If you’ve read pretty much any video game publication recently you’ll know that Dead Islandd has been gaining a ton of of publicity largely thanks to the top notch trailer that was put out. If you’re not familiar with the game what we know so far says the game will be a sand box first person shooter where, quite obviously, the gamer is tasked with killing zombies. Apparently, there will be an emphasis on melee combat with gamers given the ability to craft various melee weapons from things lying around.

If you know all of the above you’ll also know that the I in the Dead Island logo is a zombie being hung from a tree. Well, according to recent reports this didn’t fly so well with the ESRB who have just slapped the developers with a disapproval causing them to alter the logo making the I into a standing zombie rather than one being hung.

Dead Island will be out for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC sometime later this year.

With motion control causing quite a bit of buzz alongside the fact that America isn’t the best of shape, it’s no surprise that game companies are releasing fitness based games. While we’ve already seen a few including the Wii Fit, the ESRB has notified us that Ubisoft is working on a brand new game for the Wii and PlayStation 3 dubbed Fit in Six.

What exactly the gameplay will be like is anyone’s guess but the ESRB listing does tell is it includes things like “yoga, Pilates, cardio, dance, and kickboxing exercises”, but that’s pretty much a given, isn’t it?

We’ll keep you posted as more news is made available regarding Ubisoft’s Fit in Six.

via esrb

Not too long after notifying us of Neo Geo titles coming to the Playstation Network, the ESRB is at it again, this time giving us some details on the forthcoming Sonic 4.

Below is the description:

“This is a side-scrolling adventure game in which players zoom through themed levels, collect gold rings and jump on tiny robot enemies. Players earn points for collecting “power-ups” and freeing tiny animals that are trapped in the robots. During boss battles at the end of levels, players may encounter an arch nemesis in a mechanical device that gets charred and emits some flames when damaged.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It should as it’s the same general outline of gameplay featured in all of the other Sonic games that we have come to know and love.

Sonic 4: Episode 1 will be out on the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer.

via thatvideogameblog

Nowadays with the level of intensity in most shooters, it’s hard to come across one with anything less than an M rating. However, it seems that Zipper Interactive‘s forthcoming PS3 title MAG looks to break that trend as it was just issued a Teen rating by the ESRB.

Just why did they give the game a Teen rating? Their explanation below:

“This is a first-person shooter in which players select one of three private military corporations (Valor, Raven, and SVER) and complete covert missions to destroy opposing units in a massively-multiplayer online context. Players use assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, knives, and grenades to kill enemies in frenetic and fast-paced combat. Soldiers can be shot repeatedly, even after they have fallen to the ground (i.e., postmortem damage). When an enemy is shot or knifed, small red blood puffs are visible (under 1 second on screen). The expletive “hell” can be heard several times during the game.”

Get ready to embark in up to 256 player battles as MAG will be made available on January 26th, 2010.

via nextgn

A new listing from the ESRB website reveals the arrival of Final Fantasy VII on both the PSP and PS3 systems. The game hit Japanese and Chinese PS3s earlier this year, and those versions were simply the same game we got for the PSOne back in 1997. So in case you’re hoping for a remake, this might not be your day.

No word on when the game will actually be released.

via GamingTarget

Gamers from the original Playstation era will be happy to hear that the ESRB has recently leaked the names of some titles set to hit the PSN PSOne Classics store.

Those 5 titles are:

Metal Gear Solid
Resident Evil: Director’s Cut
Spec Ops: Covert Assault
Spec Ops: Ranger Elite
Tom Clancy’s Rainbox Six

Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil? Wow Sony, are you actually listening to the cries of gamers everywhere? Great job, now let’s just see that PS3 Slim hit shelves with a lowered price and maybe we’ll be onto something.

Read (Destructoid)

Did you think that the veto of gaming nemesis Jack Thompson’s pet bill would go unresponded to? Though in a sense I despise the man and his woefully ignorant and ideologically flawed purpose, I have to admit a certain fondness for the ex-lawyer, because he always makes for interesting stories.

Thompson has written a letter to Utah governor Jon Huntsman and as usual his prose shows the complete disrespect and harsh invective characteristic of someone who operates with the same emotional maturity as a child convinced that everyone is out to get him.

One of the very first things he does is insult the governor by chastising him for not giving Rep. Mike Morley a chance to alleviate his concerns before vetoing the bill. He follows this up with a shot accusing the governor of “not wanting to be confused by the facts” and immediately shows his own confusion by stating that neither the film or game industries can stop using the ratings system. A quick glance at the ESRB’s webpage informs me that the ratings system is entirely voluntary, although many retailers and console makers will only affiliate themselves with games that have been rated.

Finally Thompson attempts to punch up his arguments by including a bit of wisdom from a revolutionary-era writer before asserting that the massacre in Germany and similar incidents are directly caused by video games, instead of easy access to firearms for mentally unstable individuals.

(Thanks to GamePolitics for providing the full letter)

With the first episode out and reviewed, word comes from ESRB that the second episode of the Watchmen tie-in The End is Nigh will simply include more of the same.

The site’s description points out that players will once again step in the shoes of Nite Owl and Rorscharch, taking on bad guys and fighting crime. This time around, they will track down a villain “who has molested an actress appearing in a pornography film.”

There will be a strip club where players will take part in ogling go-go dancers in cages, peep-show booths and a pornographic film playing in the background. ESRB dutifully notes that “although moaning and suggestive dialogue (e.g., "Ohhh, it’s so big!") can be heard echoing from the film, no nudity or sexual acts are depicted."