It's so easy to assume that Quantum of Solace is going to be just another rushed license game (even Daniel Craig did!). But after having sat down with a couple of the game's levels (full hands-on coming later), it's easy to see that this is one of Activision's strongest games of the 2008 lineup. We had a chat with the co-design director, Adam Gascoine, about the game and its development.

Quantum of Solace is the first Bond game to be released alongside its movie counterpart. Has this impacted development? Were you rushed?

We were worried about being rushed when we started the project, but thankfully we have a very solid relationship with the movie team. We were one of the first to see the script for the movie, plus we've been able to visit the sets and watch some filming several times now. All this made it a lot easier. We've been developing really since Casino Royale, about two and a half years in total, so we've had plenty of time to develop the game.

Parts of the game are reminiscent of Uncharted. Was this a particular inspiration during the development of Quantum of Solace?

Any good game is definitely an inspiration. I loved Uncharted. I played it twice. Parts of that game may well have influenced design decisions we made during development, just like any of the great 2007 titles. In particular, though, the quality of animation in Uncharted was definitely an inspiration.

"Hang on a minute," I thought as I played Guitar Hero: World Tour at Activision's booth at the Leipzig Games Convention, "Isn't this Rock Band?" The layout on the World Tour screen is almost identical to Harmonix's series, with the guitars on either side, the drums scrolling down the middle (with the same horizontal bars displaying bass notes, except in World Tour they're purple, not orange) and the vocals on top. The star power meter, along with the rock meter, is kept in the top left, which means that if you're playing drums or bass guitar, it's not very easy to see.

It took a little while to get used to the drums. The two-tier structure with the cymbals feels great, but can be slightly confusing at first. The drums are a lot bouncier than the Rock Band ones, making them not only quieter, but more fun to play. With Rock Band, the bounce seems to come more from the way the sticks are held, rather than out of the structural nature of the pads. Not hearing the constant thok, thok is definitely preferable too, as anyone who has bought silencing pads for their Rock Band drums will know. [Editor's note: Rock Band 2 also features quieter, bouncier drums.]

There's an interesting tidbit over at IGN. At the bottom of one of their articles on the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero: World Tour, you'll notice a little blurb with an asterisk. It reads: "*Online gameplay is only available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Wii and may require an additional subscription." Subscription?

Part of us thinks this ties into the whole music-sharing thing that was revealed during GC 2008. Remember, there Activision commented on paying for the ability to upload more of your own custom tracks. So, is this something to do with that? Or, are Wii owners going to need to pay a bit extra? We're thinking it'll have something to do with the music creation, but until we hear definitive word, this one's going to be left open for debate.


[Thanks, Robert!]

The LittleBigPlanet breakdown session was a little different than most. We've been seeing the game at every trade show since it was revealed at GDC 2007. As a result, the session took a more informal Q&A approach, rather than a showcase for the game's features.

Those present – producer Pete Smith and interface designer Jim Unwin – did start off by volunteering some information: Firstly, the game is finished and pretty much ready to go. The European release date has been finalized as October 29th, with other regions to be confirmed later. Barring unforeseen circumstances there's no reason at all why this game shouldn't ship in time.

We were also told that when LittleBigPlanet was first shown at GDC, Media Molecule had only about five members. As much as the presentation at GDC was a glimpse into the PS3's future, it was also a hiring pitch. Media Molecule was looking for new members in order to work on this incredibly ambitious project. The level shown at GDC was the entirety of LittleBigPlanet up until that point. In fact, they hadn't even finalized the name until a few days before.

The organizers for next year's Cologne-based Gamescom event want you to know that their show will be the 'new European games platform for the international games community." Taking place from September 9th to September 13th, 2009, Gamescom has thrown down the gauntlet and cast a demeaning glare towards the recently concluded (and returning) Leipzig Games Convention.

"It was to be expected that the Leipzig trade fair would try to keep the topic in its 2009 programme as well by announcing its date," said Oliver P. Kuhrt, managing director of Gamescom organiser Koelnmesse. "But they will have to do it without the industry for the most part. The lead trade fair will take place in Cologne in 2009 and beyond." Despite posting improved attendance numbers this year, Kuhrt is adamant that it's time to move 'zig down from its biggest-show-in-town status. "Whatever happens in Germany in 2009 outside of Cologne cannot claim to represent this sector."

It figures that the organizers of a trade show would exhibit such a fine "Oh snap," but we think it best to wait and see if the Cologne show offers up something to sniff at.

Following up a very successful year in Leipzig, Germany, it looks like those of us in North America can look forward to the Games Convention in the future. CEO Wolfgang Marzin has announced that they're now planning on bringing the show to North America, likely looking to pick up the slack left in the wake of E3 practically going the way of the dodo.

"The concept is flexible and the network of the global games industry permits us to be active at different locations," said Marzin. "After the Southeast Asian Games Convention, we are now focusing on the North American market." With a record 203,000 attendees this year, it seems like an easy decision to bring the show to one of the largest gaming markets in the world.

Sometimes being the World's Most Dedicated Video Game Blog isn't easy. Like when we have to read a long, dense response from Douglas Edric Stanley, the artist who created the controversial Space Invaders/World Trade Center piece that you've been reading about all week. Oh, and it's just barely 9 a.m. Joystiq Time (and did we mention it's long?). You know what that is? Dedication.

What'd we learn from the admittedly well-reasoned response? Well, in (very) short, Stanely's piece (see the video after the break) appears to be a way for him to understand, to contextualize what happened on that September morning, attempting to find some sense in a senseless act. While we appreciate Stanley's urge to add context to the inflammatory piece, it kind of makes us sad that he had to explain it at all. And, perhaps more troubling, it doesn't really answer the big moral question: Where's the promised four-player online co-op?

We spent almost at an entire day at the Activision booth at Leipzig, playing and chatting with developers. They had a decent bunch of games to show to us, though the big attraction was Guitar Hero: World Tour. Before getting a go on the drums and guitar (check back later for our full hands-on) we had a natter with project director Brian Bright to learn more about some of the game's more web 2.0 features.

So I noticed when you were going through the track maker during the press conference that it didn't look like you could record vocals. Is it possible to do that?

You can record vocals while you're playing, so that you can create real songs, voice and all. If you also add a keyboard track to the song, this will act as the vocal melody. Obviously, it won't read what words you're saying, you'll just be able to hum along. But you can do the same with any singing game available now.

... by Martijn Van der Meulen. To be fair, Van der Meulen is a producer on the Home project, who apparently assured IGN during Games Convention that the service would launch sometime this year. "Van der Meulen told me (without hesitation) that it is a 100 percent guarantee that Home will be released by the end of this calendar year. He has absolutely no doubt that this will be the case," IGN's Ryan Clements reports. Well, there you have it, just blame Van der Meulen when Sony rushes to get you all moved in later this year and, with the first step you take into your new Home, you fall right through the ... map.

Apparently, one Bradley Crooks, developer at Headstrong Games, revealed to Gamekyo a few details about the upcoming Sega game on every Wii gamers' mind (if it isn't on your brain, then you should get your head checked) during an event at Leipzig. The list is fairly long, so head past the break, where it's all been organized with helpful bullet points.

The Leipzig Games Convention was apparently a success and is already scheduled to return next year from August 19 to 23. The "final report" by the Leipziger-Messe states that 82.1% of attendees asked for the show to stay in its current location, with more than a third of attendees traveling over 300 kilometers (186 miles) to attend.

The show had 203,000 attendees, with 547 companies exhibiting their wares. Showing that Leipzig is actually becoming of interest to the media as well: 3,800 journalists attended, up from 3,395 in 2007. It'll be interesting to see how Leipzig does next year when it will reportedly have some competition from GamesCOM in Cologne.

To say that Guitar Hero: World Tour has a lot of content is now an understatement. The game is so ridiculously full of goodies, fans are likely going to explogasm when they watch the video above. It goes into incredible detail, showing off the music creation fun you can have in Activision's latest installment in its popular franchise. Whether you're mixing drum loops for your tracks or turning your guitar into a keyboard (could this confirm a keyboard peripheral is inbound?), it looks like you won't be bored with Guitar Hero: World Tour anytime soon after its release.

Project Origin, Monolith's everything-but-the-name follow up to F.E.A.R., has slipped on all of that spilled gore, sliding back from the game's previous fall release until sometime in early 2009. The news came from Project Origin art lead, Dave Matthews, who took time during the Leipzig Games Convention to break the news -- and fans' hearts – confirming that players will have to wait until the first quarter of 2009 to find out just what Alma has been up to.

Softening the blow a bit, new details surrounding the upcoming shooter also emerged from last week's event, including news that the sequel will include more interactive and varied environments than those seen in F.E.A.R., while enemy A.I. has also been amped up as well. According to Monolith, the story itself will also be improved over the original, giving us all the more reason to think that maybe Project Origin is worth waiting for after all.

Source – GC 2008: Project Origin Progress Report, IGN

The developer walkthrough provided for Capcom's upcoming swing-action retro remake, Bionic Commando, is one of the most educational videos yet to come out of the Leipzig Games Convention. Not only does the two-part sneak preview explain some of the game's core controls, but it also provides a valuable primer into the German language. For instance, we now know that the German word for "leap" is "sprung", "punch" is the phonetically pleasing "schlag", and "wenn dieser Entwickler hinunter sagt, und beschmutzt noch eine Zeit, werde ich ihn in Brand setzen" means "if this developer says 'down and dirty' one more time, I'm going to set him on fire."

Both halves of the walkthrough are posted after the break. The first part focuses on a rough build of the game's training stage, while the second highlights one of Bionic's multiplayer levels. Auf was warten Sie? Klicken Sie die Verbindung!

As our stack of thick, leather bound binders filled from end to end with valuable Pokémon cards will attest, we're suckers for collectible card games. You could probably also tell from our proclivity to creep around the local Wal-Mart with a black bandana crudely wrapped around our greasy mullets that we're also diehard fans of stealth action. As such, it would seem logical to assume we're big supporters of the PSP-exclusive Metal Gear Acid titles -- unfortunately, one look at our barren ludological library will show that we possess a powerful, unnatural fear of video game packaging.

Thankfully, our hopes for a downloadable version of the Acid titles were lifted somewhat by a brief blurb from series creator Hideo Kojima at Leipzig yesterday. Kojima explained that while there's currently no plans concerning the two titles, it's "possible" that the card battlers could be uploaded onto PSN. We certainly would have preferred a more substantial tease from the Metal Gear maven, a "probable" or "likely", perhaps -- but we suppose beggars can't be choosers.