190w ago - The Tokyo Game Show 2009 is ending today, but not before an Assassin's Creed II video interview highlighting new gameplay surfaces.

Also available below is a Character List for Assassin's Creed II, which arrives on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November, 2009 and on PC in Q1, 2010.

So far not all of the characters that will be in the game have been revealed, so this is a partial list and includes some speculative characters.

To quote: Assassin's Creed 2 is an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy.

Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence's most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin.





Here is a list of characters (both confirmed and unconfirmed) from the game:

CONFIRMED
1. Carno Grimaldi (one of Italy's most notorious evil men)
2. Caterina Sforza (famous for boldly uphold the military defense of her states)
3. Desmond Miles (is he still stuck in the Animus room?)
4. Giovanni Auditore di Firenze (Ezio's father, a banker)
5. Ezio Auditore di Firenze (a nobleman-turned-assassin, the main character you play as)

190w ago - Sony claims there will be 50 PSP Minis by the end of the year.

The list below contains 50 PSP Minis that have been announced to date.

To quote: Not all of the games on the list have release dates, but I think it's reasonable to expect a large majority, if not all, will land this year.

• Star Hogs - IUGO Mobile Entertainment
• Zombie Attack! - IUGO Mobile Entertainment
• Mahjongg Artifacts: Chapter 2 - G5 Entertaiment
• Stand O'Food - G5 Entertaiment
• Crystal Defenders - Square Enix
• Hero of Sparta - Gameloft
• UNO - Gameloft
• Asphalt 5 - Gameloft
• Real Soccer 2010 - Gameloft
• Let's Golf! - Gameloft
• Pac-Man Championship Edition - Namco Networks
• Alien Havoc - Creat Studios
• Aqua Panic: Oasis - Eko System
• AstroTripper - PomPom Games
• BreakQuest - Beatshapers
• Halfbrick Blast Off - Halfbrick Studios
• Halfbrick Echoes - Halfbrick Studios
• Halfbrick Rocket Racing - Halfbrick Studios
• Halfbrick Zombies - Halfbrick Studios
• Melody Bloxx - Beatshapers

191w ago - Since PS3 Firmware 3.0 many have voiced their dislike on the gray bars around the Friends List redesign.

Last week we saw some videos on Sony PS3 XMB Ideas, and today some 'Premium Avatar' Friends List concept pictures surfaced from Andrewskates on the official PlayStation Boards.

To quote: "Here are some rough concepts I made up, with the direction I think Sony [is] going to take with the unpopular gray friend cards, integrating them as 'Premium Avatars'.

I figured it would seem a bit of a rip off to just pay for new small pictures, thus I think that they will incorporate the entire card instead of just a small picture.

This would be a great way to market upcoming games and further integrate the IP's into the user base.

I left in the current gray boring design in as a direct comparison. Bear in mind these were just made for fun."

191w ago - The perks list for Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360, PS3, and PC) have been released by Activision, and it looks like they've also retained some old ones apart from adding in some fresh items.

If you complete the particular challenge for each Perk, you can find yourself being upgraded to a "Pro" version.

Now, do take note that getting upgraded to Pro does not necessarily make the Perk stronger, just that there may be a new feature or a side effect.

The list of the current known Perks are below:

Akimbo | Akimbo Pro
Ability: Allows to dual-wield any sidearm
Pro Ability: ?
Note: Perk Slot for Akimbo is still unknown

Perk Slot 1

* Marathon | Marathon Pro
o Ability: Unlimited sprint
o Pro Ability: Get over obstacles faster

* Sleight of Hand | Sleight of Hand Pro
o Ability: Faster reloading
o Pro Ability: ?

* Scavenger | Scavenger Pro
o Ability: Full resupply from dead enemies
o Pro Ability: ?

* Classified (needs to be unlocked)
o Ability: ?
o Pro Ability: ?

Perk Slot 2

* Stopping Power | Stopping Power Pro
...

192w ago - Update: A second concept video has now been added below!

PlayStation 3 Firmware update 3.0 added large gray boxes (see the third picture below) around each individual user ID, making for a cluttered look that simply didn't jive with the elegance of the XMB.

SCEE's PS3 Brand Manager stated on the EU PlayStation.Blog that "updates to firmware don't always suit everyone's tastes."

Thankfully, the Friends list is something Sony is "looking into based on your comments." Mark Bowles added, "We really do appreciate the feedback you guys give us, both positive and negative."

That being said, YouTube user tubescorch has shared some of his own PlayStation 3 XMB ideas along with a video below.

To quote: "Since the recent firmware 3.0 update the PS3 XMB is taking a turn for the worse. Here a some ideas on how Sony could improve the XMB."