A study has come out that makes me feel a bit less guilty about never playing anything that came with my DS copy of Brain Training 2 other than the Dr. Mario game they included for relaxation. Nintendo and cognitive researcher Dr. Kawashima have long been touting the ability of some of their games to increase ones brainpower.

Alain Lieury, professor of cognitive psychology of the University of Rennes in France has published a study that suggests Nintendo’s claims might be nothing but air. He conducted a study that tested the memory of two groups of children, one who attempted to hone their mental capabilities via the DS and one who didn’t. There was pretty much no difference between the two groups, leading professor Lieury to conclude that the game has no effect beyond sheer entertainment value.

In the past couple years the gaming industry has exploded. The Wii and the DS brought a new casual crowd, many of whom probably warped into more serious gaming. Just how big has it gotten you ask? Last year while DVD sales slumped and Blu-ray sales were still low, games were doing quite well. In fact roles have been reversed, with games for the first time outselling films.

This data comes from Media Control Gfk International and reportedly the 6% growth in the overall industry is spurred mostly by the Wii and DS. This success comes in spite of the economic crisis, shown by the fact that the growth was under what Gfk had expected. The drop in DVD sales likely has something to do with the success of services like Netflix which also now allow for easy streaming of a wide library of titles and the growing popularity of digital downloads.

It’s simple enough to avoid paying full price for a game; borrow it from a friend, trade old titles in, buy used or auction-hunt on eBay. Unfortunately this isn’t an option with downloadable content, so gamers always have to ask themselves if the bonus content is worth the cost. In the case of Lionhead’s ‘Knothold Island’ content pack recently released for Fable 2, the answer is a definite yes.

I wouldn’t recommend the content pack for someone who’s relegated the game to trade-in status and is hoping it’ll breathe life back into it because the quests it adds aren’t terribly long. Put in an hour or two and you’ll be able to explore pretty much anything the island has to offer. Where the content really comes in is expanding the possibility for a player who hasn’t purchased the game yet, or has only put in a little bit of time. One of the big appeals of Fable 2 is that since they did away with armor you can choose your garb to fit your style of character; black-garbed assassin, swashbuckling pirate or powerful sorcerer. The content pack gives you some interesting style options to round out the content.

It puts in some more assassin pieces, allowing you to complete that set, as well as more scandalous options if you’re interested in the fighting bar wench idea. There’s a suit of armor for anyone desiring a more medieval look to go with that battle axe, and a couple staves if you’re looking for a complete wizardly theme. The Halo assault rifle nicely rounds out the full Master Chief gear, although like the sword it’s sadly underpowered. In addition to the weight loss potion there are other beverages that’ll change your character’s appearance, making them taller, brawnier, even removing scars.

There are some interesting augments available but nothing is quite so nice as the augment remover. It doesn’t allow you to remove augments from legendary weapons but you can take out an augment you regret using. By far though the best feature for anyone who’s completed the main quest and gone the route of absolute good is that you can get a certain furry friend back.

Uwe Boll has expressed through interviews that he one day hopes to win an Oscar, if not a nomination. While his works certainly won’t earn him any such honor (far from it!), his movies will surely be recognized as some of the worst filth to ever grace the silver screen – or any other screen for that matter. His years of toil are finally being recognized, as Boll is being singled out in this year’s Razzies – the direct constrast to the Oscars, given out each year to the worst of the pack.

In the Name of the King, Boll’s latest project is already nominated in five categories, but the organizers are foregoing all that and have determined that Boll has earned recognition of a Worst Career Achievement award, a rather rare dishonor. Previous ‘losers’ include Linda Blair, Ronald Regan and that shark from Jaws.

Boll’s film is up for Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Supporting Actress.

I wonder if Boll will be present at the event like Halle Berry was, and just accept the fact that he can’t make movies. He most probably won’t, but one can dream, right?

Criterion’s support for Burnout Paradise amazes me at times. The game has been out for over a year now and they are still pushing out new content for the game, and not just any content, but fun stuff! And they’re actually improving the game, too!

The developer has detailed the numerous tweaks and changes that will come with the next update for the game that is due out next month. Among the many changes is the oft-requested addition of a restart option, allowing players to try again without having to drive back to the events starting point. Other changes include improved vehicle handling and difficulty rebalancing.

Hit the studio’s website for full patch notes.

Metallica themselves have revealed the full 49-song tracklist for Guitar Hero: Metallica – there will be 28 songs from the legendary band and 21 from other artists.

The game is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 29, with the Wii and PS2 versions hitting later in the spring. Gameplay modifications to the game see the addition of an Expert+ difficulty level that allows drummers to utilize dual bass pedals.

Below is the full track list. First up are songs from Metallica:

• All Nightmare Long
  
• Battery
  
• Creeping Death
  
• Disposable Heroes
  
• Dyers Eve
  
• Enter Sandman
  
• Fade To Black
  
• Fight Fire With Fire
  
• For Whom The Bell Tolls
  
• Frantic
  
• Fuel
  
• Hit The Lights
  
• King Nothing
  
• Master of Puppets
  
• Mercyful Fate (Medley)
  
• No Leaf Clover
  
• Nothing Else Matters
  
• One
  
• Orion
  
• Sad But True
  
• Seek And Destroy
  
• The Memory Remains
  
• The Shortest Straw
  
• The Thing That Should Not Be
  
• The Unforgiven
  
• Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
  
• Wherever I May Roam
  
• Whiplash

• Alice In Chains – No Excuses
  
• Bob Seger – Turn The Page
  
• Corrosion of Conformity – Albatross
  
• Diamond Head – Am I Evil?
  
• Foo Fighters – Stacked Actors
  
• Judas Priest – Hell Bent For Leather
  
• Kyuss – Demon Cleaner
  
• Lynyrd Skynyrd – Tuesdays Gone
  
• Machine Head – Beautiful Mourning
  
• Mastodon – Blood And Thunder
  
• Mercyful Fate – Evil
  
• Michael Schenker Group – Armed and Ready
  
• Motorhead – Ace of Spades
  
• Queen – Stone Cold Crazy
  
• Samhain – Mother of Mercy
  
• Slayer – War Ensemble
  
• Social Distortion – Mommy’s Little Monster
  
• Suicidal Tendencies – War Inside My Head
  
• System of a Down – Toxicity
  
• The Sword – Black River
  
• Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back in Town

Those guys at Harmonix sure are fans of Grateful Dead, as they will deliver their second batch of tunes from the band for Rock Band next week.

The following six songs will join the franchise’s existing Grateful Dead music: “Hell in a Bucket”, “Don’t Ease Me In”, “Cold Rain & Snow”, “Doin’ That Rag”, “Fire on the Mountain” and “Uncle John’s Band”.

The songs will be available in a 800 Microsoft points ($10) bundle or can be bought individually for 160 points ($2).

Joining Sony this week is Microsoft, who announced that Ensemble Studio’s last project – Halo Wars – is now complete and has been sent off to manufacturing.

The Xbox 360-exclusive strategy game is set for release in North America on March 3. A playable demo will be made available through Xbox Live Marketplace on February 5.

The demo will offer two tutorials – beginner and advanced – and the game’s first two campaign missions. A multiplayer map for offline battles will also be included, letting players take control of either UNSC or Covenant forces.

Eidos has announced that the first of the two Xbox 360-exclusive downloadable levels for Tomb Raider: Underworld, originally expected last month during the holidays, will finally be released on Xbox Live Marketplace on February 10.

Dubbed “Beneath the Ashes”, the pack will see the story pick up right after the main game, with Lara Croft exploring caverns underneath her ruined estate. The pack will include six new costumes and 125 gamerpoints worth of achievements.

The second pack – “Lara’s Shadow” – will be released on March 10, bringing a new playable character to the game.

Price for the packs is yet to be revealed, though GameStop will be selling a $20 bundle with tokens for each episode, suggesting each episode to be worth 800 Microsoft points ($10).

Even more bad news for the games industry, as Gamasutra reports that the entire Microsoft Flight Simulator team has been let go.

This move comes after Microsoft announced that it would eliminate up to 5,000 jobs due to the deepening recession.

The Flight Simulator series is a long-running one, beginning in 1982 with the release of the first version. Flight Simulator X is the most recent one, being released back in 2006.

Microsoft is committed to the series, however, saying: “We are committed to the Flight Simulator franchise which has proven to be a successful PC based game for the last 27 years.”