Not one to be proven wrong all that often, Electronic Gaming Month’s Quartermann has some hot rumors he’s reporting on in the upcoming June issue of EGM, which should be arriving in subscribers’ mailboxes soon.

The biggest rumor is that one of the titles Bungie purportedly agreed to make for Microsoft as a way of securing its independence is a third-person action/adventure spinoff of Halo. The game would take place before the first Halo and would focus on ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers; gosh, get with the times, will ya?) encounters with the Covenant. It’s unclear if this is the Peter Jackson project, but Jackson’ WETA studio will be involved either way. Details are expected to surface around the same time that Gears of War 2 makes its way to retail later this year.

Of course, that’s not the only juicy rumor — Rockstar is also working on both Max Payne 3 and Red Dead Revolver 2, both for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, in addition to the PS3 exclusive L.A. Noire. Oh, and one other little game from Rockstar is in early development: a massively multiplayer Grand Theft Auto is apparently in the works.

And while Guitar Hero might be working on adding instruments to its currently guitar-only experience, Rock Band 2 (slated for this fall) won’t be adding to its current load of instruments. Hopefully that means current Rock Band owners won’t need to buy anything more than a copy of the game to get the full experience.

As for the rest, you’ll have to check out the June issue of EGM to get all the details. It’s the one with Splatterhouse on the cover.

via 1UP

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The June issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly will contain world-exclusive content on the reincarnation of Splatterhouse. It is being published by Namco and BottleRocket (Mark of Kri) are the developers and the game is expected to arrive sometime in the middle of 2009 for both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

A new screenshot for the survival horror game is posted above and the cover of the June issue of EGM is posted below. For more details on Splatterhouse, check out 1UP and don’t forget to pick up the June issue of EGM.

Via: 1Up

Supposedly rapper, thug, gangsta, Eminem bff, ex-con, entrepreneur, Kanye West hatin’ 50 Cent is set to star in his second videogame.According to EGM, the follow-up to 50 Cent: Bulletproof, tentatively titled 50 Cent II is a third-person shooter that puts 50 and his “G-Unit” homies in the middle east caught between warring factions after being stiffed for their payment for a concert performance. It is currently in development by Swordfish Studios and will be published by Sierra.

Apparently the original game sold enough units to warrant an sequel, which while shocking does not surprise me in the least. Anyway, if you want more information on this, like consoles, expected release dates and what not, you can check out the latest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Aside from some April Fools jokes and a preview of GTA IV, the upcoming issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly will apparently contain a short interview with the person who found the infamous “hot coffee” segments in GTA: San Andreas. Dutch modder, Patrick Wildenborg, talks about finding the hidden sex scenes in the game, the ensuing media backlash, and how Rockstar first tried to pin the scenes on the modding community.

It’s a strange feeling to find e-mails from all the major news companies in your mail box… luckily it didn’t have any lasting negative effect… We [in the modding community] never anticipated how this thing was going to be blown out of proportion by the mainstream media and the politicians…

I’m still proud of finding and uncovering the [Hot Coffee] scenes - because of all the work and research it took… When I look back at it, I think [Rockstar] should have reacted differently, but I don’t hold a grudge at all.

He also said he doesn’t expect to find any such scenes in the upcoming GTA IV. Somewhere, there’s some gamer shouting, “No sex in GTA IV!? Pff, forget it then.”

Via GamePolitics

This month’s EGM features tons of great information concerning Grand Theft Auto IV, but perhaps next month’s issue will be the one that brings in the most excitement.  SOCOM is finally making it’s way to the PS3 and I know pretty much every PS3 owner is excited.

The next issue has an exclusive hands-on look at Confrontation’s full 32-player online battles.   That sentence there is enough to get me excited.  Will SOCOM Confrontation be the game that shoots the PS3 into star status?  I think it’s entirely possible.

Via 1Up

There’s a scan from the upcoming issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly that seems to be making a few waves in some sequestered areas of the internet. The page scan in question clearly shows an article describing Bungie’s next project, titled “Lego Halo.” The game depicted is pretty much what you’d expect with the Halo trilogy given the same blocky treatment as the Star Wars saga. It’s a terrible interesting idea, but I’m not sure many people are getting one thing straight: it’s fake. As proof, I’m not pointing to the fact that the whole article in general has a “too ridiculous to be true” nature to it. No, I’m simply pointing to the fact that it’s EGM’s April issue, where they’ve always been known to throw in an April Fool’s joke or two. Over the years, they’ve managed to convince to people to try out fake cheat codes to unlock made up characters in games (like Sheng Long in Street Fighter II) and that games such as “Mushroom Kingdom Hearts” (pretty much Kingdom Hearts with Nintendo characters) were in the works. They’re always amusing, but again, fake. Although, in this case, I don’t think I’d welcome the idea of a Lego-fied Halo with open arms.

Via Halo 3 Forums

And just when I started thinking that maybe Microsoft might pursue Crackdown 2 without Realtime Worlds (developer of the original game, currently off at work on APB), Electronic Gaming Monthly’s resident rumormonger, Quartermann, goes and stomps out any chance of that. In the April issue of EGM, his column states that Microsoft won’t be making a sequel any time soon, and that even if they did, it’s unlikely Realtime Worlds would even be involved. Bummer.

Other rumors include EA looking to develop a mixed martial arts game (although THQ owns the rights to Ultimate Fighting Championship). Additionally, the recently released Patapon is likely to get a spin-off and will land on PlayStation Network. Sounds good to me.

For the rest of the details and even more rumors, you’ll want to check out the April issue of EGM, which should be coming to subscribers now and newsstands soon.

via 1UP

The Street Fighter IV hype machine is starting to roll. If you enjoyed the first few videos released of gameplay footage from SF IV, you should definitely pick up January’s copy of EGM. It’s still too early for us to make any definitive statements on the game, but it certainly has numerous interesting aspects to it. If you wanted to check out the Street Fighter IV videos again, they can be found below:

First Gameplay Footage From Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter IV “Hadoken” Video

No one really knows at this point how the story will end, but there does seem to be a bit of finality to it all. It’s obvious that this will be the last Halo like we know it. We are “finishing the fight” after all. Of course, this could just be the end of Master Chief’s run and we could see a lot more of Halo in the future, but just with different heroes involved. It’s very interesting that we all have such a fondness for a character like Master Chief that we don’t even know very much about. Game Stooge had some interesting thoughts on the possible final moment for MC:

The 7th Columnist wrangled up a Halo 3 ad that is featured in the latest issue of EGM and is worded in such a way that it almost sounds as if they are remembering Master Chief. You know, like he was gone or had passed away. It’s quite the interesting ad indeed. Also, as part of the Halo 3 sponsored Projekt Revolution tour, a Halo 3 advertisement pamphlet was handed out and talks of musical celebration that is “honoring the life and legend Master Chief John-117″. Sounds very “Master Chief is dead, let’s remember his life” to us.

Via Game Stooge

A scan from the upcoming issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has been circling different forums that shows their review scores for the highly-anticipated Lair, and they’re not looking too great. As you can see above, three different reviewers have given the game scores ranging from a 5/10 to a 6/10. While these aren’t terrible, they are noticeably lower than most people were predicting, as this is the primary game PS3 owners have been foaming at the mouth over since the system’s launch. Unfortunately, due to the constraints of the scan, the only reason for these scores that can be seen is that the combat and controls are apparently awkward.

I wouldn’t rule out the game just yet though, as these are still early reviews and the hype has already built up enough for this game to become a best seller. We’ll have to see when the game ships on August 14th.

Via PS3Forums.com

CVG has some good news and some bad news for all you Halo 3 fans out there. First according to the latest issue of EGM there is no Co-op play plan at this time on line. Fans will be able to play side by side or over a LAN , but there is no Xbox LIVE option… yet.

“We’re not dumb,” says Bungie’s Frank O’Conner. “We know that people want it and we’re trying to make it happen. I think the biggest problem for us for online co-op is that we have a situation where you can be in a Warthog with five troops, almost a mile away from the other player. That’s a significant challenge. And there’s lots of design things you could do to prevent that from happening, but they would make it not feel like Halo anymore. If we can make it happen in a way that works well, we will - and if it works badly, we won’t.”

The issue did reveal info on the highly anticipated new weapons, vehicles and equipment for the game. Some thin to look forward to;

New gear includes the Flare (a flashbang) a dual wieldable Brute shotgun dubbed the Mauler, a Gravity Hammer (send vehicles flying, apparently) and a Regenerator (opposite of the power drainer). New Vehicles to look out for include the Prowler, Hornet and Elephant, described as a Jawa Sandcrawler.

Are you getting excited yet? Well here’s another little extra something to keep the anticipation building. Bungie remade the “Lockout” multiplayer map and retitled it “the Guardian” and for the old time Bungie fanatics MS may even have Marathon up on Xbox LIVE Arcade by the time EGM comes out August 11.

The newest issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly has just been sent out with it’s hands-on preview of Bioshock. But what’s slightly more interesting is the little teaser given at the end of the issue:

“If you’re hankering for a virtual fistfight, top-quality options about — the Virtua Fighter, Tekken, and Dead or Alive franchises all offer satisfying punch-up action. But if you’re truly looking to give your opponent something to cry about, it’s all about wielding sharpened steel, and nothing beats Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur series for weapon-based fighting thrills. In our world-exclusive preview, we’ll reveal the future direction of this beloved series.”

Yes, it looks like the magazine is going to be the first to get the scoop on the next Soul Calibur. Personally, I’m hoping to see some interesting new characters; ones that hopefully aren’t created by Todd McFarlane.