This is one intervention you wouldn't want staged on you. You know how there are now rehab centers for gaming addicts? Well, China's got those too, and you'd be terrified to land in there if you were the patient. As it turns out, a certain clinic in Linyi, Shandong province administers electro shock therapy for Internet addicts. Don't worry, though, the Ministry of Health has already ordered a halt to it.

The Leipzig Games Convention organizers have decided, and they find Sony's Resistance: Retribution for the PSP as the best presented game in this year's event. Who else took bacons home? Check out the list after the jump.

Let's start this week early, shall we? Coming up on retail shelves starting July 27 all the way to the first few days of August is another hailstorm of PC games from the independent front, though you'd probably love this week for the release of Namco Bandai's SoulCalibur IV and its limited edition kits. But if there's anything more significant this time, it's the appearance of more Olympics-themed games as the week heralds the eve before the World Olympics in Beijing. We take them all at the full story.

Another week of On Shelves, and the major consoles are apparently missing in action. That doesn't mean, however, that there won't be any fun to be had in this week's slew of game releases. Final Fantasy IV will finally be getting its turn in the DS spotlight, for one, and there are several other sports and adventure titles to keep you busy through the summer lull.

It's wholesome games galore this week of July 6 to July 12 for your fave consoles. From carnivals (Carnival Games, Wonder World Amusement Park) to memory-treasure hunting (Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon), there's certainly a lot of Everyone ratings raining down from ESRB. Oh, but you want some blood and gore and fast-paced action? Alright, there's a couple of them stashed for you and Unreal Tournament III for the Xbox 360 is (finally) one of them here. Check out the full list after the jump.

Another type of athlete is coming to the Beijing Olympic Games to bear the torch: cyberathletes. Yes, professional gamers will be given the honor of carrying the torch in the coming games. Check out the full article for more info.

If you're one who collects videogame paraphernalia, then you might want to check out Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii) for the DS - as Sega is giving away a limited-edition collector's pin with every pre-order. Check out the whole scoop in the full article.

 

Once upon a time, there was an Italian plumber and a blue hedgehog who met at the Olympic Games... Okay, so maybe it's not your type of romance story (because they'd probably have ugly babies) but it's certainly a new and exciting spin on two of the most beloved classic characters in gaming. Nintendo and SEGA have teamed up their milestone mascots to give us Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (also for Nintendo DS)!

Once rivals in the gaming industry, the two are now rivals in the arena accompanied by their various companions and sidekicks. From the screens, we see Luigi doing a long jump, Tails coming in first on the race track, and Sonic about to shoot an arrow in the archery event. Other sports that will be included in the game are swimming and table tennis.

The developers felt that the Olympic Games gave the perfect opportunity for Sonic's speed and Mario's strength to face off on different sports on neutral ground. Bringing the fantastic cast closer to the real world, the game's arenas are based on the actual venues of the Olympic Games that will be held in Beijing in 2008.

   

Mario & Sonic are racing to your Wii and Nintendo DS on Christmas this year. It'll make a great present for friends (or yourself.)

When you ask people about the most popular characters in video game history, it's inevitable that the names Mario and Sonic will pop up. So if you put the two together, you will undoubtedly have one of the biggest games of the year.

Apparently, these are the very thoughts of Sega's Corporate Director Masanao Maeda. He expects the upcoming Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games by Sega and Nintendo to sell several million units.

It was even mentioned in the Reuters news report that it is expected to rival big name titles like Microsoft and Bungie's Halo 3. The game will have Mario, Sonic and other characters from both universes competing in events based on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Maeda noted that "This will be the first time ever that we see Sonic and Mario appear together in a game. It surely has potential to be the No.1 title."

Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is set to be out for the Wii and Nintendo DS. It is expected to be out in the United States and Europe around the second week of November. The game will be published by Sega in the United States and Europe, and by Nintendo in Japan.

Christophe Andreani dishes out another update for AMAP4DS v2.0. This time around, it comes with major updates that include larger maps, one more zoom level using "thumbnail", centered zooms, variable speed scrolling, and economy mode allowing to close the DS without switching it off. Christ has included a map of the Paris metro, among others, in the past version. But today, AMAP4DS v2.0 includes four new maps for Tokyo Metro (2), Toronto Subway, and Beijing Subway, which you can download here.

AMAP4DS v2.0 also includes new changes on other aspects:

• The debug-mode has been removed for better reliablility
• The unused PA_OutputText() functions have been removed
• The "A" button does a Zoom "+", the "Y" button does a Zoom "-"

For the meantime, due to DS technical limitations, it is not possible to load your own maps into AMAP4DS. We've heard that some of you guys are actually wondering if some maps can be incorporated by Christ in his future updates. Sho'nuff, Christ accepts your suggestions, just e-mail him at christophe@andreani.net.

Download: [AMAP4DS v2.1]