Blood Bowl is a game of real fantasy football, with races from the Warhammer universe taking on each other in brutal football action. The game is already available for digital download on the PC, but we've been waiting for word of the Xbox 360 and PSP release for quite some time. Now the waiting is over.

"We're thrilled to have a part in bringing a proper retail version of Blood Bowl to North American gamers on Windows PC, Xbox 360 and PSP." said Aubrey Norris, Manager of Human-Orc Relations at SouthPeak. "It's never easy to get all these races to agree on something – but if there's one thing they love its good competition with a lot of bloodshed!"

The PC and Xbox 360 version will be hitting store shelves next month, with the portable version dropping sometime this spring.

No, he didn't kill a cat to test this out so far as I know. But apparently SouthPeak Interactive and developer FORMation wanted to make an iPhone game in his honor; and instead of making it about gassing cats to death, it's about rats and mazes. Isn't science awesome?

In Schrödinger's Rat, players control a chalk ball with the accelerometer and tilt it through the many twists of 117 mazes. Each maze is a test of an element on the periodic table. I'm not sure what any of this has to do with quantum physics or Schrödinger, but it is something else to do on your iPhone and iPod Touch for only $0.99.

Check it out and tell me if the rat dies.

Image Cred

During subway rides and at home for the past couple of days, I've been stealing some time to play a preview build of development studio Renegade Kid's February 2010 game, Dementium II. I fared better than I did during my first hands-on with the game just before Halloween.

Renegade Kid has created a first-person horror game that, for a cumulative two hours, kept my character perilously close to danger and death as I crept through an insane asylum and neighboring town. This is not a game to play if you want to feel comfy and settled, though as far as controls go, it actually is quite solid: The action is on the top screen, the stylus controls where you look, face buttons handle foot movement, and a shoulder button triggers melee weapons and gun attacks. The lower screen shows a map, which, in Super Metroid style is marked with blocked passageways that can be accessed with only the correct weapon — or, in more of a Resident Evil-style flourish, by solving a puzzle.

The game does creepy well. You wake up in an insane asylum that at its most hospitable has guards running after you with electrified shock sticks. Sometimes this demented place becomes an alternate hellish version of itself, its colors turning sickly greens and grays and its inhabitants suddenly including demons and helpless screaming men whose bellies are being bored by giant drills. The sounds, as I noted in my first preview are full of screeches and scratches and other unsettling tones. This kind of environment mixed with ammo scarcity and lots of angry demon enemies makes playing the game an experience of feeling perpetually imperiled.

For this preview I played into the game's third chapter, leaving the asylum after beating a monster boss (who wasn't as tough as he seemed when I fought him in October) and trudging out through a boiler room and into the snow. I found a village and some locked-door puzzles but mostly had to kill monsters, being sure to never use too many of the scarce revolver bullets and shotgun shells I found. My Metroid skills were put to good use, as I noted green markers where I'd found areas blocked by boarded-up doorways. Once I found a sledgehammer I was backtracking and knocking through those boards.

There's a so-far simple story driving me through the game. My character is William Redmoor and he's being taunted through voice-over both by a guy who seems to be running the asylum and possibly by the former Mrs. Redmoor. At the wife's behest I was eventually trying to dig up our daughter's grave. Creepy stuff. The story didn't feel complex, but it suited the atmosphere, as did numerous graffiti marks on the asylum's walls and the too-placid homes in the snow village through which I trekked.

There's little like this kind of game on the DS. There are few M-rated games, few horror titles and few Metroid descendants. Ultimately, though, this is a DS game, which means that someone who likes those things best not be bothered by the system's limitations. Renegade Kid's game looks good, but can't look much better than Nintendo-64-level 3D. For a horror game, I think that works, as the abstracted gory realism takes on almost a nightmarish edge. Less easy to tolerate is the limited artificial intelligence, which leaves enemies running at you in predictable patterns and results in combat that can feel more repetitious than what you're getting in 3D horror games on consoles.

There's plenty here to like, with key questions only lingering about the game's length and variety, both of which will be answered when Dementium II is released for the Nintendo DS in North America on February 16 of next year.

Despite looking pretty in screen shots, improving dramatically since it was first announced, work on Edge of Twilight is said to have ceased months ago by a former Fuzzyeyes developer. The Australian developer responsible is also said to have been effectively shut down.

We've reached out to publisher Southpeak Interactive and Fuzzyeyes Studios to verify this information and will update with any new details.

Update: A second source, also formerly of Fuzzyeyes Studios, offers similar information about the fate of Edge of Twilight and the game's developer.

Southpeak will release TNA iMPACT: Cross the Line for PSP, PSPgo and Nintendo DS at an unspecified date, with future TNA Wrestling licensed games sounding likely, according to a press release from the publisher.

The TNA license was acquired as part of the bankruptcy sell-off of Midway. Warner Bros. invested in a large stake of what Midway published and developed, but it did not pony up the cash for TNA it seems. THQ, doing its part, acquired the San Diego-based development studio responsible for Midway's pro wrestling titles.

Perhaps the Southpeak TNA effort will fare better than what Midway's team brought to the ring.

SouthPeak Interactive Corporation Reports Results for Fiscal Q1 2010 [Southpeak Interactive]

Trion World Network, Inc. isn't familiar to most gamers – because they haven't actually put out any games yet. The company is working on "server-based games and original entertainment" and made a couple of headlines last year for raising $70 million for these mysterious titles.

XSEED Games is way easier to spot. Who could forget the publishers that put Wild Arms and Valhalla Knights into the hands of strategy RPG-starved handheld gamers?

Last year, the ESA seemed to be shrinking by the minute as LucasArts, Crave, NCsoft, Activision, id Software all left the associations possibly over shrinking E3 revenues. In the last few months, however, they seemed to have rallied by scooping up publishers like SouthPeak and Natsume.

Think of corporate associations like giant roller coasters – you're up, then you're down, then you're back up again and possibly doing one of those loopty-loops. Isn't business fun?

We got a chance to preview and play Section 8 at GDC, seeing what TimeGate — developers of multiple F.E.A.R. expansions, Axis & Allies and the Kohan series — bringing to the shooter genre.

What It Is
Section 8 is a futuristic sci-fi first-person shooter, one that will likely draw visual comparisons to Halo and gameplay conventions to both DICE's Battlefield series and Tribes. One of the game's unique twists is it "burn-in spawn" method that abolishes the boredom of standard multiplayer game respawning, in which the majority of your time is spent watching a countdown clock. Instead, you'll immediately drop in from 15,000 feet after choosing your landing location. Players can also call in deployable vehicles and weapons from the skies.

What We Saw
TimeGate reps walked us through a demo of the game's features on the Windows version, later showing off the game's visuals on the Xbox 360. We took party in a brief multiplayer session following that (one that unfortunately ended early due to a server connection problem).

How Far Along Is it?
Section 8 is still in alpha, in need of a good deal of polishing and finalizing. The game isn't due to launch until Q3 of this year. It was pretty clear that the game's bot AI and stability was in need of some work.

What Needs Improvement?
Bots: While there's still plenty of time to tweak enemy and friendly bot AI, fighting the legions of armored foes who ran face-first into corners or waited patiently for me to shoot lasers at their face took some of the fun out of it. It's clearly a known issue and will hopefully be fixed with realistic bot AI.

The Heads Up Display: One of Section 8's better attributes is its custom loadout system, allowing for a broad range of weapons, gear and upgrades. The only issue is the information provided by the loadout menu, which could use a little work to make things more clear. The same is true for bringing down deployed items from orbit, as the menu system could use a few informative tweaks.

Michael Bay's Master Chief: The game's visual design feels far too familiar. The game's armored troops look like the uninspired spawn of Halo's Spartans and Michael Bay's take on Megatron. It's doubtful this can be improved at this stage of the game, but it's visually unexciting stuff.

What Needs to Stay the Same?
Deadly Burn-In Spawn Drops: The concept of dropping in from thousands of feet above, then being able to land on top of some unsuspecting enemy makes combat (even the dying parts) fun.

Just Dropping In: The ability to bring down anti-personal and anti-aircraft turrets, as well as tanks and mech suits, adds an exciting layer of strategy and variety. The system works well, providing an alternate way to spice up combat. It also makes securing vehicles less of a headache, provided you've got the funds.

Overdrive: The run and gun play gets a little more run than normal, with an accelerating speed boost that makes traversing the game's extra-large maps so much easier. Combine that with the short burst jetpacks and we have bouncy violent fun to look forward to.

Final Thoughts
Section 8, despite its rather derivative appearance and clear nods to games like Battlefield and Tribes, looks like it could be a hell of a lot of fun. The game addresses some oft-overlooked gameplay conventions that can sap the fun out of multiplayer games. We look forward to going hands-on with a more complete build, with more time, in the future.

The ESA may have increased their fees to ridiculous levels over the past few years, but that hasn't stopped SouthPeak Interactive from signing on with the industry trade organization.

"Our industry needs a strong and active trade organization and we are pleased to support that effort," said Richard Iggo, Vice President of Marketing for SouthPeak Interactive. "We look forward to participating in the many programs and opportunities provided by the ESA."

Ironically, SouthPeak is the company that purchased Gamecock last year, the company that heralded the death of the ESA's E3 trade show in 2007 with a massive parade of sweaty journalists.

Drugs in video games don't often fly in Australia. For a while there, THQ — the Aussie distributor — had serious worries that Velvet Assassin would be banned, since they couldn't really take the morphine out, or make-believe it's something else like "magic awesome juice." Even worse, the way morphine affects Violette is far from historically accurate (see below).

"But, no," says Aubrey Norris, Velvet Assassin product manager. "We were surprised we didn't have any issues [with the ratings board]. They rated it like any other game." Norris said it was "a profound victory" for developer Replay Studios — they got away with something Fallout 3 couldn't. "We put something controversial out... and we stuck to our guns." Or rather, syringes.

The way morphine works in the World War II era is like bullet-time: the heroine, Violette Summer, can shoot up morphine to get by tense situations where she would otherwise be shot full of bullet holes. When this happens, she appears in her hospital nightgown, the Nazis move super-slow and Violette goes ninja on them with a knife while what looks like rose petals or droplets of blood drift by in a soft haze.

Oh yeah. Totally historically accurate.

Big Bang Mini is a shooter where the projectiles are all fireworks and you spend about as much time dodging in the lower screen as you do making pretty things happen in the upper screen. There are 90 levels in the game - boss fights included - and a slew of extras to unlock. At $19.99, that's a significant bang for your buck in this economy.

"If you hated the demo, cannot stand lenticular boxes, and do not like the [soundtrack], we suggest your do not spend your hard-earned 20 bucks on Big Bang Mini ^^" says developer Akedo studio head Camille Guermonprez. Cheers for the links, sir!

Check out the impressions I got from the game a few months back and keep an eye on the shelves. And maybe update the Wikipedia page, too.

Shooter? Fireworks? It makes sense in practices, trust me. In arcade mode, you appear as a little ship on the lower screen. You shoot fireworks at targets floating around in the upper screen. Hit the target, and a star-shaped power-up will drop. Miss and the firework will explode, raining down fiery projectiles that your ship has to dodge. You need to collect as many power-ups as you can to fill a gauge on the left hand side of the lower screen in order to get to the next level.

There are two dominant strategies for getting through arcade mode – a careful target-and-shoot approach and the all-out firework blitz. Target-and-shoot takes way longer and leaves more opportunities for the targets in later levels to hit you with their own projectiles that they drop into the lower screen. The blitz creates even more havoc down below as the bounce-back from the exploding fireworks will kill you as easily as it kills the targets you’re trying to hit.

In total, there are 90 levels in the whole game – 10 per world, 10 boss fights total. The worlds range in theme from Hong Kong to underwater; completing each grants you a special tactic such as a whirlwind that sucks in enemy projectiles, a charged-shot firework, or a homing missile firework. The design for each world is pretty detailed – even the music creates a distinct sense of atmosphere (I particularly liked the Paris rooftop level). And bosses like the Mohawk-sporting walrus or the secret last boss? I haven’t seen stuff that funky since Ren & Stimpy’s Powdered Toast Man.

Beating arcade mode unlocks mission mode, where you replay levels and try to satisfy a laundry list of special requirements for each. Beat that, and you unlock the alarm clock feature where you can set any song from the game’s extensive musical library to wake you up at a specific time. The downside to alarm clock mode (aside from the bleary flailing involved with turning it off and the grim meat hook reality that you’ve got to get out of bed) is you’ve got to have the cartridge in the DS for it to work.

On the plus side, though, you only need one cartridge to enjoy multiplayer. Bless you, Arkedo, this is what Wi-Fi was made for.

In versus mode, you and a friend appear as little colored balls with wings – like golden snitches only in pastel. You turn the DS on its side like a book so you can see your opponent on one screen and yourself on the other (you can set it to left or right, depending on your handedness). You then have to shoot fireworks at each other – but you’ve got to angle your shots upwards so it arcs between screens. If you miss your opponent, don’t sweat; the firework will explode when it hits the ground on your opponent’s side, spraying fiery projectiles upwards. Don’t get too trigger-happy – some of the multiplayer stages feature environmental hazards like bats that will chase you if you happen to hit them with your fireworks. At your disposal, you have four special items keyed to the D pad that you can use to attack your opponent with or protect yourself. There’s a bubble shield, a reflection wave that sends all projectiles over to your opponent’s side, a super-tiny ray that shrinks your opponent, and a “fade to black” attack that limits your opponent’s field of vision so they can’t see to dodge. Each can be used only once, so use them wisely.

All in all, this is hardcore shooter masquerading as a fluffy firework extravaganza. That’s not to say the fireworks aren’t pretty – gosh, I wished my Fourth of July looked like this game. But there is a layer of difficulty to this game lurking below the fireworks that sets Big Bang Mini apart from casual shooters, Geometry Wars rip-offs, and just about anything else on the DS to date.

Big Bang Mini is out sometime in January (pending Nintendo submission approval), and at a $20 retail rate, the price is right. Check out screens below.

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with SouthPeak to continue to bring great original titles from independent developers to market with a stronger sales and distribution reach,” said Mike Wilson, CEO of Gamecock. “We have followed each other's progress closely over the last two years, and combining our team with theirs results in a very strong and well-rounded force in the market."

The feverish coupling should have no effect on Gamecock's upcoming titles, with Legendary and Mushroom men still slated for release this quarter. Phew, I need a cigarette.

SouthPeak Interactive Corporation Acquires Gamecock Media Group

MIDLOTHIAN, Va.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—SouthPeak Interactive Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: SOPK; SOPKU; SOPKW; SOPKZ), one of the fastest growing videogame publishers, today announced the acquisition of Austin-based Gamecock Media Group.

Commenting on the acquisition, Melanie Mroz, CEO of SouthPeak, stated, “Gamecock brings us a solid slate of upcoming titles, including Legendary, Mushroom Men and Velvet Assassin and supports our strategy of working with independent developers. We are excited to give the Gamecock titles a bigger platform to succeed.”

"We are thrilled to be joining forces with SouthPeak to continue to bring great original titles from independent developers to market with a stronger sales and distribution reach,” said Mike Wilson, CEO of Gamecock. “We have followed each other's progress closely over the last two years, and combining our team with theirs results in a very strong and well-rounded force in the market."

SouthPeak expects to ship Legendary and Mushroom Men in the current quarter.