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The first trailer surrounding Turbo The Movie, a Jarrett Lee Conaway film.

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Jarrett Lee Conaway has made his rounds across the videogame and film industry. He previously worked here at Gaming Horizon Inc. as an Executive Editor back in the days of PSX Network when we were part of IGN.com Affiliation Network and now he is about to graduate at the University of Southern California. So what is this all about? Well, he has completed one of the best (I think so atleast) short film surrounding videogames ever to hit the "small" or even "big" screen.

Also, there will be a public screening on May 2nd at the Norris Theatre (at the University of Southern California). at 3PM. First come first serve. Turbo will be sold afterwards, for $10 or less. The price has not yet been determined.

Visit the website by clicking here.

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GameBump is officially seeking to hire talented writers who are interested in working within the gaming journalism field, so if you've got mad writing skills, have a drive for seeking out the latest gaming news and reviews, and know your way around a console or two, you're just what this new, fresh site is looking for. It also helps if you can take a joke (see above).

Applicants need not have experience working on another site, but they must include some recent writing samples to prove they're not in the fifth grade. Accepted applicants will be put on probation until they find their niche, be it news, reviews, previews, editing, interviews, editorials, or various features. Previous experience within the industry is an obvious plus, but mostly we're interested in people with a passion for videogames who'd like to join this exclusive, innovative team.

GameBump is also searching for additional programmers and graphics designers to help lighten the load on the rest of us; simply include the position you're looking at in the subject line of the email and our very own programming or graphics specialists will talk with you about specific knowledge you should already have.

At current all positions are volunteer, but you get free games, the chance to attend events/trade shows under the GameBump name, work experience, contacts, published material, and some flashy text for your resume. Also, you get to hang out with me and/or Aaron Dunlap - that's an experience that can't be replicated in and of itself.

We look forward to hearing from some great and talented people.

Instructions:

1. Include your position in the subject line, either: staff writer, general contributor, programmer, editor, or graphics designer
2. In the body of your email, include: any prior writing experience, your favorite game (and why!), your owned hardware, your preferred company (if you have one), how you heard about GameBump, what you think you can bring to the table, and why you're just dying to work here.
3. Attached, please include: at least one-two writing samples; this can be anything, but don't let it be less than 500 words. We want to get a feel for your style more than anything. And no viruses, please.
   

Send your email to me here and I'll respond to let you know I received it. If I don't respond, send another copy to here. Good luck.

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Steve Easterbrook, the chief executive of McDonalds UK, has recently blamed videogames for child obesity. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

Are videogames really to blame? It seems kind of silly and stupid of a company such as McDonalds, which makes its money stuffing the mouths of children (see above), to blame the gaming industry and counter-culture for unhealthy eating habits.

It must be the games that have been climbing the sales charts lately - I bet Call of Duty 4 is responsible for thousands of pounds gained over the holiday season, not those Christmas cookies.

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GameBump is officially seeking to hire talented writers who are interested in working within the gaming journalism field, so if you've got mad writing skills, have a drive for seeking out the latest gaming news and reviews, and know your way around a console or two, you're just what this new, fresh site is looking for. It also helps if you can take a joke (see above).

Applicants need not have experience working on another site, but they must include some recent writing samples to prove they're not in the fifth grade. Accepted applicants will be put on probation until they find their niche, be it news, reviews, previews, editing, interviews, editorials, or various features. Previous experience within the industry is an obvious plus, but mostly we're interested in people with a passion for videogames who'd like to join this exclusive, innovative team.

GameBump is also searching for additional programmers and graphics designers to help lighten the load on the rest of us; simply include the position you're looking at in the subject line of the email and our very own programming or graphics specialists will talk with you about specific knowledge you should already have.

At current all positions are volunteer, but you get free games, the chance to attend events/trade shows under the GameBump name, work experience, contacts, published material, and some flashy text for your resume. Also, you get to hang out with me and/or Aaron Dunlap - that's an experience that can't be replicated in and of itself.

We look forward to hearing from some great and talented people.

Instructions:

1. Include your position in the subject line, either: staff writer, general contributor, programmer, editor, or graphics designer
2. In the body of your email, include: any prior writing experience, your favorite game (and why!), your owned hardware, your preferred company (if you have one), how you heard about GameBump, what you think you can bring to the table, and why you're just dying to work here.
3. Attached, please include: at least one-two writing samples; this can be anything, but don't let it be less than 500 words. We want to get a feel for your style more than anything. And no viruses, please.
   

Send your email to me here and I'll respond to let you know I received it. If I don't respond, send another copy to here. Good luck.

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This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

I had some time to check out the Xbox 360 version of Superman Returns today. When the game was first announced, I was markedly nervous about the ideal. Past Superman games have been atrocious, and the character of Superman himself insinuates certain freedoms that many videogames tend to lack.

One of the things I was most nervous about was a health bar. Superman, being super, cannot be harmed. This spits in the face of the traditional "health bar" mechanic for action games, and I wanted to see the game come out around that. I suggested simply a stamina system, and maybe a meter to indicate how "heroic" you've been lately. For this, I was very excited to see that Superman Returns does indeed contain no "health" system. There is a stamina gauge, which drops as you perform more powerful maneuvers using Superman's powers of heat vision, strong wind breath, icy breath, and strength. Using any of these powers will trickle the stamina bar down, and if ever you managed to completely wipe Supes out, he wouldn't be able to use any powers until his stamina recharged itself.

A second meter appears below the stamina, something the developers call the "Metro health," or the figurative health of Metropolis itself. If monsters are attacking the city, or if a crime wave sweeps the streets, Metropolis will be in bad shape. Superman's job is to keep the city safe. Superman doesn't have to protect his own life - he has to protect Metropolis. If the city is destroyed or overridden with crime, you lose.

The game itself plays a bit like Spider-Man 2 for the Xbox and PS2. You have full roam over all of Metropolis and you can do whatever you want until you choose to start the next mission, in which case things get a bit linear until the level is beat. Between levels, you're free to fly around, wreak all kinds of havoc or help the citizens with their mundane problems.

Almost every object in the city can be picked up and carried or thrown by Superman. He can lift cars and throw them as an attack, or pull water towers off of rooftops and throw them onto fires to squelch them. One of the game's developers from EA Tiburon demonstrated the power and flexibility of this system by flying up and pulling the big globe from the top of the Daily Planet and rolling it down a street where it ultimately collided with a gas station for a huge explosion. Another visual pleaser was having Superman fly just over a street while using his air blow power at full strength; all the cars on the street started rolling and tumbling in the wind, falling over each other and creating a wake of destruction, sort of like in The Matrix Reloaded when Neo flies crazy fast down a street with the cars flying in every which way. Yes, I referenced The Matrix Reloaded in a Superman preview.

EA Tiburon is most known for creating all of the Madden NFL titles. In fact, this is the first non-sports game that the Orlando-based studio has ever been assigned. It seems like a bit of a stretch, giving a humongous licensing deal for one of the most recognizable characters in comic book history to a studio that's never done anything that didn't include play-by-play commentary or shoe endorsements, but it seems to have paid off. The developer I spoke to said that they saw it as a challenge that keeps them working as hard as possible to make sure they get it right. For this, they recently announced that the game would not be releasing along with the Superman Returns movie as planned, but around November of 2006. If they'd gone ahead and let it launch this month just to tie in with the movie, there would just be another cruddy Superman game in the world.

Superman Returns will be available in some form or another on every game system currently available. The Xbox 360 version is obviously the best of the best, allowing for much more interactivity and powerful features, but a trimmed down version will be available for the PS2 and Xbox, and more portable-friendly versions will be released for the DS and PSP as well.

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Buena Vista has announced that they have plans to publish a title based on the ABC hit television show, Desperate Housewives.

The simulation game will put players in the role of a new housewife that has just moved to the Wisteria Lane neighborhood. Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager at Buena Vista said, ""Buena Vista Games is proud to partner with ABC Entertainment and Touchstone Television to bring the popular 'Desperate Housewives' franchise to fans and gamers. This game allows players to move to Wisteria Lane and live all the gossip, drama and intrigue of a true desperate housewife."

Desperate Housewives: The Videogame is expected to release for the PC this fall.

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Originally written by Brian Mohr

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Electronic Arts, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics announced today that Superman Returns: The Videogame is currently in development and is scheduled for a summer 2006 release in conjunction with the release of Warner Bros. Pictures’ film Superman Returns on June 30, 2006.

“We have assembled world class talent at EA Tiburon to deliver this blockbuster experience and we are thrilled to team up with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Comics and have the opportunity to demonstrate our creative and technological expertise in the action/adventure category,” said Steven Chiang, vice president and studio general manager, EA Tiburon. “We are creating a game that allows players to experience a real sense of flying, and master Superman's unrivaled super hero powers in order to save Metropolis. Only Superman can meet challenges of this scale.”

Gerhard Florin, EA’s Executive Vice President and General Manager for International Publishing continued, “Bringing Superman Returns to life in a game of this magnitude that mixes the comic lore with some movie elements delivers a powerful and emotional gaming experience to consumers. X05's worldwide stage is the perfect place to announce the return of this incredibly strong super hero to the interactive space.”

“The powerful Superman Returns property will be rightfully brought to gamers with a strong creative vision supported by compelling new technology so they can experience The Man of Steel™’s superpowers firsthand,” said Jason Hall, Senior Vice President for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We are excited to be working with the very talented people at EA and together we intend to give the game buying audience an opportunity to jump into the life of one of the most popular DC Comics super heroes of all time.”

Look for more information soon.

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Originally written by Tim Grube

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