LAZY DAY TRAILERS: GOD OF WAR II PREVIEW

With tonight's midnight release of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, it should come as no surprise that instead of a ton of news, you're getting a video. I lost interest with WoW awhile back, and I'm really interested to see if the expansion is going to renew my love of the game. I'm not leaving you in bad hands today though, as I've got a video from IGN's interview with Cory Barlog, director of God of War II, to tide you over while I get reacquainted with Azeroth.

Barlog touches a bit on the story and enhancements behind Kratos' second adventure while showing off some footage of the much anticipated title. Let's take a look;

While we're on the subject of God of War II and Cory Barlog, a recent post by Barlog in his blog (as pointed out by Kikizo Games) indicates that Sony may be getting ready to send out NTSC demo discs of the game. While his comments indicate he collected a list of people to send the demo out to some time ago, it wouldn't surprise me if Sony sent the same demo out to PlayStation Underground members as they did with the first game. As such, you may want to make sure your PlayStation Underground account sees some activity to ensure they know you're still around. (I've found that the more often you update your Underground account, the more often you get stuff from Sony)

God of War II will be released exclusively on the PlayStation 2 on March 13th, 2007 in North America and has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Here are some links for your surfing enjoyment;

• God of War II - Official website
• God of War II Hands-on - IGN
• IGN Interview with Cory Barlog - YouTube
• No God of War II Demo for Europe - Kikizo Games
• GOW2...Grandma Approved - Don't play games with me (Cory Barlog's blog)
• Wouldn't you like to know what this link is - I'm not telling, but it's funny.

Still no video support in the archives, so use the YouTube link above.

THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL 2 MILLION POINT GIVEAWAY ENDS TODAY

Well gang, this is it - the last day of The Discovery Channel's 2 million point giveaway. If you're still looking to play, tonight's game is going to take a little more effort on your part. You'll need to watch the premiere episode of Future Weapons and then head over to the Future Weapons website after 10:01pm EST. Once there in addition to just giving your name and contact information, you'll need to answer a few questions about the episode you just watched. Here are some more specifics as per the Future Weapons website;

"To enter online, visit www.readyaimfuture.com after 10:01 P.M. Eastern Time (“ET”) on 1/15/07 (“Promotion Entry Period 2”) and follow all online entry instructions to complete and submit the online entry. Online entrants will be prompted to answer a question pertaining to the content of the Future Weapons premiere on Discovery Channel 1/15/07 9:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) to qualify for prize.  Online entrants subject to all notices posted online including but not limited to privacy policy." - Future Weapons contest rules

Good luck to all who have entered!

THIS WEEK'S RELEASES: JANUARY 15TH - JANUARY 21ST

While it's another thin list this week, there are a couple of titles worth pointing out. Let's get the obvious out of the way first - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade hits retail shelves this week and should be the sales equivalent of a nuclear bomb. While I've listed both the standard edition and the collector's edition of the game, you should be aware that unless you've already pre-ordered the collector's edition, You probably don't even have a snowballs chance in hell of finding it in the stores. Beyond that, Nintendo DS owners get to go back to the courtroom with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All, while Nintendo Wii owners get to play around with Wario Ware: Smooth Moves. Here's everything you can probably expect to see on store shelves this week;

• Great Invasions - PC - 1/16/2007
  
• Underground Pool - DS - 1/16/2007
  
• Wario Ware: Smooth Moves - WII - 1/16/2007
  
• Close Quarters Conflict - PC - 1/17/2007
  
• Fossil League Dino Tournament - DS - 1/17/2007
  
• Hexic Deluxe - PC - 1/17/2007
  
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All - DS - 1/17/2007
  
• The Shield - PC - 1/17/2007
  
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - PC - 1/17/2007
  
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - Collector's Edition - PC - 1/17/2007
  
• NCAA March Madness 07 - 360 - 1/18/2007
  
• NCAA March Madness 07 - PS2 - 1/18/2007

One other note - those of you who have pre-ordered World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade may want to check with your local store to see if they'll be participating in Monday nights launch event. (Some stores will be allowing pre-orders to be picked up at 12:01am on Tuesday, January 16th)

Please keep in mind these are only estimated release dates and could change at any time.

THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL 2 MILLION POINT GIVEAWAY CONTINUES

Okay gang, stage two of The Discovery Channel's Xbox Live 2 Million Point Giveaway has begun. If you missed out on signing up yesterday, all you have to do is head over to the Future Weapons website and follow the directions to enter the contest. A total of 500,000 points will be awarded today in 400 point increments. From what I can see, will be assigned randomly to those who signed up for the contest. Winners will be notified of their status in a few days - you will not know instantly if you've been selected. From what I can see, the contest is limited to one entry per person, so if you signed up yesterday, your cannot sign up again today. I could be wrong on that, but that's the way I read the rules.

The second stage of the contest will be open until 11:59pm EST tonight - check the promotional site for the rules and specifics.

So if you still haven't thrown your hat into the ring for your piece of the 2 million point pie, be sure to visit the Future Weapons contest site at this link to play.

THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL 2 MILLION POINT GIVEAWAY BEGINS

Okay gang, stage one of The Discovery Channel's Xbox Live 2 Million Point Giveaway has begun. For this stage of the promotion, all you have to do is head over to the Future Weapons website and follow the directions to enter the contest. A total of 500,000 points will be awarded today in 400 point increments. From what I can see, will be assigned randomly to those who signed up for the contest. Winners will be notified of their status in a few days - you will not know instantly if you've been selected.

The first stage of the contest will be open until 11:59pm EST tonight - check the promotional site for the rules and specifics.

So there ya have it, stop reading the news and head on over to the Future Weapons contest site at this link to play.

INSIDE THE LOST PLANET COLLECTOR'S EDITION BOX

I'll admit it - When it's a game I'm excited about, I'm a total whore for collector's editions and pre-order goodies. Needless to say, I pre-ordered the collector's edition of Capcom's Lost Planet: Extreme Condition from Gamestop and figure I'd share some pictures of what you get for your money. When checking out the pictures below, keep in mind that the PTX-40R Vital Suit action figure does NOT come with the collector's edition of the game, but was offered as a bonus for pre-ordering the game at Gamestop.

The Lost Planet Collector's Edition includes the following;

• The game
• The instruction manual
• A soft cover art book
• A bonus CD which includes the Lost Planet soundtrack, game trailers, wallpaper, etc.
• A card containing a code for a free 48 hour trial of Xbox Live Gold Membership.
• A card containing a code for the exclusive multiplayer map that comes with the collector's edition

Click on the thumbnails below to see larger versions of each picture.

While we're on the subject of Lost Planet, am I the only who one finds it utterly hilarious that while everyone else is bundled up against the cold, Luka is walking around with her jacket partially unbuttoned, giving everyone a great view of her cleavage? Hey, I'm a guy - I notice these things.

XBOX 360 DASHBOARD THEME PREVIEW IMAGES

Have you ever thought about buying one of the Xbox 360 dashboard themes from the Live Marketplace but stopped because there was no way to see what it would look like before you bought it? I have, and I'm glad to see that someone out there has decided to do something about it. Dashboard Themes is collecting images of each set of dashboard themes and making them available for your viewing pleasure - why it had to come down to 360 fans doing it instead of Microsoft I can't tell you, but I'm sure glad someone is making the effort.

Click here to head on over to Dashboard Themes and check out what's available for the 360. Before you run off and spend money over in the Marketplace, just remember that even though you'll be limited to only one image for all the blades, you can make your own Dashboard Theme without spending a penny - click here to head back to our post on how to do it.

NYKO TO RELEASE GUITAR HERO ADAPTER FOR PLAYSTATION 3

I came across this bit of great news over at Kotaku the other day. If you've been following the news on the PlayStation 3, you've probably heard that because of the unique controller used for the Guitar Hero series, both Guitar Hero and Guitar Hero II do not work with the PlayStation 3's backwards compatibility feature. RedOctane had previously mentioned that they could see no way around the issue and that unfortunately, PS3 owners were just going to have to either miss out on Guitar Hero or play it on the PlayStation 2.

Well, word from Nyko is that they've found a way to get RedOctane's shred-fest running on the PS3, and the answer comes in the form of the Nyko Play Adapter. According to Kotaku's Michael McWhertor, Nyko's sales reps have confirmed that the adapter will allow gamers to use their guitar peripherals with the PlayStation 3. Awesome news indeed.

Click here to head over to Kotaku and get the full head's up on this story.

GRAN TURISMO HD CONCEPT UPDATED TO VERSION 1.1

While checking my e-mail last night, I got a little note from the PlayStation Underground advising me of the following;

"Our records indicate that you downloaded Gran Turismo HD Concept from the PLAYSTATION(R)Store. Version 1.1 is now available for download, which refines the gameplay experience in Time Trial mode and the accuracy of lap times within the online rankings. Since online ranking results recorded by version 1.1 players will be given priority, it is highly recommended that you download and install it if you are playing the earlier version.
Please note that version 1.1 is compatible with existing game save data, allowing you to race your previously unlocked cars.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and hope you enjoy Gran Turismo HD Concept." - PlayStation Underground e-mail notice

So if you have a PlayStation 3, head on over to the PlayStation Store (I refuse to put it all in caps) and grab the updated version of Gran Turismo HD Concept.

Out of curiosity, does anyone else often catch themselves doing an imitation of StrongBad when they check their e-mail accounts?

SAINTS ROW COMING TO PLAYSTATION 3?

1UP.com is reporting that Gamestop had added THQ's Saints Row to the list of upcoming PlayStation 3 releases late last week, but quickly took the product page off the site. Is it a case of the game being added in error, or another situation where the retailer listed a title before it was officially announced?

While I would already be inclined to mark this one as "probably true", I decided to check around the 'net to see if anyone had a little more information on this one. In doing so, I came across Kotaku's report on the story and they made an excellent point. If you look at Saints Row's box (and I did) there's no "Only on Xbox 360" graphic up top - so at the very least, THQ has never claimed that Saints Row was going to be an Xbox 360 exclusive. If the screenshot that accompanies the Kotaku story is real, the game will be hitting retail on May 15th, 2007. My guess is even if that date was just a placeholder, we'll be seeing it on the PS3 by summer at the very latest. I'm quite sure THQ doesn't want to get caught anywhere near Grand Theft Auto IV's release window.

Be sure to check out the following two articles for more information on what's going on;

• Rumor: Saints Row Headed To PS3 - 1UP.com
• Rumor: Saints Row Heading To PS3? - Kotaku