Strategy Informer  

Sci-fi-London announced today that Electronic Arts will be the official games sponsor for this years Sci-fi-London event, the UK's only dedicated science fiction and fantastic fill festival which will run from 30th April to 4th May 2008 at the Apollo west end theater.

We Europeans seem a bit crazy for the racing game which is only a taste of the full Gran Turismo 5 to be released in the future. This Prologue rush has given Sony their first pre-release platinum title for the PS3.

The game will be released and available on Blu-ray disc on March 26, a download via PSN will come online the day after.

Initial D fans, rejoice! No longer will you have to go to the local arcades, undoubtedly dying away, to get your fix of the racing game/TV show. Soon it will be hitting the PS3, not only looking better, but packing in all the features you'd expect from a standard console racer. Meaning online play, big solo campaign, etc.

If what reports suggest are true, then European gamers are in for a real treat when 25 cult classic PlayStation One games are released onto the PlayStation store. Apparently they'll be unleashed soon.

If you've been looking forward to the release of Gran Turismo 5 then you might be disappointed to hear that British retailer GAME has put forward a release date of 2009, which could or could not be correct.

Looking to put gravity-defying exhilaration into action, Disney has enlisted Black Rock Studios to develop "Pure" on next-gen consoles and PC. Unlike traditional ATV games where the emphasis is usually on simulation, Pure is an arcade racer with nothing but 'extreme' on its mind to let players exercise the dare-devil within.

There's a whole host of characters to choose from and then gamers can either match off against AI or go against up to 16 players online. Wes Miller, pro rider and the founder of H-Bomb Films, is also offering his advice throughout to Black Rock Studios helping them maintain an authentic quad culture, while still having room for 'crazy'.

Rob Rymond played Need for Speed: Pro Street and shares his impressions. This installment in the series breaks from it's familiar roots and takes a different path more similar to Gran Tourismo, except with more customization options. Using a legal track racing system, as opposed to the illegal street racing, the game does away with the open-city roaming.

Read the Pro Street review.

Mike Jennings played Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, the sequel to 2005's Juiced developed by Juice Games. Thought to be worth the price, the game boasts an excellent single player campaign, a plethora of customization options for cars - the main difference from the previous title - and solid controls.

Read the Juiced 2 review.

Burnout Paradise has been played. Govan Roberts gives his opinion on this the latest edition to the Burnout series from developer Criterion Games. Found to be an excellent representative of the series and genre, his view is that, combined with hundreds of potential hours of single player content and an excellent online experience, the game is worth the price of admission.

Read the Burnout Paradise review.

Sony Computer Entertainment America revealed today that Gran Turismo 5: Prologue will be released on April 17th in North America exclusive to the PlayStation 3. It'll also be available for download on the PlayStation Store for $39.99.