greatest thing about this powerful duo is that you don't need to spend a lot of time searching for music you like - just use this nifty guide list and you'll find just about everything you need to enjoy hours of good music. The sound quality changes from service to service, but overall, it's good enough for regular web usage.

Please note that this is a list of services that you can use over the net without the need to download anything to your computer. This is why I'm not listing any P2P software: i.e., Spotify, as well the fact that most of us can't really test it or use it for all that matter. This is also only the first half of this guide; part two will include more web music players (including MySpace Music, Streamzy, and others) as well as music search engines and services that make it easy to share songs on Twitter and other social sites.

Music Recommendations:

Pandora is a service that can be used only in a specific locale, this one being within the U.S. Luckily, I had the chance to test the service when it was first released and became available to everyone. Launched way back in July 2005, the project had been in the initial testing phases for five years prior to launch date. Pandora recommends music to you by matching similar musical attributes. All you really need to do is choose an artist or a band you like, and Pandora will do the rest. Pandora delivers high quality 128Kbps audio streams, offering recommendations similar to the artists you have chosen. Pandora's player looks like a radio, you can open up to 100 stations and navigate through them quickly. Registering for Pandora will provide you with a free account (advertising-supported). Free Pandora accounts will play up to 40 hours of music for free per month, you also have the option to pay 99 cents for unlimited listening hours for the rest of that month, or pay $36 to upgrade Pandora for one year. If you want to download music from Pandora, you can do it through iTunes or Amazon. You can see our past Pandora coverage here.

With almost 3 million unique visitors a day, Last.fm is one of the most powerful social music communities on the Web today. Like Pandora, the service allows you to enjoy music that you like, but unlike Pandora, Last.fm analyses what you and your friends listen to and like, and then suggests more music based on that analysis. When you recommend music to a friend or you tag it, or you write about it, or simply just listen to it - you shift the song's importance on the site, and will in turn get recommended to more people. Based on the music you've already listened to, Last.fm will recommend new music you might like, as well as suggest other users with a similar music taste to yours, which you might be interested in friending, and you can also easily communicate with them. If you live outside the U.S., U.K. or Germany, you can listen with a free 30-track trial or subscribe for a low price of $3/month for unlimited radio streaming. (Launched in 2002!)

This is how BlogMusik, looked in 2006, and this is how Deezer (formerly BlogMusik) looks today - pretty impressive change, don't you think? The French-based service is one of the largest and happens to also be a very successful music recommendation search engine. Once registered here, you can create your personal profile and reach the Deezer community. You can create playlists, send messages to your contacts, leave comments, add artists and albums to your favorites, and more. But here's what I like the most - The SmartRadio, which is an intelligent radio that automatically generates 3 hours(!) of continuous listening based on one artist - completely free. Priceless! You can see our past coverage of Deezer here.

I think the first Adobe AIR application that I ever tried was Finetune. Finetune provides you with the most interesting new playlists of related music from your choice of artists. Besides the site's community where you can browse, listen to music, create a profile, connect with other users and more, Finefune also has some cool feautures to complete their suite, and each tool gives you an extraordinary music experience. Take for example the Finetune Wii project (which can be played also over the web), it's a great sight and sound for the eyes and ears. Just enter an artist's name and Finetune will create a playlist with similar music that will play for hours. Best of all it's free, and you also get an iPhone, Facebook and a Desktop app that all sync with your music playlist, no matter where you play it from. You can see our past coverage of FineTune here.

Also worth mentioning in this same topic group are, of course: Ilike.com (acquired by Myspace), and music.strands.tv

Independent Music:

Amie Street is a home for musicians. The service allows music fans to discover new and independent music. Visitors at the site can search for new music based on genre, region, or recommendations. Fans can also search for music according to its price - Amie Street is actually the only marketplace where listeners determine the price of the music. How does it work? Every song is originally priced free or very inexpensive and increases in price, up to 98 cents, as more and more users purchase it. Musicians then get 70% of the revenue from each sale. Additionally, Amie Street matches you with music that you might like, for example: I couldn't locate Coldplay on the site, but I got more than 70 results that sound similar to the band. Obviously, this exposes me to music that I've never heard before, which is always a welcomed experience. You can see our past coverage of Amie Street here.

Why is Jamendo one of my favorite music services? It offers the largest catalog of music under Creative Commons licenses - worldwide. And, not only are all of the albums free to download, there's also a large chance you won't know any of the artists. If you already have an open mind about music, surely it won't stop you from listening to some new albums, right? The best way to find music at this site is to search by the genre tags. Found something that you like? You can review, comment, rate, share and as I've said download it for free. The service is available in seven languages, and has an iPhone app that you can download for free. Business model? Yes they have one too.

SoundCloud is by far the best looking music application there is today. It offers a great interface, a great user-experience and above these all, great music! SoundCloud lets music professionals receive, send and distribute their music. The service allows professionals (and non-professionals) to exchange, and follow music and musicians at the site. It's a full community where people can easily communicate with each other based on shared tastes, but it is also a place where musicians can store and showcase their music using high quality standards. With the free account, you can only upload 5 tracks maximum per month, but if you are an industry fanatic and you find this plan to be somewhat lacking, you can check the pro page for packages that are more suitable to your needs. See our past coverage here.

TheSixtyOne allows artists to upload their songs and lets thousands of listeners decide whether they like it or not. The most popular songs hit the front page. Think about it as a Digg for music, the more people heart a song, the higher it goes. The site connects musicians and fans, giving them all the tools to communicate with each other. For artists, it's good place to promote their work. For anyone else, it's a wonderful place to discover and support new music.

Create&Listen to Playlist:

I've never been very much of a Project Playlist fan, but I have to say it's a good service. Ultimately, it's a community based on playlists. You don't have to register to be able to listen to the music, but once you do, you can start building your playlist and enjoy more features such as the Playlist IM, which is a chat system similar to Facebook where you can connect your 'playlist' friends or even friends from AIM, Facebook, Yahoo Messenger, etc. What else? You can write blog entries, upload photos, privately connect with other members, browse thousands of other music playlists, comment, share, and much more. My guess is that people use this site mostly to share their playlist on their blog/site or social network. Playlist allows you to grab a playlist code and embed it anywhere you want. One thing that bugs me though is that the member's search feature is missing. Today, when everything is so connected to your identity, this is a must have feature. On the other hand, I was impressed to see they saved my playlist from 2006...

Jiwa.fm allows you to create personalize playlist and share it in the Jiwa.fm community or with friends & family. As a member, you are able to share, exchange, and explore music. You can also expand your tastes with the SmartRadio tool. I found this service to be unique in a way because no matter what you are doing at the site, it won't prevent you from listening to your playlist, it just plays in the background. Amazingly, when you click on an artist from within a mixed artists playlist, it will automatically create an album playlist of that artist. You might find the site to be a bit cluttered at first time, but once you get it, it works like a charm - highly recommended.

At Jogli, you don't really need to create a playlist - they create it for you. Think about it as a giant web-based CD store where you can search for an artist, see all of his/her albums, and then listen to them exactly as listed in original CD Let's take Michael Jackson for example: Here you can find all his discography, and listen to his CDs one by one. Clicking on the button 'Play Radio' will open a radio station generated from music you might like from similar artists. As a registered member, you are able to save playlists, write reviews, and more. You can also import your playlists to Last.fm or iTunes to make it a video playlist. Check out our past coverage of Jogli here.

MixTube would have been better and easier if they allowed you to search for Youtube videos on their site to create a playlist. But no, you have to supply them with a Youtube URL, which means, you'll have to go directly to Youtube, search for a song, then copy-paste that song URL back into MixTube. Thus, I found it to be frustrating. But looking at the bright side, you can always search for someone else's playlist, and save yourself time and agony. One word about the Youtube music integration - lots of services use it, but unfortunately, it doesn't offer you much control of your playlist, and what plays today, may not play tomorrow..

Lala is another great music store/playlist maker that we've covered extensively since the site relaunched last year. It allows users to listen to any song they want one time. If you want to listen to a song more than that, you buy a 10 cent 'web song' that lets you stream the song from the cloud as many times as you want (you can also purchase a full download of the song as you would from iTunes or Amazon). The site has a great integrated music player and a variety of pre-made playlists built by other users.

Worth mentioning: Imeem, and Maestro.fm

Music Visualization:

There's no doubt in my mind that Musicovery has a strong following of avid users. The site is an interactive and personalized webradio enabling its users to generate in a few clicks a musical program adapted to the various listening situations and their preferences. Their unique mood matrix proposes a relationship between music and mood in an ergonomic and attractive manner. I've submitted this item about the service to Digg in 2006 and it's good to see the site still works . But things have changed. You have limited navigation if you're not a pro user ($15/3 months or $48/12 months), but once you are - the sky is the limit. In any case, this service will blow you away.

CitySounds.fm is perhaps just a mashup site, but it's a good one! CitySounds.fm collects music from SoundCloud and pictures from Flickr to create a wonderful music experience from a single page. You can listen to the latest music from cities all around the world. At the top are the most active cities and the list is constantly changing as new music is being created.

Web-Radio:

Very similar to Last.fm in concept, Jango allows you to create your own custom radio stations and share them with friends. Just type in what you want to hear - and your station will immediately play the music you want along with similar favorites of other Jango users who share your tastes. You can customize your stations further by adding more artists and rating songs. Each artist get a page, containing the web-radio, the music playlist, biographies, events list, comments from members at the site, and fan list for easy communication. The service claims to be legal and says it pays royalties due to all labels/artists every time a song is played. Moreover, Jango runs a program called Jango Airplay. This program gives emerging artists an unprecedented opportunity to be proactively exposed to the millions of visitors at the site. See our past coverage of Jango here.

RadioBeta is an efficient way to locate radio stations in your area or around the globe. You can search stations by geography, genre, band, language or tags. You can listen without signing up, or you can log in and create your personal dashboard with favorite stations that you can then listen to on a daily basis. We mostly hear radio on the go, but now you can easily track your favorite radio stations on the web. All the radio stations are public so you aren't asked to pay anything to use the site.

OK, TheRadio is also one of my favorites because of its simplicity. Entering an artist or a genre gets you custom channel, but if you go over the channel listing, you will find much more interesting suggestions. I don't know about you but I actually like when someone else picks the music as long is it in the range of my request. Anyway, TheRadio does a great job on finding music that I like - it simply works.

Aupeo fits in the Recommendation list as well as this category. The service lets you experience music in a fours different ways: by Stations, Artist, Mood, and Personal. The Stations area is pretty limited if you don't have a pro account, but you can still get the feel of it. In the Artist zone, you enter your favorite name and choose from a variety stations suggested. The coolest way is the Mode area, which plays music based on your chosen mode. These stations are created by music experts, says Aupeo. The Personal station streams music based on your music behavior at the site. Overall, very intensive and powerful!

Worth mentioning: Tun3r, Mugasha, and Play.fm

That's it for Part 1 of this music guide. If you have any other suggestions related to these groups, you are more than welcome to add them in the comments. In the next part of this post, I'll offer the best options for Music search engines, Music web-players, Twitter-Music craziness, and more. Stay tuned!

Hopes of a high-def sequel to Ubisoft's Beyond Good&Evil, bolstered by the release of an official teaser trailer in 2008 (above) and leaked target footage in 2009, have now been defaleted, with Gamersyde confirming that the title is on hold.

"I got confirmation at Cologne's Gamescom that Beyond Good&Evil 2 is on hold for now," tweeted Colin "Snoopers" Cardo. "No idea if it's def or temporary but it sucks."

I'll see that "sucks" and raise you a "blows monkey balls." Especially since series creator Michael Ancel has been talking about how much bigger and better the sequel was going to be even before the Ubisoft confirmed its existence, with Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot himself revealing the teaser trailer to the gathered world's gaming press at Ubidays 2008. Not to say this sad news was unexpected, as the company has been backpedaling ever since.

"Well, I didn't say there's definitely going to be another game. I said something had leaked, which means we've been working on some Beyond Good and Evil stuff. But whether there's going to be another game or not, that's something for the future," said Ubisoft's North American President Laurent Detoc back in July, completely dismissing the fact that Ubisoft showed footage from the game at an internationally attended press event, which was streamed live on the internet for all the world to see. Even if this corporate doublethink turns out to be a clever means of introducing a new IP based on George Orwell's 1984, consider me unamused Ubisoft.