Late Night Consoling

Activision today announced that fan favorite voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker (pictured left, Welker [l] and Cullen [r]) will reprise their well known roles as, respectively, Autobots commander Optimus Prime and Decepticons leader Megatron in Traveller's Tales video game adaptation of the upcoming Transformers film. The Michael Bay-directed movie is slated for release on July 4. Along with the announcement, Activision released three new screenshots from the game, depicting Autobot character Bumblebee.

Traveller's Tales is currently developing Transformers: The Game for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and PC. Vicarious Visions is separately developing Transformers: Autobots and Transformers: Decepticons for Nintendo DS; rumors that players will be encouraged to "catch them all" have not been confirmed. Activision plans to ship the games later this year.

Following this week's news that Japan will be seeing a Wii version of Resident Evil 4, Capcom today officially announced the game for the North American market, along with finally making an official confirmation that the newly developed Wii title Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles will also be hitting North American retail shelves.

Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition is based on the GameCube version of the acclaimed Resident Evil 4, but also includes the additional content that was added in the PlayStation 2 version. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles aims to fill in the blanks behind the sinister doings of the series' infamous Umbrella Corporation, revising certain areas from past Resident Evil titles as well as locations not yet shown in the games. Unlike previous entries in the series, The Umbrella Chronicles makes use of a first person perspective in gameplay. Capcom sent along several initial screenshots.

"The innovative controller functionality of the Wii will allow us to design innovative, original game play never before seen in a Resident Evil game," said Capcom marketing director Jask Symon. "With RE4, weÂ’re challenging the Wii hardware to meet Resident Evil, while in The Umbrella Chronicles, weÂ’re adapting Resident Evil to the innovations of the Wii."

Capcom plans to ship Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition this summer, with Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles to follow at an announced date.

Namco Bandai sends word of a newly launched community website for CyberConnect2's .hack//G.U. franchise. The site is themed around the game's MMO-like environment of The World, created by the Altimit Corporation. .hack//G.U. vol. 2//Reminisce is set to launch for PlayStation 2 on May 8.

Insomniac has posted the third episode of the studio's Full Moon Show podcast, dubbed "Podcast Fad Will Fade!" Topics discussed include the upcoming Rachet & Clank Future, Resistance: Fall of Man, and an "I Want Your Job!" segment with Brian Hastings.