You may have already seen some of the Insomniac Games art department's chops in the Resistance 2 issue of Game Informer magazine as well as a bunch of screen shots of the PlayStation 3 shooter, but the artwork is worth basking in. One warning though—once you go beyond the thumbnails in the gallery below, you may be walking directly into spoiler territory. Some of the preliminary art smacks of big boss battle stuff, a focus of Resistance 2. Still, it's gorgeous stuff and your eyes will thank you for it.

We're not responsible for your footwear being blown off, but for those who didn't get a copy of the latest Game Informer, which revealed Resistance 2, seven in-game, high-res screens of the Insomniac Games shooter await you. Two things we've learned from finally getting our eyeballs on these are that Insomniac will not be trumped by anyone when it comes to making the PS3 perform and that, despite our cynicism, we're still cool with glowing eyed aliens and giant tanks with legs. We're also amazingly cool with glowing eyed giant tanks with legs. Graphics go a long way in helping us forgive.

I've had a pet project I've been working on for years, three of them if my memory is right. It started as a simple idea: You can judge a lot from a person's desk. I bet you could judge just as much from their home entertainment system. So I decided it would be fun to try and track down some pictures from the work desks and home gaming set-ups of the people who work in and cover the video game industry. Simple right? Not so much.

Turns out that many of the people are either too busy or too private to want to participate in such a project. To make matters worse, there's always fear that something sitting on someone's desk, that ends up in a photo, could actually be news worthy. Like a secret project or the next big thing. But I didn't give up and about once a year I'd harass a bunch of game developers for photos. Finally, this year, the harassment paid off.

What started as a trickle of photos turned quickly into the collection of galleries you'll find on the jump: More than 40 different photo galleries from 17 studios, seven publications, two industry movers and shakers and a couple of fun surprises.

You'll get to see the desk of such greats as Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux and Tetsuya Mizuguchi along with plenty of others. Remember you can comment both on the next page and on each individual photo if you click on them.

If I find there is interest, I will try to periodically update this gallery of galleries with more developers, journalists and industry movers and shakers. Have fun.

NeoGAFfer Wollan received the latest issue of Game Informer magazine today, and breathlessly rushed to his computer to transcribe details about the cover story - Insomniac's Resistance 2, the follow up to one of the PlayStation 3's biggest hits (and only really good launch title) Resistance: Fall of Man. Highlights include two story modes, one for single player and one for either split-screen local play or 8 player co-op. Also of note is the introduction of character classes, with players being able to choose from a tank, a specialist, or a medic for multiplayer goodness. Speaking of multiplayer, the game will support up to 60 players online, with players forming up in 4-8 man squads in the lobbies with different objectives during the match to help keep things from devolving into giant free-for-alls. Other details include limited randomized geometry within levels to keep things fresh, graphics and performance that tap more PS3 power than ever before, and much, much more.

Check out the GAF thread to see Wollan's complete write-up, or better yet just get your hands on a copy of Game Informer as soon as humanly possible. I've not known their writers to be given to unnecessary hype, so when they end a story with "Resistance 2 will be too epic to dismiss as anything but one of the biggest, boldest, and most high-reaching titles of 2008. It's a game that won't be ignored", I can't help but get just a little excited.

RESISTANCE 2 REVEALED! [NeoGAF - thanks, megadude]

It looks like High Impact Games' portable take on the Ratchet & Clank series may be the latest PSP game to get a PlayStation 2 port. A listing for Ratchet & Clank Size Matters for the PS2 was uncovered by the eagle eyed staff at Joystiq today, one which points to the game shipping for the console February of next year. It's listed at $29.99, ten dollars cheaper than the PSP original.

While we don't have official word yet—we're waiting to hear back from SCEA—it certainly wouldn't surprise us to see yet another PSP game ported to the PS2. With one-time exclusive PSP titles such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Twisted Metal: Head On, Tokobot and (allegedly) Silent Hill Origins making the jump, it might just file under fiscally sensible.

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters [Gamestop via Joystiq]

The latest patch for Insomniac Games' Resistance: Fall of Man hits today, bringing with a host of new features. Included in "Patch 6" is rumble via the still unreleased DualShock 3 for both single and multiplayer games. Also new is the ability to take screen shots with a USB keyboard, with snaps saved to the Cross Media Bar's photo section. Password protected custom game options have also been added. In addition, there's a ton of new features that will probably only appeal to longtime online players, plus the usual bug fixes and balance changes.

The full list of changes in the latest patch is after the jump, courtesy of Insomniac's James Stevenson, a man who simply cannot be faulted for his gaming blog preference.

After hearing news of a one-week delay that would cause Insomniac Games to ship its first retail release later than promised, I was crushed. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was a shining beacon of awesome on a PlayStation 3 release list that left me cold, searching in the darkness for something original, exclusive, platform-filled and fun. Fortunately, for those of us deeply impacted by having to wait an extra seven days for the next-gen Ratchet & Clank, it looks like it will indeed make its original street date in North America. The PlayStation.blog brings good word of speedy manufacturing and early shipment of the game, surely a product of divine intervention.

Officially, it's still October 30. But I'm expecting a very happy birthday to me next Tuesday. Woo!

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Coming Soon(er) [PlayStation.blog]

We now know the date of "the future." It's when Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be released in demo form via the PlayStation Network. According to IGN, we'll all be wearing silver jumpsuits, issuing commands to our personal sex robots and tossing back food pills while playing the PLAYSTATION 3 demo of Ratchet & Clank Future on October 4th, 2007. The demo will feature a playable version of the game's first level, the city of Metropolis, and, I presume, redefine awesome.

See you in the future!

Ratchet & Clank PSN Demo on October 4 [IGN]

By: Michael McWhertor

The Ratchet & Clank series from Insomniac Games is largely expected, for better or worse, to be great with every entry. And it's not a system-selling, headline-grabbing, fanboy-insult war fodder kind of great; it's the polished, consistent, carefully constructed kind of great that seems to deliver without worry or pretention, a product of the hard working developers helming the property.

After four PlayStation 2 games—Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Rachet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Ratchet: Deadlocked—plus a solid portable release, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters from High Impact Games, each delivering solid gameplay and avoiding sequel burnout, the first PLAYSTATION 3 entry has big shoes to fill.

Does Tools of Destruction deliver more of the same? And in the good more of the same way? Ye... well, it's still too early to pass final judgment, but based on what we've played at E3 and at SCEA's recent media day, it's looking like another proud member in the Insomniac Games action platforming family.

Today's Insomniac Games podcast reveals the final, formal, set-in-stone release date for the PLAYSTATION 3 platformer Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be October 23rd. Awesome. That's a nice little birthday present for yours truly. The Full Moon Show was also kind enough to remind its listeners that tomorrow morning will be chock full of Ratchet & Clank Future news, as an embargo lifts at 9 AM EST on Friday. Make sure to stop by for our coverage.

Full Moon Show [Insomniac Games]

Game Informer writes that they've confirmed with Sony that both Heavenly Sword and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be coming to the PlayStation Store in the "near future." With Heavenly Sword a lock for European and North American PLAYSTATION 3 owners, we highly doubt that Insomniac Games' totally awesome action adventure is going to hit the same day. The Store would simply collapse from the distribution of all the awesome sauce.

Just to keep expectations low, we'll just say, that we consider a Ratchet & Clank Future demo is an inevitability and that it won't be released in the past.

Updated: Heavenly Sword And Ratchet & Clank Future Demos Coming Soon [Game Informer]