After all the teasers for Guitar Hero 5, Activision is finally offering gamers some juicy chunks of the latest game in the GH series. The full line up is out, naming a good mix of classic, new and Indie bands and solo artists including Bob Dillon and Iggy Pop as well as Queens of the Stone Age and Wolfmother. You’ll notice many of the usual suspects and several bands that have released big track packs. I’m thrilled to see Muse, Rush, 3 Doors Down, Iron Maiden, and Kiss on the list as well. Whether you’re into The Man in Black or The Killers, you’re bound to find something to like about this line up listed.

Hit read the full article for all the Guitar Hero 5 goodness to look forward to until the September 1st release.

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I talk weekly about the convergence of pen-and-paper gaming with the digital game space of video games but today I get to announce a convergence going in the opposite direction.. Green Ronin, publishers of the popular Mutants & Masterminds, True 20 and the current publisher of The Song of Ice and Fire RPG just announced that they will be taking the world of BioWare’s forthcoming Dragon Age: Origins and converting it into a traditional RPG.

Dragon Age, often referred to in hype releases as “the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate” (BioWare’s original Fantasy RPG based upon the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms settings), will be getting a “box set” release in the summer meant to introduce both the world of Thedas (Dragon Age’s setting) and the concepts of traditional role playing to video game fans.

“We’re delighted to be working with Green Ronin to explore more of the Dragon Age universe through a pen and paper role-playing game. We’re excited to deliver Dragon Age’s unique dark, heroic fantasy to our audience in a brand new way—a perfect complement to the landmark game we’re launching on PC, Xbox 360, and PLAYSTATION 3 this fall,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager and CEO, BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, EA. “Our development teams craft rich, deep worlds, and this is an excellent way to expand the franchise.”

This is not the first RPG setting to make the transition from video game to paper – previously Everquest, Diablo, Starcraft and World of Warcraft have gotten a conversion to traditional RPG products at Wizards of the Coast and with White-Wolf’s Sword and Sorcery imprint. While none of those settings are still in active development this is the first time I can recall that an in-development video game property is getting a tabletop treatment before its even been released.

Who knows, maybe if Dragon Age grabs its audience Green Ronin and BioWare can negotiate to bring Mass Effect to pen-and-paper RPGs as well. I’d be first in line for a game based on that setting. Dragon Age feel like more of the same Tolkien derivative fantasy at this point unfortunately. You can read the full details of the press release after the jump.

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SEGA plans to dole out the nostalgia to gamers come early 2009 when they release their upcoming Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection or if you happen to live in the UK, “Sega’s Mega Drive Ultimate Collection” for the PS3 and Xbox 360. This compilation of some of the most popular first-party games from SEGA’s 16-bit Mega Drive years will contain not only classic titles for the SEGA enthusiast, but also some bonus content from its 8-bit Master System and some tubular 1980’s arcade era games.

Currently in development by Backbone Entertainment, the game disc houses over 40 games in one package revamped in HD such as:

• Alien Storm
• Columns
• Ecco the Dolphin
• Phantasy Star
• Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2 and 3
• Space Harrier
• Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3

Each reproduction will run well on HD televisions because they can output in 720p which will be a great change for those of us who played these games back in the day, and a good way to get the newer generations interested in just how far games have come over the years.

This is the largest collection of SEGA first party games ever put on on gaming disc, and while you can get some of the retro goodness mentioned above through Xbox Live or the Wii Virtual Console it will be cheaper in the long run if you just buy the gaming disc when it come out next year. Plus, the games mentioned here are not anywhere near close to 40 titles, and the disc will also include unlockable content in the way of acade games and interviews with the original game developers as you earn Achievements on the Xbox 360 and Trophies on the PS3.

Fans of muliplayer/co-op games will not be left out either because you can play these classics together with a friend from the same console at home.

You can view more screens of the game here on the FileFront game page.

Nintendo has announced its early 2009 game line up which kicks off with Pokémon Platinum. the popular DS title will hit shelves March 22, 2009.

Other familiar games among the over 100 planned releases are New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis and New Play Control! Pikmin are coming out for the Wii with edutainment title Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, Personal Trainer: Math and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars headed for the Nintendo DS.

More games from the Q1 2009 Nintendo line up follow the break.
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Sonic Unleashed has some formidable bosses and SEGA and Sonic Team have captured some on video. The Sonic Unleashed ‘Boss Trailer’ gives players a glimpse of some of the big bad allies and creations of Dr. Eggman in action. Hopefully you can also glean some clues on how to beat these bosses. Check out trailer to see if you want to add Sonic Unleashed to your gamer profile.

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The Air Force Research Laboratory is using X-Plane to develop a pilot training program. X-Plane features a system to download real weather for your flight simulations. It handles both subsonic and supersonic flight dynamics as well as space flight via the Space Shuttle.

The AFRL at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is supervising the use of Laminar Research’s commercial title X-plane with military-specific databases to reduce the time and cost of developing a training program for warplane pilots.

The AFRL is actually in the process of recruiting government, industry and academic experts as partners in shared-technology development. If you have skills you think would benefit the U.S. Air Force, you can read more about the effort and find contact information on Dayton B2B.

As if releasing the soundtrack to the new Street Fighter HD Remix for free weren’t enough, now Capcom has revealed another juicy bit of Street Fighter paraphernalia for you fans out there. Apparently, some DLC for Little Big Planet is in the pipeline now which features some adorable Street Fighter costumes for your little sackboy/girl. There will be four costumes modeled after Chun-Li, Guile, Zangief, and Ryu. No word yet on whether the costumes will grant you special “Shoryuken” or “Sonic Boom” powers.

The costumes are cool enough, but what I really can’t wait for are the inevitable Street Fighter-based levels that will have you pitting your sackpeople against each other. Sure, they’ll last about ten minutes before the copyright gurus strip them down, but oh, what a wonderful ten minutes that would be.

SEGA released Sonic Unleashed in stores across North America yesterday.

Developed by Sonic Team in Japan, Sonic Unleashed is filled with 2D/3D gameplay and fast daytime action including new moves that make Sonic even faster including the Sonic Drift (to corner quickly without losing speed), Ring Energy (faster speeds brings more ring energy), QuickStep (to move side to side without losing momentum), and Sonic Boost (uses Ring Energy to give Sonic a speed boost). Nighttime though, changes our hero into the strong and flexible Werehog – Sonic’s dark alter ego who comes out when the moon shines bright– and who can fight tough enemies as well as to climb and swing to new heights in each level.

Sonic Unleashed is currently available for PS2, Xbox 360, and the Wii and will be available for the PS3 December 2008.

Here are just some gaming related stories floating around on the web from yesterday and today:

• Want to know how to obtain the M1A1 Carbine from Call of Duty: World at War without ranking to level 65? Well fret not, because thanks to a pal of theirs at Treyarch, the folks over at MonsterVine have all the answers (thanks William Saw!).

• According to GamesIndustry.biz, GameStop expects there to be more Wii shortages at Christmas this year. Is that really surprising? Maybe it is time I pulled mine out of the closet and put it up on eBay. With the outrageous prices people are asking for the console, I think if I went $100 less I could make a sale and put it towards finally getting a PS3 (wakes up from her daydream).

• VG247 has posted a link to a video called Immersion that The New York Times has a posted by photographer Robbie Cooper which shows the vacant and sometimes scary looks on kids faces as they play videogames–and most likely ones they should not be playing in the first place from what I could hear. If you watch the video though, you may come away with the impression that a lot of these were staged–especially that one kid who keeps saying “Let me kill you”. Then again, maybe he is just a dork.

• Ubisoft will release downloadable content for Far Cry 2 sometime before the end of the month. “The Fortune’s Pack” will will include multiplayer maps, some new weapons and vehicles. You can expect it to hit the PSN and XBL for around $10.

• In case you haven’t heard, The Killers, Yngwie Malmsteen, Soundgarden, Lamb of God will hit Rock Band on November 25.

• Shacknews has a lovely list of upcoming game releases posted on their site. The list is for releases during the week of November 23-29. Looks like no PS3 titles though, and the only ones worth noting are Sonic Unleashed for the Xbox 360 and Age of Empires: Mythologies for the Nintendo DS. You think I am joking? Then hit the link and see for yourself.

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SEGA of America has released its first endeavor in video shorts, Sonic: Night of the Werehog, to the Online community. It’s a little late for Halloween and could never in my opinion measure up to the Futurama werecar episode, but it’s well worth a look.

This stunning film takes Sonic on an adventure to an eerie lonely house on a dark and stormy night. Follow along with Sonic as he faces some mischievous ghouls and see how brave they are when the moon shines and Sonic becomes the Werehog. Will Sonic survive the night or will the ghosts scare him out into the rain?