Beyond Gears of War 3 for 2010, the January 2009 issue of the future-uncertain EGM contains a handful of other rumors to pique your interest (via NeoGAF). Top of that list? A spiritual sequel to Rez is coming from creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who can't make an actual sequel beacuse the IP is owned by Sega. Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment recently announced a music-infused project codenamed "QJ" for Wii, though it may be unrelated.

Additionally, the issue also asserted that Spielberg's mysterious EA Project LMNO is on hold at the moment. At the end of October, EA denied speculation that there had been layoffs related to the title. The remaining rumor-mongering includes a new Rifts-licensed game in 2010 (the last one was on N-Gage) and a large co-publisher for Tecmo's PlayStation 3 exclusive Quantum Theory.

Electronic Arts has dismissed rumors that the staff of Steven Spielberg's next-gen project, codenamed LMNO, has been let go. In a statement (via EuroGamer), the publisher said reports of the firing are "categorically not true."

Following news that EA is cutting back on 6% of its workforce, VG247 reported that it was told by an anonymous EA employee that the dev team behind LMNO had been let go. "Almost everyone on the team has gone," according to the source. The last we heard about the project, coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, was that it "focuses on a touching and ever-changing relationship between you and a mysterious female character who holds the key to many futures." His other secret project, PQRS, turned out to be Boom Blox for the Wii.

... if you're in France. Despite much frantic hunting on the internets, we've only been able to locate this neat little piece of Boom Blox merchandise at a French outlet, where it's being given away to those who purchase the game early (Boom Blox launches across Europe tomorrow).

Although it lacks a ball to knock your blocks down with once you've finished building, assembling this puzzle is probably the perfect way to pass the time while your family plays on Boom Blox and you stubbornly refuse to admit that you might have been wrong. Bah. Oh, one word of advice, though: handle with care.

Gamers these days seem to be obsessed with the divide between what's "casual" and what's "hardcore." Often, software is immediately labeled for one group or the other. That's why it's nice to see games that bridge this gap, like Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox. There's nothing better than a title that everyone can enjoy. Did people enjoy it, though?

The answer to that question is a resounding yes:

• 1UP (100/100) loved the game so much that they gave it an A+: "Boom Blox is simply a laundry list of great features and options wrapped around an incredibly fun, expertly designed, and well-tuned puzzle game. Sure, its cute veneer won't do it any favors with the more intense console crowd, but I found it charming and refreshingly cheery. It's a casual game made for a casual crowd, but it's far and away the best one I've ever played."

• IGN (81/100) enjoyed a lot of the game's features, but felt that the title's biggest strength was its addictive multiplayer: "EA has really capitalized on the Wii remote to give you pinpoint accuracy as you make throws with real, calculated velocity -- throws that interact with block formations encased in genuine physics. You will find the single-player offering robust and varied, but the multiplayer mode -- compatible for up to four gamers -- is tantamount to crack cocaine in its ability to addict. And while there are hundreds of levels to keep you busy, there's also a full-blown stage creator that works hand-in-hand with WiiConnect24."

• Wired (80/100) praises the game's mass appeal: "Boom Blox does what so many Wii titles wish they could, by splitting the difference between casual players and lifelong gamers. You can pass the Wiimote to your grandma or a 5-year-old and they'll have a ball with its clever mix of brainy puzzles and satisfying explosions. But hard-core players like me will find a surprising amount of depth to the gameplay and a satisfying, addictive challenge."

We've all witnessed the incredible ways that technomancer Johnny Lee can put a Wiimote to good use, but apparently, attendees of the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference were unaware of the handheld peripheral's vast potential. You can actually hear their minds crackle, then implode as Lee shows off two of his cost-efficient tech demos -- the multi-touch whiteboard, and 3-D head tracking (which was further confirmed to be in EA/Speilburg's Boom Blox as an easter egg). Like all Johnny Lee videos, we can guarantee this to be the coolest thing you've seen today -- unless, of course, you've just watched the entire "American Ninja" quintology.

[Update: EA announced the official release date at the Nintendo Media Summit: May 6th.]

Wow, those little rectangular kittens are adorable. How could you not love little fuzzy (and sharp-cornered) kittens in bows? They're just out trick-or-treating in the creepy woods. They're just so cute that we want to ... throw stuff at them. We're pretty sure that they would wobble and fall down. Can they has stuff being thrown at them?

The latest screens of Steven Spielberg's weird Wii project also reveal that -- we think -- Boom Blox is using the "paper" look (like Paper Mario or, in a more dramatic example, Defend Your Castle) for at least one of its locations. Well, it's either supposed to look like paper or the backgrounds are just really flat.

[Via Joystiq]

Electronic Arts has released the final box art for Stephen Spielberg's upcoming very first-party title Boom Blox. Take note at Spielberg's full name, more prominent than the behemoth publisher's abbreviated title. We're pretty sure the famous director is more recognizable to the mainstream crowd and wonder if the order will be swapped for the as-of-yet unknown Xbox 360 / PS3 Spielberg games. Boom Blox, with head tracking, is due out this May.

Remember the ever-so-awesome Johnny Lee's experiment with head tracking? We were so wistful then, seeing what the Wii's equipment was capable of in the proper hands.

Well, as it turns out, we don't have to be wistful anymore.

In a continued effort to make us look bad, the creators of BOOM BLOX revealed yesterday at GDC that the game would incorporate some head tracking. Before you get too excited, executive producer Lou Castle told Joystiq that this would only be an "Easter egg inclusion."

This feature won't be an integral part of the game, clearly, but it's still a big step for gaming nonetheless. We're a little worried that in order to use this feature, the player must make their own LED headset -- we think most people won't bother doing that, and thus miss out on something great. Castle said that they weren't going to promote the feature, and we're assuming that it's for this reason. Whether you take advantage of the head tracking option or not, though, it's still a laudable inclusion in our eyes.

As part of their crazy EA coverage yesterday, Joystiq's James Ransom-Wiley got to check out the EA/Spielberg joint BOOM BLOX, and the final word is that our initial assessment of the game was delightfully off-base. When it means that the game isn't worthless tripe, we will be happy to be proven wrong.

In fact, BOOM BLOX gets nothing but exaltation throughout the preview, being referred to as "very first-party" and "(feeling) like a Miyamoto game." The heart of BLOX's success is in its creation engine, which allows for an infinite variety of very different levels. Not only can different shapes be made using different kinds of blocks, but it is possible to design levels with different goals. Ransom-Wiley said "Imagine a bottomless bag of these pieces, a virtual world driven by 'real,' responsive physics (how hard you toss the ball actually matters), and the freedom to create; to set your own rules to the game."

This is the true magic of Spielberg, we think. We never would have guessed that a game about tossing balls at bricks would cause a Joystiq editor to declare "This May, put down Brawl, pick up those blox."

"It's feels like a Miyamoto game," someone observes. "Yeah, it's very first-party," agrees another. Flying sheep-blocks and all, Boom Blox is destined to earn Spielberg some street cred (or whatever form of kudos it is that gamers bestow). Just what is Spielberg's involvement? It's his idea, EA insists.

An idea so simple, it's really only plausible for Wii. You just pitch a baseball at blocks -- that's it (well, sometimes it's a bowling ball, bomb, or shotty blast ... you get the idea). But where so many mindless motion farts dissipate into the foul heap of Wii "mini-game" crap, Boom Blox stands tall, as a tangible actualization of what Wii games should, no, are supposed to be!

We're beginning to warm to the idea of a puzzle game based on knocking over a tower of blocks (or BLOX -- nah, blocks). With certain blocks providing special effects (like 'splosions), and the ability to create and share your own structures, there might be a solid puzzler in here, or at least more than just a game about busting stacks of stuff. Plus the block characters are really cute -- so cute that someone has already been inspired to create a papercraft model of the rooster character.

Are you slowly coming aboard the BOOM BLOX not-quite-hype-but-at-least-not-disgust train? Have you always been down for some block booming? Or are you outraged that Steven Spielberg's concept for a Wii game doesn't seem to include much in the way of narrative?

We were heavily criticized for our initial (and, okay, harsh) opinions about BOOM BLOX. Even though we softened up to the game after seeing the trailer, we can't say we were behind it all along. Some people were, though, like the notorious Surfer Girl.

Surfer Girl, who is famous in the world of video games for her endless flow of industry rumors, thinks very highly of the title. In fact, she calls it "this year's best third-party Wii game." Those are certainly some strong words, and although she doesn't elaborate on why the game is so great, she does say it's a fun puzzle experience.

So, who will be eating crow, us or Surfer Girl? It's too early to tell, but we're ready for some humble pie if the game turns out to be as amazing as she says.

GameDaily spoke with EA's Louis Castle about the Spielberg-headed block-toppling game BOOM BLOX, getting a little bit more information about the gameplay as well as a weird statement about the famous filmmaker's nebulous involvement with the game: "It's actually Spielberg's concept. He was inspired by his play session with Miyamoto on the Wii and came to us, since we had an agreement to work with him on multiple titles, and said, 'I'd really like to make a game that I can play with my kids for the Wii since it's just a fantastic system.'" So Spielberg's concept was ... a Wii game? Maybe that was just the prelude to the development of the concept.

As for the gameplay, it consists of four modes: multiplayer, creation (in which you build structures using various kinds of blocks), a puzzle mode with over 300 levels ("a very contextual series of levels that Spielberg helped to create and imagine where there's four different themes"), and some kind of "explore mode" whose goal we can't figure out -- it seems to be some kind of adventure mode crossed with creation. In all the modes, you're given tools including a hand for manipulating and building things and a "blast" for giving ice cream to blasting things. Structures made in Create Mode can be shared via WiiConnect24.

When the game was last shown at E3, it was an underwhelming throwing-stuff-at-blocks game with little point. Now it's got these neat-looking puzzles and adorable characters, and it's actually starting to look like something. Yes, certain elements of the Wii Fanboy staff haven't fully jumped on board, but the new trailer (above) may do something to sway DO NOT WANTERS to DO NOT NOT WANT status.