LEGO® Star Wars III: The Clone Wars will include all the characters from both seasons of the hugely popular animated television series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as well as some fan-favourite characters from the beloved theatrical Star Wars Saga. The game will feature brand new battle modes, giving players unique, head-to-head combat and an upgraded level builder, allowing the creation of customized bases and in-game battlefields. Play either as a Jedi or Separatist with all-new character abilities, such as Squad command, Lightsaber slicing, Lightsaber jumps, long distance Jedi attacks and Grapple Tie-Ups, all within a new, easy-to-navigate hub.

How far do you think this LEGO Star Wars thing will go? Lucas has shown that he can keep cranking out new stories based Star Wars, so I suppose the games will keep coming so long as he and his minions can keep up with the writing.

Well, I did enjoy playing LEGO Star wars II: The Original Trilogy. Haven’t beaten it, yet, as I’ve been too busy trying to kill the jokers who run the infinite care package glitch.

Traditionally, QB’s and runningbacks have been the staple position in Madden cover-dom. Only two defensive players have been on the cover and only one receiver. But EA Sports has chosen their cover athlete’s up to this point, so who knows who will be chosen this year?

Visit http://www.doritoschangethegame.com to cast your vote.

PS – just as in every year, EA Sports has done a simulation game of Super Bowl XLIV with the underdog Saints winning by four points. Keep in mind that the sim has only been wrong once. To take a look at all of the stats go here (links to Joystiq).

EA is having a big day today, with 3 major releases in Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC), Need for Speed Nitro (Wii), and Lego Rock Band (Xb360, PS3, Wii, DS). Dragon Age: Origins is an epic Fantasy-RPG with diverse choices and quests. One interesting “hook” of the game is that players’ starting positions in the story and location in-game will be based on their character design choices. The game is developed by BioWare (Mass Effect, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic), a company that has built a very respectable reputation for aiming for ambitious targets in their games and hitting them. Need for Speed: Nitro is a Wii-exclusive racing game where players can race at various locations around the globe. This is the first Need for Speed title in recent years for Wii developed by EA Montreal. Fans of the series have considered the past few iterations to be less than stellar, and look for EA Montreal to output a better version this year. After seeing Need for Speed: Shift’s innovative new approach and success, hopefully Nitro will carry the torch just as well. Following up on the Rock Band centering on The Beatles from September EA is today releasing Lego Rock Band, a title intended for younger gamers. Lego Rock Band’s music library includes E-rated pop songs from Elton John, The White Stripes, and Bon Jovi.

The other big music game hitting stores today is Activision’s Band Hero (Xb360, PS3, Wii) which is seen as LEGO Rock Band’s direct competition. Band Hero also features a pop-heavy library with songs from Taylor Swift, No Doubt, and 3 Doors Down.

Another title which may or may not be considered a “new” release is the Star War Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition (Xb360, PS3, PC) from LucasArts, which includes two extra missions from the Original Trilogy set in Tatooine and Hoth and retails for $39.99. Additionally, PSP owners will also be able to experience the Star Wars universe today in Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron.

Dirt 2 for PC is coming out today, a few weeks after the consoles versions. The reason for this is that Codemasters took time to develop the game for Windows 7 and DirectX 11.

Here is the scoop on each:

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X
Back by popular demand! When Sigma leads a group of Reploids in a revolt against mankind, it’s up to X and Zero to protect the world from ruin. The revolutionary Mega Man X side-scrolling game is recreated with 3-D graphics, remixed music and special unlockable features!

Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
The secret power of the dark is unleashed! Fight head-to-head in a fierce and brutal battle for supremacy! This fan favorite features vivid animations and unbeatable fighting combinations. This fighting phenomenon is updated, redesigned, and ready for a comeback.

While the official word on whether or not this lineup change affecting the leader of the pro basketball genre is not in yet, NBA Live is this week getting an update with a dynamic season mode. Here’s the official scoop -

NBA LIVE 10 Dynamic Season Mode Available Tomorrow: In conjunction with the start of the NBA season, NBA LIVE 10’s Dynamic Season mode will be activated for all Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 users who have inputted the Dynamic DNA code that is available with all new copies of NBA LIVE 10. Dynamic Season provides the most authentic basketball season mode seen in a videogame to date. Daily Dynamic DNA updates provided by Synergy Sports Technology – the premier analytics provider for 27 NBA teams – are loaded into Dynamic Season so that the game contains the most up to date Player DNA, Tendencies, Shooting Percentages, Streaks, and Roster/Lineup movement, as you play along with the NBA season. Take control of your favorite team and merge your results with the results from the real NBA. Change reality and bring your favorite team to the NBA Finals.

Along with this addition, a patch for the game will be released with the following gameplay updates and enhancements -

GAMEPLAY ENHANCEMENTS:

- Auto-switch to PG on defense after a made basket
- Enabled rim stuffs. Now when you try to dunk in traffic, there’s a chance you’ll brick the dunk.
- Tune nets to make them a bit less stiff
- Added more variation to “get back” animations after made shots. Less “skipping” back.
- Disabled the canned scenario steal that happens when you rip the ball from a player who is sizing up. Instead, we allow actual collision with the ball if the defender performs a steal while a ball handler is making a dribble move. Makes for a much more read and react, twitch game on defense.
- Improved Freestyle pass animation selection to prevent guys from bursting into a sprint while passing on the move.
- Backdown button is back. Enabled right thumbstick click to toggle between face up and backdown postures.
- Disabled the turnaround jumpshot that would play if the shooter is facing away from the hoop when outside of 18 feet. So instead of a turnaround three, players will pivot and shoot a regular jumpshot.
- Minor tuning to shot and layup percentages.
- Improved responsiveness and AI’s usage of off ball cuts.
- Stop the rebounder from running up court too early after securing a rebound
- Improvements to reception logic, specifically square up catches
- Improve player reaction to loose ball situations
- Left analog passing improvements: Update analog angle metric to consider the receiver’s destination so you can lead the receiver with the pass
- Improved the logic of when to play a standing reception vs. a moving reception based on the receiver’s momentum and position on the court.
- Added the ability to “lockdown” perimeter ball handlers (by pressing into them) and force them into a protect dribble state.
- Ability to shoot “runners” on demand by driving toward the basket, neutralizing the left analog stick and hitting the Shot Button. Works inside of 18 feet.
- Improvements to user on ball defense. Made it easier to stay in front of the ball without “slipping off” when you move your left stick toward the ball handler.
- Anti-cheese code. Prevent users from being able to take off ball control of players and run them under the hoop for the cheap pass and dunk.
- Inbound flow improvements. Allow the inbounder to move to multiple (closer) locations along the baseline after picking up the ball.
- User control over shot contest vs. block. Tap of the Block button will always yield a contest animation. Regular press will always jump to block.
- Several improvements for end of game AI logic. When the AI is ahead, they’ll do a better job at recognizing time and score and use more clock. If they’re trailing, they’ll accelerate the offense.
- Improve AI logic for pump fake biting. AI defenders will be smarter about defending pumpfakes according to difficulty level. Previously, the higher the level, the more often they’d bite. Also, if user is pump faking multiple times in succession, the AI will stay down.

BUG FIXES:

- Smooth out some of the gameplay by tuning blend times for passes as well as some various fixes for blend pops across the board.
- Exploit fix. Fixed bug in shot calculator that would make stepback jumpshots that crossed the 3pt line have unrealistically high FG%s.
- Fixed sliding and warping during standing rebounds
- Addressed issue where defenders would sometimes watch the ball fall off the rim. Increase the allowable distance for a teammate to come help.
- Player Lock fixed. AI teammates will now make decisions on their own when user is player locked off ball.
- Put the ball handler into protect dribble if the on ball defender attempts to crowd him. Previously, the ball handler would not recognize the defender and just expose the ball.
- “Rocket dunks” fixed. Fixed a bug that was causing dunks to speed up by 30% and added code to have dunks retain the shooter’s on-ground velocity, preserving his momentum after takeoff. Also applies to layups.
- Various post play fixes, including the case where two guys would stand next to each other while one of them was posting up.
- Addressed a potential exploit where it would be too easy to pass to cutters for dunks. As part of this fix, we now allow ball collisions on passes when passing into the paint.
- AI Stagnation fixes: Ball handler would sometimes not properly pass to receivers in a play. Also, we allow the ball handler to “improvise” if we detect he’s been idling for too long.
- Fixed an issue where sometimes an off ball cut animation wouldn’t properly settle into the correct spot.
- Restricted the post up and under move to within 12′ of the basket. No more ridiculous up and under heaves from deep.
- Fixed an issue where off ball post players would sometimes quickly go in and out of post battles, significantly cutting down on jitter.
- Fix for big men waiting too long to outlet the ball after rebounding
- Fix for fidgety box outs. They should kick in more reliably now.
- Prevent user passes to teammates who will be out of bounds or to teammates in the backcourt after they’ve crossed the timeline.
- Improve goaltending calls
- Fixed ball physics for blocked layups/dunks. There was a mirroring issue that was causing the ball to shoot off in the complete opposite direction of its intended path.
- Fixes for animation oscillation on defense (i.e. jittery movement)
- Fixed a bug that would cause certain off ball movement animations to not mirror properly
- Series of small fixes to prevent balls from hitting the floor during rebounds.
- Fix for shooting fouls not properly getting called on collision layups. This will yield more realistic free throw attempts for both the user and CPU.
- Put in a fix to mitigate the excessive turnovers inside the paint, specifically after pulling down an offensive rebound. Gives users a little more time to pass out or attempt a shot when they get in congested areas in the paint.
- Smoother ball handler post up entries. Sometimes guys would “pop” into place.
- Fixed issue where players would sometimes “freeze” in an off ball post battle before receiving a pass.
- Fixed bug where the “check assignment indicator” would draw on one of your own teammates in LIVE RUN games.

Rob Zombie is bringing 2 tracks from his debut solo album Hellbilly Deluxe (”Dragula,” “Superbeast”) and one from his newest album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2 (”Burn”). Good luck on the vocals there, gamers. Wolfmother will be howling in 5 tracks with “New Moon Rising,” “Pilgrim,” “Sundial,” “White Unicorn,” and “Woman.” Outside of the Halloween festivities is Liz Phair’s “Rock Me” and Morningwood’s “Sugarbaby” and “Best of Me.” Rounding out the group are two Rock Band Unplugged Tracks, Sonic Youth’s “Kool Thing” and Steely Dan’s “My Old School,” set for a October 29th release.

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Rob Zombie Pack 01,” “Wolfmother Pack 01” and as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system and as individual tracks on Wii.

Pricing: $1.99 USD (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track

$5.49 (440 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Rob Zombie Pack 01”

$8.49 (680 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Wolfmother Pack 01”

$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points) per track

$1.99 per track on the PSP system

If playing FIFA or Winning Eleven is not enough football for you, SEGA has your answer with Football Manager 2010. This title takes the gameplay off of the field and onto the sidelines, letting players decide key lineup changes, formations on the field and more. The Football Manager series is no stranger to accolades and has consistently received praise for its unmatched ability to put players in the shoes of coaches.

Football Manager 2010 will be in UK stores on October 30th on PC and PSP. The PC demo can be downloaded at mirrorfootball.co.uk.

North Americans gamers will have to wait for this football er, soccer, game until October 20th, 2009. Fans across Europe have been drawn to experience FIFA 10’s deep online feature set in record numbers. Since launch, more than 10 million gaming sessions have been played online, with over 155,000 gamers playing online simultaneously during peak playing hours.

For more information about FIFA 10 visit www.FIFA.easports.com.

The question on everyone’s mind is “will it work?” The PSPgo requires users to have a wireless internet connection to access Playstation Network, where games can then be purchased and downloaded. Some might find the lack of games’ physical data storage to be more of a hassle. But considering the everyday expansion of wireless availability, this data storage choice only seems to make sense.

The story of Obscure: The Aftermath follows a group of friends attending Fallcreek University who discover that a mysterious black flower, with addictive hallucinogenic effects, also has the terrifying ability to induce hauntingly vivid dreams. Soon the students find themselves fighting for their lives—and their sanity—as their nightmares become a horrible reality.

“This is a heart-pumping, thrill-seeking teen horror title that is loaded with dark humor, intense combat and an unusual blend of genuine gore,” said Rogier Smit, executive vice president of Playlogic Entertainment. “Combine that with stunning visuals, a unique story-driven plot and Obscure: The Aftermath delivers a truly horrific experience that will no doubt send a chill up your spine!”

Heavily inspired by teen-slasher movies, Obscure: The Aftermath is an action-packed title that features an onslaught of gruesome imagery, an awesome hair-raising soundtrack and a 2-player co-op gameplay mode where players can work together to solve puzzles, combat hideous monsters and enjoy a wide variety of deadly weapons all at their disposal for violent experimentation.

To learn more about Playlogic Entertainment and its products, please visit www.playlogicgames.com.