Late Night Consoling

Eurogamer reports that USK, the German software ratings board, is featuring a list of Xbox 360 games on its website that it has been evaluating. One can assume that if such an organization has these games, they are essentially complete and should be able to hit the launch target. Present on the list are such titles as Ridge Racer 6, Kameo: Elements of Power, King Kong, Call of Duty 2, Project Gotham Racing 3, Dead or Alive 4, Gun, and a number of Xbox Live Arcade titles such as Hexic, Marble Blast Ultra, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, and Gauntlet. Conspicuous in its absence is Rare's much-hyped Perfect Dark Zero.

With Sony's recent confirmation that its new silver model PS2 will have compatibility issues with 38 PlayStation games and nine PS2 games, including Tekken 5 and Hitman: Contracts, it now seems that there is some doubt as to whether the PS3 will be fully backwards compatible. Sony spokesperson Reiko Sakamoto said to IDG, "It's hard to say the PlayStation 3 will be 100 percent backwards compatible but as we said earlier this year we aim to make it so as much as possible." She noted that there are a variety of factors causing the issues, which include crashes and save errors, but they are primarily due to the use of a new chipset in the most recent PS2 model. Presumably, assuming Sony uses hardware emulation in its next console, the PS3 will have similar problems.

As the Xbox 360 launch approaches, the games are finally starting to reveal whether they're launch titles or not, and it looks like Full Auto (PS3, X360) is not. Sega has announced that Pseudo Interactive's vehicular combat title, originally planned to launch alongside the new console, has been delayed until February 2006. (It was also missing from the USK list reported by Eurogamer). Sega of America PR director Brent Blount explains, "With any new franchise, you don't have a second chance to build momentum and make an impression. As with most console launches, publishers will be betting on sequels from established franchises; several of which will be racing games."

Blount made sure to add that Monolith's Condemned: Criminal Origins (X360, PC), also published by Sega, will in fact be hitting the console's launch.

Atlus has announced the fifth title in the Growlanser series of PlayStation strategy RPGs. Growlanser V (PS2) is set for release in Japan some time during 2006, and moves the series into full 3D for the first time. The series' usual game mechanics will otherwise likely remain fairly intact. It is not known when the game will make it to North America and/or Europe.

At the end of last year, Working Designs published Career Soft's Growlanser Generations in North America; the compilation included the first three games of the series, the first of which was originally released on the original PlayStation. Atlus has yet to release Growlanser IV here, so V might be sneaking in at the end of the PS2's life cycle.

1UP continues its week-long NES restrospective coverage, Power Play. The features I've been forgetting to link since Monday are NES Turns 20, an EGM feature which looks at some of Nintendo's marketing, accessories, and competitors of the NES; Solid Gold, which compiles a list of 1UP readers' top 15 NES games; Hidden Gems, which showcases some more great titles that 1UP readers missed; The Sublime Seven, looking at the top third-party developers on the NES; and Good Nintentions, which looks at some exceptionall bizarre NES tie-ins and "homages."

1UP is in retrospective mode, it seems; with this week's release of Gunstar Super Heroes (GBA), there's also a feature on venerable independent studio Treasure, undisputed masters of the 2D action arts. Peruse a history and complete gameography with 13 Years of Treasure: A Retrospective, and marvel at how may awesome games these guys have made.

GameSpot has a feature on the less-hyped North American version of Microsoft's X05 event, which was just held in Toronto.