We head deeper into the USG Ishimura in our latest hands-on look at EA’s Wii-exclusive sci-fi horror game.

The bad news only gets worse for the USG Ishimura in the upcoming Wii-exclusive Dead Space Extraction from EA’s Visceral Games development studio. This platform-exclusive survival horror game functions as both a prequel and side story to the acclaimed Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 original. We’ve seen the game a number of times so far (most recently, at GamesCom 2009), and yesterday, EA dropped by with an updated build of the game to show off a new level and give GameSpot an exclusive peek at the first boss in the game.

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Sonic is the fastest hedgehog on foot, but how does he fare when he’s put behind the wheel of a racing car? Pretty good, it turns out.

Sonic’s back again, but this time, he’s switched his red running shoes for a shiny racing car. Sega All-Stars Racing is coming out early next year on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS and is being developed by Sumo Digital (GTI Club Plus, OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, Virtua Tennis 2009). We checked out the PS3 version at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany.

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The plumber, hedgehog, and friends are getting ready for Vancouver 2010, and we checked out a few new events at GamesCom.

After the enormous success of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games–(Mario & Sonic win 5M Olympic medals) 5 million copies and counting–creating a sequel based on the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Games seems like a no-brainer. So far, we’ve seen a number of fun events for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, including bobsleighing, speed skating, and downhill skiing, as well as numerous characters with which fans of Mario or Sonic games will be familiar. We recently got a chance to meet some more characters and events at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne, Germany.

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Science has proven that cowboys and ninjas are mortal enemies, and now Ubisoft is here to show us why.

With its heavy focus on first-person swordfighting, the original Red Steel was met with disappointment from those expecting the Wii Remote to deliver precise replications of their every gesture when the system first launched. The time between then and now has proved that the remote was never really suited for those high hopes, but now that the Wii MotionPlus attachment has been released, there’s a new opportunity for developers looking to deliver on those early ambitions. Naturally, Ubisoft is looking to do this with Red Steel 2. We just checked out a quick demo at GamesCom 2009 after first seeing the game at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this past June.

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EA’s racing series is getting a makeover for the Wii, and we got a chance to play its new Elimination multiplayer mode.

Need for Speed Nitro is the first game in the franchise developed exclusively for the Nintendo Wii and DS. Developed by EA Montreal, the game features an exaggerated, cartoonish style that feels naturally suited to the Wii while boasting a sharp 60 frames-per-second refresh rate. We got the chance to check out some new tracks and tried the Elimination multiplayer mode ahead of GamesCom.

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EA’s Dead Space challenged survival horror preconceptions when it launched last year, boasting spectacular graphics, nail-biting action, and strategic dismemberment. EA was so confident of Dead Space’s appeal that it began work on a Wii version even before the original game had shipped, and we got to finally try out the cooperative mode of Dead Space Extraction ahead of GamesCom.

“Some things, the more you understand them, the more you loathe them.”

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We put out the flames in this life-saving fire-person shooter.

Can you imagine a first-person shooter that has you saving people instead of pumping them full of bullets? Real Heroes: Firefighter plays like a standard FPS, but instead of carrying an assortment of guns on your back, you have a fire extinguisher. Your melee weapon is an axe, but you use it to break down boxes and bust down doors instead of giving the ol’ chop-and-drop to an evil dude. We had a chance to wield a hose and spray our life-giving water on a burning building today.

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We check out three new events (including Mario Kart on skis) as two icons continue to compete for Olympic gold.

We’re no stranger to athletic competition between hedgehogs and plumbers. Our hands/tush-on preview gave you a glimpse of alpine skiing and bobsledding, while our latest demo gave us the scoop on figure skating, ice hockey, and dream ski cross. It also revealed two new playable characters: Donkey Kong and Metal Sonic.

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Use your Legilimency skills to find out how the upcoming Harry Potter game is shaping up. Or just read this hands-on preview instead.

Have you ever wished that you could wave around a magic wand, proclaim “Accio TV remote!” and have your remote control come flying directly into your hand? Or perhaps your little brother is bothering you. How awesome would it be to cry out “Petrificus Totalus” and make him freeze up like a Popsicle? No, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will not let you repair your own glasses with a wave of the Wii Remote and a shout of “Oculus Reparo,” but it will come closer to simulating spellcasting than the Harry Potter games of yore. We met with Darren Potter (no relation) at Electronic Arts during E3 2009 to see how the game is shaping up, and got some one-on-one dueling time in as well.

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We get a look at this new Monkey Island adventure game being developed by Telltale Games for LucasArts.

E3 2009 is still under way, and one of the many games on display at the show is Tales of Monkey Island, the all-new episodic adventure game being developed by Telltale Games for publisher LucasArts. Tales of Monkey Island will be an all-new adventure series starring the classic characters from the lighthearted Monkey Island pirate adventure games, including on-again, off-again pirate Guybrush Threepwood, his lady-love Elaine Marley, and the dastardly ghost pirate LeChuck.

Who’s Making This Game: Telltale Games, a studio founded by LucasArts adventure developer refugees that has gone on to create episodic adventure games such as Sam & Max and Wallace & Gromit.

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