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Videogame box art is rarely something to celebrate, but inGran Turismo 5’s case it appears as though we should.This game could actually ship to retail this century. At first glance (and subsequent ones for me) it looks like nothing remarkable is happening on the cover. The official release indicates differently. The red car featured in the lower center is described as “the gull-winged terror.” It’s a Mercedes SLS AMG, a car that can go really, really fast and a car that we’ll never, ever, be able to afford....

As a thank you for thegood wordand as a sort of New Year’s gift, Halfbrick is releasing the soundtrack to their newest PSP Mini (also playable on the PS3) game,Blast Off, for free. The spacey puzzler has a cool, ambient soundtrack that’s definitely worth a listen. If you’re down with the torrent action (who isn’t?), here are the links for the =MP3 versionor theApple Lossless version. Free game music is always appreciated....

Sonic the Hedgehog‘s 19th birthday is today. Who would have imagined such a thing? You’d think the poor guy would be shot to death rather than cruelly kept alive for so long, but he’s still kicking, with two games coming this year that actually look good. Who knew? Sega is celebrating with a whole list of big deals. Wetold you about them yesterday, but here’s a quick reminder: Frankly, a few of these “deals” bring the prices down to how much the gamesshouldcost (I’m looking at you,Golden Axe!...

Looking forward toArkham City? Want some screenshots? Well, just because we love you, you can have some. But don’t eat them all at once, you cheeky little imp! These new shots ofArkham Asylum‘s sequel are looking pretty damn sexy indeed. The first game was rather fantastic, so I’m hoping for an equally terrific romp this time around. Provided they don’t have anymore “Hulk Joker” moments, we should be golden. So … who’s hot for this nonsense?...

Most gamers can remember the so-called console wars of the 16-bit generation. At the time, each of the console competitors used every advantage they could to show howtheirsystem was the right system to own. Along with graphics and other features, companies leveraged the coolness factor of their system’s mascots. Nintendo had cemented Mario early on, while Sega finally got around to creating Sonic, and the TurboGrafix-16 wisely dropped Keith Courage in favor of a more marketable and all around better mascot, Bonk....

Imagine waiting in line and fighting the crowds forSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, only to find that the game suffers from booting and playback problems. Don’t blame Nintendo; blame your dirty, unhealthy lifestyle. Nintendo of Japan was forced toissue a statement, as manySmash Bros. Brawlowners complained of disc read errors and choppy video playback. It seems that Nintendo thinks the problem stems from dust and tobacco building up on Wii laser units....

People were nervous when Activision said that Sledgehammer Games’ newCall of Dutygame would be an action-adventure title. If your mind jumped to third-person when hearing that, well, we’re with you on that. But don’t worry — it seems like the new CoD will be a first-person shooter. Sledgehammer has some job listings on Gamasutra for their upcomingCall of Dutygame. G4 noticed that the positions are listed for “Call of Duty First Person Shooter development team....

EA Sports sure lucked out with Microsoft’s rebranding of Project Natal as “Kinect.” It’s a name that aptly describes whatEA Sports Active 2, the sequel to EA’s best-selling Wii title, does: it gets you moving, and it connects to the Web. Those are perhaps its two most significant features, but Kinect brings a new dimension to your workout: it assesses your form and critiques it, just like, well, a real personal trainer....

What a surprise! Kinect launched in Japan a scant three days ago, but apparently it kicked off with more of a whimper than a bang, reportedly selling a mere quarter of what PlayStation Move was selling at launch. The word comes just from a single retailer, but let’s face it … this is Japan. Tsutaya merchandiser Taketo Matsuo says that in Japan, the core consumer for Kinect were those that already owned an Xbox 360 rather than new consumers....

Nippon Ichi and Hitmaker have kept close wraps on their upcoming PS3-exclusive action RPGLast Rebellion. Sure, we’ve seen afew screensand learned a bit of information, but most of it is still a mystery. This new trailer doesn’t help things much. It’s still pretty great though. In typical Japanese trailer style, it does some character introduction, shows some game footage, and is set to a crazy Japanese song. The narration is in English, though....

LoveMetal Gear Solid? Can’t understand Moon Speak? Well you are in for a tasty treat, young fella-me-lad! It has been confirmed that an English language demo forMetal Gear Solid: Peace Walkerisin the works, and should be hitting a PSN near you soon! The news comes via the latestKP Report podcast, where it was confirmed that an English demo was in development. Soon you will get to hear the lovely voice of David Hayter doing what he does best, saying “Metal Gear” in a gruff, confused voice....

After a recent article at Gamepro in which they compared current console titles against one another and pronounced the PS3 as the best of the bunch, Microsoft Marketing Director Albert Penello had a few choice words to say. Basically, he felt they were dead wrong, which I’m not sure I entirely disagree with. Here is a quote: “We have to disagree with your conclusion that the trend of Xbox 360 versions of games being best is changing, especially when you look at the entire catalog of multiplatform titles available,” he wrote in a rebuttal....

What’s the deal with Microsoft’s game consoles and the junky disc drives? Don’t get me started on the one for the original Xbox. The drive in the Xbox 360 is an improvement, but it still has issues, the worst being how vibrations to your console can scratch your discs. Apparently RDC from the benheck.com forum also hates the Xbox 360 disc drive. He went through the trouble of gutting the original DVD-ROM drive, taking all of the parts and putting them into the casing of an old iMac’s slot loader....