Play as Coco in next Crash Bandicoot

Love Crash Bandicoot, but sometimes wish he were a she, you might be in luck. Sierra has announced a new Crash Bandicoot title for Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, DS and PSP. The game will be titled Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant and sees Crash return with "new abilities and his signature bandicoot hilarity".

Great news for girl gamers though is also the news that you'll apparently be able to play as Coco in this outing for the franchise. Sadly there doesn't appear to be a single player option, but then the game is called Crash Bandicoot and not Coco Bandicoot, so that's to be expected. You'll be able to play as Coco in co-op mode.

Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant is due out later in the year.

Silent Hill Homecoming sounding cool

Hands up who loves Silent Hill? Hands up who thinks Silent Hill was one of the creepiest games ever! Yes me too. What girl doesn't love the Silent Hill games for a good scare and think about it the game series and the movie that followed all feature some really cool female characters, which let's face it, makes a damn nice change!

On the downside vampire killing title Harker seems to have bit the big one, what with Double Helix hammering away at the next Silent Hill title 'Homecoming'. Me, I'll be glad of another Silent Hill title... bring it!

No Females for Metal Gear Online?

Since we're all about the female gamer (as we are here obviously), this is probably going to rile you ever so slightly. It doesn't look like we female types have been taken into consideration with regards to Metal Gear Online character creation. What a shock I hear you cry!

The trailer is out for MGS character creation and at this stage it looks pretty lame, though they have tried to cover racial bases by including what looks like superficial attempts at the 'main' racial types. Shame they don't appear to have thought about gender--assuming that didn't happen beforehand, but feedback to the clip seems to suggest that isn't the case.

Animal Crossing Wii release date now please!

Not that we're impatient here at Girl Gamers, but we want a release date for Animal Crossing Wii please, this has gone on long enough people. We've been doing a little snooping and have come up with some Animal Crossing Wii facts (if anything in gaming is a fact until the game is released).

The announcement of the new DS liter than Lite at E3 this year... said to be utter bollocks by Nintendo and isn't going to happen. Thing is if Nintendo don't announce something pretty big it's going to be a letdown. So let's assume Nintendo denying the existence of a new DS is true (though they said the DS Lite didn't exist prior to its official announcement so go figure), they need to pull something out of the hat.

Recently the Japanese Club Nintendo calender was sent out and what was the image for December? Animal Crossing, so will it be out at Xmas this year? Probably completely unrelated, but our fingers are crossed. We want a release date for Animal Crossing Wii and we wants it soon!

Seriously Nintendo were banging on about this when the Wii was still known as the Revolution! Back in 2006 it was said you'd be able to send letters to Animal Crossing Wii from your PC or cellphone and the characters in game would receive them (thanks to the magic of WiiConnet24). Come on that was 2006!!!

Wher the hell is Animal Crossing Wii? At what stage is it at and when are we likely to see it. We're sick of waiting and we bet you probably are too.

Morgan Webb rags on gamer guy - Why it hurts all of us.

Morgan Webb as you my know is known as 'The Gaming Goddess'. She gained this title because she's a gamer (or said she was) and worked on Tech TV (G4 now) where she went on to host The Screen Savers and of course X-Play. She also had a monthly column at lads mag FHM where she unsurprisingly wrote about video games.

Here's the thing, Webb was recently spotted on the Tyra Banks show 'Tyra' as an expert on video games and she proceeded to make it sound as though only guys play them and that they're psychologically trying to live a sad little life through them. Now this kind of annoyed us here at Girl Gamer Australia because she probably should have been a bit more pro gamer and also pointed out that girls do play and enjoy gaming too.

You can watch the video below:

Forbidden Siren 3 countdown

Anyone play Forbidden Siren a few years ago or the sequel Forbidden Siren 2? Well be prepared for Siren 3 because a countdown website has appeared at the Sony Japan site and everyone is laying bets that's what it's about.

If you missed the Forbidden Siren titles, they're well worth a look. Really cool survival horror mixed with a very creepy atmosphere overall. The first title was released back in 2004 on the PS2 with Forbidden Siren 2 releasing in 2006. That pretty much puts this countdown right on target for the third title in the series.

You can check out the countdown HERE.

Dual Shock 3 - Aussie gamers 'Shocked' alright

Australian gamers should take up their banners, their protest signs and start marching on these huge companies that think we're bloody stupid. With news last week that Rock Band is likely to cost double here by comparison to the US price, news today that the Dual Shock 3 for PS3 is also going to cost you double what your US pals are paying for the same thing.

Let's put that into perspective. The Dual Shock 2 cost around $50 to purchase here in Australia, the Dual Shock 3 will set you back a whopping $100! If you've got money to burn it will be out April 24. It will cost you around $50 from the US, if you can find a friend kind enough to post it to you.

Home Sweet Home on Wii - Design and Decorate

Home Sweet Home is exploding onto the console market in a big way! Big Blue Bubble is proud to announce that Home Sweet Home is set to release on WiiWare, Nintendo's new downloadable game service for the Wii. Soon, fans all across the world will have a chance to download and experience the most creative and exciting home design game on the market.. Well that's the blurb anyway. I actually played this title awhile ago after downloading the demo on my PC. Let's just say the demo didn't make me rush out to buy the game, so I'm not sure how the Wii version will go.

You get to design and renovate your client's home by utilizing the unique features of the Wii Remote--judging from the gameplay mechanic of the PC version, one would assume a lot of pointing at things and clicking.

Time will tell if it betters its PC counterpart I guess.

Ninja Reflex Wii and DS Hands-On!

If you think Ninja Reflex may help lead you to your dreams of being a ninja at some point, probably best you start to think again. I spent many hours with Ninja Reflex on both Wii and DS format and as far as game reviews go, this isn't that great.

Not to say it's completely dire, there are a couple of nice touches and it's clever the way it makes use of either format whilst keeping to the same game, but there just isn't that much of a game there. I got up to almost black belt within a couple of hours on each and found the games to be repetitive.

A nice addition to the title though was the guided meditation, which worked surprisingly well given the overall format. It won't do much for you if you're not into meditating, but still a nice touch.

If you were considering a purchase of Ninja Reflex on either console I'd hold back for awhile. Try it via rental first, chances are you'll finish it in a rental time frame anyway and you can keep your cash for something else.

LittleBigPlanet PSP edition?

Yes apparently there's a cute rumor (we'd say vicious rumor, but it's really more cute than vicious) going around that a certain studio in Liverpool, England are working away on a PSP version of LittleBigPlanet for the PSP.

The PS3 version of LittleBigPlanet is due out later this year and this rumor brings up all manner of cool thoughts about just how the two games will interact with one another if this is true. It would be awesome to be able to take your PS3 created LittleBigPlanet character with you on the PSP, time will tell if this is the case, since no other details have emerged.

Euro RockBand pricing causes outrage

I almost imploded when I read the pricing structure on RockBand in the UK this morning. Gamers are furious over what they see to be definite price hiking by EA and Harmonix. Rob Kay of Harmonix has defended the position saying it's all down to VAT (a UK tax) and the general high price of games in the region.

Fair enough to a degree, but when you look at the figures they're awful nasty: RockBand complete in the US retails for around 85 UK pounds. The price it will cost you in the UK is 180 UK pounds, over double what US gamers are paying (US pricing $160 or so to the UK price of $355).

As for Aussie gamers, you'll have to wait and see. We'd lay a bet RockBand will launch here for $299 Aussie dollars (about $280 USD), at least that's what we're hoping. Chances are if it follows the massive pricing in the UK the RockBand price in Australia could be as insane as $350 ($325 USD / 165 UKP).

There's no Australian release date set for RockBand as of yet, but it finally launches in the UK May 23 for Xbox 360.

GTA IV 'softened' for Australia

Annoying, ridiculous and darn well frustrating!! Australia need to sort out there gaming classifications so they match the film classifications. Upcoming Rockstar release GTA IV has been censored in Australia in order for it to gain a 15+ certification in the ratings (because Australian games ratings presently have no 18+ like elsewhere).

GTA IV is not the first version of GTA to get cut, with GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas all suffering some form of cropping. Does this irritate the consumer, yes it does. As adults we should be able to play the same version of titles our fellow gamers across the pond are playing. We'll be importing it here at GirlGamers Australia and we imagine many other Aussie gamers will be doing the same thing, so as to experience the full game the developers worked on. Another recent title to get the censorship treatment here in Australia was No More Heroes for the Wii.

Puzzle Quest expansion named (XBLA)

D3Publisher recently held a competition to name the new XBLA Puzzle Quest expansion. The winner has been announced and the new expansion has landed the name: Revenge of the Plague Lord.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord includes new professions (Bard, Rogue, Warlock and Ranger), 50 new spells, 40 new items and even more monsters.

If you missed Puzzle Quest you can get it on XBLA, PSP, DS and Wii. It's a game that is loads of fun and extremely addictive. We can't wait for the new content to be released.

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed new release dates

LucasArts has announced the new release date for upcoming Star Wars title Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The game unleashes here in Australia on 17 September! Other release dates include South East Asia - unsurprisingly the same as Australia, Europe 19 September and the US get it first (don't they usually) on 17 September.

Check out the official trailer below:

Will Wii Online Play Suck?

I'm kind of getting the feeling that Wii online play, when finally it's fully implemented properly is going to more than suck. Nintendo seem to be kind of skirting the issue a little, particularly with the upcoming release of Mario Kart Wii, which to the untrained ear, sounds like it perhaps couldn't handle online play and voice chat at the same time.

Nintendo fans seem to be suggesting this is because Nintendo are trying to protect young fans from verbal abuse, but that doesn't wash with me because if that's the case we'll never have full voice chat in games unless they're rated 18 (a rarity on Nintendo platforms) and as far as I'm aware Mario Kart Wii utilizes friend codes (annoying ones like on the DS), so it's not like you can play with random strangers anyway.

It doesn't sound good to me at all, I'm worried for Wii online play.

SEGA Bass Fishing in Aussie Stores

Where? It was supposed to be out last Thursday but all the stores I went into had no idea what happened to it (that's 4 different gaming outlets). One guy in GAME made an absolute ass of himself with his release date knowledge by stating SEGA Bass Fishing and House of the Dead 2&3 had been halted with no idea of a release date. Problem being I had just bought House of the Dead 2&3 in a different store moments earlier, so I pulled it out of the bag to show him and his response was "interesting".. that's what he said, then promptly ignored me like the conversation about SEGA Bass Fishing never happened.

Why do gaming stores sometimes lie rather than just telling you the delivery was delayed or whatever? Maybe this guy just didn't know. The guy in EB told me SEGA Bass Fishing would be out on the Friday... that being last Friday and it wasn't.

I'm hoping this Thursday coming so I can relive some Dreamcast fun. I think I'll try GameTraders as they seem to know what they're talking about at least. Shame it's so far away!