Another week, another digest. Not much happening this week, friends. A couple of minor news pieces here and there but hardly anything earth-shattering.

One tedious game-to-movie piece of news for you, to start with. C-E brought you the news a while back that a Metroid movie would be made- this week it has been announced that it has been canned. I think we should breath a collective sigh of relief at this one- doubtless whoever would have been responsible would have sullied Samus' good name in any case; besides, I can't imagine, really, it being made into a decent movie. Eternal Darkness though, isn't just getting a TV show as we reported last week, but a movie too- I'm prepared to bet my house nothing comes out of it.

Moving swiftly on, the much-anticipated 4 player co-operative RPG Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles has got a proper European launch date- thankfully the game isn't slipping into 2004- it should be with us in December. With it and Mario Kart coming out in time for Christmas it should be a good one for GC owners- perhaps all memories of last Christmas, where not one decent GC game came out will be erased. Here's hoping. This week's canning of the Futurama game on Gamecube is becoming indicative of poor GC sales- but lets not get into the moaning. It wasn't exactly looking triple-A material anyway, but that said, hardly a good sign- especially when being matched by similar cancellations for the 'Cube by other developers- Acclaim spring to mind.

Apparently, but as yet unconfirmed by the big N, three new titles are being added to the budget Player's Choice range. 007 Agent Under Fire, Fifa 2003 and Modal of Honour: Frontline are reportedly getting the cheap-o treatment. If true, this is significant as it will mark, gasp, the first time a third-party game comes under the umbrella of an official Ninty budget range. All three of the games are by EA- proof positive of Nintendo's cosy relations with the company at present. Further proof of this comes in the form of GBA-GC link-up features in most of EA's upcoming titles for the Gamecube. The Sims: Bustin' Out will feature some tidy link-up options, enabling an extra level on the GBA screen where players can earn extra Simoleons, learn new abilities etc. etc. Characters can be transferred at will between the GBA and GC. Sounds good, then. The next Medal of Honour game goes for something a tad less ambitious- a real time map will be provided on the GBA. Uninspiring stuff, maybe, but welcome all the same. What I really want to see though is something on a much grander scale from Nintendo- making the GBA connectivity an integral part of the experience, trying something altogether new. Whatever happened to the brilliant-looking Kirby' link up game? I've got a strong suspicion that Mario 128 will have a few aces up its sleeve in that regard. Either way, Nintendo have got to really start exploiting the potential of the link-up- real-time maps aren't going to shift extra copies of a game, Nintendo. Heaven knows they've spent enough time harping on about the feature, which I firmly believe is a good thing- its tragically underused at the moment- underused and being misused- as one visitor to C-E commented, the link-up shouldn't be used to unlock stuff as many developers have used it thus far- that's just plain silly.

Prize for most amusing press release in years must go to Atari for their upcoming game, Asterix and Obelix XXL, set for release in time for Christmas. The info issued by Atari announces that players can control both Asterix AND Obelix at the same time! As they put it, 'a videogame first'- hardly. Banjo Kazooie, anyone? Atari Group chairman Bruno Bonnell goes on to say, hilariously, that "Atari innovates again with its adaptation of the Gallic heroes' universe, in which gamers will feel like they have drunk an interactive magic potion," Oh, my sides.

Now I'm not one to criticize Asterix and Obelix- they are two great characters, and the comics are truly excellent. But not even I dare to suggest that "Asterix & Obelix XXL is bound to be a Christmas best seller for new-generation consoles" as Atari boldly claim. We'll wait and see. Former NCL boss Hiroshi Yamauchi gave an interesting interview lately. He hinted at the possibilities, albeit subtly, of 'mergers and collaborations' with other developers. He also poured cold water (as Yamauchi invariably tends to do) on Sony's upcoming portable console the PSP- he denies flatly that the GBA and it will be in direct competition when it launches late next year. This does, I suppose, fit in with his previous philosophies. You can't keep a good man down, I say. The news that long-running Japan-only classic RPG series Fire Emblem is coming to the Gamecube is a good one. No info on the game has been made available yet, but expect it to be good- very good, if the series' previous incarnations are anything to go by. Let's hope a Western release is in the offing.

Ben's second instalment of BitchZone is on the site now- check it out here. I bet you're all wondering where Conor has gone, eh? He's busy. I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you. And despite what some of you might think, I don't really want to do that. You'll see the fruits of Conor's labours soon enough. Finally, remember that time is fast running out if you're thinking of entering C-E's Design-a Pokemon competition- get your entries in soon, people.

Aaaand finally this week, a new addition to the weekly digest- the text poll! Every couple of weeks, we'll ask you for your opinions by means of that wonderful invention, the mobile phone- more specifically, by text message. This week we want to know: Should online play be key to Nintendo's next home console? Text 'yes' or 'no' to 00353860825141 to register your vote. The results will be published right here next week. Online play is one of the most important questions surrounding Nintendo at the moment- and an issue that will be key to its future. So the results will be of significant importance and might just give us a representative sample of the public mood about online play. The number given above is an Irish number, so texting internationally will cost a little more- it varies from country to country.

I'll call a halt here, methinks. Until next week.

Mark Cullinane
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