Vivendi Games’ TimeShift is now available in demo form on the Xbox Live Marketplace, weighing in at around 582MB.

Dr. Aiden Krone has made a Time Jump across the space-time continuum – a reckless act with frightening consequences. Now, a disturbing alternate reality has evolved within the bleak and rain-soaked Alpha District. Armed with the experimental Beta Suit, you alone are able to slow, stop and reverse the flow of time. Only with this ability can you lead the uprising to victory and put an end to Krone’s madness.

A reader mailed in a snippet from Future Publishing’s UK-based Official PSP Guidebook magazine, hinting that the soon to be released PSP Slim and Lite will feature some beefed up security.

Sony is obviously tight-lipped when it comes to security, and even tighter-lipped when it comes to security measures. Given its aggressive track record and serious work to combat hackers and pirates, it seems likely the PSP Slim and Lite will have something big up it’s sleeve. And given the hackers track record, it won’t be long before we find out what.

Sounds purely speculative to me, but I don’t doubt that Sony has added additional protections to prevent older firmwares (aside from the default 3.60) from being able to work. At any rate, we’ll know more once the PSP Slim and Lite is officially released in Europe on September 5 and in the US on September 10.

Surprise! The online enabled version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is now up for grabs on the PlayStation Store. We’ve been following the game ever since its release in Japan but did not expect it to hit the states so soon.

In addition to the new online mode, the update adds two new single player modes: Survival and Practice. As for pricing, gamers who already own the offline version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection can grab this online update for $10. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay the full $30.

Aside from Tekken, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD is also available on the Store.

The rest of the Store update includes demos as well as more trailers, as listed below. Great update this week!

- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 demo
- All-Pro Football 2K8 demo
- NASCAR ’08 demo
- Heavenly Sword “Episode Four: The Sound of Combat” making-of video
- Heavenly Sword “Episode Four: The Divine Birth” Anime video
- Folklore “Surviving the Netherworld” trailer
- Clive Barker’s Jericho™ trailer
- Movie trailers for Beowulf and Bee Movie

Composer Nobuo Uematsu, best known for his work in Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy series, has teamed up with Kazuya Asano to produce an all-new sound novel game titled “Anato Wo Yurusanai” for the PSP, according to the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu.

Players will hold the PSP unit vertically and use the analog nub to search, take photos, tail a suspicious person and perform surveillance. Characters and background appear hand drawn, opting for a more comic feel, as opposed to the realism more commonly found in past sound novels.

Anato Wo Yurusanai is due for a November 15 release in Japan, and we’re not placing any bets on a US release.

PSP Says ‘I Won’t Forgive You’ [1UP]

The final report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel has been released and it has been identified that video games were not a factor in the massacre.

Seung-Hui Cho, the student who killed 32 people and then decided to end his own life, is profiled in the report as a casual video game player, said to have played non-violent games such as Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sun and her parents recall that Cho seemed to be doing better. He was enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do program for awhile, watched TV, and played video games like Sonic the Hedgehog.

None of the video games were war games or had violent themes. He liked basketball and had a collection of figurines and remote controlled cars. Years later when he was in high school, Cho was asked to write about his hobbies and interests. He wrote:

…Cho’s roommate never saw him play video games. He would get movies from the library and watch them on his laptop. The roommate never saw what they were, but they always seemed dark. Cho would listen to and download heavy metal music…

…Cho went to bed early and got up early, so his roommate just left him alone and gave him his space. The only activities Cho engaged in were studying, sleeping, and downloading music. He never saw him play a video game, which he thought strange since he and most other students play them.

Certainly, this is good news for the gaming industry. Shortly after the VA Tech tragedy, media figures such as Dr. Phil and Florida lawyer Jack Thompson began to put part of the blame on violent games when, in fact, they obviously had nothing to do with this tragedy.

Official VA Tech Report: Rampage Killer Not a Player of Violent Games [Game Politics]

THQ announced today that Worms: A Space Oddity is headed to the Wii.

In development by Team17, Worms: A Space Oddity promises to retain the classic turn-based gameplay from previous Worms titles, along with a unique visual style, new environmental settings, intuitive controls and even more customization options. Players will wage war across across six planets, each with its own, unique environments and global events.

An online multiplayer mode will also be available, pitting up to four Worms fiends from all over the world against each other. more »

Capcom sent over an email letting us know that Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix will be a part of this week’s PlayStation Store update. Available for $10, this enhanced version of the original Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo features 1080p HD graphics, several new games modes, improved game balance, new stage background courtesy of Udon Entertainment, online play and more. more »

Speaking in a recent interview, Metroid Prime 3 Corruption director Mark Pacini has said that Retro Studios will be taking a well deserved break from the series that brought them recognition in the gaming industry.

We are taking a break from the Metroid series and from Samus. I think that there will be other titles created. But as far as Retro Studios is concerned, we’ll take a break for a little bit.

I can understand that. After working on a trilogy for more than a few years I’d say it’s time to move on to something else. Perhaps an original IP?

Anyways, the ball is your court now Nintendo. It’s time to bring us Metroid Dread.

Retro “Taking A Break” From Metroid [Wired]

Although controversial title Manhunt 2 has been banned in certain parts of Europe and has since been re-rated and revised here in the US, folks in the Netherlands will see the release of Manhunt 2 uncut.

According to Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, there is no way to ban the game under Dutch law. However, it would be possible to prosecute those who distribute it to minors.

Ballin also stated that his ministry was now examining whether new laws or policies were required “to better protect the youth.”

Manhunt 2 release authorised in EU country [MCVUK]

Yesterday Halo 3 went gold, and now the much-anticipated Xbox 360 RPG Mass Effect has been given a solid date! Gamers will finally be able to get their hands on BioWare’s latest creation on November 20.

Mass Effect is set to retail at an MSRP of $59.99 and will carry an ESRB rating of M. more »