A sad state of affairs, this one. Yesterday, Bruce Shelley at Ensemble Studios posted what he is calling his last blog entry, as the employees (and employers) at the studio begin the arduous process of shutting down the company. From the post:

“We are working our way through the final week with mixed emotions. We have a lot to be proud of and new opportunities are beckoning, but it is also sad to see this particular great adventure coming to an end.

“Boxes are piled in the hallways for trash; people are giving away games and other stuff they don’t want anymore; computers are being wiped; and our corporate IDs are being turned in.

“Although we will be keeping in touch through some alumni initiatives, many of us may not cross paths again.”

Shelley also reveals that at least two new studios will form from the ashes of Ensemble:

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Despite the rumours fiercely circulating the wires surrounding the supposed closure of publisher THQ, it was all a bit of a misunderstanding.

What’s really happening is that THQ’s wireless division is being restructured, as European THQ PR chief, Sam Forrest, clears up the mess:

“Today, we advised our staff of a restructuring of our wireless subsidiary in Europe. That’s all that has happened. The remainder of the Woking based THQ operation were unaffected by this restructure in the wireless subsidiary.”

Panic over. This move probably forms part of THQ’s efforts to tame development costs that were announced last year, which saw the closure of five internal development studios as well as cuts at an additional two development houses.

Batman fans, your time has come. Not only is the new Batman game, Batman: Arkham Asylum, set to feature some of the original voice cast from the TV animated series, and not only is the game looking fantastic, but it also seems as though developers Rocksteady are taking the license seriously, crafting a game that is worthy of the history the Batman franchise has accumulated over the years.

Case in point: The latest trailer to be released for Batman: Arkham Asylum shows off all of the above, effectively setting the mood for the game to come. While it contains scenes from previous teaser trailers, this one features new footage with the voice cast doing their thing. Watch below:

The DS continues its reign on top of the Japanese hardware chart this week, selling a total of 65 294 units for the week ending the 25th of January. The DSi again contributed to the majority of these sales with 51 618 units but the DS Lite proves it’s still popular with 13 686 units. Overall DS sales decline from last week’s 81 334 units.

The PSP sold 38 280 units to secure second place, down roughly 4 200 units from last week, followed by the Wii with 26 700 units, down from its previous score of 32 333. The PS3 also experiences a drop in sales this week, selling almost 3 000 less with 17 708 units.

The Xbox 360 is again below the 10 000 sales mark with just 7 663 units sold this week, down marginally from last week’s 9 576, while the PS2 continues bravely with 5 007 units.

Wii Play: Mario Tennis was the best-selling game this week, topping the software chart for a second consecutive week.

Hardware Chart

• DS - 65 294
• PSP - 38 280
• Wii - 26 700
• PS3 - 17 708
• Xbox 360 - 7 663
• PS2 - 5 007

Source: Media Create

Yesterday we reported that the Resident Evil 5 Kijuju site had been updated with a new video mixer and wall of fame. The post on Capcom’s blog also announced that the next video is coming soon and that “Microsoft will have the password.”

The plot thickened after a mysterious screen popped up during Major Minute when Major Nelson was discussing Resident Evil 5 on Xbox Live. If you solve the puzzle it means fans should type in the address xbox.com/re5 on the 30th of January 2009 (today!) and once that address has loaded, hit Shift 5 to unlock a secret. Prepare yourself for something scary and then click on ‘Badlands.’

This will take you to an updated Resident Evil 5 Kijuju site with the second RE 5 video unlocked. By sharing the video you will contribute to unlocking new exclusive game content because once the community reaches 100 000 views new screens, videos and developer interviews will be unlocked.

Head over to the Resident Evil 5 Kijuju site at www.residentevil.com/kijuju now - the site is currently on 61 792 community views so not long to go now before more Resident Evil 5 goodness is unleashed.

Image Source: Tilted Screen

Ah, finally, a PlayStation Store update we can sink our teeth into!

Mirror’s Edge downloadable content, LittleBigPlanet costumes, some great looking game videos and movie trailers, content for Skate 2, Grateful Dead tracks for Rock Band, Bejeweled 2 for the US Store, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars for the European Store, and more besides. Go have a look and see what you fancy.

The full list of content now available on both the European and US PlayStation Stores follows below:

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Earlier in the week we brought you news of DLC plans for The Maw. Since then developer Twisted Pixel has confirmed to El33tonline that they are indeed working on three new levels of DLC for their popular XBLA title.

According to Michael Wilford, CEO of Twisted Pixel Games, “When we were wrapping up development on the main game a few months ago we decided to spend that time working on new content. We had a bunch of ideas left over that we knew could be turned into new levels.”

“And with our engine, anything is possible through DLC. We can create new characters, game mechanics, anything. I think people will be pretty surprised by what we are packing into the new levels. They will be larger levels and have a lot of cool new things in them. Each level will be just 100 points, but I don’t know when they will be released yet.”

We thought the game was totally mawesome and described The Maw as an “outstanding product, well polished and radiating originality with endearing characters that will remain in your mind long after the game has finished.” Check out our review to see why you should give the game a try and stay tuned for more details on the DLC soon.

What’s this? A trailer for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Complete?

It sure is, and with it comes glimpses of the new scenes that will apparently ‘complete’ the original Final Fantasy VII Advent Children CG movie, which told the story of Cloud and co. just trying to get by after the events of Final Fantasy VII.

Despite their intention to live a peaceful life, danger soon shows up at their door in the form of Jenova-seeking, trouble-making, Sephiroth off-shoots. Fisticuffs ensue.

Watch the trailer for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children: Complete below (in Japanese).

Yes, it’s the same trailer from the newly updated Final Fantasy XIII website, but now it’s been freed of its shackles, able to run free amongst all of the other trailers that aren’t constrained to viewing on an official website.

It’s also got English subtitles this time and it’s still just as beautiful.

Watch below if you haven’t seen it yet. Watch below even if you have:

Square Enix has announced that Star Ocean: The Last Hope for the Xbox 360 will be released across PAL territories this spring.

The game is a prequel to the popular role-playing series and the space opera’s debut on the Xbox 360. Set in the aftermath of World War III where humanity has been forced in the stars in search of a new home, the game promises exhilarating combat and CG movies by Visual Works.

Developed by tri-Ace, The Last Hope features four party members, team-orientated combat and the franchise’s popular real-time battle system.

The game will also feature French, German, Spanish and Italian subtitles and menu screens. Check out the latest batch of screens below to see how the game is shaping up.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “STAR OCEAN has already proved to be a popular series in Japan, we now hope that players around the world can discover why. STAR OCEAN: The Last Hope is a stunning new adventure in the series that is sure to delight both fans and newcomers alike.”

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Today EA announced Boom Blox Bash Party for the Wii, a sequel to last year’s popular Boom Blox. EA will again be collaborating with Steven Spielberg for the new game, which promises richer multiplayer action and over 400 new levels with puzzles underwater and in space.

Boom Blox Bash Party will not only include twice as many multiplayer challenges as the original but team-based challenges too. The game will also include new blox types (including virus and conveyor blox), new blox shapes (for example, cylinders and wedges), and new tools.

In addition to throwing and grabbing, players will be able to sling, launch and blow the competition away with new cannon, paint ball and slingshot tools. You can also look forward to new blox characters. No longer content to watch from the sidelines, these blox characters are now blox themselves which players can throw, stack or launch.

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Anyone who enjoyed the previous Mario & Luigi RPG games on DS (everyone who played them?) will no doubt be looking forward to the follow-up in the series.

The combination of 2D platforming with isometric RPG battles looks as interesting as ever, while the slick animation is awesome! The different variety of settings and situations seem to hold up in the design and humour stakes as well (such as getting stuck in Cooper’s belly…). Great stuff!

Watch the Japanese trailer for Mario & Luigi RPG 3 below:

Kuju Entertainment, a publisher founded in 1998 comprising six development studios across the UK, USA and Asia, has announced that it is to make staff cuts across a few of its studios, as Ian Baverstock confirms the bad news:

“Kuju has generally adopted a more cautious approach at the start of 2009 in light of market conditions. As a developer with nearly 20 years experience of game development trends, we know how important it is to have the right number of people with the best mix of skills for the scale and nature of our projects.

“Up to ten design or art posts at Zoe Mode are at risk; although total headcount in the studio is expected to remain broadly level at around 150 as roles are opened in other disciplines. There have also been some redundancies in Kuju America, a small number in Chemistry in Sheffield and Kuju’s corporate headquarters in Shalford.”

Despite the bad news though, Kuju expects to be able to find places for the redundant staff at one of their other studios, as Baverstock continues:

“We are continuing to recruit in our other studios and we expect to find roles for some of the redundant staff in those studios. Overall Kuju is expecting continued growth in 2009 although probably not at the 25%+ growth levels of 2007 and 2008.”

As promised, Ubisoft are on course to release downloadable content (DLC) for their recently (last year) released action adventure platformer, Prince of Persia.

The DLC is set to release on February 26 and expands Prince of Persia’s story with a whole new adventure, as the Prince and Elika need to escape The Underground Palace, using a new power that allows players to reconstruct areas (bridges, pathways etc.) that have long been destroyed, but will reappear for brief moments to allow the Prince and Elika to use before they vanish again.

The DLC promises over three hours of extra gameplay as players battle more cunning enemies and encounter more fiendish challenges as they traverse the environments.

Aiding them in their enemy encounters will be a new ability, the Sprint Clash, which enables players to rush up against an enemy and clash weapons, while new unlockable skins seek to add a fresh coat of paint to both the Prince and Elika.

Exciting, no? We enjoyed Prince of Persia quite a bit, so news of a set of DLC should be of considerable interest.

Rumours are being kicked up about a new Tomb Raider movie currently in the works, including how it plans to re-imagine Lara Croft’s story and background.

Movie consumer site Empire is reporting that Warner Bros. is currently working on the third Tomb Raider movie, following the ‘OK but not great’ franchise movies of 2001 and 2003.

Of some interest is the idea that the third movie would be a ‘re-imagining’ of the Tomb Raider series, essentially ‘rebooting’ the franchise and changing Lara Croft’s origins, introducing a love interest and setting up a new antagonist.

There is apparently no cast, writer or director just yet, so this will probably be something to ‘look forward to’ rather than expect any time soon.

These rumours are circulating amidst the news and ongoing developments of Warner’s bid to acquire Eidos, the holder of the Tomb Raider license, as well as a slump in the sales performance of the latest Tomb Raider game, Underworld.