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Word-based RPG isn't exactly a booming genre, but casual game publisher PopCap has the market cornered. "Bookworm Adventures" launched a couple years back and basically rocked, mixing an addictive word-based puzzle game with a narrative. "Bookworm Adventures 2" hopes to do the same thing when it drops at the end of July for PC, with a Mac release sometime after.

Me describing it sounds decidedly lame, but if you've been playing the original "Bookworm" on the PC or iPhone, it's a similar experience, albiet with a little more depth layered in. And by depth I mean literally companions like Mother Goose, who knows her way around a consonant. If you haven't played the original, take a few minutes and kill some time. The game encourages the prevention of book burning, too, so there's even a moral!

Tags bookworm, bookworm adventures, bookworm adventures 2, popcap

Ever wonder why the game you've brought home pales in comparison to the movie you just watched? Kotaku is running an interesting piece about what goes wrong with many video games based on summer blockbuster movies. In the case of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (pictured above) I would definitely give the edge to the game, which is flawed but not mind-numbingly painful to sit through.

Anyway, the most interesting bits relate to why companies are so deadset on releasing a game alongside a movie's release (rather than waiting and making sure it's good). Game/movie tie-ins can share marketing dollars since you can push both products at once. Unfortunately this usually means that the game is rushed out in time with the movie.

The flip side to this is the "GoldenEye" effect, a game that released long after the movie and still ended up doing gangbusters. And yes, it rocked, which I'm sure helped.

Anyway, take a sit and give the piece a read!

Tags movie games, transformers: revenge of the fallen

As we reported yesterday, "Resident Evil 4" is indeed coming to iPhone. Unfortunately the details stopped there.

Last night, though, Capcom got back to us, with a representative saying, "Resident Evil 4 will be coming to iPhone at the end of July beginning with Japan with the rest of the world to follow shortly thereafter."

Unfortunately we're still extremely short on details, but you can be sure that once we get more info you'll hear it here! C'mon mysterious salesman! We missed you in "RE5"!

Tags resident evil, resident evil 4 iphone

Addicted to video games but worried about travelling to China for fear that they'll attach electrodes to your extremities? Well good news! China has announced that they've banned the use of electroshock therapy in treatment of "internet addiction."

"Internet addiction" really equates to game addiction in China, where online PC games are a huge business. A report from The Guardian has the details:

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Tags infamous

In today's LTP we look at the rumored-but-probably-true "God of War" movie news that's been spinning around the blog-o-sphere these past couple days. The script has been reviewed, and stays pretty faithful to the events of the first game, but certainly there are moments that need to be included. For example, that ridiculously graphic head rip from the recent "God of War 3" demo (pictured above)? Yes, that needs to be in there. Here are your picks:

BrianJKim @multiplayers I don't know. I do know that Kevin Garnett should play the role of Kratos

Reetesh @multiplayers The Ending where he tries to save his wife&daughter in a dream like sequence.. most immersive/emotional moment.

JoeyDavidson @multiplayers Quick-time sex events!

drewmg @multiplayers How about the one where Kratos walks into a cavern, but is suddenly attacked by 5-7 enemies. He kills them all. [Ed. note: There's always a smart-ass]

Tags god of war, god of war 3, god of war movie

Despite the popularity of the Tour de France, cycling in video games isn't exactly common. Motorcycles, sure, but plain old riding a bike? Not exactly something you come across everyday. Maybe it's simply not as thrilling as motorized means of transport? Or maybe cycling is awesome and game developers are just out of touch. After all, these moments were clearly some of the high points in video game history!

Ah less, the Little Mac training sequence in "Punch-out." Not pictured, the rope tied around Mac's waist and the burrito lunch that Doc had, both of which make this exercise far more painful.

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Tags tour de france

Since Nintendo likes to do things pretty big, they're going to be taking over Times Square's Military Island on July 23rd from 9am to 3pm, converting it into Wuhu Island, the setting for "Wii Sports Resort." Thankfully the military should already have the parachuting intro to the game in the bag.

This isn't the first time Times Square has been rampaged by gamers. You may recall a few weeks back, when Jimmy Fallon and Tiger Woods squared off in "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10" on the Wii. That event also took place on Military Island.

As far as events go, if every video game happening occurred here I'd be thrilled. The island in question is literally across the street from MTV's headquarters, which appeals to my lazy sensibilities.

Tags wii sports, wii sports resort

There aren't too many brand new fighters in "Punch-Out" on the Wii, but dedicated Nintendo fans will get a chance to beat up on a brand new one...presuming they have the points.

According to Kotaku, Platinum members of Club Nintendo in the Americas can choose between an authentic (and wearable!) Mario hat, or a special WiiWare version of "Punch-Out," which lets you take on Little Mac's coach, Doc, in a sparring match.

Personally I'd go with the hat, 'cause it's adorable, but I guess punching the bastard who forces me to jog might make me feel better, too.

Tags club nintendo, nintendo, punch-out!

The race to 43 million kills has ended, with Xbox 360 players reaching the milestone in less than a week. Impressive! The PS3 fan base is still lagging a bit, with around 23 million kills, but they should hit the big number just in time for the weekend.

So what does this mean for you? Well, I'm not too sure. In THEORY you should see a new selection on the main menu screen of "Battlefield 1943" which says, "Air Superiority." Selecting that will drop you into Coral Sea, which is basically a giant air-to-air map where players in fighter planes try to clear portions of the map of enemy fighters.

Worth noting that Coral Sea won't be part of the normal map rotation, as they don't want people to be forced into playing an air-only map. Also worth noting that I'm not 100% sure it's going to work, as "Battlefield 1943" has seen its fair share of problems since launch. Fingers crossed!

Tags battlefield, battlefield 1943

And we've officially come to the lowest point thus far in the history of this feature. Pickings this week are slim, to put it mildly. Hopefully you're fine playing "Battlefield 1943" some more (Coral Sea should drop on Xbox 360 later today), or you really like college football. For everyone else...well a remake of a classic adventure game ain't that bad, I guess!

Pick of the Week: Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition
Extremely nerdy, and definitely not for everyone, but if you played PC games in the early '90s, then "Monkey Island" was near godly. This remake adds more than just an HD sheen to the graphics. New voice-over work runs throughout the adventure, and you can jump back to the classic graphics whenever you want. Nifty!

Runner-up: NCAA Football 10
I'm aware there's a huge following for this...it's just a little hard for me to get amped every year. I have, however, played a bit of this one and it's well-crafted with some features that I assume people who like this sort of thing would really enjoy. Personally I'm more of a pro football man myself, but hey, options are fun too. And yes, the pun was intended.

Tags ncaa football 10, secret of monkey island: special edition