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Howdy Shackers, shall we take this to a fresh chatty? So last night we got the latest installment of the Gibson-Goldstein Index, giving you our lowdown on the week's events, for better or worse. And then I've got the results for our latest contest, that being for R-Type Command so give that a look to see if you're a winner. Oh and hey how about that Gears of War 2 trailer?

Sure you know that human battle fleets have engaged the deadly Bydo Empire in the latest R-Type Command for PSP, but why take our word for it?

So together with Atlus, we called upon Shackers to ghost write reviews of the demo, but given the new territory we decided maybe an outside perspective from another video game would be the ideal. And hey, let's award some prizes for it too, shall we?

• Ctlaltl33t drops Link in new territory
• Wytefang pities the poor pew pew pew
• Romsteady breaks it down to the basics

So there you have our prize winners, but I also wanted to point out these nice entries from Gnerma and Kallanta. For the winners, we'll have a copy of R-Type Command for PSP and one of R-Fighter figurines as seen here. Thanks for the great entries, and even if you weren't a winner this time around, we'll be sure to have more tantalizing contests in the future.

The good news is that there are new games coming out this week on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS.

The bad news? Most of this week's games are just different versions of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, though the Wii and DS are getting a few other titles as well.

Barring any unforeseen delays, most North American retailers should have this week's releases by Wednesday, May 14. Except for Prince Caspian, that is. Caspian is street-dated and won't be on store shelves until Thursday, May 15.

If available, more information can be accessed by clicking on a game's box or name.

PC

• Intel X58 coming out Q4/2008 - The biggest point of the board will be the odd lay out, dual channel, Triple channel DD3 supporting and Dual PCIe 2.0 X16 or Quad PCIe 2.0 X8.
• Asus Maximus II Formula - Photos - Looks good!
• ASUS Xonar DX PCI Express 7.1 Audio Card Tested - For around $90, those looking for a better PC audio experience versus integrated solutions should look to the Xonar DX as a significant upgrade
• MSI unveils Titan 700 small-form-factor PC - It packs a 2GHz VIA C7 processor, a VIA CN700 integrated graphics chipset, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a 120GB 2.5" Serial ATA hard drive, and a slim DVD burner
• XP SP3 cripples some PCs with endless reboots - There appears to be two separate issues. One affects only AMD-equipped PCs sold by Hewlett-Packard. The other problem, according to Johansson, also seems to affect only AMD machines, and involves an error message indicating trouble with the PC's BIOS
• Windows XP Service Pack 3 ISO CD Image File - Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system.
• NVIDIA Forceware Version 175.16 BETA - Windows Vista 32-bit | Windows Vista x64 | Windows XP | Windows XP/Server 2003 x64
• vLite 1.1.6 - vLite (download) is a tool for customizing the Windows Vista installation before actually installing it.
• TorrentSpy operator ordered to pay $111 million in damages - Former TorrentSpy.com operator Valence Media will have to pay a hefty $111 million in damages to the plaintiffs-that's $30,000 for each one of 3,700 or so torrents for movies and TV shows to which the site linked
• Fees For '.Org' Domain Names to Increase 10% - The fees for .org domains will go up ten percent on November 9, 2008. No reason for the price hike was given.
• Sony OLED TV suffers from premature aging - The panel is victim to "differential aging," which causes blue, red, and green luminances to shrink by 12%, 7%, and 8%, respectively, after just 1,000 hours-that's about a month and a half of continuous use
• BlackBerry 9000 Full OS Tour (video) - In the video, you can see a size comparison with the Pearl, Curve, and 8830 World Edition
• Universal greenlights BioShock movie, picks Pirates director - As Variety reports, Gore Verbinski will be in charge of directing and producing the film, while John Logan will put together the screenplay. Verbinski is known for directing all three of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movies, while John Logan has the screenplays for The Last Samurai, The Aviator, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street under his belt
• Speed Racer Trailer - The film is written and directed by The Wachowski brothers who also serve as co-prod
• Could this be the new Enterprise from Star Trek 11 ? - check it out
• High Resolution WALL-E Photos - Disney has released a batch of new super high resolution images from Pixar's WALL-E (they're just not working on any browser, but downloaded it and use as wallpaper… awesome!)
• Cool Finger Trick (video) - This is a pretty simple yet confusing trick that you can challenge anyone to and maybe win a beer or something.
• Banned musical instrument causes insanity (video) - Relax and enjoy :-D
• Daron Malakian Solo Album (System of a Dawn) - Scars on Broadway in-stores and online worldwide JULY 28TH & 29TH.
• Computer Nerd Birthday Cake (pic) - The XML is a lie! :-)
• Sexy Marisa Miller in bikini - Sexy Compilation I made of this hot Blonde Model
• Carmen Electra in Robert De'Este Photo Shoot - Hot 'n Beautiful Carmen Electra's Photoshoot!

As promised, Microsoft and Epic Games have delivered the first in-game footage of the cover-heavy action sequel Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360).

As promised, Microsoft and Epic Games have delivered the first in-game footage of the cover-heavy action sequel Gears of War 2 (X360), which can be viewed below or downloaded from FileShack.

Introduced by series creator Cliff Bleszinski, the trailer is said to pack "chainsaw duels, large scale firefights with Locust Horde and stunning new visuals."

An Xbox 360 exclusive, Gears of War 2 is slated to arrive in November. Much like the first Gears of War, Epic has no plans to for a downloadable demo.

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I got a bit of time to check out GRID and I am impressed. The physics on the cars are a bit different but after some fussing with all of the options for control I managed to find something I like. The default settings are a bit squishy and unattached feeling though.

• The physics wonder boy
• The science of good moms
• Older moms hate younger moms
• $80K hybrid

As for the the videogame news around these parts for today:

• PTC director lies about GTA 4
• BioShock the movie in development
• Call of Duty 5 this year
• Tony Hawk game skipping this year
• Burnout Paradise on PC with screenshots
• Brothers in Arms Hells Highway screenshots
• Xbox 360 Wii controller on Tuesday
• LittleBigPlanet trailer
• KillZone 2 teaser
• MotorStorm 2 footage
• Top Spin 3 not very impressive
• World of Warcraft: Lich King details
• Rock Band DLC hits Clash, Blondie, Sonic Youth
• Race Driver: GRID PC demo
• BioWare backs off of lame DRM
• EA gets huge loan to by Take2
• Atari dissed by Nasdaq
• Rubik's World information

Lastly, keep an eye out tonight for that Gears of War 2 footage tonight. Should be showing up at 1am CST (Shack time)

An overwhelmingly positive week for the index, to counteract the overwhelmingly negative trend of the real stock market.

Electronic Arts
Announces restrictive copy protection for Spore and Mass Effect PC, then un-announces it. You now have two silly ideas remaining on this license.

Stride Gum
Puts a chewy bounty on Uwe Boll's head. Double the absurdity, double the fun.


Blizzard
Opens digital download store, allowing gamers to freely re-download their old games. Time to dig out those cracked jewel cases.

EA DICE
First Mirror's Edge footage reflects a huge amount of potential. And how about that music?

Nvidia
Company rep speaks out on PC piracy and its own confusing product line, but misses the bandwagon by about three years.

Rockstar
Lifts $500 million in one week. Gamers gladly participate in the grand theft.


id Software
Announces Doom 4. Now please kick our asses, gentlemen. We like it rough--just not in the dark.

Nintendo
Still hasn't announced EarthBound on the Virtual Console.


Take-Two
Treats the BioShock property with respect in handing it to a movie director who apparently cares for it.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Vista as insecure as Windows 2000.
• The REAL brain drain Modern technology - including violent video games - is changing the way our brains work, says neuroscientist.
• FBI Says Military Had Counterfeit Cisco Routers.
• Pirate Bay: MPAA's $15.4 million damage claim a fabrication.

• Yahoo beta tests new search results concepts in India. Thanks Ant.
• Google: We Like Yahoo, and We Like It Independent. Thanks Mike Martinez.

Thanks Ant.

• Mobile phones alter brain behavior?
• Zune reaches 2m sales; flat versus iPod.
• Sony concede PSP needs more games. Thanks Mike Martinez.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• Ubisoft caught in a little Assassin’s Creed scandal.
• Digital TV Poses a Challenge for Some Apartment Buildings.
• Paper is passe for tech-savvy South Koreans.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• TimeShift new downloadable content available for free download on May 7th for Xbox 360.
• First Gameplay Footage from Gears of War 2 Available on Xbox LIVE Video Store.
• Rock Band DLC Week of May 13th: Hanging on the Telephone, Train in Vain, and Kool Thing.
• Bizarre Creations finished with PGR4, hands DLC duties to Microsoft.
• Bizarre Creations's new racing IP due FY 2010.

Video Game Testers/Quality Assurance Positions Available at Pi Studios to work in their Houston, TX-based studios. Word is: "If you are at least 18 years of age, have a passion for games, good written and verbal communication skills, and better than average logic and attention to detail, then you may have what it takes to make a great game tester. "

• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition on FileFront.

• Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures on GameZone.com.
• Aliens: Colonial Marines on Gameplayer.
• Dead Space on the Official Blog.
• Empire: Total War Empire on GamesRadar.
• LEGO Indiana Jones on Eurogamer.
• World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King on 1Up, GameSpot, GameSpy, GamesRadar, and IGN.

• Why We Should Care - ‘Racism and Sexism in Games’, Pt. 1 of 2 and Pt 2 of 2.

• Project Origin
  The Project Origin Q&A on Crispy Gamer talks with John Mulkey of Monolith about their upcoming sequel to F.E.A.R.: "Project Origin picks up just prior to the end events of the original game. You and the rest of your Delta team are heading to the penthouse residence of Genevieve Aristide, President of Armacham Technology Corporation, to take her into protective custody in connection to the events unfolding in Auburn, when you're caught up in the explosion that destroyed the containment facility and released Alma at the end of the first game."
• Blackstar Chronicles
  RPG Vault's Blackstar IP Acquisition Q&A chats with Gary Gattis of Spacetime Studios about how they regained the IP rights from publisher NCsoft for the Blackstar game they created.

Atari announces the launch of a new Alone in the Dark Website. Word is: "The site allows visitors to investigate some of the ominous Central Park locales that the title's protagonist, Edward Carnby, will encounter throughout the game. With each click of the mouse lives information about in-game vehicles, items, weapons and item combinations that allow gamers to solve puzzles and defeat enemies creatively and intelligently. From the Huddlestone Arch to the Belvedere Castle, visitors can see the sites of Central Park, and investigate and collect the in-game items that form the advanced inventory system in Alone in the Dark. Items like lighters, screwdrivers and duct tape scattered throughout the game can be used to create improvised weaponry and ingenious tools, while visitors can get a glimpse at the intriguing gameplay depth that these items open up."

Auran announces Fury League, offering the chance to win cash prizes playing their PVP MMOG:

Auran Games, creators of Fury, the fast-paced arena combat game, today announced the launch of a new skill-based online competitive format called Fury League (www.FuryLeague.com). Players can not only test their skills against other players but also win Fury Gold which can be converted into real cash.

To introduce players to the new “turn skill into cash” concept, the Fury League Qualifying Season will run throughout the month of May. This is a totally free to play Qualifying Season aimed at building a large social and competitive online community based around fast paced arena combat.

To get the competitive juices flowing, and to ensure plenty of hard fought competition, the Qualifying Season will culminate in two special “Cash Ladders”. The top 1,000 players on each Ladder will win cash prizes with a total of $25,000 to be won. The first Cash Ladder will kick off May 20 with players competing in 8 v 8 team Vortex. The second will begin on May 27 with players competing in the 4 v 4 Elimination game type.

In addition to the Cash Ladders, for every game played during the Qualifying Season players earn one Free game entry in Fury League which will kick off in June. Players can earn up to a maximum of 1,000 free game entries, so players of every skill level will be rewarded for participating in Qualifying Season matches.