Global crisis...or not? Some may feel it, some may not feel it. Usually, smaller economic drops are being felt by the rich ones. When you have a lot of money, you also have a lot to lose, but this time, things are looking pretty nasty. I am not going to talk about the effect of the current economic evolution on the middle class, because we're not in the right place to do that. Today, all I can say is "play, THQ, play, don't give up!"(disclaimer: the sexy ladies below are not part of the THQ staff!)

Obviously, everything has a reason. Well, not exactly everything - once, I was walking down the street, and I got kicked in the head. Just like that, for no reason - but I won't get deeper into that story. I survived, so here I am, ready to tell you about the way THQ decided to play the economic crisis game...

...because although last year they reported the highest annual sales figure ever, the net income for 2007 was way below 0, over $35 million, <-125x125 Button - right->to be more precise. According to recent media reports coming from various sources, Paradigm Entertainment and Mass Media are both going to be completely closed, while Juice Games will fire 30 people after the cancellation of a "high-risk project."

All the above have been confirmed by THQ, or so it seems, but things may get even worse, since the rumors go as far as pushing forward the word that Sandblast Games and Locomotive Games have also been closed, while Rainbow Studios was also hit by redundancies, after some lay-offs earlier this year.

I don't know why, but with so many programmers without jobs these days, I think a new wave of computer viruses will soon flood the Internet. For now, all I can say is "play, THQ, play," but one day you may pay!

Racing, my friends, it's all about racing! While there are plenty of racing games around, and most of them aren't bringing anything new to the genre, it is a great pleasure to discover a new release trying to get out of the pack. Don't get me wrong, I didn't run into a new NFS Porsche(that's my all-time favorite, and don't you even dare to say something bad about it!), but PyroBlazer is a game worth checking out, especially since it just reached the "gold" status.

After being initially set to arrive in May, "Pyroblazer on the PC will be available to buy through all major Digital Distribution portals from November 13th this year," at least according to the official press release. The funny part is that what you can find on the official page in the "Press Release" section still says "May 2008..."

Here's the most interesting part of the press release, now:

"Set amidst the awe-inspiring locations of New Apeiron, players get the opportunity to race through a multitude of environments using a wide selection of anti-gravity craft known as Blazers. In their quest for glory, players can blast their way through the scorched valleys of Gnosis, the deserted cities of Haedra or the densely populated Underdome of Evelads.

As the players fight their way through the championship, improved Blazers with better speed, handling and superior firepower become available. <-125x125 Button - right->Players also have the ability to pick up weapon and ammo upgrades during the race, further enhancing their ability to land the killer blow.

In addition to the single player modes such as Quick Race and Championship, Pyroblazer™ will also offer players the ability to compete against each other in 6-player local and internet-based combat racing. Powered by Eipix’s proprietary Ultra Engine and Ageia’s PhysX middleware, the game offers racing and sci-fi fans an experience unlike any other in the genre."

All right, but what about the system requirements? Well, none available yet, but I am sure this game won't break the record set by Crysis or, more recently, Sacred 2...

No matter what some of my friends (and enemies, although I don't have many of those) would say, Microsoft is losing the game, at least when talking about the operating systems market. They may close some smaller projects in the software applications market, too, but I am not going to talk about small fish today. The online market is a blue whale, and that's what I want to talk about now because, at least according to Epic Games, Microsoft is winning the online battle!

So...is it possible for the Microsoft online game to be much better than the Windows mayhem? Well, speaking to GamesIndustry, Dr Michael Capps, Epic's president, said that Microsoft's care for adding cool stuff on a regular basis for Xbox users is taking them to the "golden cup" of the online gaming market.<-125x125 Button - right->

"[..]that's how you join into the Xbox Live experience - your dashboard comes up, you get to see what's new, hey, there's some free stuff you didn't know about - instead of just booting into your game and missing the community," said Capps.

With Epic's support, Xbox Live Arcade can become much more than it is now, and that's a clear sign that the Microsoft online game is headed in the right direction. "So I think making that economy work [for new development], rather than saying, 'We all love Galaga so here's a new one' or 'Here's another retro hit that we've dumped on to Xbox Live Arcade' - making it more like Steam, where it's really easy to go in see what cool games are out and give them a try," concluded Epic's president.