EA Sports‘ latest installment to the long-running FIFA franchise, FIFA ‘08 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360), is packing up quite a bunch of new features. Not only will it make use of next-gen consoles (though PS2 and PC versions will also be available) to step graphics up a notch, but some new additions may actually give FIFA an edge over the competing Pro Evolution Soccer.

What’s new, you ask? This tutorial video shows us revamped through pass and manual cross mechanics to set up the perfect goal. With intuitive controls, players aim a pass using the PlayStation’s left analog stick. The power of the pass is determined by how long the through pass button is pressed. A manual cross can be done using the same method.

Keep in mind that this is for PS2/PS3, and we are yet to find out how the ball will roll on other platforms. Anyway, check out how it’s done by watching the embed below:

Ouch. Biggest news in the techies’ Utopia is Epic Games‘ Mark Rein expounding his predictions that technology on PCs would be throttled, after a showcase of Unreal Engine 3 titles on consoles haven’t even come close to pushing the DirectX 10 envelope.

After PC gaming (at least in the North American side) had drifted off to a steady decline, game companies have steered their focus into development for the next-generation platforms, such as the Xenon-powered Xbox 360 and the CELL-powered PlayStation 3. But with their physical limitations, consoles can only power so much in a game before plateauing at a certain performance level.

Epic Games’ vice president Mark Rein told CVG that the game industry has to “dumb the games down for the consoles,” so it’s highly unlikely that gamers on PC will see anything pushing the graphical or technological envelope in the near future. In fact, Rein thinks that it most likely that no game would even tap DirectX 10 until the next iteration of consoles.

While Banzai Runners the world over could be “facepalming” in unison, this doesn’t present more of a threat to “geeked up” gamers than to, say FutureMark or NVIDIA, whose businesses has been at the brunt of graphical technology advancement since the late 1990s. Sneaking around the Web’s most reputable tech forums, we’ve found that majority of the reactions aren’t even concerned with Rein’s statements.

It is true that the opinion is worrisome to an extent (essentially, while unproven, it is potentially viable), but it appears that more concern has been emphasized toward creativity, variety and (gasp!) quality games for the PC, rather than always push the frontlines of graphics with first-person shooters, dungeon crawlers or real-time strategy games. Is a revolution at hand? If so, this blogger wants X-COM back (please?).

And as for PC gaming technology being throttled, however, some people believe that Germany, banded together with computer companies worldwide, may have something different to say altogether.

Whether you like video game-based movies or not, “Resident Evil: Extinction” is well on its way. September 21 is right around the corner, and we can expect aggressive marketing before the fated day comes. To promote the movie, Sony unleashed a hot BMW motorcycle at Comic-con.

Because of the “Zombie Violence” tag, let’s just call it that. The decals look sweet and all, the polish is perfect, and the whole thing looks like a beast, but we’d sell a dozen Ducati to the junkyard just to get a bike with Resident Evil on it. Watching the movie is an entirely different issue.

Assassin’s Creed (Xbox 360, PS3, PC) is not exactly a sneaky title. With so much hype, you’d wonder how Altair will ever do some discreet killing when thousands of gamers have their eyes set on the bird of prey. Website Riottt seeks to shed more light on the title, as they sat down with producer Jade Raymond to talk about what’s hot with Ubisoft Montreal’s latest offering (aside from Jade).

Fans of Prince of Persia or anyone familiar with the series would notice that Altair’s acrobatic feats don’t stray too far from the prince. This isn’t a mere coincidence, “the guys who made that happen are now on our team, and you can see that they re trying to take it to the next level” said Jade.

Based on what we know so far, Assassin’s Creed is an entire package that shows what gaming has become, both as entertainment and art medium. “There s a book called ‘Alamut,’ and it s about the assassins. That book was a big influence. Obviously, Ridley Scott s ‘Kingdom Of Heaven,’ but also ‘Black Hawk Down’ in the way it was shot and the art direction, that had a big influence on the look. “

The game takes cues from other smash hits like GTA to create the ultimate mix of sandbox, platforming, stealth, and action genres. Following the trend of open-ended environments, the team “watched [free running] videos to death to get that feeling.”

Splinter Cell gave Sam Fisher a new look which resembles Altair a lot. Jade doesn’t see this negatively, however, saying “it s like that argument over who invented noodles, the Chinese or the Italians, and maybe you could argue about it forever, but maybe noodles are just a good idea.”

The lovely Jade Raymond, known all across the gaming world, is more desired than getting hands-on with Assassin’s Creed by some (your comments on every article with Jade prove it). Good thing is, she appreciates it. “It s always nice to get compliments, it s not a bad thing, but I just want to make cool games, and I don t want [my looks] to ever overshadow what I m trying to do, or what the team is trying to do.”

PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game will look identical, but the PC incarnation is still being optimized for less powerful machines, she continued. Downloadable content is not the only new feature the sequel will be getting, because multiplayer will be added to make up for the absence in this installation.

This isn’t the first time she talked about a sequel, but Ubisoft isn’t counting chicks before the eggs hatch. “It s never good to plan for success when you haven t had success yet, and obviously if this game isn t good, there won t be another game,” she explained. Yet, the game’s deep story and engaging world promises that more content in the future is feasible.

Expect Assassin’s Creed to hit the shelves by the end of the year. For those who are really interested in Jade (in a purely innocent and professional way), you might want to brush up your Resident Evil 4 skills - it has been her favorite game for the last five years.

The Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) has recently released an official announcement ticking off the need-to-know facts of this year’s Tokyo Game Show (TGS). The freshly wired press release claimed that an anticipated 168 exhibitors will strut their stuff on 1,708 booths over eight spacious halls in Makuhari Messe, Mihama-ku, Chiba City starting September 20, 2007.

From 2007 onwards, the TGS will serve as a essential part in Japan’s International Contents Festival (CoFesta). And while it will serve as a bid for major publishers towards the end-of-year season of software releases, it will also bring mobile telephony forward to the tech-savvy masses, courtesy of special sponsor NTT DoCoMo.

TGS2007, extending its show to four days for the first time, will also be introducing new exhibitors from around the world, including companies from The Netherlands, Sweden and Thailand, adding to the 51 international participating exhibitors from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.

The business leg of the event is also stretched to two full days, a conclusion of which is succeeded with open exhibition to a targeted gathering of 180,000 attendees on September 22-23. The first two days of the Nikkei co-organized event will be open only to attendees with business in mind, touting a TGS Forum 2007 program keynoted by none other than Kazuo Hirai, Sony Computer Entertainment’s (SCE) president and group CEO.

His speech, currently bannered as “A look at our business strategy toward new growth: the expanding PlayStation world,” will be free of admission charges and will take place at the International Conference Hall.

The theme of the event will coincide with the main visual theme selection (see image to the right), entitled “Link in, Reach out, To the World,” and will tackle four main topics on “Online Games,” “Characters,” “Mobile Phone Games,” and “Finance and Marketing” in their respective discussion sessions

The Forum will also tackle the introduction of new gamers into the gaming community’s midst, including female gamers thanks to noteworthy portable game consoles and handhelds.

The current list of game-related companies to attend the event follows, but is subject to change in case of last-minute announcements. Reportedly, Nintendo is not currently listed as either exhibitor nor guest, but even this early out in July, many things can change.

• 3DV Systems
• Acquire Corporation
• AIM Co., Ltd. (under Thailand Pavilion)
• Arc System Works Co., Ltd.
• Auran Pty Ltd (under Australian Pavilion)
• BANPRESTO
• Broccoli Co., Ltd
• CAPCOM Co., Ltd.
• Corcell Co., Ltd. (under Thailand Pavilion)
• CyberPlanet Interactive Co., Ltd. (under Thailand Pavilion)
• D3Publisher
• Digidream Studio Co., Ltd. (under Thailand Pavilion
• Enterbrain
• Fuzzyeyes Studio Pty Ltd (under Australia Game Pavilion)
• Game Square Co., Ltd. (under Thailand Pavilion)
• Halfbrick Studios Pty Ltd (under Australia Game Pavilion)
• Hudson Soft Co., Ltd.
• InterServ International Inc. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion THCA)
• Jaleco, Ltd.
• Joymaster Inc. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion THCA)
• KDDI Corporation
• Koei Co., Ltd.
• KONAMI
• Krome Studios Pty Ltd (under Australia Game Pavilion)
• Lager Interactive Inc. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion THCA)
• Level-5, Inc.
• Marvelous Entertainment
• Mega Entertainment Co., Ltd. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion TAITRA)
• Microsoft Co., Ltd.
• Monomania Co., Ltd. (under Thailand Pavilion)
• Namco Bandai Games, Inc.
• NTT DoCoMo, Inc.
• SEGA Corporation
• SNK Playmore
• Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.
• Square Enix Co., Ltd. (with Square Enix Music)
• TAITO Corporation
• Tecmo, Ltd.
• Tomy Company, Ltd.
• Unalis Co., Ltd. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion THCA)
• UserJoy Technology Co., Ltd. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion TAITRA)
• Winking Entertainment Corporation (under Taiwan Game Pavilion THCA)
• XPEC Entertainment Inc. (under Taiwan Game Pavilion THCA)
• Yudo Inc.

Other firms are listed in mobile and investment categories, totalling to a tally of 168 exhibitors as of July 31, 2007.

If it’s about style, IO Interactive’s Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PS3, Xbox 360, PC) shines. From the masterminds that created Hitman, one of the most celebrated titles in the stealth action scene, comes a hot-blooded mercenary coupled with a psychopath to deliver the next big action-packed experience.

The video recently released by publisher Eidos Entertainment reveals Lynch’s daughter, sharing her suffering after finding out that her dad has turned into a cold killer. We wouldn’t want to be in her shoes, but playing as the insane duo in co-op sounds so inviting.

Unfortunately, the game won’t hit the shelves ’til later this year. For now, settle with this spine-chilling vid.

The first Games Convention Asia Conference (GCAC) coming September 6, 2007 will have numerous regional game industry leaders to speak at the two-day conference, so goes the official announcement made earlier today. The press release named Joonmo Kwon, CEO of MMORPG tycoon Nexon and Nexon Mobile, to be one of those to speak at the GCAC in Asia and Pacific (A&P) commercial hub Singapore.

The event will be held alongside an open-to-all GC Asia Exhibition which will run up to September 9 - two days longer than the conference - in an effort to spur exposure of the region’s most reputable game companies to investors, retailers and the public alike. But more importantly, Asian game developers will be able to tout their best products to international publishers.

In addition to Mr. Kwon, who will be addressing attendees on Mobile Development, James Miller (Lead Program Manager, Microsoft, USA) will prime the region’s developers in the views of third-party publishing. And because A&P is a region of oft-outsourced game developer studios, a panel consisting of Charles Speyer (COO, Glass Egg Media, Vietnam), Alexander Fernandez (CEO, Streamline Studios, Netherlands) and Bob Bates (Board of Director, IGDA, USA) will tackle issues with outsourcing and its overall effect to the game industry.

Other discussions will express opinions on the growing trend of game financing, often the source of funds for independent game developers the world around. As of press time, the GCAC is accepting registrations online, reachable through the Read link provided below.

Ever since Double Dragon and Contra, two player co-op have been very crucial in making games fun. Electronic Arts‘ Army of Two (Xbox 360, PS3) plans to capitalize on what a couple of buddies with a good attitude towards shooting people can do.

In this video we found are some snippets of gameplay showcasing the feats that give sense to the saying “no man is an island”. Driving a vehicle while taking down targets at the same time can get hectic, but Army of Two puts a player on the wheels while another on the mounted gun to make wreaking havoc much easier.

When one guy bravely wields a shield to provide cover for his partner, we just know that love is in the air. Speaking of love, the game’s extensive weapon customization features will make firearm lovers blush. Check out the video and see for yourself.

It’s finally confirmed: Halo 3 will have four-player co-op multiplayer for campaign mode. It was tough for the developers but they finally came through.

Here’s the skinny. Multiplaying can be done either through Xbox Live or through system link. One console can host only up to two players on split-screen. Also, only one player can play Master Chief, and that’s player one. Player two will be controlling the Arbiter. Developers didn’t want to have two Master Chiefs running around so they decided to expand the Halo universe and added two new Elite characters.

Player three will be controlling N’Tho Sraom, youngest member of his Special Operations unit. He is a Sangheili human sympathizer who despises the Sangheili political system. Player four will be controlling Usze ‘Taham, also a Sangheili, of the Fleet Security unit. He has been offered the position of the Prophet’s Honor Guard twice, but he refused both times. After the dissolution of the Covenant he was approached by the Ascetics to become a liaison within the Navy.

Now all four players will have the same abilities. The main difference comes from the natural flow of storytelling. Humans and Elites for example, will start out with different weapons depending on the mission. A little less than two months to go, folks. Halo 3 will be out September 25 for the Xbox 360.

Codemasters has denied rumors that its recently-released PC and Xbox 360 title Overlord will be ported to the Sony PlayStation 3 video game console. This according to European video game news site Eurogamer.

The rumors surfaced due to a job listing spotted on the website of Overlord developer Triumph Studios. The job posting advertised for somebody who could handle porting Xbox 360 and PC code base to PS3.

There is no word yet on what exactly Triumph is planning to port to the PS3. The most recent title on the Triumph website apart from Overlord is Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. The latter was first released four years ago.