A lot of interesting bits popped into the Nintendo block this week - from race-able Chocobos, re-imagined sountracks, to retrained cops. If you want to stay up to speed with the new DSi LL, there's an update in here featuring the new upsized portable. There's a lot more where those came from, so let's get clickin'.

The Headsoft team has ported the classic ZX Spectrum platformer game Manic Miner to the Nintendo DS. This release includes various stages of the Manic Miner ports from Oric, BBC Micro, Dragon 32, Amstrad CPC and Game Boy Advance.

Download: Manic Miner The Lost Levels v1.00 (FAT)
Download: Manic Miner The Lost Levels v1.00 (EFS)

When Slash000 paid US$ 10 to pre-order Duke Nukem Forever through his local GameStop, little did he know that he would have to wait 12 years to wait for an answer. Unfortunately for him, the answer might be a disappointing "no" now that 3D Realms has run out of money and can no longer continue the game's development.

Keith Bakker is the founder and head of the first and only clinic that treats video game addiction in Europe so he should know what he's talking about when he says most "videogame-addicted" gamers aren't actually addicts.

Trading standards officers in the UK are reporting the possible influx of unsafe chargers for handheld game consoles and various other gadgets, with one brand possibly causing overheating or electrocution. Learn more after the jump.

Dr. Tanya Byron has raided airwaves again with her latest endeavor with video games. After her six-month review of game violence, she was able to write and front a BBC TV show wherein she linked playing video games to heroin addiction. More details can be found in the full article.

After the whole Manhunt 2 (PSP and Wii) fiasco and the controversy it spawned, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is now facing heavy scrutiny to see if it still remains a viable option for the classification of video games. More in the full article.

Here's a treat for gamers in the UK. Rumor has it that Eidos Interactive just got the rights to the BBC's highly popular EastEnders soap opera. Speculation goes that Eidos is planning to release the game as a casual title for either the DS or mobiles.

First, a game based on the BBC's Little Britan TV sketches, and now this. Visit the Full Article for the rest of the details for this particular rumor.

Here's your chance to vote for your favorite games for the past year! Now on it's 25th year, the Golden Joystick Awards is going stronger than ever, again, being broadcast live on the internet this year. With over half a million votes last year, the producers are aiming for a million votes to celebrate a quarter of a century's voting. There are 17 categories you can vote in this year:

Ultimate Game of the Year
The Sun Family Game of the Year
Bliss Girl's Choice Award
Nuts All Nighter Award
BBC 1Xtra & Rampage Soundtrack of the Year
Handheld Game of the Year
Innovation of the Year
The One To Watch Award
Mobile Game of the Year
Nintendo Game of the Year
Online Game of the Year
PC Game of the Year
Playstation Game of the Year
Xbox Game of the Year
Publisher of the Year
Retailer of the Year
UK Developer of the Year

We'd love to give you a complete list of all the games you can vote for, but that'd just be crazy. But to give a sampling, there's MotorStorm, Crackdown, Rayman Raving Rabbids, and even the Halo 3 beta. Go on over the list and look at the nominated titles for yourself. And while you're at it, vote for the games that made you spend so much time on your couch - which probably already has your butt-print on it.

To vote, you can visit Golden Joystick's official site behind the Read link below! You can also watch videos from last year's Awards and if you have the cash, buy your own tickets to the show. (Take us with you.)

A joint celebration of everything entertainment and artistic, the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival (EIEF) coming on August 13-14 will highlight the games industry through the eyes of the entertainment industry as a whole. To be held at the Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, the fifth EIEF will reflect upon what has been the game industry's significant rise of popularity today.

Pooling personalities in the world of entertainment, what the industry gamers call "home" will be examined by parallel creative industries which include music, art, and movies. Keynoted by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, the conference will also feature reflections from Simon Nelson of the BBC, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), Linden Labs' Jim Pubrick, and actor Steven Berkhoff on games as culture.

Together with Dare to be Digital game creativity competitions and Future Publishing's EDGE Awards, the event will also conclude with a Digital Interactive Symposium on August 15 at Edinburgh University. Chris Deering, chairman of the Edinburgh Interactive Festival, concluded the announcement, saying, "This year we have much to be excited about. The festival is now firmly established as one of the most important events in the interactive entertainment industry's calendar."