American McGee would be so proud. Konami has announced a new upcoming third-person action title called Lords of Shadow, which the company's European arm describes as "a dark fairy tale" in development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. First announced during Leipzig's Games Convention, the game will be set in Europe during the Middle Ages, and promises to tell the story of "one man's journey to discover the true meaning of sacrifice amidst murder and betrayal." Honestly, this sounds more like fodder for daytime soap to us.

Being handled by Jericho developer Mercury Steam, the project is likely the result of a partnership between the two companies announced last March, at which time Konami called the game "a major part" of its release schedule for 2009-10. Konami has now narrowed that window a bit, confirming plans to have Lords of Shadow on retail shelves sometime in 2010.

What do you get when you bring together the force behind Metal Gear Solid, not to mention Castlevania, Gradius, and about a dozen other video game icons, with the developers of last year's squad-based shooter Jericho? No really, we're curious, because honestly we haven't a clue.

Konami and Spanish devs Mercury Steam have partnered for a mysterious new project for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, a game that Konami calls "a major part" of its release schedule for 2009-10. The project, whatever it is, is being overseen by Konami's European footprint, which is just wrapping up work on New International Track and Field for the Nintendo DS. Beyond this nothing -- and we mean nothing -- is known about the new game, through given Mercury Steam's track record of tepid action adventure titles (Scrapland anyone?), it's impossible to care too much yet.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Overlord, Dirt and Meh-richo publisher Codemasters has announced its financial results for the full year ending June 30th, a year the European company claims was its best in the 22 years since inception. A 38% rise in sales and an increase of revenues to $149 million is largely to blame on a 332% improvement in sales within the US retail channel. Perhaps blasting rally fans with the faux hip voice of Travis Pastrana wasn't such a bad move after all.

A Gamasutra report further notes that these positive results follow from a recent $84.3 in game design and development, as well as a prominent marketing and distribution agreement with Warner Bros. home entertainment group. Mind you, releasing solid games such as Overlord and Dirt couldn't have hurt either.

Where would we be without Yahtzee and his infinitely entertaining Zero Punctuation reviews? Well, truthfully, we'd be in exactly the same place we are now, but we'd be somewhat less entertained. This week, Zero Punctuation takes on Clive Barker's Jericho and it's an absolute hate-fest. Seriously, ZP usually has a few "it's not that bad" moments, but not this week. If you like Jericho -- not very likely, looking at the statistics -- you'd best avert your gore-loving eyes. Us, we're just glad to have something to brighten up an otherwise dull Wednesday (seriously, did you try this week's XBLA games?).

Clive Barker's Jericho spawned from the depths of hell yesterday and reviewers are starting to chime in with their scores, which hold inconsistent numbers between outlets, but similar issues. For those who pay attention to our GameTap Thursday posts, you know you could've gotten the game on PC with almost no potential for buyer's remorse from the service for free yesterday -- well, technically, for the cost of the $10 monthly fee, but new subscribers would only pay a measly 99 cents. Jericho surprised us at E3, showing potential from a game we had heard next to nothing about. Although it's apparently not everything we were hoping for, it seems to get a passing grade -- with some angry exceptions. Surprisingly, scores seem across the board.

• GamePro (90/100): "While the stage design is awesome, there are some horrendously long load times involved. It makes sense given the game's graphical prowess but it really cuts into the sense of immersion that the game's atmosphere does such a great job of instilling. ... Jericho still manages to shine bright. Its slick style, amazing graphics, and dark atmosphere really make it stand out."
• Game Informer (60/100): "If broken gameplay mechanics and community college acting didn't weigh down the game, it might actually be worthwhile. Each environment features a macabre twist on a historical period, and they rival Painkiller in their haunting heavy metal video backdrop appearance. Unfortunately, the creepy locales and ultraviolent action don't translate into a frightening experience. And isn't that where Clive Barker is supposed to shine?"
• 1UP (30/100): "I'm also perplexed by the absurdly long (and frequent) load times, given that the game looks like complete garbage. Every level feels like it was made with an FPS construction set: boring, ugly, bland, ugly, dark, and ugly. (Did I mention ugly?) And yet, you work through the stages in ridiculously short chunks, as though the system can't handle the massive amounts of blandness. It's mysterious. ... But the thread holding Jericho above that pit of legendary awfulness is thin and fraying. Mr. Barker, you're better than this."

"I pitched to Codemasters the opening of the second Jericho title, which was very fun for me. It was great because you walk into a roomful of business people and you pitch the most hideous, horrible, f**ked-up things." he said. Barker didn't go into any more detail on whether the game's sequel has been green lighted yet, but he did say he plans to keep creating games for awhile and wants people to know who they're from.

"I'd like to get to a point where people can say, 'This is a Clive Barker game.' And I can only do that by building a long-term relationship with one company and one set of people who understand me for who I am, not who they want to turn me into," he said. Judging from what we've played of Jericho, we hope he's found just that in Codemasters.

Clive Barker's Undying still haunts us to this very day, so you can imagine what our expectations are for Jericho, the latest creation from Clive Barker's demented mind. Jericho is billed as a supernatural horror FPS, which is pretty easy to understand if you've seen any screens or videos.

Thankfully, Codemasters released the demo on the PlayStation Network earlier in the week, and we've had a chance to see if it lives up to its potential. The demo takes place about halfway through the game in an ancient Middle Eastern town, where the seven-member Jericho squad has been split up after several members fell into a sewer.

When the demo starts, you control the group's leader Capt. Devin Ross, but you'll immediately realize he's not your ordinary protagonist. Capt. Ross was killed in action several years before, but his soul burns on to lead the team. That means you'll use Ross' spirit and his ability to revive his fallen comrades to control your three other squad mates, each of whom have their own unique supernatural powers.

Today's additions to the PlayStation Store may not incite frenzy, but with the entire video game world talking about a certain spartan, maybe Sony thought it was to retain their big guns for another week where they could garner more press.

For US PS3 owners, in addition to an assortment of free trailers, we have demos for Clive Barker's Jericho (which also came out today on the Xbox 360 and PC) and NBA 2K8, a new vehicle for Motorstorm dubbed the Castro Capitano ($0.99) and Speed Master feature for Ninja Gaiden Sigma.

European gamers today got some Warhawk and Heavenly Sword wallpaper, a quartet of new Motorstorm vehicles (£1.49 for each pair), the Ninja Gaiden SIgma Speed Master pack a demos for Sega Rally and Folklore (this is a different demo than the one previously released).

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

As you know, a demo for Clive Barker's Jericho hit Xbox Live Marketplace this morning. Unlike our compatriots at Joystiq, we did not have a chance to test the game at E3, so this was a fresh experience for us. It's clear that the folks at Codemasters really want players to like Jericho, as the demo comes loaded with a very lengthy video explaining the premise and gameplay features of the title. You learn about the character switching dynamic as well as the abilities of the seven squad members. Unfortunately, you only get to utilize three of these squad members during the demo, but we still got a decent idea of how the full game should play.

The demo for Clive Barker's Jericho is now available on PC, Xbox Live and PSN. We've been itching to try this game since it surprised us back at E3. The videos we've seen since then have stayed pretty impressive and gore filled. Doesn't look like Codemasters is going to pull any punches regarding the gore either. Despite yesterday's report about Jericho's non-rating in Germany, Codemasters is sticking to their guns and won't edit the game. The game is rated M in the States.

As for the demo, the first thing anybody who has played The Darkness will notice is the main menu screen looks very, very familiar. It's also worth watching the "Introduction to Jericho" because it gives all the exposition so that the actual demo is pure gameplay -- be warned though, the voiceover guy is incredibly annoying. Although there are seven members of the Jericho squad, you'll only play as three in the demo. Controls are intuitive for anyone that's played an FPS and switching between bodies works really well. The combat takes a little getting used to, but certainly a demo worth checking out.

Update: Updated PSN information.

The demo for Cliver Barker's Jericho is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace. The game centers around a sort of paranormal SWAT team called in to fight the evils of the world. Of course, by evils we mean the otherworldly kind. Each member of the squad has a different weapon set and paranormal specialty like telekinesis or the ability to summon fire. By switching between the various squad members, players can combine their abilities to make the best of any given situation. We'd tell you once again that Joystiq was impressed with the game at E3, but now you can try it out for yourself. Ain't Xbox Live grand?

We know Jericho is going to be scary and violent, but we didn't expect it to get any publicity for it. In a world where video game violence is spiraling upwards to a realm of not-even-realistic bodily destruction, Germany demanded that Codemasters edit Jericho to better comply with their video game ratings system. Codemaster's replied: "Following a review by the USK ratings board, which declined to give an official rating, Codemasters has decided not to change the artistic vision of the renowned author and film-maker Clive Barker though cuts and extensive changes." Good for them.

Codemasters, making this decision, know that their marketing campaign in Germany is all but finished, so have decided to scrap the 360 and PS3 versions of the game in that region. The game will still be released on the PC, though, so if you're from the area, you've got a chance after all. Then again, the games are region free, so there's that route also. Don't forget, there's a demo of the game due out this week on the PSN (though GamesIndustry says it's next week ... we're confused, too ... maybe it's for Europe).

A new trailer for Jericho has dropped on GameTrailers specifically to get players pumped for the oncoming demo. The trailer essentially just mashes up several snippets of gameplay, highlighting the various squad members and some of their special abilities. We particularly like the heavy weapons guy whose hand is literally locked inside his gun, only popping out when it's time to roast an enemy with pyrokinesis. Oh, and did we mention it's super gory? Well, it is. Of course, that's probably to be expected with Clive Barker's name attached to the project. Check out the demo (see it in HD here) and start impatiently waiting for the demo that arrives tomorrow.

The Unterhaltungssoftware Selbskontrolle (USK), the German version of the ESRB, is not rating the upcoming first-person shooter-horror game Jericho and therefore it's practically banned in the country. We've gotten used to this with the Germans, the same fate was bestowed upon Gears or War and Dead Rising, although The Darkness made some changes to become acceptable.

Given what we've seen of Jericho, it was probably the violence and gore that made it receive the un-rating. At least this might bring a little bit of attention to the game which Codemasters seems to be putting almost no effort in promoting -- which is par for the course by the publisher. Like we said before, as long as the squad AI holds up in the game, we saw potential in the title. The game releases at the end of October, Germans can hop in their car and take a quick drive to another country for their copy. We hear Austria is lovely that time of year, have a cup of gluvine for us while you're there.