Firstly, and most importantly, there will be five new stages introduced. Five brand new stages, with five new backgrounds and even five new songs by the game's music man Baiyon. Not bad for a price of $5.99.

Next, a new feature introduced for Encore (hit three seeds in a row and all the bad guys EXPLODE) will be retroactively patched into the original game, which should make it a bit easier on you.

Finally, one level will introduce a "zero-G item", which when collected will let you float around to your heart's content, with no need to worry about silly little things like gravity.

Oh, and as for the "Big Secret(tm)" teased earlier in the month? They're still keeping mum on it, but did reveal that, if you get through the game and collect all 25 new spectra included, it "will enable you to play the entire game again in a completely different way".

With guns, perhaps?

PixelJunk Eden Encore Details [PlayStation]

Because while Chessmaster LIVE looks good and everything, it's no Battle Chess.

A brand new recreation of the cult-classic shooter created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, "Rez HD" launches on Xbox LIVE Arcade this week. In addition to "Rez HD," chess fans and newcomers alike will enjoy checkmating friends with "Chessmaster Live" on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Both games will be available on Wednesday, January 30 at 9:00 a.m. GMT (1:00 a.m. PST).

"Rez HD" is a frenetic, wire-frame adventure set to industrial beats and rhythms that match the action. The story of "Rez HD" takes players deep into the world's computer network where they must hack the system, alter the visual output and take over the music, creating unique rhythms and eye candy as they dig deeper into the cyberworld.

Developed by Q Entertainment ("Lumines Live!" and "Every Extend Extra Extreme"), "Rez HD" for Xbox LIVE Arcade is a high definition update of the original game with brand new elements such as new visuals and sound effects. The game features five levels, each with its own unique visual theme, style and musical track, as well as three modes, including Easy, Main and Score Attack. "Rez HD" will be available worldwide for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

A downloadable version of Ubisoft's hit "Chessmaster" series, "Chessmaster Live" allows players to test and tune their chess skills against the AI or opponents of all aptitudes around the globe via Xbox LIVE. "Chessmaster Live" features five original chess variants, including a Message Chess option, which allows gamers to engage in matches over the span of several days, weeks or even months. The title boasts both beautifully crafted 3D chess sets inspired by luxury chess board designer House of Staunton. "Chessmaster Live" will be available worldwide (with the exception of Japan and Korea) for 800 Microsoft Points and is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

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.

DEVELOPERS
2K Games

ASTRO Gaming

Buzz Monkey Software

Capcom

Eat, Sleep, Play

Electronic Arts

Firaxis Games

Flying Lab Software

Gearbox Software

Harmonix Music

Incognito Entertainment

Insomniac Games

Kojima Productions

Lionhead Studios

NanaOn-Sha

Naughty Dog

NCSoft

NetDevil

Neversoft Entertainment

Ninja Theory

Pandemic Studios

Petroglyph Games

THQ

Q Entertainment

JOURNALISTS

Blue's News

BoingBoing

EGM

The Escapist

GameLife

Joystiq

Kotaku

MTV

Slashdot Games

VE3D

VH1

INDUSTRY FOLK

MISCELLANIES
I AM 8-BIT

Penny Arcade

Whorecraft

Video Games Live

Which writer’s father bought a Playstation 3 specifically to play Grand Theft Auto 4?

Angel Love Online [gametrailers]