Too Human developer Silicon Knights’ new game could be called The Box, the CV of an ex-employee named Zhang Shao-yong reveals. The CV states that Shao-yong was with the Canadian developer from June 2005 to April 2008 and that he worked on both Too Human as well as a project called The Box, and that he was responsible for producing “visual effects, such as the application of particle and material performance of explosions, smoke, water, fire, weather and so on.”

The Box is marked down as an “Xbox [360] and PS3″ game on the CV but beyond that, there’s no information about it. Though whatever it is, it could be “fresh” if Silicon Knights’ bossman Denis Dyack is to be believed, and if he is in fact talking about this particular game in the following quote.

“The next game that we’re going to announce, not including the sequels to the [Too Human] trilogy, it’s nothing like anything else we’ve ever made before,” Dyack said in an interview last year as <a href="http://www.computerandvideo.com/article.php?id=228438?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-News-RSS” target=”_blank”>CVG points out. “We want to continue to do that to keep fresh. That’s really what’s important, and making sure that we continue to make new IPs but also continue to innovate in the genres that we try to… create content in, I suppose is the best way to describe it.”

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Update: Activision has just announced that Classic will head to PlayStation Network this week as well — on Thursday for $14.99.

Original story: Infinity Ward’s port of the original Call of Duty, titled Call of Duty Classic, is this week’s Xbox Live Arcade offering, Xbox Live’s European community manager Graeme Boyd tweets, also confirming the previously rumored 1200 MS Point price point which should scare those who bought the pricier editions of Modern Warfare 2 into looking for that redeemable code that’s tucked away somewhere in their editions. The arrival of Cpt. Price’s well-aged mustache is also confirmed by Larry Hryb from the other side of the pond.

If you thought the iPhone needed more featuring zombie alpacas, you’ll be pleased to learn that artist Roman Dirge is hard at work on Vampire Puff Puff, a new iPhone game starring vampire-cum-ragdoll Ragamuffin. And yes, zombie alpacas.

His first foray into video, Vampire Puff Puff will take place in the same universe as the Lenore comic books, with the eponymous star kidnapped by Pooty Applewater. It’s up to her loyal blood-sucking sidekick to brave 23 different baddies and 15 unique zombies through five different levels to rescue her, armed with such weapons as the Bragun, which turns cows into a shotgun blast of sausage, and the Poe Poe Gun, which shoots ravens and weeps when out of ammo. Basically, it sounds like Dirge has a chance of realizing his dream to make “the most unique and entertaining side scroller shooter ever.”

“It’s been my dream for a long time to see what I could create videogame wise, and I’m pretty proud of what I’ve come up with,” he shared on his blog, adding that though the game is currently only iPhone-bound, releasing it on other platforms like Xbox Live is possible if it proves popular enough. If nothing else, Dirge hopes enough fans will rally around the iPhone release to warrant all the new additions he’s already got planned. “I have TONS of updates planned for it if it makes the investor’s investment money back, like achievements, new weapons, an outfit store, multiplayer, rideable characters, going on rides in Spookyland, etc…For the first time ever, I’m asking for help and support in this endeavor just so I can add the updates to make this the full game I envision.”

Sure, Princess Zelda has been imprisoned in crystal, the land of Hyrule overun by monsters, and the very fate of the world threatened by the power-hungry machinations of the evil lord Ganondorf, but it’s not like those chickens are going to catch themselves.

The Australian government’s Classification Board refused classification for THQ and Vogster Entertainment’s CrimeCraft due to in-game “drug use related to incentives or rewards,” effectively banning the gang-based MMO shooter from sale in the country. In CrimeCraft, players create, trade, and consume “Boosts,” fictional drugs that can improve their character’s performance. In the U.S., where the game was released last August, the subscription-free PC game received a “Mature” rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board due …

Nintendo says American consumers bought more than 1 million units of its Nintendo DS and DSi portable consoles during the week of the Thanksgiving holiday, along with more than half a million Wii consoles. The company’s sales numbers apply to the period from Sunday, November 22 to Saturday, November 28, which encompasses the legendary post-Thanksgiving shopping day “Black Friday.” The figures come from Nintendo’s own “internal tracking numbers” rather than an outside firm such as …

Update: Proper gameplay footage has arrived

Original story: After being available at industry events since E3 earlier in the year — where it impressed the hell out of some Dennis guy — some actual footage from Splash Damage’s Brink has finally been released for the internet crowds. The video doesn’t reveal much though; it’s a simple walkthrough by CEO and Game Director Paul Wedgewood who’s just showing off a bit of the SMART movement system in an abandoned airport setting. Seeing how things are going though, it wouldn’t be surprising if the we see the first proper gameplay trailer air during the VGAs next month.

The game also seems to have been pushed back a little bit, from Spring to Fall 2010, the end of the video shows.

Twenty percent of total video game spending in the U.S. goes toward MMOs and game portals, primarily for monthly subscriptions and online credits, according to a new international study. Home and handheld consoles comprise 57 percent of the nation’s gaming budget, including second-hand trade and digital distribution sales. Market research firms TNS and industry.com surveyed more than 13,000 respondents aged eight years and older across the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the U.S. …

PREVIEW: Just Cause 2 introduces a ton of new gameplay tweaks, including revamped grappling hook mechanics.