Newsdump

Six years in development don't end here...

Microsoft has revealed plans to pump up Kameo: Elements of Power for the 360 with brand new modes and difficulty levels. This leaves us wondering if, nine months on, anyone is so unfortunate as to still be trying to squeeze fun from that particular rock. If you've got nothing better to do, or are still desperately attempting to justify the $60it originallycost, head over tothe game's official siteto find out the details on this Resusci Annie action.

Back to heaven

Though the Game Boy Advance has taken a permanent backseat to the much more interesting DS, Nintendo isn't quite done with it yet. The company has just released Rhythm Tengoku - that means "heaven" - in Japan. Developed by the same team behind the WarioWare games, itoffers very similar a bizarre visual style, blasting music and fast-paced gameplay. Online retailer NCS has put upimpressions with plenty of screenshots that will suck you right into its strange little world.

Plan your hump day

In the UK, our sister publication Official Xbox Magazine has released a list of the upcoming games for Xbox Live Wednesdays, Microsoft's attempt to get people interested in buying games they could have easily played anywhere else during the last 10 to 20 years (Street Fighter II' is already on the market.) Pac-Man (next up) and Lumines Live! (September 6) are the two you'll care about. The other three... well, they give something to waste time with while waiting for Lumines.Click through to the OXMUK storyfind out more.

Kick it

That's not all the UK is good for. Our sister site, GamesRadar UK, has scraped togethersome Wii rumors. According to off-the-record talk, a sequel to GameCube soccer star Super Mario Strikers is already well underway for Wii and will be showcased at this month's Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Rumors continue to swirl about a new Kid Icarus game, as well, due to the fact that he's shown up in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in fine fighting form. As ever, Nintendo simply won't comment. If they don't make a Kid Icarus game after trotting him out again... they're bastards, aren't they?

Vote, damn you

Over at political blog Game Politics, discussion of a new bill aimed at the game ratings board -the ESRB - is well underway. Republican Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns has introduced the "Truth in Video Game Rating Act" which is meant to save all the poor defenseless children whose parents can't be bothered to briefly examine a game case from accidentally playing games designed for adults. The gist of it is that the ESRB will be forced to play entire games from start to finish before rating them (they currently get info on the worst bits directly from publishers.) Sure, it'll be simple to rate DS games, but whose job is it to rate Grand Theft Auto IV? Better stock up on NoDoz! There's more to the story - and the bill -so leap over tothe blogand find out for yourself.

August 7, 2006