Sure you know that human battle fleets have engaged the deadly Bydo Empire in the latest R-Type Command for PSP, but why take our word for it?

So together with Atlus, we called upon Shackers to ghost write reviews of the demo, but given the new territory we decided maybe an outside perspective from another video game would be the ideal. And hey, let's award some prizes for it too, shall we?

• Ctlaltl33t drops Link in new territory
• Wytefang pities the poor pew pew pew
• Romsteady breaks it down to the basics

... Read more

Codemasters has announced that it has secured a license to create Formula One racing games, after Sony recently opted not to renew its deal. With the new license, Codemasters plans to develop a new F1 game franchise for multiple platforms including PC, with the first title expected in 2009. The deal is a multi-year one, Codemasters confirmed to Shacknews.

News that Codemasters has picked up the license does not come as much of a surprise, considering the company's considerable racing game expertise (Colin McRae Rally series, TOCA Touring Car series, the upcoming Race Driver: GRID), its recent acquisition of Sega Racing Studio, and the fact that the company's headquarters are in Europe, where the sport is much more popular than in North America.

"Codemasters' success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge," said Codemasters chairman Chris Deering, adding, "The combination of Formula 1's new momentum of expansion and Codemasters' contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen."

Update: We're going to extend the contest, say till a Wednesday 11:59PM CST close. We're also going to toss in the figurine otherwise available only to preorders.

With such a quiet week for news outside of GTA 4 shenanigans, we thought it would be a good time for another Shacknews contest.

Atlus is soon bringing us R-Type Command on PSP, in which the long running shooter series takes a turn to a strategic, turn-based format for the first time. But despite the franchise's lineage, sometimes these offshoots never get the attention they may well deserve. We thought we would offer our great community the chance to fix that.

At first we were going to ask you to write a simple review, but we're adding a slight twist. T... Read more

New media is now available for the TT Games developed LEGO Batman: The Videogame. There's a set of screenshots featuring the villainous Two-Face, and below you can stream a gameplay movie with Two-Face and Scarecrow in the starring role.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Registered users can use the HD Stream.

LEGO Batman: The Videogame will be released for PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP this fall.

Teaming up like the dynamic duo themselves, publisher Warner Bros. and developer TT Games sent over a few new screenshots from LEGO Batman: The Videogame.

The shots are meant to show off Batman and Robin's multiple ensembles, which enable them to fight on the land as well as in the sea and air. Wowzers!

LEGO Batman: The Videogame arrives on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP this fall.

New to the PlayStation Store this week is Sony Japan Studio's perspective puzzler echochrome, plus a fresh batch of downloadable tracks for Harmonix's Rock Band.

Inspired by the works of MC Escher, echochrome tasks the player with guiding a mannequin figure through a level by tilting and turning the environment to create a path, while breaking perspective laws to get from A to B.

Available for both the PlayStation 3 and PSP, both versions of echochrome are priced at $9.99. Both versions include 56 levels unique to their respective platform, making 112 levels in all for puzzle fanatics.

Click through for more in this week's PlayStation Store update... Read more

Following up on yesterday's reports, publisher Electronic Arts has publicly announced that retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre will be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 09.

Set to arrive August 12, this year's iteration of the EA Tiburon-developed football franchise will hit PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP. A PC version will not be released due to the platform's "serious business challenges."

As Favre is the first retired player to be featured on a Madden cover, it is believed that his status will make him exempt from the fabled Madden curse, which is said to result in injuries or a poor seasonal performance for the game's cover athletes.

GameDaily is reporting that the coveted cover shot of EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 09 will be going to recently retired Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre.

The report cites an announcement on the Madden NFL 09 Facebook page which states that the cover athlete is expected to be announced tomorrow, April 25. Favre is scheduled to be on tonight's episode of the Late Show with David Letterman.

GameDaily suggests that, similar to previous years, Favre will make the announcement of the Madden cover during his appearance tonight's Late Show. EA has previously used late-night shows to announce the Madden cover, such as Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young's Madden 08 announcement last year on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Should the report prove accurate, an official announcement from EA will most likely be issued tomorrow morning.

Sony Computer Entertainment America has unveiled a trailer and new screenshots for both the PS3 and PSP versions of Sony Japan Studio's echochrome. A demo of the game will arrive for both platforms later today via the PlayStation Store on the PS3, while the PlayStation Store for PC will offer the PSP demo only.

echochrome was released in Japan last month, and is being readied for a North American debut in May.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Registered users can use the HD Stream.

Playable demos of SCE Studios Japan's perspective-puzzler echochrome (PSP, PS3) will be made available for both platforms in tomorrow's PlayStation Store update, the developer announced on the PlayStation Blog.

The demo will be available for both platforms via the PlayStation Store on the PS3, while the PlayStation Store for PC will offer the PSP version only. echochrome was released in Japan last month, and is being readied for a North American debut in May.

The latest game inspired by the films that are based on J.K. Rowling's acclaimed fantasy series Harry Potter will arrive on just about every platform imaginable this fall, publisher Electronic Arts has revealed.

Taking its cues from the film of the same name, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has Harry and his wand-waggling friends exploring the open world of Hogwarts as they dabble in day-to-day scholarly affairs, play Quidditch, and attempt to learn more of the fabled Half-Blood Prince. A sole screenshot accompanied today's announcement.

Due out on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, and Mac alongside the theatrical release this fall, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is being developed by EA Bright Light, which has handled past Harry Potter games.

A new set of screenshots for Irem's R-Type Command were released today, giving a closer look at three of the game's ships.

Known in Japan as R-Type Tactics, the strategy game tasks players with classic shooter play cast in a new tactical gameplay scheme. The game features close to 100 different unit types as well as two-player local wireless multiplayer.

R-Type Command is due for release on May 6. A demo of the game is available for free download from the PlayStation Store on the PS3 or PC.

On the heels of yesterday's announcement, publisher Activision has released a single screenshot, a piece of concept art and a debut trailer for Treyarch's Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.

Web of Shadows will see Spider-Man's return to a free-roaming, open-ended New York that combines web slinging with customizable powers, with an emphasis on vertical combat as well as traditional ground-based assaults on foes.

The game is planned for release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PC, Nintendo DS, and PSP. Neither Activision nor Treyarch have made any announcement as to the Web of Shadow's expected release window.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Registered users can use the HD Stream.

LucasArts has released a new batch of screenshots for the Wii version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, PSP), offering a glimpse at the game's Force powers and lightsaber-centric combat. Due out on September 16, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of The Force Unleashed were developed by LucasArts, with Krome Studios on the PlayStation 2, Wii and PSP versions and n-Space handling the Nintendo DS iteration.

Activision announced that the legendary comic hero Spider-Man is set to return in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (PC, PS2, PS3, X360, Wii, NDS, PSP), developed by Shaba Games and Treyarch.

According to IGN, Web of Shadows will see Spider-Man's return to a free-roaming, open-ended New York that combines web slinging with customizable powers, with an emphasis on vertical combat as well as traditional ground-based assaults on foes.

Moreover, publisher Activision says that the new title will allow gamers choose how they want to play—take up the mantle of the hero, complete missions and protect the innocent, or ignore them and be an anti-hero. Scores of Marvel heroes and villains will appear in the title, offering players the choice of switching sides whenever they want.

Screenshots and a teaser trailer will be available tomorrow morning.

Sega of America announced today that a demo for its upcoming comic and film-inspired adaptation Iron Man will arrive on the Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow, and on the PlayStation Network in the near future. Published by Sega of America and developed by Secret Level and A2M, Iron Man is slated to hit PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP when the film arrives on May 2.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment sends along a new batch of LEGO Batman: The Videogame screenshots, offering a look at The Riddler and Catwoman. A new gameplay movie is available as well. LEGO Batman: The Videogame arrives in fall 2008 on PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PSP.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Registered users can use the HD Stream.

Publisher Sega released the fifth trailer for the upcoming Iron Man game, showing off some of the action-packed sequences inspired by the forthcoming film.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Registered users can use the HD Stream.

Developed by Secret Level and A2M, Iron Man is slated to hit PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS and PSP when the film arrives on May 2.

Empire Interactive today announced Pipemania (PC, PS2, Wii, NDS, PSP), a remake of the 1989 pipe-centric puzzle favorite, and released screenshots of the DS and PC versions of the title.

Pipemania tasks players with laying down a pre-ordained set of pipes on a tiled grid to create a steady flow of liquid through the pipes for as long as possible. Empire Interactive's remake will feature five different game modes featuring more than 70 levels, as well as a multiplayer mode.

Gamers who have never played the original 1989 Pipemania or its 1991 follow-up Pipe Dreams may be familiar with the hacking minigame from 2K Boston's BioShock (PC, X360), which features a similar style of puzzle gameplay.

Publisher Atlus today unveiled the latest batch of screens for Irem's R-Type Command (PSP), a tactical send-up of its long-running shooter franchise.

Known in Japan as R-Type Tactics, the strategy game tasks players with classic shooter play cast in a new tactical gameplay scheme. The game features close to 100 different unit types as well as two-player local wireless multiplayer.

R-Type Command is due for release on May 6. A demo of the game is available for free download from the PlayStation Store on the PS3 or PC.