In what can only be good news for those writing the stories of the games we play, the Writer’s Guild of America has announced the creation of a Videogame Writing Award, to be presented at the guild’s Los Angeles ceremony on February 9, 2008. This is to encourage “storytelling excellence… to improve the status of writers, and to begin to encourage uniform standards,” according to the guild.

“Videogames are written and many are written very well,” said guild president Patric Verrone. “By recognizing the skill and craft of videogame writing, the Writers Guilds intend to raise the profile of these writers so that they can get WGA contracts and benefits for this work. We aim, we shoot, we score.”

This year the entry requirements will be open to anyone with a video game writing credit, though entrants must be members of the New Media Caucus.

The studio behind EVE Online, CCP Games is expanding into North America, according to an announcement. Their new office is located in Stone Mountain, GA and will serve as the company’s North American headquarters.

As expected, the new studio will work on maintaining and upgrading the world of EVE Online. However, it will also focus on developing new titles. The company hopes of providing more than 100 design and development positions within the next year.

The system requirements for Unreal Tournament 3 were confirmed by Epic Games and Midway who have also released two new screenshots seen below.

Those looking to run the game at a bare minimum should have atleast 512 MB RAM and a 2+ GHz processor. Interestingly, the game requires 8 (eight) gigabytes of hard drive space.

Minimum System Requirements

* Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista
* 2.0+ GHZ Single Core Processor
* 512 MB of System RAM
* NVIDIA 6200+ or ATI Radeon 9600+ Video Card
* 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space

Recommended System Requirements

* 2.4+ GHZ Dual Core Processor
* 1 GB of System RAM
* NVIDIA 7800GTX+ or ATI x1300+ Video Card
* 8 GB of Free Hard Drive Space

And now the screenshots, undoubtedly taken on a “recommended” system.

Details of the collector’s edition for Mass Effect were revealed by Microsoft. The limited edition will include a tie-in novel called “Galactic Codex: Essentials,” an art book and a bonus DVD with videos about the art and interactive storytelling.

No pricing details were revealed, though it can be assumed that it’ll be a $10 premium over the standard version. The highly anticipated BioWare RPG is scheduled for release on November 20.

New songs for Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock were revealed earlier this week by Activision. The announcement marks the addition of sixteen new songs from bands such as Aerosmith, Disturbed, White Zombie, Slipknot, Santana and The Who. This brings up the total number of known tracks to nearly 60. The new master tracks are:

• Same Old Song and Dance (by Aerosmith)
  
• Helicopter (by Bloc Party)
  
• Stricken (by Disturbed)
  
• Monsters (by Matchbook Romance)
  
• Before I Forget (by Slipknot)
  
• Kool Thing (by Sonic Youth)
  
• When You Were Young (by The Killers)

• Devil Went Down to Georgia (as made famous by Charlie Daniels Band)
  
• Sunshine of Your Love (as made famous by Cream)
  
• Holiday in Cambodia (as made famous by Dead Kennedys)
  
• Cliffs of Dover (as made famous by Eric Johnson)
  
• Black Magic Woman (as made famous by Santana)
  
• Story of My Life (as made famous by Social Distortion)
  
• Pride and Joy (as made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn)
  
• The Seeker (as made famous by The Who)
  
• Black Sunshine (as made famous by White Zombie)

Some awesome new screenshots from Burnout Paradise.

The full soundtrack for Need for Speed: ProStreet has been unveiled by EA. The racing game will feature over 35 songs from artists representing a wide variety of styles, along with an original score provided by Junkie XL. Here’s the full list:

• Airbourne - Blackjack
  
• Avenged Sevenfold - Almost Easy
  
• Bloc Party - Player (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix)
  
• Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Guns ‘N Bombs Remix
  
• Clutch - Power Player
  
• CSS - Odio Odio Odio Sorry C
  
• Datarock - I Used To Dance With My Daddy (Karma Harvest Mix)
  
• Digitalism - Pogo
  
• Dude ‘N Nem - Watch My Feet
  
• DUNE - A Blast Blast
  
• Foreign Islands - We Know You Know It
  
• Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket - More (Junk O Flamenco Remix)
  
• Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket - More (Junk O Rock Remix)
  
• Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket - More (Junk O Rock Remix)
  
• Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket - More
  
• Klaxons - Atlantis To Interzone
  
• MSTRKRFT - Neon Knights
  
• Neon Plastix - On Fire
  
• Peaches - Boys Wanna Be Her (Tommie Sunshine’s Brooklyn Fire Retouch)
  
• Plan B - More Is Enough feat. Epic Man
  
• Plan B - No Good (Chase & Status and Benni G Remix)
  
• Smallwhitelight - Spite
  
• The Faint - Dropkick The Punks
  
• The Horrors - Draw Japan
  
• The Rapture - The Sound
  
• The Toxic Avenger - Escape (Bloody Beetroots Remix)
  
• TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
  
• UNKLE - Restless feat. Josh Homme
  
• We Are Wolves - Fight And Kiss
  
• Wiley - Bow E3
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Kiss Kiss
  
• Year Long Disaster - Leda Atomica
  
• Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons (Riot In Belgium Remix)

UK-based publisher Oxygen Interactive Software has announced that it is opening its first North American office in California. Dubbed Oxygen Games USA, the American team will lead sales and manage first party and developer relations for all the company operations in the region.

“The opening of our North American office means a great deal to the growth of our corporation,” stated Jim Scott, CEO of Oxygen Interactive Software. “Because we have so many upcoming titles unique to the North American consumer we recognize that it’s time for Oxygen Interactive Software to participate more substantially in this territory than ever before.”

2K Sports has announced new features for College Hoops 2K8, its upcoming entry in the annual college basketball series. Here’s the deal:

In the All-American Training Challenge, players will be able to improve their game skills by competing in passing, shooting, and defensive tests against former college basketball standouts like Mike Conley Jr. of Ohio State, Julian Wright of Kansas, Glen “Big Baby” Davis of LSU, Alando Tucker of Wisconsin, Al Thornton of Florida State, J.J. Redick of Duke, and College Hoops 2K8 cover athlete, Greg Oden of Ohio State. Gamers can progress through the challenge drills against these great players while tracking their best times and highest scores in the game. With multiplayer support for up to four players, gamers can compete against their friends to see who has the best College Hoops skills.

College basketball fans will truly feel the benefit of playing in front of a frenzied crowd-be it at home or in a neutral tournament venue-with the 6th Man Advantage where the energy of a team’s fans can motivate a team to play harder and with more confidence. During a game, the 6th Man Meter measures the current energy and excitement level of the crowd. By scoring often, playing good defense, and raising the excitement level of the crowd, the 6th Man Meter will rise. Once the meter is full, the home team will gain the advantage of playing with less fatigue for a brief period while the opposing team will start to lose confidence in their playing ability. The 6th Man Advantage delivers a realistic element with how a great crowd can inspire their team to victory.

The game will be out this Fall on PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360.

THQ announced that it has signed a major co-marketing agreement with mobile media company 3, one that will see the latter being included in Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, an upcoming underground racing game for PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360 and DS.

“To be able to offer 3 the ideal position between mobile and console games with Juiced 2 - THQ’s sequel to a two-million selling Juiced franchise is very exciting for mobile entertainment, ” said Adam Comiskey, International Vice-President, THQ Wireless.

Under the agreement, the 3 brand will be fully integrated into the game, as seen below. Additionally, the mobile version of the game will be available for download directly from the 3 portal.

Physics-developer Havok sends word that it powers the explosions, jumps and anything physics-related in the just-released action blockbuster Halo 3. The company’s technology was used to power ragdolls, the portable gravity lift and the “mancannon”, among other things in the game.

Activision and Infinity Ward have announced that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare will feature an original score by Stephen Barton with main theme and music production provided by Harry Gregson-Williams. The latter’s work has been featured in numerous films, television series and video games including The Chronicles of Narnia, Man on Fire and Team America: World Police. The soundtrack for the game was performed and recorded by a full orchestra, largely at Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

“Harry Gregson-Williams was the perfect choice to craft an immersive and rich soundtrack that matches the heightened atmosphere and tension of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” says Grant Collier, Studio Head at Infinity Ward. “Harry’s wealth of experience, passion and intensity together with the talents of young composer, Stephen Barton, shine through in the score draws gamers deeper into the epic and cinematic experience that is Call of Duty 4.”

The game hits PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 5.

The November issue of PC Gamer magazine confirms the inevitable development of Half-Life 2: Episode Three, the third and final chapter in the sequel. Expectedly, the brief snippet does not divulge any new details on the coming game, but offers a spoiler. So, if you don’t want your experience of Episode Two spoiled, do not click on the above scan.

Nintendo sends word that a new two-tone Crimson/Onyx DS is now available in stores across North America. The color is described as “bright red coupled with smooth black” and can be yours for $130. It was previously only available with Brain Age 2.

In the most surprising news this week, Hollywood Reporter reports that The Princess Bride, the Rob Reiner-directed 1987 film, is being transformed into a video game that will be released next spring. It will be an online download and is in development at Worldwide Biggies. A demo of the game will be bundled with the movie’s upcoming 20th anniversary DVD, which is expected to be released on November 13.