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I didn’t ever really expect to be playing Duke Nukem Forever. But in my dreams, when I did, I was just shooting, kicking ass, and complaining about how I was all out of bubblegum. Gearbox has other ideas.

In the opening moments of the Duke Nukem Forever demo, playable to the public at PAX this weekend, Duke Nukem takes a leak. What’s more, you press a button in order to make him pee. But the level of interactivity with Duke and his world doesn’t stop there. As Duke you’ll also be able to play basketball, pump iron, read “adult magazines,” and even draw nasty messages on white boards. Oh, and drool over half-naked women… how very Duke Nukem of you.

Yeah, all of that shooting and kicking ass I’d dreamed about, it seems we’ll get it in 2011 when the game ships for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. We’ll be able to do it all over, too, from the Vegas Strip to the Hoover Dam.

I had come to accept that Duke Nukem Forever would have to live only in my dreams. But learning that it’s a game where I can both play basketball and take a leak (eat that NBA Elite 11!), well, it can’t come soon enough. 

Trying to create noise from the deafening silence following the announcement of Bloody Good Time, Ubisoft has revealed Outland, an upcoming platformer adventure inspired by games like Prince of Persia… and Ikaruga.

Here’s the official line on this one: “Outland puts players in the middle of a world of balance and chaos where their efforts allow them to bridge the ancient divide, or doom the world to destruction. Each player’s adventure will take them between light and darkness and force them to adapt to an ever-changing world. This light versus dark core gameplay is inspired by the arcade classic Ikaruga.”

So it’s a platformer, but it’s like Ikaruga. I think that’s qualifies as “awesome,” and it looks wonderful, too. The title is being developed by Super Stardust HD studio, Housemarque, and will be available for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in early 2011.

If you’re in Seattle for PAX, you can stop by Ubisoft’s booth and check it out.

Seven45 Studios has revealed the full soundtrack for its upcoming music title, Power Gig: Rise of the Six String, and I hope you like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and Kid Rock.

Those particular artists have exclusively licensed their music for use in Power Gig, and Seven45 studios is taking advantage of the agreements by putting multiple songs from the artists on the disc. Clapton fans can play along with “Layla,” “Lay Down Sally,” and “Let It Rain.” Dave Matthews scores “Tripping Billies,” “Why I Am,” and “Funny the Way It Is.” Kid Rock (who, according to a Seven45 rep during a pre-E3 event, “no one is more authentic than”) gets “Rock N’ Roll Jesus,” “Son of Detroit,” and “All Summer Long” on the disc.

The disc will feature 70 tracks, and they are admittedly pretty diverse, with bands ranging from Queens of the Stone Age to Black Sabbath, The Black Keys to A Perfect Circle. John Mayer also makes his debut in a music game, and he gets a few tracks on the disc, too. Seven45 also promises more tracks to come, with downloadable content already being planned.

How do you think Power Gig’s selections compare to the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3 tracks?

• Eric Clapton – Layla
• Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally
• Eric Clapton – Let It Rain
• Dave Matthews Band – Funny The Way It Is
• Dave Matthews Band – Tripping Billies
• Dave Matthews Band – Why I Am
• Kid Rock – All Summer Long
• Kid Rock – Rock ‘N’ Roll Jesus
• Kid Rock – Son of Detroit
• John Mayer – No Such Thing
• Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
• No Doubt – Platinum Blonde Life   
• Ozzy Osbourne – A.V.H.
• Queens of the Stone Age – You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire
• Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock
• Disturbed – The Night        
• Rage Against the Machine – Bombtrack
• Stevie Ray Vaughan – Couldn’t Stand The Weather
• Black Sabbath – The Devil Cried
• Stone Temple Pilots – Plush
• Living Colour – Cult of Personality
• John Mayer – Who Do You Think I Was
• Snow Patrol – Hands Open
• Three Days Grace – Break
• Paramore – Ignorance
• Silversun Pickups – Substitution
• The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
• The Black Label Society – Retribution
• Breaking Benjamin – Breath
• The Tragically Hip – New Orleans Is Sinking
• The Used – Blood on My Hands
• Mastodon – Crack the Skye
• A Perfect Circle – The Hollow
• Buckcherry – Tired of You   
• Firewind – Head Up High
• The Black Keys – Strange Times
• Flyleaf – Again
• Godsmack – Awake
• Incubus – Wish You Were Here
• Jet – She’s A Genius
• The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
• John Mayer – Crossroads
• Bad Religion – I Want to Conquer the World
• Korn – Hold On
• The Academy Is… – His Girl Friday
• Lacuna Coil – Spellbound
• MuteMath – Chaos
• New Found Glory – Listen to Your Friends
• P.O.D. – Alive
• Puddle of Mudd – Blurry
• Rise Against – Paper Wings
• Sick Puppies – You’re Going Down
• The Donnas – Fall Behind Me
• The Get Up Kids – Martyr Me
• Idlewild – Reader and Writers
• Surfer Blood – Swim
• Channels – Chivaree
• Superdrag – Aspartame
• Envy on the Coast – Headfirst in the River
• Damiera – Silvertongue
• A Cursive Memory – Everything
• The Hounds Below – She’s Alchemy
• A Love Like PI – Innocent Man
• The Willowz – I Know
• I See Stars – Comfortably Confused
• The Paris Riots – Hotel of Infidels
• School Boy Humor – Camera Shy
• So Many Dynamos – Artifacts of Sound
• Taxpayer – When You When Young
• The Fatal Flaw – Don’t Start Believing

I’ve spent a lot of MS Points on Rock Band songs, but very few on Avatar items. By “very few” I mean zero. So Harmonix and MTV Games introducing Rock Band Avatar items seems like some kind of ploy into tricking me to purchase them. Well, it’s not going to work, damn it.

Here’s what’s available: a bunch of Rock Band Avatar item crap. Drums, guitars, a keyboard. There’s even an MTV Awards “Moonman” statue. There’s also outfits and stuff, too. If that’s your thing.

I’ll save my money for the slew of keyboard-supported downloadable content that’s sure to hit following Rock Band 3’s release. I have enough plastic instruments in real life; I don’t need my digital persona walking around with one, too. Anyone feel differently?

If you ask me, there just aren’t enough games with scary-ass pregnant ladies. At least we have FEAR 3, which Warner Brothers and Day 1 Studios is showing off in this brand-new trailer. 

While we may not see FEAR 3 until 2011 now, that hasn’t stopped the team from continuing to reveal more about the game. The main focus of the trailer is “capturing the essence” of the franchise: great A.I., plenty of horror, and strong combat. Since Day One Studios (the team behind the MechAssault series) is now handling development, they’re playing up their expertise in mech combat. If you’ve played the MechAssault games, you know they’re not just blowing smoke.

Coupled with the great promise of FEAR 3’s cooperative focus, I’m expecting this entry to push the series from being decent into being great. There’s certainly a lack of high-quality horror games out there (I want Condemned 3 so hard), so I’m asking, nay, begging FEAR 3 to get it right. Please? For me?

At least the game has a damn fine look to it, which you can see in the screens below. Electricity is pretty!

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard anything on the Devil May Cry front, and while Capcom isn’t ready to announce anything just yet, Keiji Inafune is willing to drop a few hints.

In an interview with 3D Jeugos, Inafune admits that the series doesn’t do particularly well in Western markets. With that in mind, it’s likely that the games will be given a “Western touch” to make them more attractive to American and European players.

While it’s not a confirmation that the game is in development, it’s an interesting comment based on what we’ve previously heard. Rumors have been floating around for some time that Cambridge, England-based Ninja Theory has been working with Capcom on the upcoming sequel. The developer, who had worked on the PlayStation 3-exclusive Heavenly Sword, will ship Enslaved later this year.

Dead Rising, Mega Man, DMC, Onimusha… ¿Resident Evil 6? Charlamos con Keiji Inafune. [3D Juegos]

After reading ou

r Battle vs. Chess preview, I know what you were thinking: “Who the hell is Tara Long?” and when can I get my hands on this fine original piece of software?

The answer to your first question is… I don’t know either. But she’ll be at PAX, from what I’m told, so find her and ask her. To answer the second question, September 28 is when Battle vs. Chess will be out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Publisher SouthPeak announced the date in a press release this week, which sounds like it was written more for investors than press. Actual text from the release: “Classic Strategy Game Expected to Propel Sales and Achieve Profitable Margins.” What I would have written: “Old Stupid Chess Now Features Demons, Knights, and Boobs.” Not sure what they were thinking with that “profitable margins” thing.

[Update: Don't like the look of Mega Man in the above video? It looks like 1UP and GameSpot also got their hands on exclusive Mega Man Universe trailers. They're all kind of the same, but not really... they each feature a different looking Mega Man. Can you spot the difference and figure out which Mega Man is from which series of games?

Thanks to the beautiful Russ Frushtick from MTV Multiplayer for the heads up.]

You know that weird-ass (and totally awesome) Mega Man Universe trailer Capcom revealed awhile back? Yeah, that didn’t tell us too much about the game. With this latest trailer, Capcom’s Keiji Inafune hopes to shed some light on what we can expect. It’s mostly successfully, but questions remain.

The gameplay in the trailer shows what appears to be a 2D-style platform/action game in the vain of classic Mega Man titles, but rendered with 3D graphics. Mega Man himself has a longer, slinkier look, but his abilities appear intact. The trailer ends with another tease, confirming that players will also be able to play as Street Fighter’s Ryu.

“Your world,” shouts Inafune in Japanese. “Megafied!”

Okay then. Mega Man Universe will be making some sort of appearance at PAX this weekend, so we hope to get more information soon. What do you think of what you’ve seen so far (including the fact that Inafune is wearing an Abercrombie and Fitch shirt)?

This was a given considering RZA has a Twitter account and likes to talk, but today it’s been confirmed that the producer-rapper will appear as an in-game character in the upcoming DJ Hero 2. He’s the final character announced for the music game, which also features Deadmau5, David Guetta, DJ Qbert, and Tiesto.

The Wu-Tang founder mixed and produced two exclusive tracks for the title: LL Cool J’s “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” mixed with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message,” and Damian Marley’s “Welcome To Jamrock” mixed with Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven.” RZA is also quoted as saying some stuff in a press release Activision sent out today, and I urge you to read this in you head (or out loud) in RZA’s voice.

“I’m very excited to be involved with DJ Hero 2. As both a DJ and gamer from an early age, the game combines two of my passions,” he said. “I loved working with the team and am excited for the fans to hear the two brand-new mixes I put together just for this game. Bong bong!”

DJ Hero 2 is out on October 19; Activision recently revealed all of the tracks that will make the game disc, which tops 100 songs. Bong bong!