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Giant, evil Easter Island heads and enormous bosses with glowing weak spots that scream “shoot me.” They’re all back to menace the galaxy, and once again it’s up to one little starfighter with an ever-growing arsenal of weapons to save the day!

Coming this summer in Japan to Nintendo’s Wii Ware service: Gradius Rebirth, which follows the style of the classic side-scrolling space combat games Gradius and Life Force. Only time (and money) will tell if we see it in the States.

I wonder if the infamous “Konami Code” will be resurrected as well? The 1986 Nintendo Entertainment system release of Gradius was the first game to employ the epic cheat.

Source: Wired

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM NINTENDO’S PRESS CONFERENCE:

The sequel to Wii Sports, the ever-popular Wii launch title, Wii Sports Resort adds activities like fencing (below), Frisbee and jet skiing. The game will come bundled with the new Wii Motion Plus accessory and an extended Wii Remote Jacket, both of which will also be available separately.

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One of the biggest video game publicity events is happening this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. That means lots of gaming news, updates and a sick amount of eye candy.

Microsoft made some big announcements yesterday, Jayson Peters wrote about Nintendo’s press conference earlier today and now I’m going to cover Sony’s plans for the future. The company is hoping to gain a larger part of the gaming market by expanding their library of exclusive games and offering a completely unique online experience.

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Apple boosted the capabilities and usefulness of the iPhone and iPod touch last Friday with the release of third-party applications. The App Store on iTunes has more than 800 native applications, including over 200 offered for free. Most of the apps cost less than $10. Here are a few that I’ve downloaded and really like.

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See More Wii Music Screenshot at IGN.com

One of the biggest video game publicity events is happening this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. That means lots of gaming news, updates and a sick amount of eye candy.

Yesterday, Scott Kirchhofer gave you the rundown on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 announcements, and he’ll be back later today with a roundup of Sony’s news. I’m here to summarize Nintendo’s morning press conference. It’s already been a big year for Nintendo, and many folks were wondering if they’d have anything left to announce. But despite the much-anticipated early arrivals of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, they’re not out of the game yet.

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One of the biggest video game publicity events is happening this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. That means lots of gaming news, updates and a sick amount of eye candy.

Microsoft held their press conference today and capitalized on the recent news that the Xbox 360 will get a price drop ($299 for the 20-gigabyte hard drive). They boosted interest in the console by showing off some impressive new games and Xbox LIVE features to be released this fall.

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TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

Ready for some more geeky podcasts? Thought so. And in case you missed it, don’t forget to check out Part I. Or, you can check out both articles in one convenient place right here. (more…)

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Who needs The Clone Wars? Sure, the new CGI Star Wars movie is coming to theaters Aug. 15, but why dwell on the past of the prequel era (again) when you can learn the ways of the dark side at the bionic feet of Darth Vader himself? That’s what happens in The Force Unleashed, a multimedia extravaganza centered on a video game arriving Sept. 16 from LucasArts.

This launch trailer represents the Xbox 360 version of the game, as far as I can tell. But there will be versions for Nintendo Wii and DS, PS3, PS2 and PSP — as well as a novelization, comic book adaptation, tabletop RPG supplement and miniatures, action figures and LEGO sets.

Did I forget anything?

Follow the jump for the game’s trailer (and certain spoilers): (more…)

IGN has the exclusive trailer for Mega Man 9, soon to be released on Wii Ware, Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network:

RELATED STORY:

• Eight isn’t enough for ‘Mega Man’

IMAGES COURTESY OF ELECTRONIC ARTS

It’s hard to distinguish yourself in a gaming market that’s saturated with military shooters, and while Electronic Arts’ Battlefield: Bad Company doesn’t offer anything really new, it’s a fun game full of variety and wonderfully destructible environments.

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