Hollywood Reporter carries word that British actress and singer Minnie Driver has signed on to voice Lara Croft in Revisioned, an online animated series that will debut July 10 on GameTap.

The show will run in ten installments every week through August 23 and will focus on artists reinterpreting the Tomb Raider heoine, who has been played by a plethora of models, a variety of voice actors and most importantly, Angelina Jolie, since her inception.

Over the next few weeks Reakktor Media will discontinue the practice of transferring characters from Neocron to Neocron 2, their cyberpunk MMORPG. Players who would like to transfer their characters by then will have send in an email with their details to account@neocron.com.

Revealed earlier through a teaser video, Ubisoft has officially announced Dark Messiah of Might & Magic: Elements for the Xbox 360. The console version is being developed by Ubi’s Annecy studio, supported by Valve and Arkane Studios, the original developer; Annecy is known for the multiplayer modes in Splinter Cell games.

Elements is set for release during Q1 2008. A Q&A with producer Daniel Palix can be found here. Below are the first screenshots from the project.

More information on the game after the jump.
(more…)

David Jaffe, creator of Twisted Metal and God of War, has announced on his blog intentions to create a documentary on the Twisted Metal series. He is looking for fans to submit questions and issues that they’d like to see discussed in it.

No timeframe has been given, and the purpose of the documentary wasn’t revealed either.

The latest to get bitten by the Collector’s Edition bug is SouthPeak Games‘ Two Worlds. An RPG set for release this August for PC and Xbox 360, the game’s collector’s edition will come in holographic slipcase packaging and include a map of the game world, a bonus Pen and Paper 72 page color fantasy RPG book along with a second disc featuring bonus music and video content and a web kit that allows players to create fansites. The Xbox 360 version will also include a 48 Hour Xbox Live Gold Trial card, while the PC version will include in-game unlockable items.

The collector’s edition will retail for $70 and $60 on Xbox 360 and PC, respectively. Both editions of the game will be on store shelves August 7.

A brief announcement on the official Auto Assault site notes the closure of the vehicular combat MMO. NetDevil will close the service come August 31, saying that active accounts are no longer being billed. No information was disclosed on why it was closing.

Auto Assault launched last year to generally positive reviews. Developer NetDevil has recently announced plans to revamp JumpGate, one of its other MMOs. The company is also working on Lego Universe.

Although in-game advertising is all the rage these days no one has yet measured the effectiveness of it. Hoping to capitalize on this, SCEA and media ratings firm The Nielsen Company have announced their plans to create a measurement system for in-game advertising on Sony systems, mainly the PS3. User traffic data from PS3, including the PlayStation Network and the upcoming Home, will be analyzed and benchmarked by Nielsen, with the goal of calculating the reach, frequency and effectively of in-game advertising. This data will then be combined with information from Nielsen’s National People Meter panel.

“By marrying SCEA’s server-side data traffic with our standard ratings metrics we will be able to provide advertisers with a much more robust picture of the impact of their game network advertising and of those consumers who are actually playing games, all while preserving consumer privacy,” said Nielsen Games vice president Jeff Hermann.

This isn’t the first time Nielsen has partnered with a games company. It had previously approached Activision to develop similar tracking technology; the project was a prototype for the GamePlay Metrics system.

This year’s E3 is shaping up to be a great one! For the second year running, Microsoft will be bringing a sneak preview of upcoming Xbox 360 games in the form of E3: Bringing It Home, delivering content from the show in the form of trailers, themes, gamer pictures and demos.

The company will also be putting up its E3 2007 press conference on Xbox Live Marketplace in high-definition, besides content from these games and many others:

“Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.)
“Assassin’s Creed” (Ubisoft)
“BioShock” (2K)
“Blue Dragon” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Burnout Paradise” (Electronic Arts Inc.)
“CALL OF DUTY® 4: MODERN WARFARE™” (Activision)
“FIFA Soccer 08” (Electronic Arts)
“Guitar Hero III” (Activision/RedOctane)
“Lost Odyssey™” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“Madden NFL 08” (Electronic Arts)
“NCAA Football 08” (Electronic Arts)
“Need for Speed: ProStreet” (Electronic Arts)
“Project Gotham Racing® 4” (Microsoft Game Studios)
“The Simpsons Game” (Electronic Arts)
“Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08” (Electronic Arts)
“WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2008” (THQ)

The press release notes that there will be “many surprises”, so stay tuned to the Xbox Live calendar for details.

Word comes from publisher Meridian4 and developer Rebelmind that they have signed an agreement to release the latter’s new action-RPG The Chosen - Well of Souls (formerly known as Frater).

“Once again, we have an opportunity to collaborate with Meridian 4 thanks to our latest game; The Chosen - Well of Souls. We are confident that our “new baby” is in good hands and believe that the professionals at Meridian 4 have the ability to bring this new game to all those anticipating its release. Please wait patiently because YOU are THE CHOSEN ones!” said Agnieszka Krawczyk, Sales Director at Rebelmind

The Chosen pits players in the role of a hero who has to take on a powerful sorcerer who is hell-bent and determined to take over the world. There will be 3 playable characters, each with their own distinct skills and abilities; over 200 different types of items; over 12 quests; and more.

Classic Atari game Missile Command has hit Xbox Live Arcade. Originally released for the Atari 2600, the redone title features enhanced graphics, sounds, and special effects and evolved game play. Among graphical enhancements is full HD resolution support up to 1080p, full-screen anti-aliasing and digital surround sound. The game also makes use of the Xbox Live leader boards and includes 12 achievements.

“Atari and Stainless Games have done an incredible job creating the evolved Missile Command for Xbox LIVE Arcade as this version showcases a stunning take on an endearing Atari classic,” said Matt Rush, Producer, Atari, Inc. “The new experience features amazing graphics and impressive sound design, with a great way to earn Achievements on this arcade favorite!”

Microsoft has switched over Chris Early from its casual games business to head up the Games for Windows Live brand.

Effective July 9, Early will lead the initiative as General Manager. The company is counting on him to “drive the product roadmap” and increase the reach of the brand to developers and consumers alike.

The Mario Party series has seen quite a few blockbusters, but the latest title breaks all records. Nintendo has announced that Mario Party 8 for the Wii has become the all-time fastest-selling title in the franchise, having sold more than 550,000 copies in the United States since its launch on May 29.

“The overwhelming response not only reminds us how much fans absolutely love the Mario Party franchise but also proves the unmatched ability of the Wii system to attract new players,” says George Harrison, Nintendo’s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. “Wii users are keeping the Mario Party going strong.”

The new Mario Party makes use of the console’s unique controller, letting players use motion controls. It also features new characters and new mini-games.

Nintendo sent out word that Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will ship for the DS on October 1. Marking the debut of the franchise on the company’s most successful platform, Phantom Hourglass will see heroes Link and Tetra discover a ghost ship in dense fog, starting their new adventure.

The game involves legendary hero Link and Tetra, the leader of a band of pirates, as they discover a ghost ship in dense fog. Link falls into the ocean when Tetra gets into trouble, and he wakes up alone on the shore of a mysterious island. Throughout the game, Link collects sand for his Phantom Hourglass, which allows him to explore deeper and deeper into a time-limited dungeon in his quest to find Tetra.

You can play the entire game with only the Nintendo DS touch screen. Walk up to characters and tap them to start a conversation. Slash your stylus across the touch screen to swing Link’s sword. If players touch an enemy with the stylus, Link attacks. Players can even navigate their ship or set a route for their boomerang simply by drawing a path on the touch screen.

The robust single-player adventure will have Zelda veterans and newcomers alike engrossed by the story as they move through the game with the stylus. A special two-player battle mode lets players connect locally or via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. One player controls Link as he tries to gather as many Force Gems as possible, while the other player manages the enemies who pursue Link. The replayability of these winner-take-all matches is virtually endless.

Phantom Hourglass follows the art style of The Wind Waker for Gamecube. As a special bonus, My Nintendo members who register their game and their DS at MyNintendo.com and fill out a short survey will receive a special Nintendo DS stylus that looks like an old-fashioned quill pen, modeled after an item in the game.

Initially announced as a PS3 launch title, Koei has announced that the Xbox 360 version of Fatal Inertia will be released this September and that the PS3 version has been delayed indefinitely. No reason was stated for the delay.

The game is developed by KOEI Canada, whose team was led by producer Takazumi Tomoike, creator of the Dynasty Warriors series, and Koei co-founder and chief advisor Yoichi Erikawa. Fatal Inertia is powered by Unreal Engine 3 and has racers zooming through harsh environments spanning dense rainforests to immense glacier fields in high-speed vehicles that reach speed of over 500mph.

The first expansion pack for Guild Wars has been marked for release on August 31. Dubbed Eye of the North, the add-on will cost $40 in North America and £25 / €35 in the United Kingdom and Europe; it will also be sold through the in-game store.

Following up on events told in the original Guild Wars campaign, the expansion is set in previously unexplored areas of the continent of Tyria. There will be new features including 18 large, multi-level dungeons, 150 new skills across all ten Guild Wars professions, ten new Heroes, 40 new armor sets, and more items, weapons and titles. Additionally, the expansion introduces Hall of Monuments, letting characters preserve their accomplishments and titles from previous Guild Wars titles, which can later be claimed in Guild Wars 2.