This week’s conversation includes Thom Robertson, who brought us the latest information on the world of Indy games. Thom, a loyal podcast listener and industry veteran, has worked on such great games as Barbie Fashion Designer, Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan’s Fury (never released), Guardian: Agents of Justice (also never released), and Sims 2. In Thom’s opinion, “there’s never been a better time to be an Indy developer”, so check out what he has to say.

In addition to the interview we explore UFC, Fallout 3: Point Lookout (a must buy), infamous (another reason to get your hands on a PS3, Tiger Woods, and Peggle (beware its addictive nature). Also, make sure to listen to the end and discover if you’re a Restaurant Empires 2 winner.

SouthPeak Games has released two new additions to their growing Roogoo series: Roogoo Twisted Towers for Wii and Roogoo Attack! for DS. Only quick reflexes and thinking can save Planet Roo from the vicious Prince Moo and his wicked Meemoo followers. Both games follow the Roogoos through colorful (and Meemoo infested) worlds as they fight to save Planet Roo. Using the world-saving power of meteor shapes, players must rotate platforms while strategizing on the fly and collecting quick-falling shapes. As an added bonus, both versions can wirelessly connect and unlock 20 additional levels within each title.

Ubisoft has announced that it will be publishing Heroes over Europe, a flight combat game designed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Features include Ace Kill close combat action, four online modes supporting up to 16 players and customizable aircraft with localized damage. Visually, the game takes players on an adventure through such environments as London, Berlin and the French Alps, within warplanes of the era, all presented in high definition graphics. Heroes over Europe is scheduled for worldwide release in September 2009.

If it’s one thing I hate, it’s when a laptop refuses to turn on. Generally, the moment a laptop just doesn’t want to turn on anymore, you can be rest assured that you are about to spend big money. In my own case, since it refused to even turn on, the range of potential problems all boiled down to a bad battery, ruined chasis (i.e. ground has gotten loose somehow), or the motherboard was cracked. Given that my laptap was new, this was not encouraging.

So, in some despair, I took my laptop to my local Best Buy. My only goal was to get a diagnosis of the problem before I sent it in for warranty work. To do otherwise is to invite a never ending litany of “we fixed it” “no you didn’t” with HP. I approached the Geek Squad technician and told him that my laptop would not turn on at all. I started to speak at some length about how the power supply still provided power, how the charging indicator would still light up, how I took out and replaced the battery to make sure the contacts were lined up properly, and so on. Rather than listening to my homegrown attempts to diagnose the problem, he calmly took out the battery and pressed the power button a few times. Then he replaced the battery.

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Those of you who loved the WORMS franchise should be wriggling with excitement. This week, the remodeled WORMS 2: Armageddon jumps out into the Xbox Live Arcade, and marks the 10th anniversary of the original war mongering critters game. The new version, while paying respect to the old edition, has obviously been overhauled and features new weapons such as the Sentry Gun which you can deploy to defend your position or the Electro Magnet which will attract or repel deadly metallic explosives. The game will cost 800 MS points, and supports 1-4 players. Crawl on down to the Xbox marketplace now.

- Simon Moore

Treasure World, the game, which encourages players to seek out Wi-Fi signals in order to unlock in-game treasures, is now available on Nintendo DS for $29.99. Treasure World is the world’s largest treasure hunt with hundreds of millions of treasure spots waiting to be found. Players use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to find Wi-Fi signals, DS and Wii systems, and other wireless signals to collect treasures. Each of these signals delivers one of thousands of collectibles. A vast amount of treasures await to be found, ranging from traditional scenery such as flowers, statues and tiki torches, to iconic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and Big Ben, to holiday themed items like jack-o-lanterns and snow men. In addition, players can unlock new attire for their character, including Panda, Feline, Ninja and Anime costumes. Along the way, players also accumulate in-game currency to purchase additional treasures.

Sign up to become a member of Club Treasure World and you’ll be automatically entered to win your very own copy of the game and a Nintendo DSi system. Deadline to enter is July 31, 2009.

Deep Silver has announced that Risen will make its international debut on October 2, 2009. The new RPG from Piranha Bytes, the developers of Gothic, has already entered Beta phase, and will be available for the Xbox 360 video game and Windows PC. The contents of Risen are already “code complete,” and all voiceovers have been recorded. This role playing game is set in a medieval world on a volcanic Mediterranean island. The story unfolds over four chapters and will offer players multiple ways to develop the story through their own actions and decisions.

A few weeks back, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) showered gamers with a deluge of news and announcements highlighting the newest games in store for us this season and beyond. In addition, we saw a potential game-changing move with Microsoft’s unveiling of their self-aware Project Natal. We’re one step closer to Judgment Day with that one.

Anyway, I covered the Microsoft and Nintendo conferences in three separate Blog posts, which is becoming an annual tradition now that I’ve done two of them. Those pieces were focused on my reactions to the news coming from the console manufacturers, not necessarily about the games themselves (although it would be impossible to overlook that piece). This week, I intend to give you my Top 5 most anticipated games of 2009.

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Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre: Card Combat
Release date: Available now

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Stardust Accelerator: World Championship 2009 is an open-world trading-card game. It might have a learning curve for newcomers, but it does have depth that any strategy player will appreciate. Every card is viable, and there is a myriad of ways to customize your card deck to complement your play style. As you get adept at utilizing all the options of monster, spell and trap cards, gameplay becomes a battle of wits with a dash of luck, and it’s quite satisfying to put yours to the test. Though the focus of the game is on dueling, that doesn’t excuse it from it’s otherwise overall shallowness. It’s plagued by a throwaway story and a lifeless city to explore. Mini-games act as alternatives to dueling, but they are nothing more than frustrations.

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Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and TT Games have announced the debut of the Guinness World Records game app. Offering gameplay that showcases the capabilities of the iPhone and iPod Touch, Guinness World Records features 36 game challenges based on real life world records. Such oddities range from crushing watermelons with the player’s head and plucking feathers from a turkey, to throwing a washing machine the farthest, all using the touch screen and motion sensing technologies of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Guinness Worlds Records app is available now at the App Store for $4.99.

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Genre: Action RPG
Release date: Available now

Bethesda’s DLC support for Fallout 3 has been nothing but fantastic. There have been some minor bugs and loading issues when some of the add-ons launched, but all were fixed rather quickly. Each piece of DLC has been progressively better than the last, and Point Lookout continues this trend. It not only expands the universe, but it also truly captures the essence of what it is that fans of Bethesda’s action RPG’s love: exploration.

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FROM THE PUBLISHER

We’ll keep this short and sweet. Right now, we feel like our staff is the best you’ll find on the Web. These guys and one gal — Andrew Clark, Bob Mandel, Ed Humphries, Jason Pitruzzello, Michael Smith, Michele White and Ryan Asher — have not only been with us since our relaunch in early 2007, they’ve consistently churned out reviews that make us feel proud when we click the “publish” button and a new article goes live on the site.

But as you can see, the list of names is short. And the interactive entertainment industry is big — and growing bigger. How can we keep up? By leaving the past where it is and focusing on what’s new. That includes concentrating our energies on current generation gaming platforms and the PC.

We need to add some names to our ranks, though. We need volunteers who can invest a few hours each week to share their thoughts via AVault about the games they’re playing. We require five things: that you be at least 18 years of age, that you live in the U.S., that you’re passionate about gaming, that you know what works and what doesn’t work in a game, and that you can write well. In exchange, we’ll send you new games on a regular basis.

Here are the positions we’re looking to fill. If you fit the profile, drop Michele White a line. We’d love to add your name to the best staff of volunteer game reviewers on the Internet:

• PC game reviewer
• News reporter
• iPhone game reviewer

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, the prequel to the Wild West action shooter Call of Juarez, is now available in stores for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Following the story of the McCall Brothers, players enter a quest for the legendary Gold of Juarez leading them from a war ravaged Georgia to the Aztec ruins of Mexico. The brothers, Ray and Thomas, make their lawless trail into a truly Wild West, using their superior gun-slinging skills to take out everyone that stands in their way.

The game also brings the Wild West mayhem online. Gunslingers, bandits and marshals struggle for bounty, and multiple character classes can be unlocked for use during team-based objective modes or the straightforward team death match. There’s also a Bounty System, which increases the bounty on a player’s head as they rack up the kills.

The Pirate Bay has been purchased and is perhaps looking to go legit. Software company Global Gaming Factory X AB has shelled out approximately $7.8 million for the site, and is set to take possession this August. The acquisition appears to be the first step into turning the Stockholm-based piracy site into a legal operation.

According to Hans Pandeya, CEO of Global Gaming Factory, “we would like to introduce models which entail that content providers and copyright owners get paid for content that is downloaded via the site.“ Pandeya adds that while The Pirate Bay is one of the top 100 most visited sites on the entire Internet, it needs to change in order to survive.

Source: Kotaku

Aspyr Media and Mindware Studios probe the insidious depths of the subconscious to bring Dreamkiller to the Xbox 360 and Windows PC. A fast, frantic and mega-bloodbath first-person shooter, Dreamkiller takes gamers inside the dark and twisted nightmares of tortured souls possessed by unknown forces.

Players assume the role of Alice Drake, a psychologist with the extraordinary ability to enter the minds of her patients and combat the ravenous foes haunting their dreams. Utilizing a host of fantastic weapons and her own special abilities, Alice confronts our common demons only to discover an even deeper menace reigns within. The ultimate showdown becomes inevitable between that which would torment and she who will protect, and only one force will prevail.

Dreamkiller features 12 levels of single-player gameplay, each laced with swarms of hideous and disturbing enemies reflecting the mind’s infinite palette of fear. The onslaught continues with numerous multiplayer modes and a host of weapons and supernatural abilities. Stay awake, Dreamkiller will be available this fall.