The first batch of downloadable content for Bullet Witch is now available through Xbox Live Marketplace. It includes a free brand new White Witch costume for the game’s heroine and a Bullet Witch Xbox 360 Theme Pack. Additionally, for 20 points each, players can download one brand new mission “Dynamite Beauty” and two enhanced versions of the “Clad in Streaming Black” mission featuring ‘Great Spells’ unlocked and a heightened level of difficulty, respectively.

More free costumes will be released over the coming weeks - Mummy, Schoolgirl, Secretary and Pixie. New missions ‘Caterpillar City’, ‘Endless’, ‘One Shot Kill’ and ‘Geist Search and Destroy’, plus enhanced editions of the missions ‘City of Screams’, ‘Up in Flames at 10,000ft’, ‘Down in the Valley’, ‘The Bound Soul’ and ‘The End of Chaos’, will be available for 20 points each.

Konami has officially announced the English voice cast for Metal Gear Solid 4, revealing that David Hayter will reprise his role as Solid Snake. Returning as Roy Campbell is Paul Eiding, Quinton Flynn as Raiden and Christopher Randalph as Otacon.

This page has more details, including a podcast where they talk to the actors.

GameTap is now host to the fifth episode of Sam & Max dubbed Reality 2.0.

With an internet crisis looming and a viral video game holding its players hostage, in this episode Sam & Max need to slip into a new reality to set things right. Can our heroes crack this virtual case in time to avoid a worldwide system failure?

It will be available standalone some time later.

Who says you have to have fun enjoying the luxuries of a cruise when you can play video games on it? Nintendo and the Norwegian Cruise Line hope so, as they have partnered to provide the guests of the latter the chance to play Wii games on board its ships. The console is currently on NCL’s newest ship - Norwegian Pearl - and all NCL America ships; it will be rolled out to the rest of the fleet by next month.

The WIi systems are decked out with five games: Wii Sports, Wii Play, WarioWare: Smooth Moves and Excite Truck. The systems will be located in the atrium and other public rooms, allowing guests to gather and play on large video screens. Each ship’s Kid’s Crew facility will also feature two Wii kiosks providing kids-only fun. The ships will also host tournaments and other activities based around these games.

Contradicting this earlier rumor, Paul Anderson told IGN that he is still involved in the planned Castlevania movie. He is working on Death Race and Castlevania both which are “set up at Universal,” but that there are scheduling conflicts which he is trying to resolve. “I am very passionate about Castlevania and whatever happens I will remain actively involved in my role as writer and producer,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Hitman movie is gaining steam. Dark Horizons reports that Olga Kurylenko, Robert Kepper, Ulrich Thomsen and Michael Offei have joined the cast, which features Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47, the cold-blooded-bald assassin. Dougray Scott plays the villain.

According to the report, the movie will have Hitman being chased by the Interpol and the Russian military. Shooting will begin this week in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, with locations in South Africa, Istanbul, St. Petersburg and London.

IDG World Expo has announced that Nintendo of America has signed on as an “anchor exhibitor” for the E for All Expo, scheduled for October 18-21 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“Nintendo’s early involvement in E for All demonstrates the importance of a broad consumer-focused event for this industry,” says Mary Dolaher, executive vice president of IDG World Expo. “E for All has been shaped from the ground up with all gamers in mind, and Nintendo has proven its commitment to embracing the spectrum of gamers, as we’ve seen with their launch of the Wii. In addition to being our flagship exhibitor, Nintendo of America Executive Vice President of Operations Don James has agreed to serve on our Exhibitor Advisory Board. I couldn’t ask for a more universally respected colleague in this new venture.”

E for All will be a consumer-oriented show, offering video gamers and anyone interested the chance to play and check out upcoming games. The event also aims to let publishers launch an early and successful holiday shopping season.

When I first laid my eyes on the PS3, the first thing I had noticed was the Spider-man font used as the PlayStation 3 logo. It broke my heart, and now I know who to blame: Ken Kutaragi!

According to CVG, Teiyu Goto, the “creative force behind the design of PS3,” revealed that Kutaragi was the one who presented the idea to him about using the font since the design of the console meant that the old logo style would look out of place.

“Take the PS2 logo - we created it to blend in with the rectangular shape of the console. Personally, I feel very strongly that the logo would not have looked right on PS3.

“If you really look at the PS3 contour carefully, it is rounded when viewing the console in profile. Rather than creating a typography with all the risks that entails, it was wiser to use the one from Spider-Man, for which Sony has the rights.

“It was also the wish of President Kutaragi, who insisted that I use this typography. In fact, the logo was one of the first elements he decided on and the logo may have been the motivating force behind the shape of PS3.”

Helsinki, Finland is now host to a new game developer - Recoil Games - that it composed of industry veterans who plan PC and console games “with the scope, feel and ensemble cast of disaster movies.” These “Cinegames” will feature huge stories and require a large ensemble cast to solve the challenges, including internal human conflict, and more.

Recoil Games is founded and headed by Samuli Syvähuoko (33), former co-founder and managing director of Remedy Entertainment, the company behind the hugely successful Max Payne game franchise. Mr. Syvähuoko’s other experience includes helping set up Futuremark, the industry leader in benchmarking software, and founding Fathammer, a provider of 3D mobile games and technologies that was sold to UK-based Telcogames in 2006.

The other founders of Recoil Games are Technology Director Jarkko Lempiäinen, Level Design Director Samuli Viikinen, Design Director Aki Määttä, Art Director Mikko Kautto, Senior Game Designer Petteri Putkonen and Lead Concept Artist Hans Zenjuga. The founding team members have an average of ten years of experience in the game industry, having worked previously at companies including Bugbear, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Fathammer, Guerrilla Games (Sony), Housemarque, Remedy Entertainment, Treyarch (Activision) and Ubisoft both in Finland and internationally.

They are currently working on the aforementioned idea based on an original IP, utilizing in-house technology as well as third-party tools. The target platforms are PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

1C Company has announced King’s Bounty: The Legend as the new title for the project formerly known as Battle Lord. King’s Bounty is said to be a continuation of the legendary role-playing adventure that is considered a forerunner to the Heroes of Might and Magic series. It is being described as a “true rejuvenation” and not just a spiritual successor.

As per the announcement, the name change will not translate into any delays or changes in the game’s direction. King’s Bounty: The Legend is scheduled for release during Q4 2007.

Microsoft has officially announced Xbox 360 Elite, a third version of the console featuring a 120GB hard drive, a HDMI port, a high-definition cable, and a premium black finish, along with matching wireless controller and Xbox Live headset. It will retail for $479.99 and is expected to be in stores starting April 29.

The 120GB hard drive, as well as other black-colored peripherals and accessories, will be sold separately. The hard drive will go for $180, wireless black controllers for $50, black rechargeable battery for $12, and Play & Charge kit for $20. If you’re looking to get the hard drive, then be sure to check out the restrictions, as well as the content it will come preloaded with. And don’t forget Sony’s reaction to the whole thing.

In related news, Microsoft also announced that Xbox Live Video Marketplace will feature more high-definition content from Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., along with new content from A&E Network, ADV Films, National Geographic and TotalVid.com.

If they did this ten years ago, I would have killed myself in glee, but times do change… Sega and Nintendo have jointly announced that Mario and Sonic, two of the greatest icons in video game history, will officially star in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Wii and DS.

To be published by Sega across Europe and North America, and Nintendo in Japan, this Christmas, the game will have players compete in events that take place in environments based on the official venues of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Featuring a cast of characters from both franchises, the game will make use of the Wii and DS’ unique controls, allowing players to race the likes of Mario and Sonic down a 100m track, engage in table tennis or swimming.

“We are thrilled to partner with Nintendo and ISM on this groundbreaking title,” said Hisao Oguchi, President and Chief Operating Officer, SEGA Corporation. “For the first time, two of the world’s greatest games’ characters come together to compete in the world’s greatest sporting event and we couldn’t be more excited.”

“Mario and Sonic have been respectful rivals since the early days of video games,” says Shigeru Miyamoto, Senior Managing Director and General Manager, Entertainment Analysis and Development Division, Nintendo Co., Ltd.. “In fact, for a long time they have been discussing the possibility of one day competing against each other. Now that they have been given the perfect opportunity to meet at the Olympic Games, we may finally learn who is actually faster, Mario or Sonic?”

They also sent over the official history of Sonic and Mario. Check them out!

Having hell to freeze over would require Duke Nukem Forever to be released. So, let’s just say pigs are flying, alright?

EA has announced that it has renewed the Lord of the Rings license to create additional games within the world created by Tolkien’s epic fantasy series of books. Lasting through 2008, this new license will be bolstered by the publisher’s next project with New Line Cinema and Tolkien Enterprises scheduled to ship next year; it’s an unannounced project and no details were disclosed.

“We have a long history of making great games with EA and are thrilled to extend our longstanding relationship,” said David Imhoff, New Line’s senior executive vice president of worldwide licensing and merchandising. “We look forward to working closely with EA to create even more compelling Lord of the Rings adventures in the future.”

Now that Lego and videogames are so hot and popular, it would only make sense to create more games like Lego Star Wars, right? Warner Bros. thought so too, and they have officially announced their intention to create a game franchise around the Lego Batman brand.

In development at Traveller’s Tales - the guys behind the Lego Star Wars series - the game will let players take control of Lego brick versions of Batman and Robin. DC Comics president Paul Levitz commented, “There’s a special magic to the LEGO incarnation of Batman that makes him accessible to a younger generation of his fans. We look forward to the videogame version extending this fantasy.”

Lego Batman: The Videogame is being worked on for both next-gen and current-gen platforms, as well as the PC, for release some time next year.

EuroGamer reports of a new Wipeout game for the PSP straight from Studio Liverpool. Dubbed Wipeout Pulse, the game will offer 24 new, reversible tracks, various ad-hoc and infrastructure modes, eight new racing teams, seven game modes, as well as licensed music, with songs by Mason, Loco Dice and Stanton Warriors.

According to the report, a new track element called the “Mag Strip” will be introduced in Pulse. This will lock ships to the surface of the tracks temporarily, allowing designers to add things like loops, vertical drops and other such sections to “mess with your head.” Gamers will also be able to personalize their vehicles; it will also feature the option to listen to your own MP3 tracks in the game, as well as a Photo mode that will allow users to take shots of their ships and post online.

The article also details plans that downloadable content for Pulse has been lined up for launch day; more is to be expected soon thereafter.

Wipeout Pulse will be released this September for the PSP. And as Shacknews puts it aptly, the game’s name is not WipEout.

2K Games has announced Beyond the Sword, the second expansion pack for Civilization IV, one of the best selling strategy games of all time. Developed by Firaxis Games, and set for release this July, the expansion will focus on the late-game time periods after the invention of gunpowder, delivering 12 different scenarios, ten new civilizations, 16 new leaders, five new wonders and a variety of new units. Here’s more:

• Expanded Epic Game: Firaxis Games delivers a massive increase in new units, buildings, and technologies to the epic game with additional focus on the late-game time periods.

• New Game Scenarios: The expansion will deliver 12 new scenarios, many containing themes never before included in the Civilization series, custom designed by the team at Firaxis and select members of the Civ Fan Community.

• New Civilizations: The expansion pack includes ten new civilizations, such as Portugal, Babylon and Netherlands and their associated unique units and buildings.

• More Civilization Leaders: Sixteen new leaders including leaders for the ten new civilizations, as well as additional leaders for existing civilizations.

• Corporations: A new gameplay feature that allows players to create corporations and spread them throughout the world. Each corporation provides benefits in exchange for certain resources.

• Espionage: Now available much earlier in the game, this expanded feature offers players many new ways to spy on opponents, stir citizen unrest and defend their government’s secrets.

• Events: New random events such as natural disasters, pleas for help, or demands from their citizens will challenge players to overcome obstacles in order for their civilizations to prosper.

• New Wonders: Five new wonders await discovery including the Statue of Zeus, Cristo Redentor, Shwedagon Paya, the Mausoleum of Maussollos, and the Moai Statues.

• Expanded Space Victory: Winning the race to Alpha Centauri will now require more strategic planning and tactical decision making.

• Apostolic Palace: The United Nations will become available earlier in the game, providing a way for players to win a diplomatic victory earlier. New resolutions will also be added which will expand the available diplomatic options.

• Advanced Starts: A major fan request, this new feature will enable players to “buy” components of a custom-tailored empire and begin play in the later part of the game, allowing them to experience many of the new features of the expansion pack in a shorter amount of time.

• Enhanced AI: The AI has received many enhancements, making it tougher to beat on the higher difficulty levels. The ways in which the AI will attempt to achieve victory have also been expanded.