Message from LucasArts there is. Delay there will be. Yoda-speak aside, LucasArts did confirm earlier at the Comic-Con in San Diego that Star Wars: Clone Wars Republic Heroes (PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, 360) have been pushed back a month, although the Dark Side keeps us from finding out the cause of the delay.

LucasArts has released more details for the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Republic Heroes game which is currently being developed by Krome Studios for PC, PS3, PSP, Wii, and Xbox 360. LucasArts Singapore is taking care of the DS version. More after the jump.

At the conclusion of Game Connect: Asia Pacific, the Game Developer's Association of Australia awarded the best game developers from Australia and New Zealand.

As Medieval II took home the most awards last year, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (DS, PSP) swept up this year's awards with five awards, including Best Game.

Game designer Justin Cook and software engineer James Thomas expressed their thoughts about Rare and the Viva Piñata franchise in a recent interview. According to them, they wanted to blaze a new trail on the Xbox 360, and Viva Piñata was the fruit of that desire. Despite the risk of the game being overshadowed by Gears of War, Rare went ahead and did the best job they could, and it shows.

Thomas and Cook also mentioned that a DS version of Viva Piñata is due for release sometime in the future. Both men were particularly pleased with the DS version, and they mentioned that the modified game menu systems fit well with the stylus and the touch screen system. The result? Added accuracy and flexibility to an already wonderful game.

A sequel entitled Viva Piñata: Party Animals is also scheduled for release on October 30, 2007. Rare has passed the development torch to Krome for this installment, as the former is busy with a new hush-hush project. There appears to be a good working relationship between the two developers; Cook and Thomas said that both Rare and Krome are pretty much on the same team. In fact, Krome has been sending courtesy test versions of the sequel to Rare as a professional courtesy, and from what they've seen, both Cook and Thomas think that Krome has done a pretty good job so far.

One question that's probably on everyone's minds is: Can and will Rare revisit old favorites like Killer Instinct, in spite of the fact that Rare is now Microsoft-owned? That is certainly a possibility, as Rare Ltd. is still on good terms with Nintendo. While Nintendo has the option of releasing certain old titles for their Wii's Virtual Console, Cook and Thomas stated that certain titles remain entirely theirs (Banjo-Kazooie, for instance). In fact, Nintendo has actually asked them to do ports of games for Nintendo's format, a testament to the quality of Rare's titles.

To read up on the rest of the Rare interview, feel free to visit the read link below.

 

Sierra Entertainment has just announced the latest installment to the Spyro the Dragon franchise, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.  This time hitting the PlayStation 2, Wii, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones, this video game is the second installment to The Legend of Spyro trilogy.

The game kicks off when the Ape King attempts to start a new age of darkness by going to the Temple of Souls. Around the same time, the protagonist Spyro starts receiving strange visions which serve as clues to what's happening around him. Players will take on the role of Spyro and solve the mysteries hidden in the visions to defeat enemies such as Skabb the Pirate and Gaul the Ape King.

Aside from new breath attacks and fury modes, a new weapon beefs up Spyro's already smoking-hot arsenal: Dragon Time. Spyro can use Dragon Time to bend time and allow him to dodge attacks, confuse enemies, and aid him in solving time environmental puzzles. Sounds interesting enough, and certainly adds a new twist to the usual puzzle solving games.

Spyro's new abilities include the following:

• Upgradeable Breath Attacks (Ice Bomb, Electric Orb, Earth Vine, Enhanced Fire)
• Four elemental melee attacks like Comet Dash, Artic Blast, Earth Pound, Electric Spin, and
• New Fury Attacks that come in either Earth, Electricity, Ice and Fire elements.

Sierra Entertainment's own Senior Vice-President for Global Marketing Al Simone is excited about this new project. "We’re really excited to continue the re-emergence of one of video gaming’s most popular characters through this ongoing trilogy," says Simone.

Hollywood actors Elijah Wood and Gary Oldman reprise their roles as the voices of Spyro and Ignitus the Fire Dragon Elder, respectively.

The Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night is expected to be released this autumn. Krome Studios is developing the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions; Amaze Entertainment is in charge for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance versions; and, Vivendi Games Mobile will make the mobile version of The Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night. The mobile games will be available for Europe and North American mobile subscribers.

After Vivendi re-brandished the Sierra name for game branding, Sierra is now out to accomplish the task it was revived to do: push out great games worthy of its name to PC and console. As Vivendi's bid for the mid-end to low-end bracket of the market, Sierra has announced the next in the Spyro the Dragon series, The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.

Spyro the Dragon was originally released on the first Sony PlayStation, and players may remember accompanying the purple Puff (get it? Puff?) in his efforts to rescue his fellow drakes from their crystalline prisons. Two other titles succeeded the first and Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon by (guess who? Yep that's right!) Insomniac Games was considered the best of them all.

The PlayStation 2 versions, including the later The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, soon followed thereafter, and A New Beginning's revival of the series from a previous title's lackluster performance hinted that a sequel would be highly likely.

The Eternal Night will be developed once again by Krome Studios, together with Amaze Entertainment, for the PS2, GBA, Nintendo DS, and Wii. The official announcement came through with the news that Elijah Wood and Gary Oldman would voice the characters Spyro the Dragon and red dragon Ignitus, respectively.

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night for Wii

  

Click on Full Article for screenshots for the Nintendo DS version.