Down in front! Wacth as some guy's head almost steals the spotlight from the Prince ... almost. Be sure to stick around for the slick Okami-esque effects near the end.

Let's put a smile on that face by checking out Midway's latest batch of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe screenshots, rife with cross-dimensional brawling and enough continuity issues to drive fanboys round the bend. While you enjoy the sight of The Joker blasting Scorpion right out of the Batcave or the Green Arrow putting the squeeze on Shang Tsung, we'll frantically attempt to figure out how Ed Boon managed to steal all our closeted fan fictions.

If these guys don't pummel your fancy, Midway has also informed us that series stalwarts Raiden and Kano will join the game's kombatants, along with the DC universe's Wonder Woman and Deathstoke.

Well, consider us intrigued. From the creators of Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) comes Heavy Rain, an atmospheric new adventure exclusively for the PlayStation 3. This in-game footage, first unveiled at Leipzig's Games Convention, depicts our finely rendered female protagonist investigating a distinctly unsettling house. Be sure to keep watching until the stunning scene at the end, where she bursts out the door and screams to the heavens, "Gotcha, suckas!"

We're sure to learn much, much more as we draw closer to Heavy Rain's forecast 2009 release.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that VidZone, "the online destination for music videos" that we've never heard of, will be offering a free, streaming music video service for the PlayStation 3. The "trial service" is expected to launch in early 2009 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Featuring a "full playlist of videos from hip-hop to punk and heavy metal to classics," VidZone will allow PS3 owners to build playlists and download songs, music videos (!!!) and ringtones "for a small charge."

The best part is that the service will support remote play via the PSP, ideal for those awkward situations when you're out in public and simply must subject yourself and those around you to Kylie Minogue.

It appears that the 80GB PS3 MGS4 bundle has finally been done in by the La-li-lu-le-lo. Our trusted Wal-Mart operative -- who has yet to fail us on a mission -- informs us the status of the bundle within the megacorp's computer is now "deleted." S/he tells us this means that there are no plans to receive any more shipments. We've contacted Sony for official word regarding any plans to restock the model.

We always knew the $499 bundle was a limited edition, so this isn't exactly a "!". What we are wondering: Will the model in the bundle be repackaged with a new game? Is this the end of PS3s with any type of PS2 backwards compatibility?

Never one to be outdone by its European counterpart, Sony Computer Entertainment America just announced its very own 160GB PlayStation 3 bundle. Offering more than just €70 worth of downloadable game content, SCEA's bundle includes the recently unveiled 160GB PlayStation 3, Naughty Dog's excellent Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, a PSN voucher for PAIN (expires March 30, 2009), and a DualShock 3 controller, for the price of $499.99.

Picking our way through the system's specs, it looks like the 160GB PS3 offers only 2 USB ports and no flash card readers, leading us to believe its functionally identical to the 40GB (now 80GB) low-end model. To put it another way: it appears the 160GB model will not have backwards compatibility for PS2 games. As for availability, the press release vaguely states "November." We'll try to get something definitive on the backwards compatibility situation.

With game installations, downloadable content and digitally distributed titles cluttering up our PlayStation 3's brain, it comes as little surprise to see Sony announcing yet another SKU with increased storage capacity. The word from its 2008 Games Convention press conference is that a 160 gigglebyte model -- which is otherwise identical to others units -- will be hitting Europe on October 31st, complete with €70 worth of downloadable game content. But is the €449 price tag a trick or a treat?

We're checking with Sony regarding any plans to release this model elsewhere.

Tearing a page straight out of the Rock Band 2 playbook, Sony announced a new service – to be made available through a firmware update – that will allow folks to essentially rip the tracks from PS2 versions of SingStar onto the PS3. IGN gives us a play-by-play of the service: "Just throw in the PS2 disc and you can grab the tracks!" Epic! We're curious about the details: What's to prevent you from borrowing or renting games? Will this work on all PS2 versions of SingStar? Will this work on all PS3s (even those without PS2 backwards compatibility)? Is this enough to compete with Lips' play-your-own-music functionality? More as we know it.

At its Leipzig Games Convention press conference today, Sony unveiled a wireless keypad peripheral that attaches to the top of the PlayStation 3 controller (presumably into the mini-USB port). The keypad also features a "touchpad mode" for mouse input. Pricing was not revealed, but the device will be released in 8 different languages.

It's worth noting that MadCatz released an attachable thumbpad for PS3 in April 2007.

Update: Added official keypad images (see gallery below). Does this thing double as a codpiece?

PlayStation.Blog clarifies that the Wireless Kepad includes a mode that turns the key area into a touchpad, allowing users to control an on-screen cursor with their fingertips, tapping to activate a link. The keypad also features two short-cut buttons, enabling quick access to the XMB's "Friends" icon and the "Message Box." The pad also can be paired with other Bluetooth devices (e.g., a smart phone) and will be released in late November.

Well, this should make the patented Joystiq Instrument Compatibility Matrix a bit easier to memorize. Straight from our special Leipzig correspondent Jem Alexander, Activision says that If you play Guitar Hero World Tour on PS2, PS3 or 360, your instrument is going to work. Whether it be from Rock Band, Rock Band 2 or whatever, it works with Guitar Hero World Tour.

Now, what does this mean for the Wii version of the game? We have absolutely no idea. But hey, what are you complaining about: It's got Miis in it! Isn't that enough?

We were a little startled when Eurogamer revealed Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty was a 3.2 GB download. We knew the game had junk in the trunk, but the last we heard it was around 2.3 GB. With no Blu-ray disc planned for North America, the less time we have to spend waiting for the interminable download from the PSN (plus install) this Thursday, the better.

We contacted Sony and were told that the difference between the European and NA version could be blamed on the 11 languages being included with the former, with two .pkg files containing 5-6 languages each. Not that a file size would have stopped us from getting the $15 game, but why do the Europeans keep getting Blu-ray releases of PSN games while North American consumers learn to macrame waiting to download another hefty PSN title? Come on, Sony. We're North America, we're not used to gaming inequity like Europe. Give us the disc and make them wait. It's just the way things are supposed to be.

British power metal squealers DragonForce will debut a new and inevitably over-the-top single in a Guitar Hero III track pack later this week. Taken from their new album, Ultra Beatdown, "Heroes of Our Time" will no doubt challenge serious shredders with a never-ending string of shifting notes and finger-knot solos when it arrives on Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store on August 21.

The DragonForce Track Pack will also provide two other overwrought songs, namely "Revolution Deathsquad" and "Operation Ground and Pound," from the album dubbed Inhuman Rampage. Expect this one to go for the usual 500 MS Points ($6.25).

[Via press release]

Speaking at the outset of this year's Leipzig Games Convention, Crytek boss Cevat Yerli revealed that the developer's graphical tour de force, Crysis, cost an estimated $22 million to create. Yerli has previously lamented the effect piracy has had on the title, but reiterated that it's still recouped the development costs, saying, "If it wasn't profitable I wouldn't be able to stand here."

Best known for their stunning visuals, Crytek's game engines are also guilty of bringing even the mightiest of gaming PCs to their knees. While the upcoming, heavily-optimized Crysis: Warhead promises a significant performance increase even on mid-range systems, Crytek is already cooking up its next GPU melter, which Yerli says should be ready by 2012. That's when he anticipates GPU tech making the next major leap in its evolution; until then, he expects fellow developers to focus more on what they already have to work with, by means of stylized graphics and hardware accelerated physics.

Source – Crysis cost 22 million to make, IGN
Source – Crytek: New engine in 2012, IGN

From making rival gangsters offers they can't refuse, to using your voice to command soldiers not to refuse orders, these fresh-off-the-editing-computer videos from EA's The Godfather II and Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's EndWar are presented for your viewing pleasure (and "Should I pre-order either of them?" evidence pool). The EndWar trailer is the same one being trotted out at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008; the first look at EA's gangster sequel was shown to the press last week at the publisher's annual Studio Showcase. But you don't have to travel to Germany (or even the Bay Area) to watch 'em – just click through after the break.

Source – Godfather II at GameTrailers
Source – Tom Clancy's EndWar at GameTrailers

In his latest report from Infinity Ward HQ, community confidant Fourzerotwo brings word that the Call of Duty 4 battlefront could see some changes soon. No less than eight new multiplayer playlists are in development, of which four are currently being tested, and at least one can pass through the servers without a patch: Hardcore Headquarters. But we're taking a keen interest in another playlist, Hardcore Ricochet, which turns teamkillers' attacks against them. It's like we're rubber, they're glue -- whatever they shoot, bounces off us and ... burrows deep into their treacherous guts!

Peep the full descriptions and statuses of all the planned playlists on Fourzerotwo's blog.

[Thanks, Michael]