It would be that challenge of giving the Diablo players the things that they'd expect... I think with Diablo, for example, the camera angle is a big part of it. I think with the Diablo series there is a level of expectation about only using the mouse to move.

I think people that are hardcore Diablo fanatics... people that, if you are making Diablo 3, you are making that game very, very specifically for. There are some things that they are going to want.

Among other new features, the new Toyota Yaris has a giant tentacle that reaches out of its roof to shoot enemies as it races through a futuristic tunnel, sometimes within inches of soaring fireballs.The tentacle is not standard on the new models: this Yaris car was devised by a video game company rather than automobile engineers.

The shooting car is the central character of a new Xbox game called Yaris that Toyota will introduce today. The game will be offered free to all Xbox 360 console owners in the United States and Canada, who can download it from Xbox Live�s service. It is also the first Xbox game created by an advertiser to be distributed over Xbox Live.

�People can time shift, they can do all sorts of different things to avoid advertising,� said Kim McCullough, corporate manager for marketing communications at Toyota. �That�s why we have to move beyond traditional advertising to do things that are really engaging for people.�

A Toyota Tacoma World of Warcraft ad is also doing the rounds.

"We are continuing to appeal the British Board of Film Classification's (BBFC) decision to deny the edited version of Manhunt 2 an 18+ certificate and thereby ban its release in the United Kingdom.

"The changes necessary in order to publish the game in Britain are unacceptable to us and represent a setback for video games.

"The BBFC allows adults the freedom to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in movies and we think adults should be similarly allowed to decide for themselves when it comes to horror in video games, such as Manhunt 2."

The BBFC has rejected a revised version of the video game Manhunt 2. This follows the rejection of the original version of the game in June. The distributor had set in motion an appeal to the Video Appeals Committee against that decision, and this was suspended while the revised version was considered for classification.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said: �We recognise that the distributor has made changes to the game, but we do not consider that these go far enough to address our concerns about the original version. The impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the �execution kills�, but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature.

�We did make suggestions for further changes to the game, but the distributor has chosen not to make them, and as a result we have rejected the game on both platforms. The decision on whether or not an appeal goes ahead lies with the distributor.�

Rockstar has three months to appeal, though at this point I imagine they'll seriously consider cutting their losses and only release the darn thing in North America.

Content: Conan Demo
Availability: Not available in Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore or Taiwan
Size: 483.84 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: M (Mature) BLOOD AND GORE,INTENSE VIOLENCE,NUDITY] Play the Conan demo and experience the strength and savagery of Conan as you wage an epic battle across the world of Hyboria! Approximately 15 minutes of gameplay plus some short video segments.

Content: The Simpsons Game Demo
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
Size: 442.71 MB
Dash Text: [ESRB: T (Teen) ALCOHOL REFERENCE,ANIMATED BLOOD,CARTOON VIOLENCE,CRUDE HUMOR,LANGUAGE,SUGGESTIVE THEMES,TOBACCO REFERENCE] After Kang and Kodos use their Halloween ray on Springfield�s famous Lard Lad statue, it�s up to Homer and Bart to stop the rampaging mascot from destroying the town. To do this the two must fend off waves of miniature Krusty dolls while avoiding Lard Lad�s destructive laser and stomp attacks in an attempt to pull out his wiring. Will our heroes prevail? The fate of Springfield is in your hands!

Console Conan has received above average review scores.

Pirates of the Burning Sea - WASD around ship, press space bar every twenty seconds. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. MMOs require some variety, even if you're hitting twenty enemies instead of ten, and they just happen to be pink rather than blue. Burning Sea, in its present state, lacks variety, is incredibly 'arcadey,' and not at all what I expected. January 22nd is a way off, so perhaps Flying Lab can mix it up by then.

Tabula Rasa - Crashes every time I try to progress past the first area. Therefore I shall pull a conclusion out of my ass: It's mediocre and the player base will dwindle rapidly.

Hellgate: London - A most enjoyable first-person shooter - it's not a MMO, as the only time you ever see more than three other people is when you're in a station, and you're only ever there to pick up quests or move to the next area. In its basic, 'free' state (once you've bought the game of course), you can have a gay old time, but I wonder if JoeBloggs walking around with his SuperDuper+10GunofDoom, and you not being able to acquire one because you're not a subscriber will become incredibly infuriating. It'd also be nice if they announced exactly what content subscribers are getting and when they're going to get it (present rumour is every three months).

I'll be playing Hellgate at launch, though won't be subscribing unless some nice person gives me a free premium account *cough*

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - If you liked the original you'll love FA. If you sucked at the original you'll suck even more at FA. Alterations to Mass Fabricators has made territory control the number one priority of the game, and unless you have saved base templates and the ability to micro like a Korean Starcraft master you'll find your Commander swarmed by tech 1 tanks. Alterations really do need to be made to force players to tech up, and it'd also help if the default game mode wasn't that flamin' Commander killing one.

BioShock - Still not finished it. Although, thanks to the Internet, I know all the key plot points!

Quake Wars - Loved it long ago, love it less now (see below).

Team Fortress 2 - Best multiplayer game ever. Unlike some publications, I don't hand that award out like they they hand out condoms to hookers at the STD clinic. The characters are what do it for me - just the other day, as a Heavy, being healed by a Medic, my guy automatically told the Medic to use me as cover because he was taking damage. It's stuff like that that makes TF2 the most impressive and entertaining multiplayer action game I've ever played. I've thrown over a hundred hours into it so far and imagine I'll be playing it on a regular basis for some years to come. Steam Community & Stats seal the deal.

Neverwinter Nights 2 + Mask of the Betrayer Expansion Pack - Horrid story in the original, terrible display (would it be too difficult to add a freaking symbol over an important character's head so I can find him against the cluttered background?), and rather dull gameplay. I hear Betrayer is better, but have yet to get to it.

Crysis MP Beta - Great fun, performs well, motion blur gives me a headache. I'll likely be playing the multiplayer on a regular basis alongside TF2, though perhaps I'll leave it to one side until the new high-end Nvidia cards come out so I can enjoy the DX10 multiplayer with enhanced physics, day/night cycles and so on and so forth.

3D Mark 06 - OK, so it's not a game, but I've had a jolly good time tweaking my system to make it one of the best for its spec (Q6600, 7950GX2).

SEGA Rally Revo - Which idiot thought up the ridiculous hard-locked keyboard controls? And why does my high-end wheel/pedal setup perform abysmally in a supposedly AAA game from one of the world's largest and oldest game publishers? Thanks for the free copy SEGA, but until you fix that shit it's staying off my system.

Universe at War Earth Assault - Hard to get a grip on the game having just two 1v1 multiplayer maps to experiment with. LIVE for Windows is finally in the application (it ran on the desktop with Halo 2 Vista), though the experience isn't particularly pleasant. Beta patch has been completed and with Microsoft for three weeks, pending certification. This is worrying, especially as Epic will likely have to deal with such nonsense for Gears of War Windows. Microsoft: This is not the Xbox 360. We don't give a crap if the patch isn't perfect. We're PC gamers. We're used to it. Do not get pissy with the certification shit. Make sure it doesn't break your precious LIVE interface, but do not hold up releases. If the game becomes broken its the fault of SEGA. You are not the game's publisher. [/rant over]

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts - Buy it. Now. Thanks.

Frontlines: Fuel of War - Another enjoyable multiplayer action game. May be ahead of its time, PC specs wise. Fully destructible environs (something Crysis DX10 doesn't even do) should help make FFoW stand out in the crowded marketplace, once they're enabled that is.

MINERVA - Excellent, free, single-player campaign for Half-Life 2. Play it!

Watcha been playing of late? How's it stack up?

P.S. Rob's gone to Epic to play Unreal Tournament 3. Envious, moi? Nein!

This game is from the makers of Pacific Storm.

Having sampled the game first-hand, it�s clear Unreal 3 is shaping up to be something special. While the franchise�s absence from our machines may have been a protracted one, the series is looking like it�s going to be returning to PlayStation better, slicker and more frantic than ever. With its stunning arsenal of weapons, countless vehicles, incredible multiplayer action and compelling single-player campaign, Unreal Tournament 3 has the potential to be one of the most complete FPS packages ever. And not too far off from now, you�ll be able play it for yourselves.

"I don't think there's a lot of money in making engines for the Wii."

"What we're doing is the really high-end, next-generation visuals," he said. "We're pushing these machines real hard. I just think that we have too many things on our plate to go back and put resources into that kind of thing."

1. Halo 3
2. Gears of War
3. Madden NFL 08
4. Jericho Demo
5. Guitar Hero II
6. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
7. Forza Motorsport 2
8. skate.
9. Call Of Duty 3
10. BioShock

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer Peek #2
Ashenwood, a snow-covered forest that's home to many spirits, is a place we'll visit in Obsidian's upcoming title - Includes four exclusive screenshots

Hellgate: London Media #2
Glistening Blade Minions are among the demonic foes we'll face when Flagship's action RPG ships later this month - An exclusive 1680x1050 screenshot