Aramation Games

If you own a slim PSP, you can finally download PSP firmware 3.90 and Skype all you want. Of course this requires the PSP headset with remote control, and this is not available for the older PSP models as they lack the processing power for proper VoiP calls.

Access it through XMB’s “Network Update” menu.

[Update]: Now you can download the custom firmware 3.90 M33 just a few days after the release of the original firmware. Visit Dark-AleX’s page for download links. If you already have 3.80 M33, you can just use the “Network Update” menu to get the latest goodies.

If you have read my review for SimCity: Societies, you would have realized city zoning was removed from the game. Now it has turned up in The Sims Carnival SnapCity which is, surprisingly enough, not a Sims game nor a Sim City game. Instead it is a perverse puzzle casual game that just borrows elements from both franchises.

You’re in charge of building a city, and this city is built by falling blocks. You must fill an area with same colored blocks (green for residential, yellow for industrial and blue for commercial). The more areas you fill up, you get more tax revenue. And with your tax revenue, you use social services: if there’s a fire, you spend money to put out the fire. If there’s a riot, you spend money by deploying SWAT forces, and so forth. Of course you need to build roads to make sure those filled areas develop, and bulldoze decaying buildings. Some special areas allow you to construct attractions and services buildings such as a police station, municipal parks, or even gas stations that effect surrounding neighbourhoods.

It all sounds interesting, but the actual gameplay is incredibly repetitive and boring as all you do is direct where falling blocks will go. There are no strategies involved, and after a few missions, you’ll realize not too many new concepts are being introduced to make grinding worthwhile. In the later missions, all that changes is there are more requirements (such as no abandoned buildings, certain number of trees, building certain structures…) thrown at you just to make it more “challenging”.

At $19.99, some could consider this purchase but instead, spend the same amount of money and get SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition which will guarantee you a lot more strategy and fun city building.

Rating: 25%

[Download 1 hour free trial]

Best Buy in the United States has stopped selling 80GB version of Sony’s PS3. In Canada however, it is still available for purchase. And Best Buy Canada has a great deal on 40GB version: when you buy one at regular price ($399), they give you Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 and Rainbow Six Vegas for free!

[Visit Best Buy Canada PS3 page]

Turok (X360, PS3)
Turok returns to the gaming world in the first next-gen entry. You play as Joseph Turok who travels to a distant planet, only to find it inhabited by dinosaurs, soldiers and aliens.

Other releases:

• DS: Bomberman Land Touch! 2, Mega Brain Boost
• PC: King’s Bounty: The Legend, Pacific Storm: Allies, The Sims: Castaway Stories
• PSP: Bomberman Land, Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice
• Wii: Bomberman Land
• X360: Chessmaster LIVE

Well it’s official. Grand Theft Auto IV will be released on April 29, 2008 worldwide on both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. That means there’s just 3 months remaining for everybody to go crazy over every screenshot and footage they release…

[Read full press release]

Brazil’s ban on EverQuest and Counter-Strike goes into effect this week because they are “harmful to consumers’ health” and they “incited violence”. This ban was ordered in October 2007 by a Brazilian federal court.

[Read full story by AFP]

Best Buy is selling 2 $19.99 games for just $30, which represents a $10 savings. It is a great deal if you were ever interested in those titles. Here are the titles available for purchase: hurry quick as the games in this online offer are bound to disappear quickly! Of course, the presence of so many PSP titles is a bit disconcerting but they feature some of the best games available on that system. (Recommended titles in bold)

Xbox 360

• Beowulf: The Game
• Call of Duty 2
• Kengo: Legend of the 9
• Lego Star Wars II - The Original Trilogy
• NBA Live 06
• Rayman: Raving Rabbids
• Shrek the Third
• Tetris Evolution
• Top Spin 2
• Viva Pinata

PS3

• Beowulf: The Game
• Enchanted Arms

PSP

• Blitz: Overtime
• Burnout Legends
• Chili Con Carnage
• Dead Head Fred
• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus
• Metal of Honor: Heroes
• Namco Museum Battle Collection
• Need for Speed: Carbon
• Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• Sonic Rivals
• Star Wars: Battlefront II

Wii

• AMF Bowling Pinbusters
• BIONICLE Heroes
• Blazing Angels: Squadron of WWII
• Game Party
• Mercury Meltdown Revolution
• Red Steel
• Shrek the Third
• Spider-Man 3
• Spy Games: Elevator Mission
• Tamagotchi: Party On!
• Ultimate Board Game Collection

DS: visit this page for full listing

No More Heroes (Wii)
Creator of Killer7 releases another action game that’s unlike anything seen before. You control Travis Touchdown, an assassin who strives to be the best in his game thanks to his light sword.

Burnout Paradise (X360, PS3)
The first Burnout game built for the next-gen platform gives you an open world to roam and take missions.

Other releases:

• DS: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, Mario & Sonic at the Olympics
• PC: Pacific Storm: Allies, Pirates of the Burning Sea
• PS2: Iridium Runners
• PS3: PixelJunk Monsters
• PSP: Rainbow Islands Evolution
• Wii: Endless Ocean, One Piece: Unlimited Adventure

Over the holidays, Xbox Live suffered minor service outage for a few days. In order to make up for these interruptions, Microsoft announced every Xbox Live member (both Silve and Gold worldwide) will be able to download Undertow for free starting next Wednesday. This free game will be available only until Sunday so make sure you get it and save 800 Microsoft points.

[Visit Gamerscoreblog for full detail]

Nintendo has released its 2008 games schedule. Read the full list after the jump:

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